Lokkee [Closed]

Lokkee is the latest addition to Tung Lok Group’s restaurants. It’s menu is inspired by Chinese take-out food often found in Chinatowns across cosmopolitan cities – in short its “Western-Chinese” food. On display was the typical American Chinese take-out boxes printed with Singapore icons.

A fun wet tissue which is a sure conversation starter. Within minutes after sitting, I found the chairs too high and table too low for comfort.

Tried the Orange Chicken Deep-fried chicken balls served with an orange zest chicken stock, blended with soy sauce – an American Chinese dish of Hunan origin. This dish is sweet and tangy, nice comfort food. Also had the 5-Spice Crispy Pork Belly Pork belly marinated with 5 spice and roasted to a crisp which was nicely presented but taste ordinary (as in no Wow factor).

Ended our meal with Custard Buns which came disguised as freshly plucked mushrooms and nicely plated on a sieve with “peanuts” soil~ Unfortunately the custard fillings wasn’t as flowy as I wished, although the presentation itself deserves 100 points =)

On a side note, for folks who hadn’t got the chance to try the colour changing Butterfly Pea drink in Thailand, you can try the Ultraviolet Oolong Tea here. Although named as Oolong, it’s base is actually Butterfly Pea tea which explains the colour changing after adding the lemon juice.

[Updates on 17th Nov 15]

Back to try 2 new dishes other than my favorite Orange Chicken. For starters we tried the Chilli Crab Cake and boy it was much larger than I expected. It has a generous layer of crispy bread crumbs coating the crab meat inside and goes well with the nice chilli dip.

The Honey Walnut Shrimp could possibly replace Orange Chicken as my favorite dish here due to its large & juicy prawns, paired with the nutty walnut and the sweet honey coating on the batter.

[Updates on 24th Dec 15]

Finally get to try the Flaming Pineapple Beef, frankly I don’t think the fire has got any flavouring effect on the beef cubes which were housed in the hollowed pinapple crust. The beef cubes were pretty soft and I quite enjoy the sweet and sour gravy used for this dish.

The Poke Salad with Diced salmon and tuna sashimi was a great starter.

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Wanton Seng’s Noodle Bar

Took a day off work post-F1 and made use of the opportunity to drop by Wanton Seng’s Noodle Bar to try their Lunch Menu, which is a lot more affordable than their premium ingredient noodle in the Dinner Menu.

Ordered the Two-some Goodness Wanton Noodles (Aburi Pork Belly and Roasted Pork Belly). Added a side of 5-minute egg. Both the pork belly were very nicely done, each with its own qualities. The aburi pork belly has smoky and sweet flavour while the roasted belly has crispy skin with moist firm flesh.

I really liked the texture of the noodles used which was al-dente and has a good bite. Best paired with a spoonful of the spicy chilli sauce. The egg and soup were kinda ordinary.

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Angelina Singapore

Counting down to the F1 race and Bon Jovi concert at the Padang~ Stopped by Angelina Singapore at Capitol Galleria for afternoon tea to recharge before entering the circuit.

The tea time set menu comprised of (top tier) Mini vine tomato and pesto tart, Mini smoked salmon blini (lower tier) Mini quiche Lorraine and Mini Angelina sandwich. Followed by choice of 2 mini macaroons, of which I chose the Mont Blanc and Raspberry and finally pastry selection of the day. Included in the set is coffee/tea.

Surprisingly I enjoyed the savooury items more than the sweets. The mini vine tomato and pesto tart was like a bite-size pizza bursting with tomato. Sandwiches had thick fluffy toast and the quiche was nicely baked.

We ordered an ala carte Seafood Risotto which was also well-cooked. The rice was moist and supple with a rich broth. A minor shortfall was the prawn which wasn’t the freshest as the meat was kinda mushy, other ingredients were ok.

Didn’t have room to try their signature desserts, but wouldn’t mind returning to try again.

Parked ourselves at the Padang stage since 5pm to wait for Bon Jovi concert after the F1 race just to snag a good view. Although it meant a 5 hours wait, it was nothing compared to the 20 years time for them to return to Singapore?

My immediate reaction when I first spotted him was “His signature blond hair has all turned grey!”. He looked different without the fluffy gold hair now, as in different from my memory of him that was perhaps stuck in the 20 years ago era.

Disappointed that they didn’t sing Always and I”ll be there for you.

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Maguro-Donya Miura-Misaki-Kou Sushi & Dining

It’s the start of F1 weekend and I reckoned that it would be nice to drop by Suntec to have a meal since there’s probably less crowd? What an irony…

I had bad experiences with Suntec cos whenever I wanted to eat something there, I am only successful on my 3rd attempt. This time round its Maguro Donya Miura Misaki Kou Sushi & Dining inside Eat at Seven. They were having private events on the first 2 occassions when I tried to visit them. Actually even on this 3rd attempt, they were also having a private event but the place was not fully reserved, they left a section opened for walk-in customers.

Since the place specialises in Tuna (Maguro), we had to try their 5 Cuts of Hon Maguro – Bluefin Maguro Akami (top loin), Chutoro (bottom loin), Otoro (Belly), Kamatoro (Cheek flame-torched) and Tomi (head). The first 3 types are pretty commonly available but its the first time I’m eating the cheek and head portion. The tuna served here was very fresh, even the basic cut of akami could satisfy the most discerning tuna eaters.

The other favorite which was recommended was Maguro Hikkaki Yamamori Gunkan Warship bluefin maguro chutoro & otoro scrappings from bone stacked on rice. The minced fatty chutoro & otoro was a mouthful to stuff but a delight on the palate with its melt-in-the-mouth texture.

Sadly the Hokkai Don wasn’t as good as the tunas. The rice was a tad hard, the ingredients not as fresh.

This restaurant is definitely the place to go if you want to have a maguro feast.

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1 Tyrwhitt Bistro & Bar

Somehow missed out on this post and realised it while I was writing about another Bistro in Jalan Besar area. We visited 1 Tyrwhitt Bistro & Bar for lunch and they hadn’t introduced lunch set promotion back then.

The main entrance area is set-up as the bar with counter and high stools. When we first passed by the unit, it looked empty and left us wondering if the place was operating or not. Little did we know that there was another linked unit at the back which houses the dining area.

The place seemed pretty bare and I didn’t quite figure out what theme was the interior design based on or rather, the theme didn’t quite stand out.

Ordered a Seafood Marinara as main and shared a Tiramisu dessert.  They were nicely plated but tasted pretty ordinary. We weren’t excited over the discovery of this new eatery but at least we got 10% discount for liking their FB page.

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Sum Yi Tai [Closed]

I’m quite a fan of having Chinese food with cocktails. There are many options for Tapas Bars in Singapore but there are occassions whereby I have cravings for Chinese food yet also wanted a drink. Had to try Sum Yi Tai when I read about their concept of a Chinese Tapas Bar.

Although they are housed in a 3-storey shophouse, the place is divided into 3 sections. First floor for the tapas, second floor for dining and roof-top bar whereby access is via invite/reservation-only. The only table available on the ground floor was unfortunately one which was right next to a bright red chinese signage. Initially we agreed to take the last available table but decided to request to move elsewhere within 5 mins as the lighting was simply too glaring for us. Hence we ended up at the bar counter.

Ordered the Chinese Mojito Rum, chrysanthemums, mint & lemons and 1980’s Nostalgia Whisky, frangelico liqueur, calamansi. It is easy to tell which is which from the photos as you can see the cute old-school biscuits with the drink served in the enamel mug.

Foodwise we had the Sum Yi Tai’s Signature XO Carrot Cake which was slightly smokey and flavoursome, though it was a tad oily. This was the best dish for our meal as the rest where quite ordinary…

Wanted to order the Maple Honey Glazed Char Siew but was sold out and we only had the Crispy Roast Pork with Chili Oil Dip. The Bei Fung Tong Crispy Soft Shell Crab was a recommended dish as indicated on the menu. It was nice but nothing to rave about. The last dish was the Jumbo Head King Prawn which was served with tung hoon in a claypot. As tung hoon are usually quite plain, it usually depends on the broth used to bring out the taste. In this instance, the broth used wasn’t flavoursome enough, although the prawns were quite big and relatively fresh.

For the price I paid to have meal and drinks here, I think I could get better quality food and ambience in other establishments with similar Chinese food cum bar concept.

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Ronin Cafe

Woke up late to a hazy Sunday, its a rare chance for me to enjoy Brunch and decided to drop-by Ronin Cafe at Hong Kong Street.

Although the cafe was said to be opened by the same people behind The Plain and The Bravery, each of them have a different style/theme. Ronin Cafe is decked out in modern industrial styled decor, the space featured black steel, dark wood and concrete walls. However the lighting might been too dim for my liking, the orangy tungsten lighting made me feel sleepy…

We ordered a Brioche French Toast with braised apple, bacon, hazelnut butter & syrup which was very filling. The bacon was particularly good and the toast was thick and fluffy.

My favourite item was the decadent Salted Caramel Brownie found on the display cabinet. The sweet chocolatey brownie was balanced with the tasty salted caramel, making it an indulgent treat. The Banana walnut cake was nice but not as impressive as the brownie.

Matcha lovers would instantly fall in love with the Matcha-tone as it had me scraping the thick matcha paste off the base of the cup… Coffee lovers wouldn’t be disappointed with their Iced Coffee which was rich and thick.

I didn’t try one of their highly-raved about drink – Wicked Mocha, which is a minted mocha drink. But I will recommend one of my Jie-mei who liked mint to try it out.

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Hyde & Co.

Having zoomed by Hyde & Co. on North Bridge Road countless times, I didn’t realised that it is a cafe till I walked passed on foot. Judging from the signage hung at the facade I used to think that it was some English/European styled bicycle shop. Probably due to the font used and the “& Co.” naming convention.

The white-coloured theme was refreshing and the walls were decorated with simple framed pictures. I read that the cafe was English-inspired, but I guess that was due to the use of pretty Bone China to serve their tea. Other than that, the other dishes were served in minimalist-styled plates.

We tried the Pulled Pork Man Tou Slow cooked pulled in homemade bbq sauce and slaw which tasted way too sweet. We had asked for dessert to be served together with our meal, hence I can testify that this dish tasted sweeter than the dessert…

My main was The Big Ben (Smoked Salmon) Roasted muffins with mushroom jam, poached eggs, mesclun salad, roasted potatoes and creamy hollandaise. from the [H] recommendation list. At $21, the big ben sure seemed pretty costly. I couldn’t fathom how the ingredients justify for such a pricing…I even pried the muffins to check on the mushroom jam, which seemed to have a hint of truffle?

Butterscotch Popcorn was the other item from the [H] recommendation list and didn’t really impress me. The popcorn wasn’t as crispy was we liked, the banana wasn’t caramelized (as I would expected it to be). While we value their attempt in creating something of a sweet-savoury combination, the overall execution fell short in expectation.

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Ding Dong [Relocated]

After a gruelling week bombarded by rallies, we need a place to chill on a mid-week Wednesday – 1 day ahead of cooling-off day. Decided to visit owner-chef Ryan Clift’s Ding Dong for some modern Southeast Asian fare and cocktails.

Starting with pretty in pink Fujiyama Yogurt sake, elderflower liquer, fresh strawberries, yuzu liqueur served in a bottle and a rather tropical drink of Singapore Fling Tanqueray gin, Cointreau, citrus, grapefruit, homemade grenadine, creole bitters.

I was more interested in the food menu which featured Asian cuisine in sharing plates style. We were so attracted to the cold plates that we chose 4 items from there. The first item came in a pretty cabbage package filled with ceviche inside. The Scallop ceviche with fresh coconut & chinese cabbage was something very fusion. It somehow reminded me of Korean ssam (lettuce wrap) but with a mexican ceviche fillings.

Burnt nasu with crab & crispy shrimp was next. Although I’m not an eggplant lover, I still enjoyed this dish due to the way it was cooked. The eggplant remained rather firm and not too soft. The mushy texture was the main reason why I didn’t like eggplants. The crispy and crunch shrimp bites also added contrast to the gluey texture of the eggplant.

Homemade black miso tofu, daikon & ginger salad with japanese dressing was less of a wow. We somehow didn’t liked the tofu nor the dressing.

We were pleased with our final cold plate of Asian wagyu beef tartare with homemade chili sauce & pickled vegetables, which even came with papadum. It was richly flavoured and exudes flavours of Thai cuisine.

For mains we had The Ding Dong blue lobster bao with hoisin, cucumber & crispy shallots and Asam pedas salt water barramundi with okra & baby eggplant. In the re-creation of the classic Hokkien dish of “Kong Bak Pau”, the braised pork belly was replaced with lobster flesh. As the flesh is a lot leaner than pork, the ratio of bun to ingredients was somehow affected.

The asam fish was well-executed in my opinion cos the asam ratio seemed to be moderated for european tastebud. I typically don’t like too strong asam taste in my food. The fish and the tartare were the top 2 items of the meal!

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Mak’s Noodles, Singapore

Having first tried Mak’s Noodles in Hong Kong and leaving me with fond memories of the flavoursome soup (see post), I was happy that they are finally opening a branch in Singapore.

After conversion from HK dollar, the small bowl of noodles in HK cost around S$4.70 when I ate it in 2011, the price of a similar sized bowl in Singapore’s outlet is $6.90.

We tried the Tossed Noodle with Wonton Dumpling & Oyster Sauce and a Wonton & Dumpling Noodle Soup.

The noodles was fine & al-dente as I remembered them to be. The dumpling and wonton were juicy and fresh. The main difference I felt was the soup base in Singapore lacked the umami factor which the HK version possessed. Notwithstanding, it is a good bowl of comforting warm noodles to enjoy anytime.  Cos its a tad too small a portion to be eaten for a full meal…for my case, I’ll probably need to plan for dessert/supper soon.

Mak’s Noodle
176 Orchard Road
#01-63/64 The Centrepoint
Opens daily from 11am to 10pm

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