foodie – Viktoria Jean

Launch Party: Trulife Collagen Manuka Max

Following my review on TruLife Collagen Manuka Max, I had the pleasure of attending the launch party for this amazing new contender in the collagen market!

The launch was held last Friday, 4 March, at the homely Two Bakers Cafe on Horne Road, just opposite the Jalan Besar Stadium. Upon arrival, we were greeted by this gorgeous dessert bar!

If you’ve never visited Two Bakers Cafe, it’s time you should! Known for bespoke birthday cakes, artisan pastries and one-of-a-kind, crafted-to-order desserts, the cafe’s pastry chefs boast credentials from the Le Cordon Bleu. You can pretty much guess why desserts were one of the highlights of the evening. The Panna Cotta, Mini Chocolate Cake (oh-so-pretty), and the Yuzu Lemon Mini Tarts were simply to-die-for.

Other Trulife products, such as the Berry Eye Health, also found their way into some of these desserts. I found it novel to incorporate health supplements into indulgent food.

Well this is my true intention 😀

Okay back to the talk of the day: Trulife Collagen Manuka Max.

Midway through dinner we were given a short introduction to the brand and product, as a prelude to Collagen Cocktails and Desserts. Essentially, Trulife is a contemporary health-care brand which aims to answer the health and lifestyle needs of today’s society through developing products that contain a combination of herbal and western ingredients. Founded in 1971, the brand has since evolved into a custom formulator and contract manufacturer of private label health and food supplements.

The Collagen Manuka Max is their latest product, which has been pushed to major pharmacies, including Watsons and Guardian stores nation-wide, earlier this month. Each bottle of Trulife Collagen Manuka Max is packed with 7000mg of Micro Marine Collagen Peptides that have been clinically proven to help improve your skin’s structure and firmness.

Each bottle contains 7,000mg of collagen, Manuka Honey, Cynatine, Vitamin C, Vitamin B1, B2, B3 and B6, as well as Zinc. Plus, put your mind at ease, as the product has no added sugar, nor any form of additives and colouring.

The new collagen drink is packed with a protein Cynatine known to reduce wrinkles, promote skin elasticity, improve nail strength and reduce hair loss. We all already know how collagen repairs UV spot damages, promotes clearer complexion, improves skin appearance, and is a valuable component of any beauty regime. More information in my previous post (link here).

Dieters, this will not ruin your diet plans – you’ll be delighted to know that the product is naturally sweetened with 100% pure and natural Manuka Honey that helps to give you a nutritional boost every day. Additionally, studies have found that Manuka Honey is actually beneficial at reducing reflux and balancing your digestive system to heal stomach and intestinal imbalances, hence aiding digestion. For me, this drink has been a delicious add-on to my daily supplement intake.

One of the chefs at Two Bakers’ Cafe gave us a demonstration on a special mocktail/cocktail recipe formulated with Trulife Collagen Manuka Max (which has a unearthly green colour, but is perfect for fancy cocktails!) We all got to try a glass of this unique cocktail.

Wanted to give more airtime to the yummy desserts. The unassuming cup of yellow jello-looking thing is Panna Cotta, made with Trulife Collagen Manuka Max and it was my favourite dish of the night! The frosty glass on the left is the aforementioned cocktail. And the chocolate cake is on the right with the fancy sail made of white chocolate on top.

Seriously, everybody loved the Panna Cotta dessert! The recipe for it includes a full bottle of TruLife Collagen Manuka Max to produce the honey gelee, on top of the 1/2 cup of peach juice, 1 tsp of gelatin and 2 tablespoons of water. The resulting panna cotta gelee is moderately sweet and fruity enough to pass off as a healthy jelly dessert. The panna cotta base is incredibly soft-whipped, I must say!

TruLife even revealed the full recipe, and I’m gonna try my hands at making one of these! (Psst…want the recipe? DM me!)

We all wanted to try the fancy chocolate cake! It looks as good as it tastes.

Loved the spread!

Those were the main highlights of the launch party.

We’re loving this new handy bottle of beauty supplement.

Also gotta say, dinner at Two Bakers Cafe was amazing – I chose the Butternut Mushroom Risotto from the menu, which was the dish-less-selected as opposed to the traditional Aglio Olio. All my table neighbors could smell a heavy dash of truffle oil. And those who tried the risotto agreed it was the better of 2. Honestly the last good risotto I had was at Venice in 2013! Heartening to know a place that serves a mean risotto in Singapore.

It is a compact but carb-loaded heavyweight, so don’t be fooled by its portion here.

The rest who had aglio olio couldn’t help digging into my risotto. Altogether it was a lovely night mingling with the other bloggers and friends. Truly grateful to Trulife and Blackbox SG for bringing us together!

I don’t get why I look so bored and unhappy in this photo, because I swear I was smiling so hard. I guess the photo was distracting me from ogling at desserts and chatting with my new friends.

Thank you for the invite!

Trulife Collagen Manuka Max is now available at all major pharmacies, Watsons, Unity, Robinsons and Metro, retailing at $58.80 for 8 bottles.

You can also get your samples from BlackBox SG!

xoxo,
Viktoria Jean

March 12, 2016March 29, 2016 by VIKTORIA JEAN

[Kuala Lumpur] Toast And Roast

If like me, you had imagined ‘Toast and Roast’ to be a brightly lit cafe with piping toasts and artisan coffees, then you’re in a surprise. KL’s Toast and Roast is a distinctly traditional coffee-shop serving old-school teas, best-for-a-hangover hot Honey-Lemons, chewy Hakka noodles, bouncy beef ball soup, and what they became famous for – roast pork / chicken. When your foodies friends make the recommendations, you know you’re in good hands. It was there that I had the best charsiew ever. So as I popped my first caramelised, melt-in-your-mouth charsiew, I must have died and went to charsiew heaven.

See that plate in the middle? It’s the charsiew.

Don’t think about the fats you’re consuming, because fighting this is a losing battle. Put tht first piece in your mouth and you’re hooked. Okay, but seriously I could taste the layers of fats, and thick caramel sauce, which makes it sooo good. Usually my friends and I are a bunch of locusts sweeping across a harvest field when it comes to food, but we couldn’t finish the meat at Toast And Roast. This servings here were for our party of 8. Guess we’re not big eaters after all, or they’re really just generous with their portions.

For all fans of wanton mees or whatever mees, this bowl of Hakka noodles will get to your sweet spot. It’s all kinds of chewy without making your jaws ache. Don’t let the meagre pieces of minced pork fool you, cos there’s a whole heap underneath! So, so good.
Look how happy my friends were with their food.
More about the other dishes: I’ve never been a big fan of meat processed into balls, aka fishballs/meatballs/chicken or egg balls, because I’ve always felt they weren’t au naturale. What even goes into ’em balls nobody knows. Nonetheless I found myself liking the bouncy beef balls that came with the soup. It’s tender, and didn’t taste like supermarket frozen meatballs. With that said, T&R also serve a mean iced white kopi, which is basically what all South Malaysian food places are good at making. I’ve not had a bad kopi anywhere in Malaysia.

‘Nuff said.

Toast And Roast
No.20, Jalan SS2/72 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, 47300, Malaysia

xoxo,
Viktoria Jean

November 16, 2015November 16, 2015 by VIKTORIA JEAN

[TAIPEI] oo3. Foodporn Ahead

When in Taipei, eat your way through Shih-Lin Night Market!

We started off with these super yummy beef brisket noodles

Then tracked down the legendary Ah Zong Mian Xian

Had a handful of super good Sheng Jian Bao (pan-fried pork buns)

And of course, BUBBLE TEA!!

This ginormous wild (farmhouse) mountain chicken totally caught our attention. It’s SO BIG, it almost looked crude.

Truth is, there’s just so much to eat and see, and everything is cheap enough you wouldn’t feel the pinch eating thrice your normal portion of dinner. Supper was pre-packed almond beancurd and Hello-Kitty brand Passionfruit Tea. Brought home a whole lot of junk food, munchies, Taiwanese produce and 2 new pairs of shoes.

And this is the real reason why I love getting in touch with my Taiwanese heritage. The serenity, the mountains, and the cool summer breeze.

xoxo,
Viktoria Jean

June 17, 2014April 12, 2015 by VIKTORIA JEAN

Lori’s Diner, San Francisco

Breakfast at Lori’s Diner on Mason Street, a ’50s-style rock’n’roll American bistro. For the all-American oldies experience, this is the place to be! Love their classic red booths, checkered tiles and memorabilia of Coca-Cola, Elvis Presley and various cars of the era.

All of Lori’s Diners are open 24 hours daily; the Lori’s on Powell Street used to house pre-war airplanes, a Chevy Bel Air, a Chrysler, a vintage Indian motorcycle and a pinball arcade. The place was packed and the 9 of us had to wait for seats.

What the 3 of us shared so we could try everything: The Heart Breaker Sandwich (barbecued chicken breast with sautéed mushrooms on wheat bun), Strawberry Buttermilk Pancakes, and the classic Eggs Benedict.

Famished from lack of sleep and jet lag, I was so excited for breakfast that I’d even googled Lori’s menu and decided on what to eat way before we met to have a meal. The food, and the atmosphere, met my expectations of an American breakfast joint, and I was pretty satisfied!

I’m always saying ‘I need to come back again’ for good food at decent locations, but I have no real desire to return for another meal at Lori’s Diner. Not for the food, though the portion was huge it wasn’t that fantastic. Plus I hate bland and diluted coffee! This is one of those interesting places to have a meal at whereby once is enough (for me).

Lori’s Diner
336 Mason St
San Francisco, CA, United States
+1 415-392-8646

February 23, 2014February 23, 2014 by VIKTORIA JEAN

Pure Waffle, Duke St London

As mentioned previously, I had major unresolved cravings for waffles. Whilst everyone else went shopping at SOHO, I slinked into the stylish, contemporary waffle parlour to have the Pecan & Butterscotch Waffle with Ice Cream for lunch.

The store manager Andy was extremely friendly and chatted with me! He commented on the books I was reading, talked about the Chinese zodiac (year of the horse etc) and asked if I was here on holiday – to which I said yes. He then gave me his contact and invited me to look for him every time I’m in London! What a great guy ^^. The Pecan & Butterscotch Waffles is, hands-down, the best waffle I’ve had in a long time. When my dessert came, a very nice black couple were just leaving the café and they casually told me “You’ll totally love that. I just ate the same one.” It’s insane! I can’t even begin to describe how amazing the waffles were.

Each waffle is made to order, and toasted to my favourite kinda crispy. Topped with a scoop of fresh ice-cream, the combination is pure perfection. I was watching the waitress dribble butterscotch – they did it with so much precision and care. You feel as though they’re giving each dish so much attention!

Food aside, the decor of Pure Waffle is minimalist and very comfortably spacious. It is thoughtfully furnished as a social hangout for large groups, with private tables and stands for couples and individuals. Definitely one of those earmarked cafés which I’ll bring my loved ones to when we come back to London, and also to look for Andy, the store manager!

PURE WAFFLE
58 Duke St, London W1K 6JW, United Kingdom
+44 20 7629 0546

xoxo,
Viktoria Jean

February 11, 2014February 12, 2014 by VIKTORIA JEAN

KULA Ice Cream Parlour & Coffee Bar

To satisfy the major cravings I had for waffles, I googled “Best Waffles in Central London”. This Swedish gem of a café turned up multiple times in the search engine and I decided to hunt it down! Jet lag woke me up at 5am hence I was ravenous! KULA opens at 8am. I took the underground to Bond Street. The cafeé is at the corner adjacent to St Christopher’s Place, and easily recognized. Small warm and cosy, with splendid waffle choices, a spectrum of coffees and breakfast smoothies…on first impression it’s a lovely place to dine. Boy am I glad the place has WiFi.

To be honest, the service was terrible! The waitress / boss had a grumpy attitude, and my latte was served lukewarm (I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that I’m Asian, and I have ‘tourist’ written all over my face, because she seemed much nicer to the regulars whom she recognised). Besides coffee, I had a fresh fruits waffle with maple syrup which was satisfyingly sweet. My fruits were indeed cold and fresh, and I felt that it was a hearty, healthy breakfast. I like my waffles crispy though! Mine came slightly soft It was still yummy, disregarding the less than welcoming service.

It’s safe to say that I won’t come back, unless they do a menu revamp, or perhaps just to try their Swedish ice cream. A pity though, I would have loved this hangout a lot.

KULA Café
21 James Street London
W1u 1DS London, United Kingdom

February 9, 2014February 9, 2014 by VIKTORIA JEAN

Globalization is…

…having Hong Kong crispy duck for supper, grilled Frankfurters on a bun for lunch, and Thai rice noodles (phad si eiw) with Tom Yam-based steamboat and crispy chicken green curry for dinner. All these along the same stretch of restaurants in a town village of Germany! Not to mention having our fair share of the delicious local fare. The luxury of our blessed generation extends further than materialistic possessions – food is something we take even more for granted as we face daily choices our ancestors could never dream of making. I count my blessings as I enjoyed my meals in the company of amazing friends.

What are you having for dinner today? Bon appetit!

xoxo,
Viktoria Jean

January 17, 2014January 23, 2014 by VIKTORIA JEAN

[MELBOURNE] oo2. Caffe e Torta

Upon touchdown I had managed to catch a good nights’ sleep (albeit, due to time difference, it was 3am Melbourne time when I finally crashed), and even woke up for hotel breakfast early next morning. Late afternoon, I ventured into the CBD area with hopes of locating Hardware Societe which was further out past Collins Street, but to no avail! Darn Google Maps pointed me in the wrong direction; for some crazy reason, even my GPS is screwed up. But I’m glad that happened, because I stumbled upon Caffe e Torta on Little Collins, and had the most juicy and scrumptious hot apple strudel with ice cream I’ve ever had! The only other worthy contender being the Cafè Braun in Mondsee, Salzburg.

The whole ambience at Caffe e Torta was reminiscent of Italian sidewalk cafes, hence the Italian-inspired name. The baristas and waitresses were all amazingly chirpy, just as how all Australians appear to be. Didn’t get my order of flat white because I was intending to sleep some more when I got back to my hotel, regrettably, but I would regret more if I stayed up all evening from the overdose of caffeine.

As I got ready to fly home yesterday, I felt tremendously blessed and so spoilt for choices. Whilst others cafè-hop in their own countries, I get to explore quaint cafes in every city I travel to. And I get to experience cultures or practices deviant to and unlike my own. It’s scary because this nomadic lifestyle is the kind I love and could stick to forever, because seeing the world puts things back home in simultaneously greater and finer perspectives. I want to shake hands with all parts of the world everyday, forever.

314 Little Collins St,
Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
+61 434 595 885

xoxo,
Viktoria Jean

December 20, 2013April 12, 2015 by VIKTORIA JEAN

Baker’s Terrace in Perth

Australia is my favourite stopover for minced meat pies and squishy meat pastries!! For my airport-bound breakfast, I filled my tummy with this juicy chicken and veggie pot pie. It wasn’t altogether to-die-for because seriously I’ve had better meat pies from Pie Face or downtown Brisbane’s steak pie joints, but I’m a happy girl after my pastry brunch.

Foodporn-worthy!
xoxo,
Viktoria Jean

Shop 60, 255 Adelaide Terrace

December 11, 2013January 24, 2014 by VIKTORIA JEAN

[THAILAND] oo5.H Bistro @ Hansar Samui

I’m hella fortunate to have Thai friends who know all the best hideouts and dining places. While waiting for a couple more friends to touchdown in Koh Samui, we dined at the beachfront H Bistro at Hansar Resort. Its French Mediterranean menu boasts the likes of grilled Hokkaido Scallops, pan-roasted Miyazaki sirloin, smoked duck prosciutto, white asparagus soup with langoustine and white truffle. oil. Best of all, it’s amazing close to Samui’s open-air international airport, so it’s a great place to hangout before catching your flight or for filling your tummies upon touching down.

H Bistro is directly adjacent to Hansar’s indoor pool, whicb faces the ocean and Koh Samui’s Bophut Beach. The post-monsoon winds were crazy, we chose to sit indoors instead.

Spinach Ravioli with Pork:

Calamari Rings and Crabmeat Patty:

Asian Gyoza:

Assorted Bruschetta:

Caesar Salad:

Smoked Salmon Tartine, my favourite!:

Bophut Beach is lined with restaurants after restaurants targeted at tourists, offering a major selection of fusion and seafood-centred cuisines. Loved the ambience at H Bistro! Plus it’s so near to the sea, we took a good long stroll after our meal before we set off to pick up our friends. Its lunch a la carte differs from its dinner menu, which boasts more main courses than its usual lunch set! 5 days seriously isn’t enough to try everything on Ko Samui!!

101/28 Moo1, Bophut
Koh Samui, Suratthani
Thailand 84320

December 8, 2013April 12, 2015 by VIKTORIA JEAN

[THAILAND] oo4.Beyond The Sea, Siamese Brasserie

The entire week spent in Koh Samui, we basically feasted all day long on authentic Thai food and fresh-from-the-ocean seafood. The high tides plus bad weather made it nearly impossible for water-sports, so we cancelled our initial plans to take the open-sea scuba-diving license exams. On our first morning we drove to ShaSa Resort for the best mango sticky rice on the island. The resort’s incredibly enticing infinity pool is the first sight that greets all diners and guests, followed by a crazy bird’s eye view of the ocean and beach. The restaurant serves a fusion of Thai, Siamese and Western cuisines but they are best known for Kaw Neaw Ma Muang (mango stickies). I particularly enjoyed the island mojito and the incredibly warmth service from the ever-smiley hosts.

The thing I love most about resorts on islands is that every single square feet is photo-worthy. If you’re tired of swimming in sodium-laden ocean water, the pool’s great at ShaSa! With an insane view to boost 🙂 It’s no secret, I LOVE THAILAND!!

xoxo,
Viktoria Jean

Maret, Laem Set
Koh Samui 84310, Thailand

December 6, 2013April 12, 2015 by VIKTORIA JEAN

Costa Coffee and Travel Woes

Woes of a traveller: sometimes you’re bound to crave familiar and comforting sights or foods!! Costa Coffee is one of those lighthouses I’m always happy to see in foreign lands, along with Starbucks and Boots. At the moment, they have gingerbread coffee coolers and lattes as their festive drinks, which I find none too amazing. Boo. But the classic flat white never fails to please.

Heading to Thailand tomorrow with my crazy travel buddies: Beth, Dia, Jennabelle and Ake’s bunch of guy pals. I’m always forced to try strange foods when I’m around these girls. Besides staple ramen, look what we had at Ippudo the other day: Lotus Root Crisps and strangely-spiced corn. They make me realize what an unadventurous foodie I’ve always been!!!

TIME TO GET PACKING! Truth be told, I’ve started throwing bikinis and swimwear into my bag 3 days ago. I’ve NEVER packed so religiously early for work purposes. KOH SAMUI HERE I COME!!

xoxo,
Viktoria Jean

December 1, 2013January 24, 2014 by VIKTORIA JEAN

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