Immanuel French Kitchen and Two Wings

I'm a big fan of cheap and good food - especially if it's not in some far flung inaccessible place. Immanuel French Kitchen was on my food radar for the longest time, but then somehow I never went there. Till about 2 months ago (yes this is superbly outdated).

 The chicken liver pate with port wine ($7.90) was rich and creamy, and went fabulously with the warm crusty bread.

The pan fried foie gras ($16.50) may look a bit unusual, but it tastes great - prior to this I've never eaten foie gras in broth. Surprisingly it goes really well with the dash broth and daikon.

The escargots ($12.90) were also delicious - can't go wrong with ordering escargots in a French place right?

Fried frog legs with shallots and parsley ($12.60) - it was a bit disappointing for me cos I found the other starters better than the frog legs - perhaps it was also because we ordered chicken wings (see below) from another store so it was a bit of an overkill.

 The pork belly ($16.50) was a crowd pleaser - served with onset egg, duxelle mushrooms and potato foam. Melt in the mouth pork belly with creamy potato foam and delicious oozing onsen egg. Plus the crouton bits for the extra crunch. I think this would have cost me double the price from some fancy restaurant.

 Duck leg confit ($16.50) which was moist and tasty, but since duck confit isn't my fave dish - possibly biased cos I saw some cooking show and they cook it in pure duck fat >.< The mash potatoes were so awesome - I think we contemplated getting an extra mashed potato side but then we had too much food already...

 We also went to try the famous Two Wings, which supposedly has the best chicken wings in Singapore. I was waylaid by their awesome heaping cheese fries. But not a good idea to eat so much rich food in one seating... I will try to space it out the next time...

 The wings didn't disappoint- slightly larger than the scrawny ones that you get in most places... The skin was very crispy and evenly cooked. I'm not a big fan of chicken wings either so I didn't think it was spectacular, just that if you're in the area and love chicken wings, it would be a good place to go to.

Finished off the day with more good oils - and did a taste test of 2 of the more famous avocado milkshakes - I do think that the store beside Mr Avocado has the better milkshake (more creamy, less sweet) but then if there was a queue, I'll just go to whichever is shorter...

Immanuel French Kitchen and Two Wings can be found in a coffeeshop
119 Bukit Merah Lane 1
Singapore 151119
Just next to Alexandra Village Food Centre

Fix

 Was surfing the internet for new food places, and saw a review on Fix cafe online. The thing that caught my eye was the liu sha doughnuts. I absolutely had to go and try them! 6 mini doughnuts, piping hot, with liu sha (salted egg yolk) sauce. How amazing is that! I'm such a fan of salted egg sotong, salted egg crab, and salted egg just about anything else. Salted egg doughnuts are a a level up! Can you imagine if they injected the doughnuts with liu sha sauce? They would be selling out faster than you can say Krispy Kreme! The liu sha sauce was a bit cold when served, but since the doughnuts were so warm, it didn't quite matter to me.

Another thing is that Fix is the sister cafe of Grub, which is this insanely popular cafe in Bishan Park, which has immensely long queues so I have't been there cos I don't particularly like standing in the sun, queuing and wasting my life away. Ok I hope that Fix does't get flooded after the word that they have liu sha doughnuts gets out >,<

We also tried their naanwiches, which are essentially open faced sandwiches on a naan base (instead of your normal muffin/bread). I had the chicken tikka naanwich, which was really delicious - soft tender chicken, with crispy achar on the side and a perfectly half boiled egg. The naan was soft and fluffy.

Check out their perfectly half cooked egg - the yolk was gel like and slightly runny. x2. It's so freaking hard to find a cafe which has such perfectly cooked eggs ( I hope the standard remains the same after I blog about it).

The beef kimchi naanwich - which I didn't try but my friend said the beef was so super soft and delicious.

The naanwiches come with a side of cheese nachos, with tomato salsa. Really value for money since the naanwiches are only $10 each. Who says you can't find good quality brunch at decent prices?

 Since I don't drink coffee, I got myself a chocolate peanut butter banana milkshake (there's some offer if you get it together with the main courses, can't remember exactly but it's $1-2 off the original price). Comes with crispy wafer flakes on top. The peanut butter taste wasn't very strong, but the chocolate and banana was really intense. I was so full after drinking this.

 Since I was so full, I had to dapao the cakes - this was a coconut and mango cake, which reminds me of the Kki cake that I really like. The coconut mousse layer was really light and refreshing.

Strawberry pistacho rose tart - the rose was only in the blob of cream, but nonetheless, the tart was good - buttery moist base, fresh strawberries 

Ordinarily I would have skipped going to a new cafe if there wasn't any air-conditioning cos it's so humid and hot, but Fix has a really nice poolside view, and lots and lots of ceiling fans so it's nice windy and cool.

Another good place near Novena (sigh) which opens early and are perfect for the people who post call at 830 ;P

FIX
31 Ah Hood Road
At the HomeTeamNS Clubhouse
#01-06
Tel 62561484

Big D's Grill

Tried Big D's grill quite a while back, but I dropped my trusty handphone and sent it in for repair before transferring the pictures. And after that, had great intertia to blog about it. The photos for this post was taken using my Sony Ericsson C902 hp, which is the best camera hp I've had. If only the iphone had a camera function similar to sony ericsson, I'd buy it in a flash.

Big D's grill used to be located somewhere in Bedok, and I've been wanting to try it after reading about it eons ago. I was really happy when I heard that they were shifting to Holland Grove in Feb this year. They serve premium cuts of meat (like kurobuta pork for about $30, Wagyu beef etc) at prices cheaper than restaurants, but I can't bear to part with 30 bucks in a coffeeshop, and tried the normal and (much more) affordable food.

The Crabmeat Linguine ($10.40)
I'm a big fan of crabmeat linguine, especially the one from Marmalade Pantry which is $22++ and makes me very sad whenever I eat it because I know that I'll definitely want to rush back to have more. Big D does a great version of the dish, but at a pocket friendly price.

The tomato sauce is sweet and delicious, with some bits of crab meat (not as much as I hoped for), and a bit of chilli padi for the spicy kick. The sauce is supposed to be fairly spicy, but you can request for less spicy, and they will omit the chillies.

I've eaten this 3x already, and the linguine was al dente every time.

Though I must say, I still prefer MP's version more, because at that price, they pack much more crabmeat in it, and what is crabmeat linguine with so little crab meat? But then again, with MP's service standard going down the drain, perhaps I'll just satisfy my craving here...

Grilled Pork Chop (around $10) with apple sauce, mashed potatoes and baked beans

The first time I ate this (went back within the next 2 weeks and had the same dishes again, cos I'm very boring), I thought that it was fantastic. The pork chop was juicy and tender, with a slightly char-grilled taste. However, when I went back the second time, the pork chop just wasn't as juicy and didn't hit the spot like how my first one did.

The mashed potatoes tasted great -extremely creamy but very runny, so it has the texture more like sauce rather than mashed potato.Their baked beans were delicious - they are unlike the canned baked beans which are rather mushy. I'm not sure if they make the baked beans themselves, but these beans are firm and chunky.Fish and Chips
I think I was too impressed with the other 3 dishes that I really don't have much to say about the fish and chips. It's not bad since the fish is coated in a tasty batter, and the fries are thick cut, so they're really shiok to eat.

Sambal Buah Keluak (around $10)
The sambal buah keluak is a simple dish consisting of a thick, tarry bowl of sauce, piping hot white rice and tomato salsa. Of course, the buah keluak sauce is the main draw here - the buah keluak packs a punch - very spicy, with the smokey gritty taste of buah keluak. It's like eating essence of buah keluak, and not needing to get your hands dirty in the process.

I've got to get down to trying their anchovy pasta, but then when I went back the second time, I got waylaid by their fantastic crabmeat spaghetti instead...

Personally, I don't think I'll ever try their premium cuts of meat, because I really feel like I can't part with my $30 for a premium kurobuta pork chop in a sweltering hot coffeeshop. Perhaps it's just a mental barrier but their simple crabmeat linguine and normal pork loin is good enough for me :)

When I was there, I was wondering why there were so many tourists there - found out that Big D's grill was featured in Time Out recently.

Big D's Grill

Blk 46 Holland Drive #01-359 (Near Swimming Pool/Community Center. Same place as XO Fish Head Bee Hoon)
Tel: +65 9662 7040

Lunch 12pm – 2.30pm

Dinner 6.30pm – 9.30pm

(Closed for Lunch on Thu)

Jules Verne

After 2 sad weeks of ban mian from the canteen (sadness indeed, and that's only when time permits), I'm so happy to have eaten a good dinner at a nice restaurant!

Everyone associates Jules Verne as the author, but in Sunset way, Jules Verne is the start of your culinary journay across Europe. It's helmed by a German Chef (yikes didn't find out his name) and serves European food. I can't pronounce nearly 70% of the dishes in the menu.

Initially wanted to try the Bouillabaisse ala Marseille, which has saffron in it, but they didn't have it that day. So we ended up ordering the Home made fish stew ($16?) which was my favourite soup that night. It's from the daily special menu. The soup looks really creamy, but is not that heavy. There's lots of carrots, celery and other vegetables, and pieces of fish as well as scallops, prawns and mussels. It's a good sized portion and can be a meal by itself.
Hungarian Beef Goulash Soup ($12)
I didn't eat it but I think everyone that did said that it was pretty nice. There's potato dumplings inside too. So it's really very filling.

Soljanka 'Bucaresti' - European hot and sour soup ($12)

I found the soups here too salty, and this was no exception. This reminded me vaguely of minestrone soup, and the soup wasn't that spicy but mildly peppery. The stewed garlics were pretty interesting though. We also had the 5 course Balkan Set (specialities from Romania, Bulgaria, Albania and Ex-Yugoslavia) for $39++

1. Starter was Grilled capsicum with herbs and garlic, marinated in olive oil and served with bread ($10 ala carte, portion is bigger I suppose?). I didn't really like this dish, cos everything was so mushy and oily, but I did like the way the capsicums tasted.

2. Soljanka 'Bucaresti' - European hot and sour soup ($12 for ala carte)

3. Stew of Beans, onion, bacon and chillies served in mini bread bowl ($12 alacarte)
The beans were great cos they tasted really nice and fresh. Totally different from the usual canned baked beans.

I didn't get a photo of the main course, which is 4. Cevapcici, a traditional spicy herbal dish made from minced beef and lamb, served with french fries, salad and mustard. It looks a bit like Shish kebab to me tho I didn't try it.

Dessert was 5. Baklava (see below for the picture)

My main, which was the Pollo Forno di Venecia ($22)

Pan fried skin and boneless chicken breast layered with ham peach and melted chesse. The pilaf rice was deliciously fluffy, though I would have preferred the herb rice. I found my dish too salty, but my salt treshold is rather low.

My favourite dish for the night was the Pike - Perch fillet 'Balatoni' ($29)

The deliciously flaky fish fillet is baked with cheese, and topped with capsicum-tomato salsa. The herbal pilaf rice is incredibly aromatic, fluffy and goes extremely well with the fish.

I don't know what dish this is, but I think it's one of their daily specials, which is a grilled seafood platter. It's a generous portion of mussels, prawns, shrimps, fish and scallops, with two bread buns. The seafood has a nice smokey taste.

Kassier Smoked Pork Loin ($19++) with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut
I didn't like this dish cos the pork was really very hard. The best part of this was the mashed potatoes, which were extremely fluffy, buttery and creamy.

I forgot to take a picture of the Berliner Currywurst ($15++) but it's a pork sausage topped with sweetish curry sauce (which reminds me of Jap curry/reminds other ppl of the macdonald's curry sauce) serve with a mountain of thick cut fries. I think the next time I come here, I'll have the currywurst with fries changed to mashed potatoes. I think it'll be even nicer if they sprinkled curry poweder on top.

Onto desserts (even though we were really full!)

Wiener 'Kaiserschmarr'n' with Plum Compote ($18)

This is the favourite dish of the last Austrian emperor, and requires a preparation time of 20-30minutes. The dessert is really huge - I think 3-4 people should share it! Do not attempt this alone. It doesn't look that huge in my photo cos there's no comparison. Should have placed a fork there before snapping the shot.

The pancake is pretty starchy, quite stiff and goes well with the slightly sweetish plum compote (though I thought the fruit looked more like a cherry). I liked the baked golden raisins too.

The Mohr im Hemd ($10) is rather small, and is described as a juicy homemade chocolate-nut cake tossed with chocolate sauce and garnished with cream. I was quite dissappointed to find that the cream was just like normal bottled whipped cream. The cake was rather dry and crumbly.

Baklava (from the 5 course set) ($12 ala carte)

This is a Turkish/Balkan dessert which has layers of filo pastry stuffed with nuts and served with honey. Extremely nutty, and drizzled with real bee honey, this dessert is a delicious way to end an extremely satisfying meal.

The next time I'm back, I'll try the baked apple slices on Cinnamon Honey ($9) which looks really nice and golden brown in the picture.

I'm definitely coming back to try their famous Flammkuchen. Flammkuchen is an Alsatian dish, which looks like a pizza. According to our waiter, the leek and smoked salmon as well as the onion and bacon is their best sellers. Can't wait to try it! Hope it'll be soon... It's $15 for a small and $23 for a large Flammkuchen.

Service is quick, friendly and efficient, and the chef came to check on us a few times. Iced water is served here, and my glass was always filled (even though I was thirsty and drank quite alot of water). It's al fresco dining only, but it's pretty breezy in the evenings, and dining on the patio is really relaxing after a hectic 2 weeks (for me at least).

Foods v salty - do inform your server if you want your food less salty.

According to the reviews on hungrygowhere, there's also affordable lunch sets at $14.50, which are supposedly very good.

Jules Verne

Blk 106 Clementi St 12 (Sunset Way)

#01-38D

Tel: +65 6777 2275

Raw Kitchen Bar

Raw Kitchen Bar is an al fresco restaurant located at the previous Bukit Timah Firestation. It's completely al fresco, so in order not to die from heatstroke wear something coooooling! I was wearing jeans and feeling quite hot and icky in general. Plus, since it's a bar the lighting is pretty dim - please don't bring someone who has night blindness, unless you want to sit inside (which is more lighted, but doesn't have aircon, so it's even warmer). Actually, it's quite hot, but if you wear shorts, then the mosquitoes will swarm onto you (since it's so near the nature reserve, definitely have lots of mosquitoes). So I guess you can either suffer from the heat or get bitten and risk dengue lol!
Rosemary Flat Bread which comes with basil olive oil dip. The bread's really fresh - from where I was seated, I could see hte chef drizzling olive oil over the dough and baking it in the oven. They initially forgot to serve us the bread, and when we peered around at other tables and realized that they had bread. So despite having already started on main courses, we had 2 rounds of bread. Ahi Mango Poke with Wanton Chips ($16++) - Deep fried wanton skins, with a slightly sourish crunch salad with Japanese Cucumbers, Capsicums, onion and juicy mango. I think the beauty of this dish is in its simplicity. Personally, I think I can easily do this one at home (minus the deep frying, cos I don't know how to deep fry - do you reuse the oil or throw it away?but it's such a waste cos there's so much oil!) and I don't see why it's $16++. But it tastes really good cos it's crunchy and refreshing.

Zucchini Pancake with balsamic goat cheese and prosciutto ($12++)

This one was pretty interesting, just that I found the portion a bit small. Three little floury zucchini pancakes, with creamy goat's cheese (it's not the kind tt reeks of goat, so good for those people who hate the goat smell), and a small piece of prosciutto. Salmon Nori with Wasabi Mash and Mushrooms ($22++)

This was my main course - the salmon was juicy and oily, and wrapped with a small piece of seaweed. It's quite a thick piece of salmon. The portion is very generous - the place was pretty full (it's a normal sized plate) and the dish was quite filling (but I always have space for dessert). I quite liked the mushrooms, which had the slight taste of balsamic vinegar. The wasabi mashed potatoes had hardly any wasabi taste - there was only the mildest bit of wasabi, and that was only in one corner of the mashed potatoes. Not that I'm complaining cos I don't like powdered wasabi (which is actually horseradish). Balsamic Duck and Butter Potatoes ($23++)
I can't remember much about this dish - I don't think it was that fantastic, but it wasn't that bad cos I didn't think that the duck was hard/dry/tough or anything.

Marsala Wine Lamb Chops ($24++)

The lamb chops were succulent and nice and pink in the middle. It comes with sweet potato mash, which is an interesting change from the normal mashed potatoes. I really like sweet potato, and the mash was smooth and delicious. It also came with grilled vegetables (eggplant, zucchini and peppers). I think that $24 is very reasonable for lamb (especially for dinner) cos some other places charge around $30 just for lamb!Rigatoni, Crab, Cromato Sauce ($21++)

This was my fave dish of the night - crab and pasta plus pink sauce always tastes good. Btw, Cromato means cream + tomato. Actually, I think that if I came here again, I'll either order this or the lamb. Although I do think the lamb is more worth it cos it's meat, and this one hardly has any meat?

Deep Fried Cheesecake with Strawberry Marmalade ($6++)

I thought this dessert was really worth the price - it's 3 medium sized balls of deep fried cheesecake, with a syrupy strawberry sauce. Though I found the batter a bit on the heavy and oily side, the cheesecake was oozingly creamy, and still slightly chilled.

Dining at Raw Kitchen Bar reminds me of having a casual bbq at a friend's house, just that you have to pay more:P Although the main courses are very reasonably priced, I think that the appetisers are not. The food here is very simple and tasty. Service here is friendly and unpretentious, and the relaxed atmosphere. In fact, our server told us that they encourage sharing, especially for appetisers - how many places actually do tt!

This place was recommended by C who's dad has been patronizing this place lots:D She recommends the White Zucchini Pizza too.

Raw Kitchen Bar

276 Upper Bukit Timah Road

Tel: 6467 3987

It's really in the middle of nowhere, from the main road, just look for this neon sign saying "Gastrobar" and you've found the right place. I shall go and try the Gastrobar next :)