Happenings in September - Beauty and Food Review

Saturday 5/9/20

One Fullerton has been a popular spot for dinning as the location houses many restaurants that offers waterfront view. Having been here for numerous times, I have never dine here before. It's time for me to uncover this area again. 

OverEasy has an al fresco dining area which allows diners to oversee the view of Marina Bay skyline. However, due to the drizzling rain, the al fresco area was not opened up.

OverEasy brings a classic American diner experience in the heart of Singapore. The interior reflects a modern interpretation with the vibrant spirit of the 1960s and ‘70s of stateside. As the sign "Best burgers in Singapore" suggested, we know what to order for dinner. Met up with my friend, J, for dinner here.

I tried Our Famous Milkshake Oreo ($12++) which was one of the best oreo milkshake I had. The milkshake was rich in flavour, I could taste the oreo bits in every sip and it was accompanied with one oreo cookie on the top. I also like the concept of using metal straw which is more environmental friendly.

I had Buttermilk Fried Chicken Burger ($24++) for my main course. The burger was served with truffle fries. I was surprised by the huge chicken patty that was sandwiched in the middle of the bun. The fried chicken has an extremely crispy skin while the meat remained juicy. 

Friday 11/9/20

 I reserved my Friday night for Meryl's birthday celebration. I was worried that I might not be able to end work on time, hence I took half day off to play safe which proved to be a right move because I ended up finishing the work at 4pm. 

Just when I was about to leave house, it started raining heavily. It seemed like everyone I went Funan Mall for bubble tea, it will rain.

Since there were some buffer time before Jas arrived. We went over to Gong Cha for bubble tea.

Gong Cha just launched 2 new drinks, Starry Fruit Party and Milk Foam Starry Peach. I opt for the latter, Milk Foam Starry Peach ($4) because I prefer a milky version. The freshly brewed Gong Cha tea was blended with peach, passionfruit and mango to create a zesty taste which was refreshing and thirst quenching. The milk added richness and enriched the taste, giving it a creamy, satisfying and not too sweet finish. 

What makes this starry FruiTea special is the star-shaped jellies, it were so cute and made the drink even more addictive because I was trying to reach out to all the star jellies. 

The 3 of us went over to Eventasty 一碗田 Noodle Bar to meet Jas, thanks Jas for getting us the shopback deal where the set meal (drink, side and main) only cost $9.90.

Since I had cold drink earlier, I had hot Green Tea to go with my meal. Something to warm me up from the rainy weather. For the main course, I opt for Sliced Chicken with Tomato Soup Base which strike a balance between the sweet and sour broth that made it so addictive. The broth was rich in flavour and comforting to have during rainy days.

I didn't realised that the main course will come with half a lava egg and I ordered lava egg for my side dish. 

Thanks Meryl for the group photo.

Now weekdays dinner with friends have become a great deal to me since I have to work till at least 8pm every working day. Today was exception because I applied a half day leave in order to make it on time meeting the girls. 

After the dinner, we walked over to Suntec City to find some place where we can chill out while GF headed back to office to settle some quick work issues.

GF got 2 muffins for Meryl.

Photo credits to Jas.

Happy birthday, Meryl. 

May the wish you make will come true.

Sunday 20/9/20

Due to the no more than 5 people policy of dining out, we held a mini birthday celebration for granny at home with only a few relatives invited. 

We ordered Pizza Hut and tabao some food from food centre for the feast at home.

Pizza Hut was having promotion where we can get 2 pizzas at 50% off, so I also bought the pizza for Sis Vivien's family and my neighbour who always pamper our family with foodie.

What's birthday celebration without cake?

Sis got granny a durian cake.

Happy 81th birthday to granny.

Though this year celebration was not as grand as the previous years, it was definitely a cozy one.

Monday 21/9/20

Premium Immune Formula, 'ensoom' is the health supplement to reach for if you are looking to strengthen your immune system. This is just what I need during this pandemic crisis. 

The product comes in a package of 10 sticks that is easy to store and consume. Just take 1 stick a day. The thick liquid texture contains 27 nutrients which includes Korean Red Ginseng. 

The first taste that hits me is the notorious bitterness coming from the ginseng. I’m glad there is honey and royal jelly concentrate in it to help balance out the bitterness. It took me quite a few sips to get use to the taste. By the second or third stick, I was already used to the taste. If you are afraid of bitterness, you might want to mix the product with water to reduce the bitterness. 

Thanks 0.8L Singapore for sending the supplement over to give my immune system a boost and allow my body to absorb the 27 nutrients in it.

Saturday 26/9/20

Today was a cafe hopping day. Right after the food tasting at Qi Philosophy Cafe, I went down to meet another group of friend at Japan Rail Cafe located at Guoco Tower, Tanjong Pagar.

Japan Rail Cafe Singapore is the world’s first railway-themed cafe operated by JR East where the cafe provides JR Pass services, retail products, and a dining place that serves authentic Japanese cuisine, drinks, alcohol, and desserts.

I had Ice Kyoto Uji Matcha Latte. The matcha latte contained a strong and rich green tea fragrance, it was toppled with whipped cream which added sweetness to the bittersweet matcha taste.

I had Twin Flavored Crispy Chicken Don served with miso soup. Paired up the  chicken namban with tartar sauce and Japanese grated radish for a balance meal.

I was feeling really full after the meal and need a walk to digest. We headed over to Garden By The Bay to view the mid autumn festival decorations. What we didn't expect was the crowds there, it was super crowded with people. It was definitely not a wise idea to come in contact with so many people. 

The decorations have scaled down a lot this year. Nevertheless, it still attracted the large crowds to Garden By The Bay even on a drizzling day.

There was also a stretch of different designs of rat decorations. 

I just took photo of one of these designs because I wanted to fasten my pace to seek shelter.

Now that September has come to an end, I am dragging October because it was be another tough month. Jiayou.

Food Review: Qi Philosophy Cafe, Health and Wellness Cafe

These days, I have been emphasizing quite a fair bit on healthy eating because it is important to take care of our health and calorie content. I used to dislike eating healthier food because they usually don't taste good or very bland. This statement was proven wrong because there are still places which serves delicious clean eat. One of these places that I am introducing you to is, Qi Philosophy Cafe.

Qi Philosophy Cafe is a health and wellness cafe located at SkyTerrace@Dawson. The hidden gem is situated in the residential area in Queenstown, waiting to be discovered.

We were attracted by the transparent glass panels and lush greenery surrounding.

What makes Qi Philosophy Cafe special is their focus on serving fresh, modern fusion cuisine based on healthy clean eating concept and promoting societal well-being.

We have the opportunity to meet the founder of Qi Philosophy, Choo San. She shared that there are 3 steps to achieve a well-balance life: exercise, nutrition and mental wellness.

1. Exercise

Qi Philosophy Cafe will organize fun activities such as Wu Tao Dance, Gentle Yoga for Beginners for their customers in the room next to the cafe at specific timing. The founder of the cafe is also a yoga teacher.

2. Nutrition

To incorporate nutrition into the meal, Qi Philosophy cafe serves multi-colour food with ingredients such as brown rice, purple cabbage to make better food choices. They are currently having $15.80 nett daily set meal which comes with 1 Soup Of The Day + 1 Main Course + 1 Drink. The choices available for set meal will be changed every month so that the residents living nearby will not be bored with the usual choices.

Here's the daily set meal choices for the month:

The soup of the day was Cream of Pumpkin. The soup was not the usual thick creamy texture, it has a more watery texture where the taste of the soup was robust and flavourful. We cleared the bowl in no time.

We had Lemongrass Tea with Gula Melaka for our drinks. Gula Melaka was used to sweeten the drink instead of sugar. The lemongrass was infused into the tea, making it taste refreshing.

Thanks CK for the photo.

A toast with the girls while enjoying the lovely scenery and delicious food. The transparent glass panels allow natural sunlight to shin in, brightening up the cafe and bringing positive vibes. The table setting was cozy and made us feel relax.

The first main course we tried was Mui Fan where the egg fried rice was drenched with savoury gravy, toppled with fresh prawns, squids, sliced chicken and broccoli. 

It was very appetising, we enjoyed scooping a portion of the fried rice and drenched the gravy over the rice to enhance the flavour of the fried rice. This was my favourite main course among the four that we tried that day. I appreciate their effort in trying to replace ingredients in every dish with a healthier version. For instance, basmati rice was being used to replace the usual white rice.

Taco Tempeh Bowl is a vegetarian bowl. It was the most healthy main course among the four choices, the ingredients consist of tempeh, lettuce, tortilla chips, black olives, jalapeno,  guacamole, cucumber, tomato, black beans and vegan cheese. The vegan bowl tasted really refreshing and I like that the tortilla chips added crunchiness to the bowl. For health conscious consumers, this bowl is definitely tailor for you.

For Qi Waygu Beef Burger, one will need to top up $3 for this set.

The home-made beef burger was filled with onion prickles, shroomami sauce, tomato, lettuce and cheese. It was served with salad and sweet potato fries. The substitute of regular fries to sweet potato fries will definitely a healthier move.

The plating was not only pleasing to the eyes, the food tasted delicious too. The first thing we cleared was the sweet potato fries.

The last main course was Roasted Chicken Buah Keluak. Butterfly pea flower coconut rice was served with roasted chicken, sambal and achar.

We were immediately drawn to the pastel blue rice that stole the show, it was photo worthy with the pretty colours derived from the butterfly pea flower. The roasted Buah Keluak Chicken was well marinated and juicy, it was flavourful to eat on its own but you can dip it into the sambal sauce for a fiery burst of flavour. 

There are cakes available for sales too. We spotted 4 flavours: Pastel Yogurt, Red Velvet, Double Chocolate Fudge and Carrot Walnut.

We have the chance to try this Raspberry Cheesecake that was not on sales yet, it was still in testing stage. The cheesecake has a unique taste because the middle cheese layer has a soft texture that taste like tofu.

Last but not least, we tried on Remedy Kombucha which are selling at $7.50 per bottle.

Kombucha is a fermented tea with sweet and sour flavours. It contains organic acids, probiotics, antioxidants and many health benefits. Also, Kombucha has no sugar content.

We tried on Apple Crisp flavour because we preferred something fruity. This was my first time trying Kombucha and the taste quite resembled Apple Cider. It tasted refreshing with the tart apple flavours lingering after we gulped down the drink.

3. Mental Wellness

The cafe offers many Instagram worth spots with its greenery surrounding. It gave me a laid back feel that made me feel disconnected from the fast paced city life. Perfect to have a casual stroll after our meal, it will make you feel rejuvenated. 

Thanks CK for the photo.

It was a day well spent as I get to meet up with friends for delicious food and chill out at place with nice scenery.

Qi Philosophy Cafe is also available for hosting birthday, wedding solemnization or private events. There is no rental fees charged, you just need to spend a minimum spending on food dishes, which are specially curated and prepared fresh for guests. 

Not all hidden gems are located away from central areas because we managed to found Qi Philosophy Cafe today at Dawson Road.

You may visit their Facebook and Instagram for more information.

Qi Philosophy Cafe

 SkyTerrace@Dawson 93 Dawson Road

#01-02 Singapore 142093

Operating hours: 10.30am to 9pm  from Tuesday to Sunday

This post is a collaboration with Qi Philosophy Cafe and expressed in my own opinion.