Straits Cafe- Hotel Rendezvous

The Rendezvous Hotel has been refurbished and my memory of this hotel was the well known Nasi Padang restaurant on the ground floor.

Now, the hotel coffee shop is known for it's Singapore Laksa.  I think most of my friends love Laksa.  I have yet to meet one who doesn't.  I decided to try it out for myself one lunchtime.

Apparently, their laksa is freshly cooked when you place your order.  It comes with a reasonable portion of seafood and sliced chicken and it smells great :).  Surprisingly, the gravy is not as rich or thick as it looks.  Which is fine for me as I do not like the coconut milk taste to be too overpowering.  I think it strikes the right balance of spice and just enough of the coconut milk flavour.

If you would like to go for their lunch and high tea weekend buffet, you have to book early as it is fully booked on most days.  Try it if you are around the area or when you have people in town who would like to try this famous dish.

Rating: 7.5/10

Straits Cafe
Hotel Rendezvous
9 Bras Basah Road
Singapore 189559
Tel: +65 6336 0220

Salt Grill & Sky Bar

Had a lovely lunch with my friend and her daughter one afternoon.  We decided to check out Salt Grill & Sky Bar before deciding should we go for dinner there next time.

Located on the 55th floor of Ion, the view from the restaurant is excellent.  The restaurant is spacious though I personally feel the interior deco should be just a tad up a notch.  Anyway, it is still a good venue for a meal.

I ordered the Carpaccio of blue fin tuna, wasabi avocado, apple and radish salad.  The blue fin tuna was fresh.  The green apple and radish added the extra crunch and cleanse the palette while the wasabi avocado gave it an interesting dimension to the flavours.  I enjoyed it very much.

My friend ordered the ‘glass’ Sydney crab omelette with miso mustard broth.  It was very good too and the crabmeat was tasty and fresh.  Again, the miso mustard broth gave that interesting flavour also adding adequate moisture to the dish.

Both of us had the Crispy skin salmon, char siu mushrooms, bok choy, sesame seed.  My portion was much smaller than the other but since I was not too hungry, it was fine.  Though I think it would not have been sufficient for a guy.  The salmon was done well and the mushrooms were flavourful.  Though I would prefer to have the bok choy served without the stem but that is just me :)

My friend's daughter had the cheese burger from the kids menu.  I did not taste it but I am sure no restaurant should go wrong with a cheese burger.

I took a photo of the restaurant where there's no one being seated.

My friend picked the dessert of chocolate cake with hot dark chocolate oozing next to the cold ice cream.  It was rather fabulous.

I can't remember the name of this dessert but it was good too.

I will visit this restaurant again.  The food was good and offering a great view of Singapore.  I think it's also ideal to bring your visitors.  The staff was also polite and helpful.

Ratings:

Blue fin tuna carpaccio 9/10

Crabmeat omellete  8.5/10

Salmon: 8.5/10

Chocolate dessert: 9/10

Salt grill & Sky bar 

2 Orchard Turn, ION Orchard 

#55-01 & #56-01 

Singapore 238801

Tel: +65 6592 5118

Operating Hours: Monday to Sunday

Restaurant	Sky bar
Lunch	18.00 - 23.30
11.30 - 14.00 (Last Order)	(Drink last order at 23.00)
Dinner
18.00 - 22.00 (Last Order)
Brunch (Weekend)
11:30-14:00 (Last order)

Dress Code: Smart Casual

Al Forno

My friend and I decided to have an Italian lunch around the East Coast area.  We decided to head to Al Forno as she really likes the place and I have not been there in a very long time.

Fortunately, it was a weekday, so we managed to find a parking spot about 200m away.  Otherwise, it's really hard to find a parking area around here.

She ordered the Pescatore but with pasta instead of risotto while I requested to have a Calzone with Bolognese sauce instead.  It wasn't on the menu but they were able to do it, which shouldn't be too hard really.  Anyway, I was happy that they obliged.

We skipped the appetisers as we were not sure if we can finish everything.  When the food arrived, the portions were very decent.  Just say that it would fill up an adult man really well.  The pasta was good.  The tomato was rich and tangy at the same time.  It was tasty and there was a good portion of mussels, squid and prawns.  The seafood was fresh and not overcooked.  My friend who loves her food spicy, added more chilli flakes on it.  For me, it was fine as it is but I put loads of parmesan as I love it that way :)

Spaghetti Pescatore $26

My Calzone looks like a huge Asian curry puff.  It was tasty and there's lots of cheese with the bolognese filling although I would like it even more if they had more beef.  The dough was freshly made and it was really hot when it arrived.  It was flavourful but some parts didn't have any beef in it.  The tomato sauce on it was good too.

Calzone with Bolognese filling ($24)

The staff were polite and the service was good.  There's a smoking table outside but it's on a high chair for those who doesn't mind.  They shut after lunch hours and open again later for dinner.  

Rating:

Spaghetti Pescatore  8/10
Calzone with Bolognese  7/10

400 East Coast Road
Singapore 428996

Tel: +65 6348 8781
Email:
contact@alfornoeastcoast.com.sg

Lunch: 12 pm - 2 pm
Dinner: 6.30 pm – 10.30 pm
Open daily

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