Serenity @ VivoCity

My dear sister wanted to try this place as it was published in some magazines.....Well, food was not too bad, but the standard just ain't good enough. The prices there are expensive to boot, and service very slow.

So if I would go there again, probably not....La cicala at least does better tapas...

The Menu

Capsicum with tuna stuffing - this is decent enough, though not fabulous

Jamon Iberico - very delicious jamon cut, but 5 pieces of jamon that cost 25 bucks....good grief..... i think its a bit too much.

Seafood soup - it does taste like a bouilabaisse

Brussels Sprout with Serrano ham - the dish is alright, but feels like a Chinese dish.....I was looking forward to some slightly caramelised brussels sprout.

Bread basket - the sunflower seed bread is pretty good with the aioli sauce.

Deep-fried salted cod - this is quite good, but not as delicious and mind blowing as the ones I tasted in Fernando's in Macau.......now I miss that.

Bumbu @ Kandahar Street

Lunch at Bumbu with colleagues, turn out to be a charming experience. Though not as exquisite as True Blue, Bumbu's food definately has tons of flavours, and has a normal peranankan decor feel. ( True Blue can feel like a museum sometimes).

Love the place, love the food, and totally affordable. Make your bookings beforehand, coz its often crowded.

Nice quaint Decor - love the tiles & tikkat

Keropo as amuse bouche ! :)

Prawns with Pomelo salad - nice, yummy and a bit Thai .

Ngoh Hiang - I loved it, cooked just like how grandmothers would do it.

Coffee Chicken - I supposed this is a Javanese Peranankan dish. The meat is tender but coffee taste not too obvious

Exciting dish - deep fried Kang Kong with sweet sour sauce - yummylicious

Sambal Kang Kong - very normal

Buah Kaluak -so yummy, I love this dish so much......the spice and everything that goes with it

Tahu Telok - fried tofu with sweet peanut sauce....this is so very delicious

Deep-fried Oatmeal squid - can't eat too much squid, but it sure is very tasty

Chendol - Anything with gula melaka is great........so this cannot go too wrong....

Saveur @ Purvis Street

Everytime I walk past Purvis Street during the weekend, there is a long line forming outside of Saveur. I went to check it out and realised the deal is that it offers affordable French food. Perfect!

Prices are really cheap for French food in Singapore. I applaud the restaurant for being able to produce really decent french food for their low pricing....

Ambience - one of those inexpensive, simple design...so non of the frou frou of chic french restaurant, I guess that they are being authentic to what they preach....

Duck Rillete with bread and cornichons - the duck rillete ( pate-like) is very delicous and has the gaminess of the duck as well. Nice!

Foie Gras - Pan fried with pear poached in port wine & honeyed apple . Foie gras was done well and does melt in your mouth, but not as gorgeous as some of the ones that I have tasted in my short lifetime.

Interesting Starter- river Cherry shrimp spaghetti. Very simple, very delicious, full of flavour. Though not a traditional french dish, I appreciate the way the pasta was done al dente, and the shrimps gave the texture to this dish.

Duck Confit - this is their most famous dish. The duck is great, not just good , but great! Only peeve, portions are kinda small. But crispy skin with a very moist and tender meat underneath. The mash was lovely too.

Chicken Roulade- unfortunately, I have tasted better chicken roulade....the chicken taste a tad bland, and the foam seem a bit superfluous .....

Roasted Pork Belly with lentils & poached eggs. This is not too typically french, perhaps found predominantly in the south cities of Marseille or the ones close to Spanish borders.

The pork meat was delicious, the only little bit of flaw is that the skin is roasted too hard. The lentils with poached eggs are a good complement.

Keisuke Tokyo @ Millenia Walk

After an old friend mentioned that his absolute fav ramen in town is the kani ramen. I went in search of the legendary challenger that is supposed to beat my favourite Nansuttei . They just happened to be next-door competitors.....

Ok the throwndown:

1) Broth - the Kani broth is really good, I must say...not too oily and really savoury.

2) Noodles - the thick flat noodles they use...hmmmm is their weak link. The think noodles probably works very well in winter tokyo...but in the heat of SG, most people would rather match the rather heavy tasting soup with a lighter and more QQ noodles. Unlike Nansuttei's version ( which seems to me still an amazing combo) , it feels a tad heavy towards the end. No lingering aftertaste or aftertexture to be exact.

3) Others - they do decent gyoza too......love their egg, and the extra beansprout.

Conclusion : go to Nansuttei first, if the queue is too long, head towards here. There are many varieties of ramen ( Shio, Shoyu , Tonkotsu..) so I would like to try one of the other variations and update more.

It is supposed to be a famous shop from Tokyo, so you can see the reference photos they post of their main Tokyo outlets.

Love the touch of garlic & season beansprout.

The thick flat noodles I was talking about, and the thick rich broth.

Pity they don't have one where the noodles are either thinner or more springy

Nicely pan-fried gyoza

SenShu Raku @ The GoldMark, HK

My first dinner in HKG with friends....and they organised at SenshuRaku.....this building houses at least 4 or 5 different japanese restaurants eg. the Mon, etc etc....

The waitress ( surprisingly) has a great though dark sense of humour, and decor was the usual intimate style.

Though food was alright, ( average ) and not great...I nonetheless enjoy the whole experience.

This is what it looks like......

Sushi Moriwase - its average, not bad, but not amazing either

Thats a salmon with eel rool

Chicken Cartilage skewer - I wished that it was a bit more charred though, so the sides can be crispy

Salt- grilled cod . I always love cod...but if the grilled cod is grilled till mushy, it is a waste of the fish. This is firm in most parts, but mushy in some....so still average grilling skills to me.

Agedashi Tofu - can't really go wrong with this, unless you use very inferior ingredients

Grilled beef steak with scallions, this is actually very delicious.

Tsukune - yes, it looks different from other Tsukune skewer...I felt that the Tsukune did not bring out the taste of the chicken, but instead taste mainly of the sauce.

Alright, go there if the Mon is full....you might be able to get seats there.

Nansuttei @ Millenia Walk

This is a place recommended by my japamaniac sister. So I went there after gym to reward myself for my interval training session.....

This has got to be the best ramen I tasted as far in Singapore....

Broth - very good, actually it has a lot of oil...but I just can't taste the oil...it is savoury, rich and yet leaves a soothing aftertaste.
Noodles - a bit doughy, though I prefer the QQ type noodles...this type does go well with the rich broth
Others - no funky business, just good delicious ramen.

There are two ramen shops in Parco at Millenia Walk, just look out for this logo, and the long queue of people behind.

Big fan of this Negi Ramen - Leeks are sooo crunchy and delicious, soup is greeeatt.

The noodles , usually not my favourite type , goes superbly well with the broth

Did I mention about the gyoza? Oh yes, its a must-try....they have one of the best Japanese gyozas in town. The meat very fresh, and skin very bouncy, it all tasted so fresh. Yum!

Nirai Kanai @ Liang Court

Nirai Kanai was a place I used to frequent in my previous existence in Singapore. Then it was at Far East Complex ( now not sure what it is )....Orchard Road seems like an alien place to me..:(

Well, I found it in Liang Court Basement, and remember the good times I had with my friends drinking Shochu and pigging out....

I guess coz I was eating too much good Japanese food in HK (see my post on my all-time favourite HK okinawan joint Raku-en) , my taste buds had sadly grown out of Nirai Kanai. Though I used to think it great, my current sense is that it is just pretty average.

The decor is pretty quaint, and I saw loads of Japanese family there.

Bittergourd is one of Okinawa's specials - so stir-fried bittergourd with eggs , tofu and pork is a very well-known dish. Its good, but not great. I really prefer Raku-en.

Peanut Tofu - Always like this

Bittergourd tempura Ramen- the bittergourd tempura taste great, but the soup and ramen are too salty, and couldn't beat some of the ramen joints around town.

Saving grace - their little amuse-bouches are very yummy. Meat miso paste ( to be eaten with rice) & pickled daikon :) makes my day any time