Since the start of the year, I’ve made a promise to eat less ‘Western‘ food, and try more of other cuisines. I think I have been doing quite well so far.

But there are some days when you just feel like having a hearty plate of Italian pasta. I was craving for Italian food when I met the folks from BigDeal for lunch, so I suggested going to Da Paolo La Terrazza at Chip Bee Gardens.

The place here is different from Da Paolo Restaurant & Bistro Bar. Whereas the restaurant at Rochester Park has a huge al fresco dining area surrounded by greeneries, Da Paolo La Terrazza is slightly smaller with options of eating indoors for a more formal dinner, or dining at the tranquil al fresco area where you sit along the tree-lined street.

Italian food at Da Paolo restaurant. Can you imagine me rubbing my hands with glee?

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like Italian food, anyone who can say no to the best Linguine Al Granchio, anyone who can refuse to eat a slice of the best pizza, anyone who can resist having tiramisu for desserts. This is Italian food, for crying out loud; nobody, and I repeat, nobody can dislike Italian food.

Okay, I shall stop declaring my love for Italian food before you start to think that I am a psycho who goes around trying to convince everyone that it is the best cuisine. For your information, I love French food too. But that’s another story.

Anyway, back to Da Paolo La Terrazza. The set lunch is available at $24++ (for pasta) and $32++ (for meat/seafood). From what I understand, it changes periodically, but there will always be five appetisers, five main courses and two desserts to choose from.

We started with a Smoked Salmon with mixed greens, Parma Ham with Rock Melon, and a Mixed Green with shaved Parmesan.

From the pasta main courses menu, we took the Spaghetti Aglio Olio tossed with garlic, chilli and olive oil; Linguine with prawns and cherry tomatoes; and a tomato-based seafood pasta. For desserts, there are only Dolce del giorno and Gelato/Sorbet. We took the dessert of the day which was a simple slice of cake.

While there’s nothing to fault about the Italian food at Da Paolo La Terrazza, I don’t think that lunch is fantastic. I like choices. I like to be able to choose from a list of desserts, and in this sense, Da Paolo’s set lunch doesn’t quite appeal to me.

Does this mean that Da Paolo is not worth a try? Not at all. Like I said, the Italian restaurant at Chip Bee Gardens has a nice vibe, and they serve one of the best Tiramisu in Singapore. I will certainly visit Da Paolo again for the ala carte menu, but I just don’t see myself returning just for the set lunch. Am I expecting too much from a $24++ 3 course set lunch? No, I don’t think so. There are plenty of good lunch deals elsewhere.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Da Paolo La Terrazza
44 Jalan Merah Saga #01-56
Chip Bee Gardens Singapore
Tel: +65 6476 1332

Read my list of best Italian Restaurants in Singapore | Chip Bee Gardens Restaurants

Pasta Brava Italian Restaurant at Craig Road has been in the Singapore Food Scene for a long time. I’ve been told that they are worth a visit by many friends, but it took me until now to go there. I guess it’s better late than never, and I am really happy to tell you that it has joined the ranks of my favourite Italian Restaurants in Singapore.

It is a great place with a homely vibe. The lighting is dim and romantic, and the wall adornments give the restaurant a personal touch. The staff is equally well trained; friendly without being too intrusive, and they are very familiar with the offerings.

The menu at Pasta Brava restaurant is divided into appetisers, salads, soups, pasta dishes, rice dishes, main dishes (fish), main dishes (meat) and desserts – with average price of each dish between $19-23 for the pasta/risotto, and $25-40 for the main dishes.

We were feeling greedy, so we chose to forego the antipasti and share an additional main course instead.

Amongst the three pasta/risotto that we had, my favourite was the Linguine Regina Del Mare ($23). It was savoury and sweet and filled with luxurious seafood like prawns, clams, scallops, squid, and crayfish. Easily one of the better Italian pastas that I’ve had recently.

The Stracci Ai Gamberi E Capesante ($23), on the other hand, was average. Whilst the thin pieces of fresh pasta were good, the Saffron cream sauce was too overwhelming.

They have only three risotto on the menu (mushroom, squid ink and mixed vegetables) and we were very tempted by the seafood and squid ink version.

Eventually, we decided to play it safe and go for the mushroom risotto. Our choice was right as the Risotto Al Funghi Porcini ($23) proved to be very good. Rich yet not overpowering, moist yet not soggy, every grain of the arborio rice was flavourful and oh so delicious.

The Tagliata Di Manzo Stile Toscano ($34), highly recommended by the staff, was fantastic! It was essentially thin slices of grilled beef sirloin with herbs, rocket leaves and parmesan flakes.

I was not expecting much from it when the waiter brought the dish to our table. It was only when my friends took a bite and let out a satisfied sigh, then I realised what I was missing out (I was busy with the seafood linguine).

We enjoyed it tremendously, you MUST order this if you go to Pasta Brava.

Pasta Brava Italian Restaurant is not exactly very big, and when it’s crowded (especially during Friday and weekends), it can get quite noisy. Reservations are highly recommended. The prices here are what you’d expect from a good Italian restaurant, but the food here is definitely better than most. It is simple, hearty and very tasty.

For more recommendations, read my list of Italian Restaurants in Singapore

Singapore Food Blog Review
Pasta Brava Italian Restaurant
11 Craig Road Singapore
Tel: +65 6227 7550

Operating Hours:
Mon to Sat: 11.30am – 2.30pm
6.30pm – 10.30pm
(Closed on Sun & PH)

Housed within the stunning Fort Canning Hotel, Gattopardo Italian Grill & Pizza Bar serves contemporary Italian and Mediterranean cuisine with a charcoal grill and wood-fired oven for baking gourmet pizzas. The Italian restaurant is under the Garibaldi Group of restaurants, who is also behind Gunther’s, Ricciotti Italian restaurant and Brotzeit.

Having heard so much about the good Italian food from my friends who ate at Gattopardo before, misstamchiak and I went there for lunch during Restaurant Week.

Restaurant Week is a good way to try out the fine dining restaurants that you always want to go. If it is a positive dining experience, you can visit the restaurant again to try their usual offerings.

Considering the fact that such fine dining restaurants usually charge $30-$50 for a main course, it is quite a steal to pay just $25++ (lunch) and $35++ (dinner) for the restaurant week’s menu.

For restaurant week, Gattopardo Italian Restaurant had two main course options: the Pan Seared Chicken Breast and Home-made Tagliatelle.

Filled with Scamorza cheese and mushrooms, the Pan Seared chicken breast was pretty decent; it was nice to find that the meat was not too dry, with the sauce a good compliment to it.

The Tagliatelle al Pesto di Trapani was slightly overcooked, but somehow managed to retain the flavour from cherry tomato, basil, Pecorino cheese and almond Pesto.

The whole point of having desserts is to end the meal on a sweet note. Unfortunately, the Creme Brulee was very disappointing and we did not finish it.

Overall, Gattopardo Italian restaurant’s restaurant week menu was not impressive, but I am still keen to come back again to check out their dinner offerings.

I took a look at their normal ala carte menu (note: they do not have a set lunch menu), and I thought that the prices are pretty reasonable for good Italian restaurants. Expect to pay around $15-$25 for antipasti, $20-$30 for pasta, $16-$30 for pizza, $30-$40 for main course and $14 for dessert.

The location at Fort Canning Hotel is rather inaccessible if you are not driving. It is probably a good idea to cab in, have a good dinner and take a romantic stroll to Orchard road to burn off the calories.

// Read my list of Italian restaurants in Singapore for more options.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Gattopardo Italian Grill & Pizza Bar
11 Canning Walk Fort Canning Park
Fort Canning Hotel Singapore
Tel: +65 6338 5498

Operating Hours:
Daily: 12pm – 3pm, 6.30pm – 10.30pm

Platypus Test Kitchen at Clifford Centre is a very interesting place. They have an unique name, and it is kind of difficult to define the place.

What exactly is a test kitchen? Is it like a lab where the chefs experiment with different ingredients to come up with the best pasta in Singapore? Or is it just a name to catch the attention of customers? Knowing absolutely nothing about the place, my friend brought me to the restaurant at Raffles Place to try out their food.

The owners describe Platypus Test Kitchen as a casual Mediterranean bistro, specializing in hand-made pastas and seasonal Mediterranean fare.

For a small bistro, Platypus Test Kitchen has quite a few items on its menu. The appetisers section consists mainly of salad (Wild Rocket Salad, Caramelised Baby Carrots, Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon) and soup (Leek & Crab Bisque, Wild Mushroom Soup, Vine-Ripened Tomato Soup). The pasta menu is divided into two corners: fresh handmade pastas (Summer Truffle Egg Tagliatelle, Four Cheese Tortellini) and their signature pastas (Carbonara, Aglio Olio, Prawn Pomodoro).

Prices range from $5 to $9 for the soup and appetisers, while most of the pastas are around $12 to $15. It is also worth noting that they have a few selections that are suitable for vegetarians.

With so many pastas on Platypus Test Kitchen’s menu, it took us a while before we finally chose the Squid Ink Seafood Marinara ($15.50) and Carbonara with Double-Smoked Bacon ($12.50).

Both the squid ink tagliatelle and the spagehetti with egg yolk based cream were a little too dry for my liking. While the squid ink pasta was generous with the ingredients, I definitely had better ones elsewhere. On the other hand, the Carbonara was decent but not fantastic.

It is clear that Platypus Test Kitchen caters to the office crowd in Raffles Place for lunch. They operate from 10.30am to 5pm on weekdays, while dinner is available only on Friday night from 5pm to 9pm, and they are closed during weekends.

Maybe we ordered the wrong pastas. But I can see myself coming back again to try the other items. The pastas are reasonably priced, and they have some interesting creations on the menu. If you are working in the Raffles Place area, gather your colleagues and head to Clifford Centre to try the pastas during lunch time.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Platypus Test Kitchen
24 Raffles Place
#02-02 Clifford Centre Singapore
Tel: +65 6533 7402

“Have you tried Da Paolo’s tiramisu? It’s the best tiramisu in Singapore!”

I have always wanted to go Da Paolo Restaurant & Bistro Bar because of the tiramisu. All my friends who had it before have nothing but praise for their tiramisu.

Like the other Rochester Park restaurants, Da Paolo Restaurant & Bistro Bar offers a superb al fresco dining option. It’s great for dinner (maybe not for lunch under the scorching sun), otherwise you can always choose to dine indoor.

Da Paolo Bistro Bar at Rochester Bar is a cross between their restaurant and pizza bar. The restaurant has two open kitchens, with the pizza bar being positioned near the entrance of the restaurant and the main kitchen on the further end.

It has a very extensive pizza menu which includes selections: Pizza Bolognese with tomato, mozzarella, minced beef, béchamel and parmesan – Pizza Salmone with tomato, mozzarella, smoked salmon, mushrooms and pesto – Pizza Napoletana with tomato, mozzarella, capers, anchovies and oregano; and folded pizzas: Calzone Prosciutto e Funghi with mozzarella, mushrooms and cooked ham.

My brother chose the Pizza Mozzarella di bufala e crudo ($25) which has buffalo mozzarella, parma ham, sliced tomatoes and basil. We also shared the Pizza frutti di mare ($20) with tomato, mozzarella and seafood. Out of the two pizzas that we had, I would pick the latter as the spread of seafood (calamari, salmon, prawn and mussel) was more appealing in taste and flavor.

Da Paolo’s Tagliatelle al granchio ($26) was excellent. The home made egg pasta with crabmeat, tomatoes, cream and vodka was creamy yet not too heavy, and every slurp of the pasta was so good.

I felt powerless when the waiter brought the famous Da Paolo’s Tiramisu ($10) to our table. Thankfully, the tiramisu didn’t disapppint. It was fantastic, and wasn’t soggy like ordinary tiramisu and the marscapone was light and airy. I scrambled to lick my dessert spoon clean.

* * *

The pizza at Da Paolo is good, but not great. I won’t go all the way just to have them, but it’s a different story if I’m in the Rochester Park area. When it comes to Italian-style Pizzas in Singapore, my pick will still be Bella Pizza at Robertson Quay. While they are both Italian restaurants that specialized in Pizza and have a similar price-point, it’s not fair to compare them since I didn’t order the same pizza.

Da Paolo Restaurant & Bistro Bar at Rochester Park is a nice chill out place after work, and you must order the tiramisu! Which is your favorite Italian restaurant for Pizza?

Singapore Food Restaurant Review
Da Paolo Restaurant & Bistro Bar
3 Rochester Park Rochester Park Singapore
Tel: +65 6774 5537

// Da Paolo group has other dining concepts like Da Paolo La Terrazza, Da Paolo Pizza Bar, Da Paolo Dolci, and Da Paolo Gastronomia at Chip Bee Garden.

Three years ago, I somehow chanced upon the stretch of restaurants at Greenwood Avenue.

In the dimly-lit restaurant, and in the company of a group of good friends; that dinner easily became one of the best meals in my life. Needless to say, the fish and chips I had at Greenwood Fish Market that night, was one of the best that I had in Singapore.

Greenwood Fish Market is definitely the place to go if you are a fish/seafood lover. With more than 20 variety of fishes to choose from, everyone will be able to find a fish that suits their palate. Terakihi? Hapuku? Yes they actually serve them in the restaurant.

We had the House Fish & Chips ($18.95) which came with a healthy dose of salad and chips. Time seemed to freeze as I leaned forward to examine the fish and chips. It looked vaguely similar to the one in my memory, and for a second or two, I was hesitating if I should eat the fish and chips.

I had the best fish and chips in Singapore at Greenwood Fish Market, and I wanted to keep that precious memory.

What if it isn’t as good as before? What if my impression of Greenwood Fish Market goes downhill from here? So many what ifs. Shit. At that moment in time, I found myself questioning if it was a right thing to revisit the restaurant. Maybe I should just  stick with the other dish and let my friend have the fish and chips. But deep down inside, a part of me wanted to try the fish. I wanted to experience that magical moment again.

The fish and chips was great, but it wasn’t as wow, or out-of-the-world like what I remembered it to be. It is still probably one of the better fish and chips in Singapore. Perhaps, some things in life will just never be the same anymore.

It’s only after looking at my old post, then I realized that we actually ordered the same items as the previous visit. Call it a coincidence, maybe. But I certainly didn’t remember that the Spaghetti Soft Shell Crab ($20.95) tasted so good before. It was completely different from the one that I’ve at Cedele restaurant recently.

The sauce was fainter, and very un-tomato-ish (if there’s even such a word). It was tangy, and it was slightly sweet — it tasted (almost) like a real crab sauce.

If you are a big fan of oysters, go to Greenwood Fish Market every Tuesday night – it’s a dollar for each oyster. We were there on a weekday night, and the restaurant was almost packed, so please remember to make your reservations.

Restaurant Review
Greenwood Fish Market
34 Greenwood Avenue Hillcrest Park Singapore
Tel: +65 6467 4950

If you have been hanging around my food blog for some time, you’d know that I don’t usually eat in shopping malls, or restaurant chains for that matter of fact. The reason is not because I have an exquiste taste-bud, but rather I believe in finding unique cafes that serve better food at the same price.

I have been to Cedele Bakery Depot a couple of times before, but only for desserts. Just in case you have never heard of them. there are four Cedele all day dining restaurants, fourteen Cedele cafe and two standalone bakeries in Singapore. To be honest, I was quite skeptical when I first knew that Cedele restaurants serve main courses and pasta.

I was at Raffles City Shopping Mall over the weekends, and as much as I like the place — most of the restaurants there don’t really appeal to me. We finally settled on Cedele restaurant as it was relatively quiet.

After a quick glance, I was sorely tempted to order the eggs from Cedele’s All Day Breakfast menu (YES they served all day breakfast!), but decided to go with the Red Chili Crab Pasta ($16.90) instead.

It was a clever play on the famous Singapore dish. Sitting smugly on top of the pasta, the tiny soft shell crab was crisp and full of bite. But I didn’t really pay much attention to it. I was engrossed with how the linguine entangled itself with the sweet and tangy sauce, tossed with strands of crab meat.

Granted, the risotto (you mean that ugly-looking thing in the photo is a risotto?) won’t win any awards for aesthetic value, but don’t judge it too quickly. I don’t know about you, but whenever someone mentions about seafood pasta; a picture of us sitting by the beach enjoying a luxurious seafood feast always come to mind.

In every way, Cedele’s Red Seafood Risotto ($16.90) was close. It came with a generous spread of mussels, prawn and seared white fish. The risotto was slightly wetter, and it had an intense tomato flavor which I thoroughly enjoyed. Somebody preferred risotto that is drier but this one works fine for me.

* * *

If you are there for dinner, remember to check out Cedele’s carrot cake for dessert.

Restaurant Review
Cedele Bakery Cafe & Restaurant
391 Orchard Road
#B1-37 Takashimaya Shopping Centre
Tel: +65 6235 2380

501 Orchard Road #03-14
Wheelock Place Singapore
Tel: +65 6732 8520

1 Kim Seng Promenade #01-01/02
Great World City Singapore
Tel: +65 6836 1426

252 North Bridge Road #03-28A
Raffles City Shopping Centre Singapore
Tel: +65 6337 8017

There are times when I am green with envy for those who work in the CBD. Not so for their jobs, of course, but for all the food choices at their vicinity that they are spoilt for. I had blogged about the 1-for-1 dining promotion at Riciotti China Square, and recently, I stumbled upon Barpazza, which is in the same area as the Italian restaurant.

Barpazza is located at Capital Square 3 (diagonally beside China Square and Far East Square). If you are still unsure about the location, I’m sure some of you will know about one of the Capital Square restaurants, Ooster Belgian Brasserie – Barpazza is just a stone’s throw away.

It’s kind of difficult to classify Barpazza. They are not exactly a restaurant, yet they have an impressive selections of pasta and pizza on the menu. Here’s the good news: Barpazza has 1-for-1 pasta/pizza promotion during lunch and dinner for weekdays, and dinner on Saturday. In addition to that, they also have 1-for-1 promotion for selected beers.

Considering that I’ve shared three skinny pizzas for a late lunch before this, it was quite a miracle that I could still wolf down two slices of the Black Pepper Beef ($21.5 for L before 1-for-1 promotion) and The Morning After ($19.5 for L before 1-for-1 promotion).

I’m not a big fan of the black pepper beef, but The Morning After pizza was fine-tuned exactly to my liking. Tomato sauce, mozzarella, and bacon with an soft set egg in the center.

For extra flavor, I added some of the creamy carbonara sauce onto the dough. But there’s really no need for that. The pizza was good on its own, the raw egg swirled around the surface of the thin-crusted pizza – every bite was crisp, moist and delicious! It was such a shame that I only have room for one slice!

The Carbonara ($16.90 before 1-for-1 promotion) was fantastic!

Okay fine, maybe I exaggerated. It wasn’t the mind-boggling, out-of-this-world fantastic, but it was pretty close. Maybe it’s because of the fact that I wasn’t expecting Barpazza to deliver a good pasta. After all, it was more like a watering hole than a proper restaurant, but good Italian pasta in a restaurant bar? I know, I’m such a snob!

Here’s the truth you should know: their carbonara is worth a try, and the 1-for-1 dining promotion just makes it even better!

In contrast with the Carbonara, the Crabmeat Marinara ($17.90 before 1-for-1 promotion) was quite an disappointment. It was subtle, bordering on bland, and the lack of the tomato flavor was a killjoy.

This, my dear reader, is one of the most exotic and ‘unique’ ice cream I’ve ever tried. Well, I had special flavors like teh tarik, gela melaka, ginseng before. But a savory-sweet flavor like the Spicy Bak Kwa ice cream ($6.90) just made all of them pale in comparison. While I love bak kwa during Chinese new year, I don’t really fancy mixing them inside my ice cream. Give me vanilla and chocolate ice cream please!

* * *

With the 1-for-1 dining promotion, each pasta/pizza is probably just around $10. I know it’s not possible to eat at restaurants or cafes everyday, but my reasoning is simple. If you are going to spend around $5-6 in food court anyway, why not just topped up a few dollars and give yourself a treat occasionally? I wouldn’t call this the best lunch in Singapore, but it’s definitely a good deal with the one-for-one promotion.

Bring your colleagues to Barpazza and enjoy the 1-for-1 Dining Promotions! If you are working in the Central Business District, do share with us some of the good lunch places to check out!

Restaurant Review
Barpazza
25 Church Street #01-02
Capital Square
Tel: +65 6536 0572

Did I get your attention with the title – “Best Pizza in Singapore?”

Good. Now that you know what we are dealing with, please grab a chair and some snacks before we continue. Here’s the story: for the longest time, I have been wanting to check out Bella Pizza at Robertson Quay.

“You must go to Bella Pizza, they have really good Italian food — but DO NOT BLOG about it!”

A couple of friends gave me the same warning. Bella Pizza is an open secret for good Italian food in Singapore. The problem with Bella Pizza, though, is the location. It’s at Robertson Quay along the Singapore River, and there are simply too many restaurants at Robertson Quay! Epicurious cafe, Red House Seafood Restaurant, Boomarang bistro and the list goes on and on. I am glad that I finally made it to Bella Pizza.

Since there wasn’t any salmon pasta on Bella Pizza’s menu, my salmon-crazy friend chose the Pizza Salmone ($21) and was rewarded with a very good pizza.

I am not a big fan of thin crust pizzas, but Bella Pizza’s was thin yet filling, moist but not overly wet. Rolled up like a taco with all the fillings, or simply wolfed it down directly on the thin dough – the Pizza Salmon’s a winner! This is a very good option for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Yay for all salmon lovers!

After checking out a few Italian restaurants in Singapore for Squid Ink Pasta, I preferred to have the tomato-based pasta that is infused with squid ink, rather than one that comes with the slimy black squid ink sauce. For one, there isn’t as much stain on the teeth and the lips after dinner, and it is also because I have yet to find a squid ink pasta that’s truly memorable.

The Spaghetti Al Nero Di Seppia ($22) at Bella Pizza was very well-executed. Every slurp of the pasta blended effortlessly with the charcoal black squid ink sauce. Needless to say, we enjoyed the squid ink pasta very much! Bella Pizza’s rendition of the squid ink pasta is definitely one of the best I’ve tried so far.

Tossed with clams, squids, scallops, and a king prawn, the Linguine Al Frutti Di Mare ($22) caught our eyes immediately as we scanned through Bella Pizza’s menu. We wiped the plate clean and the pasta would be perfect if there’s a heavier dose of tomato!

My middle name is sweet.

If you have been reading my food blog for a while now, you’d have noticed that I have an incredible sweet tooth for a guy. Bella Pizza’s dessert menu has some interesting choices like the Panna cotta, Warm Chocolate Lava cake, and the tiramisu. For a minute, I was sorely tempted to order all three!

Since there’s only room for one, the obvious choice was the Tiramisu ($7) which was very reasonably priced. We took up the dessert fork and crowded around the tiramisu; literally like ravening vultures circling around the prey. We gobbled the tiramisu as though there wasn’t a second to spare, as though it would run away if we didn’t eat it fast enough.

* * *

It wouldn’t be fair to say that Bella Pizza has the best pizza in Singapore when we only ordered one pizza from their menu. But I really like the pizza there, and I will definitely come back to try the other pizzas. Bella Pizza is surely among my favorite Robertson Quay Restaurants now.

Have you been to Bella Pizza before? Do you agree that they have one of the best pizza in Singapore?

Restaurant Review
Bella Pizza
30 Robertson Quay #01-14
Riverside View Singapore
Tel: +65 6734 0139

Food For Thought has always been one of the cafes that I wanted to check out. It’s small, cozy and from what I heard, they also contributes back to the society by donating a certain amount of their profits to various social causes.

I’m not sure if you remember, but I’ve mentioned Food For Thought in my list of 10 Best Singapore Restaurants Website. Besides their original branch at North Bridge road near Purvis Street, Food for Thought has recently opened another new outlet at 8 Queen Street (8Q @ Singapore Art Museum).

Arissa and I customized our own pasta as the existing selections on Food For Thought’s menu didn’t quite appeal to our taste buds. I added chicken to the basic roasted tomato pasta, and the result was a simple and comfortable meal. It would be better if the portion was bigger, but I guess that left plenty of room for desserts.

Having heard about the famous Hummingbird Bakery’s Red Velvet Cupcake, I have always been curious about how it taste like. The thick cream cheese frosting reminded me of Cedele’s Carrot cake, and it immediately won my approval. Then, I realized that there was simply too much frosting and it was unbelievably sweet. The Old Southern Red Velvet Cake ($5.50) is meant to be shared.

You have been warned.

I ate my first Bread and butter pudding a couple of years back. It was horrible. The texture was way too soggy, and it lacked the milky consistency. Since then, I told myself not to touch any bread and butter pudding anymore, until I came across the one served at Hairloom & Caramel Cafe.

Some of my friends mentioned that Food For Thought doesn’t prepare their desserts and most of them are outsourced from suppliers and bakers. I’m not sure how true this is, but I don’t really care after trying their Bread and Butter Pudding ($7.90). It had a generous scoop of ice cream, and the best part was the caramelized sugar around the edges of the pudding.

* * *

Food For Thought cafe is a homely place which serves affordable comfort food, but they really need to work on their air ventilation system at the North Bridge road branch. Our clothes smelt of dinner after stepping out of the cafe, and obviously it wasn’t pleasant. I’d probably head to their new outlet at Queen Street the next time round.

Restaurant Review
Food For Thought
420 North Bridge Road #01-06
North Bridge Centre Singapore
Tel: +65 6338 8724

8 Queen Street Singapore
Tel: +65 6338 9887

It’s quite a shame that the Cafe Culture has not quite caught up with the Singapore food scene yet. While I was in Sydney for holiday, I was fascinated by the Surry Hills area which has all the little chic cafes around each corner. I know many people say that Melbourne has an even stronger Cafe culture, and it will be really great if I can get an air ticket and fly over right now!

Hairloom & Caramel is a Salon and Cafe housed under one roof that adores whimsical furniture and decorations. Oh boy, I have a soft spot for places like this.

Caramel cafe serves very simple and comfort food like pastas, sandwiches, salad and deserts. In addition to that, they also have a Vegetarian menu available.

Ham and cheese are possibly the best combination ever, and the Baked Penne with ham & Cheese in cream sauce ($11.50) was all about that. It was creamy, but not heavy, and the perfect combination of ham and cheese blended in effortlessly.

Honey Shaved ham and cheese sandwich with honey mustard ($8.50)

By and large, I am not a salad guy. Don’t get me wrong, I love vegetables, but having them alone doesn’t appeal to me, and remember about my first date dinner tips? Never just order salad for first dates.

I raised my eyebrows when I saw the heading “Salad as main” on Caramel Cafe’s menu. Well, it’s fine to have salad as an appetizer, but salad as main course? I don’t think so.

Anyway, there’s only two salad to choose from; Smoked salmon salad in pesto sauce or the Chicken breast salad in Japanese yuzu dressing ($8.50). I personally felt that it’s a lot of money considering it’s just a salad – give me a dessert anyday! But if you must have a salad before you start your dinner, the chicken breast salad is a pretty good choice considering it comes with lots of greens and the chicken drenched in Japanese yuzu dressing really helps to cleanse the palate.

Tossed with garlic, tomatoes, fiery red chili, and sliced sausages, Caramel Cafe’s Spaghetti with Bratwurst sausage ($13.50) was exceptionally hot. I’m not sure if it’s because of my low tolerance to spicy food, but the pasta was really spicy and it was somewhat lacking in the tomato flavor.

Among the cupcakes that we tried, the Lemon cupcake was the clear winner with the tangy and moist texture. On the other hand, the Oreo cupcake was too dry and we left half of it untouched.

I’m not sure if my memories are playing a trick on me. But somehow or rather, I felt that the original Bread & Butter Pudding ($5.90) that I’ve at Caramel Cafe a year ago, was much better than their Chocolate rendition. It’s not that Caramel’s Chocolate bread and butter pudding wasn’t good, but all I wanted: an original bread and butter pudding, which wasn’t available that day.

* * *

Caramel Cafe is a great place for all occasions; girlfriends outing, a cute date, birthday parties, or just simply hanging out with a bunch of friends. If you are going there, remember to also drop by Tom’s Palette (for some ice cream), which is also located at Shaw Towers.

Restaurant Review
Hairloom & Caramel Cafe
100 Beach Road #01-50/52
Shaw Towers Singapore
Tel: +65 6295 2188

As a kid, I grew up having Pizza Hut’s Pan Pizzas. Before the invention of the thin crust pizza, I always thought that there’s only one type of pizza – the thick crust one – and I liked it a lot. Even after I came to discover the existence of the Thin pizza with crispy base, I still preferred the thick doughy ones.

I mean eating pizza is all about the thick crust. It doesn’t feel right to have a pizza, which has such a thin base, that it’s almost like just having the toppings. That’s why when it comes to Pizza; my family will always go to Pizza Hut.

Pizza Hut is all about family time. It is the time where the whole family gets to enjoy dining out together. It is also the time to call for pizza delivery to satisfy my brother’s craving, or when my mom is too tired to cook.

Sitting in the familiar environment, it felt like we were kids again. I can remember the excitement while anticipating for the pizza to come. When it comes to Pizza Hut, I’m sure many of you remember their popular Sweet ‘N’ Spicy Drumlets, as well as the garlic bread. Forget about everything else, I will exchange anything for all the Drumlets – just give it all to me.

I like my pizza to be crusty, and doughy and filling. Most importantly, it has to be cheesy – just like the one up there in the picture. The sight of the entangled cheese is always so alluring, evidently my tame effort to resist it always fails – but at least I tried. Now it’s time to have our pizza party!

All along, I’ve always thought that pizza hut was only about pizza, but during the tasting session, we were introduced to Pizza Hut’s Pasta Perfetto series. Pizza Hut currently has 12 selections on their pasta menu, which includes 8 classic and 4 specialty pastas.

The 8 Classic pastas are the following: Chicken Pomodoro, Creamy Porcini Mushroom, Pep ‘n’ Spice, Prawn Aglio Olio, Spicy Chicken Pomodoro, Traditional Bolognaise, Turkey Bacon Carbonara and Veggie Pomodoro.

As for the 4 specialty pastas, they are: Basil Crayfish (above picture), Fish in Tomato cream sauce, Peppery Ribs, and Seafood Vongole. The prices range from $5.90 for the classic selections to $12.90 for the specialty ones.

The latest addition to the menu is the Soft Shell Crabbiatta ($12.90). I am not very good with words, nor am I lyrical enough to describe how the Soft Shell Crabbiatta taste like.

But, I think it tasted like Chili Crabs.

Yes, Chili crabs. It was spicy yet sweet, tangy to the tongue and appealing to the palate. The sauce was a bright hue of orange-red, I know – it’s definitely not the most photogenic pasta out there. But then again, when is pasta ever photograph-able? Pastas are meant to be messy, and disorganized, but yet when they are tossed and mixed together – somehow, everything looks just right.

What aspects do you look out for in pasta? Do you like the rich and heavy cream base ones, or the sweet and mellow tomato base pasta? There are a lot people who like the meatball rendition, but personally I’d prefer seafood pasta. Having tried the Soft Shell Crabbiatta, it was actually quite decent. Deep-fried to a handsome shade of golden-brown, the soft shell crab was partially immersed in the sauce. The pasta would taste even better if they had added in chunks of crabmeat.

It’s inevitable that people will judge it against chilli crab, but it’s not even fair to compare it that way since it’s not even chili crab to begin with. Look, here’s a pasta that somewhat tasted like chilli crab; I’m not telling you if it’s good, go try it for yourself!

The Soft Shell Crabbiatta is available at all Pizza Hut restaurants from now till 30th April.

Join us for Food Tasting on Pizza Hut

Date: 18th March 2010
Time: 7pm to 9pm
Location: City Square Mall – Pizza Hut #01-19/21

If you are keen to try out some of the pastas (and of course pizza), Pizza Hut will like to invite you to join me for a second round of tasting. Send your full name & contact details to bradleyfk@gmail.com, we will choose 15 readers and be in contact with you shortly to confirm the dinner. The closing date for this will be 11th March.

You can check out their full range of pastas here.

Update: The Cafe is now closed.

I’ve walked past Society Bar at One Fullerton a couple of times when I was dining in the waterfront restaurants there. I know it’s under the same management of The Prime Society at Dempsey, but for some reason I never visited.

Most of the restaurants at One Fullerton can be costly, that’s why the first thing that struck me when I saw Society Bar’s menu – was the affordability of the food.

Society Bar is a bistro version of The Prime Society. There’s no premium meats of course, most of the mains are priced below $20. The food is not spectacular, but I think it’s affordable considering the excellent location of the bistro bar at One Fullerton.

The Tunisian Braised Chicken Leg Pilaff With Brown Rice ($16.50) caught all of us by surprise. The chicken leg was very pleasant, in the sense that every bite was smooth and tender. It was one of our favorites among the main courses.

On paper, the proper definition of a burger is minced meat patty enveloped between two buns, with some tomato, lettuce, and if you are lucky, extra stuff like cheese and bacon to go along. Society Bar’s Beef Burger ($14.50) was pretty decent, not fantastic – but the hearty portion was enough to satisfy our meat cravings

We could smell the Tiger Beer Battered Fish & Chips from afar. Catherine enjoyed the fresh dory fish tremendously, but both Ju and I thought it was slightly too salty.

After having two excellent pasta the previous week, I was still itching for good homely spaghetti. It was either cream or tomato base, we went for the latter as tomato’s always less heavy than cream-base pasta. Well maybe I was pushing my luck too far, but the Spaghetti With Mediterranean Tomato Sauce, Olive Oil and Parmesan ($12.50) was slightly overcooked, and we couldn’t finish it.

I was hoping that there will be Vanilla bean ice cream when we ordered the Baked Apple Tartlet ($7.50). But it came with rum & raisin ice cream instead. Drizzled with toffee sauce, the combination of warm baked dessert with cold ice cream always work.

Looking through the dessert menu, the Warm Sticky Toffee Pudding ($8) caught our attention immediately. For a sticky pudding, it wasn’t sticky and moist enough. I’d probably like it If I didn’t know this was a sticky puddng. The hunt for the best sticky date pudding continues.

This is the fourth part of a series that I’m doing on the waterfront restaurants in One Fullerton. I’ll like to thank Fullerton Heritage, Society Bar and Marina Mathews of Crocmedia for hosting this dinner.

There’s really nothing much to say, if you want a romantic dinner at the swanky One Fullerton, yet somewhere easy-on-the-pocket; I’d say give Society Bar a try. But remember not to expect too much for the food, they are decent – but not wow. Otherwise, drop by for drinks after dinner to enjoy the stunning view overlooking the Marina Bay area.

Here’s the question: Is food more important or ambience?

Restaurant Review
Society Bar
1 Fullerton Road
#01-11 One Fullerton
Tel: +65 6423 9689
Daily: 10.30am – 10pm

I love a good restaurant. But if there’s one thing I like even more, it’s having good company for dinner together. Dining in a fine-dining restaurant is very nice, but it really depends on the people around you to make it even better. Sometimes we get lucky, it’s an extra bonus when we are dining with nice people, and it happens to be a very romantic restaurant.

Many people always ask me to recommend a romantic restaurant in Singapore, I’d like to tell them: so long you are with your other half, everywhere is romantic. But I can’t possibly do that can I? You want to know a romantic place for your first date, a romantic restaurant for birthday parties, a romantic restaurant for that special occasion, and like today, a romantic restaurant for Valentine’s day; it’s all about the ambiance.

I’m very pleased to ‘stumble upon’ Boathouse, a newly opened Modern European restaurant at Fullerton Water Boat House. Chic decorations that exudes a laid-back and homely feel, gorgeous view that overlooks the Marina Bay area, elegant and simple furniture, oh I love this place.

Fish Chowder Sea Bass Carpaccio ($15)

I had Wagyu beef on a couple of occasions before, but this was the first time that I actually had a Wagyu Beef Ribs. The first bite? It tasted just like pork ribs. The second bite? It’s definitely a lot better than the normal pork ribs. It’s a superior version, no it’s  wrong to even compared it with pork ribs. My dear, you are looking at the Wagyu Beef Ribs with Aged Red Wine Jus ($33).

The meat was so tender that it falls off the bone and melts in your mouth splendidly. Placed together in a plate, the wagyu beef ribs absorbed the aged red wine jus, and in turn the latter captured the essence from the long braising process. How good was it? Catherine wiped the plate clean with bread.

Ju had the Atlantic Pink Snapper ($25) instead of the Wagyu beef ribs. She mentioned that the fish was fabulously fresh, firm, sweet, and didn’t want to share it with us. An excuse to return? I’d think so!

I seems to be having a lot of pasta recently. Boy I’m glad all of them were good quality ones, and the Tagliatelle Wild Mushroom in Truffle Sauce (S$19) was no exception. Every slurp of the tagliatelle was intense, and so flavorful. Some might find it to be too salty and overpowering, but I thought that it was pretty well done.

The Caramel Apple tartlets ($15) were small. Fine, they were tiny. Initially the restaurant told us it was tasting portions, but after confirmation from a few friends who went there for dinner, they were still serve the mini apple tartlets for the full price.

Fifteen bucks for three mini tartlets and ice cream? I wouldn’t pay for this, and neither should you. Please do not order the apple tartlets until the restaurant made changes to it.

The mind is a funny thing. It always play tricks on you, and subconsciously conjured images of things that you wouldn’t want other people to see. Halfway through the meal, my mind decided to play a game with me. Like as though there was a remote control, it pressed the ‘play’ button, and memories of a very good semifreddo that I’ve before started to flash.

Reason #1 why the pastry chef here does not have a sweet tooth.

With the sourish fruit compote to compliment the White Chocolate Semifreddo ($15), it gave the impression of an anti-sweet establishment. Desserts, are after all, meant to be sweet. I tried the semifreddo on it’s own, and it was so good. In order to see the reasoning behind the inclusion of the fruit compote, I reluctantly had a taste of the semifreddo with the tart berries – well it wasn’t so bad, but I’d obviously prefer dessert to be sweet.

In my opinion, a good Panna cotta must have a firm yet wobbly-like texture. This one here was fairly competent, but under the limelight of the excellent semifreddo and creme brulee, the Panna Cotta did not make a statement.

Reason #2 why the pastry chef here does not have a sweet tooth.

The presence of the licorice reduction, with the Creme Brulee. I was told that the evil licorice was planning on taking over the dessert world, in a test-tube-like container.  Okay I exaggerated. You know, the guys (& some girls) who raise their eyebrow at the slightest mention of desserts? The licorice reduction would be perfect for them since it literally reduced the sweetness level, making me wondered why anyone would do that.

Oh well, that aside, I enjoyed the creme brulee very much.

Torched to a magnificent golden-brown, the underlying custard was naturally sweet. The contrasting layer of the cranky caramelized sugar with the beautiful custard: I’m in love with the creme brulee.

My middle name is dessert: apple tart with ice cream, creme brulee, panna cotta, and white chocolate semifreddo.

* * *

This is the second part of a series that I’m doing on the waterfront restaurants in One Fullerton. I’ll like to thank Fullerton Heritage, Sophia and Kannan of Boathouse for arranging and hosting this dinner.

BoatHouse is definitely one of my favorite restaurant now, and I will not be surprised if they are one of the best new restaurants in 2010. There’s a separate rooftop bar on the third floor called Prelude. Stunning, stunning place with an awesome view of the Esplanade and Marina Bay.

Prices range from $20s for pasta to $30s for a main course. For the superb location and wonderful ambiance, Boathouse is offering a very value set lunch; the 2 course set lunch is $22++, while I’d go for their 3 course set lunch at $29++. Most of the items on their set lunches are from the main ala carte menu which make it extremely tempting.

See you at the Boathouse Fullerton.

Restaurant Review
BoatHouse
#03-01 The Fullerton Waterboat House
3 Fullerton Road
Singapore 029415
Tel: +65 6538 9038

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

Right on the heels of a romantic dinner at Forlino, I had another amazing Italian feast – the following day. The original plan was to have a simple lunch somewhere else.

“Why don’t we go to Valentino?” I asked jokingly.

Apparently, my lunch date took it very seriously. To cut the story short, we ended up at Valentino’s after calling to confirm a table. Stepping inside Ristorante Da Valentino, it feels like we are in our charming Italian neighbours’ house for dinner.

Most squid ink pasta, or at least the ones that I’ve tried, had the quirky and murky flavor. This one tasted like squid ink. It tasted like fresh ink extracted on the spot.

Like the one that I’ve at Forlino the night before, the Fettucine al Granchio ($23.9) here was also infused with squid ink. Huge chunks of crab meat with the fettucine, tossed with the creamy tomato sauce – it was absolutely wicked!

Now we have a problem. I want every slurp of the pasta. No, I do not want to share.

Option A: Finish everything and re-order before my partner returns from the washroom.

Option B: Try to convince her that the mushroom risotto is better than the squid ink pasta.

I could see no Option C, even though I was secretly praying that she’d not like the pasta.

Unfortunately not. In case you are wondering, we wiped the plate clean. I’d die for the squid ink pasta, or less dramatically, save up and come here every week – just for this.

I want Risotto. My dear Seafood linguine, it doesn’t mean I don’t like you anymore. It just means right now, I’m craving for risotto more.

Mushroom risotto has a very important place in my heart. I don’t always order it, but when I do – it has to be good. Maybe subconsciously, we wanted more of the squid ink pasta, or maybe we had small appetite that day. Either way, just a word of caution: see the plate of Porcini Mushroom Risotto ($23.9) up there?

It might not look like a lot, but trust me, both of us couldn’t finish it.

Sweetie, it’s desserts, and Perla’s Pastry Boutique is calling!

Right beside the restaurant, there is Perla’s patisserie by Valentino’s sister. There’s no dine-in area for the patisserie, but the desserts are available if you are dining in the restaurant. It was an agonizing choice between the tiramisu, panna cotta, frutti bosco and their signature chantilly cake. But the sight of the gorgeous mixed berries were simply irresistible.

There’s a wise saying that goes like this: never trust a beautiful woman, and if I can add on to it, never trust the beautiful berries to taste sweet. Call me shallow, but I actually fall for it. Oh well, what to do, I’m superficial. Anyway I believe there’s blackberries, raspberries and strawberries in the Frutti Bosco ($8.80).

* * *

A romantic dinner for two is not necessary just about fantastic view or fanciful cuisine. Lovely, lovely place. Valentino is my definition of a romantic restaurant, it is all about us having good food in a cozy ambiance. Here’s a restaurant for Valentine’s day, reservations are definitely a must for dinner.

I’m going to bring all my friends to Ristorante Da Valentino for their homely, authentic Italian food. Rifle range road is directly opposite King’s Albert Park & Bukit Timah Plaza. Pick up your phone, and dial the eight digit numbers. Get on with it.

Restaurant Review
Ristorante Da Valentino
11 Jalan Bingka
Mayfair Park
Tel: +65 6462 0555

Ristorante Da Valentino is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore.

It is difficult for a restaurant whenever a chef left, especially for one that bears the namesake of the chef. For the longest time, I have heard about Forlino, an Italian fine dining restaurant at the second level of the swanky One Fullerton, overlooking Esplanade and the new Marina Sands.

Catherine, Ju and I had the chance to dine at some of the waterfront restaurants at One Fullerton, and we were at Forlino for their Valentine’s day six-course dinner (S$128++ per person) which will be available from Feb 12 to 14.

It can be quite a thwarting experience to find Forlino; there was the much-talked-about mysterious flight of steps leading to the restaurant. Black and white tiles, with blue paneled walls lined up the entrance right up to the main dining area – Forlino at One Fullerton is  a stunning restaurant.

Everyone was full of praises for the Jumbo Crab Salad, a garden of wild rockets with strips of crab meat. Alaskan King crab will always sound nicer, and taste better than a Sri Lanka crab.

“Is that Spam (luncheon meat)?” One of us blunted out.

I wasn’t that surprised when I saw that there’s Beetroot cake on the menu, since I just had Beetroot Halwa not too long ago. The texture of the Beetroot Cake had a close resemblance to luncheon meat. Anyway, most of us couldn’t finish this, but the Robiola cheese fondue, made from milk of cow, goat and sheep, was very intriguing – impossibly creamy yet airily light.

I can remember a while back when I tried my first squid ink risotto and I thought that the planet would stop spinning. It was one of those rare moments that made me go ‘awesome’, and I knew life would never be the same again. At Forlino, I had one of those moments again. It was a simple Homemade Squid Ink Tagliolini – or so I thought. While most rendition comes in the black, slimy sauce, the tagliolini here was infused with squid ink, and it was tossed nicely in the flavorful Sea Urchin Sabayon – no hideous black stains on the lips. The semi dried cherry tomatoes were the sweetest tiny things ever, I loved every slurp of the pasta – Awesome!

The medium Angus Prime Beef Tenderloin had a tinge of pink in the middle; subtle hint of blood, slightly charred surface – I’m sure you’d like this. Besides the beef, we also enjoyed the very tasty potatoes but none of us knew how to appreciate the bitter Radicchio.

“Where’s the black cod from?” Catherine asked.

“Atlantic” came the prompt reply.

The Black Cod Fillet was like meat in cod’s disguise. Peeling off layer by layer, I drizzled each piece of the cod and a bit of the asparagus with the Sicilian blood orange sauce. It’s a tough choice for main course: choosing between the beef tenderloin and the black cod fillet, but the Angus prime beef edged out slightly for me.

The Strawberry & Yogurt Mousse was a cliche, with the corny heart-shape sauce of peppermint chocolate sauce. But still, cliche is a cliche because it works, sometimes. I was expecting a highly complex, multi-layers dessert to wrap up the show -  oh well, a dessert’s still a dessert anyway.

* * *

This is the first part of a series that I’m doing on the waterfront restaurants in One Fullerton. I’ll like to thank Fullerton Heritage, and Lyla of Ate Consulting for arranging and hosting this dinner.

Service at Forlino was impeccable, all the staff was equally knowledgeable about the food and wine on their extensive menu. Under the lovely influence of moscato, good food, and stunning overview of the Marina bay; Forlino is definitely a romantic restaurant for Valentine’s day dinner.

Restaurant Review
Forlino
1 Fullerton Road
#02-06 One Fullerton
Tel: +65 6877 6995

There’s nothing sweeter in life to witness your friend tying the knot; be it a simple dinner of having your close friends to  celebrate the special moment, or a grand affair of getting the whole world (including people that you do not know) to be there – this must be it, happily ever after.

I often receive emails from readers and friends, asking me for suggestion of places, to hold their wedding reception and birthday parties. After going to Barracks at House for my friend’s big day, I’d think that the Greenhouse room in Barracks, is a very good place to throw a party.

‘With that, I declared you husband and wife.’

Such a simple statement, yet it meant so much. Tears of joy, surely. This will be the moment when you look back in ten, twenty, thirty years time down the road, and smile.

Dinner was a simple affair. On this special day, everything and anything, will taste good. We had a choice of the immensely popular Ahi Taki Salad and a seafood platter.

The presence of seafood compelled me to go for the latter, Deep Sea Threesome. A plateful of spicy calamari, appetizing prawns, intriguing black mussels, with the sweetest pineapple and mango.

I know this sounds wrong, but I have been feasting way too much nowadays. With a heavy dinner the previous night, and another tasting the next day, against my better judgment, I decided on the lobster Linguine over the House Ribeye Steak.

And when the first steak arrived on the table, I immediately knew that I was going to regret the decision.

Well, my eyes went wide open when I saw the two words, ‘lobster & linguine’. Unfortunately, I did not read the description of the pasta carefully. The menu goes like this: Lobster Linguine, Crab meat & Prawn Bolognese, homemade black pepper sauce.

Oh, there’s black pepper. Homemade black pepper sauce to be exact. I’m not a fan of anything-black-pepper. The lobster was delicious of course, but I couldn’t finish my linguine. The others were full of praises for the pasta. Anyway, desserts next.

Warm Chocolate Toffee Cake. Swoon. Did I just read warm, chocolate, toffee, and cake? It sounds good, it looks even better. Despite trying a few places for toffee cake, I still couldn’t find a good one that can satisfied me. After having Barrack’s interpretation of this popular dessert, I believe, the missing puzzle for sticky toffee cake – is warm chocolate. I’m a very happy boy.

If you need a place for your birthday party, wedding solemnization, the Greenhouse room at Barracks will be a very good option. Alternatively, there are also other rooms with special theme in Barracks that are available for other events.

* * *

To my awesome Joy & her Bunny, stay happy forever.

Restaurant Review
Barracks at House
8D Dempsey Road
#01-01 to 06 Tanglin Village
Tel: +65 6475 7787

One of the things that I like about the Singapore Dining scene is the vibrancy, there are new restaurants opening all the time. Some open with a big fanfare, while others prefer having a soft opening to fine-tune and tweak their menu before they are plot on the to-dine-at restaurant radar.

And when a new restaurant is being helm by chef Sufian Bin Zain’ who helped his previous restaurant Iggy’s being listed as one of the world’s top 100 restaurants, it’s not surprising that everyone will rush to the new establishment. I am not one of those that like to chase after new restaurants, that’s one of the reasons that it took me until now to drop by L’Entrepot Bistrot.

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I hardly blog about restaurants in Clarke Quay, there’s nothing wrong with the area; in fact it is a well-known places for tourists to dine at, when visiting Singapore. And that’s precisely the problem. Awesome riverside view, gorgeous restaurants interiors, but I’d imagine it comes with hefty bills and the made-for-tourist stamp too.

For restaurants, set lunches are one of the ways to attract more customers and increase sales. In times like this, not everyone can still afford to splurge on extravagant lunches, and that’s when you have value set lunches. Given that a normal meal and a drink in a food court will probably cost you six dollars upwards, an affordable lunch for $15 nett in a nice restaurant with everything plated nicely, is very tempting.

Besides the perfect excuse to indulge in a good lunch, it’s an opportunity to check out the restaurant and see if it’s worth coming back for dinner. On normal occasions, L’Entrepot Bistrot’s normal 2 course lunch is $25++, while the 3 course menu will set you back by $30++, but there’s a current promotion for all the Clarke Quay restaurants where a 2 course set lunch is $15 nett.

The promotional menu is almost identical to the normal lunch menu, with a few exceptions. One of those is the escargot which we wanted to get, but since it wasn’t available for the promotion, we went for the French Onion Soup, served with Emmenthal Cheese. It was a good decision, the onion soup is the classic example of the rustic French Bistro food.

On this visit, I chose the Vongole, which came with clams amidst the leeks, onions tomato and spaghetti. There was a subtle white wine taste in the spaghetti sauce. The generosity of clams were admirable, but the presence of leeks drove me to verge of irritation; I ain’t no fan of leek.

I’m not one who will always order fish for main courses while it comes to dining outside. I like fish, but it pales in comparison when you can have steak, chicken, or duck – meat in general. But still, I love fish, it sounds fickle but I am only human, you know. So I was glad when my Evangeline ordered the Pan Fried Seabass, with mashed potatoes. It may sound very ordinary, but the seabass was actually pretty good. It sounds like a layer of crispy pan-fried skin with the fillet nicely settled underneath.

It was a toss between Creme Brulee and Profiteroles when it came to desserts, but as Tampopo deli is nearby, we went for the former. Now, there will be vanilla beans inside, I’m sure. And true enough, there were tiny speckles of them in the custard, and the surface was caramelized beautifully.

* * *

Restaurant Review
L’Entrepot Bistrot
3E River Valley Road
#01-02 Clarke Quay
Tel: 6337 5585

I wanted an adventure, and I wanted something different. Not those dressed-up-to-the-nines fancy dinners in the best restaurants – those are not really my type. There are other factors that will make a great meal, and I was determined to have a memorable time there.

In the twelve days that I was in Australia, you’d not believe the amount of food that went into my stomach; I refused to stand on the weighing scale now – I probably gained an additional five kilos, everyday it was food, more food, and even more food. Besides stuffing myself full with everything that I can grab, and enjoying the magnificent scenaries there, I got to talk with  a lot of backpackers while staying in hostels, and also met up with the amazing Sydney food bloggers – they are definitely the highlights of my trip.

Sydneysiders love Bills, and I love the Sydneysiders for the way they enjoy their breakfast. Bills is a cafe opened by the famous chef Bill Granger, the concept is easy – serve the most gorgeous scrambled eggs and tasty ricotta pancakes in a simple cafe, and voila, you get all the people coming in for breakfast.

‘You have to try the eggs while you are in Australia’, gushed one of my friend a while ago when I told her I’m going to Sydney. Sydneysiders really love their breakfast, on a normal weekday there’s so many places serving brunch. Because of the differences in culture, you can hardly find much places in Singapore that do that but here, you’d thought that the people do not need to work and it seems like they do not have to work when I saw so many of them slowly enjoying a laid-back & causal breakfast at 10am where most people are supposed to be in the office, working.

There was however, no Eggs Benedict at Bills, so I had their popular Scrambled eggs on sour dough ($16) – and it was good! The one sprig of leave in the middle somehow seemed to make the eggs glowed with radiance, and there’s the just-right consistency in the texture and taste of the eggs. The butter slides off the toasted golden-brown sour dough easily, and the scrambled eggs just goes so well with the toast. The portion would probably deceive your mind that you need to order something else as add-ons, but by the time I was done, my stomach was so full that I couldn’t possibly eat anything else, well, maybe except for the delicious-looking ricotta pancakes that everybody is craving about.

‘Come to Sydney for fine restaurants and go to Melbourne to experience the cafe culture.’ I’m not entirely sure on that statement, since there’s dozens of wonderful cafes just in the surry hill/balmain area. One of them is Cafe Nookie at Cleveland street. Technically speaking it is not a cafe since there’s no seats for dining in, customers take away the self-brew coffee from the good hands of owner Ben. Cafe Nookie is more like a coffee-in-the-hole kind of place, and it’s definitely the smallest cafe in Sydney, pretty cool eh?

I walk through the streets of Surry Hills and my heart fluttered with a sort of feeling that I couldn’t quite describe – I’m so in love with this place. There’s plenty of trendy fashionable boutiques, and chic cafes just around every corner. The whole place is so quaint and dainty that it doesn’t seem to be in the city area.

Cafe Ish is exactly like how I will like a cafe to be, white walls with sunlight coming through the windows, serving nice coffee and comfort food. Howard & Teresa brought me here for lunch, and we took some time glancing through the menu before deciding to order Eggs Benedict, Emu damper, & Soft shell crab omelette.

I think the reason why we can embrace cafes freely rather than fine dining restaurants is because deep down inside everyone of us, most people have a dream to open a cafe, someday. A small-ish, causal chic cafe which serves comfort food, a place where people return and chill out all day, a place almost like their own home. It is not difficult to see why Cafe Giulia is immensely popular with the locals, they serve a wide array of food that includes eggs, salad, pasta, sandwich, burgers; comfort food with a reasonable price range. Coffee is another hallmark of a good cafe. Here, they keep it simple to mocha, and ice coffee, with an impressive selection of fresh fruit juices.

This is the first part of my Twelve days in Sydney series, to be continued . . .

Bills
359 Crown Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Tel: (02) 9360 4762

Cafe Giulia
92 Abercrombie Street, Chippendale, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9698 4424
Tuesday to Friday 6.30am – 4.00pm
Saturday and Sunday 8.00am – 3.00pm

Cafe Ish
83 Campbell Street
Surry Hills

Cafe Nookie
268B Cleveland Street, Surry Hills
Tel: 04 0135 6072
Monday – Friday: 7:00 am – 4:00 pm

A dreamy Sunday out with you, eating nothing but eggs and pancakes. And a glass of that bubbly champagne is just the icing on the cake. I love brunch! I really do. There’s just something about brunch that makes me excited, just the mention of it will be enough to get me on a high.

And how about a buffet brunch? Excellent, you get to eat a bit of everything (not that I’m a big fan of buffet), and free flow of champagne? Swoon!

I can never say no to desserts, you are my weakness. And we couldn’t resist taking photographs at the desserts section first since it’s right in front of the restaurant. All the petite desserts were waving to me, with the alluring cakes winking and making signals for me to step forward.

Do you want a piece of chocolate?

How about a chocolate tree? I’ll pluck the chocolates off and give them all to you. I know you want the bitter one, and you can feed me the sweet one. The chocolates, they were so good!

And there were a few different whole cakes, crepes, selections of bread alongside the mini cakes and petite shooters.

Rows, and rows of them: mustard lox salmon, smoked salmon, Thai smoked salmon, and an assortment of smoked fish platter. I bet you will just stand there all day and finish every slice of them.

Breakfast to me, must consist of eggs benedicts, pancakes, sausages; that sort of stuff. They had poached eggs here, but there wasn’t any hollandaise sauce, and sadly because the breakfast section was prepared beforehand (not on the spot), the eggs, sausages, and hash browns were cold.

But there’s an ala-minute section where the chef prepared eggs-done-in-any-style. Omelettes, sunny sideup, overeasy, you name it, they have it.

And while you are at the same area, the chef will prepared Vol Au Vent on the spot too. There’s Prawn with Brandy Sauce, Duck Confit with Foie Gras, Chicken Ragout with Mushrooms and Ham & Cheese Ragout to choose from. I’ve the duck confit with foie gras, which sort of reminded me of the kueh pie tee; crispy shells with savoury fillings

The array of seafood selection at Global Kitchen consisted of the typical mussels, prawns, scallop, and there’s Alaskan king crabs too! But it was the spoilt-for-choice of oysters that impressed me! The usual buffet line-ups will mostly just have, you know, fresh oysters on a bed of ice. But not here, there’s so many options, this is oysters at their best!

Among all, the fried oyster with bacon wrap was my favourite; I know this might not be the best way to taste the oysters as there probably wouldn’t be “freshness” left since it’s fried, but you know the thing with fried food, it’s always tasty. The saltiness of the bacon greatly enhanced the whole thing, not that you need to “add more flavour” to the oyster anyway. The purist probably couldn’t accept it since this was akin to killing the oyster, but I like it!

I also enjoyed the baked oyster with cheese tremendously. What’s there not to like when oyster marry with cheese? Fans of oysters will most likely gulp down a dozen of them at one shot, but not me. I had enough after having about five different ways of oysters, and there’s a few other ways which I didn’t try!

In buffets, I will always go for the ala minute food – stuff that are cook by chefs on the spot. And the fish & chips were pretty impressive. For one, they had mashed green peas, yes green peas! It totally exudes the “British feel” of a hearty fish & chips.

And can you imagine my excitement when I saw the chef preparing risotto and pastas too? There’s not much ingredients to choose from, you know the typical mushroom, tomato, but there’s no need for fanciful stuff when a plate of simple and comfort risotto/pasta is all I need.

There’s actually a lot more food, main courses like duck breast, salmon, seabass, beef, lamb, pork loin; in short, something to cater to everybody. I didn’t try all of them, just a bit here and there. Camemberu managed to take all the photos of them, so check it out over at her blog!

Free flow of champagne, amazing company with Camemberu, and Aromacookery, we pigged out for three hours ( including one hour for taking photos), this is what I call brunch! My appreciation to Cheryl and Merissa of Pan Pacific Hotel for hostingus for the media tasting session. We did not eat a lot, just a bit of everything, and  yet at the end of it I was feeling sick – over stuffed with food. And we didn’t even try all the things available at the buffet! The champagne brunch is on Sundays from 12.00pm to 3.00pm.

Price:
$98++ per adult (with Champagne, wines, cocktails, beers, juices and soft drinks)
$88++ per adult (with wines, cocktails, beers, juices and soft drinks)
$78++ per adult (with juices and soft drinks)

Global Kitchen
Level 3, Pan Pacific Hotel
7 Raffles Boulevard, Marina Square
Tel: 6826-8240