Work has been crazy this past week, where all the clients are suddenly alive and they expect you to do a ton of things without considering consequences (well, that's my job - I function as a proxy brain).

But instead of letting things overwhelm me, I chose to take a little time out each day to focus on the good part of my day. So, don't let things drive you mad. Here's my list of the top 5 simple pleasures:

 

Sings* I lost my poor meatball, when somebody sneezed....

Eww

The spaghetti song aside, my close friend and I were having a raving argument about the perfect meal. While be both agree on fresh ingredients, we differ on where the food comes from. I love visiting restaurants and out of the way places, he loves preparing the meal. My sister loves take out, another friend loves all-day breakfast and I have a totally oddball friend who loves day-old pizza with ice cream. Uh...ok.

With all the travelling that we’re doing these days plus the endless stream of new restaurants popping up like mushrooms, we certainly aren’t starved for food. What we are starved for, is a great meal. Or rather, the perfect meal. A food experience that leaves you crying out for more, that is magic to tongue, the nose, the whole shebang. Something you simply must have, one more time... or else you’ll die...or spend the next couple of days in a drooling stupor.

But where the heck do you find that?

In Japan, there was the great little ramen and sushi stalls, where the food is so fresh and so tasty that you simply slurped up what is served. Being a foreigner, who can only read certain Chinese words (things like fish, meat and chicken, come in handy) it was a matter of pointing to the character that resembled the food that I kind of thought was the right one. Sometimes you get what you want, sometimes you get the chef’s surprise. Most times, you take food order with a pinch of salt...or rather hope that the restaurant has a picture menu :P

In Hong Kong, it was trying to eat as many desserts as I can all in one sitting. In England, there was the smorgasbord of so many different cultures and food, China came with interesting dining experiences and Switzerland came with its endless parade of fondues, rosti, raclette and of course, chocolate.

If you haven’t realized it by now, I am a foodie. If you aren’t convinced, take a look at my Food Log...I dare you not to drool.

At the end of the day, however, I realized that the perfect meal to me...is something that is home cooked, prepared with love, which I can only get from one place...my mother’s kitchen. Despite all the rich and wonderful food that I’ve had over the years the meal that I love the best has got to be my mother’s kiam chye kueh (salted vegetable chicken soup), chap chye (mixed vegetables in salted soyab bean paste) chilli prawns and of course, my uncle’s ayam buah keluak (chicken cooked in palm nut sauce). There is just this one thing about Peranakan food that you just cannot replicate out of the house. Restaurants can only get about 70% right and the screw up by throwing in weird ingredients.

My other love is strangely enough, Curry flavoured Maggi Mee with choice ingredients like egg and sausages thrown in. One steaming bowl of this is guaranteed to cure me of the blues and almost any ailment...it’s been my favourite meal, regardless of where I am.

Some perfect meals are too strange...but too good :o)

Being on leave has its merits and on Friday, DL and I finally decided to take our craving for good paella to the next level. Hence we headed out to the Don Quijote Spanish Restaurant in Lorong Kilat.

For those who are directionally challenged (like moi), this quaint little restaurant is located in Jalan Jurong Kechil. This is in the Beauty World vicinity, off Bukit Timah. I'll post the address at the end of this post so you can check it out for yourself and please call to make reservations! The restaurant is especially busy on the weekends.

It has been many years since I've had good paella and DL and I have tried out a few places which were alright but not great. Until we heard abiout this little place. Firstly, we had no idea where it is all that we knew came from HungryGoWhere.com, then we had no idea exacly how far out this was. But at the end end of the day...it was worth it!

The service was warm and friendly, and even thought he restaurant was almost filled to capacity at 8pm, they still managed to get us some seats outside. Since it was a Spanish restaurant, we naturally had to order a Sangria. Our very friendly waitress (whose name I regret not asking) recommended the Sparkling Sangria, which is made with sparkling De Cava wine. Made with oranges, lemons, red and green apples, this is one heck of a refreshing drink. Especially after one hell of a painful workout. It had the right amount of zest and wine, making it a great companion to the food we later had.

First up, we had asparagus wrapped with bacon. This was alright. Nothing to crow about but the good thing was that the bacon was nice and crisp and the asparagus was not overdone.

And then came the Quijote Special Paella. Please note that it will take 20-30mins for the paella to be prepared, so you may need to sample some appetisers first. Or have the warm bread with herb butter...Yum! Done el dente with fresh mussles, clams, prawns, squid and chicken...Food orgasm! I thnk was groaning in despair when I was telling the owner about that particualr tidbit. The rice was fragrant and very well flavoured, the seafood fresh and succulent.

Every bite was really heaven...and then our intrpid waitress was like...would you like some chili with that? Let's just say that if you like it spicy, then the chili is a fantastic accompaniment to the paella. This is strictly not for pussies as the chili really gave the dish a good spicy kick. Hello tastebuds!

We were being a little greedy thereafter and also had the roasted beef. Done kebab style with thick cubes of meat, finely sliced chorizos, onions and capsicum, this is a meat lovers dream. The chorizos' natual saltiness gave teh meat an additional boost and it was just well seasoned without being overwelming. The only downside was that the meat was a little tough. The wedges were a real winner though - thickly cut and seasoned with sea salt. I was happily eating up the entire bunch :P

Sadly, by the time we had the beef, we had no more space for dessert! Dang it! But no worries, there is always the second visit, where I hear the squid ink pasta is waiting for me...along with another jug of sangria :o)

Overall rating: 4/5 for excellent food, great ambience and warm with plenty of smiles.

Don Quijote Spanish Rsetaurant
17 Lorong Kilat #01-09
Singapore 598139
Tel: 6465 1811

I love visiting new restaurants and doing food reviews. It's something about going to a new place and discovering great food and drinks that appeals to the innate foodie in me.

That's not to say that I'm a food snob but once in a while, I come across really great places. Take for example House @ Dempsey. Located at 8D Dempsey Hill, House is a little hard to find but man, what a discovery.

What was good: Definitely, the food. Everything is made ala minute and came to our table well-presented. The ingredients are all fresh and very well prepared so nothing came too overcooked or dried or tasteless. What we loved was the Lamb Shank, which was simply divine and melt-in-your-mouth with every bite. The big boon was the seasoning and the mashed potatoes - no puny powdered crap, but real, chunky mashed potatoes flavored lightly with garlic. Oh and, and...little globs of marrow that just explodes with flavor.

The lobster linguine was al-dente and served with a slightly spicy Harissa sauce which just refreshes the palate. What's great is that it's served with chunks of fresh lobster as well as the lobster shell for those who love to chew on it for the extra flavor. And the we had the Ratatouille stuffed eggplant which was light, and refreshing to the palate and is highly recommended for those looking for something light, yet substantial. And, no, I did not spot any rats preparing this. And did I mention the dessert?

Just look at the looks of ecstasy that my dinner companions had! If you are a dessert junkie and your dinner companions have a separate stomach for dessert or love chocolate, you are in for a treat! I'd suggest that you try the Moby Dessert box where you can select any three of their mouthwatering desserts at 10% off. Yippee! The clear winner of the night in this round was the warm chocolate coffee cake...it's warm, it's got lots and lots of toffee fudge and it's divine-ness in a uh, metal lunch box. The Strawberry Shortcake was surprisingly delightful though not terribly sweet as some places but the one that was the most surprising was the Green Tea Tiramisu. It's took a little getting used to having tofu in my dessert but generally, it helped give a clean finish to a great meal.

What was quirky: The drinks. Which I love, love. Good restaurants usually come with their signature wines and beer but. What was great about House was its inventive drinks menu. Recently overhauled, the drinks is served in House's quirky style where you get Long Island Iced Tea in a set set. If you cannot hold your alcohol, I would suggest that you ask for something lighter, because despite looking so cute, this drink can really pack a punch. Oh, and the little jug that comes together with the drink is coke. Not guilin-gao...yes, I am a plebeian at times.

The other drink that we had was the refreshing Tiffin Punch. It's orange, lychee and ginger with a healthy douse of Bombay sapphire, lychee liqueur and champagne. To add that extra kick to the drink, try the lychee and ginger together - guaranteed to awaken your full but otherwise happy belly.

Things that improved: I know that House used to be knocked for its lackluster service and under-informed staff but its recent overhaul has done the restaurant a world of good as its cheery the staff are very prompt and great with suggestions, even when faced with silly questions. Kudos to Jaclyn Chan and Eric who had our meal a thoroughly enjoyable one.

The result. Three very happy campers indeed who would probably return to revisit the cocktail and dessert menu!

While I enjoy keeping busy, being buried under a ton of work, dance, helping out with wedding plans and doing team building can really take its toll on a girl.

The best time to go would be Tuesdays and Saturdays, which is when their fresh fish arrives. Reservations are a must as the restautant can pack in quite a dinner crowd, especially nearing the weekend. Ah, to more gastronomic adventures!

It's Tuesday. You're tired, you're cranky, work sucks, so you decide to cut out and head for dinner with some friends.