Singapore Oct 2013

Back for the first time since moving to Shanghai. The peeps I gotta meet... =) The netballers.

The S gang. Really miss the kiddos who are growing up too fast.

The Fam. Celebrating S dad's big 70 at Paradise MBFC. Superb food and wine - just how a 七十大寿 should be.

Apr 2013

Charmaine's really cool and creative party on the launch of the Absolut Elyx. Smooth......

Lucky us got a special treat at JR from special friends :p

Feb/Mar 2013

Before leaving for Shanghai I remember us trying to utilize as much "Feed at Raffles" and "Club at Hyatt" benefits as possible. This Japanese restaurant at Raffles City serves pretty good set lunches and for 50% the usual price, we regretted not discovering this earlier! P.s. I have to admit the problem with blogging on stuff one YEAR back is that I have no recollection at all the name of this restaurant. Google comes into play now but can you see the pain of blogging and the inertia I have been feeling?! Okay...'nuff excuses.....found it. Place is called Mikuni. Go try...especially if you have reason for a business lunch!

And then the randoms. Took a photo during CNY with my maternal grandma, a.k.a PoPo, who took care of me while I was young and while both my parents were working. Patchy memories here and there..but no matter how failed a mum my mum portrays her to be, she did her part as a grandma and I thank her that. Oh and that's my sis at the back with what seems like super short skirt -_-

Meetup with Jie and Mui at her new place. Erm whose birthday was it? Anyway, the memorable part was us sneaking up to the rooftop park at midnight holding a bottle of red wine and glasses and celebrating how awesome we were :p

Feb 2013

S' Birthday celebration... where a ridiculous major miscomm occurred. Hmph.

LP+Tetsu (30Nov12)

From their website: "LP+Tetsu is a collaboration between one-Michelin-starred chef, Laurent Peugeot and home grown F&B lifestyle company Food Junction Holdings Limited. It is a contemporary French-Japanese fine dining restaurant helmed by one-Michelin-star Chef Laurent Peugeot."

Came here on C's account. Thanks! All 4 of us took the chef's 6-course surprise menu (small version) at $120 pp. Food's not bad, some misses but overall ok. I've a couple of friends who dined there that day too and they didn't like it. So it's pretty hard to judge. Perhaps for the price it could be better?

The place is too dark so pardon the photos...

Name: LP+Tetsu
Location: Tanglin Mall, 163 Tanglin Road, Singapore 247933
Expenditure: $140 pp excl. alcohol

Catalunya (23Nov12)

It's our 2nd visit to this highend Spanish tapas place. They have a separate bar and restaurant area with different menus. The bar offers tapas only while the restaurant offers both tapas and other mains (like the famous whole suckling pig). Been to both and like both.

Note though that the tapas come in very small portions and are more fanciful than the traditional ones so it might not be suited to everyone's tastes. Mixed reviews for the suckling pig as well but I personally like it for its softness. Keep in mind that you can and should NEVER compare the chinese roast pig (烧猪) to the spanish type.

This time at the bar we ordered lots of tapas and 3 bottles of wine. Set us back quite abit but it's up to the individual to determine if it's worth it. Managed to get comfy couch seats. What's good: bread with tomato, anchovies, iberian ham 5J, tomato tartar confit (love it), calamari, fried potatoes, suckling pig. What's not: mussels, chicken wings, omelette deconstructed.

Reservations for the restaurant should be made at least 2 weeks in advance. The bar does not take reservations so it's perfect if you're able to end work early.

It being a round standalone structure on the water is special and the night view is pretty. But it will in no way be a quiet romantic dinner because Spanish tapas bars are supposed to be noisy and boy was it.

Name: Catalunya
Location: The Fullerton Pavilion, 82 Collyer Quay, Singapore 049327
Expenditure: S$700+ for 6 persons incl. 3 bots of wine

Esquina Restaurant (9Nov12)

Checked out Esquina Tapas Bar in Chinatown area with Angel and Susan. We all know that this place is popular and they don't take reservations. So obviously I made it a point to be there as early as possible (which isn't too hard for me after work). They open at 6pm. I was there at 540pm but I came in 2nd. Hmph. Sat at the outdoor tables while waiting. No biggie as the server so kindly took our wine order and served us some.

Small area as expected. Ambience and layout of this Singapore tapas bar is the most spanish-like by far (comparing to the fabulous experience we had in Barcelona). Seats were filled up very quickly so be there at 6pm or be nothing. Cramp, noisy and bustling - traits I found familiar. Food wise, I love the oysters, fried squid and kingfish sashimi. Slow-cooked egg is not bad. Big scallop, braised pork cheek, bone marrow and desserts were normal. Think we had a couple more dishes but I missed capturing them.

There were 6 off-the-menu specials that day and all sounded really good. Am going back today to try the rest of the menu! :)

Name: Esquina Tapas Bar
Location: 16 Jiak Chuan Road, Singapore 089267
Expenditure: ~S$330 incl. 1 bot of spanish white for $95

Hokkaido Sushi Restaurant (9Oct12)

Went with the family on a Groupon deal. Quite value for money in my opinion. For $53.90 nett, we got mixed salad of fried bean sprout, century egg tofu (nice appetiser), assorted sashimi (good size), halibut fish or salmon (flavorful), ikura chawan mushi (my fav), scallop, wagyu beef (very good), garlic fried rice, miso soup and ice cream. Corkage at $20 is also reasonable.

The only thing was that some of the food had already cooled as the staff did not immediately bring the food over from the teppanyaki counter once they were cooked. Hence I'd suggest sitting yourself in front of the chef if you want it freshly hot, and if you don't mind some smoke. We had baby Jerome with us, so we thought not and moved out of the teppan room. Overall, original menu is probably overpriced but we're definitely on the lookout of the next Groupon deal!

Name: Hokkaido Sushi Restaurant
Location: 81 Anson Road, M Hotel Level 9 Singapore 079908
Expenditure: ~S$60 pp on Groupon deal

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!