Signature Xiao Long Bao at Dragon-I Chinese Restaurant, Johor Bahru!

I was first introduced to Dragon-I when I visited Penang about two years ago. The restaurant reminded me very much of the well-known Crystal Jade Chain in Singapore at first impression. As such, I was immediately interested to try out the food at Dragon-I as the thought of paying much less (due to the favorable exchange rate) for high quality Chinese cuisine was too tempting to resist. As expected, the food was excellent and I wondered why this Chinese restaurant is not found in Singapore.

Recently, Dragon-I opened its first branch in Johor Bahru, City Square Mall! I was excited as I can now visit this restaurant easily since I visit JB frequently. So far, I have visited the JB branch twice and decided to blog about my second visit:

Main entrance to Dragon-I. Expect a long queue if you visit on a weekend. 

And here are the dishes we ordered:

Signature Xiao Long Bao! Also known as Soup Dumpling.

XO Sauce Carrot Cake with Prawns

Egg White With Crab Meat Mince

Braised Pork Ribs Ramen

Out of the four dishes, we loved the Xiao Long Bao and carrot cake most! The Xiao Long Bao is probably the most important signature dish of Dragon-I. According to what I read from the website, the chinese character of Dragon (i.e. "Long") found in the name of the restaurant is a representation of its famous Xiao "Long" Bao. It is no wonder that the taste of this delicacy is excellent! The rich stock inside the dumpling tasted of the sweetness and freshness of the pork filling and the skin is of just the right thickness. Delicious! The aromatic XO sauce carrot cake is really well done too! I like that the chef has cut the carrot cake into bite size cubes so that it is somewhat more chewy and crispy. The omelette, bean sprouts and prawns added on to the flavor and aesthetic appeal of the dish as well.

The other two dishes were of average Chinese restaurant standard with not too much to rave about.

One thing to note is that the ramen was handmade by the chef to ensure the freshness of the noodles, so brownie points to the ramen dish! Just that the braised pork ribs reminded too much of what I can get from canned food, although the meat is much more tender. As for the egg white dish, I felt it was overwhelming as we could only taste the egg white and nothing else (can't find much crab meat).

To end this off, here is my outfit of the day:

Photo taken outside the restaurant. I am wearing the Color Layer Top now available at Lace And Buttons.

The restaurant offers many other dishes so here is the address if you're tempted to try the food!

Johor Bahru City Square (Office Tower) 
Lot. J3-36, Level 3 
106-108 Jalan Wong Ah Fook 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor

Malaysia

SALES! Many new designs added!

Lace And Buttons will be adding  many designs to our "Sales" page on 22 May 2013 at 9pm!

Here are some of the apparels which will be on attractive discounts! Prices starting from only $14.90 nett including free normal shipping!

Also, do not miss out on the existing sales items, all of which are left in limited quantities!

Check out more designs on Sale at Lace And Buttons! Have fun shopping!

Candlelight Dinner at Masons, Gillman Barracks

This is a totally unexpected but pleasantly delightful find!

Bernard and I were in the mood to explore the Alexandra area last weekend and while we were strolling along the way to Hort Park, we came across this lovely restaurant housed in a colonial-styled bungalow. I was attracted to Masons at first sight as the strikingly white building really stood out amidst the surrounding lush greenery. It was just gorgeous in my opinion and I loved the fact that the restaurant has a tastefully decorated alfresco verandah dining area.

As it was close to dinner time, we decided to give the European cuisine at Masons a try after looking through the menu. To be honest, we were hesitant at first as the prices were quite costly but decided to go ahead as the ambiance was perfect and we knew that we may not visit the area again so soon.

A great outdoor location to have a drink in a lush environment

Comfy sofa seats!

Classy bar area

Elegant indoor European style decoration

Our seats in a private corner. With a romantic candlelight. 

A short history of the Gillman Barracks

Taking a picture with the Wooden Menu 

Delicious chicken wings with sweet chilli and fresh greens. $9++ per serving.

Asian Duck Pizza. About 17" at $26++

The food we ordered were presented elegantly in gourmet style, which matched the charming decorations of the restaurant. The thin crust pizza was well made but would taste even better if it was less charred at the edges while the chicken wings were tender on the inside and really crispy on the outside with a mild peppery taste. We liked the fact that the food was not oily at all. Overall, the taste of the food was light and refined, delicious and without any after-taste. A refreshing change from the Asian cuisine which is usually much stronger in flavor.

And here is a closer look of my outfit of the day:

Floral Glitter Top in Warm Tone now available at Lace And Buttons

Masons (Gillman Barracks)

8 Lock Road #01-17

Gillman Baracks

tel: 66942216

Romantic Floral Fashion Trends - Pretty Dresses for Dates!

Ah Flowers.....

If you are a romantic at heart like me, you will probably love flowers as much as I do. In fact, I love flowers so much that when my husband (boyfriend at that time) sent me roses on two separate occasions after a quarrel, my anger with him almost dissipated immediately. Yes, I am easy to pacify and coax in that manner :).

My affection for flowers extends to other areas such as art and craft, souvenirs, accessories, and of course, fashion as well. So imagine my delight when sourcing new designs for Lace And Buttons this Spring/Summer! Vibrant and gorgeous floral prints are all the rage this season and they are my favorite kind of prints too!

Here are some of the new and super pretty floral dresses at Lace And Buttons:

Victoria Floral Dress

Front Zip Floral Dress

Rachel Floral Dress

Drawstring Floral Dress

Ada Floral Dress

Mona Mirror Dress in Yellow

Mona Mirror Dress in Blue

Kaelyn Tube Dress in Black

Kaelyn Tube Dress in Grey

Beautiful aren't they? I would have kept one piece of every design if they fit me! All these good quality dresses are great for dates and casual day outs with family and friends :). Also, they are kept at really wallet friendly prices ($26.90 to $28.90), including normal postage in Singapore!

Which floral number do you like best?