Go Karting in Plentong

Yeah!!! Go Kart was fun!!  Went to Go Karting in Plentong, Malaysia.  It was much cheaper than Singapore.  For S$100, you get about an hour of drive, first 2 round, you will be given 15 mins each, and you can complete as many laps as you can.  For the 3rd round, it will be the heat, where you would be given timing and ranking.  The last round is the actual race, you need to complete 12 laps, and the race will stop when first 4 is out.  In Singapore, it is about $30 for 10 mins!

I didn't know how to control the kart, so first lap was moving like a tortoise, and at the first turn, the car died, and i had to get the technican to restart my car...haha what a start!

The 2nd lap was slightly better.  And with more confidence, i tried to be funny, and caused the car to go into the kerb when i turned.  At one of the bend, I almost crashed into a friend, so i jammed break, that was a mistake to break, it cause my kart to spin.  Luckily i did not crash and continue to drive.  I also tried to "drift" and once again, the kart spun...
In the 3rd round, i saw C's car spun beside me, because she committed the same mistake as me, jammed break when she thought she was going to crash into me.
4th round, no more stuns, tried to slow down at the bend..so my overall ranking was 7, out of 10.  Not too bad! :-)

Great fun, don't forget your sunblock and bring your own helmet if you are going.
Photographs courtesy of Freddy, who graciously did not race to take photos.  Thanks Freddy.

Permas Go Kart Club
Lot 1195 Jalan Bunga Matahari
Taman Plentong Baru
81750 Johor Bahru
http://www.permasgokart.com/

 

Private cart:

Outing at Singapore Botanical Garden

Joined the West Shooterz group for an outing at Botanical Garden for photoshoot, so decided to go there earlier for breakfast at Case Verde.
I chose the classic breakfast set, at $13.50, the breakfast set consist of your choice of eggs, sausages, bacon, toast and a mini croissant and a coffee or tea.  Not exactly cheap, so it better to be of good quality.  Alas, i was disappointed when the breakfast set was served to me.  The sunny side up looked dry and pale, did not look sunny at all.  Only the sausgaes and bacon tasted alright, but only average.  Coffee was normal too, and a bit sour at the after taste.
Overall, only a 5/10.  But food aside, atmospehere is good.  Many joggers and walkers brought their dog for a walk in the garden..and fresh air in the morning :-)

Some photos from the photoshooting outing.  It was great fun to join fellow same interest and like minded folks for an outing, and very nice to see lots of cool equipment.  Looking forward to the next one.

A is more sensitive to the camera:

Look at his unhappy face:

L is good, can talk and shoot at the same time!

Au Petit Salut

Heard so much raves about Au Petit Salut, decided to go there to try their set lunch (Set dinner too expensive).  Reservation was at 1230pm, and the place was rather crowded, we were the 3rd table in the restuarant.  Crowd started to stream in at about 1pm, and the whole place was packed!  Guess everyone had the same mindset that lunch is a good deal!

There are 2 set lunch menu, the Executive Set Lunch menu at $58++ or the Lunch Menu at $30++.  Or you can choose the lunch menu, and changed for an item on the Executive Lunch menu with a top up of $10.  We chose the lunch menu.

We started with bread and butter.  Bread was your normal french loaves cut into pieces, decent but nothing special.

I had the baked Burgundy snails with tomato and garlic butter as starter, Red wine braised beef cheeks, carrots, mushrooms and parsley potatoes as main course and crème brulée infused with fresh madagascar vanilla beans as dessert while S had the tuna tartare with fresh basil and olive oil, rocket salad and croutons, crispy filo pastry filled with ragout of braised duck,
mushrooms purée and salad and the “Financier” served with mixed berry compote and vanilla whipped crea.

On a side note, i killed a snail while i was in Botanic Garden that morning, and I had them as lunch...hmm not very friendly! :-(

The Burgundy snails were yummy, can taste the tomato and the garlic butter, and it goes very well with the bread.  Beef cheeks was a big portion, and they braised it to perfecton, soft and tender with the sauce infused in the beef, however, i couldn't taste any red wine though..Creme Brulee was smooth, silky, caramelized and luscious, creamy, yet at the same time, not too sweet!  Highly recommended!

I pinched some of S's tuna tartare.  Tender and the rocket salad simply brings out the taste of the tuna.  The crispy filo was another piece of art.  Pastry was crispy, and the duck fillings was succulent, the baking of the pastry did not make it dry! Well done!
I didn't really like the “Financier”, found it a bit hard for my liking.  We finished with illy coffee and tea.  Lunch never taste so good, and with such lush food at $30++ per person, what are you waiting for?

Overall rating:  9/10
Btw, prams not permitted indoor for those with little ones.  I guess Au Petit Salut wants to keep itself as a romantic place for couples or a place for girl's night out..

40C Harding Road
Singapore 249548
T: 6475 1976
F: 6475 1966
http://www.aupetitsalut.com/aps/aboutus.html

Pinnacle @ Duxton

Went up to take some photos at the Pinnacle@Duxton.  Wanted to take sunset, but I was lost in the Pinnacle, couldn't find the correct entrance to go up to the 50th storey.  Alas, no sunset, but the night scene was gorgeous!  $5 well spent, 10 times more enjoyable than the Singapor flyer!  Will go there again, for sunset!

Swa Garden Teochew Dinner

A group of us went Swa Garden for dinner as we have decided that we wanted something light and simple.  After few round of email discussion on which Teochew restauant to go to, we were decided on Swa Garden, as most of us heard about it, but never had the chance to try.

5 of us squeezed into a nice, sexy, selfish convertible of C, and tried to navigate to 540 MacPherson Road.  When I made the reservation, the lady was told me to look out for Winsor hotel, which none of us had the slightest clue of it.  Anyway, since there were 5 of us, 10 eyes, we figured that we wouldn't have a problem locating it...and tar tar, we managed to reach the place before the time of reservation.  By the way, for those who drive, a better landmark will be the Trinty Christian Church, once you passed the church, Swa Garden is just 2 blocks away.  It is the same row as the famous and expensive MacPherson Kway Chap.

We were beckoned by this authentic looking little Teochew restaurant, and the interior decoraton also feel like you have stepped back in time.   We were given a table right at the quiet corner, they probably think there a group of ladies could be too nosiy..

E deciding on what to eat:

We skipped the set menu and went for alacarte:
1.  Braised Goose
2.  Stirred fried potato leaves with sambal chilli
3.  Steamed Pomfret
4.  Crayfish balls with black pepper
5.  Chye Poh Kway Tiao
6.  Yam Paste (Orr Nee)

Braised Goose:

Steamed Pomfret:

Chye Poh Kway Tiao:

Yam Paste:

Potato Leaves:

The steamed pomfret was a huge disappointment.  We would expect that this would be a signature dish of a Teochew restaurant.  It is always not easy to get this dish right, the timing must be perfect, the freshness of the fish, the ingredients used cannot cover the taste of the fish.  Somehow this fish had a tinge of fishy smell, and not as fresh as we thought.  So in the end we rejected this dish, and the lady was kind enough to take it off the bill.

The highlight of the meal was Yam Paste- Orr Nee.  I think Swa Garden beats Lee Kui in her Orr Nee.  It was rich, with pumpkin and gingko nuts, and they use vegetable oil instead of lard.  V and I had 2 portion!! heehee

Overall rating:  7.5/10.  A family friendly place, definitely a place to bring your parents, grand parents, and babies :-)  Reservation during weekend highly recommended.


Swa Garden Restaurant
540 Macpherson Road
Tel:  6744 5009 

Hot Stone Lunch Promotion

Since i worked in Clarke Quay, i thought i should try out their $15 nett lunch promotion.  So my colleague, S and i went to The Hot Stones Steak and Seafood Restaurant to try their lunch promotion.

For the $15 Nett 3-course Set Lunch, you get to choose from the following:
Choice of Appetizer: Sweet Corn Broth with Asparagus or Hot Stones Salad;
Choice of 2 Variety Meats: Aus Beef Sirloin/ Pork Tenderloin/ChickenBreast/Salmon Fillet/ Tuna Fillet/

King Fish Fillet/Tiger Prawn;
Choice of Dessert: Panna Cotta with Plum Syrup/ Fresh Fruit platter;  
Choice of Beverage: Coffee or Tea.


I had the Aus Beef Sirloin, Salmon Fillet, Panna Cotta and coffee while S had the Tuna Fillet, Tiger Prawns, Fresh fruits platter and coffee.

Though i cannot complain and expect much from the price, I am still disappointed as I had better experience when i was there for dinner.  (Of course the damage was higher).  The tiger prawns were not exactly tiger prawns, maybe they were baby tiger prawns that were waiting to grow up before they were caught.

Beef sirloin, salmon fillet and tuna were average.  Portion was acceptable.  Fresh fruits platter was a few pieces of water melon.  Panna Cotta was average, except for the plum syrup was a bit overpowering.

Overall, for $15, i guess you will get what you pay for.  It is a good chance to sample their food, as their dinner is expensive.  A drawback is the smell, though they have a machine to absorb the smell, we still smell a little bit like fish & beef.  And for people who like their food cooked, the idea of cooking the meat on a stone slab may not sound interesting.   Lunch promotion ends 28 Feb 2010.
 

Hot Stones - Clarke Quay
3D River Valley Road, #01-06, Shophouse row, Clarke Quay, Singapore 179023
Tel: 6333 4868       
http://www.hotstones.com.sg/index.htm