Kimchi Korean Restaurant

First noticed Kimchi Korean Restaurant when I was at Suntec attending a Conference a few months ago. I remembered the eatery when I was in Suntec looking for dinner options. The restaurant was spacious and modern looking. More importantly, there was no greasy smoke filling the shop despite it being a BBQ place.

One thing to note about the appetizers (Banchan) here is it is not free-flow. You have to place order for them and it cost $1 per dish (non-refillable). We tried 3 out of the 6 options: Namul, Anchovy and Kimchi. I must say I would prefer that they provide them free-flow and we could choose whatever we wanted…The portions for $1 was kinda steep…

For BBQ we ordered the Chef’s recommendation of Marinated Wagyu Beef Short Rib. The ribs were tender and chewy, not bad. The mushrooms and prawns were so-so.

Thankfully the other cooked dishes were pretty enjoyable, Tofu Soup and Dduk Bok Gi . The tofu soup was filled with seafood ingredients and was pretty savory.

Service wise was a bit uncoordinated. They left out our appetizers, that only came after we asked about it when we finished our BBQ and Tofu Soup…Our tea was also served much later.

I wouldn’t mind returning to have a quick cooked meal but probably not their BBQ.

Other related posts:

• Togi Korean Restaurant (Chinatown)
• Rolling Rice Singapore
• Chowan Garden

The 1925 Microbrewery & Restaurant

Originally wanted to visit The 1925 Microbrewery & Restaurant after work to try their beer, but my colleague got to know of the place and suggested that we try them out during lunch (so I didn’t get to try the beer).

The place has a few lunch set options available, the option of adding on $2 for freeflow soft drinks was an attractive promotion. I ordered the BBQ Chicken Leg Set BBQ chicken leg marinated in spicy sauce, comes with a serving of rice, salad and deep fried whole egg. The salad was slightly spicy, had either mustard or wasabi in it? The chicken was  pretty ok and strangely was not as spicy as the salad.

My colleagues tried the BBQ Pork Belly Set and Grilled Chicken Thigh Set. Seemed like the pork belly was overly charred with the grill taste, hence was slightly bitter.

We were seated on the ground floor on the high tables and stools, making it not exactly comfortable for meals. The round stools without backing weren’t comfortable to sit in for long.

The beers available here include their own brew and a few from Brewerkz. Pity can’t try the beer cos we went during lunch. But luckily I wasn’t here in the evening for drinks, I can’t imagine after ordering a jug of beer, I had to sit on the high stool without backing for the whole evening… I’m the kind who prefer to be seated in normal tables & chairs with backing to relax, slowly enjoy my drink and chit-chat with friends.

Other Related Posts:

• DIBS
• A for Arbite
• LeVel 33

Two Blur Guys [Relocated]

Dropped by Two Blur Guys to try their burger which was voted “Top 10 Burgers in Singapore” by Time Out Singapore.

Ordered their Pulled Pork Burger (centre) and Prime Beef with Portobello Burger (right).

We were pleased with both the burgers. The pulled pork was moist and tender. The prime beef was juicy and chewy. The size of the burgers were just nice for ladies’ appetite but might be too small for guys.

The indoor seating was filled with the grill smell so it’s wise to take the limited outdoor tables if dining there.

[Update Jul 2020]

The shop has relocated to Jalan Besar.

Other Related Posts:

• Burnt Ends
• Shoebox Canteen
• Suprette
• Esquina
• &Made

Teppei Japanese Restaurant – Lunch Takeaway

For those people who don’t want to spend effort in securing the hard to get reservation (at least 3 mths in advanced now compared to 3 weeks when I last asked them more than 1 yr ago), you may consider visiting Teppei Japanese Restaurant during lunch time. They don’t accept reservations for lunch hence it’s purely based on walk-in queue. Heard that it is easier to get a seat from 1.30-2pm when the lunch crowd is over. The catch? They don’t serve the omakase, only limited selection of set meals available.

It was on a Saturday afternoon that I decided to go and try my luck at the eatery at around 1.45pm. Unfortunately there was still a queue… doesn’t seemed too long actually. I quietly joined the queue behind a cluster of people standing in front of the shop. No movement at all after 5 mins, nobody came out to ask for number of pax although there seems to be empty seats in Hana-Hana (the new extended shop by Teppei but specialising in kushiyaki). I saw people in Hana-hana eating don that look like from Teppei too. Not sure if we can cross order the items?

Decided to skip the queue by asking for takeaway cos of the unbearably hot weather. Ended up with Bara Chirashi and Mixed Tempura bento.

After placing the takeaway order, miracle happened… The queue for dining in started moving… The first 2 people in the line turned out to have total of 4 pax in their party and they were seated. The 2nd cluster of people in line asked for seats for 5 and requested to be seated together. The staff then skipped that group and went on to ask if there’s any group in pair to take the available seats. One couple went in. Thereafter another guy, solo diner was also ushered in to the Hana-Hana counter seats… All these happened while I was waiting for my takeaway food!!! Argh… If I had known that those people in front were large group I would have waited a while more in the queue… Not fated to eat at Teppei…

Here’s the takeaway bento sets:

I’m not sure how much the takeaway differs from eating it in the eatery, but the Bara Chirashi that received raving reviews was so-so to me…Tempura wasn’t as crispy and the batter was not as light as I would like it to be…

After this episode, I don’t think I would take the effort to make a reservation 3 months in advance at Teppei…When I was at the eatery, a notice was pasted on the glass panel stating reservations for Oct-Dec will start on 3rd Aug 10am.

Even 3 Michelin starred restaurants only need 1 month advanced reservations…

[Update in Sep 17]

By some fluke chance I managed to get one of the last-minute available spot for dinner while walking past the restaurant. Read about my meal here.

1 Tras Link, Orchid Hotel
#01-18
Singapore 078867
Tel: 62227363

Other related posts:

• Bimi Kaiho Restaurant
• Miz Japanese Restaurant
• Meii Sushi

P Bistro [Relocated]

P Bistro is one of the newest eatery to open along Owen/Rangoon Road area that witnessed an outbreak of “Cafe Epidemic” recently. P Bistro is one of the eateries located nearer to the Farrer Park MRT compared to a few others. Unlike some of the cafes/bakeries in the area, this eatery actually has a rather comprehensive menu, which probably explains why they called themselves a Bistro.

For me, although cafes are good places to hang out I sometimes wished that they could have some proper food other than plain pasta/sandwiches or the “in trend” nowadays and getting insanely popular: waffles.

Back to P Bistro, there was a huge communal table on the 1st storey of the eatery and the 2 of us were hesitant to occupy such a huge table until the staff asked us to take the seats.

Ordered their daily special of Chicken Roulade and the Roast Chicken with Mushroom Sauce Thyme and sea salt marinated chicken leg roast with earthly mushroom sauce. The chicken meat of the roulade dish was supremely tender. I also liked the refreshing thai-style salad that accompanied the meat.

The roast chicken, which was a regular dish on their menu, was equally tasty. The chicken skin covering the thigh meat had a light crisp while the meat retained its juiciness.

Tried their Salted Caramel Latte and Roasted Hazelnut Latte, both were quite sweet and we don’t even need to add the extra sugar packs provided. But the coffee itself wasn’t that aromatic and not anything special.

There were some cakes, tarts, brownies, macaroons in the display counter but we were too full to try any of it. I’m sure we will get the chance to revisit the eatery to try them in future and we’ll make sure we ask more colleagues along so that we can taste more variety of the pastries.

[Update]

P bistro has relocated to:

390 Orchard Road
#B1-06 Palais Renaissance
Singapore 238871

Other Related Posts:

• Liberty Coffee
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• L’etoile Cafe

Ichi Tei

Ichi Tei is the 3rd food outlet we are trying in Sunshine Plaza, after the Parklane Wanton Noodles and Victor’s Kitchen Dim Sum. We decided to try the Japanese food since it seemed very popular, although partly cos of the limited number of seats in the shop. The tables were also quite small, same for the other outlets in the building.

Menu at Ichi Tei was pretty simple, mostly Rice/Noodle dishes with a small selection of side dishes. I had the Unagi Don that included a miso soup and a tiny potato salad. The dark sauce coating over the unagi was pretty savoury, on 2nd look the unagi looked a bit like Char Siew from this photo.

A no-frills, simple Japanese eatery.

As usual after our meal, we explored the Selegie area for desserts – Anyone keen to have Rochor Beancurd?

91 Bencoolen St
#01-52, Sunshine Plaza
Singapore 189652

The Assembly Ground

Visited The Assembly Ground for a light munch. Although The Cathay is located in city, I find it rather troublesome to get there cos it requires a 5 min walk from Dhoby Ghaut MRT and not much stores that attract me to go shop there. Oddly, I would be visiting The Cathay twice a day today, another visit later in the evening to catch “Hercules” – complimentary tixs to watch the preview in 3D. =)

Still full from my salad breakfast, I gave their Brunch menu a miss and only selected the Popcorn Chicken with Spicy Mayo and a Banana Chocolate Smoothie.

The others had the Assembly brunch and Roasted Beef sandwich. The portion was pretty generous and filling.

There wasn’t lunch time crowd when we were there, great place to chill and relax during lunch. Great place to park oneself if waiting for movie too. Hope I can return to try their brunch soon.

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• Flee Away Cafe
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The Provision Shop [Relocated]

This was my 2nd attempt to visit The Provision Shop on a weekend, they were full on my 1st attempt, this time round we decided to try again for a late lunch. Guess we were pretty lucky to get the last available indoor seats when we arrived. I realised that they now have Dinner service as well…could have visited them for dinner if I take my weekend beauty nap before leaving the house…hee…

The staff informed us that about 4-5 items were sold out for the day, so we were left with not many options. Ended up with a Traditional Carbonara Bacon, Barn-Raised Egg Yolks & Parmiggiano Regianno and a Truffled Porcini & Mushroom Tart Creamy Mix of Thyme, Porcinis & Button Mushrooms Baked in Puff Pastry. The pasta was a tad simple…with only tiny bits of bacon and portion wasn’t exactly satisfying nor filling for proper lunch. However the Mushroom Tart impressed me, the puff was crisp and flaky, the filling was rich in the mushroom flavour and was brilliantly well-balanced with the strong peppery taste of the wild rocket.

I also enjoyed the refreshing Sea Salt Lemonade  (great cooler for this sweltering weather) but the Iced Mocha was so-so. Therefore overall we were happy with 2 out of the 4 items ordered…We were slightly disappointed as we were expecting more from the restaurateur who brought us Restaurant Ember, Esquina etc. (both of which were splendid).

Perhaps it was not our day today, perhaps the pricing was slightly on the high side for a cafe type of eatery given the “not-so-generous portion”…Nonetheless, heard the sandwiches at The Provision Shop were good, so might return to try it.

[Updates in 2017]

They have relocated to 50 Keong Saik Rd, Hotel 1929, Singapore 089154.

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• Strangers’ Reunion
• Group Therapy
• Selfish Gene Cafe
• The Plain

Bedrock Bar & Grill

Bedrock Bar & Grill had been in my “To Eat” list for quite a while, finally made my way to visit them. The bar area outside the restaurant was usually quite empty, but when we made our way into the main hall, we realised that it was rather full even on a weekday.

Once inside, we walked through a dark-wood paneled hallway and an open-kitchen top before reaching the main hall.  We were shown to the booth seats which was great, it offers more privacy than the open table seats that were arranged in close proximity.

Started our meal with home-made bread with butter and roasted garlic. The bread was served warm and soft with great texture. I would love to have more of the bread if not for the need to save some space for the meat.

For starters we had Broiled Sea Scallops jamon iberico confit, pinot noir reduction, drawn butter. The scallops weren’t as succulent and juicy as I expected, but the dish was well-executed with the scallops nicely seared.

We requested for the Bedrock Pepper Steak 300g, cab of ribeye, black peppercorn sauce to be served in 2 portions, so the piece in the pix is only half. Served on the cast iron pan, I luv the pinkish centre with the dark grilled outer crust. The black peppercorn was served separately, so we get to taste the original flavour of the meat. The steak was firm and juicy with a nice bite. Easily the best steak I ever had in Singapore. Paired the steak with Banfi, “Col Di Sasso” Toscana I.G.T Italy the oaky and complex Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese goes well with the meat. The other wine we had – Domain Chandon, Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia was too light to go with the meat. Anyway Chandon is still better known for their sparkling wine.

I was enjoying my meat so much that I forgot to take a pix of the side dish. The range of side dishes here was excellent, we were lost of choices but I had a strong urge to eat fries so we chose the most simple item. But if I have the luxury of stomach space I would probably want to try their mac n cheese, grilled baby corns and sauteed mushrooms.

Not forgetting to end our meal with sugar rush from Waffle Ice Cream Sandwich buttermilk waffle, double scoop honey & fig ice cream.

Bedrock is easily my favourite amongst the other “branded” steak chain establishments in Singapore. Would be glad to return in a heartbeat~

Other related posts:

• Wooloomooloo, Singapore
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Royal China @ Raffles, Singapore

Having visited Royal China in London a couple of years ago (see post), I hadn’t got the chance to visit their Singapore branch until now. The decoration of Royal China @ Raffles is totally different from the London one. The unique turquoise coloured paneling and columns made the place looked so dreamy when matched with the white chairs. I’ve known people who held their wedding there as well due to the romantic theme.

Would love to try their Dim Sum someday but visited them for dinner first. We tried a 5-course set dinner starting with Sliced Peking duck accompanied goose liver paste & home-made pancake. The sliced duck skin was crisp and I could hear the crackling sound upon my first bite. The pancake was thicker than the usual crepe used to wrap peking duck so the texture was more like “bun”, I chose not to eat it together with the duck skin otherwise it could have overshadowed the crispiness and flavour of the duck skin.

The Seafood Consomme served in Whole Mini Pumpkin was next. As someone who doesn’t fancy pumpkin, this dish surprised me. The pumpkin taste was pretty subtle and I was even scooping the soft and mushy pumpkin off the side while drinking the consomme.

The third item was Pan-fried Sea Perch Fillet in Superior Soya Sauce, the fillet was nice though I would prefer if there was no batter over the fillet, but overall this dish was acceptable.

The next time was something I really look forward to trying – Chef’s Signature Live “Boston” Lobster Noodles with Ginger and Shallot Sauce. The lobster was lightly coated with a thin batter and fried before it was cooked with the shallot sauce.  Again, I would have preferred if it was done without the batter. The best version that I had ever tried so far was the one in London, at Mandarin Kitchen (it was located opposite Royal China London outlet). In Singapore the best that I tried so far was the one at Jade Restaurant in Fullerton Hotel.

Finished the meal with Chrysanthemum Apple Jelly with diced aloe vera accompanied Chilled Glutinous Rice Ball with cream & fresh fruits. The jelly was refreshing and the glutinous rice ball (similar to mochi texture) had a very thin skin wrapping the light and fluffy cream filling.

Took the opportunity to enquire about their lunch and dim sum menu as the information was not available on their website. I had the impression that the dim sum was only available on weekends but actually it is available daily. Will give it a try soon.

Other related posts:

• Tung Lok Signatures
• Cherry Garden
• Majestic Restaurant
• Hai Tien Lo
• Summer Palace
• Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant
• Jade Restaurant, Fullerton Hotel
• Hua Ting, Orchard Hotel