Much of this week-long vacation was spent in front of the computer as I was trying to finish setting my papers for the mid year examinations. C was left much on her own for most parts of the day and when she commented that she wanted pancakes, I thought it would be a good idea to take her down to Nook's. :)

It was a last minute decision and being a Wednesday, most of our friends were at work and we decided that Aunt Ven and Brion were most likely to be able to join us.

When she discovered that we were going to cook our own pancakes, she was over the moon.

We had so much fun and we were easily the noisiest group that evening. 

The adults ate only a little because we had other plans... 

group pic!

Now, I wanted to come here for this a couple of years ago and this evening, we killed 2 birds with a stone. :)

We discovered a quaint and cozy eatery. It is quietly and nicely tucked away in the central part of Singapore. We had passed by so many times but never once took the opportunity to make the turn in until this evening.

Riders Cafe

What we love about this place besides its quiet surroundings:

There is a riding school just next to the eating place and we saw many riders mounting their horses to go out for their training. 

Close to 6.30pm, we sat ourselves down for dinner.

C ordered a vanilla milk shake.

For starters, 

"Wedge" Salad with avocado, heirloom tomatoes, bacon and buttermilk dressing ($15). This was surprisingly refreshing. 

House Seasoned Fries ($7) This was alright; just the right amount of salt.

Salt & Pepper Squid with Kaffir Lime Aioli ($13) The squird was extremely tender, something we had not expected.

Mains:

Kid's Spaghetti Bolognaise ($10) C loved the fine spaghetti and the thinly shredded cheese.

Creamy Risotto with seared Hokkaido Scallops, Broccolini & Truffle Oil ($24) Unless you like the cheesy taste, this dish can be a little too heavy. But the fresh and soft pieces of scallops went very well with the risotto.

Spaghetti Aglio e Oli with crab meat, spinach, chili oil, garlic and parsley ($24) The crab meat was unfortunately a little too salty but otherwise, it was a pretty decent dish; not too spicy and definitely filling. 

Braised lamb with carrot mash and grilled dole asparagus ($26) I had my reservations because I was wondering if it was possible to have the lamb braised without the recognizable taste. Yet I was reassured that the dish would not. Good choice, really! 

Steak Frites with U.S. Angus striploin, seasoned fries and Cafe de Paris butter ($35) The meat was done just the way it was ordered and it was juicy and tender. Another excellent choice!

Overall, the dining experience was brilliant and as we gazed out from where we were, we occasionally saw a rider or two on his horse gallop by. The relaxed ambiance made us want to stay longer. Definitely a place that we would come back again.  

Aunt Di suggested dim sum and I said yes! :)

We used to go for dim sum in the past but it has been a while since we went and since we wanted to take Mummy there, Aunt Di thought this would be a fantastic place to have our lunch.

Very delicious food indeed! We loved the Peking Duck and C couldn't get enough of the duck.

More than the food, it was also because of our family and my absolutely loving Mummy Dearest. 

(picture credits: Aunt Di) 

It was Labour Day and Daddy and I had a day off from work. 

We took the opportunity to go down to Bras Basar Complex to get an art folio for C. This was something I wanted to get her a long time ago, actually since C started her art lessons because her paintings are done on very large A2 drawing block papers and my search at the regular book store had been futile because they only carried sizes up to A3.

After we got what we needed, we had dinner at Jack's and C surprised us with her orders.

Precious, waiting patiently for her food to arrive...

Saying grace...

She had ordered a steak! This was a departure from her usual order of pasta. I was kind of worried as I didn't think she would like it, much less finish her dinner. But she loved it and cleaned off everything on her plate. :)

Daddy had a local dish of hor fun while I had fish. The pictures turned out great but the food didn't unfortunately. Standard seemed to have dropped rather drastically since the last time we ate at Jack's.

We rewarded C for her effort this evening with a trip to the Manhattan Fish Market.

See her happy face!

What a spread? It wasn't that much really. 2 main dishes which came with soup and drinks. We ordered an appetizer too. C and I shared the pasta while Daddy ate their signature Fish and Chips.

I love this picture! Ha ha!

Father and Daughter playing on the phones... They do that a lot these days.

The last time we saw Steffi was when Daddy and I found out we were pregnant with C and that was a good 6 years ago.

This afternoon, the entire family met up with her to have lunch. :) By the time we were done eating, we were stuffed and it was no wonder because ...

there was so much food!

Cheryl with her Aunt Steffi

Family photo!

Ops... Uncle Ben was missing...

We went Thai this evening! Actually, we had plans to go for Korean food but the restaurant that we wanted to go was fully booked hence it was Daddy who suggested we eat at this Thai restaurant.

Jai Thai! Apparently Daddy had eaten at this place with his colleagues and he found the food pretty decent.

Just look at the spread! We ate so much, all of us were really stuffed!

Oh, but there was always room for dessert! And I must say, the dessert was heavenly! :)