I thought its actually quite a good initiative it its carried out. From the restaurant’s point of view, it will encourage the staff to emphasize more on the service, rather than just assuming that the 10% service charge is automatically there.

To the diner, I think its also fair that good service should relate to a tip. Maybe if I’m very happy with the staff throughout my dinner, I may even reward the waiter / waitress with a tip amounting to more than 10% of the meal.

Moreover,  some restaurants take into account the 10% service charge, even though they only offers self-service where the patrons have to collect the food themselves. Quite un-fair huh?

Ultimately though it has to depend on the culture of the people. Singapore for instance doesn’t really practice tipping, so this idea may not exactly work out.

Would you tip (or tip more than 10% of your total bill), if you are very satisfied with the service?

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

I’m sure anyone reading this would have at least stepped into Starbucks / Coffee Bean / Spinelli’s a few times in your life. And there would be some of us (me inclusive) who is just a plain ole coffee addict. I for one cannot live without constant “caffeine injection” into my bloodstream. Whether its Caffè Latte, Caffè Macchiato, Espresso, or the local Kopi O (Gao), I can’t abstain from it for more than 24hrs.

So are you the same? How addicted to coffee are you? Well here’s a few phases of becoming a coffee addict. (pictures courtesy of The Oatmeal

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Without further ado, here’s the winning list.

Best hawker centre
Block 137, Tampines Street 11, Round Market and Food Centre

Most ‘Healthy Choice’ hawker centre
Block 221, Boon Lay Place

Best ‘night-owl’ hawker centre
Block 85, Bedok North Street 4

Cleanest hawker centre
East Coast Lagoon Food Village

Best fried hokkien mee
Che Jian Fried Hokkien Mee, Chomp Chomp, #01-11, Serangoon Gardens

Best fish soup
Rui Ji Fish Porridge, Market Street Food Centre, #02-15

Best chicken rice
Xing Li Hainanese Chicken Rice, Block 127, Toa Payoh Lorong 1, #02-16

Best dessert
House of Yummy, Chomp Chomp Food Centre, #01-09

Anyone else with other suggestions?

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

We got to Shokudo pretty late on a weekday so it was just a tad crowded. After we got ourselves a table, I immediately started to “recce” the place, with the help of the inbuilt GPS system (i.e. my nose). Think I was probably hungry, or the variety and aroma just excited every single muscle in me.

Here’s what we had:

Mushroom Cheese Omelette

This is my first time trying it, and I thought its pretty yummy. The egg wrap was very soft and moist, but firm enough such that it didn’t fall apart when lifted up. There were some mushrooms and bacon within the omelette, which made it even more mouth watering, but also more sinful!

EbiBacon Wasabi Pizza

Another one of my favourites that night. The crust was really really thin and light. Crispy too. The toppings were some shrimps, and bacon, with a light yet distinct taste of wasabi. I think the wasabi made the pizza actually more appetizing. Point to note though, was that the shrimps were probably soaked in soda water, hence giving it the translucent crunchy texture.

Bacon and Oyster

We had some bacon with oyster on skewer. I’m not a big fan of either, but the sticks being grilled looked very tempting when I walked past. Nothing impressive I’d say, probably a tad too oily as well.

The other item from the same stall was the Yaki Onigri (i.e. grilled rice). I remember eating this while growing up, and I haven’t tried one since I moved out of my neighbourhood many years back. To my knowledge, the grilled rice should be layered with a piece of mint leaves on both sides before grilling. Hence it will allow the flavour to soak in during the BBQ process.

Yaki Onigiri (Grilled Rice)

This version at Shokudo didn’t have that. I think the rice probably had some vinegar and seaweed mixed within, while the outer layer was pretty crispy. Ideally I’d say one Onigri to three persons, otherwise it may get too filling.

Yaki Gyoza (Pot Stickers)

Next up was a plate of Gyoza (Japanese Pot Stickers). I wouldn’t say it was superb, neither was it bad. But ultimately it had the requirements of a fried dumpling (crispy skin, bit of soup in the filling).

Stir Fried Assorted Mushrooms

Finally we had the stir-fried assorted mushrooms, tepanyaki style with lotsa garlic. Again though I’m a mushroom lover, but I thought this was easily forgetable. But nevertheless still pretty decent.

I think the omelette and the pizza was really good. Hence bringing up the expectations of the other items we ordered. Nevertheless, its a Marche style dining where you probably don’t get 5-star chefs. If you’re going out in a big group, and you like to order a variety of food, then do give Shokudu Japanese Food Bazzar a try.

Shokudo Japanese Food Bazaar @ Raffles City
Raffles City Shopping Center
252 North Bridge Road, #B1-44E
Singapore 179103
Tel: +65 6837 3793
http://shokudoconcepts.com.sg/bazaar/home.html

“Japanese say Americans are lazy. HA!! At least we cook our fish !”

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

A little bit of history, Modesto’s has been around in Singapore for more than a decade. Of which I think the flagship outlet was at Orchard Parade Hotel. The Italian restaurant chain was founded by an Italian chef, Modesto Marini, and till date has expanded to 3 outlets in Singapore, as well as Malaysia and Indonesia.

Not too sure about the rest, but I liked the ambiance of this outlet at Vivocity. The interior lighting a was a little bit dim which I thought was nice and cosy. There’s also an al fresco area that just overlooks the harbour and Sentosa. Definitely a nice place to sit down and chill at night. A slight draw back though, would be that it can get rather noisy during the peak hours, and somehow, the aircon was a little chilly that night.

Modestos Dinner Set Menu

After some deliberation, we decided to go for the dinner set for 2. At $48 nett, I thought it was very reasonably priced, with one option from the Appetizer Selection, two main course, and one dessert.

Bread with Olive Oil & Vinaigrette

We started off with some homemade bread with olive oil and vinaigrette. Though the bread was quite soft and sparse, but I thought it would be much better if the outer layer was a little crisp. Then again maybe its because of our “extended” photo taking session.

Insalata Alla Cesare - Cesar Salad

Next for appetizers we had the Insalata Alla Cesare or rather simply known as Cesar Salad. The plate was filled with lots of fresh green lettuce, topped with thinly sliced cheese, croutons, n bacon bits. The salad dressing used was sorta creamy, with a slight yet distinct garlic taste.

Regular Pizza Gamberetti - Tomato, Cheese n Lemon Marinated Shrimps

Next up was the Pizza Gamberett and Spaghetti Allla Carbonara. The pizza caught my attention because the description said it consists of lemon marinated shrimps. Of which the lemon part made it sound quite refreshing. To be honest, I think I could only taste a hint of lemon within the shrimps, and also I think the cheese had some lemon juice in it too. Very slight though. The crust was really thin, light, and crispy. I for one, wouldn’t even consider Pizza Hut after tasting this.

Spaghetti Allla Carbonara

The memory that’s left within me of the spaghetti is rather vague, but I think the done-ness was pretty Al Dante style. The sauce wasn’t too creamy either. Relatively speaking, I think the spaghetti here can take on Prego’s, hands down anytime.

Tiramisu Modestos

Last but not least, my beloved Italian dessert. I really really loved this one a lot. The cheese was very light and yet not too sweet, while the lady’s finger inside was generously soaked with aromatic espresso, and coffee liquor. If you love Tiramisu, then the one at Modesto’s cannot be missed out.

If you’re in the vicinity of Vivocity and craving for some Italian cuisine, then Modesto’s is definitely the place to go. Do check out credit card promotions and the lunch / dinner sets available which are generally quite value for money.

Modesto’s @ Vivo
1 HarbourFront Walk #01-166/167 VivoCity
Open daily from 12:00pm – 10:00pm
Tel: 6376 9808
Website: www.modestos.com.sg

An Italian song that talks about love, pizzas, pastas, and what they have in common. Enjoy~

When the moon hits you eye like a big pizza pie
That’s amore…
“That’s Amore” by Dean Martin

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Well, or so it seems.

I finally managed to catch the long awaited movie Julie & Julia, and due to the gourmet genre of the film, my tummy was rumbling impatiently away when we left the theatres. I had originally planned a “french” themed evening (visiting Le Bistrot for dinner) with a friend but it was probably one of those days when mummy nature was throwing her tantrums at us.

You see, Le Bistrot was located at the Indoor Stadium, and the only available carparks were open-aired ones. Not a wise idea since it was pouring cats and dogs. The persistent lightning and thunder didn’t make things any easier either.

So french gourmet movie – check!
French gourmet dinner – uncheck!

After much deliberation we decided to head to the nearest TCC for dinner since my friend had a $50 voucher which had to be used up by that night. As I haven’t been back to the east in awhile, the only TCC outlet that could register in my mind was the one at Terminal 3, Changi Airport. Anyway theoretically its a good idea since the carpark there is sheltered, and its also being an option to get away from the crowd.

Lesson learnt. Singaporeans love chilling out at the airport.

The carpark was pretty packed, and all (I really mean all), the restaurants were packed with long queues. Whether it was Lerk Thai, Crystal Jade, Sake Sushi, Hong Kong Cafe, etc, every single food outlet there is had a queue. Quite amazing isn’t it? Definitely not the impression I had of Changi Airport when I was growing up.

Right, n’uff said. Lets dig in to the food.

We finally decided to just stick with the original plan, and queued for TCC. Luckily by then it was pretty late so crowd started to disperse a little. There wasn’t much to choose from with regards to the soup, as out of the 5 – 6 options only 2 of them were available. That day being Halloween, we decided to join in the “festivity” and ordered the Minty Pumpkin Soup.

Minty Pumpkin Soup

Maybe I was hungry, but seriously I thought the soup was quite good. You could taste the fresh pumpkin puree from within, and diced up mint leaves sprinkled on top, gave the soup a very creamy yet refreshing feel. The after-taste of the mint leaves and the pumpkin gelled quite well too. Definitely worth a try.

Prawn Cheese-a-Toast

Another appetizer that we tried was the Prawn Cheese-a-Toast. Funny name, but to put it simply it was with some minced prawn spread on top of a slice of toasted bread, covered with melted cheese. I like deep fried stuff, so it was pretty decent for me, though I couldn’t really taste the prawn.

Next up was the Beef D’luxe. Somehow I was very intrigued with the name, probably because of how how they spelt the word “deluxe”. Though the main ingredient was the beef patty, it didn’t give the “meat overdose” feeling at the end of the day. If you’ve been to Carl’s Jr, you’ll probably know what I mean.

Beef D'luxe

Having said that, I thought ironically, the star of the show wasn’t the beef. Rather it was the “nectarous braised apples” that stole the show. The apples were soft, lightly sweetened, and kinda fell apart once inside the mouth. I think its partly because of this that’s why the dish didn’t feel too meaty.

At this point, I have to make it known that the service was a little bit of a disappointment that day. It was very obvious the restaurant was under-staffed and waiters being inexperienced didn’t make things any better. Our bills got mixed up with another table’s, and they forgot our other main course: Sea Perch with Wasabi Vinaigrette

Sea Perch with Wasabi Vinaigrette

Back to the “latecomer”, I thought the wasabi sauce was quite an impact on the taste buds on first taste. Kinda like “wow, that SURE is wasabi sauce, no doubt about it”. The fish was well grilled, such that the meat was pretty soft, and a little crispy on the outside. Though its still a far cry compared to the one we had at Restaurant Ember, that one really melted in your mouth. But hey, I’m not complaining. This is half the price of Ember, and we getting close to fine dining food standard.

Last but not least, I think one cannot say that you’ve actually been to TCC, if you didn’t try their desserts! I was a little bit filled up by then, hence it was one of the rare occasions where I skipped the Tiramisu. After much consideration the “Oh Kabocha!!” photo stood out from the rest in the desserts section of the menu.

Oh Kabocha!! - Japanese Pumpkin Mousse

The “Oh Kabocha!!” is actually a Japanese pumpkin mousse. Not the really the soft creamy kind like what you get in chocolate mousse, but somewhere in between a very light cake texture and cheese mix. One good thing I liked about this is that it isn’t filling, and neither is it too sweet. Probably just the right dessert choice after a hefty meal.

However be warned that the raspberries on the side are EXTREMELY sour!

To be honest, I really enjoyed the meal. For starters I changed my perception towards TCC after that day. The ambience was very cosy, and the food was pretty decent. Not as good as fine dining meals, but close enough. You can tell that every dish was carefully prepared from cooking, all the way to presentation. Big thumbs up to that. The minor drawback though was the inexperienced staff. But I have to give them credit for readily apologising for the mistakes that they made.

The Coffee Connoisseur
65 Airport Boulevard
#03-23 Terminal 3 Departure Hall
Tel: (65) 6214 1693
Website: www.thecoffeeconnoisseur.com

Kabocha actually means “winter squash” or pumpkin in Japanese. According to wiki, this breed of pumpkins was originally grown in America, but later almost the entire crop was being imported to Japan.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Whether you’re an aspiring chef, an avid food blogger, or just a plain ole foodie, Julie & Julia is a movie that I think suits everyone. If you don’t know what the movie is all about, well here’s my brief synopsis of the plot. No spoilers here so don’t worry.

The movie is based on the lives of Julia Child, and Julie Powell. Both of which are are real people. Julia Child’s character is set in Paris during the 1970s. Being a woman of leisure (and no past experience in cooking), Julia decided to do something meaningful. She took up french cooking lessons, with the intention of bringing French culinary knowledge back to the US. After numerous trials and tribulations, she finally succeeded and became a renowned chef, who eventually published her own cookbook entitled “Mastering The Art of French Cooking”

Meanwhile, present day Julie Powell has lost her direction in life. One fine day she decides to share her passion of cooking with the rest of the world, by attempting all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s cookbook, and blogging it down at the same time. Of which she finally did it within her self deadline of a year, and her blog (entitled Julie / Julia Project, exists even till now) became a big success.

So the movie moves to and fro between the two ladies in two different spaces in time, drawing parallels with one another. Other than the quirky dialogues, viewers gets treated to a variety of french cuisines, and heartwarming lessons in life.

If you’ve caught “The Devil Wears Prada”, and “Mama Mia! The Movie”, then I’m sure you’ll agree with me that Meryl Streep is one of the best there is in the movie industry. Like always her role as Julia Child brought lots of fun and laughter to the plot, making it one of the biggest plus points to the movie.

On the other hand, I felt that Amy Adams didn’t really do justice to her role as Julie Powell. I thought her acting was a little bit bland compared to Meryl Streep. However there were still many comical moments during her numerous cooking attempts that tickled our funny bones.

One big thing that I realised after watching the movie is that when you decide to do something, always stay focus, focus, focus. Make sure you see it through all the way to the end no matter how hard it is. Then you can look back with no regrets. Just like the how Julia Child eventually made a name for herself even though she was rejected and mocked by every school that she tried enrolling into. Same goes for Julie for completing the 524 recipes within a year, and diligently blogging every single one of them down.

I know its easier said than done. But hey, at least try to give it your best shot. Having said that, there’s also something else that kept me thinking. We all know that there’s a saying that goes: “behind every successful man is a great woman”. Julie & Julia on the other hand, depicted a scenario of the total opposite, where the husbands of both ladies played an important and encouraging role towards their success.

So I guess nothing is a one way direction. Whether you’re in a relationship, marriage, or a  business venture, you’ll always need a good partner to be there for you. It doesn’t really matter if its the husband or wife, its probably the mutual support that gets things done.

That leaves me with the big question: did Julie ever get to meet her idol Julia Child? Well, you’ll have to catch the movie to find out. In the meantime, happy blogging, and Bon Appetit~!

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

It all started with me emailing Camemberu for some suggestions on a place to celebrate a friend’s Bday, and then it was narrowed down to La Cantina, which I thought was an excellent choice in the end.

Located on the top floor of Changi Village Hotel (previously known as Le Meridien Changi), customers will get an unparalleled sea view with ships docking in the horizons. Every few minutes you’ll see planes taking off and landing. Best part is you can’t hear the noise from inside of the restaurant.

There’s two floors to the restaurant, and alfresco dining is also available. However due to Singapore’s humid climate, I’d suggest an indoor sitting. Alright, n’uff said, lets go to the food.

I was feeling kinda adventurous (well as always), and hence we ordered a fair share of dishes. 2 appetizers, 2 main courses, and 2 desserts to be exact.

Deep Fried Mozarella Cheese

First up is the Deep Fried Mozaralla Cheese. Whether you’re a cheese person, or not, I think this is a must try dish. The cheese is coated with a layer of crumbs (possibly bread or buscuit crumbs), and fried to golden brown. The salad accompanied the cheese quite well, and the ingredients were really fresh. So much so, its the first time I actually kept popping tomatoes into my mouth!

Inside of the Mozarella Cheese

Now, this has to be the winning shot. We took a little bit of time to take the photos, so the cheese wasn’t as warm as how its supposed to be. But nevertheless, look at how we managed to stretch it apart. Yummy!

Next up was the Vongole. I remembered I had trouble ordering this, because vongole to me was always a type of spaghetti. Well, lesson learned, its actually a clam.

Vongole Soup

This was done like a clam soup. Not creamy based, but more broth-like. Ok, I have to be honest. If you don’t like clams or mussels, then you may want to skip this. On first taste, the soup was pretty salty (because of the clam, not excessive salt). So much so I wanted to give up. But bit by bit, you start to get accustomed to the taste, and its actually quite fragrant with the clams.

Pile of empty clam shells

So basically, I guess its an acquired taste. Both of us managed to finish the pile of clams at the end. And personally, I was quite satisfied with myself.

Since we were at an Italian restaurant, then I guess it only makes sense to order pastas and pizzas right? Hence we decided on the Fruitti Di Mare Pizza and Fettuccine Porcini for main course.

Fruitti Di Mare Pizza

The pizza’s ingredient is similar to what you get in a Hawaiian Pizza and a Seafood Pizza. There were prawns (juicy n succulent ones), clams, squid, scallop, and pineapple chunks. Speaking of which, the scallops are actually hidden in the cheese and the toppings aren’t really spread evenly across the pizza. And I only got to know of what I missed out a day later.

Darn!

Fettuccine with a variety of mushrooms

Fettuccine Porcini was pretty good. I’m a mushroom lover, and so is my friend. There were  loads of different kind of mushroom inside, covered with a cream based sauce. I think its not the usual mushrooms you can get locally either. The only draw back was that my friend thought the pasta was a little over-cooked. I thought it was fine though.

So guess if you want your pasta to be cooked Al Dante style, do let the service staff know.

Finally dessert time! I’m asking the obvious here, but can anyone guess what we ordered?

Pretty decent Tiramisu, not fabulous, but decent

Alright, not entirely the best Tiramisu that I’ve tasted, but one of the better one. The cheese was pretty soft and creamy, while the ladyfinger is soaked thoroughly with espresso. The only thing I felt was lacking was the liquor.

But on that note, I should compliment the exquisite service provided by the staff at La Cantina. I briefly asked them to come up with a little B’Day surprise for my friend… And my my I thought it was perfectly executed, even I was a little stunned!

Speaking of which I’ve always had high hopes for The Patissier’s cakes. I’ll try their Tiramisu when I get the chance then I’ll blog it down here. Hopefully it won’t disappoint. I always get my cakes from them, especially if its for a special occasion. You may want to check out the link above.

Mandaino - Deep freezed mandarin orange with ice-cream

Finally to wash everything down, we decided on the Mandaino. Its basically a hollow mandarin orange, filled with orange flavoured ice-cream, and deep freezed. I thought it was quite ordinary, except for the presentation. Maybe we should have tried the Gelato instead.

Anyway, I think you can try checking out Carrefour, or the other hypermarts to see if they have the Mandaino. I’m quite sure its an imported product, and there are other flavours such as pear, lemon, etc to choose from as well.

On the whole, La Cantina is really a good place if you like to spend quality with someone. Its really out of the way, and they don’t close till 2am. Hence you can just sit there to talk while watching the planes go by. Only thing to note is that they do blast up the music past 10pm during “Happy Hours”, though i think you can kindly ask them to turn the volume down.

Oh and do go early. I’ve read that you can get an amazing sunset view from there. We missed the sunset that time round. And lastly, I heard this is one of Xiaxue’s favourite Italian restaurant.

La Cantina in Venezia
Changi Village Hotel, 1 Netheravon Road
#08/09-02, Singapore 508502
Tel: (65) 6546 9190
Website: www.cantinafoodwine.com

Did you know, Tiramisu means “pick me up” in Italian?

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

The restaurant setting gives diners a very cosy feeling to it. Candles were lit all around the place, and the service staff was extra attentive, and maybe just maybe a little too friendly. Its the kind of place you’ll bring your date for a nice meal that probably won’t burn your pocket. The only draw back is that the tables are packed quite closed together, and when the restaurant is full, it may get a little too noisy.

Dimly Lit Surroundings with Candles, I thought it gave a little bit of Phantom Of The Opera feel

Before we get to the food, let me explain what the restaurant’s speciality is. The bosses of Oriole Cafe & Bar were both winners and 1st runner up of the recent Singapore National Barista Championships 2009. (i.e. They are expert coffee brewers)

The menu boasts a wide selection of coffee, ranging fom the usual latte, to espresso, machiatto and many more. For gutsy diners, you may want to try a special concoction that contains chilli inside. For me I had the Oriole Cappuccino, without the chilli. This is how it looked like:

Note the foam art on top. I thought was quite good, but too bad the award winners didn't make mine personally

The coffee scent was really aromatic, and I personally thought the coffee wasn’t too acidic either. The Oriole Cappuccino consisted a shot of espresso below, some milk, and foam on top. I’ve seen a number of photos on the internet before, but to have a handmade coffee art in front of you just made my day.

Here’s a link on wiki if you’re keen to find out more on coffee art

Peach Mojo

My friend had the Peach Mojo cocktail. Darn I just remembered I didn’t ask to try it, so can’t really give any comments here. But it sure looks refreshing!

Next we tried a starter dish called Chicken Tikka. Its sorta like those grilled / baked tandoori chicken bits, but not spicy. There’s a dipping sauce by the side that has some mint leaves. Chicken itself is so, so, but tastes quite good with the dip.

Chicken Tikka

For mains, I tried the Wagyu Steak. The serving was a little small, and if memory serves me right the weight was about 150g. Quite a conservative portion I’d say. To me it was a pretty decent cut, but don’t expect any celebrity steak or marbalised meat texture.

The meat was thinly sliced, pretty soft and tender too. I liked the gravy though, ample spread of chunky mushrooms. You can also taste a number of herbs and spices, but I can’t tell them apart for nuts. Definitely a good combination though.

Wagyu Beef, served with stir fried veges and mashed potatoes

My friend had a Beef Cheek with Fettuccine. From first looks, it didn’t look extremely appetizing. Just the usual slices of beef, pasta, and mushroom sauce. Not much garnishing involved. But you know the saying, looks can be deceiving…

I was quite surprised at the tenderness of the meat. Probably because its from the cheek of the cow? Hmmm… not too sure about that, but the meat was very thinly sliced, very lean, and yet soft and tender. The mushroom gravy was again filled with herbs of all sorts. I think I tasted some coriander?

Beef Cheek with Fettuccine

But the best part was that the pasta soaked up the sauce entirely. It was a very different taste to the usual spaghetti carborana, or bolongise. Quite good I’d say. Something like pasta with stew-like sauce.

For dessert we had the Chocolate Fudge Cake. Not too bad, but nothing spectacular. The “berry syrup dressing” by the side was quite sour. In a way was good such that then you wouldn’t get choco overdose. I was expecting some chocolate fudge to ooze out, but sadly there wasn’t any.

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Overall, quite a nice cosy environment with pretty good service. For the quality of food, I think the pricing is quite reasonable, main courses are about $20-$25 there about. Only thing to note though, is that if you’re bringing a date along, it may get a little too noisy during the peak hours.

Oriole Cafe & Bar

Oriole Cafe & Bar
96 Somerset Road
Level 1, Pan Pacific Service Suites
http://www.oriole.com.sg/

Good coffee smells like freshly ground heaven…

Bookmark It

Hide Sites