Archive for May 2015

sumire yakitori house, bugis junction.

Thursday, May 21, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

popped by for a quick lunch. 

orders are done via an iPad. after i placed my order, i thought they would come around to collect the iPad, but they didn't. i snuck a quick look around and realised that all the occupied tables had an iPad! makes me wonder how many iPads they have. 

it seems like a pretty efficient system, though it makes me wonder if they really need to do that. still, i got my food quickly and with no problem, so not complaining. 

a complimentary appetiser of cabbage salad with some sort of garlicky soy dressing was served the moment i sat down, which was a nice touch. i quite liked the salty (almost too salty) kick paired with the crunchy raw cabbage. 

i ordered the 玉子焼き明太チーズ ($8.90) because... japanese egg + mentaiko + cheese! all of my favourite things put together in one dish. how could i resist? 


just look at the oozy cheese.



wanted some yakitori with rice, so i got the 焼き鳥明太丼 ($13.80). was initially tempted by the skewer set ($12.80 for 5 skewers!) but decided not to be greedy. my rice came with three chicken skewers- leek + thigh meat, chicken meatballs and chicken breast, all with tare. also came with a miso soup. the mentaiko component was just some mentaiko sauce squiggled over the rice, which i could actually do without, given how strong the tare was.


the chicken breast was dry and uninspiring. wouldn't order it again. the other two, however, were pretty good, juicy and well cooked. they don't cook it over charcoal though, so it was missing that char that good yakitori usually has. then again, for this price, i'm not complaining. 

they seem to do good value lunch sets, but none of the lunch sets include a yakitori one, oddly enough. still, prices are friendly enough that i would come back if i wanted cheap yakitori. 

sumire yakitori house
bugis junction #01-88/89
http://www.sumire.com.sg

aoki 青木, shaw centre.

Thursday, May 21, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

finally managed to go for lunch at aoki with L! ever since reading all the "best chirashi" lists that always include aoki's mazechirashi, i've wanted to eat there.

they have two timings for lunch, 12 and 1.30. i booked the second seating, requesting for counter seats, and preordered the mazechirashi when i called. (i usually have a hard time deciding what to eat when faced with a menu, so preordering food is something new.)

i had a hard time trying to find the restaurant- i thought it was somewhere inside the mall, but turns out that it was located along the road, with its entrance facing the road. entering the restaurant was like entering a different world. it was all wood and muted lighting. i liked it, especially the layout, with the sushi counter as centerstage.


we were seated at the corner, right in front of the tempting wooden boxes of sashimi. L was especially enraptured by the juicy looking amaebi.


this was their lunch menu! their lunch sets are actually pretty good value. 






the moment we sat down, we were served the pre-appetizer ($4). the pre-appetizer of the day was hijiki seaweed. nice, but hardly worth the $4. feels like kind of a rip-off. i initially wanted to tell them that i didn't want it, but it was served the moment i sat down. oh well. i wish they wouldn't do that though. 


my mazechirashi also came with a salad. 


the mazechirashi ($40)! it tasted just as good as it looked in pictures. easily one of the best chirashis that i've eaten (and i've eaten quite a number). each bite had the right ratio of sashimi bits, rice and egg.


the set also came with miso soup, pickles and ginger.


L got the nigiri sushi token ($55), and i got to sample bites of it. surprisingly enough we liked the minced tuna maki, even though we both share the same general dislike of tuna. in all, really good sushi. 


the lunch set also came with dessert. vanilla pudding, momo ice cream and jelly. dessert is hardly their strong point, but it provided a good sweet finish. didn't like the vanilla pudding though and donated mine to L. i was hoping to get something more japanese, like mochi or something. 


service was attentive though slightly rushed towards the end (i think because they were closing). 

it wasn't cheap, but i think it was actually good value for money. maybe because we ate so slowly, savouring every delicious morsel, i was very full at the end of the meal. 

i'm interested to try their lunch omakase ($115). perhaps will drag L back for it one day. so many other high end sushi places that i want to try still, though!


aoki
shaw centre #01-17
http://www.aoki-restaurant.com.sg

tom's palette, shaw tower.

Sunday, May 17, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

near the end of our less than satisfying meal at deli moroccan, we were brainstorming about what to eat for dessert. L wanted waffles, so i was trying to come up with (less overpriced) waffle places in the area. suddenly recalled that i've always wanted to try tom's palette (for a few years now it seems- every time i walk past i tell myself i want to try and then promptly forget about it) and brought it up. amazingly enough it has also been on her to-try list for ages, so we headed there.


before we reached i already knew what i wanted- the salted egg yolk ice cream has been calling out my name every time i walk past. while choosing flavours we still tried it though, and it was just as good as i'd imagined. the other flavour was harder to decide upon. after trying a myriad of flavours, some of which left us startled (maple apple nutmeg sounds good, but it wasn't for us), we finally settled on the roc-star. the roc-star was made of ovaltine, chocolate and honey stars- familiar, comforting flavours and nothing too out of this world, though i initially wanted something more exciting. 


one of the things that makes tom's palette different from other ice cream places is that they allow two flavours for any size! good for indecisive people like me. 




we ordered the waffle with two scoops of ice cream ($12.40) and it was served to us after a short wait. we were there at about seven-thirty on a saturday evening, not quite dessert time, but the place was quite packed and business was brisk. 

the waffles came on a long white plate, with the two scoops of ice cream separate on the other end. i liked that they served the scoops not on top of the waffle, which makes the waffle less prone to sogginess. also came with cookie crumbs- bonus! didn't like that they poured syrup onto the waffle though, but that's just personal preference since i like my waffle plain and simple (i poured it out before it got too soaked into the waffle).


the flavours we chose went really well together. the salted egg yolk ice cream reminded us of moon cakes. mm. the roc-star, while a safe choice, didn't disappoint as well. it was chocolatey and had bits of chocolate bar inside, providing a textural contrast. 


can't express how much i loved the salted egg yolk ice cream. will be back just for it. makes up for the meh dinner that we had. the ice cream here isn't as good texturally as creamier, but they make up for it by having exciting flavours. some of them don't quite work (for me), but the salted egg yolk is enough to make me come back. the waffle was alright, but i suppose they're good for their ice cream, anyway. added bonus that it's so accessible- just a short walk from bugis.

tom's palette
shaw tower #01-25

deli moroccan, bussorah street.

Sunday, May 17, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

thought it sounded interesting (because i like middle eastern food and reviews generally seemed alright) so i bought the groupon and went with L.

we went for an early dinner on saturday evening, so there was only one other table occupied. on hindsight, probably a good thing that we went early because there seemed to be only one waitress, and later on, after we'd finished our food, she seemed to be overwhelmed with things to do.



spent quite a while deciding what to eat, because the menu was confusing (they had two separate menus) and the descriptions didn't help. we enlisted the help of the waitress to figure out what to order, but when the food came, annoyingly enough, it wasn't what she described. we picked the six item mezi platter ($22) after asking what it contained (the magic word was falafel). the first time i ever had middle eastern was actually in london, and their mezze platter was really huge and full of variety- i was envisioning that. this, though, was a far cry. portions were measly. the falafel that we'd anticipated failed to materialize. also couldn't believe that olives could be considered as one of the six items?? as L said, we could have it at subway, thanks. portions aside, the items tasted alright, except the hummus that was way too salty- we didn't finish it. the platter came with two pitas, but still, wouldn't pay $22 for this. felt like a rip off. 


in addition to the mezi platter we also got the beef kufta tagine ($15) and chicken kebabs ($9). the tagine was basically meatballs in tomato sauce- tasted okay but as L said, it was like the chinese stir fried tomato with egg, just with meatballs. the chicken kebabs fared better, being tender and with a crackly skin. 


with the discount we paid $30 for this (surprisingly no service charge!) so that made the mezi platter easier to swallow. being served the mezi platter probably already gave us a bad impression though (false representation! i want my falafels!). even with the groupon discount, i wouldn't come back. the whole area is filled with middle eastern restaurants that i suspect would serve better food.

deli moroccan
30 bussorah street

delhi 6, katong v.

Friday, May 15, 2015 1 Comments A+ a-

met L for a quick lunch along east coast road. there are actually quite a number of indian places along east coast road, but we tried this one because i'd bought a groupon sometime ago.

we were served free appetizers of pappadum and various dips once we placed our orders. the pappadum was crispy and salty- just the perfect thing to start off our meal.


we got the non vegetarian tandoori platter ($26) to share, which came with four different kebabs of lamb, fish, prawn and chicken. good for trying a variety of things, but portion was small. the menu stated that it serves two to three, but we thought it was more for two small eaters (or maybe we just eat too much). also didn't expect the lamb to come as a patty. the best of the four was the chicken, which came crispy skinned and tender. 




also ordered the murg tikka butter masala ($16) and to accompany it, a pesto naan ($4) and masala kulcha ($5). the gravy was good- aromatic, with cubes of tender, perfectly cooked chicken thigh. the naans were lighter and thinner than i am used to, but not in a bad way. couldn't really taste the pesto and masala though. perhaps should've just gone with plain naans since the butter masala was so strong in taste.


in all, a pretty satisfying meal. prices are on the high side though, especially considering the portion sizes. not sure if i'll come back if i didn't have a voucher, though food was admittedly delicious. 

delhi 6
#01-12/13 katong v
delhi6.com.sg

healthy soba iki 粋, raffles place.

Saturday, May 09, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

needed something quick, light and preferably japanese for lunch. recalled seeing this soba place a while ago when i was exploring one raffles place, so we headed there. it wasn't too packed and we managed to get seats easily, though business was brisk.

they were doing some set lunches that seemed pretty good value. 



i wanted something hot and soupy, so the duck soba was calling my name. but at the same time, i can never pass up having cold soba, because i just love cold soba (my initiation into japanese food when i was a kid started from cold soba). in the end i decided to get the salad set ($15)- hard for me to pass up cold soba. 

aside from noodles they offered some dons as well, including an interesting sounding duck and avocado don ($10) that my sister got. they also offered a kaisen don for $10. but i figured that since they seem to do a mean soba (100% buckwheat according to the menu, and freshly made), i should just stick to their namesake. 

this was the duck and avocado don that my sister got, with additional roasted eggplant for $2. it was tasty, but nothing spectacular. 


i much preferred the soba that i got. 




the set came with a choice of mori soba or kake soba- of course i chose the mori soba. the soba noodles was cold, al dente and delicious- undoubtedly the star of the meal. i don't recall ever having such al dente soba noodles before, but i liked it. the avocado salmon tofu salad that came with the meal was a nice add on, with its light wafu dressing. buckwheat tea was also provided with my set, but sadly it was lukewarm though i did like the taste (my sister commented that it was an acquired taste though). no refills allowed for the buckwheat tea, oddly enough. 

the soba noodles alone is enough to make me return. the noodle portion was just nice for a light lunch, but definitely not if i am starving. one of the best soba noodles that i've had to date. will definitely be back to try their other stuff. they are surprisingly enough, open at night, offering drinks and some different items, like galettes. sounds promising. 

healthy soba iki 粋
#04-47 one raffles place 

relish by wild rocket, cluny court.

Friday, May 08, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

travelled all the way to botanic gardens for this. don't usually venture to the bukit timah area because it's so cumbersome to get to, but then realized that it's actually not that bad with the circle line. plus, bukit timah seems to have quite a lot of interesting stuff that i haven't tried (maybe it's a case of grass being greener on the other side).

i went with X, who was tempted by burgers. we got there at about seven thirty. the place was pretty quiet throughout our dinner. i liked the feel of the place, though the dim lighting made taking decent photos a nightmare. 




i really wanted to try the pandan french toast ($17.80) while X wanted the polenta with onsen egg ($18.60)... so being greedy, we naturally got both. 


the polenta was creamy, rich and tasted strongly of truffle (in a good way). the grilled mushrooms and pancetta added a salty kick; the egg was oozy and cooked just right. really good- i liked this a lot and could easily finish an entire serving on my own. 


the pandan french toast was chiffon cake done french toast style- chiffon cake dipped in egg batter, grilled, topped with gula melaka syrup and served with bacon. it was an interesting spin. couldn't really taste the syrup, now that i think about it, but that's probably a good thing because i don't like stuff that's too sweet. the pandan chiffon cake was subtly sweet and fluffy, and went well with the crispy, salty bacon. 


of course we had to have burgers for our mains. i got the blue cheese & william pear beef burger ($21.90) while X had the pork belly burger ($20.60). she initially wanted the breakfast burger, but sadly they didn't have it. 

my burger came with a hefty blue cheese infused beef patty done medium rare, rocket, poached pear and walnut-PEANUT BUTTER. they had me at peanut butter. all my favorite things together in a burger! in hindsight i probably should have picked up the burger and eaten it like that, but i felt restricted because of the glam setting. so instead i used a fork and a knife, and wasn't able to get all the flavours together in one bite. still, i liked the burger well enough, especially the peanut butter (couldn't taste the walnut). 


they weren't kidding when they said blue cheese infused. 


X was okay with her pork belly burger, but the pork belly came with a layer of fat that she found off putting. i guess it's for people who like fatty parts. i wish they had a choice of bun for the burgers though! would've loved to have the brioche bun that came with the pork belly burger instead of the regular bun.  


i liked that the portion size was just nice for us to try so many items, especially given X's smaller than average appetite. prices are on the steep side, but worth it for the spin that they put on dishes. generally liked the food, and there are other stuff that i still want to try on the menu. good for a quiet dinner. makes me even more tempted to try wild rocket! one of these days. 

relish by wild rocket
cluny court #02-01

department of caffeine, duxton.

Tuesday, May 05, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

finally finally managed to eat at department of caffeine- their opening hours are way too short! only until 730 on weekdays, which makes it impossible to go to for dinner. ironic that we didn't actually plan to go there. the original plan was to go to the lokal, but their service was so atrocious that we got angry and left despite managing to get a table. still quite annoyed- i've wanted to try the lokal for so long because i've heard such good things, and now it's ruined for me. service is important. 

anyway, after leaving the lokal, we were at a loss as to where to eat at. after wandering around, we realized that we were near department of caffeine, and so, decided to pop by. it was crowded- it was labour day after all, but we managed to get a table within ten minutes. plus, we received our orders pretty quickly, probably in less than fifteen minutes. 

this was their menu-



of course we had to have the waffle! chose the apple pie waffle ($17.50) which came with vanilla bean ice cream, baked apples and walnut crumble. it was one of those fluffy waffles. pretty good but not enough to become one of my favourite waffles. still, after hearing so much about it, i'm glad to finally try it. wish they were more generous with the walnut crumble, though. 



couldn't decide between the bacon waffle and the beef sandwich at first. after some pondering i finally chose the roast wagyu beef sandwich ($19.50) since we were already sharing the waffle. i promptly got food envy after seeing other tables getting their bacon waffle- it looked fabulous, topped with fluffy sunny scrambled eggs and bacon. and my food envy only intensified after receiving my roast beef sandwich; it looked sad and barely had any beef. it was alright tasting, but i would've much preferred the waffle. should have continued my usual practice of spying on what other people had ordered and following them (i didn't see anyone ordering the sandwich so that should've been a sign). definitely not worth $19.50.


they don't seem to be very good at their savory items. the lobster club ($21.50) was a miss as well, though it looked good (#eggporn!). for the price, i would think they could be slightly more generous with the filling, especially when i compare the sandwich to sarnies'. 



after finishing our food, we were still hungry (i blame this on the gym) so went to pick one of the pastries at the glass counter. also because i saw the pastry counter while queuing to place our orders, and it looked promising. (i also sneaked a peek at other tables, where they had a towering slice of cake.)


got the dark chocolate and banana cake ($8).


chocolate cream layered with bananas and a moist dark chocolate cake- it was full of contrasting textures and was delicious. best part was that it wasn't cloyingly sweet, letting the original flavours come through. we finished it easily. 


sweet items are much better than savory ones. if i do come back it'll be for the waffles and the pastries, which are quite reasonably priced. the menu items are on the steep side, but at least there's no service charge. 

department of caffeine
15 duxton road 
http://www.deptofcaffeine.com
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