Monday, October 31, 2011

Tai Hing @ Changi Airport Terminal 2

Those who have been to Hong Kong would have heard about Tai Hing Roast restaurants. A few months ago, Tai Hing opened its first Singapore branch. Unfortunately, it is located inside the transit area of Changi Airport Terminal 2.

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A few weeks ago, I had the chance to use Terminal 2, and made it a point to visit Tai Hing at the airport.

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Was there at around 3pm, so it was off-peak hours and there was really not much diners.

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Tai Hing serves dim sum, roast meats and the ordinary HK cafe dishes. For me, I ordered a double platter of roasted suckling pig with char siew. I was surprised at how crispy the suckling pig was. It was not oily as I had expected, and the skin was crispy. The char siew paled in comparison. Next time, shall order just the suckling pig.

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The double platter with noodles costs about S$15. Service was a bit slow, so if you are rushing for a flight, you might want to give it a miss.


Tai Hing
60 Airport Boulevard,
Departure/Transit Lounge,
Changi Airport Terminal 2

Friday, October 28, 2011

The Bank Bar + Bistro @ One Shenton

Those who are working in Shenton Way would have seen this bar and bistro right at the ground floor of One Shenton, a new office + residential tower opposite of SGX.

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The interiors reminded us of Raffles Hotel more than an British bank. The owner must have spent lot's of efforts and money to create the beautiful chandeliers and wooden cabinets.

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The Bank Bar is located just opposite of Lau Pa Sat, and parking is available at One Shenton.

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Started off our dinner with a bottle of Magners Irish Cider Original (S$17). This cider is crisp and has a very faint sweetness.

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We love how they decorated the bar with huge portraits of the currency used during the straits settlement era.

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The had a one page menu, and we ordered those that were the specialties of The Bank. Our first main was the New Yorker Pizza (S$18.90) with tomato, mozzarella, salami, pepperoni, italian spicy sausage, capsicum, onion. All pizzas are handmade and made-to-order. The crust was light and not as thick as those in pizza hut. Toppings were of good quality.

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We also like the Roasted Tomato Soup (S$11.90) with squids and kidney beans. The tomato soup had a creamy tomato taste to it, and we could also taste that the tomatoes were roasted before being reduced into a soup stock. Squid rings and kidney beans were added for texture.

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Another of their specialty is the Beef Bourguignon (S$24.90) with potato mouseline, kenya beans and carrots. It's quite a treat to enjoy such good beef bourguignon in a bar and bistro at such a price. The beef chunks were stewed till tender, but still retains the chunkiness.

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Food and drinks are served till 1 a.m. from Sundays to Thursdays, and 2 a.m. on Fridays to Saturdays. They are opened at 11a.m. everyday including weekends.

While paying for our dinner, we were surprised that this bar does not charge service charge. Service was good and so was the food.


The Bank Bar + Bistro
1 Shenton Way,
#01-01
One Shenton

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Oversea Restaurant @ Shaw Towers

Another repeat visit to Oversea last week. This time, it was for a birthday celebration.

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As with all visits, a must order is their Char Siew (S$20). It's expensive for a small portion, but I find it well worth the money. The outer layer is caramelized with a thick layer of sugar.

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Prawns with Beancurd (S$28) - The gravy had a "prawn soup" taste to it.

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This Braised Pork with Salted Fish in Claypot (S$16) goes well with white rice, although it's very unhealthy (fatty pork plus salted fish).

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The Oversea Special Fried Rice (S$12) received mixed review. For myself, I like the dual texture (fluffy + crispy rice). But some may not like this version.

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Kampung Chicken with Chinese Wine in Claypot (S$18) - Didn't really enjoy this dish, because the chicken chunks did not absorb the Chinese wine. Was quite dry.

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Black Hokkien Fried Udon (S$23 for medium) - For those who missed authentic KL Hokkien Mee, this is the closest version you can find in Singapore.

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The restaurant presented us complimentary servings of this Coconut Dessert (Complimentary). It's actually coconut milk pudding with chunks of coconut flesh inside.


Oversea Restaurant
100 Beach Road,
#01-27
Shaw Leisure Gallery,
Shaw Towers

Friday, October 21, 2011

Hummerstons @ Robertson Walk

I think of most of us have been to the first floor of Robertson Walk, where most of the restaurants are located. However, a new restaurant opened a few months ago on the 2nd floor, at a corner facing TCC.

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The restaurant, Hummerstons, is located just below the "clock tower" at the 2nd floor.

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When we stepped inside Hummerstons, we were reminded how similar the decor is to PS Cafe. The food on the menu is also very much "PS Cafe-ish", although they were different. One thing we liked about this place is that it is very spacious and had a very relaxed atmosphere to it. Tables were large and chairs were comfy. Great for gatherings or just to chill out.

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After ordering our food, our cutlery came in this cute red "pails". I did some research and found out that the chef here was formerly the head chef from PS Cafe, and that explains the "PS Cafe-ish". Thumbs up for complimentary iced water, and service was excellent. Very prompt and discreet.

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We shared the Caramelized Onions Soup (S$14) - Beef and sherry broth with melted mozzarella & grated parmesan. It came warm, but we wanted it to be even warmer. So we sent the soup back and they made it boiling hot. The soup was tasty and also had a nice "beefy" taste to it.

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They had a long list of salads, and the Miso Roasted Vegetable Salad (S$22) did not disapoint. It cotained miso roasted seasonal vegetables, short grain brown rice, toasted cashew, mixed greens, chilli-roasted garlic & honey vinaigrette. I enjoyed the salad very much, and portion was good as a main.

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They have special off-menus item every day, which you can see on the blackboard in the restaurant.

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We also ordered this Country Roasted Chicken (S$27) - Herb rubbed roasted chicken, caramelized onions, capers, olives, carrots, buttery corn mashed potatoes and home gravy. I was surprised at how juicy and tender the breast meat was. The mashed potatoes were creamy and buttery.

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Ended our meal with the Blackforest Gateau (S$11) - Chocolate sponge with layers of chocolate mousse, chantilly cream & Kirsch liquor marinated sour cherries. The layers of choco mousse was thick and not overly sweet.

We read from 8 Days that their pancakes were highly recommended, and is served on weekends till 5pm. Think we will be making a trip back soon!


Hummerstons
11 Unity Street,
#02-14
Robertson Walk

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Il Cielo @ Hilton Singapore

Last week, famous Italian caviar brand Calvisius held a 1 week Caviar festival over at Hilton's Il Cielo. Calvisius is famous for its high quality farmed caviar, and according to news reports this helps to ensure sustainable fishing and collection of caviar. We are not experts on caviar, so we decided to come here not only to enjoy, but also to learn more about this delicacy.

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We arrived at Il Cielo during the final night of the caviar festival. It was quite empty when we arrived, but at around 8:30pm most tables were filled. About half of the diners were here for the caviar.

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We started our caviar feast with a glass of Louis Roederer Prosseco (S$19 per glass).

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This was recommended by Calvisius - Caviar Degistation Menu (S$296 for 2 pax) - 4 different tins of 10g caviar, with fresh blinis, vodka scrambled eggs, potatoes, angel hair, lobster, fine raw ombrina, cristal bay prawns crudo and rissotto oysters cooked in champagne

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The Calvisius White Sturgeon Caviar (10g tin), in our humble opinion, is the best of all 4 caviar in terms of the taste and texture. The caviar came from the fish Acipenser Transmontanus, and this larger size caviar has a deep sea taste to it.

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The second was the Calvisius Oscietra Royal Caviar (10g tin). Oscietra caviar is obtained from the fish Acipenser Gueldenstaedtii. The fish nearly went extinct some years back, but then after careful breeding the fish has now thrived in caviar farms all over the world. This "Royal" caviar has a nutty taste to it.

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As the name suggests, the Original Siberian Caviar (10g tin) originated from a Siberian fish Acipenser Baerii from Siberia. There were some historic records that the Russian aristocrats who fled to Europe during the revolution tried to bring over some of this Siberian fish to Europe because they were prized for their caviar. The taste of this caviar is said to be crisp and light.

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Finally, the Calvisius Oscietra Classic Caviar (10g tin) has a more intense taste as compared to the "Royal" selection.

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Il Cielo has done a good job on the sides. Our favourite are the vodka scrambled eggs, and this Angel Hair with Black Truffles. Although we were suppose to put caviar on them, but they were good enough to eat it on its own.

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After the caviar, we were served this Lemon Juice Beverage to cleanse the palate

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We ordered the Il Cielo Tuscany Style Tomato Soup with Alaskan Crab (S$18). When it came, there was a transparent cup inside the soup bowl. The service staff will lift the cup up and all the crunchy crab meat will "drop" into the soup.

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Find the crab meat fresh and sweet.

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Of course, we had to order our favourite Pizza Bosco (S$42) - Porcini, home cured Italian sausage and truffles. Now sure why, but this pizza didn't taste as good as the first time when we were there. We didn't like the overly burnt crust. But the fillings were good.

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It's quite warm here in Il Cielo because of its poolside location. Smart casual is recommended here.


Il Cielo
Level 24,
Hilton Singapore
581 Orchard Road

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Yan Ting @ St Regis

St Regis has always been the top spot for Sunday brunch at its various restaurants such as Brasserie Les Saveurs. Another excellent restaurant which provides brunch at this hotel is its Cantonese restaurant Yan Ting, which is located above Les Saveurs.

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The main dining hall of Yan Ting is actually not very big as compared to other restaurants. About half of is space is VIP rooms. So do remember to make a booking if you want to brunch here.

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The 2 of us had the Weekend Brunch (S$98++) with free flow of featured wine, draft beer and juices (Orange, Lime and Pink Guava). As there were only 2 diners, we have asked them to serve just 2 of each item.

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The shark's fins soup is a "single-order" item. We must really commend Yan Ting for the excellent version of Braised Shark's Fins with Crab Roe and Meat. The chicken stock was really good, and they were very generous with the shark's fins and crab roe. I think just this bowl alone would have costs more than S$20?

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Another "single-order" item was half a serving of lobster. Here, diners can choose 3 ways to cook their half lobster. The first style we selected was the Wok-Baked Lobster with Garlic and Butter. The garlic was fried till crisp in melted butter, and it was really fragrant. And not forgetting the fresh and sweet lobster meat.

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The other style we had was the Gratinated Lobster with Cheese and Bacon. Initially I was worried that the cheese and bacon will overpower the lobster meat, but fortunately the cheese was not too strong tasting, and it actually complimented the texture and taste of the lobster.

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I like Yan Ting's version of Char Siew Pastry. The pastry crust was very buttery and not dry at all. Char Siew fillings were acceptable.

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It was also a delight to munch on these mini pan fried carrot cakes. We believed Yan Ting chose top grades chinese waxed sausages as they were fragrant without the "stale oil" smell.

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We also had some steamed dim sum such as this Yin Yang Vegetable adn Prawn Dumplings.

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And the Siew Mai, which was big, juicy and crunchy.

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I am always a fan of this classic Cantonese dish - Sweet and Sour Pork with Tri-Colour Peppers and Pineapple. It's so common and simple that chefs don't usually bother about making a good version. Am glad that the chef at Yan Ting think otherwise. The pork was still crunchy even though it was glazed, and the inner pork meat was still juicy and moist.

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Unfortunately, the same could not be said about the Cantonese Roast Pork. When it came, we were disappointed with the colour of the skin. The meat was dry and too salty.

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Our taste buds were revived again with this Stir Fried Prawns with XO Sauce. Yan Ting's XO sauce must be one of the best XO sauce in Singapore. It's not overly spicy, and diners can still taste the dried seafood in the sauce. I wanted to order another portion of this, but decided not to because more dishes were to come.

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This is our 2nd round of fruit juices. Would recommend diners to skip their Lime juice which is too sour.

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Another excellent pork dish was this Pork Ribs in Orange-Cointreau Glaze. The pork was tender and juicy, and every single piece had a golden orange glaze.

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We saw this interesting dish on the menu - Baked Duck Drumstick with Honey and Orange Sauce. Regretted ordering this because the duck meat was too dry.

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I was searching for egg tarts and could not find it on the menu. Then I flipped to the dessert menu and found them there. These yummy tarts came pipping hot fresh from the oven.

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Their Steam Live Soon Hock with Preserved Radish was also very fresh and sweet. Some may not like their preserved radish, but I find it acceptable.

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By now, we are so full that we nearly had no space for desserts. So we decided to share just one Gui Lin Herbal Jelly with Honey.


Yan Ting
29 Tanglin Road
The St. Regis