March 2011 - Regina Chow - Singapore Fashion, Beauty, Lifestyle & Travel Blog

Potion@Nostalgia Hotel

Sunday, March 20, 2011

I was craving for tau sar pao (bun with red bean paste) and was determined to get my fix at Forty Hands. I just couldn't get its soft fluffy dough and silky smooth red bean paste out of my mind.

Alas, when we arrived at Tiong Bahru, it had already closed for the day! I didn't know that Forty Hands only opens till 6.30p.m. on Sundays. Feeling somewhat disappointed, we took a stroll in the neighbourhood in search of other yummy food.

Lady luck must have been shining on us, for we stumbled upon a gem of a find - Potion Cafe & Bar, which is located within the premises of Nostalgia Hotel (I know it sounds sleazy but it really isn't!).

We were attracted by its colonial style decor and al fresco dining concept, but the affordable set dinner was what really drew us in. There was a 3-course set dinner offer at S$30++ for UOB card members! We were a little skeptical at first, but once the appetizers came, we knew we were in for a treat.

Not only did our garlic prawns and bruschettas come in huge servings, they were well-presented and most importantly, very delicious. There were about 8-10 large and succulent prawns marinated in a creamy garlic sauce. I also loved that the bruschettas had just the right amount of basil and tomatoes drizzled in olive oil.

We both had the Wagyu steak for our main course and we have nothing but rave reviews for the salacious steak. After trying the steak at The Cliff, I have been pining for it hopelessly and no other steak comes close, really. And just in case you were wondering, no, Morton's doesn't even come close. Surprisingly, I thought the steak here was the 2nd best steak I've had since The Cliff's.

The meal ended on a sweet note with desserts and I had absolutely no complaints about that either. I think that says a lot given that I am a rather fastidious eater.

I would highly recommend this cafe for its value-for-money set meals and affable service. The quality of the food, despite the pocket-friendly price tag, left me quite astounded.

Here's the address for those who are interested in trying it out:
Potion Cafe & Bar
Nostalgia Hotel
77 Tiong Bahru Road
Singapore 168727

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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

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Wednesday, March 09, 2011

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Tuesday, March 08, 2011

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Monday, March 07, 2011

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Sunday, March 06, 2011

Games Night

Saturday, March 05, 2011

Ever since we played Taboo last Christmas, Karen, Jolene and I have been thinking of organizing another games night to relive the fun that we had. The original plan was to head down to Sushi's place as I've not seen her since Leo's first month! Alas, Sushi wasn't home that day so we popped over to Karen's place for games instead.

Before games, we had an unhealthy but absolutely delicious dinner at Tonkichi with fried pork fillet and pork loin. This is my favourite restaurant for deep fried Japanese pork. Every slice is covered in a light batter and fried to perfection, without any hint of oiliness. If you haven't tried Tonkichi, you should! There're outlets at Suntec, Takashimaya, Tampines Mall and Shaw Centre (Lido).

Karen prepared creme brulee for dessert at her place (her first time!), but the bottle of butane gas she had didn't fit the chef's torch and she wasn't able to caramelize the sugar coating on top. That was when Ethan came to the rescue by cleverly improvising on the spot with existing tools. Check out the flame below! Poor Ethan burnt off the hair on one of his fingers while he was at it. Thankfully, his efforts were not futile, for at least we got to savour the yummy final product eventually!

While Ethan was busy in the kitchen, JW was busy arranging all the photos in the living room to ensure that they were perfectly aligned. He does that at home too and without fail, I would always tease him about his obsessive compulsive disorder! He expects every picture to be straight and evenly spaced.

Whatever it is, having two men doing housework at the same time while the ladies watched on in amusement was indeed a rare sight.

Then, it was on to games. Karen and Ethan were great hosts. We had tea, lychee martini and a wide selection of snacks to quench our thirst and satiate our hunger (we are always hungry!) while we played Pictureka, Cluedo, followed by Monopoly. Silly me forgot to bring my Monopoly Deal cards so we had to make do with the board game. Pictureka is quite a hilarious game as everything is contestable. Cluedo on the other hand is pretty intellectual while Monopoly is really just a game of luck.

We paired up for Monopoly. Thanks to JW's greed, we both lost terribly, as you can see from the 3 miserable dollars that we had at the end of the game. The games carried on for hours and we only called it a night at 5am!