Share Tea

I've always liked drinking bubble tea.

And I have certainly been drinking lots of it over the last 2 weeks.

For one, I've been on leave and hence have got time to roam around as I like. Plus, I found a great bubble tea store not too far away from my home.

The most popular bubble tea shops in Singapore seem to be Koi and Gong Cha, judging from the queues for the outlets of these 2 shops around town. However, I've come to realised that I very much prefer Share Tea.

The teas at Share tea are pretty good, though in general not as fragrant as that of some of the bubble tea stores in Taiwan. The star however, are the mini-pearls. Unlike the big pearls that most bubble tea stores in Singapore serve up, Share Tea offers mini-pearls as an option and you can drink these using a standard straw.

The service at Share Tea is usually also nice and friendly, and like many of the other bubble tea stores, they are happy to "custom-make" your drink for you - you specify the sugar level you like, how much ice you want and if you want less or more pearls. The pearls and mini pearls are offered as add-ons to any drink free of charge, which is a nice touch as well.

The outlet I've been frequenting is the one at Nex mall. They have a number of outlets around the island as well.

My favourites are Oolong Milk Tea (with or without glass jelly) and Pudding Milk Tea. The Kiwi with Ice Jelly Fruit Tea is also nice. If you don't like your drinks sweet like me, remember to ask for no sugar or 30% sugar.

L'etoile

This is a cafe tucked away at a corner of Owen Road, with Japanese-French influences.

I loved the cafe's set-up and decoration. The decoration is simple, yet quaint. Level 2 has a slightly different vibe, but I don't have pictures of Level 2.

The food though is passable, nothing great. We had breakfast there and found the food so-so. The prices though, have increased from what a few popular blogs seem to indicate. I think it's because they've revamped the menu and prices recently.

It's not a bad place to spend a long afternoon with some girl friends. If you run out of new places to visit, this is a place you can consider for an afternoon tea.

L'etoile

Add: 160 Owen Road
Tel: +65 6298 2872
Website: http://letoile.com.sg/

Mushrooms on Toast

This is a really simple, yet delicious snack. I made this for breakfast yesterday.

Ingredients
- A couple of big handfuls of mushrooms, sliced
(Swiss brown mushrooms or portobello mushrooms, or a mixture of different mushrooms would be good. I used mini portobello mushrooms)
- Some dried herbs (parsley, thyme and rosemary would work)
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- A few cherry tomatoes, halved
- Extra virgin olive oil
- A few slices of good bread (I used a sourdough bread)

What I did
- Saute the mushrooms with extra virgin olive oil
- Add in the cherry tomatoes when the mushrooms start to wilt
- Season with dried herbs, sea salt and pepper
- Whilst frying the mushrooms, toast the bread
- Pile the mushrooms and tomatoes (including any liquid) on top of the toast and serve immediately

You can also add chopped garlic, cheese and fresh herbs if you like.. but I like to keep things simple. The flavours from the mushrooms and the liquid from the mushrooms soak up the crusty bread nicely.