Where and what to eat in Robertson Quay?

I get that question a lot, as people always ask me for recommendations on nice restaurants in Robertson Quay. I’m not sure if you have been there before, but there are actually plenty of options if you want to check out the restaurants at Robertson Quay.

Boomarang Bistro & Bar is one of them. It’s located further down from the Alkaff Bridge at Robertson Quay, away from the main stretch of restaurants. If you can’t find it, look out for Red House Seafood and walk towards that direction.

Boomarang Bistro is one of the few Australian restaurants in Singapore – it was set up by a true Aussie owner and his chef with the aim of introducing their interpretation of authentic Australian cuisine to Singapore.

It’s astonishing to hear that the actual size of the Chicken Parmigiano ($22) was thrice that of the tasting portion that we had in the picture. That’s huge! With the cheese, tomato and ham on top, I thought it was a pizza.

To my surprise, the base was actually a chicken breast fillet. For someone who usually hates the hard and dry chicken breast meat, I found the one here to be extremely tender and incredibly juicy. 22 bucks for something so big and rewarding? I’d definitely order this dish when I come back the next time!

I’m not sure if it’s because I was hungry, but the toasted Brioche was absolutely delicious! Forget about the salmon and salad on top, just give me the bread!

Marina suggested that we should try the Lemon & Lime Calamari, which is one of her favorite items on the menu. We squeezed not just lemon, but also lime, and that was it. I’m a big fan of citrus fruit, and it’s definitely a fantastic idea to have both lemon and lime.

The calamari however, could be better. It was slightly soggy and lacked the crunch.

Made for ladies

I’m sure there’s a tag like this on the salmon. All the girls in town will definitely fall in love with the Panfried Salmon Fillet ($28) with Saffron Baby Potatoes. Earlier on, we caught a glimpse of the chef handling the raw salmon in the kitchen, it was an entiree slab of meat. Fresh? You bet!

Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy!

Wow! Kangaroo meat!

I didn’t know there’s Kangaroo meat in Singapore!

I was so excited when I saw it on the menu. Now I can proudly say that I have tried Kangaroo meat before! Just ticked the box on my checklist – kangaroo meat – done!

Charred on the brim, the Peppered Kangaroo Loin ($28) was done medium, retaining the pinkish-red tinge in the middle. I have no idea how a good kangaroo meat should taste like, but it was somewhat familiar to beef, just slightly tougher. It was chewy, and there was none of the gamy smell I thought it’d have.

The desserts are so beautiful. Oh gosh, I’m hungry again!

Looking at the dessert menu, the Flourless Chocolate Cake caught my attention immediately. It sounds good, and it looks very pretty too! The chocolaty top was a little too much for Ju, but it tasted just right to me. It’s not too sweet, and there’s this slight bitterness in the dark chocolate – it would be perfect if there was a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

“This is the best sticky date pudding ever!”

Initially, I wasn’t quite convinced when Marina told us that Boomarang Bistro serves the best sticky date pudding. I was actually afraid to try the dessert when it arrived on the table. What if this isn’t good? What if it’s just that I simply don’t like sticky date puddings and it has nothing to do with the dessert?

I leaned forward cautiously, keeping my fingers crossed. I took a corner of the pudding, and mixed it with the pretty vanilla bean ice cream. Compared with the ones that I’ve before which crumbled way too easily, Boomarang Bistro’s Sticky date pudding ($10) was a lot firmer, and it was actually quite good! Best sticky date pudding? I don’t want to pass a judgment, but for the first time, I think I actually enjoyed a sticky date pudding.

Go to Boomarang Bistro and order their Sticky date pudding. After that, let me know if it’s the best sticky date pudding you have tried.

If you are looking for a sugary sweet dessert, the Pavlova is definitely the one. It is like a meringue-based dessert. I had it once before, and I thought it tasted like pure sugar. The happy smile on everyone’s face – there’s nothing like a sweet dessert.

* * *

I’ll like to thank Marina from Croc Media for inviting and hosting the lunch. The prices at Boomarang Bistro & Bar are very reasonable for the huge and hearty portions. It’s a great chill out place for dinner with a group of friends, and if you are considering a restaurant at Robertson Quay for dinner, why not check out Boomarang Bistro? And oh yes, they serve all day brunch until 3pm during weekends too!

Restaurant Review
Boomarang Bistro & Bar
60 Robertson Quay
#01-15 The Quayside
Tel: +65 6738 1077

My adventure in Australia is drawing to a close, but I will like to share one final post with you: Adriano Zumbo. This is the patisserie that has caught Sydney by storm, this is the bakery that has created many lovely creations each season – this is the place in Sydney that I wanted to go the most.

Cakes arrived at our small round table, plated nicely. I’ve no idea exactly how the name Google it, Real life ($7.9) came about. But I do know for a fact that it is banana passion-fruit creme tart, and it is not just a pretty face. The diguise of almond croquante within the midst of the creme was clever; it added a crunchy dimension and provided a slightly salty aftertaste to the tart.

First and foremost: banana passion-fruit creme, a pretty orange-yellow layer on top of the crispy tart, beautifully dressed by the presence of the fresh berries. Banana and passion-fruit provided a good balance with each other, on it’s own, passion-fruit taste slightly sourish, but the banana is like the key to the lock, just like how chocolate always works with hazelnut.

The fine balance meant that neither fruits were overbearing, and in this case, it was rather surprising that both the banana and passion-fruit maintained a subtle, yet distinct flavor.

Your frund in the frudge.. toasted ($7.90), turns out to be a quirky interpretation of sandwich with tomato and cheese, in the body of a cake. I’ve ordered it solely based on the crispy puff pastry; the toast mousse had one of the weirdest taste I ever came across, flanked with the addition of the tomato jelly and the melted cheese creameaux, with hints of black pepper; I’d give it full marks for the creative idea, but it was too much for me.

Most of the creations have cheeky and whimsical names, and the 5, 6, 7, 8 ($8) is no exception. The flavors practically exploded on my tongue, each portion was trying to out-do the other; the lemongrass pandan & vanilla creame legere was by far my favourite among the three components of the cake.

You can discover the robust lemongrass taste among the smoothing and fragrance pandan; to the right of it there’s a case of identity crisis with the pineapple palm sugar sous vide – Adriano did something to it, but I’ve totally no idea whatever that is.

Coriander creamaux completes the trio with a peanut stable base the the bottom. 5, 6, 7, 8 is a highly complex creation, it looks good with the three complimenting colors, and there’s an intense mixture of different taste and texture involve – you’d either love it, or get lost trying to follow each and every unique flavor.

I’m glad we left the Not too S-h-a-b-b-y ($7.9) for the last, it was again, a combination of many different individual flavor, blend in to make one wholesome cake. There was flourless biscuit, muscavado creme brulee plantation chocolate mousse, and chocolate malt creme legere; all of which did not make sense to me. Tasting the stuff, one struggles for words, memories came flashing back and I felt like a kid again; I remember the first time I tried nutella, the first time I put foie gras into my mouth – I know my life will never be the same again.

It took every bit of discipline I had not to moan and giggle and rave after my first bite. I’m in love with this cake, so in love, she’s the reason for my very existence.

I’m really happy that I went to Adriano Zumbo patisserie before I left, his bold yet unique creations are indeed worth the effort to travel all the way there, I think Adriano Zumbo really deserves the accolade he has earned so far.

The fact that the patisserie is out of town in Balmain, yet managed to garner so much support, tells you everything about the desserts. Adriano Zumbo – he’s a genius! Thank you Richard & Simon for bringing me here!

* * *

This is the last post of my Twelve days in Sydney. It is not exaggerating to say that I planned the itinerary based on food, and all these will not be possible without the awesome food blogs in Sydney. I had the pleasure of meeting 50 Sydney food bloggers at a Christmas party while I was there; Helen & Lorraine are practically food bibles of Sydney, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading Billy’s, Howard & crew and many other great food blogs that is impossible for me to list all of them here.

I’m not sure when I will be back again, but there’s something I’m certain of: Sydney is a great city, with real friendly folks, and good food. See you there!

Adriano Zumbo Patisserie
296 Darling St
Balmain, Sydney

I’ve a pleasant surprise when Billy asked me after our pigged-out, if I’m interested to visit him in Central coast, and when he mentioned sun, beach, and food – yes of course, I’ll love to!

It took me one and a half hours train ride from Central station to get to Terrigal; a major coastal suburb of Central coast, which is located north of Sydney. Upon arriving there, we went to a cafe patisserie, the fat goose for brunch.

We had no idea that the Grilled lamb fry ($21.50) was actually fried lamb’s liver, until the waitress clarified with us. It was served on creamy mashed potatoes with caramelized onions, and crispy bacon. Having tried pig liver, foie gras (goose liver), and duck pate (liver), I must say the lamb fry has an even gamier taste.

The wharfie ($16.50) had Toulouse sausages served on a seed mustard hush, topped with a gorgeous poached egg and covered with wild rockets. Pity there’s no hollandaise sauce though.

I’m sure, you have a different stomach for desserts, and I hope you will be salivating over the picture of the chocolate tart.

In the heart of Terrigal, there’s a rocky cliff called ‘the Skillion’ which provided an magnificent view of the long stretch of beaches. My dear, this is the place for our retirement in the future.

Sitting by the beach and watch the sun sets by the beautiful ocean, I knew this was going to be one of my best meals in Sydney. And it was. Like what Billy had told me, I’d go as far as saying this is one of the best fish & chips in Central coast!

I was very fortunate to be able to witness the cooking skill of Billy first-hand, he was preparing the Bo Ssam, a Korean cuisine where steamed pork is wrapped in lettuce leaf then accompanied by lots of condiments including kimchi, ssam sauce, for the Sydney Food Blogger picnic. And you wouldn’t know the dedication and effort put into making the dish unless you were there; he’d drizzled the sauce (oil released from the pork) over the meat on the hourly mark, the process repeats for six times , yes, it took six hours of roasting.

Searing hot sauteed mushrooms, crispy bacon, sunny side-up & golden brown toast for breakfast. This was in every way, the perfect breakfast anyone could ask for.

I had a great time in Terrigal, thank you Billy for inviting me to your house!

* * *

The Fat Goose
Shop 3, Killcare Road
Hardys Bay NSW 2257
Tel: 02 4360 1888

Haven Beach Cafe
The Haven
Terrigal NSW 2260
Telephone: (02) 4385 2061

The idea was to eat, eat, and eat, but plan b, or rather the lack of a proper plan, meant that we start at Plan B. We started off easy, but it was surely one of the best burgers that I’ve.

It took everything that I got to resist ordering another burger for myself, and missed out on all the stuff that was about to come – and so three hungry dude shared one burger.

Plan B by Becasse is famous for their wagyu beef burger, and at just ten bucks, you must try this burger! What is wagyu, anyway? When even the MacDonalds in Sydney sell Angus beef burgers, you probably think it’s not a big deal.

But the real wagyu burger, comes in the form of a thick beef patty, everything was kept simple; there’s no exotic ingredients like foie gras, nor were there redundant sauce – it was so good that you could feel the sauce gushing out! Interesting, beetroot was used, and it provided the contrast from the other burgers.

Plan B, 204 Clarance sheet, have you taken down the address?

It will be disappointing if one did not step into any pub/bar when in Australia. The folks here simply love (read: adore, head over heels, cannot do without) drinking. Be it a glass of the fine wines from the vineyard, or a pin of beer straight from the brewery, say cheers! There’s a strong drinking culture here; it’s not surprising to see people drinking during lunch time, or 3pm in the afternoon.

I was glad when Richard proposed that we make a trip to his favorite pub, Bavarian Bier Cafe for some beer to chill down the hot afternoon heat. Since I always have a sweet tooth, I went for the Mango, which had a smell consistency of the fruit. The taste however, did not have such a strong mango flavor.

No one in their right mind will pass on the chance to have German Sausages, and so we ordered a platter to share. There was a krunching sound when I bite the cracking roast pork, as with the German food that I visualize, it was hearty, tasty and definitely not enough.

‘Deep-fried sushi?’

Richard casually asked if we are keen to try it out, but I could sense the excitement in his seemingly-subtle-tone.

‘I don’t know, I’m not so sure.. about this’

And the next thing I know, we were standing in front of Kana Express kiosk. This is one place where most people wouldn’t have heard of, much less try the snacks here; an oblivious kiosk by the corner of a back alley.

The sushi was done Korean-style, and there’s other popular Korean snacks like spicy rice-cake, but our focus was on these two words: Deep-fried, & sushi.

As the guest, or so they said, I was entitled to the first bite. It was edible. I think one’s enjoyment of this sushi comes from the revelation of deep fried to the mind. On it’s own, the sushi tasted very tame, but the addition of the fiery hot chili sauce enhanced the flavor greatly.

I love summer. I really do.

Summer, is the perfect excuse for us to indulge with ice cream, and more ice cream. We dropped by Passionflower, a dessert cafe which exotic ice cream flavors. The choice of vanilla hazelnut & burnt caramel was made by me, the former was evidently the favorite, and I liked the nutty taste in the vanilla ice cream, while the latter had a strong burnt caramel taste.

Summer, is not summer, without ice cream.

I stole a glance at Krispy Kreme when we walked by the shop, and was immediately dragged in and convinced to have one (just one) of the original donut. This should be the definition of how a good donut taste like: glazed with a layer of sugar, yet not to the point of being cloyingly-sweet, there wasn’t any hint of oilyness that a poor donut will have. One, simply isn’t enough.

Our original plan was to have tonkatsu at a nearby Japanese restaurant, but it was closed by the time we got there, so we went to Harry’s instead. I’m sure, any reputable guidebook will list the pies & hotdog at Harry’s Cafe de Wheels as one of the must-try in Sydney. Tiger pie is particularly famous, but to be honest, I’m not very certain of it. Mashy and meaty, maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t really enjoy it.

On the other hand, we thoroughly enjoyed the hotdog, it was a shame that we only had one to share. I’d imagine one to hold the big sausage with both hands, and put the whole thing into the mouth!

While on the way to Max Brenner, we passed by Le Patissier and decided to stop here for some sweets instead. For a small place, they have quite an array of desserts to choose from. I wanted to try vanilla pastry cake but it wasn’t available that day, so we had the Lemon Ganache. The sourish lemon ganache provided a good counterbalance to the sweet chocolate layers, but the whole cake was too dry, and I’m not a big fan of kirsch that’s also present in the cake.

When the fork first sank into the Creme Brulee, we already came to the conclusion that it failed. And unsurprisingly, the surface of the dessert was not caramelized properly; it was either a leftover, or they had torched and caramelized too early. However, the custard underneath was actually quite decent, and there’s even vanilla beans used.

* * *
Just in case you are wondering again, yes, we ate all of these in one afternoon.

Plan B by Becasse
204 Clarence Street, Sydney 2000
Tel: 9283 3450

Bavarian Bier Cafe
24 York Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Tel: 02 8297 4111

Kana Express kiosk
Corner of Central Street

Passionflower
580 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000

Krispy Kreme
Queen Victoria Building
429 – 481 George Street,
Shop 95 – 97 Lower Ground Floor,
Sydney, NSW 2000

Harry’s Cafe De Wheel
Haymarket, NSW 2000
Next to Paddy Maguires Pub
Tel: (02) 9281 6292

Le Patissier
50 Clarence Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel: (02) 9299 0015

The sparkling mascato had that bubbly taste on the first instance it touches the tongue, i’ll like to call it the happy wine. There’s always the saying that white goes well with seafood while you have red for your meat, but it really depends on your own preference – the wine you like is the best wine.

There was three wine boutiques that we went to in Hunter Valley; Wollombi wines, Mount View estate, and Savannah. Even though I have not been a big vineyard before, but I like the personal and homely vibe that the smaller boutique exudes.

A simple damper sandwich can actually taste so good when you are sitting on a bench that overlooks the whole vineyard, with a glass of wine in hand.

And as for myself, I tend to favor white over red because there’s a sharp aftertaste of the latter that is spicy and hits the palate, or maybe it’s like what they say: you always start off with white and as you mature and grow older, then will you slowly appreciate red wine.

Now I’m not going to pretend I’m a wine connoisseur and have a lot of knowledge on wine, on the contrary I know hardly anything about them. During the wine tasting, I enjoyed most of the whites, especially the late harvest ones; they have a fragrant smell and sweeter aftertaste. Desserts wine are particularly a big hit for me, I love the sweet and charming taste, and it will definitely be perfect to end a meal with dessert and wine.

Wollombi Wine
25 Charlton Street (off Wollombi road)
Wollombi 2325

Mount View estate
502 Mount View road
Mount view NSW 2325
Tel: (02) 4990 3307

Savannah
Lot 211 Mount View road, Mount View
Tel: (02) 4990 6326

It’s always a good thing when visiting another country, especially when you are like me who usually do not research much on the place, to be in the company of fellow food bloggers.

I was fortunate to have my Sydney food blogger friends to show me around, and it was so much fun to hang out with them, everyone connected and soon we were chatting like we’ve known each other for years. And the food was good of course, no restaurant in their right mind will serve bad food to a group of hungry food bloggers.

Without Helen’s arrangement, I probably would never make it to Newtown, an suburb outside the city area, and I must say I’m glad I did. The place is a charming shopping paradise with the fashionable boutique by day, and when the sun goes down, it instantly transformed into a cool chilled-out area for all the night owls. The restaurant we’ve dinner was called Rowda Ya Habibi, they served Lebanese cuisine and we sat on the floor on cushions. Other than the exotic Lebanese cuisine, there was also special entertainment in the form of a belly-dancer, she’d danced around the room and then grab one of us up to dance (or rather move around) with her. Boy, it was hell lot of fun that night!

The eight of us went for the Extra Special Banquet ($30 per pax) which has a variety of 10 dishes selected by the chef. We began with Hummos, a chicken pea & sesame seed kind of dish that was really quite difficult to describe in terms of taste and appearance. The generous serving of Lebanese bread was somewhat like the Indian Naan, to dip with all kinds of sauces, and to be wrapped with the other sides to eat together.

I got confused by the Baba Ganooj because it looked so similar to the Hummos, but the main ingredient was smoked eggplant (one of the raw vegetables that I do not eat), and then all was good with the arrival of the fulsome Shish kebab, tender lamb fillets grilled on skewers that were mouth-watering.

In comparison to the Shish kebab, the Chicken skewers were much more tender, and juicy, and I couldn’t help stealing a glance around the table to see if there’s any leftovers. The remaining of the dishes include felafel, a deep-fried vegetarians balls of crushed chick pea (again), beans with spices, ladies finger which bears an uncanny resemblance to the Chinese fried spring roll, only that this one was filled with meat, onions and pine nuts.

Five minutes after we stepped out of the Lebanese restaurant, we headed further down the street for round 2 – ice cream! A few of the others unanimously agreed that Gelatomassi has the best (read: number one, top of the world, absolutely unbeatable) pistachio ice cream, and after trying it, I must say I agree with their judgment – it’s definitely by far one of the best green-nut ice cream that I’ve had before. The distinct pistachio nut taste would drive any fans of the green-nut crazy.

I’ve the ferrero roche flavour, which seemed tame after I tried the pistachio; it lacked the crunchy bite and wasn’t ferrero roche enough. Most of the folks didn’t like the lemon sorbet as they found it to be too sourish, but I on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed the citrus sting. The other flavours we’d include chocolate cake, peanut, and strawberry.

Are we done? No, not yet, we went to another place in the Darlinghurst area called Messina for even more ice cream! Madness isn’t it? But that’s what happen when a group of food bloggers hang out together. The coconut lychee was a big hit here, but since I’m neither a fan of coconut nor lychee, it didn’t appeal to me. In addition, the second scoop was tiramisu which was pretty decent.

Afterwhich, the group of us went across the street to another place for frozen yogurt. It’s probably not the most sensible thing to do in the middle of a chilling night, but yet there’s nothing better than to sit out there in the cold weather while having ice cream and frozen yogurt.

‘Where are we going next?’ This simple question brought us to our fifth and final stop for the night, the very popular Chat Thai, in Chinatown. It was already midnight by the time we arrived at the place, and there’s still a long queue outside waiting to get in. No one could possibly miss out on Pad thai when in a Thai restaurant, so we had one to share. Just like the recent one that I’ve before I left for Sydney, it was sweet, not spicy at all, and the rice noodles were considerately thinner. I’d like my Pad thai to have lots of raw beansprouts and eggs, however Chat Thai’s rendition did not have enough of both to satisfy me.

* * *

Just in case you are wondering, yes we covered all these places within one night. This is the second part of my Twelve days in Sydney series, to be continued . . .

Rowda Ya Habibi
101 King Street Newtown
Tel: 02 9557 5368

Gelatomassi
262 King Street
Newtown NSW 2042
Tel: (02) 9516 0655

Messina
241 Victoria Street
Darlinghurst NSW 2010

Chat Thai
20 Campbell Street
Haymarket Chinatown
Tel: +61 (02) 9211 1808

I have a friend, his name is Jones. He is a grocer, and he ain’t a normal grocer. Gourmet products, that’s right.  All the customers would drop by and waved, “Hello Jones!”. And the kids would peeked around curiously, and oh yes, they had a song which goes something like this;

Jones the grocer, Can we eat it?

Jones the grocer, Yes we can!

Jones the grocer, I want some food!

Jones the grocer, Come and get it!

My latest breakfast-brunch crave brought me to Jones the grocer, because they are one of the few that serves brunch during weekdays (the other few being Prive, Rider’s, and Casa Verde).

Much as I liked having brunch on a lazy Sunday morning, but the idea of having it during a WEEKDAY enthralls me even more! Well the rest of the world rushed off to work, I’m slowly sipping a cup of coffee, having my favourite eggs, and reading the newspaper. You get the idea?

I want breakfast. I want eggs. I want pancakes.

Pancakes we wanted, and Coconut pancakes ($12.5) we got! Sour mango wasn’t exactly what we expected, but it presented a contrast with the syrup, well they called it the palm sugar syrup here. Whatever, all the syrup tasted the same to me, sweet and sweet!

And did you see what I saw? Vanilla beans! Tiny speaks of vanilla beans! I’m not going to go into the story of how excited I’ll become when I saw the beans, but, I’m excited! It was nice having vanilla beans with pancakes, but we did felt that it would be better to have it with butter and syrup for breakfast at least. And oh ya, the pancakes here are one of the thickest-I-ever-came-across.

Jones english breakfast ($20). I’ll like to call it the best-of-everything. Poached eggs, grilled bacon, pork sausages, sautéed mushroom, and even slow roasted tomato for some nutritional balance! What is there not to like?

I can never resist the golden-yellow egg yolk flowing out of the pure egg white: striptease – stop playing with me or I’ll eat you up! I put the poached eggs, bacon, and mushroom on top of the sourdough (the sausage was too huge to fit in on top), and I tried to put everything in one bite.

Well I failed of course, but that’s obviously what I intended to; in this way I could repeat and repeat the same full-mouth-process until I finished the whole thing, and wanting more.

Total bill was $35.75 for the brunch, they had 10% service charge but the 7% GST was already included in the bill. Was it expensive? No, for the mere thought that I was having my breakfast while the rest of the world were busy slogging it out in the office, that’s something priceless.

But for weekday brunch, I’ll prefer Rider’s and Prive if you have your own transport, not that it is easy to get to dempsey either.

Jones the grocer
9 Dempsey road
#01-12 Tanglin Village
Tel: 6476 1512

It was supposed to be January, but it is almost April soon! Well, like they say, better late than never! Forty-four was the magical number this time, and I’m glad to see many of my regulars, and of course our new friends.

Salt & Pepper Calamari

We started with the simple appetiser, but I was too busy running from table to table that the calamari turned cold by the time I returned!

Chicken & Cheese Quesadillas

Dallas signature Quesadillas was one of the dish which I remembered from my previous visit. Tasting almost like a Mexican taco, there was chicken bits soaked with tomato in chicken broth.

Shredded Pork Tacos

Baby Back Pork ribs

There was some confusion when the ribs were served. The three different flavours of Fiery, Alabama & Smoked Hickory BBQ were too alike! Because we did everything in tasting portions, the pork ribs had to be cut and served this way, otherwise we were be there until four.

Dallas Wings

There was some feedback that the wings were too dry and lacked marination.

Tempura Barramundi

Corn & crab fritters

Beef Fajitas with Guacamole & sour cream

Breaded mushrooms

The “twin” brother which looked almost identical to the Corn & Crab Fritters.

***

A total number of 44 people turned up for this LIC food outing, thank you everyone! Like I’ve mentioned, there will be no date announced yet for the next lic food outing, I will try to organise it soon, so see you next time! I’ll also like to thank Jason, the owner for Dallas for hosting us.

I will be adding the group photos to my Facebook page later. Do add me there to see the photos!

Read about my previous visit to Dallas here.
And Catherine @ Camemberu
Julia @ AromaCookery
Fen @ Sgdessert
Keropok man @ Singapuradailymakanphoto

Dallas Restaurant & Bar
31 Boat Quay
Boat Quay Conservation area
Tel: 6532 2131
Website: http://www.dallas.sg/

I believe the seventh day of the week, Sunday, is meant for us to relax and enjoy; without any of the problem and stress that come along as part of the package in our life. I believe breakfast, is the most important meal of the day, having a good start will certainly makes thing behind easier. Brunch, at Graze.

I believe in having a good ambience for me to enjoy my food, albeit paying a slightly higher price, everything is worth it when you get to enjoy this scenery while sipping down a cup of tea, and eating your breakfast.

The al fresco at Graze @ Rochester Park was amazing. The picturesque lush surroundings, the tone of the white colonial-style bungalow. Full stop.

I believe your dining companion plays an even vital part in making the meal an enjoyable one. Given good food but eaten with people you disliked, and ordinary food but with people you enjoyed hanging out with. It’s hell lots of difference.

The little white piece which is so common on our table for the first meal of the day, simply bread. Our original intentions were to order the “door stopper” toasts which consisted four slices of white, wholemeal, multi grain, and cinnamon & raisins toast. But luckily, the waiter informed us that they will served complimentary bread. A slice of white, and wholemeal. Like the Gardenia slogan, so good you can even eat it on its own!

And how can any brunch be short of Egg Benedicts ($17). Classic or smoked salmon and spinach, we opted for the latter. The beautiful poached egg and smoked salmon sat on a piece of slightly char toast. The salty taste of the salmon enhanced the flavour of the wonderful poached egg. I’m so hooked on the idea of having brunch every weekend, if only just for the eggs.

The sight of the egg yolk, flowing out like lava erupting from a volcano. Perfect!

The idea of big-breakfast was clearly conceptualise in the cast iron pan ($20). With the best of everything, bratwurst sausages, smoked bacon, mushroom, tomato, country potato, fried eggs, baked beans, and plum chili salsa. They clearly could read my mind, everything was my favourite, and it came sizzling on the hot pan. And oh yes, I forget to mention how good the mushrooms were! While prices might be slightly steep, and the portions didn’t seem that big, let me assured you, the two of us couldn’t finish everything on this pan.

Total bill was $50.61 for brunch. Contrary to what some people might have say about Graze, I found the service from the staff to be good, they were attentive and friendly without being over-disturbing, and even offered to get me a small chair to put my bag after I left it on the floor. The combination of superb ambience, good service, and a lovely brunch meant that even though prices are slightly steep, I will not hesitate to go back again. I want to try the pancakes and waffles the next time round. See you there!

Graze
4 Rochester Park
Tel: 6775 9000
Website here

Graze is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore

Strolling down the Singapore River, we found ourselves mesmerised by the scenery, the cool evening air, the group of angmohs enjoying some beer before the sun sets, and the occasional harass from a few of the “eateries” which touted free drinks to entice us.

History has it that this beautiful watershed was the place where the myths and legends conjured up memories of the lighters, bumboats, tongkangs with their painted eyes to see the danger ahead and sampans of yesteryear. This is the place where the Chinese, Malay, and Indian once lived. This is the the place where Sir Stamford Raffles once sailed through to land on Singapore.

The charming Boat quay offers a magnificent view of the Singapore River, with the Fullerton hotel as the backdrop, and the towering skyscrapers in the buzzing CDB just behind. Since the area is famous for its vibrant night life, one will certainly not associate the place with food, I had the same impression, that is, until I visited Dallas restaurant.

Entering the second level, it was a complete stunner as we experienced the hundred & eighty change in environment. From the blasting pub, we stepped into a room befitting of a semi-formal dining restaurant. With nice furnitures, carpeting, and  the natural lighting from the windows, this room was ideal for a quiet and romantic dinner.

And if you think that is the end, you are in for a surprise. The bar and restaurant concept was fully displayed in the third level of Dallas. With a slightly tone down attitude compared with the second level, this one was all about the causal and relax approach for a hearty dinner. And the smoothing lounge music overhead certainly helps too.

To begin the long dinner which we realised in the aftermaths, lasting almost three hours, we started off with the Dallas platter ($12 for 2 person). The succulent mushroom immediately made an impact as the juices gushed out when we took a bite.

Chicken wings, and the Cheese Quesedillas completes the platter. There wasn’t anything extraordinary about the wings, but the garlic mayonnaise that came along was everything about garlic. On the other hand, the popular cheese quesedillas fared reasonably on my score sheet. Tasting almost like a Mexican taco, there was chicken bits soaked with tomato in chicken broth, but I lamented the fact that it wasn’t cheesy enough.

My dining companion is a big fan of prawns, and the Salad of green mango & prawns ($16) definitely worked its magic. While I felt prices did seem slightly steep for a bowl of greens, but there was a generous portions of the fresh & juicy prawns. And the crisp, tart green mango reminded me of the refreshing Thai-style salad.

Our first main course was the BBQ Barramunudi fillet ($20), one of Dallas’s signature dish. The watercress that accompanied the dish caught my attention, since it wasn’t that common to see this vegetable as a choice of green for salad.

Gigantic, huge, enormous are probably some of the terms you will link the baby back ribs ($22 for 1/2 rack, $28 for full rack) with. I’m a sucker for pork ribs, and the sight of this ginormous baby aroused the carnivore in me. Man, I can still clearly recalled the sweet and juiciness of the ribs now, and if it wasn’t for the fact that we had other food after this, I’ll gladly go for the full ribs instead.

I could only stared at the Tenderloin with shitake mushroom sauce ($28) when it arrived. Being almost full by the previous ribs, the thickness of the steak did shocked me for a bit. While some people would insist on medium well to prevent seeing red, I felt that it would not do any justice to the piece of tender meat.

Medium rare it is.

By the time the Roast chicken and Penne pasta ($16) navigated its way to our table, we were completely stuffed by the multi course dinner. Nonetheless, we did a sampling, and since I’m not a fan of penne, maybe it wouldn’t be a completely fair comment. I found the pasta pretty plain in taste, but the restaurant manager Kenneth, told us that it was a favourite among his angmoh customers, Acquired taste perhaps. And not to forget the roast chicken did wonders for me, it was akin to our roast pork, or more affectionately known as, sio bak.

We were told frankly by the manager that Dallas is still working on their desserts, and there was nothing to rave about. But being the dessert enthusiats we were, a meal wouldn’t be complete without any sweets, so we decided to go for the Dallas Cheesecake ($8). It could be due to the fact that we had zero expectations, the cheesecake actually didn’t turn out to be as bad as we thought. We couldn’t resist the rich and cheesy dessert. But for the price, I wouldn’t exactly recommend trying the desserts, just get another appetiser!

Dallas Restaurant & Bar stands out as one of the few gems among the food outlets in Boat Quay. I certainly changed my mind about the impression I had of the area, and Dallas proves that there can be a good place for you to dine and drink at the same time. Their set lunches are pulling in all the office crowds, with the 2 course lunch at $18++, and 3 course dinner at $28++.

I would like to thank Rayner from creative partner for inviting me for this food tasting session, and Kenneth the restaurant manager for hosting us for dinner. And oh yes, for you guys who are looking for a venue to have your birthday bash, or a group outing, Dallas has their function room on the third level with a private bar, and a balcony for this. For more information, email to events@dallas.sg

Dallas Restaurant & Bar
31 Boat Quay
Boat Quay Conservation area
Tel: 6532 2131
Website: http://www.dallas.sg/

The scones ($2.50) from Caffe Beviamo was soft and fluffy, with a buttery undertone.There wasn’t any “wow” from the strawberry jam, but it was enough to compliment the warm scones. If i may say so in my humble opinion, the ones here are better than the legendary Royal Copenhagen scones.

When you run out of names for your desserts, why not try some creative ones which can attract others attention? That’s exactly what Beviamo did. The hummingbird cake ($3.50) had was pineapple, banana and coconut involved, definitely no bird or what so ever. I love to eat pineapple and banana on its own, but to have them in cake is completely a different story all together. Banana cakes are just not for me, some things just can’t be forced.

Caffe Beviamo
163 Tanglin road
#02-k1 Tanglin Mall
Tel: 6738 7906

Cuisines like European, French, Italian food are always popular choices when we dine out. But have you heard of Aussie cuisine? And how exactly do you classified that? There’s a great influence by traditional British cooking brought to Australia by the first settlers. Consisting of pies, roasted cut of meats, grilled steaks and chops, and other form of meat generally accompanied by vegetables.

Mad Jack restaurant started back in 2005, with their original branch at Jalan Kayu a familiar sight with patrons to the area. Within a short span of 2-3 years, they have expanded with another 3 branches, with the newest located right in town, Paradiz centre.

The restaurant owner, Jack who have stayed in Australia for some years, decided to bring the Aussie cuisine back to Singapore. But if you make it into a fine-dining setting, not many people will have be able to try the food, therefore he came up with a causal dining cafe, serving his definition of good Aussie food at affordable prices. The steaks and chops are all air-flown from Australia/NZ, and it is their style of cooking that made the term, Aussie cuisine.

I was invited for a food tasting session at their new outlet, Paradiz centre. A 5 minutes walk from Dhoby Ghaut mrt station, the restaurant is right within distance in town, so who says there isn’t cheap and good food in Orchard?

Mad Jack’s interior consisted mainly of white furnitures, which gave a sleek and clean look to the whole restaurant. Coupled with the transparent glass which invited the sunlight in, the whole area was brightly lit up.

We started with their doctor juices. Therapeutic juices made of 100% fruits and vegetables with “healing powers”. Mad Jack actually did their research, and experimented with different combinations of fruits and vegetables to produce different effects. There’s cholesterol buster (in green), complexion enhancer, blood pressure reducer, sports energy booster (in yellow), just to name a few.

I had the cholesterol buster ($4), which like the name implied, was meant to bust cholesterol. Green apple, celery, capsicum and cucumber. The taste was very “healthy”, and although I didn’t really like celery, but well for the sake of busting some cholesterol.

The other drink we had was the sports energy booster ($4). The ingredients were much less exotic, and pretty much the fruits you eat everytime, lemon, organge. pineapple and apple.

There was crispy butter, fresh juicy & chunky fish fillet which made the taste so good. Crispy on the outside, fluffy and soft on the inside. And the apple peach salad also gave the fish & chips ($8.90) a healthier tune. I had this before at PK xpress which is also under the Mad Jack group.

Mad Jack’s menu is very comprehensive, with so many variety that we actually didn’t know what to order. In the end, we decided to settle for the common and simple chicken chop, like they say, food taste good when they are simple.

But to be frank, other than the generous portion of the chicken and the sides, i thought there was nothing special about the grilled chicken in black pepper sauce ($7.90). Nonetheless at $8, there’s nothing like a safer option if you want some familiar food in town.

And how can you say that you have eaten Aussie food when you haven’t try their steaks? Air-flown from Australia, the Rib eye steak ($13.90) was big in size, tender in meat and juicy on the inside. One meat, three vegetables, like the usual way.

If you are going in a large group, the cheesy mix fries ($6.90) is definitely a good option to order for sharing. Mixture of spicy and plain fries topped with cheese sauce and mayo, it reminded me of the cheese fries at KFC, with a bigger serving.

Now, get ready for the highlight of the show. The desserts column was the one that i was looking forward to, since they had quite a variety of choices available. Triple shots of espresso sponge sandwiched between freshly whipped cream, sponge, and chocolate flakes, i give you the tiraMADsu ($4.50).

All the desserts creation came from Jack’s wife, you could get them at slices, or as a whole cake (reservation one day in advance). While some preferred their tiramisu to have a strong liquor and espresso taste, i like Mad Jack’s rendition for their light, and not-so-overwhelming flavour. The big slice was also an bonus.

Another dessert which would give you the sugar-rush, the OZ brown ($4.90). Like most brownies, when eaten alone they might come across as overly-sweet, but when you had an scoop of ice cream to go along, it’s a completely different story. The chocolate walnut brownie had bits of walnuts to give the crunchy bite. Warm sweet brownie & cold ice cream, a prefect blend.

Overall, Mad Jack served their take on Aussie cuisines at real affordable prices. Being in town, it further provided an additional incentive. Otherwise, if you dare to jump around like a Kangaroo at the counter (just for laughs), they will be more than willing to give you a free dessert on the house.

To be honest, their food didn’t exactly “wow” me, but given their reasonable pricing and accessible location, i’ll probably revisit them again. And not to mention there’s quite a few other desserts worth noting too!

Mad Jack
1 Selegie road
Paradiz centre #01-04
Tel: 6338 9771
Open: 11.30am-12 Midnight daily
Disclaimer: This was an invited review

* * * Now Closed * * *

While we have the restaurant setting a stall in the coffee shop (think Cilantro), and there’s also the restaurants invading the heartlands, and we can’t possibly forget about Angmohs, or Caucasians setting up a stall in the coffee shops selling western food. Botak Jones was the benchmark, and now we have our latest entrée, Crazy Angmo!

Crazy Angmo was featured in the papers, with the trend of more Angmohs selling western food in the local heartlands. Having their first stall in Bishan, the owner, Paul, had opened his second stall at Bukit Batok. Whether it’s coincidently or not, Botak Jones happened to just set up an outlet in Bukit Batok too, just one bus stop away.

Chicken Parmagian ($7.90)

The chicken paramagian was one of the more expensive item on the menu, other than the steak and the lambchop. There’s cheaper options like the express meal chicken cutlet, chicken chop at $4.80. But for “higher-end” options, the rest are priced at $6.90-$7.90.

Coated with a thick layer of melty cheese and tomatos, the chicken paramagian was quite good, i especially like the melted cheese which tasted great with the crispy chicken. But i did find the layer of tomato sauce, which was in between the cheese and the chicken, a tad sour. You needed to eat the chicken fast as it became soggy after a while. Nonetheless, the generous sides like the mashed potatos, and salad provided a hearty meal.

Crazy Burger ($7.90)

The crazy burger, being one of Crazy Angmo speciality, deserved a try. I think it’s better value for money than the Botak Jones burger, since this came with cheese and egg, while the latter at $8 only had the burger plus one additional topping of either cheese or egg. The Botak Jones burger was $7 at a set, and to add egg and cheese, it’ll be $9 already.

I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of pineapples within the burger, and the melty cheese together with the runny egg was excellent. However, i did find the beef patty being over marinated with pepper. The bun was rather hard and toasted to char. And the fries were simply ordinary and forgettable.

But overall, i did think that the crazy burger at $7.90 was not too bad, and definitely better than Botak burger. The owner Paul was very confident of his burger, “This is the best burger mate!”

Total bill was $15.80 for two western meal sets. Prices are a tad higher than your usual hawker centre western food, but like what i mentioned before, if you compared Botak Jones, Crazy Angmo with the normal western stalls, prices certainly will be more expensive. On the other hand, thinking it as a cafe western food, these stalls will be much cheaper than the cafes and restaurants.

Crazy Angmo
271 Bukit Batok East Avenue 4
Hawkerway coffee shop

Caffe Beviamo actually manages to catch LIC attention because of its apparent lack of signboard. The first time i know of this self-effacing and laid-back restaurant is during my visit to Tetsu at Tanglin Mall. The Caffe Beviamo there is located on the ground floor and i walked around the restaurant three times trying to spot its name but to no avail.

After knowing that Caffe Beviamo is also available at Paragon level 5, a visit looks to be on the cards. And after some “investigation”, LIC found the signboard for Caffe Beviamo!

Paragon level 5 is hardly a place i’ll go, not that i don’t visit Paragon, but that who goes to level 5? Its always at the first few levels that are most crowded. Therefore its rather a surprise when i reached level 5 and all the seats at Caffe Beviamo is taken.

The area isn’t very big, with rough estimates of at most 40 seaters. The light serene green of the woody seats coupled with white simple tables actually gives an unpretentious feel.

The most amazing thing about Caffe Beviamo is actually its simplicity. The whole cafe is so straightforward in the sense that it has a easy and pleasant ambience, the food they served are your simple and comfort food like sandwiches, toasts, salads and pasta. So much so that they bear a reminiscent of Epicurious.

Linguine ($11.50)

Linguine with tomato, basil & bocconcini. There are only two type of pasta available on the menu, with the other being Torchietti. The linguine served here is very simple, not very flavorful in the sense that it does not packs too many type of different ingredients in. Just simple tomato and bocconcini with a hint of basil.

Its rather hard to describe the term “Australian cuisine” as there’s rather few of such places in Singapore. But Caffe Beviamo quintessentially categorize its food as Australian. I’m not sure how “Australian” is the pasta, but its comfort food to me, simple and good.

Chicken Sandwiches ($10.50)

Basil pesto, zucchini, poached chicken breast and cheese makes up the chicken sandwich. The chicken sandwich is rather good too, nothing too complicated. I’m rather skeptical about the zucchini initially, but it actually taste quite well together with the chicken breast sandwich in between the bread.

Strawberry Shortcake ($3.5)

The strawberry shortcake rendition at Caffe Beviamo is given a make-over, not quite like your usual ones. With a big red juicy strawberry sandwich in between the pastry, it does provides an inspiration with the “playing” of food by constructing them different from the norm.

The desserts are not on the menu, and its rather pick-your-own from the counter. So grab yours fast because once they are out, other different ones will be offered instead. I saw a carrot cake before we started our meal, but after we finished it’s gone!

Cheese Cake ($4)

The normal cheese cake at Caffe Beviamo is real good! Cheesy yet not to the extent overwhelming. The biscuit crumb layer underneath the cake provides a different dimension to the soft and fluffy cheese cake. The “oomph” feel immediately make its presence known.

So good! And at 4 bucks, it’s really a steal. Appearance-wise it looks very ordinary, but the taste is definitely not!

Total bill is $31.55 for 2 person. The food and ambience at Caffe Beviamo is bona fide simple, but the simplicity is exactly the beauty of the place. Price-wise its certainly affordable in a cafe style, prices for pastas, sandwiches and salads ranges in the tens, and different varieties of toast at $4.5 each.

I’m not saying the food is excellent, it isn’t. However the comfort and simple food is exactly what you need sometimes after feeling jade from eating. The price won’t hurt you in the pocket, and the place’s nice to hang out with a couple of friends.

Desserts are excellent, although this can come to be rather a big tag since i have only tried two of their desserts. But given the prices, i think they are definitely worth a try, and i’ll be going to the other one at Tanglin Mall again.

Caffe Beviamo
290 Orchard Road
#05-K3 The Paragon
Tel: 6836 2535