The Mind Cafe (Singapore)

ABBEY: Going to this cafe is long overdue. We planned to go here when Kuya Ric went for a visit but didn't have the time. After dinner at Curry House we stopped by the place. 

9sgd per person includes free-flow of drinks of the day and 2 hours of playing any game available. We got the old-but-good Connect 4. Form 4 chips horizontally, vertically or diagonally and you win the game. I won both games with Chat and Wilma. Next they tried Battleship but haven't finished the game as they had a hard time destroy each other's ships. We wanted to play quick games so we can play as many times as we can. That didn't happen. 

We played Monopoly:Superman Returns edition. Though its a long game we totally had fun specially if you are winning. Isn't that right, Wilma and Chat? 

The cafe also offers cocktail snacks to munch in.  Singapore Book of records awards this as the cafe to have the most number of board game. This is good experience.

WILL: I am searching for a great place to fill in some caffeine craving while my oldest brother was here and then I saw Mind Cafe. It was on my list but the schedule really stopped as to go in here. 

      Chat treated us for a dinner, she got her bonus! Haha! She shared her blessings to us. After dinner, damn I am full and I want to help my stomach to digest it, I need tea. ;) 

I don't want to go to any cafes in 313 Somerset, then my brain made me realized to go to The Mind Cafe. 

    From Orchard, it is only 3 stops for bus #65. After 12 minutes, we were stepping our way up to this cafe. Actually, now I am not after for a hot drink that will help my tummy to digest my food, I am here to enjoy and play all the boardgames I can. 

     As we entered, we were welcomed warmly by their staff and  huge stacks of boardgames. Like a child, I grinned. So many games to play for only 2 hours. I played and all the games I lost. Haha! Lucky we don't bet for anything. Luck is not at my side at that day.

     For two hours, we indulged on their unlimited cold drinks and play-all-you-can boardgames for only $9.00 per pax. This is just beside SOTA, a great location for students to let the stress away. This is a great idea of a unique cafe. 

Dilmah Premium Ceylon Tea

ABBEY: My wife asked me to bring the box of Dilmah tea in the office. I thought I cannot finish drinking all of them but I was surprised when I saw only a few bags left. Wilma asked me to take the remaining tea back at home because she haven't tasted it yet thus she'll not be able to blog it. The taste is good like other teas. The leaves don't get burnt easily. 

WILL: Promise, Even I am tea addict, I do not know Dilmah tea until I saw this in Singapore. Dilmah is one of the famous ceylon tea and now I know why. 
      Every tea bag, this has a distinctive taste and aftertaste. Not too strong an no too mild, Abbey loves it a lot and so do I. A great flavor of hot drink every morning. Available on every Sheng Siong branch. 

Andy Warhol: 15 Minutes Eternal

ABBEY: This exhibit was included in the 24sgd-all-access pass in the ArtScience Museum. 

Andy is using simple things as his model; like shoes and Campbell canned products, and cardboard boxes. He also tapped the use of silk-screen printing as medium. We got the chance to play on his "Silver Clouds". Even the photo booth is used to create art. 

Again this exhibition prohibits photography.

WILL: I have no interest to Andy Warhol exhibit at ArtScience Museum until my husband and I watched the Men in Black 3. Ha! I asked Abbey if we can get the package of Harry Potter and Andy Warhol, and he agreed.  
      After almost half an hour thinking what to buy at HP store, we went to Andy Warhol: 15 Minutes Eternal. This exhibit runs up to 12th of August.
      What's inside? I am baffled, so simple and the taken for granted things on our daily lives where there, painted and now a part of the history. ;)

Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich

Large onions (rings separated)
Beef (shabu-shabu)
Quick melt cheese
Salt and pepper
Bread

Saute the onions and beef. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cut the bread lengthwise and layer it with beef.
Put cheese on top and then microwave it for a minute.

Better if Cheeze Whiz is used.

WILL:  I saw this food at Man vs Food Series and admittedly I drool upon watching every bit of the people eating it. Screaming, I ask abbey to cook that for me ASAP. Demanding? Haha! On his off, he cooked this Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich for dinner.

       Extravagant taste, and ate a whole six inch moutwatering caramelized onion with beef and melted cheese. Damn full. :) Thanks Abbey. Love it a lot! 

Starbucks Singapore's Red Bean + Green Tea Frappuccino

ABBEY: Another one-for-one from Starbucks. They offer this on two of their drinks: 

I haven't ot the chance to taste the mocha one. But for the green tea with red bean, I don't like the taste, Wilma does. She said it taste like "ice buko and halo-halo" (frozen delight in Philippines). Maybe its not for me. A pair of drink costs 8sgd. We'll wait for another treat from SB.

WILL:  I am a faceboook Stabucks Singapore fan. Every news was detailed in at that page. So when they declared a happy hour last June 25 for their latest flavor, screenshot their ad and emailed it to my husband. Indeed, all went crazy and queue up for buy 1 take 1 tasting.
       
The verdict? I love green tea, i love mung beans, so what will you expect, my verdict to this frap?, I love love it! The strong green tea and lovable mung beans were mixed up together and give a new a reason to go to Starbucks. Actually it reminds me of a Philippine's halo-halo. Yummy!     

Carnivore at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands

ABBEY: We passed by this restaurant a couple of times in The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands. As the name implies they cater meat; red or white; be it fish, chicken, beef, pork and mutton. I saw their add for 1-for-1 buffet lunch. Since that time I start thinking when can we have lunch there since Wilma is always in the office at that time. 

Lo and behold, the opportunity presented itself when we visited ArtScience Museum. It was jam-packed but its nice we were given a table even we didn't made a reservation. I started with spring roll, chicken sausage, and rice. Their rice is flavorful and soft; just the way I like it. After that I always ask the to give me a slice of what they offer. The beef is very tasty and moist. As lunch time is about to end I feasted on grilled white tuna. I think I finished 6-7 pieces. Its very delicious. 

The buffet starts at 34sgd. The staffs welcome the guests warmly.

WILL: We are a trying hard herbivore, ahm should I mean vegetarian. If you will see our push cart in Sheng Siong every week, you will see a lot green vegetables were inside. This is for healthier us, healthier...together forever. Ha!

Abbey told me that we will have our lunch date at Carnivore at Marina Bay Sands The Shoppe, hesitant of the price but who am I to resist? He planned this, this is his day. 

Upon seeing the poster, gosh, their buffet lunch is 1-for-1 so we will only pay $17 each. :) 

Now, I am here to meet all the meat!!! Fish, pork, beef, and mutton is present. This is the only buffet I gone through that I do not need to come back and forth at their table, the have those roving passadors that will ask if you want the meat they carry. My favorite and very unforgettable is their roasted beef, so soft that you can say it melts in your mouth. I have 5 rounds of their salmon, soft and this salmon really carries the natural oil of it. 


We will surely come back here. All the staffs were very friendly. Roving passadors seems never been tired of walking and slicing the meats in front of their guests. Oh, please make a reservation or see yourself on a long queue.

Harry Potter The Exhibition - Singapore

ABBEY: Who doesn't want to see the props and costume use in the seven blockbuster movies of the boy wizard? (I'll not count Wilma's). After the successful display in London, they set it up in ArtScience Museum Singapore, first in Asia. A pair of ticket costs us 48sgd- an all-access pass for both Harry Potter: An Exhibition and Andy Warhol: 15 Minutes Eternal. Upon getting the ticket we proceeded to the galleries in basement 2. We took snaps in the flying Ford Anglia, then went on their photo booth. A little time spent on their waiting area and our batch begins the journey in the Sorting Hat room. I was shy to volunteer as I thought the hat will tell me that I'm too old to went to a Hogwart's house.

After the sorting ceremony we went to Gryffindor's common room. We saw Harry and Ron's bunk bed and the contents of Ron's trunk, some of their casual clothes and Gryffindor's bulletin board.
I can't remember the sequence of galleries but we saw the other 3 house common rooms, Forbidden forest, Quidditch, Herbology (make sure you pull the mandrakes), Astrology, some Hogwart's professor's room, Hagrid's hut and the Great Hall. Items like Golden Snitch, Bludgers, and Quaflle (you can play them), bogart cabinet, Nimbus broomsticks, The Quibbler magazine are on the display. Triwizard Cup casket and the Yule balls costumes are there including Fred and George's fireworks. The exhibit ends at the souvenir shop that sells Chocolate Frogs, Bertty Bots every flavor beans, wand replicas, shirts, scarves, coins, Marauder's Map and your photo taken earlier. We got 2 shirts for 100sgd. I forgot to ask if they have floo powder. Taking photos or videos are prohibited.

WILL: How selfish I am? Well, I want to go here in Harry Potter Exhibition at ArtSceience Museum with few people and to achieve that goal, we must go here in weekdays, so I filed a half-day leave! :)

      

After our gastronomic escapade at Carnivore, we walked in at the museum's lobby, bought a discounted ticket(show your IC at the counter)then we never wasted a time to see the exhibit. 

      

Once we entered their foyer my excitement hit the highest level. We set our foot on the first stage, we must know what house we belong through the Sorting Hat, I want to be a volunteer but I really know where I belong...the house of Slytherin. After few works of the magical hat, the door lifted and I was about to faint. 

      

The Hogwarts Express welcomes us. My eyes and ears was caught by the Fat Lady, then I knew I was about to enter the Gryffindor room. Wands, costumes, and even beds of the casts of this films were all there.

      

To feel to be a Hogwarts student, you must go their classes and one of the two sets that you can lay your hands on is the squealing Mandrake. Yikes, Boggarts cabinet seems so real that anything your mind thinks will come out from it.  

      

You can play shooting the quaffles at the hoop, I enjoyed this game, baby! Here, you can see the famous brooms and the quidditch.They also exhibits the evil slash Harry Potter's number one enemy, Volde---... sssshhh.. you know who..

      

Half an hour is enough just to see those props and costumes of the famous novel of all time. We bought a shirts for $40.00 each. I want to buy a wand $70.00 for Abbey, but he refused. As I thought about it, yes entrance fee was quite overpriced but who will know when this Harry Potter Exhibition will visit again Singapore or any Asian country?

Max Brenner Chocolate Bar

ABBEY: We didn't got a chance to visit Max Brenner's branch in Trinoma. Last time we checked in Vivo they're already close for the day. Good thing that when we were searching for a cafe after our meal at Malaysian Food Street, it was open. 

I got to try their Milk Chocolate. It taste like swiss miss but with richer in flavor and creamier. The hot beverage comes in a odd-shaped cup that I don't know how to drink from it. JP got a milkshake which is served in a unique tall glass. Prices of which starts from 6.90SGD. Aside from chocolate concoctions they also have waffles and ice creams.

WILL: After filling up our stomach in Malaysian Street Food at Resorts World Sentosa and after walking around on that Island, we headed back to VivoCity Mall. 

      

Of course, before going back, we must have some drink to seat in. Unlike we planned to go for a coffee, I asked Abbey to taste the Max Brenner's chocolate drinks. 

      

Their branch at VivoCity is a nice place to ask a lady for a date. Lights is in a romantic mood and the place is serene unlike the coffee shops always packed with people. 

      

My tummy is so full that even a cup of hot drink will not be accepted by digestive system to go in. Haha.. Impacho! Abbey ordered a milk chocolate that was served in a hug mug. That mug has no handle and will make to use both of your hands to drink from it. Curious about the mug and how Abbey describes the drink, I wrapped around my hands to that hug mug, feel the hotness of chocolate drink through that ceramic thingy then I sipped, then sipped, and sipped again. Shocks! My brain commanded my tummy to give way for this hot drink! I love this drink, its like I am drinking my favorite chocolate... Cadbury! 

Chili's Singapore Big Mouth Burger Day 2012

ABBEY: Chili's celebrated its big-mouth burger day by an offer of 8.8sgd per burger. I got their Southern Smokehouse Bacon Big Mouth Burger . It comes with couple of handful of fries.

It was great. I'm so full after finishing mine and Wilma's Oldtimer. Free flow  of soda is at 7sgd. Chili's also offers cocktails, pasta, chicken burgers, tacos and quesadillas. We visited their branch at Resorts World Sentosa.

      

WILL: Chili's celebrated the Big Mouth Burger Day last 27th of June. That was the 2nd year when burger lovers here in Singapore rejoicing and indulging to the $8.88 (U.P. $25.00 and above) thick beef patties. After office, we hurriedly went to Chili's Resorts World Sentosa branch to fill in our growling stomachs.
      
I asked to have the Oldtimer($17.00) while Abbey had the Southern Smokehouse Bacon Big Mouth Burger ($23.00). So from that price, you will know the reason why this is our first time to dine in here. Ha!

      
When I saw the burgers, humongous! It just suffice it price. It has a some fries on its side. The taste is awesome, extremely delicious. The patty is so juicy and really tasty. Onions, pickles, tomato, lettuce and mustard really a teamed-up for mouth watering delight. That day was really a tummy overload. I ate 3/4 and my spare, I asked Abbey to finish it for me.

      
The branch is relaxing. The view is of kids playing outside while your favorite music is on track, serenading your ears. Staffs are approachable.  Recommendable. Nice place for family to dine-in.

Yema

1 can of condensed milk
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoon chopped peanuts

This requires continuous stirring.
Melt butter. Once melted put the condensed milk. After 2 minutes add the yolks. Mix it well. Continue to stir until desired thickness is achieved. Let it cool for sometime.
Scoop a small amount and form it into a ball.
As a twist, I rolled the yema balls on confectioner's sugar.

VERDICT

WILL: Abbey surprised me again with this ball of sweets. When I saw those nothing familiar strikes to me, but when I tasted it, all I say is, "I love you baby"! Haha.

      This yema is so nice when I brought it in our office, it is an instant hit! Haha! Love it. Try to do it! 

Ribbed Cracklings in Old Fashioned Salt & Vinegar

ABBEY: I like this chips since I first tasted it on my freshman year of high school. Munching on them is like eating chicharon. The sour-salty-mild hot taste will make you crave for more. Back then this is only 7php. Now its 1.8sgd. Even expensive its good to have it once in a while.

WILL: Well, this is one of the chips I can'y resist when I back home. The sour taste is really perfect, even though it leaves my lips in a translucent color, I cannot stop to much it. haha! It only costs P7.00 in every sari-sari store. 

       Thanks Oishi. 

Ben & Jerry's 'WICH

ABBEY: Wilma is craving for an ice cream-sandwich and this ice cream parlor offers it at 8.90 a piece we enjoyed their delicious in between a crunchy chocolate cookies. Be prepared to be messy as the cold treat will pop-up at every bite.

WILL: When time strikes back and all you can do is reminisce, food is not an exemption to the list. I really miss the Funwich of Presto. That's why when I saw the Ben and Jerry's ad, I really craved for it since then.
      
So I asked Abbey and Chat to go to VivoCity and indulge to this cold/sweet selection. At first, I thought this will only cost $5 but I am frustrated to see that for a so little pair brownies and a scoop of ice cram costs $8.90. But what I can do, I am drooling to taste this, so no choice but to buy.
     
Hmmm, the brownies is so crispy that when you your teeth sinked-in, the ice cream will spill out at the sides, but the brownies is so chewy and tasty, a perfect match for any ice cream flavor. A messy thing to eat, but worthy.