Sunday 21 July 2013

Citi Zen [2]

Hi everyone,

Very recently, my sister, childhood friends and I decided to satisfy our yum cha cravings over lunch at Citi Zen!

My favourite piece of decor in the restaurant!

 Prawn Dim Sim (Har Gao)

Delicious as usual!

 Prawn and Scallop Dumpling


 Steamed Prawn Rice Roll

We loved this so much, we actually ended up ordering 3 plates!

 Savoury Dough Rice Roll

One of my recently discovered favourites. The extra crunchy savoury dough tastes so good with the soy and thin rice sheets.

 Fried Prawn Roll

Basically crunchy, fried bean curd filled with prawns, topped with a tangy, sweet sauce. It was the first time I had this and it was delicious!

 Steamed Stuffed Tofu

The tofu was really bland but I did like the prawn stuffing. 

Chinese Radish Cake

Just like in my last review here, these were rather disappointing again in terms of texture.

 Salt & Pepper Squid Tentacles

The first thing that arrived on our table and we devoured them! Great as per usual - crunchy, well seasoned and piping hot. 

Chicken Feet in Black Bean Sauce

I usually choose to not order this (I'm rather squeamish) but one of my friends insisted that we order it, then forced me to eat some! I could only manage one bite of it, but I do like the flavour of the black bean sauce and how it soaked into the feet. Personally, I just can't stand the texture of it, but I know some people love it! It's rather slippery and slightly crunchy (?). 

Today, we decided to skip the mango pudding because we were going to visit a new cafe afterwards.

Another great visit to Citi Zen! The food was delicious as usual and arrived at our table very quickly after placing our orders. The service was the same - it was difficult to get the waiters and waitresses' attention, even though it wasn't a particularly busy day. However, when we did get their attention, they were friendly and quickly attended to our needs.
Overall, 8.5/10.

Vy
xo

Citi Zen Chinese on Urbanspoon

Sunday 14 July 2013

St Louis' House of Fine Ice Cream & Dessert

Hi everyone!

On a gorgeous, sunny afternoon, some friends and I decided to visit St Louis with the intention of trying out their churros and ice cream. It's situated on the east end of Gouger Street, close to Victoria's Square. 



St Louis offers outdoor as well as indoor seating. We took advantage of the lovely, sunny weather and chose to sit outside. 


The simple colours of in the interior gave the place a very sleek and polished look. I also like the look of the shelf up high with all the wine glasses, teacups and books etc. because it adds interest to the decor.

Baked goods on the counter




Doesn't that look delicious!

Churros for two with milk and dark chocolate ~$14 (from memory)

I'm disappointed to report that these are definitely not the best churros in Adelaide. It seems like nothing I've had so far can beat the churros from ChurrOz! They were very large but not fluffy on the inside, making them a bit difficult to eat because they were so doughy. They tasted extra rich dipped in chocolate, so we got sick of it eventually. 

One scoop of chocolate mint in a cone $5

My sister had this and she loved it!

One scoop of salted caramel in a sundae cup $4.20

I'm a salted caramel fiend so I couldn't say no when I saw this! However it tasted like plain caramel so I was a little disappointed. Nonetheless, it was very rich, creamy and smooth. 

One scoop of cookies and cream in a sundae cup $4.20

Two of my friends had this and they really enjoyed it!

I wish I could say that I love this place, but I can't... yet. I think I might have to return and try some of their desserts and drinks. So far, I definitely love the ice-cream and would recommend that, but I wouldn't order the churros again. The service was a little slow I think, considering the four of us had had to wait around 25-30 minutes for the serve of churros and 4 scoops of ice-cream, but the staff were super friendly! 
Overall, 8/10.

Vy
xo

St Louis House of Fine Ice Cream & Dessert on Urbanspoon

Thursday 11 July 2013

Priceline Haul [2]

Hi everyone, 

Today's post will be for all you beauty lovers out there! I'll be sharing with you my haul from the Priceline sale that is currently happening. I visited the store in the Myer Centre in Rundle Mall and picked up quite a few things!

All these items only cost me a total of $55 because Priceline is having a sale. Yay for bargains!


Firstly, the few items that I won't be reviewing in depth.

Nivea Repair & Protection $3.37 (sale price)
This will be my third tube. It's not spectacular but it gets the job done. I like it because it doesn't leave a sticky residue on your lips and keeps them nicely hydrated and soft.

Garnier Clean Sensitive Eye Make-Up Remover $9.99
This is my second bottle. It's cost efficient and works very well. I only use waterproof mascara and this product makes it very easy to remove.

Essence Sharpener $1.75
I needed another eye/lip pencil sharpener and thought I'd give this a go because it's so cheap, and who doesn't love a bargain? :P

Rimmel Nail Polish in Apricot Punch $2.97 (sale price)
The quality of these nail polishes is great and I love all the pretty, vibrant colours! Also, it was so cheap because there was a 50% sale on the entire Rimmel range. 

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers $7.97 (sale price)
Nova, Stellar and Celestial


These were only recently released in Australia so I was very excited to try them out! My friend and I were so disappointed because we were looking forward to getting our hands on the vibrant, deep red called Big Bang (we love them! Click here because they're awesome :P) but unfortunately this hasn't been released in Australia. I was also going to buy Apocalyptic but I found that I already have another product in a colour very similar to it. It's a very bright hot pink colour. I think I might eventually end up buying it now that I think about it...

Swatches: Nova, Stellar, Celestial
They're extremely pigmented and very vibrant.

Typical lip gloss applicators. Just ignore the bits of blu-tack which I had used to prop up the applicators since the tops of the lip glosses aren't flat!

Nova

Stellar

Celestial

From top to bottom:
My bare lips for comparison
Nova
Stellar
Celestial

I love the bright Barbie pink colour of Nova and the gorgeous vibrant red of Stellar! Both are such fun colours and would be perfect to wear on a night out or during the day in the warmer weather. I feel as though a bright lip colour can really pull a look together, even if there is very minimalistic eye makeup.
I also really like the colour of Celestial. It's very close to my natural lip colour, so this is probably something I'd wear more often in comparison to the others.

The Apocalips are very pigmented, so only a small amount of product is needed for a bright, bold lip. It doesn't leave too much of a sticky residue which is definitely a bonus for me since I usually prefer lip stains and matte lipsticks. It doesn't dry out my lips, as long as I apply a conditioning lip balm underneath it. I would definitely recommend trying them! There are about 10 (?) really great shades, ranging from nudes to bright bold colours so there's something for everyone. They're currently only $7.97 in Priceline because of the sale so now would be the perfect time to try them out if you're curious!

Models Prefer Essential Brow Kit in Medium to Dark $12.99





I've been needing a brow product for quite some time now since I decided I didn't like the colour of the product which I was using for my brows. This seems like a good kit because it includes everything, basically! The wax is a really nice match for my brows because it isn't too pigmented, which I prefer. I have naturally red/dark brown hair, and this suits me very well. The powder is also great for filling in the sparser areas of my brows. I don't normally use the brushes which come with products because they usually have very stiff bristles, like this mini slanted brush. I like the addition of the tweezers, which will be very handy for touchups.
The packaging is nice and sleek, and quite sturdy. Great for throwing in my handbag for on-the-go touchups! I would recommend this for people looking for a well priced brow product which works well. This also comes in Light to Medium for more fair haired people.  


Thank you for reading! I hope my insight has been helpful for anyone curious about these products.
Vy
xo

Wednesday 10 July 2013

Chocolateria San Churro

Hi everyone,
Hope you're all enjoying the week so far. Adelaide has been having such gorgeous weather these past few days! So much warmth and sunshine. I'm loving it! Hopefully it will be this nice tomorrow when I go out for lunch with my sister and childhood besties.

I haven't been out this week because I've been at home attempting to do homework. My attempts are failing rather miserably, but it's the thought that counts, right? :P
Today I wanted to do a brief post about a place which I visited earlier in the year, Chocolateria San Churro. After a birthday lunch, my best friend A and I decided that we needed to visit this place since we were already on Rundle Street and it had only just opened (this was way back in early 2013).

We opted for some things to share since we were still really full from lunch.

Fondue for two

We really enjoyed this! We loved the rich, creamy chocolate and it tasted great with everything. We didn't really enjoy the brownie though - it was more like a piece of bad chocolate cake. The churros weren't too bad, but we both agreed that the ones from ChurrOz, a food van here in Adelaide, are much, much better. These weren't as crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, but much more doughy. Not the worst churros I've ever had but not the best, either! If you've never had churros before, I would recommend trying them here, though.

Peanut butter melt

I felt like a glutton drinking this. It was SO rich already, but was made even richer with the spoon of chocolate covered peanut butter. The flavour was definitely there, though. I love the pairing of sweet and salty foods, and this didn't disappoint me. I would definitely suggest skipping this if you were as full as I was that day. Also, the mug that it came it was huge. I could only manage to finish half of it! This would probably be a great drink in the evening in the middle of winter because of how warm and rich it is.

I don't remember the price of each item, but we ended up spending around $16 or $17, which I don't think it too bad for what we were given. We were there on a Sunday afternoon and it was quite busy, however our order came out only 5 or so minutes after we had ordered and the staff were really friendly. I also quite like the decor - who knew orange and brown could look that decent? I've been past on various Friday and Saturday nights, and the line up was often pretty crazy - people were lining up all the way to the corner of Rundle Street. I'd like to come back some time and try their sundaes and possibly even their macarons.

Edit: I completely forgot to mention the horrendous state that the bathrooms were in. Firstly, A and I had such a difficult time locating them because there weren't any signs (this might have changed since I was last there). We were directed through a door at the back of the eatery which lead outside. I won't go into detail because I don't want to risk you feeling sick, but I was just really shocked at the state they were in. I'd suggest avoiding them, unless you're desperate! I think I might have to deduct a point for that...
It might seem a bit much, but does anyone else take into consideration the state of the bathrooms? I think they play a pretty important role as part of the customer service aspect. If the bathrooms are grotty, and they're on display to the public, imagine the state of the kitchens behind the closed doors!

Overall, I'd give it an 8/10  7/10. 

By the way, I saw Despicable Me 2 with my siblings yesterday and it is SO adorable! I had a 23 year old next to me who was also laughing throughout the movie, so don't feel as if you're too old to see it. I'd definitely suggest taking your younger siblings, children, cousins, nieces or nephews to see it. They'll love it!

Have a great week everyone :)

Vy
xo


Chocolateria San Churro on Urbanspoon

Sunday 7 July 2013

Singapore House

Hi everyone,

I hope you've all had a great weekend like I have! This past weekend, I celebrated 2 very important milestones in the lives of a few people in my life.

My Friday night was spent celebrating the joint 21st birthdays of a sister of one of my closest friends in the world, and her friend who actually went to the same primary school as me. It was so much fun, though I must say being underaged at a 21st birthday truly sucks!


I spent Saturday night celebrating my godfather's 60th birthday. He chose to celebrate it at Singapore House. I'd actually never heard of this restaurant before, mainly because it's on the side of Adelaide which I rarely ever venture to. I looked it up and saw lots of comments on the gorgeous decor so I was very excited to visit! The menu also looked interesting, particularly the 'Street Food' section.

I'd just like to point out that this won't be a proper review - I just wanted to share my experience with you. The lighting was SO dimmed that I struggled taking nice photos of all the dishes and I really didn't want to be the only person on the two tables of 60 people taking photos of the food with a larger-than-usual camera, complete with flash! I did manage to snap a few, though I gave up because there were so many dishes. I tried my best to make what's in the photos more visible but my photo editing skills are rather abysmal. Be warned, photography enthusiasts!





You can probably tell what I mean about the lighting!

There was a set menu for the night: 

Pappadums, Raita, Mango Chutney

ENTREE
BBQ PORK Hoi Sin sauce and mixed herbs
SATAY CHICKEN and cucumber
BAKED MUSHROOMS with cumin, cheese and chilli jam
CRISPY DUCK BREAST in plum sauce chilli sauce
PRAWN AND RICE NOODLE SALAD with Asian dressing and paw paw

MAINS
BUTTER CHICKEN in a creamy tomato sauce
SALT AND PEPPER SQUID fresh chilli, spring onions and oyster sauce
KING PRAWNS in red curry and pineapple pieces
OVEN ROASTED OCEAN TROUT wrapped in banana leaf with coconut red curry, lime and galangal
BEEF RENDANG coconut rice and fresh lime

Rice and Naan to accompany mains

As you can see, there were so many dishes! Everyone at the table originally thought we would be ordering individual dishes but we were actually sharing all the dishes. There was SO much to taste and I had to really pace myself :P

These pappadums are way better than the ones at Beyond India. They're very thin, crisp and definitely less salty, making them a lot more enjoyable. I really enjoyed it with the raita which was lovely, fresh and light, but the mango chutney was a lot richer than I expected and not as sweet as the one from Beyond India. 

Now for some nicer photos of some entrees...

All the kids had a separate menu, and this was my little brother's Singapore Noodles. I had a taste and it wasn't bad! I did enjoy the flavours as well as all the different vegetables and textures in the dish. My only complaint would be that it was a little oily, but that could just be my personal preference.

Crispy Duck Breast 
The skin was definitely crunchy and the meat was very tender, which all tasted great with the very rich glaze-like plum sauce.

Baked Mushrooms 
This is what I had my eye on when I thought we were ordering separate meals. I'd say the stand out element was the chilli jam - it had a good amount of punch (I think a little more wouldn't have hurt!) and complemented the mushrooms really well.

Orange Blossom Sherbert 
and Sir Raffells Iced Tea

I'm not too sure of the exact name of this but it is a pomegranate cocktail. It was delicious! The sweet pomegranate juice disguised the flavour of the alcohol in it (tequila, if I remember correctly) making it a very refreshing drink.

That's it for the photos of the food. I really wish I'd been able to snap a few more but it became too difficult. A few other [positive and negative] stand out dishes were:

Satay Chicken
The meat was very tender and I loved the satay! It was filled with chopped peanuts so it was rather chunky, but that's how I like it.

King Prawns
I loved the flavour of the curry - it wasn't too rich and the prawns were very nicely cooked. I'm not usually a fan of pineapple in curries, though.

Beef Rendang
I absolutely loved the rich flavour of the dish, but it was a real pity that the meat was dry. Also, the coconut rice was served as a hidden mound under all the meat and sauce, but it was extremely mushy and stuck together in globs. Not very nice!


After dinner, I took two of my family friends over to visit the famous Butterfly Room. 

 The magnifying glass on the sign allowed people to see the intricacies of the butterflies. I've never seen anything like this before in Adelaide!


 The entrance to the room is via the big red arch, which has lots of facts and images painted over it in white.


 How beautiful is it? Every single one of those butterflies was real, I'm pretty sure. They were all beautifully preserved in their labeled frames. I think this would be a pretty cool setting to dine in.

 There were so many butterflies of different sizes and colour. 

So gorgeous! The two family friends I took with me were 5 and 7 year old girls, so they were basically in a dream world. 

And of course, we finished off the night with some Muratti's. Yum!

Overall, I'd say I had a great experience at Singapore House. The service was a little slow but I don't blame them at all for it since we had such a huge number of guests and there was so much going on! However, the staff were very friendly and attentive which of course contributed to everyone having such a great night. A few of the guests actually commented on the food being a little too salty, which I'm not sure is true, or due to their own personal preferences or just a one-off occurrence. Who knows! If I'm ever given the opportunity, I do think I will come back for a visit in a smaller group of people, just to get the full experience. I would recommend giving this a go if you're up for something different for lunch or dinner!

Enjoy your week and I'll see you again on my blog in a few days :)

Vy
xo

Singapore House on Urbanspoon