life more beautiful: July 2010

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Mozaic Bali

A couple of weeks back, I headed to touristy Bali with Joanne for a short but memorable getaway. It was our first couple trip and it had to be special.

So our choice of abode: The Alila Ubud. Located up in the highlands of Ubud and perched on the beautiful Ayung River Valley, staying at the Alila was truly a lap of luxury. Stunning infinity pool, perfect weather and impeccable service ("Hello Mr Lin!")... We only wished we could stay another night. In fact we nearly did.

But anyway a great trip, for me, isn't complete without good food. On our first night, we went to a French restaurant, the Mozaic Ubud, said to be one of the finest restaurants on the island.

The Lounge, where we ordered our choice of courses and had our apertifs.

I had the Chef's Tasting Menu, while Joanne had the Discovery Menu, which emphasised more on local tastes. Both were 8-course menus. The other two options were a vegetarian menu and a chef's choice menu, where the chef will customise the meal based on your preferences.

A little snack to go with my cappucino-tini.

The Amuse Bouche

Brown rice bread and beansprouts bread were served with salted butter. I love bread and this was really good. The butter was especially delicious.

Langoustine tails in a citrus ceviche (Sturia caviar, vodka cream, micro coriander & wild lemon peppers)

Pan seared Tasmanian salmon fillet (in a pinot noir glaze, sauteed wild mushroom & ginger aromatic)

Baked rabbit and foie gras pastilla (slow confied rabbit, apple ginger puree & calvados gastrique)

Victoria rack of lamb (braised endive's, peaches & Guiness beer emulsion in a jasmine-balsamic coulis)

Valrhona "Guanaja" Chocolate Mousse (Kaffir lime, cilantro & green pepper corn gelee in a Sechuan-wine reduction)

Petits Fours

There was also the Ginger flower sorbet (organic strawberries, aromatic lime leaf & black rice tuile) served after the rack of lamb, which I didn't manage to get a good shot of. My flash actually ran out of battery after the rack of lamb, and you can probably tell from the pictures.

All the courses were excellent, but my dish of the night had to be the rack of lamb. I had it medium well, and the texture and taste were just the way I like it. Succulent but yet firm. And the accompanying potato puree (which also came with Joanne's course) was heavenly.

But at the end of the day, it was the company that made it a memorable meal. Joanne and I both loved the place and I don't think we'll have any qualms about going back again when we drop by Ubud again.

More to come...

Sunday, July 18, 2010

A flood to remember

It was near unimaginable. There has been the occasional flood in Singapore, around some areas such as Bukit Timah and Upper Thomson Road. Those happen from time to time and in a way, was not really news any more.

But in Orchard Road, Singapore's main shopping district? That day was June 16, 2010. To think I was just scrambling out of bed to get to the office for my 1pm shift that day, oblivious to what was probably one of the biggest local news stories of the year. Of course, the flooding was splashed across the front pages of the local newspapers the following day. (See this and this for some dramatic pictures and accounts of what the scene was like that day.)

The Public Utilities Board later said the unexpected flooding was caused by a choked drain.

To make up for it, I visited the scene at Liat Towers about two weeks after, on June 28, to see how shops like Massimo Dutti, Wendy's (which had opened just days before) and Hermes are recovering from the situation.

Massimo Dutti, Liat Towers.

Wendy's, which just opened days before the massive flooding.

Hermes puts up a sign on its flagship store.

Business is closed.

As you can see, all the basement shops were still boarded up when I went there. I think it'll be some time before they reopen for business.

The store managers have probably developed some form of aquaphobia.

In fact, there was another heavy downpour early yesterday morning, and there was some minor flooding in Liat Towers again. Good grief.

Back to blogging

It has been a while since I updated the blog. I have been kept busy mainly with personal matters in the past two-three months, but things have very much settled by now, and here I am again.

Many thanks to those who gave encouraging feedback and asked me about the SYPA 2010, which I took part in. Unfortunately, I didn't make the cut for the competition. On the bright side, however, a couple of friends from my university club won the general and architectural awards respectively.

I guess it's time to bring up the level of my game! And of course, back to more regular updates. :)