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Food & Beverage
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Had a craving for Japanese food but didn't feel like Teppanyaki at Jurong Hill Top Restaurant so made my way down to Kotobuki with my gf.
Located in a bustling small town centre deep within Taman Jurong, Kotobuki's unassuming presence is marked by 3 overhanging paper lanterns near the doorway and a quaint Japanese stand lamp with its name. Thats not to say its shabby or anything. Walk in and be comforted by the snug homely feeling complete with wooden tables, chairs and of course a small comics corner. The place can probably seat about 30 odd people with its 8 or so tables.
I was wondering if Kotobuki's ramen would be as "sweet" as Marutama's initially but my fears were laid to rest when I took a sip of the soup. It wasn't artificially enhanced one bit. In fact, it was so bland that I couldn't really make out anything much. Ironically it looked the part. The noodles were of the egg variety and were definitely not hand made as they weren't springy and came clumped together. Did I mention that the soup was a little too oily too?
The additional pieces of char siew weren't fantastic either. They weren't melt in your melt for sure but at least there were minimal fats and taste wise was still acceptable.
For $3.50 a stick, I didn't expect much from the Asparagus Bacon. But I certainly didn't expect the puny portions. I could stuff 5 such rolls down my mouth at any one time, no problems! Taste wise was rather lacklustre as well. The bacon was a tad too dry and so was the asparagus. Couldn't really make out much taste as well.
A rather normal rendition of the staple Agedashi Tofu. Bang for the buck though, as $6 netts you quite a few pieces of soft silky tofu with rather elastic skin. A pity we left our tofu to soak in the sauce for too long, rendering the skin soft and mushy by the time we took to eating it.
First looks, the California Maki looked every bit impressive with its aesthetic arrangement and mounds of fish roe atop glimmering in the light. However, thats where the positive comments end. The roe was mind blowingly salty and lacked the burst in your mouth feeling when I bit into one. Actually the rice itself was salty as well, which made the whole dish too salty for words.
A must order dish everytime I step into a Japanese restaurant, the Ebi Tempura's batter was a little too thick but I derived consolation from the fact that at least it had a wee bit of taste, unlike the one I had at Sun with Moon. The prawns were reasonably sweet but the batter could use a little sprucing up on colour though as it did come across as a little pale.
Finally an all meat dish. The Chicken Teriyaki was decent enough with the chicken being well grilled and the Teriyaki sauce not too sweet. Taste wise, it did falter a little though, coming across as less robust than what I would have liked.
Average food, higher than average prices. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out whether its worth it. Only plus point is the decent service and cosy environment. There's another outlet at Liang Court, but I've never tried it so I shall not comment.
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Rating given:
Following our dinner at Marutama at Central some weeks back, my gf and I were back once again at Central to try out Grains - a Chinese restaurant which supposedly serves up healthier Chinese food without compromising on the taste or texture (Its in their mission statement). Just how much truth did that supposition hold was what we were there to find out.
Located on the second floor of Central, Grains practices an open dining concept whereby there are no walls between the restaurant and the walkway. Parquet flooring marks the boundary of the restaurant and the decor is simplistic, choosing to stick to the traditional wooden finish. There are actually pros and cons to such a dining concept. The pros are that you get a more open and spacious feel, not restricted by any boundaries. The cons are that people can walk by your table and stare at what you are eating. Hence, romantic dinners here are a definite big no no.
Spinach Tofu with Shimiji Mushroom & Dried Scallop - I simply love this dish and reckon its almost on par with what the top notch hotel Chinese restaurants serve. Soft but not too silky with a lingering smoky taste to it. Add the not too starchy gravy to it and you get a lip smacking dish of tofu. If only they would work on refining the texture of the beancurd a little.
The Sautéed Bean Sprouts with Salted Fish came across as very agreeable as the beansprouts were fresh, crunchy and not overcooked. The salted fish was crispy and not too salty, making for a very pleasant dish. Also, if you notice carefully, the restaurant has made an effort to remove the roots of the beansprouts, which is definitely a big plus point to me.
BBQ Trio Combination - Alright, this dish is definitely not healthy. One look at the gleaming layer of oil coating on the surface of the meats and you know. Health consciousness aside, the roast chicken was a little too soft while the roast duck skin wasn't crispy. The roast pork had just too big a bone and too little meat. All in all a decent tasting dish. Nothing more, nothing less.
Grain's very own version of the humble fried rice. Lightly fried with scallop cubes, brown rice and wolfberries thrown into the mixture - an idea which I personally find very refreshing. The wolfberries gave the rice a lingering sweet dimension while the brown rice gave the dish an uneven and rough texture. You might just want to try this dish if you ever drop by.
I was very much intrigued by the Baked Egg Custard as I had never eaten custard by itself before. To me, custard had always been associated with tarts, buns or puffs, but never as a stand alone. I just had to try it. On hindsight, that was probably the worst decision of the day as the baked custard proved a disaster from start to end. It tasted exactly like steamed egg with milk, albeit of a much rougher texture. Not exactly the sweet custard I was expecting. Also, being heavy on the egg and milk, it rendered me nauseous after a few mouthfuls.
Lychee Ice Cream in the form of a mochi is something new, to me at least. Novelties aside, it tasted familiarly like those Yeo's lychee packet drink that you can get from any supermart, except that it was in a solid ice cream form. Worth a try just for the sake of trying, but don't expect any surprises.
My gf and I enjoyed our dinner and we were struggling to finish up all our dishes. All for just $64, which isn't exactly cheap, considering the variety of food that we ordered. But then again, the quality of food is commendable and service is relatively good. So do they really serve healthier food without compromising on the taste? Somehow I'm inclined to think so, with the exception of the BBQ platter of course.
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Rating given:
My Humble House or 寒舍 - arguably one of the most prolific restaurants under the Tung Lok group and the only Chinese eatery out of 3 restaurants in Singapore to be voted as one of the top 100 restaurants in the world by Restaurant, a prestigious British magazine. Humble House recently celebrated their 5th anniversary with an exclusive buffet boasting of Foie Gras, Wagyu beef, Lobsters, Scallops and free flow wine. The reception for the night was cocktail style.
Through the immaculate use of wood, water, crystals and lighting, the interior screams modern chic with a touch of class yet oozes a sublime old world charm. A contrast so glaring yet seductive. Candles are used alongside dim ceiling lights to set the mood right for a relaxing dinner, a secret rendezvous or a special night out. Definitely a place to bring that special someone.
I was actually looking forward to the Wagyu beef, but sadly, it fell seriously short of expectations. Thought done up medium rare, I couldn't see or taste any marbling that seperates Wagyu beef from normal beef. And to top it off, portions were meagre, which meant more rounds of queuing. However, to be fair, the beef was rather decent, sweet yet juicy.
Fresh with the memories of having the delightful Peking duck from Asia Grand Restaurant, I was subjected to an onslaught of a weird tasting dish of the same name. Humble House's rendition, unfortunately, was served up cold and the sauce came across as a little too strong. It didn't help that the skin wasn't the least bit crispy or that the crepe was limp.
One of the very difficult dishes to perfect in any restaurant, the Foie Gras was decent enough to warrant a second attempt at the ridiculously long queue. However, it didn't come across as quivery or smooth, leaving behinds bits of sediment when consumed. What I did like about it was that the accompanying blueberry sauce complemented the Foie Gras very well, strong yet not overpowering.
Crispy Chicken Rice - Interestingly, this dish fell under the desserts section. The crispy rice actually referred to the use of rice crispies which were naturally crispy. Add on some chicken shreds, wolfberries et al and top it up with soup to achieve a nice warm dish close to the heart. Reminded me uncannily of your normal noodle soup dish, albeit with an extra crunch.
Lobster Popiah - I must be getting on in age for my eyesight seems to be failing me. I could barely make out the ridiculously small portion of lobster embedded within each nicely sliced piece of popiah. I'm sure the pieces were much bigger, but I'm probably just myopic. Wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the lobster didn't taste like much either, coming across as bland.
Chocolate Fondant - Am I glad that I only took one piece of the fondant to try. The exterior was soft and tasted like kueh, which was a huge turnoff. Not even the oozing chocolate or blueberries could save this dessert.
In case you are wondering, no it isn't free and each of us forked out $80 just to get into the thick of it. I reckon I ate about $30 worth of food and took about $50 worth of pictures. Looking at the math, I'm at a crossroads as to whether I should laugh at my stupidity or cry at my foolishness.
On a side note, I've actually been to My Humble House on a previous occasion and I must say that the food at the buffet is definitely not on par with the regular offerings. However, I maintain my stand that its definitely not worth the price nor is it worthy of its top 100 ranking.
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Rating given:
Decided to take a long trek from Boon Lay to Yishun with my gf and her family for dinner at Taste of Thailand. There are actually 2 outlets of this very popular restaurant but both of them are currently in Yishun (One used to be at the Old Sembawang Shopping Centre, but moved out just recently due to renovations to the mall). As mentioned earlier, this place is popular, which means you have to be prepared to wait for a table. Just for the record, we waited for about half an hour for our table.
Once you have registered your name at the counter, your orders will be taken and you have a choice of sitting in the artificially cooled interior or the naturally cooled exterior. Be prepared to wait longer if you want to sit in the air conditioned section.
The pineapple fried rice was a cut above average with its miniature shrimps, meat floss and deep fried onions. The rice was evenly fried and not too dry or moist. However, something very important was missing - the pineappletaste. Having said that, still decent and certainly bang for the buck.
I liked the fried fish quite a bit. The skin was crispy whereas the flesh was soft and a little sweet with a lingering aftertaste, albeit a little dry. The fish was quite a size for the price as well. Remember to try this one out!
The sweet potato leaves were not too shabby with the leaves fried with dried shrimps and a wee bit of chilli. Nicely spicy and fragrant with no sticky residue or aftertaste.
Deep Fried Squid - The Chinese version of Calamari. The batter covering the squid wasn't too thick and gave a nice texture but could do with a little more seasoning to improve the flavours. The squid was cooked just right and maintained a little chewiness. A very decent dish.
Prawn Paste Chicken - Although this dish seemed quite popular amongst the other patrons of the restaurant, I didn't quite take to it as the paste was a little too bland for my liking. The taste wasn't strong enough to invoke any salivation on my part nor was it fragrant enough.
The cereal prawns was a steal at just $15, with probably about 12-15 prawns or so. The prawns weren't the freshest of the lot, but fresh enough. The cereal was nicely fried but came across as a little too bland for my liking (probably lousy cereal). An addition of cut chilli might have injected a little more flavour into it.
I would be lying if I said that we weren't full after all the dishes. In reality, we were too stuffed to even make it to the car. All for a mere $75/- for 7 pax. Now lets see, that makes it about $11/pax for a 7 course dinner which includes seafood. This is probably as cheap as it gets for such a decent quality of food. Service was good and prompt too, which is an added bonus. If you haven't tried out this joint, I highly recommend that you do so.
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Rating given:
Waterfront dining is the rage nowadays, a concept made popular by Italian restaurant, Il Lido. Imagine a breathtaking view of the sea as the sun slowly sets in the horizon. As darkness falls, the stars and the shimmering sea play company. It definitely doesn't get anymore romantic than that. Pier Eleven is one of the latest restaurants to jump on the bandwagon to offer dining by the sea.
Hidden at the tip of Marina South in the Marina South Pier, an area synonymous with cheap steamboat buffets, one would hardly expect to find any form of fine dining.
The restaurant honestly didn't look like much from the outside. It reminded me of normal cafe with translucent curtains at the front door acting as a veil against prying eyes. But as I stepped in, I was quite amazed by the transformation. The interior, though sparsely furnished, had a brightly lighted corner for art appreciation and funky wavy looking chairs that are not half as uncomfortable as they look. What impressed me most was the dim lighting and cosy corner tables, which my gf and I had the privilege to sit at (of course water side seats would have been better, but they were all taken up. Not to mention it was a little warm that evening, so air conditioning would have been preferred).
Looking like your ordinary Caesar salad with the exception of a poached egg atop, I really didn't expect too much out of the Chef's creation of Caesar Salad with Poached Egg, served warm. Surprise surprise, it was actually quite good. The poached egg added a tinge of rawness to the slightly salty salad gravy (I suspect its watered down soya sauce) while the cheese slices gave it a much needed cohesion. Think of it as a catalyst to harmonise the flavours. The vegetables do need a little sprucing up though, appearing tired and a shade dull at times.
A chef's recommendation, the Garlic Prawn Soba was clearly a winner in the making (for me at least). The larger than normal prawns were crunchy and carried a slightly grilled taste. Simply delicious. It helped that the chef was generous with the prawns. I didn't manage to try out the soba noodle as it was gone before I could try it. The dipping sauce tasted to me like a watered down version of Miso soup and it didn't quite make a difference. A stronger rendition might have done wonders.
The Fillet Mignon with Portabello Mushroom & Shallot Red Wine Sauce left me quite impressed. I guess that just about tells you how good it was. It certainly wasn't as good as Morton's, but definitely better than the one I had at Jaan and mind you, Jaan's rendition was really quite good (Okay there is really no basis for comparison as Jaan's is of a different cut. However, culinary skill wise, I'm more inclined towards Pier Eleven's). The meat was succulent and a little charred on the surface to give it that slightly burnt taste. Done just right. the meat thoroughly soaked in the shallot red wine sauce and exuded a certain sweetness without the noticeable taste of red wine. Not that I'm complaining though. The mushrooms were well, normal, as were the mashed potatos, which were grounded to a pulp.
Served on a pretty looking flat glass dish with inscriptions on it, the Baked Chocolate with Vanilla Gelati was an art in itself. Beautifully presented, it really looked too dainty to be eaten. The chocolate cake was moist on the outside and molten on the inside. Oozing thick chocolate broke forth as the outer shell succumbed to the external pressure from our spoon. A worthy rival to Morton's I dare say. The only let down was the ice cream, which was nothing to shout about. One peeve though. How do you eat a cake with molten chocolate in it on a flat plate? I think common sense should prevail over aesthetics.
See all my phots here. PS: sorry about my grainy photos
Rating given:
The once sleepy HDB estate of Sunset Way is fast emerging as a dining hotspot after places like Holland Village and Dempsey Hill. Its charm stems from the diverse array of eateries that range from a pizza place to a Chinese restaurant to Peaberry & Pretzel, a small dining outlet purportedly selling German food (but they sell pasta as well?!) and also the choice for our dinner on a Saturday evening.
Nestled in a corner of serene Sunset Way, Peaberry & Pretzel is but a small eatery with an even smaller interior to boot. The smallish air conditioned interior can sit probably about 10 pax and gives the feeling of barrenness due to the cement floor and the over usage of mirrors. What I did like about it was the glass dessert cabinet and the open kitchen concept where you can view the chef preparing dessert. In case you are wondering about the limited capacity of the place, the restaurant also offers dining in its alfresco area, which has a couple more tables and is slightly elevated on wooden planks overlooking some greenery. Do note that there is no shade in the alfresco dining area, thus limiting meals there to only dinner.
Complimentary Bread- The bread was nothing to shout about, just your normal baguette but served warm with a serving of mass produced butter. Its complimentary though.
Warm Spinach Salad - How fantastic or interesting can a plate of spinach tossed in vinaigrette, bacon and served with hard boiled egg get? Not very interesting if you ask me. Sadly, the salad proved my point. The spinach were reasonably fresh although they could do with a little sprucing up while the half boiled egg was about 80% cooked, as evident by the slightly watery egg yolk and limp egg white. Not that I am complaining about this dish though. The bacon bits were plentiful and added a salty yet barbecued dimension to the faintly starchy yet sweet vinaigrette. Three flavours all rolled into one made for a very decent starter.
German Pork Knuckle - It is to my understanding that Peaberry only serves up 10 German pork knuckles a day so its best to call in to place your order for it in advance. Luckily for my gf and I, we got there early and managed to get ourselves one to try. Just for the record, all 10 pieces were sold out by 8pm.
Now then, does the pork knuckle live up to its hype? Unfortunately, not quite. True, the meat was fibrous and tender while the skin was crackling crispy. However, the knuckle wasn't homogeneously seasoned, resulting in some parts of the skin being extremely salty while others bland. The meat lacked a reddish hue as well, an indication of overcooking. I didn't find the accompanying Sauerkaut and potato salad too fantastic either, coming in as rather average.
Valrhona Warm Chocolate Pudding - How could I resist such a sinful dessert, especially when it was so aesthetically pleasing? The thought of warm and rich Valrhona chocolate in a spongy encasement oozing down my throat was enough to make me dribble all over my shirt. Unfortunately, I didn't quite take to this dessert as the chocolate was way too bitter for my liking. I know chocolate is supposed to be bitter but I prefer mine pleasantly sweet. A matter of preference I guess. That aside, the sponge was nice and moist with chocolate breaking forth with every bite.
Soufflé - Another pleasing on the eye dessert, the Soufflé was spongy and frothy, emphasizing heavily on the egg taste with bits of caramel wedged in between. Nice and sweet and a perfect end to a rather heavy meal.
I wouldn't exactly quantify spending $84 for 2 pax as cheap because it certainly isn't for such an area. The food is pretty decent on the whole but definitely better with the desserts. Service is good but they need to do something about their air conditioning and ventilation system. I walked out of the place reeking of fumes and perspiring. I hear that they serve up a mean Cuppa so I'll probably drop by just for that and nothing else.
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Rating given:
A reunion long awaited. Been pushing back a revisit to Keyaki because of time constraints and partly due to them being full on most weekends.
Served steaming hot with a lid, the Age Dashi Tofu carried itself relatively well with its smooth textured interior yet not too thick and slightly crispy skin. The sauce was light on the palate but overall the dish, while good, failed to impress me. I've had better for sure.
Now this is where Keyaki shines, for this visit at least. The Ebi Tempura was definitely one of the best that I've tried so far. Gone are the memories of bland batter and tasteless dips from Sun with Moon Japanese Dining. Keyaki's batter was light and flavourful - not the MSG induced kind of flavouring though and good enough to eat on its own! The prawns were huge and fresh and I could taste the sweetness of the prawns, barely though. The accompanying sauce was robust and added a lingering salty dimension to the tempura.
Teppanyaki is purportedly the forte of Keyaki and after my last visit there, I'm most inclined to agree. The garlic fried rice was fragrant and fluffy, with each individual grain of rice throughly fried. Coupled with lots of fried garlic pieces and egg, it made for an enjoyable side. The asparagus were a little too overcooked though.
The Prime Beef Tenderloin Steak is certainly drool worthy. Succulent, flavourful and fragrant. Only gripe I had was that it came medium well instead of medium rare which I had requested for. Nevertheless, very little quality was lost and the beef certainly made my day.
The Ebi Bacon Maki was nice without being too overwhelming on the flavours. The bacon wasn't too salty (read: Hua Ting) nor was it overly fatty and the prawns were fresh, though not as succulent as I would have liked it to be. Overall a rather dry dish.
The Tori Tsukune or Grilled Minced Chicken Balls were a little too soft, lacking that quintessential firmness and bite that I usually associate with meat balls. Decent though.
The Yaki Tori or Grilled Chicken Cubes on a skewer reminded me uncannily of kebab. Drizzled with loads of sweet teriyaki sauce, the chicken were well grilled but did come across as a wee bit too dry. The vegetables were a little too charred for my liking.
Not much can be said about the Ebi Tem Maki as it wasn't remarkably good nor bad. The rice's composition was good and didn't come across as too sourish while the prawns were crispy.
Dinner for 2 cost just slightly over $160, which threatened to run me dry. But then again, the food quality is evident, with the exception of the Robatayaki. Service is impeccable and reservations are highly recommend if you are going during the weekends.
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Rating given:
Read some favourable reviews about The Garden Slug somewhere and sought out to try it with my gf since we were really undecided where or what to eat for dinner.
Located within the private residential estate of Telok Kurau, locating it certainly wasn't a walk in the park, at least for me, a hopeless driver. But if you drive past it, you certainly won't miss the huge catchy signboard with a picture of a slug in it. First impressions, it really looked like a nice place to chill and hang out over some grub and drinks in nothing more than a t shirt, shorts and slippers. Sort of a homely kind of feeling which gets you settled in real fast.
Well for starters, we had the much touted (in the menu) Wasuga Wings, which were supposedly marinated and grilled for 48hrs. The 48hrs thing sounds rather dubious and I honestly hope that it isn't true as the wings gave no hint whatsoever to the long grilling hours. Texture and taste wise was pretty normal, just that I could taste the rather strong marination in the wings. It wasn't particularly juicy either. However I must commend the delightful tomato puree - chilled with a mild tomato taste. I dare say the tomato puree was the sole saving grace for this dish.
With a name like The Steak, it doesn't seem to suggest much and it certainly didn't taste like much either. This ribeye cut was done a little too rare with a tad too much fat around the edge, coming across as a little too chewy and rubbery. But still a decent cut of meat with fairly decent cooking skills. The final verdict? A slightly above average dish.
A signature dish of the place, Pasta with roasted Pumpkin & juicy Prawns was great during the initial few mouthfuls, after which it started getting a little too heavy, especially with the sweetness of the pumpkin. Just think a sweet version of the carbonara.
I'm no expert on Pear Williams (what a name) so please do correct me if I'm wrong. I personally found the sauteed pear a tad too soft and soggy with the taste of white wine almost nonexistent, with the exception of a few areas. Now this leads to another problem - heterogeneous preparation. Good Pear Williams should have all their pears homogeneously sauteed. The hand churned vanilla gelato was quite a pleaser though. Not too sweet and very full bodied. A note on the excessive cinnamon powder sprinkling at the top though.
$45 can get you quite a bit of stuff and in this case, it was the cost of our dinner. Expensive? Not really, but then again, it doesn't fall into the realms of cheap. I would probably classify it as averagely priced with good service but average food. Would I go again? I don't think so, not with so many good restaurants out there for the same price and the distance from Telok Kurau to my home.
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Rating given:
Inagiku or 稲 ぎ くis purportedly one of Singapore's finest and also Raffles International's sole flagship Japanese restaurant. Known for its exquisite Japanese food that can even placate the most discerning of tastebuds in a classy environment no less, Inagiku is unfortunately known for its extremely steep prices to boot as well.
Centrally located in the heart of town, on the third floor of Raffles City Shopping Centre, Inagiku is settled in the far obscure corners of the mall, providing a tranquil respite from the mad crowds that throng the area, especially during meal times. A simple yet hush hush interior greets you as you make your way through the seemingly small entrance and into the confined carpeted area filled with expensive wooden furniture. Personal conversations here can be quite impersonal, given that the tables aren't exactly very far apart from each other.
The Hotate (Japanese for scallops) really redefined the boundaries of size in my tiny world of scallop consumption. It was huge and I mean big as a saucer kind of huge. Okay I exaggerate but I've honestly never seen a scallop of such a size. Superbly fresh without the rawness of fresh seafood and sweet with a pleasantly smooth texture, the Hotate was nothing short of excellent, which explains the price tag of $26 for 2 pieces of it. Oh and then we have the rice which was not too sticky and wet yet lightly sour with a little bite.
Tamago - This is actually a very common dish and is present in most, if not all of the Japanese eateries/chains in Singapore. What this means is that most of the time we are subjected to a varying standard depending on the place we choose to eat. I personally sweared off Tamago for a while due to the multitude of bad experiences I had from various places. Inagiku's rendition renewed my faith in this dish. Aesthetics wise, it was already a winner with rice stuffed neatly into a slit in the egg and topped with huge fish roes that reminded me of little colourful pearls. The egg itself wasn't too sweet and the roe added a dimension of taste to the dish. A simple dish at its finesse.
I'm sorry but my picture really doesn't do justice to the Tempura Moriawase, but then again, it didn't look the bit impressive when it was served, all jumbled up and scattered around the platter. Please do not be mislead by its disheveled appearance though as Inagiku is very well known for its Tempura and rightly so. The batter was light as air and seemed to melt upon contact with my tongue. Amongst all, the Ebi Tempura stood out with its fresh and succulent meat beneath the excellent batter.
With the repertoire of stellar dishes being served up, I had expected the Kurobuta Tonkatsu to be nothing short of excellent. But it was not to be. I was sorely disappointed with what tasted like a piece of meat being cooked in second hand oil. Sure, being Kurobuta pork, the meat was tender but the oil taste from the batter was rather overwhelming.
I personally consider the Lobster with Inagiku Original Golden Sauce the epitome of my dining experience, or the Pièce de résistance if you wish, at Inagiku. As with the Tempura Moriawase, my photos certainly do not do it justice (time to get a new cam). The lobster was quite a size, weighing in at more than three quarters of a kg (for the price, it better be!). Ocean fresh and sweet with the flesh nicely grilled till slightly burnt and complemented by the excellent Inagiku golden sauce, which tasted very rich in flavour and a little creamy. Add the fact that the lobster was topped with molds of roe and you have a must have try dish. Watch the price though.
Honestly, would you pay close to $400(without discount) for such a meal? You can clobber me and I'll still say no. However, I can take scant comfort in the fact that it cost me $192 after a 50% discount, a price which is definitely more affordable but not something I'll be willing to pay unless I strike it rich of course.
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Rating given:
Ate at Iggys for lunch.
Located at the posh and exclusive Regent Hotel, it appears unassuming and rather boring from the outside, nothing to suggest its grandeur or exclusivity. Walk through the small passageway and be ushered into a tiny space (of almost claustrophobic proportions) which doubles up as a bar counter seating area and a small private enclave. (Un)fortunately, we got a table in the private area which was fine by us as it was really cosy, but a tad stifling if you ask me. The bar counter seats would have been better though, as you get to see your food being prepared by the chefs.
I was quite impressed by the Sakura ebi cappellini with konbu and home made scampi oil. The cappellini was cooked to perfection with the right about of bite and the tiny but fresh sakura ebi, together with the scampi oil, provided the necessary saltiness and fragrance. Just a short introduction about sakura ebi. It is a tiny shrimp found exclusively in the waters of Suruga Bay in Japan, which explains its price. Overall an excellent dish, but I must say that it reminded me uncannily of maggi mee, albeit a finer version.
Wagyu beef and white truffle sabayon - now that combination is enough to make me dribble all over my shirt. Sadly, it didn't turn out the way I hoped it would. For one, the wagyu beef was minced up and made into a patty, which is a sheer waste for such an expensive beef. I honestly couldn't taste any difference between the wagyu patty and a normal beef patty. The white truffle sabayon didn't impress me much either, coming across as rather tasteless. The bread was nice and evenly toasted though.
Top marks goes to the side of thick cut fries though, which were nicely stacked up and a tad hard on the outside yet moist, steaming and smooth on the inside.
On a side note, the burger was really small and reminded me of a toy burger. Such was the size of it and its colour homogeneity.
Baked chocolate molten cake with Java vanilla ice cream - The chocolate cake was very spongy yet compact and came across as light on the palate. It could do with more molten chocolate in the core and a more concentrated one at that. I personally found the Java vanilla ice cream quite good as it had a tinge of the Java bean. Nice and smooth as well.
The lunch bill for 3 pax came up to about $157, which is ridiculously expensive for the portions of food that we ate. Food quality was definitely quite good, but I don't think it was good enough to deserve its ranking. Honestly we went to Iggy's hungry and left hungry. The free flow of Olive bread didn't help. But its an experience nevertheless, an experience I wouldn't want to relive, unless of course I'm insanely rich.
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Rating given: