Showing posts with label vivocity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vivocity. Show all posts
Yunnan Bridge Crossing Rice Noodles: Vivocity Food Republic's latest addition
Labels:
chinese food,
family friendly,
food court,
harborfront,
hawker,
vivocity
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The air-conditioning was blasting with immense ferocity causing an involuntary shiver to travel down my spine; my squishy footsteps accompanied by the periodic drippings of my pitiful looking umbrella which had taken a beating from the looming storm outdoors; were all that one could hear as I paced through the grounds.
It was 11 00am and the crowds were nowhere to be seen in the usually packed Food Republic in VivoCity. Brushing past the various stores, each one peddling their goods in aromas and sweat over furrowed brows - the anticipation for a good lunch crowd is real and the vibe in the room, a contained sort of electrifying.
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.
STREET 50 Restaurant and Bar: Celebrate National Day with MORE FOOD
Labels:
bay hotel,
buffets,
dinner,
family,
family friendly,
harborfront,
national day,
special occasion,
telok blangah,
vivocity
·
When I was younger, National Day holidays for me would mean family congregations over a hodgepodge of familiar Singaporean classic dishes like chili crab, bee hoon, curry chicken and spicy pig stomach soup. After a massive feast, the cousins and I would crowd around our humbly sized television sets, placing our fists to our chest and saying the pledge with gusto and conviction; the world at our feet and our little minds soaring as high as the chinooks bearing the Singapore flag.
With the National Day long weekend (for the fortunate few) looming around the corner, many will be contemplating finding a spot for lunch/dinner with family and friends. Should you be stumped, look no further than STREET 50 Restaurant and Bar located at Bay Hotel Singapore just opposite Vivocity. This coming National Day, 9th Aug 2014, STREET 50 will be launching a one day exclusive National Day Buffet Dinner (from 6 30pm to 10pm) priced at $49++ per adult. And get this, with every 3 paying adults, the 4th adult gets to enjoy the buffet at just $4.90++. What a shocker!
And what better way to commend the occasion then with a tantalising spread of national foods and classic local favourites such as Bak Ku Teh, Rojak, Teochew Braised Duck, Steamed Hainanese Chicken with Breaded Rice Ball and Yam paste with coconut cream and Gingko Nuts?
Starting with the Tiger Prawns with warm ginger sauce, we were treated to some finger licking steamed crustaceans marinated with ginger juice. A good way to kick start the meal without the filling one's stomach with too much starch.
The next dish, throws a curve with the traditional rice balls that accompany the local favourite Steamed Hainanese Chicken, coated with a layer of Japanese breadcrumb and fried to a smoking hot golden brown. Instead of the usual chili sauce, Chef Ricky has paired the dish with a special tomato chutney which borders on spicy just enough to highlight the smooth silkiness of the chicken. Though some may be unconvinced by the outcome of the breaded rice balls, I personally enjoyed it as it gives that crunchy texture around the soft grains of garlic infused rice.
The Chilli Crab Penne (to be prepared a la minute to avoid the potential distressing circumstance of stodgy pasta in a buffet line) combines al-dente pasta with fragrant crab meat and a killer homemade chilli crab gravy. Aggressively spicy yet strangely sweet at the same time, this dish is likely to haunt your breathe for the better part of the week. Unless adjustments to seasonings be done, you might consider giving this dish a miss. unless, deep fried mantous are present of course.
The Paper wrapped Chicken Risotto is one of the few dishes in which STREET 50 pushes so hard against the original cuisine that it breaks through the other side. Here, the Chinese and the Italians are at loggerheads with one another as traditional paper wrapped chicken is stuffed with risotto, marinated with a blend of Chinese herbs and spices before being deep fried to perfection. Harmonious marriage? I beg to differ. The uneven cooking on the arborio rice mares the entire dish, some portions, delicious and slightly firm whilst other reduced to a mush more reminiscent of rice pudding. The deboned chicken needs no distractions with its labor intensive showing of flavors, yet the kitchen's choice to bring new interpretations to a classic threatens to undermine it's potential.
Another of my favourites
A fresh coat of cheer arrived in the form of desserts. The Yam Paste with Coconut Cream and Gingko Nut was gobsmackingly good. Cooked with a little bit of lard and drizzled with luscious coconut milk, it was kissed with just a pinch of salt that gave this version an edge. This would definitely have seen me eating way more than I should if I had a buffet line's worth in my sight.
The Durian Pengat appealed to me with a thin layer of crepe enveloping a generous chunk of pure durian flesh then christianed with gula melaka sauce. I would have like to see the sauce a little bit thicker; but that was just a small issue. A fantastic sweet ending for the durian fanatics out there.
Chef Ricky has created a National Day menu to reflect everyone around here. For sure he casts a wide net with his selection of perennial local favourites. The variety sounds like a lot for one kitchen to master, and the truth is STREET 50 counts weak lines in its repertoire. Still, for a one night only event, STREET 50 does offer up quite a bargain for National day dinner, so wrap up your folks and family and head on down! Reservations are open now.
Disclaimer: Fundamentally-flawed dined as a guest of STREET 50.
STREET 50 Restaurant and Bar
Bay Hotel Singapore,
50 Telok Blangah Road
Singapore 098828
Tel: 6818 6681
Pile it up high: Fruit Paradise
Labels:
desserts,
restaurants,
tart,
vivocity
·
And a month has slipped by, the Chinese New Year Season wearing me thin. I spend my nights dreaming smells of toasted chinese almonds, my hands twitching from the instinctive dough-pinching techniques employed at work. Somewhere I see a glimpse, a tiny twinge of hope in the hippo campus of something greater. I'll soon be moving off.
The last day of the month warrants a sweet ending. Hence, my write-up on Fruit Paradise.
Fruit Paradise first stimulates its customers with a blinding spread, a melange of immaculate looking tarts, little snow mountains of fresh cream and topped off with beautifully arranged fruits. For me, this evokes a thought of unnatural sweetness and a grotesque experience of having a mouthful of cream. However, the in-house Japanese Patissiers beg to differ on their slogan that their fruit tarts are made with lightly sweetened cream meant to be highlight the natural goodness of the fruits.Enough said, my interest was piqued.
Away from the hustle and bustle of the shopping crowds, the mother and I managed to steal away two slices of tarts for a more comfortable home-bound session. Upon whipping out my camera, flashbacks of the movie "Crazy Stupid Love' came to mind. "Seriously!? It's like you're photoshopped." Yeah, the slices were perfect. The first, a strawberry tiramisu with custard base ($6.80/slice or $43/8-inch cake) tasted barely of cheese, in my opinion, the bestowed title of Tiramisu was seriously pushing it. What I adored the most was the shortness of the tart base, a mean feat achieved given the fresh custard filling just above.
Our second choice was more adventurous, on promotion was the Pumpkin Custard featuring sweet japanese pumpkin discs, bananas and crunchy caramelized nuts nestled on a carefully laced pumpkin custard top, luscious cinnamon apples and bananas sandwiched between layers of chocolate sponge and ganache and soft chocolate mousse ($7.80/slice or $50/8-inch cake). Again, this lacked the resonance I was hoping for. Sure it wasn't a mouthful of sweet cream. But still, that's a hefty price of pay for a mediocre dessert. It does however win customers over with it's somewhat 'healthy indulgence' play on things, incorporating a very neutral flavor and fresh fruits. Try it if you must, it makes a lovely dessert for sharing over tea time.
Plaza Singapura
68 Orchard Road, #04-01, Singapore 238839
Tel: 6333 9286
Raffles City Shopping Center
252 North Bridge Road, #B1-44F, Singapore 179103
Tel: 6333 4849
Vivocity
1 HarbourFront Walk, #01-#01-59, Singapore 098585
Tel: 6376 9978
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