[Media Invite]: Novotel, the Square

A few weeks back I received an invitation to try out the Square’s revamped buffet spread.

It’s an international menu and I was pretty impressed by the quality. Admittedly, some parts of the buffet seemed more like an afterthought but for the most part, the food was delicious.

I recommend their cheese risotto if you are a risotto fan. I’m not one (don’t like the starchiness of the rice grains) but I did enjoy the rich creaminess from the parmigiano-reggiano the risotto was tossed in.  I’m recently quite obsessed with seeing this technique of tossing stuff in a ginormous cheese wheel. Check out Iron Chef Mario Batali setting a Parmesan cheese wheel on fire to make Parmesan cheese sauce (from 4:48). Brilliant!

Roast beef resting at the carving station, DIY laksa, and cold seafood. The selection of cold seafood was limited, and didn’t look very fresh so I skipped that. But the salad section next to it was quite comprehensive.

Loved the cold mushroom salad lots. Whole white button mushrooms <3

Respectable selection of roasts I must say. Had the roast duck and it was not bad. The satay was surprisingly good. They barbecue them on the spot.

Not pictured are their small selection of dim sum, zi char dishes, and Indian curries. the curries especially are done competently. Get some bread from the bread section and use the curries as dips!

Some pictures of my plate:

Now for desserts!

The ice kachang machine stood at the corner looking quite forlorn.

Took me awhile to understand how it worked. Maybe it’s just me (ahaha) but an instruction sheet would be useful.

Ice crystals were too big for my liking, and there wasn’t any red bean available!! That’s a key ingredient gosh! Yam ice cream was nice and smooth- outsourced, but oh well most places do that anyway.

Nothing too spectacular but enough to satiate the dessert craving.

The most memorable dish for me actually, was an ala carte order (not available for the buffet).

Chef Jean-Philippe Couturier, passionately describing this poached cod fillet ($34++). The broth which the cod is poached in is a mix of spicy coconut both (aka laksa base) and prawn bisque. I think this was the best embodiment of their philosophy of “flavours of the world with an Asian touch”. The crunchy toasted baguette were perfect vehicles for soaking up that delicious, umami broth. The crustacean flavour paired really well with the spicy and milky notes. You know what, they should just serve it as a soup! While the cod was good- fatty and flakey- I would have loved to have more of that broth.

There is currently a father’s day special for the whole month of june and the the BIG deal promotion for dinner where they feature 3-4 BIG dishes every night. Check out their website for more details.

Lunch: $38++, Dinner: $48++ (Sun-Thurs), Dinner (BBQ nite, Fri-Sat): $58++

Thanks John for the invite!

Ippudo @ Mandarin Gallery

Ippudo original ramen (After GST it was almost $20)

I’ve heard mixed reviews about Ippudo but thankfully our visit was quite enjoyable.

The tonkotsu broth is not too oily or overwhelmingly salty. Really appreciated the subtle sweetness of the broth which tasted even better with a liberal amount of grated sesame seeds (sprinkle as much as you like, you can find it bottled on the table). As for your Hakata-style noodles the waiter will ask how you like them to be done so just let them know your preferences. I requested for medium.

 As evidenced above, hanjuku egg was perfectly executed.

Chashu though was definitely not the best. A little sinewy, but still alright I guess.

I liked how refined Ippudo’s ramen was. Good quality stuff and worth a visit. Be prepared to queue a little if you arrive after 7pm. You can’t hold tables either if you are a group of 3 or more.

Hong Kong 2012: 海都海鮮酒家 Victoria City Restaurant

My most memorable and decadent meal for the year so far would be at Victoria City Restaurant in Crowne Plaza, Causeway Bay. We chose to dine here out of convenience actually. Stayed in Crowne Plaza (a very comfortable hotel btw) and the distant relatives came to visit. Being a tad tired, we decided to dine in this restaurant not really knowing what to expect.

Prices here are much steeper than usual thus explaining the formal surroundings and service. We didn’t make reservations so a short wait was inevitable. Better than being turned away!

Probably the longest silver bait I’ve ever eaten. Crunchy, salty, non-greasy- these were the perfect nibbles for quelling the hunger pangs.

Roast duck, not the best ever attempted but certainly one of the better ones. Ultra-crispy skin and juicy meat.

Now this was good, and one of their signatures too. Chicken roasted with salt or something to that extent. That skin was so delightfully crisp (with  hint of saltiness making it so moreish) and the meat was bursting with flavour! I liked how every part of the chicken was roasted to the perfect doneness. No overcooked pieces on the plate- even the breast meat was delicious. The green relish you see was tasty but really salty. Use sparingly.

Best bamboo clams I’ve ever had. Crunchy, sweet meat and the tang hoon soaked up all the sweet juices. I’m a garlic fan so the generous topping of chopped garlic really hit the spot for me. Slurp-worthy dish!

A mandatory order for every dinner we have in a chinese restaurant- steamed fish. Pity I didn’t get a photo of the whole fish but it’s not very nice to keep the guests waiting.

The pièce de résistance and also the most expensive dish for that meal would be this. Ginormous flower crabs bathed in an umami concoction of yolks, chicken oil and shaoxing wine. Look at how small the other plates look in comparison! Trust me this was a head turner.

Actually I’m not sure if these are even flower crabs because I’ve never seen or heard of flower crabs that are the size of Alaskan crabs. But the patterns on the shell and the thin pincers do resemble flower crabs right?

There was a lot of meat inside each leg/pincer and the meat itself was really easy to get to. There were no flying pincers and injuries caused during the process of eating thankfully. Not all of the shaoxing wine was burnt off so there was a bit of heat from the alcohol at the end- very good though if you drink the sauce alone you might find it excessive. The flavours of the sauce were quite remarkable I must say. It wasn’t rich largely due to the wine that cut through the heaviness, and the aroma was pretty amazing.

There will definitely be leftover sauce but don’t throw that away! The service staff suggested da-baoing it and frying it with noodles for lunch the next day. This is usually done with ee-fu noodles at the restaurant itself but we were too stuffed for more carbs.

Not pictured were two veggie dishes, one of them being lettuce leaves stir-fried in shrimp paste and served sizzling in a clay pot. This smelt so good that the other table decided to order it too!

We also had desserts which were not bad, but nothing you can’t find whilst roaming the streets of causeway bay.

This meal was truly memorable, albeit being extremely expensive imo mainly because of the seafood ordered (crabs especially!). That said the dishes had lots of technique involved and the flavours departed from the more traditional ones that we were more familiar with. A very exciting meal indeed and highly recommended for that once-in-a-lifetime experience!

All day Breakfast – Late Plate

I remember feeling terribly jaded that day from all the studying. Before heading to utown for more hardcore mugging, the friends and I decided to drop by Late Plate for a power-brunch.

The corned beef hash ($15) is a hearty bowl of baked eggs, melty gruyere, potato mash and corned beef right at the bottom. The crunchy sourdough toasties worked well as edible scoops for the mishmash of ingredients in the bowl. While it tasted great, I could have done with more gruyere and less mashed potato. It does get heavy given the richness of flavours, but it’s perfect for sharing.

My favourite for the day were the steak fries ($8). I don’t usually like fries but these thick-cut fries really hit home with their crunchy exterior and fluffy, non-starchy insides. Best of all, the skins were on!

Another dish that I’ll definitely recommend is their eggs benedict ($18). In the place of english muffins were light and fluffy savoury scones. Great for mopping up the rich hollandaise. Poached eggs were done perfectly- with molten yolks-, and rested on smoked salmon and sauteed spinach.

Desserts were extremely forgettable. Don’t bother unless you are dearly in need of sugar!

I find brunch nowadays ridiculously overpriced (*ahem* wild honey *ahem*) but rest assured at late plate, prices are more affordable. They don’t scrimp on the ingredients either, which is great.

Location: levvel 1, NUS Shaw Foundation Alumni house

Hong Kong 2012: The egg tart journey

Flew to Hong Kong for a quick getaway a few weeks back with the parents and cousin. It was great fun introducing this metropolitan city to the cousin who had hitherto not been to Hong Kong before. One of the few things that we did differently this time was to explore the country for some of their best egg tarts. After reading jer lin‘s sterling review of Tai Cheong bakery, I knew I had to visit this place for myself!

35 Lyndhurst Terrace is really close to Wellington Street where our favourite Yung Kee lies. Bring a map along and you’ll find your way somehow. This egg tart is more affectionately known as Chris Patten’s egg tart because the ex- British governor was known to visit Tai Cheong Bakery for his egg tart fix.

What makes this egg tart so special?

That insanely wobbly egg custard within that isn’t too sweet? Or that sweet-savoury biscuit shell that bowled us over with its buttery crunchiness?

Those factors, combined with the fact that it came fresh out of the oven (99% chance you’ll get it hot because of the high turnover. People come it at the most random timings for a treat.) made it SO GOOD that I had to come back and buy more for the friends back home.

Unfortunately out of the 60 we bought, 20 became sour . You see, these things don’t keep well, even for a day. The high moisture content in the eggy custard made the tart shell so soggy that it was inedible by my (very low) standards. Unless you are content with egg pudding, da-baoing just won’t cut it. Eat by the pavement if you have to, okay?!

If you fancy more comfortable surroundings to savour your egg tarts, Honolulu Coffee Shop is another place where you can get your fix. It’s pretty nearby to Tai Cheong bakery,  a few streets away at 33 Stanley Street (behind Wellington Street).

Their egg tarts are slightly different, mainly due to the egg tart shell which is composed of ridiculously thin, crisp layers that shatter as you bite into it. Very delicious, but it missed the wow factor that tai cheong egg tarts had for me. Maybe it’s because it wasn’t served fresh out of the oven, or because it didn’t have the savoury dimension that the tart shell of tai cheong’s egg tart had. heck it’s not even a fair comparison since they are different kinds of egg tarts!

That said I’ll give this place full marks for that authentic Hong Kong cha chaan teng experience, with good food to boot.

Pineapple buns or polo buns served with or without butter. Everyone loves a topping of eggs, butter, sugar, flour and a touch of salt, don’t you think?

Wash everything down with some iced milk tea. A refreshing drink for a hot summer day.

More posts to come, soon!

[Media Invite]: Kuru Kuru Japanese Restaurant

Located in Valley Point, Kuru Kuru is a small casual japanese restaurant. The food is not all authentic jap. There are subtle additions of our favourite western ingredients like cheese and mayonnaise. I won’t say the food is super fantastic but given the price I think it’s an awesome place to pig out with the family and friends.

The buffet for adults goes for $30++ and $26++ for dinner and lunch respectively. For children it’s $18++ and $15++ for dinner and lunch respectively. If your child’s height is below 1.1m, he gets to dine for free (1 non-paying child for every adult). There is a grand total of 137 choices on the menu.

Okay the things you must order

Get the mixed platter sashimi, one for each person if you wish! The fatty slabs of salmon were joy. Didn’t like the tuna or the swordfish but I think that’s a personal preference. The grilled items are a must-try. Everything was nailed down to the T. Crispy with minimally charred outsides and moist juicy flesh for everything we ate, including the mackerel (which is in my humble opinion, the best grilled mackerel I ever had and it being deboned was a major plus). It’s a pity we only discovered this towards the end of our meal. Otherwise I would have indulged in more variety!

Didn’t try the prawn tempura because I’m allergic to them but the vegetable tempura were done so well. Go for the egg plant and mushroom tempura.

Now for the less impressive. Didn’t like the salads (potato salad, and peach salad)- never liked them anyway. Scallops with cheese and mentaiko sauce didn’t taste good mainly because of the scallops which were too tiny and bouncy. The sushi fillings were good (deep-fried softshell crab, fried salmon skin and cream cheese, california roll) but the sushi rice was far too clumpy and soggy. The katsu failed for me more because the batter kind of separated from the chicken inside.

And for dessert, I went with a safe choice of green tea ice cream and red bean.

I came here with the friends before and ordered ala carte but seriously, the buffet dinner price is so much worth it!

thanks Street Directory for the invite. it was great meeting you guys (:

Media Invites

You guys would probably have noticed that I’m starting to accept invites.

Yes I am. Off the top of my head I can list a few reasons why I decided to: bored of the hols and eating alone (#onlychildsyndrome), couldn’t resist the temptation of free food (honest opinion please don’t hate me ), it’s a great opportunity to learn more about food etc.

But I’ve come to realise food tastings aren’t all fun and cool like how many think they are. We take awhile to snap photos of our food, I have to think about how I’m going to describe what I ate, taste and re-taste things over to make sure I really liked/disliked something.

I admit at the end of the day, I do enjoy myself. It’s always great to meet people who are also passionate about food, to hear their foodie/travel experiences, and learn more about food. However, if you are not interested in reading about my experiences at tasting sessions, skip my link when you see the words “Media Invite” in the header. Also, I won’t consciously mince my words just because the food was free. In fact I think I’m a little more critical because I think more at food tastings while I eat vis-a-vis talking and eating at the same time when I’m with family and friends.

On a separate note I’ll be heading to Ireland for exchange next sem! If you have recommendations about what to eat and do, leave a comment or drop me an email. Much appreciated (: