Author: Beatrice

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay @ Royal Hospital Road, London, UK

Published by Beatrice

In winter of 2012, I had the opportunity to visit the UK and try the famous Restaurant Gordon Ramsay @ Royal Hospital Road, which is a 3 Michelin stars restaurant established in 1998. The restaurant is very small and intimate, and they are VERY strict on their dress code for the men, so please ensure no t-shirt or slippers or you will be denied entry! After more than 1 year, the amazing presentation AND flavours of the dishes still linger in my memory. One of the best meals of my life, comparable to Sushi Saito in Tokyo!

Taiwan: Taipei – Taipei 101, Christmas Illuminations, 大佳河濱公園 Park for 2014 Countdown (Taiwan Travel Review Series)

Published by Beatrice

Taipei 101 is the pride of many Taiwanese. It is modeled after a bamboo, and is extremely stable despite strong winds and typhoons that hit Taipei due to its unique design and sound foundation and architecture. Taipei 101 holds the Guinness record of being the fastest elevator in the world to bring people from ground level to 88 floors. The 360 degree view of Taipei from Taipei 101 is stunning: The walk around Taipei 101 during this Christmas season is also very enjoyable with the Christmas illuminations at 16 degreeC nights:

Taiwan: Taipei – Hope Hotel 全家歡商務旅店 and Cosmos Hotel 天成大飯店 (Taiwan Travel Review Series)

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As we had 2 legs of our tour in Taipei, we spent 2 nights in Hope Hotel (全家歡商務旅店) and 1 night in Cosmos Hotel. Hope Hotel (全家歡商務旅店 ) was very affordable at around NTD$1500 (SGD$60) per night. It looks sleazy but it isn’t. It is a very simple no frills room with basic bedding, 1 pillow each, clean toilets and heating. But for city visits, where we usually spend very little time in the hotel rooms but outside exploring the city, I think Hope Hotel meets our needs and is very centrally located at exit Z6 from the Taipei Main Station. Hope Hotel (全家歡商務旅店) Address: 台北市中正區忠孝西路一段72號4樓 Phone 預約電話: 02-23814755 Site: http://www.hopehotel.com.tw/ — Cosmos Hotel (天成大飯店) was relatively expensive but that is because we booked it at very last minute on Dec 30 for Dec 31 stay, when we did a slight tweak to the itinerary. Like Hope Hotel, it is extremely convenient from Taipei Main Station (Exit M3), but it has a lot of nice facilities that Hope Hotel lacks – entry only by security card at lift for added security, …

Sushi Saito @ Tokyo, Japan

Published by Beatrice

Sushi Saito ranks in the tops of my favourite meals in my lifetime so far, alongside L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Taipei and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London. Sushi Saito is a three Michelin star Japanese cuisine restaurant known for its sushi. It is quite hard to locate, hence I have attached a map below. It is in a very unassuming building right opposite the American Embassy, but the hunt is worth it! Unfortunately, because this meal is >2 years ago, I cannot remember all the details of the dishes, but the freshness of the seafood and their perfect balance with the amount of rice lingers in my mind till today. There were 2 lunch sets – 12 pieces or 18 pieces. You only pick the number of pieces and not the individual type of sushi. Ok, and wait for this…… this tuna belly was so fatty and soft, it tasted almost like red meat. AMAZING. I still remember how it tasted till today after >2 years! 🙂 It isn’t easy to make a reservation as …

Symmetry Cafe @ Jalan Kubor

Published by Beatrice

We visited Symmetry Cafe before when they first opened, and since we were nearby for brunch at A for Arbite, we decided to swing by to get our coffee fix. Café by day, restaurant bar by night, I remember their food and coffee to be above average. Overall, I feel that Symmetry has become too crowded. Firstly, we waited almost 10 minutes for 2 cup of takeaways. Secondly, we could not stand for 30 seconds without being chased to move out of the way. Thirdly, they were playing club music rather than brunch music which made the whole cafe feel very hectic for a relaxing Sunday. Also, the Soy Flat White ($6.50) bordered on bad – it tasted like the soy milk did not blend with the flat white. In fact there was hardly any coffee taste. However, saving grace is that their Flat White ($5.50) continues to deliver and be one of the better Flat Whites we enjoy in Singapore, in the ranks of Nylons and Chye Seng Huat. Miss my first experience with Symmetry …

La Cuisson @ Princep Street

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La Cuisson used to be based out of a coffee shop in Holland Village, but have been open at 44A, Princep Street since Sep 2013. Translating, La Cuisson should be “The Cooking”, and the food definitely impressed for the value. Incidentally, the chef, Kenneth Lin, were just featured on yesterday’s Straits Times! Their menu starts with “Charcuterie”, which is preserved meats, but in modern day, charcuterie are prepared for their flavors derived from the preservation processes. Good thing there were 4 of us, so we could try a bigger variety. We had the Charcuterie platter ($22), which comprised Foie Gras Terrine, Country Pork Terrine, Pork Head Terrine, Chorizo and Saucisson, and I like their flavours in the above order too. For mains, first up, we shared the Shoulder Tender 200 grams ($28), which is a 200day Grain Fed Australian Angus. Then, we had the Sous Vide Pork Chops 300+ grams ($33), which is cooked at low temperature served with a pork and ham jus, apples, roasted tomato, yam puree and corn salsa. I personally felt the apple …

Yomenya Goemon @ Star Vista

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Tried out Yomenya Goemon @ Star Vista with an old friend for lunch, and found the lunch sets decent at $15.90 per set, which included a salad, soup and pasta main (fusion Japanese Italian) We had the Cheese Yasai Pasta and Chicken in Wafu Sauce Pasta. Though not hand made, I found the pasta cooked well al dente style, with good sauce. Another decent lunch spot in the Biopolis/Star Vista area though I find Long Black Cafe more value and quality for the same price.

Chin Chin Eating House @ Purvis Street

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My family likes to eat to Chin Chin Eating House @ Purvis Street for weekday evening dinners. We have been there so many times and also introduced many friends and family there. They are efficient and good value for money (usually total $50 for 4 pax). Always crowded without fail! They have Hainanese chefs so their traditional Hainanese fare like Pork Chops are good bets! Their chicken rice is also one of my favourites; I prefer it to the other hot favourite (Yetcon) just opposite Chin Chin Eating House. Great place for local tzechar style food, especially for big groups! — Chin Chin Eating House Address: 19 Purvis Street Phone: 63374640 Hours: Daily, 7am – 9pm

Long Black Cafe @ Biopolis

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Went to meet my extended team in Biopolis so we decided to try Long Black Cafe over lunch. Nice cafe with a lot of al fresco seats, and given the quiet surroundings, Long Black Cafe is quite a nice chillout hidden find especially if you have to think about life and work. Food and coffee were both above average, with good value lunch sets (soup, main and drink for ~$15), and I suspect the only reason they haven’t made it to those top cafe lists in Singapore is because they don’t open on weekends and close by 730pm on weekdays! We also had ala carte mains and sides to share: Overall, I believe this is a good value alternative to Star VIsta and food court in the area! — Long Black Cafe @ Biopolis Address: 20 Biopolis Way, Centros Block, Singapore, Singapore 138668 Tel: 64789945 Operating Hours: Mon – Fri: 8:00 am – 7:30 pm