Axis Bar & Lounge @ Oriental Hotel

Date: 4 August 2007 18:30 (Saturday)

It's 30 mins away from our Anniversary dinner at Morton's and we are early.... so untypically Singaporean! Oh well, off to Axis Lounge for a pre-dinner drink...

Managed to get a window seating with a splendid view of Singapore's Skyline. But oh wait.... can you see it? Lots of people marching along the roadside? Yup, National Day Parade just around the corner and these patriotic citizens are practicing hard for the show in 5 days time. All their blood, sweat and effort will be richly rewarded when they perform in front of the whole nation on National Day. Brilliant!

Ok, this is our first time at Axis Bar & Lounge... on most weekday evenings, me and my colleagues will often flock to Morton's Bar for their Happy Hour. Morton's Bar serves huge Martinis at $10+++ per glass during happy hours and it even comes with free steak sandwiches... naturally, everyone's happy during Morton's Happy hours! Axis is just opposite Morton's bar but I have never stepped in till now. Happy Hours are from 5pm to 8pm and happy hour drinks are at $13+++ .... on first sight, it doesn't seem as happy an hour as that of Morton's BUT if you have been to Morton's like ten thousand times in the last 3 months, then Axis is a refreshing change. Martini's are not as big as those you get at Morton's Bar but you get:

(1) Free flow of Wasabi Chips
(2) Free flow of Tapas
(3) One serving of Calamari

One should always be a gentleman and never complain about free food so i won't dwell on the fact that the Calamari was a little too oily for our liking. One should however dwell on the good points of free food and that it that the Wasabi Chips were very very nice, the Tapas were really quite awesome and the Calamari's batter is about the most crispy thing you can ever bite into...

Any seating in Axis will get you a great view of the Singapore skyline and the sofas are really comfortable to laze around in. Staffs are attentive and the drinks menu is pretty comprehensive.

Happy Hour at Axis anyone? :)

Morton's, The Steak House

Date: 04 August 2007 19:00 (Saturday)

Morton's, The Steakhouse - The Creme de la Creme of Steak Houses....

Before you start wondering if Wen and I are some multi-millionaires who live a life filled with riches and excesses, let me put to rest that suspicion you have. No, we are not multi-millionaires and we do not live a life of riches. The dinning of the past week may seem to indicate so but that's far from the truth. We do indulge in excesses though...

BUT, this meal is not one of those excesses. It is a necessity... because ? years ago on this very day, in a dinky dark corner in the now defunct Devil's Bar, I looked at Wen in her eyes and my heart screamed out to me "this is the one!" after which i, without any hesitation, planted a kiss on her lips. ? years ago, she stole my heart away from me... And so, this meal at Morton's isn't about Excesses... it's a celebration of the start of a perfect union that happened ? years ago...

And so after our pre-dinner drink at Axis bar & Lounge, we made our way to Morton's! Oh what joy to be able to dine in this restaurant which we have been fantasizing for such a long time!

Let me first talk about why everyone should go to Morton's for a meal....

1) Excellent Service! - All restaurants should learn a thing or two from Morton's. The waiters and waitresses were very professional and the managers were very attentive to the needs of the customers.

2) Table front presentation of food - Yup, the waiter in charge of serving you will push this trolley filled with all the dishes they serve and explain to you what each dish is about. Doesn't matter that it seems rather silly when a waiter picks up a lobster and tells you that if you order lobster, this is what you will get...

3) Excellent Service! - I called up to make reservations about 2 weeks back and informed them that i would be celebrating our anniversary. They made our table really special. They sprinkled little stars on the table to make us feel special. They gave us a booth seat even though i did not request for it. The printed menu on our table had a congratulatory message wishing us a Happy Anniversary. Nice small touches...

4) Excellent Service! - At the end of the meal, they even gave us a complimentary Warm Chocolate cake. They came over to take a picture of us and within minutes presented us with a nice photo frame with the picture taken and wishing us a Happy Anniversary. So so sweet of them....

We started off with the free Onion Bread that they serve all their patrons before dinner. The bloody bread was ENORMOUS! We were completely stunned when we saw the bread... it's bigger than the size of my stomach! But the onion bread was very very nice.... very flavourful and freshly baked.

Next, we had a look at the wine menu and i think the cheapest bottle of wine we could find was a $148 bottle of Pinot Noir from Australia which you can get for $37 in Cold Storage. It's not that they only carry expensive wines.... it's just how they priced their wines. If i had known this to be the case, I would have been better off paying the $60 corkage and bringing my own bottle of wine!

Anyway, we decided to go with a bottle of Chateau Belgrave, Haut-Medoc 1999. We've had this before though we can't remember where. After all the nice 2006 whites we've had in the past week, this bottle was a disappointment. It's not too bad... just highly forgettable. I guess it holds true about how when you pay peanuts, you get monkeys... This bottle cost us $150. A pretty expensive bottle of monkey if you asked me... Again, dun get me wrong, if i had paid $60 for this bottle of wine, i would have said it was fantastic, but at $150... i couldn't help but feel that the wine did me injustice...

Next up was a half dozen oysters...

Oysters were rather massive in my opinion but the waiter served it with an apology saying that the oysters are a little small today so they decided to give us 7 instead of 6. Duh! But i wasn't going to start complaining....

Next up was the Lobster Bisque which we had requested to have one portion split into 2. Wen and i aren't such big eaters and we usually rather have more in variation than in size. The Lobster Bisque was really quite good though not the best. For the best Lobster Bisque, look no further than St Julien at Fullerton's Waterhouse...

The picture above is how it looks with the portioned Split... thank goodness we did not order a bowl each!

We ordered 2 extra side dishes to go with our mains and that would be the Asparagus in Hollandaise Sauce and the Lyonnaise Potatoes. I'm going to be blunt here... the Asparagus tasted like... Asparagus. And with the Hollandaise Sauce, it tasted like... Asparagus with Hollandaise sauce! And if you have to pay $25 for a plate of Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce, you would feel a tad stupid after... which is how i felt.

The Lyonnaise Potatoes on the other hand was simply out of this world. Grilled to perfection! Crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside... Didn't matter that i felt stupid paying $15 for a small plate of potatoes... they were good! This is one dish not to be missed when you visit Morton's...

And then... the highlight of the evening! The US Prime Rib-eye... Ok, for those who have never been to Morton's and you are planning to go and you are not a big eater, for the love of Mankind... order just one steak and share it with your partner. Don't feel shy about asking them to split your steak order! Here's the reason why.... Wen and i may not be big eaters but we still do put in a substantial amount of food into our stomachs during meal times. For Steaks, Wen usually struggles to finish 120 grams while i do perfect with 150 grams. That's a total of 270 grams between us. Morton serves their steak in 400 grams portions.... that is massive! At 400 grams here, you are not even talking about eating a cow.... you are talking about eating the cow, it's parents, it's grand-parents and half of it's first uncle!

Ok, i think you get the picture... Now, the quality of the steak.... i'm going to be curt here. I have had better... much better... for possibly half the price. The best steak i had was when both Wen and i were in the U.S. We were in Las Vegas and we went to this steak place called Smith & Wollensky Same posh setting, same posh menu, same excellent service, a fraction of Morton's prices...

In Singapore, many restaurants do their steaks very well... the only difference is that most restaurants do not use US beef and while i am not the biggest fans of the US of A, i got to say they have the best cows in the world. If these restaurants started investing in US Cows for their steaks, they would do a meaner steak than Morton's. I enjoyed my steak... so did Wen... but we both felt a little silly paying $80 for it. The steak was at best .... mediocre...


We ended the dinner with the complimentary Warm Chocolate Cake. Now, this one was really good and it wasn't because it was free.... Served with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream and an inedible candle on ice. The sponge of the cake was the perfect texture and the hot chocolate contained in those sponges were simply orgasmic!

It was supposed to be a perfect evening for the 2 of us... celebrating our anniversary in a restaurant we have wanted to visit for so long. But we ended up damaged twice over.... we damaged our digestive systems big time. We had to literally roll out of the restaurant. I could have walked out of the restaurant without my pants and no one would bat an eye lid simply because my stomach would have been covering any obscene parts. Our wallets also got damaged big time... super big time. I had exchanged my UOB Credit card points for a $100 voucher and thought i would spend no more than $250... final dinner bill... $402.53. For that price, i could have gotten a degustation menu for 2 at Iggy's without alcohol!

But like i said.... this isn't one of those excesses we have in life. It's a necessity... when you come into the realisation that the one you love means the world to you, Morton's extravagant bill is really just peanuts. A very big peanut....

Morton's, The Steakhouse
Oriental Hotel
5 Raffles Avenue, Marina Square
4th Storey
Singapore 039797
Tel: 63393740

At Home with Let's Clap

Date: 03 August 2007 20:00 (Friday)

Guess we are not typical Singaporeans... a typical Singaporean would on a Friday night go:

(1) Chionging
(2) Dinner with Friends
(3) Go Shop in Johor with Colleagues
(4) Watch a movie
(5) All of the Above in one night

But Wen and I decided that we would take the evening easy. It has been a really tough week and both of us have got ZERO energy left to enjoy an energy filled Friday.

And so we decided to Ta-Bao some good o' Chinese food from Let's Clap over at Rail Mall. This Chinese Restaurant had recently moved into Rail Mall and up till now, we've never tried it before. We decided to take it easy on our stomachs and hence the following orders:

(1) Small Packet of Ee Fu Noodles
(2) Gao Gei with 3 kinds of Eggs (Salted, Century and Normal) cooked in Superior Stock
(3) 1 Kg of Steam Crab

Total cost: $50 (Crab is sold at $30 per Kg)

We were rather skeptical of the food quality simply because this is a rather new restaurant and the few times that we have gone to Rail Mall, it has always been almost empty. I suppose it is normal to assume that if a restaurant looks empty, it's probably not good. But Boy were we wrong! Food was AWESOME stuff! The Ee Fu Noodles had very good texture, was very tasty but yet not oily. The Gao Gei dish is simply the best i have tried... previously my favourite Gao Gei would be from Charming Gardens at Copthorne Orchid Hotel or Crystal Jade. This one beats those two hands down pants down!

And the Steam Crab... MMmmmmm... meat was so perfectly cooked. Firm to the touch, Soft to the Taste... it was naturally sweet tasting and so juicy that you could not bite into each mouthful without the remnant soup base trickling down your hands. My Father-in-law is a hardcore fisherman enthusiast and he did once tell me something about how there is a correct time for eating crabs. Something to do with the full moon and the crabs meat being tender at that point cos of the mating period or something... I would have remembered better if i understood his Teo Chew but i think i got the gist and perhaps we happened to eat the crab at the right time. But dun let my last statement take the credit off Let's Clap. Wen said that it is easy to do a good pepper crab or chilli crab but it's almost impossible to do a good steam crab. With the pepper and Chilli, the spice flavours will mask the imperfections of the crab.... with a steam crab, it has got to be cooked to perfection because there isn't anything to mask the imperfections. Let's Clap did the Steam crab to PERFECTION...

Oh, and like i always say... what good is seafood without a bottle of white...

Make that the 5th bottle of Oceanic bottle of white I have had in the last 6 days! We have like half a dozen Oyster Bay's 2006 Sauvignon Blanc in our wine fridge simply because it is ridiculously good at that price. $27... that's all it takes to enjoy a fantastic bottle of white... AND AND AND... this wine goes perfect with Crabs! So for all crab lovers out there.... make sure you get a bottle of this when you have crabs... Trust me :)

Let's Clap
396 & 398 Upper Bukit Timah Road
The Rail Mall
Singapore 678048
Tel: 64684453

Raffles Hotel - Bar and Billiard Room

Date: 2 August 2007 19:00 (Thursday)

This is starting to look like a really good week. So much good food over the past week I'm actually starting to feel really decadent.

Tuesdays and Thursdays are generally my gym days (need to run off all those ridiculous amounts of calories i put on every other day) but i had to make an exception for this one. Received a call earlier in the week from Felix who started out as my Financial Planner but has grown to become a good friend of mine. He wanted to give me a treat and as a foodie and a true blooded Singaporean, you just don't say no to an offer like that!

A word about Felix before i talk about the wonderful meal we had. Felix, is about the best Financial Planner that anyone can meet. His knowledge is inexhaustible, he is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to Financial Planning, he is highly motivated in giving his clients the best advice possible... I'm not the easiest customer to have. If you knew my wife, she would bitch non stop to you about how i constantly stress salespeople out with my incessant questions. I don't do this intentionally, it's really just how my thoughts are processed. And Felix has always had a ready answer for me no matter how ridiculous and far fetched my questions are. Sometimes he bombards me with so much knowledge i actually suffer from a brain freeze... Oh and Felix loves to talk too.... i don't ever remember having dinner with him and not been the last ones out of the restaurant. He is about the most entertaining person to have dinner with simply because of his wealth of knowledge and his passion for life and work is just so infectious you can sit and listen to him all night. Actually i exaggerate a bit here.... i can probably listen to him all day and night... But in all honesty, he is really good with what he does, ever since getting him to plan the financial aspects of my life, i have never had to worry one single bit. If you have just started thinking about planning your financial health and you want Felix's contact, drop me a mail and i will have him contact you :)

Ok, back to the meal....

The last time i went to Bar and Billiard room was in 1995. It was my first job and my boss (aptly named Mr. Smart!) then took the whole department to the Bar and Billiard room for a lunch buffet. Looking back, that was actually the very first fine dinning i have ever had (i came from a very poor family...) I remembered being amazed at the luxurious spread then....

I continue to remain amazed at the luxurious spread now....

If you are a seafood person, then you would love the Bar and Billiard Room's Buffet. It's got endless rows of Prawns, Lobsters, Oysters, Scampis, Mussels, Sashimi... They emphasize a lot on the Lobsters though. You can get Lobster Bisque, Lobster Pancake, Lobster as it is..... This is Lobster HEAVEN!!!

And what is good seafood without a bottle of white right? Thank goodness Felix was in a very generous mood and he got us a bottle of Hardys Colombard, Verdelho, Chenin Blanc 2006 from Australia. Yup, yes.... yet another 2006 bottle of white for me... 4th bottle this week! Life is Good!


Now, in a setting like the Bar and Billiard room which isn't overtly stuffy, one is still reminded to put on their good manners, you just don't go around taking pictures of their food spread. And unfortunately, i have just restarted my gym routine which makes me highly calculative with my food intake so.... only pictures of what i ate... which, believe me, is a mere fraction of what is available...

My Starters 2x Fresh Prawns,3 x Fresh Oysters, 5 x Salmon Sashimi, 2 x Tuna Sashimi (Hmm, I'm actually more disciplined then i think i am....)

The good stuff... 2nd round... 1 x Lobster Pancake, 5 x Smoked Salmon, 3 x Baby Lobsters... oh and 1 x Lobster Bisque which i forgot to take a picture of...

Mains! Butter Rice (AWEEEESOMEEEEE!!!), Mixed Vegetables, Roasted Potatoes, 1 slice of Beef and some seafood....

Desserts.... Dunno what the heck those were but they are nice!

Ok, any Health Fanatic out there that can calculate just how many calories i consumed?

As i mentioned, those pics above do no justice to the amazing spread that the Bar and Billiard room offers. There is a bread section, cheese platter counter, roasted meat section, cold cuts section, ice cream section... all of which i skipped.

Oh, i did have a cup of espresso after all that. Mind you.... when i said a cup, i meant a cup... a full one... at least 6 shots of espresso in there. Not that i needed that to keep me awake... i had Felix as company :)

Raffles Hotel - Bar and Billiard Room
1 Beach Road
Singapore 189673
Tel: 6337 1886