As I tried to allude to in my last post, I am a very big Liverpool fan and last week, I was invited to watch the match at Penny Black which apparently is Liverpool central for game nights and I have to say the atmosphere was outstanding. There was singing of all the Liverpool songs and cheers for the players. Even my wife liked it.
The only complain that I do have is just the quality of my hotdog I ordered. It was bad. And it was $9. The beer was outstanding and the wife ordered a screwdriver.
I highly recommend this place for game nights if you are a true red. Its like you're there at the game only you're staring at the screen and the players can't hear your cheers.
Last note, don't order the hot dog.
Madam Butterfly
It was a strange day last Friday. I met the missus in town and we wondered along Duxton Hill. Living in Singapore for so many years, I have to say I have never been to Duxton Hill before and since my wife officially became the Mrs Food-critic, she now knows where are the "cool," places to go whereas me on the other hand have absolutely no idea where to go and what to eat.
So we wandered and darn that Broth looked cool but it was full for the night. The other restaurants just looked to either serve bad food, bar food, or just branded food. I thought of Ember and tried making a call, but alas, it was booked for the night as well. We were walking and finally found OSO that just looked also too sexy and it was full. I was down in the dumps and the wife was complaining about her feet being painful because of her heels. I was about to commit blog suicide when I saw the strange red building called The Red Dot Traffic Building. Honestly, I was looking for any place to just sit down and have a meal with the wife. ANYWHERE! And we stumbled into Le Papillon! And it was empty!
Straddled in the midst of bars and smoke, I was surprised to see an empty restaurant. We glanced at the menu and in 10 seconds I said lets go in. A very typical Singaporean like I am would not ordinarily walk into an empty restaurant but I was hungry. Okay, I didn't know it was empty until I walked in. But we were still surprised. We ordered some appetizers, my wife ordered the very sexily bowled mushroom soup which she thought had peanut butter, and I think I ordered and probably by coincidence discovered the best Cesar Salad I have had in Singapore. So good surprise so far.
A bigger surprise would be Mr. and Mrs. Tasty Bites was just next door! They were chillin out at Skin (like any cool advertising exec would I discovered), so in the midst of discovering Liverpool having to playing Barcelona in the Champions League (which Pool will win by the way), and waiting for my main course, in came the boss man himself TASTY BITES! My wife joked that we normally like to book the whole restaurant to have dinner by ourselves wasn't taken too kindly by the staff, which later explained to us that they were surprised that the restaurant was filled except that there were several last minute cancellations. So anyways, we were talking and admiring the cutlery when the main course came. My wife ordered a fish dish, I can't remember what it was and I ordered the seafood platter which contained 2 sexy looking huge asparagus lined up parallel to one another with shrimp, scallop,fish in the middle, and a side of what I thought to be mashed pumpkin. I have to say my dish was delish. It was good. It was clean, it was fresh and it was not enough (my gripe with most French cuisine). My wife loved her grilled fish and it actually looked good.
For dessert, we ordered the orange souffle which needed 30 mins to make, was good. A souffle is difficult to make but an orange souffle that had to be soft on the inside and gentle at the exterior was tough. But I thought the orange ice cream that accompanied the souffle was a slight overkill. My wife ordered her favorite melting chocolate chocolate cake. The type that has melted chocolate inside the small chocolate cake. It was decent. Not enough melted chocolate I thought.
The damage was $170 SGD and I thought it wasn't that bad. It was a great discovery by just walking around but I would probably not go back there again. If you see the hyperlink for Le Papillon, I agree with a certain Wong Ah Yoke that there's still some ways to go to improve the menu but it is still worth a try.
So we wandered and darn that Broth looked cool but it was full for the night. The other restaurants just looked to either serve bad food, bar food, or just branded food. I thought of Ember and tried making a call, but alas, it was booked for the night as well. We were walking and finally found OSO that just looked also too sexy and it was full. I was down in the dumps and the wife was complaining about her feet being painful because of her heels. I was about to commit blog suicide when I saw the strange red building called The Red Dot Traffic Building. Honestly, I was looking for any place to just sit down and have a meal with the wife. ANYWHERE! And we stumbled into Le Papillon! And it was empty!
Straddled in the midst of bars and smoke, I was surprised to see an empty restaurant. We glanced at the menu and in 10 seconds I said lets go in. A very typical Singaporean like I am would not ordinarily walk into an empty restaurant but I was hungry. Okay, I didn't know it was empty until I walked in. But we were still surprised. We ordered some appetizers, my wife ordered the very sexily bowled mushroom soup which she thought had peanut butter, and I think I ordered and probably by coincidence discovered the best Cesar Salad I have had in Singapore. So good surprise so far.
A bigger surprise would be Mr. and Mrs. Tasty Bites was just next door! They were chillin out at Skin (like any cool advertising exec would I discovered), so in the midst of discovering Liverpool having to playing Barcelona in the Champions League (which Pool will win by the way), and waiting for my main course, in came the boss man himself TASTY BITES! My wife joked that we normally like to book the whole restaurant to have dinner by ourselves wasn't taken too kindly by the staff, which later explained to us that they were surprised that the restaurant was filled except that there were several last minute cancellations. So anyways, we were talking and admiring the cutlery when the main course came. My wife ordered a fish dish, I can't remember what it was and I ordered the seafood platter which contained 2 sexy looking huge asparagus lined up parallel to one another with shrimp, scallop,fish in the middle, and a side of what I thought to be mashed pumpkin. I have to say my dish was delish. It was good. It was clean, it was fresh and it was not enough (my gripe with most French cuisine). My wife loved her grilled fish and it actually looked good.
For dessert, we ordered the orange souffle which needed 30 mins to make, was good. A souffle is difficult to make but an orange souffle that had to be soft on the inside and gentle at the exterior was tough. But I thought the orange ice cream that accompanied the souffle was a slight overkill. My wife ordered her favorite melting chocolate chocolate cake. The type that has melted chocolate inside the small chocolate cake. It was decent. Not enough melted chocolate I thought.
The damage was $170 SGD and I thought it wasn't that bad. It was a great discovery by just walking around but I would probably not go back there again. If you see the hyperlink for Le Papillon, I agree with a certain Wong Ah Yoke that there's still some ways to go to improve the menu but it is still worth a try.
Samui Seafood Restaurant
My wife not being accustomed to spicy food but had a strange thing for Thai food. She actually liked it. On our previous trip to Bangkok in the days or yore, she actually could stomach the foodcourt at MBK. So this experience to Koh Samui helped me see how much she could take. We entered Samui Seafood Restaurant full of hope and ambition. Like many other seafood stalls along the Chaweng stretch, the restaurants would parade their fresh seafood at the entrance of the restaurant so that they can entice customers to enter the restaurant and you can have the seafood cooked any way you want.
Honestly, I entered the restaurant because I thought it was pretty. Okay? I am the food-critic. I am shallow. Little did I know that the restaurant, if I believe my failing memory correctly, is actually opened by one of the maid servants that took care of the Thai King and actually cooked for him. In Thailand, its a big deal. To me, I was like, if the King liked her food, I would too! (See, shallow.)
I wanted my wife to feel like she knew what she was doing and so I asked her to order something she thought looked good, my wife ordered the cashew chicken. I would normally laugh at her because cashew chicken isn't exactly Thai, but you know for her first time in a pretty authentic (I am using pretty authentic because there is also a huge western menu in the restaurants for the FARANG) Thai restaurant and she was trying her best. I chipped in by ordering the tourist favorites, my tom yum soup, pineapple fried rice, pad thai and my fantastic lime juice.
The verdict: I loved the pineapple seafood fried rice. It was actually served in a pineapple, so it was a plus! There was a good blend of sweetness and the texturing was tangy and perfect. The pad thai was good. It wasn't outstanding like the pineapple fried rice but the key was to mix everything up. The nuts, the sprouts, the noodles and the shrimp, we didn't really do that and I think that's why it was quite disappointing. My tom yum soup was fantastic. Its not the clear broth that I prefer but the amount of seafood and bite in it, took all my other reservations away. Tom yum soup is the type of soup that is flavored by lemongrass and the spiciness only kicks in 30 seconds after you swallow the soup, that's the brilliance of it. The cashew chicken, well, was bad.
I would just like to add again how pretty the restaurant was. The restaurant is located at the end of the busy Chaweng stretch and it was fun to ride the local "bus," i.e. the back of a truck there.
In the end, not the most authentic Thai food but almost there!
Food notes from Koh Samui
I have not traveled to many places in the world. But I have to say that several ethnic foods have conquered the world. Chinese cuisine, Indian Cuisine and now Italian Cuisine. Every corner, there was an Italian restaurant and an Indian restaurant. I was shocked, but I didn't know why. Food is such an influential cultural epitome that it translates itself into corners of the world that even the cunning intellectual would blush. (I don't know what I just said) but in layman's terms, specific cultural foods are everywhere in the world. And in Koh Samui, the wife and I discovered PANCAKES!
Its definitely not the American Pancake but its the Indian style "Pratha," type pancake. I had mine with banana and my favorite condiment of all time NUTELLA and my wife had chocolate and banana but mine rocked! And all this goodness for less than $1.50 SGD? Come on! Steal of the holiday!
Imagine if you will a thin layer of flour based batter fried and you put in sliced bananas and Nutella and fold it up to what I can only think is mad goodness!
Its definitely not the American Pancake but its the Indian style "Pratha," type pancake. I had mine with banana and my favorite condiment of all time NUTELLA and my wife had chocolate and banana but mine rocked! And all this goodness for less than $1.50 SGD? Come on! Steal of the holiday!
Imagine if you will a thin layer of flour based batter fried and you put in sliced bananas and Nutella and fold it up to what I can only think is mad goodness!
My trip to Koh Samui in Food Pictures
Recently the missus and I took a short holiday to the beautiful island of Samui to take a short break and do what every other European were doing in Koh Samui this time of the year. Have a tan. Unfortunately, being from a tropical island, a tan was quite easy to have besides waking up late everyday and gorging on the hotel buffet breakfast, we went about the stretch of Chaweng beach to discover gastronomic adventures that were in the end, more of an anti-climax.
Our first night, the restaurant that we wanted to try was RICE. RICE you would think is an Asian restaurant but it was nothing like it. It was an Italian restaurant. Yes. I was hit with the Italian bug AGAIN! The pictures in the magazine was nice and so was the restaurant. Now, if you could only ignore the telephone wires outside the restaurant!
The deco of the restaurant was nice. The servers were very polite and might I just add that the coke bottles are really glass coke bottles? How cool is that? Anyways, we ordered several dishes. And this was how they looked:
What is not seen in the pictures that I did not include was a bricked oven baked pizza Magherita with just cheese,tomato sauce and basil, which my wife thought was fantastic. I thought it was above average. We got served the breads as a free appetizer and I have to say the breads were tasty, fluffy and warm, they went great with the green olives, tomatoes and butter. I then ordered my squid ink pasta with crab meat cooked in olive oil and vegetables. I thought it was good. It wasn't great but at that price and at that ambiance, it was good. My wife ordered the crab stuffed pumpkin ravioli. I had a piece of it and thought that it was good as well. The taste for all the dishes were clean. It wasn't too heavy on the tummy and I felt it was the right amount.
Looking back, maybe I would not have chosen RICE but maybe Olivio's instead. But that's just me being picky. The damage was less than $50 SGD so I can't really complain. The food was clean and dare I say better than Pasta Fresca and El Forno but nowhere near Valentinos or Garibaldis. It was a good median that I wish Singapore restaurants could present to me. A good authentic Italian restaurant without the high price and the glitz.
If you're in Koh Samui for more than 4 days, this is one of the restaurants to go. If you are in Koh Samui for less than 2 days, don't bother. Try the Thai Food!
Our first night, the restaurant that we wanted to try was RICE. RICE you would think is an Asian restaurant but it was nothing like it. It was an Italian restaurant. Yes. I was hit with the Italian bug AGAIN! The pictures in the magazine was nice and so was the restaurant. Now, if you could only ignore the telephone wires outside the restaurant!
The deco of the restaurant was nice. The servers were very polite and might I just add that the coke bottles are really glass coke bottles? How cool is that? Anyways, we ordered several dishes. And this was how they looked:
What is not seen in the pictures that I did not include was a bricked oven baked pizza Magherita with just cheese,tomato sauce and basil, which my wife thought was fantastic. I thought it was above average. We got served the breads as a free appetizer and I have to say the breads were tasty, fluffy and warm, they went great with the green olives, tomatoes and butter. I then ordered my squid ink pasta with crab meat cooked in olive oil and vegetables. I thought it was good. It wasn't great but at that price and at that ambiance, it was good. My wife ordered the crab stuffed pumpkin ravioli. I had a piece of it and thought that it was good as well. The taste for all the dishes were clean. It wasn't too heavy on the tummy and I felt it was the right amount.
Looking back, maybe I would not have chosen RICE but maybe Olivio's instead. But that's just me being picky. The damage was less than $50 SGD so I can't really complain. The food was clean and dare I say better than Pasta Fresca and El Forno but nowhere near Valentinos or Garibaldis. It was a good median that I wish Singapore restaurants could present to me. A good authentic Italian restaurant without the high price and the glitz.
If you're in Koh Samui for more than 4 days, this is one of the restaurants to go. If you are in Koh Samui for less than 2 days, don't bother. Try the Thai Food!
Another night of Italian
So last night, I thought of having dinner with me dad and wife outside. Since my mum was out of town attending to a certain new addition to the family in London, I thought I do my part before me dad leaves for the U.K. and I go for my holiday. I actually wanted Japanese but unfortunately, my expatriate wife and local dad could not find the restaurant. I think I should have gotten the hint when I tried to call the restaurant and the phone company tells me that the service is no longer in use. I was going for quantity vs quality as my dad is big eater. But I digress.
We were walking through Marina Square and my wife turned to me and told me that she doesn't want to eat that much. So okay. My initial buffet idea has gone out of the window. So while we were walking to Suntec because I thought we might have Kushin-bo, or fishing bowl like my dad calls it, we took a turn into Pan Pacific instead and lo and behold, up one level was Zambuca. Its a bar and restaurant and its owned by the MichaelAngelo chain, so how bad can it be right?
We walked in and my wife immediately liked the place while my dad went, "Wah, you like this kind of place?" It sounds funny but for those that do not know, it was the first time I was going out with my dad and wife. So its an unusual chemistry. Usually, there would be mum with dad, and us. So it was kind of uncomfortable for awhile.
The deco of the place was nice. The whole restaurant was dimly lit and the roman blinds were at half mass. The servers were polite but the restaurant wasn't exactly packed. Prices are reasonable. For a plate of pasta, it was about $34 average, main course was about $45, and appetizer are about $25. It wasn't that bad. I ordered the soup of the day which was mushroom for me and dad, and we all split some bruschetta. I ordered the pasta fruta de mare, my dad ordered the pasta tandoor (if I remember correctly) and my wife ordered a penne with spicy Italian sausages, with kalmata olives and some assorted vegetable. The total cost was about $165. It wasn't that bad.
The food wasn't that bad at all. Service wasn't bad. Restaurant wasn't bad. But on the flip side, it wasn't very good as well. Its, how you say, ho hum? It wasn't terrible, and it wasn't great. It was mediocre. I didn't complain about anything, but there wasn't anything worth giving too much praise for. Its standard fare. None of the dishes stood out. Well, nothing really stood out. We had a pleasant time chatting and talking about things but the food never was one of the topics that were discussed, which is unusual for me actually.
I wouldn't recommend this place to most people but I have before because I haven't gone to Zambuca until last night. But what do I know?
We were walking through Marina Square and my wife turned to me and told me that she doesn't want to eat that much. So okay. My initial buffet idea has gone out of the window. So while we were walking to Suntec because I thought we might have Kushin-bo, or fishing bowl like my dad calls it, we took a turn into Pan Pacific instead and lo and behold, up one level was Zambuca. Its a bar and restaurant and its owned by the MichaelAngelo chain, so how bad can it be right?
We walked in and my wife immediately liked the place while my dad went, "Wah, you like this kind of place?" It sounds funny but for those that do not know, it was the first time I was going out with my dad and wife. So its an unusual chemistry. Usually, there would be mum with dad, and us. So it was kind of uncomfortable for awhile.
The deco of the place was nice. The whole restaurant was dimly lit and the roman blinds were at half mass. The servers were polite but the restaurant wasn't exactly packed. Prices are reasonable. For a plate of pasta, it was about $34 average, main course was about $45, and appetizer are about $25. It wasn't that bad. I ordered the soup of the day which was mushroom for me and dad, and we all split some bruschetta. I ordered the pasta fruta de mare, my dad ordered the pasta tandoor (if I remember correctly) and my wife ordered a penne with spicy Italian sausages, with kalmata olives and some assorted vegetable. The total cost was about $165. It wasn't that bad.
The food wasn't that bad at all. Service wasn't bad. Restaurant wasn't bad. But on the flip side, it wasn't very good as well. Its, how you say, ho hum? It wasn't terrible, and it wasn't great. It was mediocre. I didn't complain about anything, but there wasn't anything worth giving too much praise for. Its standard fare. None of the dishes stood out. Well, nothing really stood out. We had a pleasant time chatting and talking about things but the food never was one of the topics that were discussed, which is unusual for me actually.
I wouldn't recommend this place to most people but I have before because I haven't gone to Zambuca until last night. But what do I know?
Not everything that is Italian is Italian!
By MARIA SANMINIATELLI
The Associated Press
ROME -- Imagine a delicious dinner of pasta with meat sauce and grated parmesan. Add a salad of fresh mozzarella and Roman tomatoes sprinkled with Tuscan olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Maybe you'll wash it down with some Amaretto liqueur.
But there's a catch: none of that food was made in Italy.
Foods that look or sound Italian but are produced elsewhere account for $66 billion in annual sales -- nearly half the $135.5 billion worth of real Italian food that is sold worldwide in a year, says Coldiretti, Italy's farmers association.
Italian producers have launched a campaign to set the record straight in hopes of boosting their own sales.
"They might not be illegal, but they are deceptive," Coldiretti's spokesman, Paolo Falcioni, said. "It's wrong for two reasons: You take the [market] of the real food, but most importantly, you're deceiving the consumer."
The fine print may identify food as not coming from Italy, but Italian flag colors or Italian references on labels can lead rushed consumers to think otherwise, Falcioni said.
For Italians, many of whom believe that they have the world's best cuisine, that's tough to swallow.
"I was in China four days ago, and in a supermarket in Shanghai I bought balsamic vinegar from Modena -- with the label written in Italian -- that was made in Germany!" Falcioni said.
Italians say the finest balsamic vinegar is produced in the small northern Italian city of Modena, which is also home to automaker Ferrari. It's expensive: a flask the size of a perfume bottle can cost $100.
The top buyers of fake Italian food are in Australia and the United States, where a mere 2 percent of "Italian" cheeses are made in Italy.
Gary Litman, vice president for European affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said it's too late to rename imitation Italian products that are already firmly established. "You cannot change history that easily," he said. Litman noted that, unlike the European Union, U.S. law requires labels to state exactly where products are from.
In the Know
Falso
Some foods that look or sound Italian but are produced elsewhere:
Olive oil from Spain featuring a label with a picture of Rome's mythological founders, Romulus and Remus.
Roman-style tomatoes grown in California.
Imitations of Parmesan cheese produced worldwide.
Mozzarella cheese made with milk from American or Australian cows.
"Italian" ragu -- meat sauce with basil -- made in Estonia.
Pecorino cheese from Shanghai, China.
"Perfect Italiano" ricotta cheese made in Australia.
Provolone cheese made in Wisconsin.
"Amaretto Venezia" liqueur made in Germany and sold in bottles shaped like that of original Amaretto di Saronno.
SOURCE: Coldiretti
The Associated Press
ROME -- Imagine a delicious dinner of pasta with meat sauce and grated parmesan. Add a salad of fresh mozzarella and Roman tomatoes sprinkled with Tuscan olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Maybe you'll wash it down with some Amaretto liqueur.
But there's a catch: none of that food was made in Italy.
Foods that look or sound Italian but are produced elsewhere account for $66 billion in annual sales -- nearly half the $135.5 billion worth of real Italian food that is sold worldwide in a year, says Coldiretti, Italy's farmers association.
Italian producers have launched a campaign to set the record straight in hopes of boosting their own sales.
"They might not be illegal, but they are deceptive," Coldiretti's spokesman, Paolo Falcioni, said. "It's wrong for two reasons: You take the [market] of the real food, but most importantly, you're deceiving the consumer."
The fine print may identify food as not coming from Italy, but Italian flag colors or Italian references on labels can lead rushed consumers to think otherwise, Falcioni said.
For Italians, many of whom believe that they have the world's best cuisine, that's tough to swallow.
"I was in China four days ago, and in a supermarket in Shanghai I bought balsamic vinegar from Modena -- with the label written in Italian -- that was made in Germany!" Falcioni said.
Italians say the finest balsamic vinegar is produced in the small northern Italian city of Modena, which is also home to automaker Ferrari. It's expensive: a flask the size of a perfume bottle can cost $100.
The top buyers of fake Italian food are in Australia and the United States, where a mere 2 percent of "Italian" cheeses are made in Italy.
Gary Litman, vice president for European affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said it's too late to rename imitation Italian products that are already firmly established. "You cannot change history that easily," he said. Litman noted that, unlike the European Union, U.S. law requires labels to state exactly where products are from.
In the Know
Falso
Some foods that look or sound Italian but are produced elsewhere:
Olive oil from Spain featuring a label with a picture of Rome's mythological founders, Romulus and Remus.
Roman-style tomatoes grown in California.
Imitations of Parmesan cheese produced worldwide.
Mozzarella cheese made with milk from American or Australian cows.
"Italian" ragu -- meat sauce with basil -- made in Estonia.
Pecorino cheese from Shanghai, China.
"Perfect Italiano" ricotta cheese made in Australia.
Provolone cheese made in Wisconsin.
"Amaretto Venezia" liqueur made in Germany and sold in bottles shaped like that of original Amaretto di Saronno.
SOURCE: Coldiretti
Italian Weekend
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.
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.
List of Restaurants to go to
This is the list of restaurants that I need to go to!
Enotria
Michelangelos
Portobelle
Esmirada
Da Paolo's Bristro
Valentinos
So I look forward to going to these restaurants pretty soon .... I hope.
Enotria
Michelangelos
Portobelle
Esmirada
Da Paolo's Bristro
Valentinos
So I look forward to going to these restaurants pretty soon .... I hope.
Surf and Turf at Suntec Basement
I have to admit that after beginning to write in this blog, I have a problem in knowing where to eat. You ask me everyday, and I swear to you that I probably can't tell you what I want to eat. Strange. So since I can't decide what to eat. I have let the powers that be to decide. AKA, when out with friends, they will tell me where to eat. Last week was an interesting ordeal. The wife and I met with some friends at Suntec Basement and we let the coupons in our hands decide where to eat. You see, OCBC credit card as well as Citibank credit cards have this food specials where they give you coupons for some special deals. So on this special day, we went for the 25% discount at Surf and Turf.
Surf and Turf is allegedly an American restaurant. That serves well, meat and seafood. I don't normally will walk into such a restaurant but what the hay? We walked in. the service was pretty good. They were polite and told us what our coupons could and could not do. As usual, I felt like a pasta and I ordered the few non surf and turf stuff on the menu, a seafood marinara sauce penne pasta. My wife ordered fish and chips. Our friends ordered their roast chicken and pan fried salmon together with some mixed platter for appetizer. It was pretty good. In the line of Billy Bombers type better than Jack's place. I was impressed.
Some of you might think, man, you have some low expectations, and you are right. I will probably not go there again, if I could make my own choice, but just for that night, it felt right. I think this is a New York Deli type restaurant. Its for the kids.
Surf and Turf is allegedly an American restaurant. That serves well, meat and seafood. I don't normally will walk into such a restaurant but what the hay? We walked in. the service was pretty good. They were polite and told us what our coupons could and could not do. As usual, I felt like a pasta and I ordered the few non surf and turf stuff on the menu, a seafood marinara sauce penne pasta. My wife ordered fish and chips. Our friends ordered their roast chicken and pan fried salmon together with some mixed platter for appetizer. It was pretty good. In the line of Billy Bombers type better than Jack's place. I was impressed.
Some of you might think, man, you have some low expectations, and you are right. I will probably not go there again, if I could make my own choice, but just for that night, it felt right. I think this is a New York Deli type restaurant. Its for the kids.
Pasta Brava and Writing Skills
On the train the other day, I heard that a blog is a pretty narcissistic thing to do. It is about yourself, your thoughts, and your world view. The world according to you. That sounds about right doesn't it? So I have to give some "biggie ups," to some guy from Hwa Chong Junior College for saying that and letting me hear what he said so loudly on the phone.
How does this relate to food? In a way it does, this blog is designed to educate. Not to eradicate. This blog is to inform. Not to deform. You get the drift? As much as I love to slam restaurants and tell you they suck, I have to say that you have to go and try the food at the restaurant. Don't let me ruin you dining experience!
So last week, the missus and I went to a nice Italian Restaurant. Its called Pasta Brava at Craig Road in the Duxton Hill area. The website was nice. It looked classy and there were some pretty good reviews. We made our dinner reservations at 8pm but we showed up early. My wife had a tinkering for Lagsana and as expected, we never touched the Lasagne.
We got in and the deco was nice. There's this very rustic feel to the place. It feels somewhat Italian? The servers were decked in an all black uniform and were prompt and polite. We asked for suggestions after being in countless Italian restaurants. I ended up ordering the Puttanesca, tomato sauce with capers, olives and chili. My wife ordered her Lagsana? Nope. She ordered the Manicotti Ripieni di Zucca - Moon-shaped ravioli with pumpkin and red capsicum sauce and cream a pumpkin ravioli. Our appetizer was the melon and prosciutto ham. And our dessert was an apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
It sucked. The servers seemed like they were in a rush and when asked about a dish to recommend, I swear there was a sigh and he simply broke down what was on the menu. And talking about the menu, for a nice looking rustic Italian restaurant, the menu was a paper menu that you could fold up and it looks like a newspaper but A5 size. A restaurant has to decide what it is. If it is a rustic place, don't play techno music! And my puttanesca sauce, had tons of olives, very little capers and 0 flavor. The base tomato sauce was good, but the pasta as a whole, I could make it better at home. The ham in my appetizer felt like it was taken from the ones that can be bought at cold storage and the apple pie, my gosh, it was this soft small thing and beared some semblance to an apple pie.
On a brigther note, it did have some UOB bank discounts and the total cost of the meal turned out to be only $71 which was pretty reasonable.
You might think I'm mean. But that's just what I think. You should go to the restaurant and try it yourself. I might be wrong!
How does this relate to food? In a way it does, this blog is designed to educate. Not to eradicate. This blog is to inform. Not to deform. You get the drift? As much as I love to slam restaurants and tell you they suck, I have to say that you have to go and try the food at the restaurant. Don't let me ruin you dining experience!
So last week, the missus and I went to a nice Italian Restaurant. Its called Pasta Brava at Craig Road in the Duxton Hill area. The website was nice. It looked classy and there were some pretty good reviews. We made our dinner reservations at 8pm but we showed up early. My wife had a tinkering for Lagsana and as expected, we never touched the Lasagne.
We got in and the deco was nice. There's this very rustic feel to the place. It feels somewhat Italian? The servers were decked in an all black uniform and were prompt and polite. We asked for suggestions after being in countless Italian restaurants. I ended up ordering the Puttanesca, tomato sauce with capers, olives and chili. My wife ordered her Lagsana? Nope. She ordered the Manicotti Ripieni di Zucca - Moon-shaped ravioli with pumpkin and red capsicum sauce and cream a pumpkin ravioli. Our appetizer was the melon and prosciutto ham. And our dessert was an apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
It sucked. The servers seemed like they were in a rush and when asked about a dish to recommend, I swear there was a sigh and he simply broke down what was on the menu. And talking about the menu, for a nice looking rustic Italian restaurant, the menu was a paper menu that you could fold up and it looks like a newspaper but A5 size. A restaurant has to decide what it is. If it is a rustic place, don't play techno music! And my puttanesca sauce, had tons of olives, very little capers and 0 flavor. The base tomato sauce was good, but the pasta as a whole, I could make it better at home. The ham in my appetizer felt like it was taken from the ones that can be bought at cold storage and the apple pie, my gosh, it was this soft small thing and beared some semblance to an apple pie.
On a brigther note, it did have some UOB bank discounts and the total cost of the meal turned out to be only $71 which was pretty reasonable.
You might think I'm mean. But that's just what I think. You should go to the restaurant and try it yourself. I might be wrong!
Eating Right : The Root Excuse of Failed Marriages
Tonight will mark the beginning of a series of wedding dinners in the coming months - which translates into hotel catered multi course dinners!! Expensive multi course dinners at that.
I believe formula for 2 seats for a table of 10 at a decent 4-5* hotel = 2 x 3 course dinner for 2 @ Saint Pierre inclusive of 15%+++ without wine.
This offshoot hopes to entertain and help couples make informed decisions.... if you trust our tongues.
First stop - The Regent
I believe formula for 2 seats for a table of 10 at a decent 4-5* hotel = 2 x 3 course dinner for 2 @ Saint Pierre inclusive of 15%+++ without wine.
This offshoot hopes to entertain and help couples make informed decisions.... if you trust our tongues.
First stop - The Regent
Ristorante da Valentino
I have a confession to make. I've been really lazy and haven't written a blog entry in ages. Truth be told, I've hardly been to an eatery in recent times serving decent grub enough to warrant a blog entry. *what a brilliant excuse*
Anyhow, I must write about this Ristorante. So we got Salvatore & Paolo with their outlets littered throughout our little island. Mr Valentino opened up this place a little more than a year ago in the quiet neighbourhood of Rifle Range Road. It's a small cozy place, sitting pretty on the first level of a 2 storey shophouse with a few tables set in the porch area for alfresco dining.
At least half the restaurant was patronized by European expatriates, some with their SPGs in tow. The walls were painted red which certainly added some warmth to the cosiness of the place.
We were greeted by a lady waitstaff and she promptly recited the specials available for that evening. The menu featured a range of staple italian antipasta like cold cuts, grilled veggies in olive oil, zuppa, calamari, pastas, pizzas and meat.
I didn't feel like thinking too much that evening because I had endured a long, long day at work!! You know how it is... So yeah, we got the attention of an Italian waiter, who I presume is related to Valentino (I read someone else's review that he brought his sister, momma and papa to help out), to help us out. I wanted to try the rabbit stew but unfortunately for me, that was sold out. I gave up and asked him to recommend something else.
You're probably thinking, what the heck!!! First time in a restaurant, don't know what to order and you're asking the waiter to rip them pockets off your pants. Mate I tell you this fella knew exactly what we needed.
He suggested 2 starters, a custom pasta combo and a meat for the main course. We had a cold cut combo weighing in at around $17something and a roasted vegetable combo also around the same price. The cold cuts were nice and fresh but a little too
skint for the money. The veggies were excellent! The red pepper was slithery n sweet, zucchinis n eggplants were also beautifully roasted. Oh I almost forgot, they serve some warm bread with a nice basil/coriander/garlic/olive oil dip!
Shortly after, the custom pasta combo arrived. We had Pumpkin Ravioli on one side of the plate and Fettucini ala god knows what the name... let's call it Fettucini ala Gobsmacked because it was that good!! The freshly handmade al dente cooked fettucini was tossed in a light cream sauce, shrimp and rucola leaves. The cream sauce was so light you could have hardly told that you ate a cream based sauce in your tummy. The Pumpkin Ravioli kinda looked like undersized Gyoza at first and that did set my expectation slightly lower *yeah I'm so superficial.. well good presentation does enhance the taste sometimes* but man was I ever so wrong to doubt Valentino!! As the warm, almond scented pumpkin filling oozed in my mouth, I thought I'd tasted nirvana/valhalla *that is so Christian-speak wrong*. It was piquantly pumpkin, sweet and salty, gorgeous combi with the ravioli skin.
The main course BLEW me away. We ordered an 800gm Bistecca alla Fiorentina, chargrilled to PERFECTION off the bone. It came on a round wooden platter, neatly sliced into a few pieces on a heap of fresh rucola leaves and 2 lemon wedges. The meat was very well seasoned and cooked just so the meat was pink on the inside and very very moist. I squeezed some lemon on the meat and skewed it on my fork with a couple of rucola leaves. So you think Morton's was good ? This will RIVAL Morton's anyday.
You've gotta try it to believe it folks! I was chewing the rare bits off the bone for goodness sakes!!
Dessert was wheeled to us on a nice glass trolley. They had a blueberry tart, lemon tart, panna cotta and something else which I can't seem to recall. Also available from the menu was a selection of sorbets and tiramisu. We ordered a blueberry tart, a slice of panna cotta and a tiramisu to round off our most excellent meal. The blueberry tart didn't go down too well with me because I didn't really like the smell of the semolina flour used to cook the base of the tart. Panna cotta is cooked
cream for the uninitiated and this one was DAMNED good. It was light, fresh and creamy. Most of all it wasn't overly sweet, just enough to enhance the natural sweetness of cream. Numero uno man. The tiramisu was excellent. To some traditionalists, the tiramisu is not recognized as a staple of Italian desserts but this one sure tasted like it had been done in the tradtition of mamma for a long time. Surrounded in thick luscious mascarpone cream and sponge cake soaking in coffee liquer, this was a long time coming. I haven't tasted tiramisu anywhere this good since the good old days in Australia.
It ain't cheap but it's worth the experience. Call in advance because these guys are packed!! Bon appetit.
Anyhow, I must write about this Ristorante. So we got Salvatore & Paolo with their outlets littered throughout our little island. Mr Valentino opened up this place a little more than a year ago in the quiet neighbourhood of Rifle Range Road. It's a small cozy place, sitting pretty on the first level of a 2 storey shophouse with a few tables set in the porch area for alfresco dining.
At least half the restaurant was patronized by European expatriates, some with their SPGs in tow. The walls were painted red which certainly added some warmth to the cosiness of the place.
We were greeted by a lady waitstaff and she promptly recited the specials available for that evening. The menu featured a range of staple italian antipasta like cold cuts, grilled veggies in olive oil, zuppa, calamari, pastas, pizzas and meat.
I didn't feel like thinking too much that evening because I had endured a long, long day at work!! You know how it is... So yeah, we got the attention of an Italian waiter, who I presume is related to Valentino (I read someone else's review that he brought his sister, momma and papa to help out), to help us out. I wanted to try the rabbit stew but unfortunately for me, that was sold out. I gave up and asked him to recommend something else.
You're probably thinking, what the heck!!! First time in a restaurant, don't know what to order and you're asking the waiter to rip them pockets off your pants. Mate I tell you this fella knew exactly what we needed.
He suggested 2 starters, a custom pasta combo and a meat for the main course. We had a cold cut combo weighing in at around $17something and a roasted vegetable combo also around the same price. The cold cuts were nice and fresh but a little too
skint for the money. The veggies were excellent! The red pepper was slithery n sweet, zucchinis n eggplants were also beautifully roasted. Oh I almost forgot, they serve some warm bread with a nice basil/coriander/garlic/olive oil dip!
Shortly after, the custom pasta combo arrived. We had Pumpkin Ravioli on one side of the plate and Fettucini ala god knows what the name... let's call it Fettucini ala Gobsmacked because it was that good!! The freshly handmade al dente cooked fettucini was tossed in a light cream sauce, shrimp and rucola leaves. The cream sauce was so light you could have hardly told that you ate a cream based sauce in your tummy. The Pumpkin Ravioli kinda looked like undersized Gyoza at first and that did set my expectation slightly lower *yeah I'm so superficial.. well good presentation does enhance the taste sometimes* but man was I ever so wrong to doubt Valentino!! As the warm, almond scented pumpkin filling oozed in my mouth, I thought I'd tasted nirvana/valhalla *that is so Christian-speak wrong*. It was piquantly pumpkin, sweet and salty, gorgeous combi with the ravioli skin.
The main course BLEW me away. We ordered an 800gm Bistecca alla Fiorentina, chargrilled to PERFECTION off the bone. It came on a round wooden platter, neatly sliced into a few pieces on a heap of fresh rucola leaves and 2 lemon wedges. The meat was very well seasoned and cooked just so the meat was pink on the inside and very very moist. I squeezed some lemon on the meat and skewed it on my fork with a couple of rucola leaves. So you think Morton's was good ? This will RIVAL Morton's anyday.
You've gotta try it to believe it folks! I was chewing the rare bits off the bone for goodness sakes!!
Dessert was wheeled to us on a nice glass trolley. They had a blueberry tart, lemon tart, panna cotta and something else which I can't seem to recall. Also available from the menu was a selection of sorbets and tiramisu. We ordered a blueberry tart, a slice of panna cotta and a tiramisu to round off our most excellent meal. The blueberry tart didn't go down too well with me because I didn't really like the smell of the semolina flour used to cook the base of the tart. Panna cotta is cooked
cream for the uninitiated and this one was DAMNED good. It was light, fresh and creamy. Most of all it wasn't overly sweet, just enough to enhance the natural sweetness of cream. Numero uno man. The tiramisu was excellent. To some traditionalists, the tiramisu is not recognized as a staple of Italian desserts but this one sure tasted like it had been done in the tradtition of mamma for a long time. Surrounded in thick luscious mascarpone cream and sponge cake soaking in coffee liquer, this was a long time coming. I haven't tasted tiramisu anywhere this good since the good old days in Australia.
It ain't cheap but it's worth the experience. Call in advance because these guys are packed!! Bon appetit.
Jubilicious Nasi Biryani
Growing up with a dad that loves Indian and Malay food, I was introduced to the Nasi Biryani when my parents threw a birthday party for me when I was 7 and instead of having it at Macdonald's like all the other cool kids, my parents insisted on having a party in the house and invited none of my friends. Wow! What a party. But I guess thats how growing up stories sound like most of the time. My parents catered from my Dad's then favorite Islamic Resturant at Arab Street. It was pretty fantastic, that meal.
As I got older, I developed my own taste in Nasi Biryani and picked the restaurant right next to Islamic called Jubilee. Back then, Jubilee was this all Indian restaurant with metal framed room dividers, and the Indian uncles would serve us as much food as we ate. I remember ordering so much once that the guy asked us if we were sure. I think on that day, me and my dad ordered close to a total 6 plates of chicken and mutton Nasi Biryani - a record in the family by the way.
So my mum decided to start buying Biryani again from Jubilee. I must say, that it hasn't changed a single bit. Its still fantastic tasting. I always order the chicken Biryani and the chicken and rice is a fantastic combination. Rice is fragrant and not too soft. The chicken is well cooked and the marintate is excellent. Its a deadly combination. People should go try it.
As I got older, I developed my own taste in Nasi Biryani and picked the restaurant right next to Islamic called Jubilee. Back then, Jubilee was this all Indian restaurant with metal framed room dividers, and the Indian uncles would serve us as much food as we ate. I remember ordering so much once that the guy asked us if we were sure. I think on that day, me and my dad ordered close to a total 6 plates of chicken and mutton Nasi Biryani - a record in the family by the way.
So my mum decided to start buying Biryani again from Jubilee. I must say, that it hasn't changed a single bit. Its still fantastic tasting. I always order the chicken Biryani and the chicken and rice is a fantastic combination. Rice is fragrant and not too soft. The chicken is well cooked and the marintate is excellent. Its a deadly combination. People should go try it.
Espirito Santo at Parkway
I had to buy some meats for a bbq this week and it was fun to walk into Espirito Santo at Parkway and be surprised by the meats they served and the service I got. The service wasn't great but it was more friendly than say a Cold Storage or a Shop and Save? The meats were great tasting and succulent and fresh. Honestly, even though their American meats looked some what questionable and I wouldn't recommend anybody to buy it but their Australian cut beef striploin and their pre-marinated were awesome. They tasted fresh, succulent and tender. Just the way, cows are supposed to taste.
I was about to go crazy because I couldn't find a good meat place in Singapore. I nearly went with tasty bites to JURONG to buy some meats! Thank goodness for a store like Espirito Santo.
I was about to go crazy because I couldn't find a good meat place in Singapore. I nearly went with tasty bites to JURONG to buy some meats! Thank goodness for a store like Espirito Santo.
The French are coming!!
Delifrance Parkway:
Spoiler Alert: Last Saturday, the wife and I went into Parkway Hungry. We couldn't decide what to eat and it was eastern or western day so we narrowed our bad choices to Delifrance and Sakae Sushi. We walked into Delifrance hoping for something good. We walked out after sitting down for 3 minutes and looking through the menu. I was hungry, but I never knew the Singaporean interpretation of "French," food was that bad. But it was.
Spoiler Alert: Last Saturday, the wife and I went into Parkway Hungry. We couldn't decide what to eat and it was eastern or western day so we narrowed our bad choices to Delifrance and Sakae Sushi. We walked into Delifrance hoping for something good. We walked out after sitting down for 3 minutes and looking through the menu. I was hungry, but I never knew the Singaporean interpretation of "French," food was that bad. But it was.
Long Jiang and Toh Kee
I had the exciting privilege over the last week to eat roasted meats. Yes. I do love my char siew and roast duck. My mum being Cantonese is proud of her roasted meat taste standards, and I think besides my dad, the whole family, even my American wife can taste and know how good char siew is. She is "ahem," well trained.
Toh Kee (TK) at People's Park food center has been there forever. I ordered a plate of assorted roasted meats that came up to $16 for 2 people.
Long Jiang (LJ) at Jalan Pari Burong along Upper Changi Road is a new place I traveled to last week. We ordered also a plate of roasted meats that came up to $0 because I didn't pay for it.
Like all fair and balanced comparison, lets have an apple to apple comparison, or in this case, a meat to meat comparison:
Char Siew: I thought that the char siew at TK was much less in serving. In fact, I would say the quantity served at LJ was much more. But besides quantity, the flavor at TK was excellent. They made burnt ends of char siew taste like the best worst cooked meat in the world. You could still taste the sweetness and moistness of the char siew. The char siew at LJ was somewhat dry, not overly dry and still taste somewhat porkish.
Duck: This I say is a push. Both the ducks were succulent and smooth to taste. The bones had the rhiney and juicy flavor that you just want to suck the juice out of the bone. The skin was both crispy and and damp and the fat between the skin and the meat was right. It is well with my soul.
Roast Pork: I would say a slight edge to TK. The roast pork at TK was phat, sweet and crispy. You know its bad for you but you just want to eat more and more. There was no excess fat, the meat and fat was of the right amount. The coloring was right. Its a light brown skin and an almost beige white meat .... drool..... The roast pork at LJ was good also. It had the good amount of fat and meat mix. But the slight sweet salty after taste was missing. The skin was crispy and meat tender, but it didn't leave an impression in the mouth.
I highly recommend Toh Kee. I have been there for several years now whenever I can or am in the area, and I have rarely been disappointed. Long Jiang is worth a try. I might be wrong in my deductions but I stick by what I say. TK rocks.
Toh Kee (TK) at People's Park food center has been there forever. I ordered a plate of assorted roasted meats that came up to $16 for 2 people.
Long Jiang (LJ) at Jalan Pari Burong along Upper Changi Road is a new place I traveled to last week. We ordered also a plate of roasted meats that came up to $0 because I didn't pay for it.
Like all fair and balanced comparison, lets have an apple to apple comparison, or in this case, a meat to meat comparison:
Char Siew: I thought that the char siew at TK was much less in serving. In fact, I would say the quantity served at LJ was much more. But besides quantity, the flavor at TK was excellent. They made burnt ends of char siew taste like the best worst cooked meat in the world. You could still taste the sweetness and moistness of the char siew. The char siew at LJ was somewhat dry, not overly dry and still taste somewhat porkish.
Duck: This I say is a push. Both the ducks were succulent and smooth to taste. The bones had the rhiney and juicy flavor that you just want to suck the juice out of the bone. The skin was both crispy and and damp and the fat between the skin and the meat was right. It is well with my soul.
Roast Pork: I would say a slight edge to TK. The roast pork at TK was phat, sweet and crispy. You know its bad for you but you just want to eat more and more. There was no excess fat, the meat and fat was of the right amount. The coloring was right. Its a light brown skin and an almost beige white meat .... drool..... The roast pork at LJ was good also. It had the good amount of fat and meat mix. But the slight sweet salty after taste was missing. The skin was crispy and meat tender, but it didn't leave an impression in the mouth.
I highly recommend Toh Kee. I have been there for several years now whenever I can or am in the area, and I have rarely been disappointed. Long Jiang is worth a try. I might be wrong in my deductions but I stick by what I say. TK rocks.
Shortest Review Ever!
Carl's Jr is the BEST fast food Burger Joint in Singapore. Nuff Said. And so says Alby. (The dog in the picture)
New thing at StarBucks
Even though some people think that Starbucks is the evil empire of coffee just like Chelsea is to the EPL and the Yankees are to Baseball, their variety of new products never cease to amaze me. My new craze is the huge oatmeal raisin cookie. Its the best cookie I have tasted in Singapore. Its $4.50 (abit too much for a cookie me thinks) but it tastes great. Its soft and chewy. It warms my heart to eat it. I never understand why most other cookies are always so tough.
Have a try. Go ahead. You know you want it.
Have a try. Go ahead. You know you want it.
D Cup better than C Cup
Bigger is better. My colleague prefers a handful of it and I believe we should milk it for what its worth. C Cup is in. C Cup might be the new D Cup.
What exactly am I talking about? It's simple. CUPCAKES!!!!. Some of my over "sugar-fied" colleagues have recently been on a sugar binge and have caught the craze of cup cakes. As some of you might know, I'm not much of a sugar person and cup cakes isn't really my thing. When one of my female colleagues came over without saying anything and typed it onto my Internet browser the website, I was like, "What the heck?" But thank goodness, it was a website for cup cakes.
Apparently the orders have been coming in so much that we had to wait 2 weeks for our delivery. I have since found out that this is not a store front. This is business from a home! And I got this forwarded email from one of the other cupcake co-conspirators that they even told us which items they did not have enough to make one of the cupcakes and suggested to us that we should order something else. But of course, they were more polite than that. I respect this kind of service.
When the cupcakes came and the time for tasting arose, it did not fail. I thought the cupcakes were delicate and not too sweet. Will I order it again? No. But I think I might order it for people as gifts. The biggest cup cake in the website isn't really a cupcake. It was more of a mini-cake by my definitions but I digress. Just a note, you have to order up to $80 for them to deliver.
You should probably order cup cakes for your moms that are not on diet, your skinny girlfriend or just wanting to appease that irritating customer of yours. Its a creative gift. Hey, its sweet.
A syllogistic question: If cupcakes is to C Cup then what is to D Cup?
What exactly am I talking about? It's simple. CUPCAKES!!!!. Some of my over "sugar-fied" colleagues have recently been on a sugar binge and have caught the craze of cup cakes. As some of you might know, I'm not much of a sugar person and cup cakes isn't really my thing. When one of my female colleagues came over without saying anything and typed it onto my Internet browser the website, I was like, "What the heck?" But thank goodness, it was a website for cup cakes.
Apparently the orders have been coming in so much that we had to wait 2 weeks for our delivery. I have since found out that this is not a store front. This is business from a home! And I got this forwarded email from one of the other cupcake co-conspirators that they even told us which items they did not have enough to make one of the cupcakes and suggested to us that we should order something else. But of course, they were more polite than that. I respect this kind of service.
When the cupcakes came and the time for tasting arose, it did not fail. I thought the cupcakes were delicate and not too sweet. Will I order it again? No. But I think I might order it for people as gifts. The biggest cup cake in the website isn't really a cupcake. It was more of a mini-cake by my definitions but I digress. Just a note, you have to order up to $80 for them to deliver.
You should probably order cup cakes for your moms that are not on diet, your skinny girlfriend or just wanting to appease that irritating customer of yours. Its a creative gift. Hey, its sweet.
A syllogistic question: If cupcakes is to C Cup then what is to D Cup?
Cedele at Wheelock Place
I once said not so long ago that one should only go to Cedele for soup and bread. I would just like to say now that I stand corrected. After going to Cedele at Wheelock Place twice in 3 weeks for me and the missus' late Sunday breakfast after church, I have to say that its pretty good. In fact, I would highly recommend this Cedele in particular more than the others.
Maybe its not a franchise or maybe it is. But there is something different with this Cedele. No longer is it a transient restaurant where you sit, eat and leave. Here, you seem somewhat invited to stay longer and order more food because the food selection is wider and I personally think that the food is better.
For the past 2 ventures, I have ordered the same thing. The big big breakfast, filled with 3 pieces of bacon, 2 sausages, scrambled eggs, a little side salad with balsamic vinegar sprinkled on as a mix and saut'ed mushrooms. It also comes with a cup of tea. All for $16.80. Some would think that how can you go wrong with bacon, sausages, mushroom, eggs and toast? It can. Trust me. It's not like I hate Macdonald's breakfast but that is almost the bottom of the barrel in terms of how breakfast should taste. The hotels kill the "American Breakfast," genre because they make it into an overkill, just too much stuff on a plate. And my wife who ordered her blue berry pancakes loved her pancakes. I might not be a connoisseur in pan cakes but readers should trust a person who ate pan cakes nearly all her childhood. So she knows good pan cakes.
The only times I have seen Diana Ser is when I am at Wheelock Place and the unfortunate thing is that I have not seen her the last 2 times. And that's the only down side of Cedele. I should write an ode to Diana.
Maybe its not a franchise or maybe it is. But there is something different with this Cedele. No longer is it a transient restaurant where you sit, eat and leave. Here, you seem somewhat invited to stay longer and order more food because the food selection is wider and I personally think that the food is better.
For the past 2 ventures, I have ordered the same thing. The big big breakfast, filled with 3 pieces of bacon, 2 sausages, scrambled eggs, a little side salad with balsamic vinegar sprinkled on as a mix and saut'ed mushrooms. It also comes with a cup of tea. All for $16.80. Some would think that how can you go wrong with bacon, sausages, mushroom, eggs and toast? It can. Trust me. It's not like I hate Macdonald's breakfast but that is almost the bottom of the barrel in terms of how breakfast should taste. The hotels kill the "American Breakfast," genre because they make it into an overkill, just too much stuff on a plate. And my wife who ordered her blue berry pancakes loved her pancakes. I might not be a connoisseur in pan cakes but readers should trust a person who ate pan cakes nearly all her childhood. So she knows good pan cakes.
The only times I have seen Diana Ser is when I am at Wheelock Place and the unfortunate thing is that I have not seen her the last 2 times. And that's the only down side of Cedele. I should write an ode to Diana.
Garibaldi at Purvis Street
The Food-critics aka me and my wife had a very brief discussion about Garibaldi with Mr and Mrs. Tasty Bites and for the sake of summary and purpose lets call this couple "The Gohs." The reason for this conversation was because I have been reading quite abit about the restaurant stating that its the best Italian restaurant in Singapore. The Tasty Bites thought that the food was decent but the quality of the food was not in proportion to how much it was. On the other hand, "The Gohs," loved the place. It was the beginning of the month and I had to date the wife, so I decided to experiment to see how good was this place.
If you have read my earlier scripting about Menottis, please note that I just wasn't too impressed with the place. The pasta was closer to Pasta Mania than Babbo's but the desserts were decent. I made a reservation for 830 pm because I thought the place wouldn't be too crowded on a Friday night and boy was I wrong.
The restaurant is a dimly lit restaurant with an L shaped architecture. The walls looked dark green with the yellow light and there were a lot of foreigners. When I stood at the door of the place, the server had to slide the door open for me to allow my wife and I to enter the restaurant. Cool. Our wait for a table lasted only 30 seconds before a nice lady came out and called my name sounding like I have been there every other week. So far, the service has been fantastic. The impression is good.
As I sat in between more foreigners, the servers started coming around to tell us what the specials were and handed us the menu. I actually thought that the menu price was decent. I mean, if it is the best Italian restaurant that so many people claim it is, it has to be pretty expensive right? We sat down ordered the prosciutto Ham appetizer, my wife ordered the typical American Steak and potatoes which the place is famous for, I ordered the scallop and marsala risotto - I have just been in a marasla phase recently, and 2 types of desserts. The warm chocolate cake and some pistachio based chocolate dessert. 2 glasses of the cheapest wine and the free flow bread!
Is it wrong to state that the best dish of the day was the free bread? A very nice server came and constantly walked by our table and kept asking us if we wanted the sundried tomato and cheese bread. How could you say no? To a point that I had to stop the server from giving me bread because everytime she walked by and asked, I would always say yes. I told her to stop. And she smiled when I told her but somehow she refused to listen to me! Damn, the service is good.
When our dishes came, I have to admit that I was almost full, but I soldiered on. The risotto was decent. There was 3 pieces of scallop and I could tell that the risotto broth had some dried scallops as well. The blend was soothing and comforting. The marsala and scallop mix was good only after several bites. But I liked the flavor. It was something unusual and daring. My wife loved her steak and potatoes. It looked good. The beef was smooth and slippery in the mouth. One can taste the balsamic vinegar base of the steak. The appetizer was fantastic. I never understood how the saltiness and the toughness of ham goes so well with the sweetness and juiciness of melon. The ham was also paired with asparagus and fresh mozzarella cheese. Loved it.
My wife doesn't really drink wine. In fact, I have to say that she likes fancy places and this was one of it. Oh, and she likes to drink wine at fancy places. That's when I know I'm getting lucky that night also by the way.
The desserts were great. The warm chocolate cake with the liquid melted chocolate center was well received. My pistachio dessert was a hit and miss but the pistachio cream was pretty tasty.
I have to say that in the end, I guess I stand in the middle of both the Tasty Bites and the Gohs. I liked the place. In fact, I would say it is the best Italian restautrant in Singapore but it was not worth the amount paid I thought. The dinner bill was $200 some dollars and I was satisfied but not fully satisfied I guess. I highly recommend this restaurant if you are out to impress your wife or girlfriend. Just expect to pay quite abit for dinner!
If you have read my earlier scripting about Menottis, please note that I just wasn't too impressed with the place. The pasta was closer to Pasta Mania than Babbo's but the desserts were decent. I made a reservation for 830 pm because I thought the place wouldn't be too crowded on a Friday night and boy was I wrong.
The restaurant is a dimly lit restaurant with an L shaped architecture. The walls looked dark green with the yellow light and there were a lot of foreigners. When I stood at the door of the place, the server had to slide the door open for me to allow my wife and I to enter the restaurant. Cool. Our wait for a table lasted only 30 seconds before a nice lady came out and called my name sounding like I have been there every other week. So far, the service has been fantastic. The impression is good.
As I sat in between more foreigners, the servers started coming around to tell us what the specials were and handed us the menu. I actually thought that the menu price was decent. I mean, if it is the best Italian restaurant that so many people claim it is, it has to be pretty expensive right? We sat down ordered the prosciutto Ham appetizer, my wife ordered the typical American Steak and potatoes which the place is famous for, I ordered the scallop and marsala risotto - I have just been in a marasla phase recently, and 2 types of desserts. The warm chocolate cake and some pistachio based chocolate dessert. 2 glasses of the cheapest wine and the free flow bread!
Is it wrong to state that the best dish of the day was the free bread? A very nice server came and constantly walked by our table and kept asking us if we wanted the sundried tomato and cheese bread. How could you say no? To a point that I had to stop the server from giving me bread because everytime she walked by and asked, I would always say yes. I told her to stop. And she smiled when I told her but somehow she refused to listen to me! Damn, the service is good.
When our dishes came, I have to admit that I was almost full, but I soldiered on. The risotto was decent. There was 3 pieces of scallop and I could tell that the risotto broth had some dried scallops as well. The blend was soothing and comforting. The marsala and scallop mix was good only after several bites. But I liked the flavor. It was something unusual and daring. My wife loved her steak and potatoes. It looked good. The beef was smooth and slippery in the mouth. One can taste the balsamic vinegar base of the steak. The appetizer was fantastic. I never understood how the saltiness and the toughness of ham goes so well with the sweetness and juiciness of melon. The ham was also paired with asparagus and fresh mozzarella cheese. Loved it.
My wife doesn't really drink wine. In fact, I have to say that she likes fancy places and this was one of it. Oh, and she likes to drink wine at fancy places. That's when I know I'm getting lucky that night also by the way.
The desserts were great. The warm chocolate cake with the liquid melted chocolate center was well received. My pistachio dessert was a hit and miss but the pistachio cream was pretty tasty.
I have to say that in the end, I guess I stand in the middle of both the Tasty Bites and the Gohs. I liked the place. In fact, I would say it is the best Italian restautrant in Singapore but it was not worth the amount paid I thought. The dinner bill was $200 some dollars and I was satisfied but not fully satisfied I guess. I highly recommend this restaurant if you are out to impress your wife or girlfriend. Just expect to pay quite abit for dinner!
Tubby Man
I have to admit that over the last few weeks, I have not been inspired to write anything. Some friends of mine, including Pampadam (we shall name her this because this is after all a food blog) suggested that I look at other bloggers to get inspired. Inspired I was not. A sense of insipid horror came upon me that writing for the sake of writing or writing to entertain some of my friends because blogging has become a professional sport. Some of the blogs that I have seen are walking advertisements with great pictures and boring writing or writing with so much inferred winks that it would seem as if the writer was paid by the restaurant to write what the blogger writes.
Some of you might be thinking that the food-critic is keeping his amateur status because he might want to compete in the Olympics someday but sadly, that is not the case. Blogging has to be fun and amateurish in nature. That is the essence of blogging. There are professional bloggers but at least its clearly stated. Don't be fooled by those who you think are actually amateur but are in fact professional.
Since I have opened myself up to much criticism, I have also, at least I think I have, turned on the comment option. Before, I turned off the comment option because I thought since people were just reading this for fun, there was really nothing much for people to say except to shut up and listen. In my ever disgusting need to contradict and be ironically objective, I have decided to turn the comment option on so as to participate in some kind of open forum or at least fun debate on food and food places.
To quote the hatred Bill O'Reilly, the comments have to be pithy.
So with this, I take a small step in my blog, but a giant step to the nearest bathroom because the critic needs a leak.
Some of you might be thinking that the food-critic is keeping his amateur status because he might want to compete in the Olympics someday but sadly, that is not the case. Blogging has to be fun and amateurish in nature. That is the essence of blogging. There are professional bloggers but at least its clearly stated. Don't be fooled by those who you think are actually amateur but are in fact professional.
Since I have opened myself up to much criticism, I have also, at least I think I have, turned on the comment option. Before, I turned off the comment option because I thought since people were just reading this for fun, there was really nothing much for people to say except to shut up and listen. In my ever disgusting need to contradict and be ironically objective, I have decided to turn the comment option on so as to participate in some kind of open forum or at least fun debate on food and food places.
To quote the hatred Bill O'Reilly, the comments have to be pithy.
So with this, I take a small step in my blog, but a giant step to the nearest bathroom because the critic needs a leak.
Crystal Jade at Holland V
Crystal Jade is a type of place that stands in the gap between hawker food and restaurant food. Its higher class than a food court because you are served by servers but lower class that restaurants because real estate around your table is about as much as how far your legs can go. So the food has to be where its deigned to be at. Mediocre.
We ordered the Wontan noodles, frog leg porridge, pepper beef and fried squid. It was mediocre. But I have to say the place was uber crowded and the servers were really helpful with the ordering. The value of the food was mediocre and it was all good for me because I sort of expected it.
I don't know why I always order the wontan mee, even though I don't really even like it? Weird. I should try to order something else when I'm there.
We ordered the Wontan noodles, frog leg porridge, pepper beef and fried squid. It was mediocre. But I have to say the place was uber crowded and the servers were really helpful with the ordering. The value of the food was mediocre and it was all good for me because I sort of expected it.
I don't know why I always order the wontan mee, even though I don't really even like it? Weird. I should try to order something else when I'm there.
Dempsey Hut
I actually thought that in Singapore, its quite impossible to find an area filled with trees and old styled buildings with very niche restaurants. So you would think that the restaurants are pretty good right? Nope.
Dempsey Hut was a last minute resort. Something happened while waiting for a friend and we ended up there not really by choice. The place was outdoors-ish and there was absolutely no air conditioning, Whenever we drove pass that place, I always thought that it seemed like a pretty cool restaurant.
So the male server who looks like Jonathan from this season's Singapore Idol served us. He asked us our drink of choice and stood there. Wondering if we were going to order more and just stared at us. Being silly, I stared back and wandering why in the world was he standing there? And then it struck him. This couple who just came in who had barely 5 minutes to look through the menu did not know what they wanted to order.
After 5 mins in the dark, as the tables were lit by little candle type thing and tiki torches, we decided. My wife ordered the Fish and Chips and myself the sausage. They were ordinary. Nothing outstanding. What I think you pay for is the surrounding and you can tell people that you hang out there at Dempsey Hut. Its a beer place. I was surrounded by a diverse mix of families and middle aged women and what I think to be dating couples.
So if you happen to be in any of this group, you'll fit right in.
Dempsey Hut was a last minute resort. Something happened while waiting for a friend and we ended up there not really by choice. The place was outdoors-ish and there was absolutely no air conditioning, Whenever we drove pass that place, I always thought that it seemed like a pretty cool restaurant.
So the male server who looks like Jonathan from this season's Singapore Idol served us. He asked us our drink of choice and stood there. Wondering if we were going to order more and just stared at us. Being silly, I stared back and wandering why in the world was he standing there? And then it struck him. This couple who just came in who had barely 5 minutes to look through the menu did not know what they wanted to order.
After 5 mins in the dark, as the tables were lit by little candle type thing and tiki torches, we decided. My wife ordered the Fish and Chips and myself the sausage. They were ordinary. Nothing outstanding. What I think you pay for is the surrounding and you can tell people that you hang out there at Dempsey Hut. Its a beer place. I was surrounded by a diverse mix of families and middle aged women and what I think to be dating couples.
So if you happen to be in any of this group, you'll fit right in.
Wiener Kaffehaus
Sure. Go ahead. Make fun of the name. I did.
I was told that this place is the only place in Singapore that serves real Belgian coffee. I mean, they serve their coffee on a freaking silver tray! I was there twice with clients 2 days in a row and I have to say that I thoroughly like it. Not loved it. But liked it a lot.
You have tons of choice for coffee, and the apple strudel is pretty darn good. They have separate menus for food and drinks and its a really cozy atmosphere. The deco is a type that has old fashion chic and walls littered with art. The service is okay but the coup de tat of the whole place is the coffee. Someone should go and try it because it is great!
I was told that this place is the only place in Singapore that serves real Belgian coffee. I mean, they serve their coffee on a freaking silver tray! I was there twice with clients 2 days in a row and I have to say that I thoroughly like it. Not loved it. But liked it a lot.
You have tons of choice for coffee, and the apple strudel is pretty darn good. They have separate menus for food and drinks and its a really cozy atmosphere. The deco is a type that has old fashion chic and walls littered with art. The service is okay but the coup de tat of the whole place is the coffee. Someone should go and try it because it is great!
Lei Garden at Chijmes
A Chinese food connoisseur I am not. But do I actually enjoy fantastic Chinese food that is both expensive and ridiculously good? Yes!
I have had the opportunity to eat at Lei Garden this past week at Chijmes. I made a reservation the day before for a business lunch and 2 hours before my reservation, the restaurant called me and reconfirmed the booking and asked me if I wanted to pre-order some dishes like the roast park and their special double boiled soup. Since I was not paying for lunch. I said yes!
But much to my short sightedness, one of the guests was vegetarian. Fortunately, the servers were very sensitive. They saw that one of my guests was vegetarian and made some vegetarian dishes to replace the meat dishes without me asking. How cool was that?
We ordered doubled boiled pork rib soup, mixed summer vegetables, roasted pork, Peking duck, fried noodles with duck and specially sliced fried beef. The lunch was about $600 for 8 people. Sure. That's a lot of money but I haven't had such a good Chinese lunch in a long time.
Now, please understand that some of you might be thinking that this food-critic equates price with quality. I would politely have to disagree with you. A $600 lunch is a lot! Its really a lot! But it was really good.
Invite your potential future in laws to this place if you are going to announce your engagement.
I have had the opportunity to eat at Lei Garden this past week at Chijmes. I made a reservation the day before for a business lunch and 2 hours before my reservation, the restaurant called me and reconfirmed the booking and asked me if I wanted to pre-order some dishes like the roast park and their special double boiled soup. Since I was not paying for lunch. I said yes!
But much to my short sightedness, one of the guests was vegetarian. Fortunately, the servers were very sensitive. They saw that one of my guests was vegetarian and made some vegetarian dishes to replace the meat dishes without me asking. How cool was that?
We ordered doubled boiled pork rib soup, mixed summer vegetables, roasted pork, Peking duck, fried noodles with duck and specially sliced fried beef. The lunch was about $600 for 8 people. Sure. That's a lot of money but I haven't had such a good Chinese lunch in a long time.
Now, please understand that some of you might be thinking that this food-critic equates price with quality. I would politely have to disagree with you. A $600 lunch is a lot! Its really a lot! But it was really good.
Invite your potential future in laws to this place if you are going to announce your engagement.
My thoughts on food times
Post Script: Cafes shouldn't have different dinner times. I resent the fact that some outrageously pretentious restaurants what I might have somehow already referenced feel that people should eat at only 2 dinner times on any day? I personally think its ridiculous. When your dinner times is 630pm or 830 pm, and you show up at 7, they tell you that you only have 60 mins to eat. Now that is ludicrous.
First of all, the darn restaurant isn't even full. Second of all, the servers tell you that they only can let you eat for an hour and still not apologize, how arrogant is that? And thirdly and lastly, its just a darn cafe. Are you kidding me?
Word of warning, the next time you try to go to a cafe that tell you specifically what time to eat? Don't go.
First of all, the darn restaurant isn't even full. Second of all, the servers tell you that they only can let you eat for an hour and still not apologize, how arrogant is that? And thirdly and lastly, its just a darn cafe. Are you kidding me?
Word of warning, the next time you try to go to a cafe that tell you specifically what time to eat? Don't go.
Le Bristrot at Joo Chiat Place
So I went to eat some French food with Mr. and Mrs. Tasty Bites. I have a feeling that they wanted to test me just in case if ever we were to step into St Pierre, I might pay lots of money and then hate the food. So I would like to thank my friends for that.
French food at Joo Chiat Place? As sure as the French once occupied Vietnam, sure enough there would be a French restaurant in Joo Chiat Place in the middle of Little Vietnam. I have always thought that French food is pompous, outlandish and surprisingly small and pretentious. And how was I wrong. Le Bristrot is nothing but. The servers were outstandingly polite, food was delectable and dessert was outstanding.
The menu is broken up combinations of appetizer, desserts and main dishes. So the amount you pay is dependent on the different combinations of what you order. Of course, you'll save some money if you order all 3 types but I ordered only 2. Somehow it worked out that the ladies ordered the rack of lamb with couscous. The men ordered the rump steak. My appetizer was a duck pate, Tasty Bites had fried cheese, Mrs. Tasty Bites had French onion soup. The dessert ended up to be Lemon tart.
My duck pate was cold and it went fantastic with bread and a side of Dijon mustard. It was light but you can still taste the duck. It was a fantastically robust pate but that was the way I liked it. It was nothing like liver or something that I absolutely detest. What it did was that it set up the entire meal for me because it whet my appetite good and proper. The fried cheese was fantastic. I had a small slice of it and I had to admit it was was sweet and light, not cheese tasting at all. It made me want to eat more! I heard that Lady Bites loved the onion soup!
My perception of rump steak is something like its the worst part of the beef. Tough and totally unsucculent at all. And again I was wrong. The beef order had to be either medium or rare, so I ordered medium. The steak was delicate, and juicy. Fantastically delicious! The side salad that came on the plate complemented the beef. And with the garlic butter melting on top of the steak. All was good in this world.
The rack of lamb with couscous was pretty good too. The couscous was filled with raisins and sweet. It complemented with the lamb and I have to say that I love meat! There was still that slight lingering lamb taste, but I could live with it. The rack of lamb was really a rack. Bones and everything. That was something I really appreciated.
The Lemon tart was both tart and light at the same time. Completely contrasting taste but it went so well. It left me wanting more French food. Gulp! I said it. French food rocks! Even though Tasty Bites was trying to go through with me the different French cooking techniques used in other forms of cuisine, I have to say that Tasty Bites has pretty damn good taste in food.
Biggie ups.
French food at Joo Chiat Place? As sure as the French once occupied Vietnam, sure enough there would be a French restaurant in Joo Chiat Place in the middle of Little Vietnam. I have always thought that French food is pompous, outlandish and surprisingly small and pretentious. And how was I wrong. Le Bristrot is nothing but. The servers were outstandingly polite, food was delectable and dessert was outstanding.
The menu is broken up combinations of appetizer, desserts and main dishes. So the amount you pay is dependent on the different combinations of what you order. Of course, you'll save some money if you order all 3 types but I ordered only 2. Somehow it worked out that the ladies ordered the rack of lamb with couscous. The men ordered the rump steak. My appetizer was a duck pate, Tasty Bites had fried cheese, Mrs. Tasty Bites had French onion soup. The dessert ended up to be Lemon tart.
My duck pate was cold and it went fantastic with bread and a side of Dijon mustard. It was light but you can still taste the duck. It was a fantastically robust pate but that was the way I liked it. It was nothing like liver or something that I absolutely detest. What it did was that it set up the entire meal for me because it whet my appetite good and proper. The fried cheese was fantastic. I had a small slice of it and I had to admit it was was sweet and light, not cheese tasting at all. It made me want to eat more! I heard that Lady Bites loved the onion soup!
My perception of rump steak is something like its the worst part of the beef. Tough and totally unsucculent at all. And again I was wrong. The beef order had to be either medium or rare, so I ordered medium. The steak was delicate, and juicy. Fantastically delicious! The side salad that came on the plate complemented the beef. And with the garlic butter melting on top of the steak. All was good in this world.
The rack of lamb with couscous was pretty good too. The couscous was filled with raisins and sweet. It complemented with the lamb and I have to say that I love meat! There was still that slight lingering lamb taste, but I could live with it. The rack of lamb was really a rack. Bones and everything. That was something I really appreciated.
The Lemon tart was both tart and light at the same time. Completely contrasting taste but it went so well. It left me wanting more French food. Gulp! I said it. French food rocks! Even though Tasty Bites was trying to go through with me the different French cooking techniques used in other forms of cuisine, I have to say that Tasty Bites has pretty damn good taste in food.
Biggie ups.
Aiyoyo!
I just realized I haven't contributed in a looooooong time!!!! Gaaaaaaaawwwwwwwd........ will start trawling the island soon for good eats. Talk to you soon!
Boston, its whats for dinner!
On my final assault of Quincy Market, I decided, well my boss decided to bring some Singaporeans to Quincy Market. We actually had dinner at the Cheers restaurant! A place where everyone knows your name. Well, not really at this Cheers but they service was nice and friendly. The restaurant was uber loud because it was still the summer holidays and there were tons of kids. I ordered Sam Adams for all the men and I ordered a side of Clam Chowder for myself together with my blackened cajun fish sandwich.
First of all I have to say that this chowder wasn't very good. My blackened cajun fish sandwich wasn't very good either. Wow, I was actually quite disappointed with Ted Danson and Frasier Crane all of a sudden. Not that I always had high expectations of a bar/novelty restaurant, but I comforted myself by saying that it was just a tourist spot. Food isn't supposed to be good. Everybody else were happy with their food. There was an order of Fish and Chips, steak and potatoes, chicken salad, and some seafood dish. Everybody loved the Sam Adams, I liked it. Crisp and tender. Not too thick. Our mixed platter appetizer is the same type you can get any where.
On my way to New York from Boston, my flight was delayed for over 3 hours. I got hungry and decided to tell myself to go grab something to eat. I had to take a chance to eat bad airport food. I was left with a choice of Burger King and La Famligilia. The choice was clear. It was the latter. Its actually a renowned pizza joint. Its just that the pizza quality varies from place to place. I ordered a slice of the pizza pie filled with onions, ham, salami, and peppers with a side of spicy marinara sauce and Lipton ice tea. I have to say, after eating all of that crappy pizza in Singapore, this was one of the best decisions I made while waiting for that God forsaken airline called Continental. The pizza was warm and served with a smile. I gobbled the huge slice of pizza down within 5 minutes. It was that good. I highly recommend this store for airport food if you're stuck in an airport in the east coast of United States.
Another thing about traveling long distance. I took the direct flight from Singapore to Newark, and I have to say that the seats were freaking fantastic. The food even though I personally thought was one meal too little, was great compared to any other airline food I have tasted over long distances. For the direct flights, there is even a standing area behind the plane where you can hang out and eat all the food you want. The stewardess left vegetable and chicken wraps, hot char siew buns, instant noodles, chips and cheese and cookies for you to eat. It seemed as if every hour, there was somebody serving something and I have to say that's fantastic for an 18 and a half hour flight. Biggie ups to the SIA stewards and stewardess.
First of all I have to say that this chowder wasn't very good. My blackened cajun fish sandwich wasn't very good either. Wow, I was actually quite disappointed with Ted Danson and Frasier Crane all of a sudden. Not that I always had high expectations of a bar/novelty restaurant, but I comforted myself by saying that it was just a tourist spot. Food isn't supposed to be good. Everybody else were happy with their food. There was an order of Fish and Chips, steak and potatoes, chicken salad, and some seafood dish. Everybody loved the Sam Adams, I liked it. Crisp and tender. Not too thick. Our mixed platter appetizer is the same type you can get any where.
On my way to New York from Boston, my flight was delayed for over 3 hours. I got hungry and decided to tell myself to go grab something to eat. I had to take a chance to eat bad airport food. I was left with a choice of Burger King and La Famligilia. The choice was clear. It was the latter. Its actually a renowned pizza joint. Its just that the pizza quality varies from place to place. I ordered a slice of the pizza pie filled with onions, ham, salami, and peppers with a side of spicy marinara sauce and Lipton ice tea. I have to say, after eating all of that crappy pizza in Singapore, this was one of the best decisions I made while waiting for that God forsaken airline called Continental. The pizza was warm and served with a smile. I gobbled the huge slice of pizza down within 5 minutes. It was that good. I highly recommend this store for airport food if you're stuck in an airport in the east coast of United States.
Another thing about traveling long distance. I took the direct flight from Singapore to Newark, and I have to say that the seats were freaking fantastic. The food even though I personally thought was one meal too little, was great compared to any other airline food I have tasted over long distances. For the direct flights, there is even a standing area behind the plane where you can hang out and eat all the food you want. The stewardess left vegetable and chicken wraps, hot char siew buns, instant noodles, chips and cheese and cookies for you to eat. It seemed as if every hour, there was somebody serving something and I have to say that's fantastic for an 18 and a half hour flight. Biggie ups to the SIA stewards and stewardess.
Bean Town Part 2a
For all those who share the irritation of freaking technology and the freaking popup blocker from freaking google which freaking make me lose my entire 3 paragraphs of articulate crap earlier, I hope you understand why I am irritated that I am writing this.Anyways, much to my anticipation and surprise, my experience in Boston was finally aided by an unlikely of alliances, Bugsy! Bugsy: who was my wife's personal aide during our wedding and my wife was her lone bridesmaid for Bugsy's wedding, decided to come down to Boston and take me around with Mandy. Mandy is so named to aide in my specific story telling so that one can identify with her and also understand that I can stop referring her as Bugsy's friend because it will just make quick reading tedious.
"Bugsy parked her car and walked through the park," imagine saying this with a strong Bostonian accent and it would be hilarious but the above did really happen. I was soon to discover that my hotel being in the middle of the theatre district is in the middle of everything. Bugsy and Mandy couldn't find the hotel, so I walked down less than one Boston block and there she was! Finally, a local to bring me around!
We took a 15 minute walk together and we reached Quincy market. See pic above. Imagine right down the middle of the building is a walk way and as you enter the old one storied building, you were walking between stores that served food of all varieties. From local seafood to Japanese food and ice cream. Outside and around the building are local restaurants. For all the ladies out there reading this blog and wanting to go to Boston someday, if you see the picture carefully on the left, are buildings that contain stores that you would like from Coach, to Crate and Barrel, to Urban Outfitters. And behind Quincy Market is a GAP, Banana Republic, American Eagle Outfitters and a few Victoria Secrets. The ladies were hungry and we decided to go to some Irish pub for some quick bites. The bar was cool. It was a nice. We had to walk up some stairs and we were in this dome ceiling type restaurant. It was wicked cool. We ordered some sandwiches and the crab and artichoke dip was fantastic. The service was good and the company was wonderful. Again, I have to say at that point I really didn't care about the food because I was just happy to be with friends, yes, I do consider Mandy as a friend even though I just met her.
As we walked around the place, I was tempted to buy some Boston Shorts, those short shorts that I love my wife to wear at home that accentuates .....
Anyways, while walking back. I had to hit the Borders because I had to get my V for vendetta DVD. And all was good. We walked through the park and there was a open play of Taming of the Shrew aka 10 things I hate about you. Even though I didn't know when I would see Bugsy and Mandy again, I was just glad that I could share my experience in Boston with them.
The next day, the Boss and I decided to invade Harvard in the morning. We took the redline and alighted at Cambridge. It was as if we were transplanted into a part of London. The campus is beautiful and the the churches in and around the campus was exquisite. We had breakfast at a local bar restaurant where they serve breakfast foods. I ordered the 333. The 3 pancakes, 3 bacon and 3 eggs. I personally call it the triple threat. It was more of a self collect place. You order and when the order is done, they call you and you collect your stuff and pay. I am not really a breakfast person but I have to say it was freaking fantastic. The yellow walls littered with autographs from the Rolling Stones and some old autograph memobilias all over the wall. I have to say that the experience was nostalgic as it made me want to return to college again. I would recommend this place to anybody visiting Harvard. Now if only I can remember the name of the store!
BOSTON
Can I just say that I love Boston? Its lovely. The weather was hot but the place was beautiful. Its a good mix of New York with just a tad slower pace and the people are lovely as well. Friendly and polite. I would recommend Boston to anybody.
After an 18 and a half hours flight with my boss, we decided to eat something "proper," at Newark Airport. We met some other Singaporeans who were heading to Boston as well and we stopped in front of TGIF in Terminal C. Its weird traveling with Singaporeans in a foreign country because it feels like you are caught in a darn time warp. You know that you are in a foreign country but the sounds and sights are deeply tainted by the "Singaporean-est," of the people surrounding you. I try to follow Anthony Bourdain's thing about being a traveler and not a tourist. So TGIF wasn't exactly my idea of America that I know of. I had 3 glasses of Dr. Pepper within 15 minutes. Dr. Pepper is the drink of choice when I am back home and I drink it so much until my wife has to stop me because my tummy just isn't used to so much gas! I ordered a burger and the nice lady with us ordered a salad while the 2 older man ordered cheese steaks. Not the Philly cheesesteaks mind you, just 2 slices of Sirloin with some melted nacho cheese. Being Singaporean, obviously some comments had to come. Like this steak is not as good as Jack's place. Somebody take a gun and shoot me please. My burger was decent. Huge of course. But I have to say that the fries were left out for too long?
The next day, the boss and myself decided to take the lunch trolley. The convention had this trolley bus that brought you around to the nearby restaurants, and we decided to take one to try. Again, you can't run from Singapore. We decided to take BUS C, which brought us to the bay and the restaurant of choice was the NO NAME RESTAURANT. My boss thought the name was cool because apparently this restaurant copied the name from the NO SIGNBOARD SEAFOOD RESTAURANT. Shoot me now please. The restaurant was in the middle of the warehouses, it was cool. The restaurant served nothing but seafood because it was right by the bay. I ordered my blue fish and my boss ordered the Cale? We had to order the chowder because that's what Boston is famous for and the free garlic bread which was half a French loaf was freaking fantastic. The sounds of sea gulls was all around and we could see the fishing ships out the window. Beautiful. The food was pretty good and the service was excellent. The restaurant was crowded. So the ambiance was definitely there.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!
Our next attack was the nearby Italian restaurant called Mezzano's. My boss needed noodles. And we were walking around near the hotel wondering around what was good. Mezzano's. It sounds familiar because I bought their pasta sauce before! The ambiance was great. Like every great Italian restaurant, it has to be dimly litted, dark wood furniture, white table cloth, Italian servers. We sat right by the bar and we ordered the works. A salad, I ordered the chicken marsala of course, my boss requested for chilly in his pasta, kill me now please. And of course I ordered a Bruschetta. The meal was filling and the portions were huge! I have to say the people in Boston are crazy abour their Red Sox. I don't particularly like them but when a game is on. Everybody watches it, even in a sexy restaurant like Mezzano's. I would say that the Pasta we had were way above average but still below good. It was acceptable for a $16 USD per plate of pasta. And my boss paid for dinner too! So it was great!
More to come.....
After an 18 and a half hours flight with my boss, we decided to eat something "proper," at Newark Airport. We met some other Singaporeans who were heading to Boston as well and we stopped in front of TGIF in Terminal C. Its weird traveling with Singaporeans in a foreign country because it feels like you are caught in a darn time warp. You know that you are in a foreign country but the sounds and sights are deeply tainted by the "Singaporean-est," of the people surrounding you. I try to follow Anthony Bourdain's thing about being a traveler and not a tourist. So TGIF wasn't exactly my idea of America that I know of. I had 3 glasses of Dr. Pepper within 15 minutes. Dr. Pepper is the drink of choice when I am back home and I drink it so much until my wife has to stop me because my tummy just isn't used to so much gas! I ordered a burger and the nice lady with us ordered a salad while the 2 older man ordered cheese steaks. Not the Philly cheesesteaks mind you, just 2 slices of Sirloin with some melted nacho cheese. Being Singaporean, obviously some comments had to come. Like this steak is not as good as Jack's place. Somebody take a gun and shoot me please. My burger was decent. Huge of course. But I have to say that the fries were left out for too long?
The next day, the boss and myself decided to take the lunch trolley. The convention had this trolley bus that brought you around to the nearby restaurants, and we decided to take one to try. Again, you can't run from Singapore. We decided to take BUS C, which brought us to the bay and the restaurant of choice was the NO NAME RESTAURANT. My boss thought the name was cool because apparently this restaurant copied the name from the NO SIGNBOARD SEAFOOD RESTAURANT. Shoot me now please. The restaurant was in the middle of the warehouses, it was cool. The restaurant served nothing but seafood because it was right by the bay. I ordered my blue fish and my boss ordered the Cale? We had to order the chowder because that's what Boston is famous for and the free garlic bread which was half a French loaf was freaking fantastic. The sounds of sea gulls was all around and we could see the fishing ships out the window. Beautiful. The food was pretty good and the service was excellent. The restaurant was crowded. So the ambiance was definitely there.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!
Our next attack was the nearby Italian restaurant called Mezzano's. My boss needed noodles. And we were walking around near the hotel wondering around what was good. Mezzano's. It sounds familiar because I bought their pasta sauce before! The ambiance was great. Like every great Italian restaurant, it has to be dimly litted, dark wood furniture, white table cloth, Italian servers. We sat right by the bar and we ordered the works. A salad, I ordered the chicken marsala of course, my boss requested for chilly in his pasta, kill me now please. And of course I ordered a Bruschetta. The meal was filling and the portions were huge! I have to say the people in Boston are crazy abour their Red Sox. I don't particularly like them but when a game is on. Everybody watches it, even in a sexy restaurant like Mezzano's. I would say that the Pasta we had were way above average but still below good. It was acceptable for a $16 USD per plate of pasta. And my boss paid for dinner too! So it was great!
More to come.....
Ai Pappi!
For all the 2 married ladies who read this blog, say the title of this post during some good "relationship making," with your hubby and you're in the right direction. I do have a thing for Latina women, my wife knows that. We both consider Salma Hayek hot and I do find Jennifer Lopez appalling. Thought about dating some Latina women during college because my room mate was a hot and sexy Latina Machismo who attracted the lovely Mamasitas, but thank goodness I ended up with a hot blonde instead.
Why the tangent about the Latino culture for a restaurant review? I don't know. Does this restaurant serve Latin food? No. The name of the restaurant that I decided to impress my wife when she came back to Singapore was Poppi at Fort Canning Hill, located within the compound of Legends. The website is impressive enough. I love the deco as seen from the website. So I was expecting some hot Australian cuisine.
That's the part that got me dumbfounded. It wasn't really Australian cuisine. Just more Nouveau European cuisine. Which means to most " I can't decide what to specialize in which in cooking school so I made up this term to make it sound like a new genre of food that I know nothing about," type cuisine.
Arriving at 6pm for dinner. I was pleasantly surprised that there was hardly anybody in the restaurant. The server and host was very friendly and polite. They told us what the specials were and as we looked through the menu, I only thought how bad could this be? So my wife feeling adventurous decided to try the Barraundi dish, and me the Foie Gras with steak and potatoes. 2 desserts worth of their hot chocolate cake with melted chocolate inside the cake and we even ordered the mushroom appetizer. The total meal cost was $170. I mean, that's fine for my wife and I but the food was okay. Wasn't $170 worth for sure.
The Barrundi tasted dare I say fishy? And my steak and potatoes were average at best. The Foie Gras didn't go with the beef and our mushroom appetizer looked amateurish at worst. The dessert was the saving grace but again, you can have the dessert nearly anywhere.
I wanted to try something different that night but was serverly disappointed. On the other had, good old Tasty Bites went to the Cliff that night at Beaufort and I bet he enjoyed the heck out of the experience.
Hope this helps.
Why the tangent about the Latino culture for a restaurant review? I don't know. Does this restaurant serve Latin food? No. The name of the restaurant that I decided to impress my wife when she came back to Singapore was Poppi at Fort Canning Hill, located within the compound of Legends. The website is impressive enough. I love the deco as seen from the website. So I was expecting some hot Australian cuisine.
That's the part that got me dumbfounded. It wasn't really Australian cuisine. Just more Nouveau European cuisine. Which means to most " I can't decide what to specialize in which in cooking school so I made up this term to make it sound like a new genre of food that I know nothing about," type cuisine.
Arriving at 6pm for dinner. I was pleasantly surprised that there was hardly anybody in the restaurant. The server and host was very friendly and polite. They told us what the specials were and as we looked through the menu, I only thought how bad could this be? So my wife feeling adventurous decided to try the Barraundi dish, and me the Foie Gras with steak and potatoes. 2 desserts worth of their hot chocolate cake with melted chocolate inside the cake and we even ordered the mushroom appetizer. The total meal cost was $170. I mean, that's fine for my wife and I but the food was okay. Wasn't $170 worth for sure.
The Barrundi tasted dare I say fishy? And my steak and potatoes were average at best. The Foie Gras didn't go with the beef and our mushroom appetizer looked amateurish at worst. The dessert was the saving grace but again, you can have the dessert nearly anywhere.
I wanted to try something different that night but was serverly disappointed. On the other had, good old Tasty Bites went to the Cliff that night at Beaufort and I bet he enjoyed the heck out of the experience.
Hope this helps.
Parkway Royal Thai
I can't really remember the name. Is it Parkway Royal Thai or Royal Parkway Thai? I don't know. I went for a lunch buffet which cost $22 per person including GST and the what have yous.
It was a reasonable lunch. It wasn't really great authentic Thai food mind you. But the selection was decent and something the restaurant can get away with. There was Pineapple Fried Rice, white rice, some Pad Thai, green curry, mixed vegetables, bad Tom Yum soup, bad quasi fishball soup, decent cold squid salad, okay papaya salad, some shrimp type curry, and a few other Thai chicken and beef dishes.
Vague description I know. But mind you, this is a buffet. The rules of engagement for a buffet is different. It just have to taste relatively good, and the restaurant doesn't stop you from going 10 rounds around the buffet. The buffet is very much like a marathon, you pace yourself and you eat in good portions, I laugh at Europeans and Americans who take and finish their buffet in 2 plates. That's just silly. For a buffet, you need quantity of decent tasting food. Its the repetition that counts. Not the quality of the food because no decent 5 star restaurant has a buffet. Trust me. I don't know.
This experience was relatively harmless. It was meant for a farewell lunch for a colleague, and he had his fill. Which was good. Would I go back to the restaurant again? No. Not really. Would I recommend it to my friends? No. Not really. The service was relatively good and prompt and $22 per person is QUITE value for money for lunch. I left the restaurant without having changed my mind about Thai food, because I love Thai food. So I guess this is a positive.
It was a reasonable lunch. It wasn't really great authentic Thai food mind you. But the selection was decent and something the restaurant can get away with. There was Pineapple Fried Rice, white rice, some Pad Thai, green curry, mixed vegetables, bad Tom Yum soup, bad quasi fishball soup, decent cold squid salad, okay papaya salad, some shrimp type curry, and a few other Thai chicken and beef dishes.
Vague description I know. But mind you, this is a buffet. The rules of engagement for a buffet is different. It just have to taste relatively good, and the restaurant doesn't stop you from going 10 rounds around the buffet. The buffet is very much like a marathon, you pace yourself and you eat in good portions, I laugh at Europeans and Americans who take and finish their buffet in 2 plates. That's just silly. For a buffet, you need quantity of decent tasting food. Its the repetition that counts. Not the quality of the food because no decent 5 star restaurant has a buffet. Trust me. I don't know.
This experience was relatively harmless. It was meant for a farewell lunch for a colleague, and he had his fill. Which was good. Would I go back to the restaurant again? No. Not really. Would I recommend it to my friends? No. Not really. The service was relatively good and prompt and $22 per person is QUITE value for money for lunch. I left the restaurant without having changed my mind about Thai food, because I love Thai food. So I guess this is a positive.
Just came back ...
Hi all, just came back from the 617. Will update the website with more reviews.
Laters
Laters
New Grading System
Just a small change in my grading system. From now onwards, there is no grading system! I think my writing should be suffice in fully describing what I liked and disliked about the restaurants. If I add the grades, it would seem like I am unnecessarily harsh! Or am contradicting myself. So just a foot note, I have changed my grading system.
P.s. If ever so there is a need to bring my old grading system which was both contradictory and harsh back, I would gladly do so.
P.s. If ever so there is a need to bring my old grading system which was both contradictory and harsh back, I would gladly do so.
Rang Mahal & Delhi
My love for Indian food knows no bounds except my tongue which might get scorched occasionally by the heat of the curry. When the misses is around, I hardly eat Indian food even though she doesn't discourage it, but she does make a face. So when she was not around, I decided to try some expensive Indian food at the Pan Pac and my experience can best summed up by a buddy of mine that said," Bro, whenever an Indian restaurant has the name RANG in it, its gonna be expensive."
As I walked out of the restaurant, I felt a tinge of disappointment. The place was nice, it was sexy. Very beautiful decor and relatively good service. For paying $40 over dollars per person on this Sunday buffet, I felt it needed more. It was not suffice that they had countless amount of naan bread or that they served interesting soup. For a buffet, there sure wasn't a lot of choices. It was more like a non-buffet with several choices of curry and some dishes and that was it. Maybe I can't count but there surely in my mind wasn't enough choices to be called a buffet. There isn't a word opposite of buffet, trust me, I checked. The Indian food was good. It was. But not worth $40 a person.
On the other hand, I went to Delhi on RaceCourse Road. I have to say, having already been to Muthus and Banana Leaf many other times, I was not very impressed with the restaurant. I mean the deco. Its a small dimly litted restaurant, and what catches your eye is all those awards they have won for excellence and best restaurant. That, I was impressed. When I sat down, I looked at the menu and went through it. I ordered my new favorite Gobi Aloo, my spinach in goat cheese, 4 different types of naan, chicken tikka masala, my mum wanted to try their mutton biryani, all you can eat pampadam, tandori chicken for 4 people and tomato soup for the misses, (like I said, she doesn't really like Indian food), topped up with some masala tea and home made mango ice cream for my parents, and mango lassi and lime juice for everyone else. Even the lady who was helping us was telling us to stop ordering so much!
Talking about the lady, she was very nice in explaining to us what was good and what we needed to order. She even advised us the combination of the food! Fantastic I thought! When I left Delhi, and I mean the restaurant and not the city, I was full and happy. The food was fantastic. I told my parents that sometimes after eating curry, everything tasted the same. But for Delhi, that wasn't the case. Each dish had its own distinct flavor and it was complementary on so many levels. And to top it all off, I only paid $22 bucks a person and I was full to the brim. Best of all, my wife probably just had the best Indian food experience in her life.
Sometimes, looks can be deceiving. And a good restaurant doesn't need to have "Rang," in it.
Hope this helps.
As I walked out of the restaurant, I felt a tinge of disappointment. The place was nice, it was sexy. Very beautiful decor and relatively good service. For paying $40 over dollars per person on this Sunday buffet, I felt it needed more. It was not suffice that they had countless amount of naan bread or that they served interesting soup. For a buffet, there sure wasn't a lot of choices. It was more like a non-buffet with several choices of curry and some dishes and that was it. Maybe I can't count but there surely in my mind wasn't enough choices to be called a buffet. There isn't a word opposite of buffet, trust me, I checked. The Indian food was good. It was. But not worth $40 a person.
On the other hand, I went to Delhi on RaceCourse Road. I have to say, having already been to Muthus and Banana Leaf many other times, I was not very impressed with the restaurant. I mean the deco. Its a small dimly litted restaurant, and what catches your eye is all those awards they have won for excellence and best restaurant. That, I was impressed. When I sat down, I looked at the menu and went through it. I ordered my new favorite Gobi Aloo, my spinach in goat cheese, 4 different types of naan, chicken tikka masala, my mum wanted to try their mutton biryani, all you can eat pampadam, tandori chicken for 4 people and tomato soup for the misses, (like I said, she doesn't really like Indian food), topped up with some masala tea and home made mango ice cream for my parents, and mango lassi and lime juice for everyone else. Even the lady who was helping us was telling us to stop ordering so much!
Talking about the lady, she was very nice in explaining to us what was good and what we needed to order. She even advised us the combination of the food! Fantastic I thought! When I left Delhi, and I mean the restaurant and not the city, I was full and happy. The food was fantastic. I told my parents that sometimes after eating curry, everything tasted the same. But for Delhi, that wasn't the case. Each dish had its own distinct flavor and it was complementary on so many levels. And to top it all off, I only paid $22 bucks a person and I was full to the brim. Best of all, my wife probably just had the best Indian food experience in her life.
Sometimes, looks can be deceiving. And a good restaurant doesn't need to have "Rang," in it.
Hope this helps.
The Dichotomy of Fast Food
First thing's first, my wife is back! So more restaurant reviews to come!
Second thing is, not all fast food chains are created equally. Not even intra fast food restaurants. So I went to the airport Burger King and the Tampines KFC. And I have to say those are 2 of the worst food chain restaurants I have had in awhile. Why is it that the Kallang or Bedok KFC taste better than the Tampines KFC? Weird isn't it? Its still the colonel's 11 secret herb and spices right? And the BK at the airport, which their chicken fingers I swear bounce off the floor like a rubber ball. It was that bad.
Footnote to self: Only go to Kallang and Bedok KFC. Approach Burger King with caution.
I used to love the McDonalds at Far East Plaza. It was the best McDonald's ever. Now, I would actually say the one a the East Coast is pretty good. Now, if the iron chefs actually opened a fast food chain, I would so eat there.
British Chefs
Just a thought. I never have been to the UK and the idea of eating English food is just eating fish and chips or some kidney pies. So why in the world does the England in particular produce so many cooking shows cooking other country's dishes? There has been Floyd, Julia Child to the new chefs like Jaime Oliver and the lass of my life Nigella. What gives?
I think its the British accent. Its cool. I have to say Jaime Oliver is one of the best chefs on TV. On TV is the emphasis. He makes cooking an experience and he is genuine and fun to watch. I don't have some man crush on him but I do think that he is the only person that I have tried copying in terms of cooking style. Maybe he relates better to people my age? No matter what the case, I am just happy that I get to see Jaime Oliver on Singaporean TV.
Man I wish there was a food channel.
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