Raffles Hotel, Burgundy Wine Dinner (19Oct12)

This wine dinner was a 'Feed at Raffles' member invitation and it fitted us perfectly for our celebration of a special occasion. Raffles Hotel is very charming and the restaurant Raffles Grill set a flawless ambience for a night of good wine accentuated by good French cuisine.

"Presenting on this special night the wines from top producers Aubert de Villaine and Domaine Tollot-Beaut – 2009 Aubert de Villaine Bouzeron Côte Chalonnaise Viticulture Organique, 2008 Domaine Tollot-Beau Savigny-lès-Beaune Premier Cru Les Lavières Côte d’Or and 2007 Domaine Tollot-Beau Chorey-lès-Beaune Côte d’Or."

"This dinner which is served from 7pm to 10pm will have a Five Course Set Dinner with Wine Pairing at S$198++ per person. The menu is prepared by Deputy Executive Chef Nicola Canuti, each course designed to pair perfectly with the featured wines."

S chatted with the Sommelier and I listened on intently as usual, trying to make sense of all the wine regions, wine makers, grape types etc! When it gets too confusing, I just drink ;) Food started off well but it became a tad heavy. I managed to finish everything on my plate while S struggled with hers. Funny cheese story too (private joke). At the end, we went home with 6 nice bottles of red.

Back to Swissotel and Prego breakfast the next day. Cheerios!

Quaich (Whisky) Bar @ RWS

Kelv brought Susan and I to our very first whisky bar and we loved it very much thank you. It was a Tuesday night & expectedly the place was empty and quiet. We were probably the funkiest customers there. Don't ask me why but the whisky craze is really catching on. And we adore Shirley for giving us a good tasting lesson. It was in return of entertaining her on her otherwise boring-as-usual night! Anyhow, I'm happy to have found interest in a few labels. That only means slowly building up a whisky collection at home ;)

They carry thousands of labels (an impressive feat) and hence price varies alot. I would say reasonable at market price? Of course you can never compare with that at duty-free, so I'd suggest going for labels that's more unique or hard to find. Food wise, extremely limited but not crazy ex. The hotpan beef and fries were not bad.

I can foresee our next visit to another whisky bar soon!!

Name: Quaich Bar
Location: Resorts World Sentosa
Expenditure: S$260 for 3. A little more than half on drinks than on food.

Sky on 57, Marina Bay Sands (13Oct12)

S' parents have never gone up the MBS "ship" before so being the filial her, she decided to bring them to Sky on 57 for a fine Chinese lunch. Excellent choice as the panoramic view thrilled them very much indeed. And time and time again we have to express how impressive a change Singapore's skyline has gone through. Look at those cute supertrees from above.

All of us took the 3-course set lunch at $50 each (but with some additions for more premium courses). Plus a bottle of white at $88. UOB privilege cardmembers get preferred booking (table with perfect view by the window), complimentary valet parking and free mocktail (even for the guests). Don't miss out! See offer details here.

Slow cooked egg was normal, fish carpaccio tasty but maybe not worth the additional $6, foie gras xiao long bao could be more flavourful in my opinion, and fried oysters were superb. Veloute was bad, and Bah Kut Teh was so ordinary it could have come straight from the pack. As for the mains, fish curry was quite good, steamed halibut was ok, braised lamb downright bad, and king prawns capellini above average. We had an apple tart to share and it was good.

Based on food only, I think anyone's crazy to spend that kind of money on such local food. But considering the ambience and setting and view, I'd gladly go back again especially since I now know what not to order! P.S. you shoud be able to catch chef Justin Quek as he seems to enjoy walking around the restaurant.

Name: Sky on 57 (website)
Location: Sands Skypark, Tower 1, Level 57
Expenditure: S$360 for 4 persons

B @ Rochester (Restaurant Week Oct 7-14th 2012)

Singapore Restaurant Week this time round isn't as competitive as before; reservations are still largely available. My guess is either people are experiencing a fatigue (restaurant week is held twice a year) or that the addition of many mid-tier restaurants has diluted the excitement. Either way, we only went ahead with 1 out of 3 bookings.

Arrived at the ever chaming and chillout Rochester Park. Now that Rochester Mall is built just beside, parking's been made much easier. A little less resistance dining there.

Restaurant is modern Japanese-themed. Pretty small although it does extend to another room on the other side of the bar. Simple interior. Food wise I find it very average. Not bad tasting, but just not up to standard. Cooking style is so normal that I think any decent cook can emulate this at home. Save for the cod fish, albeit tiny, that is soft and creamy.

Service staff are very raw. One wanted to serve white wine in a red wine glass. The others kept wanting to clear my plate even though I wasn't done. I kept feeling like I was being rushed. Improvement needed. Overall, reasonably-priced only because of Restaurant Week. Took a peek at their a-la-carte menu and decided that food there does not command such prices.

Name: B @ Rochester
Location: 8 Rochester Park  Singapore 139219
Expenditure: S$35++pp for Restaurant Week dinner, +S$60 for a bot of white

Pollen @ Gardens by the Bay (4Aug12)

Can't remember for what occasion we decided to go to Pollen. Cute buggy service from the carpark to the restaurant. Useful on a rainy day. Clueless visitors were hoping to catch a ride but this is exclusively for patrons only. Love the concept. Lots of natural light and nature. Peaceful ambience notwithstanding other diners.

We picked 2 set lunches (menu changes periodically) and added Sydney Rock Oysters which were nice and fresh. Can't remember what tartare I had. It was alright. Slow-cooked egg was good, risotto was not bad but a tad heavy, pork belly was good and the desserts decent. There's nothing very wow about the food but good enough for us to return, especially with the reasonably-priced set lunch and wine.

What's cool is that you get free entry to the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest at Gardens by the Bay. Only because the restaurant is in the dome itself! After you're done with a satisfying meal, just walk out there and enjoy an afternoon stroll in the cooled conservatories. Pleasurable indeed. We didn't venture out to the supertrees though.

Name: Pollen (website)
Location: Flower Dome, Gardens By The Bay, 18 Marina Gardens Drive #01-09 Singapore 018953
Expenditure: ~S$200+ for 2 set lunch, 1 entree, 1 bot of wine

Retrolicious 2012

On the spur of the moment S called in to Class 95FM on the way home from work. Little did she expect to be the first caller through and thus won us a pair of tickets to the Retrolicious concert! It also came with a Meet & Greet session with one of the acts, Tiffany. Cute.

Great advice from Angel to dress as little as possible. Fort Canning was just hot hot hot. Which is a real pity because the place, with its natural slope, is actually quite perfect for an outdoor concert. Food and drinks were reasonable. One thing we noticed though was that the VIP tents were set up on the other end furthest away from the stage. I doubt they could see very clearly. Atmosphere over there was also more subdued than at the standing area. VIP tickets prob not worth the $225?

"Meet & Greet Tiffany" was only a group photo-taking session. A bit silly but at least I caught this fun shot of her with the Class 95FM crew. What better way than to end the concert with Alphaville's 'Forever Young'. =)