Bungalow: Good value, or not?

The Wagyu steak at Bungalow (taken by my Moto Q 9h)

For a brainstorming session, we brought the team to Bungalow at United Square for lunch. It's a Spanish tapas and grill joint that suffers from a identity crisis--it serves Italian food too.

On Friday, they have a lunch Wagyu set at S$48, which includes soup or salad, coffee or tea and dessert. Their Wagyu ribeye is S$68 under its ala carte menu, so I couldn't resist a good deal.

Diners can choose between red wine sauce (yucks) or mushroom sauce (double yucks), but I chose to have it plain with just its juice.

I've got mixed feeling about it. I requested for medium rare, but the meat was light pinkish brown. It was smokie, but too salty. Then again, one can't deny that it was still a damn good piece of Wagyu. The onion soup that came with my set was thin, lacklustre. For dessert, they gave strawberry ice cream. Service could be more prompt.

Then why, why, why blog about this place? Well, I suppose if you have a craving for meat and good value Wagyu beef, then do check out Bungalow on a Friday noon. And I must admit, they do fire up a good grill.

Where:
Bungalow
101 Thomson Road
#01-014/15 United Square
www.bungalowtapas.com/

Party, party, party!

I have got this backlog of stories (and photographs) that I want to blog about, but all I want to do these days when I get home is throw myself on the bed and watch "Battlestar Galactica".

Ever since Kai started nursury more than one month ago, he has attended two parties in school. We were pretty excited for the kiddo when we received the invitation stuffed in his school bag by the teachers, until he came home after the parties with:

1. One KFC Chicky Club party pack

2. One McDonald's party pack

I looked dismayed. Terence said, "We must be the only parents in his class that doesn't give him fast food."

The poor deprived kid. I'm pretty sure he had a good time.

# # #

In our minds, the Chows always throw damn nice parties although the only party of theirs that we've ever attended was their wedding. Plus they've always been pretty good hosts everytime we visited them in Bangkok, and if they should ever invite you over for breakfast, say "Yes" without hesitation. We were treated to a proper, sit-down continental breakfast with coffee of your choice (with toast and proper paper napkins!) when we visited their new-born baby recently.

Yes, the Chows really know how to entertain.

All right. I admit that I ought to have taken a picture of Baby Kate when we went for her one month celebrations two weeks ago.

But since this particular blog is about parties... I'd have to draw your attention to the cakes they gave as a parting gift to their guests. Rather than the boring Bengawan Solo cake vouchers that only unimaginative, boring, time-starved parent like me would give, they gave this absolutely yummy, gorgeous looking cup cake from baked ideas.

It was presentable, pretty, and best of all--their chocolate ganache tastes as good as the picture.

# # #

Kai turns two in June. I don't think it'd matter to him what kind of party he gets at this age. But hmm... perhaps it's time I put my events organising skills to the work for my kid! Any ideas?

First photo from my Moto Q 9h

Who cares if you play very badly when you can look good on a golf course?

Or at least, that's my philosophy. Here's my first photo from my new phone for the blog...

Things to look forward to

*Drool drool*

I've decided. I'm going to buy the Moto Q 9h. It'd just be S$98 if I buy it online and use my S$50 voucher!

We're going to Melbourne, Australia, in April!

Mind your language

This was what happened to Terence at McDonald's Drive-thru yesterday:

McDonald's service staff: Chilliorketchup?

Terence: That will not be necessary

McDonald's service staff: HUH?

Terence: Don need

McDonald's service: Orh... ok

Soul-food: Beef kway teow soup

I like to do a food post on Friday to celebrate the arrival of the weekend, but I know I haven't been very disciplined in this aspect.

Anyhow, I crave for soul-food during cold weather and so these days, I keep thinking about my favourite beef kway teow soup from the East Coast Park Lagoon Food Village. The soup is warm, hearty and beefy; the meat and innards always fresh. Makes you feel real happy, sublime and satisfied...

Where:

Stall 33, Lagoon Leng Kee Beef Kway Teow

Be prepared to queue (i.e. bring your husband/BF along so he can queue)

Temper, temper

It's MY way or the highway. Geddit?

My adorable boy has a temper, and his tantrums can get really bad when he's sleepy.

He'd scream, stamp his foot, and dash around with no care for any objects. Or if you're carrying him, he'd twist and wriggle like a snake, and arch his back (like he's going to throw himself on the floor). I nearly dropped him when he did that today.

Small things can irritate him. And because he can't verbalise his frustrations, the tantrums are his way of telling us what he wants.

This morning, it was because his cheese toast broke in half.

This evening, it was because he didn't want to bath in warm water. And, dig this, because I changed out of my work clothes to something more comfy. (Probably it meant that we weren't going out anymore. But he just came back from school!)

AND it gets funnier... there were times where he'd throw a tantrum if I changed out of a comfy T that he likes!

Once, something riled him so badly that he threw my Corning Ware bowl on the floor and it broke. I was stunned. People growing up in the 70s would know from the ads, that Corning Ware products DO NOT break. Right? Right.... As if!

So what do we do when he throws a tantrum? I'd lay him down on the floor and leave him alone. Sometimes he'd scream and kick on the spot--this is if I'm lucky. Sometimes he'd do the mad endanger-myself-so-mummy-will-feel-guilty-dash around the house.

And only when he comes running to me with silent sobs to indicate he's sorry, would I pick him up and explain why I did what I did.

I think we're disciplining him the right way. But I nearly hit the breaking point today when he threw his third tantrum. Wish he can be more mild mannered. But he's our fiery little boy; that's why we love him right?

The cat's day off

A little more to the right will 'ya?

My poor cats.

Before Kai came along, they were the centre of my attention. Then Kai came along and ruined everything for them.

Now that Kai is older, life can be hell. When Kai comes home/wakes up/comes tearing through the living room, Sandy scuttles to the top of the cat condo or the toilet sink where Kai can't reach her. But Smokie, being the gentler and more silly of the two, puts up with being tortured.

Sometimes when he is none too gentle with patting her, she'd just run away or pull back her ears and give a warning hiss. That's when Terence and I will come flying to rescue both of them with: "Please do not hurt Smokie! This is how you should sayang her."

But Smokie does like Kai. Well, sort of. She keeps turning up her belly to him, which is a cat's way of training their owners to pat their them. Once, Kai saw the cat lying belly up in the corner, decided to push the toddler-size Thomas at top speed into the cat.

Result was expected. Smokie continued lying there until Thomas hit her, she gave a yowl and flew off the wall.

Nothing we could do. It all happened too fast. I just had to apologise to Smokie after that.

Yet everytime Kai cries, Smokie gets very upset too. She'd sit outside his room and howl alongside with him. And when she gets a chance, she'd rub herself against the sobbing kid.

Aww...

Sunday breakfast at the airport

The new Terminal 3 is turning out to be a great place for us. The bright, open expanse space allows Kai to run around without us having to say: "Watch out!", "No, don't touch that!", "BECAREFUL!!!", "Please put that back!", "Terence, grab him!" every second or so.

Then there is Wang Cafe that serves a killer kopi si, lots of local small eats and of course, variations of the kaya toast bread. For Kai, there's the added thrill of the sky train to T2 and T1, of which he refused to get off. And a few rounds with Papa around a water feature.

The poor kid cried buckets when we walked into the carpark. But nothing a bowl of grapes to munch on the way home wouldn't solve.

Oozing with richness: Le Saint Julien

Marbled terrine of duck liver with Cadillac wine, green peppercorns and raisin brioche

I met Clement and Margaret for lunch, of which I only ordered a salad. That raised a couple of eyebrows and to which I explained that I was bringing Terence to Le Saint Julien for our wedding anniversary dinner later. So no big meals for lunch.

"Oh, it's a very 'rich' place," says Clement.

My turn to raise an eyebrow. "Rich? As in...?"

"Food. The food is very rich," he explains. Apparantly he's been there a couple of times; seems like he and Char like the place.

This French restauant, romantically situated by the Singapore river in the nicely reburfished Waterboat House, is in every sense 'rich'. It oozes richness from the patrons, to the furnishings, to the atmosphere, and to the food. We felt a little out of place there. It is well patronised by foreigners, of which a table or two spoke French. So I suppose the cuisine is as authentic French as it gets?

The food was nice. I really liked my Terrine de foie gras marbrée aux poivres verts, brioche aux raisins (HUH? See translation in picture caption). Terence liked his "Lobster bisque soup with sea scallop, garlic aïoli and croutons", another house specialty. The escargots were so-so. But the main--"Roast Huppe duck with foie gras, confit and rillettes, honey, walnut and lemon sauce"--was really, really, really good too. I just wish I wasn't so full after the escargots.

Roast Huppe duck with foie gras, confit and rillettes, honey, walnut and lemon sauce (Clockwise from left: foie gras, confit, and magret de canard)

Having said that, I don't think we'd go back again unless someone decides to buy us dinner. It is simply tres cher (very expensive). Everything in the wine list costs more than S$100; the cheapest costs S$90.

How indulging right?