Tempura Kohaku

On September 30, 2016December 10, 2016 By YummyDelightIn Casual, Japanese, SingaporeLeave a comment

After the 4 hours visit to Gardens by the Bay, we were somewhat tired. In fact I was surprised that it could be so tiring? Perhaps due to Singapore’s humid weather – we spent 2 hours outdoor waiting for the lightshow at Supertree Grove. While making our way to the Marina Bay Sands tower, I was cracking my brain to think of what to eat for dinner. Neither of us felt like having a meal at the restaurants in MBS since we will be doing so in a week or two during Restaurant Week. We took the MRT to Suntec City and made our way to explore the newly opened Tempura Kohaku.

I’ve heard that the queue to get into Tempura Kohaku is comparable to another famous tempura outlet – Tendon Ginza Itsuki at Tanjong Pagar. I guess I wouldn’t have the patience to queue for it during a normal weekday after work…

Shortly after we joined the queue, at about 8.45pm the staff told us that we were the last customers for the day. They told us to inform others who attempt to join the queue behind us. *A tip to those who reached and were told the same thing, a trick is DON’T GIVE UP!* Eventually we saw them letting in a few other groups of customers in after us as well. Sometimes its just a matter of luck as staff had to make an estimation based on the ingredients/rice left, so you might get lucky and still get your bowl of tendon even if you reach at 9.30pm (LO).

We tried the Tendon Set which comprised of a bowl of Tendon, a small portion of udon and Tsukemono (pickled vegetables). The tendon was spicy and non-spicy flavours and we had once of each. Both looked rather similar but one of the gravy is slightly redder (the one on the right) and is quite spicy! Folks who like spicy food might enjoy slurping up the rice coated with the spicy gravy~

I think it is probably more value for money if we order the ala carte tendon bowl which cost $15.90 versus the set at $19.90. The pickled vegetables seems to be complimentary for all guests regardless of whether you ordered set or ala carte… The pickled vegetables played an important role in helping to cut through the oiliness of the fried food.

For $15.90, the ingredients given are quite generous including prawn, crab stick, chicken meat, mushroom, pumpkin etc. The ingredients were well-fried, all coated with a light layer of batter, however I didn’t appreciate the rather tough chicken breast meat. I got 2 large pieces of the breast meat which I didn’t finish…

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Tendon Ginza Itsuki

High tea @ Pollen

On September 30, 2016December 7, 2016 By YummyDelightIn Pastry, Restaurant, SingaporeLeave a comment

Had an extremely stressful week at work with unreasonably short deadlines…hence I was relieved that I could go ahead with my planned leave to enjoy High tea at Pollen.

Pollen restaurant is housed in the Flower Dome – one of the two cooled conservatories at Gardens by the Bay. Believe it or not, its my first time visiting this iconic tourist attraction since it opened with much fan-fare in 2012. Admittedly I seldom visit our own tourist attractions…So I became a tourist within my own country for a day as I spent the afternoon/evening surrounded by hordes of tourists.

I was planning to visit the two conservatories that require admission fee after enjoying my high tea. However, upon reaching the restaurant, I got to know that diners at Pollen get complimentary access to visit the Flower Dome since the restaurant is housed inside. =)

Boy I was surprised that Pollen was packed on a weekday afternoon and we were shown to our seats at the bar counter. All other seats were either occupied or reserved… Not only that, as it was a glass dome we were sitting under the sun the entire time we were there! Gosh...should have slapped on more sunblock!

The high tea include open-faced sandwiches: Norwegian salmon, creme fraiche, dill, pickled cucumbers, Braised chicken and avocado butter, 24 hours short ribs, mustard, pickles, alfalfa, focaccia with mozzerella, confit tomatoes, hummus dips with dukkah spices and toast.

Sweets of chocolate and macadamia brownies, Banana tea cake with Mascarpone Chantilly, Petit choux with Madagascar vanilla custard, Lemon Swiss roll, Macaron.

While the food was pretty ordinary, the ambience of being surrounded by blooming flowers in the dome and fresh cool air made the overall experience a wonderful one.

Other Photos Taken at Gardens by the Bay:

Wearing the hat of a tourist visiting the attraction, the Supertree Grove looked majestic.

After dining at Pollen, guests get complimentary entry to the Flower Dome. We took the opportunity and paid for extra ticket to enter the Cloud Forest conservatory featuring the World’s highest indoor waterfall.

Personally I preferred the Flower Dome that featured more floral species compared to the foliage in Cloud Forest.

We stayed on at the Supertree Grove to wait for the lightshow but was rewarded with the rare double rainbow arches (although not that visible from photo).

Braved the slight drizzle and thankfully the rain stopped just before the dazzling lightshow at 7.45pm (first show). There is a 2nd show at 8.45pm too.

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Tai Cheong Bakery, Singapore

On September 22, 2016December 5, 2016 By YummyDelightIn Casual, Pastry, SingaporeLeave a comment

After hearing the good reviews of Tai Cheong Bakery that opened their overseas outlet in Singapore, I was eager to try out their egg tarts. Many friends and colleagues had braved the long queue to get their hands on the freshly made, piping hot tarts.

It was by chance that we passed by Takashimaya and saw a relatively short queue. For those who are familiar with the location of the stall, the queue is broken into 2 parts. Part 1 is a small area in front of the stall, part 2 starts at the entrance to the basement food hall. So by short, I meant we started queuing as the 1st/2nd person in Part 2 of the queue. From there it took us approximately 30 mins to get our tarts.

The tarts are sold in a box of 4, not sold individually and each person is limited to maximum purchase of 4 boxes.

The tarts tasted best when eaten on the same day. It has buttery crust and smooth egg custard.

When eaten a day or two later, the egg custard sort of shrank and resulted in a gap between the filling and the crust. The crust also crumbles easily, losing its form/shape when you attempt to hold it up.

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+Sixty6 Thai Restaurant

On September 19, 2016December 4, 2016 By YummyDelightIn Casual, Singapore, ThaiLeave a comment

Once again, we relied on online delivery portals to uncover new eateries. This time round we spotted +Sixty6 Thai Restaurant. This place is located in the same building as Big Lazy Chop (which I tried ordering delivery earlier). After the positive experience with their food, I “jio” my colleagues to dine at the eatery during lunch.

Hadn’t had photos of the food delivery but the Prawn Cake (Tod Mun) was really good and their stir-fry noodles weren’t too oily.

This place is a simple set-up but I’m happy that we can get affordable and tasty Thai cuisine.

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Kani King by Ramen Keisuke

On September 18, 2016December 1, 2016 By YummyDelightIn Casual, Japanese, SingaporeLeave a comment

Was in Orchard to run some errands when we arrived at Orchard Cineleisure at 7pm we were surprised to see no queue at Kani King by Ramen Keisuke. Not sure whether it’s because the hype is over or we were just lucky. We were shown to our table after a short wait. The restaurant has quite a huge seating capacity compared to the one at Orchid Hotel, however the spacing was still cramp.

Other than the usual complimentary marinated bean sprouts (that we absolutely loved) and hard-boiled eggs, they also offer pickled cabbage at this outlet.

Ordered the Crab Broth Ramen with Flavoured Egg and Crab TSUKEMEN with Flavoured Egg (dipping noodles).

Having tried the Lobster broth ramen (at their other outlet) which had rather thick gravy that I didn’t quite enjoy, the crab broth is more palatable to me. However if you are having the tsukemen (dipping noodles), the gravy has a consistency similar to Lor Mee. I think I shall stick to the standard soup ramen in future.

After trying out the various soup bases, my favourite is still the Tonkotsu King.

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Big Lazy Chop [Closed]

On September 16, 2016January 22, 2022 By YummyDelightIn Bar & Pub, Casual, Chinese, SingaporeLeave a comment

If one were to make an educated guess on what Big Lazy Chop is selling, the closest I could ever relate the name to is Western “Pork Chop”? My guess was pretty close as their signature dish are Spare Ribs, but they are a Chinese bistro serving zi-char style items.

We were browsing through establishments on a online delivery portal when we decided to try their XL spare ribs. True to it’s description, the ribs were not the usual chopped up kind we see in zi-char stalls but were served in full length. We opted for the Butter Champagne XL ribs which is available in choice of 4/6/10 pieces. The sweet sauce coated on the ribs are supposed to be concocted in-house. Some people might find the sauce a bit overcloying but I think its not as thick as the western BBQ ribs gravy.

I would agree that the succulent spare ribs will make it a great beer companion snack!

Also ordered the hot plate beancurd, with a generous splash of chopped spring onions. The gravy was savoury and goes well with jasmine rice!

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Chateraise Singapore

On September 15, 2016December 18, 2016 By YummyDelightIn Pastry, SingaporeLeave a comment

Chateraise already has 3 outlets in Singapore before I got the chance to try out their pastries at the 4th outlet in Chinatown Point.

If it’s your first time entering the shop, you’ll be overwhelmed by the wide array of cakes, pastries, ice cream on display. The colourful display counters packed with the oh-so-pretty sweet treats hailing from Japan.

I picked up the Legendary Fresh Cream Cake (like Strawberry Short Cake) and the White Zebra Mille Crepe. The fresh cream cake is supposed to be made using fresh milk from Hokkaido, thereby giving it is rich and creamy texture.

The Mille Crepe was also pretty well-made. Not too much cream between the layers and has a great texture.

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Golden Peony

On September 13, 2016November 23, 2016 By YummyDelightIn Chinese, Restaurant, Set Meal, SingaporeLeave a comment

Missing good Chinese food and decided to visit Golden Peony in Conrad for a feast as we are nearing the mid-autumn festival.

Started with appetizer platter of Crispy Swan Pastry stuffed with foie gras, truffle and minced chicken, Fresh Prawn with minced garlic, Roast Peking duck with parma ham, pineapple and crispy beancurd skin rolled in homemade crepe.

Followed by the nourishing Double-boiled Mini Buddha Jump over the Wall with Abalone and Baked Canadian Sea Perch with Red Wine Sauce. The buddha jump over the wall was filled with superb quality ingredients, all supple and juicy~

The highly-anticipated Pan-fried Wagyu Beef was served. The size was much bigger than I expected, wagyu beef suppose to have a buttery texture hence would feel gelard if eaten in huge portion. This one served is more meaty than buttery though.

After the protein dish, we were served with a Calamari Juice as palate cleanser before we move onto the final main – Braised Lobster Meat with Superior Stock, Ginger and Spring Onion served with Spinach Noodle. I was really full by then and could only finish the lobster along with a few bites of the noodle. This is a seemingly light dish but packs flavours from the stock and spring onion. Contrary to the earlier wagyu, I was expecting a bigger piece of lobster meat.

Ending the meal with soothing Double-boiled Bird’s Nest with Red Dates, accompanied with Crispy Glutinous Rice Ball with Sesame Paste.

Felt so nourished by the soup and the dessert after this feast. Replenished lots of collagen.

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Som Tam

On September 1, 2016November 22, 2016 By YummyDelightIn Fusion, Singapore, ThaiLeave a comment

Wandered around the upper levels of Orchard Central in search of something to eat, visited Som Tam which is by the group that runs Gin Khao. So what’s the difference between the 2 since both are seemingly Thai names? Som Tam is supposed to be a modern Thai Fusion place.

Fusion or not, I want my Chicken wings done the classic style~ Wings Phet Phet Deep-fried wings with spicy Tom Yum seasoning.

The next dish is less commonly found in typical Thai eateries here. Phad Kang Kaneng Phet Stir-fried sumptuous slipper lobster, blended with Thai red curry & runny egg. A nice dish with the savoury gravy which pairs well with jasmine rice but since they used slipper lobsters the meat is quite little.

Thai Garlic Seafood Fried Rice Feast of seafood tossed in Thai garlic and flavourful Hom Mali rice sounds like a mix of Japanese garlic fried rice with Thai flavours? It tasted peppery but with a dash of lime, it brought out the “thai-ness” of this dish. The greenish looking drink is Thai Matcha Latte, another Jap-Thai fusion drink? Other than the artificially green colour, it taste quite nice. I guessed they used Thai tea as base as I could taste the unique flavour and added matcha powder for this drink.

Last but not least dessert of Thai Hot Basil Gelato with Sliced Mango. I was attracted to this dessert cos of Basil Gelato. Increasingly we are seeing a lot of chefs tried to use herbs to make desserts and I was curious as to how this dessert tasted. Although it sounded like a odd combination, it turned out pretty well! The sweet mangoes with the aromatic basil gelato. This is a truly East-meets-West kind of dessert.

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Nespresso Limited Edition Capsule – Cafezinho do Brasil

On September 1, 2016November 18, 2016 By YummyDelightIn Nespresso, SingaporeLeave a comment

This year’s limited edition capsule was introduced shortly after i returned from Europe. Otherwise I could have gotten them in Europe which is way cheaper than getting them in Singapore.

Cafezinho do Brasil has intensity level of 9, which falls in the range that I like. Lovely capsules are in representative colours of Brazil. Somehow felt it has a slightly strong bitter note.