8 Degrees in Taiwan and a Milk Cow: 8 Degrees Taiwanese Bistro (八度空间) and MilkCow (밀크카우)

When I saw the bistro sign 八度空间, I was like thinking "Jay Chou?" Yeap, true enough, this bistro tucked away at 37 Tech Chye Terrace is named after Jay Chou's hit album. Went there for lunch and found the place to be quite cosy and trendy. Being a Taiwanese bistro, the menu offers a mix of Taiwanese street food, classic Taiwanese dishes, desserts and bubble teas.

I opted for their lunch promo which is their bento set and it comes with free flow of their iced tea of the day. That day, it was Lychee tea. The lychee tea was not too sweet and it was a refreshing drink on a hot day.  

The food came relatively quickly. 

Chicken Bento Set

I love the tofu, both the fried and the steam tofu. Can't go wrong with tofu, honestly. The pickled vegetable side dish was refreshing. My only gripe was the chicken cutlet, I tasted more of the flour than the chicken meat itself. Otherwise, can't go wrong with the bento.

Salted Crispy Chicken

I love the salted crispy chicken, unlike some other places, the chicken meat is chunky, not fatty. There is a hint of saltiness, not an excess of it. A must try dish.

Strawberry and Mango Snow Ice.

Finally, the dessert came, the strawberry and mango snow ice. I'm not sure if they SPECIALLY picked out strawberries with the perfect shape of hearts, but I'm digging the heart shape strawberries decorating the mango ice. It has a sweet yet sourish taste that obviously melts in your mouth. Another must try dish.

That was my lunch experience at 8 Degrees Taiwanese Bistro. Definitely an interesting and authentic place to try if you are craving Taiwanese food.

I met up with my fiance over the weekend and we tried the much raved about Milk Cow soft serve ice cream located on the ground floor at The Cathay, 2 Handy Road. I was a little skeptical at first because having tried Honey Creme and I found it to be quite normal, nothing to shout about, so I told myself to just try it with an open mind.

We ordered the Milk Cow Snowdrop, consisting of cotton candy and M&Ms for a rather hefty price tag of $5.9. Well, they claim it's organic milk and honey, so maybe that explains the price. We'll found out soon enough, I took a bite.

Milk Cow's Snowdrop ice cream

Mind. Blown.

You can taste the freshness of the milk with a hint of honey, so, so smooth. Literally, it slides down your throat. The cotton candy and the M&Ms is an insult to the flavour of the ice cream seriously, because it makes the ice cream too sweet and ends up making it taste 'artificial'. Immediately, I regretted not ordering it plain. It is so, so, so good on its own. I'm surprised there was no queue for this place yet Honey Creme has snaking queues. Well, all the better for me. I really regret sharing it with my fiance, we should have have one each.

Definitely a must try if you are around The Cathay. Now I can see why it costs quite a bit.

Wedding Venue Hunting at Concorde Hotel's Openhouse

Here's the third showcase my fiance and I went to after our visit to Marina Mandarin's wedding open house and Goodwood Park's wedding open house. Before I begin, let me remind you, this is written to my own PERSONAL opinion. Everyone have different experiences and opinions, so do take what I write with a pinch of salt. 

Concorde Hotel, formerly known as Le Meridien Singapore, is located at the Le Meridien Shopping Center in between Somerset and Douby Ghaut. Here's their wedding package. 

It wasn't even one of our choices as we felt the shopping center located below the hotel is rather dodgy and the exterior looks pretty old. In fact, my fiance was bitching about the shopping center, until my friend who was accompanying us with her husband told us her sister held her wedding there last year and it was a pretty good experience. She told us to go in with an open mind. 

So since we were around the area, why not just pop by and look around? 

My friend said they installed escalators outside the mall that will take us straight to the hotel lobby on the third instead of walking past those dodgy massage parlours to take the lift to the lobby. She did however, mention that despite the dodgy massage parlours, the mall does have shops that are known for giving good manicure and hair services (she swears that her friends do go there for their manicures and stuff despite the dodgy shops) and highlighted that on my wedding day if anything should happen to my nails or hair, I can just go down to the mall and touch up. 

Point taken. 

When we exited the lift to the main lobby. Ok, it wasn't like what we expected. We expected the place to be peeling, a bit dim, and stuff.. but it looks presentable. 

Main Lobby of the Hotel

The one and only Ballroom

Oriental Theme

VIP table decor

Second theme

Main Stage decor for the second theme.

Panoramic view of the ballroom 

Dessert

Croissant 

Tarts

Sandwiches

Smoked Salmon

Open face sandwiches

Wedding Favours

Wedding Favours

My photo doesn't do it justice.

Official photo taken from Concorde's Website

Also taken from Concorde's Website

I came to Concorde in mid-2013 for the SIA walk-in interview (where I flunked the height test section despite being 1.59m.. I blame my short arms), and to be honest, the ballroom didn't make much of an impression to me. Maybe it was because I was coming for an interview and I was more focused on other things as compared to checking out my surrounds at that time.

So when I entered the ballroom, I was awestruck. The ambiance reminded me of the Roaring Twenties ala The Great Gatsby. Ceiling height seemed just right, not too high, not too low. I like how there is only ONE ballroom. This means that guests will not be confused which ballroom is our wedding and lesser competition for parking lots. I also can't help but notice that the reception outside have their very own bathroom opposite the ballroom. Meaning, we won't have random tourists/people walking past our reception area to go to the bathroom and it's close by so our guests won't have to walk too far to find the toilet. I also like how there's a wheelchair ramp to the reception area, for elderly guests who are unable to walk, this will be easier for them to access the place without much hassle.

Food wise, I can't comment much as they served mainly appetizers for us potential newlyweds. But they do have a dessert buffet for people who are holding their wedding dinner there (I'm holding a lunch banquet), so I'm assuming that some of the food served during the openhouse will be served for the dessert buffet. 

 The wedding favours were quite interesting too. Passport holder, luggage tag, portable nailcare set, cards, we quite like the travel pillow as well.

The invitation cards were pretty standard, so we didn't take photos of it. We spoke to one of the staff who informed us that for the solemnisation/tea ceremony room that is held next to the banquet hall, we do not have to worry about decors as they will take two of the aisle decorations (based on your chosen theme) and place it at each ends of the solemnisation table. After everyone is ushered out to the reception area, the staff will discreetly bring the aisle decors back to the banquet hall before the guests are ushered in to be seated.

We quite like that idea. 

The staff also told us that the hotel is able to display our wedding photo on their information screen. Which is fantastic, as they have the screen displayed at the entrance of the shopping mall, the lift lobby and outside the reception area. It means I don't have to allocate brothers and/or sisters to direct my guests to the venue. 

We were taken to the bridal suite. Out of the wedding venues I have visited (openhouses or relatives' weddings), this is by far one of the most spacious bridal suites (of course, to be fair, can't compare with York Hotel, that place's bridal suite takes the cake so far).  

 I particularly like the spacious bathroom with its full length mirrors as this means there is sufficient space for my make up artist, sisters and whoever to move around without bumping into each other. Also the big full length mirror meant that my bridesmaid and I can check our appearances without waiting for each other's turn (that happened to us for my friend's wedding).

My fiance, from someone who was not at all impressed with the exterior of the hotel, he was quite sold after talking to the staff. The staff was quite commendable, whatever he promised us he wrote it down (so, according to him, he can remember what he promised when we call him to confirm), was willing to lend a listening ear and he was quite witty. He also explained to my fiance, when my fiance complained that the exterior was very dodgy that the hotel management do not own the shopping center, they unfortunately, only own the hotel itself, hence they can only renovate the interior. 

That really explains a lot of things. 

One of the strongest selling point he told us was "And also, because there is only one ballroom, it means our staff are completely dedicated to serving only you." 

Overall verdict, exterior is dodgy yes, but they did make it up by renovating the interiors. In fact, two people I know who are very, very fussy and always complain about services, held functions (one a wedding, another a birthday party) at Concorde, both swore that the service there is fantastic. That, my fiance and I can't help but agree based on the fact that the coordinator we met at the openhouse was very, very good. So good that my friend and her husband advised us to work with him as they told us "A wedding venue can be beautiful, have good food, but if the service sucks, you won't get to enjoy any of it. Take our advice, work with someone who can work if not your wedding day will be very stressful." 

Even my fiance reluctantly agreed that out of all the venues we have visited, he actually felt most at ease with this coordinator. 

After deliberating for a few days, we decided to settle for Concorde Hotel as we decided a good coordinator is the most important for our big day. Thus, effectively ending our wedding venue hunt. 

Wedding Venue Hunting at Goodwood Park's Openhouse

Here's the second showcase my fiance and I went to after our visit to Marina Mandarin's wedding open house. Before I begin, let me remind you, this is written to my own PERSONAL opinion. Everyone have different experiences and opinions, so do take what I write with a pinch of salt. Now let's see....

Ta-da! The prestigious and beautifully classy Goodwood Park. (Check out their wedding packages here)

It costed SGD $38 per couple to go for their wedding openhouse but that is alright.. because it consists of their LEGENDARY HIGH TEA BUFFET.

But first, let us take a look at their biggest, grandest and probably the only octogonal banquet hall in Singapore, the Windsor Ballroom.  

Windsor Ballroom

Love the old world colonial charm this ballroom has. The ballroom is big enough to fit a maximum of 38 tables. I love the mirrors and I love that there are four projector screens, two at the center of each side of the stage. I stood right at the back and looked at the nearest screen and can see the picture on it with perfect clarity. This means that if I'm a wedding guest, no matter where I sit I am able to see the bride and groom either on the projector screen, in the mirrors or on the stage itself. Lovely.

I am very anal about this fact because I went for a friend's wedding at Ritz before and I was seated somewhere at the back.. I cannot see ANYTHING. Not even the projector. I didn't get to see how the bridal couple looked until they came to our table for a photograph.

Anyway, we were famished. So we zeroed in onto the food first like a pack of hyenas onto a carcass.

Turkey with sundried tomatoes and peach sandwiches and others. 

Chicken wrap, some kinda cheesy tart (which was fabulously delicious) and salmon with caviar

Confession of a glutton, I had 5 of these.

Mushroom Quiche. After the cheesy tart thingy, this one was like meh,

Shrimp patties

Assortment of desserts

Some kinda pear tart with meringue 

Chocolate with some fruity jelly thing in the center.

Chocolate cake.

My favourite, Min Jiang's legendary Roast Chicken!

I apologise for not remember the names of what I ate. I just took the food, snap photo, took food, snap photo, eat, go back to buffet table, snap photo, took photo, repeat.

But I can guarantee one thing. The food is fantabulous!

A clearer view of Windsor Ballroom

After we were satiated, we decided to get down to business. We asked for a tour of the premises with the staff. We were led to their smaller ballroom, the Tudor Ballroom.

Tudor Ballroom

Now, I have heard that the Tudor Ballroom have pillars (at the side), and the ceiling is low... but I like the ambiance. Pity we will be having more than 30 tables, so the Tudor Ballroom is out. Otherwise, I would have considered it as it gives me a very Disney Princess vibe.

Poolside Solemnisation Venue A

We were led past the Coffee Lounge to the high tea buffet side. Behind the crowd and the mouthwatering food, we entered the first outdoor solemnisation venue. Yes, it faces the pool, yes it is sheltered. But behind you, you will have the buffet customers staring at you as they eat and also random tourists entering the lobby which is in front of the buffet area.. who may also be staring at you. To us, if we were to choose this place for solemnisation, this is out.

Poolside Solemnisation Venue B

This place was below the Windsor Ballroom. It gives us a bit more privacy and the view is better than the first venue. However, as my fiance pointed out, the last thing he wants is for us to be saying our vows and to have random hotel guests in the background sunbathing in the photo. Out.

We were led to the Deluxe room for the sisters on the second floor. Interestingly enough, the suites and the deluxe rooms were located right next to the Windsor ballroom. So I guess this means that it's easier for the bride to go back and change her outfit.

Corridor to the bridal suites and Deluxe rooms

Deluxe Room

Deluxe Room bathroom

Bridal Suite Bedroom

Bridal Suite Living Room

The Bridal Suite room was gorgeous. I loved that it faced the pool with its beautiful scenary but I'm not liking the fact that it's only on the second floor. This meant that if some tourists' kids decided to have a screaming match in the pool, we will hear it loud and clear. And I can't help but feel that the suite is nice for a staycation, but not for a stay before or after the wedding. It just didn't feel right to me. But that is my personal opinion. 

We were led back to the Windsor Ballroom. 

Theme 1

Theme 2

Stage

Wedding Favours Samples

Goodwood Park Guestbook

Frankly speaking, the fiance and I found Goodwood Park's themes and favours very traditional and normal. We spoke to the coordinator about the package and found that there is minimal room for negotiations. The most we were offered longan tea and a teapot for our tea ceremony. Solemnisation venue was pricy at about $1000k+. Definitely out of our budget. If we were to splurge on this place it will probably be for the fabulous food and ballroom. Otherwise, we decided, this is not for us. 

While leaving we saw their fabulous durian rainbow cake.

Overall verdict, only choose this place if you can afford it and if food is a priority for you. Otherwise, onward to venue number 3, Concorde Hotel! Stay tuned! 

Reflecting on my awesome Saturday.

I just had the best Saturday for 2014...for now.

Saturday my dad, siblings and I went for lunch at Sushi Goshin by Akashi at Suntec City (#02-389/390/91/92, Suntec City Mall, 3 Temasek Boulevard).

The interesting thing about this place was that you can order directly from an ipad.

Their Nigirizushi are priced at one piece. Yes, you've read it correctly. ONE PIECE. Not a pair or a plate like many places. The only exceptions are their maki.

I noticed a few interesting flavours on their menu. We ordered a pair consisting of foie gras, unagi, squid and I forgot the last flavour. The four of us proceeded to share it.

The foie gras sushi went first. Despite the fact that it costs $4 per piece, it is one of the most orgasmic thing I have ever eaten in my life. The foie gras was grilled so tenderly that the meat immediately melts into your tongue and seeps into the rice... giving it this rich and creamy flavour. If I ever become a millionaire, I'll probably order this piece by the truckloads.

The unagi and squid tasted fresh. Which is expected, nothing to shout about other than the fact that when I go into a japanese restaurant I must have unagi. The other flavour which I think it's swordfish has a nice chewy flavour to it, but it is not something I am in a hurry to order again.

Next came the unagi maki. As I've mentioned before, I must have unagi. Ingredients were fresh, otherwise, it's unagi maki. I'm biased towards unagi so I have no complaints about this dish either.

Finally, my main course came, cha soba with tempura. The set costs $16 and it consists of tempura, cha soba, watermelon and a salad.

The tempura consists of two prawns, eggplant, sweet potato and a ladyfinger. It was crispy, not too oily and the batter literally melts in your mouth when you put it in the sauce. The cha soba tasted really refreshing especially after soaking it into the sauce mixed with spring onions and raw quail's egg.

I didn't manage to take photos of my siblings and father's meals.

Total bill for four lunch sets and three side dishes including drinks costs about $120+.

After that I went to meet up with one group of friends for high tea before heading over to FT Island's 6th Anniversary concert. My bias is obviously Lee Hong Ki, whom I think have the most amazing vocals.

Look at all the Primadonnas (including myself) going nuts when they finished their encore. Didn't get to take photos at all with my camera which I smuggled in because the guards and ushers were really on the ball. When I try to snap a photo of the stage itself with my handphone camera, they already came to stop me. Sigh. This is the only shot I have managed to snap.

Overall, the concert was definitely worth it. No choreographed dancing nor extravagant costume changes, stage lightings or set design. Just the band members in tee shirts and jeans with their instruments, raw vocals and charisma... only pausing for a sip of water or to have small talk with us (despite being breathless from jumping about and singing).

If you have never heard of FT Island, do listen to their music. It's something quite unique, especially Lee Hong Ki's soulful vocals.

I had a really awesome Saturday and I'm grateful for it.