Jalapeno's Pepper - Singapore Flyer

This is a very outdated post from May, just that I didn't have the time to blog about it till now. Went to Singapore Flyer to make use of the weekday student tickets ($10 nett for a ride), and we were attracted to Jalapenos cos of their 1 for 1 pasta and main course special. Of course, they had lots of terms and conditions, such as you have to order one pasta (which isn't even nice), having the free dish at an equal or lower price etc etc Being the price conscious people we were, we ordered 2 crayfish pastas (cos it'ss the most expensive pasta at ~$19) and ordered 2 other main courses which were also around the same price.

For $19++, the portion of crayfish was incredibly tiny - plus it wasn't as tastey as I had expected it to be. The pasta was slightly overcooked, and very oily.

Signature grilled Fajitas ($19.50++)

We got the Chicken and Beef Combo (the other choices are chicken, beef and mixed seafood). 3 soft and warm tortillas, guncamole, cheese, diced tomatoes, heaps of lettuce and sour cream. The meat was cooked with capsicums and onions (which were eventually a bit charred, cos we left them on the hot plate for too long).

The best dish that night was the Seafood Risotto ($~$19? can't remember the exact price), which exceeded my (low) expectations. It was the last dish to be served, and it was quite impressive. If I ever come back to Jalepenos, I'll definitely order this, or the seafood baked rice (which looks very cheesey and huge!). The risotto was done just right - with the rice being just cooked so that each grain had a nice bite to it. The sauce was creamy, with the slight taste of cheese, and it went very well with the seafood (prawns, scallops, squid, mussles, crayfish).

Thumbs up for the good service (the waiter suggested that since I don't eat beef, they could help us separate the beef and chicken from the hotplate) but not for the mediocre pasta and the not serving water. Well, I guess they have to earn the money from somewhere... I'll definitely be very distressed if I had to pay $19++ for that crayfish pasta.

Jalapeno's Pepper (Singapore Flyer)
30 Raffles Avenue

#02-01 Singapore Flyer

Tel: 6333 1017

Spruce

It's June already, and I'm going for a 13-day holiday - I'll be back on the 18th, hopefully I'll have more inspiration to blog (I have so many backlogs!) and perhaps if I'm feeling happy I'll blog about my trip. I hope everyone's enjoying their last 3 week holiday before final yr starts!

Went to Spruce a while ago with Julie(who also has alot of backlogs!). Great that she's organizing stuff since I'm too lazy to 'discover' new places:D Spruce has a cheese cellar - you can have a little tour of the cheese cellar, and sample some cheeses before your meal. I highly recommend trying the Black Truffle Cheese - the cheese is soft and creamy, and infused with the delicious aroma of black truffle. Simply delicious!

Sampling the cheeses - I can't remember the names of all the cheese, but there was a goat's cheese, brie and some other hard cheeses. Spruce serves a cheese platter - 3 cheeses for $15, 4 for $19, and 5 for $23. We were pretty stuffed after our mains and desserts - the black truffle cheese platter has to wait for another time.

Braised Duck Pappardelle with Rosemary ($22++)

I found the parpapardelle slightly too hard and dry - there were chunks of braised duck, but I thought overall, the dish didn't leave a lasting impression on me - perhaps it was because the flavours of the duck, sauce and cheeses were not strong. I thought that this dish would have been better if there was a bit more sauce and cheese.

Spruce burger with Hand cut Chips ($17++) is a beef burger. I didn't eat it, but I pinched some of the fries, which were thick cut and pretty good. Lots of people have been raving about the Spruce Burger. Since I didn't try it, I can't rave about it, so maybe you can go to Julie's blog (when she updates).

Suprisingly, it was the Creamy Macaroni and Cheese side ($7++) that stole the show. The top was baked to a brown crisp, and sprinkled with chives.The macaroni was done al dente, and each were coated in the cheesy, creamy sauce. Much more worth it than the $22 pappardelle! Perhaps I should come and try the other sides - I think that a side of creamy macaroni and cheese with a dessert (perhaps the cheesecake?) all to myself would be filling enough. They have other sides which sound delicious, such as the roasted corn with tarragon butter and lime ($8), as well as the Roasted Mushrooms with Herbs ($8). The corn sounds delicious to me!

The Steamed Ginger Date Pudding with Chocolate Toffee Sauce ($12++) is no match for Marmalade Pantry's Sticky Date Pudding. Also, I was expecting a spicier ginger taste - but the ginger is is pretty attenuated - hardly could taste any ginger inside (ginger haters can rejoyce), and there were a only a few bits of candied ginger in the whole pudding. The chocolate toffee sauce was pretty watery, and just tasted syrupy sweet - not chocolatey at all.

The Yogurt and Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Seasonal Fruit ($12) was dissappointing, and should not be called a Panna Cotta. If I had to say something good about this, I would say that the crumble went really well with the yogurt. Other than that, it could hardly be called a Panna Cotta - it was more of a yogurt than panna cotta. The consistency of this desesrt is exactly like that of yogurt - viscous and creamy, with the nice sourish yogurt taste. The berries at the bottom were jam like, and if I was expecting yogurt rather than Panna Cotta, I would say this dessert was okay. But it's really not a panna cotta at all.

We would have liked to try the Spruce Cheesecake of the Day, but it was a very uninspiring Oreo Cheesecake, so we gave it a pass. Perhaps next time (if I ever go back) I'll try one of their cheesecakes, since their 2 desserts didn't meet my expectations.
Frankly, I will not pay such high prices for the food here. It's in the range of Marmalade Pantry prices, but the food doesn't leave a lasting impression. The ambience here is pretty much like Klee (at Portsdown), with a wooden floor. Other than the cheese cellar, I think you're better off eating at Marmalade Pantry. Well, parking here is free, so that's a plus point...

Spruce

320 Tanglin Road

Phoenix Park

Tel: 6836 5528

(Opposite Brunei Embassy)

The Lighthouse

Went for lunch at the newly opened Lighthouse at Fullerton with ice. I'm currently very out date cos I haven't been following any food related things. Anyway, I'm quite sad my electives are over - had so much fun doing them. I can't believe that I'm going to be in final year in 3 wks :( Hopefully I'll be able to maintain this blog. The foccacia rolls were served toasty hot and had a incredibly delicious aroma. They were extremely fluffy, and had lots of rosemary bits. The top part of the bread was sprinkled with rock salt, and was very crispy. It was served with individual portions of olive butter - I don't usually eat much butter with my bread, but the combination of the olive butter, slightly salty bread and the intense rosemary scent was indeed too great to resist, and I polished down 2.5 pieces of bread :O

Amuse bouche - Sicilian vegetable caponata crostini amuse bouche

The vegetables were cooked just right - they weren't mushy and still had a slight firmness. I liked the tangy tomato base - it reminds me of a tastier, less salty pizza.

Grilled polenta, fresh taleggio cheese, pickled radicchio “in carpione”
This dish isn't on the lunch menu, but the chef very kindly did it for us :) Triangles of polenta with soft, creamy taleggio cheese and the slightly sourish red cabbage.

Butternut squash tortelloni, light parmigiano cheese and thyme fondue, crispy pancetta
This was my favourite dish of the day. Perhaps it's because I like pumpkin very much. 5 precious pieces (it's $7 per piece!) of tortelloni stuffed with butternut pumpkin puree. It was a delicious balance between the extremely sweet butternut squash, the sharp parmigiano cheese sauce, and the smoky, salty panchetta.

The butternut squash stuffing was incredibly delicious - it was sweet and creamy. We shared this dish as a starter. I think I can easily eat a few portions of this - it's so delicious I'm getting very hungry thinking about it! Its the Lighthouse's signature dish - be sure not to miss this if you do go to the Lighthouse.Grilled pork cheek, pumpkin purée, green apple compote

The pork cheeks were prettily presented, with vibrant colours and a sprig of rosemary. They had a slight orangey-yellow hue - we were thinking that the marinade had tumeric. The pork cheeks are melt-in-the-mouth soft. Each pork cheek has a lightly brown layer of fat, and the meat is so soft. They are braised for 8 hours, before being grilled in the oven. The vegetable in this dish was kailan (under the pork cheeks), which was quite interesting since I was expecting a more westernized vegetable. I liked the tangy green apple compote - it went very well with the soft pork cheeks, and the pumpkin puree is a refreshing change from the usual mashed potato.

Grilled Cod fillet, crushed potatoes and shallot cake, cannellini beans purée
The cod was very fresh, flakey and it was served on a warmed plate. Again, I thought that the cannellini beans puree was a refreshing change from the usual mashed potato. Best of all, I'm sure that mashed beans are healthier than mashed potatoes - less carbo and much more protein. Reminds me of this episode of Nigella that I watched on AFC, where she was making mashed beans.

Traditional balsamic vinegar sautéed strawberries, lavender flower ice cream
I really liked this dessert - maybe it's because I like vinegar. For those people who don't like vinegar, the dish does have the sourish vinegar smell, but taste wise, it's more sweetish than sour, and the sauce is slightly buttery. I liked the bits of crumble sprinkled over the strawberries and ice cream gave the dish an added crunch. The home made lavender flower ice cream had light floral scents, and the ice cream was very creamy.

Homemade Sicilian cannoli, cassata ice cream

The only time I've eatne cannoli before was at Menotti (which has sadly closed down).

Cassata is another name for pistachio, and it was packed with pistachios. The pistachio flavour is quite intense - and it's like eating pistachio nuts without the chewing. The cannoli were stuffed with a creamy filling, with bits of chocolate and fruit.

Limoncello & strawberry liquor as an after meal digestivo
I really liked my strawberry liquor (even though ice says it tasted like fruit punch).

The service here is warm and friendly - which makes the dining experience even better. The whole restaurant is nice and bright, great cos then my photos look nice :) Also, the view of Marina bay, as well as the upcoming IR is beautiful. If only I could spend all my lunches slacking and relaxing, eating good food and enjoying the breathtaking view. Coming down from the Lighthouse after such a happifying lunch and descending back to reality is sadness indeed!

The Lighthouse

The Fullerton Hotel

Level 8

Tel: 6877 8933

Mon-Fri: 12pm-2.30pm, 6.30pm-10.30pm

Sat, Sun and Public holidays: 6.30pm-10.30pm

Simply Peranakan

Ok alot of people are bugging me to blog - I've been super lazy!

Tried Simply Peranakan at Esplanade cos I was on a peranakan food craze last week. Between the 2 of us, we ordered the set meal for 2 people (it's the first set in the menu, and the only one for 2 people), and an additional plate of ngoh hiang (just cos I was curious to try and see if it was different from the other peranakan restaurants I've tried).Ayam Buah Keluak - the sauce is the watery blackish type, and not the curry kind. The soup was pretty watery. They give quite a good portion of chicken, but I thought that the buah keluak flavour was too mild.

Otah - this is the fat otah. I prefer the skinny kind, but the texture was not too bad cos it was well done and not soggy in the middle. It was mildly spicy, but lacked punch. It didn't have much flavour and was pretty mediocre.

Sambal Kangkong with Cuttlefish. Actually, this dish wasn't in the set - Nonya Chap Chye did, but I don't like that dish. So I topped up another $3 to change the chap chye to Sambal Kangkong with Cuttlefish. The sauce was sweet, tangy and spicy - I think there's a bit of tomato ketchup inside or something. The kang kong was crunchy, and I liked the sprinkling of ground peanuts. Though it can't match up to the one from Peranakan Inn. (Crap I think I am starting to have peranakan inn sambal kangkong cuttlefish cravings again!)

Bakwang Kepiting - I don't particularly like this dish, so no comments for this one. I can't appreciate teh subtle variations between the bakwan kepitings from different restaurants.

Ngoh Hiang - this was very crispy and oily, and there was huge chunks of water chestnuts embedded inside. The ngoh hiang was well packed - it didn't disintegrate all over my plate when I ate it.

Pulut Hitam - the coconut milk was very fragrant and the black rice was cooked long enough to produce a thick starchy paste. Pretty good, though I would have prefered an icy cold dessert to cool my tongue.
One of the things which impressed me was the speed at which the dishes were served. Granted, most of their patrons are people hurrying to catch a show at the Esplanade - but the efficiency that they bring out the dishes is amazing! From the time we ordered, I barely even ate 3 pieces of those fried chip things before the first dish arrived :O I was glad that they were flexible about changing the dishes in the set menu, since I really don't like chap chye.

Things that I don't like: They charge for each serving of archar (they gave us 2), and I think there were some other extra charges (I think some napkin/chips or something) on top of the archar. It's really very pricey for peranakan food - the set for 2 cost $48++, and the ngoh hiang was around $8 (not too sure, but it was near 10).

For the prices, I'd rather have a feast at either Peranakan Inn or Charlie's Peranakin. Of course, the ambience here is much better - nicely lit and very clean and new. I suppose that if I were really desperate for Peranakan food, I'll come here, but the dishes don't have enough aroma and taste.

Simply Peranakan

8 Raffles Avenue

#02-12 Esplanade Mall

Tel: 6333 9382

(Opposite Ichiban Boshi)

Peranakan Inn

Haiz! I'm salivating and getting hungry at freaking 12.04am cos I'm looking at the photo above! It's the sambal kangkong with cuttlefish (I can't remember the price, but I think it's around $6?) which is super yummy! The kangkong is fresh and crunchy, the cuttle fish is springy, and the sambal sauce is absolutely delicious. I've never been so blown over by sambal kangkong before I ate this dish. Perhaps I shouldn't rave too much or not everyone will have super high standards and tell me 'cheay this isn't the best sambal kangkong around'... The sauce is slightly wet, and looks a bit blackish, but it's a perfect balance between the dried prawn, saltiness and sweetness. The ayam buah keluak ($6.50, comes with 3 nuts) comes right off the stove in a clay pot, and is extremely aromatic. Although the sauce looks red and firey hot, it's not that spicy - pretty manageable by my very low-chilli-tolerance standard. Compared to Charlie's Peranakan, the sauce base is more robust. Also, it's more similar to the kind that my family eats (at Peranakan restaurants, since I'm v sadly not peranakan) - Charlie's Peranakan ayam buah keluak has a thicker, blacker sauce, while Peranakin Inn's one looks more like curry.
Babi Kepiting - Minced pork balls in clear soup with sliced bamboo shoots. This isn't one of my favourite dishes, but the pork balls were very soft and tasty, and didn't have any porcine smell. The soup was flavoured with deep fried shallots, parsley and spring onions.I like the skinny otah here - although it looks rather pale and sickly, it's bursting with flavour and since it's a skinny otah, the middle isn't a bit soggy (I don't really like fat otahs cos the middle is usually a bit soggier than the outside). I don't know why the leaves were so wet - I didn't want to find out if it's oil or whatnot. If I'm not mistaken, it's $2.50 per piece. I think I can easily eat 5 pieces cos it's so delicious and not very spicy!

Ngoh Hiang ($4.50)- minced meat with water chest nuts, shredded carrots, wrapped in beancurd skin and deep fried. This was served with the yellow sweet sauce (I prefer yellow sweet sauce compared to the black one). The skin outside is nice and crispy.

The place is very old-school, and I think they probably haven't renovated for very long. But just as long as this keeps the prices down, I'm fine with it! :) Just that this place looks very dingy and dim (but it's clean! - cleanliness is very important!) - even though there are lots of lights on the ceiling, the place still looks so dim. The entrance is also very inconspicuous - I would have very easily walked right past it without knowing that there's a hidden gem inside. The service is pretty fast - my friends were all very amused at the indian waiter who was very efficiently serving the rice and food, and he also announced the names of every dish that he served. Iced water here is self service, which is great cos I invariably end up drinking alot of water even if the food is mildly spicy.

Overall, I think that I prefer the food here than at Charlie's - though if Peranakin Inn were full, I'll just go over to Charlie's. The difference isn't that big, just that I really like the sambal kangkong here (even though I haven't tried sambal kangkong at Charlie's). But if I were to bring people to eat at a Peranakan restaurant, I'll probably bring them to Charlie's cos the ambience is much nicer -you're not wedged up against the next table, and have to squeeze through tiny gaps to get out from your seat. I think I must go back soon to try more dishes!

Do call and make a reservation if you're going to Peranakan Inn, especially during weekends - it was so insanely crowded on the Saturday evening I went, that there were so many people crammed into the restaurant, and a more people waiting to get in. And don't be like me - make sure you call after 6pm - for some unfathomable reason, the lady refuses to take any reservations till the restaurant opens o_O

Peranakan Inn and Lounge

210 East Coast Road

Tel: 6440 6195

Opening Hours: Daily 11am - 3pm, 6pm - 10pm

Alright, as you can probably tell, I'm going thorugh a Peranakan food phase now - crap I'm going on holiday soon and I forsee myself suffering from withdrawel symptoms...

Just a note - some raving mad person has no better brains but to book Valentinos for 830pm on a Sunday evening, when other people going for the dinner have to get up early and not sleep like a pig on Monday morning - and that's despite being told prior to that, that 830pm is too late for dinner.

And two Sundays before that, I had to cancel 3 out of 3 of my reservations for a particularly busy weekend dinner (Gabialti, Firestation Gastrobar as well as Valentino - which I was first put on the waiting list, but then got a reservation for 730pm), because he flatly refused to call and book any restaurants for dinner, and then quietly went to book Da Paolo.

Oh well, I guess some people have personality problems.

Charlie's Peranakan

Ayam Buah Keluak ($12)
This is my must-have dish whenever I visit a Peranakan restaurant. I like ordering this dish when I'm with my family, since none of them eat the buah keluak nuts, so I can have it all to myself! Especially since most restaurnants give about 4 nuts per portion of curry. This ayam buah keluak is pretty different from the ones that I've eaten so far, because the buah keluak forms the sauce, instead of the normal curry gravy. The tarry black sauce (which is an acquired taste) tastes best when eaten with steaming white rice, and as I'm writing this, I'm salivating. The Ayam Buah Keluak comes with 5 nuts, stuffed with minced pork. I'm definitely going back soon to get more of this! Maybe I'll takeaway a portion home too, to make my journey more worthwhile :)

Chap Chye ($6)
This isn't one of my more favourite dishes, so I don't think I will be commenting on it. I somehow have this misconception that it's always cooked with fatty pork. I think when I was younger I ate some chap chye which had so much fatty pork, and the vegetables in Chap Chye cooked till they acquire the same colour as the fatty pork. My friends, however, liked this so it was eaten up quite quickly.

I can't remember the name of this curry, but I think it's the Penang Gulai fish ($12). The curry is incredibly tasty, not very spicy, and the eggplants are cooked perfectly.

Sotong Hitam ($8 nett)

Squid cried in squid ink - I don't particularly like squid, but I found this dish pretty good. The squid was not overly chewy and pretty tender.

Ngoh Hiang ($10 nett)

Huge portion of ngoh hiang - probably one of the biggest ngoh hiang I've eaten. I thought it tasted quite alright, especially when it's eaten with the sweet sauce, but my friends didn't like it - just as well - I get to eat more :P The ngoh hiang is quite crumbly cos it's so huge, and the skin isn't very crispy, but I quite liked the meat and prawn stuffing.

I really like Charlie's Peranakan cos the food isn't spicy. So I can taste the full flavour of the spices since my tongue isn't numb and thobbing and having allydonia. If it was nearer, and I don't have to trudge through the AYE/ECP jam, I'll definitely have this somewhere on the top of my dining list.

Although the restaurant charges 50 cents for water, I don't feel as cheated as I do when I'm charged for water at other restaurants, since Charlie's Peranakan doesn't have additional service charge or GST. Prices in the menu are nett, so you won't exceed your budget. Not too sure if they charge for the achar starter tho!

Charlie's Peranakan

205 East Coast Road

Tel: 6344 8824

After dinner, we went to play mj. And look at the st benard (I don't know how to spell its name) and Chocolate the shar pei.