Showing posts with label steamboat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label steamboat. Show all posts
[NEW] Soi Thai Soi Nice: Don't judge a book by its cover
Labels:
alexandra,
family friendly,
hidden finds,
large groups,
must go,
southeast asian,
steamboat,
thai food,
will return
·
I must admit my prejudices at the start of this excursion. The mention of Atmosphere Bistro sending shivers down my spine (read here for the full experience); though slightly irrelevant in this circumstance, Soi Thai Soi Nice is the latest addition to the food and beverage group, SIMYEE Holdings that manages both Atmosphere Bisto and Shin Sapporo Ramen. The latter, enjoying a slightly more favourable response from yours truly.
What struck me at their most recent attempt, Soi Thai Soi Nice, was "the inverse relationship between Instagram friendliness and deliciousness." (What I ate wasn't unpretty, but it wasn't a mad-dash attempt to be an instagram whore and boy, was it highly delicious.) Headed by Chef Worawong Phairat from Bangkok with 19 years of experience under his belt, including rigourous training under a head-chef who cooked for Thai royalty - it was no wonder that the restaurant offers authentic Thai dishes, some of which you wouldn't recognise from your run-off-the-mill Thai restaurant menu.
All things [NEW] at Earle Swensen's, Steam Box and Eat @ 7
Labels:
affordable,
circle line,
food news,
harborfront,
japanese,
korean,
new openings,
promenade,
ramen,
serangoon,
steamboat,
vivocity
·
2016 has passed by in a flash, hasn't it? It seems like it was just yesterday that we are toasting to a new year, and now we find it already half over. But hey, look at it a different way and its half yet to begin. There's no better time than now to celebrate all things new, and no better way to do it than with food indeed! Here are some of the freshest pickings from eateries islandwide.
Quick Picks: Weekday eats that won't gnaw into your wallet.[Part 1] || Koji, Attap House, Nan Hwa Fishboat
Labels:
affordable,
china square central,
chirashi don,
dinner,
family friendly,
farrer park,
japanese,
large groups,
lists,
lunch,
onenorth,
quick picks,
sashimi,
steamboat,
sushi,
will return
·
Eating on a budget doesn't need to swear off tastiness and border on mediocrity. Here are some of my quick picks for lunch/dinner spots that would be great catch-up spots with friends or even a less romantic deviant for a weekday date night.
First up, Koji, a name synonymous for delightfully engaging chirashi don bowls amidst some pretty tight circumstances. Yes, squeeze your way past the backed up chairs against the wall surrounding the middle island of frenzied chefs and pent up frustrations, and you'll be rewarded with a superfluity of fresh seaward bounty.
Shabu Shabu Ramen by Ramen Champion: Swish Swish
Labels:
beer,
dinner,
family friendly,
great world city,
healthy eating,
hotpot,
japanese,
lunch,
shabu shabu,
soup,
steamboat,
tiong bahru
·
Under the same roof of Ramen Champion Dining comes Shabu Shabu Ramen, targeted at ramen lovers whose cravings can't be satisfied with just one bowl of ramen. Think about it, what's better than indulging in an ambrosial spread of shabu shabu ingredients with bowlfuls of aromatic flavoursome soup on a rainy day (which happen more often than I like it in December)? To top off the experience, a tray of tantalising home-made ramen noodles accompanies the feast instead of the conventional white rice.
Azmaya: just the usual Wagyu Shabu-Shabu affair
Labels:
family friendly,
health,
healthy eating,
hidden finds,
japanese,
robertson quay,
shabu shabu,
steamboat,
will not return
·
I continue on a trend of Japanese Eats and shabu shabu tastings. Today we cover the Wagyu Shabu Shabu Buffet at Azmaya located along the picturesque Robertson Quay (just beside bella pizza).
With red hot competition from various other concepts dotting the island, Azmaya attempts to draw in the crowds with a wagyu buffet special promotion. Priced at just $50 now (U.P. $100), diners get to pick from a menu of proteins (wagyu beef, pork belly, collar, chicken leg, wagyu cut steak and tongue, etc...), side dishes of Kimchi, Namul and Rice as well as a tight selection of ala carte dishes such as Cold Tofu, Spicy Cucumber, Salted cabbage and fried pickles. Take heed that a 2 hours time limit is enforced at the point of ordering.
While the A5 Wagyu Sirloin from Japan ($95) gets a nod from me, the soup base I found to be too light and almost forgettable. Save for the nutty goma dipping sauce, the entire affair was albeit a bit underwhelming.
Try the craveable Wagyu Roast Beef ($15), a tantalising red centre with a piquant dressing for those ravenous carnivores.
Another modest dish for the peckish is the Korean Spicy Cucumber ($6), fresh crispy chunks of cucumber tossed in a spicy chili oil based dressing, the juxtaposition of juicy cooling innards versus the feisty exterior working up an appetite.
Going through a varied selection of ala carte dishes, the Salmon Caesar Salad with salmon roe with Caesar dressing ($13) tickled my fancy. The Salmon slices benefited from a generous squirt of decadent creamy dressing, the orange scatter of roe adding provocative bursts of savouriness and the chunks of avocado pulling in all the pieces. I could have easily gone through two bowls of these.
The Grilled Squid ($14) didn't fare too well as the flesh had gone a little rubbery, a little too familiar with the flames.
Steer clear of the Sashimi (3 types for $17). I question its freshness especially in a place better adept to handle its meats well.
The Gyoza and Assorted Tempura ($15) were your standard run-of-the-mill renditions of the fare found at most ordinary establishments. Shy of fillings in the former and lack of seasoning in the batter in the latter. I was less than impressed and refrained from seconds.
Azmaya with its spacious dining room and more family orientated seating patterns would be a wise choice for birthdays or intimate family gatherings. There's just something about fretting over a steamboat that pulls people together, fostering relationships; the relentless chatter and the mutual cooking favours. That aside, do not expect extraordinary events to unfold at Azmaya on the culinary front.
Azmaya
30 Robertson Quay
#01-12/13
t: 6737 6863
w: http://kthsg-shop.com/azmaya/
Opening Hours:
Tues-Sun 5pm - 1am
ON-YASAI @ Chijimes: A Welcome Relief
Labels:
ala carte,
beef,
beer,
buffet dinner,
buffets,
chijmes,
cityhall,
family friendly,
health,
shabu shabu,
steamboat,
vegetables,
wagyu
·
Weekends are when the guilt sinks in, a culpability towards the stress that I put my body through with my horrendous diet during the weekdays. Take today for example where I followed a Chicken Tikka Naanwich from Fix with Pulled Pork tacos from Mex-out and then rounded up the whole sinful affair with the BEST fried chicken and waffles at The Beast. All this washed down with copious amounts of alcoholic beverages... hey.. don't judge.. after all #TGIF folks! Continuous days of dietary insurgence with hardly any greens in sight usually leaves me feeling sluggish and out of shape. Then, as my mind shifts to the notion of healthy eating, I am deterred by the thought of bland tasteless dishes. Well, if some of you out there are faced similar dilemmas, fret not, I reckon I've found a solution to this problem.
ON-YASAI is a shabu shabu joint hailing from Tokyo. With origins since 2000, this chain currently has more than 300 outlets in Japan alone. ON-YASAI aims to challenge the common concepts, firstly that shabu shabu is an expensive affair and secondly, to delineate the all-you-can-eat steamboat experiences you often get in Singapore brimmed with cheap ingredients and frozen meats. Targeted at the families, couples and the professional woman, they strive to provide a healthy selection of ingredients driven by seasonal produce with a creative array of soup bases.
Besides its usual ala-carte menu, there is the buffet option which comes with 40 different types of vegetables and appetizers. Each diner also receives 1 tray of meat, 1 Chicken Tsumire (Japanese minced chicken in bamboo stick) and 1 dessert. Priced at just $49.90++ on weekdays and $54.90++ on weekends for adults; this is a wallet friendly manner of eating healthy yet eating well. Do take heed that there is a time limit of 1.5 hour per table on the buffet so pace yourselves.
Japanese hospitality meant us trying a multitude of appetizers before the real deal. Jagakara ($8.90) was a peculiar combination of potato and pickled squid that was very much acquired taste, the distinct poignant taste of the sea with the squid kicking up an appetite. Another stellar dish to order with your beers is the Brown Sugared Broad Beans ($3.90), sugar coated with a brief touch of salt, this crunchy snack is extremely addictive and I dived at it continuously much to my embarrassment when the host offered to refill my bowl.
One of the main characteristics of ON-YASAI is the assortment of soups, there are Tomato Soup, Citron Soup with Collagen, Japanese Style Spicy Soup, Golden Soup (truffle flavored), Seaweed Soup, Sichuan Spicy Soup, Soyamilk Soup and secret Sukiyaki Soup. Best part is.. you get to select 2 soups for every pot!
Soon, the pots of soup (we chose the citron soup, golden soup, seaweed soup and soyamilk soup) placed on the induction stoves had reach a rolling boil and we proceeded to cook our meats with gentle precision. The Japanese Wagyu Chuck Roll ($34.90) and Australian Wagyu Chuck Roll ($23.90) both had excellent marbling and cook within seconds of its interaction with the hot stock. Boosted by a refined setup, we were encouraged to leave our meats on a drip tray before dipping in our choice of goma or ponzu suce to prevent watering the sauce down. Utter brilliance and such attention to detail on the restaurant's part. The Japanese Momoiro Pork Collar ($18.90) was best savored in the soyamilk soup, the milky richness of the soup enhancing the fattiness of the protein. I found refuge in the exquisite goma sauce, the use of foie gras adding an extra flavor dimension. Truth be told, I would have loved to take a swim in this sauce had it not been for my nagging reminder to maintain proper table manners in front of my hosts.
The Chicken Tsumire ($6.90) is a house special of chicken mince stuffed in a bamboo skewer that eventually becomes meatballs as you carve them with a spoon into the pot of soup.
Let the feast begin.
The assortment of fresh vegetables and mushrooms filled us up quickly. The excellent broths adding to the pageantry of the dish, the restaurant's consideration for every aspect of the meal pushing it past any type of expectations I've had for a shabu shabu experience.
The Soya Milk Cheese Risotto Set ($5.90) hit the nail right on the head with a grand finale that I've yet to encounter anywhere. At the end of the meal, instead of letting a good rendered down broth with the essence of all that cooked meats and vegetables in it go to waste, we are given cheese, rice, condiments and an egg. After a few magical whisks of the wrist, we were presented with a bowl of silky smooth risotto. As simple as it sounds, it's an ingenious and satisfying way of appreciating the entire shabu shabu experience at ON-YASAI.
The meal concludes in a wave of gustatory pleasure capped off with a dazzling cat-walk of light desserts to sweeten the deal. The Homemade Pumpkin Pudding ($8.90) comes strongly recommended, the dish entailing a restrained sweetness with elegance, stacking earthy flavors from the steamed pumpkin to comforting nuances of cream with the warm toasty notes from the brown sugar syrup.
We also indulged in the Peach Sorbet ($6.90) and the ON-YASAI ice cream ($7.90), a pleasant way to round up the evening of food festivities.
ON-YASAI on the grand scheme of things offers up a holistic experience that intends to debacle some old school shabu shabu controversies. With the backing of such an excellent array of soup bases to boot, I reckon that factor alone seals the deal for many return visits.
ON-YASAI
Chijmes
30 Victoria Street
#01-03/04
t: 6336 4002
Website: http://on-yasai.co.sg/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
