Island Creamery is an ice cream parlour that offers unique local flavours for both young and old – think Teh Tarik and Tiger Beer sorbet and not your typical boring chocolate or vanilla flavours. I tried the Pulut Hitam and I have to say that it kinda reminded me of the days in NS, where it was one of the favourite desserts among the field ration.
However, the texture of the ice-cream is a bit rough as compared to the ice cream from Venezia, at Guthrie House, Sixth Avenue.
Despite that, it is still a chic place for teenagers to hang out with, and it even encourage people to take photos, print out, and leave their wonderful memories behind, pasted on the wall. So who says all sweet stuffs leave you with a bad aftertaste?
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Do you remember the days when Ah Hock would be ringing his bells selling ice cream and kids would rush down from their HDB blocks after dinner just to satisfy their sweet tooth? Well, I was one of those kids. Then, the flavours were only Vanilla, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip and Raspberry – with the choices of having it on two pieces of soft and fluffy bread, or in between biscuits. Now these Ah Hocks can only be found in the middle of Orchard Road and instead, swanky new ice cream parlours sprung out all over Singapore.
On top of the flavours of the old, you get fanciful names like Tartufo, and ice cream are refined and repackaged as Gelato from Italy. Call it whatever they wished, but the child in me can never resist the temptation of a smooth and soft Italian ice cream after work, at Venezia.
Beware though when you wished to takeaway, as the gelato is made fresh everyday with no preservatives, the quality will dipped after 3 days, and also, gelato is served from a different freezer than American style ice cream - a forced air freezer - which is usually held at about -15°C. This allows the gelato to be served immediately after being extruded from the gelato machine - the "forced air" maintains the product at a steady temperature. Therefore, you may serve ice cream from a gelato freezer but you may not serve gelato from a freezer at home, as the gelato would become too frozen, and texture too flaky for liking.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Pls note that the post below is directly taken from my blog.
Happy First Birthday Yebber!
Today is the PARTY OF THE YEAR for Yebber! I was more than happy to be invited and be part of the party as well! Woohoo!
Claudia had asked me to be the emcee for the night and I was honoured to do that. Hee... But stressed at the same time. *Sweat* Wahahaha!
The event is held at MINT, a toy museum. A beautiful place where a personal collection of toys were exhibited! I was there before on a guided tour and was really impressed with the collection of toys and not to mention that at any one time, it will only consist of 10% (I think) of the collection where the rest are stored in a warehouse in Ang Mo Kio. This is my second visit to this place and have to say that I was totally impressed and felt in loved with this place in my first visit! It will be a good place to held my 30th birthday there as well. Hee....
A guide there, Roger (I think) was kind enough to show us the rooftop as well, it was good enough to hold a BBQ and at the same time, if there are fireworks at the Marina Bay, it will be a great place to see them there!
We were there to report at 5pm only to find out that we are the earliest. Hee... (Got to mention here we volunteered to help out one hor!) Not long after, the rest of the working party arrived and we started to become movers. Shifting up goodies bag, laptops and many other things. Setting up the place was easy especially with the help of the special staff there. Without them, we could not have get all the things ready in the time before the guests arrived! So exciting! Of cos we still managed to find time to cam whore as well. In fact we are all excited and crazy for the party to get started!
Seeing Claudia and Darren so stressed out over their speech, they sure got me started to get all nervous as well. I have done a lot of emcee jobs, but this is my first one (The Christmas event don't count) for Yebbers. Got partners, sponsors and Yebber bosses coming, so cannot disgrace Yebber or my face leh. Wahahaha....
Soon the 3rd floor became very crowded with guest and it seems that everyone know everyone. Wahahaha.... It suddenly becomes like a big networking session! For me, I just stand one side making myself sane for the event! Wahahaha! I am quite happy to see a few people who I have know their nicknames and finally got to see them in real life.
Around 7.30pm, decided to start off the event and have to say, it was quite difficult to get everyone attention. A mic will definitely do me good. Lucky for me, I was born with a loud and solid voice. I think everyone did managed to hear me. Hee...
During the party, there are games like Bingo and lucky draw to give away lots of prizes from vouchers, Creative mp3 players, web cams and optical mouses. I was lucky enough to win a Creative Webcam myself. Wahahaha! A bit pai seh to announce my own name some more.
What is a party without food right? There was a buffet of some good and decent food. Have to say that even though I only got time for one serving of food, but have to say that my favourites are the mushroom bruschetta and the chicken. I did not managed to help myself to the desserts where are a lot of tasty looking cakes. What a pity!
The event went through pretty smoothly even though there are small hiccups here and there but overall I give the party 4 stars out of 5 so that there will be room for improvements. Hope I did good enough to make everyone enjoyed the program as well. Hee...
So again A Happy Birthday to Yebber and many more wonderful years to come! Hope to see many of you all in the upcoming events!
Held at the mint museum of toys, the event was to house 50 individuals from Yebbers to sponsors and major holders of interest with the beloved website we've all grown to love and grow with.
The mint museum was an extremely interesting choice to have an event as first of all, i've never heard of it before and secondly, who would have thought the museum actually served decent food??? (thats a post ill save for later though. Muahahaha!)
Back to the event, loads of prizes ranging from creative zen stones to a 4gd zen player (which i wanted badly but didn't win in the end. Sigh) to webcams and optical mice. Its definitely a wonderful plethora of prizes which entices and keeps the interest of the people when it came to the games. Well done, loved bingo but the winner always seems to be that extremely lucky girl!?!? Nevertheless, never say die i suppose.
I did have a few gripes which were basically small ones about the very limited space for activity and lack of seating in the place but its mostly minor.
The architecture of the museum is pretty interesting with its second place hanging glass exhibition hall directly above our heads which was surprisingly suspended by the ceiling instead of having pillars for support. (Thank you PB for this piece of info.) The selection of old school toys were also astonishing but my gf wasn't quite comfortable with some of the scarier looking ones. I would be frightened too if i had to spend the night with that load of antique toys staring at me. Still, interesting place.
The venue staff were great and helped solve whatever questions or needs that arose.
......i need to talk about the food, it was good. Particularly the bruschetta and the chicken potato hybrid which i've had multiple servings. Nice work on Yebber's part to source out great places for events.
Finally, the best part was learning more about the people present that made the system work. Great stuff, lets keep them coming!!!
Dubbed the “Bohemian enclave” of Singapore, Holland Village is a curious mix between old and new. Traditional coffee shops and a wet market jostle for space aside swanky wine bars and fine dining restaurants. And in the space of one week, I was fortunate to take part in this dining culture twice. And in both occasions, I was indulging in the pleasure of the rich Italian cuisine. Situated at the corner among a cluster of shophouses is Al Dente Trattoria.
At Al Dente, one can choose to dine al fresco or indoors. Unfortunately, although the candlelight adds an amorous atmosphere for the diners, frequent passer-by walking along Lorong Mambong seeks to blemish it, thus our choice to venture indoors.
We were served by an over-enthusiastic service staff that we felt pressured to order more than we should (apparently ice water was a choice of sprinkling or still, and I ended ordering the ice-peach tea instead). He was also quick to note down the order of the Antipasti Sampler Platter – which we haven’t agreed upon – but felt obliged to since he already wrote it.
Thankfully, the appetiser turned out to be pretty fine. A platter of premium salami slices, grilled mushrooms, tomatoes with mozzarella cheese, ham with melon & cold seafood cuts on fresh garden greens was a harmonious dish that suited all three of us. While both my friends went for the Linguine Marinara, or the seafood of lobster, shrimps, clams, mussels & cod fillet tossed with linguine pasta in a wine seafood stock, finished with a robust herbed tomato stew, I was encouraged yet again by the service staff to go for the Penne with Scallops, or the tube pasta with fresh Australian scallops & zucchini slices, sautéed in a light cream sauce, infused with brandy.
The scallops were indeed juicy and fresh, and the taste of zucchini was refreshing as I haven’t had it since my Perth days. The only fault that I would pick on would be that the cream sauce was too rich, such that one cannot taste the hint of brandy in it.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
I attended the Party held at the Mint on Friday and I loved it. I love the place, with all the quirky toys. It never fails to amaze me, this place.
Richard, the curator, was also very nice to help us out although it was past the time for him to knock off. He even offered to take us up to the balcony to see another area they have for a gathering. It was open air and I can see the makings of a BBQ there!
Anyways back to the party, lots of people were there, Yebbers and Pingsters and other bloggers... We were suitably entertained, though I have to agree with some that we needed a mic or a gong to get people's attention at least. :) The bingo game sure got lots of people's attention!!!
Also the prizes were great though I din win any. But I'm sure many appreciated the prizes. :)
The food also also pretty good though I'd prefer to have seats when I eat but it was alright too. I was too excited to eat wor. Nonetheless the people made sure we had all we need for the party to go on and I think that's one of the most important things when choosing a venue - having the support from the venue staff. :)
For me, there is nothing more Italian than a piping hot & thin crusty slice of pizza. At Da Paolo, you find a stylish Pizza Bar like no other – with its long strip of dappled brown and white cow hide running along the ceiling and down one wall, bronze panels, a wall of wine-bottles and a stylish glass kitchen – Da Paolo’s choice of location for the Pizza Bar was premeditated – the bohemian status of Chip Bee Gardens lends itself to the Pizza Bar’s concept of providing a friendly and inspired environment to dine and wine. The Pizza Bar pursues closely to Da Paolo trademark cooking that is using fresh ingredients to elicit the taste. Ingredients to make the pizza dough are sourced directly from Italy and toppings are made from fresh ingredients only.
For starters, we decided on the Insalata di Spinaci con Avocado, Gamberetti e Mango, or Baby Spinach with Avocado, Shrimps and Mango Salad. A refreshing salad that comes with generous ingredients, this is a fine starter that really rouse the appetite for the mains – the savoury prawns along with the sweet and sourish mango and rich avocado really open up our palates for the mains.
For the pizzas, we chose two tomato-based pizzas – the first being Pizza Salmone, Funghi e Pesto, or the Pizza with Tomato, Mozzarella, Smoked Salmon, Mushrooms and Pesto. The Smoked Salmon was really fresh and full of flavour and we really liked the addition of the mushrooms – the chewy bite of the shrooms adds a new twist to this dish.
For the second – Pizza Rucola, Prosciutto e Scaglie di Parmigiano, or Pizza with Tomato, Mozzarella, Arugula Leaves, Parma Ham and Shaved Parmesan, the mild bitterness of the Rocket Salad is a perfect harmony with the saltiness of the Parma Ham. It also helps that I am a huge fan of the Arugula with Parmesan.
The thin crusts of both pizzas are also well executed and are definitely one of the best I have eaten in Singapore. And if you think the both of us are ambitious, you might be surprised to know that we managed to clean out a starter and 2 large pizzas in an hour or so. Service was generally attentive and most staffs were friendly except for a particular staff in which we felt was pretty unprofessional in taking orders. He was standing approximately 2 metres away from me and took the orders without writing down – something, which my dining partner felt was pretty rude as well.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Stepped into Oomphatico’s and you would imagine yourself transported to another world – lush and whimsical, the place was brightly and warmly lit with colours – a mixed of modern yet vintage feel.
Furniture were well spaced so one would not feel confined. The fixtures were very cosy with thick cushioned armchairs, in a myriad of colours and tones, and there's a stylish casualness about the place, without being pretentious, it gives customers a very peaceful ambience to dine in.
Pride itself of serving “Good Food”, the outlet comes with many interesting items on the menu – organic, Thai, noodles, Raw, gluten-free, raw and even ZEN to name some of them. You probably need time to scrutinise the menu to fully understand the kinds of items available to delight your palate. For starters, we order the Raw Deal, a Raw Vegetable Salad consisting of Beetroot, Apples and lots of Nuts and Seeds. I eat raw salad, but even I think this dish was too ambitious for me – perhaps because I am not a big fan of beetroot. The shredded apples though add a nice sweetness to it.
For the mains, we shared the Prawn and Spinach Brown Rice Risotto. It was a good balance between the spinach and the creamy-rich risotto, and the prawns add a delightful bite to this dish.
The other main we shared was the Rebelde Lina, an interesting Pizza topped with Spanish onions, Mushrooms, Bacon, Spinach and Tomatoes but most importantly – a whole EGG!!! Yes, at Oomphatico’s, all egg lovers will delighted to know that they have a pizza come served with an egg cracked all over it (Although this photo doesn't do justice to the pizza - trust me - it looks better in real).
Service was also a joy, with plenty of friendly staffs to attend to our needs. One lady (which I assume to be the boss) also made the effort to go around each table and chat with the guests, which made us feel very welcome. Overall I think this restaurant offers a refreshing experience from many others. From the food it offers to the service to the décor and furnishing, there will definitely be something you will be enticed by.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Tekka Centre, or 竹脚中心 located in the Little India area is a multi-use building complex comprising a wet market, food centre and shops, located along Bukit Timah Road, Race Course Road, Buffalo Road and Serangoon Road. It is said that at the wet market, you can find all sorts of spices, and traditional ingredients that you cannot find anywhere else in Singapore. And it is also at the food centre that you can find one of the most popular Indian Muslim Stall that dished out the best Original Chicken Dum Briyani – Yakader Muslim Food.
Cooked using long grain Basmati Rice and Glee, the Dum method of cooking stews food in a pot sealed with foil to prevent the steam from escaping. The food gradually steams in its own natural juices, captivating the subtle essence of the spices and herbs added at the start of the cooking process. I usually avoid this stall during lunchtime, as heavy lunch just doesn’t work for me. But the curiosity got over me, as day in day out, I always see a queue snaking outside this modest stall. At first glance, the serving doesn’t look appetising – everything looks orangey red (but then doesn’t all Briyani look like this?) but it was truly a heartily satisfying meal.
The rice was palatable and not as greasy as I thought it would be and the curry was a great complement to it. The spices captured by the chicken also gave it an aromatic and fragrant taste to it but at the end of the day, it was the texture of the flesh that won me over.
It was VERY tender and succulent unlike many others that I have tried before, so much so that it caught me by surprise!
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Their signature Warm Chocolate Cake is sinfully delectable. Described as the “melt-in-the-mouth chocolate cake oozing with rich Valrhona chocolate”, Valrhona, founded since 1924, focuses mainly on top-quality luxury chocolate marketed for professional as well as for private consumption. And I would say what a huge difference it made especially since I could evaluate it to the second-rated one I had at Friends@Jelita. Also the warmness of the cake prepared freshly by the chef harmonised perfectly with the cold Homemade Vanilla Ice-cream. What is also often overlooked is the Orange Confit at the bottom that amazingly complements the bittersweet chocolate cake giving it a subtle fruity flavour to it.
Finally rinse it off with the revitalising Lavender Violet Lime that comes in a romantic purple – an Italian soda with lavender flavoured syrup that tasted so refreshing. I like it as it wasn’t very sweet but however, I would prefer if peppermint leaf were used to give it a better lift instead of the lime, as the drink tends to turn bitter towards the end. My friend had the Strawberry Lavender Lime that is very much sweeter but still as good. Definitely a favourite with the ladies!
You can view the photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Island Creamery is an ice cream parlour that offers unique local flavours for both young and old – think Teh Tarik and Tiger Beer sorbet and not your typical boring chocolate or vanilla flavours. I tried the Pulut Hitam and I have to say that it kinda reminded me of the days in NS, where it was one of the favourite desserts among the field ration.
However, the texture of the ice-cream is a bit rough as compared to the ice cream from Venezia, at Guthrie House, Sixth Avenue.
Despite that, it is still a chic place for teenagers to hang out with, and it even encourage people to take photos, print out, and leave their wonderful memories behind, pasted on the wall. So who says all sweet stuffs leave you with a bad aftertaste?
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Rating given:
Do you remember the days when Ah Hock would be ringing his bells selling ice cream and kids would rush down from their HDB blocks after dinner just to satisfy their sweet tooth? Well, I was one of those kids. Then, the flavours were only Vanilla, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip and Raspberry – with the choices of having it on two pieces of soft and fluffy bread, or in between biscuits. Now these Ah Hocks can only be found in the middle of Orchard Road and instead, swanky new ice cream parlours sprung out all over Singapore.
On top of the flavours of the old, you get fanciful names like Tartufo, and ice cream are refined and repackaged as Gelato from Italy. Call it whatever they wished, but the child in me can never resist the temptation of a smooth and soft Italian ice cream after work, at Venezia.
Beware though when you wished to takeaway, as the gelato is made fresh everyday with no preservatives, the quality will dipped after 3 days, and also, gelato is served from a different freezer than American style ice cream - a forced air freezer - which is usually held at about -15°C. This allows the gelato to be served immediately after being extruded from the gelato machine - the "forced air" maintains the product at a steady temperature. Therefore, you may serve ice cream from a gelato freezer but you may not serve gelato from a freezer at home, as the gelato would become too frozen, and texture too flaky for liking.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Rating given:
Pls note that the post below is directly taken from my blog.
Happy First Birthday Yebber!
Today is the PARTY OF THE YEAR for Yebber! I was more than happy to be invited and be part of the party as well! Woohoo!
Claudia had asked me to be the emcee for the night and I was honoured to do that. Hee... But stressed at the same time. *Sweat* Wahahaha!
The event is held at MINT, a toy museum. A beautiful place where a personal collection of toys were exhibited! I was there before on a guided tour and was really impressed with the collection of toys and not to mention that at any one time, it will only consist of 10% (I think) of the collection where the rest are stored in a warehouse in Ang Mo Kio. This is my second visit to this place and have to say that I was totally impressed and felt in loved with this place in my first visit! It will be a good place to held my 30th birthday there as well. Hee....
A guide there, Roger (I think) was kind enough to show us the rooftop as well, it was good enough to hold a BBQ and at the same time, if there are fireworks at the Marina Bay, it will be a great place to see them there!
We were there to report at 5pm only to find out that we are the earliest. Hee... (Got to mention here we volunteered to help out one hor!) Not long after, the rest of the working party arrived and we started to become movers. Shifting up goodies bag, laptops and many other things. Setting up the place was easy especially with the help of the special staff there. Without them, we could not have get all the things ready in the time before the guests arrived! So exciting! Of cos we still managed to find time to cam whore as well. In fact we are all excited and crazy for the party to get started!
Seeing Claudia and Darren so stressed out over their speech, they sure got me started to get all nervous as well. I have done a lot of emcee jobs, but this is my first one (The Christmas event don't count) for Yebbers. Got partners, sponsors and Yebber bosses coming, so cannot disgrace Yebber or my face leh. Wahahaha....
Soon the 3rd floor became very crowded with guest and it seems that everyone know everyone. Wahahaha.... It suddenly becomes like a big networking session! For me, I just stand one side making myself sane for the event! Wahahaha! I am quite happy to see a few people who I have know their nicknames and finally got to see them in real life.
Around 7.30pm, decided to start off the event and have to say, it was quite difficult to get everyone attention. A mic will definitely do me good. Lucky for me, I was born with a loud and solid voice. I think everyone did managed to hear me. Hee...
During the party, there are games like Bingo and lucky draw to give away lots of prizes from vouchers, Creative mp3 players, web cams and optical mouses. I was lucky enough to win a Creative Webcam myself. Wahahaha! A bit pai seh to announce my own name some more.
What is a party without food right? There was a buffet of some good and decent food. Have to say that even though I only got time for one serving of food, but have to say that my favourites are the mushroom bruschetta and the chicken. I did not managed to help myself to the desserts where are a lot of tasty looking cakes. What a pity!
The event went through pretty smoothly even though there are small hiccups here and there but overall I give the party 4 stars out of 5 so that there will be room for improvements. Hope I did good enough to make everyone enjoyed the program as well. Hee...
So again A Happy Birthday to Yebber and many more wonderful years to come! Hope to see many of you all in the upcoming events!
Rating given:
Yebber's 1st Year Anniversary went with a Bang!
Held at the mint museum of toys, the event was to house 50 individuals from Yebbers to sponsors and major holders of interest with the beloved website we've all grown to love and grow with.
The mint museum was an extremely interesting choice to have an event as first of all, i've never heard of it before and secondly, who would have thought the museum actually served decent food??? (thats a post ill save for later though. Muahahaha!)
Back to the event, loads of prizes ranging from creative zen stones to a 4gd zen player (which i wanted badly but didn't win in the end. Sigh) to webcams and optical mice. Its definitely a wonderful plethora of prizes which entices and keeps the interest of the people when it came to the games. Well done, loved bingo but the winner always seems to be that extremely lucky girl!?!? Nevertheless, never say die i suppose.
I did have a few gripes which were basically small ones about the very limited space for activity and lack of seating in the place but its mostly minor.
The architecture of the museum is pretty interesting with its second place hanging glass exhibition hall directly above our heads which was surprisingly suspended by the ceiling instead of having pillars for support. (Thank you PB for this piece of info.) The selection of old school toys were also astonishing but my gf wasn't quite comfortable with some of the scarier looking ones. I would be frightened too if i had to spend the night with that load of antique toys staring at me. Still, interesting place.
The venue staff were great and helped solve whatever questions or needs that arose.
......i need to talk about the food, it was good. Particularly the bruschetta and the chicken potato hybrid which i've had multiple servings. Nice work on Yebber's part to source out great places for events.
Finally, the best part was learning more about the people present that made the system work. Great stuff, lets keep them coming!!!
Happy Birthday Yebber!
Rating given:
Dubbed the “Bohemian enclave” of Singapore, Holland Village is a curious mix between old and new. Traditional coffee shops and a wet market jostle for space aside swanky wine bars and fine dining restaurants. And in the space of one week, I was fortunate to take part in this dining culture twice. And in both occasions, I was indulging in the pleasure of the rich Italian cuisine. Situated at the corner among a cluster of shophouses is Al Dente Trattoria.
At Al Dente, one can choose to dine al fresco or indoors. Unfortunately, although the candlelight adds an amorous atmosphere for the diners, frequent passer-by walking along Lorong Mambong seeks to blemish it, thus our choice to venture indoors.
We were served by an over-enthusiastic service staff that we felt pressured to order more than we should (apparently ice water was a choice of sprinkling or still, and I ended ordering the ice-peach tea instead). He was also quick to note down the order of the Antipasti Sampler Platter – which we haven’t agreed upon – but felt obliged to since he already wrote it.
Thankfully, the appetiser turned out to be pretty fine. A platter of premium salami slices, grilled mushrooms, tomatoes with mozzarella cheese, ham with melon & cold seafood cuts on fresh garden greens was a harmonious dish that suited all three of us. While both my friends went for the Linguine Marinara, or the seafood of lobster, shrimps, clams, mussels & cod fillet tossed with linguine pasta in a wine seafood stock, finished with a robust herbed tomato stew, I was encouraged yet again by the service staff to go for the Penne with Scallops, or the tube pasta with fresh Australian scallops & zucchini slices, sautéed in a light cream sauce, infused with brandy.
The scallops were indeed juicy and fresh, and the taste of zucchini was refreshing as I haven’t had it since my Perth days. The only fault that I would pick on would be that the cream sauce was too rich, such that one cannot taste the hint of brandy in it.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Rating given:
I LOVE YEBBER! heh heh
Happy Birthday to Yebber! Whoohoo!
I attended the Party held at the Mint on Friday and I loved it. I love the place, with all the quirky toys. It never fails to amaze me, this place.
Richard, the curator, was also very nice to help us out although it was past the time for him to knock off. He even offered to take us up to the balcony to see another area they have for a gathering. It was open air and I can see the makings of a BBQ there!
Anyways back to the party, lots of people were there, Yebbers and Pingsters and other bloggers... We were suitably entertained, though I have to agree with some that we needed a mic or a gong to get people's attention at least. :) The bingo game sure got lots of people's attention!!!
Also the prizes were great though I din win any. But I'm sure many appreciated the prizes. :)
The food also also pretty good though I'd prefer to have seats when I eat but it was alright too. I was too excited to eat wor. Nonetheless the people made sure we had all we need for the party to go on and I think that's one of the most important things when choosing a venue - having the support from the venue staff. :)
Looking forward to the next one!!!
Rating given:
For me, there is nothing more Italian than a piping hot & thin crusty slice of pizza. At Da Paolo, you find a stylish Pizza Bar like no other – with its long strip of dappled brown and white cow hide running along the ceiling and down one wall, bronze panels, a wall of wine-bottles and a stylish glass kitchen – Da Paolo’s choice of location for the Pizza Bar was premeditated – the bohemian status of Chip Bee Gardens lends itself to the Pizza Bar’s concept of providing a friendly and inspired environment to dine and wine. The Pizza Bar pursues closely to Da Paolo trademark cooking that is using fresh ingredients to elicit the taste. Ingredients to make the pizza dough are sourced directly from Italy and toppings are made from fresh ingredients only.
For starters, we decided on the Insalata di Spinaci con Avocado, Gamberetti e Mango, or Baby Spinach with Avocado, Shrimps and Mango Salad. A refreshing salad that comes with generous ingredients, this is a fine starter that really rouse the appetite for the mains – the savoury prawns along with the sweet and sourish mango and rich avocado really open up our palates for the mains.
For the pizzas, we chose two tomato-based pizzas – the first being Pizza Salmone, Funghi e Pesto, or the Pizza with Tomato, Mozzarella, Smoked Salmon, Mushrooms and Pesto. The Smoked Salmon was really fresh and full of flavour and we really liked the addition of the mushrooms – the chewy bite of the shrooms adds a new twist to this dish.
For the second – Pizza Rucola, Prosciutto e Scaglie di Parmigiano, or Pizza with Tomato, Mozzarella, Arugula Leaves, Parma Ham and Shaved Parmesan, the mild bitterness of the Rocket Salad is a perfect harmony with the saltiness of the Parma Ham. It also helps that I am a huge fan of the Arugula with Parmesan.
The thin crusts of both pizzas are also well executed and are definitely one of the best I have eaten in Singapore. And if you think the both of us are ambitious, you might be surprised to know that we managed to clean out a starter and 2 large pizzas in an hour or so. Service was generally attentive and most staffs were friendly except for a particular staff in which we felt was pretty unprofessional in taking orders. He was standing approximately 2 metres away from me and took the orders without writing down – something, which my dining partner felt was pretty rude as well.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Rating given:
Stepped into Oomphatico’s and you would imagine yourself transported to another world – lush and whimsical, the place was brightly and warmly lit with colours – a mixed of modern yet vintage feel.
Furniture were well spaced so one would not feel confined. The fixtures were very cosy with thick cushioned armchairs, in a myriad of colours and tones, and there's a stylish casualness about the place, without being pretentious, it gives customers a very peaceful ambience to dine in.
Pride itself of serving “Good Food”, the outlet comes with many interesting items on the menu – organic, Thai, noodles, Raw, gluten-free, raw and even ZEN to name some of them. You probably need time to scrutinise the menu to fully understand the kinds of items available to delight your palate. For starters, we order the Raw Deal, a Raw Vegetable Salad consisting of Beetroot, Apples and lots of Nuts and Seeds. I eat raw salad, but even I think this dish was too ambitious for me – perhaps because I am not a big fan of beetroot. The shredded apples though add a nice sweetness to it.
For the mains, we shared the Prawn and Spinach Brown Rice Risotto. It was a good balance between the spinach and the creamy-rich risotto, and the prawns add a delightful bite to this dish.
The other main we shared was the Rebelde Lina, an interesting Pizza topped with Spanish onions, Mushrooms, Bacon, Spinach and Tomatoes but most importantly – a whole EGG!!! Yes, at Oomphatico’s, all egg lovers will delighted to know that they have a pizza come served with an egg cracked all over it (Although this photo doesn't do justice to the pizza - trust me - it looks better in real).
Service was also a joy, with plenty of friendly staffs to attend to our needs. One lady (which I assume to be the boss) also made the effort to go around each table and chat with the guests, which made us feel very welcome. Overall I think this restaurant offers a refreshing experience from many others. From the food it offers to the service to the décor and furnishing, there will definitely be something you will be enticed by.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
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Tekka Centre, or 竹脚中心 located in the Little India area is a multi-use building complex comprising a wet market, food centre and shops, located along Bukit Timah Road, Race Course Road, Buffalo Road and Serangoon Road. It is said that at the wet market, you can find all sorts of spices, and traditional ingredients that you cannot find anywhere else in Singapore. And it is also at the food centre that you can find one of the most popular Indian Muslim Stall that dished out the best Original Chicken Dum Briyani – Yakader Muslim Food.
Cooked using long grain Basmati Rice and Glee, the Dum method of cooking stews food in a pot sealed with foil to prevent the steam from escaping. The food gradually steams in its own natural juices, captivating the subtle essence of the spices and herbs added at the start of the cooking process. I usually avoid this stall during lunchtime, as heavy lunch just doesn’t work for me. But the curiosity got over me, as day in day out, I always see a queue snaking outside this modest stall. At first glance, the serving doesn’t look appetising – everything looks orangey red (but then doesn’t all Briyani look like this?) but it was truly a heartily satisfying meal.
The rice was palatable and not as greasy as I thought it would be and the curry was a great complement to it. The spices captured by the chicken also gave it an aromatic and fragrant taste to it but at the end of the day, it was the texture of the flesh that won me over.
It was VERY tender and succulent unlike many others that I have tried before, so much so that it caught me by surprise!
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
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Their signature Warm Chocolate Cake is sinfully delectable. Described as the “melt-in-the-mouth chocolate cake oozing with rich Valrhona chocolate”, Valrhona, founded since 1924, focuses mainly on top-quality luxury chocolate marketed for professional as well as for private consumption. And I would say what a huge difference it made especially since I could evaluate it to the second-rated one I had at Friends@Jelita. Also the warmness of the cake prepared freshly by the chef harmonised perfectly with the cold Homemade Vanilla Ice-cream. What is also often overlooked is the Orange Confit at the bottom that amazingly complements the bittersweet chocolate cake giving it a subtle fruity flavour to it.
Finally rinse it off with the revitalising Lavender Violet Lime that comes in a romantic purple – an Italian soda with lavender flavoured syrup that tasted so refreshing. I like it as it wasn’t very sweet but however, I would prefer if peppermint leaf were used to give it a better lift instead of the lime, as the drink tends to turn bitter towards the end. My friend had the Strawberry Lavender Lime that is very much sweeter but still as good. Definitely a favourite with the ladies!
You can view the photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
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