Sopra Cucina

Recently while researching for Italian restaurants in Singapore, one of the hot tables for the month was at pan pacific ( the one by orchard towers) called Sopra cucina which served Sicilian food. I mainly got excited cause the exterior of the building looks so beautiful ....

photo taken off their Facebook page

For the starter, we decided to have something off the bar menu instead which was the fried mozzarella with a tomato pepper salsa.. this was delicious! We wished it was a slight bit saltier but really it's hard to go wrong with fried mozzarella. 

now as I'm writing this, I'm realising we did have a lot more food than i want to admit! we asked the waitress for a recommendation and she recommended the: Culurgiones Ogliastrini, stuffed pasta pockets of potato, mint and pecorino tossed in butter and sage.

i would say this was my least favourite dish of the night - no it wasn't awful, it was indeed tasty, however i preferred other dishes over this. i would describe this as extremely soft mash with A LOT of mint and a strong hint of cheese.

next up was the gnocchis also known as the small shaped dumplings on their menu. we did not stick to the recommended pork and rosemary sauce and instead change it to a bolognese sauce. BOY - were we pleased! the boyfriend wished the "dumplings" were bigger however it was definitely a tasty dish! highly recommended.

We went nuts and decided to order something else -   tortellini soup - that was just amazing.

 We also had a bottle of wine recommended by the waiters. I was very pleased with the service, and the food was fantastic. Overall a great night in a gorgeous atmosphere - another place i would certainly go back to!

Signs you're being taken for granted

Very often most of us feel that we're taken for granted - it's really hard to find the line when it comes to any relationships be it love or friendships.

Give too little and people may assume you don't care..... give too much and people may get used to it and only start expecting you to drop everything or do everything when they need you.

I'm not saying that everyone takes their partners / friends / family for granted. I can only imagine there's people out there like me, you want to make people you care about very happy and you do that often enough but buying them gifts, buying them pretty much whatever they want..... overtime, these gestures may become expectations.

Imagine buying lavish gifts for a partner for 5 years in a row, and on the 6th year, you give your partner a card, imagine how they would feel about that, when the expectation has been set (probably subconsciously)

in my opinion, these are signs that your partner is taking you for granted.... and of course these rules apply to me:

1) They just don't have time for you. Who cares if you put in time to plan something 3 weeks in advance. If something comes up, you will have to drop it and you will probably be willing to but if tables turned, you had better drop everything for them.

2) They tend to forget to be in touch - now this is debatable as i am the sort who likes being in touch with my partner in ridiculous amounts, but for all your normal folks reading this, i think a partner who forgets to be in touch or forgets to reply, clearly is taking you for granted. come on - no one IS THAT BUSY!

3) they are very impatient with you - simply because you are taking too long to understand their point of view but sometimes in moments like these, when situations arise, people may try and explain themselves in very confusing way, heightening the patience level of both parties trying to understand each other.

4) they will never say they are in the wrong. they will probably tell you white lies to prove they are right.

5) you know you deserve better. - i really don't need to explain this do i? fine, sometimes the worse thing to do is to over think everything and think you deserve better - but if you're feeling that way 90% of the time, it's definitely not going to work in the long run.


i think the list goes on - but i think if you feel the need to verbalise in your head and heart that you're being taken for granted, then you probably are. it is ultimately a vicious cycle, you start to think you need to do more so that they will love you more, however then they start expecting more and this really just never ends.

it's easy to feel defeated. maybe a chat with your loved one is the only way to go


I am no relationship expert - in fact i am in no position to even be talking about this (because of how many failed relationships I've been) however I'm just verbalising thoughts. and I'm sure there are people out there who agree with me

Gastronomia da Paolo - The Paragon - Take Home meals - WOW

I suck at cooking and so while walking around paragon during lunch, i walked past Gastronomia da Paolo - The Paragon and figured the take home sauces and pastas might be a good idea for us to have a good tasty Valentine's meal ( which didn't happen as my boyfriend lovingly cooked for me so this ended up being a post valentine weekend meal)

so what exactly did i buy  ? 

1) Cream Sauce, Bolognese , Egg Tagliatelle 

 

All 3 items cost me SGD 26

The cream sauce and the tagliatelle was an absolute WINNER! I love my pastas drowned in sauce, so i wished there was more sauce between the two of us but in terms of flavor - an absolute WOW! I was very impressed. 

The bolognese was OK - tasted like normal bottled pasta sauce with some cooked minced beef thrown in. 

But OVERALL - fantastic idea for lazy days when you want good quality food. I will definitely be going back to try the other sauces. 

end product of the cream sauce with the tagliatelle. Sorry gobbled up the bolognese before i took a photo.

feeling like a failure

It's 2 am and I've just ended what was an incredibly long phone fight with my boyfriend. 

You know how it feels when you love someone so much yet they verbally abuse you or they wake up one day and realise you're no longer needed in their lives- well I've been through that and I'm not sure if I have recovered

What happens now Is I keep my boyfriend on a tight leash worrying every minute he will do what others have done to me 

What I don't realise is the more I hold on - the more I push him away 

La Nonna - Singapore - Great but not outstanding

i've been seeing lots of reviews of La Nonna .... if we had a choice, the bf and I would try and go back to pasta brava whenever we could.... BUT we're in singapore, and there's so many restaurants that going back to the same place over and over again just doesn't make sense so we decided to give La Nonna at Holland V a go. I have to say i thought the appetizers were unusually higher than other restaurants, so we settled for a pizza and 2 pastas (YES - between 2 people! )

You can find La Nonna's menu here: http://lanonna.sg/#menu

First up - the Pizza - we ordered the DIAVOLA (SGD 23.00)
Tomato, Mozzarella and spicy Italian ‘Calabrese’ Salami

This was delicious but insanely spicy!! They left out the fact that they put small cut up chillis in the pizza! I don't know if i liked that part as much as it just left a burning sensation in my mouth - i would have been happy with the level of spiciness that the Italian Salami had to offer.

However still a tasty dish - that i might order again.

The boyfriend ordered : PAPPARDELLE ( SGD 24 )  Homemade Pappardelle Pasta with Oxtail ragout and Rosemary. This was a very delicious dish and definitely one with a strong flavor but a definite order again!

I ordered the crab meat Linguine (SGD 23) - Linguine Pasta served with Crab Meat in Tomato Cream sauce and fresh Basil

I am a lover of cream sauces and i sure do love crab, so when i saw them both in a dish - i just had to order it! The only negative note i have on this dish is that the smell of the crab was slightly stronger than usual, however with nice big slices of garlic, it definitely made up for it!

Overall a pleasant visit with fantastic company as always!

CP Stir-Fried Chicken & Basil with Rice - Review

Sometimes when you're feeling absolutely lazy, frozen meals come in very handy.

this weekend  - i tried the CP foods frozen meals - the fried chicken and basil to be exact.

I absolutely loved the Thai fragrant jasmine rice that came along with the meal .... however don't expect it to be the typical version of the Thai Basil.

It came with a good amount of sauce.

 

that's how it looked after removing it from the microwave. 

While it was tasty, the meal was REALLY SPICY ! 

I do love spicy food however the spicyness took away the flavor and i felt i was eating a whole bunch of hot chillies. 

Having said that, i would definitely be keen on trying the rest of available flavors in the CP frozen food range. 

you can find more information on the fried chicken & basil here. http://www.cpbrand.com/sg/product.aspx?pid=175

Mondo mio- robertson quay

Last weekend, the boyfriend and I had a big night of partying and so the next morning we felt like having a big hearty Italian meal. We planned to eat at Robertson quay but didn't have any specific place in mind- but figured if all else fails we would have ended up at the wine connection.

Anyways after walking around and looking at menus, we chanced upon mondo mio just across Harry's at Robertson quay. My first question to the waitress was if it was fusion food of Japanese and Italian as the menu was also in Japanese and she mentioned that they usually have a very big Japanese crowd. 

Anyway back to the food. I have to say we were pleasantly surprised.that's the interior of the restaurant... we heard Italian music throughout our entire meal and was honestly pleased with the ambiance.

You can find the menu online but i took one anyway to show you the Japanese menu that was included.

honestly, i didn't read any reviews prior to visiting the restaurant and honestly didn't know what to expect however I have to say service was exceptional. Not once did i have to wait for my water to be refilled. Also the moment we finished our pasta, within the second, new plates were sent to us to enjoy our pizzas.

I ordered the  Linguini pasta with crab meat  flavoured  by  a delicious pink sauce (SGD20)   - i had asked for more sauce so was a little disappointed that I didn't get more however I was satisfied with the flavor. Honestly didn't think it was anything like pink sauces you usually get in other restaurants, this just tasted like normal pasta sauce. However i liked that the crab did not have an overpowering smell compared to many other places that I have tried.

the photo above is the Freshly homemade egg-based  flat pasta served with  bacon, sun-dried tomatoes  and basil pesto in a creamy  tomato sauce also known as Pappardelle Casalinghe Mondo Mio in Salsa Rosa (SGD22). THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. the star was definitely how well the pasta was cooked and combined with the various ingredients, this was truly delicious.

we also ordered the Tomato,  fresh mozzarella cheese  and  Italian pork salami (SGD17) - beautifully crusted and tasty - we wiped it out very fast.


Honestly this place surprised me.. on average mains were about SGD 20 and it was honestly hard to fault any part of our dining experience.

Craving a Cheese Risotto but don't want to pay for a high price for a good one ?

I've found a pretty good solution to this!

So - while my boyfriend and I love pastas and pizzas, we love our risottos as much! His love for cheese risotto is definitely stronger than mine - I'm happy to skip having those because I'm more of a "tomato base" sort of person.

Anyway, we've found the perfect product that allows you to have cheese risotto in 12 minutes that tastes as good as what you can get in some restaurants!

One day after we bought the first pack to try - i was back at Jason's supermarket the next day, buying another 6 packs that will last us a long time!

Name of product : Riso Gallo - Risotto Pronto ( 4 cheese risotto)

Cut out instructions that you can save for future use! Follow the instructions carefully because it does make a difference! you're either gonna be eating hard dry risotto, or one that's overcooked if you don't!

So as the boyfriend has been fantastic at keeping up with his diet - he is only having half a pack each time with some chicken breast which is what he did last night! BTW - he also skips the butter needed and apparently it still tastes amazing!

this was the final look! he had half the packet of risotto and chicken breast! Satisfying and really delicious!

You can find this in Jason's supermarket - although paragon doesn't carry the product and I've managed to find it in Cold storage in orchard! Retailing between 5.45 to 6.50 SGD at various supermarkets!

Hidden gem for Prime Rib in Singapore

Lawry's is always going to be number 1 for prime ribs..... but what happens when you are craving prime ribs and want something similar to Lawry's?

After researching, i recently chanced on the fact that Black Angus Steakhouse by Orchard Parade hotel offered prime rib on their menu. Of course there are other places like the royal mail and hog's breath cafe that has it but it's JUST TOO different, I'll put my reviews on royal mail soon .... however let's get back to Black Angus.


We started the night ordering the "wild wild west onion" - it was of an insane size... we couldn't get through half of it but boy was it good!

And the boyfriend ordered the prime rib and me a salmon ... unfortunately due to greed and hunger, we started eating immediately after the food arrived and totally forgot any photos.

honestly though - a big WOW! how come black Angus isn't crazy crowded with us prime rib lovers.... Texture is fantastic ... taste was similar to that of lawry's and of course price was lower.

I couldn't end the post without a photo because it was THAT great.... so photo taken from foodspotting.com ... although it wasn't my meal, the dish did look similar and it was just fabulous.

this isn't the last time I'll be at black angus! 

In terms of service, they served one main first and the second after apparently due to a screw up in the kitchen. the waiter was very apologetic and offered us free deserts to make up for it. also took one main back to keep it warm before the other was served. 

other than that- another perfect night with my boyfriend. 

More information on the prime rib ... 

The Prime Rib

There's a common misconception that a "prime rib" roast can only be cut from beef graded as USDA prime, but that's incorrect. Instead, the term refers to the roast's position along the ribcage. The steer's first five ribs enclose tougher muscles from the shoulder, which work best as a pot roast. The prime rib is cut from the "prime," or superior, portion that includes the sixth through 12th ribs. They're usually trimmed of the fatty cap section, which leaves the ends of the rib bones cleaned and visible. Prime rib is sometimes called a "standing rib" roast, because the bones enable it to stand upright for roasting. (http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/difference-between-prime-rib-roast-ribeye-roast-22139.html)

Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken - Recipe - first time trial

As we embark on the whole trying to eat healthy lifestyle, we try to make it fun by finding recipes that can change the way we cook chicken breasts. This weekend, i found the baked garlic parmesan chicken recipe. You can find the recipe here at this link: 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-garlic-parmesan-chicken/ ( photo below taken from the link..) 

So the recipe gives the portions for 6 chicken breasts, but we were only cooking for 2 - so we just sorta divided everything into 3 and just played it by ear. 

The taste was great - the bread crumbs give it a great texture while the parmesan flavour is strong and tasty. However, the chicken breast didnt have a nice beautiful brown when it came out of the oven, and unfortunately we overcooked the chicken which rarely happens but it did on this one occasion. 

that's how the chicken breast looked like ...... and i had mushrooms to accompany the chicken breast... definitely a healthy meal overall. 

Steak Frites (with unlimited servings of fries) - Les Bouchons

Unlimited FRIESSSSS makes me one happy girl :)

 You're first served a nice simple salad with a simple dressing  ( I can't remember what the dressing was ).

For the boyfriend and I, there was no complexity and we didn't feel torn about what to order (with a one page menu ) - steak and frites it was! Apparently the fries are fried in duck fat, but I don't really care because it tasted great! The steak was cooked well, honestly there's nothing particularly fancy, but it's a great experience for anyone craving for a good quality steak. And not to forget, you receive a good selection of Dijon mustard, grain mustard, bernaise sauce, mayonnaise and creamy horseradish

Each main comes with a side salad and the famous free-flow of their fries.

Service was fine,l - we made reservations, got an outside seat which was fine because it wasn't a hot day. It was a little on the dark side outside, however it added a nice ambiance to the evening.

No hassle, no complexity, and you don't ever feel torn about what to order! The steak is cooked to perfection, and you get your steak frites in two portions. There's nothing particularly fancy, but it's a fun experience for good quality steak.





Some photos of our night at Les Bouchons at Ann Siang hill

For us meat lovers - there's definitely a lot of options in Singapore, but if you're looking for a fuss free simple steak and frites meal, les bouchon might by the way to go.




To end our night, we walked over to a few different bars to have drinks - one at Ying Yang - that's the view you can expect from that roof top bar

for those curious about the difference between frites and fries -

Wikipedia says:

"In France and French speaking Canada, fried potatoes are called "pommes de terres frites" , "pommes frites" or more simply (and commonly) "frites". Pomme frites are somewhat different than American French fries in that they are often fried twice, use different oils to fry them, and also different types of potatoes are used."