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Food & Beverage
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Punggol end used to be just Jumbo seafood, a roundabout for bus 82 and a place where I used to catch spiders when I was a kid. Now it has been revamped (and renamed to Punggol Promenade) to include a handful of restaurants and pubs, a cycling track/boardwalk and even a small scale supermarket. Upon a recommendation, the six of us dropped by Horizon Bistronomy for dinner one relatively quiet weekday evening.
Located on the second floor of the building and playing neighbours to a Thai food outlet and a pub, Horizon Bistronomy offers both indoors and alfresco seating, with the latter obviously being more popular due to an unblocked view of the Singapore/Johor Straits.
Chilled Crab Meat Angel Hair - To start, I had the crab meat angel hair, which came topped with three substantial chunks of chilled, crunchy crab meat and chorizo oil (pork sausage) that had bits of crisp chorizo for that nice bacon-like texture and taste. Finished off with salty, crunchy salmon roe. Although the angel hair had a touch of truffle oil which gave it a light fragrance and smoothness, it was a tad too thick in my humble opinion. Overall a very decent dish but not something I would go wow over.
Horizon Pork 2 Way - The two way refers to a 24hrs slow braised pork belly and a kurobuta pork tenderloin. The former was melt in your mouth tender and topped with mild grape mustard but as it had quite a substantial amount of fat, the nausea kicked in really quickly. I personally preferred the latter, which was tender with a nice smokey taste to it. The accompanying cauliflower puree was smooth but could do with a little butter. All in all, a pretty good dish!
Chocolate Textures - The name of this dessert brought back wonderful memories of Quay's rendition. But the end result was vastly different. A brownie like chocolate base topped with 66% valrhona chocolate mousse, seperated by a thin layer of orange marmalade and finished with a coffee sauce. Contrary to the menu's claim that this dessert is "simply divine!", the orange marmalade weighed in too strong on the flavours, effectively diluting the taste of the chocolate whilst the bitterness of the coffee sauce didn't quite jell with the whole dish in my humble opinion. Maybe a vanilla bean sauce would have been more appropriate?
Garden By The Bay - A chef's special that's not on the menu, the Garden By The Bay came looking like a few random greens growing out of a pot of soil. Beneath the soil (which is actually chocolate crumbs with bits of nuts) was a thick layer of smooth and light but rather bland vanilla mousse with strawberries, apple slices etc thrown into the mix. I personally liked the chocolate soil, which had a nice crunch coupled with a mild nutty flavour.
The 6 of us spent close to $250 which wasn't too expensive quantitatively but portion sizes did seem a tad small and quality was somewhat a mixed bag. Some items, like the pork and angel hair pasta, were decent but others, like the King of the Sea (not featured because I forgot to take a photo of it) came across as average (salmon was bland and king prawn wasn't fresh). Desserts are definitely not a forte at this place as well. On the upside, service was good with a great view to boot. That, coupled with the pork dish, might well be enough to warrant a revisit.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Inagiku was long gone (since 2012) and in its place, Mikuni, a Japanese restaurant helmed by Executive Chef Moon Kyung Soo (who is Korean by the way). After seeing all the wonderful reviews about the place (mostly invites though), we decided to drop by for lunch one weekday afternoon.
I really don't know how to begin describing the interior of Mikuni. It had sort of a weird vibe to it, like they couldn't decide whether to make it techno-ish or modern Japanese (what's with the blue overhanging lights?) and tables were placed relatively close to each other. I could make out what the tables to our left and right were talking about which was quite a turn off in my humble opinion, the tron legacy lights notwithstanding (reminded me a little of Eva Air's Infinity Lounge @ Taipei as well).
Appetiser - And we started off with a bowl of complimentary salad and some thin, crustacean crisps (I believe it was ebi) with dashes of spice. Pretty nice.
Sashimi Set - Very fresh sashimi; Tuna, creamily smooth sea urchin, salmon, swordfish, squid and amberjack. Need I say more? Served with a cup of chawanmushi (more on that later) and a rather tasty agedashi tofu sporting a somewhat elastic skin.
Australian Beef & Ebi Ougon Sauce Set - Although portions were a tad dainty, this teppanyaki set offered a pretty good sampling of beef and prawn. The beef was tender and flavourful with bits of fat even though it came almost well done instead of my requested medium. However, the highlight was the prawns; Fresh, crunchy and smothered in creamy yet lightly savoury golden sauce (The old Inagiku's rendition was slightly richer and better in my humble opinion though). I personally loved the addition of the fried garlic chips to the dish for that strong garlic infusion and crunch.
The set also included a bowl of fragrant garlic fried rich and a cup of chawanmushi, with the latter silky smooth with bits of prawn and meat inside without coming across as too eggy.
Espresso Ice Cream & Petit Fours - I'm usually not a big fan of coffee ice creams but the espresso ice cream was pretty good; Not too strong or acidic and went well with the blob of cream in the center. Biscuit crumbs atop provided a nice crunchy texture to the equation.
The petit fours included rather interesting red bean squares that had a smooth, melt in your mouth texture (similar to paste) but appeared gelatin like. Matcha balls (matcha cream encapsulated by a thin white chocolate shell and dusted with matcha powder) completed the picture and I personally liked how the bitterness of the matcha complemented the sweetness of the chocolate.
If it wasn't for the Feed At Raffles discount, our lunch would have been exorbitantly priced. Thankfully, with the 50% discount, it was a more affordable $103 for two. Food quality was pretty decent but I wouldn't describe it as mind blowing. More like reliable if you ask me. Service was good but the ambience wasn't ideal (lose the blue lights please). However, at such a price point (with the 50% discount) and food quality, I'll be inclined to return.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
It was a rainy day and the wife and I were itching to try out some place new. Artistry (a hybrid new art gallery and cafe) came up in our conversation and viola, we made the trip down to try our luck at getting a table (they don't take reservations).
The cafe isn't big, with a couple of tables indoors and a few long benches in the al fresco dining area. Since the weather was nice and cooling, we opted to sit outside over the rather squeezy tables inside.
Crab Burger - A rather sizable patty chock full of crab meat shreds topped with sweet caramelised onion and tomato jam, sandwiched between two unremarkable buns. Pretty decent but the taste of the crab could be a little more pronounced in my humble opinion. The accompanying truffle fries were cut a tad too thick for my liking and coated with flour, which gave it a relatively stiff texture. Not really my cup of tea.
Nasi Lemak Burger - Now this was rather interesting. Pandan buns infused with coconut shreds coupled with a sunny side up, ikan bilis (dried anchovies), peanuts and a slab of juicy but relatively bland piece of breaded chicken thigh. Accompanied by a small dish of mildly sweet and spicy chilli. In all honesty, there was some resemblance to the real nasi lemak (coconut milk rice) but the less than fresh tasting peanuts could do with a little more work. Oh yes and maybe the chicken could use some seasoning. Nonetheless, still a thumbs up for the idea.
PB&J French Toast - And of course desserts. The peanut butter & jelly french toast sported a a beautifully crisp surface while the insides were lightly moist yet airy and played host to a filling of smooth and sweet peanut butter and jelly. Served with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and finished off with a topping of blueberry jam and a dusting of icing sugar. Pretty simple yet delectable I must say!
All in all, the both of us spent $54 for brunch (no service charge or GST is a plus!) which was quite reasonable considering that the food was quite decent overall and service was friendly. But the sole reason for my return would be for the PB&J french toast.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
The lobster roll cravings kicked in some two weeks after we returned from our mini round the world trip. And we didn't fancy waiting for a table at the seemingly overhyped Pince and Pints hence Platypus Lobster Shack or PLS for short.
Occupying a single storey shophouse along Nankin Row @ China Square Central, PLS offers both alfreso and indoor seating (both rather limited by the way), separated only by an air curtain. The place practices an open concept and you can see your food being prepared. Only major gripe I had was that the noise level was rather ridiculous; More like a pub than an eatery. And the main culprit? Loud music. So much for a pleasant meal.
The menu is divided into three sections; Starters, lobster rolls and drinks. Pretty specialised eh?
Crustacean Bowl - Apparently there are only limited quantities of this available on a daily basis and you have a choice of having it in either starter ($19 ) or main ($26 ) portions. The starter portion looked a little pathetic honestly so we had the mains to share (two pax to one serving). And it was pretty good. Crunchy lobster chunks pressed upon sushi rice and topped with char grilled cheddar cheese, uni creme and caviar. Mildly sweet, creamy and savoury all in one mouth. The caviar could do with a quality upgrade though. And even as a main, this was quite small. I would probably need at least three to four servings to fill my stomach. Nonetheless still a great eat and I would love to have more!
The Traditional - I'm a purist so I went with the traditional lobster roll. First impressions, the roll was rather small but packed with crunchy lobster chunks that didn't have much crustacean sweetness to speak about and the roasted garlic mayonnaise came across as mild and lacking in depth. Though crisp on the outside, the bread roll lacked butter whilst the side of crisp chips were unevenly drizzled with truffle oil (still nice though as I'm biased towards truffle oil!). All in all, a very average tasting lobster roll and pales in comparison to Luke's Lobster in New York or my current favourite, Burger and Lobster in London.
The spicy roasted garlic variant of the lobster roll tasted pretty similar to the traditional offering save for the spiciness from the chilli and crunchiness of the garlic chips. Average tasting as well.
The six of us chalked up a bill of about $237, which wasn't too expensive considering that there was lobster involved. But portion sizes were small and quality of the lobster rolls were average at best. Service was decent but I honestly can't see myself returning unless I am in the mood to blow in excess of $100 on four crustacean bowls!
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
It was not too long ago when De Burg (a decent burger outfit which has since moved to Kallang) was still situated at the rather quiet coffeeshop along Blk 119 Bukit Merah Lane 1. In the space of a about a year, much has changed and the same coffeeshop is now bustling with stalls selling different produce and crowds patiently queuing up for a table. One such stall that has moved in is Immanuel French Kitchen, a much publicised (by the media) outfit selling fine French cuisine at seemingly affordable prices.
Duck Rillettes - Served up in a tin container alongside another tin of gherkins and a platter of sliced, rather dry and hard baguette, the duck rillettes came across as decent; Generous and well shredded with a nicely smooth, oily finish. Would have been better if it had been a little creamier and a little less salty.
Pork Belly Braised In Kakuni Style Served With Duxelle Mushrooms, Onsen Egg & Potato Foam - This dish was a little east meets west as the pork belly was done Kakuni style (simmered in dashi, soya sauce, mirin, sugar and sake and popular in Nagasaki). The belly was relatively tender but had quite a fair bit of fat, giving it a nice wobbly texture but also a rather nauseating effect. Amidst the richness of the pork belly and a quivery onsen egg sporting a runny center (topped unfortunately with bacon bits that tasted straight off the shelves), the duxelle mushrooms provided a commendable earthy complement whilst the lightly smooth potato foam and croutons dispensed the necessary carbohydrates. Pretty decent but honestly it was the potato foam that impressed me more than anything else.
1 duck rillettes and 1 pork belly dish for a grand total of $25.50. Whilst I appreciate the thought and effort that has gone into both dishes, I personally do feel that $16.90 is a bit too much to pay for the pork belly, given the quantity (not much!) and setting of the place (coffeeshop). But to be fair, food quality is a notch or two above average so that should count for something I guess?
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
I had been meaning to try Les Amis for the longest time and the wife and I finally got down to it one sunny Saturday afternoon. Les Amis has been around for 20 years and is regarded as one of the pioneers of independent French fine dining in Singapore. It has also consistently appeared in various rankings as one of the top restaurants in Asia and the world (ie. 14th in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants by San Pellegrino in 2013 and 2014). Expectations were high, naturally.
I like the high ceiling and chandelier but couldn't quite wrap my head around the two levels of seating (the 3 private rooms are on the mezzanine floor whilst the normal seating is on the ground floor. Maybe it's just me but I didn't get a very good vibe upon stepping in; The place just seemed a tad too stuffy for my liking.
Complimentary Bread - A decent enough basket of bread to quell any growling pangs before the meal proper. This proved to be very useful later on.
White Asparagus In "Blanc Mange", Oscietra Caviar - The white asparagus came in the form of a blancmange (flavoured dessert made from glutinous or starchy ingredients and milk), which came across as creamy and smooth with a distinctive asparagus taste amidst a mousse like texture. Topped with caviar for that salty slant and aesthetically surrounded by a ring of sour cream to cut through the fishiness of the caviar. Nice but too much of sour cream and blancmange together can be a tad nauseating. A very decent start nonetheless!
Warm Lobster Encased Within Baby Spinach Accompanied By Classic Fish Bone Sauce - I couldn't quite make out the significance of the baby spinach leaf as the taste didn't quite feature but the warm lobster encased within was very good; crunchy with flavours accentuated by the creamy yet not too rich fish bone sauce. And finished off with salty fish roe. I liked this dish but found it tiny and a tad overly fishy.
Angel Hair Pasta With Lobster, Crispy Sakura Ebi And A Touch Of Parmesan - First impressions, "god it's tiny!". Al dente angel hair pasta topped with small, crunchy lobster pieces, crisp sakura ebi that provided a nice crunch and chilli flakes for that mild fire; All simmered in a broth that had a beautiful crustacean flavour to it. Only gripes I had were that it was a tad too salty (and believe me, I have quite a high salt tolerance level) and that it tasted rather pedestrian, like a more refined version of 虾面 (prawn noodles).
Hot Souffle Of Reine-Claude With A Refreshing Yoghurt Sorbert - The Reine-Claude (greengage) souffle was a tad soggy but relatively light. Served with a mildly sour yet sweet yoghurt sorbert. Pretty nice way to end off the meal.
Petit Fours - Lemon madeleines and vanilla canelés. Not great, especially the canelés, which came across as bitter and hard on the outside. The lemon madeleines fared slightly better, sporting crisp edges and a mild lemony taste.
Remember the basket of bread at the beginning of the meal and how I mentioned it was useful later on? Well, with the portion sizes, I definitely needed the bread to fill me up. And even so, I was left rather unsatisfied. Decently competent food but lacking the spark in my humble opinion. At almost $165 for a 2 pax lunch and with all its credentials, I was certainly expecting more; More creativity, more outstanding flavours. But sadly, both seemed to be a little lacking. Service was professional but reserved. So is Les Amis past its prime? Maybe...
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
We were on the lookout for pancake places in Singapore when we chanced upon Little Pancakes, a little shop on the ground level of an apartment along Upper Thomson Road. To be honest, it was the cute pancake pictures that attracted us.
The interior isn't big, with capacity maxing out at about 10 pax or so but it has this cosy cafeish vibe to it; Dark walls, wooden furniture and cute little signs like the one above. Ordering and payment is done at the counter and your food will be served to you.
Big Fan Of All Day Breakfast - What a mouthful! The name of the dish, that is. And it came with ten mini pancakes (side of syrup), scrambled eggs, a couple of mini sausages, potato salad and greens. The pancakes were soft with a little fluffiness and mildly sweet. Being snack sized, there was no issue of the flour being undercooked in the middle but I would have liked the accompanying syrup to be a tad thicker (tasted very similar to the hotcake syrup from McD). As for the scrambled eggs, it also tasted similar to what the golden arches serve albeit a little more moist while the sausages were well, your off the rack sausages. If that's insufficient, the creamy potato salad will fill you up real fast! Pretty decent.
Chick & Cheesy - This was essentially two layers of cheese sandwiched between two mini pancakes and topped off with mini sausage. Pretty decent and something that might appeal to your inner child. The only difference between this and the All Day Breakfast is the cheese, which comes in lieu of the scrambled eggs. Personal preference really but do note that this is slightly cheaper.
Brunch for 3pax with drinks cost just over $41, which is relatively reasonable given that there is no service charge or GST. Food quality is decent (pancakes are above average) and miles better than Batter Fluffy Flaps in my humble opinion. Worth a stop if you are in the area but I wouldn't make a trip specially to eat here.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Came across this place recently when I was in the area shopping so decided to have dinner there.
Assam Laksa ($8.80) - The soup is a little too thick and way too salty with very little sardines in it. The noodles are a little odd too. I'll never order this again.
Nasi Lemak ($9.80) - I love this (despite the price tag). And the part I love most is the rice cooked in coconut. It's really soft and delectable. My companion loves the chicken which was pretty well done too. It's served with belachan which neither of us eat.
Milo Dinosaur ($2.80) - Diluted. Go to Simpang for your MD fix.
Honestly? Prices are a tad pricey but the place is nicely done up and if you don't want to have the same dishes in a crowded place... then it's worth paying I guess.
Rating given:
We were in the area for a staycation and decided to stop by as we've heard so much about it.
The cafe is really easy to find, facing the main road and right at the end of the whole row of shops. Its ambience is really nice and warm. It is a smallish cafe with some outdoor seating.
I noticed they have a couple of menus. The menu I've seen on others' website (the weekend one) is very different from the one we had that day as it was a Friday. There are also some items only available for dinner after 6pm. The staff was cordial enough but not entirely helpful. Thankfully as it was only 3pm on a Friday, there were a number of empty seats and we could be seated immediately. We walked past during the weekend and there was a queue even at odd times of the day.
What we ordered:
Smoked Salmon, Cheese, Egg on Toast ($10) - I'm not sure why we ordered this. It is a tad expensive for the four small pieces of toast we were getting but I guess I was in the mood for some light bites. It tasted fine, nothing special though. The bread was well toasted and I like the combination.
Penne with Salmon ($15) - This was really quite nice. The penne was al dente and the sauce used was not too thick. Don't expect much salmon though.
Iced Hazelnut Latte ($6.50) / Iced Mocha ($6.50) - We ordered iced coffee because only the iced coffee came with 3D art and that was what we were there for! The staff warned us that it might take at least 30min for them to prepare our drinks but as there weren't many people that day, the drinks came in 15min which was acceptable. Be prepared to wait if you go on a weekend! The drinks tastes fine just that you might not feel like drinking them after admiring the 3D art.
So we spent about $40 for the both of us. I might go back if I'm in the area but definitely not travel all the way to Changi V for this.
Rating given:
Had dinner with a couple of friends at Seasons Bistro, an American styled bistro that has garnered pretty good reviews since its opening a couple of months back.
Located on the ground floor of Triple One Somerset (the former PUB building) and playing neighbour to Imperial Treasure Windows of Hong Kong and Imperial Treasure Steamboat (which I personally don't find that great), Seasons features a down to earth wooden interior with huge wall to ceiling glass panels for a view of the exterior pedestrian walkway.
Season's Poutine ($10 ) - I love my poutine and even though Season's poutine was specifically recommended in quite a few reviews, it was quite a let down in my humble opinion. Sure, the fries were moist but where was the lightly crisp skin? Also, the gravy was a tad too bland and the Stripey Jack cheese came in cubes, not mildly gooey curds, which is one of the hallmarks of poutine. I will take gladly take Triple O's version over this anytime.
Buttermilk Fried Chicken ($22 ) - After a rather disappointing start, this Southern dish of buttermilk fried chicken perked things up a little though it did look rather dry on the outside. Thankfully the meat was flavourful and juicy with a nice crunch from the skin. 3 rather small pieces, served with a side of corn salad.
Banana Split ($12 ) - Season's deconstructed banana split. Done to an almost perfect disaster. 1 rock hard scoop of vanilla bean ice cream coupled with a dash of nutella and 2 pieces of caramalised bananas (goreng pisang) that came coated with a limp layer of flour and lacked any sweetness or taste for that matter. The granola nut crumbs gave this dish a slightly chewy taste which I personally didn't like; Crushed nuts would have suited better in my humble opinion.
1 poutine, 1 chicken and 1 dessert cost me about $52 nett. Expensive? Quantitatively speaking, not really. But qualitatively, yes. General food quality was average at best and definitely not worth the price paid. Service was pretty decent though and the restaurant offers a relatively quiet place to catch up with friends in Orchard road over dinner but unfortunately that's just not enough.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given: