Over the weekend, my wife and I went on this Italian binge. However we were left somewhat disappointed. On Friday, we headed to Mama Lucia's at Robertson Walk. We didn't know what to eat that day and even though we were at Raffles City, the thought of eating at Prego's scared the "begeesus," out of me. We grabbed a cab and went straight to Roberston Walk. Its a small restaurant. I like the deco but I didn't understand why the chairs were plastic chairs. We were served promptly and abruptly. I thought I was experiencing some deja vu when I realized that I was seeing the same thing over and over again on pages of the menu. It took about 5 minutes before I figured out what it was. The restaurant served many types of pasta, but with the same sauces. For example, if they had tortolleni and fettuicine, they would have meat sauce on both. But they will be seen on 2 different pages of the menu because it was categorized by pasta types. The prices were decent and its the type of place to bring your kids there to enjoy some above average pasta and pizza. I won't go back there again simply because they don't serve cold water. Its THAT type of a restaurant where they insist you order a drink. The pasta was decent, the sauce was actually good by the way. The pizza we ordered was the quattro stagioni ( mushroom, ham, olives and artichokes.) It was average. Dare I say Pasta Fresca Pizza? But the quality of pasta is definitely above average.
On Sunday after a 5 hour "sabbathing," nap, my wife again said that she wanted some Italian food and so we headed to somewhere near. We headed to Al Forno along East Coast road. Before reading the pamphlet on the side, I never knew that it has been open for the last 11 years. WOW! I know that I have been there many times but 11 years. Man, I am old. We ordered a Calzone, and I have to say that they might have the best Calzone but that's about it. My wife ordered a dish that was Lagsana type dish and an Italian Antipasti. Average at best? I regretted not heading to Porta Porta at Changi Village. And the bill turned out to be $81! Oh my gosh, that's a lot to pay for a really average meal in which I only loved the Calzone!
Morale of the lesson, most Italian food in Singapore, very mediocre.
Thanksgiving Turkey
I celebrated Thanksgiving last week with a few of my friends, and I have to say the Turkey from Espirito Santo from Parkway is fantastic! Sure it was a tad bit pricey, but it was awesome! Highly recommended for Christmas parties too!
Just on an interesting note, every thanksgiving the President pardons a Turkey for Thanksgiving in the United States. I guess the rest just get eaten. That would be a great reality show!
Australia vs Switzerland (The sausage edition)
Before you think this is the title of the next porn movie that I am making. It is not. Before I carry on, let me just say to the millions and millions of fans out there for this site, I am sorry for not having to write for so long but I haven't been able to go to new places, I have been stuck going to my regular places! I have also been asked to write about places that are somewhat cheaper than Garibaldis. So here goes.
The missus and I were walking in Takashimaya on a weekend and we ventured deep into basement 2 when we spotted the Swiss German Sausage Bar. Okay, honestly it wasn't even our first choice because we wanted cheap Italian food right next to it because they were serving Illy coffee. (my wife's favorite) We hesitated for a second and I thought Swiss Sausages, how bad can it be? And the conclusion is that it is not bad at all. Mediocre at best but not bad at all. You can't go wrong with sausages! I love sausages. We ordered the same combo that I can't really remember the name of but it had 2 types of pretty big sausages plus a German meat loaf with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy. Not bad. The meats in the sausages are processed meat so its not the authentic types. But it was okay. I would recommend anyone who loves sausages and wants to sit down for a some what cheap meal. We paid about $25 for 2 and it even came with soft drinks.
On the other end, there is the Melbourne Bratwurst shop in the basement of Plaza Singapura. I have to say this is probably the best hot dog in Singapore. The bratwurst are thick and juicy. Sauerkraut is good. Service is decent and price is reasonable. For less than $5 a person, you get a great hot dog with ketchup and mustard on the side. Freaking fantastic. You have up to 5 types of bratwurst available and they have even expanded their sitting area! I have never been to Melbourne before but this is probably the best thing in Singapore for the hot dog scene, unless of course Gray's Papaya decides to open a chain here. But since this is not the case, this is the best place in Singapore for a good hot dog!
Mouthfuls of Weekend Gorging
My dear aunt rang today and wants to take us out to dinner!! Looks like we are headed to Au Petit Salut for some French on Saturday. The Cliff @ Sentosa Spa & Resort will be expecting us on Sunday for a quiet celebration to commemorate our 1st wedding anniversary. Tell you what, I'll be havin some of them fresh, divine oysters topped with a Martini Sorbet. To top it off, it's Arsenal vs Liverpool at midnight. I pick the Londoners to lose 2-1. WONDERFUL. I couldn't have planned it any better.
Wedding Dinner at The Regent, 28th October 2006
The ballroom is sufficiently large enough to comfortably hold about 40++ tables. I'm not sure if carpark space is adequate though! We came early and managed to get a nice spot near the exit.
The service throughout the event was pretty good. Distribution of waitstaff was optimal, one per table with prompt and courteous service. Beverages were constantly and politely topped up.
Food wise, I would have to say the menu for the evening ranks as one of the better places to throw your once in a lifetime party.
This was a traditional 10 course dinner with a twist right at the end. Instead of ending the meal with traditional Chinese desserts such tang yuan or orr nee, we had a nice slice of light pistachio cake dressed with a white chocolate stick and carefully spooned raspberry puree sauce.
There wasn't a crackingly good standout dish though I must give special mention to the steamed Canadian Sea Perch which tasted really fresh and cooked to perfection. It takes alot of experience to do a really good steamed fish dish for 500 hungry people.
Starting with the cold dish combination of roast pork, salad prawns and other tastybits *yeah yeah*, we progressed to a thick dried scallop flavoured soup. Roast chicken, shrooms and spinach??, broccolli..
The white & red wines were a good accompanyment to the food. Don't ask me if it's Australian. It's always a good thing the wines are nicely paired with the food. I think I had a beer, a glass and a half of wine and lots of chinese tea because I remember leaving the ballroom to take a pee which lasted a minute.
Good servce, good food. I'd say based on the menu, the cost per table was probably in the $1,200 - $1,400 region. Worth considering if you want to make a good impression. It certainly left us quite satisfied.
The service throughout the event was pretty good. Distribution of waitstaff was optimal, one per table with prompt and courteous service. Beverages were constantly and politely topped up.
Food wise, I would have to say the menu for the evening ranks as one of the better places to throw your once in a lifetime party.
This was a traditional 10 course dinner with a twist right at the end. Instead of ending the meal with traditional Chinese desserts such tang yuan or orr nee, we had a nice slice of light pistachio cake dressed with a white chocolate stick and carefully spooned raspberry puree sauce.
There wasn't a crackingly good standout dish though I must give special mention to the steamed Canadian Sea Perch which tasted really fresh and cooked to perfection. It takes alot of experience to do a really good steamed fish dish for 500 hungry people.
Starting with the cold dish combination of roast pork, salad prawns and other tastybits *yeah yeah*, we progressed to a thick dried scallop flavoured soup. Roast chicken, shrooms and spinach??, broccolli..
The white & red wines were a good accompanyment to the food. Don't ask me if it's Australian. It's always a good thing the wines are nicely paired with the food. I think I had a beer, a glass and a half of wine and lots of chinese tea because I remember leaving the ballroom to take a pee which lasted a minute.
Good servce, good food. I'd say based on the menu, the cost per table was probably in the $1,200 - $1,400 region. Worth considering if you want to make a good impression. It certainly left us quite satisfied.
Birthday at Le Bristrot
First of all, let me say that I am a couple of weeks late for this post. I should have written this one earlier but I didn't! A good friend of mine had his birthday, one half of the "Fantastic Gohs," was reluctantly turning 30 and we had to celebrate it! I planned for the dinner to be at Le Bristrot, and even though they did not have seats inside for us, we still had a great time! The service was good and the food excellent! Like every happy occasion, here are some of the pictures.
By the way, people were there too!
Raffles Bar and Billiard Room
At the end of each tiring week, I usually like to kick back, and relax with the wife. We go out to town. Have a good and nice dinner and last week was no exception. The only problem was where to go and we didn't know where to go at all. After much thought and consideration and since it might be near somebody's (yes, that's you Tasty Bites, its your wedding anniversary coming up!), I decided to have the buffet dinner at the Raffles Hotel Bar and Billiard room.
Its Raffles Hotel, so you expect good service. And I got it. This is the type of service that you want to be intentionally bad so that you can see how good the service is? But fortunately for all, I behaved! We made some reservations earlier that day and it wasn't full. We got a small table by the far away from the buffet and I like it. It was quiet and we had our privacy. The place was dimly lit and a small tea light on the table. I was just happy to be there because there are lots of good memories at the place!
It was an "All you can eat buffet," and we tried our best. The breads were top notch. The soup of the day was New England Clam Chowder. It was surprisingly good! You'd expect something so creamy looking and without the clam smell taste so " Clam Chowderish?" The spread was typical. The seafood which I attacked with force were all fresh. Lobster, shrimp, oysters, clams, fresh sashimi all tasted good. I even had time to start out with some salad and a small miniature glass cup of smoked tomato reduction to cleanse the pallet. I thought the secret of the buffet was the grilled food which was outside the restaurant. I don't think many people saw that! Anyway, the grilled, beef, chicken and shrimp all tasted good.
The only complaint if I really want to nit pick is the pasta bar. For all the money you are paying, you would think that the choice of ingredients for the pasta bar would be more. But it wasn't so. The pasta was good mind you. But I just felt that I couldn't, how you say, carbo load enough with the pasta?
My wife had to order a Singapore Sling because we were at Raffles hotel and I have to say I don't really know what the obsession is with the drink, it tastes like cough mixture. I don't really blame the bar tenders, I blame the 2 people drinking it. My wife and I!
I usually end the night with more seafood. But somehow, all the small little finger sized desserts drove me crazy. I ate probably the entire variety of desserts available except the healthy fruits? They were all good. Every piece a bite of what a buffet is supposed to be. Quality and Quantity. Raffles hotel had both.
The bill turned out to be about $150 SGD. I have no complaints. The only complaining that night was from the both of us, but it was about our work. Our dinner took over 2 hours. We sat there. Took our time and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. The music played from the live band was fantastic and it added so much more to the ambiance than the sounds of people laughing and talking or utensils knocking on plates.
A thoroughly enjoyable experience to relax. If you and your long time wife or girlfriend like to sit and talk and eat, I say this might be the place to do it.
Its Raffles Hotel, so you expect good service. And I got it. This is the type of service that you want to be intentionally bad so that you can see how good the service is? But fortunately for all, I behaved! We made some reservations earlier that day and it wasn't full. We got a small table by the far away from the buffet and I like it. It was quiet and we had our privacy. The place was dimly lit and a small tea light on the table. I was just happy to be there because there are lots of good memories at the place!
It was an "All you can eat buffet," and we tried our best. The breads were top notch. The soup of the day was New England Clam Chowder. It was surprisingly good! You'd expect something so creamy looking and without the clam smell taste so " Clam Chowderish?" The spread was typical. The seafood which I attacked with force were all fresh. Lobster, shrimp, oysters, clams, fresh sashimi all tasted good. I even had time to start out with some salad and a small miniature glass cup of smoked tomato reduction to cleanse the pallet. I thought the secret of the buffet was the grilled food which was outside the restaurant. I don't think many people saw that! Anyway, the grilled, beef, chicken and shrimp all tasted good.
The only complaint if I really want to nit pick is the pasta bar. For all the money you are paying, you would think that the choice of ingredients for the pasta bar would be more. But it wasn't so. The pasta was good mind you. But I just felt that I couldn't, how you say, carbo load enough with the pasta?
My wife had to order a Singapore Sling because we were at Raffles hotel and I have to say I don't really know what the obsession is with the drink, it tastes like cough mixture. I don't really blame the bar tenders, I blame the 2 people drinking it. My wife and I!
I usually end the night with more seafood. But somehow, all the small little finger sized desserts drove me crazy. I ate probably the entire variety of desserts available except the healthy fruits? They were all good. Every piece a bite of what a buffet is supposed to be. Quality and Quantity. Raffles hotel had both.
The bill turned out to be about $150 SGD. I have no complaints. The only complaining that night was from the both of us, but it was about our work. Our dinner took over 2 hours. We sat there. Took our time and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. The music played from the live band was fantastic and it added so much more to the ambiance than the sounds of people laughing and talking or utensils knocking on plates.
A thoroughly enjoyable experience to relax. If you and your long time wife or girlfriend like to sit and talk and eat, I say this might be the place to do it.
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