SG Food Review - Toss & Turn by Cedele @ VivoCity

I am starting to love this salad place located at VivoCity, Toss & Turn by Cedele gives me a salad coma when I get back to my office after lunch, in a wonderful and guilt-free kind of way. 

To be honest, I can never and never will be a salad person, I mean how does one get satisfied just by eating greens. Won't they get digested by the time you walk back to your office? 

But the salad here works for me.

I get to choose up to:

 2 salad bases 

(usually I select mixed greens and one noodles (either the thick noodles or soba), 

2 deli 

(got the frittata and shrimps here, but there is also roast beef slices, smoked salmon, chicken, sauteed mushrooms, etc... or you can select the hot dish like meatballs or peri peri chicken instead. The hot dishes changes from time to time though.), 

4 crunches 

(which are unlike the crunches at other places which are perhaps just some nuts and corn kernels, the crunches here also include things like sweet potato, boiled egg, brocoli, beetroot, tofu, peppers, etc...)

A regular salad like that costs S$10.50. 

I am like "look at the size of my salad!" There are so many toppings I have to seriously dig through to get to my greens. 

And you might think, if I get that for lunch, I will surely be hungry by 4pm. 

NO! 

The portion will keep you in your salad coma till dinner time. With all that protein, you have nothing to worry about.

Also, i recommend getting the set meal that comes with orange juice for just S$12. 

Very worth it!

An hour later, it looks like I still have a full portion of salad.

Verdict: 

4.8/5

Will definitely come back for more healthy and satisfying lunches :)

Toss & Turn

1 Harbourfront Walk

#01-113/114, VivoCity

Singapore 098585

Tel: 62211396

JB Makan Review - Hiap Joo Bakery & Biscuit Factory

I love any traditional bakes, and it makes my heart flutter in happiness whenever I see any old-school bakery. 

I heard of this famous old-school bakery before, selling bread and the ever so popular banana cake, but I just didn't really put my heart into looking for it. So this fateful day, after having lunch at Restoran Ya Wang, I went looking for the way back to our hotel, and drove pass this "chinatown-looking" lane that is named after a chinese man/woman with the surname "Tan".

Round the corner, there was a long queue of about 20 crazy humans under the blazing sun, and there was no way I could see what they were queuing for. I didn't want to find another parking lot (which is rather impossible there to be honest), so we made a passing remark and drove off towards the jam.

When I checked into our hotel - DoubleTree by Hilton, I was making use of the free wifi and randomly searching for where else I could explore nearby the hotel. And I saw reviews about this famous banana cake again, and to my utter surprise, the address of the bakery is at 13 Jln Tan Hiok Nee, JB. 

I thought to myself, "Don't tell me it's that queue!" and I went ahead to google map the address, and IT REALLY IS! 

Now I have to make another trip down to get it. This must be fate playing a trick on me. 

I HAVE TO GET IT!

And i did:

I went there the next day after I checked out at 11am, and bought almost every kind of bread that was available, way more than I fit into my larger than average tummy.

It was piping hot, and they just packed it into the most humble looking plastic bag, nothing fancy. Perhaps I bought too much, and everything got squeezed into a mess, thus I didn't bother to take pictures.

I risked burning my tongue and went for the otak one, and it was indeed amazing. The bread was moist and had a hint of smoked flavour from the wood-fire oven. Even though it was all squished and I couldn't use the description fluffy on it, it was still soft and comforting. The ratio of the filling was just right, and there was not too much of bread or filling.

Verdict: 4/5


I also bought way too many boxes of banana cake (RM9.60 for a box of 10), oh my love for banana cake! I had to wait about 15mins for a new batch, and I was most willing to, I can wait for as long as I can for freshly baked cake.

The smell was too overwhelming and I burned my fingers trying to pinch a piece off to eat it. The cake was the moistest of all cake I have eaten, so soft yet still has a slight spongy texture, it was baked to perfection. The aroma of fresh bananas was so satisfying, it was nothing like artificial banana flavouring (which gives me a headache)
The cake was not too sweet, and i guarantee you can keep going for it. 
It is addictive. 

I am craving for a slice (no, I want a box of it) now as I am typing this post.

Verdict: 100000/5

I need this in my life and will definitely go back for the banana cake.

JB Makan Review - Restoran Ya Wang 鸭皇药材烧腊（冷气）餐厅

There have been a constant rave on my Facebook feed about this restaurant conveniently located not far from the JB Checkpoint, serving herbal roasted duck better than Singapore's very own Dian Xiao Er. 

Apparently, they are the consultant for Singapore's Dian Xiao Er, so I am thinking most likely they came up with the original recipe, and sold it to Dian Xiao Er. 

I absolutely love Dian Xiao Er's herbal roasted duck, and I was determined to try for myself.

Of course, a few wrong turns and misleading GPS instructions later, we found the place which is in the vicinity of other Facebook raved JB makan places and cafes. Definitely somewhere we can spend the whole afternoon, cafe-hopping and stuffing ourselves silly.

Ordered a small portion of their signature herbal roasted duck (RM17). 

The smell was irresistible and the greasy sauce was just like what we have at Dian Xiao Er, maybe even more fragrant. Maybe that was what boosted my expectations further, and I was immediately disappointed when I bit into a piece of duck meat.

The skin was not crispy (which is still acceptable), and the meat wasn't to-die-for tender. The duck, if I didn't repeatedly mop it in the sauce, didn't taste anything herbal to me. I had to scoop up tablespoons of sauce to eat with the duck, just to make sure I didn't show too much disappointment. Rice (RM1.30) or noodles (RM2.20) is also available.

Verdict: 3/5

The sauce won me over, but the duck itself didn't.

We also ordered the char siew (RM10), which had a fat to meat ratio of almost 1:1. I would prefer a leaner cut, but I didn't request for it, and I am sure many others would die for this ratio I had.

The char siew was tender, and charred to perfection. The sauce was also yums.

Verdict: 4.2/5

We also had the cereal prawns (RM37), and boy, were the prawns enormous.

There were only about 5-6 pieces, and look at how they filled up the whole plate. The prawns were deep-fried into a slightly-too-thick crust before tossed in the yummy cereal mix. The vegetable dish we ordered 罗汉斋 (RM16) was a disappointment. The selection of mixed vegetables and the sauce were just a weird mushy combination of pointlessness, perhaps barely satisfactory for some dietary fibre and vitamins which i doubt still exists.

Overall verdict: 3.2/5

The prices were not high in Singapore standards, but likely to be overpriced for the locals. Was there on a Monday afternoon about 3-4pm, and the restaurant had a slow but constant stream of diners to take up about an average of 65% occupancy. About 50% were locals.

Will I come back again? Maybe if I am in the vicinity, if not Dian Xiao Er will do just fine.

Why you should have a staycation at DoubleTree by Hilton, Johor Bahru

I had to work, and couldn't fully enjoy the precious Vesak Day long weekend, so I was thinking of what I could do to make up to myself. I was tired physically and mentally and things like an expensive dinner, or retail therapy didn't seem to excite me. So I took a day off on Tuesday, so I can attempt to cheat myself that I still had a proper weekend.

I wanted to get out of Singapore, and a 1-night staycation at JB seems easy to carry out. 

The weak ringgit meant I could afford a good hotel I perhaps wouldn't pay for elsewhere and while I scrolled around Agoda.com, DoubleTree by Hilton looked perfect to me.

So i booked the "King One Bedroom Suite with Lounge Access" online, paid less than SGD$300, packed one set of clothes, my bikini, and off for a quick escape I went.

The location of the hotel was in a part of JB I have yet to explore, and I had my far share of missed turns before I arrived safe and sound. Of course, the incompetent GPS played a part too.

DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru welcomed me with a warm cookie upon check-in and it made my day. 

I was sure I smiled while I held the nutty chocolate chip cookie. At least the excessive drive was worth it.

The 64sqm suite was larger than I expected, and provided me with more than enough space for a one-night getaway. The bedroom had a huge L-shaped window, and I was pleased with the sunlight seeping through. 

The bathroom was bright and clean, had a walk-in rain-shower and a bathtub is always welcomed. Hot bubble baths are compulsory for urgent staycations like this.

Spotted a weighing scale beneath the sink, and with all the JB delicacies in my tummy, I was certain I made the right choice to ignore it.

Plenty of room in the living area

This particular room type also allowed access to the Executive Lounge. Located on the 29th floor, open from 6am to 10pm (Mon-Fri) and 7am to 10pm (Sat-Sun), I could enjoy these exclusive services in the Executive Lounge:

• Complimentary breakfast 
• Cocktails and Canapes served every evening from 6pm to 8pm 
• Afternoon Tea served from 4pm to 6pm (Sat-Sun & PH only)
• Coffee, tea and soft drinks served throughout the day
• Business Centre facilities and private workstation available

Of course, smart casual attire is required when visiting the Executive Lounge. I wasn't prepared to go for a ball or business meeting and all I had was flip flops. So I gave it a miss.

Cause who doesn't like breakfast in bed?

Hits: 
Love the room, the view, the space and warm service
Love that the hotel is conveniently located near popular JB makan places such as Restoran Ya Wang and Hiap Joo Bakery.

Misses: 
In-Room wired internet worked for my laptop. But I couldn't get the in-room wifi to work on my mobile device. Public wifi in the lobby didn't work on my mobile too. Maybe it knew I needed this "disconnection" and automatically repelled my Samsung S6.

Overall experience: 4/5

Will definitely look forward to a longer stay in the near future to enjoy more facilities I didn't get to enjoy.

Note to self: Try, at least try to ignore the cheap and good JB food, so that I can dine in one of the many good-looking restaurants in the hotel. The image of the italian pasta dish looping on the TV screen in the hotel lift was calling out to me, but I really had no space left in my tummy.