Sunset Bay Bistro

I felt like having breakfast by the beach for my daughter's birthday and decided to head to Sunset Bay Bistro in East Coast. 

They have a few combinations and you can get them to do your eggs whatever way you like.  This one comes with chicken ham, baked beans, scrambled eggs, hash brown, warm toast with butter and marmalade.  The scrambled eggs were done well.  My daughter enjoyed it very much.

Mine was with scrambled eggs, chicken sausages, beef bacon and toast.  Next time I will have the other combination.  I think it is a pleasant change to have breakfast with the sea breeze on a Saturday morning.  I will definitely be back again soon...

Mushroom ommelette

Ratings: 8/10

Service: 7/10

1300 East Coast Park, Singapore 468964, Singapore 
+65 64489060

Private Affairs

I've been wanting to try out this restaurant for a while after I heard about it from a good friend last year.  So, I decided to head there for lunch one afternoon.

The frontage of the restaurant looks really nice.  I like the old shophouses around Joo Chiat as I think they have great character compared to all the swishy malls in town.  As I entered, there was no one at the "reception" and after about a good two minutes, a staff appeared and led us to our table. A group of guys were having business lunch but otherwise, no one else.

My foie gras appetiser was well done.  Crispy on the outside and soft in the inside.  However, it was slightly underdone in the centre, so I left it.  The salmon was fresh and tasted good but a bit on the small side.  The combination of seaweed and caviar was interesting to the palate. 

The snapper was fresh, with tasty crispy skin.  Although we find it a little salty but the slight turmeric taste (I think) is nice.  If they tone down slightly on the salt, it would've been perfect.  The oxtail was tender and had a good flavour together with the mushrooms.  The mash was light and the portion was just right for me but some may feel it's too little. 

I must say all the dishes were presented very well.  The staff were friendly and they were not too much "in your face".  The deco was nice and I think it's a suitable place for a business lunch or a leisurely meal with friends as you are not rushed.  I think it is a decent place though I was told that they will be moving to another venue in town this year.  That's quite a shame as it would be nice to have more choices of nice looking restaurants with decent food in the East Coast coast area...

Ratings:
Salmon: 8/10
Foie Gras: 8/10
Snapper: 7.5/10
Oxtail: 7.5/10

Service: 8/10

45 Joo Chiat Place
Singapore
Tel: +65 6440 0601

Opening Hours

Tue–Sat
Lunch: 11.30am – 2.30pm (Last sitting at 2pm)
Tue – Sun
Dinner: 6.30pm – 11.00pm (Last sitting at 10pm)
Sunday
Brunch: 11.30am – 3.30pm
(Closed on Mon)

Bistro Changi

Decided to try out this place by the beach just to have a casual snack.  The place was full and we were lucky to get the last table available. 

My fish & chips were ok, it was fine but I think the batter is not crispy enough.  The portion were decent and it came with some salad.

The Pizza Margarita was full of cheese and it was good.  My daughter was very happy with her choice.  It was fresh, the dough was good and they are not stingy with the toppings.

The place is rather pleasant but the service is not great.  You can come for a light snack or drinks but you should not expect too much attention from the staff.   I saw a sign that states that they serve breakfast as well so I may try that out one day...

Ratings: 

Fish & Chips 6/10

Pizza Margerita 8/10

Service 5/10

260 Nicoll Drive, Changi Beach Carpark 1, 

Tel: +65 6546 5229

Hasan Rabit & Hawa, Simpang Bedok

I fancied having a Nasi Briyani (again :)) and was told by my JJCM kaki that Hasan Rabit has a new outlet in Simpang Bedok.

We head there and ordered Briyani.  They served it in a huge plate for four people ($22).  I must say it's excellent.  The rice wasn't oily and the spices with the lamb was super tasty.  It was good enough to have it on it's own.  The Dalca gravy that came with it was a disappointment though.  It was very average even bordering on being tasteless.  Fortunately, the rice was fabulous so there was no need for the Dalca.  The lamb was tender and fell off the bone.  It was delicious!  I do think it's more of a Nasi Minyak than Nasi Briyani.  Regardless, I thought it was worth my visit here.  To be honest, I am not very big on Simpang Bedok as I find it chaotic and seems to have loads of men around.

Hasan Rabit Dalca

Hasan Rabit Lamb Briyani

We also ordered the You Tiao ($8) from Hawa.  It was oily and there was hardly any squid filling in it.  It was almost hollow inside.  I will definitely not have this here ever.

You Tiao from Hawa

Ratings: 
Hasan Rabit Lamb Briyani 9/10
Dalca: 3/10
Hawa You Tiao  3/10

Hasan Rabit
Simpang Bedok

Hawa
Simpang Bedok

Ichiban Boshi at nex

All of us woke up after a very good friend's birthday celebration and was really hungry.  We needed food asap and picked the closest venue where we could walk to.

After trying to decide amongst what seems like 10, 000 food outlets there, we picked Ichiban Boshi before one of us fainted...

We ordered various set meals and while some picked sushi from the conveyor belt cum carousel thingy, my girlfriend and I ordered the same thing and our set came with unagi, tempura, teriyaki salmon, chawan mushi, salmon sashimi, miso soup and rice :)

The unagi was done well, the tempura crispy, the teriyaki salmon was not too sweet and the salmon sashimi was fresh.  Both of us really thought it tasted good.  Another friend of ours ordered a set which consists of chawan mushi, tempura, salmon and unagi fried rice.

It tasted good too though her portion of fried rice was too much for her.  Another friend ordered the  tempura udon noodles.  It's tasty though the portion could be a little bit more.

The salad came in a rather a big portion for 1 person.  Ask for the another salad dressing if you don't fancy the one that came with it.

I think it is a decent place for casual dining with family and friends.  My good friend who had tried all the Japanese eateries in NEX said this is the best one.  Come early for lunch as you may not be able to get any table...  lucky we did!

Ratings:
Tempura Set    8/10
Unagi Fried Rice Set 8/10
Udon 7/10


#B1-04 nex
23 Serangoon Central
Tel: 66340128
Daily: 11:00am -10:00pm
(Last order: 9.30pm)

Buyan Russian Haute Cuisine and Caviar Bar

Decided to give this new restaurant a try.  My friend was saying that Russian food may be lousy but I thought, why not check it out.

one of the levels in Buyan

It is located in a shophouse in Duxton.  When I got there, there was no one at all to "greet" me at the sort of reception area.  It was totally empty.  Luckily, my friend had said that he's on the 3rd floor as I made my way up on my own with no staff in sight.  Only upon reaching the landing of the 3rd floor, I "located" a staff.

I was given the menu as soon as I was seated.  With iPad as menu and you can click beside the text to show the image of the food you are ordering.  There's 2 different menus, casual dining and fine dining.

They recommended me an appetiser from their fine dining menu as I couldn't make up my mind.  When it came, I think my Crabmeat Salad ($45) was superb! It was fresh, tasty, slightly crunchy and such a delight to the palate.  My friend ordered the Herring and Potato appetiser ($10) and it was excellent as well.  It was simple but very well done.  The herring was fresh, the potatoes were warm and it was good.  We were very happy with the appetisers that we decided to share another appetiser.  Since the Russians are known for caviar, we decided to go that way.  It comes with all the usual condiments and I enjoyed that very much too as I like caviar.

Shashlik

My friend ordered the Shashlik and I ordered the Beef Stroganoff as we feel we should order their classic dishes as our mains.  The Shashlik was decent though I was expecting something outstanding after our appetisers.  The portions were decent and it's reasonably tasty.  My Beef Stroganoff was delicious but I find the sauce too rich and therefore I was not able to finish it.

We decided to move downstairs to have our dessert.  The baked apple dessert was interesting and very different.  I've never seen this technique before.  The apple is still crunchy on the inside and it is crispy on the outside.  I will order this for myself the next time.  The berry dessert, ( I can't really remember the names of both desserts) is something light.  The pink liquid is sort of half drink, half jelly consistency plus the berries.  It is refreshing and just what I needed on a hot day though I won't really call it dessert.

I will visit Buyan again to try out other dishes and definitely will order the Crabmeat Salad again :)  I was also told that they serve 50 types of premium vodka in their vodka bar (apparently some not available elsewhere)  on the ground level.  So, I guess would be good for those of you who are vodka lovers...

Dessert:  Baked apple

Ratings:
Crabmeat Salad 9.5/10
Herring & Potato 9.5/10
Shashlik 8/10

Dessert: Berries

Beef Stroganoff 8/10
Baked Apple Dessert: 8.5/10
Berry Dessert: 6/10

Service: 7.5/10

Address: 9/10 Duxton Hill

Tel: +65 6223 7008

Opening Hours

Mon–Sat: 12pm – 12am
Closed on Sundays

Snacks

Kuih Lupis

I have been very very busy recently, hence, I have not been able to update my blog.  

Anyway, I came across some Kuih Lupis the other day and since it is one my daughter's favourite kuih, I decided to get some.  The Lupis is tasty and soft.  The grains are only slightly visible when you cut it across.  It is tender and moist and the "gula melaka sauce" (palm sugar) is not diluted.  My daughter told me that she rates this as No.2 so far, but then again her No. 1 choice was made by a friend's relative and can't be bought in the shops.  So that means, it's good.

Rating: 8/10

Mukmin Cafe

Bedok North Road

opp Bedok Stadium

Chocolate Tarts

There's another place which I must mention, though I was thinking of keeping it a secret :)  but I don't think that's fair to all of you :P

For those who knows me personally, they all know that I am not a snack person nor am I a dessert kinda gal.  Though, I will definitely make an exception for these "to-die-for" choc tarts.  I was introduced to this place by my JJCM Kaki (literal translation Walk Walk Find Food Buddy).  It is a small bakery and everything is being handmade by the owners, the auntie who does the tarts looks like she's at least 70 years old.  But let me tell you, you cannot stop at 2 or 3 when you start popping it in your mouth!!!

Th pastry is soft and slightly flaky with almost a "buttery-biscuity" flavour.  The chocolate is so creamy, yummy and not too sweet.  You have to have it almost immediately when it's out from the fridge else it would break apart.  The size is rather small and I would prefer it to be slightly larger in size.  Usually we'll get about 20 to 30 pieces for 3 persons.  It's selling for 80 cents per piece.

You have to go early as it's usually sold out by 4pm.  This is a MUST TRY!

Rating: 9.5/10

Nona Manis Bakery
Katong Shopping Centre
865 Mountbatten Road
#B1-93