Valentine's Day Part Two- Sunar Indonesian Restaurant + Max Brenner's

After lunch at Botak Jones, it was Chinese New Year Shopping! SH did the guy thing again- grab and buy. So it wasn't much of a shopping. o_O I wanted to buy a few more pieces of new clothes as I had apparently worn all my new clothes. But a shiny new bag lied in the fate of my hands. So I decided against buying anymore clothes in favour of the coveted bag. The funny thing about guys is that they do get tired from shopping easily. Luckily I had arranged to meet up with my girlfriends J and Y. We decided on a girls' Valentines this year.

As the 3 of us girls sauntered down orchard roard, the street was abound with couples carrying flowers, chocolates and balloon. Y concluded that she was oblivious to those couples after a while. When we finally decided that we were hungry enough, we were at Takashimaya. As J's feet were hurting considerably from her new shoes, we decided to have dinner there. Apparently, out of naivety, we believed that we were able to just walk into any restaurants and plonk ourselves down. Alas, that day was also Valentine's Day and every smart guy out there had already made his reservation. Most restaurants were arranged into the 2-2-2 formation for couples. As there were 3 of us girls, most restaurants told us we had to wait a considerable time for our table.

I had wanted to try out the Crystal Jade Korean Ginseng Restaurant but that was a 45 min wait. We went to Imperial Treasure restaurant too and that was another 30 min wait. In the end, Sanur Indonesian Restaurant won with the 20 min wait. We received our call, whisked ourselves off and settled down.

Sanur Indonesian Restaurant

Keropok-$3.00
In the past, I didn't really have a habit of collecting the receipts after footing for the bill, but now I think I should make it a point to remember. I just realised that we were charged 3 bucks for the Keropok! Wasn't it supposed to be free? *The evils of Valentine's day*?
Yes yes, it was crunchy and tasty, but this was like an appeitizer to keep us busy before our orders arrived! The hidden costs you never know till you pay! And then even if you do realise these hidden costs exist, you still pay for them because you are too busy being shocked to protest.

Ayam Go Bumbu (Grilled Chicken Dish)- $13.95
We were deciding between the other chicken dish and the Beef Rendang initially. But upon the waitress' recommendation, (she said the Ayam Go Bumbu was very tender and tasty) we settled for this dish. Boy was I glad we did, because the chicken was very flavourful and aromatic. The whole dish was not too oily, the skin provided a nice crisp contrast that was salty enough against the tender aromatic chicken meat. The chicken was indeed very soft and there was not a part that I hated to eat. Well marinated. I love the herbs they use. 3.75/5

Kangkong Belachan- $8.50
This was the one dish that I HAD to have. It's been so many months since I last ate Kangkong! In Canada, there was no Kangkong in sight, not even in some Singapore-Malaysian Restaurants we went to.
The Kangkong Belachan was a nice balance of spiciness and saltiness. Yummy! Eat it with rice, and it's just awesome! I like my kangkong to be crunchy (not too much stems though), leafy and spicy enough to give me a kick out of eating it. It wasn't terribly spicy though (unlike some dishes that are so spicy, they burn your tongue till you can't taste what you are eating!) and I like that! 3.5/5

Just in case you guys do not believe the "there's no Kangkong in sight in Canada*, here are some pictures of the vegetable section in Safeway Supermarket in Vancouver, Canada.

I can't believe they only have Ang Moh vegetables like salads and lettuces.


And organic vegetables. Organic Ang Moh vegetables to be precise.


Lost of fruits too.


Look at the vast greenery of fruits and vegetables! Yeap... no Chinese vegetables.



They do have this kind though. Olives... ewww... are olives even vegetables?


Nope, I don't like to eat olives.
So there you have it guys, being in a foreign country meant that getting fresh chinese vegetables was tough (since the chinese supermarkets were always 1 hour bus rides away). We learnt it the hard way when we saw our vegetables rotting in our fridge. It was then that me and my Singaporean friends realised that "Oh wow... vegetables only last for 3 days?" Hey, we wrapped them in newspapers and refigerated them too! But by the 4th day, they started oozing slime! Eww.

Tahu Telur- $10.50
This is one of the restaurant's signature dishes.
Here's a description of the dish- "Beancurd and eggs deep fried until golden brown, garnished with shredded cucumber and served with special sauce."

J, Y and I felt this dish was the best. We gave it the thumbs up!
To eat it, you have to cut it up with the knife provided. Upon the incision, the cripsy beancurd fell apart to reveal the brown sweet sauce that had infused the centre to give a delicious sheen. The beancurd was packed with this floss-like shreds, thus I thought that I was eating beancurd with pork floss initially. J and Y enlightened me and told me it wasn't pork floss. I just wonder how they get the floss-like texture- can it really be beancurd? Anyway the whole bite was packed with taste. Each bite was a spoonful of crispy beancurd, with the soft crispy floss, and with the special brown sauce drizzled over it. The 3 of us liked this dish so much we cleaned it out!
Oh there's something to note too! The portion was huge! It was really a big piece of delicious beancurd! This was welcomed by us, as the other few dishes' potions were really small. Guys will surely finish the chicken and kangkong in a few mouthfuls.
All in all I would rate the Tahu Telur a 4/5!

A funny incident to note though: Halfway through eating the Tahu Telur, we suddenly heard loud clapping and cheering. We thought that a game was going on. And then we realised that it was a PROPOSAL! Ooooo.... the girl said 'Yes' and there were loud claps for them. They were both very shy and bashful after the *going-down-on-one-knee-to-propose* incident. Cool Vday event!

Sop Asam- $4.95

We ordered this hot and spicy soup as J had a craving for soup. :) It was really good. Unlike some hot and spicy soups which tend to be milder and more sourish, this soup really packed a nice spicy punch! It wasn't too salty either. 3/5

Verdict: Despite the small food portions of some dishes, the Tahu Telur really rocks! I like Indonesian food alot because they tend to use alot of spices and herbs which make eating these dishes really flavourful.

Ambiance: 3/5 (It wasn't the most romantic of ambiances. Someone proposed here, so it can't be that bad right? Though I would plead with my future proposal-guy to NOT propose in such a family-friendly restaurant. I would prefer something to the tune of a Chijmes restaurant!)
Service:3/5 (Maybe it because it was Valentine's Day. But the service tended to be a little slow when it came to ordering our dishes, and when asking for the bill.)
Food:3.6875/5

I would go back for the food again, but I would think twice about that. Because letting someone charge me $3 for the Keropok (when I can get it for $1 from the Mama store), $3.60 for 3 plates of rice (when rice is so dirt cheap), and $1.20 for the towels (when I don't even need them at all) isn't a very pleasant feeling. Plus do you guys realise you actually pay 10% and 5% for these useless items (because the service charge and gst is only calculated after the subtotal!)!! The very nerve of them! Maybe other restaurants do this too, but I've never really noticed this till today!

Anyway, they have 4 other outlets too!

Sanur Indonesian Restaurant

#04-16 Ngee Ann City
Tel: 6734 3434 Fax: 6734 5627

#04-17/18 Centrepoint
Tel: 6734 2192 Fax: 6734 2337

B1-10 Suntec City
Tel: 6338 6768 Fax: 6338 6769

#02-47/48 Parco Bugis Junction
Tel: 6333 9339 Fax: 6337 7068

#03-43 Causeway Point
Tel: 6893 7555 Fax: 6893 5690

After such a good meal, it was still an early night (only nine o'clock)! So we decided to have desserts at Max Brenner's Chocolate Bar. Y had never eaten here before and I just found it out-of-this-world to not have ever eaten here before. My, they've been here like forever! 4 years? 5 years? It sure seems like a long time.

Anyway as you all would know, Max Brenner is the Mr Chocolate-isLove guy. So on Vday, there were like only a hundred couples there. Ok, so I'm exaggerating. But we did have to wait a good 10 min for our table and then wait for like forever before we could finally get the attention of the waiter to take our orders. It was really exasperating trying to get our orders taken because each time we waved at this particular waiter, he would nod his head, yet walk past us, oblivious to our frustrations. He would then guide the people waiting outside to their tables but not take our orders. Repeat this cycle 3 times and you got 3 very frustrated girls. Y concluded that that particular waiter must have had something against us because he tended to walk past our table each time he refilled the other tables' glasses of water. Needless to say, I feel like failing them for their service, but the other waiter that finally took our order made it up with his apologetic smiles and sincerity. Still, service deserves only 2.5/5. AND Vday is no excuse to cover up for bad service!

I browsed through their website and I saw this jingle that said "Chocolate by the bald man" and bells started going off my head. Where did I hear that before? And I realised ahhhh Botak Jones!!! Well, the bald man concept seems to be everywhere these days. Hmm to be concise, it's the bald ang moh concept. Haha... wonder if the bald chinese girl concept will work if I go to America or Europe? *Snigger* Isn't that how we exploit the Caucasians' perennial fascination with the exotification of the East? Anything exotic sounding and they fall for it? *Sound of cash registers ringing*

You realise how well Max Brenner has learnt to exploit lovey-dovey couples when you see lines of "I don't invent anything in chocolate. It all exists in people's minds and hearts."- quoted from Max Brenner's website.

Ahhh... that's where we get the "chocolate is love" mentality from. No wonder girls get fat, and guys go poor! The manipulation of the subconscious... why you evil evil capitalists!

The exterior of the oh-so-chic chocolate restaurant.

Couples couples everywhere!
No wonder J, Y and I were feeling like lightbulbs! They practically squeezed all the couples in there- as many as they could. Do you see it? I see it! Everyone's gazing into everyone's eyes! *Shudder*

Oh my, the lilt in their voice, the spark in their eyes, the laughter everywhere (how come dating couples find every sentence their love ones utter sooo amusing? Maybe it's nervous laughter? *giggle deliriously*)
No, I'm not jealous. :)

Suckao- a chocolate drink you get by melting the chocolate bits in the plate in the egg device. You drop the chocolate bits in, stir, and add some milk in if you wish. Or you could just indulge in pure chocolate heaven.
Some people might find that over-indulging and that the drink would become rather sweet and thick. So they add milk in. But I feel that if too much milk is added in, it tastes alot like chocolate milk. o_O

We ordered the dark chocolate Suckao. You can choose from white chocolate, milk chocolate and dark chocolate. Y's preference was for dark chocolate though. The unique thing about this egg-device is that there is a flame in below the metal container and it resembles an aromatic burner is alot of ways! The metal stirrer is actually also a straw! Very cool! But the bad thing is that being metal by nature, if you leave it in the suckao for too long, heat travels through conduction and the whole straw feels very hot. Sometimes, if you are not careful, the hot straw sears your tongue, and the hot chocolate burns your tongue further!

A closeup of the Suckao
It was really good quality chocolate. Very thick and consistent.
For those who have never tried this, the novelty of the Suckao will excite you. When Max Brenner's first came to town, the novelty of drinking something called the Suckao created a stir. But for me, having drank it a few times, it's really alot like drinking a chocolate drink. 3/5 (Novelty winning more points than the whole drink actually.)

Belgian Waffles
We had actually wanted to order the Chocolate Fondue (since anyone who ever goes to Max Brenner must try it) but due to the romantic herds of guys before us, the fruits were out of stock. After a while, they ran out of chocolate too. So it was goodbye Chocolate Fondue and hello something else.
In a panic, we looked at the other tables to see what they were eating. We didn't want to wait for another forever for the waiter to come. The couple opposite me was having the Chocolate Truffle cake which looked good to me. But Y found it very normal and boring. So we went for something big and nicer looking. The table next to us were having this waffle thing which looked good. So we played the copycat and followed them.

Result? Notice I highlight the phrase looked good. It tasted arggghh yucky. Maybe that's too strong a reaction. But when you bite into the waffle, you will notice how floury the taste is. It's not crisp or fragrant-waffle-smelling like other waffles and it was really a mish-mash or soft, squishy flour drenched with Belgian chocolate. The only saving grace was the ice cream which was really good. Smooth, rich flavour, with the taste of good quality vanilla, rather than some cheap, artificial vanilla ice cream I've eaten. 2.5/5 It just passes because the ice cream saved it from being a disaster.
I don't know if it's because it was Valentine's Day and that's why the quality was really bad. Maybe the waffle-guy didn't bake the waffle long enough?

A closeup of the Belgian Waffles
Darn. It looks deceivingly good.
Maybe we should have eaten the Truffle cake. It would have surely tasted better than this flourish dessert.

Verdict: Max Brenner's is always a nice place to hang out with your love ones or girlfriends for an after-dinner treat, or just for a quick after shopping tea. The novelty of its desserts will be a pleasant suprise for them. The chocolates are always of a good quality and you can be sure you will be satisfied by this chocolate heaven.

Ambiance: 3.5/5 (Why do you think so many couples go there?)
Service: 2.5/5
Food: 2.75/5 (Just don't eat the Waffles!)

Next time any of you ever head there, I would recommend that you try the Warm Chocolate Fondue (for two)-with seasonal fresh fruit, frilled marshmallows and banana bread.

Max Brenner's Chocolate Bar is all happening at:

Singapore 8 Raffles Avenue, #01-06/08 Esplanade Mall

Phone number: +65 62359556
Opening Hours:
Sun-Thurs - 11:00am to 11:00pm
Fri-Sat - 11:00am to 12:00 (Midnight)

How cool is this? They also have branches all over the world! In USA (New York!), Australia, Philippines, Singapore AND Israel! Woahh places where all the action is happening eh? haha... check out the website for the locations if ever you are in any other parts of the world.

J and I saw this love-declaration while walking to One Fullerton. Cool... when do you see such patience, dedication and courage?

Just to end off, Happy (belated) Valentine's Day to all!
Or if you were like me... haha... Happy Friendship Day to all of you!!

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