Thiong Bahru Bakery

*this is an outdated post, I'm not sure why I didn't post it. Was probably trying to find time to edit it proper but never got down to it.....oops.*

Ting and I are avid bread fans. Ok, I'm a little more picky I love my breads fresh from bakeries. I have come to dislike those white gardenia bread unless they are toasted or made into French toast.

Why? Not int because of the taste, but also because of the texture. I am a big fan of good texture. But this doesn't mean I must have expensive breads, quite the opposite!

One of my favourite breads are the cheap kinds freshly baked in the Coffeeshop without preservatives the home loaf our parents used to get as kids.

And of course I enjoy all those other yummy treats from the good expensive bakeries too. If only they weren't so pricey...but if so maybe my weight would just balloon....! Haha...

And so ting and I have been wanting to try this "Tiong Bahru Bakery" for some time after hearing raving reviews about their croissants.

After a few attempts we finally met to go there. Well, me being me I thought we would be going to the one in tiong bahru cause it is called that right? And my googling skills were not working on that day.

I didn't know they had a second branch in Raffles City now. So yay for for all of us because it is more convenient now!:))

I wasn't thinking of writing a post for these so pardon my lack of photos.

After much getting lost and guidance from ting we finally reached! From the line in the display me being me i wanted to order EVERYTHING! haha...

But we collected ourselves and order 4 things.
The much acclaimed about must order plain croissant, the chocolate croissant , a cheese and ham something and a pandan fleur ( that's how I rmb it is spelt) haha...

And a mocha and lemonade. If you ask me about the house drinks I will tell you straight, DON'T even bother.My mocha was horrible. :(

Ok so yea now that's done let me continue...the service was good they were all very smiley and attentive even towards a blur customer like me who needs to huh a few times to understand them. Love places with good nice service people! :))

They offered warming of food services too...when we went there were not so many people so we picked a nice couch seat. (Which happen to be just outside the kitchen)

I always wanted to work in a bakery...just so I can bring home bread everyday...lol lols..greedy!

When they sent our warmed up cheese an ham pastry it seemed a little blacker than usual but to us, it was alright I guess. We are not so picky..lols..

So a round of Instagram photos we go! Just as we were about to tuck in a lady came out of the kitchen and walked pass our table and walked back.

She requested to take away the little burnt cheese and ham pastry cause she told us it was over burnt. As there was none left in the counter she told us they would make a fresh one for us immediately in 20mins. We were not in a hurry so we were alright.

But we were quite sad to think the burnt one might have been thrown away...nooo! Give us! But that is their respect towards quality.

Later learnt the lady was the chef inside! Respect their love towards giving customers good quality! And as a form of apology for the bad quality presented to us they gave us a free brownie!

Talk about good service!! This place is awesome:))

And this was what made me want to write this post. A bakery whose baker does not compromise on quality just because of pricing is a one worth my. Recommendation. I believe with a place like this, it can only get better!

My recommendation based on what I've try is still the plain croissant. It stands strong! Must eat if you go there.


Didi told me their burgers are really good too! I haven't tried them yet..but might the next time...they have too many new things to keep me going to try all of them!

Go try them out today! One in Raffle city (I personally feel this is very accessible And the other in Tiong Bahru, but a little out of the way. But for good bread, worth it). :D

Kimuchi Chahan

 Also known as Kimchi Fried Rice!:))) (that's the japanese version of it) I'm not a big fan of kimchi unless it's cooked, in soups or fried rice...because I think i don't really like the fermented smell of garlic if they do have it in the kimchi. (Do you know? different families each have their own version of Kimchi making recipes. No two recipes are the same, so even though its just kimchi, they can taste very different. And Kimchi we eat locally are usually the one made with the chinese cabbage, but actually kimchi have SO MANY DIFFERENT KINDS. why the caps? because its really alot but i have no idea how many actually too, i know it is enough to fill my whole dining table. I haven't tried many types of kimchi before, but my favourite up till now, has to be the cucumber kimchiii!:D yumms! but too bad, it is pretty rarely found here....

And soo, let me get back to my fried rice.

Not bad right?

Looks can be deceiving, but hey! mine definitely looks the look and taste the taste. 

muahahah. :P

i secretly believe that it tasted better than the fried rice i bought the next day from the coffee shop down stairs. *smug* haha.

ok lah, i admit, its pretty easy. I'm no top chef, i can only cook food edible to me, maybe if someone else ate it they would think otherwise. 

hahahaha.

and i have a weird habit, i only know how to cook in kitchens i'm familiar with, put me in someone else's kitchen, disaster will happen. haha.

 to be vaguely authentic i used korean spoon and chopsticks given by mom's friends as a souvenir and specially drank korean tea instead of the usual japanese green tea i drink. 

Haha. the things i do when no one's around. haha...all in the name of 有趣

ok. I'm not trying to bore you out with my multiple pics of my kimuchi chahan. lols

just in case you might be interested in how to cook this very simple dish when your home alone like me....Here are the super simple steps!

Ingredients needed:

(well the amount depends on yourself, i just do it by 'agaration')

Cooked rice (left overnight, if not just cook some rice in the pot)

Mince meat

Cooking oil

Garlic (2 cloves)

Kimchi (well of course right?;))

Dark Soy Sauce

Salt

Chicken Essence Powder (this is my secret ingredient to make sure my food taste good. lols)

 

 if you want a little something more. Add an egg!:)

Step 0.1 (i forgot, so it became this number. lol)

Take the kimchi out of the package and cut it to smaller bite size bits

Step 1.

Heat the oil and fry the garlic, make sure the garlic turns golden brown (not black! control your fire, not too high!)

Step 2.

Throw in the mince meat to fry with the garlic

Step 3. 

Throw in the rice, fry together. 

Step 4. 

Throw in the kimchi you have cut up nicely, take some of the kimchi sauce and add in too, to get the flavour and colour.

Step 5.

Add some dark soy sauce (just so that the coulour of the fried rice looks nicer)

Step 6. 

Add in the chicken essence powder, usually i just give the bottle two shakes. Stir. 

Step 7. 

Add salt as to liking. 

Step 8.

If you want to add an egg. You can just push the rice to the side and fry the egg in the same wok, i'm lazy i don't wanna wash so many things. Or you can fry the egg into the rice or you can fry it in a seperate wok, all to your liking. 

Step 9.

Put on plate

Step 10. 

Enjoy!

Eat!

Makan!!!

:DD

machisoyo~

hahaha...:p and that is how i cook my kimuchi chahan. Simple right?!:D

anything too difficult also i can't lah huh...so this is good enough if your hungry and alone for the night. 

the best thing is you can keep the unused kimchi for some time and cook this dish again when you feel like it!:))

so apart from pasta (the only other decent dish i can cook. lols) this is a good alternative!

Give it a try!;DD

ehehe...hope you'll like it!

Enjoyyyy!

A meetup with Sis!:)

Finally got to meet up with Ting after her fyp, *yay!* have been wanting to have a meetup for a long long time but because she had been so busy fighting battles in the lab i had to wait till she won the battle...:) battle all won..just one last poster day to go for sis..Jia you jia you!:DD
Here is my lovely sis who i can finally meet because her crazy hectic days are less crazy and hectic now:) Cheerrrr!:) We were thinking about a bunch of stuff we could do...ice skating? Baking? We decided on shopping at Bugis, she hadn't been there in awhile...and i haven't really shopped in awhile too. :) (but i didn't go crazy on goods, though i wanted to...the last mini paycheck for the little project havent come in yet) but anyway we decided

ice skating - we'll wait for the buggers and do it together, the more the merrier !
lets all fall on our bums tgt! ok. i'll bet it'll be just me again only...hahah...

baking - we'll do it when the oven gets fixed...oror sis! we can do those dunnid to bake de!
i haven't tried any of those recipes yet! wanna learn!
:D

and so we decided to go shopping! weeeee! i haven't been really shopping shopping in a long long time...*online shopping doesn't count:P hehheh.

We went to Bugis! Where the affordable goods are!
still kinda poor so yea...:P
Honestly i wanted to buy so many new things because i have been wanting a wardrobe change and all..but on the other hand i know i have to be realistic because money doesn't fall from the sky! hahaa...i could have though...and would be very very broke, so i did the next sensible thing...just to get the stuff i need :)
i need new wardrobe of clothes, more slanting towards the feminine side. slowly does it. i need new shoes. new bag. nooo. i don't need. hahaa. want and need is very different.
ok. i needed this, a pair of black formal looking pants.
Actually they weren't really cheap, but considering the use of it, i think its quite alright.
It was 33 but i got it at 30 because it was a last piece.
and while i was wearing the button came off *its a ploy i tell you! to make you feel fat!!!evil* hahaha...nah. its just those factory made lousy sewn method that's why. It was a little ill fitting on the left calf...it seemed smaller on the left side...when i told the auntie the auntie went "there should be nothing wrong with my goods..."

and so i wondered out loud: "i don't think there's anything wrong with my leg either...."
hahahaaa...

and as i was changing out i was more or less considering on getting it already.
and i kept the button in the pocket thinking after i get it i'll go home to sew it on my own...

but wow, the auntie gave me discount and asked her worker to help sew back the button on as it was the last piece...i'm such a lousy price haggler...if mom were there i think she would be able to get a price around 26-28....hahahaha...
i need to learn more auntie price slashing skills...
lol

so yea. that's the story of the pants!

o ya o ya!
Ting bought a few dresses and shoes that day, they all look so good!
What do you expect? Anything will look good on a good looking person.
i need some of those too!hahaha...

anyway, at the first dress store the glib sweet talker owner said in the whole of bugis street he was probably the only one who use paper bag *indication of high class-ness....
plastic bag = low class?
eh. dude, didn't you hear the katy perry song? she sang about plastic bags, and many top brands make nice bags out of plastic, the only reason paper bags are seemingly better is because they are supposingly more biodegradable lah deh.
hahaa...
but. ahaaa! we proved him wrong! the last store we went to used paper bags too..!
it was a stall selling korean fashion...sis bought two lovely looking shoes!
:D
so tempted to get one i saw which look so good...but just got a pair not too long ago so
Cannot!
*i'm such a good girl. not. Lols!

This is my second and last buy of the day.
A stretchy stretchy belt....i was choosing between this and one with a metal front...honestly i don't like wearing this kind of belt cause they suffocate you, girls and the things they put on to look good. but i'll never go to the extreme....hahahaa...knowing me right, i'll just ditch the killer looking heels and run off with a pair of sneakers. yay!

Too bad i didn't remember to take pictures until we went for dinner and i just took a few with my hp cam...ahh.
This was taken using my front camera of the hp.
i didn't know the quality varied from the front to the back of the camera...
look at the grainy pic! must have been on high iso...tsk.
but on the other hand...it makes my skin look good naturally...muahahahaa.
this was the initial picture we took because sis say her face looks 'too big' in this one we took the second one....when i was looking through (i very 专业ok. i filter before i put up, cannot make people throw face, esp me lah....cause most people look good naturally, just not me. -_- o god why.) this pic i realise she looks so good! Sis i'm sure you agree! *and i am not lying. cross heart*:D

Your wondering why we use the front camera instead of the back one right?
because of some smart alac...
me

hahahahaaa.
as you all would know of me i seldom take 自拍 of myself so i can't really grasps the angle correctly...
and this was what happen....
i cut off the chin of both of us...and i suggested using the front to take...i will not do it again! haaha...
this picture looks so good right?
shhh. don't tell anyone...
i edited it
not too much though, i just took away my blemishes, sis doesn't have any and added a light glow to the pic....there's no skin condition a light glow can't fix!
there! Remember that little tip k peeps?
;)

its a really pretty picture for a really happy day.
:)

We went to Let's Sweets at Bugis to have Dinner.
this is chocolate parfait.
mmm.disappointing.
according to the reviews i later get to check out for the place it seemed to be a place highly warned upon...from lousy food to bad service and over priced it had it all....

but honestly, if you ask me?
i had an enjoyable time there and the food weren't all too bad at all! In fact both of us rather enjoyed it...but there is a saying right? When your happy anything taste good.

I was definitely happy having a meetup with sis so maybe it could be true!
*cheng cheng cheeennng* sound effect:p

or. we could be having easy to please tastebuds...maybe?
There was one thing which i thought would definitely be a mood dampener would be the alarm clock at each table...yes!!! 0.0 nani?!! an alarm clock to time you when your eating. Each clock is set with 70 mins when it rings you have 10 mins left to finish everything on your table if not you'll be fined $5.00 for every 200g.
isshk.

Luckily for us when we went it was pretty empty and we had none of that, if not, i just might be one other customer with unpleasant encounter with the shop...we were able to take our time to try out everything we want....
we are such lousy buffet eaters, bringing us there would be a loss to our own wallets....because we eat little...but i think its so fun going with your galpal and getting to try so many kind of desserts!!!
happy!
:)
so no regret, no complains. i think i wouldn't mind going back...if they are still surviving...
:)

i especially love the fruit tarts and chocolate cake and brownie!
Oiishi desu!
:D

we shared deserts so we could try a little of everything!
there's a hokkien saying:
一人一半， 感情不散

hahaha! yay! to long friendship!
:D

i am a person who tends to be very awkward when it comes to a two person chat...i hate having awkward silences, but if i can get pass awkward silences and enjoy even if silences are there then yesh i'm sure we know each other very well enough. :)

i don't have many people who i can say i am comfortable to have just a two person dinner/lunch/breakfast chat with but ting is definitely one of them.

we could be laughing and chatting loudly one moment and enjoying the cakes and silence and surrounding the next. without the feeling that i need to feel up the empty silent space with something....it just makes you feel at ease.

Senang Diri! (hahahaa...if your in a uniform group, you might get this joke:P)

that's why i don't believe in arranged meetings...
(maybe not now. maybe next time i will? hor fang?)
hahahaahahaha

we talked about lotsa stuff, old, new, gossip....
..
one thing i was very sad about to hear was one of my favourite teacher's child is sick with leukemia...if there's one teacher that i feel grateful to, it would hands down go to that teacher...not because she taught me the sea and the mountain but more because she very readily without pretense gave alot of love. It isn't the type you see in the idol drama kind....her is really motherly, no pretense. I really liked her, so she must be a good person, but why give her such hardship?

i hope good things will go her way soon.
though i also need alot of luck and good things, i think she needs it more right now...people above, please treat nice people nicely...
please give the poor kid a matching bone marrow much needed or any other miracle to cure the kid...

i would so wish to call, write and ask, how are you? how can i help you?
but truthfully what one can do is so little, but to pray.
I really hope a miracle goes their way, good people deserve good things.

i hope the lil one can find a suitable marrow soon.

fight on.

..

that was my day out with sis.
it was fun! really enjoyed:)
Haven't been out together enjoying doing nothing, ok, something but nothing in particular for a long time, so its a good treat for busy people like her to meet me.
:))

lets do it more often ok sis?
:D

中秋節快樂

Hope you all are having A Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!:D

中秋節快樂!:))) 吃月饼咯！:D


On this mid-autumn festival night I hope all of you guys can have the leisure of a nice family dinner and sit together to (do old school stuff) haa! drink tea, gaze at the moon, carry latterns and eat mooncakes.
:)

such is simple happiness. is it not?
;)

ambush @ jp.

There's this quite fabulous dinning in jp which serves european ( i think tt was what it wrote) food, which for me was really quite awesome. :) Ambush. I'll ask my friend to help me check if it's halal, then more of us can go next time.;)

Went after class for lunch.
It was along our way home.

taddaaa! my pasta. it tast much nicer than it looks. :)
all photo credits to lih yee.
Louise.
from vietnam.
has powerful language abilities!;)
didnt taste this dish though, cause it was beef, but they told me it was nice too!:)
then there was dessert.
tiramisu.
now you see it.
next you don't.
buwahahaah.
Her birthday was coming soon, so we sneaked up and down to get her present and card.
Left:Candy from shanghai:)
does not know much about shanghai though. highly doubious, maybe she is from western country. hahahaaha...lols.:P
middle: Louise from vietnam
right: Lih yee from Singapore.
Behind camera: lala from malaysia.
lols.multinational?
its fun to make friends from different countries too. i learn much from them.
:)
cannot be prejudice towards people o.

And the card which we bought her was a popup card, which made my life hell, cause when i tried to write on it, my left hand got in the way...poor me. lol...even the sales assistant was roped in to help me. hahaha. thanks for your kind help and suggestions lady from artbox jp! *thumbsup*

Happy 21st Birthday Louise! Happppy Happy Birthday to youuu!:) ( though i'm sure she won't see this.haha)
Hope you liked the present and card though my handwriting is ugly

lalaala. sitting on the pavements being random can be fun too. :D
candy bought this chinese old school toy called "jie lian huan" i think many of us has had played or at least seen it before when we were kids.
I managed to solve it! muahahaa. i'm smart. ok. i play cheat one. cause i used to have something in the similar unlocking method when i was young. hahaa.

being so far away from home.
i think it's really nice to have friends who you can call your own.
don't you think? ;)
spread a little love.
:))

Classmates. :)

lilalienations: I hate to eat alone at home esp at night. :(
......................................................................................................................................

Yea. my class has loads more girls than guys. haha. =)
Handsome dudes. and pretty babes.
Here are some of my classmates.
2/3 of them on the last day of Dr Leo's class.
We couldn't just let the poor old man leave without taking a picture could we?
:)
So, here's a very nice one. 2 poloroids were taken through jend's cam. one given to the doc.
ahhh. poloriod's are just cool. :)
and this one was taken through ahmad's cam.
thanks.
this picture came out nicely!

On March 11 (after school) we went to the Korean restaraunt in Chinatown to celebrate my birthday!
yay!:)
Here's everyone who went!
The friendly korean restaurant dude helped us take a picture.
Cherie say he very handsome o heh...:P
Credit all pictures to didi:)

oooo.
and i got a tiramisu cakey!
o, in fact i had 2!
:D
That's Junmo behind, he was the king of the day in the restaruant, because, he could freely speak korean to all the waiters and boss, i bet he felt right at home. hahahaa.
make a wish!
we were such a big group we had to sit on 3 tables!
How lucky am i! So many people to have a birthday lunch with me.
:))
Here's Candy with Bibimbab~
oo o! i like this shop's kimchi pancake!:)
Here's the cute lil babe who sits next to me in class! and then there's linus who also sits next to me....smart ok these two! A* students...hahahahaha...:P
Very nice too:)) not to mention stylo milo..;))

Didi had this.
Don't be fooled by it's fiery hot appearance, it's not as bad as it looks....
or so says i...because i only tasted one spoon full...maybe if you finish the whole thing you'll feel its wrath? hahaha...:PLouise and round faced me.
tak glam lah this pic!!:P hahaha. but o well.

they provided us with loads of kimchi...so many many different kinds!
and they would refill when your finish if you wanna....wow.
i still love the ikan bilis one best..heh:p

One last look at the cake!:)

From the front left hand side: Linus. Candy. Jess.Nana. Stef.Cherie
Right: Didi. well who else?. Louise. Joel. Junmo.
Lih Yee was missing for the day cause she was unwell.
Thanks guys for celebrating with me on my special day!
^-^

this is as close as i've gotten to hokkaido for now..

lilalienations: waiting for ling's photos to be able to blog about sat!:)
.........................................................................................................................................

Ling went to Hokkaido Japan and brought us back some omg so awesome treats!:D

In literal translation it's White lover.
It's supposingly the most famous and godlyness in the sense of yumminess!
But knowing Japan, everything has to be expensive....
So i treat my 2 chocolate biscuits as precious. haven't eaten them yet man! must save for the right moment...when's that?

taaadaaa!:D

I've eaten the kit kat! Corn flavour and melon flavour, only limited for sale in Hokkaido...
waaah! So freaking yummy! nomnomsss!
Second time i've eaten this!
so awesomeee!:)))
saw it in Shaw's supa (supermarket) but it's so ex...:((( if not i really wanted to buy some home.

I have yet to try this widely raved treat.
can't wait!
awesome awesome!
:DDD

For now, this is as close as i have gotten to Hokkaido.
One day i must go there and step on that land with my two feet!
hahaa
:DD