Novus Restaurant & Bar @ National Museum of Singapore

We have always wanted to try out Novus at the beautiful National Museum of Singapore, and on one weekend evening, we made reservations to come down here for a quick dinner before our movie.



As it was housed inside the museum, we thought that the whole place would be very classic looking. But we were surprised at how modern the decor was inside the restaurant. A long bar counter separates the restaurant and the bar.



A look at the exterior of the National Musuem of Singapore at night.



A lovely basket of warm breads were served to us. I like the soft butter sprinkled with pine nuts, adding some crunch to the creamy butter texture.



Iced water is served here to all diners.



Started off this vegetable amuse bouche which had a crunchy toast at the bottom.



Our first appetizer was this White Asparagus Tempura (S$22 Entree) with sauce gribiche & new potatoes. This is the first time I tried a tempura white asparagus, and it was excellent. The white asparagus is crunchy and juicy, plus the tempura outer crust is light and crisp.

An interesting feature here is that before each dish was served, the service staff will put a small tag on the table with the name of the dish and some interesting facts about the ingredients used. Looks like a museum display to me.



Next was Foie Gras Chaud (S$28) - Pan-seared foie gras, white asparagus, pear and PX vinegar reduction. I like the minature toasts used.



The Duck Tea (S$16), made of Duck consomme, quail egg, trumpet & brown enoki mushroom, smoked duck breast, black truffle salsa, was suppose to be one of the signature dish here. However, we find the broth not flavourful enough. Quite a letdown.



Wanted to eat some pork, so ordered the main course Berkshire Pork Meets White Asaparagus & Iberico Ham (S$46) - Roast Berkshire Pork Tenderloin, Iberico ham-wrapped white asparagus, porcini mushrooms, sauce Bearnaise and shallot sauce. Unfortunately, the pork was kind of dry. But the taste was good.



After the dry pork, we were skeptical about the Organic Chicken & Truffle (S$38) - Chicken breast stuffed with truffle salsa, white asparagus, root vegetables, crisp parsley. Since it was made of breast meat, we thought it will be dry. Surprisingly, the meat was moist and tender.



The chicken came with a large pot of potato truffle gratin.



We were rushing for movies, so had to skip desserts. However, all diners here get to take home a cute cupcake each. It was packed in a beautiful paper box with a metal handle.


Novus Restaurant & Bar
93 Stamford Road,
#01-02
National Museum of Singapore

Graze @ 38 Martin Road

Martin No. 38 is turning out to be one F&B hotspot in Singapore. Although all 3 (Graze, Kha and Provisions) are all under one company, but the standards have been consistently good.




Over 2 seperate visits to Graze, the different variety of dishes I ordered were fairly good and service was warm too.



On a weekday afternoon, went to Graze for lunch. As you can see, it is quite empty. A contrast to the overwhelming crowd during weekend afternoons.



Started my lunch with the Saffron butternut & cilantro soup, herb garlic toast ($13). The soup was served pipping hot. Just what I needed.



For my mains, ordered a Grilled striploin (200g grass-fed beef), thick chips, dressed seasonal leaves, hearty tomato salsa ($29). This is my first time having their steak, so I was quite surprised at how tasty the steak was. It's cooked till medium rare, which was what I have requested.



Lunch dessert was this unique Chocolate pot, clotted cream, chocolate sauce ($10). A must have for all choco lovers.



As there was still time, ordered the signature Graze De Mocha $5.50 to end my lunch.



On another occassion, I managed to get a table in the evening on a weekday.



As it was still early in the evening, the crowd had not come. But soon, the restaurant was crowded as the sky got darker.



A nice shot of the homely interior of Graze, which will put most diners at ease. It's a great place for friends gatherings.



As usual, I had a bowl of soup - Organic tomato gazpacho, deep fried haloumi ($15). Tomatoes is one of my favourite vegetable (or fruit as some would say). Not too acidic for me.



I know some carnivore friends here do not like the mentioning of the word "salad". However, the Pear & frisee salad, gorgonzola, candied walnuts, balsamic vinaigrette ($18) is a great salad for "beginners". The texture is crisp, and it's sweet tasting, together with cheese and nuts.



Mains for me was the Pan roasted barramundi, orange & beet salad, green chili almond mayo ($32). Very happy to note that the fish was not too dry. A very "summery" dish.



I was very impressed with my dessert - Strawberry & honeycomb ice cream, Swiss chocolate sauce, hokey pokey ($14) . The slightly sourish and acidic strawberries are complimented by the sweet and creamy honeycomb ice-cream.


Graze
38 Martin Road

Kha @ 38 Martin Road

38 Martin Road, which is a short walk from Killiney Road, has recently transformed into a new F&B plus wellness hotspot. Located in this 2 stories building are 2 restaurants Graze and Kha, a European provision ship named Provisions, plus a high-end gym at the top floor.

We came here on a Saturday afternoon. Initially we wanted to lunch at Graze, but it was full and we were told we had to wait for 20 minutes before a table is available. So we decided to pop by next door at Kha, which is totally empty. Weird.



The first thing that strikes you when you enter the restaurant is this huge poster of a stamp featuring Thailand's most beloved King Bhumibol. Kha is not a new restaurant. It is opened by the owner of Graze, and was formerly located at Hortpark.



The menu looks interesting as it is "printed" in the form of an old Thai newspaper.



Iced water is served here. In fact, they mixed some lemongrass inside the bottles, but we could not taste much.



A must order dish for me at almost all Thai restaurants is their Thai curries, be it red or gree. Today, we ordered the Chicken Green Curry (S$27). It's flavourful and cooked with boneless thigh meat, apple, pea eggplant and coconut flesh. However, the best version is still the Thai Green Curry from Thai Thai.



Thai Fish Cakes (S$17) with Kaffir lime and cucumber relish.



Phad Thai (S$16) _ Stir Fried rice noodles with banana blossom salad, poached prawns and prawns. Kha's version of Phad Thai was not as oily as other phad thai I have tried before. Good wok hei.



If you order White rice (S$4 per person), the service staff will come around with a huge basket to scoop rice onto your plate. And it's free flow.



We also ordered 4 bowls of Tom Yum Goong (S$18 per person). The soup is quite spicy, but chokeful of seafood and Thai spices. Portion is good for 1 big or 2 small eaters.



Kha's Steamed Sea Bass (S$26) was a steal at this price. Fish meat was reasonably fresh, and laced with Thai spices. Those who cannot take spicy food might want to alert them to remove the chilli padi.



We did not know which dessert to order, so ended up ordering the Dessert Trio (S$22). 3 mini version of their most popular Thai desserts. The one that left an impression was the pumpkin dessert. Creamy pumpkin paste, which taste almost like ice-cream, was added into a slice of real pumpkin.



A nice and quiet place to have Thai food in Singapore. Next up, a review of Graze which is just next door to Kha.


Kha
38 Martin Road

Bistro Soori @ Teck Lim Road

We came to Bistro Soori because we heard that Jimmy Chok is the chef here, but when we arrived, we were told that Chef Chok has already left the restaurant. Quite disappointed, but still we decided to try out the dishes served by their new chef Ashton Hall from Bali.



Valet parking is available, so no problems with the crowded roads within the Bukit Pasoh shophouses area.



Iced water is served here to al diners.



There are 2 sections in Bistro Soori. One is the proper sit down area, the other is the counter top area. To fully enjoy the actions in the kitchen, I will recommend diners to sit at the counter top. The ventilation system is very good and you won't smell like your food after coming out of the restaurant.



The creamy and hearty Leek Soup (S$19) was filling. Our only complain was that the soup was not warm enough for us. Would have preferred to be pipping hot.



The combination of Scallops (S$22) pan fried with bacon is never wrong. Even the chef knows this too! No complaints about the scallops as they are fresh and sweet. It has some nice shreds of fruits to add some tropical taste to it.



Our Grilled Lobster (S$48) was juicy and crunchy, and it was how a lobster should taste like. One thing about Bistro Soori is that their seafood are fresh.



We were quite surprised by how familiar the Braised Wagyu Short Ribs (S$44) tasted like. It reminded us of braised pork, just that the meat here is switched to beef. The beef was so tender that the moment your fork pierce through it, the meat immediately falls off onto the plate. We were told that the beef was braised since morning, and that explains why the beef was so tender.



It took a long time to come, but we nearly missed out on our appetizer - the Foie Gras stuffed in Sugar Pear (S$25) with Vanilla, White Balsamic, Pink Peppercorn. When it was served, we were wondering where is the foie gras. Then we discovered that we had to slice the pear and the foie gras was actually stuffed inside.



Dessert time. We were unsure how the Straberries with Balsamic Vinegar Chocolate Sauce (S$12) would turn out. Fortunately, the strawberries were not too sour, and the balsamic vinegar with choco actually complimented the berries well.



We both agree that the Apple Pie (S$14) was quite ordinary. Served with a scoop of vanilla bean ice-cream.


Bistro Soori
2 Teck Lim Road

Oversea Restaurant @ Shaw Towers

The opening of Malaysian based Oversea Restaurant in Singapore has been greeted with much enthusiastic fans here. We have been told that it is necessary to book days in advance, and to pre-book the char siew too. Well, we did what we were told.



I am not an expert of Oversea Restaurant, and I have never visited their KL main shop before. But from what I know, many Singaporeans eat at Oversea in KL and the die die must try dish is their char siew.



Service here is mixed. Initally, one of the little boy who served us didn't really serve us much. Like this twin chilli dish placed on each table with tiny bits of Chilli Hae Bee and caramelized onions similar to those of BBQ stingray. Nobody told us whether we were suppose to eat it on its own or was meant to go with specific dishes. But then, towards the end of our meal, one very friendly Singaporean aunty took over the service and we felt that we were finally "served" by their staffs.



We came on a Saturday lunch time, and made reservations 1 week in advance. But when we came here, there are quite a few empty tables. We saw diners walking in without any reservations. So I think that reservations may not really be required after all. And, there were still many servings of char siew hanging outside the restaurant too.



Moving on to their food. The signature Barbequed Pork (Char Siew) and Roast Pork Platter (S$20 for small) was quite a small serving. But what they lack in quantity, they made it up in quality. The Char Siew was not your usual Singapore char siew. It's almost black due to no red colouring used. The outside is slightly charred and crisp, while the inside is meaty and porky. For the roast pork, although it's not the best I have tried, but it's still good enough.



Their soups were a letdown. This Chicken Soup with Scallops (S$8) taste pretty average.



Paid quite a premium for this Pumpkin with Shark's Fins Soup (S$38), but turns out the soup base was pretty bland. Totally not recommended.



The Crystal Prawns (S$27.50 for 250g) is fresh prawns seared with dark soya sauce till caramelized. Prawns were crunchy and sweet.



The best item for the day was actually their Dong Po Meat (S$30 per claypot). According to the waitress, this is a special item and is not offered everyday. The large chunk of pork was stewed for hours in a large claypot. When brought to the table, the pork was cut into smaller chunks, hence the juice of the meat was retained. The gravy was tasty, and pork was amazingly tasty with melt-in-you-mouth pork fats.



Taking a cue from how Peking ducks are served, these cucumbers drizzled with Maggie Seasoning help to add some crunch to the Dong Po Pork.



We love fried rice with good wok hei. A scan of their menu shows they have this premium Oversea Special Fried Rice (S$12). So how special was this as compared to the normal Yang Chow Fried Rice? This had bits of crispy rice added, plus diced pork (not char siew). Although slightly a bit more oily than usual, but I am guessing this was fried in pork lard. Very sinful and yummy.


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