Fren(s)h

Was shopping at Vivo last weekend and decided to rest our tired legs (GSS starting :D)

Stopped by Fren(s)h for their yummy tartines (open faced sandwiches). I haven't been there for a really long time and was craving for their delicious tartines.

The aircon in the little corner shop was spoilt on the day we went there - it was very stuffy and uncomfortable to sit inside. Luckily, since the last time I came, they have expanded their little seating area to the opening landing outside. It faces sentosa and there is a nice breeze. They have cornered off the area with a border of potted plants.

They have a new menu with new tartines, and we decided on the Savoyarde Tartin. It's $22 for the set meal (comes with drink and dessert cos it's under the premium tartins, normal tartins cost $17 for the set).

It comes with reblochon cheese, prosciutto ham and diced potatoes and fresh onions. The tartine didn't dissappoint - the potatoes were soft and fluffy, with the occasional salty piece of prosciutto ham and soft melted cheese. The onions gave the dish a zing and the whole meal was complete with a refreshing salad of iceberg lettuce in a zesty dressing (I have nothing against iceberg lettuce salad - but those who like their salad with fancy leaves won't like this).

According to Wikipedia, Reblochon is a soft washed-rind cheese made from raw cow's milk. Produced from the day's second milking... proof of its being well-aged in an airy cellar, the rind of this cheese is covered with a fine white mould. The optimal period to savour this cheese is between May and September after it has been aged six to eight weeks. Reblochon has a nutty taste that remains in mouth after its soft and uniform centre has been enjoyed.

Well, to me, it was tasty, salty, soft and went really well with the potatoes and bread :D For the drink, I paid 50 cents to upgrade a normal drink to the Hot Chocolate but it was rather dissappointing. The chocolate wasn't mixed properly into the milk, and there were lots and lots of flecks of chocolate. Furthermore, it barely resembled the nice thick chocolately drink I had previously.

For dessert, we ate the delicious creme brulee. They serve it cold so it's really delightful to have on a warm balmy afternoon. And very energising for the next cycle of marathon shopping :p

Fren(s)h
1 Harbourfront Walk
#01-163 Vivocity
Phone 63768005

Seoul Yummy

Seoul Yummy is a Korean restaurant located in a corner of Square 2 (Novena Square). I've been to Seoul Yummy twice before - and ate the Kimchi Tofu Soup as well as the Chicken Hotplate but I didn't blog about it (cos I was busy) and now I'm too lazy to dig out the old photos from the recesses of my computer.

Went to Seoul Yummy with my mum for dinner - and tried the dinner set ($30.99++ for 2 persons). Its $36 after the taxes. The dinner consists of a generous amount of food, and in my opinion, completely worth the 18 bucks. It also comes with a free flow of Korean Barley Tea (hot/cold).

Ban Chan (Appetiser) was some coleslaw, kimchi, ikan billis with chilli, pickled cucumbers and a piece of cold tofu. I really like the Korean side dishes and that's why I particularly like Crystal Jade Korean, cos the side dishes are free flow. For the starter, there's a choice of either Kimchi Mandoo (Steamed Kimchi with Pork Dumplings) or Cheul Pan Gamja Jeos (Hotplate potato pancake). We took the pork dumplings, which were like gyoza but with the sourish spicy taste of kimchi. There was also alot of juices inside the dumpling and the skin is tender and moist.
Next up was a noodle dish (out of 2 choices) and Bibimbab. The Dolsot Bibimbap is a hotpot of mixed rice and it comes with beef. The restaurant is very flexible with the menu and allowed us to change the beef to chicken. Eating Bibimbab stresses me alot because if you don't stir and mix the rice fast enough, it tends to burn and stick to the pot. Good for those people who enjoy eating the crispy layer out of the bottom of the claypot. The chicken is exactly like the hotplate chicken that you will get in this restaurant ($9 something ++ for a huge plate). I liked the overall taste of the Bibimbap, with the egg coating each rice grain well and all the crunchy vegetables and sesame seeds.
There are 2 choices of Myon (noodles) - either Chap Chae Bokkeum or Woo Dong Bokkeum (Woo Dong, as you can guess, is actually udon, and it's fried with seafood and beef). We got the Chap Chae Bokkeum (Fried Korean Glass Noodles with Seafood and Beef). By this time, we were pretty full - the meal is really quite big for just 2 people. The noodles were nicely done- slightly springy, not soggy, but I found it slightly too sweet for my liking.
For dessert, we got a Mini Tropical Delight Bingsu each, which consists of a refreshing light yoghurt ice cream with fresh bananas, pineapple and watermelon. Though the whole bottom part of the bowl is just plain ice, the dessert was of a good size, especially since we were so full from the meal already.
The service in Seoul Yummy is really good - with the food and drink refills served quickly. They are also very flexible with the menu, which is another plus point. I think that it's really value for money - a nice clean place to dine in and good food for $18 nett.

There's another Korean restaurant in Square 2, called Hansang (seen more Koreans there) and good food, but the service there is really crap. I'll go to Seoul Yummy anytime. Anyway, since we're on the topic of Korean food, Hehe I actually waited for a day where I'm free enough to do the pict below to publish this Seoul Yummy post!!

10 Sinaran Drive
#03-69 Square 2
Telephone: (65) 6397-6939

Pump Room 2

The desserts at Pump room are probably the most worth-it items on the menu. Actually, it's probably one of their best things on the menu. I've tried 2 so far - the Honey Yoghurt Panna Cotta and the Sticky Date Pudding.I don't have the pict of the sticky date pudding, but the last time I tried it, it was good enough to rival Marmalade Pantry's. (Marmalade Pantry is somehow always my gold standard when it comes to comparing sticky date pudding).
My fave dessert there is the Honey Yoghurt Panna Cotta, which comes decorated with lots of berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries) and garnished with a mint leaf and a sprinkling of icing sugar. The panna cotta is extremely creamy, with the slightly sourish yoghurt taste, and a honey aftertaste. The bottom is filled with some berry puree. The texture of the panna cotta is pretty firm, more like a firm custard than a jelly. For $10++, I thought that the serving was really generous and big. This is an extremely satisfying dessert and I'm sure to come back for more. Pity I can't say the same for their main courses.Spicy Squid Rings ($12, found on their drinks menu, not the main menu) I quite like this finger food cos the squid is soft and chewy, the batter is light and crispy, and best of all they're very generous with their chilli powder and black pepper and whatever other marinade they use for it. It goes very well with the thousand island (?) sauce.
Sadly, the genre of music that night was terrible - it must have been some oldies night - cos I've never heard 9 out of 10 of the songs:( Super sad. The music did get a bit better in the second set, but haiz the songs were still a bit too old...

The Pump Room
3B River Valley Road
#01-09/10 The Foundry
Clarke Quay
Tel: 6334 2628

Yu Sai Shoku

Ya Sai Shoku is the new restaurant located where Tampopo was formally. Tampopo has moved from the basement to the ground level. We actually wanted to have the Tampopo ramen, but the bookings were full, and the walk ins were craaaazy (cos it was the long wkend).

Luckily, we found that there was a new restaurant where Tampopo used to be located. The speciality here is the Tonkatsu Ramen. There are 2 versions available - the spicy and non-spicy version - both cost $12++. The soup is milky, robust and not too salty. Like most other Japanese ramens, there's 2 little pieces of stewed pork (with lots of soft melty fat in between) and a half boiled soya egg inside. The egg was quite cooked so the yolk wasn't runny and nice. There's also a bit of bamboo shoots and spring onion (or is it leek?). The noodles were springy, chewy and of a fair sized portion. Overall, the ramen was passable - average but not really memorable. I suppose I won't mind coming back for the ramen - but only if it's along the way. This is the Kakiage -deep fried vegetables ($12.50) which is worth trying - fried to a crisp and that little piece of white paper at the bottom had minimal oil stains :D According to what I learnt from the tour guide in Japan, the little piece of white paper isn't used for absorbing all the oil - it's to see the skill of the chef - in that the tempura or whatever other deep fried stuff is properly done. The better the skill, the less the oil on the paper. I suppose that compared to all the other normal (not high class) Japanese restaurants I've been to, this must be one of the better dishes I've had.

They're having some sushi offer - where the 8 piece of sushi set costs $20 instead of the usual $28. Didn't try this dish cos it wasn't mine. but it looks pretty good.

The business that day was brisk, and the service was a bit disorganized and messy -for example, they forgot to get us water when we called for it, thought my friend who came late had ordered already etc. But they were friendly and helpful in recommending dishes, and best of all, the dishes came fairly quickly.

Michellelim Stars Rating:Yu Sai Shoku
Medi-Ya Super Market

177 River Valley Road B1-50

Liang Court Shopping Centre

Tel 63380393

Gurkha Palace Restaurant

After the very nice lunch experience I had with my cg, I decided to bring my another group of friends to try Gurkha Palace Restaurant. Unfortunately, the night we went the airconditioning was spoilt (I seem to be very unlucky with the airconditioning - I just went to Frensh and the airconditioning was spoilt too!). It was really very stuffy and pretty unberable inside the restaurant, especially since it was really crowded that night owing to big group of diners (about 15 of them?). Lamb Kebab - which was slightly dry but tasty cos of the marinade. I think this costs either $8 or $12.From Top: Butter Chicken, Mushroom, Fish in Coconut Sauce

The Butter chicken was the hot favourite - and was finished really quick, and the naan was used to mop up any remnants of the delicious sauce. The sauce was creamy, tangy and didn't dissappoint - and best of all it came with an incredibly reasonable price tag (can't rem the exact price but it's less than or $10).

The Mushroom vegetable dish was pretty spicy but was chokeful of mushrooms, and like all Indian food, packed with an explosion of spices.

The Fish with coconut sauce was the slowest to be finished up, perhaps because the fish pieces were very chunky and tough. The sauce was thick and flavourful, but the butterchicken sauce beat it hands down in terms of taste and flavour.

Like most Indian foods, the curries and sauces were really heavy, and most people were stuffed with just one naan each.Okay, so I was raving about the delicious homemade icecream I had here previously, and managed to persuade about 3 other people to have this absolutely delicious ice cream. But when it came, it completely didn't look anything like the delicious molten condense-milk with grounded nuts topping I had. Instead, it was huge rectangular chunks of ice cream topped on commercial chocolate ice cream (tastes like the normal magnolia/marigold kind you get in NTUC). Such a dissppointment.

The ice cream is called Himali Ice cream and costs $3.50 per portion.

The service was pretty slow that day - probably becuase the kitchen was overtaxed by that huge group of people and the aircon was SPOILT. They didn't have portable fan either. Other than these hitchups, I managed to use my NETS (and my 15% discount) unlike the other time... The food here's really good for the price and I will be sure to bring more people back.

Michellelim Stars:

Gourmet Plus

Gourmet Plus was highly recommended by my East-side friends, but I didn't try it for a long time cos it's far far far away. It's a small restaurant located in the quite Frankel Avenue (which very happily has free parking). They had just changed the menu when I went - so I had the privilege of trying out their very new menu - I think it was a few days old then (quite long ago, I'm backlogging over 12 posts =\).The were having a UOB promotion - 1for1 Foie Gras with any 2 main courses ordered. Of course, since one place usually costs $24 ++, we couldn't let go of the chance to try something that we won't usually order (due to budget constraints). The Foie Gras is the cold kind, and comes with gelatine bits on top. I enjoyed my foie gras, but I actually prefer it when it's warm - but this was a good sized slab considering how little we're paying for it:DAnyway, I shall just go direct to the point (supposed to go out later so I must faster faster blog this). The bestest dish there (that I ate, out of 3 dishes) was the duck confeit ($22 - or was it $24). The outer layer was a brittle crispy shell which was lightly salted, and there was a artery-clogging huge layer of fats which melted in my mouth. The meat was delightfully soft, and fell off easily from the bone. The meat was chunky and the sauce wasn't too salty and didn't overpower the duck taste.
My $24 has been well spent!

This is the first time I'm trying squid Ink Pasta (super sua ku) ($18++), and I must say that though it doesn't disagree with me, I won't be dying to have it, unlike Valentino's Pink Sauce Pasta. It's very black, has a slightly gritty texture and the squid ink tastes slightly briney and well, doesn't really taste like anything actually... The clams were tender and plump, and quite juicy too.Lamb shank ($24++) full of meat, robust sauce with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Honestly, I can't remember much about the lamb cos the duck was so lip-smackingly good. But it's really meaty and filling.

Overall, the service is prompt and efficient, and the waiters know the menu. The iced water was also regularly topped up, and the whole dining experience was very good and not too harsh on the wallet.

Michellelim star rating (for duck confit!): A whopping 4 star yum!

117 Frankel Avenue

Frankel Estate

Tel: 6441 1120

Privé - Keppel Island

Thanks to Annalisa & sister for finding this unique dining place :) So there was a 2hr we scuttled off intending intending to eat crabmeat pasta but it was sadly 'shuttered down' :( drove arnd for a while before deciding to go to Privé. The 1st time I went to Keppel Island, I ate at the very uninspiring tcc.The place is flooded on weekends (by people of course), and it feels very resort-ish and unSingapore-like.

They have a bread corner, with lots of interesting stuff like the Banana walnut bread ($7.90 for a loaf, which I shall buy back next time when I'm not rushing), whole loaves of foccacia, sourdough, whole wheat bread etc. They only sell it in full loaves though. If you order a bread, they will toast it in the oven at 180 C for you to make your loaf happily crispy and warm. And they serve it with unsalted butter. The sourdough bread ($7.90++) we tried was deliciously crispy, soft and fresh and tasted delicious slathered in butter.

Soups - Mushroom Soup, which was deliciously creamy and packed with mushrooms, Smoked Bacon and Asparagus which yummy salty bits of bacon, sprinkled with chives. Smoked Duck Salad (can't remember the price) came with a measly few pieces of ducks breast, dressed in a vinegrette dressing. But it's not outrageously expensive for the quantity of duck.

This is my Blue Crab and Prawn Wrap ($11++) which was absolutely delicious! The sweetness of the crab, freshness of the prawn mixed in a yummy cream sauce, crunchy onions punctuating every few bites. It's also sprinkled sparingly with chilli flakes, which gives the wrap a punch.

However, i thought that the ends of the wrap could be a tad thinner as it tasted too floury at the ends.Smoked Salmon Wrap, with some kind of fruit (apple?) chutney. Didnt really like this cos I felt that the spiced chutney didn't really go with the smoked salmon. Plus, the wrap was drippingly wet and soggy, probably from the chutney.Chicken and Mushroom Bechemel Pie ($9++), with buttery puff pastry baked over chicken morsels and mushrooms. There were also little bits of carrot. I conldnt really taste or see the bechemel - but the chicken bits were soft and tasty. Was pretty stuffed from the bread by then.Bailey's Milkshake ($11++), with the sweetness of the baileys and lots and lots of cream. Its pretty ok for alcoholic milkshake I suppose, but I'm not a fan. Maybe I should try the peanut butter one next time :D Dessert Conter in Privé, which we were unfortunate enough not to try cos we were really rushing for time. I'm going to try the Caribbean Panna Cotta, Chocolate cakes and Tiramisu next time! They really look yummy.

The service was quite slow, and our food seemed to take forever to come out (but we were rushing and I didnt time it, so it might just be psychogenic). However, we did note that the bread freshly warmed from the oven, was sitting on the counter for quite a while before it was taken to our table. Privé wasn't particularly crowded - it being a weekday and rainy, and they didn't seem short of staff either. Shots of the area near Privé - yacts of the rich and famous! It was rainy and cloudy that day, so the sky wasn't brilliant blue :(Dark Skies... Privé is located behind that teardrop shaped structure.
En Route to Privé - looks like a resort right? Bridge to Privé
Privé

No. 2 Kepple Bay

Singapore 098382
(Kepple Island)

Tel: 67760777

My rating for Privé: