Mezza9 Singapore Grand Hyatt Hotel Singapore

Today is the 21st of December 2012 and thank God we are all still here :).  Let's wish we will have a world full of peace, awareness, conscience to do the right things and kindness for all mankind.

This is a very short post.  However, I think this dish deserves a special mention.  The food at the Mezza9 is generally very good.  The quality, taste and freshness of the produce is consistent and excellent.    Their "must-try" is their lamb chops.

It is superb!  Tender and juicy with just the right amount of seasoning.  I requested for medium and it was perfect.  I love lamb and I usually order lamb almost everywhere I go.  Hence, if you are heading down to Mezza9, try the lamb.  Hope it will be as consistent and delicious as usual.  You can also order side dishes to go with it.  I had mine with saute wild mushrooms and mashed potatoes.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!

Indian House

My friend invited a few of us for lunch at Indian House in Boat Quay.  All of us had never been there before and we thought we will try it out.

The restaurant looks very simple with no fancy deco.  We chose to sit at the outdoor area facing the river with a wonderful view of the Singapore skyline.  We were lucky as the weather was great with a lovely breeze to go along...

We decided to order almost immediately as we were really hungry (it's great when everyone is pretty much punctual although there were six of us).  I could not remember the names of all the dishes, so I will just describe it as it is.

This starter is extremely tasty!  Deep fried spiced onions with curry leaves.  It was hot when it arrived at the table.  Tastewise, it was not spicy hot so it is suitable for everyone.  There's a slight crunch to it and the sweetness of the onions and spices really balance it off.  We enjoyed this dish very much that we ordered two portions :P

The pakoras were good too.  The pastry was firm and not too flaky.  The filling was packed with potatoes, peas and mince.  We ordered another portion of this as well :)

The naan bread was hot when it arrived with all the other dishes that we ordered.  I lost count of the number of portions that we ordered as we started with two baskets initially.  We did that as we wanted the naan to be hot instead of it sitting around waiting to be consumed.  We ordered a saffron rice as well but I had forgotten to take a shot.  One of us mentioned that the rice was rather tasteless but collectively we agreed that with all the dishes that we were having it with, it worked out fine.

This is a fish dish.  It was really tasty and the fish was tender.  The gravy is rich and thick so some people may not like it very much but I do ;)

Aloo Gobi

 

Lamb Kheema

The Aloo Gobi was decent, usually most places can't go wrong with this dish anyway.  The lamb kheema was delicious.  Again, just the right amount of spices and not too overpowering. I love it!  Well, maybe because I love lamb... 

I think this is Chicken Tikka.  The chicken was tender, the gravy was flavourful, creamy, thick and rich without being too spicy.  It was good.

This Palak Paneer (spinach and paneer cheese)  seems to be the favourite of one of my friends.  She really enjoyed it very much.  I had a taste and it was good too.  It was flavourful although it's just spinach.  However, another friend did not have it as she doesn't like the look.  I guessed it's due to the colour and consistency :D

Ah, the Rogan Josh is my favourite!  The lamb was tender, the gravy was delicious and it just tasted great.  I really enjoyed this with my naan.  A must order!

The Chicken Vindaloo was fortunately not as spicy and hot as the ones in the UK :).  It definitely did not burn our tongue and the chicken was tender and the gravy has just the right amount of spice.

I just had a taste of the dessert as I am not really a dessert person.  However, I was pleasantly surprised that it was not as sweet as what you would usually have in an Indian restaurant.  The dough was moist and not dry.  It was actually very decent that another friend finished her portion and mine :)

All in all, we had a fabulous lunch.  I think the food was very good and I guess having wonderful company helps to make the food tastes even better.  I would definitely come again to Indian House.

Ratings:

Starters
Deep fried spiced onions: 9/10
Pakoras: 8/10

Main dishes
Chicken Tikka 8.5/10
Aloo Gobi: 7/10
Lamb Kheema: 9/10
Fish Curry: 8/10
Chicken Tikka: 8.5/10
Palaak Paneer: 8/10
Rogan Josh: 9/10
Chicken Vindaloo: 8.5/10

 INDIAN HOUSE
- Authentic Indian Cuisine
49 Boat Quay Singapore 049838
Tel: +65 64384971 

Wild Honey

My girlfriend suggested meeting up for brunch at 11am and I was wondering where could we go?  She suggested Wild Honey at Scotts and the good thing is they start at 9 am.

When we got there,  noticed all of the tables were taken and it was a weekday!  Luckily, we had a reservation.

The waitress took our orders and my friend was deciding whether she would have champagne or white wine.  Since she was going to order just by the glass, she asked how old was the champagne.   After the waitress, went back and forth for at least three times to get the answer, she decided to have the white wine as it was just opened as opposed to the champagne which was five days old.  We were discussing that they must have a good way to keep the champagne fresh for that long but we were not taking the risk.  The good thing is that, they are honest about it.

The drinks came and we noticed that our colour choices of our two drinks were similar :D  I ordered a beetroot based juice and she ordered a citrus based one.  I can't remember the name of the juices though.  Look at the photos :)

My friend ordered the I Love New York breakfast.  It's scrambled eggs with caramelised onions and smoked sturgeon with sesame bagel and cream cheese ($24).  It looks pretty good but she only finished the bagels and not the scrambled eggs.  She said it was ok but I guess there's not much variety tastewise on her plate.

I Love New York

I ordered the Aussie as she told me she usually order this when she comes here.  You can choose a smaller portion of 120gms of grass fed sirloin ($28) or 240gms ($38).  I picked the former as I don't think I can finish the bigger portion.  It's served with sunny side up, potatoes, baked lima (I think so) beans,  red and yellow peppers, melted onion and grilled brioche.  Oh and mushrooms!  In terms of variety of taste on a plate, I would recommend this choice.  The sirloin was actually tasteless however, there's sea salt on the table so you can just add accordingly or if the sauce was sufficient for you.  The mushrooms were tasty.  The potatoes were not hot and slightly spongy in texture.   I like the baked beans though.  On the whole, I enjoyed it very much as I finished almost everything or maybe I was hungry :)  I will order this again when I come here next time and hope they do a better job with their spuds.

Aussie

Ratings:
I Love New York:  7/10
Aussie: 7.5/10

Wild Honey
6 Scotts Road, Scotts Square
Singapore
Tel: 6636 1816
They have another outlet in Mandarin Gallery, check out their website for more details.

http://www.wildhoney.com.sg

Goreng Pisang King

Have not come come across any restaurants or makan places that's worth mentioning in terms of taste recently.  The other day, I fancied having a laksa and headed to Bedok Corner.  However, laksa was sold out much to my disappointment.  My friend, who wasn't really hungry, fancied having a snack.  So he ordered these vegetarian fritters from Goreng Pisang King.

It's a very simple snack, deep fried batter with beanspouts and maybe onions, drizzled with chilli sauce if you wish.  It came in a small plate, enough for two normal person and it cost $1.  I never had it before and thought it was rather tasty.  I think it was quite filling too.  Who says you can't get anything for a dollar nowadays? :)

Rating:
Vegetarian Fritters 7.5/ 10

Goreng Pisang King
Stall 12
Bedok Corner Hawker Centre

Seafood Treasures, Tales & Trails 2012. Charity Iftar at Mamanda Kg Gelam

I was invited to the Charity Iftar at Mamanda, Kg Gelam.  It is a new restaurant which should be opening soon.  It is situated at Gedung Kuning, near Arab Street nearby Sultan Mosque.  This event also marked the end of the event organised by the Malay Heritage Foundation in conjunction with the Singapore Food Festival.


The first course for this break fast session is Ramadan Porridge and a medley of fresh fruits and dates.  The rice porridge was tasty with a hint of spice.  Topped with curried minced beef, spring onions and fried shallots, there were bits of nuts in this porridge as well.  It was an interesting combination of texture with the slight crunch of the nuts and the thick porridge.

 

Ramadan Porridge

the floral centrepiece

Table setting

Malay gentlemen traditional outfit

Oxtail soup with banana shoots

The oxtail soup was tasty with bits of oxtail, off the bone and spring onions.  The soup was not oily and the oxtail was tender.  If it was served piping hot, it would have been delicious but it must be quite challenging serving so many guests at one time.  The event was attended by around 160 guests.

Wrapped fragrant Yellow Rice

The fragrant yellow rice was served with Ulam Diraja (Royal Herbs) and Bunga Kantan Ulam Bestari (Ginger Flower/ Torch Ginger Intelligent Herb? :)  The salad/ herbs are finely sliced and added a wonderful flavour to the yellow rice.  The fragrance of the Ginger flower or Torch Ginger is lovely and has an extremely refreshing taste.

 Fragrant yellow rice

An array of sambal

Cincalok

 The array of sambal includes sambal belacan, cincalok and another sambal that I am not sure of the name.  I was told it's really spicy so I did not touch any of it :)  The cincalok (fermented tiny prawns) usually served with a squeeze of lime to cut the pungent flavour.  However, this was served without.

Terung Bestari/ Spicy Eggplant

 The spicy eggplant is spicy, well it should as it's a sambal.  It is cooked with red chillies and onions.  The eggplant was well cooked and soft.

Daging Rendang Mamanda

 I must say the Rendang was excellent!  It is slightly drier than what I prefer but it was extremely delicious and the meat was superbly tender.  I think this is a "must order" when the restaurant opens.  I hope they will maintain this standard.

Gado- Gado

Gado-gado is best described as a Malay salad.  This dish is also popular in Indonesia.  It is a combination of raw and boiled vegetables with fried tofu, topped with peanut sauce.  A refreshing dish that is perfect for vegetarians.

The tray that came with the dishes.

 The Ayam Lemak Chilli Padi (the yellow sauce above and luckily it was not too spicy :P  is a dish with spices, birds eye chillies and coconut milk.  The chicken is cooked till tender and this dish is very popular amongst the Malays during Eid or celebrations.

Sambal Goreng Petai Desa

Sambal Goreng is a combination of fried tofu, soyabeans, long beans and this version has petai, aka. the stink beans.  Petai is also an "ulam" and widely used in native cusines in South East Asia.  The petai adds an interesting edge to the sambal goreng.

Udang Kara Rempah Selatan/ Specially spiced crayfish

The crayfish was coated all over with the special spice which tasted slightly like fish curry.  The crayfish was soft and smothered with the spicy sauce with mustard seeds and coriander.  
  

Laksmana Ikan Berlada

 Sambal Fish Laksmana was a tad spicy for me but not spicy enough for my friend :).  Again, its cooked with chillies and if I am not wrong, I could detect the belacan in the sauce.  The Stingray was well cooked but not overdone.  Therefore, it is still tender and moist on the inside.

Kuih Tradisi Melayu/ Malay Traditional Kuih

 An assortment of Malay kuih as dessert was served on a tray.

Koleh-Koleh

 I like Kole-Koleh.  It is a combination of green bean flour, palm sugar and coconut milk.  I must say that this Koleh-Koleh was really good.  I enjoyed it very much :)

Kuih Bakar berlauk

This kuih is usually served with mince beef and chillies on top.  This is a Malay quiche if you ask me. :)

Kuih Lapis

Bubur Biji Nangka

This is called bubur as well but it is not the same as the first dish as this is actually a dessert, more like a pudding or trifle.  It was served with slivers of jackfruit.  This particular dish is more like a drink as it does not have the thick consistency of a pudding.

Kuih Dadar

 The filling of Kuih Dadar is made up grated coconut and palm sugar.  The dough is made from flour, corn flour and pandan paste.  This delightful traditional kuih is rather sweet though not overpowering and the slightly crunchy filling of the grated coconut makes this an enjoyable snack.

Cempedak goreng

Cempedak Goreng is deepfried jackfruit dipped in batter.  This is a favourite with many Malays as well.  You can normally buy them from shops selling Goreng Pisang or Banana Fritters.

It was indeed a good spread of traditional Malay cuisine.  When Mamanda opens, bring your visiting friends if they would like to sample traditional Malay food.  Selamat makan! :D

CUT by Wolfgang Puck (Singapore)

Celebrating a very good friends' milestone birthday, we headed to CUT at Marina Bay Sands.  This Austrian celebrity chef opened the restaurant Spago on the Sunset Strip in the US in 1982. Fifteen years later, in 1997, Puck opened the award-winning Spago in Beverly Hills, which has been recognized as one of the Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S. since 2004.

We got there for our 7.30pm dinner and was seated promptly as we had a reservation.  The ambience of the place was great. It is a fine dining restaurant but not one of those too quiet where you can hear a pin drop.  Everyone around seems to be having a great time without being too noisy or intrusive.

We were given the menu and they showed us the various cuts on the trolley that's available for the day.  We decided to order a few starters to share as we were quite afraid that we would be too full to finish our mains.

The cheese breadstick, which I think is parmesan was fabulous.

There were about five choices of bread.  I had the onion bread that was very good.  There's just the right hint of onion without tasting too "oniony" :)

The crabmeat salad was really good too.  It was light, tasty and refreshing and I think the presentation's great too.

We ordered a few starters that we think is different from any other restaurants that we had been to.   Why order the same stuff as what you can get at other places right? This is the veal tongue.  I know it does not sound appetising but we thought, heck why not.  It was tender and it was not slimy or sticky.  It tastes almost like meat but lighter.  The dressing that went with it was also very good.  Even my teenage daughter likes it.

The carpaccio- style raw scallops were excellent!  Light and the wonderfully tasty dressing with a touch of fish roe really enhances the flavour of the scallops.  I enjoyed this very much.

This is my Japanese wagyu sirloin.  It was delicious! We ordered sweetcorn, wild mushrooms and broccoli as our sides.  The meat was done just right although I find the seasoning just a tad salty but then again, that's relative as I do not take a lot of salt.  However, another friend said that it's just right for her.  The sweetcorn was good and if I am not wrong, there's a slight lime flavour to it.  The wild mushrooms was fabulous too.  The brocolli was ok and I feel it was just slightly overdone for brocolli.  Another one of us ordered the USDA filet mignon and it was an excellent choice as well.  She said it melts in her mouth and it was tender, succulent and fabulous.  We ordered three different sauce to go with our steaks as well.  I had a cream horseradish sauce, it was fab.

Since I am not really a dessert person, I ordered a scoop of sorbet for dessert.  I LOVE sorbets :P.  It is good but then again, a restaurant of this standard should not go wrong with sorbets.

The service staff who was serving our table was excellent.  He had been working in other fine steak restaurants before and so he knows what he is talking about.  He also has a great personality and a good sense of humour which is refreshing.  With bad service, even the fabulous food could not make up for the bad experience.  We had a lovely time with great food, fabulous company, wonderful service and the superb ambience  All in all, it was a fantastic birthday celebration with my JJCM kaki.  I would definitely visit them again.

Ratings:

Crabmeat Salad: 9.5/10
Veal Tongue: 9.5/10
Raw Scallops: 10/10
Japanese Wagyu Sirloin Steak: 9.5/10
Fillet Mignon: 9/10
Sides
Brocolli: 7/10
Sweetcorn: 8/10
Wild Mushrooms: 9/10

Marina Bay Sands Hotel Singapore
10 Bayfront Avenue
Singapore
Tel: +65 6688 8517