Vom Fass

C says:

I personally haven’t been to this store, which is on the 4th floor of ION, but I’m certainly very keen to check it out after cousin L gave me a selection of oils and vinegars from there as a belated birthday pressie (thanks L!).

Apparently the store has loads of different types of flavoured oils, vinegars, cognacs and spirits, and you can taste them all there. If you bring back the little bottles, I think they can refill them for you too.


L got me a raspberry vinegar, pumpkin seed oil and a 16 year aged balsamic vinegar – gals (you know who you are), looks like I’ve got aged balsamic in my larder now after all, heh.

We bought some Fougasse bread from Choupinette to try them out. The raspberry vinegar has a very fresh and pronounced raspberry flavour, and I think it’ll work very well in salads. The pumpkin seed oil was surprisingly dark and very intensely flavoured. The balsamic was really smooth and mellow, not tart and acidic like regular cooking-grade balsamic vinegar. In terms of bread-dipping, the pumpkin oil and balsamic vinegar tasted interesting on their own, but really complemented each other when paired.

I’m really psyched to check out the store to see what other cool flavours they’ve got.

A says:

Raspberry – No.
Pumpkin Seed Oil – Maybe.
Balsamic – Yes.

Although to me, having very good bread makes more of a difference than very good condiments. As in I’d rather go with killer bread and ordinary accoutrements than ordinary bread with killer oil, vinegar, etc...

The Chip Shop

C says:


Definitely not my first choice, given that it’s nothing but deep fried food. This was A’s choice, after BodyPump no less, but I must admit that as far as fish and chips go, this was decent.

A says:


Dining options at The Cathay really suck. Chose this as a last resort and surprisingly, it didn’t suck. Not good, but not bad. Very sloooowwww service though.

Space @ My Humble House

C says:

R and P are regulars here, so they suggested it when we met them at Esplanade tonight for a couple of Baybeats performances. I must say my first impression wasn’t great – we arrived earlier and waited outside to be seated to no avail. We ventured into the restaurant and asked for a table for 5, at which stage the snotty door bitch said they only had counter space available. Bear in mind the restaurant was only ¼ full. We said we had to check with our friends first, and she told us they’d clear the counter and asked us to take a seat outside.

We waited outside for a good 5 minutes without any progress. R and P arrived, and we just breezed into the restaurant and plonked ourselves at an available table. I guess we should have asserted ourselves and done that at the start, rather than meekly listening to the door bitch. R and P assure us that the service isn’t usually like this.


Anyway, on to the food. The chicken rice is Sam Leong’s grandmother’s recipe and is apparently outstanding, so I ordered it. I like that you can choose whether you want the thigh or the breast portion. I had the thigh, of course, and I must say it was very good. The chicken was tender and moist, and the sauce had a hint of Chinese rice wine that I really like. The rice was fragrant yet not oily, and it came with a double-boiled soup. All for only $9.90.


A had the laksa, which at $14 was a lot better value than the one at Canteen. This came with large prawns, cod fillet, fried oyster, scallops and taupok. The laksa gravy was quite light, which is a good or a bad thing depending on what kind of laksa you prefer.


We ordered the carrot cake to share, but this was a bit disappointing. It came with lots of ingredients again – crab meat, prawns and scallops, but the carrot cake itself tasted a bit flat and too floury.


We were full but had to try their desserts, which were from the Humble House kitchen. A and I shared the Pumpkin crème brulee with mango sorbet. The sorbet was so-so, but I really like the crème brulee. P had the lemongrass gelee with lime sorbet. I had a bite of the gelee and it was very light and refreshing.

The menu is pretty limited, but there are a couple more dishes I wouldn’t mind trying, like bak kut teh with lamb ribs, and a wagyu beef hor fun. I also loved their chrysanthemum tea, which had a wonderful flowery fragrance. Note to self: find out if they sell their tea leaves.

A says:

Very slow service and one of the waitresses was not very polite. The food however was excellent. Not exactly cheap, but not expensive considering the quality of the ingredients. Definitely worth considering if you’re at the Esplanade.

Space @ My Humble House
#02-25 Esplanade Mall
8 Raffles Avenue
Tel : 6423-1881
Opening Hours:
Lunch : 12:00 - 3:00PM
Dinner : 6:00 - 11.00PM
www.myhumblehouse.com.sg/space/concept.php

Saizeriya

C says:

Saizeriya, which opened in Liang Court about a year ago after the mall’s revamp, takes up a fairly large space on the second floor. The decor seems a bit stuck in the 80s, so it was with some trepidation that we joined the (then) relatively short queue on Friday night.



I’m finding it hard to be objective about the food there, simply because it’s just SO cheap! A and I each had a starter and a pasta main, and our grand total bill was $23.90. For starters we ordered tea smoked duck breast, and chicken wings (they were out of the mid joint wing, and asked if we were ok with the drumlets instead). Each dish was only $4.48 – very reasonable, especially for the duck, which was clearly pre-bought and just sliced, but still quite tasty and honestly, at that price, who’s complaining?


I ordered the Pollock roe spaghetti, which was essentially a mentaiko-like sauce topped with seaweed. For $5.68, this was very decent – the spaghetti was quite well-cooked, and the Pollack roe sauce was pretty tasty.


A ordered the bolognaise-esque spaghetti with meat sauce, also $5.68. Again the pasta texture was good, but the sauce was a bit too thin (and not enough of it). It was a little bland and needed some parmesan cheese, but luckily the waitress managed to find a jar of it for us.

We just had plain water, but they’ve also got a drinks buffet for $3.99, where you can get unlimited soft drinks, coffee, tea and iced milo. We had a pretty good experience here, but when we told P about it, she begged to differ, saying that she really wasn’t impressed when she tried it when it first opened. She had their so-called specialty the Doria – a cheesy baked rice gratin, which she said was really burnt and not at all appetising.

Maybe they’ve improved since then, and perhaps you just need to order the right things. They run like a well-oiled machine, with very efficient and extremely polite waitstaff. This is a good no-frills place for anyone on a budget, which is evidenced by the long line that formed while we were eating. Just come without any expectations.

A says:

Don’t expect fine dining but for the price you pay, you get very pleasant service and excellent value for money. Fully recommended for when you want passable pseudo-Italian and are a bit broke.

Saizeriya
177 River Valley Road
#02-22 Liang Court Shopping Centre
Tel: 6337-9001
Open daily: 10 am to 10 pm

Wild Oats

C says:

It’s been more than two years since our one and only visit to Wild Oats, and to be honest I didn't know that they still existed, until I read a recent post on Chubby Hubby’s blog about their Spam (or rather, luncheon meat) fries. Since I read the post, I couldn't get the thought of fried strips of luncheon meat out of my head, so we made a date with some of A’s friends for a late dinner there on Saturday.

They’ve certainly expanded their food menu considerably since they first opened, when they only served chicken wings and a selection of hot dogs. They’ve trimmed the hot dog selection to just one, and the chicken wings now just come with one dip (the yummier gorgonzola), but they’ve added at least ten new items. Between 4 of us we ordered quite a few items to try.


First up was the whole reason for coming here – the luncheon meat fries. Luncheon meat is cut into thin strips, deep fried and served with a kaffir lime mayonnaise. I had high hopes for this dish, but I must say I was slightly disappointed. For me, the perfect piece of spam is fried till crispy on the outside, yet still a bit soft and pale pink inside. These were overfried so they were cooked all the way through and therefore a bit too hard. And while the kaffir lime mayo on its own was a really fragrant dip, somehow I think it’s just too posh a flavour for humble ol’ spam. I found that the fries went better when dipped in regular ketchup.


They’ve got mini Wild Rocket burgers too, which were pretty good. The patty was a little on the dry side, but otherwise I was quite happy with these.


Their minced pork meatballs are served with some kind of tomato salsa, and while they weren’t spectacular in any way, I found them incredibly addictive.


In classic Wild Rocket style, they incorporate local flavours into Western dishes, and one example is the Sarawak chicken curry shepherd’s pie. While this may sound slightly dubious, I actually thought this was very good. The curry didn't seem to be dumbed down – it was quite heavily spiced and had a decent amount of heat too. And it surprisingly paired quite well with the mashed potato.

I find it a bit of a bummer that they don’t serve soft drinks or coffee here, though. I was having one of those days where I really needed a coffee, but ended up being ‘forced’ to order a cocktail instead. The food is interesting, but because it’s primarily a bar, the vibe is just a tad too chi-chi and not conducive for just hanging out.

A says:

I didn’t really expect much but was very pleasantly surprised. Excellent bar food and superb service. Fully recommended for some light bites with drinks.

Wild Oats Bar On the Hill
11 Upper Wilkie Road
Tel: 6336-5413
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 6 pm to midnight

Aoba Hokkaido Ramen

C says:

Our very first trip to ION was on a Thursday evening after work. Big mistake – the traffic was terrible, and we missed the whole reason for our visit, which was a friend’s performance. Still, we met her for dinner after her gig and after a failed attempt at getting a table at Watami Izakaya (they closed off the queue at 8.40 pm!), we tried our luck at adjacent ramen joint Aoba Hokkaido Ramen, and managed to secure a table after a short 5 to 10 minutes in line.


Their specialty here is there Shoyu ramen, so even though I’m usually a Kyushu (pork bone) ramen girl, I ordered the Shoyu ramen with braised pork belly. The pork belly was pretty fatty, even for me. I think next time I’ll go with the char siew instead.

Hokkaido ramen seems to be thicker and chewier than the normal ramen we’re used to, so those who like their noodles on the softer side may find this a bit too firm and starchy. I found that it went really well with the broth, which was packed with umami flavour. Surprisingly, although it was shoyu based, it wasn’t excessively salty.


A decided to order the Shio ramen with scallops. The broth was lighter in flavour, and because of that I preferred mine.


We also ordered the mentai chicken wings, which were just fried chicken wings topped with some kind of cheesy mentaiko/mayonnaise sauce. Yummm… these were totally addictive, and I dare say the best part of an already pretty good meal.

ION certainly has a wealth of new restaurants to try. The crowds are currently putting me off, but at some point I do want to give the more interesting ones a go.

A says:

It’s good and well worth a visit, but I wouldn’t queue up for this given the wealth of choices here and in B4.

Aoba Hokkaido Ramen
#B3-25, ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn
Tel: 6509-9394

Les Artistes Bistrot

C says:

Les Artistes Bistrot is the more casual offering from Chef Nicolas Joanny, of Nicolas Le Restaurant. It's actually at Nicolas’ original premises, and Nicolas has moved a few doors down. We were very impressed with the set lunch that we had at Nicolas the last time, so we thought we’d give Les Artistes a try. (Do note that since then, Nicolas has raised their prices for their set lunch – it's no longer a super affordable $38 for 4 courses.)

The Les Artistes set lunch is $34 for 3 courses. I must say I’m quite impressed by the selection – you get at least 5 choices for each course. This also means a considerable amount of indecision because you feel like trying everything…



A went straight for the trout gravlax without hesitation. After much pondering, I decided on the rillette and terrine platter, only to feel slightly cheated when the amuse bouche arrived – it was rillette on toast! Hmph. The gravlax was a bit too raw for my liking, but the rillette and terrine were lovely.


A ordered the entrecote of beef with red wine reduction, which was topped with caramelised onions and served with a glass of potato puree. I expected this to be quite basic, and was very pleasantly surprised at how well executed it was, with the beef cooked perfectly. The potato was excellent as well.


I went for the Kurobuta pork cheek with penne in a porcini mushroom and thyme sauce. The pork tasted a lot better than it looked – I expected it to be quite dry, given the pieces were quite browned and rather thin, but it was melt-in-the-mouth tender and very flavourful from all the fat. The penne unfortunately fared less well. You definitely had to eat it together with the pork, because on its own it was a little tasteless.



For dessert, I went with the apple tarte tatin with cinnamon cream, and A had the caramelised banana. I actually found the cinnamon cream a tad overpowering, and preferred the dessert without it.

For an amuse bouche + 3 courses, this is very good value for money. Nicolas next door also has a set lunch - $42 for 3 courses and $52 for 4 courses. We walked by after lunch and peeked at the menu, which looked quite similar to the offerings at Les Artistes, so I wonder what could justify the slightly higher prices at Nicolas.

A says:

Awesome. Definitely worth it.

Les Artistes Bistrot
35 Keong Saik Road
Tel: 6224-1501
Lunch: Monday to Friday: 12pm to 2pm
Dinner: Monday to Saturday: 6.30pm to 10pm
www.restaurantnicolas.com/thebistrot.html

Meidi-Ya food court part two – Romantic Kobe curry rice

C says:

Strangely enough, we patronised the curry rice stall but neither of us ordered the curry rice. I ordered the teriyaki beef short rib rice, and A had the pork katsu bento. At least A’s friend M tried a chicken cutlet curry rice, which didn’t look too bad.


The beef rice was ok but I found the teriyaki sauce to be a tad too sweet, although the beef was quite tender.


A’s katsu was well-fried – nice and crispy and quite juicy.

This didn’t wow me the way the udon did, though. And with each plate being about $3-$4 more than a standard bowl of udon, I’d much rather have the udon any day.

A says:

Not bad, but not cheap considering it’s like a food court stall. I’m not a big fan of curry rice anyway so this may turn out to be my least favourite stall here.

Romantic Kobe
177 River Valley Road
#B1-50 Liang Court
Tel: 6333-0630
Open daily: 10 am to 9 pm

Meidi-Ya food court part one – Tsuru Tsuru Tei Udon

C says:

We’re also about 5 minute walk to Liang Court, so we’re on a quest to try every single one of the stalls in Meidi-Ya Supermarket. First up: Tsuru Tsuru Tei Udon.


A went for a Karaage Udon, and I had the Chili Pork Udon. A’s was a clear soup with the chicken karaage served separately. It looked quite nondescript but the soup was excellent – really cheng, clean-tasting yet flavourful.


Mine was the polar opposite of his. This was almost like a kimchi soup base with sliced pork. This is good if you want lots of flavour, but if you’re after a traditional clear soup udon, go for the regular ones. I’m going for the beef udon next - the same clear soup topped with slices of beef.

It was only after we got home that we realised that it’s opened by the same group as Tampopo. No wonder the quality was good.

A says:

Not the best udon I’ve ever had, but it’s certainly served up quick. Passable for a fast food version of udon I guess.

Tsuru-Tsuru Tei
177 River Valley Road
#B1-50 Liang Court
Tel: 6339-7264
Open daily: 10 am to 9.30 pm
http://www.cfc.com.sg/tsuru.htm

Bella Pizza

C says:

We’re squatting in the Mohamed Sultan/Robertson Quay area for the next 3 months, which is not going to do wonders for our austerity drive. Sure enough, on Friday night since we were moving some stuff into our temporary home, we decided to pop down to Bella Pizza, which was just a 5 minute walk away. We learnt our lesson and made a reservation in the afternoon.


We started with a salad of bocconcini, cherry tomatoes and rocket to share. This was quite a tiny portion but it was only $7, after all. Nothing spectacular, but a good way to whet our appetite nonetheless.


I ordered the ravioli stuffed with beef, served with porcini mushroom sauce. There were some good flavours going on here, but it can get slightly rich so it’s best to share. My one criticism is that the ravioli were slightly hard – the pasta skin wasn’t thin enough.


One of their specialities is a boat-shaped pizza, the Barca. It comes in two flavours – one with Italian sausage and sautéed onions, and the other with buffalo mozzarella wrapped in Parma ham. Goes without saying that A ordered the Parma ham one. This was visually quite interesting, but I think their regular pizzas are better – crispier and less crust. Another interesting thing about this was that when you had the parma ham and the crust alone, you could really taste the parma ham, but once you took a bite with the cheese, you couldn’t really taste the ham; you just got a general salty flavour.

We each had the banana crepes with mascarpone cheese and nutella – this dessert is just too good to share.

Well, I think we came to the same conclusion as the last time – there’s a reason they’re called Bella Pizza. Their pizzas are better than their pastas, and their regular pizzas are definitely better than their folded ones.

A says:

I likea the pizza here. Expensive, but good.

Bella Pizza
30 Robertson Quay
#01-14 Riverside View
Tel: 6734-0139
www.bellapizza.com.sg

Michaelangelo’s

C says:

Just our luck that we never managed to try Michaelangelo’s before Chef Angelo Sanelli left to open his own restaurant, Mietta’s. Citibank has an ongoing promotion at Michaelangelo’s till February 2010, where their $80 4-course set dinner is one-for-one. We decided to take advantage of the offer before trying out Mietta’s.

Just like it was with Don Quijote, I think limited buffets and one-for-one deals are not the best showcase for a restaurant. Corners are inevitably trimmed and as a result, you don’t get a true representation of what the restaurant can offer. The set menu was in no way worth $80, so I’m sure they’ve factored in the one-for-one deal when designing the menu.

The first course was a deconstructed smoked salmon Caesar salad – instead of croutons, the salad was on a crispy slice of melba toast. This was pretty well executed, with the best part being the crispy bacon.

The pasta course was an aglio olio spaghetti with prawns and cherry tomatoes. This was very ordinary, and certainly not what I would expect from Michaelangelo’s. I would say it was more like the standard of Spageddies or any generic pasta restaurant. The prawns were pretty fresh though.

We had a choice of two mains – a pan fried chicken breast fillet, and pork ribs. We thought we’d try one each, but the waitress convinced us that the pork was very good so we both ordered the pork. Big mistake. The main course really wasn’t great, so we had two of them to finish. The pork was pretty tough, and it was accompanied with lentils that were unduly sweet and therefore a rather odd and not particular pleasant flavour combination.

Thank goodness we ended the meal on a high note, though. Dessert was panna cotta with berries and this was one of the richest, creamiest panna cottas I’ve had. This was very welcome after the disaster of a main course.

Apologies for the lack of photos. The lighting was completely not conducive to photography. Also, for a Friday night the restaurant was eerily empty. Indoors there were only 2 tables of 2 (ourselves included), and outside there must have been no more than five tables of 2 to 4 people. I guess it’s not just us – the standard has probably dropped since Chef Angelo left. Either that or his followers just left with him. Well, based on the standard of tonight’s meal, I don’t think we’ll be back. Yes it may have been a one-for-one promo, but at a total price of just under $100 for the two of us, there are many other places I’d rather patronise.

A says:

The service was excellent and the setting is definitely interesting. I had high hopes following the excellent re-interpretation of a smoked salmon Caesar salad. It was followed by a passable pasta dish and a very blah meat course. I was ready to leave disappointed when the meal concluded with the best panna cotta I’ve ever had.

So I’m left confused as to whether I’d recommend it. I guess I’d consider it only if there’s a good promotion on and I can’t get a table at Pasta Brava, Valentino’s or Da Paolo’s.

Michaelangleo’s
Blk 44 Jalan Merah Saga
#01-60 Chip Bee Gardens
Tel: 6475-9069
Lunch:Monday to Fridays & Sundays, 11:30am – 3pm
Dinner:Monday to Sunday, 6pm – 11pm
http://www.michelangelos.com.sg/

Bergs Burgers

C says:

We had high hopes for Bergs, a fairly new burger joint in Far East Square, but were sorely disappointed. The restaurant looks pretty enticing, with an open kitchen and the menu scrawled on chalkboard walls, and the website promotes itself as an authentic Australian burger joint, but it really didn't deliver.

The menu sounds enticing enough, with regular beef burgers, a lamb burger, a number of chicken burgers, a fish burger and even a couple of vegetarian options (tofu and falafel). Each burger comes in Small and Berg sizes, with fries sold separately. I went for a regular beef burger (the Berg) with brie, and A chose the Kiwi Stud – the lamb burger.


The Berg comes with red onion, lettuce, tomato, aioli and ‘Bergs sauce’. When you order the Berg with cheese, you can choose between brie, edam and swiss cheese. The best part of the burger was the brie – they were very generous with the cheese and it added a really nice flavour to the burger. Other than that, there isn’t much to recommend. The patty was ordinary, and the bun was not only untoasted, but it was cold, which was slightly disconcerting when paired with a hot patty. My main complaint is that the combination of flavours just didn’t go. The aioli was pungent and garlicky, while the Bergs sauce was undefineable but predominantly sweet. When combined, it just tasted downright weird.


A’s Kiwi Stud didn't fare much better. The ingredients were the same, just no cheese and a heavily spiced lamb patty instead of beef. The patty tasted like a kebab, and again with the aioli and Bergs sauce, which again led to quite a taste confusion.

On to other aspects of the place. They must have the worst ventilation system ever, because the place absolutely reeks of frying burgers. Indoor seating is pretty much out of the question, and even sitting outside, we weren’t spared the oily pong. And even though this is a proper restaurant, not fast food, the burgers come unceremoniously wrapped in plain paper then dumped in a brown paper bag.

If I’m going to spend $28 on a meal (the burgers averaged $10 each and we ordered a side of fries and a drink), I’d rather have the sandwiches at Da Paolo Gastronomia.

A says:

It’s okay only. Not really blown away by either of the burgers I tried. And the wait is seriously long, even considering they were nearly empty at the time we went.

Would I recommend it? Only if you couldn’t leave the area and were desperate for a burger.

Bergs Burgers
137 Amoy Street
#01-01 Far East Square
Tel: 6438-6505
Mon – Sat: 10 am to 10 pm
http://bergsburgers.com

Thai Central

C says:

Our austerity drive seems to be bringing us to the Upper Bukit Timah area with alarming frequency. Tonight we decided to try Thai Central, which is just across the road from Old Town. Being our first time here, we made a point to only order dishes that said “chef’s recommendation”.


To start with, we shared the Thai stuffed chicken wings. Interestingly, they have a separate Thai chicken wings on the menu, without the “chef’s recommendation”. Maybe next time we’ll try those. The stuffed wings were pretty ok – then again, how wrong can they go? The stuffing had a hint of kaffir lime leaves which was an interesting twist.


Just like instant noodles at cha chan tengs, we tend to test new Thai places with their pad thai and tom yam noodle soup dishes. A had the pad thai, I had a seafood tom yam soup with glass noodles (tung hoon). The pad thai fared better than the tom yam – it was pretty well fried, and the sweet, sour, salty and spicy flavours were all very well balanced.


My tom yam soup was quite sour, but refreshingly so. My issue with it was the absolute lack of ingredients. There was a huge clump of tung hoon, but just a handful of ingredients – 2 small prawns, a few measly slices of fish, a couple of tiny pieces of squid and a few straw mushrooms.

Still, prices are fairly decent and the service is excellent. We’ll have to come back and try their curries before coming to a firm conclusion.

A says:

Very good service. Decent quality food. Proof that when you go into a place with low expectations, they’ll generally impress you.

Thai Central
16 Chun Tin Road
Tel: 6469-4862
Daily: 11.30 am to 10.30 pm

More from Old Town White Coffee

C says:

We came back here again tonight to have the other items that we were meaning to try – the Ipoh Hor Fun, and the Curry Mee (soup).

The Ipoh Hor Fun was quite a surprise. Expecting the usual dry version that we’re so used to, we were quite taken aback when a bowl of soupy noodles arrived. Only after we clarified that our order was correct, did I suddenly remember P telling me ages ago that the hor fun here was very different from what we get here.


After the initial shock, I actually grew to like this a lot. The soup is slightly thicker and richer than normal clear fishball noodle-type soup. The flavour is subtle and clean, yet not bland. Perfect for when I’m feeling virtuous and can’t bring myself to order the unhealthier options.


The default noodle for the Curry Mee is the thick yellow noodle but I’ve never been a fan cos it’s very starchy and heavy. I tried to get them to change it to Nissin noodles (since they have a Nissin soup noodle on the menu), but I guess Nissin noodles cost more, because they said we can change to bee hoon or kuay teow, but not Nissin. I switched to bee hoon, and it was pretty good. The gravy was rich, and didn't taste of peanuts like a lot of curry noodles gravies.

On cousin L’s recommendation, I decided to try the iced Gao. Wow… I think the regular iced coffee is quite enough for me. The Gao packs a serious punch, and just a tad too potent for my liking. Alas, even though we were there quite early tonight, the caffeine still got the better of me. So, no more Gaos for me, at least not at dinner time.

A says:

It’s not really my kind of Ipoh Hor Fun but it’s not bad. I’ll probably stick to the rendang rice. At least this place has more options for me. Will stick with the regular iced coffee though.

Old Town White Coffee
9, Yuk Tong Avenue
Tel: 6467-4404
Mon – Thurs: 9 am to 10.30 pm
Fri: 9 am to midnight
Saturday/Eve of PH: 8 am to midnight
Sunday/PH: 8 am to 10.30 pm

Old Town White Coffee

C says:

We’re slowly realising that Upper Bukit Timah has lots of little eateries just waiting to be discovered. Old Town White Coffee, a Malaysian cafe chain, is located at the corner of Chun Tin Road and Yuk Tong Avenue (near the Cheong Chin Nam Road stretch), in a unit with surprisingly high ceilings, giving a nice impression of spaciousness.

They’re known for their white coffee, which in Ipoh apparently refers to coffee that has been roasted with margarine and possibly some sugar as well, resulting in slightly caramel undertones. For fear of being kept awake, I steered clear of the coffee but A ordered an iced white coffee. He ordered the regular strength one and already it was thick, strong and not overly sweet; I can’t imagine how much more potent the Enriched White Coffee (Gao) would be.


I tried one of their new dishes, the Dry Curry Mee, but it was a little too similar to Mee Rebus for my liking. The sauce was a bit too thick, and the use of yellow noodles didn’t help. Next time I’ll try their Ipoh hor fun, which is supposed to be their speciality anyway.


A ordered the Nasi Lemak Rendang Chicken, which was quite a large portion and was pretty good. The nasi lemak sambal was just the kind I like – spicy and not too sweet, and the rendang chicken didn’t skimp on flavour either.

They have some outdoor seating so this is another viable post-gym option when we’re in smelly workout clothes. The noodle portions are quite small so it should be just nice for post-running. Still, I’d like to come here in the day so that I can have a full cup of coffee on my own without risking a sleepless night.

A says:

This area is the Siglap of the West. And with less horrible parking problems!

So anyway, the food here is very good (although the portions are rather small for the price).

And the coffee is POWER!

Old Town White Coffee
9, Yuk Tong Avenue
Tel: 6467-4404

More sandwiches from Da Paolo at The Sail

C says:

I got a chance to try more of Da Paolo’s gourmet sandwiches sooner than I thought. Another late night for A meant that we met up there for a quick dinner after he got off work.

We went for the 2 that I was eyeing previously – the Parma Ham with Emmental, and the Mortadella with Provolone. On hindsight, that may not have been the best pairing because they ended up looking almost identical, and tasting quite similar too.

Parma Ham with Emmental


Mortadella with Provolone

I preferred the mortadella, because the taste of the ham was more pronounced in every bite. In contrast, the bites with the parma ham were good, but they were few and far between and the majority of the sandwich just tasted like tomato and cheese.

Tonight’s sandwiches weren’t as good as the previous one I had, because they toasted them for a bit too long, which made for a very tired jaw by the end of the meal, and injured roofs of our mouths from being poked and scratched by overly crunchy ciabatta. Still, it’s not enough to prevent me from trying the other yummy-sounding flavours; I just have to remind them not to toast them for too long.

A says:

I’m really liking this place. And since I’m currently working, I can still afford to eat here.

Da Paolo Gastronomia
The Sail
#01-15 Tower 2
Telephone: 6224-4148
Open daily 9.30 am to 9.30 pm
http://www.dapaolo.com.sg/

July Specials at Don Quijote

C says:

We popped by for dinner on Friday night to sample Don Quijote’s July off-menu specials. This meal reinforced my view that it’s way better to order off the regular a la carte menu (and their specials), than to have the brunch buffet. In fact, the difference in dining experiences is so marked that it was almost like 2 different restaurants. The food at the brunch buffet, whilst perfectly passable, somehow lacked the added flavour and authenticity of the ‘regular’ food.


The July specials that we ordered were the Spanish squid with olive oil and white wine, Madrid broken eggs, and the meat-lover’s paella. The squid was pretty good – tender, and the white wine sauce was well balanced. I’m still searching for a place that serves a good octopus tapas, though.


The Madrid broken eggs was a good concept, but fell a tad short in the execution. The broken eggs are just that – the yolk and white are mixed together but not evenly, and not scrambled either. Chunks of potato and chorizo completed the dish. The dish could have done with less potato and more egg, because it was way too heavy. Also, unless it was deliberate, this was overloaded with garlic, to the point where you barely tasted anything else.


Although we loved the squid ink pasta on our first visit, we decided to try the meat-lover’s paella, consisting of chorizo, chicken and sliced beef. After watching a paella special on TV recently, this was just what I needed to satisfy a latent paella craving. The rice was flavourful, had a lovely smoky flavour especially the charred bits, and it was all meat so no crustacean shells to deal with. A’s not a huge paella fan, so he was a lot less enamoured with this dish. Well, now that I’ve gotten the paella here out of my system, I’ll be fine to go back to having the pasta again next time.

Maybe if they keep having interesting monthly specials, we can make this place a monthly treat. And if you don’t order the phenomenally overpriced Spanish jamons and cheese platters, prices here are actually quite reasonable.

A says:

Parking here is a nightmare. Grrr...

Don Quijote
17 Lorong Kilat #01-09
Tel: 6465-1811
Open Tuesday to Sunday
Lunch: 11.30am to 2.30pm
Dinner: 6.00pm to 10.30pm
Sunday Brunch: 11.30am to 2.30pm
http://www.don-quijote-restaurants.com/

Da Paolo Gastronomia at The Sail

C says:

The Da Paolo Gastronomia that’s just opened at The Sail offers some items that aren’t available at their other outlets. In addition to the single slices of pizza (which, though quite tasty, can be quite uninspiring after a while) and antipastis and salads sold by weight, the branch at The Sail has a selection of pastas, and quite an enticing array of gourmet sandwiches.


Since we park our car nearby, we stopped by for a quick meal and were quite pleasantly surprised. A ordered the pasta with salmon and creamy tomato sauce. The default pasta is spaghetti, but if you want to change it to any of the other pastas that they have on sale, you just have to top up about $2. A changed it to pappardelle and it turned out really good, though the portion was rather small.


I was spoilt for choice with the sandwich selection, but decided to try an old faithful – roast beef with mozzarella, on toasted ciabatta. As you know I’m not really a sandwich person but this was really good. They were generous with the ingredients, the beef was tender and there was just enough lettuce and ripe juicy tomatoes. Slightly lacking in mozzarella but overall, a good sandwich.

I’m now eyeing some of the other sandwich varieties, like Mortadella and Provolone, Parma ham and Emmental, Italian Sausage with Caramelised Onions, Gorgonzola and Fig Jam, and Black Pepper Sashimi Grade Tuna with Wasabi Mayonnaise. Now the question is – when to go again, and which sandwich to try next?

A says:

Good food and great service for something that’s really just a high-end deli. I’d eat here very often if we weren’t on an austerity drive.

Da Paolo Gastronomia
The Sail
#01-15 Tower 2
Telephone: 6224-4148
Open daily 9.30 am to 9.30 pm
http://www.dapaolo.com.sg/

More from Purple Rose Café

C says:

A’s aunt was raving to us about the chicken pies and strawberry shortcake from Purple Rose Café, so we went there again on Saturday to try our luck. It was only about 4 pm, but they had run out of their regular-sized chicken pies, and only had the minis left. We had 2 of the minis ($1.20 each), and got a quarter portion of the strawberry shortcake ($11) to go, because again they didn’t have the single slices available.


The pies were surprisingly good. The filling was potato, carrot and shredded chicken – no peas! It wasn’t too creamy either, just good old-fashioned filling. The full size is $4.50, and they said if we order in advance they can even bake a giant size. Chicken pie birthday ‘cake’, anyone?


The strawberry shortcake was absolutely divine. This is also no-frills; no fresh strawberry slices or anything. Just sponge cake that literally melts in your mouth, layers of strawberry jam and sweetened whipped cream. I anticipate going back quite regularly to get my fix of this.

To avoid disappointment, I would suggest calling ahead to reserve anything that you like, because the display cases were quite forlornly half empty by 4 pm.

A says:

Very good. But not cheap. Unless you want to be really cheapskate and drink loads of free flow coffee there.

Purple Rose Cafe
Block 42, Holland Drive
#01-91
Tel: 6775-9101
Monday to Saturday: 11 am to 6 pm
Public Holidays: 11 am to 3 pm
Closed Sundays