artichokes rock.

you say its your birthday... its my birthday too yeah.. no really, it was my birthday. 25 again. ;) so the ladies took me for champagne brunch. yeah!  except i got a bit lost enroute and was half an hour late.  oops.

we went to the artichoke cafe and bar which is a delightful hidden gem off the busy middle road behind a chapel.  its got this cool idea (not vegan, so not the coolest, but cool) the chefs just cook whatever they feel like.  and they use fresh ingredients.  they even have a herb garden outside the kitchen where they grown their own herbs.


i ordered haloumi and mushrooms which comes with tomatoes and rocket on top of toast.. thick turkish sliced bread.... which was pretty damn good. they don't do soy milk (cause they didn't want to... its a whole milk, organic meat kinda place....) so i ordered an espresso   which was lovely. kathy ordered champagne..oh la la.... remember.. we are celebrating.. ME!!
the others did order something to eat.... it looked equally awesome in these massive fry up skillets.. but i really don't remember.  i was so absorbed with eating my awesome bread.  yup.  the bread was awesome.  and then we ordered dessert which was this awesome burnt toffee pudding, which tasted just like cool november nights in canada sitting by a fire watching the wind blow the last leaves off the trees.  seriously, it was just wow.

and also for my birthday.. i went shopping and bought myself a nice little treat.  tiffany's what?  working my life away in singapore does have a few perks....

and also for my birthday.. i got not one but 2 messages from my newest man toy.  seriously, what is wrong with me?  how can i not just find one nice one that i like and can keep and take home?!....... oohh but this one is sooo nice. i met him two weekends ago. he was in singapore on business.  and we went for dinner at clarke quay and made out by the river. so romantic.  then i went for lunch with him the next day and wandered china town, bum-boating around the town acting like the tourists that i avoid. oh heart of mine be still.   he's coming back in october.  not getting my hopes up.. but fingers and toes are crossed.  this guy.. is the bomb.  he's from california (so he's got that cool open minded thing going on..) he's tall (like 6 ft.  i am obsessed with height since living in singapore.. aka.. land of short people)  he's smart.  he's funny.  ok, he doesn't drive a ferrari .. but really does that matter?

so artichoke.... a bit heavy on the whole meat and milk loving vibe.. damn when did i become so elitist? (remember, i'm a vegan......)  but the food was good. the herb garden was cool.  and the vibe was really good. if i lived near i'd go again.  often. i have no idea how much it cost. how cool are my friends??!  let's just say.. it wasn't twenty dollar bills that kathy was laying down.. more like fifties..a few of them.... ok so.... it doesn't top boomerang.. but its damn close.

Artichoke Cafe and Bar
161 Middle Road
Tel: 6336 6949

hahaha.. their email is wassup@artichoke.com.sg.  serious.   awesome.

puttin' on the ritz.....and the eclairs

i have been in singapore for officially one year.  what? i know. times flies when you are expected to work ALL THE TIME. and the weather never changes so it all just seems to fade into one extremely long day.. now i know how janis joplin felt.... "as we discover on the train.. its all the same fucking day"... except i'm not high on drugs..constantly drunk... or in southern US in 1969.... just imagine if i was! oh now that would be a blog i'd want to read!!

so to celebrate our awesome one year of mental stagnation we spared no expense.  there was only one place to go. the ritz baby.  ritz carlton. high tea.  the stuff dreams are made of.  the ritz carlton high tea is held in the chihuly lounge that was made for no one else but me.  it is completely decorated in... wait.. gold.  gold tables, gold sofas, gold pin stripped arm chairs, gold rimmed tea service... and odd modern glass swirly curly tail like sculptures by dale chihuly  the hotel itself is up on a small hill surrounded in lush greenery, so when you leave the main road and drive up to the entrance, its like you are ensconced in this lovely little serene luxiorious oasis.

the tea itself kicks the ass off of raffles.  its a buffet style with at least 3 different stations.  and all you can eat!  first station is finger sandwiches and nibbly bits.  second station is fresh warm scones, cream, jam.. and a banana split station.. and third station is eclairs.. at least 20 varieties.. including the chocolate one covered in... yup.. gold.  and its cheaper at $45.00 per pax (each person) than raffles.   and the couches were comfortable.

so we were all there, frankie, lizzie, laura and kathy. except claire who is now in dubai.. and isabella who's been in canada for far too long.  laura is unsure what to do about her bali boy.. who seems to want to get alot more serious than she.  he asked if he could go home to canada with her when she goes in december. what? and lizzie's german is playing hard to get.. since he really lives in hong kong and was just in singapore for business.. and i've decided to give gordon another chance.

what is with me and guys that have names starting with g? this one, gordon, i met on the internet... (i know!)  he is singaporean. (which explains also the odd choice of english name... i know, gordon.. not gord or gordy.. but gordon...odd right?)... so we have a bit of a cultural gap.. well he calls it culture .. i call it him being a massive player.  i gave him the boot rather not nicely a few months ago by shouting at him and his playing ways.  he decided to 'never talk to me again'.  but well.. its a small town and its a short life.. and one thing leads to another and texts are sent and replied to.. and well... he has a ferrari.  can't blame a girl for enjoying driving around town in a ferrari. and nothing is wrong with a lovely dinner every now and again.  huh.

which is how i explained it to the girls.  yeah.  back to the eclairs.  that's right.  i did two trips to the eclair station.  i couldn't help myself. i seem to have developed a few weaknesses in singapore... namely for toffee chocolate eclairs.. and ferraris.

so yes, besides a bit of leg being shown as we tried to stand up from the very plush sofas, high tea at the ritz was a very civilized and posh affair.  oh..and our server was from switzerland   he was this tall drink of water with impeccable manners.  and a deep low voice.  and a french accent. damn cute.  if only i was drunk and high as janis now, THAT would be an event. back to the eclairs.

The Ritz Carlton Millenia Singapore
7 Raffles Avenue
Tel: 6337 8888

slice of saturday

macritchie reservoir 10:00 AM. me, lizzie, laura and kathy hit the trail.  and walked and walked and talked and walked. for 3 hours!  11 kms around the reservoir.  we even took the sky bridge detour. now that is a view.  people should build houses up in the trees again.  i would kill to live in the top of one of those massive trees surrounded by lush greenery and silence.  mmmm..

and after 3 hours of walking we were hungry. i had originally suggested starbucks, but my friends were in need of a little more sustenance then coffee and cakes after our 11 km walk...   and so we hoped into a taxi to upper thomson and out in front of crust.  crust is a pizza place.  not just any pizza place but a  gourmet pizza place.. its hard to get anything close to good pizza in asia... and this place.. was pretty damn good... especially with thin crispy crusts and vegetable pizza options.. like artichoke hearts.

i ordered vegetarian supreme which was pretty good.  kathy ordered cajun chicken.  laura ordered the brushchetta and lizzie ordered the spicy pesto scallops.  and we all ate most of it.  their pizzas are quite large,  well for one person (8 slices) but we were hungry and it was delicious.

and this time.. not much talking. we had spent all our conversation on the 3 hour long hike.  what fun!
so....if you live in the upper thomson area (there's one in holland village too)... crust delivers.  not bad.  not great.  but not bad.

Crust Gourmet Pizza Bar
Upper Thomson
215R Upper Thomson Road
Tel: 6456 1555