With Valentine’s Day just two weeks away, the question on everyone’s mind: where to go for a romantic date?

Since Valentine’s Day falls on a Tuesday this year, I’d suggest celebrating it the weekend before, or a few days after. Unless both of you have violent objections and insist on celebrating it on the actual day, it really doesn’t make sense to pay so much just because it is February fourteenth.

As such, this post is mainly on romantic restaurants in Singapore which I think are worth trying; you can also use it as a guide for other special occasions. (I’m not including the details of Valentine’s Day set menus. If you want to find out more, please call the respective restaurant to check their Valentine’s Day promotions.)

Here are some suggestions on where to go for Valentine’s Day Dinner 2012.

Otto Ristorante

I’ve been hearing good things about Otto Ristorante, but somehow I never got the chance to try it. I finally went there recently, and I’m happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Otto Ristorante has a 5 course degustation menu at $88/pax, which in my opinion, is great value for the quality of food.

It is definitely going into my list of must-try Italian restaurants in Singapore.

28 Maxwell Road
#01-02 Red Dot Traffic Building
Tel: +65 6227 6819

Bar & Billiard Room

Take a day off and enjoy lunch with your partner at the Bar & Billiard Room at Raffles Hotel. I like the nostalgic feel of the restaurant, and the buffet selection offers a wide variety of choices. Buffet lunch from Mon to Sat is $60++/pax, while dinner is $75++/pax.

1 Beach Road
Raffles Hotel
Tel: +65 6412 1816

Brasserie Les Saveurs

If you’re going to do brunch, do it in style in one of the most posh settings in Singapore.

Brasserie Les Saveurs at The Regis is easily one of the most romantic French restaurants in Singapore, so why not come here for an early Valentine’s Champagne Brunch this coming Sunday?

At $170++/pax, the Champagne Brunch Buffet at Brasserie Les Saveurs is not cheap. But what you get is a wonderful experience with free flow of champagne.

29 Tanglin Road
The St. Regis Singapore
Tel: +65 6506 6888

Bistro Soori

Bistro Soori is a cool, cosy, informal restaurant with a small open kitchen and a few tables, which makes you feel as though you are dining in a friend’s place. The prices aren’t too high (although not too low, either), and you can have a good meal without spending ridiculous money. It was one of the best meals that I had in 2011, and I think you will like it too.

2 Teck Lim Road, Singapore
(Near Outram/Tanjong Pagar)
Tel: +65 6438 3802

Halia Restaurant

Halia Restaurant is located in the Ginger Garden of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and it has been known as one of the most romantic restaurants since opening in 2001. While prices are rather steep, it is the perfect place for a special date.

1 Cluny Road
Singapore Botanic Gardens
Tel: +65 6476 6711

Hummerstons Restaurant

One of my favourite new restaurants is Hummerstons restaurant at Robertson Quay. The food is competent, and reasonably priced. Definitely worth checking out.

11 Unity Street
#02-14 Robertson Walk
Tel: +65 6737 8863

JAAN Restaurant

If money is no object, go to JAAN Restaurant at Swissotel The Stamford.

JAAN by Chef Julien Royer is, without a doubt, one of the best restaurants in Singapore. Of course, I can’t afford to eat there all the time, but for a lavish meal like this, enjoyed with a amazing view of Singapore’s skyline – it is indeed a fine way to splurge during a special occasion.

2 Stamford Road
70F Swissotel The Stamford
Tel: +65 6431 5670

Keyaki Japanese Restaurant

Keyaki – at the rooftop Japanese garden on level 4 of Pan Pacific Hotel – is a traditional fine dining Japanese restaurant. For dinner, you can either eat at the Teppankayi counter, order ala carte or go for the 8 courses Kaiseki dinner set ($160++/pax).

The Japanese Restaurant currently has a very good brunch deal on weekends (12 noon to 2.30pm): 10 course kaiseki set brunch featuring Japanese cuisine prepared in various styles is available for just $60++/pax. Feast on the selection which includes daily kobachi, three types of appetisers, assorted sashimi, steamed egg custard, assorted tempura, teppanyaki beef or pork with fried rice, dessert.

7 Raffles Boulevard
4/F Pan Pacific Singapore
Tel: +65 6826 8335

Recommended : Valentine’s Day Food Gift Ideas

Which is your favourite restaurant for a romantic date? How are you celebrating Valentine’s Day 2012? I want to hear from you!

Whenever readers ask me to recommend romantic dining places in Singapore, I will always think of the restaurants at Dempsey road. Among the options there, The White Rabbit ranks highly on my list of romantic restaurants in Singapore.

The White Rabbit, owned by the folks behind Loof and OverEasy, is a romantic restaurant housed within a beautiful restored Chapel in Dempsey Road.

I fell in love as soon as I stepped into the place.

Fine dining restaurants are usually not very versatile. I mean they are nice for a romantic dinner, but some of them can be quite intimidating. The White Rabbit, on the other hand, is great for just about any occasion. Be it a romantic date with your partner, a chic business lunch with your clients or a casual dinner with a group of friends.

I wanted to dine at The White Rabbit for the longest time, and I finally came here last week for their 3 course set lunch ($38++ per pax).

Amongst the five starters that were available on The White Rabbit’s menu, we opted for the Caponata and White peach salad. Drizzled with Italian herbs and olive oil, the crispy tiger prawns were accompanied by eggplant, celery and Roma tomatoes.

For our second appetiser, we chose the White Peach Salad over the Grilled Vegetables, Smoked Salmon and Mushroom Soup.

The White Rabbit’s set lunch menu has 5 different choices to satisfy everyone: Pan Seared Salmon Fillet, Pan Roasted Sea Bass, Braised Oxtail, Galantine of Duck, Roasted Lamb Rump and pasta. We eventually settled for the salmon and duck.

Served with Petit Pois Puree (green peas) and carrots, the Salmon was pan seared nicely and we thought that it was pretty well done. But with no substantial sides, the portion might be too small for folks with big appetite.

The Galantine of duck however, came with simple yet tasty potatoes. The herbed minced beef stuffing within the de-boned duck was subtle, and the dish somehow tasted like roasted duck.

Out of the three desserts on The White Rabbit’s lunch menu, we had the Tiramisu and Valrhona Chocolate Tart (with the other option being profiteroles). It is difficult to judge a tiramisu since everyone has different interpretations on what makes a good tiramisu. If you like it with a strong alcohol taste, you will love the one here.

The White Rabbit’s tiramisu had an extremely strong liqueur flavour at the base, which left a bitter after-taste lingering in the mouth for a long time. We did not really enjoy it, and thankfully there was the Valrhona Chocolate Tart to distract us.

Paired with a slightly sourish strawberry ice cream, the chocolate-y Valrhona Chocolate Tart was small in size but huge on flavours. It contrasted hot with cold and sweet with sour perfectly.

The romantic restaurant has a uber-chic watering hole in the al fresco area. The Rabbit Hole is an outdoor bar which is a lovely place for some drinks and finger food. It is definitely a good option for events and parties, but don’t expect it to be cheap.

Hold my hands and follow me down the rabbit hole…

The 3 course set lunch at the White Rabbit is $38++ and they also have a 4 course degustation menu at $98++ per person. For their ala carte menu, appetisers like the tuna carpaccio and steak tartare start from $20. Most of the main courses are in the $30ish range and desserts like the creme brulee and souffle are $16 each.

The White Rabbit restaurant has received mixed reviews so far: there are people who love the Alice in Wonderland theme restaurant, and there are also others who feel that the food is inconsistent and not worth the money.

Whilst the food at The White Rabbit may not be the most spectacular, sometimes food becomes secondary when you are eating at such a beautiful place.

Singapore Food Blog Review
The White Rabbit
39C Harding Road
Dempsey Singapore
Tel: +65 6473 9965

I have received many emails asking me to recommend romantic restaurants in Singapore for Valentine’s Day Dinner. Many of you are probably trying to decide on a nice restaurant to bring your date, I hope that this list of Valentine’s Day Dinner Restaurants will help you make the decision.

If money is not an issue, obviously you can go for the best restaurants in Singapore like Les Amis, Iggy’s, Andre, and the celebrity chef restaurants at Marina Bay Sands.

But not everyone has the budget to splurge on a $500 meal, so my list of Valentine’s Dinner will include a range of dining options in Singapore: affordable cafes, ideal places to celebrate with a group of friends, and also romantic restaurant with nice ambience and good food.

Barracks Cafe

Barracks Cafe at House is one of my favourite restaurants at Dempsey road – they have nice ambience, and decent food at good value. There is currently no special Valentine’s Day Dinner menu, so order the skinny pizzas, and main courses like fish & chips, lobster linguine from their normal ala carte menu.

Barracks Cafe is ideal for all occasions, be it Valentine’s Dinner for two, or with a group of friends. If it’s not raining, get a table in the lovely al fresco during dinner.

Price Range: $20ish for most main courses, and $7-$12 for desserts.

8D Dempsey Road #01-01 to 06
Tanglin Village (Dempsey Road) Singapore
Tel: +65 6475 7787

Brotzeit German Bier Bar & Restaurant

I know having German food doesn’t sound as romantic as French or Italian cuisine, but if you are celebrating Valentine’s Day with a group of friends, why not have some German sausage and beer? Brotzeit German Restaurant has branches at Vivocity, Raffles City and 313 @ Somerset. If you have been there before, check out Paulaner Brauhaus at Millenia Walk.

Price Range: $20-$40 for a main course, $50 upwards with beer.

1 Harbourfront Walk
#01-149/-151 VivoCity
Tel: +65 6272 8815

District 10 Bistro

Whenever my friends ask for my recommendation for a romantic restaurant which is also laid back and affordable, I will always think of District 10 Bistro at Windstedt road near Newton Circus.

District 10 will be having a special ala carte menu for Valentine’s Dinner, but it is not out yet. I understand that there won’t be any set menu, but the prices for the ala carte items may be increased slightly higher. Please give them a call to check on the status of the ala carte menu next week.

Price Range: $20-$30 for Main Course, $12 for Desserts (Prices may be higher during Valentine’s Day).

10 Winstedt Road #01-17 Singapore
Tel: +65 6738 4788

Foo House Cafe & Bar

The Easties may want to check out Foo House Cafe & Bar near Upper Changi Road. Chef Robert Foo from Foo House used to work at Grand Hyatt Hotel Singapore as their Executive Sous Chef. They serve big portions of Western food at very reasonable pricing. Currently, there isn’t any special Valentine’s Day Dinner promotion, do give them a call to check on a closer date.

Price Range: $15-$25 for a main course.

6 Jalan Pari Burong Picardy Garden Singapore
Tel: +65 6445 3110

il Lido Italian Dining

If you are looking for a romantic restaurant in Singapore to spend Valentine’s Day with your partner, il Lido Italian restaurant is definitely the place. The restaurant needs no further introduction, it is one of the most popular Italian Restaurants in Singapore.

This Valentine’s day, they have a special dinner menu at $148++ per head. Start with an amuse bouche, and tease your palate with the grilled Hokkaido scallops and goose liver terrine. Follow up with the lobster tagliatelle and choose between il Lido’s Altantic cod fish and wagyu striploin. End the Valentine’s Day Dinner on a sweet note with their soft chocolate tart. Sounds good? Give them a call to make your reservations now!

Price Range: iL Lido’s Valentine’s Day Dinner Menu (available from 11-14th Feb 2011) $148++/pax. Main courses from ala carte menu $40 upwards.

27 Bukit Manis Road #02-00 Sentosa Golf Club Singapore
Tel: +65 6866 1977

1 Twenty Six

Another romantic restaurant that I will like to recommend is 1 Twenty Six at Big Splash, East Coast Parkway. They have a special Valentine’s Day promotion, the $95++/pax menu includes: tasting of oysters, pan fried foie gras, Hokkaido scallop, Angus Dried aged beef and a raspberry chiffon.

Price Range: 1 Twenty Six’s Valentine’s Day Dinner $95++/pax. Main courses from ala carte menu $30 for pasta, and $40 upwards for meat/seafood.

902 East Coast Parkway Blk E, #01-26
Playground @ Big Splash Singapore
Tel: +65 6348 2126

Osia Resorts World Sentosa

The Valentine’s Day Set Dinner menu at Osia Resorts World Sentosa is $320++ per person. It comes with oyster, crab bisque, foie gras. For the main course, choose from grilled king prawn or the Black Angus beef tendeloin, and their famous valrhona hot chocolate soup.

Price Range: Osia’s Valentine’s Day Promotion (available only on 14th Feb 2011) $320++ per person. Main courses from ala carte menu $40 upwards.

8 Sentosa Gateway
Resorts World Sentosa Singapore
Tel: +65 6577 6560

The Landing Point at Fullerton Bay Hotel

With the opening of the restaurants at Fullerton Bay Hotel, and Customs House, we have new options for waterfront dining which give us a magnificent view of the Marina Bay area. For this Valentine’s Day, why not surprise your partner and go for high tea at The Landing Point, Fullerton Bay Hotel?

Like the afternoon tea at Regent Tea Lounge, the 3 tier dessert high tea set at The Landing Point is replenish-able if there’s no sharing and each person gets his/her own set. The Afternoon Tea (available from 3pm to 5.30pm daily) is $38++/pax and comes with scones, sandwiches, pastries and coffee/tea.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel
80 Collyer Quay
Tel: +65 6333 8388

The University Club

I know it may sound a little strange to have Valentine’s Day Dinner in the university, but if your partner and you first met in the university schooling days, I think it’s quite memorable to celebrate this special day back in the campus.

The University Club is a romantic fine dining restaurant run by the owners of the Prive Group. It has a $98++/pax Valentine’s Day Dinner Menu which starts off with amuse bouche, and an organic mushroom soup. Continue the dinner with the Scallop & Pea risotto, and choose your main course between the Dory or Wagyu Beef. End off with a happily-ever-after ending by having the Ivory Chocolate & Strawberry Tart.

Price Range: The University Club’s Valentine’s Day Dinner menu (available on 11th, 12th, & 14th Feb 2011) $98++/pax. Main courses from ala carte menu $20-$40.

11 Kent Ridge Drive Level 4
Shaw Foundation Alumni House Singapore
Tel: +65 6779 8919

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Read my list of romantic restaurant in Singapore for more choices, and my guide to Valentine’s Day Gifts: Food Edition.

I know it is expensive to eat out at restaurants during Valentine’s Day, but I also believe that it is a special occasion for us to indulge. Guys, be a gentleman and hand over your wallet, and Ladies, wear your best dress and put on nice party make up for the dinner.

Every day can be Valentine’s Day if you cherish each other. For those who do not want to squeeze with other couples on Valentine’s Day or during the weekend (12th & 13th Feb 2011), why don’t you celebrate the occasion a few days earlier? Or even better still, cook a scrumptious meal for your partner at home. Have fun planning for Valentine’s Day!

It’s not about where you eat, but who you eat with.

I know there are people who put food as the main priority and it doesn’t matter if there isn’t any ambiance. But we are talking about Christmas after-all. It’s a special occasion, so choose a nice and romantic restaurant for your Xmas Dinner. Christmas is just another excuse for us to feast like kings and queens.

Here’s a list of Romantic Restaurants to have your Christmas Dinner for 2

Krish the Restaurant

Housed in a beautiful colonial bungalow, Krish at Rochester Park is a fine dining restaurant that offers South Asia influenced European cuisine. The mains are within the $30-40 range, and they have a special Christmas dinner menu at $115++ per pax from the 6th to 27th Dec 2010.

9 Rochester Park Singapore
Tel: +65 6779 4644

La Cantina in Venezia

I mentioned La Cantina in Venezia in my list of the best Singapore Italian Restaurants briefly before, so if you need a nice restaurant for a romantic Christmas Dinner, do make your reservations soon as they are almost booked for Christmas eve. They have a special Christmas Set Menu ($98+ for 7 course) on the 24th & 25th December 2010. Otherwise, order from their normal ala carte menu: pastas & pizzas are in the $20ish range.

1 Netheravon Road
#08/09-02 Changi Village Hotel
Tel: +65 6546 9190

Pamplemousse Bistro & Bar

My friend was just raving about the food at Pamplemousse Bistro & Bar at Dempsey road to me that day. Their special 7 course menu for Xmas Dinner is available from the 21th to 26th Dec 2010, at $118++ per pax. Actually, most of the Dempsey hill restaurants are nice for a romantic dinner.

Blk 7 Dempsey Road #01-04 Tanglin Village Singapore
Tel: +65 6475 0080

Spruce Restaurant Bar

Nestled in the heart of Tanglin road, Spruce restaurant is a nice charming place to have dinner after work or brunch during the weekends. The Christmas Dinner promotion menu is available from now until the festive holiday, otherwise you can choose to order from the ala carte menu: mains start from $20 for a pasta, and $30 upwards for meat.

320 Tanglin Road Phoenix Park Singapore
Tel: +65 6836 5528

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Some possible restaurants for Christmas Party Venues in Singapore:

If you are celebrating this Christmas with your family, or a group of friends, chances are, you are probably cracking your brains trying to find a place to throw a party without bursting the budget. I know exactly how you feel, because everyone has been asking me to recommend suitable restaurants for Christmas Party Venues in Singapore for 2010. 

Prive Bakery Cafe Bar

Located just 3 minutes drive away from Harborfront, Prive Bakery Cafe Bar at Keppel Island is a gorgeous place for brunch, desserts or drinks. If you are planning to throw a Christmas party for a group of friends (less than 50 pax), call them 3-4 days in advance to make a reservation. For exclusive events and special menus (like Canapés, Buffets), they need a minimum of 50 guests.

For inquiries about events at Prive/Hacienda, email: rae@prive.com.sg

2 Keppel Bay Vista
GF Marina @ Keppel Bay
Tel: +65 6776 0777

N.Y.D.C (New York Dessert Cafe)

For a long time, I thought NDYC only serves cakes and desserts. Well, you can’t blame me since they are called New York Dessert Cafe. If budget is a concern this Christmas, you may want to consider nydc’s Christmas set menu (24th to 26th Dec 2010) which comes with a festive drink, starter, a choice of entree and log cake for desserts. Otherwise, share the Jolly Max Platter (picture) which is part of nydc’s Christmas dinner promotion with a group of friends.

For inquiries about events at NYDC, email: events@nydc.com.sg

200 Victoria Street #02-47/48
Bugis Junction Singapore
Tel: +65 6333 3161

Zsofi Tapas Bar

Thinking of throwing a nice little Christmas party with some drinks and tapas for a group of friends? Little India may not be the place where you have in mind, but trust me, Zsofi Tapas Bar serves affordable and good Spanish food, and they are definitely a cool place for a nights out. Prices vary for different requirement, but to give you a better idea what to expect: a basic party package (min 30 pax) comes at $50 per guest for 3 drinks & 3 tapas.

For inquiries about events at Zsofi Tapas Bar: email: janice@tapasbar.com.sg

68 Dunlop Street Singapore
Tel: +65 6297 5875

Go for a Christmas buffet and eat to your heart’s content

What better way to end the year than to pig-out at a Christmas buffet and eat as much as you want? I always preach about eating things in moderation, and exercising regularly, but hey, this is Christmas! Give yourself a break! Be it a dim sum buffet, a Christmas Brunch, or whatever you are craving for — go for it!

Olive Tree Mediterranean Restaurant

The festive buffet at Olive Tree Intercontinental Hotel includes delightful spread includes traditional favorites such as roast turkey with chestnut stuffing served with cranberry sauce, rolled pork loin and barbecued duck with plum sauce; an array of decadent desserts such as Christmas pudding with brandy anglais, chocolate Yule log and caramelized pecan.

80 Middle Road GF
Intercontinental Hotel Singapore
Tel: +65 6825 1061
// Festive Buffet (10th to 23th Dec 2010)
Lunch $45++, Dinner $59++
Christmas Eve Buffet Lunch $55++, Dinner $88++
Christmas Buffet Dinner (25th Dec) $78++

Tea Lounge @ The Regent Singapore

If buffet is not your thing, you may want to consider going for the festive Afternoon High Tea instead. The Regent Singapore’s Tea Lounge is known to have one of the best Afternoon High Tea in Singapore. They serve the English Afternoon Tea on a 3 tier dessert Stand during weekdays, and a local-theme High Tea Buffet during weekends.

1 Cuscaden Road GF
The Regent Singapore Singapore
Tel: +65 6725 3246
// Three Tier Afternoon Tea $38++
(Monday to Friday: 12 noon – 5.30pm)
High Tea Buffet $46++
(Sat, Sun, eve of & PH: 1.30pm – 5.30pm)

Ikoi Japanese Restaurant

For those of you who never fancy turkey, and logcake, and mincemeat pies, how about having Japanese food? Ikoi Japanese restaurant at Hotel Miramar is known for their Japanese buffet in Singapore. It is a great way to end this year by having unlimited sashimi, sushi and tempura for just $33++ per pax.

401 Havelock Road #01-01
Hotel Miramar Singapore
Tel: +65 6887 3788

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I will love to give you more recommendations, but my post is getting way too long. You may also want to check out the following — for Thai food: Sweet Salty Spicy, fine dining Chinese restaurant: Yan Ting, Waterfront restaurants: Dallas restaurant & Boathouse, within vicinity of town: District 10 Bistro & Wild Rocket, Champagne dim sum brunch: Cherry Garden, nice & cozy cafe: Food for Thought & little part 1 Cafe.

How are you planning to spend this Christmas? Is it gonna be a romantic Christmas dinner for two at a nice restaurant, or having a party with your family & friends, or simply a good feast at your favorite restaurant?

My friend was sharing about her disastrous first date when boy meets girl, and it’s good bye forever. First dates are probably one of the most nerve-wrecking things and on this night, everything can go wrong.

Here’s 5 food-related tips for first date that I will like to share:

1. Choice of Venue

Never go to McDonald for your first date. Meeting at fast food ‘restaurants’ for first date is not acceptable at all. Having said that, it doesn’t meant that you have to go to fine dining restaurants. I don’t believe in choosing an expensive restaurant for first date; the environment is usually too tense and there’s always the tendency of trying-too-hard to create the first impression.

For first date restaurants: find a small cozy place like Oriole Cafe, or Bistro One Zero Three, where the food is decent and the price is easy on the wallet. It will be more comfortable for both of you to chat and learn more about each other in a relaxed cafe.

2. Never order Salad

Boys and girls, listen up right now. Never just order a salad (and nothing else) on your first date. This isn’t the time to worry about the bill, nor is it the time to be overly concern about your eating etiquette. I don’t know about you, but girls who do not have much appetite, are a big turn-off for me. And guys who eat just salad for dinner? Seriously?

3. Never order any squid-ink related dishes?

I’m sure you heard about this all the time. But then again, if it’s me, I’d totally order a squid ink pasta/risotto if the restaurant is known for that. It’s very arousing to see your date blush when she realized there’s a black smudge off the corner of her mouth. It’s a little shy, and definitely very cute. Enjoy the butterflies of the first date!

There’s probably 10345 different guides on what to/not to order during the first date. But it is always important to have something that you are comfortable with.

4. Always offer to pay for the first date

I am saying this on behalf for all the guys out there. I know everyone keeps saying that we are living in the 21st century – man and woman are equal and all those nonsense. Forget about everything, they are all bullshit! When it comes to the first date, it’s disgusting that the girl has to pick up the tab.

Be a gentleman.

Offer to pay and suggest that she can treat you the next time (read: perfect excuse for the second date). Well, obviously there are too many possibilities after you offered to get the bill, but here are some of the typical outcomes: a) she graciously accepts the treat, girl ask boy out for second date and it’s happily-ever-after. b) She accepts your treat. but never contact you again. Thanks sucker! c) She rejects the notion because she don’t feel anything and probably don’t want to owe you and d) she offers to go dutch not because she’s the independent type of girl, and you probably still stand a chance.

Rule number one for guys: Always offer to pay on your first date.

The last tip for your first date dinner? Smile, always smile.

* * *

Boys and girls, do you have anything to add on when it comes to first date? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. Have fun with your butterflies on your first date dinner!

It’s easy to fall in love with dining in the Marina Bay District. Superb view overlooking the Marina area and there’s the up and coming Marina Bay Sands at the heart of the area.

Restaurants at One Fullerton and the Esplanade area that offer the romantic view to couples are a dime a dozen, but it is as Clifford Pier that you feel truly special- there’s only one restaurant in the whole pier.

One on the Bund is a fine dining Shanghainese restaurant in Singapore that is located at Clifford Pier, an area that visitors to Kusu island will be familiar with. Gone is the ferry terminal, and in place is the current One on the bund.

Despite taking over the whole pier, it has retained the old architecture and added an oriental yet contemporary vibe to the whole dining area. Stepping inside the restaurant, it feels like you’ve been transported to a giant museum with high ceilings and exquisite adornments.

I heard about One on the Bund from all the media hype when it started operations back in 2008. Unfortunately there wasn’t much reviews online and I wasn’t really keen to venture here without any indicator on the prices of the food.

They have this huge main walkway leading all the way to the al fresco area at the back. Personally, that will be the best bet if you want to enjoy the night breeze over some desserts. The main dining hall uses traditional dining furniture, and there’s also a noodle bar, private dining area and a small dessert bar area.

With such a grand setting, I had a feeling that it’s gonna be good.

In every way, having Peking duck is like falling in love. I’d watch the chef slice the roasted duck skin one by one, and the anticipation always make my mouth water. Butterflies will gather around my stomach, and it reminds me about the feeling of guessing what the other party is thinking; more fats, thicker skin, more fats, thicker skin.

Best Peking Duck in Singapore

The Signature wood-fire roasted duck in Peking style (S$88, order in advance), I decided, didn’t need the Chinese pancake wrap. I found it to be a pity to put the meat and skin into the wrap when it tasted so good on its own. We were told to dip it in sugar, and it was the first time that we actually heard of this manner of eating peking duck. But apparently after some research online, it seems to be a common way of having the peking duck.

The fine sugar struck like glue to the layer of fats, and I don’t care what you say – this is the best peking duck in Singapore! With the presence of the sugar, the usual Peking duck sauce paled in comparison, and I’m really thankful that Ju, Catherine and Julia don’t really have the stomach for this – I finished up almost 3/4 of the whole plate by myself.

Oh my god: this-is-so-good! I am not kidding you!

If the kitchen is the stage, then surely the chef is the actor and we are the audience that will never be satisfied. More food, more food! The Eastern Sea Dragon ($48) or Braised Fish Fillets in a Chilli Broth is all about the showmanship. The stage was set when the staff brought out their tools and placed it on our table, with a rustic-looking stove, they prepared the water-cooked-fish live in front of us.

From afar, we could actually smell the Crispy Lamb Ribs ($48) and I’m not sure if it’s a good thing – with the thick, gamy lamb smell filling the air. What’s the difference between lamb and mutton? We actually debated about this while having the lamb, and from the quick discussion I came up with a conclusion: a) Lamb is a sheep less than a year old b) Older sheep is called mutton c) mutton has a stronger and tougher taste and d) I like lamb > mutton.

As part of the menu that we had, there was some Chinese pastries. But because I still wanted dessert, we ordered additional macarons, chocolate cake and tiramisu. One On The Bund a fine dining Chinese restaurant, but they also have pastry chefs weaving their magic with the lovely Western creations.

The others were astonished by how much tiramisu I had, the whole slab could easily fill 6 people. It probably looks smaller in the picture, but I can assured you that it’s absolutely gigantic! I don’t know about you, but I think $16 for such a big serving of tiramisu is totally worth the money.

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

One on the bund is a fine dining Shanghainese restaurant, and understandably there’s a premium price to pay for the lavish settings. If you are not into Chinese food, I’d suggest the unlikely – go to One on the Bund for desserts. Given that it’s a Chinese restaurant, their western desserts are surprisingly quite good. Bring your date to the romantic Clifford Pier, order some sweets and enjoy the view across Marina Bay.

Restaurant Review
One on the Bund Restaurant
80 Collyer Quay
Clifford Pier
Tel: +65 6221 0004

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 know it’s too early to ask, but what did you do for Christmas last year? I had an awesome impromptu party back in December with Monoxious, Dweam and Jayleif. When I say impromptu, I really mean impromptu since the whole party was planned in less than twenty-four hours.

It was a mad rush trying to find a nice restaurant for Christmas Eve dinner since most places were already packed. Rather than having traditional Christmas food like turkey, log-cake and ham, we decided to go for some exotic Vietnamese food instead.

Located at Orchard Central’s Sky Garden, NUOC is a relatively new Vietnamese restaurant in the Singapore food scene. It’s positioned as a semi-fine dining Vietnamese restaurant, and naturally prices are slightly steeper.

I always have problems when it comes to ordering. It was a hard decision trying to choose from the deep-fried and the Fresh Vietnamese Spring roll ($18 for 4 rolls), so we went for the easy way out and ordered both.

Fresh prawns, sliced pork, lettuce, Vietnamese herbs & vermicelli rolled with traditional Vietnamese rice paper. That’s what inside the spring roll. Or rather, that’s what the menu says. And there’s mint inside too. The mint was somewhat like the final touch to enhance the freshness of the rolls. Crisp, and sharp, every bite was delightful – unless you don’t like mint.

Which is better? The Fresh Spring roll or the Deep-fried Vietnamese Spring Roll ($12 for 8 pieces)? I’m a sucker for deep-fried food. As much as I know that deep-fried food is unhealthy, but it always makes the food taste so much better.

We also ordered the Egg plant ($12) and Stir-fried lemon grass and ginger chicken ($16). The former was mashy, and it kinds of resembled fish rather than egg plant, while the latter was mediocre.

When it comes to soup, I only like hot soup. Somehow I never like cold soup, I mean, soup should always be hot, otherwise it’s not soup right? At least, that’s my definition of soup. Even when it’s hot soup, I only like home-cooked Chinese soup. Which is why, you seldom see me ordering soup in restaurants. I’m not against soup, but I’d rather spend the money having another appetizer, or even better – an extra dessert. The intriguing name of Fresh Prawn in young coconut ($20 for 6 pieces) caught our attention, and the soup base was probably prepared for hours; it was rich, and intense and sweet.

* * *

NUOC is a very new restaurant, and they are still sorting out all the teething problems. When we went in December, the signature Vietnamese Pho (I remembered it as fur) was not even offered on the menu, I mean how can a Vietnamese restaurant not serve Pho right? Hopefully they should be serving Pho by now. Anyway, the view is gorgeous, if you want Vietnamese food in a nice ambience and do not mind paying more, NUOC might just be the place.

Now tell me, how did you celebrate Christmas last year?

Restaurant Review
NUOC Vietnamese Restaurant
181 Orchard Road
#12-01 Orchard Central
Tel: +65 6884 6808

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.

Updated: Read my list of Valentine’s Day Restaurant: 2011 Edition for more choices, and my guide to Valentine’s Day Gifts: Food Edition.

Saint Valentine’s is a strange little thing, it comes and leaves in a hurry, but memories will always stay behind. Even though it is a day where retailers, florists and restaurateurs rejoice – I believe in Valentine’s day. The idea behind it (less the commercialise plots), is very sacred; Valentine’s is all about you and me.

Have you decided on a romantic restaurant for your Valentine’s Day Dinner?

Everyday is Valentine’s, so long we are happy together. Yes that’s true, but Valentine’s is the only day that you can walk around with big bouquet of roses without having the whole world staring at you. This is the day where you have the perfect excuse to splurge on an expensive meal without feeling guilty. This is the day where you can justify spending a bomb to get the Tiffany blue box or that Gucci wallet without any nagging feelings. This is Valentine’s day.

Many people always have problems finding a nice restaurant for Valentine’s day. The guys will have a headache on where to bring their girlfriend, wife, and mistress, while the ladies will dream of where their man will bring them to, or in a slightly unfortunate twist, planning for their ideal Valentine’s day venue.

I’m no male chauvinist, but I firmly believe that a guy should plan the surprise, and search for a suitable Valentine’s day restaurant to bring their other half, well at least for Valentine’s day.

Here is a list of romantic restaurants in Singapore to celebrate Valentine’s Day:

Au Petit Salut
40c Harding road
Tanglin Village (Dempsey)
Tel: +65 6475 1976
$148++ per person (5 Course dinner on 14th)

Bistro One Zero Three
103 Pasir Panjang
Tel: +65 6476 6373
(Closed on 13th-23rd feb, for early Valentine’s only)

Boat House Fullerton
3 Fullerton Road
#03-01 The Fullerton Waterboat House
Tel: +65 6538 9038
(Please call restaurant to check if they are open on 14th)

Flute at the fort
21 Lewin Terrace
Fort Canning Park
Tel: +65 6338 8770
$228++ per couple (First seating 6.30-8.30pm)
$298++ per couple (Second seating 8.30pm onwards)
(Closed on 15-17th Feb)

Prive Restaurant
2 Keppel Bay Vista
GF Marina @ Keppel Bay
Tel: +65 6776 0777
$108++ per person (8 course dinner at restaurant)
$68++ per person (3 Course dinner at Bakery cafe)

Wild Rocket
10A Upper Wilkie Road
GF Hangout @ Mount Emily
Tel: +65 6339 9448
(Closed on 13th-18th Feb, for early Valentine’s only)

The White Rabbit
39C Harding Road
Dempsey
Tel: +65 6473 9965
$98++ per person (5 course dinner with glass of champagne)
(Closed on 15th-16th feb)

* * *

I will be adding this list to the top of my Delicious page if you need to find this page the next time. Remember to call the restaurants in advance and make your reservations. Have a good Valentine’s Dinner!

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

It took me a year to finally visit Raw Kitchen Bar. Actually I dropped by when they just opened a year ago, but I did not have my dinner there back then. And despite staying just 10 minutes away from the place, it took me until now to pay them a visit. Yes, I’m a year late, but it’s better to be late than never isn’t it?

And boy oh boy, December is almost here. I like the year-end, for one it’s the month of celebrations with Christmas and New year, and I get to sum up my adventure for the whole year. Food-wise, this has been a fulfilling year, and I thought my winner for the best new restaurant is already decided, until I visit Raw.

Stepping inside, there’s just something different about this place. There’s the flimsy light bulb with different pieces of whimsical furniture to begin with. Then you have the quaint and charming backyard that looks like an awesome place to throw a tea party. The chef/owner Javier comes out and greet every table, all in all, you have the feeling of dining in the chef’s house.

The food is pretty good too. While we looked through the menu debating over spaghetti mentaiko, and commenting that the bun noodle sounds cute; we finally decided on the Capellini cream of ebiko and sauteed prawns ($19). Every slurp of the angel hair pasta seems to make its existence for your taste of the food. The portion might be a tad small, but it should be adequate for one person’s serving. We also like how the succulent prawns and flavorful ebiko enhanced the taste of the al dente pasta.

The Balsamic duck ($23) was a bit of let-down though, and not that it wasn’t good. The duck drumstick was firm and quite unlike that of a duck confit, but it had an uncanny similarity to the Chinese braised duck in terms of the smell and taste. We would probably enjoy it more if we did not have braised duck before; fusion dishes don’t work in this case, but maybe it’s just us. And for someone like me who usually don’t like mashed potato, the ones that came together with the petite drumstick here, was gorgeous in all sorts of ways.

The choice of the pizza was through an elimination method since there was only three to choose from. Spring vegetables pizza didn’t sound exactly appealing to us, and my friend did not want the mozzarella basil rosemary pizza, so we were left with the Prawns & chili pizza ($19). It was an irony that Raw Kitchen Bar was housed in the former premises of a firestation, wewe were about to call in the fire brigade for help – this pizza’s one kick-ass, fiery, spicy pizza.

This might not sounds convincing since I do not have high tolerance for chili to begin with; but even my friend who claimed that she grew up eating chili, agreed that this pizza was literally hot. And for the price, we weren’t expecting it to be so huge, which sort of compensate for the petite portions in the other two dishes.

Now I have a tough choice for the best new restaurant (among the places that I went to), and I know there’s probably a few more like Spruce & Hacienda (I have not been there yet) that will probably make the cut too. See you there!

Raw Kitchen Bar
276 Upper Bukit Timah road
Firestation
Tel: 6467 3987

Raw Kitchen Bar is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore

I’m head over heels like love with brunch. It’s more like the feeling of being able to slowly enjoy a long extended breakfast plus lunch, while watching time slips by. The idea of an all-day brunch place appeals to me – it’s damn sexy.

Of late, I’m always too busy over the weekends that there wasn’t a chance to have my favorite brunch, and so when I found out that KPO Cafe serves all day brunch during my first visit, I casually suggested to my friend, “let’s have brunch for dinner.” Okay, maybe casually is an understatement; it was a desperate attempt to plot and make her believe that instead of having steak and salad, it’s the norm to have eggs and pancakes for dinner.

Now, I think I’m really a crazy person (having ice cream for dinner) when it comes to food; I mean who in the right mind will want to have brunch during dinner ? Not many. I have pitched the idea to some of my friends, but most of them think that I’m joking. Surprisingly, it’s either my scheme works or my friend is just as crazy as me – we had brunch for dinner.

How can any brunch be without Eggs Benedict? It is like what har hau is to dim sum, or how chili crabs will be without the deep-fried mantou. After my first encounter with eggs benedict, I’m hooked. The thick creamy hollandaise sauce that is drizzled on top of the beautifully poached egg – it’s a truly magnificent sight to behold.

KPO’s Egg Benedict ($13) uses bacon streaks instead of ham or salmon, and together with the poached eggs, they sat prettily on a slice of thick white toast. For $13, I was expecting a lot more, and sadly it did not deliver. Oh, there’s only one poached eggs? I turned to my friend with a we-have-to-share-kind-of-look. On second thoughts, it was actually not that bad, the streaky bacon was a hit with poached eggs, I would however prefer to have muffin or baguette, instead of white toast. Anyway, the hollandaise sauce was pretty awesome too – honey, it’s all about the butter.

Do you want to pancake with me?

And yes, if there’s one thing which I absolutely adored (besides eggs benedict) – it will be Pancakes ($6). Like I said before, eating pancakes required some knowledge, to cut the long story short; just dunked the fluffy pancakes into the bowl of syrup, let it soaked and immerse in the essence of the wonderful liquid, and I guarantee: you will be happy boys and girls.

I know, the pancakes here look rather sad, they are certainly not like what I had before, but what to do? When you are a hungry man craving for brunch in the middle of town, there’s not much options. Well to be fair, it’s not expensive to have two pancakes for six dollars, it’s more like the consistency of the pancake; one is over-toast, and the other one pales in comparison.

Anyway, this time round, the first question that they asked was not credit card or cash. Instead, they went one step further, they brought me the bill (when I did not ask for it) immediately after the eggs benedict arrived on my table. And so if you are one who will be disturbed by such “tiny acts”, I suggest you head to somewhere else instead. As for me? I like the place enough to go back the following weekend after my first visit. All right, maybe I’m intoxicated by the happiness of finally having eggs benedict after such a long time that I’m not making sense now. If you like brunch, go here, here or here.

KPO @ Killney post office
1 Killiney road
Killney Post Office
Tel: 6733 3648

I always dread to have dinner in Orchard, well the place is great for shopping, people-watching, movies, but food? It is always an issue whenever my friends want to meet there and if you ask me, there’s hardly any place that I like in Orchard.

It was a coincidence that both Lingzie and Kenny were in town, so there was a minor crisis in deciding the place for dinner. Initially I wanted to bring them to my favourite place in Orchard, but we ended up at KPO Cafe.

Most people will have thought that KPO stands for Killiney Post office since the cafe is located on the premises of Killiney post office. But the name actually comes about because it’s at the intersection of Killney, Penang, and Orchard road.

We started dinner with the Pizza Yorkshire ($25). The 10 inch thin crust pizza was thoroughly enjoyable; sweet thin slices Yorkshire pork and well-baked crust with mozzarella cheese matched perfectly with the natural crust.

Even though the Grilled juicy mini beef patties were tiny, I love the way they are done – topped with melted Emmental cheese and served in home-made baguette. The Patty Melt ($12) is one of those things that you wish it would come in bigger portions. And oh yes, the home-made chips were great too! But for the kind of price, it’s more like a snack to go along with drinks rather than a main course for dinner.

The KPO Pork Ribs ($23) was the other signature dish of the cafe. A full slab of ribs marinated with the tantalizing sauce, we have to agree that the marination was very done-well. But having tried better pork ribs elsewhere, KPO’s rendition lacked the ultimate melt-in-the-mouth sensation. Still, it was pretty good.

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I have no doubt that KPO, situated right in the middle of town and yet seemingly away from the hustle of the city, will be a success. The location is already a hit, with the chic environment, it is definitely the place-to-be-seen-at. While it’s a great watering-hole, with the food being pretty decent, but they really need to improve on the service.

I got a shock when the first question they asked, was not what I’ll like to order, but whether I’m paying by credit card or cash. No matter how nice the ambience was, or how excellent the food tasted – that was a total turnoff. But oh well, at least there’s no service charge & GST. Anyway, with the good location plus the chill-out atmosphere, I went back again the following Saturday.

KPO @ Killney post office
1 Killiney road
Killney Post Office
Tel: 6733 3648

It was only my second time to Mount Faber, so I was pretty happy when I know that we are going up to the Jewel Box for lunch. And I was impressed within five minutes after arriving, the toilets have this amazing view – it’s even better than the ones in 6 star hotels!

The beauty of the traditional soya smoked fish ($10) lies in the simplicity of it; the use of soya sauce to enhance the sweetness of the delicate fish.

First thoughts, wow, it’s my favorite sweet & sour pork! Until someone pointed out it was actually youtiao. The crispy dough stuffed with seafood mousse ($8), was drizzled with the appetizing sweet & sour sauce. Who will have thought that youtiao can taste so good!

From afar, I smelt blood. And suddenly I felt awaken deep inside. I want blood, give me the pig liver!

The Spinach and pork liver soup ($8 per portion) is one of the more delicious soup that I had in a while (other than my mom’s homecook soup). It’s definitely no easy task to prepare liver; if you under cook it, the surface will be too raw, while if you leave it for too long the whole thing will be hard and tasteless. The liver, I have to say, was lovely; it was done just right with a pinkish tinge in the middle.

Paper wrapped salt-baked chicken ($24 whole chicken)

You know every year during relatives gathering, I’m always known as the-boy-who-love-fish, so i was quite excited to see the steamed white pomfret ($48) on our table. A restaurant wouldn’t dare to serve steamed fish unless it’s very fresh, or do they? Unfortunately there will be no answer because we were doing the programme recording halfway when the fish arrived. And it was already cold when they distributed it into individual portions after we finished.

I like prawns. And I dislike prawns too. Well, I like to eat them but I’m a lazy person when it comes to shelling prawns. King Caramelized King Prawns Har Lok ($26 per portion 2 pcs)

If there’s one thing that I can eat everyday with white rice, it would definitely be the shrimp omelette. A fried egg on its own will never taste as nice as one that has shrimp. The Old fashioned Whampoo fried noodles ($20 per portion) were served with eggs and shrimp on top, while I enjoyed every bit of the egg, the crunchy shrimp came across as a tad too salty.

Empress Jade prides itself on serving heritage Chinese food – the taste of 1970s. I have to agree that the food evokes nostalgic memories of childhood but prices seem slightly steep when you are paying for home cook food. Still, It is a good place where you can impress your date and his/her family. Getting up to Mount Faber might be a hassle if you are not driving, fortunately there’s free shutter bus going up every 30 minutes from Harbourfront Tower 2.

I will like to thank Jiafa & Peifen from YES 93.3 for inviting me to join them on the show. You can listen to our conversation during the dinner, the programme will be aired on YES 93.3 this Wednesday 14th October from 6-7pm. Do stay tune!

Express Jade
109 Mount Faber road
3rd floor (The Jewel Box)
Tel: 6337 9689

It’s not difficult to associate District 10 with Wild rocket, not when they have the bitter green for almost all their dishes.

Much as I agreed that Wild rocket is aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, but it’s too much when all the appetizers and the mains are adorned with the same greens. And yes, we started our first appetizer with Wild Rocket Salad ($10).

The Selection of traditional cold cuts ($14) had an assortment of parma ham, salami, chicken, with grilled ciabatta bread.

How about some Deep fried calamari and tiger prawns ($10) to get you started? Oh yes! I was actually looking at the portion and realise there’s at most one prawn and two calamari for each of us, so I immediately took my fork and started eating. And after that? I kept a lookout for signs to see whether the others wanted their share!

Wow, there’s even duck in spring rolls now?

The name Homemade duck spring roll ($10) caught my attention first, from the exterior you would have think that it’s just like the other normal spring roll, but there’s shreds of duck meat enveloped within the crispy fried skin. There’s a subtle taste of duck meat, and I like how the sweet sauce actually complimented the dish very well.

The Chili crab pizza definitely has the “Made-in-Singapore” brand stamp all over it. While credits have to be given to the chef who came up with the audacious creation, but the chilli gravy meant that the crispy pizza was moist and soggy. There’s other interesting new school selections such as the sambal chilli prawn and chilli flakes pork floss pizza.

Wagyu meat balls? Isn’t that a waste of the Japanese beef! I’m never a fan of penne, and this case the pasta was a bit over-cooked. But somehow I got hooked to the fulsome tomato sauce in the Rigatoni ($18)

When we were browsing through the menu, I knew we had to order the Crispy Duck Confit ($24). One of the things that I always lamented about, was the lack of duck dishes in restaurants, there’s nothing like a good duck confit to make you happy all day! The duck confit here was a lot smaller than expected, and while I tried very hard to convince myself this will be good, but it wasn’t. The lack of the crispy skin and the dry duck meat – let’s just say I had better duck confit elsewhere.

I thoroughly enjoyed the steak fries that came along with the Country style baby back ribs ($24), but the portions of the ribs were not as hearty as I would like it to be. Come on, give me a full rack, I can finish it!

Did I tell you how I like the way District 10 presented their fish and chips on the old-fashioned newspaper? And how excited I got when I saw peas (yes green peas) served along side the chunky fries and beer battered fish? Fish & chips is all about the crispy battered fish, the thick-slab of fries, with tartar sauce and green peas! I couldn’t remember much of the beer-infused taste in the soggy buttered crust though. But everything’s forgiven with the fresh fillet, and not to mention I totally adored the way they dressed up the fish & chips ($19).

I was tempted to order the beef burger but reckoned that we should save some room for the many desserts that were coming up. And luckily among the six of us that night, there’s four desserts enthusiasts, so we ordered almost everything from their dessert menu. The tiramisu ($9) caught my eye immediately, I’m a sucker of the Italian dessert and all of them tasted good to me.

The American Bramley apple pie ($9) was sweet-licious too. We ignored the accompanying butterscotch set cream and attacked the crusty apple pie. Every mouthful was filled with delightful apple flavour.

This wasn’t the typical heavy type, you know the thing about cheesecake; it’s the kind where you either love it or hate it. For those who preferred the creamy texture, this was a no-no, while for those who enjoyed the light airy cheesecake, the white chocolate and strawberry cheesecake ($10) will be the one for you.

I always wanted to try profiteroles ($9) and you must thinking how can I have not tried since I absolutely swore by my cream puffs. Taking a spoonful of the choux pastry, I carefully placed it into my mouth, and swoon! At that precise moment, I kicked myself for not knowing you earlier, it was good – it was damn good. If cream puffs with whipped cream is wonderful, imagine what’s it like when there’s ice cream in cream puffs!

For a split second, I thought that my taste bud must have gone haywire as punishment for being a glutton. There’s liqueur taste in creme brulee! But luckily the others reassured me that I’m not the only one who tasted that, there’s really rum-infused with the burnt cream. Traditional creme brulee with Bourbon vanilla & rum ($9).

Oh-oh-oh! the Palvova must be the prettiest among the rest. She’s so sweet, and charmed everyone with her beautiful red coat. You like meringue? You will like her here.

There’s something about old school that’s irresistible to me; the charming environment as though you are taking a trip back in time, with flashbacks of your carefree innocent school days. It was District 10 (by Bonta Italian restaurant) second week of operation when we went, and they were packed full house (160 seaters) on a Tuesday night. That’s something to reckon with! To be frank, there wasn’t any particular memorable dishes which wow me, but the reasonable prices and charming location might just do the trick. I’ll like to thank Hungrygowhere.com for the invitation to the food tasting session.

District 10 Bistro
10 Winstedt road
#01-17
Tel: 6738 4788

The best of everything. The sashimi platter ($120) was the highlight of our meal and we started with a bang; there’s tuna, pink prawns, hirame, uni (sea urchin). Every slice was so fresh, I could see the glitter in my dining companions eyes. While I’m not a big fan of “raw fish”, it’s definitely a feast for the eyes and treat for the palate to have it prepared so exquisitely.

The Sakura set dinner ($58 per set) which included appetiser of assorted braised vegetables Japanese style, spicy dynamic oyster, sushi roll. For sashimi there’s tuna, salmon and oyster, and this was followed by a steamed dish of chawanmushi, with a deep fried tofu from the land behind. The two mains would be grilled chicken and wagyu beef burger, if that’s not enough, there’s hot udon served with kakiage. And finally rounding off the meal with a chef’s special dessert.

The four of us ordered two sets to share because there was so much else to order from the ala carte menu!

Fortunately, the assortment of sashimi from the set menu came early, and an innocent question “more sashimi?” led to the fantastic sashimi platter you saw on the first photo.

I love eggs, all kinds of them; fried, half boiled, scrambled, sunny side-up, poached ones, anything – except steamed eggs. There are bits of chicken, crab stick, boiled prawns, ginko nuts, and shitake mushroom within the Chawanmushi.

The deep fried tofu and cheese wrapped with soy bean skin is up next, at first sight the sticky cheese looked promising, but upon tasting there wasn’t much wow – the cheese’s not enough and the whole taste was subtle, bordering on bland.

Our first main course of the menu came piping hot, the grilled chicken was served on a hot stone which was specially brought back from Mount Fuji, to ensure the meat retained its optimum temperature – while we took photographs!

Umami’s rendition of wagyu beef burger came in the form of two “meatballs”, while there was nothing spectacular of its appearance, the meat was sure tasty!

Hot udon served with kakiage was the last item on the Sakura menu before dessert. The tasting portion of the menu covered a variety and was decent, there’s two other set dinners at $88 and $128.

And now it’s where the real dinner starts, our selections from the ala carte menu.

A simple deep fried dried cuttlefish ($8) brought us back to the appetiser stage, and prepared us for all the food coming.

I enjoyed the Grilled cod wrapped with lettuce ($16) tremendously. The fish was lightly grilled on the outside and tasted good on its own. But it’s when we wrapped it within the lettuce, Korean-style, and the crunchiness of the lettuce supplemented and enhanced the freshness of the cod.

Clearly, the spicy dynamic oyster ($16 for 3) was everyone’s favourite. Befitting of its name, it had us on first bite in the Sakura menu and we ordered again. The tangy sauce was oh my god, so good! We slurped down the delicious oyster, and did not waste a single drop of the sauce. The best oysters in Singapore, and no, it’s not raw.

The comprehensive sushi menu made it difficult for us to choose from, but in the end for the love of salmon, we went for the Avocado salmon roll ($12). An elongated plate with eight pieces of makis, was indeed value for money.

A whole chunk of it, right in front of our eyes. The scared foie gras ($33), grilled with teriyaki sauce. Oh-oh-oh! Lightly grilled on the outside yet retaining a soft pink within, I swallowed it down – gulped, and wish that time stood still at that moment.

We were all excited by the Japanese beef – Umami served top grade wagyu! A sizzling sound signal the arrival of something magnificent, the marbling was so rich & dense that the meat literally melted in our mouth. I looked around and tried to speak, but no words came; I just allowed myself to quietly finish the meat, and inside I was secretly hoping there was more of this. It’s like totally God’s gift to mankind. Our jaws dropped when we heard that it’s a current promotional price of just $38 instead of the usual $60.

My previous encounter with Kurobuta pork was enough to tell me it’s good stuff, so when we browsed through the “from the land” menu, I immediately ordered the Braised kurobuta pork belly ($12).

“Eeekk!” The girls exclaimed when it was served. The fatty layers were enough to scare off the others, but not me. One bite of the braised pork belly, and one sip of beer, what more can you ask for?

The Rolled omelette with truffle oil ($8 for 5 pieces) was also one of Umami’s signature dishes. You like Japanese omelette? You will like this.

Like what the manager Nigel had mentioned, although the US Black Angus beef ($38) is great, but it’s not in the same league as the Japanese wagyu; the former is like human while the latter is god. The Angus tasted ordinary considering we had gone to heaven with the wagyu – the marbling was just not the same. But it’s not that the Angus wasn’t good, but because we had tried the wagyu first.

And finally after a very long and satisfying dinner, desserts came in the form of home made kurogoma brulee ($6), and home made custard pudding ($6). The former was a sesame version of creme brulee that I didn’t quite take to, but I love the home made custard pudding!

Umami has been around at Liang court since April and I have to admit I did not notice their presence previously when I went to Liang court. The very posh and club-like entrance made it rather intimidating for diners to step in, and they are currently making changes to the front decorations. There’s a current DBS 1-for-1 promotion for their $18 and $25 set lunches.

My appreciation to Lynda from DBS, Cherylene & Seema from Eurorscg, and the Nigel & his staff from Umami for the wonderful dinner. My third and final restaurant with DBS Foodster will be at Xin Cuisine, Holiday Inn Atrium, you can find out more information about the DBS Indulge Series here.

177 River Valley Road
#01-26 Liang Court
Tel: 6333 1166

I know you are the one. Somehow a part of me, know that I will like Oriole even before I come. Make sense? Because love is blind.

Oriole is one those place that is chic and exudes the laid-back vibe. It is smack right in the middle of town, yet most people isn’t aware of it’s existence. Small, cozy, good food, reasonable prices, totally my-kind-of-place. Oriole!

You like fish & chips? You will like the one here, it’s one of the better fish & chips that I’ve recently; the batter wasn’t soggy and oily even though I took a long time taking photographs, it was still crispy and good. The portions were generous too, with three big pieces of fish at 15 bucks, it’s great for sharing! Most of the wedges were slightly burnt, I’m not sure if it’s done intentionally that way, but it sure was tasty to me!

We took a long time to decide the second main, there was a few choices, spaghetti/risotto of the day, banger & mash, or the oriole burger. But in the end we went for the Beef cheek tagliatelle ($15). The staff loosely compared the tagliatelle to our Chinese kuay teow, but I will beg to differ.The pasta isn’t as thick, so if there must be a comparison, I say it’s closer to Mee-pok. I had a good impression of beef cheeks, and this was delicious! Chewy but not to the extend of being overly difficult to bite, every bit of the beef is immersed in the red wine.

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And for once we didn’t have any desserts because we already had other sweets from elsewhere. But I’m keen to try chocolate fudge cake on my next visit.

Oriole Cafe
96 Somerset road
#01-01 Pan Pacific Serviced Suites
(5 minute walk over from Cineleisure)
Tel: 6238 8348

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