Peter Chang Scott's Addition

At last, a great Chinese restaurant in the city! And one that serves cocktails and dares to have a decent wine list. Thank you Peter Chang for bringing your culinary vision to Scott's Addition! I appreciate the duck dishes in particular. Take a gander at the Shredded Duck with Onion and Scallion.

The duck slices are so tender, and the portions are generous enough to take home some leftovers for lunch the next day. Quack, Quack Good!

We Decide to Have a Delicious Lunch at Peter Chang China Cafe Despite Short Pump Traffic

We were headed for Charlottesville for the afternoon on a gloomy Saturday and decided to have lunch at Peter Chang China Cafe. You know the place. It's tucked up in a Walmart shopping strip in the middle of Short Pump, and it's an absolute horror to get to the place from the city (or anywhere else). We strategized the best route that would cause the least stress and, whew!, we made it.

Peter Chang China Cafe Dining Room in Short Pump

At least we were rewarded with some good eats. Hubby had Golden Mountain Chicken. A mountain of fried shredded chicken, indeed, with a light sweet and sour sauce. We both thought this would be the perfect Asian dish to enjoy while watching football playoffs.

Golden Mountain Chicken

I chose the darker side of the poultry spectrum with Shredded Duck with Scallion and Onion. Sublime ducky tenderness! And more than enough to enjoy for lunch the next day.

Shredded Duck with Scallion and Onion

While I always enjoy going to Peter Chang, the traffic can be daunting, and I end up eating nearer to my home. Can't wait to have a Peter Chang establishment in RVA proper!

Amuse Serves Up French Bistro Offerings for Rodin Exhibit

And, c'est si bon. Deceptively simple and just in time for the Fall/Winter season, Amuse serves up some yummy, hearty entrees along with kick-ass cocktails and Absinthe service (if you dare).

The Age of Bronze cocktail features scotch.

I am in love with the Cassoulet. The white beans were thoroughly cooked (a must) and the duck leg almost made me swoon.

Hubby raved about the steak frites. Herbed butter permeated the plate.

No need to ponder where to eat. Treat yourself to Amuse.

Easy Bistro and Bar - Chattanooga

Without realizing it I think we just happened upon the best restaurant in Chattanooga - Easy Bistro and Bar.

The space soared up two floors with black walls and well-placed mirrors.

Robin, our most excellent server greeted us with a lovely spring green amuse bouche and a vinegar based tiny cocktail which turned out to be an amazing pairing.

We didn't stop at the tasting cocktail. We had to try the Dixie Smash which featured Chattanooga 1816 Whiskey, lemon, and cinnamon syrup. So delicious that we had to visit the distillery, which happened to be a few blocks away.

While sipping cocktails we enjoyed a Smoked Pork Belly with Watermelon and Rhubarb. So, yummy. Throughout the menu, Easy Bistro featured local and seasonal ingredients.

We selected a Tuscan wine for our entrees. Easy had a nice list, but prices were a bit higher than we are used to. The wine prices were the only slight drawback to the place. And while we paid a bit more for the red, the wine service couldn't have been better.

For the main course, hubby selected a Pan-Roasted Alaskan Halibut with Ramps. Ever since we were on the Oregon coast a few years back, hubby had been hankering for halibut, and not just any halibut, but Pacific halibut.  He was not disappointed.

I had to have the Smoked Duck Confit with Favas, Charred Okra, and Morels. Yes, I am partial to duck. The smokiness with the fall-from-the-bone meat was a bit between duck and pork. A Southern twist on a classic dish. And when I visited Oregon, I fell in love with morels. The only mushroom that I don't just tolerate, but venerate. These were awesome!

To complete the evening we splurged on a spring-time dessert - Strawberry-Rhubarb Panna Cotta with Chartreuse Ice. So lovely.

Our server Robin also recommended other places to eat the next evening. Since it was a Monday, she made sure the places were open before handing us her list. Service + Excellent Food. We did dine at the best restaurant in Chattanooga.

Enoteca Sogno Continues to Please the Palate

We always enjoy eating at Enoteca Sogno.  Recently, we imbibed Aperol Spritzes (lovely for Spring or Summer)...

...split a Roasted Beet and Orange Salad...

...and indulged in Duck Confit and Arugula Salad.

Yum!

A Visit to Singapore

Wow. I can't believe I actually visited Singapore and survived both the long flight times and the humidity. I'm so glad I put aside my objections. Singapore is vibrant, orderly, and architecturally intriguing. English is the official language. A good way for a Westerner to get a glimpse of Asia without totally going into culture shock. Based on the dozens of multi-story malls along Orchard Road, shopping and eating seem to be the major past times. But we also visited Little India and Chinatown as well. We loved the Botanic Gardens, especially the National Orchid Gardens. And the Gardens by the Bay, especially the Supertree Grove at night.

So, a few random observations before the photo show. Alcohol is EXPENSIVE in Singapore. A lot of restaurants do not even offer wine by the bottle. The wine by the glass prices would be bottle prices here in the US. And the US dollar to Singapore dollar ratio is not too far off the mark. So, we imbibed less, which was probably a good thing since the air is so humid one gets wringing wet after about a couple of hours. Our hotel did have a cool bar called Manhattan, however. They specialized in barrel-aged cocktails and had a glassed-in barrel room of concoctions waiting their turn. We indulged once, but at ~$21 a pop, we only went the one time.

Yes, it's that humid, even at night. Our friends who live in Singapore said it took them about 6 months to get acclimatized. Thus, the dilemma: do we eat outside at some lovely places along the river or the outdoor food stalls in Chinatown or do we head inside for air conditioning? We chose air conditioning. It was a way for us to recover before going back outside. Our hotel was kind enough to provide us two bottles of water each day and changed our towels twice a day since we usually took two showers every day. Since I am not a fan of heat and humidity and make a point of never going to the beach in the summer, I impressed myself at being able to survive. Shopping centers, the subway (MRT), and taxis all have excellent air conditioning, thank goodness.

The MRT is super easy to use and cheap. One-way fares are less that one Singaporean dollar. Taxis are fairly inexpensive, too. This is a good thing since owning a car is outrageously expensive. A Subaru costs upwards of $150,000 (yes, this is not a typo). We were also told that if one owned a car, the government required one to pay for the right to drive it for 10 years.

Singapore offers a huge variety of restaurants, from traditional Asian fare to familiar American fast food places to chain eateries that were new to us. It allows us as Americans to be adventurous one day and then return to our version of comfort food the next day. Reputable hotels and restaurants have good water and ice, so no real worries from that perspective. There is one fast food place in Singapore called Toast Box. They do toast with salted butter and jam (traditionally coconut jam), but what I became addicted to was the milk tea - extremely strong tea with sweetened condensed milk. OMG. They also have egg tarts. We need a Toast Box here.

Enough comments. Please enjoy some of my snaps.

Bumboats along the Singapore River

Christmas decorations were being put in in mid-Oct. These along Orchard Road are brought to you by Hitachi

Barrel-Aged Manhattan at Manhattan

We met some friends for lunch one day. They took us to a local food court and ordered all manner of items. This is chicken and rice. The rice is cooked in a concentrated chicken broth.

Rojak contains fruit and cucumber and mixed with shrimp paste

Noodles with Shrimp

To drink we had sugar cane juice flavored with lemon juice

Malaysian Shaved Ice - Shaved ice with coconut milk, syrup, sweet beans, and "green twizzlers"

Yummy milk tea at Toast Box

Little India

While we were in Singapore, they celebrated the Deepavali holiday, a Hindu holiday (we know it as Diwali). This is a "bank holiday." Singapore has 10 holidays and honor Hindu, Muslim, Chinese, and Western cultures.

Foodstuffs for sale during Deepavali

This is what happens to a camera lens when you step outside from an air conditioned hotel

We ate at La Forketta one evening and enjoyed a lovely burrata.

Singapore Botanic Gardens

Most of the graffiti that we saw in Singapore was on plants

Golden Arches

One of the many species of orchids in the National Orchid Gardens

Also part of the National Orchid Gardens

Prawn Satay with Mango Salad at Halia

Chinatown

Beijing Duck at Fatty Weng's

Hindu Temple

Buddha Tooth Temple

Ku De Ta sits atop the Marina Bay Sands hotel and offers a lovely view of Singapore. We enjoyed some sangria.

Singapore Flyer and Gardens by the Bay

Cloud Forest at Gardens by the Bay

Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay

Calamari at Pollen Restaurant

Supertree Grove - A Spectacular Light Show

Marina Bay Sands Hotel

Singapore at Night

Letter on in the week we met up with friends again and had Dim Sum at Asia Grand. I tried Chicken Feet

Pork Crepes

Bamboo or Razor Clams

Herbed dessert jelly. Definitely herbal, slightly sweet with a bit of anise. This reminded me of Italian amaro, just non-alcoholic.

An original Singapore Sling from the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel

Merlion Fountain - The merlion is a mythical Singaporean creature

The Clifford Pier Restaurant

Pork Belly Buns at Clifford Pier

Night Time in Singapore

Last look at Singapore from our hotel room

Singapore was well worth the trip. And I recommend Singapore Air for any long-haul travel.