Molly Malone's Irish Pub @ Circular Road

Molly Malon has been around Boat Quay for years. It is situated right next to UOB Tower, and attracts quite a number of foreigners who want to have a beer and chill out in the heart of the CBD.



It is quite dark inside, with smoking and non smoking corners. Other than beer, Molly Malone serves one of the best Fish & Chips in Singapore. And it was mentioned by Sunday Times as one of the best place in Singapore for Fish & Chips.



As you can see from the menu, more choices are available. But most people come here for their Fish and Chips.



The fish are really crispy. I believe they are beer battered to retain the crispiness. Chips are good too. And do remember to ask for the malt vinegar to go along with the fish. Helps to keep the "oiliness" of the fried fish away.



Molly also serves a special set lunch every weekday at S$25 for a soup, fish and chips and dessert. Ice-water is free of charge here.



And for beef lovers, there is also a choice of the Weekend Roast every weekend afternoon. However I have not tried their roast beef before, as I will automatically order the Fish & Chips whenever I am here. Perhaps someone reading my blog can tell me how their roast beef is?


Molly Malone's Irish Pub
56 Circular Road

Bollicine Restaurant @ The Rivergate

Singaporeans love to wine and dine by the river. Aside from the crowded Clark Quay and Boat Quay, the quieter Robertson Quay is home to quite a few eateries and restaurants which attracts a larger proportion of foreigners compared to locals.



Evenings along Robertson Quay are quiet affairs. One can see residents jogging along the path or diners enjoying a quiet stroll by the river side.



The Bollicine Italian Restaurant is locared just next to the Rvergate condominium. It is actually next to the river and directly opposite the River View Hotel. A bridge connects the hotel to the restaurant. (This is the view from the restaurant)



Bollicine is actually the sister restaurant top the Quattro Stagioni Deli in Liang Court. So the ingredients used in the restaurants can actually be bought from the Deli in Liang Court. The entire setting is laid back. A good place for friends to gather and enjoy the evening together.



Started off the meal with their Soup of the Day (S$8), which was mushroom soup. Soup was pipping hot and there were hints of truffle oil drizzled across the soup.



Tortelli Crema, funghi e prosciutto crudo (S$18) - This is good stuff. Home-made stuffed pasta with cream, parma ham & mushroom sauce. Everything compliments one another and even though the portion is small, but it is designed to be so because the cream and pasta are actually quite rich.



Pan fried beef tenderloin with brandy, green peppercorn and cream (S$24) - the beef quality is not as good as what we expected. It is served with a large piece of potato, which I find is quite good. Perhaps it is safer to order the pasta dishes.



Their tiramisu was good. Some may feel there is not enough ommph, but still I enjoyed this dessert.


Bollicine Restaurant
95 Robertson Quay
#01-19 The Rivergate

Taste Paradise 味之樓 @ ION Orchard

Taste Paradise first opened in 2006 at Chinatown Mosque Street and in 3 years time, it expanded to a chain of restaurants including Seafood Paradise and Paradise Inn.

Now Taste Paradise has opened its flagship shop at ION Orchard.



The restaurant is brightly lit with a soothing wood theme. Tables are spaced quite well apart to ensure maximum comfort.



I like the menu of Taste Paradise. It is beautifully printed on special coated paper. Feels like reading a scroll from the past.



The former Emperors of China sit side by side in the main dining hall, with the 1st Emperor of China sitting in the biggest VIP room.



Our1st appetizer dish was this cuttlefish dish, whcih had hints of Thai elements in it. Nothing spectacular, just something to excite the taste bud.



Taste Paradise is famous for its sharks fin soup in hot pot. The Hot Pot was boiling hot when served, and the quality of sharks fin is very good. However, the stock is not as tasty as what it should have been. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this soup a lot.



BBQ Pork Ribs with Plum sauce. I could taste hints of the plum taste, but the pork was quite fattening. However, it went well with white rice.



Pork chop cooked in 3 taste - I am not sure what the 3 taste are, but I could taste heavy use of garlic and onions. The pork chop is less fattening than the pork ribs, and it also taste great with white rice.



I was in charge of ordering this Crispy Prawns with Laksa leaves and Mango chutney. Personally, I thought this was quite good. There were hints of laksa leaves in the mango sauce. Prawns remain crispy. But as taste is subjective, some of you may not like this version.


Taste Paradise 味之樓
2 Orchard Turn
#04-07
ION Orchard

Marmalade Pantry @ ION Orchard

Marmalade Pantry has shifted to ION Orchard early last month, and it situated in the middle of the shopping mall. Although it looks quite open and small, but when you are inside the seating area, you tend to forget that you are actually in the centre of this busy mall.



The chairs and tables look similar to the one at the old Palais Renaissance. Clean and confortable.



Spicy Tomato with Pinto Beans and Jalapeno - this soup is REALLY SPICY. As the portion is really big, we ordered 1 bowl and split the servings into 2.



Beetroot salad with ricotta and chevre, caramelized walnuts and watercress - They are too generous with the beetroot, and gave too little of the other ingredients. Would prefer more watercress instead. In the end, we had problems finishing up the mountains of beetroot.



300 day grain fed beef cheek guinness pie with celeriac puree - the beef cheek chunks are extremely tender and well marinated. Beef stew lovers should try this!



The Pantry Club with honey baked ham, roast chicken, egg, gem lettuce and roma tomatoes. Bread is toasted and this entire club sandwich is very filling. Served on the side are assorted chips made from yam, sweet potatoes and tapiocca.



Vanilla ice-cream with Salted Caramel Bread Pudding - Marmalade Pantry is famous for their dessert. And this did not disappoint. I especially like their vanilla bean ice-cream. Pure and creamy.



No meal at Marmalade Pantry is complete without eating their famous Sticky Date & Toffee Pudding with vanilla ice-cream. The pudding is sweet yet not annoyingly sweet, and there is a right balance between the pudding and the vanilla bean ice-cream.

Heavenly.


Marmalade Pantry
2 Orchard Turn
#03-22
ION Orchard

Gusttimo di Roma @ ION Orchard

Gusttimo is a Gelato chain shop in South Korea. Initially, 2 Koreans set up their first Gelato shop in Italy. Then they returned back to Seoul and now owns 23 Gelato shops in Korea.



I had the 3 flavours cup ice-cream - Black Rice, Cream Cheese and Caramel. I love the cream cheese the best. It was very creamy and had strong cheese taste. The black rice tasted more like red bean ice-cream, while the caramel was average. The cup version comes with a cute little mini cone.


Gusttimo di Roma
2 Orchard Road
#1-15 ION Orchard

Din Tai Fung 鼎泰丰 @ Raffles City Shopping Centre

Recently a Thai colleague came down to Singapore for APEC, so decided to treat her to lunch at Ding Tai Feng since she said she ate here before a few years back and really like the Xiao Long Bao.



I like this appetizer vegetable dish. Lot's of vinegar were added to the vegetables, making this a very appetizing dish. The vegetables retained the crunchiness even though it had been marinated for a long time.



Juicy pipping hot Xiao Long Bao. Ding Tai Fung still maintains the quality of its Xiao Long Bao. But this is subject to which branch you are eating. For best quality, it is best to go to their Raffles City and Paragon branches.



A favourite among Singaporeans is the Pork Ribs with Fried Rice. The rice used here are the Taiwanese pearl rice (Japanese rice). No dark soya sauce is added. Instead it is fried with spring onions and scramble eggs. The pork chop was very tasty and tender.


Din Tai Fung 鼎泰丰
252 North Bridge Road
#B1-08 Raffles City Shopping Centre

Kazu Sumiyaki Restaurant @ Cuppage Plaza

danieru弁～～V(^o^)V recommended to me the excellent Yakitori from Kazu at Cuppage. I love Yakitoris, so made a visit with danieru弁～～V(^o^)V to Kazu on a weekday evening.



Even though we went on weekday evening, reservations is a MUST! No seats for those who never reserve.



The restaurant is quite small, but still comfortably spaced apart. But for those who are looking for a private meal, this may not be the place to be in.



The serving staff promptly served us a bowl of crunchy cabbage with this home-made miso sauce. The cabbage was really crunchy and went well with the miso sauce. A tip is not to eat all the cabbage at once, but leave some to munch on in-between the yakitori.



Our 1st Yakitori is Asparagus wrapped with bacon. The crunchy asparagus contrasted with the the crispy and fragrant bacon very well. Highly recommended.



Salt chicken wings yakitori - The chicken wings are quite small, but I like the crispy chicken skin.



Bacon with mushrooms. The mushrooms are juicy and crunchy, while the bacon added taste and texture to the mushrooms. Really love this too.



Yakitori chicken done with salt and teriyaki sauce. These are good, but nothing to shout about.



We also had this Zucchini Cheese. Really like the creamy cheese over the soft and juicy Zucchini.



Yakitori Foie Gras - one of their signature dish. The foie gras when grilled, taste like creamy butter. If you like Foie Gras, you will like this.



Yakitori beef with mushrooms. Although the beef is sliced thinly, but you can really taste the sweetness of the grilled beef with the mushrooms absorbing the juice of the beef.



This is another highly recommended Yakitori - Pork with Apple. I never knew apple and pork over the grill taste so good. This shall be a great idea for future BBQ sessions.



Beef balls - I think the beef balls are a bit over-burnt, but they still taste great. They are made from pure minced beef.



Grilled rice - Here is the Miso one, and it gives the crispy rice some moisture. Very flavourful.



This is the grilled rice with salt. Find it a bit too salty and dry for my liking.



Japanese sweet potato. Wow, this is really the star dish of the entire meal. The sweet potato is sweet and very soft, and when you add the creamy Hokkaido butter to it, it is pure heaven. I can still remember the taste now.



Beef ribs + Ginko nuts. The Ginko nuts taste good to me even though I am not a fan of it. But what I really like is the beef ribs. It is very tender and juicy. By now you would have noticed that Kazu excels in Yakitori beef dishes.



Ox tongue. Very crunchy and great to go with Sapporo beer.



Juicy scallops - They are sweet and fresh.



Chicken breast with salt and plum. This is the only dish which I am disappointed. Meat is dry and too salty. Avoid this next time.

Overall, the price for 2 is about S$150+ including 1 glass of Sapporo Beer. But I have to admit we ordered quite a bit, and was really bloated after dinner. But the food here is really worth the price and service is good too. Will definitely be back again.


Kazu Sumiyaki Restaurant
5 Koek Road
#04-05 Cuppage Plaza
Tel: 6734 2492