High tea set @ Okada Coffee (100AM)

Went back to Okada Coffee for their high tea set which is going at 20 bucks for 1 person and 36 dollars for 2. The latter set comes in two tiers compared to the single set where the items are placed on a single plate. You can choose either coffee or tea to go with your dessert plate so I went for tea since I don't drink coffee.

Although I was quite impressed with the quality of the cake when I first visited them, the high tea set was a bit of a disappointment. First of all, there wasn't any description of what items were included in the set so I had no idea what I was going to get. As such, I didn't know that it included beef meatballs which I couldn't eat since I don't eat beef. As a result, I had to ask the waiter what that dish contained before returning it. I really appreciate the waiter's gesture of asking the chef on what items can be given to me in exchange for the meatballs but getting four sandwiches in return turned out to be a pretty bad idea. There was too much cream and butter in the sandwiches and there were already two sandwiches in the plate so it was normal that I couldn't finish them. The rest of the items also failed to impress me so I left the place a tad disappointed.

Frankly speaking, I really like Okada Coffee for its Japanese ambience and the good service but there's got to be something more appealing about the pastries and cakes to complement the coffee and other drinks. Although I do understand that the coffee should be the main product, it surely doesn't hurt to do well in the supplementary items because that will surely bring about more spending by the customers as compared to buying coffee only. Coupled with the fact that the location isn't that favourable, it will be very important for the cafe to promote itself and stand out among the crowd so that it builds up a stream of regulars and can keep going.

I haven't actually given up on this place so I'll pop by again to try other items which I hope will restore my faith in their menu.

Review of The Call (2013 movie)

This film's story is pretty straightforward in the sense and can be divided into two arcs. The first is pretty much introductory and lays the foundation for what's going to happen in the main arc. Halle Berry plays the role of Jordan Turner, an LAPD 9-1-1 operator who receives a frantic call one night from a teenager named Leah Templeton who is terrified by the appearance of an intruder into her home. Although Jordan manages to give good advice in helping Leah evade detection by the intruder, the disconnection of the call leads Jordan to redial the number immediately and this results in the intruder turning back and locating Leah easily. Jordan tries frantically to stop the man from hurting Leah when he picks up the phone but he replies with a cold answer, "It's already done." and hangs up. Days later, Leah is found dead and her corpse dumped in the open.

This incident causes Jordan to lose her confidence and she is so guilt-stricken that she can no longer be a 9-1-1 operator. 6 months later, she becomes a trainer for the operators and chances upon a call received by a newbie operator from another teenager Casey Welson who gets abducted from a shopping mall's carpark. The newbie operator is unable to handle the situation thus Jordan takes over the call with great reluctance and attempts to help Casey escape from the trunk of the abductor's car by giving her instructions over the phone...

The reason why I became interested in this film was due to an interview of Halle Berry about her role of playing a 9-1-1 operator in this movie. She mentioned that as part of the preparation for the role, she listened to voice recordings of people who had called the hotline and there was one which was especially painful to listen to. The call was from a woman who called for help because she was in danger of being sexually assaulted but there was nothing the operator could do other than listening helplessly to what was happening at the other end of the line (apparently, the police had not reached the caller yet when she was undergoing such an ordeal). There was a line in the movie as well which seemed to bring out the message of the dilemma these emergency hotline operators face. Although they are expected not to be too emotionally involved in what their callers are going through, it can be rather emotionally draining for them especially if they do not know if the police or medics reached the callers in time or whether the cases ended well. Like what happened in this film, it is not difficult to imagine the trauma Jordan went through because her action had unwittingly caused the death of a caller who depended on her to survive.

However, this film chooses not to dwell too much on this soul-searching part and focuses a lot on the action aspect. It was a pulsating ride to the end where Jordan struggles to make the best out of the situation and help Casey escape from the abductor. Time after time, Casey's attempts are thwarted and innocent people are drawn into the case and suffer at the hands of the abductor. I think the tempo of these scenes was very well-controlled and it made up for the lack of emphasis of the emotional side of things in the story. The icing on the cake was that, the ending was pretty unconventional and helped the film to make a deep impression on the viewers. Whether you agree with the way things were handled is one thing but it sure is an unexpected development that will set viewers thinking a little more about the movie rather than dismissing it as a forgettable suspense thriller from the minute they step out of the cinema.

Buta (pork) sukiyaki at Yayoiken やよい軒

The biggest problem I encounter whenever I'm in the mood for sukiyaki is that many places sell the beef version and offer no alternatives. That's bad news for someone like me who don't eat beef. Imagine my joy when I happened to chance upon Yayoiken's offering of buta sukiyaki! Of course, having not eaten the beef version before, I can't really compare this version with the beef one which is regarded to be standard fare when it comes to sukiyaki. Personally, I think Yayoiken's version is pretty good where you have a good mix of vegetables, mushrooms, rice noodles and of course, the thinly sliced pork which absorbs the flavour of the sukiyaki stock fully. If they had used chicken instead, it might not have fared so well with me because chicken tends to get overcooked and tough in a hotpot while pork is a bit more resilient to this type of slow cooking. It's a substantial portion for lunch and with the free flow of sparkling white rice from Japan, that should be a pretty hearty meal to have especially since the set meal price is below $20 (before taxes). Now, I know where to go to the next time I have a craving for buta sukiyaki again... ^__^

Green tea galore from Uji, Kyoto - Tsujiri

On the first floor of 100AM lies this small shop named Tsujiri which offers lots of green tea-based desserts and drinks made from green tea produced in Uji, Kyoto. There are lots of coffee places in Singapore but the same can't really be said for tea even though I believe that there are enough tea lovers around too. Besides, one of Uji's most famous produce (also recommended on the city's tourism board website) is tea so it's a great thing that Tsujiri brought the real thing over from Kyoto. Being a lover of green tea products, I decided to give this place a try after lunch.

The shop is actually quite simple in terms of it decor which is primarily made up of green and white. Most of the shop space is taken up by the counter and production area with a small shelf showcasing some of the green tea you can buy e.g. the chawan and brush used in traditional tea ceremonies and the green tea in pre-packed packages. As for the glass shelf facing the corridor, it was actually quite bare when I visited so the focus of Tsujiri seems to be more on its matcha drinks and matcha-themed desserts rather than baked goods such as cakes. Maybe they will expand their range of products in time to come? Anyway, with the extensive drinks and desserts menu, they probably won't need to do this anytime soon because it will take some time to taste everything or most of the items on the menu.

And this was what I had during my first Tsujiri visit - the matcha anmitsu dessert. Essentially, this is matcha ice-cream with kanten jelly, red bean paste, mochi and shiratama as its base and toppings. It's not exactly a big serving so it's actually just nice as a post-meal dessert. As such, you don't have to worry about this being too much for you to take after a full lunch or dinner. There isn't a lot I have to say about the side ingredients which is pretty standard in places dishing out Japanese-style desserts but I think the matcha ice-cream deserves special mention here for its rich and flavourful taste and texture which is to my liking. I've tried matcha ice-cream with a tinge of bitterness (too much of the matcha power) or tasted a bit powdery (maybe the matcha powder wasn't blended properly?) before so Tsujiri's version was actually the best I had so far because of the scent of the matcha lingering in your mouth even after finishing the dessert. In addition, it wasn't saccharine-sweet nor bitter (at least with respect to my tastebuds) so I think they got it right with the proportion of matcha used in the ice-cream. Only thing which I think can be improved is, the toppings take up quite a bit of space at the top of the cup so it may be better for them to go below the ice-cream and make it easier for people to eat. I had to navigate my way through the toppings to ensure that while I ate the ice-cream, I did not accidentally push the toppings over and make them land on the table.

On another visit, I didn't actually eat at the outlet but rather I bought their matcha chocolate cake and had it at home. That explains the poor presentation in the photo. ^__^ Anyway, the only thing chocolatey about this cake is the white chocolate shavings on top which I thought I could do without with. It didn't add a lot of flavour to the cake itself anyway so I would prefer to have the cake being pure matcha flavour. As for the cake itself, I thought the sponge portion was a tad too dry although I liked the matcha layer which was again rich enough to leave an impression and not put people off. Since Tsujiri's strengths seem to be in its drinks and desserts, I think the cake needs some tweaking after all but it's still a credible effort. I didn't see the cake on display during my first visit so I'm assuming that this is something that doesn't get served every day.