Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Hotel Clover - European classics with Asian Touches at Clover Gardens

Photo Credit: Google
Clover Garden
33 Jalan Sultan 
#01-02 S198965
Tel: 6297 0377
https://www.facebook.com/clovergarden33JlnSultan


I am glad to be invited to my first Festive Tasting for Christmas! I enjoy tasting the Festive Menu from Clover Garden located in Hotel Clover 33 Jalan Sultan. Clover Garden celebrated it's unique and immaculate concept with a grand opening on August 2014 at Hotel Clover, making it really new and I can't wait to try out the dishes created by Chef Shawn Yan which has inspirations from European Elegances with Asian touches.

Festive Salad - Consisting of Yellow Fin Tuna sashimi cubes, Compressed Watermelon and Beetroot, presented in a Mosiac Cube formation and completed with a generous scoop of black caviar. Refreshing to the taste bud, eat it in the order of presentation - Watermelon, Beetroot and then Tuna, pairing the Caviar with any one of them would bring another level of experience.

Soup - Warm up the festive mood with a bowl of Cream of Cauliflower, served with prosciutto crisp, poached egg and croutons. The egg, being poached at 65Degrees is deliberately made to be more done and less flowy, but nevertheless, when mixed in with the soup, it added a thicker and more flavoursome taste.

3 options for the Entrée - Triple Textured Tasmanian Salmon, 48-Hour Sous Vide Beef Short Ribs OR Beer Brined Turkey Breast

The triple texture Tasmanian salmon served with the asian touches of Cold Soba, Nashi Pear Purée and grilled king oyster mushrooms. Diners should be excited to taste the crispy salmon skin and then moving on to the tender flesh of the cooked salmon and the slightly raw middle. The whole dish is light and delightful.

Beef Short Ribs with lardons and pearl onions, baby carrot, black truffle mash topped off with red wine reduction. Tender pieces of beef when paired with the red wine sauce, it is such a delight in every mouthful. The truffle mash that came with it was a clear bonus to up the whole game, Strong flavours of truffle infused mash potato made everything complete.

And a what's a Festive Dinner without a sweet ending to it - Traditional Christmas pudding freshly baked with a selection of dried fruits, cranberries and nuts, paired with homemade vanilla ice cream and whisky sauce. Mmmm hmmm... Homemade vanilla ice cream, you could see the pods in there!

The Clover Garden 4-Course Festive Menu is going at $42 Per Pax starting from 1st December 2014 to 10th January 2015. I personally feel that for the price, it is definitely worth it and Hotel Clover is away from the bustling town area which makes it a ideal place for a lovely catch-up with loved ones. So call them now to book your slots!!
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If you are not into the festive menu, Clover Garden has a simple yet impressive menu on it own! I love how chef Shawn manage to highlight European Classic with Asian Twist into the menu. He hopes that every diner will enjoy the traditional flavours with new interpretations and presentation. Every dish is a brand new adventure in my opinion!

Tuna Tempura ($12) - Tuna Sashimi wrapped in seaweed, dipped into batter and pan-fried to crisp lying on wasabi mayo and served with Alfonso Mango Salad. Freshness and very Japanese styled appetizer which I truly enjoyed, I love the innovative creation!

Pan Fried Crab Cakes ($11) - Hand-picked by the chef and finely shredded, the sweetness of crab meat matches perfectly with the bits of water chestnut. Seasoned with only black pepper and fresh red chillies, each golden brown crab patty is paired with the chef's special peanut sauce, it's feeling as thai as it it. Or maybe I could call it our own Krabby Patty? -hardcore spongebob fan-

Braised Lamb Shank ($22) - Resting on a bed of the Oh So Awesome and smooth Truffle mash, soaking up the natural jus and topped with vegetable fritters. The crunch of the vegetable fritters could elevate the texture of this dish. This Huge Lamb Shank can easily feed 2 ladies unless you have a big appetite! 

BBQ Baby Back Pork Ribs ($22) - Glazed with smokey BBQ sauce, served with truffle fries and garden salad. The baby back ribs are tender and could almost fall off the bone easily, Using my cutlery for this is a waste of flavour, I would rather use my hands if I could!

Duck Confit ($22) - Marinated overnight with Chinese 5 spice, baked to a perfect crisp on the outside and tenderness on the inside. Laid on a bed of the awesome truffle mash and red cabbage, paired with the lychee gastrique, this dish redefines the iconic French's favourite to a whole new level.  

Coconut Pannacotta ($10) - Made from fresh coconut juice, the silky smooth Pannacotta is lightly scented and laced with Gula Melaka. Served with a scoop of home-made vanilla ice cream and fresh berries, this dessert is simple, light and sweet all together.

Mocha Pot De Crème ($10) - Espresso infused Chocolate mousse served with fresh berries and home-made vanilla ice cream. Smooth and rich chocolate mousse is so sinful yet highly pleasurable. A Must Order for chocolate fans, just like myself!

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Typing this out makes me salivate and want to go back to clover garden for more! I especially love the Baby back Rib, duck confit, Crab Cakes, Cream of cauliflower and the Coconut pannacotta and the mocha chocolate mousse. OMG, I am almost listing out everything I've tried! It is that good and the price is pretty affordable, so I suggest you make your bookings early to visit this new gem. 



With Love, M

Monday, November 3, 2014

Nokia Lumia 930 Review

I am no tech goddess, neither am I good with any Tech gadgets in a matter of fact. I only know Iphone, Iphone & Iphone. Ever since I started my journey with my Iphone 3GS, my life has completely wiped out every other brand of mobile phones. What is Nokia? Sony? I don't even know anymore. But I am glad that I am given the chance to experience the Nokia Lumia 930 with the latest Windows 8.1 Platform!!
A little about the Phone - The Lumia 930 packs a rich suite of differentiating applications and services into a beautifully crafted design with metallic details and vibrant new colours, while keeping content like photos, videos and documents in sync across Windows Phone, PC, tablet and Xbox devices.

It has a crystal clear 5-inch Full HD OLED display lets you watch your favourite shows, movies or video clips in any condition, and thanks to a 2420 mAh battery and built-in wireless charging, there is no need to worry about running out of battery. Super awesome feature for a drama fan like me, long live long lasting battery!

Let's compare the size of the phone with the other devices that are more popular in the market now!

It's size is somehow in the middle of a Samsung S4 and a Samsung Note 2. It fits perfectly on my palm and the matte finishing of the phone makes it really comfortable to hold on to. The Vibrant Colour is a super PLUS point for me because phones nowadays are a little too dull, or maybe too professional/sleek looking! We need more fun in our lives since we are now ever so dependent on our mobile phones!

It also has an advanced 20MP PureView camera with optical image stabilization and high quality ZEISS optics makes capturing and reliving amazing images and videos fast and easy. With the enhanced Nokia Camera with Living Images, it’s easy to add movement and emotion to static pictures, while imaging apps such as Nokia Storyteller, Nokia Creative Studio and Nokia Refocus bring even more levels of creativity to any photo.

Now we can do so much more with the phone, no more just Snap, Crop, Post!

The Lumia 930 has a 2.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor makes activities like Xbox gaming, image capturing and video processing even faster and richer. 
It also comes with the integrated features including one swipe notifications from Action Centre, the new Microsoft Enterprise feature pack, Microsoft Office, OneDrive, Nokia Camera, and HERE Maps and Drive+, all of which work seamlessly to make the Lumia 930 a great tool for work and play.

I hope my review gave you a little more depth on the Lumia 930!



With Love, M

Thursday, October 23, 2014

STYLE BLISS x EAT SHOP PLAY

This will be a guest post, and the first ever guest post from my sister! Which also happen to be the model for this collaboration with Style Bliss!
- Michhysaurous.

OLLA FELLOW READERS OF THIS BLOG! 
I'm here today to guest post and introduce to you guys about an awesome shop named:
Initially, the kind owner has approached my sister for a sponsored collaboration but after some consideration my sister decided to get my help in modelling the apparels kindly sponsored by
Style Bliss! To make it more interesting, the owner requested for me to do up the post here instead as I'm the one wearing the apparels and will have a better grip with giving feedbacks!

Just in case you don't know me, I'm Janice Lim. Known as @Janxlsm on Ig/Twitter.
Let's kick start this guest post !

The owner of Style Bliss has kindly sponsored me with 2 outfits and I'm really spoilt with choices!
It took me quite awhile to narrow down to the items you will be seeing in this guest post. 


First up:
This is one of the outfits I chose and I would say that if I'm working, I would definitely wear this. Many people are afraid of getting such bright colours but as long as you pair it with something black/white, you're good to go!
I've folded the ends to give it an edgier look and the black peplum top has a very flattering cutting that actually gives you a more defined waist line. The material is so soft and of good quality, you won't mind wearing long pants even with such humid weather in Singapore!

Black & White Checkered Long Top
This is a very versatile piece as you can wear it as a dress if you're petite, a long top or even as a top if you tuck it in with a pair of high waisted shorts! This totally caught my eyes at the very first look as I'm more of a monochrome person than to a colourful one, but there will be days where I feel like dressing myself up in colours.

It is very simple but at the same time, not too casual! If you're wearing it as a long top, it elongates your legs, just look at how long my legs look in the picture above. This outfit is more on the edgy side than to formal, a good outfit to go any day, all day!

Here's some of the details of the long top:
Cuffed sleeves are the thing now and you rarely see dressed/long top with cuffed sleeves! Even though its not in checkered prints, it looks really good!
Also, it has a fake pocket to spice up the top a little so that it isn't too plain and boring, If you're into monochrome apparels like me, this is my top pick for you!

Spaghetti Midriff Top in Maroon 
This is one of the casual look for a day out with your friends or a date. I've always wanted to get it for myself but I'm afraid I can't pull it off so thanks to Style Bliss I get to have a chance to give it a shot! 
You can pair it with shorts/jeans and you're definitely good to go! The ruffles actually gives off the very chilling and relaxed feel to the outfit. The material is so soft and unlike other midriff tops I see online, it isn't too translucent so you don't have to worry!
You can also match this with a bandage skirt and you're ready for a wild night out! Even though there are ruffles, it doesn't make you look fat at all, the curved neck line gives you ample space to match any accessories and pull off a total different look! 

Last but not least, this really cute polka dot skorts! For girls like me, skorts are the best alternative for us instead of skirts! There's also a belt in matching prints where you can tie up and it give you the school girl feel, right a not? 
The skirt is made of satin material so it's very flowy, and since is a skort, you don't have to worry even on windy days as there's shorts inside!
Since it's in polka dot prints, match it with a basic top/ tank and throw on some statement necklace and tadaaa, you're done. Do not match it with prints as it will look very complicated and cause the whole outfit to be wardrobe disaster!

So that's all the apparels that I've been kindly sponsored with and I can say I am definitely satisfied with my choices and its my honour to work with Style Bliss!!! They have many other apparels too on their web store ranging from casual to formal and you'll be spoiled with choices when shopping with them. Hop over to http://miyoconline.com/shopping.php?mode=B&var=6329 and shop away!

Meanwhile, do follow me on Ig/Twitter @Janxlsm or visit my blog @ http://equitablelies.blogspot.sg

Once again, thank you to Style Bliss for this opportunity and also my sister to let me take over her blog for this, and to also kick start my guest blogging experience!

Goodbye reader's of Michhysaurous!