Meiji Run 2015 Race Recap: If Only All Races Could Be So Delicious!

I doubt anyone joined this Race for the run because when an event is promoted as “the world’s most delicious race” including a Meiji Buffet consisting of “a feast of chocolate, fondue, milk, yoghurt and more“, who remembers a 5 km run?!

The first ever Meiji Run 2015 was held the past Saturday on Palawan Beach in Sentosa. With the sheer amount of food, yoghurt-beverage and, race staff, it seemed no expense was spared to organize this event. Extremely well-organized from the Bag Depository system to the run itself and carnival thereafter, my girlfriends and I had such a good afternoon. My IG and FB posts from the event attracted heaps of envious comments and of course, many likes.

Let me first recap the most boring bit of the afternoon: the race route. The running route was part-road and beach. The running path on the road was cramped. A lot of weaving in between walkers. But as I mentioned before, NO ONE WAS THERE FOR THE RUN. I certainly did not mind. Running on the soft sand was hard but good. My thighs definitely got a good workout! We ran past many beach bars and many beach volley-ballers. I hope us runners were not too disruptive. In the middle of the route, there was a Meiji Cracker Maze. Doesn’t it sound amazing?!

Well in reality, it was not desirable. It had rained the entire morning before the race so the crackers were soaked through and either falling off the walls or squishy. And the smell was horrendous. So gross!! Soaked Meiji Crackers is not a pleasant smell. My girlfriends and I couldn’t fathom walking through the maze. So we walked out through the side.

There were distance markers along the way but we were certain they were incorrectly placed. When we saw this marker, we had only ran for 12 minutes. Was it 3km ran or left? Who knows. None of us remember after the race…

Another really bizarre but amazing part of the race was the sheer number of water stations for such a short distance: three. Plenty of water and sports drinks at every station. At the last station, full-size bottles of sports water were given out!

When the race ended, we were each immediately handed a plastic Meiji Land bowl and cup before heading into the Carnival area. A funny story. At first one of my girlfriend did not want the set but the volunteer remarked it was necessary for the “buffet”. Immediately she went back and grabbed a set. When we entered the Carnival area, those Meiji Land bowls sure came in handy because that’s when the real fun began!

There were EIGHT booths with each booth serving a particular Meiji product. Four of the booths were food and unlimited! I’m talking FREE FLOW of Hello Pandas! Do you know how heavenly it was?!

Us girls simply could not stop eating bowls of it.

You like Meiji crackers? This booth would have been your dream come true. I got a lot of packets for my brother-in-law.  You guys like Yan Yan?

Help yourselves to Strawberry and Banana-flavoured ones.

And very randomly and definitely can’t be Meiji-brand: Chicken Burgers

On the other side were the Drinks booths. Unfortunately these were only limited to one drink per booth per person. Still, it is wise not too drink too much milk, anyway.

I don’t usually purchase yoghurt or milk drinks but I sure enjoyed Meiji’s. This Paigen yoghurt drink tasted exactly like Yakult but in a bigger bottle.

Meiji milk especially the chocolate flavour is always yummy.

The new Bulgaria yoghurt – so tangy and YUMMY! New in Singapore, these were featured in the Sunday Life yesterday and rightly so.

There was a Photo Booth tent but the queue(s) was sooo long. 

The loot of five girls. We learnt from many around us and took a box to contain all our goodies. 

The Race medal and the chocolate crunchy biscuit pack at the back was very good by the way. None of us have seen it in the Singapore shops before.

UNFORTUNATELY, no one was allowed to leave the carnival with more than one pack of each food. A lot of big bags of Hello Panda and Yan Yan were seized by more than three security guards. Every bag was checked before we could leave. Don’t ask how I managed to smuggle the Meiji crackers out.

At the entrance of the race, there was a Meiji Fair. Super cheap snacks and yoghurt were sold. People were having a field day with this one. 

    

I wrote in the Feedback Form provided afterwards for this event to be held again next year. At the same time, longer-distance races to be provided. I cannot imagine a better way to end a race then a never-ending supply of Chocolate Hello Pandas. ❤

Lamb Cupcakery @ Marina Bay Link Mall: Awoke The Cupcake Monster [Updated]

 When I first bit into Lamb Cupcakery’s Dark Chocolate cupcake, my dormant obsession with cupcakes awoke. Instantly I transcended into the happiest place on earth. And I felt my 8-year old love for cupcakes rushing back. You have to understand, the incredibly fluffy yet fudgy chocolate frosting was sublime. Adorned with more chocolate shards, I was swooning and sighing with every bite. If this bakery sold frosting shots like the crazy US bakeries (they should), I would buy it in a heartbeat! It also helps that the chocolate sponge cake was a “moist-central”. AND I had it the day after purchasing! In the Singapore heat, the chocolate frosting was all soft and luscious – perfection.

I was fortunate to try many flavours from Lamb Cupcakery in a short span of time; seven. My favourites were inevitably the chocolate-based cupcakes like the Peanut Butter Fudge. Oh gosh that rich Peanut butter frosting is an absolute killer! Tasted exactly like whipped Smucker’s. With extra chocolate fudge within – first-bite magic. The Milo Dino was another heart-breaker. Consisting of a triple Milo-whammy: luscious and rich malt chocolate frosting, milo powder AND a milo nugget. If this was available when I was a kid, I’m sure my school would have sent letters of concern to my parents due to significant weight gain. On the other hand, the Sweet S’mores was a little too much. Consisting of a dark chocolate cupcake with a graham cracker base, rich Belgium chocolate ganache,  graham cracker crumbs and topped with a torched marshmallow meringue icing. I’m afraid there were simply too many strong elements competing with each other at the same time. Skip this and stick with the first three flavours mentioned. My good friend swears the Chocolate Salted Caramel tops them all. I have yet to try. Looks like another trip is absolutely necessary. I tried it, I tried it!!! Scroll below for details. 

On the non-chocolate front, the Carrot Cake topped with a vanilla cream cheese frosting was super chunky; containing more carrot-apricot-pecans than cake. I am still torn about this. While I do like to get my money’s worth with generous ingredients. On the other hand, I missed the texture of a sponge cake. Needless to say, the frosting was an absolute dream.

I wished the vanilla-based cupcakes could be more flavourful. The Strawberry topped with a slight tangy strawberry buttercream did not hit home with me. But my friends thoroughly enjoyed it. And the pink buttercream was prettyyyy. Surprisingly I did not enjoy the Red Velvet flavour. Widely lauded and the best seller (but wait, which Red Velvet product isn’t in Singapore?!), the red food colouring in the sponge cake was too strong for me. It was also a tad dry (I had two at different times so this was a consistent flaw).

Lamb Cupcakery has scored big time in my heart. Wide selection but do note they run out fast and the flavours are not always available. Baked fresh, time is needed to prepare a new batch ensuring freshness in every bite. So don’t be too disappointed if your desired flavour is not available. Another amazingness of this bakery? With the baker’s parents manning the shopfront, they provide the warmest service EVER! I can never help myself but smile and chit-chat with them on every visit. I am sure you will be equally as enamored with this little bakery as me.

[Update] 21st May 2015

This afternoon this Cupcake Monster braved the heat and walked to purchase 24 cupcakes. It’s another Associates’ Gathering evening! My colleagues need to try this place. While there, I could not resist picking up two for myself! Can you blame me after seeing this display??? 

I got a wide variety for my colleagues.

But for myself, them. One of the four Thursday specials, Chocolate Salted Caramel, and a Vanilla Hazelnut Chocolate. 

From left: Chocolate Salted Caramel and Vanilla Hazelnut Chocolate

The Chocolate Salted Caramel is essentially the Double Chocolate flavour (that I adore so much!!) drizzled with Salted Caramel AND stuffed with more salted caramel. You know how irritating some places can be when the salted caramel is just sweet with no saltiness at all? Not at Lamb. Their salted caramel was equal parts sweet, equal parts salty. Biting into it, the contrasting flavours paired with the perfect textures was out-of-this-world! This cupcake kept calling out to me to “eat me!” When I reluctantly finished this piece, only sadness left in my heart. I need more. Forget TGIF. Thursday is the new Friday!

Fluffly chocolate buttercream means salted caramel. You won’t regret the calories.

The Vanilla Hazelnut Chocolate is not a Thursday special but regular customers get priority 😉 This cupcake was essentially a Ferrero Rocher on steroids. Consisting of a Madagascar bourbon vanilla cupcake with a hazelnut chocolate ganache topped with crunchy caramelised hazelnuts, those hazelnuts were the Game Changer. The crunchiness and fragrance of the sweet nuts perked up the whole cupcake. Its addictiveness only harmful to the waistline.

  I am not a fan of Ferrero Rocher chocolates but I could pop this baby in everyday.

While not a fan of the vanilla-based sponge, this piece was made so desirable thanks to the thick and rich chocolate hazelnut ganache paired with the hazelnuts. Sold.

The only way to roll with Lamb? Eat the chocolate buttercream from your fingers. Trust me on this.

  

SPR MRKT Catering: Always Reliable & Delicious

Thanks to SPR MRKT, for two sessions in a row, I was the most popular colleague! Yeah! Who doesn’t love to be loved by many?! (Read here for details on my part-time job as Feeder and the continuing series.) I love ordering from SPR MRKT as they are flexible, accomodative, and efficient. Whenever a menu is sent over for my review, any suggestions would be quickly addressed. The menu would be promptly amended to suit my colleagues’ penchant for deep-fried grub. Plus I can count on their punctuality. 6p.m. sharp. Always. Needless to say, the food is always delicious or sublime. Each order is supposed to feed 25 pax. But I reckon it can easily feed 30 and above. SPR MRKT is that generous with the portions.  

Two weeks ago, the menu for the evening was Chicken Satay, Herb-crusted Fish & Chips with Tartare Sauce in a bag, Fried Chicken Wings with Paprika and Thai Chilli Sauce, Mini Tiramisu, and Canele. An exciting array of food made even more exciting by the superb quality.

The Herb-crusted Fish & Chips with Tartare Sauce in a bag was such a crowd-pleaser as each colleague “owned” a bag. Each contaied a chunk of fish and skinny fries. We sure felt like kindergarten kids at a birthday party except these bags were filled with yummier stuff. My colleagues raved about the tartare sauce and sturdy chunk of white fish. My advice: be very careful of those chips – highly addictive.

The Chicken Satay was not your usual fatty meat on a stick. This was a whole slab of boneless chicken thigh topped with the most texturous and peanut-y sauce. Subtly sweet, it took a lot of willpower for me to not scrap off the peanut sauce from the other skewers. The Fried Chicken Wings with Paprika and Thai Chilli Sauce was a satisfying take on the classic bar snack. The thick crunchy batter, albeit someone in the kitchen was a little too heavy-handed with the seasoning, left us all very happy. The Thai Chilli Sauce was served in separate containers – win.

This cafe has always killed it when it comes to desserts and that evening was no different. The boozy Mini Tiramisu were each topped with generous shaved chocolate! Say goodbye to self-control and your waistline because you will not be able to stop at one. I know my colleagues fought a tough battle. One had four(!) of those sweet innocent-looking Caneles. I can’t blame them. Custardy interior paired with a burnt caramelized exterior, it may not be the best I had but was a good effort. (FYI, my best Canele ever was Momofuku Seiobo)

  

Two weeks later and last night, I had to order from SPR MRKT again. This time a completely different menu: Grilled Paprika Beef & Vegetable Skewer, Tortilla Chips with Con Carne Salsa and Sour cream, Shrimp Paste Chicken Thigh with Sriracha Sauce, SPRMRKT Mini Bread Pudding with Housemade Vanilla Sauce. However I feel my colleagues are getting spoilt by SPR’s food. They moaned and missed the Herb-crusted Fish & Chips from a fortnight ago. They said the shrimp paste chicken thigh was a tad salty (until someone did a miraculous thing: dip in sour cream from the tortilla chips – complete game-changer!) For the next few sessions, I hope they like MacDonald’s. Nevertheless the spread last night took their breaths away. Can you blame them?

There were two epic trays of Tortilla Chips with Chilli Con Carne! Carb heaven! And the chips were, hands down, my favourite of all the SPR MRKT grub. Truly satisfying comfort food.

The Salsa and Sour Cream were packed separately ensuring the chips arrived crunchy. Another reason why I love SPR MRKT. Food always arrives piping hot and fresh!

The Shrimp Paste Chicken Thigh or Hai Cheong Gai with its super crisp chicken skin and juicy meat had most of the crew congregating around the tray. At the end, when the chicken was finished, people were still picking at the leftover chicken skin.

Two tubs of Sriracha Sauce, also separately packed, in ice-cream-like paper containers. We sure had a wild time dipping into the sauce. Then a colleague dipped into the Sour Cream from the tortillas and we fell further in love with the fried chicken. The heaviness cut by the tangy cream – LOVELY!

I did not take a clear shot of the Grilled Paprika Beef & Vegetable Skewer because it did not look appetizing but I was so wrong! This was a piece of steak on a stick. Each piece of juicy tender beef was threaded with grilled zucchini and peppers. Those who could take beef last night all fell madly in love with the smoky beef flavour. Plus many pieces still had luscious beef fat on it. By the time I found out about its tastiness, my hands were too oily to take another picture. First world problems.

The SPRMRKT Mini Bread Pudding with Housemade Vanilla Sauce, packed separately, was unsurprisingly a crowd pleaser. The only complaint that night: inadequate. My complaint was that the size was a perfect fit to pop the whole damn thing into the mouth; i.e. bread pudding poppers! Terribly addictive, this dessert yet again only served to bring us tremendous joy and ruin our waistlines. 😦

SPR MRKT Catering never fails to deliver. It is wonderfully comforting to know where one can go for reliable food providers. Enquire with the cafe on their catering services. Cutleries and paper plates were always provided. Except we did not need them as we are savages. Check out their blog or mine, for ideas on your own menu. They are extremely accomodative and by the looks of things, value-for-money. You won’t regret with them. My Mum wants to organize a gathering just so she can cater from them. 🙂         

Ssäm @ Marina Bay Link Mall: Korean-Mexican Kitchen Does Fusion SO WELL! [Updated]

Picture pulled from Ssam’s Facebook

This lunchtime, I had an epic Pork Belly & Shoulder Salad bowl from Ssäm! Specializing in Korean-Mexican fusion food, this tiny hole-in-the-wall is sandwiched in between Four Seasons Gourmet Market and Viet Baguette Cafe of the Mall. Ever cognizant of the market like a true savy investor, thankfully Ssäm does salad-based bowls too. The Korean influence is present in the protein options (such as Bulgogi beef and Kimchi add-ons) but Mexican at heart (Burritos and rice bowls).

I am so happy because my lunch was filled wtih the most delicious flavours and exciting textures. I was literally jumping for joy after! More importantly, so satisfied and satiated that I did not even need dessert after. Now I can’t stop thinking of my lunch and already planning my next trip!

Ssäm means wrapped in Korean, though it traditionally refers to wrapped in lettuce leaves. What we we have is pieces of delicious meat delicately nestled between the bosoms of a warm tortilla and a spicy blend of pickled veg. This combination of Korean Galbi with Mexican salsa and spices is a match made in food heaven.

Picture pulled from Ssam’s Facebook

The ordering is pretty easy, choose a base: a burrito, rice bowl (Cilantro Rice or Kimchi Rice), or a salad. Then choose between 4 staples of the menu which are the proteins: they have Korean-marinated Beef, Crackling Pork Belly & Shoulders, Grilled Chicken, and Soy-marinated Tofu. Finally finish things off with your choice and any amount of Basil Leaves, Cabbage Kimchi, Spring Onion Kimchi, Candied Lotus Roots (highly recommended), Seaweed (highly recommended), Scallions, tomato salsa (highly recommended), Kimchi salsa (highly recommended), and a dressing. Scrambled eggs, boiled eggs or Guacamole are available at an extra charge. The concept is not novel. It is exactly the same method as Chipotle in the USA. But who cares, it works!

Picture pulled from Ssam’s Facebook

Affordably priced at $8 for all protein save for the beef ($9) without the extras, my hearty lunch was a huge portion. I was stuffed beyond words. My lunch was a Salad Bowl with Crackling Pork Belly & Shoulder, with Kimchi, Seaweed, Tomato Salsa, Kimchi salsa, Lotus root, and Sesame Seeds. My lunch companion’s bowl (top in the first picture) consisted of a rice bowl, beef, fried scallions, onions, and seaweed with guacamole added in. Needless to say, she couldn’t finish either.

I thoroughly enjoyed my choice of protein: pork belly & shoulder as the meat was cooked to tender-perfection, packed with flavour and… BITS of PORK CRACKLING sprinkled throughout. Every bite had a crunchy bit – sublime. I could not stop. Plus my side components were absolutely delightful with punchy flavours and crunchy textures. If you work in the area, GO TRY! I can’t wait to try the other proteins.

A word of advice: GO EARLY. I went at 1.15pm and got the last portion of salad! Plus a lot of other components were out too. Further this place is tiny. Be prepared to not get a seat inside but there are long benches just outside. Those are comfortable and great for people watching!

[Updated on 4th May 2015]

So I returned for my Ssam fix this afternoon. For the sake of research, I got the beef. Unbelievably, it was more fabulous than the pork belly & shoulder! I could not believe what was in my mouth. The tender-thin slices of beef were so flavourful. However unlike the pork, the Korean-style sauce was on the sweet side. But it was a harmonious sweet-savoury contrast. Two visits and I have not craved for a dressing yet.

I am so in love this with little spot. Can you tell?