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Noodle Bar by Tokyo Latte
covering one of my favourite topics today even though it is basic comfort food - instant noodles! and even when it is something that can be easily prepared for supper at home or a late night in the office, specialty shops serving variations of instant noodles have been gaining some ground. Take Su Superstar (which specialises in Korean Ramyeon) at SCAPE for example and this store, which prides itself in serving customised noodle dishes.
Noodle Bar by Tokyo Latte is located at JCube in Jurong East. Popular amongst students and the working faithful in the area, this store is able to customize your favourite noodle dish in a mix-and-match format, allowing patrons to select from the noodle type, to the soup base to the ingredients to add on. the combinations are reasonably priced with a selection of sides and other signature dishes to go with their mains. we went nostalgic by trying the Nisshin noodles with old school chicken soup base. we propped a Ponzu roast chicken to add on and viola, a heart-warming meal. there are also dry noodle bases that one can go for, such as stirring the noodles with yakisoba or going fusion and doing it aglio olio style. 
beside noodles, the store has other signature dishes such as this baked sunrise seafood rice, which is one of their specialties. the cheese baked rice is very fragrant and topped with an abundant portion of seafood. other popular Western choices offered here include the signature gourmet beef burger and the classic Tokyo Latte french toast. many of these noodle and rice dishes also come in red enamel pots or baking pans, which the restaurant believes will help to create that homely feeling that ought to come with these dishes. 
and as the store's name suggests, Tokyo Latte represents Japanese fusion with European cuisine, hence on top of Nisshin instant noodles, customers can select from ramen, udon or cha soba. another popular combi is this ramen served with roasted tomato basil and seafood soup base. its abit like seafood pasta but with ramen instead. and although Tokyo Latte itself is a drink on a menu, the thirst-quenching favourites here are the green island lemonade or the pineapple gunner crush. In all, the noodle bar is a cosy comfort-food hideout that is good for quick-fix lunches or for group gatherings as well. 
Noodle Bar by Tokyo Latte 2 Jurong East Central 1 #02-03, JCube Singapore 609731 Opening Hours Daily: 11.30 am to 10 pm to make casual dining a gastronomic experience.. Labels: #bakedrice, #instantnoodles, #japanesefusion, #jcube, #jurongeast, #noodlebarbytokyolatte The Chop House (Vivocity)
there are not many steak houses that combines a casual dining bistro concept with excellent meat cuts at reasonable prices. From the makers of Wooloomooloo Steakhouse that originated from Hong Kong, comes the group's spin-off concept, The Chop House. starting at Vivocity in 2013, this Western gastro bar holds its own against other Western competitors along the waterfront facing stretch of Vivocity, attracting a following from locals and tourists alike.
the store's interior is very spacious that includes a bar counter to serve craft beers off the tap. the al-fresco dining area is equally popular for patrons in the evening when there is cool breeze from the waterfront. the theme for the starters and the mains revolve around meat-lovers and we are today breaking out of character to talk a little about steak (a meat that we don't take). 
so while the more conservative of us went for a delicious serving of mushroom soup and Caesar's salad for starters, some may be thrilled to know that the starter menu included Filet Mignon salad (sounds kinda paradoxical to have something so rich paired with some healthy chow), crispy pork belly and Mussels Mariniere. The Caesar's salad was served with lettuce, ample Caesar's dressing, bacon, cherry tomatoes and other greens, good cleansing for the feast to begin. 
so i had a Berkshire pork chop for my mains that was grilled to perfection over a sweet seasoning. the thing about pork is that it has got to be grilled well done, and many a time, some restaurants end up having a pretty tough texture for the pork. This version at the chop house is juicy, tender and came in a fairly generous serving, a satisfying slab of meat. all the meat cuts goes well with the mustard, red wine or chilli sauce that they provided, completing a hearty meal. 
but what's a gastrobar without craft beers, and we treated ourselves to a couple of flavoured Weissebeers to top off our lunch. in all, the experience at The Chop House is pretty relaxing, casual and allowed us to enjoy really good quality meat. The staff were helpful and shared their thoughts on meat preparation and suggested accompaniment of sauces. We liked the experience and would likely return very soon. 
The Chop House (Vivocity) 1 Harbourfront Walk #01-161/162 VivoCity Singapore 098585 Opening Hours Mondays to Saturdays: 11:30 am to 10 pm Sundays and Public Holidays: 11 am to 10 pm offering an array of international dishes with a contemporary spin.. Otto Ristorante
Nestled in a quiet corner of the refurbished Maxwell Chambers building, Otto Ristorante provides the Italian option for corporate lunch within the CBD of Singapore. not quite a Zafferano, even though this institution has been around since it was originally located at the nearby Red Dot building, only moving over to this new premises in 2015. In all, Otto makes it a convenient place for business set lunches within the Tanjong Pagar area..
placing quite abit of emphasis of liquor to go with their meal offerings, the new design of the restaurant comes with a wine bar that carries a good selection of wines and spirits. the set lunch menu appears to be extremely popular amongst the office workers within the area as it comes in a 3-course set at very reasonable prices. 
kicking off the set lunch menu, popular choices would be their crab meat with avocado salad, or the daily soup. we had cauliflower soup on the day of our visit that turned out just right, freshly prepared and served warm to accompany a wide selection of bread that formed part of the starters. 
the choice of mains come in very ample portions, of which the lamb shank and the grilled Japanese squid came out as regular preferred choices. the grilled Japanese squid comes with Borlotti bean and onion salad, the texture of the squid is grilled well to ensure it is not overly chewy and seasoned to make it really flavourful. the lamb shank came with mash potato and seasonal vegetables, though the meat could have been a little bit more tender and the rich taste of lamb better masked. 
the desserts were pretty good with their very own interpretation of sorbet served with white chocolate and jelly a very popular choice. judging from the daily turnout especially during weekday lunches, advanced reservations should be made before visiting the restaurant. overall, Otto Ristorante whips up pretty good Italian fare and its set lunch menu would be a good choice to assess some of their main dishes at a very reasonable rate. 
Otto Ristorante 32 Maxwell Road #01-02/03 Maxwell Chambers Singapore 069115 Opening Hours Mondays to Fridays: 12 pm to 2.30 pm; 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm Saturdays: 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm (closed on Sundays) quality Italian food and amicable service in a sophisticated environment.. Labels: #italianfood, #maxwellchambers, #ottoristorante, #setlunch, #sgitalianfood Jamie's Italian (Singapore)
there was a certain degree of excitement when the news broke that Jamie Oliver's famous Italian restaurant from Oxford, UK is coming to Singapore and more certainly, a victory for Singapore retail as its first outlets opened within shopping malls. then came the challenge of living up to Singapore's more illustrious institutions for Italian food such a Amarone, Pasta Brava or La Nonna, and whether the Singapore version of Jamie's Italian turned out more normal than it's celebrity status..
we visited the outlet at Vivocity to find out, and found the demographic of the weekend crowd largely made up of tourists. it was certainly not as busy as when the store first opened in 2013, especially now that it has 2 outlets. the store is designed to recreate one of Jamie Oliver's kitchen settings, bar-top counters overlooking either the baking of fresh pizza or the preparation of pastas. there are also al-fresco dining areas (overlooking Sentosa) and normal table dining as well. we heard from other reviews that the restaurant service ought to have included checking with the patrons on how they'd like their pasta texture to be, or any other dietary requirements, but that somehow didn't happen during our visit. 
pastas are a must when visiting an Italian restaurant, so we tried the Spaghetti Vongole. it turned out to be a petite serving of pasta but with an ample portion of clams, sprinkled with chopped red chilli and garnishing. it wasn't bad pasta with the right amount of spiciness. we also tried a Ravioli Con Carne or beef-ragu stuffed ravioli dashed with brown butter and lemon. the texture was fairly crispy and for beef lovers, the stuffing was generous. 
checking out some of the restaurant's other mains, we ordered a serving of the Venetian fish stew, which came with fish, clams and mussels, prepared in a tomato based sauce with white wine. i actually loved this dish the most, where the sauces really soaked into the seafood, giving it a very rich flavour. the non-pasta mains generally don't come cheap though, and one should expect to spend at least $50 per pax for a visit here. 
the drinks were kinda blah unless you'd go for a fairly conventional selection of red or white wines. we went for some non-alcoholic cocktails which came in really huge mugs but was largely more sparkling water than juice. for a celebrity restaurant, this place brings with it a great ambience with food that won't go wrong. perhaps not too authentic as compared to other Italian establishments in Singapore, but i guess it is still a close representation of a British chef's interpretation of Italian fare, which earned it top accolades in the UK. you'd probably visit Jamie's Italian, if you'd want to be part of that experience. 
Jamie's Italian (Singapore) 1 HarbourFront Walk #01-165/167, Vivo City Singapore 098585 Opening Hours Mondays to Thursdays: 12 pm to 10 pm Fridays: 12 pm to 11 pm Saturdays: 11 am to 11 pm Sundays: 11 am to 10 pm tradition combined with current, innovative ideas and a Jamie twist.. Nanjing Impressions (Singapore)
with Chinese New Year around the corner, we decided to talk about some Chinese fare where you could probably have your reunion dinner. carrying a reputation of over 40 stores in China, this new-to-market store from Suzhou is bringing traditional Nanjing street food to Singapore, and have set-up-shop in Plaza Singapura. we went to check out this newly opened store to see what many bloggers and newspaper reviews have been fussing about recently..
Nanjing Impressions is designed like a medieval Chinese tavern from a swordsman's movie. it's rave popularity has led to a queue system that would greet you upon arrival (abit similar to the situation at Hai Di Lao). when it is your turn, a costumed usher will bring you to your seat greeting you with auspicious Chinese wishes. the multiple reviews helped us to make our food selections based on their signature dishes. 
we kicked off with the signature Jinling salted duck, which was tasty and well marinated. they've got to work on their consistency of cuts though, because we certainly had alot more bones than the meaty portions we saw from the food reviews. the same can be said about the shredded beancurd, which although takes much skill, since the beancurd is diced to look like noodles, the presentation for VIP guests looked alot better.. 
a specialty dish that we found very good was the poached "lion's head" meatball, which has a very soft texture and served with some clear soup. the meatball was lightly salted and went very well with rice. another dish that we liked very much was the sliced fish with sour-cabbage broth. the soup had a sour and spicy taste, with the fish bringing out the flavourful spices that went into preparing it. this dish has fairly long waiting time, so order it first. 
we went for the dessert that everybody talked about and were in for a pleasant surprise. The osmanthus-scented sponge cake was really chewy, not overly sweet and made a nice closing dessert after a pretty savoury meal. in all, we enjoyed the food at Nanjing Impressions, the wait was about 30 mins long on a weekend and while the food portions were adequate, the dishes were a tad pricey (just like every other International brand that comes into Singapore, wonder what taxes are levied onto them).. Nonetheless, if you're looking for a reunion dinner option, you could consider this place.. 
Nanjing Impressions (Singapore) Plaza Singapura 68 Orchard Road #04-46 to 51 Singapore 238839 Opening Hours Daily: 11 am to 10 pm It's also called Nanjing DaPaiDang.. Labels: #nanjingdapaidang, #nanjingimpressions, #nanjingimpressionssg, #plazasingapura, #sgchinesefood Mad About Sucre
and suddenly it's 2017, Happy New Year everybody and hope the festive period had some joyous feasting for you. we had our recent Christmas lunch at Mad About Sucre, the French influenced pastry and cake shop which has since evolved into a French gourmet restaurant. priding itself for using generally fresh ingredients and having a new seasonal menu every quarter, this is the place to come for a slow, enjoyable dining experience.
located along Teo Hong Road, at the heart of the Bukit Pasoh Conservation area, Mad About Sucre lines itself with several new modern and stylish restaurants that has taken root here. the classic interior reflects the creative colour and unique ideas that the team here serves up. entering the shop, you'd be greeted by a dessert and pastry bar displaying their cakes for the season. the restaurant is also popular for ordering customised cakes to celebrate occasions, and they all look really pretty. 
the crew absolutely takes pride in their creations and have a keen eye for detail. they would patiently introduce their menu and recommend suitable combinations of starters and mains. cake orders comes with complimentary tea pairings to best go with the food and the dessert. We started with a salad dish, that came with smoked wild salmon. grilled prawns with some lemon and honey dressing. the flavours were distinct and i think that helps to build some appetite for the next few dishes. 
a French influenced meal cannot do without Duck Confit, so we tried their version that was served with gratin potatoes and an orange sauce. the meat was tender, with softer rather than crispy skin which soaked up the condiments better. we had it together with linguine in pesto sauce and a sashimi-grade wild Norwegian salmon. the fish was served really fresh and sprinkled with saffron together with paprika, giving it a tinge of spice. the team introduced every dish to us when serving, carefully explaining how they were made, and how best to savour them. we noted that they placed special emphasis on freshness and using organic ingredients, which is another hallmark of this place. 
the cakes all looked very intricate, and we actually ordered quite a few to try. special mention to this Petitte France which is essentially a yoghurt mousse with French Mascarpone and almonds. the taste of whiskey and drops of honey is evident, making this our favourite dessert. another cake we liked was called Amour, made up of mainly Yuzu and white chocolate. the Yuzu taste is pretty strong but went well with the soft layer of white chocolate and biscuit crumb base. we enjoyed it so much that we even ordered a whole log cake of this flavour for an office party later on. in all, Mad About Sucre is a place for quality French cuisine, their pastries are note-worthy and the staff will give you a good appreciation of their culinary art. a unique dining experience indeed. 
Mad About Sucre 27 Teo Hong Rd Singapore 088334 Opening Hours Tuesdays to Saturdays: 12.30 pm to 10 pm Sundays: 12.30 pm to 5 pm (closed on Mondays) with natural goodness and without any artificial flavors, modern pre-mixes and preservatives... Labels: #bukitpasoh, #duckconfit, #frenchfood, #madaboutsucre, #singaporefrenchcuisine, #teohongroad |
..ThE lEgEnD..
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