Zhou’s Kitchen - 周 (Zhou) is the family name of Andrew Tjioe, Tung Lok Group’s Founder and Executive Chairman and Zhou’s Kitchen is a welcome shift from the high end Tung Lok restaurant to a casual Chinese dining restaurant that caters to the palates and pockets of diners from all walks of life.
The décor is a mixed of Eastern influence of bamboos and jade and Western influence of clean and bright modern lighting.
Each table was served with delightful Prawn Crackers as we waited for our first dish - Young Sweet Potato Leaves Sautéed with Sambal Belachan. A straightforward dish that is a close substitute to Sambal Kang Kong, some might dislike the subtle bitter aftertaste.
The Xing Hua Traditional Homemade Noodle is a bowl of Udon-like noodles served in slightly gluey gravy. The gravy is light on the palate but noodles tend to be starchy towards the end.
The Xing Hua Dumplings served in a bowl of MSG-laden soup was disappointing. The dumpling tasted of strong pork smell and the skin was not the best I have tasted.
The best dish was the Grandma's Braised Pork with Toufu that was doled out in a claypot. Pork was soft and flavoured but a pity that the toufu was not braised along with it, as it was hard and hardly soaked in the gravy.
You can view the all photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Secret Recipe, a lifestyle café chain that has become a household name following its debut in Malaysia since 1997. It has since successfully established its brand name in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand.
The Lamb Stew served with Mashed Potatoes is one of their signatured dishes. The meat was very soft and yielding that a lightest tug of the fork will cause the meat to be easily separated from its bone. However, the meat could be better infused with the gravy and the mashed potatoes could be slightly salted for better flavour - we find it slightly cold and hard as well.
The Pan Grill, or Grilled Dory Laden with Lobster Gravy and served with Fries was the other main we sampled. On its own, the lobster gravy is strong with lobster tang, but we find the pairing with the fish a slight mismatch. Dory being a fresh-water fish also comes with a slight muddy taste.
The highlight of Secret Recipe belongs to its award-winning Chocolate Banana Cake. Crowned as the "Most Original Chocolate Cake" award winner in Malaysia 1999, the cake is pretty addictive. Loads of Thick Banana Slices on a Bed of Chocolate Cream with Chocolate Cake, this cake doesn’t come across as chocolaty as Awfully Chocolate’s version, and would bring a nice finale to a meal, however, we would prefer the cake to be slightly more moist.
You can view the all photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
For the aficionados of Lucky Plaza’s Famous Ayam Penyet Ria, or Indonesian-styled Smashed Fried Chicken, you would be thrilled to know that they have a latest outlet hidden somewhere in the corner of Novena Square 2. Located at basement one next to Harvey Norman, one may access it via the escalator hidden behind SK Jewellery.
To be honest, this is the first time I have eaten Ayam Penyet, as I am more a convert of Ayam Bakar. To order, one gets a slip from counter, look at menu and fill in your orders. Proceed to the counter to pay and food will be served to your table when ready. However, service was found wanting as food was served first to the table next to us even though we arrived much earlier.
It was only a good wait of 20 minutes and two reminders later did our food finally arrived. Nevertheless, all was forgotten as soon as we tucked into the Ayam Penyet Set ($6.50) that consist of the Rice, Fried Chicken, Fried Beancurd, Tempeh (or a popular Javanese Fermented Soybeans in Cake Form), and some serving of boiled Kang Kong along with Sambal Chilli on a Slice of Cucumber. The serving of the chicken thigh is of reasonable size and it’s well fried – the meat ain’t too dry and the skin is crisp.
The sambal chilli is spicily appetising and those that aren’t into zesty stuff however be forewarned – it is HIGHLY SPICED. Therefore, what better way to cool down your palate than to order a personal favourite of energising & sugar-high Happy Soda ($1.80) – a beverage consisting of Cherry-flavoured Soda with Condense Milk.
Fans of Teh Botol Sosro may also grab a bottle for the same price as well.
You can view the all photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
After almost 3 years at the charming Robertson Walk, Sage, The Restaurant is now located at one of the conservation shophouses along Mohamed Sultan Road.
Established in May 2005, it is the brainchild of husband and wife team of Jusman So and Kimberly Chew.
To ensure the consistent standards of food quality and service, the restaurant only hosts a maximum of 38 seating an evening and avoids multiple turnovers in an evening and tries to keep to just one seating a night.
One thing that impressed me particularly that evening is the unpretentious and simplistic décor of Sage that comes with a hint of contemporary modish atmosphere. Ambient lighting coupled with candlelight is perfectly made for a romantic night out (but regrettably bad for photo-taking).
The restaurants’ open-kitchen concept has also been applied to their new premises, so diners can have better view of the chefs at work. To add the icing on the cake, Chef Jusman So also walked away with the title of Rising Chef of the Year 2008 at this year’s World Gourmet Summit.
Opting for the 6 courses Menu Degustation priced at $118 , the dinner was set in motion by the complimentary Bread and Butter, which I think was nothing to shout about – but do leave some for mopping up the gravy of the other dishes later.
The complimentary Amuse Bouche, a shotglass full of finely what tasted like tangy Tomato Puree with Avocado topped with Caviar, and a hint of Tobasco in it was refreshing. Served cold with a sourish-spicy taste, this was a perfect starter to open up my one’s palate.
The Beechwood Smoked Duck Breast with Granny Smith Apple Puree, Sorbet of Red Beets and Aged Balsamic Reduction was the first of the six courses that night. The smoked duck breast meat was very flavoursome, but salty to consume on its own – that’s what the sorbet was for, although personally I do not like the taste of beetroot.
Pan-seared Duck Foie Gras on Pear and Walnut Chutney, Muscat Poached Fig with Spiced Port Wine Glaze was one of the highlights of the night. Having heard rave reviews of this dish, my expectations were high and it was indeed worth the buzz – the outside was seared perfectly to a crisp and the inside creamy smooth. Surprisingly, one also does not get the oily aftertaste. The pairing of the walnut furthermore gave it a delightful extra bite – perfectly executed!
A personal favourite of Kimberly, the Seared Hokkaido Scallop on Belgium Endive Au Gratin with Avruga Caviar, Sauce Normandy and Parmigiano Reggiano Lace was also well seared. The thick scallop was fresh and succulently sweet and goes well with the Normandy sauce - and if you heed my advice about the complimentary bread, this is the sauce where remnant bread dips in.
Pan Roasted Swordfish Belly topped with Garlic Sabayon, Fork Crushed Potatoes and Essence of Wild Mushrooms was another excellent dish. The flesh of the fish is firm yet smooth and retains the “flavour of the sea” without hint of fishiness taste. This dish contains another gravy for one to mop up with the bread.
Kimberly was kind enough to accede to our request of replacing the Veal with the Beef Cheek. Another one of their acclaimed dish, the Caramelized Black Angus Beef Cheek coupled with Mousseline of Butternut Pumpkin and Natural Jus was fabulously bravura! The intense flavour of the beef was nicely captured in this dish and the beef cheek was amazingly well simmered until tender rendering one speechless.
Kudos to Kimberly for also recommending the perfect red wine ($12/glass) to go with it, although I didn’t manage to get the name for it.
To end of the night, we had the Chocolate Soufflé with Amaretto Ice Cream and Vanilla Bean Custard. This is one of the best versions of soufflé I have ever tried, far exceeding Bakerzin’s. What’s more, the ice cream that came with it was excellent and truly satisfying. However, the soufflé was slightly burnt towards the end, which was a pity.
Although we chalked up a pricey $306.00 for 2 pax, the service and the culinary excellence more than made up for it. This dinner was truly satisfying and I would definitely be back for more!
You can view the all photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
It is mentioned somewhere that CHEF Eric Guilbert made all his male cooks shave bald the minute they showed up for work. Guests can easily check out the cooks’ botak heads by peering through the 'open concept' kitchen, although all of them still have their hats on - hee hee.
There’s a touch of perfectionist in the fare, but it seems more western/continental den your average standard French dish.
The dishes are classy but yet non fussy, and quite approachable - such as a duet of pan-seared scallops.
The presentation of the grilled beef tenderloin was mesmerising - a very tender, juicy thick steak, smack by a moat of creamy celery puree - DIVINE!
Some of the chef’s signature dishes, includes a seven-hour slowcooked leg of lamb served with a truffle potato puree. Entrees are roughly $30 and $40, and main courses are between $40 and $60.
In terms of decor, Cassis is loud with a touch of eclecticism: ’sunken’ outdoor seating surrounded by shimmering ‘pools’; a glass-covered patio with creepers trailing up on curved ladders; and a swanky indoor double-storey dining area complete with ornate modern chandeliers. This is surely one of those places to bring a girl if you wish to impress her.
1=SGD 0.0587
The décor is a mixed of Eastern influence of bamboos and jade and Western influence of clean and bright modern lighting.
Each table was served with delightful Prawn Crackers as we waited for our first dish - Young Sweet Potato Leaves Sautéed with Sambal Belachan. A straightforward dish that is a close substitute to Sambal Kang Kong, some might dislike the subtle bitter aftertaste.
The Xing Hua Traditional Homemade Noodle is a bowl of Udon-like noodles served in slightly gluey gravy. The gravy is light on the palate but noodles tend to be starchy towards the end.
The Xing Hua Dumplings served in a bowl of MSG-laden soup was disappointing. The dumpling tasted of strong pork smell and the skin was not the best I have tasted.
The best dish was the Grandma's Braised Pork with Toufu that was doled out in a claypot. Pork was soft and flavoured but a pity that the toufu was not braised along with it, as it was hard and hardly soaked in the gravy.
You can view the all photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Their dim sum is quite good though.
29 Aug 2008 at 2:31 pm
The Lamb Stew served with Mashed Potatoes is one of their signatured dishes. The meat was very soft and yielding that a lightest tug of the fork will cause the meat to be easily separated from its bone. However, the meat could be better infused with the gravy and the mashed potatoes could be slightly salted for better flavour - we find it slightly cold and hard as well.
The Pan Grill, or Grilled Dory Laden with Lobster Gravy and served with Fries was the other main we sampled. On its own, the lobster gravy is strong with lobster tang, but we find the pairing with the fish a slight mismatch. Dory being a fresh-water fish also comes with a slight muddy taste.
The highlight of Secret Recipe belongs to its award-winning Chocolate Banana Cake. Crowned as the "Most Original Chocolate Cake" award winner in Malaysia 1999, the cake is pretty addictive. Loads of Thick Banana Slices on a Bed of Chocolate Cream with Chocolate Cake, this cake doesn’t come across as chocolaty as Awfully Chocolate’s version, and would bring a nice finale to a meal, however, we would prefer the cake to be slightly more moist.
You can view the all photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!
To be honest, this is the first time I have eaten Ayam Penyet, as I am more a convert of Ayam Bakar. To order, one gets a slip from counter, look at menu and fill in your orders. Proceed to the counter to pay and food will be served to your table when ready. However, service was found wanting as food was served first to the table next to us even though we arrived much earlier.
It was only a good wait of 20 minutes and two reminders later did our food finally arrived. Nevertheless, all was forgotten as soon as we tucked into the Ayam Penyet Set ($6.50) that consist of the Rice, Fried Chicken, Fried Beancurd, Tempeh (or a popular Javanese Fermented Soybeans in Cake Form), and some serving of boiled Kang Kong along with Sambal Chilli on a Slice of Cucumber. The serving of the chicken thigh is of reasonable size and it’s well fried – the meat ain’t too dry and the skin is crisp.
The sambal chilli is spicily appetising and those that aren’t into zesty stuff however be forewarned – it is HIGHLY SPICED. Therefore, what better way to cool down your palate than to order a personal favourite of energising & sugar-high Happy Soda ($1.80) – a beverage consisting of Cherry-flavoured Soda with Condense Milk.
Fans of Teh Botol Sosro may also grab a bottle for the same price as well.
You can view the all photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!
Established in May 2005, it is the brainchild of husband and wife team of Jusman So and Kimberly Chew.
To ensure the consistent standards of food quality and service, the restaurant only hosts a maximum of 38 seating an evening and avoids multiple turnovers in an evening and tries to keep to just one seating a night.
One thing that impressed me particularly that evening is the unpretentious and simplistic décor of Sage that comes with a hint of contemporary modish atmosphere. Ambient lighting coupled with candlelight is perfectly made for a romantic night out (but regrettably bad for photo-taking).
The restaurants’ open-kitchen concept has also been applied to their new premises, so diners can have better view of the chefs at work. To add the icing on the cake, Chef Jusman So also walked away with the title of Rising Chef of the Year 2008 at this year’s World Gourmet Summit.
Opting for the 6 courses Menu Degustation priced at $118 , the dinner was set in motion by the complimentary Bread and Butter, which I think was nothing to shout about – but do leave some for mopping up the gravy of the other dishes later.
The complimentary Amuse Bouche, a shotglass full of finely what tasted like tangy Tomato Puree with Avocado topped with Caviar, and a hint of Tobasco in it was refreshing. Served cold with a sourish-spicy taste, this was a perfect starter to open up my one’s palate.
The Beechwood Smoked Duck Breast with Granny Smith Apple Puree, Sorbet of Red Beets and Aged Balsamic Reduction was the first of the six courses that night. The smoked duck breast meat was very flavoursome, but salty to consume on its own – that’s what the sorbet was for, although personally I do not like the taste of beetroot.
Pan-seared Duck Foie Gras on Pear and Walnut Chutney, Muscat Poached Fig with Spiced Port Wine Glaze was one of the highlights of the night. Having heard rave reviews of this dish, my expectations were high and it was indeed worth the buzz – the outside was seared perfectly to a crisp and the inside creamy smooth. Surprisingly, one also does not get the oily aftertaste. The pairing of the walnut furthermore gave it a delightful extra bite – perfectly executed!
A personal favourite of Kimberly, the Seared Hokkaido Scallop on Belgium Endive Au Gratin with Avruga Caviar, Sauce Normandy and Parmigiano Reggiano Lace was also well seared. The thick scallop was fresh and succulently sweet and goes well with the Normandy sauce - and if you heed my advice about the complimentary bread, this is the sauce where remnant bread dips in.
Pan Roasted Swordfish Belly topped with Garlic Sabayon, Fork Crushed Potatoes and Essence of Wild Mushrooms was another excellent dish. The flesh of the fish is firm yet smooth and retains the “flavour of the sea” without hint of fishiness taste. This dish contains another gravy for one to mop up with the bread.
Kimberly was kind enough to accede to our request of replacing the Veal with the Beef Cheek. Another one of their acclaimed dish, the Caramelized Black Angus Beef Cheek coupled with Mousseline of Butternut Pumpkin and Natural Jus was fabulously bravura! The intense flavour of the beef was nicely captured in this dish and the beef cheek was amazingly well simmered until tender rendering one speechless.
Kudos to Kimberly for also recommending the perfect red wine ($12/glass) to go with it, although I didn’t manage to get the name for it.
To end of the night, we had the Chocolate Soufflé with Amaretto Ice Cream and Vanilla Bean Custard. This is one of the best versions of soufflé I have ever tried, far exceeding Bakerzin’s. What’s more, the ice cream that came with it was excellent and truly satisfying. However, the soufflé was slightly burnt towards the end, which was a pity.
Although we chalked up a pricey $306.00 for 2 pax, the service and the culinary excellence more than made up for it. This dinner was truly satisfying and I would definitely be back for more!
You can view the all photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!whoa congrats for going.. mm Wonder who you went with.
06 Jun 2008 at 11:21 am
Sage is like the restaurant to go to. Always, whenever.
29 Aug 2008 at 2:37 pm
There’s a touch of perfectionist in the fare, but it seems more western/continental den your average standard French dish.
The dishes are classy but yet non fussy, and quite approachable - such as a duet of pan-seared scallops.
The presentation of the grilled beef tenderloin was mesmerising - a very tender, juicy thick steak, smack by a moat of creamy celery puree - DIVINE!
Some of the chef’s signature dishes, includes a seven-hour slowcooked leg of lamb served with a truffle potato puree. Entrees are roughly $30 and $40, and main courses are between $40 and $60.
In terms of decor, Cassis is loud with a touch of eclecticism: ’sunken’ outdoor seating surrounded by shimmering ‘pools’; a glass-covered patio with creepers trailing up on curved ladders; and a swanky indoor double-storey dining area complete with ornate modern chandeliers. This is surely one of those places to bring a girl if you wish to impress her.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!woo, even cassis also go liao! but no pictures?
30 May 2008 at 9:47 pm