7Adam Gallery Restaurant

Nestled within Adam Park, on a hill overlooking Adam Road, 7Adam Gallery Restaurant sits inside an elegant black and white colonial-style building. As its name suggests, it’s part restaurant, part art gallery, with several artworks scattered tastefully around the dining rooms. If K ain’t with me for the tasting that day, I’d be inclined to bring him on a date there as I’ve since pegged it as a romantic dining destination (as we know, he’s got a thing for ambience).

Menu is contemporary fusion, European with a touch of Asian influence. Decent food, nothing too exciting, all very acceptable. Ironically, the one dish that stood out for me was what the rest of the table didn’t try: masala marinated atlantic cod! Flavour was spot on, mild instead of overpowering. Texture was soft and tender, no overcooked fish, phew~ Another dish that I really like was the salad tossed with yuzu walnuts and citrus fruits, very refreshing and if you like rojak, you would love the ginger flower dressing too! That’s also solely for me, while the rest indulged in their foie gras salad (which admittedly had a great aroma).

I also gave my vote to the deconstructed sprout risotto, crunchy, rice-less and carb-free. Oh yes, everyone in our group raved about the humble potato too! Potato galette and potato fondant were supposed to be the sides but they clearly turned out to be the stars, instead of the grilled mackerel and wagyu beef. Celeriac lasagne with mushrooms definitely can’t hold a candle to Halia’s. The latter is a powerhouse of umami flavours, and 7Adam’s rendition was too.. Weak, for lack of a better word. Need more tweaking.

Desserts were a hit and a miss; white wine poached peach was easy to love, while the components on the plate of hazelnut parfait, cocoa soil, pistachio biscotti and financier came off as too individualistic. Nice on its own, but made no sense when eaten all at once.

veloute of trio pepper soup

hokkaido scallops carpaccio

celeriac lasagne layered with sautéed spinach, duxelle mushrooms, morel jus

salad with foie gras cubes, apples, pinenuts sautéed with ginger

thai influenced salad tossed with ginger flower dressing, yuzu walnuts, citrus fruits

deconstructed sprout risotto, sliced truffle, emulsion of mushrooms and wine

grilled atlantic mackerel, potato galette stuffed with parma ham, truffle olive rice

oven baked masala marinated atlantic cod, pilaf rice, haricot beans, lemongrass infused cream sauce

pan seared wagyu striploin, thai asparagus, potato fondant, green lime infused beef jus

hazelnut parfait, cocoa soil, pistachio biscotti, financier

white wine poached peach, vanilla crumble, white wine granita, sesame tuille

Thanks to Mindy and Mei Yan from Touch PR & Events for the invitation! Happy to finally meet you ladies.

7Adam Gallery Restaurant
7 Adam Park
6467 0777

Read Full Post »

Brunch at Halia, 3 Years On

My first brunch at Halia in Botanic Gardens was with a group of food bloggers more than three years ago! Omg how time flies.

Eggs benny seems to be the only constant between then and now, otherwise it’s a whole new revamped menu at Halia. No one can deny that the location is one of the key selling points. A relaxing meal among the lush foliage of the Ginger Garden is already food for the soul, isn’t it?

I’m not too excited about what we had, probably because the tasting menu comprised of items which I don’t fancy / beyond my dietary preference. Like oysters, french toast, wagyu rump (the rest of them loved this!!). The egg dishes (poached, sunny-side-up, omelette, we had them all) are competent, but not mind-blowing.

Which brings me to my favourite dish of the day: succulent prawns on a bed of lettuce and avocado, drizzled with homemade spicy tomato sauce. Hallelujah, finally an elegant prawn cocktail without any gross mayonnaise dressing (mayo and I will never be BFF)! This is an appetiser, but I can happily have this as a main and pass on the others, haha. Oh, and the sticky valrhona chocolate brownie is fab as well! How not to love it when salted caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream are part of the equation?!

cocktail of king prawns, spicy tomato sauce, avocado, wasabi & coriander ($22++)

a brunch special: coffin bay oysters, bloody mary ($6++ each)

cinnamon french toast, fresh seasonal berries, white chocolate & iranian pistachio ($18++)

omelette of blue swimmer crab & chinese sausage, sweet corn & coriander, tamarind galangal sesame dressing ($25++)

poached eggs on brioche, dill hollandaise, shaved honey baked ham (additional $4++), swiss brown mushroom, spinach & tomato ($22++)

wood smoked salmon toastie, capers, crème cheese & dill, sunny side up fried egg ($24++)

a brunch special: mayura station full blood wagyu rump, bacon, sunny side up hen’s egg, vine cherry tomato and barbecue sauce ($48++)

a brunch special: banana parfait

sticky valrhona chocolate brownie, salted caramel sauce & vanilla ice cream ($12++)

My thanks to Ivy from FoodNews for hosting brunch! Kind and thoughtful, as always.

Halia Restaurant (Botanic Gardens)
1 Cluny Road
Ginger Garden inside Botanic Gardens
6476 6711

Read Full Post »

Hello Again, db Bistro Moderne!

French-American db Bistro Moderne at Marina Bay Sands has become a dear friend. The menu is constantly changing and every few months, I head back for a taste, always excited and full of anticipation. This time round, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of flagship Restaurant Daniel, classic items from Daniel will rotate on the menu every Monday, featuring Boulud Sud’s famous Mediterranean Mezze and showy baked Alaska (look at those flames!!). The former happened to be my favourite starter of the night, mostly cuz I really really have an undying love for hummus (db does a solid garlicky rendition) and herby falafels so that was right up my alley.

I’m glad that the culinary team came up with seafood & vegetable aioli for non-meat, seafood-loving eaters! Think of this as the pescetarian version of meaty charcuterie — a light and clean-tasting platter of olive oil poached cod, tiger prawns, and a selection of fresh vegetables. Very healthy stuff. After that came two delightful starters: sweet white asparagus with black truffle dressing and juicy seared scallop on a bed of luscious pea mousse (you either love peas or hate them haha). I’m not impressed with the mains, and that’s not a very fair statement since the grilled sea bream was all I tried as I skipped the roasted chicken. Not that there’s anything wrong with the fish — I merely found it too simple and underwhelming, so it’s just me being hard to please as usual haha.

IMO, this season’s menu under the direction of new Executive Chef Jonathan Kinsella seems to have stronger Asian and Mediterranean influences, especially the desserts! Durian soufflé, mangosteen sorbet, jackfruit verrine, coconut tapioca.. Intriguing right? I guess they are worthy a try for novelty’s sake but what I really like is the tangy rhubarb tart, so rare in Singapore. And chocolate + banana + peanut will never go wrong so the cutesy Indian tepee-lookalike milk chocolate mousse cake is a no-fail too!

A Very Special Media Dinner
Introducing
Executive Chef Jonathan Kinsella

Seafood & Vegetable Aioli
olive oil poached cod, tiger prawns, market vegetables, garlic aioli

Boulud Sud’s Mediterranean Mezze
herb falafel, english pea hummus, sheep’s milk ricotta, house made socca chips

Jumbo White Asparagus
egg mimosa, shaved asparagus & radish, black truffle dressing

Seared Diver Scallops
english pea mousse, smoked bacon, quail eggs, carrots, lemon chicken jus

Herb Roasted Organic Spring Chicken “Provencal”
petits farcis, spicy fennel sausage, heirloom tomatoes, natural jus

Grilled Mediterranean Sea Bream
fennel, orange and olive salata, arugula, orange gremolata

DBGB’S Signature Baked Alaska
pear & blackcurrant sorbet, almond biscuit

Durian “Royale” Souffle
mangosteen sorbet

Rhubarb Tart
white chocolate, rhubarb variations

Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake
peanut brittle, banana ice cream

Special thanks to Philicia and Elzena from Marina Bay Sands for inviting and hosting dinner! It’s always such a pleasure to catch up with you ladies : )

db Bistro Moderne
#B1-48, Marina Bay Sands
10 Bayfront Ave
6688 8525

Read Full Post »

Savour 2013

By the time you read this, Savour 2013 has come to an end. Held at the F1 Pit area, this annual gourmet festival is the biggest in Singapore and is a one-stop venue with an alfresco Gourmet Village featuring over 25 leading chefs and 18 award-winning restaurants Michelin-starred dishes, a Gourmet Market and a Gourmet Auditorium where expert master classes are conducted.

It must be beginner’s luck (this is my first Savour!), for I was lucky to be invited to the event twice — once on the opening day by Nespresso, and on Saturday by FoodNews to participate in The Great FIJI Water Race (more on that later).

Nespresso is the official presenting partner of Savour 2013, and it’s apt to reveal the launch of two new espresso capsules for Spring on this occasion — Napoli and Trieste. I can never describe the coffee as well as Nespresso does so check out the interactive website for more info (such as differences in crema, aroma, taste, body etc) on these limited editions!

Are you curious about the name Trieste? I was, since I’ve never heard of it. I’ve been to Napoli (Naples) before so I know what and where it is. But not Trieste. A quick search on Google shows that Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. Not really a tourist’s kind of place, but it has a rich literary past. Interesting.

We also attended a mixologist class by Nespresso! When the instructor asked “how many of you here owns a Nespresso machine?”, I think everyone except us raised their hands! We seemed like the gatecrashers, haha.

Even though I’m not a coffee drinker (just can’t appreciate it), the class turned out to be fun! We created a rose-flavoured cappuccino (bandung and coffee make a surprisingly good combi!), mocha latte with coconut (we like this best!), and an iced mint caipiroska (kind of strange, what did I do wrong hmm), yay! Know which part of the class I enjoyed most? The crushing and slapping of mint leaves to release the oils! So fragrant and left my hands smelling nice~

Naturally, I was most interested in the Gourmet Village since it’s such a rare chance to see some of the world’s top 100 ranked restaurants gathered together in one venue!

If I have to choose the best dish of the event, it’d definitely take me a long time to decide! The worst dish was easy — Arbutus‘s squid and mackerel ‘burger’, essentially an atas-fied fish cake and way way way too salty omg. I was thankful that I tried the cod fish from Sjömagasinet on Thursday cuz when I went back on Saturday, the Swedish chef has packed up and left for home, phew. Very delicious, simple and good.

The Tasting Room and Mirazur were clearly the most outstanding restaurants imo; their food had wonderful flavours and textures, and I was particularly impressed with the vegetarian dishes! Peruvian food was a first for me, and Chef Emilio’s seafood appetiser and non-oily fried fish won my heart easily. Strong and bold, reminding me of Mexican cuisine. His dessert was too sweet though.

In terms of creativity, I gave full marks to Bo Innovation for its cha chan tang dessert. Execution-wise, I don’t like the kaya marshmallow and condensed milk foam. Mikuni had the best presentation — serving its aromatic truffle kampachi in tin cans, so cute!

My initial intention was to not try any of the food from the local restaurants but plan failed, haha. Hits and misses with Gattopardo — nice risone and cannolo but bland arancini ball. Gunther’s legendary angel hair pasta needed no mention, and its soft serve ice cream was a godsend in the 38°C weather!

Squid and Mackerel ‘Burger’, Salad of Sea Greens, Moroccan Lemon Peel ($12)

Chef Anthony Demetre
Arbutus, UK

Cod with Quail Egg ($12)

Chef Ulf Wagner
Sjömagasinet, Sweden

Seared Scallop, Aerated Scallop, Dill Vichysoisse, Barley and Squid Ink Crumble ($10)

Chef Margot Janse
The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Français, South Africa

Beetroot Sponge, Wild Rice, Macadamia Salad, Baobab Yoghurt ($10)

Chef Margot Janse
The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Français, South Africa

Hibiscus Soup, Yogurt Sorbet, Red Fruits ($8)

Chef Mauro Colagreco
Mirazur, France

Red Quinoa Risotto, Wild Mushrooms, Fried Jerusalem Artichoke Skin, Parsley Sponge ($12)

Chef Mauro Colagreco
Mirazur, France

Causa: Traditional Peruvian Seafood Appetiser with Shrimps, Scallops and Octopus ($12)

Chef Emilio Macias
Astrid y Gaston, Peru

Jalea de Pescado: Traditional Fried Fish ($18 with dessert below)

Chef Emilio Macias
Astrid y Gaston, Peru

Iced Dulce de Leche Lollypops: Milk, Chocolate and Andean Grains Chupetes

Chef Emilio Macias
Astrid y Gaston, Peru

Cha Tang Dessert: Butter Toast Ice Cream, Condensed Milk Foam, Peanut Butter Ice, Kaya Marshmallow, “Ying Yang” Hot Milk Tea and Cold Coffee ($10)

Chef Alvin Leung
Bo Innovation, Hong Kong

Truffle Kampachi, Black Truffle Soya ($14)

Chef Moon Kyung Soo
Mikuni, Singapore

Risone ($12), Cannoli ($10)

Chef Lino Sauro
Gattopardo, Singapore

Cold Angel Hair Pasta ($18)

Chef Gunther Hubrechsen
Gunther’s, Singapore

Warm Fruit with Ice Cream ($8)

Chef Gunther Hubrechsen
Gunther’s, Singapore

Now, previously I mentioned that we took part in The Great FIJI Water Race. It’s basically amazing race style, and we had to complete the tasks at different stations to earn points.

The results were announced earlier at 8pm and…

WE WON!!!!!!!!!

Wow, what an amazing and memorable ending to our Savour 2013 experience!

See you soon, Savour 2014!

My special thanks to the teams from Crowd, Nespresso, and FoodNews for the kind invitations! Especially to Dixie, who made sure I received the invitation and fed us so well!

Read Full Post »

The Halia (Raffles Hotel)

Halia at Raffles Hotel is the urban and chic sister of flagship Halia at Singapore Botanic Gardens. I like how spacious and casual it is, and there’s also an al fresco bar with a huge Hendrick’s bathtub. We ooohh-ed and aahhh-ed over it after learning that it’s an actual Hendrick’s Gin dispenser!

Dinner began properly with a round of drinks (i.e. alcohol after a long day at work heh). Singapore Sling by Hendrick’s ($28++) is a well-balanced easy-to-drink cocktail (my favourite on SQ flights) but too expensive imo. To which I was told it’s similarly priced as Long Bar (birthplace of Singapore Sling) upstairs. Shrug, guess there will always be takers for pricey alcohol.

Then came a steady streams of sides, “small plates” and “big plates” — these are not starters or main courses. The concept is that your dining experience can consist of a big plate to share before a small plate, or several small plates (or even big plates, if you are hungry!) to last the meal. No rules, no formulas.

Presentation was top-notch and most of the dishes were very photogenic, making my life very easy (thank you chef)! I love how colourful our plates were, especially the cured hiramasa kingfish, foie gras salad, and sous vide chicken leg! Towards the end of the meal, we were asked which small and big plate do we like most. My answer was immediate — celeriac “lasagne”. Period. It’s so delicious that I wanted to hog the whole plate but sadly I have to share, haha. Oh no, I’ve got a sudden craving for it now!

I’ve got no fav for the big plates; they were not bad, but nothing as impressive as the vegetarian friendly “lasagne”. Actually, I imagine I’d have loved the mushroom, lentil and walnut bake (from reading the description on the menu) but it was “sold out” that day. Minus points since it’s a no-no for any restaurant to be unable to deliver what’s promised on the menu.

Anyway, on to the desserts! The sticky toffee pudding was such a hit that there was an encore order for it! I much prefer the light and fruity chilled strawberry soup, with an interesting tinge of sourish balsamic vinegar in it. And it’s been quite awhile since I had the gimmicky “let’s pour some liquid (sparkling wine in this case) at the table” performance so that was nice, double thumbs up!

Polenta Coated Asparagus ($9++)
basil lemon mayo

Cured Hiramasa Kingfish ($25++)
paprika, citrus, espelette pepper, lemon, daikon, sauce vierge

Wagyu Beef Carpaccio ($24++)
truffle aioli, micro cress, chilli lemon salt, pickled radish

Celeriac “Lasagna” ($12++)
mushroom, thyme, baby spinach, lemon, madeira cream

Foie Gras Salad ($23++)
apricot chutney, ginger, blueberry, crouton, almond kernel

Oriental Pulled Duck ($18++)
gherkin, caper, micro herb salad, soba noodles, sesame oil

Sous Vide Baharat Chicken Leg ($28++)
butternut squash puree & roast, ginger, coriander red pepper salsa

Seafood Gratin ($26++)
pignolina pasta, basil, parmesan, olive oil

Halia Chilli Crab ($25++)
spaghettini, spring onion, egg

Javanese Spice Maori Lakes Rack of Lamb ($49++)
eggplant puree, red pepper relish

Ginger Nougat Parfait ($10++)
caramelised pineapple, puff pastry, almond, anise, cinnamon

Chilled Strawberry Soup ($12++)
sparkling wine, balsamic, lime sorbet, black pepper

Sticky Toffee Pudding ($10++)
date, butterscotch sauce, sea salt, vanilla ice cream

White Chocolate Mousse ($12++)
chocolate soil, peach puree, raspberry, chocolate ice cream

Special thanks to Ivy (who has already memorized my dietary requirements by now haha), LeRoy, Jael and Alethea from FoodNews for the kind invitation and making sure we are well-fed!

The Halia
#01-22/23 Raffles Hotel
1 Beach Road
9639 1148

Read Full Post »

Cedele Easter Buns

The best thing about Easter is that we get a 4 days week, hooray!

Second best thing is there’s another excuse to pig out, double yay!!

Making an appearance once a year, hot cross buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday. I’ve never liked them but since I’m a loyal fan of Cedele by The Bakery Depot since my school days, I shall do a short feature on their Easter offerings this year.

Of course, it goes without saying that hot cross buns make a return to their menu, with new kid on the block, savoury creation Cheese Onion Mustard leading the bakery’s offerings. Other flavours include the plain Classic version, Almond, and Chocolate Walnut. If these buns are your kind of thing, get your hands on them before April 1st!

I’m definitely more interested in the newly launched Chocolate Spring Cake. This has an interesting texture, what with bits of blended raspberries evident in each bite. One thing for sure, cakes never disappoint at Cedele!

Special thanks to Leen from Touch PR & Events for giving me the heads up on this!

Cedele Bakery Cafe
#B1-01, Raffles City Shopping Centre
252 North Bridge Road
6334 4828

Read Full Post »

Alfero Artisan Gelato

To whoever thinks that fat free gelato exists:
hello, you are deluded (and I wish I live in your world).

As owner Marco Alfero puts it matter of factly, zero fat gelato is impossible. But minimal fat gelato is another matter. Compared to conventional ice cream (18-30% fat), the gelato at Alfero Artisan Gelato only has 2-9% fat.

Not too bad right?

Though imo, when it comes to desserts, we should just indulge freely and worry about calories later, haha.

Every self-respecting ice cream parlour will boost of fresh quality ingredients so that has somewhat become a given in Singapore. What’s different about Alfero’s is that all the gelato are stored in pozzetto cabinets, airtight and lightproof metal containers which I’ve seen many times in gelaterias while traveling around Italy.

Those pozzetto cabinets have resulted in some amusing stories, with people mistaking Alfero as a shop selling soups when it first opened, lol.

The rotation rule applies and at any one time, there’s about 15 flavours available. I find that flavours are generally on the “safe” side, and none too interesting out of the norm. That said, it was tough to pick just 3 flavours for the largest cup (Marco kindly allowed me to choose 4, yay!) since most of the flavours were so good.

My favourite is the pistachio gelato, made only with pistachios from Bronte (Sicily) so that’s the real deal! Mango and raspberry are lovingly bold and naturally sweet; avocado is kind of light and mild while durian is potent and strong; bacio and chocolate mint are close twins of ferrero rocher and After Eight respectively, both bound to please; chocolate is dark and intense; snow white is too milky for me, gula melaka too sweet; rum and raisin is not overwhelming like competitor Udder’s.

See what I mean about safe flavours?

Anyway, the next time you need a cold treat (which has to be soon in this unforgiving hot weather), give Alfero Artisan Gelato a try! I’m 99.999% sure you will love it!

My thanks to Christina for the kind invitation, and Marco and Meiling for hosting!

Prices:
$4.50 for 1 flavour, $6.50 for 2, $8.50 for 3.
Add $1 for cone instead of cup.
$18 (500g) and $35 (1kg) for take away tubs.

Alfero Artisan Gelato
#01-37, 81 Mac Pherson Lane
6848 4269

#01-01, 21 Lorong Kilat
6463 3835

#02-226A/B, Marina Square Shopping Centre
6 Raffles Boulevard
6338 5828

Read Full Post »

Gourmet High Tea at Pan Pacific Orchard

I don’t like buffets for two good solid reasons.

1. Eat-all-you-can generally = subpar quality imo.

2. I have absolutely no portion control.

But… Sometimes, I kind of miss buffets. Usually only for like, five seconds? Haha.

I miss the visual feast for the eyes, miss the joy of stuffing myself silly, miss the thrill of going back for seconds (and thirds and fourths) without worrying about the impact on the wallet.

So the Gourmet High Tea Buffet in the Lobby Lounge of Pan Pacific Orchard turns out to be a nice surprise. It’s clearly quality over quantity, the spread is limited to one long table, and I counted less than twenty items in total. Well done!

Before I forget, I must mention the fantastic music playlist which comprises of mostly classic oldies, some 90s, basically my type of songs! “Wonderful Tonight”, “Superwoman”, “(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time On You”, lalala…

P.S. What are kids listening to these days?!

Priced at $28++ on weekdays and $38++ on weekends (inclusive of a selection of TWG teas), the high tea buffet is available daily from 2-5pm.

It’s a way of life (at least, in Singapore) that everything is more expensive on weekends. So to justify the $10++ price hike, the weekend spread is boosted with more substantial eats like Chef Andy Oh’s famous char kway teow, Swiss cottage melting raclette and Spanish-bred Iberian-cured ham.

The menu changes daily so I won’t bother listing all the what’s what here. Remember, what you see may not be what you get!

That said, I hope the smoked salmon mousse and crab rillettes in orange blossom basket become permanent guests on the menu cuz I love them!

And there’s also sea urchin with mango salsa, Thai-style wagyu beef papaya salad and cute mini bite-sized egg mayo on charcoal buns!

I don’t think the chestnut tarts, cappuccino layer cakes and vanilla supreme are worth the precious calories. Skip. The dark chocolate fudge cakes are another story altogether, heh.

The Global Hotel Alliance-Awarded Famous Peddlers char kway teow, prepared à la minute, is one of the popular three Plates of Pleasures on weekends. The other two are spicy prawn noodle broth and Penang assam laksa, which is listed on “CNN World Yummiest Food”!

Since I’m not a fan of local food, I’m not a reliable judge of whether it’s really that yummy or award-worthy. Shall leave that up to you!

My thanks to Abigail from Pan Pacific for the invite!

Pan Pacific Orchard
10 Claymore Road
6831 6685

Read Full Post »

Platypus Kitchen (Bugis Junction)

Platypus Test Kitchen welcomes a new member to the Platypus group of restaurants — Platypus Kitchen at Bugis Junction, replacing the gloomy V8 Cafe that’s been around since my school days.

The expanded menu has a great selection of appetisers, hand-made pastas, gourmet risottos, main courses, and a range of beer cocktails and carafes of speciality drinks. Unless you have something against pasta, I’d be very very surprised if you find nothing carb-worthy catching your fancy here.

If I have to formulate my own 3-course dinner, I’d go for the generously stuffed crab cakes, interesting spicy diablo tagliolini and for a thirst quencher, any of the refreshing beer cocktails. When I was there during the soft launch, there’s no sweets on offer yet so the default dessert was a rich and thick Italian hot chocolate.

Well-priced bistro fare, good location, fresh produce, seasonal ingredients.. I have a feeling that Platypus Kitchen is going to be a hit!

Pomegranate Beer ($9.90++)
larger beer with a dash of grenadine, garnished with pomegranate arils and lemon slices (2.9% ABV)

Smith’s Ale ($9.90++)
larger beer infused with green apples and lemons, garnished with fresh apples, lemon and passion fruit (2.9% ABV)

Wild Mushroom Soup ($3.90++), Roasted Pumpkin Soup ($3.90++)

Risotto Balls ($8.90++)
mozzarella-stuffed balls of risotto, breaded in panko, deep fried and served over rich pumpkin puree

Crab Cakes ($12.90++)
potato fritters stuffed with large chunks of crab claw meat, deep fried and served with lemon

Garlic Shrimp ($8.50++)
prawns sautéed in olive oil and garlic, finished with fresh parsley

Black & White, Scallop & Crab ($17.50++)
interwoven egg and squid-ink tagliolini with crabs and scallops in white wine consomme

Spicy ‘Diablo’ Crab & Prawn ($18.50++)
egg tagliolini with prawns and crab claw tossed in a spicy egg sauce

Shaved Truffle Risotto ($17.90++, additional $3.50++ for truffle overload)
shaved summer truffles and parmigiano-reggiano over garlic-butter risotto

Seafood Bouillabaisse ($21.90++)
seafood medley of grilled prawns, bay scallops, clams, mussels, squid, and chunks of salmon in tomato garlic seafood broth, served with bread

Italian Hot Chocolate ($8.80++)
full cream milk, cream, 54% dark chocolate

My thanks to Nicholas for the invitation, and sincere apologies for the tardy post!

Platypus Kitchen
#03-29, Bugis Junction
200 Victoria Street
6333 4434

Read Full Post »

Azur @ Crowne Plaza Hotel

Happy Chinese New Year’s Eve to everyone!!!

I had my first lo hei of 2013 at Azur, a buffet restaurant in Changi Airport Crowne Plaza Hotel. There’s about 20 of us at the media tasting session so chef prepared this huge snakey yu sheng with all the trimmings symbolizing auspiciousness, wealth and abundance.

Have fun tossing and making a mess tonight, and the next 15 days to come!

Top left, clockwise:

Braised Sea Cucumber with Baby Abalone;

Trio of CNY Pastries: Orange Mousse, Lychee Osmanthus Jello, Tempura Nian Gao;

Treasures of the Ocean Seafood Soup with Fish Maw, Crabmeat, Dried Scallops; and

Three Treasures Yu Sheng ($68+)
hokkigai surf clams, wakame seaweed, tamago, pickled mango and papaya, black fungus, ginseng yuzu dressing, sliced abalone (additional $48+), swordfish belly (additional $28+), and fresh norwegian salmon (additional $18+).

Confit Salmon, Darjeeling Beurre Blanc (butter-based emulsified sauce)

Wok Fried Sea Prawns infused with Milk and Margarine, Mixed Berries

Prices:

Chinese New Year Eve Dinner (9 February 2013)
$88.00++

Chinese New Year Day 1 & 2 Brunch/Dinner (10 – 11 February 2013)
$58.00++/$78.00++

Chinese New Year Weekday Lunch/Dinner (12 – 15, 18 – 22 February 2013)
$48.00++/$58.00++

For more information and the CNY menus at Azur, click here.

Special thanks to Carrie and Belina for inviting and hosting such a big group of us for dinner!

Azur
2F Crowne Plaza Hotel
75 Airport Boulevard
6823 5354

Read Full Post »