999.99 - Five Nines
POSTED ON Sunday, October 16, 2016 AT 1:20 AM \ leave a comment (0)
Keong Saik Road has effectively transformed itself from being a red light district in the 1970s to a conservation district where hipster restaurants and cafes congregate. the chic rooftop bars, good variety of cuisines and trendy hipster cafes can only be undone by the challenging parking situation (limited parallel parking) that comes with its popularity. Five Nines is a European Fusion restaurant inspired by its Japanese chefs Masanao Saito and Takashi Ohkawa that is getting quite a following for its positive reviews.



the name Five Nines is actually read 999.99, symbolising purity similar to gold. that is the restaurant's ethos to serve up gold standard quality and service to all its customers. the romantic setting, coupled with customised set dinners, makes this place perfect for a date. for the bigger groups and the more adventurous ones, the restaurant also offers Omakase dinners or ala carte meals. as it was our first visit, we went for the individual signature dishes..



a highly recommended dish is their Lobster Gratin, that is as delicious as it is worthy on Instagram. the dish comes as a whole lobster topped with melted cheese and cream sauce. the meat is surprisingly generous and the taste, well blended with the condiments. we also tried the Chicken Diavola or Devil-Styled grilled chicken, which obtained its namesake due to its spicy kick. in reality, the dish is not overly spicy and is served to black hummus to give it that extra flavour.



we had to try their carb dishes and were suggested to try the Spicy Pescatore which was essentially seafood spaghetti cooked in tomato based spicy sauce. served with cockles, clams and prawns, you could well taste the red pepper and tomato that went into the pasta. not exactly wow, and pretty much your seafood arrabbiata. the ladies went for some soft shell crab salad for appetizers, which turned out surprisingly good.



Five Nines completes the dining experience by offering desserts, wines and spirits. we went for the conventional Sauvignon Blanc to toast to the occasion so as not to go wrong. it was overall quite an enjoyable experience, though probably not exactly gold standard, but still a place where we'd come again, especially to impress a date.



999.99 - Five Nines
29 Keong Saik Road
Singapore 089136

Opening Hours
Mondays to Thursdays: 12 pm to 5 pm; 6 pm to 11 pm
Fridays: 12 to 5 pm; 6 pm to 2 am
Saturdays and Sundays: 6 pm to 11 pm

an exploration of gastronomic delights from across the globe..

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Hyang Yeon Korean Restaurant
POSTED ON Saturday, October 01, 2016 AT 3:44 PM \ leave a comment (0)
to train up for an upcoming visit to Seoul, we decided to have a little Korean fix just to get into the mood. at the heart of Singapore's central business district, Amoy Street and Telok Ayer Street is home to a mini-enclave of Korean diners and restaurants. while they are frequented by office workers during weekday lunches, the fact that native Koreans specially come for dinner and on weekends says much about their authenticity.



Hyang Yeon Korean Restaurant has everything Korean written all over it. its newly fit-out interior and spacious setting makes this a cosy place for catching up and having a feast. the menu spread offers good variety, from the Korean BBQ selections to the traditional dishes and stews. Apart from the regular soft drinks and Soju, some of the imported drinks from Seoul such as the Korean Sprite is a popular choice here.



the true Korean joints are really generous with their Banchan, or side dishes. over here, there is a wide selection to choose from and your favourite ones are even refillable. Kimchi lovers will go for multiple servings of the favourite Korean dish, for myself, i'd whack the spiced anchovies which i had always found to be a therapeutic snack.



we went on to try one of their hotplate grilled dishes. Buldak or spicy cheese chicken, is a popular Korean dish that can turn out to be really spicy in some places. the preparation at Hyang Yeon is done back-end, so the dish comes served on a hotplate without much sizzle left on the pan. unlike western restaurants where they'd ask you how you'd like the meat done, you may want to be a little more specific with this one, as our chicken turned out medium-rare. but having said that, everything goes well with dollops of cheese and the degree of spice was just right. our mains for the evening was Budae Jjigae or Army Stew which would have been only more perfect if it was snowing outside. the portions were generous, with ample ramyeon, luncheon meat, rice cakes and kimchi.



To top off our evening, we had a round of Makgoli (Korean rice wine) served in this bowl. very ancient three-kingdoms-oath-style. the rice wine was sweet and smooth on the palette, good for washing down the very rich tasting dishes that we had. in all, our visit to Hyang Yeon was a very pleasant one and for those of us working around the CBD, we'd certainly be making plans to drop by again.



Hyang Yeon Korean Restaurant
80 Amoy Street #01-01
Singapore 069899

Opening Hours
Mondays to Fridays: 11.30 am to 2.30 pm; 5.30 pm to 10.30 pm
Saturdays and Sundays: 5 pm to 10 pm

Having time with precious people..

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