Sunday, October 31, 2010

Brasserie Les Saveurs @ The St. Regis Singapore (Part 2)

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Other than champagne, there is also free flow of fresh fruit juices such as Orange Juice.


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Large varieties of bread and cheese. But diners will always steer away from carbo to get their money's worth in a buffet.

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Really like this Focaccia bread with ham and cheese. Not many people tried this, but am glad I had a few pieces of these wonderful gems.

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And of course, lot's and lot's of cured meat and hams.

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The ham and meat station.

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Vodka drinks were also served mixed with various other drinks and flavours.

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After all these appetizers, we finally signalled the service staff to bring us our mains. Here is the Braised Wagyu Beef Cheeks. Both mains served with seasonal baby vegetables fricassee and fresh herbs. Soft and tender, proof that it was braised for many hours.

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I also like my Roasted Welsh lamb rack, and it was cooked medium rare as requested. Tender and juicy.

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The dessert buffet table looks much smaller than other buffet restaurants. But most of the dessert items were of high quality.

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The chocolate deserts are highly recommended by me.

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And this Rasberry dessert too.

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Plus the Creme Brulee which was a hit among diners. Almost all were wiped off by hungry diners.

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The most attractive dessert was from the mobile cooking station which moved from tables to tables.

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Here, the manager prepared Strawberries in Liqueur over chocolate tart. It was both a feast for the nose and also the eyes, as big fire flames appears whenever the manager poured in liqueur over the strawberries over the cooking pan.

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It looks good, but actually the taste was pretty average.

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A four men band played light jazz thoughout the brunch, and we had a wonderful time here.



Brasserie Les Saveurs
29 Tanglin Road
The St. Regis Singapore

Friday, October 29, 2010

Brasserie Les Saveurs @ The St. Regis Singapore (Part 1)

We are back at St Regis Brasserie Les Saveurs for a Sunday brunch, after our recent lunch by Chef Hal Yamashita weeks ago.

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The brunch here on Sundays is very popular, and reservations are a must to secure a table at the popular champagne brunch.

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Our choice of brunch was the Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut Brunch at S$170++ per person with free flow champagne, juices and drinks till 3pm every Sunday. Refreshing and crisp are the words I would use to describe the Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut. Something to drink on a warm Sunday afternoon.

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You can either induldge the abundance of appetizers and desserts around the restaurant which includes lot's of fresh oysters......

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..... cold appetizers........

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.......or, you can also enjoy Chef Frederic Colin's antipasto selections pass around your table throughout the brunch. Service staffs walk around to serve these at your table.

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The oysters were average, but the other appetizers were excellent.

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Shrimps are crunchy and sweet.

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Pan fried fish fillet.

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Wasabi mayo prawns with tropical fruits.

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Even more appetizers from the buffet station.

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They also have chinese appetizers such as this braised brinjal.

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Japanese salmon sashimi.

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And of course, Foie Gras.

Next up: Main courses and desserts!


Brasserie Les Saveurs
29 Tanglin Road
The St. Regis Singapore

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Quan An Ngon @ Hanoi, Vietnam

I always wonder why there isn't any Marche style of restaurants in Singapore selling food in Singapore? Sure there is Food Republic, but the food stalls there is not entirely Singaporean food with other food like Japanese, Korean and even Thunder Tea Rice from China.

And so, the Vietnamese beat us to it. Introducing the Vietnamese version of Marche - Quan An Ngon. It is located near Melia Hotel in Hanoi.

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Everyone dines under a huge yellow canopy. and they also have an air-conditioned villa for those who book in advance.

U either order from the waitress using the menu provided (with english translation), or you go around the stalls and pin point what you want. Bring along the paper provided and tell them where your table is. But I would actually recommend ordering from the menu as the chefs at the stalls do not seem to understand English.

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This is Lotus Tea, a speciality in Vietnam. At first glance, most would think this is Green Tea. The taste is weird at first sip, but it grows on you. Still, don't really like the taste of it.

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BBQ pork with rice. When I saw the guy BBQing this at the charcal grill, I know I MUST order 1 plate. Meant to be shared among 5 diners, in the end I ate about 75% of it. The pork was juicy and flavourful.

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The delicious pork being grilled on charcoal. Hints of ginger, garlic and savoury sauce.

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Another stall was selling rice paper rolls, and also roasted quails, which I forgot to order.

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I didn't like the rice paper rolls. The rice paper was too tough for my liking.

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A forgotten shot of the condiments and sauces for the grilled pork. Each Vietnamese dish comes with a specific sauce. If you order 10 dishes, there will be 10 different sauces on your table.

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A photo of how each stall looks like in the Vietnamese Marche. The real stalls along the streets of Hanoi are unfortunately not as clean or attractive as those here. And I doubt my stomach is strong enough to try those along the streets.

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This fermented pork roll is roasted over banana leaves. Again, anything fermented in an overseas country really need some getting used with.

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Lotus salad with crispy keropok. The salad had this tangy and sweet dressing.

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Vietnam's version of Chee Cheong Fun with pork and mushroom fillings, served with their own version of luncheon meat at the side. A weird combination. But the Chee Cheong Fun was good.

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I like this crispy pork "Ngoh Hiong". Taste almost like our Ngoh Hiong.

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Ended our meal with a familiar dessert. In almost all the ASEAN countries I have been, be in Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and now Vietnam, they have their own version of Chendol or Ice-Kachang. And this is Vietnam's version of Chendol.

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Unfortunately, the coconut milk is not as fragrant or sweet (maybe due to lack of coconut syrup) as other southeast asia versions of this familiar dessert.

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This is a MUST VISIT for all new and old visitors to Vietnam. And we were surprised to see that most of the diners are actually the Vietnamese people, so the food here should be just as authentic as those served along the roadside or restaurants.


Quan An Ngon
18 Phan Boi Chau,
Hoàn Kiếm,
Hanoi, Vietnam

Friday, October 22, 2010

Osia @ Resorts World Sentosa

Even though Marina Bay Sands is now the culinary hotspot in Singapore, but somehow I still have a soft spot for Resorts World Sentosa. Perhaps it's ebcause it is lcoated at a "quieter" part of Singapore, or maybe the journey there when the car passes by Shrek's castle is a treat for the eyes.

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Whatever it is, when we are in Resorts World, the top dining option for us would be at Osia. And Osia it is for today.

We had 2 set lunches, but changed some items here and there, and added a few more. So some of the items here are from the set, while some ar from ala-carte.

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The restaurant looks visibly brighter in the day, as the warm sunlight warms the restaurant. The crowd in the afternoon cosisted mainly of families and tourists, while more corporate diners are seen during night time.

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To start off our lunch, the service staff opened a fresh bottle of Kendall Jackson (S$20 for 1 glass) from Santa Rosa, California.

Free tap water is served here too.

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No visit to Osia is complete without ordering the Stonehearth Flat Bread (S$9.00) - We had a mixed flavours between black olive rosemary + roasted garlic butter. Served with olive oil, butter and their unique Osia "toothpaste" dip - this time it is tomato basil. Understand that Osia change their "toothpaste" dip every few months.

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Fresh from the ocean - Ceviche Sampler (S$28) - Blue Fin Tuna (with spiced avocado guacamole, soft red pepper, onion mustard seed dressing), Sea Scallop (with preserved lemon and vine tomato vinaigrette), Hiramasa Kingfish (with Saffron, Pickled Vegetables, Lilliput Capers) . Everything was fresh tasting without any stale fishy after taste.

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This is the first time we have this Espuma of Cauliflower "Iced Brick" (S$21) with Cold smoked Petuna ocean troutand Salmon Keta Caviar in Osia. Cream made from Cauliflower (it doesn't taste bad at all) together with some sashimi and caviar are al placed in the centre of this ice brick. The idea for this ice brick is to keep the salmon and the cream cold.


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We also had this Mandagery Creek Venison (S$29) - Polenta crumbled Foie Gras, Poached Daikon, Caramelized Bananas, Rum and Raisins.

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This is the 2nd serving of Hiramasa Kingfish (S$17) we had with Saffron, Pickled Vegetables, Lilliput Capers. Didn't see it previously in the Ceviche Sampler. But I don't mind having this again as the fish was really sweet and fresh.

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Our mains include this Seabass with Vegetable Macedoine, potato mousseline, warm citrus jus. The fish was skillfully sliced and deboned. Pan fried till crisp and placed on potato mousseline.

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And of course, our favourite dish in Osia - Long island Duck breast and leg (S$40) - Roasted Breast, leg confit "brix", grilled balsamic radicchio, polenta Brie rissole, Mutharie berry jus. Even though the main item should be the duck, but everytime when served this dish, I will finish all the grilled balsamic radicchio first. Radicchio is a red leafy vegetable. The tangy radicchio goes extremely well with the duck meat. A match which can only be matched by pork knuckle with Sauerkraut. If this is your first time at Osia, would recommend you to order this main dish.

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It's dessert time. We were served the Macadamia nut tart - orange ginger compote, wattle seed filo, blood orange sorbet. This is something out from the set lunch.

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My favourite is still this Valrhona hot chocolate soup with black peppered ice-cream, sesame crisp. One spoon of the chocolate soup and one spoon of the black pepper ice-cream. Savoury and sweet all at once.

Can't wait for my next visit to Osia again.


Osia
8 Sentosa Gateway
Festive Walk
Resorts World Sentosa