Snippets of a life in Singapore: The Cappuccino Dunking Pit

Highs

- Spending Friday exploring the Asia Civilisations Museum and learning about The Great Singapore Duck Race down the river!
- Kicking the weekend off with burgers and beers in town on Friday night. And paying $5 for James Boags! Wow beer that was actually cheaper than London.
- Spending a lovely arvo catching up with Evan & Isabelle in the Botanical Gardens & enjoying Singapore Symphony Orchestra in the Park (which was free!) Followed by a top notch meal at Halia, a restaurant in the Ginger Garden. Quote Jayme: Whilst strolling out of the Botanical Gardens 'what an awesome, awesome day' :)

Lows

- Beef Rendang that wasn't really like Rendang
- Getting eaten by mozzies for the first time since we got here Note to self: Must wear mozzie spray when going to The Botanical Gardens.
- I wasn't that impressed with Newton Hawker market, had better at the food courts.

And for the foodies

Fri - We went to a place that had been voted one of the top burger places in Singapore - Bergs Gourment Burgers. Bonus being they sold $5 beers (prob why they were voted one of the top!) We picked our burgers and agreed to share 50:50 (a ratio which I was soon to regret and should have renegotiated a 80:20). I picked a 'Kiwi Stud' (Prime Lamb Pattie, Garam Masala Spices, Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion, Aioli & Bergs Sauce) and Dave picked an 'Ayam a Chicken' (Grilled Chicken Breast, Chilli Ginger Marinade, Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion, Cucumber Raita, Mango Chutney & Aioli), with a side order of Sweet Potato Chips and Wasabi Mayo to boot. My choice of burger was infinitely better than Dave's so I was quite upset at having to swap halfway through esp as I ended my meal with his dry chicken and not my juicy lamb. But then I had to remind myself of my marriage vows, through times of adversity and all ;)

Sat - We had a quiet day, stayed in and cooked Beef Rendang curry but the recipe said to put in 150g of shaved coconut, we actually only put 100g and even that made it far too coconutty and very dry which we weren't that impressed with. I don't remember Rendang ever being that cocunutty when I've had it out.

Sun - We spent the early part of the day exploring parts of Singapore and then had lunch at Newton Hawkers market. I was quite excited to try Hokkien Noodles so I ordered a large one (to share with Dave obviously) and Dave ordered some chicken satay sticks. But the noodles were very slimy and nothing special apart from the prawns and the nice chilli sauce. As a pile of chicken satay sticks were placed on the table I said 'oh they really do come in 10's!' and they were pretty yummie served with the usual cucumber and shallots.
After having a couple of beers and enjoying the concert, Evan & Isabelle decided to head home but as Dave & I hadn't expensed any food for a couple of days we decided to treat ourselves to a meal at the Halia restaurant in the Botanical Gardens (set within the Ginger Garden). We sat outside amongst the jungle which was such a lovely setting (apart from the mozzie bites!). I had the Prawn Satay sticks (I'm starting to realise after writing this blog that I eat a lot of prawns!) served on a bed of glass noodles salad with papaya and grapefruit pieces all dressed with a ginger flower dressing and it was as superb as it sounds and more! Very zesty & refreshing flavours. The prawn meat texture tasted like it had been lightly minced with other added flavours and then grilled. Dave had a Ribeye Steak served with a jacket potato with truffle butter, mushrooms and green fine beans and his was also as superb as it sounds. You always know a good restaurant when even the beans are cooked to perfection, with just enough bite. And Pièce de résistance was the truffle butter, it was..was..I'm struggling to describe how good it was....so I will leave it to your imaginations.
It transpired whilst deciding whether or not to have dessert that Dave mainly wanted to visit this place as he had read about 'The Cappuccino Dunking Pit' made with layers of warm chocolate, cool vanilla cream and iced coffee shavings together with a brownie for dunking (shock horror!). So when the dessert menu arrived and it wasn't on there he was quite distraught, we gingerly asked the waitress about this infamous dunking pit and she explained it was only served during the day. Doh. But looking at our sad faces she advised she would ask the chef if he would make it specially for us and he agreed! Triumph! I will let the photo speak for itself :)