Hide Yamamoto

With the Japanese nuclear / radiation situation as it is right now, I’m guessing many of you out there are going to be hesitant about having Japanese food that comes from Japan. While I agree we have to be cautious about what we eat that originates from Japan, I hope that good Japanese restaurants (such as the subject of this review) don’t suffer during this period. To our Japanese readers our there (if any), ganbatte kudasai!!!
Now, on Hide Yamamoto, I guess amongst the foreign culinary stars that have opened shop at Marina Bay Sands, Yamamoto-san is probably (for want of a better word) the least “famous” of them all. After all, it’s hard to stand tall in the midst of giants such as Guy Savoy, Tetsuya Wakuda or the late Santi Santamaria. But I must say, the food at Hide Yamamoto is still very much up to par, and best of all, value for money.

At Hide Yamamoto, there are several seating areas, and are divided into the robata grill section, the ramen section and the sushi section. Greedy as we could be, foodsmithone and myself picked to sit at the ramen section because that was the way we could try food from all the various sections. We each ordered a set lunch, and supplemented the very ample portions with additional a la carte orders.

First up, the set lunches:

1) Special Set Lunch (S$38+++)

This came with an appetiser of Marinated Octopus and Salad, Tempura Moriawase, Char Siu Rice and dessert of Berry and Lychee Sorbet.

All the dishes (yes, including the sorbet dessert) were very well executed pieces of Japanese cuisine. Our particular favourite was the tempura, where the batter was crisp and crunchy, yet light and non-oily. It was easily one of the better tempuras we’d had in Singapore in a long, long time (Inagiku could learn something here).

2) Special Chirashi Set (S$38++)

This also was a good rendition of a Chirashi Sushi. The rice was topped with chunks of sashimi so fresh and smooth that they just glided down our throats. I’m afraid there just isn’t much to describe the dish by – it was overall satisfying.

As part of our attempt to sample the food since we’d come so far into MBS (I know it’s a sorry excuse), we ordered the foie gras skewer (from the robata section) and some sashimi to sample (it’s just not enough to try sashimi chopped up in your chirashi sushi unfortunately).

The sashimi, as expected, was fresh and simply put, YUMMY. I did however, wish they hadn’t served salmon in the sampler plate (not when the plate costs close to S$60). After all, you hardly see salmon sashimi served in a good Japanese restaurant in Tokyo for an omakase plate. But still, it was decent, and the tuna belly (chutoro) and the yellowtail / hamachi had just the right amount of fattiness. Paired with freshly grated wasabi (i’m a sucker for restaurants that use fresh wasabi), the fish was elevated to a higher level altogether. As for the foie gras skewer, the charring was just what we were looking for on the outside, but I guess the coals were too hot for the foie gras as the interior was way overdone – it lost the silky smoothness that one usually expects with well-cooked (!!! i.e. slightly wobbly) foie gras.

Overall, this was a meal that was perfectly value for money, and at S$38 per person for set lunch, I’d go back there in a heartbeat. Do recommend this place to your friends as well, Hide Yamamoto is really a gem in the mammoth building that is MBS. Don’t get frightened off by the fact that it’s on the 2nd floor of MBS amongst the other restaurants that will only warrant a visit on the most special of occasions, you should hopefully be able to find something that meets your budget (the ramen goes for under S$20) at the restaurant. If you do try this place out, let us know what you think, and whether you agree with our views!

 

Hide Yamamoto

10 Bayfront Avenue, L2-05 Casino Level 2, Marina Bay Sands
Tel: +65 6688 7098

Opening Hours

Mon–Wed: 12pm–3pm, 6pm–11pm
Thu–Sun: 12pm–3pm, 6pm–3am

Cloud 9 ice cream

Cedele is better known for its sandwiches, soups and salads. For a period of time however I decided not to patronize the stalls after the bad service at a number of its branches, made worse by the fact that after writing into management to give feedback I did not hear from them at all. This sentiment of poor, brusque service is lamentable given that the quality of its breads and expanding selection of sandwich fillings is a step in the right direction. They have also had Cloud 9 ice cream but it wasn’t until today that I managed to sample. Each cup is $3(4 cups for $12)and $2.80 if you add it to a meal. There’s quite a selection of ice cream n sorbets – mango tango, blueberry cheesecake, cappuccino almond, vanilla bean, mango sorbet, sea salt caramel, lychee.

I had the vanilla bean- the texture of the ice cream is smooth and creamy with the scent of vanilla coming through. It was however in my opinion a tad sweet and strangely chalky. Apparently the ice cream is eggless without trans fats as with the advertising for the sandwiches. Half decent if you want something cold to round up your meal, aside from the cakes.

Artichoke

I know that I really love a place when I find myself thinking of the food there, and visiting the same place twice within a week. It of course, doesn’t hurt that the place is a small, independently run place that serves up food with soul and heart. So you’re probably wondering – where is this place? Well, it’s a small joint called Artichoke, nestled in a corner at Sculpture Square (near NAFA, off Middle Road). The food is  unique and one of a kind – a mix of Morrocan / Middle Eastern / Mediterranean morsels are served, and the two meals I’ve had there have left me wanting for MORE MORE MORE. (In fact, I almost selfishly wanted to keep this a secret so fewer people would crowd the place – but hey, good food should be shared right?)

The concept behind Artichoke is all about sharing – they serve a mix of big and small plates that are perfect for sampling their wonderful food amongst friends. On the 2 occasions I’ve been there, I’ve had (yes, both times) the Moorish Dips with Toasted Bread and the Marrakesh Chicken Wings. Of the dips, my favourite has got to be the roasted carrot, which marries the sweetness of the carrot with some interesting spices (i believe there is some cumin, but my taste buds could be off). The avocado tahini hummus was an interesting take on the traditional chickpea dip, while the yogurt and feta dip was the only one that didn’t quite blow my tastebuds away. One drawback, though, is that we would have liked if the bread was more of a pita texture (and if they gave a little bit more bread). The turkish bread that was served together with the dips was like a crispy ciabatta – while nice, it seemed – dare i say it – a little too fancy for the dips. We had to order more bread to mop up the dips, but at S$4 for 2 slices, this was a little steep. The Marrakesh Chicken Wings just exploded in juice and flavour once I bit into it – I will declare that I have not had a juicier, yummier chicken wing in a VERY long time. The harissa paste brought some nice heat and a little smokey flavour into the yummy wings, and I would not hesitate to order this EVERY time I visit. It is, however, S$15 for 6 pieces (really 3 full wings), so it’s not exactly terribly cheap, BUT, they were huge wings I would add.

 

People who know me, also know that I’m a huge eggplant / brinjal fan. Like HUGE. So when I saw the description of the Iman Bayidi on the menu, I knew that this was something we HAD to order. We were not let down. The eggplant was soft and mushy just as expected, and the smoky flavour suggested that it had been grilled over an open fire for a while. The walnuts added a nice crunchy texture to an otherwise soft dish (both the tomatoes and onions were also roasted and meltingly soft), and as a whole, the dish came together perfectly. It was almost like a reinterpretation of a “bhaigan bharta” (an Indian eggplant dish), and was just gobsmackingly addictive. Only one drawback to this dish – it was slightly on the oily side of things, which I attribute to eggplant, which usually needs plenty of oil to get it to that texture, but that could be just me.

For a big main to share, we picked the Lamb Kleftiko (Stolen Lamb). The only real reason why we ordered this the second time around, was because the table next to us on our first visit had ordered this and it looked and smelled terrific (i’m not much of lamb-eater myself). This particular dish had a nice stewey texture below that super crunchy cheesey crust, and we used that crust to soak in to the lamb gravy. It was like comfort food (x a million if you are a lamb-lover), and I could totally envisage myself digging into it in a cold winter evening. But alas, I am not a lamb lover, and anything I say about it perhaps will just not justify how good it tasted. I will say this – I liked the use of celeriac in the dish (at least I think it was celeriac), it gave the dish a little depth and plenty of oomph and sweetness, with a slight hint of parsley / celery.

Overall, I cannot emphasize how great a place like Artichoke is, and how fantabulous the food chef/owner Bjorn is churning out. I do wish he could train the servers a tad better. Save for the “manager” /  front of the house, the other wait staff were slightly clueless and inflexible. A request as to whether they sold the dips for takeaway went unanswered, and a request to swop seats (just to be under the lighting) was also denied (they apparently pre-set their tables and one is only allowed to sit at the table at which they are seated). Other than these slight service glitches (nothing some good training can’t remedy), I wholeheartedly recommend this place to anyone and everyone. There’s so much they have to offer, and I do sincerely hope they continue to serve up the delish soulful food!

Artichoke

161 Middle Road
Tel: 63366949 (Reservations on fri / sat recommended – it’s not a big place)

http://www.artichoke.com.sg

Tues – Thurs:	3:00 pm	-	10:00 pm
Fri:	3:00 pm	-	12:00 am
Sat:	11:00 am	-	12:00 am
Sun:	11:00 am	-	4:00 pm

 

Food for Thought

The first rule I learnt in economics is that businesses are profit-driven.

I thought of that while stepping into Food for Thought’s new pad at the Singapore Art Museum on Queen Street. The place prides itself on supporting charitable causes which by itself, is a novel concept for a cafe. Judging from the crowds, it is also a concept that works. The menu covers fairly standard fare for a cafe, but has some interesting finds. For instance, sandwiches come with pickles on the side, that taste more like achar and is quite a treat.

The fries are also to die for- I’ve been secretly nursing an urge to return just to feast on the fries. Huge potato cuts, not miserable shrivelled potato ones. I also loved the butterscotch berry apple crumble topped with vanilla ice-cream. The crumble’s texture in a baked dish oozes out nicely, with a delish serving of apples and mixed berries. We also had the Ferrero Rocher cake, but felt that the cake portion could be more moist as it was a tad dry.

At the end of the meal, besides walking away satisfied (the price point is decent), it also doesn’t hurt that you feel you did your wallet(and charity) a service. Now, what was that about the profit motive again?

A Curious Teepee

As a reflection of how Singaporeans’ tastebuds are getting more international and adventurous, new lifestyle shops have dotted our island – some have closed(Anthropology at Raffles City) while others are shouldering on, and yet new ones continue to open. I’m not complaining as I love lifestyle shops- they sell kooky, odd items from abroad, and are often arranged such that you feel you are stepping into someone’s living room, or museum. An intimate space where there is an imaginary dialogue of sorts between you, the consumer, and him, the ‘curator’. A Curious Teepee at Cineleisure’s Escape is one such curious creature. There are lovely things to buy- necklaces by By Invite only, swimming costumes that are quite beautiful and limited edition, a Longchamp collective bag that can be collapsed into a donut.

But this is a food blog after all – A Curious Teepee also plays host to a cafe, managed under the auspices of the Lo & Behold Group (Overeasy, White Rabbit…) The menu has not been finalised and will only be out later this year. Serving a mix of cocktails, coffee,tea, sandwiches, waffles and desserts, the current menu is a little underwhelming. That said, there should be plenty of reasons to rejoice once the menu is finalised. Papa Palheta coffee is strong and potent, a really good cuppa if you are a coffee addict like myself. While we were there, we had just come from dinner so we couldn’t order the Apple Drummer with vanilla ice-cream but that looked potentially interesting. They also had tiramisu and usual suspects like Valrhona chocolate cake. Give it some time and this will be a nice spot to meet friends. I just wish they had more food on their menu. Apparently, they do a savoury waffle but you need to ask for it.

After all, who doesn’t like a place that serves cocktails & home made desserts?

The Green Bar

Salad junkies based in Raffles Place can rejoice – there’s another salad place in town! You might have seen the advertisements around the area, especially at Hitachi Tower. Drawn in by the advertisements, we finally headed down today to check the place out.

I had the Smoked Duck Surprise while foodsmithone had the Tandoor Tandoor. The Smoked Duck Surprise came with flavourful slices of smoked duck, nestled on a nice heap of frisee / curly endive / rocket, with sliced onion, roasted potatoes and pumpkin, topped with a very light layer of parmesan cheese. The salad dressing was a nice tart balsamic vinagerette (although they claimed to be serving truffled infused one, I couldn’t quite taste the truffle infusion), and they provided a nice coating of dressing for the salad (unlike the Salad Shop which can be inconsistent at times). Overall, the salad came together perfectly, and the ingredients, I have to admit were much tastier than that at Salad Shop (sorry this is turning out to be a Green Bar v Salad Shop post).

The Tandoor Tandoor had a nice bed of greens  topped with tasty chicken tikka (sorry, again this one trumped the one at Salad Shop slightly), and was accompanied with chickpeas, roasted potatoes, onions and cucumber, smothered in a yogurt dressing. This was another winner in my books, with the yogurt complementing the chicken tikka nicely.  It was slightly on the heavy side with the dressing (seeing the liberal yogurt dressing scared us away a tad), but when tossed, the leaves were only just slightly over-coated. Otherwise, a nice salad with a strong Asian touch.

If you’re a salad person, you’ll probably be welcoming this new addition to the salad scene in Singapore. You might feel slightly constrained by the pre-set salad mixes, so if you fancy salad shop because they allow you to mix and match your favourite ingredients, then this place isn’t for you. For me, however, I don’t mind trying flavours put together by others, so this place worked fine for me. Prices of the salads range from S$7.90 to S$12.90 and is roughly within the same range offered by other salad shops in the vicinity. Seating is tight, but I’m heading back soon to try the Real Chilli Crab Salad – that sounds like a real winner! Update again soon!

The Green Bar

16 Collyer Quay Hitachi Towers #01-16/17

Singapore, 049318

Open Mon – Fri 11:00 am – 7:30 pm

Comfort food

If you’re like me, there are certain days when you have a sudden craving for some comfort food. ‘Comfort’ food (as it’s called) is where you feel perhaps a little under the weather, or tired, or need some respite(from work!) and feel like turning to this dish, food, tidbit for solace. Like a good song, maybe it reminds you of a moment in time- a dish you shared with someone you love, a dish you ate as a child, a dish you tried abroad, or just a dish that makes your tastebuds work in overdrive a little bit more.

I have quite a number of comfort foods- tofu being one of them, potatoes another. (Strangely, someone once commented that many of the common comfort foods tend to be carb-based Think RICE NOODLES. I don’t know if that’s true.)

One of my all-time comfort foods is this traditional Foochow dish, that not many people have heard of- Red Wine Chicken. The colour often puts people off - chicken coated in a thick red fermented paste, paired often with white rice or mee sua. I love mine with mee sua, and as you can see from the photo, it’s RED and SINFULLY GOOD. Get over the redness of the chicken- and you get this sweet, aromatic taste of chicken in a thick paste coupled with chopped ginger. You can find it at any of the Foochow places in Singapore – though I have to be honest that the secret to it, lies in the right amount of rice wine and a thick well made paste. Apparently, it’s a good dish to eat while in confinement. Old wives’ tale, maybe?

So our readers, what’s your comfort food of choice, and (more importantly)why?

RED ALERT

Jut to inform those peeps who frequent The Salad Shop at Raffles Place:

They have increased their prices:

For a Rabbit feed, instead of $6, it’s now $8.

For a Zebra feed, instead of $8, it’s now $10.

For an Elephant feed, instead of $10, it’s now $12.

What’s the difference you may ask?

1) Takeaway boxes are now different – it seems smaller to me

2) Additional 2 feeds

3) Dressings – you can ask for 50% more, or 50% less, or even separate(this is great!)

4) Dressings- An employee told one of us that they “advise you against taking more than two dressings” – well seeing how my dressings were predominantly lemon-based to make it sour, I don’t see why not.

Overall, slightly disappointing that they have increased their prices and made it compulsory to take 2 more feeds… $12 plus a drink will push it beyond $15 for a fast lunch.

To make things even more strange, if you use the old forms, you’ll still be charged the old prices up til 31 August 2010. Price differentiation for essentially the same thing, seems unfair to me.

Cheng Mun Chee Kee Pig Organ Soup

Oodles of porky goodness is the best way to describe the pig innards soup at Cheng Mun Chee Kee. Hidden at the coffee shop just behind the famous Eminent Plaza hawker centre / food court, Cheng Mun Chee Kee serves up some yummy pork soup with a variety of innards and other small dishes (including steamed pork, stewed pork and fermented beancurd vegetables). I’ve never tried the small dishes as I’m always satisfied with my fix of pork soup. My usual order is the sliced meat (both lean and fatty) and the pork balls, although one is offered a choice of other offal, for example, kidneys, livers and stomach, just to name a few. Your choice of organs / meat is served in a light, slightly peppery broth laced with salted vegetables, and accompanied (on occasion) with tofu. On a cold day, the bowl of hot piping soup hits the spot, as does dipping the meat / organs into the piquant spicy chilli and dark black sauce. The meatballs have a nice hint of the teochew flat fish normally found in good bak chor mee, although on my last visit, they were just a tad too soft and not “bouncy” enough, if you get what I mean. Overall though, a very good bowl of Pig Organ Soup, and one that even non-offal eaters can enjoy! (On a note of caution, the Cheng Mun Chee Kee is not the same as the Pig Organ Soup in Eminent Plaza, which also goes by the name of Mun Chee Kee. The Eminent Plaza outlet is pretty decent, but not comparable to Cheng Mun Chee Kee!)

Cheng Mun Chee Kee
24 Foch Road, Singapore 209949
Tel: +65 62975068
Opening hours : 9am till 5am (another plus point, so you can head here for supper!)

Siem Reap II

Part of the Indochine Group of Restaurants, Siem Reap II is nestled in a nice little corner of Empress Place, just behind the Asian Civilisations Museum. It’s not generally a place that you might find on the “Recommended Eats” list for locals, but you’ll find it consistently doing a brisk business during lunch all the same. As you might expect, the place serves up a variety of Indochinese dishes, with a large chunk of the dishes being Vietnamese. There are also, weirdly, some “western” dishes (such as burgers), and which I suppose must be there to aid them in plying the tourist trade.

For me, my usual order at Siem Reap is the Bun Dac Biet (or Rice Vermicelli Deluxe). If you’re not very familiar with Vietnamese food, you’ll probably only have heard of the Pho, which is essentially a kway teow soup served with either beef or chicken and garnished with plenty of fresh herbs (mainly in South Vietnam?). On a hot day, though, it’s nice to have a bowl of Bun, which is a thick beehoon in a delicious tangy sweet / sour sauce. The version at Siem Reap II is a good rendition of the dish, and being ever indecisive, I always opt for the Bun Dac Biet. If you read out the name of the dish, it sounds like the Special Bun (it sounds phonetically similar to the word “Duk Bit” in Cantonese), and it truly is. It’s rice vermicelli, cucumber and lettuce served with a combination of minced prawns on sugarcane, grilled prawns, crispy Vietnamese spring rolls, grilled beef and BBQ chicken balls. It’s further garnished with mint leaves, basil, crushed peanuts and served with a sweet and sour chilli sauce, the mixture of which hits the spot perfectly for me, although I wouldn’t have minded if they’d given more mint and basil leaves. I particularly like the grilled beef and chicken which are both nicely marinated with a hint of lemongrass. The dish on the whole is light on the palette, and perfect for a hot day when a bowl of hot soup isn’t quite what you’re looking for. Be forewarned though, the dish is served closer to room temperature, so it’s not something piping hot just in case you’re hoping for warm food!

If you’re in the area, and craving some decent Vietnamese / Laotian food(interestingly I didnt see many (if at all) Cambodian dishes on the menu), Siem Reap II is a pretty good choice. Don’t be put off by the number of tourists outside and think it’s a tourist trap (it’s not), and give it a shot. Given that we don’t have that many joints that serve Indochinese cuisine (ex Thailand), Siem Reap II is worth a try. The prices aren’t low (the Bun Dac Biet is S$19), but they do have special offers from time to time on various credit cards (on our last visit there, there was a one-for-one on identical main courses with AMEX cards), which make it a whole lot more affordable.

Siem Reap II
1 Empress Place
Asian Civilisations Museum
Tel: +65 6338 7596

Opening Hours

Sun–Thu: 12noon – 11pm

Fri–Sat: 12noon – 12mn

Peramakan

Feast at peramakan- delish comfort food

Barossa

As though we hadn’t had enough from the land of fish and chips, foodsmithone and myself headed over to Barossa at the Esplanade a few days ago and sampled some of their signature fish and chips. I’ll be real honest here, and say up front that we had gone there enticed by the 1-for-1 specials that some of the food outlets there offer during lunch hour, and in all honesty, Barossa wasn’t our first choice. But a “fully-redeemed” 1-for-1 special at Mirchi Kebab Factory and an empty looking Harry’s sent us to Barossa. Well, we were not disappointed.

Advertising itself as an Australian wine bar (hence the name), Barossa serves up a varied menu, with grilled beef (they have an all-you-can-eat Australian beef night) and seafood their main focus. Since we were on a hunt for a good deal, we zoomed in on the Traditional Fish and Chips that Barossa is offering (until 31 July) on a 1-for-1 offer.

The batter of the fish was light and crisp, and enveloped the fish perfectly. It was just slightly oily thus avoiding the “jelat” feeling one usually gets after finishing an entire plate of fried items. I should also add that the fish used was fresh and flaked lightly, just as it should be.  The fries were also tasty and did not taste like it came out of a frozen store-bought packet of fries. I loved the fact that they gave us a side salad (dressed in balsamic vinegar) AND creamy coleslaw (which added to the calorie count here), both of which were excellent renditions. The dish was accompanied by a slightly pedestrian tartare sauce and a ketchup – chilli sauce mix (which I did not quite appreciate as much as I would have had it been pure ketchup).

Overall, a very good rendition of fish and chips (better than some that I’ve had in the Land of Fish and Chips in fact) that is worth a try. Do try it before the 1-for-1 offer ends (the regular price is S$24, but on offer, it’s S$18.80 for 2 persons!), but if you don’t have the time before then, then it’s still a good place for you to have a good fish and chips. If any of you guys have had other dishes here at the Barossa, do let us know, as we’re thinking of heading back there in the future!

BAROSSA (restaurant.bar.wine)

8 Raffles Avenue,
Esplanade Mall, #01-11,
Singapore 038981

Tel : 6534 5188

Opening Hours
Lunch:
Monday to Sunday
12 noon to 230pm

Dinner:
Monday to Sunday
6pm to 1030pm

Travel home

There’s been radio silence of late, partly because the both of us have been busy travelling overseas. The last couple of months saw us travel to Europe again; to Spain, France and London. I travelled to HK recently, land of happy wontons and yummy beef brisket. We have alot of updates coming up- private kitchen in hk, alain ducasse at the Dorchester, guy savoy in Paris. But for now, time to wind down back in Singapore. Yesterday night saw me gobbling stingray, mussels, carrot cake in newton- food paradise come home.

A welcome home has never been this sweet but first some photos:-

An entire basket of black truffles in Paris

Inagiku

Readers of this blog will probably notice that the both of us are fans of Japanese food. We’re not so much Japan-o-philes (if there is even such a word), but we just love Japanese food. For me, if I am forever barred from eating the local food in Singapore (be it Chinese, Malay, or the local Indian cuisine), my next best choice to slurp down would be Japanese food. There is of course, no dearth of good Japanese restaurants in Singapore. But good Japanese food, as one knows, never comes cheap. So once in a (very long) while, we indulge ourselves, and one of the places that we head to for indulgence is Inagiku at Fairmont Singapore.

The set-up of Inagiku, is what one would call “modern”. Black wooden tables, dim lights, and staff clad in all black. (All that is sexy, but the lighting really doesnt make for good food pictures, so excuse us for the slightly dark photos). At lunch, this place is teeming with people, most of whom are on business lunches (the business set lunches start from S$65 a set). Of course, there are also people like us gawking over the menu, struggling to decide what to order.

I won’t bore you with the details of the various set lunches, suffice to say, they are mostly good. One stand out item for me on the visits there, has always been the sashimi. Fresh and thick cut, I have never been disappointed with the quality of the sashimi. (In fact, the only disappointment is when I finish the plate and ask myself why I didn’t savour it more!) The otoro is melt in the mouth delicious, and the uni is what the Japanese would call “umai” (or sweet) (and cholestrol laden).

Another standout for me at Inagiku is the very simple starter salad that they serve upon the ordering of a set lunch. I’m not sure if they have this on the a-la-carte, but I certainly don’t see why it wouldn’t hold it’s place there. Simple spinach leaves, topped with a crispy tofu skin, doused in a tangy sesame dressing really whets your appetite for the more good food to come.

I am told that Inagiku is also known for it’s tempura (do let me know if this isn’t the case though), but I’d have to admit, on my visits there, I’ve never been very very impressed by their rendition. Somehow, the batter always felt a touch thick, and a tad over-crunchy, but perhaps that is the way it is meant to be?

Overall though, the food at Inagiku is certainly worth a splurge once in a (very) long while, although if you do have the Feed At Raffles Card, the prices here are much more palatable, especially during lunch. If you’re heading down for lunch, try to grab a reservation first as they can get quite crowded during weekday lunches.

Inagiku
Level 3, Fairmont Singapore
80 Bras Basah Road
Singapore 189560

Lunch: Daily – 12:00 noon to 2:30 pm
Dinner: Daily – 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm

Reservations: +65 6431 6156 (this is the general Raffles group reservation line)

K Ki

Again, my (our) apologies for the radio silence. It seems like a long time since either of us last blogged, and I dare not check when the last post was uploaded. We keep telling each other to post reviews (we haven’t stopped trying new food places) but just have not been able to keep up to our side of the bargain. We’ll probably be quite silent till July, but we’ll try to slot in one review at a time.

Today, just a short note on a little cake shop that we chanced upon at Ann Siang Hill, with a quaint little name “K Ki”. The name “K Ki” is essentially how the Japanese term “western” cakes. It’s a direct phonetic translation, so it’s simple enough. The cakes, however, are not all quite that simple. The husband of the husband-and-wife team that run the shop, Kenneth, is not a classically trained pastry chef but manages to bake up pretty cakes reminiscent of Japanese western styled cakes (hence living up to the Japanese inspired name).

On our visit there, we had the Little Red Riding Hood and the Antoinette (sorry can’t seem to find the pictures). The Little Red Riding Hood was essentially a chocolate mousse encasing a slab of raspberry jelly, and covered with a shiny chocolate ganache. This was perfectly executed, with the bitter dark chocolate perfectly paired with the tart raspberry – this was so good that I went back to order it for a birthday celebration.The Antoinette was a mango based cake, this time encapsulated by a fluffy white egg mixture. For us, we just wished there was slightly more mango in it (although perhaps the shape of the small cake did restrict this somewhat). What we did like about it was that it was not too sweet, and of course, that it was perfectly pretty.

True to the Japanese name, K Ki makes the effort with small touches that set it just that much apart from other run of the mill cake shops. When I collected the cake, they took care to package it such that it was surrounded by dry ice to withstand the Singapore heat. The candle again, was not the regular striped wax candle that you get at other shops, but was actually patterned beautifully. The large cake itself was a tad disappointing in the design and shape, but perhaps I was expecting too much based on the individual smaller cakes.

So if you’d like to support a little independent bakery, please do head down to K Ki to sample some pretty yummy cakes (the service is also pretty good, although things get a little hectic on the weekend). The prices are not low (some cakes are more expensive than say, Canele), but I suppose that might be because they just don’t have the bulk orders to get them the lower prices. Another thing to keep in mind is that they do run out of the cakes pretty early, so go down early or call to reserve. Either way, a lovely little shop that deserves support, do head down if you have the chance!

K-Ki Sweets
7 Ann Siang hill
Singapore 069791
Tel: +65 6225 6650

Opening Hours:
Daily 12pm to 7pm
Sat 12pm to 4pm
Mon closed

Saboten

Fried food, as much as I hate to admit, is tasty.

It’s so tasty, I could eat it more than once a week, as a main meal. Much as I try to exercise discretion, I often find that invariably, some of the food I will eat is fried. Last Friday, we decided to satisfy the fried food monsters in us, and ventured to Saboten at Parco, Marina. Parco Marina is a new enclave of shops at the corner of Millenia Walk. The building itself is like a mini mall, with a lovely Galta Gelato place on the first floor, across from Mizuno, and an enclave of mostly Japanese restaurants on the third floor, save from Travolo, an Italian Bistro. The shops are not much to shout about sadly – the idea seems to be a multi concept store, where you can buy clothes, alongside stationery, alongside getting a manicure, but the arrangement of the shops proves to be quite a challenge, when you actually want to locate a specific store.

Saboten is supposedly Japan’s largest tonkatsu chain- selling tonkatsu done in several ways- you have your standard hire katsu, and its fattier cousin, and tonkatsu with a broken egg, katsu don, tonkatsu sandwiches. I love my tonkatsu, and a previous visit to Tokyo and Maisen has left me wishing for more good tonkatsu in Singapore.

I ordered the fattier cousin; which comes in a medium or large size. The meal begins with copious amounts of grated cabbage salad for you to pick at while waiting for the unhealthy fried main course. There are two dressings on the table, a red yuzu based one and a sesame based one. I preferred the sesame sauce.After pottering around, you start to smell the tonkatsu coming out of the kitchen, and stop being a rabbit in search for good tonkatsu.

The quality of the meat is self-evident: it was chewy, without being tough. Juicy without being greasy. On my first visit, the panko batter was done perfectly; on my second visit, it proved to be crispy on the top, but soggy on the bottom. The miso soup was standard, but the matcha ice cream, to my utter delight, was quite tasty.

Saboten is worth trying if you’re a fan of tonkatsu, like us. After all, what’s there not to like about Fried Food?

Bistro Au Petit Salut

There’s been a radio silence of late, work and other commitments have taken centrestage, but that doesn’t mean that we haven’t been eating well, or lots.  I had the opportunity to try Gordon Ramsay’s flagship at Royal Hospital Road, as well as both of the Marylebone and Kensington Creperies in London, so those are some of the reviews planned for now. In the meantime, lots of news have happened on the food front, a little cake shop at Ann Siang Hill has taken the blogging world by storm, Iggy’s is planning an expansion and moving to Hilton,  a crab competition is being held at hungrygowhere.

For now, I thought I’ll review the most recent meal I had at Bistro Au Petit Salut, cousin to Au Petit at Dempsey. Most of you might know that the original restaurant was based at Chip Bee, and the owners couldn’t bear to give up the space, in moving to Dempsey so they thought they’ld convert it into something relaxed and bistroesque.

The interior of the space is quite small, but homely. Styled like your friendly neighbourhood bistro, the emphasis is on unpretentious homely French fare. For starters, we had the Country Rye bread Croque Monsieur, Snails in Garlic Butter and a special they were running for last week, Handmade Pasta with Beef Cheeks in Jus:

Au Petit’s escargots are always tasty, with the simple garlic butter. Tender and crunchy almost, they were tasty but not too oily. I’ve had snails on occasion, that are extremely oily. What I noticed though, was the lack of the tomatoes they usually accompany it with at their sister branch. Still, extremely tasty to mop up with the bread. A word on the bread though – I am a bread person; but the bread was cut far too thinly and was not toasted. We asked them to toast it, but it came back charred black completely on one side, and the other side untoasted(presumably, the result of using a toaster oven).

The handmade pasta was tasty and the beef cheeks was lusciously tender with the lovely beef juice still dripping off it. The croque monsieur had copious amounts of cheese, and I loved the parma ham on top. I did wish the salad was not right under the bread, but that was a minor point. Loved the country rye bread.

For mains, we had the Fourty Garlic Cloves Chicken with Gratin, Minute beef with shallots and fries and Braised Pork Knuckle on Mash Potato. 

 The chicken was tasty, but the sauce was exceedingly oily. A little more control on that would have been perfect. The beef was tender while the pork was lusciously soft.

For dessert, we had choux buns with vanilla ice cream, in chocolate sauce, with crisp almonds. Delish.

Service at the branch was quite attentive as well, the only thing was it felt a little hot even though we sat inside. Still, the food was dependable and reliable.

Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck

The name itself is striking enough – Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck Restaurant. As one might expect, this Imperial Treasure group restaurant specialises in Peking Duck. The ducks have a waiting time of about 70 minutes – so if you know you’re going to be ordering the Peking Duck, you would be best off pre-ordering one when you make a reservation (recommended, on weekends especially).

During our lunch time visit one weekend, the restaurant was jam-packed, with families waiting outside for an empty table. Having heard so much about the Peking Duck (S$70 a bird), this was a dish that we had pre-ordered to cut the waiting time. The duck is supposedly roasted over lychee wood and the skin is meant to have a smokey sweet flavour from the wood. I didn’t quite taste the lychee flavour, but I must say that the duck was roasted to perfection – skin crisp and yet juicy. I liked the fact that they used the traditional-styled Peking duck crepe (and not the egg based yellow crepes that many restaurants use these days). There was also a “choice” cut (as the waitress explained) – this was served first, and was meant to be dipped in sugar (without the crepes) for maximum enjoyment.

Apart from the duck, we ordered a number of dimsum and dishes to share. We had the Tianjin Cabbage with Chinese Ham which was flavourful, yet simple. At S$20 for a small a dish, it was a touch expensive, though I suppose one could argue that in a restaurant like this, that would be the price one would expect to pay.

We also had a Cucumber and Chicken Salad with Sesame and Peanut Sauce which was a simple dish of poached chicken, on a bed of sliced cucumber and green bean sheets topped with a silky smooth sesame and peanut sauce. This hit the spot (taking into account the fact that I really like peanut / sesame sauces). If you’re not quite a sesame / peanut sauce fan like I am, it could well have been considered an above average dish only. I’ve seen a similar version of this dish jazzed up with a little apricot jam to give the sauce a slight tanginess and sweetness, but this wasn’t evident here. Still, being the “nutty” fan I am, I liked this.

Aside from the above dishes, we also sampled standard dimsum items like the Hum Sui Kok, Char Siew Cheong Fun, Lor Bak Goh and the Egg Tarts. All of these were well executed renditions of the items, and I particularly liked the Lor Bak Goh (or carrot cake), as it was nicely fried and stuffed with a good amount of lup cheong (waxed sausage).

Overall, I liked the food at Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck. The Imperial Treasure group generally serves up well-executed Cantonese fare that keeps closely to the basics, and the food here at Super Peking Duck is no different. While the prices are nowhere on the low side, the dim sum is well priced for the quality of the food. Ordering dishes will, however, push your bill northwards. I should also highlight that when the restaurant gets busy, service levels suffer a little and on occasion, we found it hard to get the attention of the servers. When things slowed down, however, the staff managed the situation much better and got back on top of things. Still, in all, the food here was the star, and while I am told the Peking Duck can’t quite compare to that served in Da Dong or other Peking Duck specialists in Beijing, this rendition is pretty good and worth a try if you’re in the mood!

Moomba Tuckshop

I don’t have any photos showcasing the Moomba Tuckshop sandwiches – but it’s one place I happily head back to for delicious sandwiches for lunch.

My favourite sandwich has got to be the seafood sandwich on spinach bread- the bread is different from that of Joe and Dough, but there is really no basis for comparison as the bread is done differently at both places.The seafood sandwich has generous portions and recently, it seems the portions have gone up. Desserts have also expanded  – so if you’re in the area and want something quite light, Moomba Tuckshop is a good place to visit.

4 Battery Road

#B1-01 Bank of China Building

Kopitiam at Swissotel

As is fairly obvious by its name, the Kopitiam at the Swissotel the Stamford serves local cuisine in a restaurant coffee shop setting, at restaurant prices (of course!). While I would not usually eat hawker food at a restaurant (hawker food, imho, is best had at hawker centres / coffee shops), we had a voucher to use (as part of our Feed@Raffles Card voucher package), we headed here late one evening. 

We ordered the Nasi Lemak and the Laksa  on our visit, and both were decent renditions of the dish.

The Nasi Lemak (S$15) came with 2 ikan kuning, 2 chicken drumlets and 3 slices of omelette and a heaping portion of coconut scented rice. The chicken drumlets were not battered the traditional way though – this came battered in a grainy sort of batter (like it had been double-dipped in breadcrumbs). For me, the chicken wings / drumlets that are standard issue in a Nasi Lemak dish should usually be coated in a smooth flour batter (something like that which is sold at Adam Road Nasi Lemak, but less oily), crunchy with a marinade that has some ginger juice and tumeric(?) powder. This particular chicken drumlet just wasn’t quite up to the mark.

The Laksa  (S$15.50) was also good, and came with prawns, a medium sized fish cake and plenty of taupok. This was very lemak and the gravy was so thick it resembled a thickened sauce more than a gravy. The laksa came with the standard issue laksa leaves and a sambal that was perfumed with shallots and dried shrimp. Purists would probably complain that the sambal was a little bit on the sweet side – my guess is that all of the dishes at Kopitiam have been tempered to meet the many tourists that visit this place.

As dessert, we had the Ice Kachang (S$6.50) which came with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on the top. I loved the vanilla icecream (and I know that this is unorthodox, but more and more hawkers are beginning to offer this), but the ice kachang’s gula melaka flavouring (the brown stuff) lacked that smokey flavour that one usually gets with gula melaka. Toppings wise, there was the usual corn, atap seeds and red bean, but it also had sea coconut. At S$6.50, this was decent value for money because of the ingredients (the dessert easily feeds 2), but is not quite the quintessential ice kachang that one might get outside.

In all, the food at Kopitiam is pretty decent, but at the prices charged, this is not necessarily my first choice, unless I’m using the Feed@Raffles card. While the food is indeed geared at tourists, and therefore spice levels have been accordingly adjusted, they bear some resemblance to the traditional fare that one gets at hawker centres. I should also add that the service staff at Kopitiam is very very attentive – they brought sharing bowls / utensils upon learning that we were sharing our food, and were in general attentive, polite and charming to a T. In all, a decent meal experience with good service to boot.