Food Tasting: Artichoke

Seated right in the middle of the busy Middle Road, yet ironically, located rather inconspicuously while being in the heart of Singapore's Arts and Heritage district, is Artichoke, a Middle-Eastern inspired restaurant set up in 2010, with a backdrop setting of street art, 60's soul and 90's hiphop.

Bjorn Shen, chef-owner of Artichoke and also author of the Artichoke cookbook, shouldn't be a new face to all, for he was very recently featured as one of the resident judges on MasterChef Singapore. Over the 14 years of his culinary journey, he has accumulated an impressive list of industry accolades, including ‘Chef of the Year 2013’ ­ SC Global,

‘Rising Chef of The Year 2015’ finalist ­ World Gourmet Summit, ‘Best Local Chef 2016’ ­ SG

Readers’ Choice Awards, ‘Singapore's Best 20 Chefs 2016’ ­ World Gourmet Summit, and 'Chef of The Year 2018’ finalist­  World Gourmet Summit. 

Other than being featured as judge on MasterChef Singapore, Bjorn has also participated in programmes such as MasterChef Asia, Secret Eats, and has taken up lead roles on Eat List Star Season 2 and The Ultimate Brocation.

Artichoke is probably the least authentic Middle-Eastern restaurant you would have encounter, for the food is fun and creative; drawing inspiration from the Middle-Eastern flavours and ingredients rather than being traditional. So here comes what truly matters; food, oh glorious food!

The first round of food, Mezzes and taster, that was served to the table was actually enough to fill our tummy and leave us satiated, no joke.

Mezzes (from top, clockwise): Turkish Toast, Iraqi-spiced Mushrooms, Burnt Miso Hummus, Samphire (sea asparagus, lebneh, shallots), Beetroot Borani (yoghurt, pistachio dukkah, dill), Babaganoush (smoked eggplant, pomegranate teriyaki sauce, pomegranate and sesame seeds)


I have to give a special shoutout the those two bags of Turkish toasts. They are so good, omg.
I tend to secretly judge a restaurant by the most basic food, bread, for I'm a huge bread-lover, and Artichoke has totally aced it. Specially served in paper bag to keep them warm, these toasts has a lovely crust on the outside and chewy on the inside, typical of a gourmet artisan bread.


My favourite of the lot has to be the burnt miso hummus, for the addition of miso has added so much more depth to the flavour of an otherwise normal, standard hummus. The rich and creamy texture of the hummus, paired with the crusty, chewy Turkish toast was definitely the best combination, ever.

Taster (middle): Devils on Horseback
wagyu ham with dried apricot, labneh, mint, almond

It's probably a shame that I have to give this a miss (I don't take beef), for this was very well received at the table. It was a new dish that has yet to be launched officially on their menu though. But judging from how much the rest of the bloggers (and their +1s) loved this, I'm pretty sure this would make it to their menu pretty soon, so do keep a lookout for this!

Jerusalem Salad

crumbled falafel, tofu tahini, mango amba

This is probably the kind of salad you will not choose to eat when on a diet. 

The tofu tahini gave the salad a creamy, rich texture and the mango amba helped to tone down the richness with a "pickle-y" mango flavour. I personally felt that it's a waste that the falafel (deep-fried ball/patty made from ground chickpeas/fava beans) was so thoroughly crumbled that I hardly tasted them. 

Fried Cauliflower Salad

fried cauliflower, 5-min egg, miso hummus, labneh, Isreali salad, tahini, skhug, mago amba, toast

Yet another cheatday-worthy kind of salad. Those fried cauliflower got OYHZ going for seconds when she's usually not a fan of her veggies, and there's nothing surprising about that because they were so so so good! Imagine a vegetable that taste almost like... chips! Although not exactly crisp and crunchy like your typical deep fried food, the cauliflower florets were definitely fried till the point where they have the charred flavour that is so addictive. 

This is THE SALAD you absolutely have to give it a try, even if you usually hate salads. I'm not even exaggerating. 

Haloumi 

I know, they look exactly like some pan-fried taukwa, but haloumi is actually a semi-hard, unripened, brined cheese made from a mixture of goat's and sheep's milk, and sometimes cow's too. As it has a high melting point, haloumi is usually served fried or grilled. 

My first taste of haloumi cheese, and frankly speaking I felt a little.... cheated? This is not your typical rich, creamy and oozy goodness, which I was totally expecting of a cheese. Well, any cheese. Instead, the texture of haloumi deviates more towards fishcake and taukwa (firm beancurd), albeit a more savoury and chewy version. 

Squid Ink Couscous
with squid, clams and preserved lemon 

Yet again, my first taste of couscous, and they reminded me of barley. The blackness probably makes the dish seems a little too funky, but overall the taste of this dish was pretty mild and manageable. This was like the child that came out of a marriage between paella and risotto, if you can get what I'm trying to say. 

Golden Pomfret
charcoal-grilled locally farmed pomfret, with sweet onion chermoula & barbecued lemon

I was so loving the fish, for they were so well grilled. The skin were nicely charred but the flesh still tender and juicy. Even though the fish was pretty flavourful on its own, pairing it up with the sweet onion chermoula just brings the entire dish up to a whole new level. 

Hot Skillet Prawns
with green harissa, split cream and charred onions

The prawns were obviously huge, and extremely fresh. Nothing beats a mouthful of thick-fleshed, juicy prawn that's generously doused in an amazingly flavourful spicy condiment (green harissa). And you know what's better? Green Harissa is also supposedly to a real metabolism booster. 

Smoked Chicken
smoked chicken with toum garlic whip & pickles

I have to be really honest about this, that I did not bother with tasting the pickles, nor the toum garlic whip. And that's because the chicken itself was just so damn good on its own, and it seems like adding any other condiment to it will not be doing it justice!
The flavourful flesh was so tender and juicy (yet not to the point of being slimey) that it got all of us hooked at first bite. Definitely a seemingly simple and basic dish that totally swept us off our feet.

Lamb Shoulder
twice cooked lamb in milk sauce

The twice cooked lamb are so soft and tender, that the flesh was literally just falling apart with just a poke of the fork, I kid you not. I'm quite a big fan of lamb/mutton to begin with, so the usual gamey-ness doesn't really bother me. But honestly speaking, even though this dish was definitely very rich and rather strong in flavour (it's lamb in milk sauce, do you expect anything mild?), it's not that particularly gamey. Well, at least, not for me. I just loved this!

Lastly, let's not forget the most important thing that sweeten up the deal. Desserts!

Soft Serve Ice Cream (Sea Salt Burnt Honey)

This was like salted caramel soft serve, but better! I always find that the sweetness of caramel comes with a sickly-sweet aftertaste, which was absent in this burnt honey flavour. Moreover, the sweetness of honey also has more depth to its flavour, giving this soft serve a more subtly exquisite taste.

Date Pudding

I always "eat" desserts with my eyes first, and I'm not going to lie that the appearance of this date pudding did disappoint me a little. But people, the existence of this date pudding is to teach you a very important (albeit cliche) life lesson: do not judge a book by its cover.
The date pudding was more of a bread pudding, sponge cake texture, that was obviously drenched (or rather, partially submerged) in a concoction of smoked milk custard sauce with sea salt and bits of coffee jelly, and then topped with cashew caramel and cocoa powder.
Sweetness level of this dessert was definitely on the high end, so if you're the kind of person who enjoys "not-so-sweet" sweet dessert, then the rich flavour of this date pudding might be an overkill for you.

Malabi Split

Now, this is the kind of dessert I would first feast with my eyes, then feed to my camera, before getting them all into my belly. However, the coconut vanilla pudding was very coconuty, which I'm definitely not a fan of, but would have gone well with the subtle peppery flavour of pink peppercorn and tangy flavour of the strawberry ice. I personally love the strawberry ice though. I mean, strawberries with a popsicle texture, what's not to love about that, right?

Artichoke is located at 161 Middle Road, Singapore 188978

Opens Tuesday to Friday from 1600 - 2230 

Saturday & Sunday from 1130 - 2230

For more information, visit their FB page or Instagram  

Till then,

Mia Foo

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NZL Travelogue: Jucy Chaser Campervan Review

Hello, lovely readers! As y'all should know by now, I've just returned from a 9D8N campervan trip to New Zealand North Island recently. So before I get started from the long long journey of my NZL travelogue series (I took ONE year to complete my Hokkaido travelogue), I shall first get y'all started on the campervan we've chosen as our home-on-wheels for the trip.

The Jucy Chaser! 

The JUCY Chaser has everything you need for a road trip for three. Featuring two double beds, a fully-equipped kitchen and its very own shower and toilet, the JUCY Chaser is up for any adventure!The Chaser is fully self contained with a toilet, shower and grey water tank.

Using Toyota Hiace 2004 or newer model, Jucy has remodelled the automatic transmission van into a 3m high campervan (CV) with an interior height of 1.92m, with an 80L fresh water tank (two separated tanks, one for the shower and one for the kichenette tap) and 85L grey water tank.

And here's how the interior looks like. Pictures were taken on the very last day of our trip, hence things are a little messy. HEH!

The CV comes with blinds on all windows (with the exception of sun roof) so privacy will not be an issue. The Jucy Chaser does not come with air conditioning in the main cabin (air-con only available at the driver's cabin) but since the weather was pretty cold (10+ degree Celsius) at night, it wasn't any issue at all. 

We've tried sleeping on the sun-roof bed on the "upper deck" once, but felt that it was considerably less comfortable than sleeping on the lower bed, which we had to set up using an L-shaped board and cushion (the two pieces you see slotted in behind the driver's and passenger's seats) every night. And so, we ended up using the upper deck bed as storage space for our luggage, pillows, duvets and bath towels. 

There was only two of us, but since the Chaser is supposed to house 3 pax (technically, you can sleep 4, but maximum allowable capacity is limited by the number of seat belts), we had a total of 4 pillows, 2 duvets and 4 bath towels. 

The bench seats here provided more storage space, where we kept the portable heater (only usable when CV is hooked up to main 240v power at powered sites), portable table (which stands right at the "hole" you see in the picture above), and our grocery items which do not require to be refrigerated. 

On the other end of the CV is our toilet/shower stall and a "kitchen". The Jucy Chaser also comes with DVD player, that also requires hookup to 240v main power to be switched on. Rental of the CV does not come with free DVDs, but there is a shelf of "pre-loved" items, probably left behind by other tourists, which included a small selection of movie DVDs, and other foodstuff (spreads, oils and I even saw others taking canned food and fresh produce like onions). 

The big, long bags on the floor is the set of picnic chairs provided by Jucy, which we totally didn't use at all, and only served to take up more of our precious space. =.="

The "kitchenette", though extremely tiny, was still pretty well equipped with a 2-burner gas hob running on a mini (was it 2L?) LPG gas tank. However, due to tight space, and standard pot & pan sizes, we could only use 1 burner at a time. 

The whole kitchenette comes well equipped with cooking equipment like pot, pan, spatula, ladle, glass bowls, pasta strainer, chopping board, tea towel and dishwashing brush. 

The necessary crockery and utensil like fork, spoons, knives, can opener and peeler are also provided.

Up above the hob and sink are more storage space, where you can find your plates, small bowls, ceramic mugs and wine glasses. 

Last but not least, there's also a kettle for you to boil some hot water on the hob, and a toaster, which once again, will require hookup to the 240v main power to be used. 

By the side of the crockery/utensil tray are two electrical sockets (require 240v main power), which you can use to get the portable heater and toaster going. There's also our 50L compressor fridge and a fire extinguisher. 

Though looking rather tiny, the fridge (both the chiller and separate freezer compartment) was more than enough for us to stock up our 8 nights' worth of dinner ingredients. 

And right opposite the fridge are the switches to the 12v battery system, that charges up while the engine is running, and also while the CV is hooked up to 240v main power. So on the 12v battery, you'll get lighting in the main cabin, power to the fridge, water pump (that serves both the hot water shower and sink) and ACC, which allows you to charge devices on the USB port and also switches on the stereo in the driver's cabin. For the 1st night of our trip, we drove for merely 2 hours, and the battery lasted us.... 30 minutes.

The toilet and shower stall is unbelievably small, but still decent. Hot water shower can get pretty hot (for me), and the water pressure is rather strong. But do note that due to the tiny space, privacy will be an issue because there is no way can you manage undressing and dressing up inside the shower stall itself. Just soaping myself up in the stall makes me bump into the walls here and there. 

The toilet bowl can be turned to one side to give you more space to shower, but it's actually quite negligible.  

As for the cassette toilet, we only used it for number 1 when the need arises (usually only in the early mornings at free campgrounds), plus there's this blue powder that came along with it, that helps to keep the cassette smelling like some hardcore chemical factory "fresh". It also stains all your pee (not sure about number 2, because we didn't use the cassette toilet for number 2s at all) blue, so it feels less dirty while you're pouring it away at the public dump stations (PDS).

And here's how we did it.

Always make sure that the toilet cover is closed before you can remove the cassette, and you can just twist the cap open and tip it right into the black water pipe opening at the dump station. Using the water hose provided at the dump station, give it a good rinse before empty another sachet of the magic blue power into the cassette, pour a little bit more water in, squish it around to mix, and replace the cassette back into the slot. 

Emptying the grey water tank is much easier, as you only need to attached the hose (provided in the CV), place the other end at the grey water pipe opening, pull the valve to the tank open, and wait until the water runs dry. 

Jucy requires us to return the CV with fully filled fresh water tanks and emptied grey water tank & toilet cassette. But you do not need to worry about locating a PDS on the way back, as there's a PDS located right inside their compound. 

Apparently, they also have after hours return service available. However, I'm not sure if it's also applicable to CVs, or only for car rentals. 

And here's some snippets of where our Jucy Chaser has brought us to over the course of 9 days, covering a distance of almost 2500km across the North Island. 

Compared to other MotorHomes providers like Wilderness, Maui and etc, Jucy is definitely more affordable and gives you a bigger bang for your buck, providing you with a no-frills CV that's fully equipped with all the bare necessities for a manageable and enjoyable campervan road trip.
Our rental of 9 days (for their spring season) only set us back by 900+ NZD all in, inclusive of insurance, which is quite a good deal.
One issue to note will be the estimated fuel consumption as stated on some rental websites though. It was stated on some rental websites of about 10 - 12L /100km. But we found that a full tank (of 70L) only lasted us at most 500km, which makes it at least 14L /100km.

Jucy also has some awesome relocation deals for their rentals, going for as low as only $1 a day. Find out more on such steals HERE

Till then,
Mia Foo

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Mia Eats: Wild Blooms

- credits to https://www.facebook.com/wildbloomssg -

Hey peeps, it's October again! The month of the year I've gradually grown to (kinda) dread as the numbers of my age just get bigger and bigger. But all thanks to my childhood bestie, there's always a reason to anticipate this month of the year regardless of how big those numbers are getting. HEH!
And this year, she found me these ridiculously beautiful birthday cakes!

Located at The Midtown at Upper Serangoon, Wild Blooms is a floral-themed cafe that has just opened this year. The cafe is pretty small, with only a single table for 2 on the 1st level of the cafe (and a couple of tables in alfresco setting), which tends to get quite a lot of sunlight in the afternoon. A short climb up the stairs will you to more seats on the 2nd floor, with really pretty marble tables! 

Osmanthus Tea 

Osmanthus, my love <3
Other than being a coffee junkie, I'm also a huge fan of tea-drinking, and Osmanthus has to be my absolute favourite (flower/floral) flavour, ever! And having such a IG-worthy strainer also makes the entire tea-drinking experience twice as enjoyable, don't you agree?
There's a whole lot of other flavours for your to choose from and you can also mix them up to create your own special tea flavour. Don't worry about feeling lost, or ending up with a less than ideal taste for your tea. The tea menu comes with all the recommendation you'll need to mix up the flavours, or you can also choose from the existing tea blends they've created in the menu.

Mozzarella Sticks Ala Marinara

We might have left the cheese sticks standing on the table for a little too long, for they were just a little more than lukewarm, and not "piping hot" enough for the mozzarella to be stringy and gooey.  The breaded crust was still very crispy and the generous topping of more cheese sauce added so much more flavour that I actually did not need the Marinara dipping sauce to enjoy the cheese sticks. 

Charcoal Wings

The chicken wings were fried till crispy on the outside yet still tender and juicy on the inside. Despite being slathered in a thick coating of slightly sweet and spicy squid ink sauce, the battered skin of the wings still managed to retain the crispiness.
However, this is not the dish you would want to order when trying to impress your first date. Do not expect yourself to look dainty and elegant while devouring these yummy chicken wings. It may even change your make up style for the day and make you look more Gothic with your newly "applied" black lip colour.

Korean Spicy Chicken Burger

As you guys should know by now, I'm a huge fan of burgers and I was actually eyeing their Sambal Pulled Pork Burger, but then I saw "KOREAN SPICY CHICKEN" and I'm sold.

Not regretting getting this, although the Sambal Pulled Pork burger is equally yummy as well (bestie chose that). The buns are so soft and fluffy, and the battered fried chicken so thick and juicy, and drenched in a generous serving of a sweet and spicy sauce that taste exactly like the yangnyeom sauce. I just couldn't stop eating the burger until I polished it off the plate. 

And now, the main reason for our visit.

Flower Tea Jelly Cakes

(various flavours - Lavender, Jasmine, Rose, Osmanthus etc)

Can you believe your eyes, people? These cakes are ridiculously beautiful!
These beautiful brewed tea infused jelly cakes are a result of Wild Blooms' collaboration with T.U.B (The Utopian Botanist). Every flower (petal) in the cake is painstakingly handcrafted and takes not only a crazy amount of talent, but also a strong dedication to create the most beautiful flower for their patrons.

A while back, the bestie came across a video of how such Gelatin Art Cakes are made, and never would we have thought that one day we will be able to find such cakes in Singapore. And seriously, these two cakes are so pretty that my heart ached as I sliced into them. T.T

Not sure if it's because Lady Luck decided to shine on me for my birthday, we got Osmanthus tea flavour for our jelly cakes too! This is definitely the prettiest, lowest calorie birthday cake I've ever had in my entire life.

Rose Apple Pie

After knowing that it's my birthday, Jasmin, the cafe owner, very generously prepared a "birthday pie" for me. Yet another too-pretty-to-eat dessert that made my heart ache while cutting into it. 

The ridiculous effort needed to handcraft a rose out of an apple pie aside, the flavour for this apple pie was a little too mild for my liking, and the pastry tasted a little too tough and dry. 

For more information, visit Wild Blooms Facebook Page / Instagram

Till then,
Mia Foo

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Leasany: My New Zealand Campervan Trip Made Easy!

Hey people, if you're following me on my IG, you should know that I've just returned from my New Zealand North Island trip with the BF. 

As we've decided on doing a campervan road trip, one main issue bugging my mind after booking Jucy Chaser to be our "home-on-wheels" for 9D8N was: how are we going to charge ALL our devices on just two electrical socket, one of which will probably be used for our portable heater? 

Well, I've heard of the Mogics Power Bagel, which is basically an universal adaptor that allows you to charge up to SEVEN devices AT THE SAME TIME. With just one handy-dandy, palm-sized bagel, you will get 2 usb ports, 4 universal sockets and 1 US socket. How cool is that! But of course, good things do not come cheap. And frankly speaking, I'm not that keen on spending that much on a gadget that's relatively new (in my social circle, hardly anyone has heard of it) and I do not have that much of an idea how it's going to work out. 

And then, I found Leasany!

Based on a concept of advocating sharing among travellers to-and-fro Singapore to rent their essential (but usually costly) gadgets and equipments instead of buying to own it, Leasany aims to help travellers like us to save up on our travel cost by providing our essential travel gadgets and equipment at low rental fees. 

Now, instead of spending up to $200 buying that Osmo Mobile 2 to take vlogs for your upcoming trip, and probably won't get to use it again until your next overseas trip, which jolly well might be next year, you can easily rent it from Leasany for as low as just $25! 

Leasany also has a 'Try before Buy' promotion, which is a product trial programme for travellers to test out a selection of interesting and new products, under their kickstarter category, during their trips, before making an actual purchase. 

And for the Mogics Power Bagel, which is under this kickstarter category, has a renting fees of $6 per day! That's very high, you'll say. But fret not, for all products under the kickstarter (try before buy) category will come with an individual discount coupon code (found under the product page) that gives you a whopping 90% discount for your FIRST rental of the product. That means your very first rental of the Mogics Power Bagel with Leasany will only cost you a mere 60 cents a day!

And yes, we were chilling with some chocolate twiggies during our transit, charging up our smartphones at Gold Coast airport. I love how the power bagel gives you not only the ease of charging up to seven devices with just one ONE power plug, but also gives you the convenience of an added distance of almost 1m (92cm cable + 83mm bagel diameter)  from the main plug's location. How cool is that!

Leasany is offering all you lovely readers a 20% discount off all rental service! Just enter promo code "mollymia" upon checkout, valid until 21st April 2019, not to be used in conjunction with other coupons. 

For more information on Leasany and the products and services they're currently offering, do check out their website HERE.

Till then,

Mia Foo

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What You Can Expect from the Best Florist Singapore

Now that the florist industry continues to grow and the florist improves its services, what do you expect from the best florist in Singapore as you look for a Flower shop Singapore to send on special day? When you choose a flower gift from Little Flower Hut, you may look for a special feature that will make your gift unique and extra stunning. More than that, here are some of the things you can expect only from the best florist:

·         Convenient and Effortless Online Flower Shopping

Online flower shopping is more convenient when you shop for beautiful hand bouquets and fresh flowers from the best online florist. You can buy the flowers that you want in just easy steps and few clicks of your mouse right at the comfort of your home or office. Everything that you want for your gift of flowers can be placed and ordered online with the online florist.

·         Swift and Quick Flower Delivery

The best florist guarantees that your hand bouquet will arrive on time. Whether you choose same day flowerdelivery or next day delivery of flowers, you can expect that the florist will deliver your flowers promptly and quickly. You can have flowers delivered to a loved one in Singapore on birthdays, anniversary, and special events. With the best florist taking charge of the florist delivery, you can rest assured that what you get is only the finest services and exceptional delivery of flowers day or night.

·         Cost-Effective Flowers

Another thing to expect from the best florist is the cheap and cost-effective prices of flowers. At reasonable prices and discounted deals, you can pick and buy the flower bouquets that you want for the people you love. Even the prices of the hampers and baskets of gifts are priced low and within the budget. You can send fresh flower bouquets along with the best gifts or treats for economical price.

With the florist’s network and connections, it is easier to get the best flowers from local and international farmers. Sending flowers to remote areas is also possible with the help of local florists operating locally in Singapore. All these and more are the reasons why Flower Delivery is an easy task. Your best florist  knows no limit when it comes to bringing joy and happiness to the recipients anywhere in Singapore through the gift of fresh flowers.

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