Went to Jumbo Seafood Restaurant at their flagship restaurant at East Coast Park to celebrate the parents' birthday early (thanks to my bro who'll be overseas for a month). The last time I ever ate at Jumbo was at their Riverside Walk branch about 5 years ago.

I am thoroughly amused by their bibs and it's great because we all know how messy Chilli Crabs can be. They provide gloves too but hey...we're Singaporeans...where's the fun in eating crabs without the sauce all over your fingers and licking it off?

We ordered the Baby Squid which were fried and tossed with a sticky sweet and savoury sauce. I haven't had this in ages and it brought back happy childhood food memories.

Above is the famous Singapore Chilli Crab, 'invented' by Punggol Seafood Restaurant but made further famous by Jumbo. Below is another famous fish by both seafood restaurants - Mee Goreng. It's traditionally a Malay dish but in both Punggol and Jumbo, this dish has a slight Chinese Singaporean take on it and of course, they dressed it up with expensive seafood such as scallops, prawns and squid.

Firstly, the Chilli Crab sauce and the sauce used to fry the Mee Goreng tasted strangely similar. Hmm...I wouldn't be surprised if they were really the same. Not that I'm complaining because it really does taste good. We did order a steamed crab, steamed fish and stir-fried vegetables but as my hands were too dirty from the Chilli Crabs...no photos taken.

However, when I tasted the Chilli Crab on its own, I was no longer surprised that Jumbo lost this dish to Gordon Ramsay during Singtel's Hawker Heroes challenge in 2013. The sauce tasted different from the one that I had at the Riverside Walk branch. It lacked that wok-flavour that most Chinese chefs attain when they're at that level. The punch from the chilli was lacking (although it was present in the Mee Goreng) and it tasted as if they replaced fresh ingredients such as lime/lemon juice for store bought UHT version or the tau cheo (fermented soy beans) that they used were not of the highest grade.

It's still good...but not as great as it used to be. No wonder some ex-colleagues of mine prefer Long Beach/ Melben/ No Signboard/ Palm Beach for their Chilli Crab fix. Hmm...maybe it's time for me to flex my cooking muscles and go Into Chef Mode and try cooking this dish at home!

Photo credit: Yoogane Singapore

I've seen the long queues at Yoogane's Bugis Junction branch and I've always wondered what the fuss is all about. All I know is that Yoogane started in Busan, Korea, in 1981 and it specialises in Galbi - grilled meat that has been marinated in the typical ganjang sauce. Deciding to find out what the fuss is all about, my friend and I headed off to Yoogane for lunch to chase away our Monday blues.

Straight off the bat, this meal was a bit of a tough decision because you can only order ONE type of grill and they charge you on a per pax basis. In other words, if you have a large group of diners with different tastebuds, you'll have to sit separately.

We ordered their signature Chicken Galbi (S$16.90++ per person) and an extra serving of fried rice (S$3.90++). You can choose to add cheese (S$3.90++) or noodles (ranges from S$3.90++ to S$4.90++, depending on type) but we gave all of those a miss. Like most Korean restaurants, they provide a bottle of cold water and a box of tissue for you. Nonetheless, we both ordered hot tea (S$1.90++). No need to worry about veg in your diet because they have a free flow salad bar, which contains mainly shredded cabbage (they provide honey mustard as a dressing), kimchi, shredded bell peppers and pickled radish.

So...the grill itself is HUGE and it is cooked right in the middle of the table! The Chicken Galbi consists of a generous serving of meat, lots of chopped up leek, 2 slices of potato, 4 rice cakes and quite a bit of sliced cabbage. Yup...you can count the number of slices of potato and rice cakes. If you like the Korean rice cake, you will have to top up your order (price ranges from S$3.90++ to S$5.90++ depending on type or S$6.90++ for the combination plate).

There's nothing like the sound of sizzling meat and the smell of it as it gets cooked by one of the staff. Mind you...this does splatter, despite the high metal ring that they put around the pan while it cooks. As such, aprons are provided to you so that you get to keep your clothes pristine. Doesn't prevent you from smelling like grilled meat though. Also, if you try to stir fry it yourself, the staff will politely tell you not to do so in order to cook the meat quickly. I still don't see the logic in that, considering that I cook.

Even if it smells good, does it taste good? First bite - this tastes a lot better than the stuff that's served in Seoul Yummy (another chain of Korean casual dining restaurants). Second bite - mm...I think the chicken is a bit overcooked. Third bite - whoa...I can feel the heat of the chilli! But it was still manageable. Fourth bite - I need to pair this with the plain shredded cabbage so that it's less jerlat. After a few more mouthfuls, I felt that there was simply way too much leek. I'm not the biggest fan of leeks but I really don't mind them thoroughly cooked. That said, this dish simply had TOO much leek. Also, there was only 1 flavour throughout the whole dish, which was the ganjang.

In terms of portion, my friend and I felt that the amount served could've fed 3 pax and if so, we could've ordered another side dish just to have a little more variety. Also, it wasn't cheap considering that the total bill came to be about S$54.

The worst part was actually the day after. Both of us spent a good 10-15 min in the toilet the next morning bombing spicy (yes, you can feel it) and orangey stool. Sorry...don't mean to be gross but...you get the idea. Thus, I'm afraid to go back to Yoogane. Maybe I will...only when I'm feeling a bit indulgent and I'll definitely avoid the chilli.

Yoogane Singapore
200 Victoria Street
#02-47/48 Bugis Junction

Tel: +65 6337 7337
Website: https://www.facebook.com/yoogane.singapore 
Opening hours: 11:30 to 22:00

Located at a corner where Cecil Street meets Marina Boulevard, The Black Swan resides in an 1930s building which used to be a bank. Running with the Art Deco theme, the Lo & Behold Group transformed it into The Black Swan, which serves classic cuisine that borders on being French-Americano.

Upon entering the restaurant, you are greeted by the unique bar and the high ceiling. The writing on the bar reads, "Here's to the Rose Coloured Glasses Of Life". La vie en rose. Well...less American since they still spelt Coloured the British way *wink*.

Panoramic view of The Black Swan

 

Go for their Set Lunch (2 courses @ S$38++, 3 courses @ S$44++) because it just makes things a lot simpler although the whole bunch of us still racked our brains to choose because everything looked enticing! Good thing for you is that there were 5 of us so we ordered quite a variety of starters, mains and desserts to review.

Above is the Farmer's Salad, so it's just a mix of rocket, apple, celery, arugula and tossed with a vinaigrette. Nothing too special about this.

Add S$4++ to order their Crab Salad which has sunflower seeds, avocado, mango, grapefruit and a citrus vinaigrette. Needless to say, this was a little more interesting than the Farmer's Salad.

For an additional S$6++, go for the Foie Gras which is pan fried perfectly and comes with a toast on a yuzu marmalade. Not a fault in this dish except maybe not enough of foie gras?

For those who are feeling 'safe', go for the Duck Confit (+S$4++) which was very crispy on the outside and still tender on the inside. It rests on a bed of bacon potatoes and a mustard sauce. Judging from how 2 of my colleagues ate their duck, it was good on the first few bites but in true Duck Confit style, it does a get a bit much.

Another main course was the Seafood Linguine. It's good and it wasn't wow. Just tasted like how it should be. This is one of the few dishes that were not French-based but Italian but I guess if you're going with an American theme, both cuisines go.

If you like fish, they have the Pan Seared Red Snapper with an egg sauce and with leek done two ways. The skin of the fish was crispy and the sauce creamy. However, it tasted exactly how a pan fried fish should taste like.

Yours truly went for the Mangalica Pork Collar (+S$6++) which came with pickled red cabbage and apple sauce...

It looks like a piece of steak and cuts a little like a piece of steak but beef it is not. This piece of pork was succulent and very well seasoned. It was simple but yet you know that you cannot replicate this dish with your home kitchen unless you're a very skilled chef with a good grill pan. I gave everyone a morsel of this porcine goodness, which spoilt their tastebuds and their mains don't taste as good as it did before. Oops. Needless to say, everyone on my table recommends the pork!

For dessert, I went for the Sticky Date Toffee Pudding (above) which tasted absolutely divine! The cold vanilla ice cream went really well with the sweet, warm pudding which could've been too sweet if it wasn't for the slices of banana and ice cream. Absolutely divine.

If you like dark chocolate, go for the Chocolate Dome. Inside that dome casing of rich, dark chocolate is a vanilla creme mousse and it's paired with strawberries and blueberries. Very classic.

Finish it off with a cup of coffee or tea and you're good.

That about sums up our whole experience in The Black Swan. Everything was classic and slightly laid back and it would be quite a romantic throwback to the 1930s, sitting at the bar and enjoying a glass of martini or whisky. I'm sure if you dine here at night, you might even let your imagination run a little wild and think that you're in a scene from The Great Gatsby. It helps that the restaurant has a Mezzanine floor which houses their 'Powder Room' - an intimate bar for craft cocktails and whiskies. If they played jazz music, I'm sold. I'll find as many excuses as possible to be treated to meals here.

It's not the cheapest place to dine for lunch though. You'll need to be prepared to spend around S$65/pax if you're ordering the 3 course meal with all the add-ons. Nonetheless, it is a place that is worth visiting at least once!

The Black Swan
19 Cecil Street
Singapore 049704
Tel: +65 8181 3305
Website: www.theblackswan.com.sg

My dad read an article in Sunday Times recently about Alt. Pizza and he got all excited about it because the owner of Alt. Pizza (Matthew White) had helped to launch Extra Virgin Pizza and I had brought my dad to Extra Virgin Pizza once and he was so impressed by the pizza there that he remembered the name. Long story short, we finally went to Alt. Pizza for dinner.

Located at a tiny corner of Suntec City, Tower 4, it is no wonder that this place is not as popular as Peperoni downstairs. It is on Level 1 and is next to the taxi stand. It is outside of the main shopping area and because of that, it does have a few tables located outside for al fresco dining.

The place is decorated with very bright neon colours and I love the puns - Love with Slice us Apart/ Everyday we'll be trufflin' etc. The pop art decor isn't what one would normally associate with artisanal pizzas but it's quirky and it explains the funky names given to the various pizzas.

Dad ordered their Tangerine Wheat Craft Draft Beer (S$10++) and this is one of the 3 craft beers to choose from. I recommend the Tangerine Wheat because it's a little more unique and true to its name, you'll get a citrus after taste with the first notes of fruitiness. It's a light beer so ladies will like it too.

For starters, we tried their Calamari Fritti (S$10++) which is fried with rosemary and another herb and served with a chipotle lime aioli. Loved the aioli and the calamari was well seasoned. I prefer the smaller type of squid though because although the squid was soft and cooked well, this large squid tends to have this band/vein through it that makes it hard to chew through.

First up is their Truffle Shuffle (S$14++), which has a white sauce base and comes with fennel sausage, caramelised onions, roasted mushrooms and truffle oil - all on an 11" thin crust. In fact, all their pizzas are thin crust and at 11" and you start to make the Extra Virgin Pizza connection since EVP also fixes their pizza size and type.

Ok...taste test! I was expecting a heavy aroma of truffle to bombard my nose when I picked up a slice and alas, I was sorely disappointed. The onions were good and the mushroom was tasty but...truffle? :( Other than that, it was a good pizza.

Next was the Crabby Ninja (S$18++) and it comes with a red pepper cream sauce, blue crab meat, cherry tomatoes, basil and smoked cheddar. Now THIS tasted a lot better than the Truffle Shuffle and it delivered what it promised. The basil was a nice contrast to the crab and cuts back on the oil from the cheese. The fresh tomatoes were sweet and juicy, adding a little more depth to the pizza. Each slice had a generous serving of crab meat so one can't complain there.

2 pizzas are more than enough for 3 Asians but if you're really hungry, you can have a whole pizza to yourself. If you don't fancy their standard pizzas, you can even build your own! The full menu can be found here. They do have daily special pizza flavours so do check those out too! They are taking orders online but it's currently meant more for takeaways since they only deliver within Suntec City and Millennia Walk. Now...will they ever have set lunches?? Only time will tell.

Alt. Pizza
Suntec City Tower 4
#01-602
Singapore 038983

Tel: +65 6836 9208
Website: www.altpizza.com.sg
Email:  hello@altpizza.com.sg (reservations only for parties of 8 pax and above, dinner only)
Opening Hours: 11am - 10pm, daily

Chui Huay Lim Club is nestled in a corner along Keng Lee Road, near Newton, and the Club itself is more than 160 years old. The flagship restaurant is also called Chui Huay Lim and it literally translates as Forest of Drunken Flowers. Hmm...how poetic.

The family and I decided to go there for dinner and taste test the food as we were thinking of having our family reunion dinner with my paternal side there next month. My bro and I were a bit surprised that the Chui Huay Lim restaurant is managed by the Jumbo group.

Photo courtesy of Chope.co

The decor of the restaurant is very pleasant and the entrance has 4 private rooms that can be merged into 2 larger rooms. Each room is also equipped with a karaoke system, which I think my eldest aunt will be pleased to know.

The menu is chockful of traditional Teochew standard fare like Braised goose, ngoh hiang, steamed fish and Yam Paste dessert! The prices were a bit steep though.

We started off with half a Braised Goose and the slices were really tender while the tau kua (firm beancurd with a harder skin) was really silky and soft. The sauce was not too salty and there was no starch to make it appear shiny...this is Teochew cuisine. Not cantonese.

I think all of us really liked this vegetable dish. It's Chinese spinach cooked with salted egg, century egg and dried scallops. It was very tasty and the vegetables still maintained some crunch despite being cooked in a broth.

What respectable Teochew restaurant is without ngoh hiang? They have the typical version (above) as well as the ones with liver. It's a bit like choosing your type of sausage, isn't it? Except that these parcels have water chestnuts and other yummy things inside. My mum loved it. I think it's good but it's still not wow enough to convert me into a ngoh hiang fan. However, it's probably one of the few ngoh hiangs that I will eat more than 1 piece of.

Above is another signature dish - 'Puning' Fermented Bean Chicken. The chicken used is 'free range' or as we Singaporeans would call it, kampung chicken. The chicken was very tender and tasted almost like Hainanese chicken except that it has a slightly salty/sweet taste due to the sauce. It is served on a bed of preserved vegetables that were a bit sweet and really delicious. All of us wiped this plate clean and it's really the sauce that made this dish special. The fermented bean taste was very subtle and was mellowed by the preserved vegetables.

Then came our staple of stir fried mee sua with seafood. Check out my piece of scallop! Yums! If you like fried beehoon, you must order this. A small portion is just enough for 4 pax but they are a bit stingy with the seafood (2 pieces of scallop, 2 prawns and 2 pieces of squid). Reminds me of the fried mee sua that my grandmother used to cook.

I love love love Ouni (sweetened yam paste) and Chui Huay Lim has combined this with another favourite of mine - hashima! So...of course we ordered the Yam Paste with Hashima. The hashima was cooked with a bit of ginger and this is probably to also cut back on the onion oil used in the yam paste. Because the hashima was not the star of the dish, it was mistaken as jelly by my dad. The flavour of the ouni was just nice in terms of sweetness. However, It's not as smooth as expected.

At the end of your meal, you'll get a small cup of Osmanthus and red tea to wash everything down. It works a little bit like an espresso. I guess.

For 4 of us, we spent about S$180 for the above dishes and this is after 10% off the main food items as my dad bought the Jumbo membership card (S$20). It is a little pricey considering the amount of food ordered and the quantity of each dish. The quality is good, which is to be expected from Jumbo. The parking at the club is a breeze with their underground carpark. We probably will come back again, but only for special occasions.

Chui Huay Lim Teochew Cuisine
190 Keng Lee Road
#01-02
Chui Huay Lim Club
Singapore 308409

Tel: +65 6732 3637
Website: http://chlteochewcuisine.com/about.html

Opening Hours:
Lunch  11:30am - 3:00pm
Dinner  6:00pm - 11:00pm

Located in a nondescript corner of the 3rd floor of Robinsons, The Heeren (btw, the new Robinsons at Heeren remind me of Selfridges in London...but that's a separate topic), that's only highlighted with this thin sign, the family and I went to Luke's Oyster Bar & Chop House for a special post-Christmas dinner.

This particular branch at Heeren is very small and it has a bar seating as well as about 6 four-seaters and 4 two-seaters. This means that in order to be assured of a table, please reserve in advance. The decor of this branch is a classy black and reminds me a little of the art-Deco era or a throwback to the 60's Hollywood glam.

Love the signboard at the bar which is flanked by shelves filled with lots of whiskey/whisky bottles. As it's in a corner, the restaurant has 2 wall-to-ceiling windows that overlook Orchard Road. When making your reservation, do request to be seated near the window and then you can pretend that you're in Manhattan while dining. You'll impress your date immediately with the ambience.

Instead of normal bread rolls, Luke's serves mini corn bread served with a dollop of homemade butter that's sprinkled with paprika. The corn bread reminds me of my brioche, where it was super crumbly but delicious. I'm not sure why but the butter tasted better than store bought ones. Perhaps it tasted a little...creamier?

Since it's an oyster bar, we ordered half a dozen of assorted oysters (S$45++) and they are all from the 'specials'. We didn't get the Moonstone variety though. So these yummy morsels were flown all the way from the US and interestingly enough, each variety had very subtle differences. I only managed to try the Rome Point and Mantunuck oysters and the differences were that the Mantunuck oysters tasted a little more briny while the Rome Point oysters had a stronger after taste. All were freshly shucked and super delicious! I didn't try the champagne vinegar that came in the middle of the bowl. I like my oysters neat with maybe a squeeze of lemon.

My family loves veg so we ordered a classic Caesar salad (S$26++) to share and you can have the option to add fried oysters for an additional S$3++ but we chose the one without. I liked that the dressing wasn't over powering the salad and that the croutons were slightly chewy rather than crunchy. The Parmesan was generously sprinkled on the salad too but again, surprisingly, this did not over power the whole plate. However, the best Caesar Salad that I've ever eaten still goes to Bridge Cafe.

Dad had his own starter of Lobster & Corn Chowder (S$22++) which was thick enough for my brother to get a taste of it using a fork. It was very thick and tasty but you could tell that there was quite a bit of butter in there so if butter isn't your thing, this is not the soup for you.

I ordered another salad - Kale Salad (S$26++) which came with peanuts and a peanut dressing. One mouthful of this and I declare this Kale with non-spicy satay sauce. Yup, that's how it tastes like to me. Not peanut butter but satay sauce. Minus the chilli. It's interesting and quite yummy and it tastes better with the squeeze of lime to cut back on the thick peanut dressing after a full mouthfuls.

Then came our mains! Dad, bro and I ordered the Bone-in Tenderloin Au Poivre (S$74++) which is a 300g steak that's encrusted with crushed peppercorns and in a mustard cognac jus. The steak was perfectly cooked to your requested doneness and it was very tender. I also really liked the cognac jus as it complimented the steak perfectly. I wished there was less peppercorn though. I had to scrape away the whole lot because biting into the peppercorns caused my mouth to only taste pepper and not the beef nor the jus. The steak was also very lean, which is great for people who just want to load up on the protein and not have to worry about fats. This is really one of the best tenderloins that I've eaten in Singapore.

I spied my little eye on the table next to ours and they ordered the Ribeye with confit garlic (S$88++) and it looked really dry. It was a 400g steak that came either 'Naked' or 'Luau' style but I just saw some glaze on the top of their steaks with a whole head of garlic that's sliced off at the top and fried/roasted. Hmm...I'll stick to my tenderloin that comes with jus.

As a side to our mains, we ordered the Lobster Mac & Cheese (S$26++) and this was soooo good. Don't expect a layer of cheese at the top but do expect macaroni that's still al dente, swimming in a cheesy creamy sauce that has bits of lobster inside.

Mum went for the Georges Bank Scallops as her mains (S$47++) and it was pan seared to perfection. You can't really go wrong with scallops unless you undercook/over cook these tasty medallions of seafood.

Now...we did indulge in dessert afterwards...

Mum ordered the Coconut Cake (S$16++, if I remember correctly) and it's a massive slice so I suggest sharing this one. The cake itself was very moist and flavourful so those who love anything to do with coconut (like my mum) will adore this cake. The coconut shavings on the outside of the cake is not dessicated coconut but rather dried coconut flakes, adding to the coconut flavour subtly. 

The rest of us had a very adult version of cookies and milk. It's actually Warm Chocolate Chip Cookies with Stout Milkshake (S$16++). This picture is actually a 'split' version because I shared with my brother and the wait staff helped us to split it into 2 servings! So the usual one will have 2 chocolate cookies and 1 full glass of the Stout Milkshake. The warm cookie was full of chocolate chips and the gooey sweetness was contrasted nicely with the stout milkshake which was creamy but still retained that slight hops flavour from the stout. Thus, it was a nice balance between sweet and bitter but it was all good and super satisfying. Can they just sell the milkshake separately? In a larger glass? Please?

For cocktails, my bro had previously tried their Rock & Rye (S$21++) which he said was very good and he was very intrigued with the square ice that was clear and bubble-free. It's details like this that make you feel that it's worth paying the prices on the menu, I guess.

Yes, it's not the cheapest place in Singapore for a piece of good steak. However, the ambience is a lot nicer and less false compared to Lawry's. The view is a lot better than Morton's (what view?) thanks to the windows while the service staff were all super friendly. Thus, this is one of the ideal places to impress your date if you feel like splurging and the best part is that you'll walk away feeling that the money was well spent because of the whole package!

Luke's Oyster Bar & Chop House
20 Gemhill Lane
Singapore 069256
Tel: +65 6221 4468

260 Orchard Road
#03-02, The Heeren
Singapore 238855
Tel: +65 6733 4813

Website: http://www.lukes.com.sg/chophouse