Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Arteastiq Boutique Tea House @ Mandarin Gallery

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Wanted to have a quiet dinner in town, and happened to see Arteastiq listed in The Entertainer App. Reservation is recommended, especially during Friday and Saturday evenings. Moreover, am quite curious to taste what Chef Benson had crafted for Arteastiq together with Chefs Jason Vito and Jack Tan.

menu

shopfront
next door Arteastiq Art Jam
nice lighting

The place was rather dark, and not as chi-chi as anticipated. On the night of visit, there seemed to be only 2 service staff around. 

Started with a snack of sweet potato fries. Pretty well fried and rather addictive.

Sweet Potato Fries @$12++

The Lychee Tea looked good, and we ordered both hot and cold versions of it. Quite interesting. The hot version had a lighter taste as compared to the slightly sweeter cold version.  Liked the cold lychee tea better for an instant refreshing taste.

Hot Lychee Tea @$11++
Cold Lychee Tea @$11++
close up view



 For food, we ordered plenty to share. From the "Ladies Affair" section of the menu, we had the crabcake egg benny and Louisiana Love-Chicken and Waffles. From the "Gentlemans Dinner" section, we ordered The French Connection - Striploin.

To be honest, was quite disappointed when the crabcake eggs benedict arrived. The maryland crabcake itself was rather thin, and unusual as it was not browned to a crisp exterior. The paprika hollandaise sauce was thick, creamy and savoury but slightly reminiscent of curry? But the poached egg had some translucent parts still, and was reminded of the yakun-type softboiled eggs instead.

Aphrodite-Crabcake Benedict @$25++

Louisiana Love-Chicken Waffles @$22++

The Louisiana Love-Chicken Waffles was decent, and the waffle was interesting to eat with the maple butter. Loved the tangy slaw.


The French Connection-Striploin @$30++

The striploin was served with a poached egg with hollandaise sauce, and sweet potato fries. Actually, didn't quite know what to do with the poached egg.

Do we pour the egg over the steak?
Do we dip the fries into the egg?
Do we dip the meat into the egg?

Asked one of the service staff, and he mentioned that it can be used as a dip for the sweet potato fries. Dug into the depth of the poached egg bowl and discovered similar hollandaise sauce as the crabcake benny.

dip the sweet potato fries into the egg
striploin - medium rare

Expect to spend about $27 to $45 per pax.

Arteastiq Boutique Tea House

Location: Mandarin Gallery, #04-14/15 333 and Plaza Singapura #03-70/72 Singapore
Website: http://www.arteastiq.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArteastiqSingapore

Sunday, December 13, 2015

KPO Cafe Bar @ 1 Kiliney Road

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Been there a couple of times, mostly for drinks and light bites. Was wracking the brain for a place to have dinner on a Saturday evening, and KPO came to mind. "Let's go there and eat hokkien mee!" I suggested. Hehe, this was said to a fellow blogger friend, only because I have confidence in KPO's rendition of the noodles.

The place was relaxed on that evening, possibly because it was just right after the rain. Previous visits on weekday evenings always saw this place packed. Live music was playing upstairs, and the volume must've been set to probably about level 4 out of 5, and hence, conversations inside the airconditioned place would be almost impossible unless you were either shouting or whispering right into the ear of the other person! Choosing to do neither of those, we ventured to its al-fresco area at ground level. Only contention was the humid weather and one or two flying insects.

It was still during Happy Hour, so got myself a bottle of Asahi Super "Dry" Black for $10+. I think I have a certain fondness for Japanese beer.

Cheers かんぱい
Satay and KPO Hokkien Mee

The chicken satay was well marinated and tender to the bite. Sauce was flavourful but lacked the spicy kick. But the ketupat (rice cake) was strangely charred on its exterior and was too dense for liking. Yet, am still recommending the satay for as it is. Very nice snack or light bites to have with the drinks.

Chicken Satay (12 sticks) @$18+
KPO Hokkien Mee @$16+

The noodles were well cooked with the flavourful stock coating the strands that was of a soft delightful chew. Nice to slurped it up! Each bite was accompanied by the strips of 'sio-bak' or roasted pork meat (minus crackling). Deep fried lard is a welcomed sight on the plate. But the two pieces of prawns were very overcooked though.

Thus far, the service from the service staff of KPO had been good. That night, it was the same. Thank you and kudos to KPO service crew. Much appreciative.

KPO is listed in The Entertainer App Singapore, hence, do take advantage of the app and get one main free with every 2 orders of mains. Saved $16 that night using the app.

KPO Cafe Bar

Location: 1 Kiliney Road, Kiliney Post Office, Singapore 239518
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KPO.sg/
Website: http://www.imaginings.com.sg/
Reservation: Through Hungrygowhere link or 6733 3648

Friday, December 11, 2015

Bejewelled Christmas By The Bay - Street 50 Restaurant & Bar @ Bay Hotel Singapore

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Looking for a place to dine during the festive season? Street 50 Restaurant & Bar is having a "Bejewelled Christmas By The Bay" festive buffet dinners during the eves of Christmas and New Year, plus one could enjoy its seafood themed buffet on 25 & 26 December, 1 & 2 January at only $58++ per pax. On the eves, it cost $68++ per pax. Or, if you are their lucky winner, you might just walk away with a set of Goldheart jewellery worth $2000! Wondering about any credit card promotions for this buffet? Indeed, Maybank Credit cardholders dines free with every 2 paying adults.

Was invited to a preview of the restaurant's 'Bejewelled Christmas By The Bay' dinner with a group of digital media friends, to sample of some of their festive menu highlights.

Bay Hotel is just a few minutes walk from Vivocity MRT. Take Exit D and turn left. The hotel is straight ahead. Street 50 Restaurant & Bar is conveniently located right next to the lobby entrance.

Glittering Christmas by The Bay

The restaurant is of a cosy size and furnished in dark tones and accents. Vibe is relaxed.

Christmas-sy accessories
yay to crabs

Some interesting drinks on their ala-carte beverages menu. Tried the Salty Calamansi and the Ais Serai. Was warned that The Salty Calamansi drink is said to be using the original vietnamese recipe and hence, will be quite salty. Ok, game on!

Salty Calamansi @$6++
Hmm, actually it tasted pretty much like a more intense version of 吉子酸酶. The ratio of those salty stuffs were more than a third of the jar. But that suits my taste, though.

drinks menu

The 'pretty-in-pink' Soda Gembira is the familiar bandung made of rose syrup and condensed milk in soda water.  Stir well before drinking.

Soda Gembira @$6++
bevy of drinks (left to right): hot honey lemon, iced lychee tea, lemongrass with soda (ais serai) and salty calamansi

Let's get on with the food! If you see the Salmon Carpaccio with Coriander & Pinenut Vinaigrette at the buffet table, just grab this appetiser! No need to hesitate, especially if you are a fan of salmon. Light appetiser and enjoyable with just enough sauce to burst out of the salmon. Was a tasty mess.

Salmon Carpaccio with Coriander & Pinenut Vinaigrette

Repeat the same with the Smoked Oyster & Crab Cake. But don't stop at one. Take two at least. It was good. Didn't matter if there wasn't any apparent oyster taste in these babies. The crab cakes were of a good size, well cooked and with familiar Asian spice from the sambal. Lovely.

brown beauties - Smoked Oyster & Crab Cake topped with papaya sambal
have more

The other light bites was a scallop dish. Think it was a my first in trying tomato-based scallops, that was not part of a pasta dish. Easy to eat in one bite alongside with the crunchiness of the diced radish. Best eaten while still warm. A touch of elegance in the usual buffets line-up.

Bay Scallop with Warm Tomato Essence

For something more substantial, let's head on to the Black Pepper Alaskan Crab Claw with Gingko Nut and the Seafood Paella.

Black Pepper Alaskan Crab Claw with Gingko Nut

One word of caution before you dived right into the claws; the pepper sauce was power! Strong fiery pepper. However, some might find it a tad too salty. Having accustomed to the salty calamansi drink, this seemed alright. Interesting though to find gingko nuts in a crab dish.

The Seafood Paella was pretty. Look at its appetising colours! Yellow rice topped with prawns, mussels, squids, olives and juicy cherry tomatoes. Found the paella very different from the ones that am accustomed to. This dish is for those who needs their carbs.

Seafood Paella

And, for the finale, we had the Tandoori Turkey, served conveniently sliced up. There are two dips for the meat; the tangy red spicy pineapple salsa and the refreshing green cucumber coriander sauce.

Tandoori Turkey Breast for Christmas
lovely char, lovely sauces

Ended on a sweet note with crêpe suzette. No table-side cooking though. Wonder how it will be setup during the buffet. Would there be a live-station?

Liked the sweet citrusy mandarin orange sauce. My first ever, crêpe suzette.

Crêpe Suzette with mandarin orange

 Thank you Christine, Aloysius and Street 50 Restaurant & Bar for the lovely festive preview.

Street 50 Restaurant & Bar 

Location: 50 Telok Blangah Rd, 098828
Contact: 6818 6681
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Street50/

 
 
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