Villa Bali at Gillman Heights

For Seetha and Kat's farewell party, we had dinner and drinks in Villa Bali (which was right at my backyard and I have not known for a year!). Good food, better open air space that permits maximum merriment (ahem ahem) but the best was the company of great people that went for speech after speech after speech...

The serious addicting chips as appetizers

We were a large group so we ordered by the platter. What they wrote as platter was really PLATTER. That's my hand to contrast the size

Special Indian platter SGD 60

Kachamber salad, samosa, Indian pickles, prawn masala, chicken tikka, Bouna ghost (lamb curry), curry veg, mixed naans and papadam

I love naan. Really. I can eat it by itself.

And there's the delish lamb curry peeking from behind the fork

Thai chef's signature platter at SGD 60

crabmeat fried rice, fish fillet with delicate honey mango sauce, fragrant thai grilled chicken, thai mango salad, stir fried prawns with sabil leaf, fried soft shell crabs with garlic butter sauce and stir fried olive chicken

Balinese seafood platter at SGD 60

Balinese sate lilit, chilly prawns, BBQ squid, Grilled Fish Pepes wrapped in banana leaf, and spicy indonesian fish fingers

Hipon Repulic. TM - WB

Curry and mussels don't mix IMLO but I like mussels so WTH =)

I imagined this fish saying: "Plx don't eat me."

Villa Bali

9A Lock Road

Gillman Village

Singapore

Tel: +65 6473 6763

Brozeit in Raffles, Singapore

It was Bill's last night in Singapore. Today: Singapore - Next week: Amsterdam - Tomorrow: The World!

We had a manly dinner at Brozeit to have an initial taste of his European experience.

Würstelplatte at SGD 32.50

Authentic sausage platter with spicy chicken sausages, Nürnberger pork bratwurst, mini pork cheese sausages, weisswurst sausage and garlic sausage with sauerkraut and mustard

Fischplatte at SGD 34.50

Seafood platter with smoked salmon, marinated tuna, marinated prawns, white anchovies and crab salad with a basket of selected German breads

Paulaner Munich on tap. Happy hour drink (happy indeed) at SGD 20

Kalbsrahmgulasch at SGD 26.50

traditional braised veal shank "Goulash" in paprika sauce with buttered spätzle

Schokokuchen at SGD 12.50

warm rich chocolate cake with stracciatella ice cream

Thanks to Jho and Kenzo for the "cultural" suggestion!

Brotzeit German Bier Bar & Restaurant

252 North Bridge Road

#01-17 Raffles City Shopping Centre

Singapore 179103

Tel: 65 6883 1534

Fanny ice cream, Hanoi Airport

I seriously thought I missed this in Hanoi because between dinner and last minute shopping at the heart of Old Quarter, we couldn't spend time looking for Fanny ice cream along Hoan Kiem Lake anymore.

Well, as The Secret says, the more you want something, the more it will come true for you. I really wanted Fanny ice cream, and it was serendipitous that when we entered Cafe Restaurant (I don't make up restaurant names!) as a last place resort where we can spend some idle time, the Fanny ice cream sign greeted us on the table.

Perfect cap for a sweet escape

Martiniquaise at USD 6 (USD 0.50 cheaper than outside ice cream)

Rum, vanilla and coffee ice cream, coffee liquor,

almond and whipped cream (yup, that much in there)

Cafe 69, Hanoi, Vietnam

For our last Vietnamese meal, Clark, Jho and I hit Cafe 69 for a chillax vacation ender slash UBE meal. The place was a beautiful fusion of Western and Vietnamese influences - jazz music reverberates on the dark wooden walls, pho served on European ceramic bowls.

The last of the avocado shake series - VND 12,000

Home made creme caramel at VND 20,000

Bun cha Hanoi (first part)

Bun cha Hanoi (second part)

marinated pork BBQ pieces over coals

and served with fresh herb rice vermicelli and spring rolls

VND 55,000

Spring rolls at VND 45,000

Sea bass fish fillet in banana leaf VND 70,000

Cafe 69

69 Ma May Street

Hanoi, Vietnam

Gourmet lunch, Pinta Gold Cruiser, Halong Bay, Vietnam

Parting is such sweet sorrow. I could really get used to this.

Eternal spring rolls!

Chicken

Shrimp!

Cuttle squid - if there is such a thing

Chicken curry

Beef!

Never ending fruit platter

"Gourmet" Bfast at Pinta Gold, Halong Bay, Vietnam

Breakfast was the usual suspects: bread, cream cheese, basil omelette and some jam. But the lingering statement was: they really decorate everything with cucumber! Haha FTW!

That's bacon btw

P.S. Good morning, Sunshine!

Gourmet dinner from Pinta Gold Cruiser, Halong Bay, Vietnam

An afternoon of cave explorations, adrenaline rushes and chillaxing on our beach beds as we cruised by the bay in view of the 1000 year old rock formations brought us to the next highlight of the trip - our dinner

Shrimp in ginger

vietnamese noodle

Seriously - fried spring rolls

the shrimp cruiser!

front view of the shrimp cruiser

chicken

beef

chicken

We were lucky enough to be on the same ship where the couple celebrated their 36th wedding anniversary. 36! So the staff brought out mocha cake and some champagne

Yes, you read it right.

Perhaps love =)

Key take away from Clark and Ynna:

The Secret - the stronger you want it, the more it will come to you

Yes, we all really wanted cake after dinner.

Lunch at Pinta Gold Cruiser, Halong Bay, Vietnam

We spent our Halong Bay weekend in Pinta Gold Cruiser and I must say, save for pesky insects, it was good value for money. For USD 99, they served gourmet, had tons of fruits on board, and tolerated my whims.

Note the gourmet food bit. I will just note here the essential ingredients of the dish, but as you can see, it the little things that make all the difference. =)

Fried yam

tomato and pickles

Torta of sorts

Clams

Chicken and sesame seeds

Fried fish

Squid

Orange lemon and passion fruit - "Summer drink"

Green leafy dish

Pineapple juice - blended with yoghurt