Osia; delectable dining at RWS

Don't we all love weekends? :)

This lovely Saturday found us heading to RWS for some good food after catching the awesome Iron Man 3.
We were still undecided on where to go, and had Joel Robuchon on our list as well.

THEN, b saw Osia at the corner.
That's it. Go in already. Simply cause their Hokkaido scallop from Savour' 13 (will be blogging about that soon) left such a deep impression. Plus got celeb chef, got awards, cannot go wrong la.

Indeed, this choice .... was gooood. 

Upon stepping in, it felt fuss free and had an open kitchen concept where the we could just lean over the countertop to see the chefs working. Nice.

We were ushered to a window seat, with friendly and efficient service, where b commented: " Wah, I didn't notice him placing the water here at all!' Me neither. Stealth mode: Maximum.

Our orders for the day were:

1) Seafood ice experience:

These gems were served in test tubes, and totally reminded me of school lab lessons. Thank goodness they weren't experiments went wrong :p

Basically they were different raw seafood served on beds of ice eaten in the following order : 1) prawn sashimi with sweet crackling ice 2) tuna with tomato ice 3) prawn sashimi with mango/yoghurt ice 4) salmon sashimi with sweet ice 5) crabmeat with beetroot ice and finally 6) Asahkuya oyster with lychee ice, with the last one leaving a wonderful and lasting impression. Why you so fresh and good. THIS ONE DIE ALSO MUST TRY.

2) Flat bread in two flavours:

Black Mushroom Truffle & Macadamia Pesto. It was served with a most fragrant olive oil, soft butter and a stick of Osia macadamia pesto paste. Shiok.

3) Black Angus Tenderloin Steak: 

This was served with mushroom risotto and boy, what a wonderful pair they make! We like our meat medium rare, and Osia served up a piece that was juicy, rare and flavourful. I really enjoyed every bite, with the occasional sprinkle of sea salt present on their table.

4) Sea Perch with Shisomiso paste:

The fish reminded us of Ember, which has a similar dish and luckily, Osia also got standard. It was fat, juicy, fresh and flaked off beautifully... ma ma mia!

5) Kipfler potatoes with chorizo and scallion:

Normally not a potato fan, I liked it very much! The tuber was sweet and had a good bite to it, with the salty chorizo (a harder version of Lap cheong) and scallion further bringing out its natural flavours. What a good marriage and to think I initially scoffed at this seemingly simple dish. My foodie bad.

The overall experience was really good, as the restaurant manager even came over to make small talk, and gave us a copy of an atas cookbook.

Given that I'm such a sucker for good service, pair that with great food... I think we've found a new favourite fine dining place :) 

Osia restaurant
Level 2 Crockford Towers
Operating Hours:
Lunch: 12pm - 3pm (Thu - Tue)
Dinner: 6pm - 10.30pm (Thu - Tue)
Closed on Wed
Tel No: +65 6577 6688

Good tze char at Two Chefs!

It was a weekday when we were in the Commonwealth area, and since we were feeling peckish at about 530pm, the one driving, G, suggested Two Chefs.

I was game to try as I heard good reviews about the cold cockles dish & G said the place was good. Steady la.

G was in charge of ordering since he tried it before and we ordered:

1) Cold Cockles

I loved this dish, with its refreshing and spicy sauce, topped with lots of fresh chopped garlic and chili padi. The combination kept me going for one cold cockle after another. Hot stuff indeed. I feared having a tummy ache the next day, but thank goodness, the shells were fresh enough..  pass!

2) Sambal Kangkong

Everybody's all time fave, and the sambal belachan was pretty kickass. Good stuff.

3) Butter Pork Ribs

You know how some times, there is more flour than meat in these pork rib dishes? But boy, every piece was lightly coated with a fragrant batter, served with fried milk powder and packed with juicy, succulent meat. Supershiokkk. At first I thought the milk powder was abit weird but the sweetness of it was well juxtaposed with the delicious salty fragrance of good pork meat.... end up cannot stop. Sigh.

4) Steamed beancurd with golden mushrooms

This was my favourite dish of the day, with its savoury sauce drenching soft beancurd (that had a lightly fried skin) & long golden mushrooms with a q bite. I found this pairing heavenly, a little bit like black pearls with milk tea; where anything else seems wrong.

Glad to find a new place, with good comfort food, and be sure to go before the dinner crowd as I heard the queues can be quite crazy.

Location:
116 Commonwealth Crescent
#01-129

Tel no: 64725361

Opening hours:
Mon: 1700 - 2330
Tue - Sun: 1130-1430
Tue - Sun: 1700 - 2330
Closed on every last Mon of the month

Happy eating peeps!

Eating out today, WLF.

Bangkok Jam - simple & shiok!

Sorry for the loooonnng hiatus peeps; such a dedicated blogger I am... not.

Haha anyway, t'was my 2nd trip back to this spanking bright and loud place in Plaza Singapura, with my loverboy. WHOM WENT TO CHECK HUNGRYGOWHERE TO SEE IF MY RECOMMENDATION WAS CORRECT.

Which, by the way, was the worst insult one can ever give to a Foodie.
I know taste buds are subjective but if a Foodie says it's good, it's good. It did not help that all five reviews were bad, mainly due to lousy service. And they were around the Dec '12 -Feb '13 period. I call them teething issues, which are common for a new place, right or not.

Okay enough ranting. For me, I seem to have an affinity with the place, as I had a pleasant experience on both times. Or maybe cause I am more easygoing.... HAHA.

(Oops sorry, here comes rant part 2) 

But really, some Singaporeans can be so ugly. There was this young couple sitting next to us, (the seats were about an arm's length away) and the guy was bitching about how the waitress walked away while he was paying the bill. Yeah for 1 minute to attend to the next table. During that 1 minute, he went on about how she had hearing problems because he had to ask for the bill twice. Mind you, it was pretty noisy and I had problems hearing my own bf, not to mention the waitress who was standing about 1 metre away. 

And she was still very polite despite his offensive kiam pa face. Seriously, dude, grow up and try working.

Too bad I didn't have a tiara to crown you princess then. Thank goodness they left before our food arrived, if not I might have puked on him.

WHEW. FINALLY.

We ordered:

1) Olive fried rice - must try!

This was fragrant, fluffy and layered with aromatic spices x cashew nuts, making each bite rather delightful. After this dish, le bf said: "Good recommendation". Synne - 1, Augs - 0.

2) Fried chix wings, marinated in fish sauce - good comfort food

I didn't expect the wings to be so small, but the taste overcompensated for their size. Each mini wing was juicy and well marinated, and I love the fact that it was fried with garlic flakes. YUM.

3) Soft shell crab in mellow yellow curry (goes the name, cute right?) - must try?

A question mark because you cannot go wrong with soft shell crabs and good spicy, yet sweet curry but I found the dish a tad too salty, which made me think about the MSG content. Me: "No wonder so nice...." I'd say, go for it, but limit your servings.

4) Tom Yum soup - must try!
Their soup is the clear type, and I find it quite authentic, with fresh and plump seafood. Sorry, the soup was finished before I could snap a picture :p

5) Tom Yum fried rice - mixed feelings

If you like risotto, you might like this. Moist (almost reaching wet), spicy and tasty would be the best way to describe this dish. It almost felt like the chef poured tom yum soup onto the rice and fried it together, with the same fat prawns and spiciness. But I still prefer my rice fluffy so this was a no-go.

I would definitely come back again for my must-tries as I also like the vibe of the place; vibrant, fast paced, noisy, fuss free with efficient service.

Gotta go educate the hungrygowhere site now.

Happy eating peeps!

WLF.

Sakae Sushi

Normally I wouldn't go to Sakae for sushi because it just can't compare to the better offerings out there ie. Hachi, Itacho or Sushi Tei etc.

Thus I did not expect much on my recent visit there with a client, and found myself rather satisfied with the food despite some misses. Plus points were that they revamped their menu and orders were done electronically. Maybe all these were this already in place and I'm just being sua ku HAHA.

We ordered mainly salmon dishes and the featured ones are:

1) Seared Salmon with Yuzu on Noodles (the noodle had a more fanciful name but I'm getting old...)
- very disappointing because it literally had no taste to it, and I could not detect a hint of yuzu. DWYM - Don't Waste Your Money.

2) Sakae Signature salad
- I enjoyed this the most, as there were 3 main flavours; sweet, spicy, umami (foodie fact: this is the newest human taste bud) which kept me going back for more for the crunchy bits of fish skin & fresh lettuce/beetroot that was nicely juxtaposed with fresh fatty slices of salmon sashimi. SHIOK.

3) Salmon Sakura Sushi & Salmon Cheese Sushi
- both were decently done, with thick salmon pieces atop neatly packed pearl rice grains. I was curious & worried about the cheese and salmon combination, as both textures were the soft and gooey type. It turned out to be a good one, where the umami of the cheese brought out the freshness of the fish and simply melted into the flesh.

4) Soft shell Crab Omelette Maki
- I guess you can't go wrong with this, but Sakae did it well, with a fragrant egg skin and nicely fried crustacean. Simple and good!

5) Azuki bean and Matcha Tai Yaki
- it was a joy to discover this new addition to the dessert menu but I found it too sweet though, and would prefer a lighter version. Those more sweet-toothed can give it a try in future! I think my sweet tooth is disappearing with age.. :p

Overall, I had an enjoyable meal that left me feeling satisfied and healthy. But it still doesn't make the cut to be on my favourite list..... yet?

And have a great CNY you all!

Don't go list: TCC - really boring food.

I don't think I'd ever head back for a main course again because the sides tasted much better. :(

Even then, I believe I can whip up better sides !

Sides ordered were:

1) Shrimp martini 

- one of TCC's latest creations, and they were basically fried shrimps coated with batter. It was decent but nothing great, and thank goodness the sauce had some kick to it; slightly spicy with a tinge of sweetness.

2) Mozzarella sticks

- you cannot go wrong with this. But after a while, my tastebuds fell asleep because it is just cheese and more cheese. Wrapped in a flat breaded roll. Plus some tomato sauce. It's unlike Spizza's crispy sticks, where the cheeze really oozes out and has a firm chewy texture which keeps you going for more.

Mains ordered:

1) White fish with yuzu 

- this was SO bad I don't even feel like talking about it. The fish was dry and tasteless, and the vegetables..... none of them sweet. I buay tahan after 2 bites and requested to change my food.

Decided to give up on the mains and went for a salad instead. 

The Apple & Salmon salad was a surprising standard above the rest, with fat pieces of well smoked fish and sweet, fragrant apple cubes ( that were not very crunchy however). I would have enjoyed the salad had not the white fish destroyed my usually good appetite :p

2) Roast beef baked rice

- totally forgettable, with tasteless beef cubes atop a dish that felt like not much effort was put into it.

Goodbye TCC, it was nice acquainting myself with you. 

Maybe we will keep in touch for your desserts, but you will never be my muse.

A real quickie

Sorry for the long hiatus guys!

We've been globe trotting and promise to be back, real soon!

X'mas lunching at Spruce

And so, after last night's feast, we headed down to Spruce for an X'mas brunch.

It was packed, but no surprises there, given the good ambience; surrounded by foliage and good ventilation, and hearty fare. There was pleasant chatter all around, and it was a breezy afternoon, which made the place very relaxing to be at. 

When the waitress said the lemonade was freshly made, we decided to give it a go, and it was indeed refreshing. Good recommendation missus!

There were many of us, so there was a lot of variety on the menu, yay!
(In retrospect, it is better to stick to tried & tested choices when it comes to food :p)

1) Crabcakes benny:

Decent, but nothing outstanding. I found the crab meat a tad fishy, and slightly hard. On the whole acceptable, but I wouldn't order it again :/

2) Brioche French toast with mascarpone cream and fruit jam:

I liked it, as it was fluffy and soft. Could be more eggy though. The cream and jam were light, so it made a good combination with the bread. Warning: order and share, otherwise you will definitely get sick of it, given the ginormous serving and the fact that it is ALL bread. (Antoinette has really good french toast btw, will post about it when I go back!)

3) The Spruce Signature burger:

Lives up to its name, with a thick beef patty atop a sweet & pickle-level sour dressing, complete with thick cut crispy fries sprinkled with what seemed like chipotle and salt to me. A very satisfying BLT (Must show off my new foodie vocab cos I just found out what this meant!) that will keep you going for more.

4) Salmon bagel with sour cream cheese:

A classic combination that cannot go wrong, with freshly toasted bagel slices (Who doesn't love these things?! Don't talk to me if you don't.) and thick smoked salmon slices. The onion slices were also juicy, sweet and very pungent, with a strong sting. Certainly woke up after sinking my teeth into one! And Spruce does their salmon well, where it is superb fresh and not fishy at all. And their extra serving of salmon for $6 makes your buck worth, cos we couldn't finish them thick pieces. ps/Seems like this dish is served in slices eh?

5) Grilled chicken with scrambled eggs:

 

Good scrambled eggs, firm yet slightly runny and not too creamy. Chicken was juicy and tasty as well. Perfect for someone who likes his food simple and straightforward. 

6) Banana chocolate pancakes:

Not bad for pancakes, but nothing outstanding. This was the denser and heavier kind, something like MacDonald's hotcakes, where you can get full really fast from the flour. BUT the crumbs surrounding it were good, and helped to refresh the palette. This serving can easily feed 2-3, and I would recommend saving some space for desserts instead of this.

7) Spruce signature salad with goat's cheese and croutons:

Really.... not recommended. The textures of the salad were mostly similar, with too much avocado, sweets dates and cheese. It was a very heavy salad that didn't have much taste, so sad! Maybe I should sell them the Orange Sweet Duck salad recipe hor.

Despite some shioks and buayshioks, I still like Spruce for its ambience and efficient service. Will still be going back, only for its burger, bagel and breakfast sets : D

Spruce Operating hours:
Phoenix Park (Tanglin)

Mon - Fri: 10:30 - 22:30

Sat - Sun: 08:30 - 22:30

Tel no: 68365528