Sin Lee Foods

Tucked away in the sleepy Bukit Ho Swee estate is Sin Lee Foods. Although the name sounds like a Tzechar restaurant (it actually retained the name of the coffeeshop that used to be there), it's actually a cafe serving really interesting cafe food. Since my food radar has been down for quite a while, I've completely missed this place. But thanks to  G who somehow found the place and booked it. This was the day that I also went to watch Jurassic World but then due to unforeseen circumstances (and bad planning on my part), didn't get to finish the show and I guess I never will :(

Salted Egg Sweet Potato Fries ($12)
Twice Fried sweet potato fries, house made salted duck's egg sauce, crispy curry leaves 

The salted egg sauce was one of the best I've tasted - great flavour and no skimping on the amount of duck eggs, and the aromatic curry leaves made it even more fragrant.
I somehow didn't really think that the sauce went particularly well with the sweet potato fries (though I also can't think of what would have gone better with the sauce). Sorry for the un-constructive criticism... I'll write it down when I finally think of what would go better with it...

Mentaiko Crab Mantou ($21)
Golden Fried Mantou, housemate mentaiko cream, season and breaded whole soft shell crab, papadum crisps 

Really interesting dish, though it's rolling in oil - fried papadums with orange sugar, crispy mantou (my favourite and most unhealthy carb), with deep fried soft shell crab. Unusual combination but really well executed. Would recommend this dish if you're not afraid of raising your cardiovascular risk.

The one and only Sin Lee's Fried Chicken and Waffles ($21.90)
Juicy boneless chicken leg, Iron waffle, house slaw and melted maple butter

I thought that out of all their other main courses, this sounded the most mainstream. It wasn't exactly mind-blowing. Sure, the chicken was done well, waffles fluffy, and the coleslaw reminded me of the homemade kind you get form the western food stores in the hawker centres (which I really like btw).

The texture of the waffle was good, but was a bit too light to hold up the weight of the chicken, and it became a soggy mess with the maple butter.

The Croissant and Butter Pudding ($14)
Butter croissant, vanilla beans, assorted fruits, vanilla ice cream and salted caramel sauce
Think of this as a level up from the usual bread and butter pudding. Worth a try.
Don't quote me but I think it's Kapiti ice cream that they use. Kapiti vanilla ice cream is the best! Especially since its the same ice cream that Marmalade Pantry uses.

We didn't manage to try the Aburi Broccoli salad ($12) which sounds really interesting, or the Macklemore ($20) which is spanish mackerel with corn and lap cheong relish, cos we were really really stuffed from the above dishes.

The restaurant seating area is REALLY tiny so do book in advance if you want to sit inside (i.e. aircon). The parking's also quite a pain.

I could feel plaques forming in my arteries after the meal. But it was really delicious and unique. Will definitely come back again since I'm nearby.

Sin Lee Foods
4 Jalan Bukit Ho Swee
Singapore 162004

Restaurant Labyrinth

Orangey Amuse Bouche

I first heard about Labyrinth at the Savour Food Fair earlier this year, but didn't manage to eat their chili crab ice cream. So I had to try it and see for myself.

Their very interesting dips to go with the bread - the powdery thing is actually olive oil, I think the black stuff in the jar is balsamic reduction, and the white foamy thing is some garlic espuma (if I'm not wrong)

Mango Tomato Bruschetta

The meal kicked off with an interesting starter, which looked like beef tartare, but was actually tomatoes with a mango 'yolk'.

Tomato 'steak' tartare, mango yolk and tomato marshmallow (which are the fluffy white things at the side).

Labyrinth Chilli Crab

Their signature dish, which has a sea-side inspired theme.
Chilli Crab ice cream - which I found really queer, cos it was creamy and cold like and ice cream, yet packed lots of spiciness
Tempura Soft Shell Crab - which was battered and fried to perfection, no hint of oiliness here
Sturgeon Caviar  - which I'mn to a big fan of.
I did like the 'sand' which was actually pulverised mantou, though I still prefer my mantou in it's usual form.

The next 3 dishes are actually the 3 options for the mains, we decided to have one main each for variety:

Siew Yoke Fan

Roasted pork belly, risotto 'ramen' and pork scratching

I personally thought that this was the better dish (minus the beef) cos it was a really good sized portion. I'm not sure why the risotto was was called 'ramen' but overall, this dish was really well done. Risotto was perfectly cooked, with still enough bite to the rice grains, the pork skin was crispy (not that I like pork skin), and the meat tender and juicy.

Satay Steak

Satay Marinated Steak, pan seared foie gras and Japanese Peanut Mochin(which is inside the kutupat/green thing)

Black Cod Miso

Miso cod and textures, black cod brandale, potato cannoli
My ultra tiny main - I was still so hungry after it! I suppose foam and chocolate soil can't make you very full... To be fair, the cod was really well done, but I could do with a larger portion (though I do appreciate the fact that cod is really expensive!)

Palate Clenser for the Satay Steak

Chendol Xiao Long Bao

Molecular chendol soup dumpling, gula melaka syrup

This was the dish that I really wanted to try - it was delicious as expected. Pandan flavour infused xiao long bao skin, with chin chow, gula melaka ice, and coconut and red bean capsules inside.

It comes with a jar of 'vinegar', which is actually more gula melaka syrup

Apple Crumble 

Apple textures, White chocole crumble, yogurt ice cream
 The dessert was a deconstructed apple crumble. I really liked the yogurt ice cream. Quote of the day was "I'm ambivalent about this soil".

Petit Fours

The durian madeline wasn't very well received cos most of us didn't like durian. The puff thing was filled with salted caramel, not spectacular and quite forgettable really.
I liked the weird tasting starfruit jelly - I think that more people should do stuff with starfruit!

We went for the Signature Menu ($98++) - the alternative was a degustation menu at $138.
I'm not a big fan of all these molecular gastronomy, but I would recommend going here at least once in your life - it's not often you see Chili crab ice cream, isn't it?

Labyrinth
5 Neil Road
Singapore 088806
Tel62234098

Kilo by Pact

 Kilo is still one of my favourite restaurants in town - however, I'm sad to say that they've stopped serving their awesome sushiros for dinner!! The horrors.

Their blue corn crusted crab cakes with balsamic vinaigrette and roasted red peppers - crab cakes are always a hit amongst all people and these were no exception. They were a little drier and crispier on the outside than the usual crab cakes, but when paired with the roasted red peppers, were just the right texture.

The BBQ pork riblets and parmesan wedges were extremely addictive - sticky soft fall-off-the-bone ribs.

 They have happy hour between 530 to 8pm on Tues to Fridays.

All plates are 16, and you have the option of combining plates so that everyone can try a bit of each.

Stuffed Roasted Figs, walnuts, Danish Blue Cheese, crispy bacon and chives (usual size $20) - it's a heavenly combination with the soft mushy figs, and the intense umami flavour from the blue cheese, paired with the saltiness of the bacon - super delicious and its something that I definitely want to recreate at home.

On the right is the octopus- lime guacamole and flaxseed chips - which didn't have too much lime, and since avocado makes everything taste better, it was polished off in a flash.

The last starter we had was the Tequila cured salmon and roasted Jalapeño crostini (I think that was what we ordered, in the background, but my memory fails me).

 My favourite is still the warm baby eggplant with donburi sauce, marscapone cheese and tempura flakes ($12). It's a warm dish, served with sliced baby eggplants, in a sweetish Japanese sauce, and topped with a dollop of marscapone cheese for creaminess.

 The Kilo Smashburger which has 2 patties, cheddar, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, red onions on a brioche bun ($23)
No comment here since it's beef.

The squid ink fettucini with sautéed prawns, crispy baby squid, and raw egg yolk ($23)
They ran out of baby squid, so they gave us more prawns instead. I still think their appetisers trump their main courses!

It's a big pity about their non-existent sushiros, I really hope that they can bring those back for diner. Their website's menu was pretty much out of date (sadness cos I was all ready to order their awesome sushiros and pork belly donburi).

Kilo by Pact
#02-16/17/19 Orcahrd Central
181 Orchard Road
Tel 68847560

Andre

I'm lagging again! Hope all you readers had a merry christmas and happy boxing day.This year's Christmas eve and Christmas was spent working - was saying that I've never worked on Christmas, but then someone pointed out that I've never had a job prior to this:/Thankfully, I didn't end up with chicken rice for Christmas dinner or my Christmas would have been even more tragic.
Happier mealtimes from nearly a month ago, just that I didn't have time to upload everything onto my comp. Spectacular meal with even better company:)
And so begins the food journey at Andre...

Starters including some popcorn thing with vanilla sauce (in the middle) and a delicious aji tatare in a crispy shell (far right)

Crispy chicken skin, which reminds me of the one I had at 53
Extremely thin and translucent, crispy without the oily fatty taste of chicken skin

Fresh scallops with purple cauliflower consomme - I liked the light purple hue of the dish if anything... it's cold and has some interesting kind of oil (of which I've already forgotten what kind of oil it is)

Delicate and fresh oyster encased in a wobbly piece of seaweed with apple foam and finely diced green apple

The oyster is so fresh that it feels like the oyster was just alive and happily sitting in the sea just seconds ago...

I really cannot remember what this dish was, just that it has macadamia nut shavings and caviar... If I'm not wrong, it has eggplant?

My favourite dish of the night - maybe cos it tasted very Japanese. Raw fish (can't remember what but I think it was aji?) with the swetest tomatoes and a refreshing tomato sorbet The other part of the dish (served together) was a seafood risotto and raw prawns (which were so fresh my tongue and ears started itching, as they always do when I eat raw prawns lobsters and crabs).

Chef's cheeky play on ingredients and textures - When this dish is served, you'll be asked which one's the squid. It's a dish with squid and rice, and keropok-like crackers (I suppose they're blackened with squid ink?). This dish is made from luxurious ingredients including Iberico Ham, Black truffle and some special egg. So shoot me cos I don't eat beef (even though I really miss BK's mushrom swiss and Mac's double cheeseburger) - the beef was tender and pink and looked incredibly juicy.

Since I don't eat beef, it was substituted for chicken (most un-worth it, I can hear all the beef eater's screaming in horror at the waste...) Chicken breast it was, cooked in a salt water bath. Every morsel of this was so tender and juicy it didn't even feel like I was eating chicken breast. The skin was crisped like crackling pork. I was quite intrigued by the the little pile of worm-like starchy root vegetables (from France, if I remember correctly).

Chef Andre serves this dish under the 'Memory' section of the menu. It's a foie gras custard (looks like creme brulee) with a aromatic layer of truffle oil on the top. Every scoop is so creamy and rich, it feels like I'm going to get an instant heart attack, but it's so yummy that I had the dish scraped clean. According to our server, this dish is extremely close to Chef Andre's heart... I agree totally - I'm sure a new plaque is wedged in my coronary arteries now...

Lastly was dessert - spongy chocolate cake (which looked like those natural sea sponge bath sponges) chocolate soil and a chocolate capsule

Andre

41 Bukit Pasoh Road (Opposite Oso)

Singapore 089855

Tel: +65 6534 8880

reserve@restaurantandre.com

Btw, parking's a pain in the neck since the public carpark is being renovated, but they have valet parking.

Iggys Lunch

First meal I had with my brother since he came back from overseas for summer break after being away for >9months, and we both happened to be free that afternoon. Of course, such rare occasion gives me even more excuse to indulge in good food. I initially wanted to try Osia, which I have been reading about on so many other blogs, and I've been wanting to try their famous bread, but the thought of trudging down to Sentosa and having to pay the incredibly expensive parking fee, or the thought of parking at Vivo and taking the monorail in proved too daunting, and we settled for Iggys lunch.
The lunch comes with either 2 starters, 1main course and 1 dessert ($65++) or 3starters, 1main course and 1 dessert ($80++).
For amuse bouche, there was essence of momotaro (a type of sweet Japanese tomato) and a wedge of tomato (not sure of it's momotaro, can't remember...). The essence of momotaro was like drinking a concentrate of tomato juice, but just that it's clear and slightly sweet. Hopefully it's packed with antioxidants so that it'll help with my wrinkling face and eyebags (btw I have been awake for the past 35hours, with 1 hour of sleep!) Starters - I didn't quite like my 2 starters so it was a rather dissapointing start to my meal.
Gratinated yellowtail (hamachi), radish, fine herd salad and sesame-lime dressing
My brother ordered this and he enjoyed it lots - probably cos he's been deprived of Japanese tasting food. Of course, the yellowtail was fresh, well marinated and the flavours from the herbs and dressing complemented each other without overpowering the fish.
Little neck clams: sauteed clams, tarragon, kaffir lime, burrata, rice and sago pearls
I ordered this starter because of the burrata, but the burrata didn't have the 2 different textures I was expecting, and it was was quite little. The translucent beads of sago was interesting to have in the dish, but it was rather forgettable.
Egg: Slow-cooked egg, bacon, mushrooms and pinot jus
The egg was somewhat lacking in character - just fatty bits of bacon (not sure if it's some fancy/special bacon), some brown mushrooms and the egg (perhaps it's some fancy organic egg? I couldn't tell, don't have such specialized taste buds), and the whole thing was a bit too greasy for my liking. The hard croutons didn't really impress me either.
Foie Gras (supplement $10): Pan-fried foie gras, poached peach, toasted brioche and almond flakes
This dish had a moderately sized piece of foie gras, sprinkled with crackling crystals (those that go popping when it's in contact with any liquid like saliva! I used to like this lollipop which came with the crackling powder when I was in Primary School). Perhaps it's cos the crackling powder reminded me of my more favourite childhood sweet, or perhaps it was the nicely crisped yet oozey interior of the foie gras, I like this starter the best of the lot. The pulpy caramalized peach was nice and sweet tho.

Charcoal Grilled Quail with brussel sprouts, lady's finger and tapenade (an olive based puree).

My brother's main which was a very small portion (I don't know if he was full after this but I was extremely full from my sakura ebi capellini). It's very well done with the quail being tender and juicy. But then again, nothing out of the ordinary...

I've been missing Iggy's signature Sakura ebi cappellini ever since my last visit (so long ago, see my post here) but either my expectations were too high or my memory has deceived me cos it failed to impress me during this visit. The little black bits of konbu, full of natural MSG and perfectly cooked cappellini infused with aromatic scampi oil makes a filling dish, and the tiny pieces of sakura ebi which gives way with a satisfying crunch when you bit down was good, but not spectacular.Perhaps it's cos the portion was too big (cos I had it as a starter previously) or perhaps I was full from my 2 pieces of restaurant bread and their peppery good quality olive oil, I didn't think it was supremely good like the last time I tried it.

Black forest

Salted chocolate caramel, petit beurre (butter biscuit), sour cherry, beatroot
My brother initially ordered this because of the salted chocolate caramel, but because it came with a beetroot sorbet, he swapped desserts with me. Beetroot is a vegetable/tuber/root that you either love or hate - it has a distinct earthy taste and smell, and has a natural sweetness. I enjoy beetroot in anything, and I usually juice it with a variety of other fruits/vegetables, though I haven't had the chance to do it recently due to my busy schedule. The beetroot sorbet The dessert also comes with a piece of jellied beetroot.

The other dessert we had is the Butternut Squash - which had the pumpkin in different textures, coconut sorbet, kaffir lime and orange. I requested for them to not put any lime or orange into my dish since I dislike citrus fruits, especially orange. The pumpkin came pureed as well as in crispy sheets. The coconut ice cream was deliciously creamy.

As they say, taste is subjective and this time, Iggys has failed to impress me this occasion. Maybe it's a case of too high expectations, or perhaps my tastebuds are growing old but I really hope I have better luck next time since my previous 2 dining experiences here were so memorable.

Iggy’s

1 Cuscaden Road

#03-00 The Regent

Tel: 6732 2234

I'm so happy that I'm having the luxury of posting this in the afternoon cos I'm on leave until 31st August! So happy that I've survived my posting and moving onto something that I really like! And just a shout out to my now ex-colleagues (lol stop blog surfing and do summaries!) I enjoyed working and learning with you all :D I'm off to sleep now to attempt to correct the damage done by not sleeping last night and hopefully erase my forming wrinkles and enlarging eyebags....

Mykii

I've just completely messed up my diurnal rhythm by taking a 6hr nap and I've got to wake up uber early again tmr (and for the next 4 weeks). And I've just unhappily dropped my sony ericsson C902 and I'm going to be around $80 poorer. Anyway, I'm trying to clear my backlogged posts now!

Had Mykii for lunch sometime last month (or the month before). It occupies the place where Marmalade Pantry used to be in Holland V. We triedEveryday selection ($13.80++), which came with soup of the day, main course, drink and dessert. The mushroom soup which had lots of pureed mushrooms in it, but since I was having a blocked nose that day, I could hardly taste anything... It's pretty good according to my friend...

The Forest of Mushroom pasta, which came with a creamy base, sauteed enoki, shitake and button mushrooms. It was pretty average, and a bit too watery for my liking, though I did like the pretty generous amount of mushrooms they added to the pasta.

Chicken Tofu Burger with Romaine Lettuce

I misread the menu in my haste to order (rushing back to school for lecture), and thought it was a chicken tofu patty, but it's actually fried tofu sandwiched with grilled Cajun chicken breast. The portion is really tiny, and if you're hungry, you should really avoid this. The peanut oriental sauce was pretty salty, and it was quite interesting (but not particularly spectacular) to have over the romaine lettuce, though I won't be ordering this dish again. One of the highlights of my meal - the iced lemon tea, which was unsweetened. I really like this kind of iced tea, cos you can choose how much sugar syrup you want to add. Plus, it comes in a nice tall glass, so it means more drink for me.Dessert of the day was Profiteroles, which neither my lunch partner nor me liked cos they were pretty hard. Perhaps they would do well to just give ice cream.
Not bad for a $13.80++ lunch, but the portion of the chicken tofu burger was too small. The place is pretty quiet, but maybe it's cos we had lunch really late. Service was pretty good, but perhaps it's cos we were the only ones there? I won't be dying to go back, but the laksa leaf pesto pasta looks really tempting.

Mykii

17d Lorong Liput Holland Village

Tel: +65 6468 2838