How to Entertain a Lego-Mad Boy: Bricks and Cubes Cafe, the Cathay

Ethan is truly obsessed with Lego (in a good way!), which is great because there are so many Lego options around to keep him entertained.   Since I needed a bit of a break to catch up with my friend L, we decided to bring our two boys to Bricks and Cubes café, which I had chanced across on another blog.   Highlight - this lego-themed café has a special dedicated play area, well stocked with a very extensive range of lego and duplo bricks, and play stations for each child!

It was the best three hours catching up with L over a meal that we had for a few years.  Ethan and HX were completely engrossed in building their creations and sneaking peeks at the child-friend movies that were screening (we caught the tail-end of UP, all of FINDING NEMO, and the beginning of MINIONS), and only dashed to the eating area for five-minute bursts of fuel replenishment, in the form of pizza and spaghetti.

The food is frankly nothing to shout about - average café standard and a limited range (pizzas, pastas, desserts and coffees), but it is pretty affordable and serving portions are large.  In my opinion, I make a much better Hawaiian pizza - the pizza crust at Bricks was slightly thick and not crispy, and there was a bit too much mozzarella cheese for Ethan's liking.  Our other order of the spaghetti aglio olio was decent though, with a nicely crusted fish fillet accompanying it.

To sum it up, all of us had such an awesome day at Bricks and Cubes Café! We were there on a Saturday afternoon and the café was fairly empty with only 2 other children and a loud toddler who was flinging lego bricks on the floor.  But to avoid disappointment, it might be a good idea to call beforehand to check if the café has been booked by a group or for a party as the play area is small, and can only support around 6 to 7 children playing within. 



www.bricksncubes.sg
Bricks and Cubes Café
The Cathay, 2 Handy Road #02-12/14, Singapore 229233

 

Home made Hawaiian Pizza - Yamaha Lunch

On Thursdays, Ethan goes for Yamaha keyboard class.  Due to the early start time for his Yamaha class, I have to pick him up early from school and give him his lunch on the way to class.  And that's where the fun starts, because he gets a different lunch each week that he really really looks forward to.

This week's Yamaha lunch is by Ethan's special request, a home-made Hawaiian pizza with lots of pineapple and a little bit of ham (in view of the latest findings about processed meats being carcinogenic), with his favourite Gouda cheese.   Ethan must have found it good as he gobbled the entire pizza up and kept on mumbling "what a delicious meal" in between mouthfuls.

Pizza base made using this recipe, tried and tested since 2007.  Try making your own pizzas!  They are really worth the effort (think crispy and fragrantly yeasty, bread pizzas just don't make the cut) and don't take that much time either.  My cheat trick - I make the dough and pre-roll the bases in advance, then pop them in the freezer to be used whenever there is a request for pizza.
http://emmaelephant.blogspot.sg/2007/05/homemade-pizza.html

Ethan eats steak at Lawry's (Pictorial)

So mummee says, since I am well-behaved, I now get to go out to nice restaurants with mummee and daddeedee. Hmm, i must look as sweet and innocent as possible so i can go out more often!

i love prime rib steak! No rubbishy minced beef for me, only babies eat that. More, daddeedee, more!

No, it's not my birthday but I don't know why the cake is right in front of me. It's daddeedee's birthday! Happy birthday daddeedee!

Details on the food experience at Lawry's here.

Medz, Orchard Central

I usually try to give Marche-type restaurants a wide berth (mediocre food, expensive prices, long queues) but Medz, located in the bowels of the dizzingly confusing Orchard Central turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Giving us a positive first impression was the interestingly done-up interior, with lots of turkish lanterns casting warm jewelled tones on the mosaic tiled walls, and a warm and inviting ambience.

With a medley of offerings from the various Mediterranean countries - French, Italian, Turkish, Greek, Spanish, etc, there was no fear that we would not find something to our liking.

I opted for the truffled chicken (SGD10) from the French stall. This was good - tasty and flavourful and not disguised with lots of sauce, with our only slight quibble being that the breast meat was a trifle dry. You can help yourself to a range of spreads (like herb butter) to go with the chicken too. At this price, a steal.

Our other choice of Adana Kebab (SGD10) - a minced lamb skewer - was also a winner. The aroma and scent of the spices complemented the robustness of the lamb meat beautifully without being too overpowering, and the slightly charred exterior imparted a wonderfully smokey taste to the kebab, while the interior remained juicy.

This is one place I wouldn't mind coming back to in future if my tastebuds are feeling fickle!

Medz
181 Orchard Road, Orchard Central
#B2-01/03

Seb's Bistro, Rochester Park

Sebastian's at Greenwood Park was one of the restaurants that I had wanted to eat at but didn't get the chance to before it closed down a few years ago. So when I heard that Sebastian Reuiller had opened a new place at Rochester Park, I jumped at the chance to check it out.

Located on the premises of the now (alas!) defunct Cassis, but with a distinctly more laid-back and rustic feel, Seb's Bistro offers only out-door dining (bad luck for those hot weather and mozzie haters) and has a children's playground next door. The tables and chairs did look somewhat worn down and worse for wear, whether this was a result of the tropical weather ravages or from abuse by children I was not sure. But in any case, we were there for the food, which did not disappoint.

I can't help but order duck confit whenever I see it on the menu and this was no exception. Seb's Bistro's duck confit with braised red cabbage and apple ($29) was a winner, with crispy skin, just-right level of saltiness, still soft duck meat, and the interestingly tangy cabbage and apple accompaniment.

Even better was the weekend roast. A darn good prime rib roast, pink and delightfully succulent, beefy and savoury. Not one for the faint hearted, prepare to loosen your belts. We ordered the ladies cut (400g, $35) and it was almost too much for us even with Ethan sharing some of the beef.

Merry Kissmas, mummmmee!

Note though, that the full menu options are only available on weekends. On weekdays, the offerings are much reduced, focusing on light eats (sandwiches and such).

Seb's Bistro
7 Rochester Park
www.rochesterhouse.com.sg

db Bistro Moderne, Marina Bay Sands

I had been wanting to visit the celebrity chef restaurants at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) ever since they first opened, but for one reason or other, the visit never materialised until two weeks ago, when i was galvanised into action by the news of Santi's impending closure (more on Santi in a later post).

When you have a toddler in tow, dining out becomes severely curtailed by several considerations - does the restaurant open in time for him to have an early lunch? does it welcome tolerate unpredictable toddler moods and noises? is child-friendly food available? etc etc. It was thus a relief to find out that yes, db Bistro Moderne has high chairs available and opens its doors for an early lunch at 1130am.

An American take on the much loved Parisian bistro, the ambience and atmosphere at db Bistro Moderne was convivial and casual(ish), with all the typical bistro accoutrements and fittings (red velvet and dark wood).

I plumped for the famous original db burger ($38) (sirloin burger with braised short ribs and foie gras). The minced beef patty was beautifully cooked to a medium rosy pink and the middle was stuffed with a generous heap of the braised short ribs and a small lobe of foie gras. Unfortunately I wasn't able to tell how the entire concoction melded together in gastronomic decadence because I was only allowed to eat the beef patty. All the good stuff landed on ...

mummee, stop taking photographs and feed me that yummy stuff quickly!

.... yup, Ethan's plate. He finished it all (and half the bread basket) but only had a taste of the foie gras before deciding he didn't like it. Check out his special fine dining bib!

This is what my mangled original db burger looked like, post-Ethan. It tasted pretty ordinary, the beef wasn't all that tasty and I was expecting a lot more at this price point. To be fair, I guess it would have been a lot better with the addition of the short ribs and foie gras (although, how does one manage the logistical feat of eating such a towering burger without deconstructing all its parts?). Servings were huge - we couldn't finish the admittedly very delish and somewhat salty fries, more's the pity. I loved the Piper Heidseick champagne though (thanks UOB) and had two glasses all to myself - was kinda hoping that the champagne fumes would send Ethan into an early nap stupor but no such luck.



db Bistro Moderne
B1-48, Galleria Level
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands