Garden Picks, The Dried Fruits & Nuts Company

I have a weak spot of nuts and I love snacking all sort of nuts ranging from peanut, almond, cashew and more. Usually I will go to the nearby convenient store or supermarket to stock up my supply. Recently I have been introduced to Garden Picks, a online dried fruits and nuts company that sells and deliver a quality wide array of wholesome snacks in Singapore. My craving can now be satisfied with just a few mouse clicks and I will have a good serving size of wholesome snacks to curb my craving.

Garden Picks has recently introduced a new range of gourmet nuts from Australia. I got my hands on a few of these new products to try. There was quite a few interesting flavoured nuts such as the Tiramisu Almond, French Vanilla Almond, Mexican Salsa Cashew, Cinnamon Almond, Canadian Maple Cashews and Thai Sweet Chilli Cashew. Among the 6 new gourmet nuts from Australia, my favourite was the French Vanilla Almond. The sugary vanilla coating around the roasted almond reminds me of those sugar coated nuts I used to buy from the kachang puteh stall.

The web based wholesome snacks supplier has grown into a manufacturing and packing facility producing and supplying a diverse range of dried fruits and nuts to corporate workplaces, government ministries, school and hotels. You can find out more of the products in the website link below. Garden Picks has a wide range of dried fruits and nuts that is delivered "factory fresh" to your doorstep.


Garden Picks
FoodXChange@Admiralty
8A Admiralty Street
#06-05
Singapore 757437
Tel: +65 66594859
Website: http://www.gardenpicks.com.sg

Z Chocolat - Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and have you plan any surprises for your love one? If you have not, there may be still time for you to deliver a little sweet surprise right to the door step of your love one with Z Chocolat, an online seller of premium handmade French chocolate. zChocolat was founded in November 1999 in collaboration with Pascal Caffet, World Champion Chocolatier & Pastry Chef 2013.

zChocolat has specially organized 3 different Valentine's Day Collection in the zBoxes, Mahogany Boxes and Large Hearts. The one I received is the scintillating, black gourmet zBoxes of 27 pcs of chocolate. The lid is stylishly adorned with a cascading shower of white hearts.

Inside the zBoxes is 2 layers of mouth watering assortments. zChocolat also allow you to customize personal message and greeting card. More details can be found at their site.

The first layer of the zBoxes is the 12 heart shaped chocolate assortment with an intense dark ganache dressed in white, a soft milk hazelnut praline, a Vanilla Bourbon caramel with a dark exterior and a sublime ganache infused bergamote veiled under a red coat.

The second layer is the traditional 15 piece assortment composed of dreamy pralines, silky ganaches, solid chocolates and smooth caramels, completed with 3 of their famous Z pieces. As palates differ, on top of the default assortments, zChocolat allows one to individually handpick each chocolate for full relishing assurance.


Z Chocolat
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zChocolat
Website: http://www.zchocolat.com

CP Food Products

I don't cook at home, not to mention about going to the supermarket to do marketing. Recently I received a hamper from CP Foods and I am surprised that CP has so many products under its brand. I only know of CP's shrimp wonton which I always seen it in tv advertisement. For this festive season, CP has introduced a new Shrimp Wonton Festive Pack with Suki Sauce. I thought it is brilliant for steamboat during Lunar New Year reunion dinner.

Exclusively only at 7-11 is the CP Teriyaki Burger and CP Shrimp Burger. The kids tried the CP Teriyaki Burger and they loved it.

CP Food has also recently launched a couple of new products. One of them is the Breaded Fish in Tamarind Sauce with chunks of fish doused with sweet and sour sauce of tamarind. Suitable for people looking for quick nourishing meal.

The other 2 new items under the CP brand is the Vegetarian Stir Fried Holy Basil with Rice and Vegetarian Yakisoba. The Stir Fried Holy Basil with Rice comes with crunchy carrots and succulent silvers of shiitake mushrooms. The vegetarian noodle is an adaption of the classic Japanese stir fried noodles cooked in sweet and soya sauce.

The Chicken Gyoza is wrapped in a thin pastry of chicken and vegetable. The Japanese style dumpling has a well blended taste and fantastic aroma.

With a new formulated breading, the Japanese Crispy Gyoza made from whole chunk of chicken meats is tender and crunchy.

Besides the Japanese gyoza, CP food also offers a selection of Korean delights in the Korean Shrimp Mandoo and Korean Vegetable Mandoo. Wrapped in smooth pastry sheet, the wholesome texture and korean recipe was a delightful treat.

I am quite impressed with CP Food's extensive offerings. Many families nowadays either do not know how to cook or don't have time to do so. CP food products are like a saviour offering varieties as well as time saving delicious meal which only requires some simple heating up.


CP Food Products
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CPSingapore
Website: http://www.cpbrand.com/sg/

Man Fu Yuan @ Intercontinental Hotel

Received a surprised from Man Fu Yuan at Intercontinental Hotel when I returned home the other day. Love the elegant design of the packaging with the golden and purple theme. Even more appropriate with the auspicious golden Chinese character 满 symbolising abundance of wealth.

Opening the box reveals a gift set of Mandarin oranges and 8 pieces of the Gold Custard Pastries.

Golden Custard Pastries 4.2/5

This is my first time having the Golden Custard Pastries and I enjoyed it. The skin is similar to the traditional baked mooncake. The sweet and savoury custard inside was very delectable. If I am not wrong, salted egg yolk and water chestnuts are added to the custard. This could be a great gift for Lunar New Year if you are looking for something different this year.


Man Fu Yuan
Intercontinental Hotel
80 Middle Road
#02-00
Singapore
Tel: +65 68251062/1059
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ICSingapore
Nearest MRT: Bugis (DT Line, EW Line)

Pickat SG, Pick a Place and Share it

About 6 months ago, I mentioned about this new exciting App available on Iphone and Android, Pickat SG that allows you to pick a place and share it with your friends and/or followers. Its really quite a cool App with other features such as checking out what is popular nearby as well as coupons and promotions. You can find out more about Pickat SG and its various functions in my previous post here.

Recently, Pickat SG has made a couple of enhancements and improvements to made the App more user friendly with the latest release of Pickat SG version 1.90. With these update, users now can easily Bookmark a favourite pick adding it to the new My Places tab.

The new My Places tab now enable easy access to the list of places the user has picked and bookmarked. I like this new feature. Now I can easily call up the places where I want to check out.

Making a pick has now been also simplified. User only needs to just select the place and post it with a photo and/or review. If the place is not available in the App, the new enhancement allows the user to simply add a new place by entering the postal code and unit number.

Still not convinced? MissTamChiak and SG Food on Foot went on a typical Saturday couple's date using the cool Pickat SG and we have fun dating! Check out the comic strips...enjoy!

Pickat SG is cool right? Pickat SG will also regularly collaborate with partners and merchants to bring exclusive promotions for their users. Currently for the month of December 2013, there are promotions for Windowsill Pies, Rice & Fries, Fluff Dessert and Department of Caffeine. So what is holding you back in downloading the FREE App on Iphone and Android when you can enjoy all these promotions? Start picking with Pickat SG from today.

Sunshine High Fibre White Bread

Sunshine launches its newest product, High Fibre White Bread 400g. The high fibre white bread contains 8g of dietary fibre, 30% more than other high fibre white breads, crowning itself as the King of of High Fibre White Breads. Retail at $2.35, the wholesome high fibre white bread is the only one among the others that comes with Wheat Germ and Omega-3 DHA.

What is Wheat Germ? Wheat germ is the most vitamin and mineral rich par of the wheat kernel. The germ is actually the embryo of the wheat plant. This embryo will eventually nourish the new wheat plan, providing you with many wonderful nutrients.

Omega-3 DHA are essential monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids for the body. These fatty acids are brain boosting, cholesterol clearing good fats. It is a nutrient everyone should take daily as it can improve and protect vital aspects of the body's daily functioning like keeping your joints well lubricated.

Sunshine High Fibre White Bread is further enriched with calcium to meet quarter of one's daily calcium intake to complete the whole wholesome goodness of the bread.

Grand Mercure Roxy Mooncake 2013

Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, Grand Mercure Roxy Singapore with the award winning Executive Chef Lee Tuck Send and talented Executive Pastry Chef Lester Wang has created a range of exquisite colours and flavours mooncakes. For this year's creation, the chefs have gone back to basic focusing on fresh ingredients that work harmoniously instead of pairing weird flavours for the sake of being different.

The elegant box of Assorted Mini Mooncakes from Grand Mercure Roxy Singapore was a picture of beauty with the different colour combination. Meticulously handcrafted, the dainty mooncakes were so delicate that it was a bit unbearable to bite into it.

The range of contemporary flavours includes Dark Ganache with Rum, Black Sesame with Winter Melon Tea, White Lotus Seeds with Macadamia Nuts and Raspberry with Dark Chocolate.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a great time to get together with family and friends to celebrate. To celebrate this occasion, the hotel's Jia Wei Chinese Restaurant presents a set Mid-Autumn Festival feast for just $58.80 per person (for a table of ten) which includes traditional dishes like lobster roll, goose fillet, stir fried asparagus with scallop and XO sauce, Baked Sea Perch with Chinese Wine and much more. It also comes with a complimentary box of traditional mooncakes.

From 16 August 2013 to 19 September 2013, the mooncakes will be available at Jia Wei Chinese Restaurant and Jia Wei Express at Grand Mercure Roxy Singapore. Orders must be made 3 days in advance.

For orders and enquiries,
Tel: +65 63405677 or 63405678
Website: http://www.jiaweichineserestaurant.com.sg

Grand Mercure Roxy Singapore
(opp. Parkway Parade Shopping Centre)
50 East Coast Road
Roxy Square
Singapore 428769
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GrandMercureRoxy
Website: http://grandmercureroxy.com.sg/

Resorts World Sentosa Singapore Mooncake 2013

This year Resorts World Sentosa Singapore has line-up an exquisite selection of delectable mooncakes for the Mid Autumn Festival. Chinese Head Chef Li Kwok Kwong with his team of dedicated chefs in Feng Shui Inn have created an assortment of meticulously handcrafted treats by recreating fans' all time favourites and inventing new flavours to cater to the discerning palates this year.

Among all the mooncakes I have tried this year, the packaging from Resorts World Sentosa Singapore is probably the most unique of all. Comes in a cylindrical shape tower, sliding open the packaging unveiled 4 stacks of 8 mini mooncakes. This is the Feng Shui Inn's Premium Box ($88), box of 8 that comes with 2 flavours each.

For this first time this year, Feng Shui Inn is introducing flaky crust mooncakes instead of their usual mini snowskin mooncakes. The new creation includes Flaky Pastry with Organic Japanese Purple Sweet Potato and Flaky Pastry with Organic Japanese Golden Sweet Potatoes.

For a fruity and luscious version of the mooncakes, not to be missed is the Hawaiian Golden Pineapple paste with premium grade AA Imperial bird's nest which showcases a harmonious marriage of zesty pineapple paste and top grade luscious imperial bird's nest encased in a thin and soft baked pastry skin.

All the mooncakes are available at Feng Shui Inn (Crockfords Tower, level G2) and Festive Hotel Lobby from 16 August to 19 September. For the flaky crust mooncakes, guests are recommended to call +65 65776688 5 days in advance for reservations.

Reservations: +65 65776688
Website: http://www.rwsentosa.com/

Eatzi Gourmet Bakery Mooncake 2013

Eatzi Gourmet Bakery by JP Pepperdine, the same folks that bring you Jacks Place has specially created a selection of baked and snowskin mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival. The great news is that these delicious goodies are HALAL for all to enjoy. Thanks to JP Pepperdine, readers of SG Food on Foot with enjoy a 15% discount of any mooncakes purchase from Eatzi Gourmet Bakery. More details at the end of the post.

The box of 4 baked mooncakes comes in an simple traditional packaging but with bright lime green and pink colours giving it a modern vibe to tradition.

The Baked White Lotus Single Yolk ($42.80 4pc/box) is a traditional delight of white lotus paste with a single yolk. Surprise bites of melon seeds can also be found in the white lotus paste.

Eatzi Gourmet Bakery has also come out with other baked selection of the traditional goodies with a modern touch such as the Chocolate Cranberry, Black Sesame Coconut and Coffee Earl Grey. If you want to sample each of it, then you can also get the 4 in 1 flavours Baked Mooncakes ($42.80).

For those that prefers snowskin mooncake, Eatzi Gourmet Bakery has a series of fruity snowskin mooncake made from handmade dough using real fruit puree. The selection of snowskin mooncake comes with Green Apple Yogurt, Strawberry Lavender, Lychee Raspberry and Mandarin Orange Chocolate. The mini snowskin mooncake comes in a box of 8 at $35.80 with 2 flavours each.

Promotion
Thanks to JP Pepperdine, SG Food on Foot is offering 15% discount for any Eatzi Gourmet Bakery mooncake purchase. All you need to do is state the Promotional Code: JP0913. (promotion is only available for online).

Hotline: 62876298
Website: http://www.eatzi.com.sg/

Thye Moh Chan Mooncake 2013

Baked and snowskin mooncakes with different fillings are the more common mooncakes offer by restaurants, bakeries and hotels during the Mid-Autumn festival. The iconic Teochew confectionery shop Thye Moh Chan in its 3 generations since 1943 unveils for the first time an exquisite Mid-Autumn collection of its signature Teochew mooncakes, unique and unlike conventional Cantonese style versions.

Sweet Tau Sar Single Yolk

Handcrafted with finesse, the Sweet Tau Sar with Single Yolk (Medium 4pc/box $24.80, Large 1pc/box $22.80) boasts ethereal light flaky pastry skin filled with silky smooth mung bean filling that are laboriously made by hand. Enveloping a single salted egg yolk, the sweet rendition is topped with white sesame.

Salty Tau Sar with Single Yolk

The Salty Tau Sar with Single Yolk (Medium 4pc/box $24.80, Large 1pc/box $22.80) is the savoury version that comes with a blend of salty mung bean paste with fried shallots, white sesame and is seasoned with white pepper.

Yuan Yang

The Yuan Yang (Medium 4pc/box $24.80, Large 1pc/box $22.80) is brimmed with generous filling of savoury mung bean paste, fried shallots, white sesame, spicy pork floss and salted egg yolks. The savoury delight is accented with a proprietary mix of spices.

Double Delight

The Double Delight (Medium 4pc/box $24.80) traditional treat comes with a layer of red bean paste and a unique crystal filling made with winter melon, melon seeds, dried orange peel, white sesame, spring onions and glutinous rice flour.

Thye Moh Chan's quintessential Mid-Autumn selection is beautifully pacakged in an elegant royal purple or gold boxes that bear intricate peony or lotus motifs. The boxes are designed such that it can be stacked forming a multi-tier package. As the artisanal mooncaks selection is only produced in limited quantities, customers are encouraged to place their orders in advance for collection between 5 August and 15 September 2013.

Promotions
From 13 July to 31 August, enjoy 25% discount for purchase of 10 or more mooncake vouchers.
From 13 July to 31 August, OCBC Cardmembers enjoy 20% discount for purchase of 2 boxes or more.

Corporate sales discount:
- 25% for 10 boxes and above
- 30% for 50 boxes and above

Mooncake booth location
Chinatown Point
133 New Bridge Road
#01-45 Singapore 059413
Tel: +65 66048858
Operating Hours: 10am - 10pm daily

Parkway Parade
80 Marine Parade Road
Food Republic, B1, Singapore 449262
Tel: +65 63448885
Operating Hours: 10am - 10pm daily