DB Bistro Moderne

C says:

It was apparently Daniel Boulud’s DB Burger, available at his casual outpost DB Bistro, that started the trend for high-end gourmet burgers. We didn’t make it to DB Bistro in some of his overseas outlets, so when they opened here at the Sands, we dragged our fellow burger connoisseurs W and M to check it out.

All four of us are in agreement that the best burger (in Singapore, anyway) is the one at Morton’s Bar. The patty is beefy and juicy yet doesn’t fall apart, and for M and A, one of their criteria is the option to add blue cheese. While I love blue cheese, I personally prefer my burgers more old school, with Cheddar or Swiss and bacon.


Anyway, the famous DB burger ($35) consists of a sirloin patty, with a centre of braised shortrib and a chunk of foie gras, on a soft parmesan bun. The burger arrives considerately cut in half, with a side of French fries. We ordered it medium rare, and while the burger definitely packs a serious beefy flavour punch, it was a bit dense and therefore a tad dry. I didn’t get that oomph that I get whenever I first sink my teeth into the Morton’s burger. Still a very good burger and the flavour is undeniable, but I think I just expected a bit more kick.


The other items were pretty good. To start with, they gave us gougeres, which are choux pastry flavoured with cheese and topped with more cheese when it’s baked. These were unbelievably light and fluffy, and very addictive.



We shared the spicy salmon tartare, and the assiette lyonnaise – a platter of charcuterie. The salmon tartare was pretty good, but again I personally prefer the tuna tartare at Spruce. The assiette lyonnaise had a good selection of different cured meats and terrines, some of which I think are made in-house, and they were all quite good.


We also ordered an appetiser portion of the gnocchi to try; or rather, we all tried a piece and A had the rest. The gnocchi was nice and light, but I’ve decided that I'm really not a fan of gnocchi generally.


For variety, A ordered the Piggy burger – a sirloin patty topped with pulled pork and pickled jalapeno. The DB burger was definitely better; the Piggy one was definitely more novel in terms of flavours, but what can I say, I’m a burger purist.


W decided to order one of their main courses instead – the seared tuna, after ascertaining that their seared tuna could be done rare. There’s nothing worse than overcooked tuna. They cooked the tuna very well, just lightly seared and a lovely rosy red in the centre. This was quite a light dish, so I think in future, one DB burger and one seared tuna would be a good combination for two people.



I’d heard that their warm madeleines were a must-try, so we had an order of those, and a profiteroles to share. I must say the madeleines were really light, and subtly fragranced with orange. I would’ve appreciated them more if I hadn’t been super stuffed by then. Likewise with the profiteroles, which were filled with a coffee ice cream.

Dinner was good, and I think we’ll be back since the Sands is an easy walk from work on a Friday night after work.

A says:

Excellent, but is it worth the price? Maybe not. I say give it a try once and decide for yourself.

Oh, and the tables are a tad small if you’re thinking of sharing dishes. It was a struggle to fit all the dishes for our table of four.

Maybe that’s why the service was over-attentive. They kept trying to clear our dishes before we were even done. Not exactly ideal.

DB Bistro Moderne
B1, Marina Bay Sands
Tel: 6688-8525
Monday to Friday:
Lunch: 12pm - 2.30pm
Dinner : 5:30pm - 10.30pm
Saturday and Sunday:
Brunch : 11am - 3pm
Dinner : 5:30pm - 10.30pm

Wala Wala Cafe Bar

C says:

We came here purely to try their chicken wings, which consistently take top (or close to top) billing in chicken wing lists. My vote for best chicken wings is actually the ones at the Ikea restaurant. My criteria? Just fried, not battered, not overly spiced and ideally slightly Asian-inspired with any combination of soy, honey and ginger, and while it has to be crispy, it can’t be over-fried. Must be perfectly cooked and juicy, and any place that offers just drumlets, without the actual wing portion, fails right off the bat.


Big plus point here is that they separate the drumlets from the wings for you. So no fumbling with searingly hot wings, burning your fingers in the process, as you race to divide them all up so that you can sit down and properly enjoy them.

Unfortunately, they haven’t bumped Ikea off the top of my wing list just yet. They ticked most of the boxes, but unfortunately they were overcooked – too dry and hard, and not juicy at all. Quite a letdown since I was expecting to be blown away.


The calamari wasn’t too bad but it had to be eaten piping hot. After a while when it cooled down it got really rubbery.


On hindsight, not the smartest thing to order all 3 deep fried dishes. We had the deep fried pork bites with a honey mustard dip. The dip was quite strange, and the pork was also overcooked.

I really did expect a lot more of the place, but in the end the food was just mediocre. I recently had lunch at Penny Black and the bar bites there are far superior.

A says:

Average food. But big thumbs up for the service and vibe. It would be a regular if we drank more.

Wala Wala Cafe Bar
31 Lorong Mambong
Tel: 6462-4288

Pietrasanta

C says:

A friend of mine has been recommending Pietrasanta for ages, but we’ve always put off coming here because for one, we weren’t altogether impressed with our first visit (granted it was years ago), and also we were waiting to move back to the West to start (re)discovering the joints in the area. L and M had a Journey to the West on Saturday, so what better reason to give Pietrasanta a long awaited revisit.

First off, they’re doing exceedingly well. Even with pretty large premises (they have a courtyard that isn’t visible from the outside, they still have 2 seatings for the weekend – 6.30 and 8.15. And even though I called more than 2 weeks in advance, we had to settle for an outdoor table because they were booked for an event indoors. Luckily the courtyard was quite pleasant and it was a cool evening.


The meal was off to a good start with a bread basket, a bottle of good extra virgin olive oil, and a pomodoro dip that, while not as good as the one at Osia, was still pretty damn tasty.


As with most Italian joints these days, they have off-menu specials that included a burrata, hooray. It was a no-brainer to have that as a shared starter, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it came with cherry tomatoes, salad as well as slices of parma ham. The burrata itself was wonderfully creamy inside, but I still think it could’ve been properly seasoned to enhance its flavour.


We shared a four cheese pizza as a starter as well, and this was a bit of a disappointment. Besides the tiny areas which had blue cheese (which were awesome but so few and far between), the rest of the pizza was quite bland and almost plasticky.


A ordered the pasta special – a squid ink pasta with a tomato and crab meat sauce. This brings to mind the one at Valentino, and we ordered it for comparison’s sake. I guess it was no surprise that Valentino’s came out tops. The one were was good, but not quite as rich or flavourful.


I ordered the dish that my friend has been recommending for ages – the home-made tagliatelle with sausage and truffle cream. In my opinion, this made up for any disappointments of the evening, and is the one dish that will make me return. The pasta was smooth and silky and paper thin, and the cream sauce was just rich enough not to be overly creamy or cloying. The flavours of the sausage and truffle went very well together, and I think this is going to be one of those dishes that I can’t not order whenever we come back. Yes, it can be a bit much for one person, but perfect to share.

Desserts weren’t really worth a mention, but L and M did say that their house red was one of the better house wines that they’ve had. Service was good, albeit a bit slow on the kitchen side, and it had a nice, laid-back vibe. They’ve certainly improved since our first visit, and the menu revamped somewhat. This would be another viable close-to-home option, but for the fact that reservations seem essential on weekends.

A says:

We came around the time it first opened and found it so-so. Suffice to say this place has made substantial improvements in food and service.

This would be a definite option for us if parking there wasn’t such a problem. It’s virtually impossible to get a space in front. And parking round back is a bit confusing. Maybe we’ll try for the first sitting next time.

Pietrasanta
5B Portsdown Road
#01-03
Tel: 6479-9521
Mon to Sat: 11.45 am to 2.30 pm; 6 pm to 10.30 pm
Sunday: 11.45 am to 10.30 pm
Closed Tuesdays
www.ristorante-pietrasanta.com

Sticky Rice

C says:

The new Clementi Mall is still very much a work-in-progress. Currently only the basement shops, and some limited shops on Level 1, are open for business. Most of the shops that have opened are the eateries, as well as a new Fairprice Finest supermarket, which was our reason for coming here today.

Most of the eateries that are currently open are pretty generic – Subway, Long John Silvers, BK, Toast Box, etc. Which is why Sticky Rice stood out as being one of the few non-chain eateries there. That, and the fact that they’d just opened and had grand opening floral stands outside…

Sticky Rice is a Thai bistro, serving fairly traditional interpretations of popular Thai dishes. A had the pad thai, which took a while to find on the menu because it was descriptively named as Fried Rice Noodles with Seafood or something like that, and I had the tom yam noodle soup.

Service was very good – the manager asked if we needed any help, so we asked if we could change (a) the seafood in the pad thai to chicken, and (b) the noodles in the tom yam from rice vermicelli to glass noodles. He agreed to both without hesitation, which is a big plus point for me. I hate places which are overly rigid where this is concerned, even when I indicate that I’m prepared to pay any top-up (Old Town springs to mind).



A’s pad thai was ok, but somehow the balance of sweet/salty/sour flavours just seemed a bit off. Certain mouthfuls felt too sweet, some felt too tart.

I quite enjoyed my tom yam noodles, which I think were better than the pad thai. Quite generous with the seafood, and not overly sweet.


Unfortunately, we ordered a red ruby for dessert and this was extraordinarily bad. Granted, our benchmark is the one at A-roy Thai, but this was way below average. The rubies were pretty tasteless, there was too much ice, and instead of coconut milk they used evaporated or something. And very little of it. Resulting in a bland, icy, tasteless disaster.

Definitely not a destination place, but until something interesting opens up in Clementi Mall, this is probably the least generic of the lot.

A says:

Great service from the head staff, but the rest were a bit blur. The food’s decent, but some flavours overwhelm others. Also, the red rubies and thai iced tea are disappointing.

Still, this is probably going to be our default choice in Clementi Mall.

Sticky Rice
#B1-08/09, The Clementi Mall

Pizza from Donna Carmela

C says:

We’ve finally tried the pizza at Donna Carmela, our new neighbourhood joint. It was after a workout so we just shared one 12 inch – the Capricciosa, which consists of ham, mushroom, artichokes and black olives.


This was a very good pizza. Crust was a good thickness, nice and crispy, and very generous with the toppings. Better than the pasta that we had (or I had, anyway), and a very viable alternative for us when we run out of ideas or are too lazy to go out.

A says:

Excellent. Not as good as Valentino’s, and some pizzas seem to be on the pricey side, but definitely on the favourites list so far.

Serenity Spanish Bar & Restaurant

C says:

Each time we’ve been to Vivo on a Friday/weekend, Serenity has been full and we weren’t really inclined to wait when we didn’t know what the standard was. Today was a weekday lunch, so they were pretty empty and we decided to give it a try.

We wanted a simple light meal, so we ordered a selection of tapas. Well, it turned out to be pretty light, but certainly not simple or cheap. Their portions are pretty small for the price.



We tried 2 breads – their signature loaf with aioli, and a flatbread with anchovies, peppers and cheese. They were both so-so, and nothing like the one from Osia we had just the day before. The aioli in particular was disappointing. It tasted like a mild garlic scented mayonnaise, rather than the thick yellow spread that aioli is supposed to be.



They were out of the long beans and jamon that I wanted, so we had the asparagus wrapped in bacon, which was alright. The beef with onions was ok too, some slices being more tender than others.


The only thing that was really worth a mention was the octopus with smoked paprika and potatoes, which was prepared quite well – nice and tender.

In fact, my general impression of everything we had was that it was just average. Nothing outstanding, but not exactly bad either. Passable, but not the cheapest. I’d rather go to Don Quijote.

A says:

I went with very low expectations so I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t that bad, but not exactly stellar for the price you pay.

Would I go back? Maybe. But it definitely wouldn’t be the first thing I’d think of at Vivo.

Serenity Spanish Bar & Restaurant
#01-98/99 VivoCity
Tel: 6376-8185
Sun to Thurs: 11 am to 11 pm
Fri to Sat: 11 am to 12 midnight
http://www.serenity.com.sg/

Osia

C says:

An early contender for Best of 2011! It was purely by chance that we came here, since I’d never heard of Australian chef Scott Webster so this new “celebrity restaurant” at Resorts World has never been on my radar. But we were here for the Valentino Retrospective exhibition and thought we’d make the most of our outing by trying something interesting for lunch.

They have a very good set lunch, which I think (but can’t be sure until we try it for ourselves) is also available on weekends - $28 for 2 courses, and $38 for 3 courses. You can choose between 4 choices for the starter and main, but dessert is fixed.


We read good reviews about their flatbread, so decided to order one 2-course, one 3-course, and share an order of flatbread. We were drawn to two of the flatbread flavours – rosemary and black olive, and roasted garlic and butter – and when we told the waiter about our dilemma, he said we could order it half and half. Perfect!

The flatbread comes with a dip, conveniently packaged in a tube, and it apparently changes all the time. We’d read about the hummus, but today we got tomato and basil, which was fabulous – perfectly balanced, not too sweet nor too tart. The bread was very good, and coupled with the excellent dip, the meal was off to a very good start. If I had to choose, I’d say the rosemary and olive flatbread was just that much better.



Our starter choices were no brainers. A had the salmon tartare with a wasabi ice cream, and I had the polenta-crusted foie gras with a honey sponge cake. Both were excellent, and it was a smart decision crusting the foie gras with the polenta. Getting a nice crust on a seared foie gras can be quite difficult, so lightly breading it so that it had an instant crust was a good idea.


I had the hanging tender steak, and A ordered the Barramundi. Given my sole previous experience with this cut was at Meatworks, I hoped this would be a better gauge of what the cut is like. This was interesting. It was definitely better than the Meatworks one, but it definitely wasn’t fillet tender. It was still kinda chewy, but not in an overcooked or sinewy way. Still, it was cooked well and very flavourful.


A’s fish was very good, and I dare say better than mine. The fish was perfectly cooked and the skin was nice and crispy (why can’t I cook my fish skin like this!). The accompanying mash was also very good.


We shared the dessert, which was their signature dessert anyway – the hot Valrhona chocolate soup with black pepper ice cream. This sounded a bit strange, but actually the pepper was very subtle. The chocolate soup was actually more like a lava cake baked into the ramekin, and while it was a tad too chocolate-y for me, it went well with the ice cream.

We had one waiter who was amazing. Very polite and friendly, suggested the half and half flatbread, and even indulged us when we asked if they sold their dips (alas, they don’t). We’re definitely planning a return visit for dinner.

A says:

Awesome service from our waiter. And the lunch set is an amazing deal. A definite contender for best of 2011.

Too bad it’s at Resorts World which limits how often we’d go. And too bad they probably see their share of irritating tourists. I pity the wait staff there.

Osia
Resorts World Sentosa
L2, FestiveWalk
Tel: 6577-6560
Lunch:
Sun-Wed: 12:00pm – 02:30pm, Thurs-Sat: 12:00pm - 03:00pm
Dinner:
Sun-Wed: 6:00pm – 10:00pm, Thurs-Sat: 6:00pm – 10:30pm

The Japan Diet – here’s to healthy cooking

C says:

Notice that it’s healthy “cooking”, not healthy “eating”. We’re still atetoomuch, so we’re not going to forego our treasured cheeses, rillettes and charcuterie when we go out for dinner on weekends. This is just for weekday dinners after work.


I was inspired after reading The Japan Diet by Naomi Moriyama, who wrote about losing all the weight that she gained as a student in the US, simply by reverting to her mother’s Japanese home cooking. The Japanese diet is rich in fish, tofu and vegetables, all cholesterol and heart-happy ingredients, and low in dairy and red meat, all the bad/saturated fats. In addition, she also suggested serving meals in bento boxes, since the compartments make for instant portion control.


All set to start the year on a healthy note, I bought 2 bento boxes from TOTT, a couple of miso soup bowls from Daiso, and started stocking up on some essential groceries from places like Meidi-Ya, Isetan and Yamakawa Super.


I realise that if I set the rice cooker on timer mode so that it’s done when we get home, I can get dinner ready in under 15 minutes. The beauty of fish is that it takes almost no time to cook – 5 minutes tops, and simple things like a cabbage salad or cold tofu don’t need any cooking at all. The dishes that require stewing, like oyako-don (chicken and scrambled egg) or miso chicken and eggplant, I just prepare on Sunday and microwave it during the week. On non-gym days when we're home a little earlier, I may cook some soba or Jap-style pasta with some simple stir-through sauce.


I can’t believe I used to make full-on pasta dishes, which were such a palaver since I had to wait for the water to boil, then wait for it to cook, then time the sauce so that it was ready when the pasta was. And the best part is that A likes Japanese food, so I don’t even have to force him to eat healthy.

It’s only been a month, so I don’t know if we’ve lost any weight, but for health reasons if nothing else, pan fried fish and steamed rice has got to be a lot better for you than pasta with cream sauce, butter and parmesan cheese, doesn’t it?

A says:

C can cook.

Ju Shin Jung Korean Charcoal BBQ

C says:

After an absolutely miserable wet weekend, the rain let up for a brief period on Sunday evening so we decided to walk out to the Korean bbq place across the road from our place. I’ve heard that the place is quite popular with Koreans, but was warned that prices weren’t low.

We ordered a couple of grilled meats, since that’s what they’re supposed to be famous for. At about $20 and up for the meats, it was definitely true that this place isn’t cheap. We went for a beef short rib ($36), and a honeycomb pork belly ($28). We also ordered a kimchi soup, since I have to have kimchi at a Korean restaurant.

We sat back, expecting just a light meal of soup and some grilled meat. Suddenly a waitress appeared with a gazillion plates till our table was full to overflowing. So much for a simple meal! I guess when you order the grilled meats, all the side dishes are included. There were loads, from two different types of kimchi, cold tofu, ikan bilis, to a sweet potato salad and a sweet fritter of sorts.


The cabbage kimchi was excellent – slightly spicy and garlicky, and perfect with hot white rice. The tofu was good too, as was the stir fried bean sprouts. On hindsight, since all these are included with the grill, the prices aren’t that astronomical after all.

The meats were ok, but the pork belly was a bit tough. I think we need a while to experiment with the various cuts of meat, to find out what’s the best (and also best value…).

The kimchi soup at $12 came with a bowl of rice and was chockfull of ingredients like cabbage, tofu and pork belly. This is a good deal, and I think if we want something simple (for real this time), we’ll just come and have a soup and maybe a bibimbap or a noodle dish.

I dare say that I enjoyed this a lot more than A, so as much as I want to come back quite soon, it’s going to take some convincing.

A says:

omg. I thought it was just meat with the order. We got a freaking flood of side dishes, most of which were great.

Just fyi for newbies so you don’t look as silly as we did, the small pill-like things are dehydrated wet towels. Add a little water and watch the magic happen.

Also, the large dish of veggies they give is to wrap the meat in. Next time, I don’t think I’ll need rice at all.

Ju Shin Jung Korean Charcoal BBQ
27 West Coast Highway
#01-18/19 YESS Centre
Tel: 6464-0872

Alli*Oli

C says:

Another random visit on a Friday evening, Alli Oli is actually part of the Four Seasons Gourmet Supermarket at the Marina Bay Link Mall. They have a cheese and charcuterie counter, but also a little sit-down section where you can order small bites and sandwiches. It’s quite funny that if they need any ingredients, they just walk through to the supermarket to grab them.

We had a salami and emmenthal cheese sandwich, an omelette with bacalau (salt cod), a plate of anchovies and a mushroom risotto.


The sandwich was very simple – literally just baguette with slices of salami and cheese, but strangely it was quite good as you could therefore taste both ingredients without being overshadowed by vegetables or dressing.



Maybe ordering both anchovies and the salt cod omelette in the same meal wasn’t the best idea. Both were good but also very salty. If I had to pick one, I’d go with the omelette.


The risotto was quite ordinary, but not the worst that I’ve tried. Given that this is a simple deli set-up, I can’t really complain.

This place is good if you’re in the mood for a light bite, but only one person runs everything so don’t expect a fast food experience.

A says:

Pretty good. Portions are tiny for the price but that’s what you’d expect. Definitely an option, although not one at the top of the list.

Alli*Oli
#B2-49 Marina Ball Link Mall
Tel: 6634-4726
Open daily: 9 am to 2 pm; 6 pm to 9 pm

Freshness Burger

C says:

We stupidly didn’t try Freshness Burger while we were in Japan, opting instead for Lucky Pierrot when we were in Hokkaido. So we were pretty keen to try Freshness when they opened in Singapore, but weren’t very keen to venture to the new Nex mall at Serangoon Central, so we’ve been waiting patiently for the outlet at Central at Clarke Quay to open. I think it only opened in the last couple of weeks, and we happily found an excuse to be in the area in order to finally try it.

At first glance, prices seem quite low. Then the burgers arrive and you realise why. They’re tiny! Without sides, each person can easily have 2 burgers, in my opinion. With sides, maybe 3 burgers between 2 people.


Our first order consisted of a Freshness Burger, and a Spam Burger, fries and onion rings. The Freshness Burger is a bit like a Mosburger – meat patty, big slice of tomato, onions and a meat sauce. This was ok but I think Mosburger has a more pronounced beefy flavour.


The Spam Burger, however, was sheer heaven. Soft bun, slice of Spam (Lite – I saw the cans), and a runny sunny side up egg. This was almost like a breakfast burger, and being the Spam whore that I am, I enjoyed this thoroughly. The egg yolks oozes all over the burger, mixing with the mayo and giving it an instant sauce. Mmm…

In terms of sides, the fries and onion rings are apparently both from “Hokkaido Farm”. The fries are more like wedges, so they’re quite filling and probably not worth the carbs when there are so many other burger options to try. The onion rings, however, are stellar. Crispy on the outside, soft and sweet inside, you can tell it’s proper onion and not some processed thing.


Clearly that didn’t satisfy us at all, so on our second round we ordered a hot dog, a side of grilled chicken, and one of their desserts – the popover. I think the burgers are better. The hot dog was alright but I prefer the dogs at Superdog. The grilled chicken was a whole grilled teriyaki chicken thigh, which was pretty nice. The popover was a big choux pastry puff, hollow in the centre, and they provided a miniscule amount of whipped cream to go with it. Again, we’ll pass on this next time.

Definitely going back for their Spam burger and the onion rings. Some other burgers on the menu are calling to me too, like the original burger and the bacon omelette burger. The Clarke Quay branch was pretty empty on Monday night, maybe because not many people realise that it's open yet. The branch at Century Square in Tampines is apparently open as well.

A says:

Awesome onion rings. Too bad they give you so few. And while the Freshness Burger is tasty, it’s very light on meat. Oh, and the hot dog sucked.

Stick to Spam Burger and onion rings for a good but very light and pricey meal.

True Blue Cuisine

C says:

Our main purpose of coming to True Blue Cuisine today was actually to pick up their Chinese New Year goodies – specifically, the Kueh Kara Kara. I used to have this snack – a crispy snack with slightly caramel hints – back when I was young, only I never knew what it was called. We used to just refer to it as “bee hoon thing”, because of its appearance.


I haven't been able to find them for years, but as of last CNY, True Blue Cuisine has started making them for sale. Their version is even better than those I used to have before – it feels lighter and not as greasy, and the sweetness is perfect.

Since we were there, we decided to stay for lunch as well. The restaurant is located in an old Peranakan house, complete with a lovely skylight inside. Food is served on traditional crockery so delicate that I felt a bit concerned that I might break something.


We ordered the otak, ayam buah keluak, bakwan kepiting soup (pork, crab and prawn balls with bamboo shoot) and stir fried okra. In my opinion, anyone who likes ayam buah keluak will automatically say that the best version they’ve had is their grandmother’s/mother’s etc. I’m unfortunately no exception. My grandma’s buah keluak is the standard to which I compare any buah keluak dish, and more often than not they all fall short. Most places skimp on the buah keluak and it ends up tasting like a glorified assam dish.

The version here ticks all the boxes in terms of buah keluak flavour. They add lots of buah keluak to the filling within the shells, and also add it quite liberally to the gravy itself. My only comment, which is more a matter of taste than a criticism, is that it’s a tad too sour for my liking.

The soup was pretty good but again, due entirely to my personal taste, I didn’t quite like the bits of coriander that “perfumed” the soup. Fishing them out didn’t really help since the flavour had already permeated.

The otak was so so, but we both really liked the okra, which was stir fried in a really good savoury sauce with a hint of spice.

The ambience is nice and you do feel like you’re in a traditional Peranakan home. But methinks we’ll only ever come back here to pick up more of the awesome Kueh Kara Kara every CNY.

A says:

Great service. And good food I guess. But I’m not a connoisseur of Peranakan. The question really is whether it’s as good as your grandmother's.

True Blue Cuisine
49 Armenian Street
Tel: 6440-0449
Open daily: 12 noon to 2.30 pm; 6 pm to 9.30 pm
www.truebluecuisine.com

Kraze Burgers

C says:

We moseyed over to Marina Bay Sands after work on Friday, but weren’t really in the mood to try one of the fancier restaurants. We ended up in the basement, and the choice was either the Rasapura Masters food court, and a standalone burger joint called Kraze. We saw our friends D and L at Kraze and decided to join them.

Kraze is apparently a Korean burger chain, and solely based on the menu, it looked pretty enticing. Unfortunately, it turned out pretty disappointing, and I don’t think it was worth it for the prices.



At least the low-carb burger was passable. This consisted of two burger patties and a sunny side up egg, with a sweet Korean bbq sauce. The actual burger, on the other hand, was pretty bad. The bun was cold, dry and hard, and the rest of the burger was just ordinary and forgettable. There’s apparently an option of normal and wholemeal bun, but we were all given the wholemeal one without any choice.

At an average of $20 per person, this definitely doesn’t warrant a return visit. I think the food court would’ve been a better bet.

A says:

It’s not bad. But it’s not very good either. More like “Yeah, well, whatever.”

Kraze Burgers
#B2-54 Marina Bay Sands
Tel: 6688-7844

Donna Carmela

C says:

This branch of Donna Carmela is just a 5 minute walk from our new place, but it’s taken us more than a month of driving by every day on the way home saying “we should really try it one day”, before we made a concerted effort on a quiet, plan-less Sunday evening.

Whenever we pass by, the restaurant isn’t ever empty but it’s never packed to the gills either, and Sunday night was no exception. There were a few tables outdoors enjoying the breeze with a few bottles of wine, and a few more heat-allergic patrons comfortably seeking cool comfort indoors.

At first glance, their menu seems pretty overwhelming, with pages and pages of pastas. But on more careful examination, you realise that the pastas are grouped according to pasta type – “Linguine”, “Tagliatelle”, “Penne”, etc – and for the most part there are many overlaps in the array of sauces. I’m still trying to figure out if this is the best way to present, or whether presenting it by sauce would be a better bet.

What was slightly disappointing is that with so many choices on the menu, after poring over them and deciding what we wanted, some of our choices weren’t available. In which case, isn’t it better to have a more streamlined menu, then ensure that everything on it is available?


Anyway, since they were out of the octopus carpaccio, we ordered the burrata instead, which came with a sizeable amount of salad and cherry tomatoes. Of course, comparisons to the Valentino burrata were inevitable, and the conclusion? Well, it’s one thing to have good produce, but I think where Valentino really shines is that they know how to bring out the best in the produce. While the quality of the burrata here was very good – rich and creamy inside, the dish lacked any form of seasoning. I had to drizzle olive oil over it and sprinkled salt and black pepper to season it, to bring out all the flavours.


A ordered the crab and lobster ravioli with a salmon cream sauce and caviar. This looked rather plain but it was delicious, with the ravioli full of shellfish and going perfectly with the salmon cream sauce.


I ordered the tagliatelle, Donna Carmela-style, which was Italian sausage with a tomato cream sauce. Another interesting aspect of this place is that you can opt for your pasta to be cooked either al dente, or tender. I opted for al dente cos I hate mushy pasta, but maybe their concept of al dente may be different from my expectations. The pasta was just a tad on the wrong end of firm, for my liking. The sauce was strangely almost Asian, with chilli padi and an Asian flavour that I just couldn’t put my finger on.


For dessert, I just had a scoop of gelato, but A decided to try the tiramisu roll. This was pretty dense and, given that they initially said they ran out but eventually located a portion, probably wasn’t the freshest.

All in all, some hits and misses, but a good option to have at our doorstep. Their raviolis seem to be good so we’ll try more of those, and give their pizzas a go too.

A says:

I was craving a bit of crab and while I was dubious over the quality of a crab and lobster stuffed ravioli, I loved it.

That turned out to be the highlight of our meal. I think we’ll have to try the pizza to give a well-rounded review of its capabilities as an Italian place. And given the enormous scope of the menu (although the majority is really probably just different pastas and sauces) we’ll have lots to try.

Service unfortunately was hit and miss. It alternated between having attention lavished on us, or the staff completely ignoring us.

This may be a default simple weekend dinner place for us, but I probably wouldn’t recommend it if you want a mind-blowing meal.

Donna Carmela
242 Pasir Panjang Road
Tel: 6476-3242
Lunch: 12 noon to 2.30 pm
Dinner: 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm

Best of 2010

C says:

Happy new year! It’s taken us a while to come up with a “Best Of’ list this year, simply because it hasn’t been all that inspiring a year for us, in terms of new finds. Possibly because some of the more lauded new restaurants this year have been way out of our price range, like Waku Ghin and Restaurant Andre. For the most part, our best meals of the year have been at old favourites like Ember and Valentino. Still, for what it’s worth, here are some standouts this year (in no particular order).

1. Spruce

Their burger and burrata are decent, but what will make me return to Spruce is their outstanding tuna tartare.

2. Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck

This is our new default favourite place for birthday gatherings with my gang. Fabulous Chinese food that even A likes, and outstanding peking duck. Not to mention the delicious mee pok with truffle oil.

3. Otto Ristorante

Fancy Italian food but still not intimidatingly chi-chi. Just well executed and great flavours. The set lunch doesn’t showcase the restaurant at its best, so just go for a proper dinner service.

4. Two Fat Men

No, this isn’t here because we know the owner KH. It’s because their creamy tom yam soup and grilled pork neck are almost reason enough to consider moving to the East.

5. Paradise Dynasty

Awesome xiao long bao and la mian, this place may be our new favourite dining destination in ION. The perpetual queue just makes Meatworks next door look all the more forlorn.

6. San-Sui Sumiyaki and Tsuki Bar

We’ve been here a few more times since our first visit and I must say I’m liking it more and more. Their foie gras rice bowl, the ultimate in elitist comfort food, is to die for.

7. Gattopardo

I know some of my friends have mixed feelings about Gattopardo, and I while I do agree that some trial and error is required in terms of what to order, I still maintain that when you do come across a gem, it’s really good.

8. Chikuwa-Tei

Thanks to colleague L for recommending this amazing Japanese joint. It’s right up our alley – no frills, really fresh fish, and in my opinion, their chawanmushi is the best damn $5 you’ll ever spend.

9. Paradise Inn

Another entry from the Paradise Group, the Paradise Inn restaurants serve zi char done really well. Everything that we’ve tried here has been delicious.

10. Santi Tapas Lounge

I’m in two minds about whether this ought to make the list, but I did need some place to round off the list to ten... Anyway, this makes the cut simply for the awesome parmesan cheese and the quail stew.

Have a great 2011 everyone!

A says:

Maybe we’ve just gotten more spoilt and selective, but it seems the pickings for new places were slim this year. My best meals probably came from old favourites like Ember, Valentino and Morton’s Bar.

But for new places we tried in 2010, I agree with C on:

Spruce – Killer ahi tuna tartare

Otto Ristorante – Very good food with very good service. Atmosphere may appear stuffy and imposing but the wait staff are super friendly.

San-Sui Sumiyaki and Tsuki Bar – Made me a convert with the foie gras rice bowl. And I’m not even that big a fan of foie.

Paradise Dynasty – Great xiao long bao flavours and large portions of la mien.

Paradise Inn – Good zi char chain.

Chikuwa-Tei – awesome Unagi and Chirashi for relatively affordable prices.

I’d also add:

Melt, The World Cafe – Fantastic cheese selection.

Domani – Not for food, but for the Double Chocolate Chiffon Cake.

Rocks Urban Grill + Bar – Great food although a tad on the expensive side.

I’ll stop there and not try to force entries just to make up numbers.