All posts tagged: Fish

espressolab @ China Square

Published by Beatrice

I have been looking out for cafes that serve both good vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes so we can have a good meal with our friends who do not want to eat vegetarian dishes. So I am glad to find espressolab at China Square with good selection of vegetarian dishes. In fact, Ms Alicia Teoh, owner of espressolab at China Square, was a vegetarian for a few years before! Espressolab is conveniently located in the CBD with many seats, so this is an excellent choice for lunch. The cafe is also brightly lit so it is a good place to camp at if you need to do work or have work meetings. Alicia is extremely particular about the quality of her decor and even imported all the rubberwood tables from Penang to ensure quality of the furniture is not compromised for the customers. Generally, I find that when owners are very detailed about comforts for the customers, the food and service tends to be good and espressolab did not disappoint indeed! Vegetarian dishes: Vegetarian Aglio Olio ($9.80) …

Long Black Cafe @ Biopolis

Published by Beatrice

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

Grouper King Seafood Restaurant (大洋城) @ Shaw Towers

Published by Beatrice

My cousins celebrated 2 of our birthdays at Grouper King Seafood Restaurant. They bought a deal online so we had free flow of Chinese dishes, including all sorts of fish at ~$35.90/pax. I checked online and they are running a similar deal now on Qoo10. The usual price is $59/pax. As the name of the restaurant suggests, they are known for GIANT Grouper fish!! There are a few mains like main Soups, Peking Duck that can only be ordered once, but otherwise, there are at least 40 ala carte items you can re-order.   Feasting… As you can see, we had a lot of dishes including many dishes of fresh fish (I assume is grouper!) cooked in many ways. Very good value for free flow seafood dishes with the deals for $35+ for dinner, and great for family gatherings for a big group. Do note that you have pay $3-$5 more per pax depending on the drinks package picked as well; they have ala carte and free flow drinks as well. — Grouper King Seafood Restaurant (大洋城) …

The Garden Slug @ Telok Kurau

Published by Beatrice

We have been to Garden Slug a few times on weekends to bring my dog along for a ride and meal. I love the simple, no frills decor of this 7 year old cafe, and the fact that fluffie can have a meal with us! TGS Mixed Grill – Platter of Ribeye Steak strips, Lamb Loin, Bratwurst, Real Mash™ & salad ($39.80) for 2 to share. Very JUICYYYYYYYYY Lamb without the gamey aftertaste! Pan-seared Dory Fillet ($18.90) – Fresh fish and salad, with sweet mash potatoes I will definitely be back for great freshness and food value, especially when I want to bring fluffie out! Forgive the camera phone shots as it was hard to shoot with fluffie moving around! — The Garden Slug Address: 55 Lorong L Telok Kurau, #01-59/61 Bright Centre, Singapore 425500 Phone: 86888575 Email: justask@thegardenslug.com Operating Hours: Mon – Tue: 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm Wed – Thu: 10:00 am – 10:00 pm Fri – Sun: 9:00 am – 10:00 pm

Restaurant Ember @ Hotel 1929

Published by Beatrice

Ember is a small, modern and unpretentious restaurant located in Hotel 1929, which offers Western/Fusion Ember cuisine. Some of my favourite girlies treated me to Ember to my birthday last week. Short to say, FINE quality food, as expected from Chef Sebastian Ng from the Marmalade group’s Pierside Kitchen & Bar and prior experience in Four Seasons Hotel, Raffles Hotel and pasta training at Piedmont Italy as well as training stints at Hotel De Mikuni in Tokyo. Chef Sebastian is known for his pastas, meats and seafood, which reflects in the mains we ordered. So thankful to be treated my friends to fine exquisite food. Definitely not the cheapest meal, but WOW, I enjoyed the exquisiteness and details in every dish. All the dishes were cooked in a way that brought out the natural flavours of the ingredients. Complex yet complementary combination tastes. I heard the set lunches are the best value for money so hope to be back to try it some day! I also like how they tired local Singaporeans on their serving crew which …

LOWERCASE @ Lasalle College of the Arts

Published by Beatrice

I had to give LOWERCASE 3 tries before I finally tried the food. The first time, we assumed the cafe would be open for coffee on a Sunday and we headed down and it was closed. The second time, on a Friday night, we headed down at 830pm since their Facebook said they were open till 1030pm but was told it was closed already!! I wrote to them to feedback on the opening hours, and one of their partners, Mr J, was nice enough to explain the situation and we decided to try LOWERCASE again with a group of friends on a Saturday evening. LOWERCASE is nestled in Lasalle College of the Arts and has a huge 5000 square feet space compared to the regular hipster cafes.  Their mission statement – “Lowercase is a melting pot where food, art and community come together” – is a good summary of what they are starting to look like, where random art pieces are displayed among tables of people eating. LOWERCASE seeks to promote talent by setting the stage for budding …

You Yen Seafood Restaurant

Published by Beatrice

This was another recommendation by BK Asiacity, and we had You Yen @ Hua Hin for lunch before driving back to Bangkok to catch our flight home. You Yen was much less premium priced than Let’s Sea, even though it offers the same brilliant sea view. You Yen is a tiffany-blue colonial mansion, with its seating area expanded into the massive backyard. You Yen is a popular restaurant serving Thai cuisine, with many tables filled when we reached at an offpeak timing of 2pm. My favorite dish was the Deep-fried Seabass with Spicy Lemongrass Salad (470 baht). The fresh fish was fried till very crispy, and went very well with the spicy lemon sauce. Highly recommended.

Novena Peranakan Cuisine @ Novena

Published by Beatrice

I discovered an old gem recently at Novena recently. Apparently, I was told by Jeffrey, one of the owners, that they have been open 9 years! Funny how I have always passed it eating the Hong Kong Family restaurant on its left or Prawn Mee to its right but deselected Novena Peranakan Cuisine. They run a set lunch/dinner at $12.90, with 3 mains (1 each from 3 different lists), 1 drink and 1 dessert. Been there twice now! And these are the dishes: 1) Assam Pedas Fish Meat – so good I repeated on second visit! Assam Pedas, literally meaning “sour spicy,” is a classic Malaysian/Indonesian dish. It is supposed to be sour and fiery hot, and this dish didn’t fail to live up to its name. Rich and sour punch with every mouthful of fish and curry. This dish at Novena Peranakan Cuisine tastes extraordinarily satisfying and has become one of my favorite top fish curries in Singapore (alongside Ocean Curry Fish Head @ Toa Payoh Lorong 4 and Hong Kong Street Chun Tat …

Cafe Melba @ Goodman Arts Centre

Published by Beatrice

We were looking for dog-friendly cafe after bringing my fluff to NEX, and Cafe Melba Cafe came to mind. Given that it was only a replacement Public Holiday on a Monday (half the people I know were still working), Melba Cafe was relatively crowded. By the way, I suspected and later confirmed that Melba stands for Melbourne (MELB) and Asia (A), so the food is supposed to be Asian interpretations of Australasian dishes. We sat outdoor where it was cosy but also quite warm, and my dog was happily pampered by the children around. We had the Haddock and Chips ($24), Crayfish Linguine ($27)and Chili Crab Calzone ($22). All 3 of us enjoyed the food! The Crayfish Linguine  is cooked Al Dente, and the crayfish bisque was absorbed well into the linguine, giving the pasta a juicy texture. At the same time, the red peppers complemented the roasted crayfish, while the rocket gave the dish a bitter after taste. Complex dish with a Western-Asian blend indeed. The Chili Crab Calzone is like Cheese Prata with Chili Crab, angmoh style; crab meat, egg, …

Hong Sheng Restaurant Tzechar @ Toa Payoh

Published by Beatrice

I have been eating this Hong Sheng Tzechar at Toa Payoh Lorong 1 for many years, it almost feels weird to be blogging it only now. I have read various reviews online that say the general flavour of the dishes at Hong Sheng lacks the umami oomph compared to other Tzechar stalls. I have to agree that Hong Sheng food tastes very cosy home cooked style, where there is less salt and MSG. For example, even the tofu, they do not use the stronger tasting egg tofu, but the more authentic white tofu. The soup is also slightly bland. So if you are looking for the strong outstanding flavours in every dish, this is not the place for you. Despite some of the not so good reviews online, be prepared to wait at Hong Sheng. If you don’t arrive by 530pm, the typical waiting time will be at least 1 hour!, so tip is to reach by 530 latest, especially if you have many pax. Tip: They are known for their Horfun, which is wrapped in …