Photos - Cotton Bleu (Upper Thomson Road)

We were at Cotton Bleu for a quiet relaxing lunch some weeks ago. Cotton Bleu is a great place for value-for-money french / european cuisine, located at 205 Upper Thomson Road. Let me share these photos.

We liked their appetizers. Scallops salad and duck have always been favourites of ours.

The mains were great too. Nope we didn't try their wines since I was driving.

And of course, their desserts round up the lunch nicely. Honey poached pear in red wine added to the whole experience of dining at Cotton Bleu. The place is really a gem (not so hidden, given all the different reviews online) and thus for those who want a good dining experience, try Cotton Bleu.

Random Pictures from a Seoul Restaurant

When one is traveling with a very tight schedule for the overseas trips, one seldom remembers the details of the meals. Nonetheless I managed to take some quick shots of a dinner at a Seoul Restaurant for my recent mid-April trip.

As usual, more than half the time I don't really know the composition of the dishes. The restaurant gave a lot of dishes and overall it cost about 66,000 wons for my colleague and myself. If anyone knows what dishes are these, do tell me.

The restaurant has an interesting way of preparing the prawns by putting small bits of dates and ginko nuts(?) on the prawns.

I am not sure what the orangy / yellowish sauce is but I suspect there is some raw egg yolks in it. The sauce is alright when mixed with the salad.

I do like this seaweed / jelly mixed salad. Somehow we get served a lot of these salads mix. Well these are all the pictures I took. I got some glances from other patrons when I was taking the photos so I stopped. Next time I should bring a translator and perhaps I would have a better understanding of what I am putting into my mouth. :)

60s Live Seafood @ Fairway Drive (Bukit Timah)

I was trying to find places with great food that wouldn't be that crowded and chance upon this '60's Live Seafood' located at Fairways Drive. Yupz, the place wouldn't sound familiar to most people, except to those golfers I suppose. I was trying to find Asian food with good reviews.

60's Live Seafood is actually located along Bukit Timah, off Eng Neo Avenue. Judging from the map it is really an 'ulu', i.e. a single road in a patch of the map that is largely green in colour. So yupz the minute I saw that I knew I got a good place with less crowd. After a pretty long drive, we reached the location, and there is free parking!

We ordered a lot of food and let me introduce them. For a start, they served us these deep fried crab sticks with chilli sauce. It is somewhat similar to prawn crackers with sauce but the taste is better.

For ordered dishes, we started with this 'kau kee soup with assorted eggs', and I must say that the soup is yummy! There is a mix of three different types of eggs, i.e. chicken egg, century egg, and salted duck egg. The soup comes in a ceramic container that helps to keep it warm.

Then we had the 60's claypot beancurd. While the taste is good, there is nothing particularly special about it, i.e. a claypot dish that many good restaurants can serve. The portion is a big one though, despite us ordering the 'smallest' option.

Next is the roasted chicken. This is a delicious dish where the chicken pieces are roasted well with herbs (slightly salty) and not oily. The skin is really crispy and yet the chicken is not charred.

For carbo we had this 60's fried rice. I think they named many of the dishes as 60's something because they are located at 60 Fairway Drive, and not because it got anything to do with 1960s. The fried rice is somewhat different. They put in cut fish balls and fish cakes, with plenty of chinese cabbage and some pork floss on top. Portion is good enough for two although (again) we ordered the smallest option.

Overall the experience is good. The service is good, and it is always a pleasant dinning experience when you are surrounded by greenery with less crowd.

The prices are alright (we over ordered the amount of food). The half chicken cost $12, the nice kau kee soup $13, the claypot beancurd at $15, and the fried rice $8. If you are using Citibank card, there would be a discount. In total we spent $52.40 for two.

Nanbantei (of Tokyo) @ Far East Plaza

Nanbantei is an excellent Japanese yakitori restaurant located at Far East level 5. The whole setting is rather authentic and one of the chef is definitely a Japanese. I think they have more than 1 Japanese chef since I recognised an old Japense uncle who was not serving at the grill counter. That particular Japanese uncle serves one of the best yakitori!

Nanbantei has one of the best yakitori in town and there are many great reviews about it. One thing I like about the place is that they serve raw vegetable sticks with miso sauce / sea salt. Thus when one wants to clear the mouth of meat taste prior to taking another yakitori stick, one can do so easily.

The palce is not too big, but generally I think Japanese eateries are not too big / spacious, so that there is this cosy ambience. I think it is great to sit at the counter where one can watch the chefs in action. It is sort of fun to see how the chef sprinkle the salt onto the dish, and see how your sticks are being cooked.

Beside great yakitori, they also serve other authentic Japanese food. I like their onigiri, that comes in three different options (with salmon, with plum pickle, and with fish roe).

Ok let's see the sticks themselves. Here's the pictures of the yakitori sticks. We ordered a number of sticks, includigng scallops and prawns. Yesh! The scallops and prawns are great! Of course I must say that the prawns and scallops are also the more expensive stuff, and that explains the $90+ bill we got for the two of us.

I liked shisamo after my recent japan trip. I think shisamo done nicely, would not have the fishy smell, and yet give just the right flavour to the fish.

When you feel like having yakitori, drop by Far East level 5 to try out Nanbantei. They also have set offerings that are not as costly. Give them a call at 67387470 to reserve seats, or else during peak hours it may be hard to get seats.

I ate reindeer meat! - Stockholm trip

Have you ever tried reindeer meat? I did! When I was in Stockholm, there were plenty of restaurants around their 'old town', i.e. tourist area, selling reindeer and elk dishes. So I got curious, and ordered one reindeer dish to try. Here's a photo of the dish. Looks good right?

There were two slices of the reindeer meat, on top of their potato gratin, with some cranberry sauce. It tasted a little like tender pork to me, but others who tried said it tasted more like beef / lamb. I think the serving was somewhat raw, and you could see the 'blood' oozing out of the second slice (left of the photo) of reindeer meat. The exterior was fully grilled and gave that char grill taste. Yupz I took these photos using proper digital camera instead of my handphone, and so do click on them to get a larger clearer view.

Overall I think the experience is nice, and the dish is worth a try. Other than the meat, their potato gratin is pretty yummy, with some cheesy taste. I don't think I will order the dish again because it is pretty pricey. That serving of reindeer costs about S$60. Oh well, I'm not sure if eating reindeer meat will have any repercussions with Santa Claus. Maybe I wouldn't get any X'mas present in December. Sob. Here's a menu that described the various dishes, but I tried the reindeer at another restaurant by the name of Glenfiddich.

Other than reindeer, they do serve other 'normal' food. We tried meatballs (made from game meat) and also salmon. Here's the photos to make you drool. I think the meatball tasted like those served by Ikea, but better somehow.

Now their salmon is good! The portion was big, and the fish tasted fresh. Of course the price tag is also more expensive than what you can find in Singapore. Oh well we get what we paid for. Overall it was a nice dinner with good food and Swedish beer to go along.

Roast Duck - Four Seasons Restaurant @ Bayswater London

One of the great food attractions in London is the delicious roast duck from the Four Seasons Restaurant @ Bayswater. Here's a photo of the half duck that we ordered. The skin is crispy, meat is flavourful, and of course the oil and fats of the duck pieces carry the aromatic fragrance that is hard to find elsewhere.

Other than the roast duck, we also ordered the roast pork, with crispy skin and tender meat. Actually I think there is more fat than meat, as shown in the latter photo below. It is amazing how the chef managed to find a cut of the pig that is so fatty. I guess the fatty parts allow the spices, sauces and other flavours to be captured in the dish.

We also ordered vegetables and some tofu to go along with these roasted dishes. The vegetables dish was great, especially as a complement to the oily fatty duck and pork. Simple crunchy fresh vegetables to rid the taste of oil is always welcome. The tofu is actually made from minced meats, vegetables and tofu, covered with bean sauce and bittergourd.

We had a short chat with the restaurant stff, and found out that the restaurant is operated by someone from Hong Kong. For those who intend to visit the Four Seasons @ Bayswater, do note that you have to squeeze into the restaurant (becasue there is always a queue outside) and let the waiter note down your name together with the number of diners. After a wait of about 15 mins to 45 mins, depending on the time of the day, they would be able to clear a table for you.

Big Fish Seafood Grill @ Upper East Coast Road

We had a great seafood time at Big Fish during the weekend. The restaurant is located at 85 Upper East Coast Road. Parking is not too bad if you are willing to walk abit, since those private housing at the back of the restaurants 'offered' parking space for free. It is a cafe type of concept, and the place could be a bit noisy when there are lots of customers. The kitchen is visible and you could the chef preparing your food. We heard the french fries sizzling.

With the variety of food, we chose warm mushroom salad for appertiser, and lobster bisque for soup. Mushroom salad was great, and lobster bisque is, well, just creamy tasty lobster bisque lolz. Big Fish also serve foccia bread complementary of the place. I guess I was too hungry and had forgotten to take photo of the these until we were almost done.

The seafood selection is good. There is a picture of a whole grilled rainbow trout that looked especially tempting. Since we wanted to try the varierty, we ordered a Grilled Seafood platter - scallops, grilled fish, mussels, crayfish, prawns and squid. Butter rice and french fries included. The fish was good, and same for the mussels and scallops. The buttery sauce resting in the shells and warming the mussels and scallop were sinful but nice to sip. The prawn was slightly dry but still alright. They added butter and herbs when they grilled the food I think.

Other than seafood, they serve pasta and other meats (lamb, duck...etc) as well. There is also some selection of desserts plus drinks. We were too full to eat anymore though. So for those wanting to try some nice seafood around Siglap area, you could pop by the place. Reservation is possible.

Ministry of Food (MOF) @ Marina

We were at the Ministry of Food (MOF) @ Marina for dinner, and the food is good! We ordered the Seafood Toji set ($19.80) which comes with rice and soup, as well as very delicious fried chicken. The sauce is egg based, not too salty, and goes well with the rice. I think the chicken has traces of ginger and other spices in it. I didn't use the dip for the fried chicken, but squash a bit of lemon juice on it.

We also ordered Tempura Udon ($11.80) which is normal bah for a good quality jap restaurant. The highlight of the dinner was the Macha Imo, which cost only $3.30 since we had ordered a dinner set. This is a must try! Picture of it is below, right after the udon photo. The hot fried sweet potato (according to MOF) is naturally sweet, and it is really sweet! Lolz. Mixed with the creamy soft serve, and red beans, the contrast of taste (and perhaps due to the different temperature) is just... great!

Overall dinning experience is good, and with a combination of MOF card plus credit card, we had two discounts of total 15%. The cost of dinner after discount is $38.58, and they throw in a free complimentary coffee (for the set meal). Nice saucer plate.

The New Oasis @ Toa Payoh

After Oasis, the famous porridge place has shifted to Toa Payoh, we have yet to have a chance to try out the new place. So on Saturday night, after the movie, a group of us went to give it a try. The location is not as ideal in terms of parking, but the park surroundings give the new Oasis a different look that is equally attractive as the old Kallang Oasis. For those who are driving there, you could park at the Toa Payoh swimming complex, and walk a short 5 mins distance over.

The food quality is the same as before, and I suspect the menu is exactly the same. The interior is equally nice, but is of smaller seating capacity. The 'walls' are mostly full length glass panels, and that gives a 'garden' view dinnign experience. Compared to the previous location, the distance between tables is smaller, thus you could hear conversations from other tables. Oh, there are seats outside for the alfresco dinning experience. Lolz, alfresco for Taiwan porridge?

Correction: In my previous entry I mentioned that the new place is open 24 hours, but apparently they decided to have a break from 3pm to 530pm. Not an issue for most dinners I think.

Overall it's still worth it to have porridge there. Price is cheap, since we spent about $81+ for 9, or $9 for a night porridge session with fried chicken pieces, sweet & sour fish, egg omelet, salted egg & fish, normal vegetables, pig intestines with salted vegetables, ...etc (no special food, just normal porridge fare).

Here's the pictures of the 'before' and 'after' of our satisfying supper.

Related Posts:
- Oasis shifting to near Toa Payoh Swimming Complex

Akashabu @ Kallang Leisure Park

Went to Kallang Leisure Park over the weekend and decided to try out the shabu shabu (see Wiki's explanation on shabu shabu) at Akashabu. I think we were among the first customers in the restaurant for the evening so the service is good. Ordered a number of dishes, including pork, duck (not bad!), mushroom, squid...etc etc. Here's a pic of the spread:

Not bad hor? The food is good. I guess partly cos' of the sauce they use. The brown brown mustard like thingy is actually quite good for the pork and duck. It kills off the heavy meat smell while offering a good taste to the otherwise bland meat. Other than the brown stuff, they also give soy sauce with chilli and garlic, so it's up to individual's taste with the sauces. The food is fresh in general. Hmm the salmon sashimi is also fresh but a bit expensive with $6 for 3 pieces.

Oh, we also ordered crab! Actually we wanted the softshell crab,but they made a mistake and gave us the raw big crab instead. Here's the crab. Big hor? The best part is the crab roe inside... waaahhhhh over-flowing crab roe...!

Overall experience is not too bad. Food is alright if you feel like having shabu shabu. The service is so so, but a bit short of staff when the restaurant is full. I think the general review online for this place is that the service is not great lolz, but well there is still a crowd wanting to eat at the restaurant. The price is...well...shabu shabu price lor... minus off the crab it is about $48 for 2... crab is $25 so total about $73.

Oh, for those shabu shabu fans, the pot they use can be bought at NTUC Fairprice for $50.... and you can get the meat...etc etc as well :)

Oasis shifting to near Toa Payoh Swimming Complex!

Many of the supper and food lovers will remember the Oasis at Kallang. The Oasis located near the stadium is a great Taiwanese porridge place, with free flow of sweet potato porridge and great dishes. Well, it has shifted to make way for a Sports Hub. A pity actually, cos' the place has good parking and great view. Went to the Kallang venue during the last few days of the operations and took some pics.

Here's the empty table after the 'last supper' at Kallang Oasis.

Guess many will miss the Kallang Oasis. Well it has shifted to near Toa Payoh Swimming Complex, and the new address is No. 303 Toa Payoh Lor 6 Toa Payoh Town Park Tel: 6346 4418. The good news is that Oasis opens 24 hours at the new place! Yeah... more great supper!

Related Posts:
- The New Oasis @ Toa Payoh