The entrance of the famed Parisan pâtisserie, Angelina, into Singapore sparked rave media (both conventional and unconventional) reviews as well as long queues in the initial stages. Fast forward almost a year later and the queues seem to have vanished (at least on a Friday afternoon during the lunch period) and only a handful of tables were occupied.We were ushered to a table in a corner with an adjourning extension, presumably for us to place our drinks/side orders as our main table was rather tiny. It was so small that we had problems trying to sit around it comfortably as our knees were hitting the legs. Talk about impracticality! To be fair, only a few tables (rounded ones) had this issue.
Old Fashioned Ice Chocolate “L'Africain - Touted as one of the definite must tries in Angelina (albeit the hot version, not the cold one), the ice chocolate is apparently made from blending cocoa beans from Niger, Ghana, Cote D'Ivoire and Papua New Guinea and served with unsweetened whipped cream. My humble take on this? Rich and satisfying but the whipped cream didn't quite do it for me especially since the drink was cold and the cream remained in clumps for quite a fair bit of time (stirring didn't actually help much). And personally, 15 bucks a pop (after tax) is a rather ludicrous amount to pay for a glass of chocolate.
Complimentary Bread - Crusty on the outside yet compact on the inside with a tinge of sour dough-ness, the mini baguette wasn't really warm and came served with chilled butter. Which presented a small problem. The bread was warm enough to melt the butter and we ended up having to exert quite a fair bit of pressure to apply a smooth layer of butter onto the bread.
Seafood Risotto - What a feast for the eyes the Seafood Risotto was; boasting a variety of colours from the prawns, squid, scallop, clams and cheese shavings. Unfortunately it really did look much better than it tasted. The risotto was al dente (I'll give it that!) but lacked creaminess whilst the seafood just didn't quite make the cut. The huge singular scallop, for example, was a little too soft througout and lacked any discernible sweetness. Ditto the prawns, which didn't come across as very fresh. Overall palatable but no great shakes.
Truffle Croque Monsieur - I was enticed by the truffle quotient in this particular rendition of Croque Monsieur and on hindsight it probably wasn't the wisest equation to select. Two crisp slices of toast bearing onto a slices of ham and cheese and topped with a layer of gooey melted cheese, followed by a generous drizzle of truffle oil and finished off with two thin slices of black truffle (more for that visual effect honestly). The wonderful aroma (from the truffle oil) aside, it was nothing much than a decent ham and cheese sandwich with truffle oil; nothing more, nothing less.
Mont Blanc - Another of Angelina's signature dishes, the famed Mont Blanc pureed chestnut dessert. Maybe the issue lies with me but I really didn't quite fancy it. The chestnut puree came across as a little too heavy and stodgy which made this small dessert rather nauseating to consume after a few bites. So much so that I left half of it untouched. So much for the high expectations.
Lunch for 2 came up to about $60 after a 50% discount only on the food (~ $105 without discount) which was still acceptable for the rather pedestrian quality of food. However, take away that discount and Angelina would be seriously overpriced in my humble opinion. Service was reasonably competent but stiff.
A colleague had recommended Seletar Hill Restaurant so a couple of us got together for lunch one weekend to give it a shot. This place apparently sells "westernised" Chinese food like General Tso's Chicken as well as Szechuan dishes which the owners picked up whilst cooking in the kitchens of Chinese restaurants in New York. Having lived in the Americas for quite a few years, that little bit of history honestly didn't quite assure me.
The Place - Facing a neighbour park/playground along Jalan Selaseh (along Yio Chu Kang Road and a few lanes down from Orchid Live Seafood @ Jalan Kelulut), Seletar Hill Restaurant (or SHR for short) is an unassuming eatery that has a typical, dated interior that is commonplace in many older Chinese restaurants.
Cold Dish - A rather typical old school Chinese restaurant starter; the appetiser platter aka "cold" dish. Consisting of the usual sliced prawns with thousand island sauce, ngoh hiang (五香), jellyfish etc. Everything was palatable but nothing quite memorable honestly.
Fish Maw, Fresh Crabmeat, Chicken and Mushroom Potage - Not too starchy with relatively generous shreds of crab meat, chicken and pieces of fish maw. I personally prefer double boiled soups (like the ones from Lei Garden) but this was pretty decent.
Camphor Tea Smoked Duck - One of SHR's signature dishes. On my first bite, I could make out the pleasantly faint smokiness that permeated through the entire piece of meat. However the entire duck didn't seem evenly smoked as parts of it seemed a little bland. Also, the meat did come across as a tad dry. Still a very decent eat nonetheless and definitely one of the better ones I've had.
Claypot Duck Wing with Sea Cucumber - I personally wasn't a fan of this dish. Although the duck wing was well braised, the gravy came across as one dimensional. Don't quite fancy sea cucumber as well.
Fried Red Garoupa with Sweet and Sour Sauce - The fish was quite fresh and sported a crisp exterior drizzled with a mildly sweet and appetising sweet and sour sauce. Not too bad honestly.
"Tung-po" Pork Belly with Steamed Buns - Another of SHR's signature dishes, the Tung-po pork belly with steamed buns aka kong ba pau (扣肉包) was melt in your mouth tender but the gravy did seem a little bland. Nothing quite like the one I usually have from Beng Hiang (I have yet to visit them since their move to Jurong so I am unsure if standards have been maintained).
Our set lunch for 6 pax cost just over $240, which honestly wasn't too expensive given the quantity of food. However food quality isn't much to shout about and I guess SHR is just another ulu Chinese restaurant; worth a try but not worth a revisit in my humble opinion.
We dropped by Adrift @ Marina Bay Sands one weekday afternoon for a much needed reprieve from our hectic schedules. Overseen by one Michelin star Chef David Myers but run by executive Dong Choi, who had worked with Myers at the now defunct Sona (1 Michelin star in 2007) and Comme Ca.
Playing neighbour to Rise (MBS's buffet restaurant) at the hotel lobby of tower 2, Adrift comes across as cosy and a little playful (bench made to look like swings) without all the airs of a celebrity restaurant (no loud music playing in the background like Bread Street Kitchen as well!). Floor to ceiling windows ensure plenty of light but a pity there is no view, except for a sculpture of sorts.
Amuse Bouche - This was 3 varieties of rice crackers served with a dollop of aioli; pretty interesting with slightly varying degrees of crisp and tastes. The purple one for example, tasted similar to keropok but with a tinge of rice wine.
Warm Duck Salad - Very Thai styled salad with sweet mango, generous slices of not too gamy (and delicious!) smoked duck and fresh greens, all drizzled with a sourish, mildly spicy dressing. Appetising and a great way to kick start the meal.
Baby Spinach - Boasting fresh greens, hazelnuts, shimeji mushrooms and truffle pecorino (raw sheep's milk cheese with truffle), what's not to like? Especially with the generous servings.
Pork Tonkatsu Sandwich - Apparently one of Adrift's signature dishes, the pork tonkatsu sandwich was, as the name suggested, juicily tender, deep fried (but not greasy) breaded pork sandwiched between two slices of soft, fluffy white bread not dissimilar to the loaves sold in old neighbourhood bakeries. Served with shredded cabbage salad on the side. Pretty good but can't say I was blown away.
Wagyu Cheeseburger - Adrift's wagyu cheeseburger lived up to it's signature dish billing; a seemingly hand chopped (uneven texuture) and juicy beef patty layered with melted cheese, sitting on a beautifully crisp and buttered bun. The other bun was slathered with tomato jam and buried under a mountain of cheese shavings - personally preferred the butter variant. A worthy rival to Suprette's beef burger in my humble opinion.
We opted for a side of Pak Choy to go with the burger and it turned out rather average honestly. So much for choosing greens over more carbs.
Yuzu Cheesecake - I'm not a huge fan of yuzu but the cheesecake turned out surprisingly good. The yuzu taste was rather dominant but didn't overwhelm the taste of the cheese and paired well with the black sesame ice cream and the wickedly delicious sesame tuile - sweet and crisp with a lingering sesame taste.
Caramel French Toast - Now this was interesting given that coffee or kopi syrup was used as a drizzle instead of the usual flavours. I'm not too sure it worked in this case as the flavour didn't quite seem a natural fit with the coconut sorbet and the french toast (which tasted similar to bread and butter pudding - a tad crisp on the outside yet soft on the inside). Nonetheless I did enjoy this dessert quite a fair bit.
Our lunch cost ~ $113 for 2 pax, which was relatively reasonable considering the competent quality of food and the friendly service. I could definitely envision a revisit, with reservations for the corner swing seats of course.
Saw the banner displayed " 30% discount for hi tea " but when we enquired, we were told that the food are actually dim sum items.
When we glanced through the menu, there are actually 28 items under dim sum section and 7 items under dessert.
Although the restaurant does not have wide range to choose, there are some unique dim sum items that we do not mind trying.
Smoked Duck & Mango Bun ($4.80 for 3 pcs) - The duck meat tasted tender and with the sweet gravy coating the sinful fatty skin, it goes well with the mango flavoured fluffy buns.
Deep Fried Yam with Strawberry ($4.50 for 3 pcs) - The minced meat wrapped in yam paste was good and not oily when eaten with the strawberry. Quite a good combination.
Deep Fried Sweet Potato with Banana & Red Bean ($4.50 for 4 pcs) - This is one of the few items that we have not eaten before. Bits of banana were mixed in finely chopped red bean and wrapped in sweet potato paste. Tasted good but need to eat it while it is hot..
Carrot Cake with Chinese Sausage ($4.80 for 3 pcs) - Simple and tasteful with the tiny bits of sausage.
Chilled Black Glutinous Rice ($3.80 per bowl) - Commonly known as bubur hitam. Not sweet and but tasted good because of chilled coconut milk.
Overall, food is good and prices are reasonable. Worth to go back again to try out other items like Wanton in Spicy Vinegar Sauce and Flat Noodles Wrapped with Vegetables.
I had heard good things about The Butchers Club (TBC for short) in Hong Kong and its famed dry aged beef. So when it opened up a branch in Singapore late last year, I dropped by one weekday afternoon to have a go at the burgers.
Occupying a decently sized unit at Clarke Quay, TBC was decked out in an industrial themed setting; cement screed floor, high table tops with metallic bar stools, downlights and "graffiti" art adorning part of the walls.
Duck Fat Fries - At $8 a pop, this was one rather expensive packet of fat wedges with a sprinkling of salt. Deep frying in duck fat was suppose to make the wedges more fragrant but it didn't seem to have much of an effect, to me at least. Decent but no great shakes.
Signature Burger - As the name suggested, this was TBC's signature burger. The beef patty came across as tender and pink in the center, smothered with a layer of melted cheese, topped with a crisp bacon and wedged between two buns; the top one was soft but a tad dry whilst the bottom bun was so crisp that I almost punctured a hole in my mouth when I got ambitious and tried to stuff in a sizable piece. That aside, I felt the overall flavour leaning towards the salty side and the beefiness of the patty did seem a little overwhelmed by the cheese. Final verdict? Overall flavour was pretty good but bordering on expensive and Suprette still does a better burger in my humble opinion.
$60 for two (after a 15% credit card discount) isn't exactly cheap especially with the smallish sizes. Service is decent but I guess if I'm craving for a burger, Suprette would be still be my go to place.
Met up with friends for dinner @ Stuttgart Blackforest Cafe, a cafe smack in the middle of town apparently specialising in pork knuckles and Blackforest cake.
Housed within Hotel Rendezvous along one of the walkways, Stuttgart invokes a very comfortable feeling from its cottage like decorations; plenty of wooden fixtures, life sized wooden nutcrackers amidst a cottage facade backdrop.
Pork Schnitzel - 2 large fillets of pork schnitzel; coated with bread crumbs and coming across as a tad dry. Palatable but average at best.
Pork Knuckles - I went with the single portion of pork knuckles and it proved to be rather sizeable. Sporting a crackling crisp skin but a tad dry and chewy meat with bits of fat, this dish could do with a wee bit more salt in my humble opinion. It didn't quite help that the meat came across as rather porky as well.
Blackforest Cake - And Stuttgart's claim to fame, it's blackforest cake. Moist with a significant taste of kirsch and plump cherries at the bottom; topped generously with chocolate shavings but didn't come across as overly sweet. Pretty good and one of the best I've had in a while.
We had two 1 for 1 main course vouchers which brought down our bill to ~ $82 for 4pax (~ $126 without the vouchers). Food was average at best but I did fancy the blackforest cake quite a bit and will definitely be back - but only to do a takeaway on the cake.
After some consideration, we decided to check out this restaurant as it was tucked away at one corner of a small mixed development called East Village. We walked on the long stretch of corridor to study the types of food being offered by each outlet. Besides GreaThai which offered Thai halal cuisine, there are interesting food options from Middle East, Hong Kong (Roast Meat) ,Si Chuan, Korean (BBQ chicken wings), Italian pasta, Fusion cafe (sandwich & cakes) and Japanese cuisine.
Tom Yam Soup - the broth was clear and has captured the sweetness of the seafood like prawns and cuttlefish.
Mixed Vegetables - although the dish was plain looking, the mixed vegetables were stir fried to perfection with a crunchy bite.
Fried Fish Cakes - Commonly found in most Thai restaurants but this dish was well received by most diners as the texture was firm and the spices used was mild enough to appreciate on each bite.
Black Pepper Beef in Basil Leaves - Unfortunately, the meat turned out quite tough to chew although the generous gravy tasted good with the rice.
Overall, it was a good and satisfying meal. Service was average as the staff were not attentive to clear plates or refill our glasses.
After my disappointing sandwich at Melt Bar, I had all but given up hopes of finding something similar to that of Toastface Grillah in Perth. But as luck would have it, I chanced upon Park Bench Deli one weekday evening.
Occupying a small shop along Telok Ayer Street, Park Bench Deli's industrial themed interior gives off a hip vibe, with the day's offerings pasted on a huge board on the wall. Seating is rather limited and you have to order and make payment at the counter.
Patty Melt On Rye - Pink in the middle and a perfect medium rare, the beef patty came across as tender and well seasoned (a tad overly salty though), topped with gooey melted American cheese and sweet grilled onions, all layered between two slices of crackling crisp rye bread. Pretty delicious but Toastface Grillah's sandwiches still take the cake.
PB & J - PBD's take on the classic PB & J was pretty interesting. Crusted with cornflakes for that extra crunch, the first thing that hits you is the peanut butter, with the sweetness of the jelly helping to cut through the smooth richness. However I would have appreciated a little more peanut butter and jelly for a more robust flavour. It was also a little annoying to have the cornflakes stick to my teeth at times. Not as good as the one from Artistry in my humble opinion but good enough!
My stomach threatened to explode after consuming both sandwiches but it was worth it, especially since the food was reasonably priced at $24 nett. I'll definitely be back to try their grilled cheese and cheese steak sandwich!
The opening of Emporium Shokuhin sometime late last year injected quite a buzz to the F&B landscape; a huge Japanese supermarket with its own customised aged beef facility, a live seafood market and of course, seven different Japanese dining concepts. The seafood wine bar, UMI VINO most appealed to us so that's where we headed for dinner one weekday evening.
Located within the confines of Emporium Shokuhin at one of the corners of Marina Square Shopping Mall, UMI VINO carries a certain coziness to it with its high ceilings, open concept seafood displays and muted colours. Tables are spaced adequately fair apart to ensure a comfortable communication space.
Homemade Crab Cakes - I was hopeful this would turn out as good as Morton's but unfortunately not. Although the breaded crumbs gave the crab cakes a crisp exterior and they came stuffed with quite a substantial amount of crab shreds, I couldn't quite make out the sweetness of the crustacean. Decent but hardly satisfying.
Scallops A La Plancha - Like the crab cakes, this was one of their signature dishes and it unfortunately failed to impress as well. Grilled on a hot plate (ala plancha) and sporting a touch of golden brown on the surface yet a little raw in the center, the texture was just right but the whole dish was drenched in way too much olive oil which overwhelmed the natural sweetness of the scallops (if any). Rather disappointing for $18 (3 moderately sized pieces).
Sakura Ebi Tiger Prawn Pasta - This smelt really good but faltered in the taste department, most unfortunately. The sakura ebi was a tad crisp but overly salty while the chilled angel hair pasta came across as a tad thick, soft and bland. Topped with a few pieces of crunchy but less than sweet tiger prawns. Average at best.
Baked Sea Bream Pie - The sea bream pie was surprisingly the best dish of the evening. Served with a huge puff pastry enveloping the entire dish (poke a hole through and the whole thing deflates) and a slice of fresh sea bream sitting in a pool of creamy, mildly sweet sauce, it was pretty decent and a little nostalgic on my part to be honest.
Dinner was a disappointing affair and on our part, the both of us forked out about $101 for the generally average quality of food and smallish portions. Service wasn't stellar either so there's really no reason to return in my humble opinion.
Pince and Pints opened with much fanfare and rave reviews some one and a half years back and has apparently been very popular ever since - so much so that they have expanded upwards to the second floor and overseas to KL. We were intrigued by the limited offering of Truffle Lobster Roll so dropped by one Saturday afternoon for lunch.
The place isn't big (first floor seats 46 while the upper level seats another 30) and is a hotbed for noise due to the rather crampish and enclosed interior. But by virtue of a reservation, we managed to snag a rather nice corner seat with a fish tank (complete with a singular lobster) as a backdrop.
Lobster Roll - To do a comparison, we started off with a regular lobster roll. Served with a rich but not too heavy garlic aioli sauce, the lightly chilled lobster meat came across as crunchy and sweet, on a mildly crisp and sweet bun that could do with more time on the grill and definitely alot more butter. The accompanying regular cut fries were decent.
Truffle Lobster Roll - For $10 more, the truffle lobster roll was only available for a limited period of time (till end January). And in contrast to the regular lobster roll, the crunchy and sweetly succulent lobster meat was served warm instead of chilled, with truffle shavings, a small dollop of caviar and a truffle sauce that boasted a fair amount of truffle oil and bits of the real stuff. I personally couldn't get enough of the rich truffle sauce that went extremely well with the fries. However, as with the regular roll, the bread wasn't crispy or buttery enough for my liking.
Two lobster rolls cost us ~ $148, which is relatively expensive given that The Naked Finn serves a slightly more delicious rendition of the regular lobster roll at ~ 40% cheaper. A pity the rolls are only available during lunch. Maybe The Naked Finn could consider offering it for dinner as well.
1=SGD 0.0587
The entrance of the famed Parisan pâtisserie, Angelina, into Singapore sparked rave media (both conventional and unconventional) reviews as well as long queues in the initial stages. Fast forward almost a year later and the queues seem to have vanished (at least on a Friday afternoon during the lunch period) and only a handful of tables were occupied.We were ushered to a table in a corner with an adjourning extension, presumably for us to place our drinks/side orders as our main table was rather tiny. It was so small that we had problems trying to sit around it comfortably as our knees were hitting the legs. Talk about impracticality! To be fair, only a few tables (rounded ones) had this issue.
Old Fashioned Ice Chocolate “L'Africain - Touted as one of the definite must tries in Angelina (albeit the hot version, not the cold one), the ice chocolate is apparently made from blending cocoa beans from Niger, Ghana, Cote D'Ivoire and Papua New Guinea and served with unsweetened whipped cream. My humble take on this? Rich and satisfying but the whipped cream didn't quite do it for me especially since the drink was cold and the cream remained in clumps for quite a fair bit of time (stirring didn't actually help much). And personally, 15 bucks a pop (after tax) is a rather ludicrous amount to pay for a glass of chocolate.
Complimentary Bread - Crusty on the outside yet compact on the inside with a tinge of sour dough-ness, the mini baguette wasn't really warm and came served with chilled butter. Which presented a small problem. The bread was warm enough to melt the butter and we ended up having to exert quite a fair bit of pressure to apply a smooth layer of butter onto the bread.
Seafood Risotto - What a feast for the eyes the Seafood Risotto was; boasting a variety of colours from the prawns, squid, scallop, clams and cheese shavings. Unfortunately it really did look much better than it tasted. The risotto was al dente (I'll give it that!) but lacked creaminess whilst the seafood just didn't quite make the cut. The huge singular scallop, for example, was a little too soft througout and lacked any discernible sweetness. Ditto the prawns, which didn't come across as very fresh. Overall palatable but no great shakes.
Truffle Croque Monsieur - I was enticed by the truffle quotient in this particular rendition of Croque Monsieur and on hindsight it probably wasn't the wisest equation to select. Two crisp slices of toast bearing onto a slices of ham and cheese and topped with a layer of gooey melted cheese, followed by a generous drizzle of truffle oil and finished off with two thin slices of black truffle (more for that visual effect honestly). The wonderful aroma (from the truffle oil) aside, it was nothing much than a decent ham and cheese sandwich with truffle oil; nothing more, nothing less.
Mont Blanc - Another of Angelina's signature dishes, the famed Mont Blanc pureed chestnut dessert. Maybe the issue lies with me but I really didn't quite fancy it. The chestnut puree came across as a little too heavy and stodgy which made this small dessert rather nauseating to consume after a few bites. So much so that I left half of it untouched. So much for the high expectations.
Lunch for 2 came up to about $60 after a 50% discount only on the food (~ $105 without discount) which was still acceptable for the rather pedestrian quality of food. However, take away that discount and Angelina would be seriously overpriced in my humble opinion. Service was reasonably competent but stiff.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
A colleague had recommended Seletar Hill Restaurant so a couple of us got together for lunch one weekend to give it a shot. This place apparently sells "westernised" Chinese food like General Tso's Chicken as well as Szechuan dishes which the owners picked up whilst cooking in the kitchens of Chinese restaurants in New York. Having lived in the Americas for quite a few years, that little bit of history honestly didn't quite assure me.
The Place - Facing a neighbour park/playground along Jalan Selaseh (along Yio Chu Kang Road and a few lanes down from Orchid Live Seafood @ Jalan Kelulut), Seletar Hill Restaurant (or SHR for short) is an unassuming eatery that has a typical, dated interior that is commonplace in many older Chinese restaurants.
Cold Dish - A rather typical old school Chinese restaurant starter; the appetiser platter aka "cold" dish. Consisting of the usual sliced prawns with thousand island sauce, ngoh hiang (五香), jellyfish etc. Everything was palatable but nothing quite memorable honestly.
Fish Maw, Fresh Crabmeat, Chicken and Mushroom Potage - Not too starchy with relatively generous shreds of crab meat, chicken and pieces of fish maw. I personally prefer double boiled soups (like the ones from Lei Garden) but this was pretty decent.
Camphor Tea Smoked Duck - One of SHR's signature dishes. On my first bite, I could make out the pleasantly faint smokiness that permeated through the entire piece of meat. However the entire duck didn't seem evenly smoked as parts of it seemed a little bland. Also, the meat did come across as a tad dry. Still a very decent eat nonetheless and definitely one of the better ones I've had.
Claypot Duck Wing with Sea Cucumber - I personally wasn't a fan of this dish. Although the duck wing was well braised, the gravy came across as one dimensional. Don't quite fancy sea cucumber as well.
Fried Red Garoupa with Sweet and Sour Sauce - The fish was quite fresh and sported a crisp exterior drizzled with a mildly sweet and appetising sweet and sour sauce. Not too bad honestly.
"Tung-po" Pork Belly with Steamed Buns - Another of SHR's signature dishes, the Tung-po pork belly with steamed buns aka kong ba pau (扣肉包) was melt in your mouth tender but the gravy did seem a little bland. Nothing quite like the one I usually have from Beng Hiang (I have yet to visit them since their move to Jurong so I am unsure if standards have been maintained).
Our set lunch for 6 pax cost just over $240, which honestly wasn't too expensive given the quantity of food. However food quality isn't much to shout about and I guess SHR is just another ulu Chinese restaurant; worth a try but not worth a revisit in my humble opinion.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
We dropped by Adrift @ Marina Bay Sands one weekday afternoon for a much needed reprieve from our hectic schedules. Overseen by one Michelin star Chef David Myers but run by executive Dong Choi, who had worked with Myers at the now defunct Sona (1 Michelin star in 2007) and Comme Ca.
Playing neighbour to Rise (MBS's buffet restaurant) at the hotel lobby of tower 2, Adrift comes across as cosy and a little playful (bench made to look like swings) without all the airs of a celebrity restaurant (no loud music playing in the background like Bread Street Kitchen as well!). Floor to ceiling windows ensure plenty of light but a pity there is no view, except for a sculpture of sorts.
Amuse Bouche - This was 3 varieties of rice crackers served with a dollop of aioli; pretty interesting with slightly varying degrees of crisp and tastes. The purple one for example, tasted similar to keropok but with a tinge of rice wine.
Warm Duck Salad - Very Thai styled salad with sweet mango, generous slices of not too gamy (and delicious!) smoked duck and fresh greens, all drizzled with a sourish, mildly spicy dressing. Appetising and a great way to kick start the meal.
Baby Spinach - Boasting fresh greens, hazelnuts, shimeji mushrooms and truffle pecorino (raw sheep's milk cheese with truffle), what's not to like? Especially with the generous servings.
Pork Tonkatsu Sandwich - Apparently one of Adrift's signature dishes, the pork tonkatsu sandwich was, as the name suggested, juicily tender, deep fried (but not greasy) breaded pork sandwiched between two slices of soft, fluffy white bread not dissimilar to the loaves sold in old neighbourhood bakeries. Served with shredded cabbage salad on the side. Pretty good but can't say I was blown away.
Wagyu Cheeseburger - Adrift's wagyu cheeseburger lived up to it's signature dish billing; a seemingly hand chopped (uneven texuture) and juicy beef patty layered with melted cheese, sitting on a beautifully crisp and buttered bun. The other bun was slathered with tomato jam and buried under a mountain of cheese shavings - personally preferred the butter variant. A worthy rival to Suprette's beef burger in my humble opinion.
We opted for a side of Pak Choy to go with the burger and it turned out rather average honestly. So much for choosing greens over more carbs.
Yuzu Cheesecake - I'm not a huge fan of yuzu but the cheesecake turned out surprisingly good. The yuzu taste was rather dominant but didn't overwhelm the taste of the cheese and paired well with the black sesame ice cream and the wickedly delicious sesame tuile - sweet and crisp with a lingering sesame taste.
Caramel French Toast - Now this was interesting given that coffee or kopi syrup was used as a drizzle instead of the usual flavours. I'm not too sure it worked in this case as the flavour didn't quite seem a natural fit with the coconut sorbet and the french toast (which tasted similar to bread and butter pudding - a tad crisp on the outside yet soft on the inside). Nonetheless I did enjoy this dessert quite a fair bit.
Our lunch cost ~ $113 for 2 pax, which was relatively reasonable considering the competent quality of food and the friendly service. I could definitely envision a revisit, with reservations for the corner swing seats of course.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Saw the banner displayed " 30% discount for hi tea " but when we enquired, we were told that the food are actually dim sum items.
When we glanced through the menu, there are actually 28 items under dim sum section and 7 items under dessert.
Although the restaurant does not have wide range to choose, there are some unique dim sum items that we do not mind trying.
Smoked Duck & Mango Bun ($4.80 for 3 pcs) - The duck meat tasted tender and with the sweet gravy coating the sinful fatty skin, it goes well with the mango flavoured fluffy buns.
Deep Fried Yam with Strawberry ($4.50 for 3 pcs) - The minced meat wrapped in yam paste was good and not oily when eaten with the strawberry. Quite a good combination.
Deep Fried Sweet Potato with Banana & Red Bean ($4.50 for 4 pcs) - This is one of the few items that we have not eaten before. Bits of banana were mixed in finely chopped red bean and wrapped in sweet potato paste. Tasted good but need to eat it while it is hot..
Carrot Cake with Chinese Sausage ($4.80 for 3 pcs) - Simple and tasteful with the tiny bits of sausage.
Chilled Black Glutinous Rice ($3.80 per bowl) - Commonly known as bubur hitam. Not sweet and but tasted good because of chilled coconut milk.
Overall, food is good and prices are reasonable. Worth to go back again to try out other items like Wanton in Spicy Vinegar Sauce and Flat Noodles Wrapped with Vegetables.
Rating given:
I had heard good things about The Butchers Club (TBC for short) in Hong Kong and its famed dry aged beef. So when it opened up a branch in Singapore late last year, I dropped by one weekday afternoon to have a go at the burgers.
Occupying a decently sized unit at Clarke Quay, TBC was decked out in an industrial themed setting; cement screed floor, high table tops with metallic bar stools, downlights and "graffiti" art adorning part of the walls.
Duck Fat Fries - At $8 a pop, this was one rather expensive packet of fat wedges with a sprinkling of salt. Deep frying in duck fat was suppose to make the wedges more fragrant but it didn't seem to have much of an effect, to me at least. Decent but no great shakes.
Signature Burger - As the name suggested, this was TBC's signature burger. The beef patty came across as tender and pink in the center, smothered with a layer of melted cheese, topped with a crisp bacon and wedged between two buns; the top one was soft but a tad dry whilst the bottom bun was so crisp that I almost punctured a hole in my mouth when I got ambitious and tried to stuff in a sizable piece. That aside, I felt the overall flavour leaning towards the salty side and the beefiness of the patty did seem a little overwhelmed by the cheese. Final verdict? Overall flavour was pretty good but bordering on expensive and Suprette still does a better burger in my humble opinion.
$60 for two (after a 15% credit card discount) isn't exactly cheap especially with the smallish sizes. Service is decent but I guess if I'm craving for a burger, Suprette would be still be my go to place.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Met up with friends for dinner @ Stuttgart Blackforest Cafe, a cafe smack in the middle of town apparently specialising in pork knuckles and Blackforest cake.
Housed within Hotel Rendezvous along one of the walkways, Stuttgart invokes a very comfortable feeling from its cottage like decorations; plenty of wooden fixtures, life sized wooden nutcrackers amidst a cottage facade backdrop.
Pork Schnitzel - 2 large fillets of pork schnitzel; coated with bread crumbs and coming across as a tad dry. Palatable but average at best.
Pork Knuckles - I went with the single portion of pork knuckles and it proved to be rather sizeable. Sporting a crackling crisp skin but a tad dry and chewy meat with bits of fat, this dish could do with a wee bit more salt in my humble opinion. It didn't quite help that the meat came across as rather porky as well.
Blackforest Cake - And Stuttgart's claim to fame, it's blackforest cake. Moist with a significant taste of kirsch and plump cherries at the bottom; topped generously with chocolate shavings but didn't come across as overly sweet. Pretty good and one of the best I've had in a while.
We had two 1 for 1 main course vouchers which brought down our bill to ~ $82 for 4pax (~ $126 without the vouchers). Food was average at best but I did fancy the blackforest cake quite a bit and will definitely be back - but only to do a takeaway on the cake.
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After some consideration, we decided to check out this restaurant as it was tucked away at one corner of a small mixed development called East Village. We walked on the long stretch of corridor to study the types of food being offered by each outlet. Besides GreaThai which offered Thai halal cuisine, there are interesting food options from Middle East, Hong Kong (Roast Meat) ,Si Chuan, Korean (BBQ chicken wings), Italian pasta, Fusion cafe (sandwich & cakes) and Japanese cuisine.
Tom Yam Soup - the broth was clear and has captured the sweetness of the seafood like prawns and cuttlefish.
Mixed Vegetables - although the dish was plain looking, the mixed vegetables were stir fried to perfection with a crunchy bite.
Fried Fish Cakes - Commonly found in most Thai restaurants but this dish was well received by most diners as the texture was firm and the spices used was mild enough to appreciate on each bite.
Black Pepper Beef in Basil Leaves - Unfortunately, the meat turned out quite tough to chew although the generous gravy tasted good with the rice.
Overall, it was a good and satisfying meal. Service was average as the staff were not attentive to clear plates or refill our glasses.
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After my disappointing sandwich at Melt Bar, I had all but given up hopes of finding something similar to that of Toastface Grillah in Perth. But as luck would have it, I chanced upon Park Bench Deli one weekday evening.
Occupying a small shop along Telok Ayer Street, Park Bench Deli's industrial themed interior gives off a hip vibe, with the day's offerings pasted on a huge board on the wall. Seating is rather limited and you have to order and make payment at the counter.
Patty Melt On Rye - Pink in the middle and a perfect medium rare, the beef patty came across as tender and well seasoned (a tad overly salty though), topped with gooey melted American cheese and sweet grilled onions, all layered between two slices of crackling crisp rye bread. Pretty delicious but Toastface Grillah's sandwiches still take the cake.
PB & J - PBD's take on the classic PB & J was pretty interesting. Crusted with cornflakes for that extra crunch, the first thing that hits you is the peanut butter, with the sweetness of the jelly helping to cut through the smooth richness. However I would have appreciated a little more peanut butter and jelly for a more robust flavour. It was also a little annoying to have the cornflakes stick to my teeth at times. Not as good as the one from Artistry in my humble opinion but good enough!
My stomach threatened to explode after consuming both sandwiches but it was worth it, especially since the food was reasonably priced at $24 nett. I'll definitely be back to try their grilled cheese and cheese steak sandwich!
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The opening of Emporium Shokuhin sometime late last year injected quite a buzz to the F&B landscape; a huge Japanese supermarket with its own customised aged beef facility, a live seafood market and of course, seven different Japanese dining concepts. The seafood wine bar, UMI VINO most appealed to us so that's where we headed for dinner one weekday evening.
Located within the confines of Emporium Shokuhin at one of the corners of Marina Square Shopping Mall, UMI VINO carries a certain coziness to it with its high ceilings, open concept seafood displays and muted colours. Tables are spaced adequately fair apart to ensure a comfortable communication space.
Homemade Crab Cakes - I was hopeful this would turn out as good as Morton's but unfortunately not. Although the breaded crumbs gave the crab cakes a crisp exterior and they came stuffed with quite a substantial amount of crab shreds, I couldn't quite make out the sweetness of the crustacean. Decent but hardly satisfying.
Scallops A La Plancha - Like the crab cakes, this was one of their signature dishes and it unfortunately failed to impress as well. Grilled on a hot plate (ala plancha) and sporting a touch of golden brown on the surface yet a little raw in the center, the texture was just right but the whole dish was drenched in way too much olive oil which overwhelmed the natural sweetness of the scallops (if any). Rather disappointing for $18 (3 moderately sized pieces).
Sakura Ebi Tiger Prawn Pasta - This smelt really good but faltered in the taste department, most unfortunately. The sakura ebi was a tad crisp but overly salty while the chilled angel hair pasta came across as a tad thick, soft and bland. Topped with a few pieces of crunchy but less than sweet tiger prawns. Average at best.
Baked Sea Bream Pie - The sea bream pie was surprisingly the best dish of the evening. Served with a huge puff pastry enveloping the entire dish (poke a hole through and the whole thing deflates) and a slice of fresh sea bream sitting in a pool of creamy, mildly sweet sauce, it was pretty decent and a little nostalgic on my part to be honest.
Dinner was a disappointing affair and on our part, the both of us forked out about $101 for the generally average quality of food and smallish portions. Service wasn't stellar either so there's really no reason to return in my humble opinion.
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Pince and Pints opened with much fanfare and rave reviews some one and a half years back and has apparently been very popular ever since - so much so that they have expanded upwards to the second floor and overseas to KL. We were intrigued by the limited offering of Truffle Lobster Roll so dropped by one Saturday afternoon for lunch.
The place isn't big (first floor seats 46 while the upper level seats another 30) and is a hotbed for noise due to the rather crampish and enclosed interior. But by virtue of a reservation, we managed to snag a rather nice corner seat with a fish tank (complete with a singular lobster) as a backdrop.
Lobster Roll - To do a comparison, we started off with a regular lobster roll. Served with a rich but not too heavy garlic aioli sauce, the lightly chilled lobster meat came across as crunchy and sweet, on a mildly crisp and sweet bun that could do with more time on the grill and definitely alot more butter. The accompanying regular cut fries were decent.
Truffle Lobster Roll - For $10 more, the truffle lobster roll was only available for a limited period of time (till end January). And in contrast to the regular lobster roll, the crunchy and sweetly succulent lobster meat was served warm instead of chilled, with truffle shavings, a small dollop of caviar and a truffle sauce that boasted a fair amount of truffle oil and bits of the real stuff. I personally couldn't get enough of the rich truffle sauce that went extremely well with the fries. However, as with the regular roll, the bread wasn't crispy or buttery enough for my liking.
Two lobster rolls cost us ~ $148, which is relatively expensive given that The Naked Finn serves a slightly more delicious rendition of the regular lobster roll at ~ 40% cheaper. A pity the rolls are only available during lunch. Maybe The Naked Finn could consider offering it for dinner as well.
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