Esquina

C says:

Esquina, the new tapas bar opened by Loh Lik Peng and celebrity chef Jason Atherton, is one of the hottest (read: hard to get) sittings at the moment. It’s a tiny space that probably sits no more than 15 inside and they don’t take reservations, so you have to either go at (or before) opening time to ensure a place, or be prepared for a wait.

We decided on the former, and were there 5 minutes after opening on Saturday. At that time it was already almost full, and we took 2 of the last 4 seats available; by 6.15 it was full, and anyone arriving after that had to be on a waitlist till the first wave was done.

Most of the seats are at the counter facing the kitchen, and we were lucky enough to be seated right in front of chef Andrew Walsh, so we had a bird’s eye view of him running the show. I really respect how he manages his kitchen. He’s very hands-on without being a tyrant – he personally prepared/plated a good number of the dishes, and did a final check over the bulk of the dishes that were prepared by his sous chefs before the food was served.

Most of the dishes are designed to be shared by 2 to 3 people. We ordered 5 dishes plus a side, and were pleasantly full. Take note that you should order everything at the outset, including desserts. We thought of ordering a dessert after we’d finished the savouries, but were told that we would have to wait till they fired all the existing orders.

The side of baby romaine, manchego cheese, truffle honey and anchovy featured, surprisingly, lightly cooked lettuce rather than raw lettuce leaves. The anchovy was clearly the dominant flavor, but it didn't overwhelm and you could still taste the other components.

The slow cooked egg with potato, bravas sauce and crispy iberico was fantastic. This was somewhat of a modern invention of patatas bravas, with the potato being in the form of cubes as well as a light foam.

From the meat section of the menu, we had the aged rib-eye with chimichurri sauce, and the sweetbread and foie gras empanada with onion jam. The rib-eye was probably the most predictable dish of the evening, so by virtue of that it was slightly disappointing. The empanada was interesting but I found it a bit too sweet. A liked it precisely because of its sweetness, so to each his own.

From the seafoods, we tried the scallop ceviche, and the prawn sautéed with chilli and garlic served with orzo pasta. The scallop was ok, but I don’t think we’ll order it again. I fell in love with the prawn though. It was perfectly cooked so that the head juice was still really creamy, and it was served in a flavourful broth that was the very essence of prawn.

The food is very well paced. We weren’t overwhelmed with all 6 dishes on the table at once; most of them came out one at a time, and the lighter dishes were served first followed by the heavier meats.

There are at least another 6 dishes on the menu that we want to try next, so hopefully we’ll be back again soon. Eating here doesn't come cheap though. Our 6 dishes and a bottle of beer cost $140, but having said that, I think it’s worth it for the quality, and the care and effort that goes into each dish.

PS: There’s nowhere for you to stow your handbags or other personal effects, so I would recommend bringing as little as possible if you don't want to strap your handbag to your thigh, as A ingeniously did with mine.

A says:

Awesome. A tad expensive, but you get great quality for the price. Unfortunately, it gets crowded from about 6:05. So if you’re not there at opening, good luck to you. Plus only half the service staff is good. So hopefully, they’re the ones serving you.

Esquina

16 Jiak Chuan Street

Tel: 6222-1616

Mon to Fri: 12 noon – 3 pm; 6 pm – 11 pm

Sat: 6 pm – 11 pm

Closed Sunday

www.esquina.com.sg

Savour 2012

C says:

The inaugural Savour event took place from 30 March to 1 April. The F1 Pit Building was transformed into a Gourmet Village of sorts, with over 50 pop up stalls showcasing food from acclaimed international as well as local chefs, seminars, masterclasses and a Gourmet Market featuring various F&B purveyors.

The concept was interesting – you could either buy tickets for lunch or dinner (with dinner being more expensive). Your ticket would then entitle you to a certain number of Savour$ (less than the price of the ticket), which you could then use to purchase food or products at the event. Additional Savour$ could also be purchased at various booths throughout the Village.

Prices of dishes ranged from $6 to $21, and one of the major marketing angles was that this was an opportunity to sample Michelin-starred cuisine at fairly reasonable prices. Some of the guest international chefs included Alain Passard and Alvin Leung. On the local front, there were offerings from Gunther’s, St Pierre, Jaan, Sam Leong and a host of others.

Some items were indeed a steal, like St Pierre’s Menage a Trois, a salmon-based sampler that seemed to have at least 20 components, for only $15. In contrast, Alain Passard’s Chaud Froid Egg with maple syrup and xeres vinegar was, in my opinion, somewhat of a rip off at $18.

Consistency seemed to be a bit of an issue though. We thought the Cod 2.0 from chef Hans Valimaki from Chez Dominique in Finland was one of the best dishes we had, and friend Y, who was also there for the Saturday lunch session, was also quite impressed. However another friend S was there for dinner the night before, and found the fish rubbery.

Gunther’s cold angel hair pasta with Oscietra caviar was good, if a bit pricey at $21. A last minute decision to try Sam Leong’s pumpkin rice with XO sausage and seared foie gras paid off – the fragrant rice steamed within a mini pumpkin was one of the best dishes we had that day.

Other dishes sounded better than they tasted, like Alvin Leung’s egg waffle with vanilla condensed milk ice cream. The waffle smelled amazing, with bits of black truffle in the batter, but the ice cream was too rich, dense and heavy, and could have been a bit sweeter. His molecular xiao long bao and har mei lo mein were pretty good though.

I must say that for a first time event, Savour 2012 was very well organized. There were ample areas to either sit or stand while you grazed from stall to stall. And given the number of disposable plates that they no doubt went through, it was heartening to see that they used Cornware, the range of biodegradable disposable cutlery made from corn.

I think a few things could have been improved upon, like introducing a stored value card system (similar to Marche and Ramen Champion) rather than physical coupons representing Savour$ that you still had to count out. Overall though, kudos to the organizers on a job very well done, and I’m definitely there if they decide to do this again.

A says:

Not bad. Not cheap. And it could have benefited from a more advanced stored value payment system though. And of course, more sheltered seating. But overall, I would go again next year.

Novus

C says:

For some reason, despite having a very satisfying wedding lunch here a few years ago, Novus has never been on our radar for repeat visits. After the lunch we had today though, I think it certainly ought to be.

For some reason I'm on their mailing list, and recently received an email about their winter set lunch promotion. Almost all the options looked enticing, and after establishing that their set lunch was also available on Saturday (they're closed on Sunday), we promptly made a reservation.

The set lunch is amazingly good value - $32 for 2 courses and $40 for 3. There are about 5 options for each course, with a handful incurring some additional supplements. If you're so inclined, the 3 courses can comprise 2 starters and a main as well.

Being partial to savoury courses, I went with that option because I simply couldn't decide which starter to have. In the end I had the burrata, and the Vitello Tonnato Reinvented. A, who had a more conventional 3 course, started with the burrata too. 

The burrata is served with heirloom tomatoes and a hearty dollop of pesto. Personally I don't like my burrata seasoned with anything other than a good amount of salt, pepper and olive oil. Anything less doesn't bring out the flavour of the cheese; anything more simply overwhelms it.

Having said that, I must admit that this was really good. The burrata was creamy, and the pesto brought everything together well, albeit a tad too dominantly. 

The slight reinvention of the Vitello Tonnato here was the addition of a quenelle of tuna tartare, rather than the traditional incorporation of tuna into the sauce. The tuna was a bit bland on its own, but went well with the tomato marmalade, and I liked the slightly lighter sauce with the veal slices. I wasn't too keen on their use of micro coriander though. I'm trying to train my palate not to dislike coriander, but I need to take baby steps. The one here was too strong and too prevalent for me. 

That seemed to be a recurring theme, because it was scattered all over my lobster risotto as well. This had the makings of a really good risotto. They use carnaroli rice, the grains have an al dente bite, and most importantly, it still oozes on the plate - the mark of a proper risotto. What was a bit disconcerting though, was a distinct alcoholic edge to the sauce. It tasted as though they hadn't properly allowed the alcohol to cook off when incorporating the wine. 

A had a gnocchi itch that just had to be scratched, so he ordered the wild mushroom gnocchi. This was good, if slightly predictable. Portions are surprisingly substantial for a set lunch - 2 carb-heavy choices probably weren't the best idea. 

My 3 courses were done, and on hindsight 2 starters before a heavy main probably wasn't a good idea. A's dessert was the Apple and Calvados Souffle with chocolate ice cream. The souffle was perfect - light, airy and not overly sweet.

Service was always polite, attentive and earnest, but some servers were new and a bit forgetful. Still, I liked their little touches, like giving little place cards describing each dish, and presenting each of us with a cupcake as we left. 

Their winter menu is available till 17 March. I'm actually tempted to go one more time, perhaps next Saturday.

A says:

Excellent. The setting’s a bit imposing and poncy but the service is unbelievably friendly and helpful. While the food may not be the best I’ve had in Singapore, it’s still very, very good, and unlike most finer dining places, the portions are pretty big.

Novus

National Museum of Singapore

93 Stamford Road

Tel: 6336-8770

Mon – Sat: 11.30 am to 2.30 pm; 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm

www.novus.sg

Our trip to Hokkaido – Haneda Airport

C says:

Tokyo’s Haneda airport officially rocks! Not only do they have Tokyo souvenirs like Tokyo Banana, they have all the famous Hokkaido snacks like Shiroi Koibito and even the elusive Potato Farm. You almost don’t need to go to Sapporo any more…

There’s also a mini food street, where we chanced upon Setagaya Ramen, apparently pretty well known in Tokyo but offering a limited menu here. I had a normal soup ramen, and A had the tsukumen.

The tsukumen was without question the better of the two. The dipping broth was really complex, and you could taste both meaty and seafood/fish notes to it. What elevated the broth even further was a subtle charred flavour, as though some grilled meat had been incorporated into the broth. It added depth, flavour and almost didn’t need the soba-yu for it to be drinkable.

One aspect of the regular ramen was superior though – the char siew. There were slices of chargrilled pork neck that were amazingly flavourful and tender, compared to the braised pork in the tsukumen.

Given the choice, I think we’ll definitely try to fly via Haneda where possible. The sheer range of souvenir goodies that are available, and some duty free to boot, will certainly make it worthwhile.

A says:

Surprise! One of the best ramens we had, and maybe even one of the best meals of the trip. I’m definitely eating the tsukumen here every time I pass through Haneda.

Our trip to Hokkaido – Otaru

C says:

The last time we were in Otaru, we didn't have enough time to visit all the stores and restaurants that we wanted before they closed/sold out. We learned our lesson this time, and planned our itinerary to make sure that we had plenty of time to hit all the pastry shops, sometimes more than once.

Kitakaro

Kitakaro eluded us on our first visit. It wasn't really on our radar because they’re most known for their baumkuchen, which we’re not really keen on, but tucked away at the back of the store are some of the most amazing cream/custard puffs. They’d sold out by the time we discovered them the last time, so this time it was at the top of our list.

They have 3 kinds of cream puffs – one with a hard shell and a custard filling, the middle one has a softer choux pastry and a mixture of custard and fresh cream, and the bottom one is meant to be ripped and dipped.

The middle one is by far the best. The pastry is really soft so it’s easy to bite into without the cream squirting out the sides, and the filling is the best of both worlds – a tasty custard lightened with freshly whipped cream.

Masazushi

We missed Masazushi the last time because we simply couldn't find it. It was our first trip to Japan, and we didn't realise that we needed to be able to recognise the Japanese characters of restaurants because more often than not, their English transliterations are not on their signage. Our friend M led us to Masazushi this time, and they’ve definitely redone their exterior because it now clearly says “Masazushi Otaru”.

Their signature dish is ribbons of raw squid, meant to be dunked in a sauce of ponzu, a raw egg yolk and uni. So simple, yet an amazing use of all the ingredients. Their sushi platters were also outstanding, though I’m hard pressed to decide which was better – Masazushi, or Kikuzushi in Sapporo.

Yabuhan soba

Yabuhan soba is a little out of the way, closer to the JR train station than the main food streets in Otaru. You can choose between soba made from two types of buckwheat flour – one sourced entirely from Niseko, and another mixed with imported buckwheat from China and Mongol. The one made from pure Niseko flour is more expensive, but not by much, so we all chose the pure one.

Because we were deprived of our cold soba at Rakuichi, we made a beeline for the cold soba. It was amazing, and when we added the soba-yu to the remaining dipping sauce to turn it into a broth, we all thought we’d died and gone to heaven.

Sushi Gen

We were thrilled to see that the hole-in-the-wall sushi joint along the Sushiyadori that we mistook for Masazushi on our last trip was still there. Thanks to our friend W once again, this time we managed to find out that it’s called Sushi Gen.

There may be a bit more rice in the guy’s nigiri sushi compared to, say, Kikuzushi, but it’s still really good and I have a soft spot for independent one-man shows like this. Not flashy or over-commercialised, just honest about serving good food.

A says:

I don’t think we’ve ever had a bad meal in Otaru (except for the hotel breakfast the last time we were here). Some things may be over-rated, like the LeTao café which is good but not worth queuing up for, but even the giant tourist trappy restaurant along the Sakaimachi was great.

Our trip to Hokkaido – Sapporo

C says:

We were in Sapporo and Otaru with W and M, and thanks to W’s superior research skills and M’s talents as a human GPS, we managed to find and try quite a number of places that eluded us on our previous trip here.

Aji No Karyu

We managed to find Ramen Alley in Susukino this time, and the Anthony Bourdain trail continues. Aji No Karyu is at one end of Ramen Alley, and we managed to recognize it from the Chinese characters as well as the chef behind the counter.

We had the kaisen (seafood) ramen – they sauté the crab leg and scallop with the miso broth, and it’s still topped with a slice of tender char siew and some sweet corn.

The fact that the seafood is cooked in the soup, rather than being cooked separately and just placed in the bowl before serving, really makes the difference. The broth takes on all the flavours of the seafood, transforming it from a normal miso to something quite complex and, quite simply, outstanding.

Kikuzushi

Just round the corner from Ramen Alley was Kikuzushi, an amazing sushi restaurant that W led us to.

We ordered one mixed sashimi plate, and one sushi plate. Everything was outstanding – I had some of the best sashimi that I’ve ever had. The scallop, uni and chutoro were amazing, and the sushi was very refined, with a good rice-to-fish ratio.

Yaki hotate at Odori Park

Besides spectacular snow and ice sculptures, part of the appeal of the Sapporo Snow Festival are the various food stalls all over Odori Park, offering everything from grilled corn, roasted chestnuts and even ramen and Brazilian churrascaria.

There was a guy grilling fat, juicy scallops on the shell, with butter and a sweet soy sauce. We made a beeline for it, and suffice to say that it was one of the best mouthfuls of the trip. The juices from the scallop mixed with the butter and soy sauce, creating an amazingly sweet liquor, and the scallops were just barely cooked so they weren’t at all rubbery. Just sweet, tender and perfect.

Sapporo Beer Garden

No trip to Hokkaido is complete without a meal of Genghis Khan – slices of mutton grilled on top of a dome-shaped hot plate greased with lamb fat, and a hearty serving of beansprouts to add some much-needed crunch and freshness.

Last time we went to a hole-in-the-wall joint called Daruma. This time, we made a trip to the Sapporo Beer Garden and had their Genghis Khan buffet – unlimited helpings of fresh and frozen lamb, and if you’re so inclined, you can add an all-you-can-drink aspect too.

The smell of the restaurant was something else. They considerately gave us plastic bags to keep our coats and bags so at least we managed to spare them from smelling like lamb for the next few days. This was delicious, but like all good things, after a while it got a bit too much for us. We’ll probably stick to Daruma next time, and bring our own plastic bags to store our coats and bags. 

Kani Honke

Sapporo’s known for its crab. The cream of the crop is apparently king crab, prized for its sweet yet firm meat. Snow crab, being smaller, is less meaty but still tasty. 

This was my first time trying crab sashimi. It was definitely interesting – it was very fresh so no fishy or pungent aroma at all. What was a bit challenging for me was the texture. It was a bit slimy, and after trying a few pieces as sashimi, when the server wasn’t looking we lightly blanched the rest in the nabe broth…

Taking centrestage was in fact the kani nabe – crab hotpot. Needless to say, the dashi stock was intensely flavoured with essence of crab by the time we were done. Big faux pas – we greedily slurped up almost all of the soup, and when the server came in she looked horrified and said “No! Porridge!”.

Apparently you’re not actually supposed to drink the broth. Towards the end of the meal they come in with rice, eggs, and whip up a crab porridge that’s to die for. We had to compromise a bit with some regular dashi instead, which was still delicious but would’ve been mind blowing if we’d used the crab stock. 

The crab “steak”, which was a massive crab leg cooked with butter on a hot plate, was also amazingly meaty and sweet, and the crab “miso” deserves a special mention as well. They told us to use the crab miso as a dip for the shabu shabu. I think it’s made with the essence of crab brains – that amazingly flavourful substance that’s tucked away in the crab heads. I ended up just eating it neat because anything else would’ve diluted the flavour.

Soup curry

Oh soup curry, where have you been all my life…

I’m generally not a fan of Japanese curry. I prefer my curries savoury and spicy, i.e. everything that a thick, sweet Japanese curry isn’t.

That’s why, whenever I read about Sapporo soup curry I just assumed it would be similar to Japanese curry, and dismissed it without a second thought. It was only on this trip, thanks to some egging on by W, that I tried soup curry and was forever changed…

As the name suggests, it’s actually a very thin soup, and ingredients vary. The most common and traditional would be chicken, vegetables like eggplant and okra, and some root vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes or lotus root. The flavours are surprisingly un-Japanese, with a flavour and aroma distinctly reminiscent of Indian curries. The chilli levels are customizable, which is right up my alley. Most places offer a basic scale of levels 1 to 50, and anything above that incurs a surcharge.

Most of the really famous soup curry joints in Sapporo are near the university area, and a bit out of the way for us, so we went to one at Stellar department store – Soup Curry Lavi. I went with level 30, which had heat but comfortably so. Note to self: I think I can manage 40+ next time.

That’s it for Sapporo. We took an overnight side trip to Otaru, where we had such amazing food that it warrants its own entry.

A says:

Sapporo is great, but Otaru is better. Although the Marion Crepe (along the covered shopping street just south of the radio tower) and Queen’s Ice Cream café in the ESTA Mall (outside Ramen Republic) were awesome. 3 rounds of ice cream in one sitting. RAWK!

Our trip to Hokkaido - Niseko

C says:

So, for those of you who haven’t “Liked” AteTooMuch on Facebook (and why not, may we ask…?!), you wouldn’t have seen our short Facebook-only update that we were away in Japan. We were there mainly for the Sapporo Snow Festival, and also for A to hit the slopes in Niseko (and me to luxuriate in onsens) for a couple of days. I love Japan – we’ve barely been home and already we’re thinking of when we can plan our next visit. Won’t be for a couple of years though, sigh.

Niseko, or to be precise, the adjacent town of Hirafu, has a wealth of amazing eateries, catering to almost every cuisine and budget. Some of the highlights of this trip were:

Izakaya Bang-Bang

We went to their sister restaurant Bang2 during our last trip, so we decided to try the original this time. The menu is almost the same, but perhaps sitting right at the counter watching the grill master work his magic contributed to the better experience that we had this time.

They’re truly a well-oiled machine. The place was packed, with people almost begging for a table, but no one lost their cool, orders were filled without too long a wait, and I don’t think there were any order mix-ups that weren’t resolved within minutes.

Everything is good here, but if I had to choose some standouts, they’d be the grilled cheese (we ordered the same one as before but next time we may try the camembert), the prawn, the pork collar and the beef tongue.

J-Sekka Deli

The fact that I didn’t hit the slopes meant that in between numerous onsen soaks, I had quite a bit of free time during the day. A new discovery on this trip was J-Sekka Deli, a pretty chic café that specializes in local produce, with a deli shop on the side.

They do really good coffees, and were perfectly fine with me plonking my ass there for a few hours just chilling out and reading my book. I liked it so much that I brought A on our last day.

They had an amazing Taste of Hokkaido platter, with smoked salmon, sausage, smoked duck and camembert, all made within the region. 

Another dish that we couldn’t not order was roasted potato with corn, miso butter and slab bacon. What I can say – a winning combination of ingredients and again, all locally sourced.

Rakuichi

No AteTooMuch trip is complete without a fanboy Anthony Bourdain trail, since his recommendations for Spain were spot on. He recently visited Hokkaido so we watched the episode intently and tried to visit as many places as we could.

The first was Rakuichi, the tiny restaurant in Annupuri where soba master Tatsuru Rai presides together with his wife Midori. Assuming it was pretty out of the way, we went for dinner, where only a kaiseki meal is available. A la carte is available at lunch time, and now that we know how easy it is to access, we’ll be here for lunch next time to have the cold soba.

Still, dinner here was superb, with nothing but super fresh ingredients used, and prepared simply and perfectly. The sashimi course consisted of an amazingly sweet scallop from nearby waters, and a couple of slices of really intensely flavoured chutoro.

The meal ended with freshly made soba (Tatsuru was literally rolling it out and cutting it just before cooking and serving it to us) in an amazing hot duck broth. The broth was incredibly flavourful, and the freshly made soba was unlike anything I’ve ever had – softer than usual, but still with some bite and a very subtle flavour.

What really stood out, though, was the huge oyster that was very lightly steamed. It was incredibly fresh, almost obscenely creamy, and the juices in the shell were mind-blowing.

We’ll be back, Niseko. I’ll make sure of it.

A says:

Best snow ever!

Latteria Mozzarella Bar

C says:

Thank goodness the Il Lido group decided to cut their losses after a few months, and opened Latteria Mozzarella Bar in place of the awful Jackson Plan. At least they’re sticking to what they know better – Italian food with a focus on mozzarella as the name suggests, rather than pseudo innovative gastropub food. The space is only marginally changed, and the servers are largely the same as well.

At our friends M&M’s suggestion, we ordered the burrata but didn’t add parma ham like they did/suggested. I’m not sure if that made all the difference. M was raving about the burrata to us, and while I must admit that it was a pretty good burrata, I still felt that it was slightly lacking, perhaps in seasoning, compared to the one at Valentino. Maybe Valentino’s burrata has spoiled us for all other burratas; I just know that theirs just needs some salt, pepper and olive oil to complement the cheese. Here, it was served with a red pepper relish which I ended up eating separately because I wanted to taste the cheese itself.

I chose the truffle and smoked mozzarella risotto, since it’s supposed to be one of their more signature items. Flavours were good, with both the truffle and smoked mozzarella coming through strongly. It was lighter than expected, though finishing an entire portion would still be a challenge. One criticism is that it was a bit too stiff. A really good risotto needs to ooze; this one stayed put and wasn’t going anywhere.

Deciding against an overly rich meal of both a risotto and a pasta, we went with a grilled sirloin instead. This was surprisingly more like a salad. The meat was pre-sliced and served on a bed of arugula, and topped with shaved parmesan. This was pretty tasty, but also probably something you could easily recreate at home.

Still, I can’t really fault the food. It may not have wow-ed us but it was perfectly decent and a damn hell better than The Jackson Plan. My grouses for the evening were with the service. We overheard some specials being recited to another table, so when one of the more established-looking servers came to take our order, we asked for the specials and were told about the lobster pasta, and a turkey roulade of sorts. None of which appealed to us so we ordered off the menu.

After we placed our order, we overheard another table being told of the specials, and there were about 3 more that we weren’t told of – a mozzarella bruschetta, a pizza, and a foie gras spaghetti with veal sauce. That kinda wrecked my mood for the evening, because a big pet peeve of mine is servers not being consistent about reciting off-menu specials.

Trying to get the servers’ attention is also quite a feat. There are quite a number of them but all seemed oblivious to anything other than their immediate task at hand. One guy was intently just slicing bread. Others seemed fixated on bringing food or menus to tables, rendering them incapable of multi-tasking or even looking beyond their immediate line of vision to see if anyone needed any attention. We signalled for the bill, but it took ages, and even longer to get another server’s attention to remind them of it.

Two pet peeves, service-wise, means that the food better be awesome for me to want to return. Unfortunately it wasn’t, and while I won't write them off just yet, it’s not exactly on the top of my “must return” list. Not like Kazu. Or Bruno’s.    

A says:

By no means the best but it does have an interesting cheese selection. Service though is hit or miss with some servers being very good while others being totally lost. So would I come back? Only if I had a craving for savoury cheese starters in the area.

Latteria Mozzarella Bar

40 Duxton Hill

Tel: 6866-1988

Mon – Thurs: 12 noon – 2.30 pm; 6 pm – 11 pm

Fri: 12 noon – 2.30 pm; 6 pm to 1 am

Sat: 5 pm – 1 am

Bistro One Zero Three

C says:

We came here purely by chance on Sunday night. It wasn’t at all on our radar, but we had run out of ideas for something simple near home that we hadn’t tried before. It’s a very unassuming little joint in a row of nondescript shophouses (a few doors down from Manhill), and I’m actually surprised that (a) it hasn’t closed down yet, and (b) whenever we drive by it actually isn’t empty.

We were even more surprised when we walked in, and when we said that we had no reservations, were told that only a handful of tables left. I guess there’s a steady supply of regulars from the condos and houses in the vicinity.

For our starters, we ordered the warm mushroom salad, and the salt and pepper calamari with chili mayo dip. The salad was ok, though the balsamic dressing was a tad thick and goopy. The calamari were exceptionally tender, but the flavour was all but masked by the very thick coating of batter, which we ended up scraping off and eating with the salad instead. It’s a shame – the squid was cooked well enough that it really didn't need to hide behind the thick batter.

A ordered the lamb shoulder rack, which was very well seared… on one side. Strangely the other side had barely any colour at all. For non-lamb eaters this would be good, because the meat didn't have much of a lamb-y, gamey smell, but that’s actually what I look for when I have lamb. The ratatouille that it was served with was the best part of the dish. The vegetables were grilled before being tossed in the tomato sauce, which gave a really good smoky flavour.

I had the Kurobuta pork neck steak, which was slightly tough but had enough fat in the meat so that it wasn’t dry. I think this was the better of the two meats, and it came with some pretty good potato wedges.

The place is definitely very basic, with no lofty aspirations or pretense. While I really don’t think it’s a destination place, I quite like and respect how real and simple the whole set up is, and the food, though not spectacular, is actually prepared with some heart.

A says:

Not bad. Friendly service and decent food. Worth considering if you live around here but not really a destination place.

Bistro 103

103 Pasir Panjang Road

Tel: 6476-6373

Lunch (Tues – Fri; Sun): 11.30 am – 3 pm

Dinner (Tues – Sun): 6 pm – 9.30 pm

Closed Monday

www.bistro103.com.sg

Enmaru, ION

C says:

We're clearly not sick of Japanese food, even though it's been less than a week since we got back. When Enmaru first opened at ION a few months ago, we dismissed it as a typical soul-less joint, but after reading a few positive reviews since then, we decided to give them a go.

Enmaru is an izakaya (pub) style establishment, specialising in yakitori. Some of the dishes that I'd read about were clearly their house specials, as there was a separate "Our Specials" menu that listed everything that we wanted to order.

One was the Fujiyama Soba - cha soba served on a hot stone so bits of it get nice and crispy. It's topped with shaved bonito and some slivers of pork belly, and you're given a thin broth to dunk the noodles into.

This was definitely an interesting concept, but didn't work quite as well in practice. Initially the crispy bits added some nice texture, but after a while it became all crisp and no noodle. Plus the dipping broth was a tad too diluted for my liking.

Their other specialties fared much better. First was the Ibushi Yaki - tender pieces of chicken thigh that are smoked as well as grilled, imparting an incredible aroma and flavour. The smokiness and the char made this really addictive, and the cabbage mopped up the residual sauce and juices really well.

They have a giant minced chicken ball called Tekone Tsukune, which at $7.80 is very reasonably priced given that this thing is huge. The meat is super tender and juicy, has some herbs inside to cut through the meat, and some crunchy bits of cartilege which to me define a good tsukune. Better still, it's served with a raw egg yolk for dipping, which I always look for when I order tsukune. The yolk adds a wonderful richness and flavour, and makes all the difference.

They clearly do their chicken dishes very well here. The assorted chicken skewers we had were also excellent. The liver was good, the heart (ordered separately; not part of the assortment) was excellent and the wing was perfectly cooked.

The cherry tomatoes wrapped with bacon were also surprisingly good. Careful cos the tomatoes really retain heat, but they were bursting with sweet, flavourful juices.

I'm not wild about the fact that with the exception of the giant tsukune and the yakitori assortment, all other skewers have a minimum order of two. It makes it harder for us to try a variety, plus if you pick a dud then you're stuck with two of them.

Like the pork belly with apple skewers that we had. The first bite of pork was good, but otherwise there was way too little fat on it, and the meat became really tough and dry. That tempura thing in the photo was scallop and bacon, and in my opinion would've fared better without being tempura-ed.

Their chicken dishes are clearly their forte, so if you stick to them, you won't be disappointed. I'm going for their chicken skin with ponzu sauce next time. Can't wait.

A says:

Great service and great chicken dishes (although I’ll probably give the dry pork skewers a miss). A definite option in Ion.

Enmaru

2 Orchard Turn

#04-11 ION Orchard

Tel: 6636-7282

Open daily: 11.30 am to 3 pm; 5 pm to 10 pm

Room Coffee Bar

C says:

Sorry for the silence! For those of you who didn't see our Facebook update, we’ve been away in Japan. We're still working on our holiday post, but in the meantime we thought we'd better come out of hiding, lest our fans think we've disappeared for good.

Room is one of the few Western establishments at ARC (Alexandra Retail Centre), which I reckon allows them to charge slightly higher prices than I would expect for the food that they offer.

A's smoked duck sandwich was quite a tiny portion for $15, and though it was pretty tasty, it was more of a cheese and caramelized onion sandwich than a smoked duck one.

I had the spaghetti bolognaise - a more decent sized portion for $15 as well, and it was good in an old school way. I would've preferred the sauce to be less watery though. It didn't really coat the pasta and I had to scoop up the sauce separately.

Bottom line - the coffee's pretty good, and the food is quite tasty but a bit overpriced for what you get.

A says:

Very good, but honestly, I think the food’s rather expensive given the location and setting. It is the best thing in the building though, so if you have to eat around there, that would be my recommendation.

Room Coffee Bar

460 Alexandra Road

#01-18 Alexandra Retail Centre

Tel: 6438-4230

Mon – Fri: 8 am to 8 pm

Sat – Sun: 10 am to 7 pm

www.roomcoffeebar.sg