Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Balzac Brasserie: Old school French
Labels:
bras basah,
circle line,
dhoby ghaut,
food,
french,
hidden finds,
restaurants
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There are just some days when you crave for traditional foods. Debating our choices for dinner venues, my companion (a schoolmate from Le Cordon Bleu Sydney) and I settled on Balzac Brasserie for a quick escape from the usual rigours of nouvelle cuisine. Tonight we go old school.
Balzac Brasserie is exactly what you would picture a typical French brasserie that claims to serve simple, homey food: the interior styled in a interesting juxtaposition of sidewalk cafe and Parisian bar and bistro, with deep shade of mahogany and leather. To one side of the dining area are cafe chairs that usually line the sidewalks of Paris with a back drape of luscious greenery cascading from the high ceilings; the other side features a antique zinc bar with high chairs and booth seats, exuding a cool underground vibe as the trades picked up pace through the night.
Drawing inspiration from his own family's recipes, Executive Chef Jean-Charles Dubois serves up a classic french menu and manges to do so with aplomb; highlighting the integrity of the fresh produce he employs. Perusing the menu, it wasn't hard to zoom in our final decisions despite the rather extensive menu.
The meal begins with Foie Gras de "Castaing" ($24) for me; homemade foie gras terrine served with fig and raisin compote, farmer's toast and petite salade. Seriously rich stuff with the crunchy farmers toast helping to mitigate the taste. I adored the delicate endive salad on the side which helped me to ease into each sumptuous bite of the good stuff.
The Escargots de Bourgogne (Dozen for $22);gratinated beure Provencale style with parsley, garlic and butter; was a real disappointment. Bland. We had to resort to massive movements with the salt shakers to achieve a nice balance of flavors. And honestly, service standards were truly lacking. If you want to ask us how the meal was, please stand still for a moment at the table instead of zipping around the tables, leaving our answers hanging in mid air. Basic courtesy.
Entrecote ($34) - 200gr black angus served with bearnaise sauce and pommes frites. Definitely a commendable dish with the red meat cooked to a perfect medium rare , an enthralling sear on the outside to seal in the juices. The sauce also made a world of a difference - the bernaise made of clarified butter emulsified in egg yolks, white wine vinegar and flavoured with herbs, well seasoned, it's lusciousness a good partner to the integrity of the steak.
Another success was the Duck Confit($26) , the duck, a melt in your mouth kind of delicious, humming with the romance of a fine pinot noir. The bed of truffle mash, so smooth, almost like it was sieved thru the finest strainer. With crispy skin, the salt helping to draw any left remnants of moisture out, this provides for the only textural contrast required in this traditional dish. Very well executed indeed.
Balzac Brasserie separates itself from the throngs of new and old restaurants springing up all over the island with its dedication to old school French cookery techniques and dishes. For one, the food certainly hits the spot, but the same cannot be said for the whole dining experience. The service could use a little fine tuning: more attention to detail, perhaps a little more friendly interaction with the guests? I'm not asking for a lap dance over here, maybe just a sincere warm smile once in a while wouldn't hurt?
Balzac Brasserie
#01-01,
Rendezvous Hotel,
9 Bras Basah Road
Phone: 63360797
Website: http://balzacbrasserie.com/
Wordless Wednesdays: Porn's
Labels:
bukit panjang,
food,
junction 10,
overrated,
restaurants,
thai food,
wordless wednesdays
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Pad Thai
sadly pedestrian (sorry for breaking the code of silence)
Porn's Thai Restaurant
#01-32, Junction 10,
1 Woodlands Road
Opening Hours: Mon - Sun 11:00 - 22:00
Jewel Cafe + Bar: OMG
Labels:
burgers,
cafe,
coffee,
farrer park,
food,
hidden finds,
pasta,
restaurants
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I loved that you were late because that just gave me more time to squeeze some more shots of the place.
My dining accomplice arrived a tad late. Held back by the nasty traffic that curse the Jalan Besar area daily, just slightly before the mad peak hour rush. No complaints of course. I happily settled down at the table with a cappuccino and a magazine which I hastily picked out from the vast spread made available and pondered life's choices. All was peaceful then.
Jewel Cafe + Bar is a second outlet, with Jewel Cafe at Shenton Way shedding the light on to this new establishment. Having had huge success taking the coffee route with the working class in the heart of town, Jewel Cafe ventures out to the more "indie" zone of Singapore to dabble its luck. What is remarkable about the place is firstly, the location - where else do you turn out the black-soaked, Tamil-reigned area, walk a couple of steps and find yourself in a "hole in the wall" styled cafe and bar complete with tinkering warmth and strange modern light panelling overhead? Then there is the food served. At this cafe+bar concept, a full fledged menu of hot meals harbouring around the safe origins of comfort foods is provided. Some not so safe... but with major emphasis on freshness and down-to-earth flavors made right from scratch.
The dish of Umami Prawn Cappellini ($22) arrived at the table a 'hot mess', the bonito flakes atop the pasta revelling in the heat. Grilled prawns, crustacean oil, bonito flakes, Tobiko (flying fish roe), and Umami 'magic dust' made up make up this dish. Sadly it wasn't mine.
Worth the wait, my OMG! Burger ($20) quickly stole the attention of my accomplice and with cruel intentions, I allowed him to bathe in the green luminance of jealousy for awhile before painstakingly slicing him a portion to taste. He swooned and pouted, my heart sang a little more at my triumphant choice. Fully loaded with crispy bacon, luncheon meat, lettuce, USDA beef patty, caramelised onions and cheese between two deliciously buttered brioche buns, it was indeed a deadly mix. let's not forget the perfectly fried sunny-side egg, the crowning glory of the dish, one that sent an intoxicating meander of yolk, streaming down the sinful tower of glorious ingredients. This dish definitely stole my heart for the night and is one of the top contenders on my ever-growing list of burgers conquered.
One more look at the heart-attack on a plate
For all your coffee snobs out there, do not leave Jewel Cafe without a cup of artisan coffee. With beans roasted in-house and espresso-based coffee specialities extracted using the Italian state-of-the-art La Marzocco Strada machine, you will surely be in for a treat.
I'm so checking out the uber chic loft level the next time round!
129 Rangoon Road, Singapore
Tel: 6298 9216
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JewelCafeAndBar
Humble alternatives: Doodle! Pasta Noodles and Wine Bar
Labels:
food,
novena,
pasta,
restaurants
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We turned the corner, A tiny corridor within the premises of a hotel, its narrow ways leading to a carpark on the left and a mysterious curve on its other end. Before you know it, I was awkwardly surprised by the vastness of the space before me that is Doodle! Pasta Bar. At 6pm on a Saturday evening, the diner and it's next door vicinity were dead. My suspicions grew by leaps and bounds; however I was reassured by my friend that this was her go-to-choice when in need of fixing her pasta cravings whilst in the region. Novena, that is...
Things went off to a great start with zealous staff who readily flooded us with recommendations as we were confronted with the ominous black board of options above head. Our flummoxed stares quickly turning fervent onlooks as we watched the 'Doodlers' (apparently one of the coolest job titles I've heard) stirring up a storm on the induction stoves. It was truly an interactive session with the chef goofingly giving a step-by-step demonstration as he worked his magic.
The Sweet Spot ($11.80), which includes a pulled pork stew braised in cognac and whiskey, red wine glazed onions and garnished with Parmesan cheese.
My choice of the sweet spot, complete with a fresh serving of linguine pasta beared resonance in flavor. The meat was like cotton puffs on our tongues. Dissolving effortlessly with every mouthful of twirled pasta. Given it's price, I was blown away by the bounteous portions which warranted a little accompanying protein with every mouthful of carbohydrate till the very end of the dish. Enriched by the the slow cooking process in cognac and whiskey; the pulled pork easily stole the show, the crunchy rocket leaves adding both colour and a contrasting bitter note to the dish.
Prawn Star($11.50): unadulterated linguine with juicy prawns smothered in a prawn tsukudani butter sauce and garnished with arugula and Parmesan cheese
My friend's dish, which I never got down to trying, was reported to be delicious. A verdict I garnered accurate given it's rate of decay on the plate.
Doodle! Pasta Noodles and Wine Bar, a joint venture between a father and a son responsible for Saladstop has never been anywhere near my radar before. But with it's decent prices, exotic Asian inspired pasta dishes and fair execution, this place definitely has picked up a fan in me. Pasta, yes it may be basic, but with Doodle's versatility at play, it is surprisingly satisfying, the sort that really grows on you, just like the boy next door often does.
8 Sinaran Drive
Oasia Hotel,
Singapore 307470
Maison Ikkoku: food with a fashion statement
Let's take a break from the recent torrent of japanese dining features on the ole' blog. Today we'll go cafe hunting instead.
Maison Ikkoku is an institution. Period. With it's 3 separate levels serving as natural dividers to it's very attractive business concept of cafe, men's retail boutique and bar; it was plain easy to see why the place has garnered so much attention within such a short span of time since it's launch. I have nothing but high praises for the establishment and would definitely suggest this place for any sort of meetings or intimate get-togethers.
I had the opportunity to taste its food on two separate occasion. Both times, my cappuccinos were acceptable, not the best, but still passable with a slight boost from the chic minimalistic settings. Slightly on the pricey side, the coffee with beans originating from Brazil tend to lean towards the more acidic flavor profile. I would have loved to love the Pumpkin cheesecake that we ordered on a previous visit too, however it disappointed with it's inconspicuous flavor of pumpkin and reeked from a stingy percentage of cream cheese in the slice that resulted in a strangely soft, gelatinous dessert.
My second visit however was much more pleasant. The Norwegian smoked salmon sandwich ($15) served with Ciabatta was a sight for sore eyes and a god-sent to a piggish girl. The generous slathering of dill sour cream over the toasted ciabatta slices paired with the luscious savouriness of the smoked salmon was extremely gratifying.
With cocktails to end the night, my choice of the base alcohol being gin and a one word 'sour' as inspiration; the in-house mixologist worked his magic to conjure up a kiwi martini-like drink, refreshing and ever so slightly potent. My very pricey ($25) joy juice for the night.
20 Kandahar Street
website: http://www.maison-ikkoku.net/
The Essence of Christmas
A severely late but mandatory Christmas Dinner post. I was reminded of the essence of Christmas this year as being a celebration of God's gift of salvation and love to us. Misrepresented by modern practices, it is not the gifts nor the food and the making merry that make up Christmas but our hearts in communal gratitude while receiving God's precious gift.
Still.. there must be food. Hence...
an excessive 3 turkeys on the chopping block = turkey sandwiches for a good long time.
Homemade Pork roulade with apple sauce
a never-ending traffic of busy hands grappling for food over the dining table.
Dining out: Dinners with Tung Lok
Labels:
food,
restaurants
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This time around, I managed to steal a first time visit to Tunglok Signatures and an 'not-so-welcomed' re-visit to Lingzhi Vegetarian Restaurant with the family. In a bid to claim the two hundred and more in value of vouchers, we scheduled two Tung Lok visits in a span of a weekend! Talk about striking when the iron is hot.
So moving on to food. First stop, Tung lok Signatures, we chose the branch located at the Central Mall (the other is situated at Vivocity) because of it's convenient locality.
Tung Lok Signatures serves up a collection of signature dishes from the various Tunglok outlets. A versatility and diverseness of cuisine has saw to the quick success of the restaurant. Combined with tasteful decor in house and a delightfully chic ambiance, I could clearly understand the popularity of the restaurant with families and secretive dates alike.
So starting the drum rolling is steamed angle luffa ($18.00) with fried compoy chips. This dish was outstanding with the said chinese okra slices tender and smooth, the soy like sauce with a tinge of pungency from the raw garlic, complimenting the steamed greens.
Next up, the sauteed black pepper beef ($28.00) was another great dish with the aroma of freshly ground pepper combined with a bright splash of colorful vegetables. More importantly, the beef chunks though large and rather unevenly sliced, were deliciously tender.
The next three dishes were a major disappointment, the first, the crispy roast pork ($10.00) literally chip my tooth upon the first bite. I suppose, they could have used a little help from a better cut of pork. The layers of fat between the crispy skin and succulent meat roasted to an almost non-existence. The second dish, the fried golden salted egg yolk prawns ($28.00) had a beautiful flavor and complex saltiness from the salted egg yolk, however, the grease sipping out from it scared the heck out of everyone except my younger brother, an avid fan of all things deep fried. The Pig Shank slices in Chili Oil ($7.00), oh gosh...I would just send you running in the opposite direction .
The remaining of our dinner fared much better. The half BBQ peking duck ($30.00), was both affordable, yet not stinching on quality. It's crisp skin wrecking havoc in my mouth as the gregarious flavors spoke volumes with the sweet hoisin sauce stuffed in fluffy pancakes.
Desserts was a sweet affair with a chilled pudding ($6.00) from the special menu. A green tea panna cotta with red bean endings. I loved this all except for the coarse stewed red beans at the bottom of the parfait glasses, non-complimentary to the quivering yielding soft pudding
above.
Our next Tung Lok venture brought us to Lingzhi Vegetarian Restaurant. Yes, you heard me right, it's vegetarian! The carnivorous likes of me protests quietly, it's dull screams smothered by the power of natural greens. What I enjoy most about Lingzhi is its dedication to produce top nosh vegetarian fare, encouraging the use of a wide variation of fungi and veggies alike. For all who have their initial reservations about this cuisine, rest assured that you would be nothing but impressed at the end of the meal. Not a staunch convert, but at least piqued by the experience.
Self deception. Yes, these sauteed monkey head mushrooms with dried chili can pass off as a close relative of the dish, sweet and sour pork. I kid you not, the somewhat hideous fungi has a texture similar to the sinful dish of rainbow reds. Yummy and incredibly huge in portions, this can easily feed 4 people.
The best dish of the night and certainly the most surprising was the satay. Sad to say, the fried sluten disguised by the generous coating of thick satay sauce was a major turn off for me.
The best dish and possibly the safest bet for the night was stewed eggplant with beancurd paste ($16.00). Thick, luscious and spicy with the likes of mushrooms and tender potatoes thrown into the warm depths. The eggplant was gorgeously cooked through without being overly mushy. The side of fried mantou, a practical tool for soaking up the gravy.
The braised wild morel with chef recommended sauce ($24.00) was a mediocre dish. Honestly, I do love asparagus and mushrooms, but you do reach a stage in a meal where, your stomach flips at the sight and taste of this moreish earthy treat.
on hindsight, the signature fried brown rice with mixed vegetables was a ravishing dish, with standards of a good fried rice applicable to the mixture of unpolished brown rice. aromatic, with each grain of rice exuding a foxy gleen of oil.
Desserts was an incredible as well. A roll of mango puree, and fine grained coconut. This literally melts in your mouth at lightning speed. Be sure to pick up the pace when grabbing your portion as well as this dish is sure to be a quick seller with seconds.
So there you have it. two meals in the name of Tung Lok. Advocates of exceptional cuisine and a all rounded fine dining experience. Signing out to relieve my induced fullness from this incredibly long review. Cheers mate.
The Central #02-88
6 Eu Tong Sen Street
Tel: 6336 6022
Lingzhi Vegetarian Restaurant
238 Thomson Road
#03-09/10 Velocity @ Novena Square
Singapore 307683
Tel: +65 6538 2992
Dining Out: Ma Maison (Bugis Junction)
Labels:
food,
japanese,
restaurants
·
I declared it lunchtime and scuttled off like the wind to meet the cousin troupers.
The venue, Ma Maison, a Japanese inspired western café in Bugis Junction.
You may have read my previous account here. If you haven’t, then now you should.
Lunch was a magnificent spectacle of peacock like dishes fanned across the traditionally lined floral table cloths. The steak lunch set ($12.90++) that I ordered complimented with a shallow bowl of clam chowder, salad and a basket of bread. The salad was good, albeit, a bit ordinary; I did appreciate the selective choice of fresh lettuce slices. The clam chowder on the other hand was a major letdown with a gradually coagulating phenomenon, clumps of fat laden flour balls drifting through the broth. The steak platter on the other hand came with extraordinary sides, specifically the mashed potato with bits of crunchy Japanese cucumber and baby carrots scattered throughout. The steak was mediocre, it’s thin cut resulting in an overall well-done finish, chewy and unsatisfactory, save for the brown sauce generously poured over the top. I devoured that with the spaghetti.
My cousins’ meals include the hamburger steak lunch set ($15.90) and the Beef Stroganov with egg wrapped butter rice. The former was enjoyable, though a bit small in portion size for a growing boy. The ominous dark sauce (reminiscent of Tonkatsu sauce) dribbling over the steak patty, not too well received given it’s sweet notes that conflict with the concept of a savory lunch. The Beef stroganov was a bitch to capture on film, as the beef was severely mangled in sights whilst the golden egg wrap, offering an over contrasting challenge with its luxuriant colors. Still, it was apparently quite good as my cousin (other one) proceeded to devour the dish in record time. My comments were that the beef slices were too hard and dry. But then again, Ma Maison does a killer job of covering up its mediocre meats with to-die-for sauces. Clever move.
The story ends with a sweet note as I rushed back to the ICA building with 5 minutes to spare before proceeding straight to the counter for my collection. All in good timing.
200 victoria street
#02-51 bugis junction
tel: +65 6338 4819
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