Twenty four of us descended to Gunther’s in a foodgraphy-frenzy. Hells hath no fury like a floggers' hunger. The long discussion of food, followed by the occasional exclaims of ‘ooh‘, and ‘aah‘. Welcome to the world of the food lovers.
It was smooth, and silky, strands of it sticking out; yet in the dim light setting against the white background, it looked angelic, yes, this must be it: Cold Angel-hair pasta. I enjoyed every slurp, and I’ll gladly have it again.
This, is the In-thing for this season, like the latest fashion trends for each year; rejoiced people, it is this time of the year for the sacred white asaparagus, not green, not red, but white. And then, I spotted the yellowish sauce over the the Poached white asparagus with Bouchot mussels.
I stopped, and slowly took a bit of it with my spoon; “it couldn’t be, Oh yes it is!” I dipped everything on the plate with the hollandaise sauce, and made sure not a single drop of it was left.
“Have you had white asparagus before?”
“No, I don’t see what's the craze over them..”
A surprise always had the biggest impact when you least expected it, and it came pleasantly of course.
There was pata negra, and salted baked seabass for the folks who couldn’t have beef; and damn, the roasted black pig from Spain sounded so good, I should have claimed to have allergies against cows!
My piece was very well balanced in the portions of the fats and meat (read: too much fats). I took a bite of the meat, and chewed down some fats. And it’s not that the Grilled Cote de Boeuf wasn’t good. In fact it was more than excellent; the slightly tinge of pink fully captured my imagination.
My eyes tweaked to see what was coming. It was supposed to be desserts next, but they were serving us, pizzas. You know, the elongated slice of thin-crust bread with toppings all over. Ah no, I was clearly mistaken, this was no pizza, it’s the Fine apple tart a la dragees, with rum & raisin ice-cream.
Once we had our desserts, once we paid off the bill, it would be bye-bye until a year later. Or at least that’s what the script wrote. A year, is far too long a time for us to meet up. We should meet up regularly my friends, and hunt down all the good food around our island.
Note: The 4 course Carte Blanche set menu was $45 per person and done especially for our Food Bloggers lunch, it's not available to public.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Went in search of Hokkien food one weekend evening and ended up at Quan Xian Yuan, which came highly recommended to me for its quality food and reasonable prices. Apparently it is so popular that when we tried making reservations for 630pm in the afternoon itself, it was full and the only option was to rush down at 530pm and finish our meal by 630pm. And so we did.
The place isn't located at somewhere you would term as accessible - an inconspicuous restaurant occupying 2 rather dilapidated units along Jalan Besar Road. The interior is dated as well, looking more like a scene out from a sixties movie set then a modern Chinese restaurant.
Prawn Roll - The prawn roll aka ha zhor had too much batter for my liking. It looked a little like goreng pisang (deep fried banana fritters) to me and that's definitely not a good thing. I couldn't quite make out the subtle presence of the prawns, if any and honestly, it was filled with more flour then anything.
Broccoli with Scallops - You can't really go wrong with broccoli and scallops and thankfully this one wasn't the exception. Apart from the scallops being a little too soft, I thought that this dish was still quite decent, but nothing to shout about of course.
Kong Ba Pao (扣肉包) - The answer to all weight loss programs, diets and they key to having a short life - that's what popping a serving of kong ba in your mouth does for you. I would have gladly thrown any health concerns out of the window if the kong ba had been good. Sadly, that wasn't the case. The meat was overly fatty to the point of being gross and the gravy was seriously bland. A little sugar might have made it more palatable.
Hokkien Mee - If the taste of alkaline was my thing, then this dish would have been a delicacy. Otherwise, it was terrible. Bland save for the strong hint of alkaline from the noodles, coupled with not so fresh prawns and a watery gravy that was more for the colour then taste, the noodles were limp and soggy. Not exactly my idea of a signature dish.
To be fair to the restaurant, the food isn't expensive (save for the scallops dish). As a matter of fact, it's considered quite cheap, standing at $48 for the 3 of us. But something really needs to be done about the quality of food. We tried the signature dishes and they turned out so bad. I really can't imagine how the "normal" dishes will turn out. Makes me wonder about the crowds.
Where can you find a quirky indie café, great comfort food at value-for-money price, relaxing corner to chill-out with your friends and at the same time give back to the society? The answer is Food for Thought, a social enterprise café that endeavours to generate profits to support and serve the community we live in.
Conveniently located opposite National Library, the café has been helmed by our own local boy, David Heng, who graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney, and used to work in Le St Julien, under the tutorage of Chef de Cuisine Julien Bompard.
Watermelon Mint & Lychee Sage Freeze ($4.00 each) was the initial order of the evening. HFB can’t think of any good reasons why one wouldn’t love these drinks. Simply revitalising!
Our appetiser falls under the “Premium Salad” category of Honey Mustard Smoked Duck Salad ($12.90). HFB simply dig the smoked duck. The thin layer of fats gave it a nice marbling chew and the meat is tender and succulent. The dish is also well complemented with orange slices. Can I also add that the serving is pretty generous?
What’s best to pair with a premium salad? It’s none other than a “Premium Sandwich” of Cuban Ham & Pork Steak ($10.90) – made of Grilled Gamon Ham, Hand-shred Slow-roasted Tender Pork Shoulder, topped with a sliced of Grilled Pineapple. Sandwiched within home-baked Foccacia Bread, drizzled with creamy mustard dressing and homemade barbecue sauce, this is definitely one of the better sandwiches that HFB has polished off. My only nitpick is that the mixture of over zealous dressing and sauce, coupled with the meat’s natural juices, cause the bread to turn soggy a little.
What’s a meal without its dessert? The Butterscotch Peach Crumble ($7.90) is created with bubbling homemade butterscotch sauce, filled with Peaches, Raisins and Roasted Almond Slices. Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, HFB thought that the combination was a little too generous for it’s own good. Being a hot dessert, the ice cream tends to melt quickly into a mess. Perhaps a better option is to serve the ice cream on the side.
The Vanilla Caramel Crème Brulee was nothing extraordinary to say the least – the custard was smooth with a hint of caramel goodness all right, but the caramelised crust was disappointingly too thick for HFB. However, using fine icing sugar should eliminate the problem.
A Saturday afternoon, Dear and I went down to Bugis(Si Ma Lu) Guan Yi Temple to pray. After pray we decide to have our lunch near by and we choose to have Vegetarian food.
When we enter the place, the staff were friendly asking us what we will like to have and also intro us their today's special. After a few thought we decide to make order xing zhou bee hoon and ipoh hor fun.
Before making our payment we saw sushi and decide to buy it too. The friendly staff let us try his sample sushi to try if we like it. If not nice he wouldn't charge us money as his afraid we brought it, may not like it and throw it away. We tried it and we like it.
Xing Zhou Bee Hoon - $3 stir fried bee hoon with carrots, cabbages,vegs, bean spouts, spring onion and veg meat. It looks normal but it taste good as it light and not so oily.
Ipoh Hor Fun - $3 rice noodles on the base, with some vegs fish cake, mushrooms, carrots, bean spouts, vegs and some veg cirspy flaskes together with sauce. It taste good and light too.
Sushi Rolls - $3.20 (10 pieces) Seaweeds wrap with sushi rice together with carrot, cucumber, beet root, veg meat and veg floss. It taste just like normal sushi just that it more healthy version. It light and good.
Both of us think that the foods is good. The place is air-condition, lots of people will came in for the foods too and the staff were really very friendly. It nice.
Absinthe - a green alcoholic spirit which was more commonly known as the green fairy because of its purported hallucinogenic effects. It also happens to be the name of upmarket French restaurant jointly owned by the folks from OSO, restaurant manager Philippe Pau and chef Francois Mermilliod of Flutes at the Fort fame.
Sitting pretty at the end of a row of shophouses along Bukit Pasoh Road and playing immediate neighbour to OSO, Absinthe's green signboard, which is a nod to the greenish colour of the alcohol, greets you from a distance. The swanky interior boasts low ceilings and parquet flooring coupled with ambient ceiling lighting for a relaxing dining experience.
Complimentary Bread - When the first round of complimentary bread hit us, it was actually quite good. Crusty on the outside while retaining its softness and fluffiness on the inside. The second serving was akin to eating stones so I promptly gave up after a few mouthfuls.
Chilled Ravioli of Lobster with Lime Sabayon, Pink Guava Julienne and Shiso - Very interesting to say the least. This wasn't your typical ravioli. The skin was reminiscent of har gao and there were crunchy strands of guava nestled below it on a bed of fresh Boston lobster. The presence of fish roe gave it a nice salty taste while the lime sabayon was savoury with a hint of tartness. Very nice.
Pan-Fried Foie Gras with Warm Blinis and Wild Hibiscus Flower Compote - I thought that the foie gras was excellent. On par with what I had at Sage, if not better by a notch or two. Very well pan fried to a crisp on the outside yet melt in the mouth quivery on the inside with a hint of saltiness. The hibiscus flower compote provided a nice sourish dimension to the foie gras.
Hokkaido Scallop With Sea Urchin Emulsion and Small Herb Salad - Scallops never fail to entice me and Absinthe's rendition came with sea urchin emulsion, which was a first for me. The scallops were done tataki style, well seared on the outside but soft and relatively rare on the inside, which is a refreshing change from the usual seared scallops. I could make out a hint of fishiness amongst the predominantly salty emulsion. Overall another excellent dish.
Pork Belly - The pork belly was a special of the day and I requested this as my main instead of the lamb/fish option for my degustation and I am glad I did. The skin was very crispy, the fats were sinfully melt in your mouth and the meat fibrous with a generous dose of salt. And being pork belly, the ratio of fats to meat is a lot higher then other parts of the pig. Definitely not for the health conscious or faint hearted.
Crème Brûlée, Absinthe Sorbet - Apparently some of the ice parfaits didn't make it past the QC test that evening so I had a choice of crème brûlée instead. I wasn't too impressed by it though. The caramel layer was a little too overtorched, resulting in a rather burnt layer. On the upside, it was milky smooth with raisins in it. What I thought was interesting was the absinthe sorbet, which I had mistaken as lime sorbet at first sight. The sorbet had a very weak absinthe dosage, coming across more like liqurious with its herbal overtones.
The degustation cost $98++ but because I requested to change my main to the pork belly, it cost me another $6++, bringing the total to $122.41 nett. Sure it isn't cheap, but the excellent quality of food and service more then makes up for it. I will definitely be back, but this time I'm aiming the private dining room for 4pax within the wine cellar.
Please note that this is actually a food delivery service!
A third party delivery service that delivers food from food outlets that don’t! I chanced upon this website when I was surfing the web for food delivery. Have tried using their service 3 times now and while I’m happy with the fact that they deliver food on behalf of restaurants they don’t, I think their service does have room for improvement.
The first time I called them, it was on a weekday night at around 7pm. Food came about 45 min later. I had no qualms about that since it also happened to be around a festive season then.
The second time I called, it was about 6pm on a Sunday evening. I called at least 7 times and never once did I get anyone on the line even though the phone was ringing. The calls would ring till the line gets cut off automatically. Another 3 times, I couldn’t even get the call through at all! I gave up calling. There was no way I was going to get dinner on time.
The third time I called, it was one week after the previous time. I thought I’d try again since they really are the only ones who can deliver Thai Express to my place… This time someone answered the call almost immediately. I asked the call operator if deliveries could be ordered for in advance and delivered a few hours later. She said the food will be delivered between 7pm and 7.30pm. Satisfied with that timing, I called back again later with my order. 5 dishes from Thai Express turned out to be $53. Exclusive of all additional charges it would have been $40.50 only (!).
Apparently charges are met out in such a way:
Original bill $1 charge for orders under $40 / $3 for orders over $40 7% GST delivery charge depending on area 10% service charge.
I live in the east and delivery charges were $5 for me. And there is also a minimum order of $25.
I ordered my food at 5pm or so, thinking it would come at 7 – 7.30pm and thought that would have been a good timing, but the food was delivered at 6.30pm! It was way too early and by the time it was dinner time, the food turned cold already…
Not too happy with their delivery time but I guess delivery can never be at a time of your request... If not for the fact that they’re the only one doing such delivery, I doubt I’ll order from them again.
Contrary to normal beliefs that guys don’t like sweet stuff, I, for one, however proved to be the complete opposite. I like things that make me happy; food that can cheer me up, the happily-ever-after fairytale-like stories, and naturally, sweet nibbles that I always crave for.
The lady took one, from the pile of mountain-stacked high; this was the one destined for me. Poking a hole into the bottom by tucking it in, she pressed the pump; the lovely custard swam into the tiny hole, just big enough, for everything to flow inside.
Dusted with some icing sugar; it was akin like putting on the make-up for the pretty. I was excited by the sticking in and out, with each done, I could barely hide my excitement. And she repeated this process, six times in total.
Do not, I repeat, Do not (note: in bold), share your sweets around, they are not meant to be shared. What’s the point of passing them around, only to feel slightly agonizing over the fact that you are going to have less for yourself?
Stop staring at my cream puff. They are mine, and mine alone.
This, will come down as, one of the toughest decision you will make in your life. Chocolate, vanilla, or strawberrry? And there’s the lovely eclair winking at me, the tiramisu trying to seduce me. It is a land, of temptations. I decided, like what seemed to take an eternity, to go for just half-a-dozen with the chocolate and vanilla flavours. The rest, are my excuses for coming back next time.
And I regretted just getting six.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
A very packed place on a Saturday afternoon...so we opted for outdoors as it meant a shorter wait :D
Service was smiley and cheery and brunch menu simple. Ordered stuff to share between the 2 of us (I forgot to take pics of the menu so don't quite remember the exact ingredients....):
Big Nihon ($18) - Expected bigger portion actually. Soba, edamame, greens, peppers, tomato, sesame, and salmon pieces. Nice Jap combo and fresh salmon but I thought the dressing would have been better if it was more tangy.
Crab Cake ($26) - Huge tart that came with a side of greens. Was quite alot of crab meat but I felt the tart was a tad too thick.
I also had some lime soda thingy which was very refreshing for the alfresco seating. A good spot for a leisure afternoon but remember to call ahead for an indoor spot because sweating tai tais are hardly glam.
Was quite excited to learn that they have an outlet at Liang Court after hearing and reading so much about the outlet at Robertson Quay. I came with family and the 7 of us were quite happy to be given a seat at a corner of the restaurant. Note that the place is tucked inside Mediya; you have to go in to find it.
I had to try the ramen with its infamous pork bone stock of course:
Vegetable tonkatsu ramen ($14) - Huge bowl of vegetables on top of a mountain of ramen immersed in milky stock. Very good stock I thought, it did taste like it was cooked for hours with no 'porky' taste at all. Although for some strange reason the other guys felt Ajisen was better. Huh??
Deep fried shrimp ($10) - I can't remember the exact name on the menu but this was extremely addictive crunchy little stuff. Just the right amount of salt gave it a added kick. Its like really really fresh prawn "crackers". Very good.
Salmon Sashimi ($11) - Very fresh and surprisingly thick slices of the fish. Very refreshing for the palette.
Chicken Cheese roll ($12) - Didn't try this but it looked nothing like the picture.
Deep fried black pork - Disappointingly dry and uninspiring. Its rival located in the same building is so much better.
Service was okay, nothing excellent. It was nice to be able to walk the dinner off in Mediya though. I'll come back for the stock and prawn crackers! I was surprised that the bill came up to so high to be honest but well, at least I know what not to try next time.
Sometimes back, I was told that De Coder's Cafe opened a new outlet in Clementi. The boss is now a friend of mine after some past "commotions" and constructive feedback few of us gave after the unsatisfying meal on my birthday last year. But I'm happy to say that they've improved! Not to the extend that it turned their entire menu around to serve restaurant standard food, but the taste, variety and quality have surely become better.
I visited this new outlet of theirs at Clementi, located at the void deck of a very long flat. About 7-9 mins walk from the Clementi MRT station. The shop is spacious and has the same color scheme as their other outlet at Newton.
As its a neighbourhood, they're also catering for the people staying around with breakfast sets. And I was told this was included in their menu after hearing feedback from their regular customers living nearby. Thumbs up for them for responding to customers request. And I believe, they really want to make their food and service good for everyone.
Food tasted that day includes Nacho Chips & Cheese, Roasted Honey Wings, Americaya, Teriyaki Chicken Chop, Brownie with Vanilla Ice-Cream, Waffle with Gelato Ice Cream, Chocolate Decadence and Oreo Milkshake.
My friend and I love the cheese. It's better than those served at one of the cinema but not as thick as we would have liked it more. But definitely the yummy cheesy taste is there.
Next favorite that day was the Roasted Honey Wings. Roasted to the right texture and the skin is slightly crisp. Marination was good too as the honey has been absorbed into the meat too.
Servings of the main dishes were appetizing and attractive. The size is good to fill up most hungry stomachs.
The late lunch ended with lots of sweetness. Both of us love the waffles and the pistachio gelato ice-cream is of good quality too. I personally love it!
Overall the experience and food has improved. Guess they should already have made the same adjustments too at their Newton outlet. Perhaps if you'd been there before and didn't like the food then, give it another try. You might enjoy it more this time round.
1=SGD 0.0587
Twenty four of us descended to Gunther’s in a foodgraphy-frenzy. Hells hath no fury like a floggers' hunger. The long discussion of food, followed by the occasional exclaims of ‘ooh‘, and ‘aah‘. Welcome to the world of the food lovers.
It was smooth, and silky, strands of it sticking out; yet in the dim light setting against the white background, it looked angelic, yes, this must be it: Cold Angel-hair pasta. I enjoyed every slurp, and I’ll gladly have it again.
This, is the In-thing for this season, like the latest fashion trends for each year; rejoiced people, it is this time of the year for the sacred white asaparagus, not green, not red, but white. And then, I spotted the yellowish sauce over the the Poached white asparagus with Bouchot mussels.
I stopped, and slowly took a bit of it with my spoon; “it couldn’t be, Oh yes it is!” I dipped everything on the plate with the hollandaise sauce, and made sure not a single drop of it was left.
“Have you had white asparagus before?”
“No, I don’t see what's the craze over them..”
A surprise always had the biggest impact when you least expected it, and it came pleasantly of course.
There was pata negra, and salted baked seabass for the folks who couldn’t have beef; and damn, the roasted black pig from Spain sounded so good, I should have claimed to have allergies against cows!
My piece was very well balanced in the portions of the fats and meat (read: too much fats). I took a bite of the meat, and chewed down some fats. And it’s not that the Grilled Cote de Boeuf wasn’t good. In fact it was more than excellent; the slightly tinge of pink fully captured my imagination.
My eyes tweaked to see what was coming. It was supposed to be desserts next, but they were serving us, pizzas. You know, the elongated slice of thin-crust bread with toppings all over. Ah no, I was clearly mistaken, this was no pizza, it’s the Fine apple tart a la dragees, with rum & raisin ice-cream.
Once we had our desserts, once we paid off the bill, it would be bye-bye until a year later. Or at least that’s what the script wrote. A year, is far too long a time for us to meet up. We should meet up regularly my friends, and hunt down all the good food around our island.
Note: The 4 course Carte Blanche set menu was $45 per person and done especially for our Food Bloggers lunch, it's not available to public.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
Went in search of Hokkien food one weekend evening and ended up at Quan Xian Yuan, which came highly recommended to me for its quality food and reasonable prices. Apparently it is so popular that when we tried making reservations for 630pm in the afternoon itself, it was full and the only option was to rush down at 530pm and finish our meal by 630pm. And so we did.
The place isn't located at somewhere you would term as accessible - an inconspicuous restaurant occupying 2 rather dilapidated units along Jalan Besar Road. The interior is dated as well, looking more like a scene out from a sixties movie set then a modern Chinese restaurant.
Prawn Roll - The prawn roll aka ha zhor had too much batter for my liking. It looked a little like goreng pisang (deep fried banana fritters) to me and that's definitely not a good thing. I couldn't quite make out the subtle presence of the prawns, if any and honestly, it was filled with more flour then anything.
Broccoli with Scallops - You can't really go wrong with broccoli and scallops and thankfully this one wasn't the exception. Apart from the scallops being a little too soft, I thought that this dish was still quite decent, but nothing to shout about of course.
Kong Ba Pao (扣肉包) - The answer to all weight loss programs, diets and they key to having a short life - that's what popping a serving of kong ba in your mouth does for you. I would have gladly thrown any health concerns out of the window if the kong ba had been good. Sadly, that wasn't the case. The meat was overly fatty to the point of being gross and the gravy was seriously bland. A little sugar might have made it more palatable.
Hokkien Mee - If the taste of alkaline was my thing, then this dish would have been a delicacy. Otherwise, it was terrible. Bland save for the strong hint of alkaline from the noodles, coupled with not so fresh prawns and a watery gravy that was more for the colour then taste, the noodles were limp and soggy. Not exactly my idea of a signature dish.
To be fair to the restaurant, the food isn't expensive (save for the scallops dish). As a matter of fact, it's considered quite cheap, standing at $48 for the 3 of us. But something really needs to be done about the quality of food. We tried the signature dishes and they turned out so bad. I really can't imagine how the "normal" dishes will turn out. Makes me wonder about the crowds.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Where can you find a quirky indie café, great comfort food at value-for-money price, relaxing corner to chill-out with your friends and at the same time give back to the society? The answer is Food for Thought, a social enterprise café that endeavours to generate profits to support and serve the community we live in.
Conveniently located opposite National Library, the café has been helmed by our own local boy, David Heng, who graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney, and used to work in Le St Julien, under the tutorage of Chef de Cuisine Julien Bompard.
Watermelon Mint & Lychee Sage Freeze ($4.00 each) was the initial order of the evening. HFB can’t think of any good reasons why one wouldn’t love these drinks. Simply revitalising!
Our appetiser falls under the “Premium Salad” category of Honey Mustard Smoked Duck Salad ($12.90). HFB simply dig the smoked duck. The thin layer of fats gave it a nice marbling chew and the meat is tender and succulent. The dish is also well complemented with orange slices. Can I also add that the serving is pretty generous?
What’s best to pair with a premium salad? It’s none other than a “Premium Sandwich” of Cuban Ham & Pork Steak ($10.90) – made of Grilled Gamon Ham, Hand-shred Slow-roasted Tender Pork Shoulder, topped with a sliced of Grilled Pineapple. Sandwiched within home-baked Foccacia Bread, drizzled with creamy mustard dressing and homemade barbecue sauce, this is definitely one of the better sandwiches that HFB has polished off. My only nitpick is that the mixture of over zealous dressing and sauce, coupled with the meat’s natural juices, cause the bread to turn soggy a little.
What’s a meal without its dessert? The Butterscotch Peach Crumble ($7.90) is created with bubbling homemade butterscotch sauce, filled with Peaches, Raisins and Roasted Almond Slices. Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, HFB thought that the combination was a little too generous for it’s own good. Being a hot dessert, the ice cream tends to melt quickly into a mess. Perhaps a better option is to serve the ice cream on the side.
The Vanilla Caramel Crème Brulee was nothing extraordinary to say the least – the custard was smooth with a hint of caramel goodness all right, but the caramelised crust was disappointingly too thick for HFB. However, using fine icing sugar should eliminate the problem.
You can view all the photos here.
Rating given:
A Saturday afternoon, Dear and I went down to Bugis(Si Ma Lu) Guan Yi Temple to pray. After pray we decide to have our lunch near by and we choose to have Vegetarian food.
When we enter the place, the staff were friendly asking us what we will like to have and also intro us their today's special. After a few thought we decide to make order xing zhou bee hoon and ipoh hor fun.
Before making our payment we saw sushi and decide to buy it too. The friendly staff let us try his sample sushi to try if we like it. If not nice he wouldn't charge us money as his afraid we brought it, may not like it and throw it away. We tried it and we like it.
Xing Zhou Bee Hoon - $3
stir fried bee hoon with carrots, cabbages,vegs, bean spouts, spring onion and veg meat. It looks normal but it taste good as it light and not so oily.
Ipoh Hor Fun - $3
rice noodles on the base, with some vegs fish cake, mushrooms, carrots, bean spouts, vegs and some veg cirspy flaskes together with sauce. It taste good and light too.
Sushi Rolls - $3.20 (10 pieces)
Seaweeds wrap with sushi rice together with carrot, cucumber, beet root, veg meat and veg floss. It taste just like normal sushi just that it more healthy version. It light and good.
Both of us think that the foods is good. The place is air-condition, lots of people will came in for the foods too and the staff were really very friendly. It nice.
Rating given:
Absinthe - a green alcoholic spirit which was more commonly known as the green fairy because of its purported hallucinogenic effects. It also happens to be the name of upmarket French restaurant jointly owned by the folks from OSO, restaurant manager Philippe Pau and chef Francois Mermilliod of Flutes at the Fort fame.
Sitting pretty at the end of a row of shophouses along Bukit Pasoh Road and playing immediate neighbour to OSO, Absinthe's green signboard, which is a nod to the greenish colour of the alcohol, greets you from a distance. The swanky interior boasts low ceilings and parquet flooring coupled with ambient ceiling lighting for a relaxing dining experience.
Complimentary Bread - When the first round of complimentary bread hit us, it was actually quite good. Crusty on the outside while retaining its softness and fluffiness on the inside. The second serving was akin to eating stones so I promptly gave up after a few mouthfuls.
Chilled Ravioli of Lobster with Lime Sabayon, Pink Guava Julienne and Shiso - Very interesting to say the least. This wasn't your typical ravioli. The skin was reminiscent of har gao and there were crunchy strands of guava nestled below it on a bed of fresh Boston lobster. The presence of fish roe gave it a nice salty taste while the lime sabayon was savoury with a hint of tartness. Very nice.
Pan-Fried Foie Gras with Warm Blinis and Wild Hibiscus Flower Compote - I thought that the foie gras was excellent. On par with what I had at Sage, if not better by a notch or two. Very well pan fried to a crisp on the outside yet melt in the mouth quivery on the inside with a hint of saltiness. The hibiscus flower compote provided a nice sourish dimension to the foie gras.
Hokkaido Scallop With Sea Urchin Emulsion and Small Herb Salad - Scallops never fail to entice me and Absinthe's rendition came with sea urchin emulsion, which was a first for me. The scallops were done tataki style, well seared on the outside but soft and relatively rare on the inside, which is a refreshing change from the usual seared scallops. I could make out a hint of fishiness amongst the predominantly salty emulsion. Overall another excellent dish.
Pork Belly - The pork belly was a special of the day and I requested this as my main instead of the lamb/fish option for my degustation and I am glad I did. The skin was very crispy, the fats were sinfully melt in your mouth and the meat fibrous with a generous dose of salt. And being pork belly, the ratio of fats to meat is a lot higher then other parts of the pig. Definitely not for the health conscious or faint hearted.
Crème Brûlée, Absinthe Sorbet - Apparently some of the ice parfaits didn't make it past the QC test that evening so I had a choice of crème brûlée instead. I wasn't too impressed by it though. The caramel layer was a little too overtorched, resulting in a rather burnt layer. On the upside, it was milky smooth with raisins in it. What I thought was interesting was the absinthe sorbet, which I had mistaken as lime sorbet at first sight. The sorbet had a very weak absinthe dosage, coming across more like liqurious with its herbal overtones.
The degustation cost $98++ but because I requested to change my main to the pork belly, it cost me another $6++, bringing the total to $122.41 nett. Sure it isn't cheap, but the excellent quality of food and service more then makes up for it. I will definitely be back, but this time I'm aiming the private dining room for 4pax within the wine cellar.
See all my pictures here.
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Please note that this is actually a food delivery service!
A third party delivery service that delivers food from food outlets that don’t! I chanced upon this website when I was surfing the web for food delivery. Have tried using their service 3 times now and while I’m happy with the fact that they deliver food on behalf of restaurants they don’t, I think their service does have room for improvement.
The first time I called them, it was on a weekday night at around 7pm. Food came about 45 min later. I had no qualms about that since it also happened to be around a festive season then.
The second time I called, it was about 6pm on a Sunday evening. I called at least 7 times and never once did I get anyone on the line even though the phone was ringing. The calls would ring till the line gets cut off automatically. Another 3 times, I couldn’t even get the call through at all! I gave up calling. There was no way I was going to get dinner on time.
The third time I called, it was one week after the previous time. I thought I’d try again since they really are the only ones who can deliver Thai Express to my place… This time someone answered the call almost immediately. I asked the call operator if deliveries could be ordered for in advance and delivered a few hours later. She said the food will be delivered between 7pm and 7.30pm. Satisfied with that timing, I called back again later with my order. 5 dishes from Thai Express turned out to be $53. Exclusive of all additional charges it would have been $40.50 only (!).
Apparently charges are met out in such a way:
Original bill $1 charge for orders under $40 / $3 for orders over $40 7% GST delivery charge depending on area 10% service charge.
I live in the east and delivery charges were $5 for me. And there is also a minimum order of $25.
I ordered my food at 5pm or so, thinking it would come at 7 – 7.30pm and thought that would have been a good timing, but the food was delivered at 6.30pm! It was way too early and by the time it was dinner time, the food turned cold already…
Not too happy with their delivery time but I guess delivery can never be at a time of your request... If not for the fact that they’re the only one doing such delivery, I doubt I’ll order from them again.
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I have a sweet tooth
Contrary to normal beliefs that guys don’t like sweet stuff, I, for one, however proved to be the complete opposite. I like things that make me happy; food that can cheer me up, the happily-ever-after fairytale-like stories, and naturally, sweet nibbles that I always crave for.
The lady took one, from the pile of mountain-stacked high; this was the one destined for me. Poking a hole into the bottom by tucking it in, she pressed the pump; the lovely custard swam into the tiny hole, just big enough, for everything to flow inside.
Dusted with some icing sugar; it was akin like putting on the make-up for the pretty. I was excited by the sticking in and out, with each done, I could barely hide my excitement. And she repeated this process, six times in total.
Do not, I repeat, Do not (note: in bold), share your sweets around, they are not meant to be shared. What’s the point of passing them around, only to feel slightly agonizing over the fact that you are going to have less for yourself?
Stop staring at my cream puff. They are mine, and mine alone.
This, will come down as, one of the toughest decision you will make in your life. Chocolate, vanilla, or strawberrry? And there’s the lovely eclair winking at me, the tiramisu trying to seduce me. It is a land, of temptations. I decided, like what seemed to take an eternity, to go for just half-a-dozen with the chocolate and vanilla flavours. The rest, are my excuses for coming back next time.
And I regretted just getting six.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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Leisure spot for tai tai~
A very packed place on a Saturday afternoon...so we opted for outdoors as it meant a shorter wait :D
Service was smiley and cheery and brunch menu simple. Ordered stuff to share between the 2 of us (I forgot to take pics of the menu so don't quite remember the exact ingredients....):
Big Nihon ($18) - Expected bigger portion actually. Soba, edamame, greens, peppers, tomato, sesame, and salmon pieces. Nice Jap combo and fresh salmon but I thought the dressing would have been better if it was more tangy.
Crab Cake ($26) - Huge tart that came with a side of greens. Was quite alot of crab meat but I felt the tart was a tad too thick.
I also had some lime soda thingy which was very refreshing for the alfresco seating. A good spot for a leisure afternoon but remember to call ahead for an indoor spot because sweating tai tais are hardly glam.
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Good ramen stock~
Was quite excited to learn that they have an outlet at Liang Court after hearing and reading so much about the outlet at Robertson Quay. I came with family and the 7 of us were quite happy to be given a seat at a corner of the restaurant. Note that the place is tucked inside Mediya; you have to go in to find it.
I had to try the ramen with its infamous pork bone stock of course:
Vegetable tonkatsu ramen ($14) - Huge bowl of vegetables on top of a mountain of ramen immersed in milky stock. Very good stock I thought, it did taste like it was cooked for hours with no 'porky' taste at all. Although for some strange reason the other guys felt Ajisen was better. Huh??
Deep fried shrimp ($10) - I can't remember the exact name on the menu but this was extremely addictive crunchy little stuff. Just the right amount of salt gave it a added kick. Its like really really fresh prawn "crackers". Very good.
Salmon Sashimi ($11) - Very fresh and surprisingly thick slices of the fish. Very refreshing for the palette.
Chicken Cheese roll ($12) - Didn't try this but it looked nothing like the picture.
Deep fried black pork - Disappointingly dry and uninspiring. Its rival located in the same building is so much better.
Service was okay, nothing excellent. It was nice to be able to walk the dinner off in Mediya though. I'll come back for the stock and prawn crackers! I was surprised that the bill came up to so high to be honest but well, at least I know what not to try next time.
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Sometimes back, I was told that De Coder's Cafe opened a new outlet in Clementi. The boss is now a friend of mine after some past "commotions" and constructive feedback few of us gave after the unsatisfying meal on my birthday last year. But I'm happy to say that they've improved! Not to the extend that it turned their entire menu around to serve restaurant standard food, but the taste, variety and quality have surely become better.
I visited this new outlet of theirs at Clementi, located at the void deck of a very long flat. About 7-9 mins walk from the Clementi MRT station. The shop is spacious and has the same color scheme as their other outlet at Newton.
As its a neighbourhood, they're also catering for the people staying around with breakfast sets. And I was told this was included in their menu after hearing feedback from their regular customers living nearby. Thumbs up for them for responding to customers request. And I believe, they really want to make their food and service good for everyone.
Food tasted that day includes Nacho Chips & Cheese, Roasted Honey Wings, Americaya, Teriyaki Chicken Chop, Brownie with Vanilla Ice-Cream, Waffle with Gelato Ice Cream, Chocolate Decadence and Oreo Milkshake.
My friend and I love the cheese. It's better than those served at one of the cinema but not as thick as we would have liked it more. But definitely the yummy cheesy taste is there.
Next favorite that day was the Roasted Honey Wings. Roasted to the right texture and the skin is slightly crisp. Marination was good too as the honey has been absorbed into the meat too.
Servings of the main dishes were appetizing and attractive. The size is good to fill up most hungry stomachs.
The late lunch ended with lots of sweetness. Both of us love the waffles and the pistachio gelato ice-cream is of good quality too. I personally love it!
Overall the experience and food has improved. Guess they should already have made the same adjustments too at their Newton outlet. Perhaps if you'd been there before and didn't like the food then, give it another try. You might enjoy it more this time round.
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