There are only two reasons people should blog about food.
1. The food is really great and you want to gloat.
2. The food is really bad and you want to spread the misery.
But some people subscribe to a third reason:
3. The food is only okay but you took lots of pictures so you must put them all in your blog to show people that you took lots of pictures, never mind if the pictures are bland and uninspiring and the food is only okay.
I think food blogs should never be done for the third reason but people will do what people do, so who am I to stop them?
In retaliation, I’m coming up with a fourth reason, which I feel has more validity:
4. The food is only okay but the photos are great.
I’m not much of a photographer myself, so I made Erwin take the photos this time since he just picked up photography and he’s got a fancy camera.
Everyone in the group had to endure the torture of seeing their food get cold while Erwin spends five minutes setting up each shot because the lack of light made it very difficult to get a good shot.
“Can I eat my food yet?” whined someone.
“Wait lah. Almost done.”
“Can’t you do mine first?” whined another someone.
“Wait lah. Go and bug QY because she’s the one instigating all this.”
After putting everyone through this, I cannot not post the pictures up.
But at least they look good, the photos, which is amazing because there was hardly any light because we were in one of those alfresco candlelight settings.
I’ll show you how dim the place was.
Photo taken by me, with my camera.
Now I’ll show you a picture that Erwin took with his camera, without flash:
I don’t know how the heck that’s even possible, but he did it.
That’s the veal, by the way. I ate that. It looks great but tastes only okay. It’s not even consistent. There were two slices. One slice was tender and juicy. The other slice was tough and dry.
Next picture:
This is sauteed prawns with grilled mango. Looks really good. You can’t see the prawns because they’re hidden inside the tin. Too bad for you.
The menu says that it’s “to die for”.
So I asked Johnson, who ordered it, “How are the prawns?”
“Not bad.”
“Is it to die for?”
“Not really.”
Bad menu! Didn’t your mommy teach you not to lie?
Menu tries to change the subject.
Menu says, “Oh, look! Soup!”
Okay, let me try to recall the name of this soup.
It’s…
Cream of white asparagus with minced tuna soup.
It’s the soup of the day so the name is not in the menu. The waitress told me the name. Nobody else could hear it so I had to repeat it twice to different sides of the table.
Isaiah had a hearing problem that day.
I said to the table, “Cream of white asparagus with minced tuna soup!”
Erwin said, “Sounds good! I’ll have one.”
Isaiah said, “What?? Please avoid asparagus in the hoola hoop?
Morte said, “Wahaha. Nice name. I’ll have one, too.”
Morte is a… poultry of the male gender. (Insider joke.)
Moving on!
I’m not sure what this one is. You have to remember the whole place was so dark I had trouble seeing my own food, much less other people’s food. Maybe it’s the tenderloin pork. I remember Erwin ordering that and orgasming with his first bite.
“Oh, gosh, the fats,” he said, “Damn shiok, man! Wah lau, it’s damn tender!”
Erwin enjoyed his main course so much that when the waitress came by at the end of our meal to ask cheerily, “How was the food?” Erwin answered, “Not bad.”
I admonished him. “I thought you said your pork is damn shiok? Why didn’t you tell the waitress that??”
“Oh, yar hor! I forgot!”
I don’t know if that means that Erwin (like Morte) is also a… male poultry, or that the food at this restaurant is so unremarkable that even when it’s good, it’s forgettable.
Fish and chips:
Siya said she ordered it because it looked like the safest thing on the menu.
When I asked her how she liked the taste of it, she said, “Okay lah.”
I realise that Singaporeans are really, really fond of saying “okay lah” and “not bad” when asked for opinions.
It makes reporters’ jobs really, really hard.
Glasses clinked as they toasted to friendship under the star-lit sky. Pairs of rustic candlelight gave off a soft glow, accentuating the romance of alfresco dining. The friends enjoyed the company, the sweet red wine and the promise of an exquisite feast that was to come.
The first course was Soup a la Fragrant Rose Petals Cascading in Delectable Waterfall of Cream.
“Not bad,” was the resounding consensus, accompanied by thoughtful nods of approval.
How would Jane describe the taste? this reporter asked.
“Okay lah.”
Next!!
This must be the lamb chop because there are cute little leafy thingabobs on it.
I wish I had ordered that because Minou said that it’s “not bad”.
Well, my veal’s also “not bad”, but I think Minou’s lamb is a better “not bad”.
After being in Singapore for some time, you learn to differentiate one “not bad” from another.
There are signs. Subtle, but there are signs. Like how there is a cheerful lilt in a Level 3 Not Bad, while a Level 5 Not Bad comes with a slight widening of the eyes.
For example, the following dish is a Level 4 Not Bad.
The delivery of a Level 4 Not Bad is accompanied by a tiny hint of a smile, some teeth showing. Teeth which are most useful for biting into the succulent grilled corn on the cob.
It’s tasty and juicy on its own so I don’t know why it’s sitting in mayonnaise.
That’s the last picture of the lot.
The meal happened at Barracks at Dempsey Hill, where we went to celebrate Johnson’s birthday.
It’s a good place to chill out for the ambience… if you don’t mind spending 20-30 bucks on a main course that is rated between a Level 2 and a Level 5 Not Bad, and… if you don’t mind cockroaches (Minou has the story).
On the whole, it was Okay Lah (Level 3).
I’d never recommend anybody doing a food blog. It’s ridiculous. It’s really such a pain to do a great job at it. If you really should, this blog should be your example. A benchmark.
…..
BTW, the super shiok fats Erwin ate came from my lamb.
I think each piece f lamb was half made up of fats. :p
-=}{oT~dEv1L 666=-: That’s really a very good blog! Thanks for sharing it!
Minou: Yah, ok, that’s why I wish I had ordered the lamb, haha. But I do remember Erwin also commenting on the fat in the pork? No?
Nope, it’s one piece of fats that I deposited on Joey’s plate that ended up on Erwin’s plate. :p
But have to admit the photos made the food look 10X better then it really is!
nice pictures, sure does feel like pics for menu or ads.
cockroach story @ Minou, cracks me up abit hahaha
“BAM BAM BAM BAM”
Minou: Really? So did Erwin like his tenderloin pork or not? I think his photos are great! I’m assigning him official food photographer from now on. Haha.
Ashtar83: I don’t know if Erwin reads my blog so I’ll say thank you on his behalf. :P
Your food posts are really getting to the stage of “Too Much!” You are a bad person to post this sort of gastronomic porn on a website that can easily be read by children (think of the children!) or impressionable adults who might be tempted to copy your excesses, without your miraculous ability to stay stick thin!
YES! I HATE IT! It totally sucks when I ask my customers “How was the food?”
Is “not bad” not, erm, bad? Or is it “Not pleasant, but not horrible”? Perhaps it’s “Not good?” What???!
They should hire Erwin to do their menu, the photos are so good that I might be persuaded to go back!
And Goonfather might be persuaded to order something to eat..
Wah… looking at the photography…
NOT BAD.
:P
Good food is always hidden in places you can’t see.
Always go to unknown places to really dig out the really good ones =)
*stunned at the photographs*
Haha.. Couldn’t help laughin about the different “Not bad” and “Ok la” ratings that I didn’t realise we had.
So very, very true..
Jesta: But… but… this isn’t a real food post. It’s more a photograph post. Notice that I didn’t highly recommend the food? Hehe…
rn: lol, next time that happens, ask them, “Would that be a Level 2 Not Bad or a Level 4 Not Bad, Sir/Mdm?”
Justin: Haha. How can you be enticed by the photos when you were actually there yourself and tasted the food! Duh! But seriously, did you like the food?
JayWalk: Yeah :)
surfie: Yeah, true. But if it’s hidden and unknown, how in the world is one to find it? lol.
modchip: :)
Cyrene: Glad you agree with the concept. heheh.
Errr.. did I see the international sign shown by Goonfather in the last photo???
Umm … the food’s so good that The Goonfather’s lickin’ his finger? Tsk tsk.
The fact that you didn’t recommend the food is not the point. The point is that you put up these pictures (I’m sure that SOME people call them “Art” but I know porn when I see it) and tell everyone just how much you ate and how much your friends ate, you discuss these gastronomic orgies in detail, and then… you remain so slim. It’s obscene.
I’m going to write to IDA!
The food is only as good as picking up left over Aston’s from the garbage. Ambience is nice, menu and food is less than bad. They should just close down and let the next better F&B take over. What a waste of good ambience! The only thing worth consuming is the beer and soft drinks, which weren’t made by them. wahahaaa…………..
Love the first pic especially man…uh..yeah..think that was Goonfather giving the bird..keke :P
arachno: Is that what it’s called? lol.
Miss Loi: More likely chewing on his fingers in misery. haha. He didn’t order a main course because he was really disgusted with the menu.
Jesta: Well, look at my friends. Most of them are… slimmish, too. :P Anyway, you’ll be sure that I’ll be posting more of these things up now that I’ve got a food photographer in my group. Hahahaha.
Jason Ho: Haha… another name for it?
thanks thanks for the comment on the photos. and QY , I DO READ YOUR BLOG!
oh yah , another thing , the pork not bad, but not good. the only thing i give a good not bad is the FATS in the lamb.
sounds like a mysterious dinner for me..
aston’s definitely is good. botak jones dropped in standard liao… hey qy, when are we going to makan at botak jones “again”?
@Sheylara: I beg to differ from your post. You said there are only 4 reasons people blog about food. I don’t think so. Some people love cooking so much their whole blog is about food!
Erwin: You never comment wat, so how would I know that you read my blog?? :P
Ok, my mistake. I thought you were raving over the pork when you raved over the lamb. Didn’t know a piece of lamb found its way onto your plate! :P
zield: Huh? Why is it mysterious?
rn: Why go to botak jones if the standard drop? Let’s go to Aston’s! :P
-=}{oT~dEv1L 666=-: Haha… ok. Then those are cooking food blogs! :P
oh.. im talking about the dark environment.. i mean you barely see the food.. X3
hello:) I’m Cintia Kálóczi!