All posts tagged: Singapore

bistrokai @ Purvis Street

Published by Beatrice

After a good breakfast at Cups N Canvas, we walked over to hunt for Kooka Cafe for coffee at Purvis Street only to realize it has closed! However, we chanced upon bistrokai, on Level 1 at Hotel kai, which was less than 1 month old. There was even a professional photoprapher taking shots of the beers, which I assume will be used for their website. bistrokai is housed in a shophouse, but its interior is deliberately modern, keeping only the original brick walls that reveals the age of the building. The tables and chairs are of gloss finishes. I must say this looks like a very good place for soccer matches, with 2 big TV screens to huddle around over drinks. The menu boasts of gourmet burgers, sandwiches, buffalo wings and cripsy pork belly and other delicious grub, but we already had our mains, so we settled for microbrewery beer (Brewerks Pilsner, $7.80 for half pint), pot of green tea ($4.50) and a cup of latte ($5.50) using arabica beans. There was also friendly service by a Sri …

Nabehide Japanese Hotpot Dining @ Alexandra Road

Published by Beatrice

Nabehide Japanese Hotpot, above established eatery Gyukaku, was a surprise find through Palate, where members can get 50% off if 2 of us dine. So, on a Friday night, we were glad to find a new healthy hotpot restaurant that was quiet and spacious for us to have a good chat. Nabehide Japanese Hotpot is a colonial building almost a century cold, right outside Anchorpoint (opposite Queensway and IKEA). Because the building is so old, no fire is allowed, so the owner and management took effort to import all the heating equipment (cast iron pots using charcoal to heat) from Japan that allows for quick and clean heating without fire. This means the quality meats can heat slowly and be kept warm, rather than being overheated quickly. However, the heat spreads out quickly and evenly, which makes the heating rim on the table warm but not hot, so you don’t have to afraid of burning yourself on the sides while cooking. Nabehide is born out of a need to serve the folks who are looking for …

Sukhothai Kitchen @ Bugis

Published by Beatrice

We have passed by Sukhothai Kitchen @ Bugis in an unassuming coffee shop at the back of Bugis Street a few times and it was usually crowded so we decided to give it to try. Compared to Nana Thai at Far Fast Plaza, I find Sukhothai much more authentic and value for money. The Fried Minced Pork with Basil Leaf ($8), dished to me by an authentic Thai lady, was spicy at the right levels, with strong basil kick with every bite. Loved it! The Tom Yum Soup Seafood ($5) is a big portion, spicy and sour to the right extent. Flavour wise, this tom yum is very close to the tom yums in Bangkok. We also had the Minced Prawn Omelette ($8), which we kind of gobbled up without shooting. Very affordable and tasty meal at the end of a work day. We will be back next time we have a Thai food craving! — Sukhothai Kitchen @ Bugis Address: 52 Queen Street, Singapore 188539 Opening Hours: Everyday, 11:30 am – 10:30 pm Phone: 8141 …

Nana Thai Restaurant @ Far East Plaza

Published by Beatrice

After an awesome trekking trip to Nepal, we went to Far East Plaza to get my beauty fix and decided to try Nana Thai Restaurant, which is different from the one at Golden Mile. The Curry Fish Head ($28) is one of their signature dishes. It’s only one side of the fish head, but it has lots of ingredients like daopok and crispy dried bean curd skin. While the fish was very fresh, but the sauce was too coconuty for me. Still prefer the curry fish at Novena Peranakan Cuisine. Since the restaurant is Thai, also tried the Tom Yum Soup with Chicken ($10). Didn’t taste very authentic to me but spicy and sour enough. This store is more like local Singaporean tze char than Thai store. The Sambal Kangkong ($8) was very nice with mini prawn shrimps. My favorite dish! Claypot Beef Rice ($7.50) was good value and tasty, with soft and tender beef. Second favourite dish, though it tasted very Chinese and not Thai. A little pricey for tze char, but good spicy …

La Cuisson @ Princep Street

Published by Beatrice

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 …

The Living Cafe & Deli @ Bukit Timah

Published by Beatrice

After a hard gym workout, we went to check out the The Living Cafe & Deli, along Bukit Timah Road, just before the turn into 6th Avenue. The Living Cafe & Deli prides themselves in offering healthy and raw delicious organic food that’s healthy and nutritious. They do not serve red meat, no cow dairy (good news for all lactose intolerant folks), no white sugar, no preservatives, no additives, no artificial colorings and include gluten free alternatives on our menu. The Living Cafe & Deli is big on “RAW food”, which I learnt from their site is defined as – “Raw food generally refers to a vegan diet that goes beyond just steering clear of animal products. There’s no cooking in the traditional sense (in that nothing is heated above approximately 118 degrees Fahrenheit), and ingredients are not chemically processed, pasteurized, homogenized, genetically modified, hybridized, or otherwise compromised. The basic premise behind a raw food diet is that cooking and processing foods generally decreases their digestibility and vitamin and mineral density, as well as their overall …

Momma Kong’s (Crab Shack) @ Mosque Street

Published by Beatrice

Momma Kong’s (Crab Shack) was founded by the Kong brothers – Edmund and Terence – together with their cousin, who is also my old time friend, JL. Momma Kong’s concept originated from wanting to create food similar to their mom’s great cooking – great local crab delicacies made with fresh ingredients, and no flavour enhancers added! Momma Kong’s décor is also simple, modern and relaxing, great for catching up with friends and family or as a pre-party destination, or watch football as well! They also have Asahi Super Dry on tab now compared to when I first visited, plus they even serve and premium Nikka Whisky, and they have happy hour 1-for-1 if you can go early before 730pm! Crabs wise, they have all the classic favourites – Black Pepper Crab, Red Chilli Crab, Fresh Steamed Crab and Momma Kong’s Signature Crab Bee Hoon Soup. Between 5 of us, we tried the 3 crabs for $110 promotion (2 Pepper Crabs and 1 Chilli Crab) and 1 Crab Bee Hoon Soup. This amazing Momma Kong’s Signature Crab Bee …

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 …

Santoro@Hinoki Japanese Restaurant @ China Square Central

Published by Beatrice

N picked a secret restaurant to bring me on my birthday, and when we reached Santoro@Hinoki, I was like……. wait a minute, this is my friend’s dad’s restaurant! And the head chef, (Santoro) Li Kwok Wing who has 40 years of Japanese cuisine experience, who is my friend’s dad, just won the Washoku World Challenge 2013 Grand Prize on December 8, 2013. His winning dish was “Japanese Pumpkin under Snow” (Secchou Kabochia, 雪中蒸しかぼちゃ) which beat many dishes from chefs around the world! So exciting to have a Singaporean win this global Washoku competition!! The first dish Hubbubu picked was the the Chef’s Recommendation for 2 persons – Tokusen Sashimi 特選刺身盛り合わせ ($110). The sashimi is extremely fresh! Every type of sashimi had its natural sweetness emanating with every bite. The fish slices were so firm, it tasted like meat. Among the platter, my favourites were the explosive flavourful roe and tuna served with vinaigrette and spring onions with such strong natural flavours, it tasted like tuna tartare. With the quality of the sashimi, Santoro@Hinoki has dethroned Chikuwatei as my …

espressoLAB @ Bali Lane

Published by Beatrice

espressoLAB Bali Lane is now closed. But the same team who ran espressoLAB Bali Lane has set up Three Cups Coffee Co. I am sure the coffee quality still remains 🙂 Three Cups Coffee Co Address: #04-31, 1 Raffles Place, Singapore 048616 Phone: 6438 4108 Operating Hours: Mon – Fri: 8:00 am – 7:30 pm, Sat – Sun: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm Website: http://www.threecups.sg — espressoLAB Singapore is opened by a colleague-friend and his wife, on 14th July 2012, who are both passionate about life, coffee and food. I visited them when they first opened, but they have recently renovated to a hipster feel that blends in the neighbourhood better (and rightly so since they are situated in hippy Kampung Glam and with grungy CAD just at the back), so we went back to check it out as promised! I am really proud they have come so far in 1.5 years and they have received 2 recent awards – 1) Gold Plate Awards 2012 by The Singapore Women’s Weekly – “Get your coffee fix” category, 2) Best …