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Captain K Seafood Tower
the area around Prinsep Street is becoming quite a buzz lately with bars, cafes and restaurants all sprouting up. You'd recall us talking about the artisanal cafe Curious Palette sometime back, and in stark contrast, the concept of Captain K Seafood Tower is alot more straightforward, yet unbelievably popular.
something pictorial to give everyone the idea first, this restaurant is essentially offering a steamboat concept. it's soup base supports layers of these aluminum containers, each containing a dish of steamed seafood stacked over. customers can select layers ranging from 3 to 9 tiers, depending on the group size and the idea is that the essence of the steamed seafood will simmer through the holes in these containers to add flavour to the soup base. 
we were fortunate to have a big group of friends on this visit, so we went for the jugular and ordered the 9-tier tower. amid the prawns, scallops, oysters, squids and shellfish, this Alaskan Crab stood out, for its freshness and meaty limbs. scissors are provided on hand to help us break through the thorny shell. the way that the food is steamed also enabled us to lick off the meat from the shell pretty easily. 
we also managed to try an experimental dish that is not-on-the-menu-yet, steamed crab with golden roe marinated in rock salt. at a glance, this looks like cold steamed crab on a bed of ice, but it turned out to be salt, which gave the crab a rich flavour. another interesting dish worthy of mention is the steamed squid wrapped with spicy rice stuffing. the combination is actually very fragrant, but it guess when it was stacked as one of the bottom few tiers, most of us were too stuffed to really lap up the whole stuffing. 
some special mention for the soup base, customers can choose from 3 types: Korean Kombu Dashi stock, Kimchi stew or Ginseng chicken. we choose Ginseng Chicken for its rich taste and this was where the real steambox truly begins. you can select a variety of ingredients from the counter ranging from vegetables, hot-dog to instant noodles. you'd be charged based on the colour plates just like a sushi bar. there are also a few sauces (mostly sweet or spicy) to complement the steamed seafood so this is truly the fun part of the evening. Steamed seafood generally doesn't come cheap at most restaurants today, however, Captain K further brings an experience of unraveling the layers, and enjoying all things Korean. It's really popular now, and making a reservation before hand would be advised. 
Captain K Seafood Tower #01-02 Income@Prinsep 30 Prinsep St, Singapore 188647 Opening Hours Mondays: 6 pm to 10.30 pm Tuesdays to Thursdays: 12 pm to 3 pm; 6 pm to 10.30 pm Fridays: 12 pm to 3 pm; 6 pm to 11 pm Saturdays: 11.30 am to 3 pm; 5 pm to 11 pm Sundays: 11.30 am to 3 pm; 5 pm to 10.30 pm Steering and pioneering new culinary creations for food lovers.. Labels: #captainKseafoodtower, #koreanfoodsg, #seafood, #steamboat Dutch Baby Cafe
the first thing that attracted us to this place was really its name, although that's the part which also turned out to be somewhat confusing. Dutch Baby Cafe specializes in a fusion of Japanese Udon, and German pancakes served in a pan. around the cafe, there are some write-ups about how this German concept was first brought into America, and how the American owners couldn't pronounce "Deutsche" for German, resulting in the pronunciation becoming "Dutch".. anyways...
with the only Singapore outlet located at Paragon Shopping Centre, the cafe's exterior displays pastries that has shades of Fruit Paradise, this is not surprising, as this new concept is brought to you by the folks behind Ajisen and Fruit Paradise. the interior design is bright, simple and welcoming, with the niche menu emphasizing the concept's focus on its specialties. quite naturally, we had a go at some of their Japanese infused dishes. 
There is a selection of Udon dishes to choose from, which served as homely relief when we visited the store during the earlier rainy season (where in-mall air conditioning can get a little cranky). This Tom Yum chicken Udon is served with the right amount of spicy kick, with lemon chicken, and a somewhat thinner and springy interpretation of Udon. pretty good. for those who could do without spice, their signature dish is actually the Lemon chicken Udon that is served in a unique broth. we give thumbs up for both. 
of course, you've got to try the German pancakes while you're here. the texture of these pancakes are really different, with a soft base and slightly flaky crispy edges. the Caramel apple pan above was served with vanilla bean ice cream, apple slices and dripped with caramel sauce, with the latter in particular, blending exceptionally well with the pancake base. another signature is the lemon butter pan which also comes with ice cream and a slab of butter. it's drizzled with sugar and makes a pretty good pancake dish. 
to top-off the experience, we'd just like to talk abit about how they served tea and water in this cafe. they use this Gravitea dispenser to filter and drip the liquid into your glass. they do sell this gadget at the store, which i thought made a unique Christmas gift. Overall, the specialty dishes at Dutch Baby are well done, while some cafe purists may find the overall experience a little too simple, it is a good effort to keep up with the social-media times. for us, this makes a cosy place for catching up and gatherings, and we'd like to come back for the pancakes again soon. 
Dutch Baby Cafe 290 Orchard Road, #B1-13 Paragon Shopping Centre Singapore 238859 Opening Hours Mondays to Fridays: 10 am to 9 pm Saturdays & Sundays: 11 am to 9 pm Pancakes on hot cast iron pans straight out from the oven.. |
..ThE lEgEnD..
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