En Japanese Dining Bar - Mohd Sultan

Date: 23 August 2007 19:30 (Thursday)

En Japanese Dining Bar, also affectionately called En Bar by fans of this restaurant.... Ah, Memories...

You know how when you first started dating your partner and how there would be a specific cinema that the both of you would always go to, or a shopping centre that both of you like to hang around, or a specific bush in a specific park that the both of you would romp in (ahem...) Well, En Bar is the restaurant that both Wen and myself built our dating days upon. There were times when we would be at En Bar no less than 3 times a week. I think i probably spent more time at En Bar in the last X years than in the office! (Ooops...) We must have tried every single dish on the menu...

There's obviously a reason why we go to En Bar so often.... it may be that the place is really chill out and it's in a very centralised location (Mohd Sultan) but mostly it's cos the food and sake they serve are so AWESOOOME!!! (though i suspect the cute jap manager, Ibuki Horie, might be a reason why Wen suggests going to En Bar so often... don't think i never catch you stealing secret glances! *wags finger*)

Ok, back to the food...

We've been to En Bar so many times we could just say "The usual" and the waiting staff will probably get it right. So without further adieu, presenting...... En Bar Food....

We first started with a nice pot of Hot Sake... just to whet up the Appetite :)

Next up, Tako Wasabi - slightly boiled Octopus mixed with Wasabi... Mmmmm...

Salmon Sashimi... So Fresh... Mmmmm

Hotate Sashimi aka Scallop Sashimi... So Fresh... Mmmmm

Mekajiki Sashimi - Swordfish Sashimi... So Fresh... Mmmmm

Kokuryu Junmai Ginjo Sake - translated as "Black Dragon".... this has got to be one of the best Sakes around...

Kubu Irichi - Seaweed with pork...

Daikon Salad...

Shitake Tempura

Assorted Sushi

Wafu Steak


Yup, all the above for 2.... it's any wonder why we are not as fat as Sumo Wrestlers! And oh no, dinner wasn't over... we proceeded across the road to.... CANALE!!! But that's a different story altogether...

En Japanese Dining Bar
207 River Valley Road
UE Square, #01-57
Singapore 238275
Tel: 67352212

Oosh!

Date: 22 August 2007 18:00 (Wednesday)

Ok, i know sometimes it may seem like i am very generous with my praises to places, restaurants, food, wines, friends, etc.... but the truth is that i am someone who is easily pleased. BUT BUT BUT.... i do not mince my words when i say that Oosh! is possibly the most chill out place in Singapore!

To justify my claims, let me list down why i think this is the most chill out place:
1) Beautifully Designed Building
2) Fabulous Landscaping all over
3) Nice chill out seatings
4) Many different seating/dining areas and each one have their own landscaped theme
5) Al Fresco with sufficient Outdoor Cooling Systems
6) Beautiful Bar Area

I could just go on forever on how i love this place! If you are feeling in a Bali mood, you can select the Trellis area which features individual outdoor booths. You can sit on The Roof and have Sake and Sushi. There's a proper dining area known as The Garden which has the tables set amidst luscious greenery. Damn it, this is Heaven in Singapore!!!

But heaven comes at a price.... the things i really dun like about Oosh!

Firstly, you got to pay a flat fee of $5 for the parking. There are free alternative parking areas which is about a 5 mins walk. The parking area is pretty small and you usually see Beemers, Mercedes, Audis, Porsches... generally people who will use a $5 note to wipe their arse after a dump...

Secondly, prices of drinks are ..... pardon my French..... F**king Expensive! Here's an example of how expensive... house pour wine.... $18 per glass! Usual going rate in most pubs is between $10 to $12 so that's about a 50% premium. Fwah...

Thirdly, service levels are really quite bad. When you enter the main entrance area, you get all these lovely ladies greeting you and sorting out your seats and you think... wow, heaven comes with angels as well. But then that's about the only service you will get. The waiting staff are poorly trained and largely lack initiative in ensuring that their customers are well taken care of.

BUT BUT BUT... dun let all that stop you from going to Oosh! It's really a fabulous place and everyone that i know that has been there agree whole-heartedly with me. I guess the owners must know that they can afford to charge a premium on their food and drinks due to the amazing atmosphere they have landscaped and created.

Thank goodness i had those wonderful discount vouchers from UOB...

We started off with a bottle of Champagne! Piper-Heidseick Blanc de Blanc...... with the UOB voucher, $88.... :) This is a really nice bottle of champagne... first time that both Wen and I have tried.

For the food, we ordered the Pork Belly Skewer and the Chicken Thigh Wasabi Skewer. Now, i normally don't have much expectations of drink places serving finger food but these skewers were AWESOME!!! From the picture, that may seem like a lot of Wasabi on the Chicken Thigh but it's nothing a 5 year old can't handle. The Pork Belly was crispy where it should be and non fatty where it shouldn't have been.

For those with discerning eyes, you would perhaps notice that the chicken thigh wasabi doesn't come in a full skewer. Errr, that' only cos i started eating before i realised i had to take the pics! Each skewer dish comes in 2 skewers so whatever you see in the pic is but the balance of what i haven't eaten... Heh heh...

We also tried the Crab Cakes which were very very good too.... And yes, i forgot to take the pic before eating again. Dish actually comes with 3 Crab cakes.... Crab Cakes are served together with Wasabi Mayonaisse. Lovely!

And then, the Wagyu Beef burger with Foie Gras..... sounds like an awesome dish yah? It's not too bad except for the fact that they are really small and you can't really taste the Foie Gras... They serve this during happy hours on Sun and Mon for Free (I think...) so idea is to go on a Sun or a Mon to try this one...

We sat in Oosh! from 6pm till 8pm witnessing the sunset and enjoying the bliss that the Dempsey area have to offer. How good is this place? Let's put it this way..... if i could afford it.... i would be at Oosh! every single night of my life!!!

That's how heavenly this place is!

Oosh!
22 Dempsey Road
Singapore 249679
Tel: 64750002
www.oosh.com.sg

Home Again with Galbiati Gourmet

Date: 21 August 2007 20:30 (Tuesday)

There's no place like home! After a hard day at work, nothing beats going back to the comfort of the home, slumping on the sofa with the legs propped up on the coffee table with a glass of Crossings 2006 Sauvignon Blanc in one hand and the hands of your dearest in the other..... Ah....

But life ain't always perfect like that.... you can only hold your dearest hands for so long before the stomach starts growling. So once again, we Ta Pao some yummilious food from Galbiati Gourmet.

For Starters, the Lobster Bisque.... Hmmmm, nice but not quite there.... not quite there....

Then there was the Mushrooms which was very nice! I'm sure there's a proper name for this dish but the wife bought the food and threw the receipt away so the proper name escapes me...

And for the mains...... Beef Lasagna (once again) for the wife. As usual, it was good...

As for me, the Tagliatelle Squid ink with Crab Meat. This one is yummy beyond yum.... I so love Galbiati's pasta!

And we rounded off our Italian dinner in French style.... Fromage! Peppered Brie.... OOooooh.

Ok, hands up.... who says i can't write a short and concise blog!

Galbiati Gourmet Deli
400 Upper Bukit Timah Road
The Rail Mall
Singapore 678050
Tel: 64620926

Raffles Hotel - Writer's Bar

Date: 18 August 2007 19:00 (Saturday)

I have had feedback from some of you that i have, in your exact words, "damn a lot of cock to write" and hence i shall attempt to write a short one...

During my last visit to The Bar & Billiard Room with Felix, i was reasonably impressed to decide that i was going to bring Wen here to experience the wondrous spread of seafood. I'm not going to write about our dinner cos it's going to be largely similar to the previous entry. But i am going to write about our Pre-dinner drink.

Writer's Bar is this small little bar that sits around 10 which is located just outside The Raffles Grill. It has a long history and apparently there have been numerous literary greats (including a certain Rudyard Kipling) who have sat here sipping on single malts and writing books that have touched millions of hearts. It's a pity that i did not have my writing pad and pen otherwise i would have added another great literary name to that list.... :p

Yes, back to the pre-dinner drinks... Wen had a shot of Ballantine's 12 years on the rocks while i had a single shot of Glenmorangie 10 years straight up. That cost us $16 and $20 respectively.... the price one has to pay to attempt to pretend to be a literary great!

After dinner, we were in for a pleasant surprise.... Fireworks!!!

Enjoy!!!




Raffles Hotel - Writer's Bar
1 Beach Road
Singapore 189673
Tel: 6337 1886

Whitebait & Kale

Date: 16 August 2007 21:00 (Thursday)

A very late dinner... sacrifices a husband have to make when the wife decides to get her nails perfectly pedicured at Pauline's. Some days you wonder why men need to put up with all these crap about women spending time looking pretty and us men having to wait around for them. What happened to those good o' times when the universe revolved around us men? As the wait extends, the hunger expands and the impatience augments but then the wife appears and you see her and her perfectly pedicured nails and the love rushes back and all is forgiven. Yeah, i am one of those fickle chauvinistic types... :)

When you have Kevin and Pauline as dinner company, you can expect nothing but a good time. Pauline is the artist responsible for making the harder parts (errr... nails that is) of my wife look good and Kevin is the artist responsible for making sure that Pauline is in good shape to make my wife look good. I love having meals with them cos they are really the most unpretentious, unassuming sort of people. I've got quite a few best friends that i have meals and drinks with quite often but for some reason while it is really fun being with them, there is always an underlying hint of everyone making comparisons about each others' successes, a nonchalant attempt to show off achievements, intelligence and wealth which makes these gatherings a tad unpleasant. This isn't a jibe at my friends, it's human to behave like that and i must have been responsible for such behavior at some point in my life but it's because of this that makes dining with Kevin and Pauline so much more enjoyable. They are a very lovely couple and we can talk about anything under the sun with them and everything spoken between us only serves to delight and never offend.

And so after a long and hard day's work for everyone, we finally gather at Whitebait and Kale at 9pm for a very sumptuous dinner. We start off with the freshly baked Onion bread which was soft and warm when served. Bread was really flavorful :)

Next up was the wine..... I can't help but stereotype here.... the men ordered the red, the women ordered the white. A bottle of Cloudy Bay's 2006 Sauvignon Blanc and a bottle of Cesari Mara 2002 Vino Di Ripasso.

Now, let me spend some time to tell everyone how both Wendy and I think that Cloudy Bay's 2006 Sauvignon Blanc is a wine made in heaven and the grapes that were used to create this wine, possibly cultivated by the very hands of Bacchus himself. Upon the first whiff, you are engulfed with the mouth-watering aromas of passion fruit and lemon grass led with perhaps the spiciness of just-picked tomatoes tossed with fresh basil. Once the wine hits the palate, you cannot help but be amazed at the fruitiness of the taste and it provides a very long, powerful, crisp finish. It really is our favourite bottle of white!

As for the Vino Di Ripasso, this is a red wine from Veneto Italy and it is one wine which demonstrates rich, ripe fruit flavors and i personally thought it complemented quite well with the Angus Prime Rib i had. 2002 isn't exactly a prized vintage for wines from North Eastern Italy so dun expect it to be heavy or heady on the palettes. I liked the wine and i guess that's all that really matters :)

For the Appetizers, we had the Crab Cake and this blogger has no picture to show for cos he was too hungry and when the dish was placed on the table, this blogger went straight for the food, stuffed his whole mouth with crab cakes and then attempted to say "Shit! forgot to take pictures" Obviously, that all came out rather inaudibly.... If you have not tried Whitebait and Kale's Crab Cakes, you haven't eaten real Crab Cakes.... Awesome!

For the Mains, Wen had the Crabmeat Capellini.... as a matter of fact, for the last 3,657 visits to Whitebait's, she has been ordering this for her mains. I'm going to be very factual here.... Wendy makes the best pasta in Singapore. I am not bold enough to claim that she is the best pasta chef in the world cos i think there must be at least one 5 star Michelin Chef that can do pasta better than her.... But in Singapore, if you take Wendy away from the pasta equation, then i would say this pasta is right on par with Ember's Ebi Sakura Angel Hair Pasta. That good? You Bet!!!

As for Pauline, she went with the Catch of the Day which is Errrr.... a Rock Cod i believe.... (This is what happens when you try to write a blog on a meal that happened half a month ago) She was kind enough to feed all of us with generous pieces of her fish and the fish was really very good. Fresh, tender, juicy, tasty.... Mmmmmm!



Kevin and I had the US Angus Rib Eye. He had it Medium with Truffle sauce and i had mine Medium-rare in Pepper sauce. I think the Rib Eye would have been perfect if it was done Medium-rare in Truffle Sauce! Ladies and Gentlemen, friend, fans and staff of Morton's ..... THIS IS WHAT I CALL A REAL STEAK!!! Sorry about being bitter but i still can't quite comprehend how a steakhouse specialising in steaks can get it so wrong.......

Dinner was concluded with a bottle of Moscato for Pauline, a serving of Profiteroles for Kevin, a Warm Chocolate Cake for Wen and myself and a single shot of espresso for Wendy, Kevin and myself... all of which i have no picture to show for cos i'm a crap food blogger....

Bah.... who needs pictures of food when you have company like Pauline and Kevin's!

Whitebait and Kale
1 Orchard Boulevard
#01-01 Camden Medical Centre
Singapore 248649
Tel: 63338697

Ristorante Wendys!

Date: 11 August 2007 21:00 (Saturday)

You know you are in for a real treat when your wife says "I'm going to do it for you tonight..." And she certainly whipped it up good! All that anticipation throughout the whole day, the foreplay of smells and sensations, the explosion of orgasmic feeling when it happens.... yes dinner was eventually served and Wen is the best cook, i tell ya....

The Dish of Desire - Baked Penne with Sausage and Carrots....

But first, let me dwell on the anticipation....

The thing about making baked pastas is that there is a lot of waiting time. Preparation time is pretty ok, in fact rather short but the waiting time is long and we were already hungry. So a nice snack of Ferro Breadstick dipped in Copperpot's Zesty Eggplant Dip. This dip is really quite awesome and if we had a microwave oven at home, we might have heated this up as i think it will really taste better warm than cold. The dip is a little spicy and it tastes like ... eggplant.

But that's not gonna make us happy yeah? So... a plate of nice Peppered Brie!

This is awesome cheese man! Brie Cheese is one of my favourite cheese... so creamy on the inside... Ooooo...

And what good is cheese without a drink! Ok, some of us were taught in kindergarten that we should always have cheese with a fine bottle of red wine. Someone from the Ministry of Education ought to have been fired! Some cheese go well with Whites and some with Champagne and this Brie goes really well with a bottle of....

Laurent-Perrier Rose Champagne! Mmmmm...

Errr, ok.... some justification required here. Yes, Champagne ought to be limited to special ocassions... unless you are a friggin millionaire in which case then it should be limited to breakfasts only. But in our last trip to the city of Champagne (French pronounce it as Sharm Pun), we learnt that when a bottle of un-vintaged Champagne is bottled, the taste will only last for 3 years after which the bubbles disappear and so do the taste. Absolute crap since we've been stocking up on Champagne over the years and they are all nearing expiry! So yeah, this was a bottle of champagne which was bought almost 3 years ago hence the need to consume it immediately. We were just exercising intelligent prudence :)

Next up, the foreplay....

Ingredients that go into Wen's Baked Penne...

Yeah, we eat everything with Chilli Padi!

For the uninitiated, the above consists of Onions, Chilli Padi, Carrots and Italian Spicy Chicken Sausage...

Now, i have tried seeking permission on putting the recipe online but the chef has politely declined this opportunity. It's such a pity because this is an absolute fabulous dish. But i'm not the bastard that everyone makes me out to be so i will go against the chef's wishes and give you one very crucial chef secret that will make or break this Baked Pasta dish. And the secret is.... you will need an oven for this.... :)

And so the chef mixes all the above along with an unspecified weight of Penne soaked in an unspecified brand of Tomato and Herb Sauce. Look at the pre-baked pictures... it looks yummy even before it's cooked!

A rare photo of the chef in her apron....

And so after an unspecified number of minutes in the oven at an unspecified temperature. The chef sprinkles some Perfect Italiano Mozzarella cheese, puts it back in the oven and within a couple of minutes later... Voila!


Again, if you think the picture of the final product looks good, this dish is a million times better than how it looks. The cheese is baked to perfection, crispy on the outside and still creamy inside. The Penne is Al Dente, Sausages and carrots perfect texture, the onions adding to the sweet tingle and the chilli padi adding zest to the whole dish.

And of course it was perfectly accompanied by the Rose Champagne.

I must be the happiest man alive :)

Ristorante Wendys!

What?!? Did you think i would be crazy to put our home address here?
Tel: Are you crazy?!?

Yumeya Japanese Restaurant

Date: 8 August 2007 21:30 (Wednesday)

I've begun to realise that i will never be a good food blogger. I love food very much, I love drinks even more, I think i can write a decent article if necessary, i can take a mean picture if the lightings are right.... BUT... what good is all that when this food blogger ends up eating and drinking everything on the table before the photos are taken and notes are recorded!

Take my posting about Morton's for example, picture of the steak looked pretty decent but truth is that that's a half eaten steak! Ate half of it before realising that i forgot to take pictures! turned the steak over and with some clever angled shots, managed to take a pic of the steak as if it was untouched... And that's not the only shot i have cleverly covered up....

If you looked up "Crap Food Blogger" in the dictionary, you will probably find my face there...

On some ocassions though, i am thankful that i have friends who are fanatic enough to take pictures of every single dish before allowing the rest of us to partake the food. This is one such ocassion. All pics in this posting were made possibly by Peiling. She's like the world's biggest Hello Kitty fan.... she takes fantastic photos, she's really funny and she is a master in the art of "Disciplining Hubbys" I would write a lot more about her but personally i think it's just not nice to compliment your good friend's wife too much... raises your friend's ego, gets the wife all jealous, makes your other married mates wary about you, yada yada yada... :P

Back to food blogging....

It's National Day Eve..... everyone's in a party mood.... group of us friends start off the evening with drinks at Axis Bar and Lounge @ Oriental (looks like this is going to be my new hangout place). We then proceed to the Mohd Sultan area for some good Japanese food!

Yumeya Japanese Restaurant. Located along Mohd Sultan Road, this Jap restaurant is run by Lee Loon, a Chinese Chap. I did not get a chance to speak with him much other than complaining that his promise of a table within 10 mins extended to over 30 mins. I did put in a formal demand of 15% discount and 2 x 300ml bottles of Sake for our waiting time and i made clear to him in no uncertain terms that if my demand was not met, i would do absolutely nothing detrimental to him. Poor chap shivered in fear and gave in to my demands....

First up was the Fugu Mirin Boshi.....

Some will have you believe that this is the most dangerous dish in the world. It's basically Puffer fish meat and if cleaned incorrectly, the slightest hint of poison will make you look like Paul Twohill with a bad hair day... This dish taste so much like Bak Kwa. If you are feeling down and want to end it all, eating poisonous bak kwa would be a nice way to go...

Next up was the assorted plate of Sashimi. I'm not at that level in which i can comment on why this sashimi taste better than that but i certainly can differentiate between fresh sashimi and err.. not fresh ones. And the Sashimi that Yumeya serves are FREEEEEEEESH!!! SO so yummy!

After the Sashimi came the Cheese Oyster served with a plate of flames. Cheese was like still bubbling when served. SO so yummy!

Crap, once again, my limited range of adjectives put to the test... shall let the photos do the talking....

Yasai Kakiage... Deep Fried Vegetable... Crispy and Tasty!

Age Dashi Tofu.... this one is awesome! One of the best Age Dashi Tofus i have eaten. Problem with most places serving this dish is that the skin gets a bit soggy after prolonged periods in the sauce. But over at Yumeya, they've managed to do this perfectly... the skin continues to remain taut and crispy and together with the sauce... Oooooh

Wafu Steak.... Nice!

Gyu Tataki.... Beef fillet.... Nice!

Kinoko Mikisu Yaki... NOW THIS IS WHAT I CALL A NICE DISH OF ASPARAGUS!!! It bloody cost $10 and taste like a million dollars. if you are wondering what the caps lock are all about, it's in relation to the $25 plate of asparagus i paid at Morton's... That one cost a million dollars and taste like $10!

We finally ended the evening with a Dobin Mushi. This is a pot of soup which have lots of goodies in it. The Dobin Mushi was really tasty and it sure helped to complete a perfect meal. But where's the photo of the Dobin Mushi?!?!? Peiling? *curious look*

The whole dinner event was aptly accompanied by 5 x 300ml bottles of Hot Sake. Not much alcohol for a party of 7... which is why we then proceeded to Stanley's apartment over at The Pier (just across the road) for another 2 bottles of Champagne, 2 bottles of white wine, 1 bottle of red wine and toasted to our country over and over and over.....

Happy 42nd Birthday Singapore!

Yumeya Japanese Restaurant
33 Mohamed Sultan Road
#01-01, Singapore 238977
Tel: 68870282