Chill-out @Wine Company Tapas Bar & Bistro, Robertson Quay

I would say Robertson Quay has been successfully 'revived' for some time, since more and more restaurants, pubs and chill-out places are sprouting out over there.  There are some new pubs when I visited last Friday, after Iron Man 3 (at my sister's company movie event) with my sister and hubby.
 
The Wine Company has diversified since last year, in opening Tapas Bar & Bistro that serves a selection of traditional European foods to go with their imported wines, and further expanded this time round, with more tables spanning outside the bistro.  This place is fully packed (especially on a Friday night)!  (Of cos' do note that the same wine if order & drink at their Robertson Quay retail shop will be slightly cheaper.)

Wine Company Tapas Bar & Bistro
@Robertson Quay
11 Unity Street
#01-19 Robertson Walk
Singapore 237995
Tel: 6235 5466

Their Tapas menu offers both hot and cold items, which are selling at $5 per plate.  Best price!!  Spicy prawns with garlic was alright, according to Hubby it had "real" prawn taste (unlike frozen prawns in some Chinese dishes).

Gratineed mussels - another "must-try" dish we would recommend.

CASAL MENDES - Rose wine was handpicked by myself, cos' I simply like sweet and non-spicy wines.  I have never tried Portugal wine before, and am pleasantly surprised.  In my opinion, it tasted like red wine with bubbles, but minus away the spiciness.  It has fruity aroma with slight tinges of banana and pineapple, bottled in an unique shape.

 
Lime tart (with fruit bits inside) - appetising!  Would be nicer if it is not so cold.

 
Parma ham bruschetta and Foie gras skewer (with duck meat and apple) to wrap up our night's supper.  The foie gras skewers are unexpectedly and amazingly great taste that we can't help having seconds (one plate only has 2 skewers)!  Fatty foie gras (the fats simply melt & solute in your mouth) is best complemented with fruits, and they are so generous with the foie gras.  *Must-try!!

 
If you know of other cool and nice chill-out places that open till late, pls do feel free to share with me here (under "Comments" section).  Ciaozz!

High Tea @The Landing Point

[Post-dated, 30 Dec 2012]

Nothing beats a good afternoon tea with great ambience and great company!  So I grabbed my Sister and our "preggy" girlfriend for a high tea at The Landing Point just a couple of weeks before her EDD.
 
Would strongly recommend you to make prior reservation at least 2 weeks beforehand.  Cos of last minute changes to accommodate each other's schedule, we had to reschedule our reservation and give up the sofa seats.  Otherwise, you can early reserve the sofa seats facing the view of the old landing point (previously Clifford Pier was the pier for early settlers and sea passengers to set foot into Singapore) and MBS. 

The Landing Point
@Fullerton Bay Hotel
80 Collyer Quay
Singapore 049326
Tel: 6597 5277

3 persons' share filled up 2 three-tier trays, with a satisfactory selection of sweet and savoury items in bite-size.  One can have 2 beverages from the drinks menu and the TWG tea selection.  Absolutely delectable!!

 
Their scones comes in both plain and with raisins, are served warm and wrapped in the cloth napkins to keep its warmth.  How thoughtful!  It is the one place I had actually finished 2 scones in a roll!  Scones definitely taste better than L'Espresso, sufficiently moist and warm!

 
We are so soooo into their savoury items, which is rare, for most high tea places do not have as much savoury choices to offer.  Hence we keep having refills for them - egg mayonnaise sandwich with truffle; mini burger; salmon wholemeal sandwich topped with caviar & quiche tartlet!  The service staff are so friendly and kind to let us choose whichever 3 top-ups (or more at one time)!

 
Chestnut mont blanc was complimentary on top of the many sweet and savoury items full on our plates.  Sweeeet!! 
[*P.S: You have to ask the staff to serve you top-ups from their horizontal-revolving classy trolley.  Don't be shy at all!  Cos after the 1st request, replenishment will keep pouring in! hehe]
 

Complimentary raspberry mousse served in a shooter glass.  Too sour, not so nice..

Time simply slipped by under such relaxing atmosphere and wondrous treats....

[ My verdict ]: A pity that the salted chocolate caramel tart and chocolate éclair were not available that day..  Nonetheless, still it's worth eating and giving me another reason to go back again!  For they bother to come up with new sweet & savoury items, plus complimentary desserts at certain hour(s) of the day, what you'll get depending on your luck! ;)

New Favorite Bakery in the Heartland - Baker Talent

My #1 most frequently eaten food will be BREAD!  I would say most Singaporeans would opt for bread as daily breakfast due to our busy lifestyle - it is the "easiest" food to get, rather than having to rack your brains everyday over what to buy for the 1st meal of the day.  Almost everyday if not, every other day, I will have bread for breakfast or 'filler' in between meals.

I have recently took up some tuition assignment, which allow me to be more well-commuted outside my residence area.  As such, I keep passing by this shop that sells bread alongside with those neighbourhood shops under one of the HDB blocks.  Its shopfront setting reminds me of Bar Cook, but what really caught my eyes was that it is also a shop which sells bubble tea!

 

Therefore, one of the days, when there is no queue and plenty of bread choices are still available (because honestly, I reaaaaally hate to queue up for my food!! I can faint due to starvation! hahaa), I finally managed to try out 9 out 12 bun selection on separate occasions - HK-style Poluo bun with & without char siew (港试菠萝面包); Lemon cheese bun; Cranberry cheese bun; Golden sand bun (黄金流沙面包); Sesame & peanut paste bun; Mocha bun; Ham bun; & Tuna bun.

 

Baker Talent
@Blk 303 Choa Chu Kang Ave 4
(next to NTUC Foodcourt)
Singapore 680303

First bite into their bun reminds me of those traditional, old school bakery shop whereby the texture is soft and full of fluff (thus you shouldn't put inside your bag & crush it, else it will become very small). 

 

My Top 3 Choice would be the:

(1) Lemon Cheese bun --> a new and refreshing taste with lemony freshness balancing the cheese, even my elderly Mother can eat it!;

 

(2) Golden Sand bun --> only managed to buy this the 2nd time, cos' 1st time the lady in front of me bought the last piece!  When I first bite it, the egg yolk paste did not flow out, so I wasn't expecting the subsequent bite will cause the paste to overflow and nearly make a mess, having to finger-licking myself like a cat.

[*Advice: Best consume on the spot you buy it, while it is warm]; &

 

(3) HK-style Poluo bun --> I would usually choose the char siew type cos it is more filling!  Their char siew are braised red in colour and love the part where it is made of small shreds so nothing will fall out as you eat, and is not fatty nor oily.  The best, is that if you leave it overnight to eat the following morning, the top crust layer is still intact and did not turn all soft with ambient moisture.

 

In general, their bread taste good and definitely worth the price! For ALL breads cost less than S$1 each! Where can you still find such low prices bread that still taste good?!! (So don't expect to have further price slash after 8pm yah!)

 

So if you happen to be in that estate, you know where you can find cheap & good bread (while their daily supply last!!)! *wink wink*

Baci Italian Cafe @I12 Katong

Tonight, we arrived at I12 Katong to try out Baci for dinner.  I like the deco and feel of the shop.  The café requires customers to "self-service", to queue in front of that little black stand to view the menu when we are the only customers having proper meal (does that make sense?!).  So I had to tell the male staff that I want to bring the food and drinks menu back to my seat before I can decide what to eat.  Then customers will have to help themselves with cutleries, serviettes, side plates, sauces etc. at the small corner near to our seat, which we were fine with it.  Until my husband, Ivan noticed my face entirely changed as I returned to my seat with 2 side plates.  For the stack of side plates left there, were all stained (obviously not 100% cleansed thoroughly using the dishwasher), I had no choice but to choose the less dirty ones from that pile (even with plenty of their staff sitting right behind me while I was struggling with the plates.. Since when can a big group of counter/kitchen staff take break and sit at the shop itself?!  first time ever I had seen this!!)!  Immediately, my husband went back to try and choose 2 other cleaner plates.  Then the same staff who told me to queue for order, asked what my husband was doing?!  Ivan responded loudly that their plates were all so dirty, and walked back to our table! *haa*  Still, those 2 plates ain't any better so I had to wipe it with the serviettes.  This was when the group of staff dispersed behind us and we heard noises in the kitchen with plates clicking and all.  But still none of them offer to even change our plates for us.  How degrading can Singapore's standard of service go?!?!!  Arghhh!!


Baci
@I12 Katong
112 East Coast Road #01-07
Singapore 428802
Tel: 6636 0376

First to be served was the mushroom soup.  The soup was thick and sufficiently blended with the mushroom flavour (a bit disappointing not having mushroom bits to chew on), but too salty to be drank on.

Then, came our BBQ chicken pizza.  Pretty ok with the thin crust slightly burnt but not too much, creating the crisp (however it was not very evenly done, as some pieces did not have the crisp around it).  It would be better if BBQ sauce is being spread all over the pizza as the base, instead of just on the outer circumference; and cut the chicken into slices rather than dice it.  Not many consumers will like the many chopped onions sprinkled all over the pizza.

 The seafood linguine my husband had, was really huge and sad.  Only the spaghetti was warm, the rest of the ingredients e.g. fish chucks, prawns were cold!  Bet those were cooked way before the spaghetti was cooked.  So unprofessional!

Real flop!!  Even if you happen to walk past there, don't bother going in for a meal.  However, I do notice the other table only ordered coffee (only 2 tables were occupied, even after 7pm on a weekday!?!).  Maybe they are good at coffee and waffles etc..but who knows?!?  I don't want to go back for self-service and still paying restaurant price.

Unexpected Find in An Established Estate

A few days back, I brought one of my closest friends, Rina to this little shop (my 3rd visit, but first time during lunch hour) that I have discovered unexpectedly on one instance when I was in Toa Payoh Central last year.  I randomly picked this new shop which is hidden in a side walking path (also seemed like the back lane of the shop), cos' it reminded me of the 60s street hawker where customers are seated on the roadside on wooden chairs and tables.

I would usually choose the outside seating for I enjoy the feel and space (minus the 'garbage' view).  Cos' the inside seating feel too cramp and congested, especially with the opaque stickers on the glass windows and doors, making one feels like trapped in a windowless room.  (I think I did feedback to the Management on my first visit when they approached us to ask how the food taste.)  Another reason I have discovered 'not' to sit inside that day, was their lack of WSH.  The air-condition tripped several times because someone from another table were plugging their laptops into the power source near to their table.  Apparently, the Management have overloaded the electricity capacity in that congested space with the many air-condition, lightings etc. and failed to notice how dangerous it can turn out to be.  Hope they rectify this soon.

林记老鼠粉
Toa Payoh Lorong 6
(opposite HDB Hub)

Their specialty dish is 林记牛肉松老鼠粉(mee tai mak).  It is actually an unique and very tasty dish made of sliced beef and mee tai mak, topped with "beef floss", which I would say it's the first time ever I have tasted such a dish, in Singapore or anywhere.  The beef floss are crispy; the sliced beef are cooked just nice with a soft texture; and the special dark gravy really brings out the taste and enhance one's appetite.

This hearty meal is completed with an iced lemongrass drink.  Try it out if you happen to be in that area (hope they keep up the consistency in their food standards)! ;)  There are also local delicacies and zi char choices on the menu.  Something a little nostalgic and unique for a change!

All-Day Brunch @Au Chocolat

[Postdated, 28 Mar 2013]
Thru' sheer chance from a Facebook post, we met again exactly 3years 0day from our first meet-up.. Such a rare coincidence that we could meet at a common timing in such short notice!!  Therefore I suggested a restaurant I have yet to try out, and is nearby Gardens by the Bay (where they would be visiting in the morning), Au Chocolat Singapore @MBS.

Au Chocolat is a locally-created concept restaurant, inspired by French antiquated streets.  It has 2 segmented corners - the Bistro and Confiserie (confectionery / candy store in french).  [My Tip]:  Call to make an advance reservation, so you may get the "booth" seating in the Bistro --> more comfy!

Au Chocolat
@Marina Bay Sands
2 Bayfront Avenue
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands
Bay Level L1-03
Singapore 018956
Tel: 6688 7227


My newly-wed Hong Kong couple friends, Canice and Nick both decided on the Set Lunch that includes an appetiser, main course and complimentary dessert of the day.  (I have noticed that the Set Lunch Menu has changed this month in April, so you can expect to try out new dishes.)  They ordered a salad and tomato soup for appetiser (there are only these 2 options to choose from).

Uncertain how big the serving would be, so we ordered 3 different main course to share - steak sandwich, cheese macaroni and eggs Florentine.  Steak sandwich was different, cos' steak is usually made into a burger instead of sandwich.  Though it had "uniqueness", the sandwich was too big to bite off straight, so luckily we were sharing hence it was divided and cut accordingly (not as convenient as most sandwiches would be).  It tasted ok, fries were nice, but steak was a little too overcooked for chewing.

 
The cheese macaroni also tasted alright, serving portion too much for one to finish.  So instead, would recommend it for sharing.

The eggs Florentine I ordered were really nice (in actual, there were 2 eggs)!  Just nice to satisfy my brunch appetite! *grin*
 
Both the service staff (the one who took our orders & asked to serve our dessert) told us different name for the dessert of the day - "Brownie".  But turned out it was actually a cheesecake with chocolate base and 2 big chucks of chocolate at 2nd half of the cake.  Hmm..cheese overpowering, don't really blend well.

I would come back soon to try out their Weekend Brunch Menu (heard their truffle fries are good!) for the dishes includes many variety of sweet and savoury items!

Hubby's Birthday 2013 - Part 3 (final) @Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck

Following the next day, to celebrate with the Family, we made a last-minute reservation (1 day in advance) for a table and a duck at the Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck, situated at Paragon.  Despite having reservation, the waiting queue and crowd gathered outside the restaurant on a Sunday morning was scarily huge!  We finally got a table inside the restaurant after nearly 40min of waiting, as we do not want to take the outside seating..!


Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck Restaurant & Bubbles Champagne Bar
@Paragon
290 Orchard Road #05-42/45
Singapore 238859
Tel: 67327838 

After we are seated, another long wait for the duck to be served..which we almost gave up!  Luckily, we ordered some dianxin before the last order for that noon.  Otherwise, we would have collapsed from the prolong wait.

Mini egg tarts taste great and a must-try!  It was luke warm when served to us, with the outer crust soooo crispy and fluffy that it melted in my mouth effortlessly!  The soft egg center is the best thus far I have tried before (as compared to Red Star, Swee Choon etc.), it has rich taste yet not too over.  You can easily eat more than 2 pcs with its bite-size!  You can easily tell it is freshly-made and not frozen overnight.

 

Next on, the mini custard buns (流沙包).  The custard buns are ok, at least meet my benchmark. *hee*

 


At last, the main character of the day "Peking Duck" and braised chicken feet.  The braised chicken feet were very well braised, with the flavoured gravy fully immersed into the feet (many hours must have gone into cooking this dish)!  Nice!!  The first 4 slices (in a separate plate) are suppose to be the "best" part of the duck, sliced from its neck.  This Peking Duck tasted somewhat different from the authentic Peking Duck I have tasted in Quan Ju De (全聚德) and national-awarded restaurant DaDong (大董烤鸭), Beijing.  Perhaps it's the kind of duck you can get in Singapore, it is less fat or more like no fats at all?!?  It did not melt in my mouth, so kind of disappointing..  In short, it is not that bad but cos' I had ate Beijing style, hence Singapore style still have room for improvement.







































The Chef could only sliced the duck from afar,
cos' the interior tables are placed very close to each other





The right way to eat Peking Duck meat is to go with the complimentary crepes (薄饼皮), cucumber strips, onion strips (though more additional ingredients & flavouring e.g. sugar are given in Beijing) and the essential sauce, also allows diners to wrap according to own preference and eat up.  Crepes have too much 'flour' taste, thus also thicker than it should be.
 
To make full use of the whole duck, diners are usually recommended to use the remaining meat to cook fried noodles or make into soup.  We chose to cook with ee-fu noodles, which turned out to be surprisingly nice!

Their service isn't up to standards of normal Singapore restaurants, though I would compliment the service staff who make the efforts to check on us every now and then.  However, they are nowhere to be seen when we needed their assistance or call for bill (how can there be no Supervisor overseeing the floor?!).  Due to their quality dianxin, I would come back again to just try out the full selection of dianxin with my hubby but only when we have plenty of time to wait and laze at the bar top - for a "East meets West" experience.

Hubby's Birthday 2013 - Part 2 @Grand Palki, The Regent

On his actual birthday, I arranged for a pretty unique cuisine lunch for him - an Indian buffet.  I wanted to make it "special" thus bought 2 Groupon vouchers when I saw this offer at Grand Palki (well, who would thought of going for Indian food on such an occasion right?! haha)


Grand Palki Restaurant
@The Regent Singapore
1 Cuscaden Road #03-02
Singapore 249715

That day, we arrived late due to the heavy traffic on a Saturday noon, the last hour before the lunch buffet ended.  Nonetheless, we were able to enjoy our meal slowly.... And very soon, started to feel full in my stomach as we had gorged down 8 different curries (both meat & vegetable curries); took seconds on the freshly-made garlic naan; and very unique 'keropok' with visible black pepper that looked like sesame seeds!  How satisfying!!

With my motto: "No matter how full I feel, there is always space for dessert..!", I headed straight to dessert corner!  There were 2 types of dessert on that particular day, Rasgulla and Gulab Jamun.  It was the first time I had ever seen or heard of these dessert names!  Out of curiosity and with a cautious mind, I scooped out a small bowl of each, just enough for 2 persons to nibble.  While trying our first taste of it, the service staff approached us and taught us another way to have the Gulab Jamun (she also explained to us that this brown ball is entirely made of milk powder!) --> that is to add vanilla ice-cream and eat together.  [ My verdict ]: Not too bad, but still consider pretty sweet for our tastebuds, for it is soaked in sweet syrup.

It was a real good meal with nice ambience and interesting ways to eat desserts like never before!  The service was merely ok (given that there are only 2 - 3 servers in the restaurant & at one point we were the only customers).  But I would definitely go back when I have cravings for Indian curry and naan! *yumz*

Hubby's Birthday 2013 - Part 1 @Rong Guang BBQ Seafood

I've been thinking what I should write for my "official" first post on food reviews..  Finally, I have decided on beginning with one of the most important annual events in my life - that would be my hubby's birthday! *haa*

It was rather ironic cos' when I was told him I want to start writing my own food blog, he broke into laughs at the next instant.  Well, back to his 34th birthday (which was last month), we ate good meals for 3 whole consecutive days in celebration!


Rong Guang BBQ Seafood
@Makansutra Gluttons Bay
8 Raffles Avenue
Singapore 039802
(*Opens till beyond 12am)

Let's start with the pre-birthday meal at Makansutra Gluttons Bay (the revamped non-aircon food hawker centre, just outside Esplanade) for a 'crabbie' meal for I have craved so much after watching the last episode from Channel 5, Makan Places Lost & Found.  Like many locals, my hubby was skeptical initially to eat crabs over there, as we all had this impression that it was a place especially meant for tourists, and foods would be overpriced and tasted fairly.  Glad that I was able to overturn that "impression" once the food are served (be prepared for there will be quite a wait cos' people will be 'paged' by the beeper once the food are ready)!








Who can resist good-tasting crab, at the price of $25 each?!!  It is insanely best price (not to compare with neighbourhood zi char stalls)!  It tasted very different (but in a good way) than other chilli crab I have ever tried.  It was hot and slightly sour which appetites you more  (I believe there were tomatoes added in!) plus it won't turn starchy when it cooled off.

  

The stingray is also a must-try dish over there!  Very reasonably priced for the portions are huge, however there was some wastage cos it was too much for 2 persons. 

**Highly recommended to go with a group of friends, so you can also have more variety from the Rong Guang, as well as other neighbouring stalls (not forgetting the oyster omelette yah!).  Do notice there are new stalls that attracted people to queue.