Gohan Cafe Fremantle Australia

Looking for breakfast in a fusion cafe in Fremantle. Japanese, chinese chef serving western food for breakfast? Japanese food availble other times. Try the Gohan Cafe in Fremantle located on the South Terrace.

See http://gohancafe.com/ Review photos of their food on the website.

$17 for breakfast of hot chocolate with avocado on toast topped with bacon bits. Sliced toast of crusty french sticks for the bread buttered with an avocado topping. This had crunchy bacon bits and cost $13 for two pieces.

The restaurant cafe also had a Japanese set lunch menu. A multi tasking restaurant. Service was quick and efficient with a pay for your meals at the counter type set up. Newspapers availble to read.

Parking around the area can be difficult at peak areas as it is on the Cappuccino Strip of Fremantle. You may have to drive around before finding something and it is not cheap.

Before breakfast a 1.5 hour walk In Kings Park helped work out the joint stiffness before hot fusion breakfast. Depending on your pace and weight this could burn 300 to 500 calories. Getting us ready for the calorie hit from the marshmallows in the chocolate.

See http://www.yelp.com.au/biz/gohan-cafe-restaurant-fremantle for more reviews or

Dessert Story Perth Carousel Shopping Mall

Shopping in Carousel shopping Mall and plagued by sweet tooth. Love candy but trying to cut down on gluten - try Dessert Story.

Can't get enough sugar but avoiding dairy - try dessert story without dairy cream and replace with soya bean milk?

Visit their website at http://www.dessertstory.com.au/

Lovely deserts made from sweet potato and taro (yam). 

Also serves small selection of savory dishes.

Black rice and red bean pudding with sweet taro. $7.30 per bowl and I asked for sprinkling of green beans to increase the protein load after the 60 minute hike this morning.

Pork meat ball soup. $5 for 5 meat balls in clear consommé. 

We tried savory food because of hunger pangs from watching neighbors eat. 

Mince pork & rice. $9.80 for a bowl. Has a taste similar to bamboo leaf rice. 

Looks like savory food with rice seems to be gluten and dairy free too. In paper throw away bowls. Gluten is found in wheat, barley and rye. So avoid any barley containing deserts or any of the afore mentioned foods. Check ou what foods contain gluten at http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/safe-foods-for-glutenfree-diets.html

Singapore Chinatown Food Street

Street food. Fresh fruit juices. Hawkers selling hot dude food? In food street Chinatown Singapore. See map of Chinatown with Smith Street Chinatown Food Street Singapore Location

If you are staying at the Swissotel on 2 Stamford Road. Catch bus 61, 166 or 196 heading south on North Bridge Road. Get off after 4 stops on South Bridge road at the intersection with Smith Street.

For more info on Chinatown Singapore check out their website http://www.chinatown.sg/index.php

We had sate for $0.70 to $0.90 per stick either chicken, beef or mutton. The mutton soup from the pratha stall next to the Sate stall was hot and spicy at $5 per bowl. Prathas were between $3.50 to $5 each depending on flavours and stuffing.

There was fresh coconut water for $4.5 per coconut. We also had shaved ice for $3.50 per bowl. Chinese fried bread sticks were $1.5 per stick or piece.

Catch the MRT back to Swissotel Stamford for a ease of transport. The Swissotel is located in a convenient location on the City Hall MRT station just above a shopping mall. It has great views of the Marina and the down town area of Singapore. See their web site http://www.swissotel.com/hotels/singapore-stamford/ The gym was well organised and opens at 530 am. Try the exercise machines for a complete work out. Then jump into the circular pool to swim a couple of laps. The water temperature is just right for the tropical climate.

The hotel can be very busy but fortunately most hotel guests don't appear to frequent the gym early. However, the pool is very busy so try and get in at 630 am for an uninterrupted swim.

Catch the MRT to Changi Airport if you only have hand carry. No traffic and only 1 changeover at Tanah Merah before getting of at Changi Airport. Sing$2.40 one way from hotel to airport. Great value and air conditioned too.

Chatterbox Mandarin Hotel Orchard

More than 15 years since I first sampled the famous chicken rice in this Singaporean restaurant. I came again Easter Weekend 2014. There was a new venue and decor with plastic green chairs. See their website Mandarin Hotel Orchard Chatterbox restaurant

A very busy atmosphere and 20 minutes waiting time for lunch. There were special tour groups who attended just to eat the famous Poached chicken and rice with ginger or chili dipping sauce.

Service was slow due to the incredible number of chicken rice serves being plated in front of us for the tourist. We counted at least 30 serves during the 20 mins lunch period we were seated. 

We had a hot soya bean milk while waiting. Cost $ 7.

The chicken breast was moist and ginger sauce fragrant. Cost $27.

We also tried the seafood kway teow hor fun. This is the fried rice noodles with an egg sauce. Cost $ 27.

Also consider the chicken porridge made from rice congee if you are keeping down the saturated fats in your diet. There were chicken pieces in a warm stock of rice boiled till it has blended into the savoury stock. 

After lunch shop till you drop along Orchard Road. We walked about 5 hours with a pace of 3km per hour. 15 km of walking albeit from mall to mall is worth a lot of calories by anyone's book. We went to Forever 21, Uni Qlo, Cotton On, Gap, Esprit all shops well known to energetic teenagers. There are many more shops for all ages. Try it when you are next in Singapore.

Also reviewed this restaurant for Yelp http://www.yelp.com.au/biz/the-chatterbox-singapore

Qantas Lounge 2014 Singapore Changi airport

New design with dining & buffet area. A bar and lounge.

Managed by  Sofitel with a breath of freshness.

Food to order. Fresh salad bar. Cocktails galore. Great service with friendly waiting staff.

No more computers only iPads on request. A whole corridor of showers for weary travellers. 

On the menu was mapo tofu or salmon with bean salad in April 2014. We tried both. 

Salmon with Bean Salad

Mapo tofu - definitely for the health consious but ask for less mince and more tofu. Mapo tofu is tofu cooked with spicy mince meat to add weight to the delicate tofu. It is a nice combination and goes well with boiled rice.

Pork Stew which was delicious. The corn was dripping with butter and some like it like that. Although a more healthy version was was available, on my return visit poached in water - then add your own butter to suit taste.  

Chocolate cake - not as good as the lamingtons below.

Lamingtons which were moist with chocolate sauce. Fantastic if you like lamingtons.

Cupcakes too. 

In Feb 2014 the food to order on the menu was tamarind prawns or pork belly. These were particularly enjoyable. The chef can vary the cooking to a degree. For example they could provide the salmon without the beans or the sauce if you are trying to reduce on your çarbs intake. The salad bar has a variety of delicious salads. There was a large bowl of leaves without any dressing and this was a nice way to balance the other salads with oil based dressing. 

You can order a cocktail from the bar or a cappucino. We had a hot chocolate and this was nice way to end the meal. 

After your meal try a stroll to Terminal 2 to do some shopping. It appears not all the terminals in Changi have the same retail stores. It is a 10 to 15 minute brisk walk so about a 1000 meters. Avoid taking the train. With a 5 kg hand carry baggage this was a nice work out with at least another 1000 meters back to the lounge. 

What is worth visiting in Terminal 2 transit? There is an Indonesian cake shop - Bengawan Solo - in Terminal 2 transit worth visiting for local baked delights for friends or family back home. See their website http://www.bengawansolo.com.sg Some of their chifon sponges are available for sampling. They also have a layer cake although this is for the ultra marathoners mainly as it maybe energy packed. 

The walk back to Terminal 1 transit, another 1000 meters, settled any calories from the bite sized extremely moist lamingtons from the Qantas Changi Airport Lounge. Then settle back into a nice comfortable lounge chair with sparkling water and a book or newspaper to wait for your flight. 

Singapore Night Safari Buffet or Hawker Food

More recently I went on the night safari and had the buffet before the getting on the tram for the safari in the moonlight. There were combinations of English and Asian style salads. Plenty of meats and fish cooked in Asian cuisine style eg curries or cooked with black beans. Usual carbs of rice or noodles.

You can take the MRT (train) to Ang Mo Kio MRT station. Then catch the 138 bus at the MRT station to get to the Night Safari. Buy your tickets on line or you can walk to the zoo and buy tickets then walk back to the night safari.

Don't overeat or drink alcohol as the night safari is better when you are not sated from a heavy meat or protein/fat load.

Alternatively you can eat after the tram ride. There is hawker style food after you finish the night safari and photos at the Night Safari. Thre was a great variety and range but it was crowded and very busy.

For more info on the night safari with buffet see http://www.nightsafari.com.sg/special-experiences/safari-adventurer-tour.html

It is a great experience seeing the animals in their natural habitat at night. Also a test of your visual and hearing skills to see them in the dark night. A great effort by the tour guides and drivers.

Definitely a must if you enjoy spotting wild life. Take plenty of mosquito repellent.

Once again don't overeat before the tour. You can also tour and eat during the ride but we did not try that option. Check out the options at http://www.nightsafari.com.sg/index.html

If hunger pangs don't kill you try the food at the Ang Mo Kio MRT station. It is not as busy. We had a late supper after finishing the tram ride at the MRT station. Some hawker shops around MRT station. Chicken rice for Sing$6 or kway teow noodles for Sing$5.

Also managed to get some deserts from the bread shop - Bread Talk - in the MRT station that was discounting the breads because of the late hour. See their website http://www.breadtalk.com.sg There was chocolate flavoured hot cross bun, sausage bread rolls, floss bread, milky dome, beanie and a very delicious cranberry bun. Worth a stop on your way home from the night safari.