Simply.Just.Pure.Me
20
Helping people find jobs
Qifa.Commonwealth.Hwa Chong.
BMTC II.AFS.SOA.PLAD
Ren.Ray.Jan.Yu
Woon.Zing.Ner.Aili.Re.Ngai.Li
Blue.White and hazel choc
Travelling.Reading
For 2007, I hope to...
:Enrich myself as much as possible before Uni:
:Do well in Uni:
:Visit Hong Kong or Taiwan:
:Learn hip-hop dancing:
:Not involve my car in any accident:
Free shoutbox @ ShoutMix
YOW-ZAA!
I'm feeling at the top of the world! Weeeeeee!!!! Can't you just feel the excitement and joy just oozing from this post? Ok I'm getting too hyper. "But I feel so ADD..."
Anyways, I went with LS to JB today, to kind of enjoy myself again... haha. Although I have to sadly declare that my funds are running low. Hmm... donations are welcome though. Lol. Ok enough with this "I'm so high" crap.
We headed straight for Aeon Tebrau City and first stop: The Manhattan Fish Market! Yea. I've always wanted to try the food there and compare it to Fish and Co for a looong long time now. Anf today I somehow managed LS to try it out with me. He has been a little conscious about his spending in our past several trips, but ever since he started working permanently and full-time at a HK cafe at Lot 1 and has been having a steady income, it seems that he's a little more willing to pamper himself, and of course when it comes to food, well, let's just say that his tummy would always betray one of biggest weaknesses.
So yup, we went in, pretty nice setting, nice music too - they were playing mainly PCD tracks, I mean how could anyone go wrong with PCD? With tracks like "Wait a minute", "Stickwitu", "Don cha", "Sway" and many others, damn, I was having a good time! Of course if the PCD were performing live in the restaurant that would have made for a much better meal but, alas, they were held up in the States. Heh. So nvm, I'll just settle for their voices.
So anyway, I just had had HAD to order their "Manhattan Seafood Platter for 2" seeing how the name sounds so much like the one from Fish and Co. Hmm, in fact it's just a rip-off plus a name addition. How original can it get right? Haha. I also have to add that their menu is pretty much similar to Fish and Co's, with but a few differences. Is this brand proliferation by the same organisation? If anyone can enlighten me? Haha.
So anyway, back to the order. A seafood platter, adding on soups-of-the-day and cups of ice lemon tea for us both, as well as a plate of coleslaw. Yup. A very filling meal. So we were waiting for the order to arrive. And the waiter walks over with this HuuUge silver big plate thingamajig (which kinds of outdoes the black platter which FnC uses) with our food on it. And he paused, not bringing the platter to our table. I was like, Give it to ME! I'm Hungry!!! (in my mind)
Round 1: Prawns.
And then he suddenly whips out this flameblower thingy and starts putting on a fire show a la circus performance. And he starts flaming our dear prawns! And I was like WTH?! DON'T BURN MY PRAWNS! And apparently the sauce they put on the prawns had some liqour infused in it so the prawns "apparently" went on fire. Yup. And the resulting sauce had this slight charred taste to it, which, when eaten along with the prawns, taste so heavenly!
Round 1 results: Manhattan thrashes FnC's prawns in taste, but not in quantity sadly (only 4 measly prawns unlike FnC's 10 I believe). So it's still kind of a tie?
Round 2: Calamari.
Ok so FnC's calamari are bigger in size, but looking at the overall quantity I would say it doesn't differ much, as compared to Manhattan's portion. I was told that FnC would fry your calamari rings for you if requested, but Manhattan does it one way only: fried. The batter Manhattan uses is pretty decent, somewhat similar to what FnC uses (IMO at least).
Round 2 results: Thus, I have to award FnC the honours since their rings are bigger and juicier.
Round 3: Fish fillet
So I moved on to the fried fish next. How could I not, it sitting there and looking all big and juicy and begging to be cut and devoured. It definitely looks better than FnC's, being fried and all, and it certainly delivers in taste the promise it made in looks and aroma. It doesn't feel too oily too, despite being fried (not like your usual $4.50 - $5.50 plate of fish and chips at coffeeshops and hawker centres where the fish is, to put it midly, soaked in oil). FnC's just happened to be a little, well, soft, a little too mushy for my liking, and well, it disintegrates into tiny bits too easily when I attempt to get it onto my plate. So...
Round 3 results: I have to say Manhattan's fried version of the fish fillet is better, in terms of looks, aroma and taste.
Round 4: Mussels
Ok, once again, Manhattan's has its mussels fried. Which, I know to some people reading up to this point, might be a turn off since everything from Manhattan seems fried. Well, it has its plusses, being pretty easy on the mouth when entering. Also, the chopped garlics they provide (upon request) goes very well with the fired mussels. However, sadly, they only gave us 3 pieces of it. FnC, however, has I think 8 pieces of mussels still in their shell, supposedly adding to the "fresh factor". Well... its troublesome to get the whole chunk of flesh out wiithout putting in some effort, but when you eventually do, the tatse is actually pretty good. A good balance its counterparts. So...
Round 4 results: FnC's larger quantity as well as its non-fried version of mussels trumps over Manhattan's meager 3 pieces (seafood platter for TWO, hello?) which are fried, and sadly, unlike its fishy counterpart, is a little oily to the tongue.
Round 5: Rice and fries
Manhattan serves garlic rice, a refreshing twist from the usual types of rice we're accustomed to, like Thai pineapple rice, western butter rice etc. Well I may be sua-gu but I havent really seen this kind of rice being served in many places. So it was certainly a welcome twist. FnC's buttered raisin rice is nice too, but doesnt go down too easy after a few mouthfuls. As for the fries, there isn't much comparison to do sadly. It tastes similar, almost indistinguishable if you were to hide its source. The use the same length of fries (almost), sprinkle the same kinf of paprika powder. So, based on the rice...
Round 5 results: Manhattan takes this round because of its very deserving garlic rice.
So it comes down to how you like your prawns: Numerous? (FnC) or Tast-ier (Manhattan). That's not to take away anything from FnC's prawns, their fabulous too, but Manhattan's is a teeny bit better?
So after the huge food war, we both moved on to watching "The Messengers". Don't believe it has opened in Singapore yet, or if it will. Pretty decent flick, with a rather decent and believable plot. A pretty good twist too, that is if you're not caught up in the suspense enough to notice it before it's too obvious or in your face. Starring angmoh actors/tresses but directed by Asian directors The Pang Brothers, so expect some element of Asian horror movies: the suspense played up by the soundtrack (or lack thereof at some points). 3/5
And then it was on to shopping for clothes. Actually I didn't really get myself any pieces of garment because my closet is already too chocked full with shirts and tees. So I really have to practise some self-restraint. And it did work heh. I did get some stationery though, considering school was about to start and all.
And we taxi-ed off to City Square thereafter, where we once again, indulged ourselved in food! Yes, foodies back in action. And this time, we didn't spare on the pamper factor either! We went to Wan Jiao HK Cafe and, guess what, had snacks and other "xiao-chi"s as our meals!! Haha. No rice or noodle dishes, we were gorging ourselves full on side dishes, which can be a costly habit if acquired.
We had French toast, which Wan Jiao does a perfect type of. Two slices of bread, fried in beaten egg batter, and topped with melted butter. Sounds typical? Here's the twist I havent seen in most other HK cafes: They spread peanut butter in between the slices, making for a really delicious (but sinful) concoction. 4 stars!
Next up was what they called "Star Website" which really was two pieces of fried mashed potatoes mixed with chopped radish shaped into stars and fried. Paired with the slightly sour sauce they provide, it makes for a pretty decent snack. 3 stars.
We then had fired youtiao stuffed with fish paste and dipped in mango sauce. Sadly, this was a mismatch made in Wan Jiao, since the youtiao with fish paste (which is very very readily available at your nearest zhu-chao stall) is very typical and mediocre at best, and the accompanying mango sauce just doesn't go well with the youtiao. 1.5 stars.
Lastly, we had what they termed "Fruit Bacon Rolls" which was basically a piece of fruit (I think it's a pear?) wrapped with some fish paste and a slice of bacon, and sent to fry. It's then lavishly smeared with sweet and sour sauce, which, together witht he fruit, complements the fish paste and bacon really well. Can't really tell who the main actor was, but it all went down very easily. 3.5 stars!
After that, how can the foodies give Secret Recipe's cakes a miss since it's so much more affordable in M'sia than in Sg? We teetered over to Secret Recipe with an almost full stomach and helped ourselves to their mouth watering cakes! I had the chocolate indulgence cake, which was, well, a little too sugary (and spice and everything nice... oh no, I so did not just sing this...) for my liking. What I'm trying to say is, with the combination of milk choc and white choc, it may be a little of an overkill, but the name says it: choc indulgence, so there... 3 stars.
LS had a choc banana cake (which I have tasted before) which is basically sliced banana wrapped with choc cream and cake. One word. HEAVENLY! A must try if you're at a lost of which cake to try. 4.5 stars!!
So there you go. Loved today! Loved the feeling of indulging myself. Love the fact that I'm hopeful such more days will come for me.
Peace out! :) :p
Terence pens his legacy at 12:47 AM
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