HAN Japanese Restaurant @ Odeon Towers ~ A Kushikatsu Experience

In Hana Yori Dango (花より男子), it is said that "A pair of good shoes will bring you to good places". I don't wanna dispute that for it might very well hold true for some of you, but I can be very very sure to say this: "A craving for food will bring me to a lot of food places!"

I was missing the kushikatsu izakaya experience during my previous visit in Tokyo where I was served panko (breadcrumbs) coated deep-fried items on skewers 'omakase-style' non-stop until I told the chef to stop. We then pay for what we ate according to the number of our skewers. I wonder if there's a similar concept here in Singapore that serves kushikatsu or tempura. A quick asking on twitter and facebook throws up recommendations of Tenshin, Aoki and HAN. Arrangement was soon made to visit HAN Japanese Restaurant at Odeon Towers (near City Hall mrt) with Nat for lunch.

Gunther's Modern French Cuisine @ Purvis Street ~ The Cold Angel Hair Pasta With Oscietra Caviar Is a Must-Try!

Having been to Gunther's Modern French Cuisine at Purvis Street a couple of months earlier during Singapore Restaurant Week, I was totally smitten with Chef Gunther Hubrechsen's spectacular cold angel hair pasta and told myself I will definitely want to return again for another experience of that awesome deliciousness. It wasn't so much of a planned visit though, as we called the restaurant for a table just before going over, but thankfully, the courteous voice on the other side of the line said they are able to accommodate us. Tongue and tummy, you are blessed! LOL!

Gunther's Modern French Cuisine @ Purvis Street ~ An Awesome Dining Experience!

I must admit, this is a very much overdue post which I had overlooked to write earlier and might have forgotten about if I had not done a run-through of all the drafts sitting on the blog. My excuse: Too much food to eat, not enough time to write (oops please don't judge me :p).  I believe this situation is quite common among some other food bloggers too lol. Anyway, this was a visit to Gunther's Modern French Cuisine, a swanky high-end restaurant helmed by Chef Gunther Hubrechsen at Purvis Street during Singapore Restaurant Week back in March. If I have to summarize the dining experience in one word, that word would be 'Awesome'!

PODI ~ A New All-Day Breakfast & Grill Restaurant At Raffles City Shopping Centre

If you've visited Raffles City Shopping Centre over the weekend, you might have noticed PODI, a new restaurant located by the main fountain at the basement level. Just opened last Friday, it's brought to us by The Bakery Depot, the same folks behind Cedele, Toss & Turn and P.L.T Sandwiches. The menu at PODI offers all-day breakfast and grills at affordable pricing. Pure.Offbeat.Delicious.Infuions. - That's what PODI has set itself out to be.

L'Entrecôte ~ The Steak & Fries Bistro Is Now Open In Suntec City Mall!

Fans of L'Entrecôte would be happy to know that the popular bistro has now opened its 3rd outlet in a bigger and more convenient location at Suntec City Mall. The concept of the casual dining establishment is simple yet has proven to be a winner of numerous hearts: A time-tested recipe of their signature trimmed entrecôte steak with a secret buttery sauce and golden crispy fries. Ooh... sounds délicieux doesn't it?

NamNam Noodle Bar @ Raffles City ~ A Moo-licious Pho Night for the Cow's Birthday

Just one call was all it took for the few of us to ditch our evening plans and make our way to NamNam Noodle Bar at the basement of Raffles City Shopping Centre instead, simply because it's The Hungry Cow's birthday! It was a rather impromptu gathering as the cow managed to finish all his work that evening, thus freeing himself up for a celebration. Arrangements were quickly made in a frenzy among us as the cow's Blackberry whatsapp decided to fail him on this day of all days. I shook my head in disbelief as I'm back in town after leaving office and commuting in the train for 1.5 hours. Cow, see how we he♥rt you! Got 感动 mah? :p

Garibaldi ~ What An Anti-Climax!

** Guest Post by BFF **


This will be the concluding chapter for Singapore Restaurant Week. The last pit stop (after The Sleeping Rhino and Bistro du Vin) for our meal was Garibaldi Italian Restaurant & Bar, located at Purvis Street. Garibaldi is currently one of the better established Italian fine dining places in Singapore.

Cold Angel's Hair Pasta with Fresh Oyster and Smoked Caviar
Being a big lover of oysters, this dish was simple yet elegant tasting. Oysters, caviar and angel hair pasta served cold with a touch of tanginess and truffle oil. Perfect starter I must say.

Beef Roasted in Olive Oil with Grilled Polenta, an original recipe of Brescia, the chef's hometown.
Rich robust flavors of the beef paired with mash potatoes on the top and polenta. Love the grainy texture of the polenta (cornmeal) which serves to cut the richness of the beef.

Pan Fried Drum Filet with Cannellini Beans and Fried Cauliflower. 
The fish was fried and cooked to perfection, soft creamy texture with crispy skin. Unfortunately this dish was a letdown, the cannellini beans and sauce could not lift the flavors of the fish creating a very bland tasting dish. It would be great if the sauce had more depth to it. My dining partner also commented on the strong fishy smell the dish had.

Traditional Piedmont Chocolate and Amaretti Pudding with Vanilla Sauce.
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy, known for its fertile land and quality food produce. This dessert sadly did not live up to its expectations. We were expecting a rich bitter sweet sinful chocolate dessert but were served instead with a very mediocre tasting chocolate pudding. The only saving grace I guess was the tart tasting raspberries.

Overall we felt let down by our visit to Garibaldi. Being a fine dining restaurant, the food was simply not up to its expectations. It may seem unfair to criticize them due to it being restaurant week and the limited menu, but it is exactly because in the spirit of restaurant week for restaurants to showcase what they are capable of which left us sorely disappointed.

Garibaldi Italian Restaurant & Bar
Address: 36 Purvis Street #01-02, Singapore 188613
Contact: +65 6837 1468

Website: http://www.garibaldi.com.sg/

Opening Hours: Lunch 12pm - 3pm / Dinner 6.30pm - 11pm Daily

Barossa ~ All The Moo Moo You Want!

When my BFF whatsapp me one day and asked if I'm keen to purchase an online deal where I pay only S$35nett for a Australian Beef Buffet which includes a glass of red or white wine, my immediate reaction was YEESSSSSS!!! I mean, considering the usual price you pay for a steak and what the online deal offers, this is damn worth it right? BFF thought so too, so he bought not one, but two deals for himself lol. This would be his 2nd visit, 1st was with The Hungry Cow.

So, where is this moo moo buffet place? It's called Barossa, an open-air restaurant bar located at ground level of Esplanade, overlooking the waterfront. I selected a table under ceiling fan, took my jacket off (it was a warm evening) and was ready to order and EAT!!!

When we told the waitress we wanted all items on the buffet menu, she looked a bit stunned and asked "everything? you want everything served?" hahaha. Well, there's only 5 limited selection of prime cuts and sides each, so it's not really that much to share among 2 people right? We wanted to try everything first and then decide which ones are worth the calories for more servings. Surely, we're not the only ones who use this 'strategy' when it comes to getting the maximum value out of buffets. No?

Australian Prime Rib

The Australian Prime Rib stands out from the other cuts with its very tender and juicy texture! I'm surprised it's actually better than the Wagyu D Rump which tastes ordinary. One would expect the wagyu to be softer on the palate as it's supposed to have more marbling. Well, I'm not a food critic to give any professional verdict on this, but I enjoyed the prime rib most and it's BFF's favorite too. He also like the way the steaks are served on wooden boards as it helps to absorb the extra blood and moisture.

Here are some photos of the other cuts which we had too.

Wagyu D Rump

 Australian Ribeye

 King Island T-Bone

All our steaks were done medium rare. While being palatable, it's not really memorable nor spectacular to shout about. The slices also seemed to be thinner (compared to the usual serving at other steakhouses), but it's a good portion for us as we're able to taste all the different cuts on the menu without getting full too quickly.

There is a choice of four sauces to go with the steaks, namely (L to R) ~ Red Wine Sauce, Wild Mushroom Cream, Blue Cheese Sauce and Truffle Bearnaise.

Personally, I prefer my steak simply grilled with minimum seasoning of salt and pepper to savour the most of its natural taste. It's interesting to try it with sauces though, especially the blue cheese sauce which is my first time. I would say it's an acquired taste.

Braised Beef Cheek

The most repeated order of the evening was the Braised Beef Cheek. The meat and tendon simply melts in your mouth! The robust red wine stew made me wanna drenched some pasta in it and wolf it down. I was rather engrossed in our eating and gossiping bonding, I keep telling the waiter "can we have another of this please" before I realized we had already ordered 4 rounds lol.

Selection of sides which are included in buffet are Barossa Salad, Creamed Spinach, Sauteed Mushrooms, Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Tomatoes with Cheese. The Barossa Salad was a healthy companion to the sinfully rich meaty meal. I love the greens!

And if for whatever reason you can't eat/don't like steak, Barossa also serves other mains like chicken, fish, lamb, burgers, pizzas and pastas from their a-la-carte menu. Ooh and desserts too! I forgot to leave tummy space for desserts! Next time then!

Their long bar area is also a great place to chill out with friends or have some after-work drinks with colleagues. Beers are going one-for-one for all you beer lovers out there.

If you're feeling ravenous for steak, this would be the place to satisfy your craving.

Australian Beef Buffet - Usual Price: S$43.90++
Available on Wednesdays and Sundays, 6pm-10pm

Barossa @ Esplanade Mall
Address: 8 Raffles Avenue, #01-11, Singapore 038981
Contact: (+65) 6534 5188
Website: http://www.barossa.com.sg/

Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday lunch – 12pm – 3pm
Monday to Thursday dinner – 6pm – 1am
Friday dinner – 6pm – 2am
Saturday Sunday 12pm – 2am (Sat) 12pm – 1am (Sun).

Last orders for kitchen at 1030 Sunday to Thursday and 1100 on Friday Saturday with bar bites available till 1230.