PerfectION, and chocolate sin

Woooh, it's been a long time since I last blogged but hey, good things must wait right. ION Orchard opened it's doors to the public for the very first time on Tuesday and S and I dropped by like any other kaypoh Singaporean.

I have to say that I liked everything I saw. From the tenant mix consisting of new shops and familiar brands who made the effort to dress up in the form of swanky concept stores, to tiny details such as the rest rooms and not-too-glaring lighting, made for an excellent first impression.

We reached the place at about 8pm, and headed for Watami Casual Japanese Restaurant, after reading a favourable FB status update.

(Source: Watami website)

After a 20 min wait, we were ushered to our seat by the Japanese waitress (seemed like they flew in about 5 - 6 native Japanese staff to level-up the local staff) and promptly ordered the Ramen, some of their speciality sushi and... alcoholic green tea!

Sushi Grandeur ($10.80)

Close up

The unagi was really good considering the relatively low price. Oh, in case you're wondering, by right there are supposed to be three pairs of salmon, scallop and unagi. They ran out of scallop (replaced by salmon) and.....Iateoneunagibeforeshecouldtakeapicturesothere. =)

Tori Karaage and Negi Pirikara ($7.80)

The deep-fried chicken bits in spicy scallion sauce was another interesting dish which was pretty reasonably-priced.

A rather unpleasant incident did happen though, which kinda spoilt the meal for her.

S spotted lipstick marks on her green tea mug, and got the waitress to change it. The waitress was visibly distressed and apologized profusely, before replacing the mug with.... you guessed it, the same mug.

And how did we know it was the same mug? Because the lipstick stain never clean properly - inside still have!!!

Not wanting to make a scene, we decided to just pay and leave after our meal. It was, after all, only 8:50pm; plenty of un-explored shops awaited.

Watami Casual Japanese Restaurant ION Orchard
Taste: 6.5/10
Value: 8/10
Ambience: 8/10

Verdict: Probably won't be back. There weren't any killer dishes and in general the place seems to lack a distinctive "type" of Japanese food, like Tonkichi has fried pork cutlets or Sun with Moon has the whole new-age fusion thing going for it.

*********

We also walked through the "360 marketplace", another Jasons-type gourmet market, and came across these brightly-coloured bell peppers! As we stood transfixed by the multi-hued veges, we could'a sworn at least 3 different groups walked past, stopped, came back and tried to test if they were fake.

These'll make a fantastic salad I'm sure

Apparently very very spicy

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The past two weeks were filled with so many celebrations for the both of us too. Her birthday, my (delayed) birthday, our anniversay, etc. We had a few celebratory desserts but these two stand out:

Seah St Deli, Chocolate decadence - $11.90

First, Seah St Deli's famous seven-layer chocolate cake. I've been meaning to try this since I heard about it from my colleagues, but never got around to it. In fact, I'd meant to come here to try the key lime pie, the other house specialty.

By the time we got there (9:30pm) we were left with either the chocolate decadence or American cheese cake - not too shabby!

The cake is supremely tall. Seriously. It sort of glares at you and tries to stare you down when it first arrives. Every layer is perfectly even and reminds me of how the pictures on those Betty Crockers Devil's Chocolate Cake look like, uniform in their evil.

Despite its height, you are still able to eat the cake in dignified forkfuls, as the sponge does its job of keeping the shape of the cake beautifully. The cherry sauce and chocolate twirls are nice additions, but really, the star is the cake.

If I have one complaint, both S and I felt it was a tad too sweet. The fudge contained traces of caramel, which some may not really like, though this is balanced out somewhat by the chocolate sponge, which is not overly-cloying.

Over all, I'd say this is one cake you have to have at least once in your lifetime - or once a year if you're a chocolate lover. Any more and you'll turn into a cacao bean!

Canele, Caribe, $8.50

On the other end of the height spectrum sits this unassuming cake from designer pastry maker Canele.

Do not be deceived by its looks, because this cake packs a huge chocolate rush! It is not much larger in girth from an average char siew pau, but boy does it make up for it in its intensity.

Every bite you sink your teeth into brings you closer to chocolate heaven (where the grills are edible!). The smooth, dark chocolate paste contrasts perfectly with the roasted hazelnuts that adorn the square-looking cake.

I would say that this is definitely one of those rare chocolate cakes meant for one person that have to be finished by two. S and I almost lost our voices at KTV after dinner cos of this!

Pictures first, words later

Mama Mia, Italian in the middle of nowhere? It's true, my friends! After repeated nudges from Jole and Pat to bring the missus over to Galbiati's, at Railway Mall, I finally did so and boy were we in for a treat.

We walked in and were treated to this beautiful sight...

Rows and rows of Italian delights

We had a small sampling

The portobello was really, really mushroomy. I know this sounds bimbotic, but seriously man, it was wayyy too strong for me, and I'm quite a mushroom person. Oh well.

The Salmon Pizza was pretty darn good, I liked the crust, the tomato paste tasted fresh, and the cheese divine. The only draw back to this was, unfortunately, the salmon. Hang on, it's not that it wasn't fresh or anything. It's just... I dunno man. Salmon + pizza? Not my cuppa tea.

Which is why, I had the beef lasagne! Man that stuff was the BOMB man. I don't think I'll ever wanna eat another crappy swensens lasagne after this stuff. The texture of the cheese was excellent, the sauce was fresh, the beef used was also higher grade than most.

Overall, this place is chic, serves fresh food and isn't very pricey. I'll be back. Oh, and take note if you're ordering anything from the display counter, everything's priced per 100 g, so don't think it's THAT cheap and order a shitload of stuff. haha.

Galbiati's
Railway Mall (Opp Mindef)

Taste: 3.5/5
Value: 4/5
Ambience: 5/5

It was also our sixth anniversary the other day. I can't believe we've been together for this long!
We went to the beach, cycled, got butt cramps and surrendered to Delifrance by 530p.m.

Oh and thanks for the veryyy early birthday present guys, I'm sure we'll have tonnes of fun with this one too!

Ticket to Ride

Long post

It's been awhile since I've posted any reviews, though it's certainly not cos I've been letting up! Just haven't had the time to post them up, so here they are...

I've heard much about Mellben Crab Bee Hoon. How it's an institution, how you have to wait 1.5 hours for a bowl of piping hot crab broth, etc. And like any good Singaporean, I went with my family to this AMK seafood haunt, tunked away under a block of flats.

The moment you make it clear that you're there to, like the rest of the crowd, tuck into huge-assed Sri Lankan crabs, you're whisked into a queue where you have to wait for a table. No kidding. This isn't any ordinary coffeeshop dude, when the tables are controlled by one stall.

The wait isn't all that long, you get your food about 30mins into the wait, with the crabs coming at the end, prolly a full hour from the time you start queuing. So, come only if you don't mind having a slow-paced, leisurely crab dinner.

Mellben Crab Bee Hoon (2 crabs for 50 bucks)

Overall, I'd say it's worth trying at least once. The soup may be a little rich for some, though I thought it was great. You can taste milk, ginger, crab and the wok it was fried in, all in one mouthful. The crabs were really, really fresh, and went really well with the broth.

Mellben Crab
Taste: 3.5/5 (the crabs were excellent, but the sides were pretty awful)
Value: 3/5
Ambience: 3/5

Ah, the next place was one I've been meaning to go to for awhile. Curry Flavour, over at City Hall, serves up Japanese curry. I'm not exactly a fan of Jap curry, as it usually means I'm on a budget at a Jap restaurant.

I had the beef tenderloin curry rice ($16! Nothing budget about that!) while she had the fried pork katsu curry rice ($16). I'm telling you, the beef was totally, unexpectedly good. You know how, many places offer "steak" sandwiches, and the "steak" you get is really something resembling beef jerky, or at most the kinda beef you find on a yoshinoya beef bowl?

I was expecting that, but I was well and truly proven wrong. The beef tenderloin was succulent, juicy and seared to perfection before being slathered in a curry stew which contained carrots and potatoes. It really was just prime tenderloin cut up and soaked in curry. Fantastic.

Moreover, the gravy was altered to suit both types of meat. It's good to know that they don't treat their curry as a "one-size-fits-all" cure to mask the failings of the meat, not that there are any.

Her pork katsu was fried really crisp, though not too oily, which sat well with her. And hor, she had an entire aladin's lamp full of gravy! Not fair!

Curry Flavour
Near city hall mrt
Taste: 4/5
Value: 4/5
Ambience: 2/5 (the decor screamed pretentious minimalist cafe, but cannot make it lah)

I'll be back, for sure.

Phew, that's alot of food.

Ok, break over.

To celebrate the end of internship, we went to Aerins, opposite Soup Spoon at raffles city. I've been meaning to try this for the longest time. The desserts look yummy! Thanks for the treat darling!

I like the water feature there

Fish and Chips ($16)

Hmm. Not bad, but not fantastic. Though the fish was fresh, the batter wasn't up to scratch.

Bangers and Mash ($16)

This was... okay, but definitely not worth the money.

Ok, if you can sense my restlessness, it's because I can't wait to get to dessert!

We had the double fudge chocolate cake ($5.50), and it was AMAZING. Oh. My. Gawd. Seriously awesome stuff. I'll be the first to admit that I'm skeptical of many cafes' claim that their chocolate "decadence" cake, or their chocolate "of a thousand leaves" or their "Awfully sinful" chocolate cake is for "all chocolate lovers". Seriously, most places just don't cut it with me.

Having tasted the Chocolate Bundt cake Starbucks used to have, before switching to their new pastry/cake retailers, I now measure all these supposedly "chocolatey" creations against that very high bar.

Aerin's double fudge choc cake is deceptively undressed. No fancy swirly chocolate design, no chocolate sauce liberally swished around the plate, nothing. It wasn't even all that big, and we had only bought one slice for the both of us somemore!

The minute you put the first mouthful in you, though, you know that you are in the presence of chocolate royalty. The sponge cake (yes, I also can't believe it's sponge!) was moist, rich and chocolatey. It complemented the thick, deep, dark fudge which smothered it on two layers. There are very, very few times I am rendered speechless when eating, but this was one of them. Even the missus, who is a huger chocolate buff than I am, just sat there and smiled after one bite.

This goes on the go-to list for chocolate fixes, along with Venezia's Dark Chocolate gelato, Menotti's Double Chocolate Souffle and Royce's Champagne Nama chocolate.

And finally, happy father's day!! We went to Oasis taiwan porridge, before it goes away.

Gluttons Bay

The Greenlanders in the office went to Gluttons Bay on the eve of Vesak Day. Gluttons Bay, you know, the one at the Esplanade? I've never had particularly good thoughts about the place...I mean, doesn't it just scream "tourist trap"?!

Well, I'm proud to say that, even at slightly inflated prices, the food here is as good as advertised ...

First up, the best of the lot:

Orh Luak!!! (large) - $8

The people who know me, know that I don't eat mussels/clams/la-la/oysters, etc, because...I also dunno why. BUT. The one exception I have with oysters, is our very own, Oyster Omelette!

Man. There's something about that crisp exterior giving way to its tender, starchy interior, all the time bathed in a liberal amount of oil. Combined with the sourish, spicy zing that oyster-omelette-chilli has, the result is pure bliss.

This was easily one of the best oyster omelettes I've had in awhile, though I don't profess to be an expert on the dish, it's really not that hard to tell when you taste perfection.

BBQ Stingray (large) - $15

Not bad, but not as nice as the Bukit Timah market one. Still, for town prices, it's pretty good value.

Hokkien Mee (medium) - $6

For some reason, every hokkien mee seller and their uncle is selling hokkien mee on these pretentious banana leaves. Pray tell, since when did we always sell it like this? Stupid manufactured nostalgia strikes again. Thanks for nothing, Food Republic.

The noodles here, though, tasted pretty good. I did have them the last time I was here, and it was much improved this time around. So, I'd say this place is pretty decent, but has consistency issues.

15 Chicken, 15 Beef - 50c per stick

Damn, it's expensive. Some more not very nice. Sauce sucked. For me, satay's 50% meat, 50% sauce. If the sauce CMI, no point thinking bout the meat man...

Overall, this place is a pretty good place to go if you want bring a foreign co-worker to have a "taste of Singapore", or if you just have orh lua cravings. Come in a group, cos we ended up paying like, under ten dollars each. The food you see is only the shared food, most of them ordered a main dish. =)

Gluttons Bay Esplanade

Taste: 3.5/5 Value: 3/5 (considering it's locale) Ambience: 4/5 (Better ventilated than Newton or Chomp Chomp can every be)

We then made our way down to Winebar, which proved unwise on a pre-holiday nite...

Darrell, Me, Kenneth

All the interns!

I heart B*M

Japanese fondue

Once again, it's Wednesday, a.k.a. Treat-of-the-week day!! Again we went down to HV, cos' she wanted to have the ever reliable Sushi Tei.

Sushi Tei's standard of food is noticeably higher than other Jap restaurants in the same price range, like Sakae Sushi (yucks) and Genki Sushi (double yucks), and it helps that they try to inject some of the famed Japanese creativity in presentation, even in food that isn't necessarily the most expensive.

Pre-meal focus

Soft-shell crab maki with smelt roe

Take the soft shell crab maki, for instance. Rather than simply rolling the crab in some rice (ok, I know I'm abbreviating the whole process, but I'm just trying to make a point), they take the effort to arrange the dish aesthetically. The smelt roe is a great touch, contrasting beautifully with the crisp batter of the soft shell crab (hmm, is it soft-shell or soft shelled?). The final presentation of the maki makes it look like a giant shrimp. Fantastic.

And then, there were these beautiful salmon-smelt-roe roses...

Exquisite? Oui!

Three types of smelt, three ways to spell heaven. I realise now that I really do like roe. Crab roe, prawn roe, smelt roe, salmon roe, I like them all. I guess it's like the poor man's caviar, but hey, now no $$ so boh pian.

Don't you agree that these look absolutely gorgeous?? And now... on to my all-time favourite Jap dish:

The dish that can do no wrong.

SABA SHIOYAKI!!!!! (Grilled Mackerel) at Sushi Tei is consistently one of the highlights of any meal there. You genuinely taste the flavour of the fish (sweet) and the flame (smokey), with minimal seasoning (salty). It helps too, that the texture of well-made saba shio is tender without being flaky, which is exactly what Sushi Tei's is like.

Sushi Tei
Holland Village

Taste: 4/5
Value: 3.5/5
Ambience: 2/5 (way, way, way too squeezy. And it's not just cos i'm fat)

One bowl of noodles later, we headed off to The Coffee Club, our new go-to place for dessert. We will try out everything there soon enough, I fear. Haha.

Fondue: $12.90

The people who queue for not-as-nice-but-more-expensive fondue at places like anderson's and chocz, should just come here. The chocolate could be of better quality, but it's already damn good, given the price. Plus the fruits are sweet.

Sweeeeeet.

Coffee Club
Holland Village

Taste: 4/5
Value: 5/5
Ambience: 4/5

Encounters of the foodie kind

Yes, it's been some time since the last foodie post, so here are four in a row, including the treat of the week!

First up, mango-grapefruit dessert from a copcycat shop opposite Ah Chew Desserts. Thankfully, this creation is entirely unique, with both flavours contrasting beautifully.

Mango with Grapefruit $3.50

It's not particularly cheap, but is an excellent thirst quencher. With the sweetness of the mango and the tangy-bitter aftertaste of grapefruit, it's a wonder nobody thought of this before.

Copycat dessert stall opposite Ah Chew Desserts
Along Liang Seah St

Taste: 3.5/5
Value: 2/5
Ambience: 2/5

Next up, treat of the week!!! Erm, well, I confess, I haven't strictly been following the once-a-week thing, but hey, what's a foodie to do?

You know how you always go to holland v and see all these ang mohs eating al fresco, and you look at the menu and you just balk? Well, on the back of being paid to write about food at Yum.sg, I figured, what the heck, I haven't been pampering her for awhile. hehe.

So.

El Patio, the Mexican restaurant, it was to be, as it's neighbour, Cha Cha Cha, was packed. As soon as we put our rumps in the chairs, the friendly lady proprietor plonked two menus and a bowl of nachos/salsa on our table.

FREE FLOW NACHOS AND SALSA!

Ok, the lighting was horrendous, so I didn't take many pics. I ordered the chicken and beef fajitas (21.50) and sangria (9.50), while the missus had the chicken fajitas (20.50) and a strawberry margarita (12.00).

The strawberry margarita

I didn't take any pics of the fajitas, because my fingers were too dirty! Basically, they serve theirs in a hotplate, slathered with a brownish sauce, capsicums and caramelised onions. I suppose ang mohs will ooh and aah at the sizzling plates but hey, we are weaned on tie ban tou fu and sambal stingray ok!

Together with the hotplate, we were served warm soft tacos to wrap the meat in. I guess every culture has its own version of the popiah. We smeared sour cream and guacamole, the perfunctionary shredded lettuce and diced tomatos, and the sizzling chunks of meat onto the three tacos before devouring them.

The first taco you bite into, you really can't get enough of the stuff, but by the third, it's lost its gimmick-value.

Overall, the whole experience was good, the food was above average, but doesn't justify its price. The drinks were pretty darn good, though, so I'd recommend ordering the cheaper dishes, like the quesadillas or the burritos, with a drink, if you ever decide you have about 30 bucks you wanna blow on Mexican munchies.

El Patio - the Mexican grill
Holland V, opposite wala walas

Taste: 3.5/5
Value: 2/5
Ambience: 3/5

And now, for the dessert shot of the day: Greenhouse @ The Ritz

Shotglass of chocolate mousse, cheesecake, eclair

I was wondering if I should post this pic of Scissors Cut Curry Rice up. The best curry rice I've ever, ever, ever, had, is...not this. It's actually found at Beo Crescent in Alexandra. But, this is a pretty good version of the hainanese dish.

With a wide array of sides, you can easily tell the curry rice connesiours from the tourists and people-who-happen-to-eat-there-because-the-queue-is-short. Obviously, the bak pa (pork chop), deep fried egg and stewed vege is the combination made in curry-rice heaven.

Who on earth would order say....a chicken wing here? preposterous.

And please, when you've ordered your food, and the guy asks "Xiao di, yao lim kahli zi mah?" (Boy, do you want curry sauce?), say yes. It's curry rice, for goodness sakes. Him having to ask the question, I suppose, means some idiots actually don't want curry. On curry rice. Morons.

Oh, btw, you can also opt to add black gravy, I highly recommend it. After all, curry rice is not supposed to be glam. It's supposed to look like slop. But to the trained eye, even slop also got standard one ok.

Scissors cut curry rice $3.50

Scissors cut curry rice
Food Republic, Wisma Atria

Taste: 3.5/5
Value: 4/5
Ambience: 3/5

Treat(s) of the week

Ok, I confess. Having just one treat-of-the-week is not just very hard. It's impossible. So here are the few highlights of the week haha.

Char Siew Bao (2 for $1.80)

I've always wanted to try Bao Today (pronounced bao jing tian), because I'm a sucker for good pau. The favourite pao place remains the one at Tanjong Rhu (Block 7 Jalan Batu off Kampong Arang), with Tanglin pau running a close second.

The CSP here came steaming hot, like all CSP should (you wouldn't believe how often it comes just...warm). What's interesting about these little buns of goodness is the fact that there isn't that layer of skin around the pau. I'm not talking about the bottom layer of paper, it's the thin membrane that's found usually at the surface of the pau.

This makes the texture of the pau unique to the bite, and it really helps that the pau is incredibly soft. Definitely restaurant-standard covering, but what about the all-important char siew?

Thankfully, it didn't disappoint, although it was slightly too sweet. It's dark in colour - a sign of restraint with the artificial colouring - and was satisfying without being overly cloying.

Overall, this is certainly one for CSP aficionados.

Bao Today
All over the island; I went to the Marina Square branch

Taste: 4/5
Value: 4/5
Ambience: 3/5

Remember how I said I wanted to try the pizza place at HV? Well, here it is... La Pizzaiola! They even have their own website, haha. Ok, I laughed too soon, it's quite a pro website. Anyway, the food!

Minced Chicken Pizza -$4

We had two pizzas, one large 12" Mushroom pizza, another smaller rectangular chicken pizza. The names of the pizzas are in Italian, btw.

There was no option for pan pizza, which was slightly disappointing, but it was soon made up for when the pizzas arrived. Thinly crusted and adorned with premium ingredients, the pizza tasted like nothing I'd ever had here. There's something about it; perhaps it was the crispy crust, I don't know really.

Mushroom + Ham pizza ($13.90)

When the mushroom pizza arrived, it dawned on us exactly how much of a difference having your pizza freshly made does to its overall taste. Literally fresh from the oven (5 metres away), the pizza was awesome.

Yes, now that I've thought about it, I have to say the crust made all the difference.

La Pizzaiola
Opened 10am-10pm, closed on Tues
43 Holland Drive (Near the XO crab Bee Hoon)

Taste: 4/5
Value: 5/5
Ambience: 4/5

I'll be back!

Paper-wrapped chicken - 60 cents each (Damn hard to eat)

We had paper-wrapped chicken while waiting for...

Baby Kailan - $5

Just kidding. We had this while waiting for...

BUKIT TIMAH FOOD CENTRE BBQ STINGRAY

Awesome stuff man, this BBQ stingray. We always come here for our stingray fix. And it's not hard to see why, right?

Completely slathered in sambal, this bbq stingray is perfectly complemented by the tangy chilli sauce which acts both as a condiment and a palette cleanser. It's not so much grilled or barbequed as it is pan-fried, but somehow, the hawker is able to replicate the smoky, char-grilled flavour.

Awesome. Full marks here. Ultra-consistent too.

Irish cream cookies

I had a bottle of Baileys, and an afternoon, and an oven. Boom. Irish Cream Chocolate Chip Double Nut cookies. Well, there's also dried cranberry in that, haha. Got extra in the fridge mah.

Woot! that's a long post!