I was fed up. I was tired of having silly western food all the time. Italian, American, Mediterranean, Mexican, French, I am tired of all of you. I am Chinese by taste and I think Chinese cuisine can kick any other cuisine's butt if it wanted to.
With this in mind, I thought we should have some good Chinese food. I remembered the suggestion from Tasty Bites about going to Peach Garden at Novena Garden. So on that rainy Friday night, I left with my wife for a sumptuous meal at the Peach Garden. I am an East person, so I don't really know the North really well, but I managed to get around to where I need to be because one of my ex-girlfriends lived around that area. We (my wife and I) met at the nearby MRT station and walked for about 7 minutes to the restaurant located across from the Novena Catholic Church.
The setting was more like a western restaurant than an eastern one. They played a bad rendition of all the Jackie Cheung songs with Chinese instruments but I didn't seem to mind it. In fact, I was humming the songs in my mind while my wife was telling me about her day at work. (Sorry Honey!) The menu was surprisingly short. There wasn't much to order I thought. So I went with the particular dishes I was advised to order. The wasabi and mayo prawns, the lobster noodles, my wife wanted some fried tofu with garlic and an order of roast pork.
I know that it seems like we didn't order much, but we felt that it was enough. The wasabi prawns were tasty. I don't know what is this obsession with Mayo in this part of the world but I have to say it was a potent combination. The creaminess of the mayonnaise together with the wasabi paste made the prawns sweet with a kick in the butt when necessary. My wife who doesn't like wasabi liked the dish. So that meant something. The roast pork, an ever simple meat that can be easily destroyed in the wrong hands were delectable. The fried tofu was decent.
The best dish came last. The lobster with noodles. Unlike other restaurants which serve crayfish when the menu says lobster. This restaurant actually serves LOBSTER. Lovely, light, delicate and simple. It was a combination of the broth (chicken stock and Chinese wine) made the this alchemy great. I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. I had been reading some reviews about the restaurant from other sites and I have to say that they were probably taking some crazy pills. The service was excellent. The pacing of the dishes were just right and I would definitely go back there again.
The best part of the night? My UOB card got me a 10% discount making our meal cost only about $60 some dollars. The meal was worth every cent.
I HATE BLOGGER
I appreciate Blogger for giving me an opportunity for providing me an avenue to write about my gastronomic adventures. However, I have to say that I absolutely hate BLOGGER. Its so darn difficult to write and paste pictures and keeping the spacing and alignment is a pain in the butt.
BLOGGER. I HATE YOU.
BLOGGER. I HATE YOU.
Brunch at Brunch
I don't know how I feel about a restaurant named after a meal time. I can't ever say I am having lunch at the restaurant lunch or you know, something like that. So to have my brunch at the restaurant called Brunch at Pan Pacific was not exactly the most thrilling of all ideas but since the wife loves having breakfast anytime. This place might just be my saviour.
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Located at the 4th level of the Pan Pacific Hotel, and near the pool, I expected some high class breakfast dining. I was ready to be impressed. I love the deco, this outdoors, woodsy type stylized furniture with the complimentary built in ceiling fan as well as the servers in shorts, polo shirt and a cap. The service was excellent as usual at Pan Pacific. The food was expensive.
I cannot fault the price of the menu because it is a nice hotel. But just eggs Benedict at $9.50 (if I remember correctly.) Now, granted the eggs look freaking fantastic. And the yoke breaks beautifully like art. But $9.50 for chicken ham? I don't know. And if pictures could lie, for the same price, I only got 1 waffle. 1. I also ordered the club sandwiches which were fantastic by the way and so were the waffles.
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If you want to treat yourself to a nice brunch any day of the week, at nearly anytime, I say saddle up and pay for what you think it is worth. If not, it might be better to avoid this place. They serve their brunch all the way till 7pm on the weekdays and 10 pm during the weekends.
Highly recommended if you want to pay $10 for sexy eggs Benedict. But I don't think I will go there again. Unless my wife wants to eat breakfast food at 7pm during the weekend.
The Prima Tower Experience
The last time I came here I didn't have my driver's licence for sure. I remember Dad used to know the valet attendants pretty well because they used to work for his friend. Come to think of it, the last time I set foot here was early 1996 just before I enlisted for National Service... not to eat but for baking classes. Yes you read it right the first time, BAKING classes with a whole bunch of tai-tai's. So what did a then 19 year old male, baking and a bunch of ladies have in common ? J-A-C-K.
So anyway back to the restaurant. Nothing seems to have changed in the last decade or so. You take the lift up to the 9th storey, then onto an escalator only to find another flight of spiral steps leading up to the main dining hall.
It was dead quiet for a Monday night save for a few tables littered with foreigners and local businessmen. The hostess revealed to us that last Monday's crowd was much healthier but overall business was still pretty good.
Mom in law (MIL), Dad in law (DIL) and bro in law (BIL) came promptly at 715 followed by sis in law (SIL) and her boyfriend (SILB). MIL rang earlier in the day to order a set menu for 7 so that saved us the trouble of poring over the menu and get down to the business of eating! Thanks MIL, you're the best MILF. That's (Mother In Law Forever) oh ye of stained minds.
Opening dish was shredded scallop and cod in egg sauce. Not my exactly my favourite but I wolfed it down with a smile nontheless. I shan't speak much about this dish since I dislike eggs in various stages of cooking other than scrambled and fried.
Fish maw soup arrived. NEXT.
Mmm.. the peking duck arrived without much fanfare. The duck was brought to the table for inspection and our murmurs of approval sent it back to the carving table. After some 2 minutes of slicing, basting & frantic wrapping, we got served. Hehehe. Perched on my plate was a golden skinned spring roll-ish looking delight.. or was it ? The minute I put it in my mouth and chewed on the 'fat', my satisfaction levels went downhill. The duck slices which were supposed to be thin and crispy were a tad bit too thick and meaty. The skin used to wrap the duck tasted very 'doughy' and where the bloody hell were the sprigs of spring onions ??!! NADA..
Steamed fish of some sort came next.
I forgot the dish after the fish.
I think the last savoury one was the leftover duck meat fried with noodles. Lacklustre dish so I won't bother.
Dessert was deep fried egg white with red bean stuffing. Oily and not presented well enough. I felt icing sugar should have been used to dust the egg white balls and not castor sugar. Icing sugar just does so much more for the dish both visually and tastefully.
As you can already tell I've lost interest in describing mediocre standard cuisine. Soooooo sian!!!
If my Francofriends do come back for more in future I'd gladly take them elsewhere. Totally lost my vote of confidence but I hope for history's sake they buck up to where they used to be.
So anyway back to the restaurant. Nothing seems to have changed in the last decade or so. You take the lift up to the 9th storey, then onto an escalator only to find another flight of spiral steps leading up to the main dining hall.
It was dead quiet for a Monday night save for a few tables littered with foreigners and local businessmen. The hostess revealed to us that last Monday's crowd was much healthier but overall business was still pretty good.
Mom in law (MIL), Dad in law (DIL) and bro in law (BIL) came promptly at 715 followed by sis in law (SIL) and her boyfriend (SILB). MIL rang earlier in the day to order a set menu for 7 so that saved us the trouble of poring over the menu and get down to the business of eating! Thanks MIL, you're the best MILF. That's (Mother In Law Forever) oh ye of stained minds.
Opening dish was shredded scallop and cod in egg sauce. Not my exactly my favourite but I wolfed it down with a smile nontheless. I shan't speak much about this dish since I dislike eggs in various stages of cooking other than scrambled and fried.
Fish maw soup arrived. NEXT.
Mmm.. the peking duck arrived without much fanfare. The duck was brought to the table for inspection and our murmurs of approval sent it back to the carving table. After some 2 minutes of slicing, basting & frantic wrapping, we got served. Hehehe. Perched on my plate was a golden skinned spring roll-ish looking delight.. or was it ? The minute I put it in my mouth and chewed on the 'fat', my satisfaction levels went downhill. The duck slices which were supposed to be thin and crispy were a tad bit too thick and meaty. The skin used to wrap the duck tasted very 'doughy' and where the bloody hell were the sprigs of spring onions ??!! NADA..
Steamed fish of some sort came next.
I forgot the dish after the fish.
I think the last savoury one was the leftover duck meat fried with noodles. Lacklustre dish so I won't bother.
Dessert was deep fried egg white with red bean stuffing. Oily and not presented well enough. I felt icing sugar should have been used to dust the egg white balls and not castor sugar. Icing sugar just does so much more for the dish both visually and tastefully.
As you can already tell I've lost interest in describing mediocre standard cuisine. Soooooo sian!!!
If my Francofriends do come back for more in future I'd gladly take them elsewhere. Totally lost my vote of confidence but I hope for history's sake they buck up to where they used to be.
The Tastybite Update
Hello readers, so much has happened since the last post on coffee culture appreciation! Strangely enough, I don't recall eating anywhere worth mentioning in the last few weeks. Tonight is Daddy-in-law's birthday celebration @ Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant. For the uninitiated, it's situated at the top of a flour mill just before the Sentosa Gateway. It's been eons since I last ate there due in part to the less frequent arrival of our family friends from the south of France who "louve zee plaise anz zee veews of Sentosa". My next post is dependent on tonight's outcome.
Since the last post, yours truly has finally bought a proper Italian made La Cimbali espresso machine. Picked it up in Perth during my recent trip there for a very good price. Even with the generous discount, this purchase has forced me to embrace the art of making coffee! Many thanks to my ever generous fairy Godparents in Perth Frank and Grace for that pleasant surprise gift of a proper coffee grinder.
My decreasing post count of late can also be attributed to my involvement in a new community forum project which has taken up a huge chunk of my usually quiet evenings vegging out in front of the telly.
Happy eating in the meantime and chat with you soon!
Since the last post, yours truly has finally bought a proper Italian made La Cimbali espresso machine. Picked it up in Perth during my recent trip there for a very good price. Even with the generous discount, this purchase has forced me to embrace the art of making coffee! Many thanks to my ever generous fairy Godparents in Perth Frank and Grace for that pleasant surprise gift of a proper coffee grinder.
My decreasing post count of late can also be attributed to my involvement in a new community forum project which has taken up a huge chunk of my usually quiet evenings vegging out in front of the telly.
Happy eating in the meantime and chat with you soon!
Morton's
A cannon camera for your picture to be taken: $550.
A color printer to print the picture: $600
A meal at the best steakhouse in Singapore: Priceless.
For everything else, there's always chicken, pork & fish.
More Restaurants, More Guests!
In the second part of the 3 part series about guests and restaurants: Specifically 10 days after my Mother In Law left for the United States, the great country that gave the world George W. and Michael Jackson, my brother and sister in law came to town!
I told them that in Singapore, you have to go to a buffet. Its everywhere. Its everything. Its part of Singapore culture. As if a buffet is the greatest social equality equalizer. There are no elitist in buffets. Just people eating in whatever order they like however much they like. Me and my big mouth brought us to the Straits Kitchen at Hyatt Hotel.
Now, I tried to make reservations the night before and I was gladly amused. Wow, a buffet having no tables available? The restaurant must be awesome! I made a reservation for the following day and we strutted ourselves there and were gladly surprised. It was a beauty. Straits Kitchen is probably one of the prettiest buffet/restaurant I have seen. The china was fancy. The service impeccable. The walls were out of this world. The food you ask? Well ... there's only so few words you can use but I shall use three. Glorified Hawker Center. Take away the masks of a hotel, china, air conditioning, and service. Its just very expensive hawker food. Maybe I am crazy stingy but to pay $44 a person including tax for a buffet that serves hawker food, which by the way did not have that much variety is a crime. I would like to take this time to publicly apologize to my brother and sister in law for dragging them to such an overpriced ostentatious experience.
I wanted my brother and sister in law to have a kick ass gastronomical experience. I wanted them to experience some local home cooking but not cooked by me, I thought of having some friends cook Chinese dishes. But the thing is, none of my friends can do it! They can cook mind you, but a 6 course traditional Chinese meal? Ouch! We are hopeless. I only know of a Victoria Junior College teacher, and friend of mine who can do Hainanese Chicken Rice? That's about it. Armed with that knowledge in mind, I decided to bring my guests to Liang Kee Teochew Restaurant, at Robertson Quay. Now let me get this straight. I am not Teochew. I am a misplaced Khek that can't speak a single word or swear with my own dialect and can barely speak some Hokkien and Cantonese. The reason why I chose Liang Kee was because it was my grandfather's favorite restaurant. And ever since he passed away over a year ago, I just somehow always think about going to the restaurant and have been back several times.
The food was good. Not great. The most important thing was that my brother and sister in law loved it. We sat al fresco style outside the restaurant and we ordered the goodies. The only disappointment was that they didn't have the braised goose meat, which is one of their specialities. We ordered the prawn rolls for me, hot plate tofu for my wife, some beef hor fun to share, some stir fried vegetables, my wife's favorite stewed pork with steamed buns, and I think some egg omelet. For all that, and I probably went through 3 rounds of Barley and or green tea, and maybe 2 rounds for everybody else, I have to say $60 some dollars was worth the ticket. I would gladly go back again. Only I would order the goose and cold crab!
Now, I can't afford to always bring my relatives to nice restaurants. So on some nights, we went to hawker centers and food courts. In my earlier posts, I stated that I have never stepped into Vivocity until my mother in law was in town, now I never stepped into the Food Republic in Vivocity until my brother and sister in law were in town. Let me just get this of my chest right now. Food Republic in Vivocity is the BEST, you heard it right, the BEST food court in Singapore. Bar none. Even better than the Food Republic at Wisma and soon to be in Suntec. Best. The people who got to the planning of that particular Food Republic got it absolutely right. From the location, to the type of food served to the decor of the place and the music that's played. Absolutely spot on. Its a lovely place. Great place to eat and I highly recommend this foodcourt more than any others.
The other place that my brother and sister in law loved was the temporary Chinatown market right next to Outram MRT. Okay. The way it was built is disgusting. You'll be inhaling and smelling like smoke if you sit in the wrong aisle and its always so crowded that you can't even find seats. The thing is that, the smoke inhalation and the over crowdedness adds to the charm of the place. I know it sounds weird but if Chinatown market was as sterile and as clean as a regular food court in the mall, why would I even think about going there? The food is good but I always wonder why in the world does a small stretch of stores always want to be serving the same type of food as their competitor? In this case, steamed fish head? That aside, I have always loved the Chinatown market and love the hawker center. This time, we went there primarily for the famous clay pot rice which we waited for 45 mins, we downed many glasses of the fantastic lime juice and sugar cane drinks as well as my sister and brother in law experiencing their first bbq sting ray. Cool.
My brother and sister in law loves Indian food. So we brought them to Little India to try one of the several Singaporean inventions that actually put us on the culinary map. The fish head curry. We didn't want to go to Muthus because it would feel like we were in an Italian restaurant and we thought it would be best to have them try Indian food in a comparatively somewhat more "local," place. Now, I have not been to the Banana Leaf at Race Course Road in a very long time. So I asked both of the Incredi-gohs to come along. Man-goh was amped for it. I could tell because he showed up early! Mrs. Goh was her usual calm and cool self. Actually the reason why I asked Man-goh to come was because I knew he could absolutely obliterate a fish head by command, just in case the tourists didn't like it. And boy did he!
My sister in law who is NOT a vegetarian but eats mostly vegetables cringed at the sight of the fish head. I don't blame her because I would too. My wife never liked fish head was quick to have me order other non spicy dishes for her,which I did. My brother in law, always game for anything and willing to try anything once had a field day. The fish tasted decent. The tandoori. the mutton curry the various vegetable curries were great. What wasn't was the effect it had on my stomach the day after. Now, I am not blaming the restaurant for my bad tummy. But lets just say that after that day, I wasn't going to go back to the restaurant again. My stomach twisted and turned so bad that I couldn't go to work and the feeling of nausea encapsulated 3 days worth of food. I hardly ate anything for 3 days after, and did I say that I was going to Hong Kong on the 4th day? Besides my stomach, the other thing I didn't like was the service. It was slow and I thought it was bad. We waited 45 mins for the food to come and when we try to get a server's attention, they always pretend to not see us? You know? That kind of service? I was upset. But oh well. Lesson learnt. Nothing bad happened to my brother and sister in laws stomachs. So that was good.
My guests being here meant that we could eat things that I normally wouldn't eat with the missus. That meant spicy food and seafood! One of the best kept secrets in local cuisine is still the Peranakan food. Their mixture of Malaysian spiciness and Chinese taste gives Peranakan cuisine an edge that maybe only Thai food can trump. We had to go to the heart of the Peranakan Restaurants, the ones at Katong and we picked and ordered some claypot satay chicken, my favorite salted vegetable soup, some otah, some stir fried and stewed mixed cabbage and mushroom, and of course the deep fried pork rolls in tofu skin. It was a lovely experience. The
restaurant was quiet on that weekday night and we had the restaurant all to ourselves. Service was prompt and we had a great time. I wondered why I never had more Peranakan food before.
I called and asked Mr. & Mrs. Tasty Bites along for our seafood experience. I wanted to bring my brother and sister in law to try some good chili crab and what better place to try it then the No SignBoard Seafood Restaurant at the Oasis. We made our reservations and we actually grabbed a bus there. We ordered 2 chili crabs, drunken prawns, those fried breads, stir fried broccoli, fried squid and no fish. We had a great time. Service was prompt. They held our food until everybody showed up. Everybody ate the crab, and the prawns. We ordered the fried bread twice. There's just something about chili crab. First of all, its more ketchup than chili and second of all, its more starchy than spicy. Thirdly, crab eating is hard work and sometimes, I don't feel like doing so much work for eating. But I did enjoy the experience we shared together. That was great.
Kopi. My brother and sister in law loved Kopi. They drank it like more than twice everyday. We went through the various types of Kopi like Kopi Si, Kopi Kosong, Kopi Kow, Kopi Pok, Kopi-O, the works. And I think they took about 3 days to identify what types they like, and my guess is they probably tried every kind and decided what they liked in 3 days. Unlike American coffees, the Singapore counterpart is usually thicker and it actually taste like coffee and not water. The places of choice always ended up to be Toast Box, Ya Kun and even the neighborhood coffee shops. The sock method does have its benefits.
In writing so much about my brother and sister in law, I guess what I am trying to say is this:
Kevin and Laura, we miss you.
I told them that in Singapore, you have to go to a buffet. Its everywhere. Its everything. Its part of Singapore culture. As if a buffet is the greatest social equality equalizer. There are no elitist in buffets. Just people eating in whatever order they like however much they like. Me and my big mouth brought us to the Straits Kitchen at Hyatt Hotel.
Now, I tried to make reservations the night before and I was gladly amused. Wow, a buffet having no tables available? The restaurant must be awesome! I made a reservation for the following day and we strutted ourselves there and were gladly surprised. It was a beauty. Straits Kitchen is probably one of the prettiest buffet/restaurant I have seen. The china was fancy. The service impeccable. The walls were out of this world. The food you ask? Well ... there's only so few words you can use but I shall use three. Glorified Hawker Center. Take away the masks of a hotel, china, air conditioning, and service. Its just very expensive hawker food. Maybe I am crazy stingy but to pay $44 a person including tax for a buffet that serves hawker food, which by the way did not have that much variety is a crime. I would like to take this time to publicly apologize to my brother and sister in law for dragging them to such an overpriced ostentatious experience.
I wanted my brother and sister in law to have a kick ass gastronomical experience. I wanted them to experience some local home cooking but not cooked by me, I thought of having some friends cook Chinese dishes. But the thing is, none of my friends can do it! They can cook mind you, but a 6 course traditional Chinese meal? Ouch! We are hopeless. I only know of a Victoria Junior College teacher, and friend of mine who can do Hainanese Chicken Rice? That's about it. Armed with that knowledge in mind, I decided to bring my guests to Liang Kee Teochew Restaurant, at Robertson Quay. Now let me get this straight. I am not Teochew. I am a misplaced Khek that can't speak a single word or swear with my own dialect and can barely speak some Hokkien and Cantonese. The reason why I chose Liang Kee was because it was my grandfather's favorite restaurant. And ever since he passed away over a year ago, I just somehow always think about going to the restaurant and have been back several times.
The food was good. Not great. The most important thing was that my brother and sister in law loved it. We sat al fresco style outside the restaurant and we ordered the goodies. The only disappointment was that they didn't have the braised goose meat, which is one of their specialities. We ordered the prawn rolls for me, hot plate tofu for my wife, some beef hor fun to share, some stir fried vegetables, my wife's favorite stewed pork with steamed buns, and I think some egg omelet. For all that, and I probably went through 3 rounds of Barley and or green tea, and maybe 2 rounds for everybody else, I have to say $60 some dollars was worth the ticket. I would gladly go back again. Only I would order the goose and cold crab!
Now, I can't afford to always bring my relatives to nice restaurants. So on some nights, we went to hawker centers and food courts. In my earlier posts, I stated that I have never stepped into Vivocity until my mother in law was in town, now I never stepped into the Food Republic in Vivocity until my brother and sister in law were in town. Let me just get this of my chest right now. Food Republic in Vivocity is the BEST, you heard it right, the BEST food court in Singapore. Bar none. Even better than the Food Republic at Wisma and soon to be in Suntec. Best. The people who got to the planning of that particular Food Republic got it absolutely right. From the location, to the type of food served to the decor of the place and the music that's played. Absolutely spot on. Its a lovely place. Great place to eat and I highly recommend this foodcourt more than any others.
The other place that my brother and sister in law loved was the temporary Chinatown market right next to Outram MRT. Okay. The way it was built is disgusting. You'll be inhaling and smelling like smoke if you sit in the wrong aisle and its always so crowded that you can't even find seats. The thing is that, the smoke inhalation and the over crowdedness adds to the charm of the place. I know it sounds weird but if Chinatown market was as sterile and as clean as a regular food court in the mall, why would I even think about going there? The food is good but I always wonder why in the world does a small stretch of stores always want to be serving the same type of food as their competitor? In this case, steamed fish head? That aside, I have always loved the Chinatown market and love the hawker center. This time, we went there primarily for the famous clay pot rice which we waited for 45 mins, we downed many glasses of the fantastic lime juice and sugar cane drinks as well as my sister and brother in law experiencing their first bbq sting ray. Cool.
My brother and sister in law loves Indian food. So we brought them to Little India to try one of the several Singaporean inventions that actually put us on the culinary map. The fish head curry. We didn't want to go to Muthus because it would feel like we were in an Italian restaurant and we thought it would be best to have them try Indian food in a comparatively somewhat more "local," place. Now, I have not been to the Banana Leaf at Race Course Road in a very long time. So I asked both of the Incredi-gohs to come along. Man-goh was amped for it. I could tell because he showed up early! Mrs. Goh was her usual calm and cool self. Actually the reason why I asked Man-goh to come was because I knew he could absolutely obliterate a fish head by command, just in case the tourists didn't like it. And boy did he!
My sister in law who is NOT a vegetarian but eats mostly vegetables cringed at the sight of the fish head. I don't blame her because I would too. My wife never liked fish head was quick to have me order other non spicy dishes for her,which I did. My brother in law, always game for anything and willing to try anything once had a field day. The fish tasted decent. The tandoori. the mutton curry the various vegetable curries were great. What wasn't was the effect it had on my stomach the day after. Now, I am not blaming the restaurant for my bad tummy. But lets just say that after that day, I wasn't going to go back to the restaurant again. My stomach twisted and turned so bad that I couldn't go to work and the feeling of nausea encapsulated 3 days worth of food. I hardly ate anything for 3 days after, and did I say that I was going to Hong Kong on the 4th day? Besides my stomach, the other thing I didn't like was the service. It was slow and I thought it was bad. We waited 45 mins for the food to come and when we try to get a server's attention, they always pretend to not see us? You know? That kind of service? I was upset. But oh well. Lesson learnt. Nothing bad happened to my brother and sister in laws stomachs. So that was good.
My guests being here meant that we could eat things that I normally wouldn't eat with the missus. That meant spicy food and seafood! One of the best kept secrets in local cuisine is still the Peranakan food. Their mixture of Malaysian spiciness and Chinese taste gives Peranakan cuisine an edge that maybe only Thai food can trump. We had to go to the heart of the Peranakan Restaurants, the ones at Katong and we picked and ordered some claypot satay chicken, my favorite salted vegetable soup, some otah, some stir fried and stewed mixed cabbage and mushroom, and of course the deep fried pork rolls in tofu skin. It was a lovely experience. The
restaurant was quiet on that weekday night and we had the restaurant all to ourselves. Service was prompt and we had a great time. I wondered why I never had more Peranakan food before.
I called and asked Mr. & Mrs. Tasty Bites along for our seafood experience. I wanted to bring my brother and sister in law to try some good chili crab and what better place to try it then the No SignBoard Seafood Restaurant at the Oasis. We made our reservations and we actually grabbed a bus there. We ordered 2 chili crabs, drunken prawns, those fried breads, stir fried broccoli, fried squid and no fish. We had a great time. Service was prompt. They held our food until everybody showed up. Everybody ate the crab, and the prawns. We ordered the fried bread twice. There's just something about chili crab. First of all, its more ketchup than chili and second of all, its more starchy than spicy. Thirdly, crab eating is hard work and sometimes, I don't feel like doing so much work for eating. But I did enjoy the experience we shared together. That was great.
Kopi. My brother and sister in law loved Kopi. They drank it like more than twice everyday. We went through the various types of Kopi like Kopi Si, Kopi Kosong, Kopi Kow, Kopi Pok, Kopi-O, the works. And I think they took about 3 days to identify what types they like, and my guess is they probably tried every kind and decided what they liked in 3 days. Unlike American coffees, the Singapore counterpart is usually thicker and it actually taste like coffee and not water. The places of choice always ended up to be Toast Box, Ya Kun and even the neighborhood coffee shops. The sock method does have its benefits.
In writing so much about my brother and sister in law, I guess what I am trying to say is this:
Kevin and Laura, we miss you.
Best Restaurant in the World?
Over the Good Friday holidays, the wife and I decided to not do much. So we sat around the house doing nothing. Seriously. We didn't do anything productive. What we did was watch alot of episodes of HEROES, sleep and eat. Okay, you can call us pigs. While watching the television, I stumbled upon possibly what could be the BEST restaurant in the world today. El Bulli. The cooking techniques from chef Ferran Adria Acosta are both exquisite and marvellous. Look through the website, and you can see why. A mix of Science and fun, makes his dishes something to yearn for, something to look forward to. Every dish a taste that will bring you through a roller coaster worth of surprise, comfort that always ends with pleasure. His dishes, to call it ordinary would be an insult, to call it pretentious, would be missing the point.
The kitchen looks both of a science lab and a factory assembly line. I actually want my kitchen to look like his if I can afford it!
This is a DEFINITE MUST if I end up in Spain this winter.
The Perfect Meal.
If you had one last meal to eat, what would it be? It would obviously have to be the perfect meal. The mother of all meals? All your favorites whipped onto one meal. This question has been asked several times in the newspapers and asked in my Anthony Bourdain book that I was reading. Is there such thing as a perfect meal?
In my platonic search for gastronomic perfection, I have gone through many restaurants, hawker centers and coffee shops throughout Singapore gauging and tasting looking for good food in Singapore. But is "good food," just dependent on my taste? Science has often shown that people have different taste buds. In a test to taste bitterness, a chemical was used in a taste test and it was a 50-50 result. Some could taste it, some could not. Doesn't that mean that what food or dish is tasteful to me might not be tasteful to another, hence the perfect meal or that best dish is actually not that great and not that perfect?
Is the perfect meal dependent on the techniques cooked or the emotions and memories they invoke. Like women craving chocolate, its not jut because chocolate is delectable but it invokes comfort and memories of good time and at the same time provides some kind of sexual relief? Or is it the flash frying of the fried rice at Din Tai Fung that makes the fried rice fantastic?
I personally am dumb founded because I don't have a perfect meal and I probably won't even know what I want to eat if I knew I were to die tomorrow; simply because if I knew I was going to die tomorrow, I wouldn't want to be caught eating. I would be telling people that I love how much I love them and going to a corner and curl and getting ready to die. I know how I want to die though but only my wife knows that!
Truth is, I like good food and I have to say that as much as my mood is dependent on it, I have to eat my wontan noodles, char siew and roast pork rice and hainanese chicken rice at least once a week. Crazy? You bet. I hear stories of how my wife could eat pancakes for dinner for 2 years growing up in Wisconsin so I don't think I have that bad a habit.
The perfect meal or the last meal has to be a perfect storm. The mood that I am in. The people I am with. The restaurant I am at. The food that is being served. The service of the restaurant. The ambiance created by the restaurant. And the state of my mind. A great example of this was the dinner I had on my birthday at Valentinos. I was in a great mood because it was my birthday. All the friends I love were there, the food served was fantastic (never had such great oso bucco before ... or ever!), the ambiance was homely and warm, service was excellent as usual and the state of my mind was nothingness, because I was satisfied. If I died in my sleep that night. I would feel that I was satisfied because all was good with the world.
I guess what I am trying to say is that despite all these write ups and reviews from so many people including myself about food and restaurants, the only person, the only thing that is the most important to even decide how good food is, or how delicious it is: is you. The reader.
Perfection is subjective but the power to pontificate of vilify food still lies with you.
So what is the perfect meal?
In my platonic search for gastronomic perfection, I have gone through many restaurants, hawker centers and coffee shops throughout Singapore gauging and tasting looking for good food in Singapore. But is "good food," just dependent on my taste? Science has often shown that people have different taste buds. In a test to taste bitterness, a chemical was used in a taste test and it was a 50-50 result. Some could taste it, some could not. Doesn't that mean that what food or dish is tasteful to me might not be tasteful to another, hence the perfect meal or that best dish is actually not that great and not that perfect?
Is the perfect meal dependent on the techniques cooked or the emotions and memories they invoke. Like women craving chocolate, its not jut because chocolate is delectable but it invokes comfort and memories of good time and at the same time provides some kind of sexual relief? Or is it the flash frying of the fried rice at Din Tai Fung that makes the fried rice fantastic?
I personally am dumb founded because I don't have a perfect meal and I probably won't even know what I want to eat if I knew I were to die tomorrow; simply because if I knew I was going to die tomorrow, I wouldn't want to be caught eating. I would be telling people that I love how much I love them and going to a corner and curl and getting ready to die. I know how I want to die though but only my wife knows that!
Truth is, I like good food and I have to say that as much as my mood is dependent on it, I have to eat my wontan noodles, char siew and roast pork rice and hainanese chicken rice at least once a week. Crazy? You bet. I hear stories of how my wife could eat pancakes for dinner for 2 years growing up in Wisconsin so I don't think I have that bad a habit.
The perfect meal or the last meal has to be a perfect storm. The mood that I am in. The people I am with. The restaurant I am at. The food that is being served. The service of the restaurant. The ambiance created by the restaurant. And the state of my mind. A great example of this was the dinner I had on my birthday at Valentinos. I was in a great mood because it was my birthday. All the friends I love were there, the food served was fantastic (never had such great oso bucco before ... or ever!), the ambiance was homely and warm, service was excellent as usual and the state of my mind was nothingness, because I was satisfied. If I died in my sleep that night. I would feel that I was satisfied because all was good with the world.
I guess what I am trying to say is that despite all these write ups and reviews from so many people including myself about food and restaurants, the only person, the only thing that is the most important to even decide how good food is, or how delicious it is: is you. The reader.
Perfection is subjective but the power to pontificate of vilify food still lies with you.
So what is the perfect meal?
Many Restaurants, 1 guest
As some of you might know. My Mother in law was in town recently and we had a great time. At least I hoped she had a great time. I know I did and I am pretty sure my wife did as well! We brought her to many of the favorites that has been mentioned in this blog before, to new places that I never knew existed. These are some short reviews of the places I visited:
Max Brenner's: How do I say this? It was cool when I first had a 4 years back. Its a chocolate heaven set in a durian like architecture. Personally, I never thought chocolate and durian mixed well but thats just me. I expected something when I went there again, but it turned out disappointing. We had an early dinner at the nearby self styled after the popular local television series, Makan Sutra Hawker center, which was ALSO disappointing but that's another story. We ordered waffles with chocolate ice cream as well as some brownies and ice cream. How do I put this? It was bad. The waffles were stale and you sense that it might be left out there for too long and the service was tedious. And might I also add to say that at that point of time, there were only 2 other tables in the whole place.
Makan Sutra Hawker Center @ the Esplanade: What I liked about the place. It's location was one heck of a convenient. I wanted very nearly to drag my mother in law to the satay club next to Lau Pa Sat but my wife didn't really feel like walking so we settled on this place. I have never tried this hawker before but lets just say that thank goodness, because it was going to be the last time I was going to be there. We were there at around 6 in the weekday evening and not many of the stores were ready to open yet. We went around looking for new things for my mother in law to try but many of the stores were either not too bothered serving me because I was local or didn't really bother at all. I thought that was sad, not for me but for the state of the hawker center there. They serve over-priced hawker food that can be had anywhere else in Singapore and you have to take in a healthy dose of attitude along with the average food. My advice: don't go. Save your money and go to some where else better. Hey, how about the Marina Square foodcourt across the street?
Spizza for Friends @ HarborFront or was that vivo city? I have never gone to Vivocity (or was that harborfront) until my mother in law came to Singapore. We just had a field day at Sentosa and we wanted somewhere that we could sit down and order pizza and kept cool. Pizza can not be terrible. Its not difficult to make and simple to eat. We ordered a pizza and an appetizer. What I didn't like about the place: the service was slow. Again, its a early dinner situation and there were only about less than 10 people in the restaurant and service was slow? Did I say that the service was slow?
What I did like about the place was the food was actually decent. Not the best. But above average for a pizza joint. I thoroughly enjoyed the pizza and the appetizer and the thing is the bill only came up to $30 some dollars and change for 3 hungry adults. That was cool.
Max Brenner's: How do I say this? It was cool when I first had a 4 years back. Its a chocolate heaven set in a durian like architecture. Personally, I never thought chocolate and durian mixed well but thats just me. I expected something when I went there again, but it turned out disappointing. We had an early dinner at the nearby self styled after the popular local television series, Makan Sutra Hawker center, which was ALSO disappointing but that's another story. We ordered waffles with chocolate ice cream as well as some brownies and ice cream. How do I put this? It was bad. The waffles were stale and you sense that it might be left out there for too long and the service was tedious. And might I also add to say that at that point of time, there were only 2 other tables in the whole place.
Makan Sutra Hawker Center @ the Esplanade: What I liked about the place. It's location was one heck of a convenient. I wanted very nearly to drag my mother in law to the satay club next to Lau Pa Sat but my wife didn't really feel like walking so we settled on this place. I have never tried this hawker before but lets just say that thank goodness, because it was going to be the last time I was going to be there. We were there at around 6 in the weekday evening and not many of the stores were ready to open yet. We went around looking for new things for my mother in law to try but many of the stores were either not too bothered serving me because I was local or didn't really bother at all. I thought that was sad, not for me but for the state of the hawker center there. They serve over-priced hawker food that can be had anywhere else in Singapore and you have to take in a healthy dose of attitude along with the average food. My advice: don't go. Save your money and go to some where else better. Hey, how about the Marina Square foodcourt across the street?
Spizza for Friends @ HarborFront or was that vivo city? I have never gone to Vivocity (or was that harborfront) until my mother in law came to Singapore. We just had a field day at Sentosa and we wanted somewhere that we could sit down and order pizza and kept cool. Pizza can not be terrible. Its not difficult to make and simple to eat. We ordered a pizza and an appetizer. What I didn't like about the place: the service was slow. Again, its a early dinner situation and there were only about less than 10 people in the restaurant and service was slow? Did I say that the service was slow?
What I did like about the place was the food was actually decent. Not the best. But above average for a pizza joint. I thoroughly enjoyed the pizza and the appetizer and the thing is the bill only came up to $30 some dollars and change for 3 hungry adults. That was cool.
Recomendation
For all the food lovers out there, I highly recommend A Cook's Tour by Anthony Bourdain. Its not a great read, but I think Bourdain clearly understands what food eating is all about and why he does what he does as a chef. Philosophical and entertaining and it makes me want to become a chef.
More Reviews to Come
Some Updates: Sorry for the lack of action on the blog. I haven't been able to sit down and write. Sorry to disappoint those that think that I haven't been eating. The reviews to come are:
1) Straits Kitchen @ Hyatt
2) Liang Kee Restaurant at Robertson Walk
3) Spizza for Friends
4) Peranakan Restaurant @ Katong
5) Food Republic @ ViVo City
6) ChinaTown Hawker Center
7) Banana Leaf Restaurant @ Race Course Road
8) Thoughts on the last meal you might have if you know you were going to die tomorrow.
Till I write again.
1) Straits Kitchen @ Hyatt
2) Liang Kee Restaurant at Robertson Walk
3) Spizza for Friends
4) Peranakan Restaurant @ Katong
5) Food Republic @ ViVo City
6) ChinaTown Hawker Center
7) Banana Leaf Restaurant @ Race Course Road
8) Thoughts on the last meal you might have if you know you were going to die tomorrow.
Till I write again.
Cha Cha Cha
I went to a Mexican restaurant in Singapore because I had to. My mother in law, wanted some Mexican food and I thought why not? I wouldn't go there on my own account, but for my mother in law. Anything!
Its a cute restaurant. It looks like a nice Hacienda and the service was prompt. I made a reservation over the phone, and even though the person who picked up the phone in the restaurant sounded rude and short, he was actually rather pleasant in person. Cha Cha Cha situated at one of my favorite places in Singapore helped. We ordered some chicken faloutas, chicken chimichanga, and a burrito. My wife ordered a strawberry Margarita which was pretty good. Being my wife (and I love her to bits while say this), she has special orders, she goes to restaurants and she wants certain things not in the food that she orders even though it states in the menu that its there. Anyways, she orders a side of sour cream while I asked for another basket of nacho chips.
Now before I go on a rant here, let me just say that I have NEVER been in the restaurant business before and I probably don't know what I am talking about. I can never understand, absolutely sit down and comprehend how a restaurant can charge $4.50 for a side of sour cream. A side of sour cream. A side of sour cream. I am just going to say this again. A side of sour cream. When we asked for an extra side of sour cream, the restaurant gave me a plate of sour cream. I mean like a 7 inches in diameter plate of sour cream. And the last time I checked, Cha Cha Cha is a Mexican restaurant, they are charging me for additional baskets of nacho chips. Nacho chips. A staple in Mexican restaurants. Nacho chips. Okay, rant over.
Besides my rant, the food was pretty good. I have always thought that Mexican cuisine as the poor cousin of the Asian cuisine, but I liked what I ate. A lot of foreigners there, so I guess it must not be that bad.
Its a cute restaurant. It looks like a nice Hacienda and the service was prompt. I made a reservation over the phone, and even though the person who picked up the phone in the restaurant sounded rude and short, he was actually rather pleasant in person. Cha Cha Cha situated at one of my favorite places in Singapore helped. We ordered some chicken faloutas, chicken chimichanga, and a burrito. My wife ordered a strawberry Margarita which was pretty good. Being my wife (and I love her to bits while say this), she has special orders, she goes to restaurants and she wants certain things not in the food that she orders even though it states in the menu that its there. Anyways, she orders a side of sour cream while I asked for another basket of nacho chips.
Now before I go on a rant here, let me just say that I have NEVER been in the restaurant business before and I probably don't know what I am talking about. I can never understand, absolutely sit down and comprehend how a restaurant can charge $4.50 for a side of sour cream. A side of sour cream. A side of sour cream. I am just going to say this again. A side of sour cream. When we asked for an extra side of sour cream, the restaurant gave me a plate of sour cream. I mean like a 7 inches in diameter plate of sour cream. And the last time I checked, Cha Cha Cha is a Mexican restaurant, they are charging me for additional baskets of nacho chips. Nacho chips. A staple in Mexican restaurants. Nacho chips. Okay, rant over.
Besides my rant, the food was pretty good. I have always thought that Mexican cuisine as the poor cousin of the Asian cuisine, but I liked what I ate. A lot of foreigners there, so I guess it must not be that bad.
Jia Xiang Sarawak Kolo Mee
Don't go. Its terrible. Over priced and over rated. Went there a couple of days before Chinese New Year, its bad. With the same amount of cash spent, I could have gone to Macdonalds.
Regent Hotel Sunday Brunch
In my non stop food binging just before the holidays, I had to take a trip to meet my wife's colleagues for the first time. I have to say that the company was excellent, the food on the other hand was something else.
I enjoy a good Sunday brunch. There was free flow champagne and I had my fair share of 5 - 6 glasses, but you can't really keep a count because they keep refilling the champagne before you can even finish a glass full. Honestly, the champagne was decent. The food not so much.
We arrived at 1130 am when the buffet started at 12 and we were supposed to meet at 11. Bemused that all the food was laid out but nobody could eat it as per the restaurant management ruling. Scanning through the range of food available, it wasn't great. There was no dish or thing worthy to slaver.
I especially like the roast beef and pan fried beef with marinated scallops. Those were great. The lobster tasted old, the pasta station, I never understand the pasta stations at buffets, but I have no complaints. The restaurant would rather you load up on carbs than have you eating all the good stuff like lobster and shrimp. Nearly everything else was average. And I tried a little bit of everything. I couldn't help but think to myself that I've had better.
Again, thank goodness the company made the meal delightful. The desserts were ridiculously bland and thank goodness I had so much champagne that it actually made me sleepy when I got home and was ready for my 3 hour nap! The total cost for the both of us was $160. I would say it is relatively cheap since there was so much champagne involved.
So here is my advice: Go only when the company is good and you only really want the champagne.
I enjoy a good Sunday brunch. There was free flow champagne and I had my fair share of 5 - 6 glasses, but you can't really keep a count because they keep refilling the champagne before you can even finish a glass full. Honestly, the champagne was decent. The food not so much.
We arrived at 1130 am when the buffet started at 12 and we were supposed to meet at 11. Bemused that all the food was laid out but nobody could eat it as per the restaurant management ruling. Scanning through the range of food available, it wasn't great. There was no dish or thing worthy to slaver.
I especially like the roast beef and pan fried beef with marinated scallops. Those were great. The lobster tasted old, the pasta station, I never understand the pasta stations at buffets, but I have no complaints. The restaurant would rather you load up on carbs than have you eating all the good stuff like lobster and shrimp. Nearly everything else was average. And I tried a little bit of everything. I couldn't help but think to myself that I've had better.
Again, thank goodness the company made the meal delightful. The desserts were ridiculously bland and thank goodness I had so much champagne that it actually made me sleepy when I got home and was ready for my 3 hour nap! The total cost for the both of us was $160. I would say it is relatively cheap since there was so much champagne involved.
So here is my advice: Go only when the company is good and you only really want the champagne.
Ristorante de Valentino
Fact. I have been raving about this restaurant non stop even though I have never been there. Fact. I love Italian food. Fact. I got a $100 voucher from my sweet mother in law (who is coming to Singapore) for New Year! Fact. I actually went to the restaurant this week!
I have read many reviews about the place so it was time to actually go try it. I think that without a doubt, this is one of the best Italian restaurants in Singapore. And that is before I even stepped into the restaurant. So with all the hype and expectation, the missus and I went to the restaurant over the weekend.
Immediately, I felt out of place. I sms'ed Mr. T to inform him that there were 2 Ferraris, a couple of beamers and mercs parked outside the restaurant! He promptly responded with "Welcome to the West!" We made our reservations many weeks ago and the server, gave us a window seat. Ahh, just the type of seats that I like!
The decor of the restaurant is quaint and exotic. It reminds of a small house in Italy and ambiance is almost you're at a friend's home having a meal. I panned through the menu and we decided together that we were going to have several things. We ordered the Orichette Pasta with dried tomatoes and chicken, a Quarto Stagioni Pizza and a Rack of Veal with Porcini Sauce. I ordered my glass of Tuscan red Italian wine ( I think its my favorite now, but I can't fully decide yet) and my wife had her sweet dry wine, which was not on the menu but the server told us that it was an option and my wife took it. Our desserts we later ordered were a Chocolate Salami with Vanilla Ice cream and the missus ordered the famous cake.
In summary. The food was excellent! The Orichette was done magnificently. The pasta was tender and sauce was finger licking good. The pizza was (I think I have officially run out of superlatives) great. The crust wasn't burnt and the combination was magical. The veal, I loved. My wife didn't really take the idea of eating baby calf, but I thought that the porcini sauce for the rack of veal should have been stolen to make another pasta sauce. The porcini was creamy and delightful. My tongue was rolling on the edge having a high like never before. My dessert was great. Chocolate salami, how wrong can it be? And the cake was decent.
There is however a low point for the restaurant. With all the hype and expectation, and the food being excellent. We left the restaurant unimpressed. Again, nothing the restaurant did was wrong. The service was friendly and I honestly felt so comfortable because there were so many couples of mixed races there! I might have sub consciously wanted more from the restaurant. I still can't put a finger to it. I will go back to wait for the Steak Florentine but isn't it strange when you expect so much for something and when you reach there, it becomes somewhat of an anti climax?
Feeling strange but highly recommended.
I have read many reviews about the place so it was time to actually go try it. I think that without a doubt, this is one of the best Italian restaurants in Singapore. And that is before I even stepped into the restaurant. So with all the hype and expectation, the missus and I went to the restaurant over the weekend.
Immediately, I felt out of place. I sms'ed Mr. T to inform him that there were 2 Ferraris, a couple of beamers and mercs parked outside the restaurant! He promptly responded with "Welcome to the West!" We made our reservations many weeks ago and the server, gave us a window seat. Ahh, just the type of seats that I like!
The decor of the restaurant is quaint and exotic. It reminds of a small house in Italy and ambiance is almost you're at a friend's home having a meal. I panned through the menu and we decided together that we were going to have several things. We ordered the Orichette Pasta with dried tomatoes and chicken, a Quarto Stagioni Pizza and a Rack of Veal with Porcini Sauce. I ordered my glass of Tuscan red Italian wine ( I think its my favorite now, but I can't fully decide yet) and my wife had her sweet dry wine, which was not on the menu but the server told us that it was an option and my wife took it. Our desserts we later ordered were a Chocolate Salami with Vanilla Ice cream and the missus ordered the famous cake.
In summary. The food was excellent! The Orichette was done magnificently. The pasta was tender and sauce was finger licking good. The pizza was (I think I have officially run out of superlatives) great. The crust wasn't burnt and the combination was magical. The veal, I loved. My wife didn't really take the idea of eating baby calf, but I thought that the porcini sauce for the rack of veal should have been stolen to make another pasta sauce. The porcini was creamy and delightful. My tongue was rolling on the edge having a high like never before. My dessert was great. Chocolate salami, how wrong can it be? And the cake was decent.
There is however a low point for the restaurant. With all the hype and expectation, and the food being excellent. We left the restaurant unimpressed. Again, nothing the restaurant did was wrong. The service was friendly and I honestly felt so comfortable because there were so many couples of mixed races there! I might have sub consciously wanted more from the restaurant. I still can't put a finger to it. I will go back to wait for the Steak Florentine but isn't it strange when you expect so much for something and when you reach there, it becomes somewhat of an anti climax?
Feeling strange but highly recommended.
SHIN KUSHIYA
Call me crazy. But I am tired of going to the same Japanese Restaurants and eating the standard Japanese fare. I don't like to eat the same thing over and over again. I think its madness. Sure, I have to eat chicken rice, wontan noodles every week but that's besides the point. I like something different every time.
With the advice of Mr. and Mrs. Tasty Bites, we went to a restaurant at Vivocity. First of all, I have never been to Vivocity. I was not impressed but my wife did like the scenery.We hung out at the book store Page One, which my wife bought several books to read, and we met Mr. T outside the restaurant.
SHIN KUSHIYA is the name of the restaurant. We sat down and ordered. With the advice of Mr. T, we ordered all the Yakitori. I am tired of going to Japanese restaurants and ordering noodles, rice and sushi. We ordered, foie gras, beef, fish, vegetable, pork, chicken; the works. I have read several dissenting views about this place but I have to say that alot of it are wrong. The quality of the fish is outstanding. The beef is absolutely tender and the chicken and pork sticks are savory. I have eaten tons of yakitori at so many restaurants, and they range from the local satay sticks to the over zealous terriyaki sauce yakitori. This restaurant has a firm hand in the terriyaki sauce department and the only thing missing on this day was rice. I never ordered rice!
The service was outstanding and the view beautiful. If you want something different at Vivocity, go to SHIN KUSHIYA. Don't order the sushi and rolls, and noodles and what have you. Order the Yakitori. I know I will be going back there again pretty soon. We ordered so much that we had to stop ourselves from ordering too much.
The damage was about $140 for 4 people because Mrs. T showed up later. We ordered all sorts of drinks and had a great time. What it lacks, is just more variety for its Yakitori, and that's about it.
By the way, I heard that they might be opening somewhere more convenient soon. So look out for it.
With the advice of Mr. and Mrs. Tasty Bites, we went to a restaurant at Vivocity. First of all, I have never been to Vivocity. I was not impressed but my wife did like the scenery.We hung out at the book store Page One, which my wife bought several books to read, and we met Mr. T outside the restaurant.
SHIN KUSHIYA is the name of the restaurant. We sat down and ordered. With the advice of Mr. T, we ordered all the Yakitori. I am tired of going to Japanese restaurants and ordering noodles, rice and sushi. We ordered, foie gras, beef, fish, vegetable, pork, chicken; the works. I have read several dissenting views about this place but I have to say that alot of it are wrong. The quality of the fish is outstanding. The beef is absolutely tender and the chicken and pork sticks are savory. I have eaten tons of yakitori at so many restaurants, and they range from the local satay sticks to the over zealous terriyaki sauce yakitori. This restaurant has a firm hand in the terriyaki sauce department and the only thing missing on this day was rice. I never ordered rice!
The service was outstanding and the view beautiful. If you want something different at Vivocity, go to SHIN KUSHIYA. Don't order the sushi and rolls, and noodles and what have you. Order the Yakitori. I know I will be going back there again pretty soon. We ordered so much that we had to stop ourselves from ordering too much.
The damage was about $140 for 4 people because Mrs. T showed up later. We ordered all sorts of drinks and had a great time. What it lacks, is just more variety for its Yakitori, and that's about it.
By the way, I heard that they might be opening somewhere more convenient soon. So look out for it.
Point-Counterpoint
I actually think that my debating skills are better than those on local television. So to prove my point, I will have to disagree with Mr. Tasty Bites, I have not going around eating at the nice places. Mr. T points me to the direction of the restaurants, I just go. Its a subservient relationship. If one can call it that.
The other point being I hate this new blogger thing. Its been ruining my spacing in my writing of the blog. I blame BLOGGER!
Back to talking about food ....
The other point being I hate this new blogger thing. Its been ruining my spacing in my writing of the blog. I blame BLOGGER!
Back to talking about food ....
Kaffe
Guess what. It took me THIS long to migrate my old blogger account to the current one installed by Google. Talk about technophobia. Heheheh..
Whilst my brother FC has been on his usual ristorante tours around the island, yours truly has taken a seat in a local coffee culture appreciation club and learning what makes a good espresso tick. I've only recently come to appreciate (and am still learning) the GULF in taste and quality between Starbucks, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Spinelli and outlets which claim to serve decent coffee versus D-I-Y coffee.
So how did I get hooked ? The last "decent" cup of coffee I had was from Spinelli's 4 months ago. I vividly remember suffering from a huge headache after consuming less than half a cup of harmless takeout latte. I thought it was the caffeine doing the work of the devil. Apparently not so.. read on to find out!
It so happened a friend of mine got hold of a non commercial Espresso Gaggia machine and Gaggia grinder around the same time I had that cup of horror. After toying around with it for 2 months and proclaiming the virtues of DIY coffee, he invited me over to his home for a cuppa. It was one fateful Saturday morning not too long ago that I rocked up to his mansion to see what the fanfare was all about.
I stumbled into his kitchen and into the presence of 3 "coffee geeks". Modelled somewhat after AA, this support group has a monthly meet up session with the aim to share the essential technicalities involved in making that perfect espresso. All of them own a basic set consisting of a roaster, grinder, manual/semi automatic espresso machine and are strictly available only from specialised distributors. Even a fully automatic Krups $1,900 machine from a good department store will not suffice!
Casually arranged on the table were a nice set of demitasse cups and saucers for the morning's brew. Seems everyone brought their own stash of freshly roasted coffee beans and everyone was eager to introduce their personal favourites.
It was drummed in me from the very beginning of my re-education that coffee has to be treated with the utmost respect. The DIY method allows total control over the freshness and taste of the beverage as it was meant to be enjoyed as opposed to buying freeze dried grounds of unknown origin/blend.
I sat in the corner, a passive observer, trying to absorb as much as I possibly could. After 10 minutes of studying intently, I was finally offered the first shot of the day. Oozing from the espresso machine's portafilter was pure bliss - a rich golden hue of almost syrupy consistency with an excellent layer of crema finishing off the shot. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee hung thick in the air and it smelled wonderful.
I put the double walled Bodum espresso cup to my lips and sipped gently on that rich liquid and slowly let it swirl in my mouth. Slight hint of bitterness in there, can't seem to taste the chocolate and berries...... and this was followed by a slight sourness on the tongue. Nonetheless, I had unknowingly consumed 3 full shots of espresso in that one single cup! No wonder my friend was cracking up as he failed to tell me that before I consumed it.
Six hours later, he rang me , apparently concerned that I might suffer from the same headache causing caffeine overdose that I thought was the guilty party in that "strong cup of coffee" from Spinelli's. Apparently not!!! I did not suffer from ANY side effects and thoroughly enjoyed another cuppa (so total 6 shots here). Finally, I was told that the cup of coffee I had at Spinelli's was either probably due to overextraction of the beans or that the beans were over roasted. They claim the local barista's are not well trained enough to deliver.
I was a convert.
Presently, I have 2 bags of green coffee beans sitting in my pantry. One bag hails from the mecca of coffee, Seattle's own Espresso Vivace. It's a decaf bean with most of the caffeine removed via the Swiss Water method. The other bag of beans is known as "El Placer Colombia Cup Of Excellence" or The Pleasure from well known US coffee distributor Sweet Maria's.
I am working towards getting a basic set of equipment after I sell some leftover audio equipment to raise the necessary $1,700 at least. Gulp. Heavy investment huh ? Indeed, but you gotta do it yourself if you wanna get it done right.
Have a great week!
Whilst my brother FC has been on his usual ristorante tours around the island, yours truly has taken a seat in a local coffee culture appreciation club and learning what makes a good espresso tick. I've only recently come to appreciate (and am still learning) the GULF in taste and quality between Starbucks, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Spinelli and outlets which claim to serve decent coffee versus D-I-Y coffee.
So how did I get hooked ? The last "decent" cup of coffee I had was from Spinelli's 4 months ago. I vividly remember suffering from a huge headache after consuming less than half a cup of harmless takeout latte. I thought it was the caffeine doing the work of the devil. Apparently not so.. read on to find out!
It so happened a friend of mine got hold of a non commercial Espresso Gaggia machine and Gaggia grinder around the same time I had that cup of horror. After toying around with it for 2 months and proclaiming the virtues of DIY coffee, he invited me over to his home for a cuppa. It was one fateful Saturday morning not too long ago that I rocked up to his mansion to see what the fanfare was all about.
I stumbled into his kitchen and into the presence of 3 "coffee geeks". Modelled somewhat after AA, this support group has a monthly meet up session with the aim to share the essential technicalities involved in making that perfect espresso. All of them own a basic set consisting of a roaster, grinder, manual/semi automatic espresso machine and are strictly available only from specialised distributors. Even a fully automatic Krups $1,900 machine from a good department store will not suffice!
Casually arranged on the table were a nice set of demitasse cups and saucers for the morning's brew. Seems everyone brought their own stash of freshly roasted coffee beans and everyone was eager to introduce their personal favourites.
It was drummed in me from the very beginning of my re-education that coffee has to be treated with the utmost respect. The DIY method allows total control over the freshness and taste of the beverage as it was meant to be enjoyed as opposed to buying freeze dried grounds of unknown origin/blend.
I sat in the corner, a passive observer, trying to absorb as much as I possibly could. After 10 minutes of studying intently, I was finally offered the first shot of the day. Oozing from the espresso machine's portafilter was pure bliss - a rich golden hue of almost syrupy consistency with an excellent layer of crema finishing off the shot. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee hung thick in the air and it smelled wonderful.
I put the double walled Bodum espresso cup to my lips and sipped gently on that rich liquid and slowly let it swirl in my mouth. Slight hint of bitterness in there, can't seem to taste the chocolate and berries...... and this was followed by a slight sourness on the tongue. Nonetheless, I had unknowingly consumed 3 full shots of espresso in that one single cup! No wonder my friend was cracking up as he failed to tell me that before I consumed it.
Six hours later, he rang me , apparently concerned that I might suffer from the same headache causing caffeine overdose that I thought was the guilty party in that "strong cup of coffee" from Spinelli's. Apparently not!!! I did not suffer from ANY side effects and thoroughly enjoyed another cuppa (so total 6 shots here). Finally, I was told that the cup of coffee I had at Spinelli's was either probably due to overextraction of the beans or that the beans were over roasted. They claim the local barista's are not well trained enough to deliver.
I was a convert.
Presently, I have 2 bags of green coffee beans sitting in my pantry. One bag hails from the mecca of coffee, Seattle's own Espresso Vivace. It's a decaf bean with most of the caffeine removed via the Swiss Water method. The other bag of beans is known as "El Placer Colombia Cup Of Excellence" or The Pleasure from well known US coffee distributor Sweet Maria's.
I am working towards getting a basic set of equipment after I sell some leftover audio equipment to raise the necessary $1,700 at least. Gulp. Heavy investment huh ? Indeed, but you gotta do it yourself if you wanna get it done right.
Have a great week!
Ode to Crystal Jade Seah
Hi Jade, how you doin? It seems a long time ago that you appeared on Miss Universe Singapore and lost to Carol Cheong in a deeply competitive and somewhat controversial social competition. I thought about it long and hard about why you lost, when I could remember, and all of a sudden, you re-appeared in our lives again through snippets of television time.
What's up? I haven't been catching up on the new show you are on about dancing floors but what is this hosting business? You're young and fresh and could have been a great investment banker with your degree from SMU, and now you're hosting uncomfortably among boys who are wearing strange clothes and trying to act like robots in front of you. I can tell you're always trying not to laugh at the bad dance moves.
What's up? I haven't been catching up on the new show you are on about dancing floors but what is this hosting business? You're young and fresh and could have been a great investment banker with your degree from SMU, and now you're hosting uncomfortably among boys who are wearing strange clothes and trying to act like robots in front of you. I can tell you're always trying not to laugh at the bad dance moves.
Not being your biggest fan, can I offer one objective suggestion? Okay. Maybe more than one? Relax. Be cool. Be a diva.
And since this is food blog, have your manager call up Crystal Jade and ask them to sponsor you. its a match made in heaven. Imagine, Crystal; meet Jade.
jade, jade
i think its kinda late ...
I can't do it. Sorry.
Main points: Enjoy yourself hosting. It takes time to be a good host. And get your manager to get you the job of spokesperson for Crystal Jade restaurants.Good match.
And now, my long awaited ode to Diana Ser......
WIne Garage
My wife's boss has been raving about this place and so being a good employee, my wife decided to try out the restaurant. I invited Tasty Bites, (for all dramatic purposes, I shall call him Mr. T) because the missus wasn't around and we could catch up on the Liverpool FC investment situation and thus isolating my wife. Just kidding, we minimized the talking about our beloved reds and concentrated on the food.
At Wine Garage We ordered the Antipasto platter, my wife ordered her sides of cheese and olives and a spinach salad while Mr. T and I ordered the grilled beef "rib-less," ribs with porcini risotto, and the restaurant being called what it is, we ordered some wine.
The deco took some time to get used to. Mr. T continually amazes me with his knowledge about all things told me that a lot of this industrial type design restaurants are really popular in Australia. The deco is nice. Its both a touch industrial without a hint of pretentious. Our server, which I have to say was one of the best servers I have had in Singapore, was polite, fast and made good recommendations.
The antipasto platter was outstanding. Loved it. A mixture of parma ham, cured mushrooms, salmon and fresh olives including the bread was excellent. My wife loved her cheese and olives and she claimed that the spinach salad is the best salad in Singapore; so that speaks volumes on how good the dishes are.
I was somewhat disappointed with my dish. I just felt that grilled beef tasted more braised than grilled. And that was my only contention with it. The porcini risotto was good and my Italian wine delightful. Mr. T didn't really say anything bad about his dish but I could tell that he liked it.
We enjoyed each others company and the restaurant didn't get crowded till very much later in the evening. I recommend this restaurant especially on their burger Tuesdays and I have to say that this is one of the better restaurants where service and food is of a good standard.
At Wine Garage We ordered the Antipasto platter, my wife ordered her sides of cheese and olives and a spinach salad while Mr. T and I ordered the grilled beef "rib-less," ribs with porcini risotto, and the restaurant being called what it is, we ordered some wine.
The deco took some time to get used to. Mr. T continually amazes me with his knowledge about all things told me that a lot of this industrial type design restaurants are really popular in Australia. The deco is nice. Its both a touch industrial without a hint of pretentious. Our server, which I have to say was one of the best servers I have had in Singapore, was polite, fast and made good recommendations.
The antipasto platter was outstanding. Loved it. A mixture of parma ham, cured mushrooms, salmon and fresh olives including the bread was excellent. My wife loved her cheese and olives and she claimed that the spinach salad is the best salad in Singapore; so that speaks volumes on how good the dishes are.
I was somewhat disappointed with my dish. I just felt that grilled beef tasted more braised than grilled. And that was my only contention with it. The porcini risotto was good and my Italian wine delightful. Mr. T didn't really say anything bad about his dish but I could tell that he liked it.
We enjoyed each others company and the restaurant didn't get crowded till very much later in the evening. I recommend this restaurant especially on their burger Tuesdays and I have to say that this is one of the better restaurants where service and food is of a good standard.
California Pizza Kitchen
So we were hungry, desperate, got lost on an island. It was getting late and we didn't know what to do. We walked as fast as we could and we saw a restaurant called California Pizza Kitchen. Place: Forum Galleria. Country: Singapore. Time: Its eating time!
As we entered the restaurant, we discovered that some how, we were the 2 skinniest people in the restaurant. The menu was decent and the restaurant quiet. Unusual for a restaurant in town in the weekend. We ordered the Italian pizza and a pepperoni pizza. I had my fill of Ice Lemon Tea and the missus her ice water. We later ordered dessert, some brownies and ice cream; thus the damage was $50 some dollars.
The food was decent. The pepperoni pizza was average at best. The Italian pizza was much better. Will I go back again? No. Probably not. The ambiance was nice but it wasn't like a pizzeria like I experienced back home.
Alas, good American pizza cannot be found in Singapore.
As we entered the restaurant, we discovered that some how, we were the 2 skinniest people in the restaurant. The menu was decent and the restaurant quiet. Unusual for a restaurant in town in the weekend. We ordered the Italian pizza and a pepperoni pizza. I had my fill of Ice Lemon Tea and the missus her ice water. We later ordered dessert, some brownies and ice cream; thus the damage was $50 some dollars.
The food was decent. The pepperoni pizza was average at best. The Italian pizza was much better. Will I go back again? No. Probably not. The ambiance was nice but it wasn't like a pizzeria like I experienced back home.
Alas, good American pizza cannot be found in Singapore.
More reviews to come for the following places:
1) Valentino
2) The Wine Garage
3) California Pizza Kitchen
Stay tuned........
2) The Wine Garage
3) California Pizza Kitchen
Stay tuned........
Country Singer Chicken
One of the few things in life I have learned through having been to so many restaurants is never go to a restaurant that has a name of a famous star, because most probably the star can't cook. And most probably, the star is not cooking the dishes. While I have been to Kenny Rogers countless times since it first opened in Singapore. I didn't know how good it was till I recently went back there again as a last resort. My wife is a huge Kenny Rogers fan. Wait. She is a big fan of Kenny and Dolly together. I have never seen his movies and hardly can recall his songs. I do remember his chicken. We went to the Suntec branch and we ordered the ribs, a quarter chicken, sides of pasta salad, mac & cheese and tons of corn bread. I have to say it is STILL the best corn bread in Singapore without a doubt. I am not from the south like Texas or Louisiana but I know what good corn bread is. This place served the best corn bread.
If you were to ask my wife, this place also had the best mac and cheese. I hate mac and cheese but coming from a person who ate mac and cheese every week in college, she knows what she is talking about. So besides having the best corn bread, it also had the best mac and cheese.
The ribs was disappointing. Like Eve, I thought I was going to have Kenny's ribs in a chicken hut but what I thought was true again. Never go to a steak house to order the tofu burger. In the same way, never go to a chicken place and order ribs. Bad idea.
The chicken was extraordinarily average. I have run out of superlatives to explain average but its mediocre. It's what chicken is. On a good note, my wife thought that Kenny's chicken didn't have the famous "durian," taste like most if not all of the other local chicken had. (Have to love my wife for saying crazy stuff like that)
In any case, as sure as I know about my Liverpool football or my history of rhetoric by Aristotle, I declare Kenny Roger's chicken 2nd best in the chicken chain competition in Singapore!
How not to pick a restaurant for Dinner
It all started all wrong. My wife had a bad day at work the day before and I thought what better way to cheer her up but to have a good meal at a nice restaurant. Somehow, carb loading does make people happy but Atkins denies that. Anyways, we were thinking about what and where to eat the whole day and my stupid mouth had to say Prego at Raffles City.
Before meeting my wife outside the restaurant, I met my other wife Tasty Bites for a quick caffeine shot and he told me not to go to Prego. I knew that. I trust him. But somehow his other suggestion for a restaurant was closed, I mean never to open again because it was CLOSED. So we had no choice but to end up at Prego.
Some background, I have been to Prego so many times when I was younger that I feel that I know the place by heart. I remembering ordering the cabonara and hated it because I hate cheese when I was 13. And I remember Prego being on the third floor of the Raffles City Shopping mall instead of the swanky corner that it is situated now. And recently, my colleague, which I shall call that person adnil mis recently went there and thought it wasn't that bad. I like my colleague and I think my colleague is a great person and friend.
But my wife and I left the place more disappointed then anything. The service was outstanding, deco was okay. There were alot of man couples and hetro-sexual couples, which made people watching interesting. The bread was somewhat warm the first time round but cold the second. We had a budget of $80 last night and we blew it by $7.
We ordered the calzone, the seafood pasta with tomato sauce and the lemon based sauced salad. First thing's first, the calzone was average at best. The one at Al Forno was much better. It was too cheesy for my liking and there wasn't enough tomato sauce in the calzone. The sausages in the calzone were not done correctly I thought. Instead of putting in cooked sausages, it seemed as if they were thrown in raw, so the texture of the sausages inside the calzone tasted steamed rather than tangy and juicy. The seafood pasta was average. I thought I could make something like that but charge at a much lower price. The salad. Well, I don't know how you say it but its probably one of the worst things I have tasted in my life. All you can taste is lemon juice and the blue cheese had a funky taste to it. It just tasted like vegetables with tons of lemon squeezed over it .
We declined to order more desserts but I think I should listen to Mr. and Mrs. Tasty Bites and my previous experience at Prego was probably right. My wife felt better after the meal not because it was a good meal but because we were laughing at each other while having a fake quarrel. Oh, the good times.
P.S. mama mia merda Prego cucina.
Before meeting my wife outside the restaurant, I met my other wife Tasty Bites for a quick caffeine shot and he told me not to go to Prego. I knew that. I trust him. But somehow his other suggestion for a restaurant was closed, I mean never to open again because it was CLOSED. So we had no choice but to end up at Prego.
Some background, I have been to Prego so many times when I was younger that I feel that I know the place by heart. I remembering ordering the cabonara and hated it because I hate cheese when I was 13. And I remember Prego being on the third floor of the Raffles City Shopping mall instead of the swanky corner that it is situated now. And recently, my colleague, which I shall call that person adnil mis recently went there and thought it wasn't that bad. I like my colleague and I think my colleague is a great person and friend.
But my wife and I left the place more disappointed then anything. The service was outstanding, deco was okay. There were alot of man couples and hetro-sexual couples, which made people watching interesting. The bread was somewhat warm the first time round but cold the second. We had a budget of $80 last night and we blew it by $7.
We ordered the calzone, the seafood pasta with tomato sauce and the lemon based sauced salad. First thing's first, the calzone was average at best. The one at Al Forno was much better. It was too cheesy for my liking and there wasn't enough tomato sauce in the calzone. The sausages in the calzone were not done correctly I thought. Instead of putting in cooked sausages, it seemed as if they were thrown in raw, so the texture of the sausages inside the calzone tasted steamed rather than tangy and juicy. The seafood pasta was average. I thought I could make something like that but charge at a much lower price. The salad. Well, I don't know how you say it but its probably one of the worst things I have tasted in my life. All you can taste is lemon juice and the blue cheese had a funky taste to it. It just tasted like vegetables with tons of lemon squeezed over it .
We declined to order more desserts but I think I should listen to Mr. and Mrs. Tasty Bites and my previous experience at Prego was probably right. My wife felt better after the meal not because it was a good meal but because we were laughing at each other while having a fake quarrel. Oh, the good times.
P.S. mama mia merda Prego cucina.
Astons Specialities
I like beef. Wait. I love beef. I love cows. Don't love milk. But I like Ice Cream. On the other hand, I do love steaks. I studied at a state where they name their steak cuts the Kansas City Strip. I can have beef every week or nearly every day. My wife, can be a testament to that because in school, every 3 days was a beef day. But when I came back to Singapore and discovered the quality of beef to be bad or poor, I told myself to have steaks maybe once or twice a year.
Everyone loves a good deal. Wait. Everyone absolutely loves a bargain. I thought I found it recently but I might have been having a meat mirage. People around me have been talking about Aston Specialities. It's a restaurant located along East Coast road and they serve good steaks. That's what people tell me.
I arrived at the place around 8pm on a Friday and it was full. Full with teenagers and families and young couples. I would like to think that I am part of a young couple but lets face it, these couples were probably still in college. We had to wait in line because the restaurant was full and the restaurant insisted that we had to order before we could find a place to sit (strike 1!)
And so I waited. I waited and waited. I waited for 30 mins before I could order and get a seat and see what all the fuss was about. We ordered the strip loin steak, the bbq ribs, a burger and alot of drinks along with a side of garlic bread. When the food came, I was surprised. The total bill we paid was less than $40. So yes, it is reasonable. The steak that my wife ordered was about 4 ounces? Which is small in my book because any steak you eat has to be about 8 - 12 ounces. We ordered with the sauce placed on the side because Singapore restaurants tend to have an over kill of sauce on the steak and this place was no different (strike 2!) The ribs were decent. It was sweet, the meat came off the bones easily, the burger was bad. I paid for a $5.50 burger and it came with beef patty and a slice of cheese. I was confused. The steak was decent, but the sides that came with it, was not that good. The mashed potatoes tasted processed (strike 3 and you're out!) but the fries, onion rings and potato salad wasn't bad at all. the garlic bread was slightly too soggy for my liking (strike 4?)
Before I get accused of being a high brow for food, let me say this, if you're a teenager and want to bring your girlfriend to a cool place to eat to show that you "know," secret hideouts, I say you bring your girlfriend there. Again, if you're a teenager, I don't know why you would be reading this blog. Anyways, if you have a young family with kids, bring your family there. They will like the place. I have been told that its better than Han's and Jack's Place. Honestly, I have hardly stepped into any of these restaurants in like many years so you can't take my word for it.
Just remember, don't order the mashed potatoes as one of your sides and stay away from the Burger and specifically ask for the sauce on the side for your steak. I was so ready to be impressed, and the pictures on their blog are pretty sexy meats. If you want to order the burger, they have this special burger they make that looks fantastic, order that! Don't order the burger on the menu. Don't order the ribs. And wait, if you could, ask the server if the cooks can abstain from putting the steak seasoning on the steak, and .... I think that's it.
I would really have digged this place if I was younger. I really do.
Everyone loves a good deal. Wait. Everyone absolutely loves a bargain. I thought I found it recently but I might have been having a meat mirage. People around me have been talking about Aston Specialities. It's a restaurant located along East Coast road and they serve good steaks. That's what people tell me.
I arrived at the place around 8pm on a Friday and it was full. Full with teenagers and families and young couples. I would like to think that I am part of a young couple but lets face it, these couples were probably still in college. We had to wait in line because the restaurant was full and the restaurant insisted that we had to order before we could find a place to sit (strike 1!)
And so I waited. I waited and waited. I waited for 30 mins before I could order and get a seat and see what all the fuss was about. We ordered the strip loin steak, the bbq ribs, a burger and alot of drinks along with a side of garlic bread. When the food came, I was surprised. The total bill we paid was less than $40. So yes, it is reasonable. The steak that my wife ordered was about 4 ounces? Which is small in my book because any steak you eat has to be about 8 - 12 ounces. We ordered with the sauce placed on the side because Singapore restaurants tend to have an over kill of sauce on the steak and this place was no different (strike 2!) The ribs were decent. It was sweet, the meat came off the bones easily, the burger was bad. I paid for a $5.50 burger and it came with beef patty and a slice of cheese. I was confused. The steak was decent, but the sides that came with it, was not that good. The mashed potatoes tasted processed (strike 3 and you're out!) but the fries, onion rings and potato salad wasn't bad at all. the garlic bread was slightly too soggy for my liking (strike 4?)
Before I get accused of being a high brow for food, let me say this, if you're a teenager and want to bring your girlfriend to a cool place to eat to show that you "know," secret hideouts, I say you bring your girlfriend there. Again, if you're a teenager, I don't know why you would be reading this blog. Anyways, if you have a young family with kids, bring your family there. They will like the place. I have been told that its better than Han's and Jack's Place. Honestly, I have hardly stepped into any of these restaurants in like many years so you can't take my word for it.
Just remember, don't order the mashed potatoes as one of your sides and stay away from the Burger and specifically ask for the sauce on the side for your steak. I was so ready to be impressed, and the pictures on their blog are pretty sexy meats. If you want to order the burger, they have this special burger they make that looks fantastic, order that! Don't order the burger on the menu. Don't order the ribs. And wait, if you could, ask the server if the cooks can abstain from putting the steak seasoning on the steak, and .... I think that's it.
I would really have digged this place if I was younger. I really do.
Reason for Prison Break at Changi Prison
Porta Porta is an Italian restaurant I have been to since I was a young lad. My parents wanted me to try Italian food and had read an article about this restaurant across from Changi Prison. Excited that I was going somewhere near a prison, I remembered ordering the squid ink pasta, and had tons of bread. I was thoroughly excited that my mouth was black with the squid ink.
I do not know if it is my mum's Cantonese culinary background or just my mum, my sister and I grew up being very critical of food. My family is the type of family that allows my mum to have the first bite of a fish head curry so that she can determine how fresh the fish is and thus to decide if we need to return the fish head curry. Yes, we are that family. I am also in the family where my mum and my sister can go to a restaurant and tell the server that the dish was horrible, or tell me its too salty or confound the critics by deciding that those fools were wrong.
Why am I writing this? The very fact that I was 12 years old when I first went to Porta Porta and I am still talking about it now means something about the restaurant. I do not know the owner and I do not know who cooks the food. I do know that this is truly one of THE hidden gems not only in the eastern part of Singapore but I can safely add that can include all directions in Singapore.
I ordered the Vongole and my wife ordered the Gnocchi, a mixed appetizer starter which consisted of olive oil cured cucumbers, mushrooms, red peppers and eggplant, free flow bread, an apple pie and a lemon gelato type sorbet for dessert coupled with a glass of wine and plain water. The bill was $100. But it was worth it.
I don't normally like to say this but the Vongole is probably the best I have tasted so far in Singapore over the last 2 years. If ever you can complain about having too much Vongole, this might just be it. I took about 15 mins to deshell everything. And once my task was completed, it took about 5 minutes to complete it. Not because the serving was small. But my mouth is big you see. The noodles were al dente, the white wine sauce was tangy and garlic protruded the taste. The blend was a great mix and I felt like drinking the sauce as soup. But I stopped myself.
The gnocchi was lovely. The cheese and the tomato mix was delightful and I personally hate cheese.
The mixed appetizer got me going, the bread wasn't the warmest but it did its job as a condiment to the starters. The desserts were great. My lemon gelato sorbet came in a lemon. How cool was that? (no pun intended) and the apple pie was much better than alot of the apple smush that I have had at other restaurants.
Service was polite and nice. I mean, its a small restaurant.
The only knock I do have is this: the menu is limited. I wish it has more variety so that I can sample more Italian cooking but its a small restaurant based on a very niche market.
So if any of you who decides to be Wentworth Miller and break out Changi Prison, try the Italian food. Its worth the prison break.
I do not know if it is my mum's Cantonese culinary background or just my mum, my sister and I grew up being very critical of food. My family is the type of family that allows my mum to have the first bite of a fish head curry so that she can determine how fresh the fish is and thus to decide if we need to return the fish head curry. Yes, we are that family. I am also in the family where my mum and my sister can go to a restaurant and tell the server that the dish was horrible, or tell me its too salty or confound the critics by deciding that those fools were wrong.
Why am I writing this? The very fact that I was 12 years old when I first went to Porta Porta and I am still talking about it now means something about the restaurant. I do not know the owner and I do not know who cooks the food. I do know that this is truly one of THE hidden gems not only in the eastern part of Singapore but I can safely add that can include all directions in Singapore.
I ordered the Vongole and my wife ordered the Gnocchi, a mixed appetizer starter which consisted of olive oil cured cucumbers, mushrooms, red peppers and eggplant, free flow bread, an apple pie and a lemon gelato type sorbet for dessert coupled with a glass of wine and plain water. The bill was $100. But it was worth it.
I don't normally like to say this but the Vongole is probably the best I have tasted so far in Singapore over the last 2 years. If ever you can complain about having too much Vongole, this might just be it. I took about 15 mins to deshell everything. And once my task was completed, it took about 5 minutes to complete it. Not because the serving was small. But my mouth is big you see. The noodles were al dente, the white wine sauce was tangy and garlic protruded the taste. The blend was a great mix and I felt like drinking the sauce as soup. But I stopped myself.
The gnocchi was lovely. The cheese and the tomato mix was delightful and I personally hate cheese.
The mixed appetizer got me going, the bread wasn't the warmest but it did its job as a condiment to the starters. The desserts were great. My lemon gelato sorbet came in a lemon. How cool was that? (no pun intended) and the apple pie was much better than alot of the apple smush that I have had at other restaurants.
Service was polite and nice. I mean, its a small restaurant.
The only knock I do have is this: the menu is limited. I wish it has more variety so that I can sample more Italian cooking but its a small restaurant based on a very niche market.
So if any of you who decides to be Wentworth Miller and break out Changi Prison, try the Italian food. Its worth the prison break.
Knives
During the long holiday week, the missus and I went to Sushi Tei at Takashimaya. While ordering the food by the sushi train, I paid attention to the sushi chefs and in particular, how pretty the knives were. I believe that besides the cleaver, you should maybe have about 3 knives in the kitchen to cook. And these are definitely on my list.
The pictures are taken from Watanabe Blades. Aren't they pretty?
The pictures are taken from Watanabe Blades. Aren't they pretty?
OSO
In my quest for better Italian food in Singapore. The wife and I have decided to explore another restaurant that is somewhat away from where we normally hang out. Located in Tanjong Pagar road, right next to FairField Methodist Church, is a deceptively sexy Italian restaurant. If you take a peek from the outside, it looks like a small eatery but as you enter the restaurant and turn a corner, its a hidden adjacent room filled with tables and I have to keep repeating this throughout the review, good service.
OSO is a sexy Italian restaurant. If you have been following this blog, we stumbled by this restaurant several weeks back before we reached Le Papillion. The wife and I wanted to head out for somewhere quaint and pretty and OSO was the choice. Its a pretty small restaurant but not as big as Garibaldis. The servers are all extremely pleasant and polite. Very helpful and was willing to put up with my nonsense, and that says quite a bit. We were going to meet our friends "Louis Vuitton," and his girlfriend "Pearly Whites," who were again fashionably 30 minutes late. Please do make your reservations. It'll do you good. So we were on time and hungry and we wanted to order everything first but wanted them to hold the orders for us to wait until our friends arrived. The servers more than happily agreed to our suggestion and we ordered the following:
Soup of the day - shreded crab meat soup in tomato base.
Foir Gras Brushcetta with almond and marsala wine sauce.
Penne pasta in tomato bisque and orange zest
roasted pork loin with honey served with braised capsicum and cinnamon
Hot dark chocolate tart crostata
Mascapone Cheese cake
The latecomers ordered:
The Soup of the day - after seeing me and the missus drink the soup silly
Homemade Ravioli filled with beef in cream, cheese and mushroom sauce
Rigatoni with braised rabbit, thyme black olives, Taggiasche
Sicilian Cannoli filled with ricotta cheese mouse and mixed candied fruits
First of all, I have to say that I love their cutlery and plates. Very pretty plates and utensils. What I didn't do that I should have done was actually to bring a camera because words can't do justice to how pretty the dishes were. Chef Diego Chiarini makes all the dishes looks like art. The decoration for each dish was immaculate and a sight.
I loved the soup, my wife didn't really like it but it was actually one of the best tomato based crab meat soup I have drank in a long time. It was smooth and refine. The foie gras bruschetta wreaked of decadence and beauty. Instead of the typical diced tomatoes, it was foie gras! The almond and Marsala wine sauce made the plate more appetizing and sweet. There was a mix of smokiness and nuttiness that made the bruschetta a great experience.
My wife wasn't too impressed with her pasta. But I was surprised she ordered what she did because it is unusual to have orange zest in pasta, but tasting it, there was a good compliment with the tomato bisque. My dish on the other hand was fantastic. The roasted pork was pink, sweet and succulent. The capsicum and cinnamon complimented the pork to a tee. I clearly had the best dish on the table!
My friends ordered the rabbit pasta ended up returning the pasta because she felt like it tasted like tuna, and the servers took it back without complain and asked her what she didn't like about it. She ordered the shrimp salad later. Louis Vuitton's Ravioli was excellent as well.
The reaction to the desserts were mixed. Again, I ordered the best thing. The chocolate tart. The milk ice cream that came along with the tart made it an excellent dish. And I don't drink milk! My wife's mascapone cheese cake was good too. I like it because it was a light cheese cake and the mascapone cream carried the cake.
Right before the end of our meal, the Maitre'd Stephene Colleoni came by and asked my friend and joked with us for a couple of seconds about the rabbit pasta. It was funny, but you could tell, at least from my perspective that they bothered about what the customer thought. That is good service!
The bill turned out to be about $150 per couple. Just about what I thought it was. I liked the restaurant. Its quite obvious. My wife thought it was one of the best she ever had in Singapore. So that says quite a bit.
Go to the website and see for yourself what they have. The current menu on their website is not updated but they have nearly everything that is in the current menu. I would definitely recommend this Italian restaurant!
OSO is a sexy Italian restaurant. If you have been following this blog, we stumbled by this restaurant several weeks back before we reached Le Papillion. The wife and I wanted to head out for somewhere quaint and pretty and OSO was the choice. Its a pretty small restaurant but not as big as Garibaldis. The servers are all extremely pleasant and polite. Very helpful and was willing to put up with my nonsense, and that says quite a bit. We were going to meet our friends "Louis Vuitton," and his girlfriend "Pearly Whites," who were again fashionably 30 minutes late. Please do make your reservations. It'll do you good. So we were on time and hungry and we wanted to order everything first but wanted them to hold the orders for us to wait until our friends arrived. The servers more than happily agreed to our suggestion and we ordered the following:
Soup of the day - shreded crab meat soup in tomato base.
Foir Gras Brushcetta with almond and marsala wine sauce.
Penne pasta in tomato bisque and orange zest
roasted pork loin with honey served with braised capsicum and cinnamon
Hot dark chocolate tart crostata
Mascapone Cheese cake
The latecomers ordered:
The Soup of the day - after seeing me and the missus drink the soup silly
Homemade Ravioli filled with beef in cream, cheese and mushroom sauce
Rigatoni with braised rabbit, thyme black olives, Taggiasche
Sicilian Cannoli filled with ricotta cheese mouse and mixed candied fruits
First of all, I have to say that I love their cutlery and plates. Very pretty plates and utensils. What I didn't do that I should have done was actually to bring a camera because words can't do justice to how pretty the dishes were. Chef Diego Chiarini makes all the dishes looks like art. The decoration for each dish was immaculate and a sight.
I loved the soup, my wife didn't really like it but it was actually one of the best tomato based crab meat soup I have drank in a long time. It was smooth and refine. The foie gras bruschetta wreaked of decadence and beauty. Instead of the typical diced tomatoes, it was foie gras! The almond and Marsala wine sauce made the plate more appetizing and sweet. There was a mix of smokiness and nuttiness that made the bruschetta a great experience.
My wife wasn't too impressed with her pasta. But I was surprised she ordered what she did because it is unusual to have orange zest in pasta, but tasting it, there was a good compliment with the tomato bisque. My dish on the other hand was fantastic. The roasted pork was pink, sweet and succulent. The capsicum and cinnamon complimented the pork to a tee. I clearly had the best dish on the table!
My friends ordered the rabbit pasta ended up returning the pasta because she felt like it tasted like tuna, and the servers took it back without complain and asked her what she didn't like about it. She ordered the shrimp salad later. Louis Vuitton's Ravioli was excellent as well.
The reaction to the desserts were mixed. Again, I ordered the best thing. The chocolate tart. The milk ice cream that came along with the tart made it an excellent dish. And I don't drink milk! My wife's mascapone cheese cake was good too. I like it because it was a light cheese cake and the mascapone cream carried the cake.
Right before the end of our meal, the Maitre'd Stephene Colleoni came by and asked my friend and joked with us for a couple of seconds about the rabbit pasta. It was funny, but you could tell, at least from my perspective that they bothered about what the customer thought. That is good service!
The bill turned out to be about $150 per couple. Just about what I thought it was. I liked the restaurant. Its quite obvious. My wife thought it was one of the best she ever had in Singapore. So that says quite a bit.
Go to the website and see for yourself what they have. The current menu on their website is not updated but they have nearly everything that is in the current menu. I would definitely recommend this Italian restaurant!
Tis a sad day ...
Inventor of instant noodles dies
 Momofuku Ando often ate his company's instant noodles |
Mr Ando was born in Taiwan in 1910 and moved to Japan in 1933, founding Nissin Food Products Co after World War II to provide cheap food for the masses.
His most famous product, Cup Noodle, was released in 1971.
Its taste and ease of preparation - adding hot water to dried noodles in a waterproof polystyrene container - have made it popular around the world.
Mr Ando said the inspiration for his product came when he saw people lining up to buy bowls of hot ramen noodle soup at a black market stall during the food shortages after World War II.
Noodles in space
He developed his first instant noodles, Chicken Ramen, in 1958.
The product came out as Japan recovered from the ravages of World War II and began a long period of economic expansion.
It was the masterstroke of providing a waterproof polystyrene container for the noodles that made his Cup Noodle an instant success in 1971.
Nissin has led the global instant noodle industry since then, selling 85.7 billion servings every year, according to Agence France Presse.
His firm also developed a version of Cup Noodle for Japanese astronauts to eat on the space shuttle Discovery in 2005.
In 1999, Mr Ando opened a museum in Osaka devoted to instant noodles.
He retired as Nissin's chairman in 2005.
Japanese newspapers and business people have been paying tribute to Mr Ando.
"He was a self-made man who developed an epoch-making instant noodle product and spread it to all corners of the world," Akio Nomura, chairman of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Kyodo news agency.
Mr Ando remained active until just days before his death, giving a New Year's speech to Nissin employees and having a lunch of Chicken Ramen with company executive.
Taken from BBC News
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