Nagomi, Cuppage Plaza

Last last last weekend, I caught the Japanese film, Nobody to Watch Over Me. An 18 year old high school student is arrested as a suspect in a murder where two grade school girls are brutally stabbed to death. The film focuses on the chronicles of Detective Takumi Katsuura, who was sent to protect 15 year old sister of the accused, Saori Funamura from the media onslaught and outraged public outcry on the suspect’s family.

I thought it was a remarkable film and the opening music, You Were There by Libera was particularly haunting.


Potato salad and vegetables with sesame and nuts

Before the movie, I had dinner at Nagomi, somewhere I’m somewhat reluctant to blog about. Not that I’m egoistic enough to think about the diner onslaught that will swamp the place after I blog about it… but rather, I had quite an awesome experience so I would feel bad if others had a different experience.

In this intimate 25-seater restaurant, where diners sit knee-cap-to-kneecap, I felt like I had been invited into someone’s home. I had to remove my heels before entering the restaurant. And immediately I though of Carrie and her Sedaraby D'orsays. Though mine were no Manolos, I was wearing them for the first time – and sad to leave them behind. I wonder if anyone caught that last look of despair I threw at them before heading into the seating area.


The almost too-perfect momotaro tomato, served with a teaspoon of salt and mayonnaise

Though I kind of forgot about them as soon as our meal began.

There isn’t an English or fixed menu available as the Japanese owner / chef Nada Satoru uses seasonal ingredients. The drill is omakase, which I was more than happy to go with since I knew Somebody (boyish and cute) was Watching Over Me.


Fresh sashimi- amaebi, lightly grilled scallop, striped jack, hamachi and haliburt.


Cuttlefish and daikon


Rock fish cooked in sweet soya sauce


Grilled Berkshire pig (black pig) with cabbage wrapping and looks-fiery-but-not dip.


Some sake to go with our meal.

Nagomi
5 Koek Road
#02-22 Cuppage Plaza
Tel: 6732 4300

Bella Pizza, Robertson Quay

Bella ... ella ... ella ... eh ... eh ...

I can't stand that Rihanna broken-record tune but it sure sticks in your head when you least expect it.

Anyway one weekend afternoon, we circled Robertson Quay once, narrowed down our options by cutting out Japanese restaurants (shock! horor!) and Tiny-Tots-looking Brussel Sprouts ... before settling down at this casual Italian bistro. Spontaneous and unplanned, it was a good choice though; nothing to stiff for a relaxed Saturday munch.



The portobello mushrooms looks as if someone stepped over it. Twice. With Dr. Martens. But it’s a lot tastier than it looks, thanks to the porcini sauce.



I haven't had calamari in the longest time. I didn't really use up the abbrabiata sauce since I'm not a fan of dunking fried stuff in sauces ... and it baffles me when my dad dunks his tempura into the dipping sauce pool - doesn't that just nullify the crunch and the very purpose of ordering deep-fried something?

It was fine. The calamari was almost batter-less so it doesn’t feel like you are munching on those nasty KFC I-hope-it’s-chicken popcorn chicken.



The chef / owner Antonio was from Da Paolo, which is one of my favourite pizza parlours. Bella Pizza has an assortment of open-faced pizzas, clammed-up calzones and the traditional Barca Siciliana (boat pizza), which is what we went for since we are such suckers for traditional novelties.

It was the way I like it - thin with puffy rims, layered with chewy buffalo mozzarella and covered with fine sheets of parma ham. I loved how the parma ham draped itself all over the pizza - was this how the Byzantines felt when they first laid eyes on silk?



We didn’t have dessert there; not that it wasn’t any good – I wouldn’t know since I didn’t try. But unless it’s a set meal, I usually don’t prefer dessert where I have my meals. Because to me, dessert is a brand new meal ... which deserves its own time, setting and place ... so we went over to Laurent's.

The restaurant inside is indeed uncluttered and spacious; there is outdoor seating as well, but with the disgustingly hot weather we have these days, I’ll pass on the potentially interesting people watching.

Bella Pizza
30 Robertson Quay
#01-14 Riverside View
Singapore 238251
Tel: 6734 0139

Once Spruced, Twice Shy

Depending on which side you are on, Spruce is somewhere unanonymous food critics love and rave about while humble plebians are a little less enamoured.

The digestible menu tried to capture the restaurant- bar-and-bakery feel without overdoing it but that also means it is a hit-or-miss nosh experience.

Sidetrack: I love how WAY says, “The place is totally charming and I like that it is not overdone to designer perfection.”

But on his blog, the owner/ chef dedicates a blog post to the interior décor, “Our interior design references mid-century modern masters, such as Charles and Ray Eames who are quite possibly the most famous chair designers in history as well renowned lighting designers Achille and Pier Castiglioni.”

I. Love. It.



Roughly-grounded lamb chunks on a bed of lettuce, the lamb kofta salad with yogurt mint sauce was alright. It wasn’t the must-try item of the evening but there are very few must-try things on the menu.



I really liked the sweet onion crepes with truffle cheese fonduta. You could put anything with sweet onions, truffle and cheese in front of me and challenge me not to like it. You win; I will not even put up a fight.

We didn’t have the macaroni and cheese because the boys didn’t weren’t particularly fond of it. It’s ok, I shall return to try it with a bunch of pitch-forking-welding, mac-and-cheese-lovin' folks.

Two burgers made it to our tables, the signature Spruce burger and Fathers Office Burger.

I took a bite out of the FOB, feeling the love from the caramelized onion and bacon compote, blue cheese and garlic mayonnaise. Onion, bacon, blue cheese and garlic - this should be renamed Bad Breath Burger. Delicious nonetheless.

One of us had the steak frites, which was a little overdone for its own medium-rare good.



I had the roasted whole snapper – fish head and tail; very Asian style – which is what I like. When it comes to fish, I do prefer to see something more than a fillet and not drenched in fancy sauces.



The sticky date pudding hadn’t improved since my last visit but at least the vanilla ice cream wasn’t MIA.



The cheesecake of the day was Snickers Cheesecake. Well, they didn’t stuff a Snickers bar within; drizzled with crunchy chocolate balls, nougat, peanuts and caramel, it was the best dessert of the night.



The carrot cake was dense as a brick and mono-dimensionally sweet (I could almost floss my teeth with the sugar). To get over the schwwwetness, we dunked in the chocolate sauce that accompanied the pudding. I know it sounds odd to neutralize sweetness with chocolate but it worked!

Prompt and knowledgeable, the service is decidedly more polished this time round. I know this might sound like an ok-to-negative review but I had a good time at Spruce. See how good company screws your judgment?

Spruce - restaurant bar bakery
320 Tanglin Road, Phoenix Park
Tel: 6836 5528
Email: reservations@spruce.com.sg

This is fun.

Would You Rather Be Able to Eat Anything OR Have Any Guy Fall For You?

I rather be able to eat anything.

Would You Rather Have Gisele's Body or A Million Dollars?

Million dollars and spend a tenth of it getting Giselle's body.

Would You Rather Be Hilariously Funny or Drop-Dead Gorgeous?

Hilariously Funny. And makes loads of moolah ... then get Natalia's face and Giselle's body.

Would You Rather Date a Much Younger or Much Older Guy?

No brainer. Much Older Guy.

On Vacation, Would You Rather Stay in a Hotel or Rent an Apartment?

I NEED HOUSEKEEPING.

Would You Rather Have a Small Wedding or a Giant Wedding?

The smallest possible. Celebrated by just the two of us.

Would You Rather Have the Power of Flight or Invisibility?

Flyyyyyyyyy... Just so that I can skip the meddlesome security checks at airports and bad airplane food.

From Glamour.com

Dessert in Breakfast’s clothing, PS Cafe

Crazy-good Breakfast Brulee, served with fresh figs and strawberries

“I’ll have breakfast oats…” in my best I’ve-been-good-year-round smile.

Oats. Healthy until they have been smothered under luscious vanilla yoghurt custard, sprinkled with demera sugar and torched burnished-brown.

Yes, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, especially when dessert is hiding under it.

PS Cafe at Palais
Level 2
390 Orchard Road

Chihuly Lounge, Ritz-Carlton Millenia

Bewildered by lunch, I needed a quiet place to think about what just happened and Chihuly Lounge at Ritz Carlton was godsend to the weary and worn.

I didn’t plan on hitting one buffet after another. It just happened. Like how people hit the “Reply All” button when they don’t plan on telling the whole world what they were up to all weekend.

I’m not quite sure what the traditional afternoon tea theme was. It wasn’t a mind-blowing selection … sandwiches, tarts and salads made up the savoury selection and chocolate dominated the sweet stuff.

And chocolate, my friends, chocolate is the path of least resistance.



Close to the pinnacle of luxury, my teapot had its own bunsen burner to keep it warm! Ok, technically it was just an ornate candle stand with a tea light, which was useless for heating anything. But it was pretty and pretty works for me when I’m feeling down.

These desserts may not have been spun out of Pierre Herme or Sadaharu Aoki’s magic fingers but it is THE Ritz Carlton, aka oneofthebestfivestarhotelchainsintheworld, so everything was worth nibbling into.

A shaded view of what was available:




Chocolate chip scone, macaron and cheesecake.



Nutella tart, whipped-cream topped brownie, chocolate mille feuille and peanut butter cupcake.

I wurf the peannua bunuauur. And even more so when it warms itself and clings onto just about anything.



What’s that awesome smell?

I see an oven. I see ramekins. I see chocolate soufflés. One of the very few things more awesome than a chocolate soufflé is a MADE TO ORDER chocolate soufflé with vanilla bean ice cream.



I can hear the angels singing – in Dolby Surround Sound System.

I was lost but now I’m found…

Chihuly Lounge
7 Raffles Avenue
Lobby Ritz-Carlton Millenia
Tel: 6434 5283

WTH lunch at 7atenine

WHY ME?!

Que dramatic music and flashback clips.

After a notable dinner and tons and tons of free press on their Lunch Unlimited, I forwent Wasabi Bistro and tried out 7atenine’s lunch for myself.

But this turned out to be one of the most anti-climax meals I’ve had so far. In fact, some of the dishes were so underwhelming, I found myself preoccupied with the calligraphic brush strokes on the plate.

There wasn't a menu and each dish was supposedly a 'surprise'. Ugh. I should learn to be more wary of surprises unless they come in a robin blue box.



Tuna tatare with black olives – Lost in Translation in every sense of the word.



Duck rillette - the duck rilette was good enough (gamy and shreddy) but they paired it with some pedestrian (and stale) white bread. I like my Gardenia Loaf but I don’t want to have it at some tapas-shake-yah-toocas eatery.



The dashi and eggplant concasse was just odd - indescribably mismatched with undecipherable flavour.



The radish, asparagus & zucchini salad and sesame toast was quite a disaster too. It was summer pretty but with zilch personality.



The soft shell crab tempura was one of the most usual dishes but it worked.



Grilled scallops – why not just serve me a whole scallop?



The feta cheese ravioli was one of the better dishes but the ravioli slumped sadly to the bottom of the bowl, reminding me of my pre-lunch expectations.



The baby tomatoes looked promising but its tart crust had been soggified by the cream cheese.



The truffle risotto also belonged to Camp Mitigation.



I’ll be fair: the braised veal cheek was good. I would have asked for seconds but by then I was itching to be over and done with this meal so that I could get onto my next .



The roasted beef flank was surprisingly tough though I dug the accompanying crunchy chips.







By the time desserts rolled by, I had lost most of my enthusiasm and patience. The mango parfait, chocolate truffle ball, sweet earl grey pastille and green apple sorbet with cheesecake threaded between uh-huhs and oh-nos.

But I was glad we were finally FINALLY! done with lunch.

7atenine
8 Raffles Avenue
#01-10/12
Esplanade Mall
Tel: 6338 0789

Oriole Cafe & Bar, Somerset Road

"Yar yar, it's been too long ... let's meet up soon! Dinner on Wed? Sure... but I think C can't... Fri? I have a birthday part on Friday" and before you realise, months roll by without so much as a whiff of a gathering.

Luckily the few of us eventually got our act together and met up for dinner at Oriole Cafe & Bar. The phrase "hidden gem" is really a cut-and-paste description because just about everybody I know who has a remotely vague interest in food has been to Oriole.



At Oriole, I like the single page menu though not everything sounded Eat Me! The food is good but not distractingly so.



Desserts are usually the break-up-or-make-up factor for me and unlike Bedrock, Oriole's sweet offerings did a decent job of satiating.



The bread and butter pudding was sort of ok but then again I'm the sort of person who digs (into) the crust-ier rims of bread and butter pudding platter, and this probably came from the soft "middle".



With a light cream cheese crown, the spongy carrot cake reminded me more of a carrot cupcake. Not that that is a sin. As long as you are light and spongy, you can come in any shape or size – and I would still like you very very much.



Honey Crumble Affogato: When Violet Crumble met Affogato.



I love the chocolate fudge ganache cake whose gumminess, like squid ink, clings to your lips and teeth unglamorously.



Between Eton Mess and going dessert-less, I rather not have dessert. Shocking huh? No wait, I think I will hold out, then walk into the nearest 7-11 to get a Magnum.



I remember Sunday’s service being spotty was best but the two Wednesday nights (I went back the following week) I was there, I have nothing but compliments (and emoticon kisses =x) for the crew. So if you are part of the Wednesday evening shift, give yourself a pat on the back!

Oriole Cafe & Bar
96 Somerset Road
#01-01 Pan Pacific Serviced Suites
Tel: 6238 8348

The French Kitchen by Jean-Charles Dubois

Wow this meal happened a month ago.



While we went through the menu, the kitchen sent out slices of wholewheat raisin walnut and mixed grain, with pork rillette shreds and thyme butter. Although I was mildly disapointed that the slices weren't warm, I like how restuarants serve their bread even before diners place their orders.

Nothing like some butter-slathered carbs to fuel my thought process.

"Are you going for the degustation?"

"Yeah maybe... "

"But do you think we can change the dessert? I'm not big on parfait. "

"Yeah maybe... Oh wait, they have sweetbreads on the ala carte menu... sounds great"

"MY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY!"

I honestly thought the degustation menu would be a shoo in but the ala carte menu flashed its goods, causing me to backtrack on my initial plan.



After our orders were taken, our waiter presented the amuse bouche and walked away wordlessly.

I was tempted to go IRC on him, "Intro pls."

We flagged down the passing-by manager who explained that it consisted of salami, parmesan crisp, crab sauteed with mashed potato. I liked it; you get the sweet and salty from the salami and crab, crisp and mash from the parmesan chip and potato.


FILET DE CAILLES TIEDES

For starters, I went for the confit quail breast, instead of the sweetbreads. I was deciding between small little game bird and fatty oily fish for my mains but I could have the best of both worlds by having the small little game bird for my entree and fatty oily fish for my main.


VOL AU VENT DE RIS DE VEA - spongey sweetbread with creamy morel mushrooms in home-made puff pastry.


CABILLAUD

I loved the Cabillaud, a slow cooked cod fish. It came with sauteed baby spinach, mouclade emulsion and a crispy farmer bread slip but spotlight shone solely on the cod. Though it was quite a petite block of cod, I spent a meaningful ten minutes with it. Perhaps it was good that it was on the smallish side as too much oily fish would have made me go from “Oh Cod” to “Oh God”.


PIGEON - roasted Anjou pigeon royale with garniture a la Francaise - French green pea puree, glazed baby onion and air dried Bayonne ham


MOELLEUX

For dessert, the Moelleux, a traditional Dubois warm chocolate fondant, is my idea of a Tom Hanks dessert. Warm, comforting … though a little too overexposed. And you somehow forget how good he can be until a WTH movie comes along (DaVinci Code, anyone?).

Happily, the signature Dubois dessert was Forrest Gump good; and the caramelised bananas was deliciously scented of bananas, burnt sugar and butter.


Our petite fours

Unfortuntely the service didn't match the finesse of the kitchen. our waiter left us with our amuse bouche, without bothering to explain what it was; we had to ask for new cutlery after they were cleared with the amuse bouche; and my water wasn't topped up promptly.

However, minor service hiccups aside, dinner at The French Kitchen was memorable for the right reasons.

The French Kitchen by Jean-Charles Dubois
7 Magazine Rd
#01-03, Central Mall
Singapore 059572
Tel: +65 6438 1823
Email: info@thefrenchkitchen.com.sg