STRAY by FatCat

On August 30, 2017December 22, 2017 By YummyDelightIn Bar & Pub, Bistro & Cafe, Chinese, Desserts, Japanese, SingaporeLeave a comment

FatCat Ice Cream Bar made their mark in Bedok as an ice cream bar with unique flavors and their signature waffles. While I hadn’t got the chance to travel to Bedok to visit their original shop, I visited their downtown cafe STRAY by FatCat in Orchard Central.

In honesty if not for the fame build up by their Ice Cream Bar, I wouldn’t be attracted to visit this new cafe based on their food menu. I guess the cuisine type was not that clearly defined. The small menu had a mixture of Chinese dishes along with Western dishes. Thankfully they also included 2 soft serve selections in their menu – which was the key reason why I visited them.

Started our meal with a fun drink called Volcanic Chrysanthemum which was served in a theatrical fashion with dry ice and bubbling effect. Although taste wise, it was similar to flavoured ice tea with some chewy bubbles.

For main I chose the Paper-Wrapped Truffle Chicken Steamed chicken, chinese herbs, red wine. Its a modern take of the traditional chinese herbal chicken. The chicken meat was tender and the sauce was flavorsome though it was borderline of being slightly overly salty. I finished the meat but didn’t drink much of the soup.

Another main we ordered was Black Pepper Wagyu Bowl Australian Wagyu beef, Chef-made Sichuan black pepper sauce, pink ginger foam, onsen egg, Japanese pearl rice. While I would consider this as a Jap dish, this was described as a modern take to the zi-char style black pepper beef on the menu. I guess the addition topping of fried garlic and chopped spring onion helped to make this dish a bit more Chinese?

The highlight of our meal was Commando’s Favourite 100% Lychee fruit softserve, red tea jelly, edible flowers, Longan, iced gem meringue. As a lover of all things lychee, this was my type of the soft serve. It was a refreshing and aromatic sweet dessert that looks so beautiful. (P.S they have replaced the Commando’s favourite with Mango Pomelo – Inspired by the oriental dessert mango sago pomelo and Asian delight mango sticky rice)

I hope they would expand their dessert menu such that we could try more variety of ice cream/soft serve creations.

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Nespresso Limited Edition Capsules – BARISTA

On August 30, 2017May 5, 2018 By YummyDelightIn Nespresso, SingaporeLeave a comment

This year is a bumper year for Nespresso Limited Edition Capsules with yet another new series being introduced. This time round named BARISTA comprised of 3 capsules with varying levels of intensity: Level 5, 8 and 11.

The three capsules aims to allow consumers to create their preferred style of coffee, either Cappuccinos, Macchiatos and Ristrettos, at home or in the office.

All three has relatively deep flavours, the trio would be a great set to keep on hand especially if there are guests visiting. There would be a capsule with intensity level suited for everyone (unless they wanted decaf).

This series suits me perfectly as they don’t carry any floral or fruity notes. With another 3 months to the end of the year, I wonder if they would push out another limited edition series before their usual year-end edition. For now I’m satisfied with a well-stocked pantry at home with capsules that could last for for quite a long time.

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☆ Mingles at Art at Curate, Singapore

On August 20, 2017December 17, 2017 By YummyDelightIn ☆ Michelin Star Chef, Korean, Restaurant, SingaporeLeave a comment

For some reasons, Korea had not been on my wanderlust list. There hadn’t been any pull factor which made me feel like visiting the country. But I do keep abreast of the dining scenes there. Notably some of my colleagues had lunch at La Yeon during their trip to Seoul.

Took the opportunity to experience Michelin-star quality Korean cuisine when the chef of Mingles came to Singapore for the Art at Curate series. Chef Kang is the 7th guest chef to grace the CURATE kitchen, located on Sentosa island.

For a start it certainly feels kinda out of place to be dressed for Sunday lunch when most of the other visitors visiting Sentosa were in their beachwear or casual outfit – all geared up for fun and adventure rides in Universal Studios.

There was only 1 seating and we presumed that every other diners would arrive punctually. To our surprise, when we arrived 10 mins before the stated time, the hall was quite empty! Although guests were still streaming in slowly, the short 4-course lunch for us commenced right on time. Starting with small bites of Fluke ‘Hoe’ (Korean-style Sashimi), Dongchimi (Radish Kimchi) and Egg Custard with ‘Sancho’ pepper paired with Ruinart Blanc de Blancs Brut NV.

My immediate reaction was that the portion was really small…though we enjoyed the appetizing cold dish made of thinly sliced fluke with crunchy seasoned radish. The custard was soft and topped with a light sprinkle of the robust ‘Sancho’ pepper.

The first course was Scallop Carpaccio, ‘Makgeolli’ Ceviche, Korean Bottarga. The fresh scallop was paired with paper-thin pickled cucumbers. Due to the strong flavours of the condiments, it was apparent that the amount used was very measured and well-controlled such that it doesn’t overshadow the mildly flavoured scallop.

The 2nd course was one of my most anticipated dish – Abalone Porridge with ‘Gim’ (Korean Nori) Chips. Several travel programmes on TV had featured this as a must-try dish when one visits Jeju Island. The porridge was flavourful and filled with rich umami goodness. I would be willing to pay to get a full size bowl if that’s available as an option!

Steamed Tilefish with Potato Roll and Doenjang Bearnaise Sauce was paired with Chapoutier Schieferkopf Riesling Lieu-dit Buehl 2011. Freshness of the fish is a must when it was to be prepared by steaming it. The firm texture with mild flavour was well-complimented with a measured amount of doenjang (Korean soybean paste) added to the bearnaise sauce.

Very quickly we reached the final course of our meal. Dessert of Jang trio – ‘Doenjang’ Crème Brulee, ‘Gan Jang’ Pecan, ‘Gochu Jang’ powder, served with Puffed Grains and Vanilla Ice Cream. I was eager to try this interesting dish as it combines 3 types of Korean traditional pastes into 1 dessert. It was also unusual to feature the pastes in sweet dessert as the condiments are typically used in cooked dishes. The ingenious attempt resulted in an end product which was pretty extraordinary. Not only was there complex flavours, there was also a good mix of textures packed within the tiny cup. From the creaminess of the vanilla ice cream to the nice crisp of the puffed grains and nutty crunch of the pecan; each component had a part to play.

We round up our short lunch with Coffee/Tea and mignardises of Raspberry jelly, Cinnamon cookie and Pine Nuts.

Post-meal during our quick chat with Chef Kang, he shared that he had to replace some ingredients with locally sourced ones when he could not find similar quality produce in Singapore. No wonder we could taste familiar flavours such as preserved radish in one of the dishes.

Last but not least, we were presented with a parting gift of Jayone Sesame Seaweed Popped Rice by CURATE. I’m not sure if this Korean snack was specially designed for this event or it’s a pure coincidence that the featured Chef this time is a Korean. If it was the former, I must commend CURATE for this thoughtful gesture of presenting something that relates to the featured Chef.

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★ Joël Robuchon Restaurant, Singapore

Porta

On August 10, 2017December 10, 2017 By YummyDelightIn Bistro & Cafe, Singapore, WesternLeave a comment

Porta is housed inside Park Hotel Clarke Quay‘s ground floor, offering a small, focused menu of European cuisine.

Shortly upon seated, I was surprised to be served warm bread. Not exactly expecting that but it was a nice touch. Browsing through the small menu, we decided to try one of their siganture dish – Spanish Octopus Spanish octopus leg from Ria de Arousa plancha to perfection with flavourful and tangy patatas bravas. Somehow I felt that it turned out to be slightly too charred for my liking. Nonetheless the next two mains made up for the small hiccup.

The signature dish Ravioles Du Ryans Mini cheese ravioli served with a creamy tangy Provençal vegetables, tomato coulis and pesto Genovese that packs a punch was a surprisingly tasty vegetarian dish. I’m not a big believer of going vegetarian, but we followed our gut feel and ordered this dish and immediately fell in love with it. The ravioli was of the right texture and the robustness of the sauce led me to forget that this was a vegetarian dish that’s void of meat!

The Angus Beef Rib-Eye 120-day grain fed 8 oz Signature Black Angus Rib-eye with chunky fries and baby vegetables was also well-prepared. Somehow during the meal I didn’t realised that instead of fries we were served mash potatoes? But I am happy with it. The beef was tender and juicy (I think the grilling of this beef was way better than the octopus I had earlier).

For a restaurant housed inside a hotel, the price of their dishes were reasonably priced. On top of that, if you keep a lookout for special deals, it’ll be even more worthy to make a slight detour to Robertson Quay to try out this spot.

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Nespresso Limited Edition Capsules – EXPLORATIONS 1

On August 5, 2017December 8, 2017 By YummyDelightIn Nespresso, SingaporeLeave a comment

It has only been 1 month since Nespresso last introduced their latest limited edition capsules for the summer and they have another new series up for grasp – EXPLORATIONS 1.

The Explorations 1 set comprised of two sleeves of capsules – Laos Bolaven Plateau and Kenya Peaberry. Underneath the rather plain looking black box cover sleeve was 2 rows of colourful Aztec-inspired patterns. They were really eye-catching and a nice surprise.

The intensity of both capsules were not indicated. Both are Arabica beans with one grown in Southern Laos (in Asia) and another grown in Kenya (east Africa).

Taste wise, this pair of capsules had the closest profile ever. Usually I try one flavour per day and I could tell the difference immediately. But for this pair, the difference was not apparent. I set aside a day whereby I could taste both capsules side by side before noting the profiles.

Laos Bolaven Plateau was smoother and milder than the Kenya cousin. The Kenya Peaberry had a deeper roast taste.

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