Kwee Zeen

Inspired by the artisanal brasseries lining the French Riveria which gives diners a beautiful riverfront view, Kwee Zeen similarly offers a dining experience with an unrivalled backdrop of the South China Sea.

It took me a moment to realize that this used to be The Terrace where we had a superb gourmet Sunday Champagne Brunch a couple of years ago. Like The Terrace, Kwee Zeen has upped the champagne brunch game by introducing a Magnifique Sunday Champagne Brunch, featuring an extravagant spread of epicurean indulgences and free flow of premium Taittinger Champagne.

Highlights include a hearty selection of succulent live seafood, foie gras cooked a la minute, fromage and charcuteries, tandoor, and not forgetting desserts on trolley and handcrafted truffles of unique flavours!

There’s even a DIY caviar counter complete with blinis, ikura, creme fraiche and other garnishes.

Don’t miss the interesting cured salmon marinated with coffee! I wouldn’t have imagined this pairing but it works.

Even the gourmet cheese selection was overwhelming. 32 variations, take your pick!

Okie, the highlight of brunch for me was not the champagne, not the oysters, not the lobsters, not the caviar, not the cheese…

It was the one and only DUNGENESS CRAB!!!

I was planning to try all the different kinds of crabs available but the chef helming the crab station confidently placed one whole crab on my plate and told me “just try this, you won’t want to try the others after this”. I nodded and smiled but was secretly thinking I’d be back to try the others after this! Well, I was wrong, she was right! This huge dungeness crab was amazing!!! Super meaty and that fresh roe!! I polished off two of these monsters and didn’t have much tummy space for anything else but…

Desserts, what else!

Compared to The Terrace, the sweets selection has definitely been pared down. There’s the usual cakes, mousses, jellies, ice cream, crepes etc, nothing particularly memorable.

That said, I do love the assorted truffles here! So much so that I probably downed 15 of these handmade and of good quality chocolates oops #whatdiet Black sesame, oolong, durian, coconut, dulce de leche, those are some of my personal favourite flavours!

Magnifique Sunday Champagne Brunch is available every Sunday, from 12.30pm to 3.30pm:
$168++ per adult with free-flow Taittinger Champagne & wine
$138++ per adult with free-flow soft drinks & juices
$58++ per child (aged 5 to 11 years old) with free-flow soft drinks & juices

Our thanks to Pearly for spending Sunday with us!

Kwee Zeen
Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa
2 Bukit Manis Road Sentosa
Singapore 099891
+65 6708 8366

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Paddy Hills

After reading so many mixed reviews, I was ready to write off Paddy Hills as just another hipster cafe with form over substance but our brunch was really enjoyable! Perhaps we were there on a good day, perhaps we picked the right dishes, who knows? It’s obvious that much thought has been put into making sure that the menu stays unconventional – no to eggs benny, yes to kimchi fried rice! The latter is rather average, though very photogenic ha. Another unexceptional item is the beautifully fried but bland cauliflower fritters which need more seasoning. “The Maze” is well-loved by K – smooth creamy mash with generous portions of tender and non-gamey lamb meatballs. And I sneaked a bite of BFF’s “Hash Hash” – a rich baked egg-ish pan of tomato, chorizo and sauteed mushrooms, delish! Not forgetting my browned and crispy rosti with seared moist sea bass, of course. The potato is sliced sooooo thinly and resembles mee sua! Love this much.

Cauliflower Fritters ($12++)
paprika salt, masala yogurt

Potato & Fish ($22+)
rosti, seared sea bass, sous vide egg, sauteed mushrooms, deconstructed bagna cauda

The Maze ($22+)
creamy mash, lamb meatballs, cauliflower fritters, polenta chips, crumbled manchego, sous vide egg

Kimchi Fried Rice ($20+)
hanger steak, ito togarashi, negi, nori, sous vide egg

Hash Hash ($24+)
toasted bread, roasted baby potatoes, chorizo, sauteed mushrooms, beef shank, polenta chips, shaved fennel, sous vide egg, baked egg

Paddy Hills
38 South Buona Vista Road
6479 0800

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Do.Main Bakery

I’m very cautious when it comes to carbs since they are so dangerous to the waistline ha. But my willpower stood no chance against the lovingly kneaded and baked loaves of breads and pastries from authentic French boulangerie and patisserie Do.Main Bakery!

Other than offering a range of freshly baked baguettes, chouquettes (grab a packet, these sell out fast!), puff pastries, tarts, danish pastries, choux pastries and entremets, Do.Main Bakery has rolled out a new savoury menu based on home-style classics all done via the oven (yes, no stoves in the kitchen!), jointly created by chef­‐owner Frederic Deshayes and chef-owner of Bar-Roque Grill, Stephane Istel.

Thin Crust Baker’s Pizza ($8-9)
onions, hams, olives or zucchini, bell peppers, mushrooms

So why the focus on oven-baked/cooked dishes? Well, it’s to pay tribute to the baker’s role during the olden times in France. In the era before stoves were invented, farmers used to prepare dinner by putting the ingredients in a cast iron pot in the morning, and drop them off at the bakery on the way to the fields. The baker would pop the pots into his warm oven, and the meal would be slow-cooked by the end of the day. That story sure put things into perspective as I was studying the menu!

Octopus Romesco Salad ($15)
homemade sourdough toast bread

The platter of artisanal charcuterie comprises of three meaty selections. Chef Stephane, who hails from the Alsace region, an area celebrated for its hearty French-style charcuterie, curates the selection which will chance monthly depending on seasonal ingredients. Freshness is of utmost importance here!

Charcuterie Platter ($20)
duck pistachio pates, pork rillettes, kurobuta ham, assorted artisanal bread

I expected pizza and lasagne to be on the menu and bingo! The thin crust pizzas made good little appetizers and perfect for sharing while the meatless lasagne was full-bodied with a plethora of fresh veggies, melted cheese and vibrant tomato sauce. For something lighter, the tender octopus romesco salad was expertly prepared with none of that chewiness which I dislike.

Lasagne ($14)
vegetarian

A heady mix of reblochon cheese, bacon, potato and confit onions, the “Tartiflette” was a pleasant surprise! I thought it’d be a pretty heavy dish but it was so rich and flavourful that I could have finished it all on my own. That’s the ultimate French home comfort food, as is the familiar cassolette of garlicky bourguignon snails.

Cassolette Oven-Baked Escargots ($16); Tartiflette ($16)
oven baked reblochon cheese

The “Broken Eggs” is baked until half-cooked on a stone bake oven, and then served piping hot with strips of toasted cereal bread for dipping. Watch this video to see how we ate eggs, French style! We almost didn’t order the tomato confit version but I’m awfully glad we did in the end – this was the best savoury dish of the evening imo! You can also choose to have it plain or with cream and bacon.

Ouefs Au Plat ($15)
broken eggs, tomato confit, mouilletes

No one should leave Do.Main Bakery without trying the gorgeous desserts! Tangy lemon cream tart, salted caramel and chocolate eclairs, decadent royal chocolate cake, praline-filled Paris-Brest – it’s difficult to pick an absolute favourite so I shall not try!

Lemon Cream Tart ($5); Royal Chocolate Cake ($8)

I also heard good things about the choux cream puffs and macarons but those have to wait till the next visit.

Eclair ($5); Paris-Brest ($5)

Thank you for hosting us, Jenny!

Do.Main Bakery
226 Tanjong Katong Road
6348 1406

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May May

When I first came across the lunch bowls at May May, my first thought was “Kilo copycat!” oops. You already know I’m obsessed with the donburi bowls from Kilo at Pact so it’s a given that a comparison is inevitable. At May May, the bowls are more Asian-style with beef rendang, braised pork belly and butter poached cod stealing the limelight (also a vegetarian grilled miso aubergine dish which sounds lovely). We tried the latter two and I realized the futility of comparing Kilo’s bowls with these. Each has its pros and cons – I adore Kilo’s accompaniments (best corn kernels, radishes and quinoa everrr) but not so much the salmon which is always overcooked geez; whereas May May’s substantial mains of cod and pork belly are flavourful and have wonderfully soft texture. But the bed of quinoa and veggies on the side are nothing spectacular hmm.

Braised Pork Belly ($16++, additional $3++ for salad and coffee)
wasabi sprouts, asian slaw, oven roasted tomatoes, grilled mushrooms, pickled lotus root, soft centred egg

Butter Poached Cod ($18++)
wakame, oven roasted tomatoes, grilled mushrooms, pickled lotus root, soft centred egg, wasabi sprouts

May May
65 Tras Street
6221 4698

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Sacha & Sons

K and I each have our own must-orders at Sacha & Sons, a New York delicatessen (opened by the Wild Honey folks) which has become our favourite brunch/lunch/dinner spot in town currently.

I love the thin and crispy latkes, or potato and onion pancakes which are essentially rosti. I’ve had them with silky smoked salmon and briny “ikura” (salmon pearls) numerous times, or on a slow day, with scrambled eggs and sturgeon when the staff kindly allows swapping of toasted bagels for latkes.

K likes them well enough but will never forsake the generously portioned grilled reuben. In fact, he has named the signature pastrami to be one of those dishes that will qualify for “what would your last meal be?” type of questions lol. Cooked for hours and then steamed in-house for the perfect briskets, the tender hand-carved pastrami always leave K raving and satisfied.

Smoked Salmon Dip ($12++)

Latkes ($16++)
smoked salmon, applesauce (default: creme fraiche), 10g salmon pearls (additional $5++)

Scrambled Eggs with Pastrami ($18++)
rye bread (default: bagel)

Grilled Reuben ($18++, reg 150g)
pastrami, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, russian dressing, rye/bagel/brioche, pickles, coleslaw

Scrambled Eggs with Sturgeon, Smoked Salmon, Caramelized Onions ($18++)
rye bread (default: bagel)

Sacha & Sons
#03-02 Mandarin Gallery
333A Orchard Road
6735 6961

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Sin Lee Foods

We had our first brunch of the new year (as in 2015, not CNY haha) at Sin Lee Foods, a hipster cafe that’s so inaccessible that it’s not funny. Location aside, I’m game to go back anytime for broccoli! Now, my mom cooks broccoli for dinner at home almost everyday so you’d think the last thing I’ll order when I eat out is said veggie. Well, Sin Lee’s aburi broccoli salad is in a different league – smokey torched florets, acidic white balsamic, crispy papadum and fragrant red sugar. It’s beautiful. Only a real veggie-hater will hate it and he’s obviously missing out. Anyway, the other two items we tried are not very exciting. Sweet potato fries under a blanket of salted duck egg sauce have lost its newness by now (though still delish since I love salted egg anything!) and the smoked salmon hash is… Forgettable.

Aburi Broccoli Salad ($12++)
torched broccoli florets, white balsamic, papadum, red sugar

Salted Egg Sweet Potato Fries ($12++)
twice fried, house made salted duck egg sauce, curry leaves

Smoked Salmon Hash ($18++)
pan roasted bacon and potato hash, cold smoked norwegian salmon, soft centred free range hen’s egg, basil dressing, baby spinach, grated parmesan

Sin Lee Foods
#01-164, 4 Jalan Bukit Ho Swee
+65 6377 3170

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Habitat Coffee

Needed an easy dinner one evening so Habitat Coffee was randomly picked as it is located near K’s house.

Probably won’t go back again as neither of us was particularly impressed with our choices – eggs tomato relish was downright forgettable (prefer Pita Pan’s version!) and K’s cheesynara was dry and errrr, not cheesy at all.

Eggs Tomato Relish
secret tomato recipe served in a hot plate, two runny eggs, baby spinach, country sourdough toast

Cheesynara
cheese cream pasta, chicken sausage, bacon

Habitat Coffee
223 Upper Thomson Road
6456 2567

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Pontini Italian Buffet

Pontini, the long-standing Italian restaurant at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, has unveiled a brand new Italian buffet featuring a plethora of antipasti, breads, soup, main courses and desserts from various regions in Italy. Priced at $48++ for adult and $24++ for child on Saturdays and public holidays from noon to 3pm, I thought that it was very value for money, especially for the quality (rather than quantity, which is rare for buffets).

I found myself heading back to the antipasti corner again and again – wholesome baked butternut squash, crab meat and black truffle tapenade; juicy grilled Portobello mushrooms with sweet chilli and arugula salad; Tuscany-style marinated octopus, chickpeas and green asparagus salad; assorted Italian cold cuts served with candied fruit mustard, sweet onion chutney and grain mustard (I made the rounds for K too!); and the crisp, leafy radicchio, pear, Gorgonzola cheese salad tossed with aged balsamic vinegar etc.

Pastas are whipped up a la minute at the live station by the team of chefs. You can DIY your pasta – choice of pasta (tagliolini, penne, tagliatelle) and preparation methods (aglio olio, tomato basil fondue, “Roman” style carbonara, wild mushroom with pancetta and pine nuts, “Genovese” style basil pesto sauce). Mine was given a luxurious touch because I was really lucky to “bump” into both black and white whole truffles! Freshly shaved truffles onto our plates of carbonara and mushroom tagliatelle upped the delicious scale by several notches!

Main courses were kept to a minimal – Piedmont-style braised beef brisket and potato fondant in herb gravy; sauteed live mussels in crustacean saffron broth and broccoli floret; chicken thigh “Diavola” paired with spicy capsicum tomato sauce and dried oregano. My favourite was no doubt the oven-baked Norwegian salmon mignon in pistachio crust. I love that it was not overcooked despite sitting in the warming tray and the delicately nutty and crunchy crust provided a delightful contrast to the tender flesh!

A finale for an Italian meal cannot be without desserts right?! The ensemble of mini tiramisu, zesty lemon tart, vanilla panna cotta, pistachio almond biscotti and stracciatella ricotta cannoli prepared deftly at the live station left us completely satiated. I usually left buffets feeling overstuffed but not this time! Everything was just right 🙂

Our thanks to Jennifer and Shawn for the kind invitation!

Pontini Italian Buffet
Level 2, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel
392 Havelock Road
Singapore 169663
6233 1100

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Staycation at Hotel Jen!

I first came into contact with Hotel Jen Tanglin Singapore a few weeks ago when they invited their media friends and business partners over for a house party.

Wait a minute, Hotel Jen? New hotel in Singapore? Nope, it’s the rebranded Traders Hotel with a refreshed identity inspired by the virtual persona Jen, a professional hotelier who loves life, travel and the adventure of discovering new places!

Boy, the team at Hotel Jen really knew how to throw a party – superbrunch (the spread was huge!), human foosball (we won, yay!) and lucky draws (no luck sigh). Anyway, we were told of the rebranding offer (ending Nov 30 so check out the “Weekend Staycation at Hotel Jen Tanglin Singapore” offer which expires 31 Dec 2015 instead!) at the party which sounded very attractive – $230++ for buffet breakfast in Cafebiz, 20% discount at Ah Hoi’s Kitchen, free WiFi etc etc – and I thought, K’s birthday is coming up so why not right?

Actually, K’s birthday is at the end of this month but he will be celebrating it in Thailand (army duty for 2+ weeks!) so I wanted to surprise him with a weekend staycation. I even gave him an invitation card to complete the surprise – he totally didn’t see it coming!

We were assigned a Club Room on the highest floor which is 25sqm size and comes with an en-suite bathroom. Honestly, the room (see above) looks quite “tired” right? So I’m glad to report that the rooms will be renovated (hotel will remain open) to feature modern, apartment-style furnishings such as a bay window sofa –> see mock up room below which was introduced to us at the party. Such a big difference!

Our room faced the pool and we spotted our dinner venue! You can’t see it in the photo but the signage of Ah Hoi’s Kitchen is right above the yellow umbrellas ha.

Poolside dining at Ah Hoi’s Kitchen was unexpectedly impressive! My favourite dishes are both crab-based – soft shell crabs stir fried with almond and just a handful of chopped chilli padi (so fragrant!) and the meaty salted egg yolk crab from Sri Lanka. The salted egg yolk sauce was rather magical – usually it gets overwhelming after the initial “shiokness” but the version here had a hint of spicy heat and balanced flavour. Simply 好吃!

K is a gym junkie so it’s great that the gym is 24 hours and has decent equipment! We also took the opportunity to use the sauna, steam bath and whirlpool facilities located within the spa… Staycation bliss!

Time always fly by so much faster during a staycation! We woke up not wanting to check out haha. Our breakfast at Cafebiz was very hearty because of the vast spread of food! Asian, international and local cuisines, made to order eggs any style, breads and danishes, cereals and fruits, hot dishes, and there’s even an ice cream section omg. I applaud the idea of having a “tapao” corner – guests can openly takeaway food and drinks from the buffet using the disposable boxes and cups provided, nice!

The Club Lounge also offers breakfast but a smaller spread – continental and classic hot items such as eggs, bacon and sausages. Throughout the day, there’s free drinks and snacks, along with canapes and wines in the evening. Again, the lounge seems kind of old so I can’t wait to see how it looks after the facelift!

I must really thank the staff at Hotel Jen for delivering a surprise birthday cake to our room! The soccer balls (K is a huge fan and plays every week) were such a thoughtful touch, thank you!

Other points-scoring aspects of Hotel Jen include fruit cups inside the fridge (conventional whole fruits are so yesterday and chilled fruits do make a difference!), refreshing infused water served in the lobby and at various places (Level 2, Ah Hoi’s Kitchen) and the useful mobile chargers displayed at the lobby (I always see guests camping by the chargers haha).

And with that, our weekend staycation came to an end… Quirky cushions on sofa, see you soon! I’ll be keeping a lookout for the various room offers on your website!

My heartfelt thanks to Wai Ling and the team at Hotel Jen Tanglin Singapore for making our stay so comfortable and memorable!

Hotel Jen Tanglin Singapore (Formerly Traders Hotel)
1A Cuscaden Road
Singapore 249716
6738 2222
hjs@hoteljen.com

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Suprette

Suprette is such a gem! A compact restaurant/bar/cafe housed in the heritage Kam Leng Hotel along busy Jalan Besar road, Suprette offers a neat menu of food ranging from salads and sandwiches to pasta and burgers during the day and more substantial main courses for dinner. Breakfast is served till 3.30pm on weekends so mark this down as a brunch place on your to-go list!

The Suprette Burger with a beef patty and gruyere cheese is supposedly one of the best in Singapore but I can’t vouch for that. What I can rave about is the Chickpea Burger – omg so so good, definitely one of the best veggie burgers ever (I like Veganburg a lot but Suprette’s burger puts their petite burgers to shame)! I love how thick and chunky the spiced patty was and the grilled sesame buns were soft and lovely. Typing this now makes me crave for it haha.

Chickpea Burger ($17++)
tahini, beetroot, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, fries

K gushed about his Chicken Pot Pie as enthusiastically as I dig my burger. Freshly made to order (hence the wait of 20 minutes) and served hot in a pan, this was comfort food at it best! The pastry was beautifully baked to a golden hue and underneath the crispy crust was a pool of creamy gravy with pieces of chicken and root vegetables. K loved it so much that he asked for more gravy but alas was turned down. Note to self: put in a special request when we order next time!

Chicken Pot Pie ($15++)
carrots, peas, potatoes, cream, salad

Suprette
383 Jalan Besar
Kam Leng Hotel Lobby
6298 8962

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