Spruce @ Phoenix Park, Tanglin Road

We were away for Sydney for holiday a few weeks ago and we when we got back, the wife says let's date the parents-in-law for brunch.  Kopikosonggirl's wish is to try every brunch place in Singapore, (which I think is not possible) and so she made a reservation for Spruce, to conquer every brunch place in Singapore one at a time.


It was a sunny and warm day that suddenly turned very wet! We welcome the lower temperature but hated the wetness. Oh, we just can't be satisfied!

Located at the old govt offices which is probably a few decades old, the deco of this place is the classic yet gives you a lazy and comfy feeling to it.

We thought we were back from Sydney, but when you are here, you see lots of 'ang mohs' enjoying their food here too :-)


Spruce Signature Burger with Hand Cut Chips ($17)

KopiKosongGirl had the signature burger. She enjoyed her meal, but said there's no wow factor in it. Just how you would make it at home yourself. She had it prepared medium but she felt it was a little dry.

The hand cut chips however made her quite happy. She liked how it is done. Soft and fluffy inside and crispy outside.

(She wished she had a Mary Poppins bag with a bottle of truffle oil inside. That would have made it the most awesome chips around!)


Brioche French Toast with Mascarpone and Peach Jam ($14)

The MIL likes French Toast and she ordered this Brioche French Toast. The thick cut brioche does looks very tempting doesn't it?

The MIL liked it. You do feel quite full rather quickly because of the brioche. Very rich tasting. The peach jam was quite nice. Wondered if they made it their own?


Lemongrass Ginger $6

I only took 1 photo of our drinks because it all looks the same. Their tea is from Tea Drop from Melbourne Australia.


Cajun Prawns Benny ($25) 
Toasted 'everything' bagel, poached egg, dill hollandaise, hot sauce

I was enjoying eggs benedict almost everyday in Sydney, and I ordered a benny again when I am back. The cajun prawns was quite tasty. I ordered this because I don't remember seeing anything similar anywhere.



The prawns are in small pieces but they were quite generous. I really liked how it turned out.

The next few sentences might be a bit bias. I was having free range Australian eggs that has bright orange yolk for almost a week daily and coming back and looking at the pale yellow egg yolk just didn't satisfy my cravings. The eggs in Singapore seems smaller too.

We will be back to try other things though. This place has a nice atmosphere and the food's decent.

A more elderly wait staff told us while we paid our bill that they will be opening at the Old Fire Station at Upper Bukit Timah. That's good news to those of us that stays in the West. The last I heard, someone said that that Old Fire Station branch has opened. Now to find time to have a meal there.



Spruce 
320 Tanglin Road
Phoenix Park
Singapore 247980

A Tasty Passage to India @ Town Restaurant, The Fullerton Hotel Singapore.

This was an invited event by URA Singapore which takes care of the Marina Bay Singapore.

If you are particularly like Indian Food, and the idea of trying flavors that's cooked by Indian Chefs from Taj Palace New Delhi, you might want to head over to the Town Restaurant Buffet at The Fullerton Hotel Singapore. It's their first partnership with Taj Palace New Delhi.



It's available for dinner from 20 - 31 July, quite a short promotion. If you are strolling along the Singapore River, you might want to walk into the Town Restaurant at The Fullerton Hotel Singapore. The buffet is priced at $52++ per adult and $26++ per child.



The hotel's culinary team will be whipping up a spread of authentic Indian specialties together with Guest Chef Shahid Hossain, Executive Sous Chef of Taj Palace New Delhi, Commis Chefs Sandeep Chauhan and Vinod Kuma from Taj Palace New Delhi’s specialty Indian restaurant Masala Art.



There was quite a lot to see and eat, which I did not manage to try it all.
You will be greeted by this cross of grilled prawns (Bhatti Ka Jhinga) and lamb chops. I liked the lamb chops.



There was many types of Biryani rice available, this was the Sukhe Tamatar Aur Chigoza Biryani. I can't translate that, but I had very nice rice with sundried tomato in it.



The table with the appetizers were gorgeous. The colours and the taste!
Be warned, things does not taste like what you see! Be adventurous though. The chutneys, achars and various meat and seafood taste so different. The spices, yoghurts, makes them so taste tangy-sour, bitterish-sour, sweetish-sour,  bitterish-sweet, etc. I loved some and got more and could not touch some after 1 mouth. ;-)



I saw this huge baked fish, and was quite tempted by it.
Because of the seasoning paste on it, the skin part really tasted very good.



This was the Khusk Raan (Roasted Lamb Leg).
Try a slice of it!



Of all the veggies, I noticed this and I knew I would like it. It's called Karela Masaledar. Spicy bitter gourd. Fans of bittergourd should try this dish. Slightly bitter, salty and spicy.



The Methi Murg (Chicken with fenugreek leaves) was something I went back for 3 rounds, because the gravy was just so tasty. I poured it over the rice, the assorted of Indian breads. (The breads are outside the open air area, if you are wondering where to get them)



There were lots more dishes, but I was tempted by sweets! There were the traditional Indian desserts such as Anjeer Kulfi (Royal Indian Ice-Cream), Rawa Kesari (Sweet Semolina Pudding), Rasmali (Soft Paneer Balls immersed in chilled creamy milk delicately flavored with cardamom) and Apple Jalebi (Fried Apple Fritters with Golden Syrup).

I had quite a nice apricot dessert. It was sweet as expected. My eyes brought me to their usual buffet's desserts instead. (ok, which was equally sweet as well).



The usual buffet varieties are still available. The roasted meat section.
Beside it was the Bak Kut Teh.



The sashimi was fresh. There's also the cold soba and other Japanese selection.



This photo is for the wife. She loves oysters.
There's also the cold prawns, crabs and salad selection available.

It's quite an interesting buffet for those who loves Indian Food.

Town Restaurant’s “A Tasty Passage to India” dinner buffet.
Priced at S$52++ per adults and S$26++ per child (6 to 12 years old).

Available from 20 - 31 July 2012, 6.00 pm to 10.00pm.
Town Restaurant is located at the lobby level of The Fullerton Hotel.

Town Restaurant, The Fullerton Hotel
1 Fullerton Square,
Singapore 049178

Tel:  +65 6877 8128

Crab Feast Buffet @ Plaza Brasserie, PARKROYAL on Beach Road

Are you a crab fanatic? I know family members who are and the wife can think of friends who can eat crabs non stop at one sitting. This crab news would delight crabs lovers.

Imagine this (I am just highlighting the dishes with crabs) :

Appetisers - Dijon Crab Cakes with Coriander Paste, Baked Crab Shell, Chilli Crab Roll with Vegetables, Crab Meat Gyoza with Dip Sauce, Bread Crab Claw, Mini Crab Meat Samosas, Olive and Potato Crabmeat Balls with Pesto, Crabmeat Paste.

Mains Crabs - Chilli Crab, Black Pepper Crab, Nonya Curry Crab, Butter Crab, Stir Fried Crab with Salted Egg Yolk, Thai Green Curry Mud Crab in Sichuan Style, Stir Fried Flower Crabs with Spring Onions and Ginger, XO Crabs.

Noodles - Crab Meat Le Mien with Miso Paste, Braised Tang Hoon with Live Crabs, Crabmeat Tempura.

Hot varieries - Crabmeat Fried Rice, Crispy Soft Shell Crabs. 



Just the other day, the wife and I had the pleasure of being hosted by PARKROYAL on Beach Road at Plaza Brasserie for the Crab Feast Buffet.

To tell the truth, we were so interested in the crabs, we totally skipped the appetisers and had only the crabs. It was only later that we started to have other delicious stuff they have at their buffet like sashimi, laksa and the whole offering of food. 

Here are the photos of the crabs. I asked Ms Chang, the Marcom Manager and she said that every night, diners would get 5 different flavours of the crabs flavours listed above.


Butter Crabs. If you like the fragrance of butter in your food, try this version. It's not white with lots of milky sauce like how many places serves it, but the flavour is quite intense and flavoursome.


The style that was my favourite that night. The Stir Fried Crabs with Salted Egg Yolk. The fragrance and the flavour just goes down well with me. The distinct flavour of salted egg yolks makes you want to eat more of whatever it is cooked with.

Even after a while when the crabs were cold, it still tasted good as I was still wanting more and did not want to waste the crabs in front of me.


Chilli Crabs. With so many choices, chilli crabs though it is nice, gets kicked out one rank.
Some people love eggs in the chilli crab sauce, this is the eggless version. It's a version of more sweetish than spicy crabs.


Nonya Curry Crab. These crabs for the Nonya Curry version are the flower crabs.
Personally, I think Nonya Curry goes better with steamed fish.


XO Sauce Crabs was something very different from the rest of the crabs. It does goes well as XO sauce is made from scallops and other seafood. I have not had XO Crabs before, my first time.


The man behind the different flavours and variations of the crabs, Chef Jackson.
His team must be quite innovative to come up with so many crab dishes every night.


Eating crabs alone has no carbs. However if you need carbs, have your crabs with the deep fried mantous. I was thinking of having non carbs that night, but I succumb when I saw these golden buns.

I also walked around and got tempted with more food, and had a bowl of laksa from the noodles section together with roast pork from another station.

Consider having crab dishes at Kopitiam Zi char around $40 for a crab, and around $80-90 for a crab at higher end seafood restaurants, the prices here if you can eat crabs plus their usual Asian and Continental delights is $52-$55 for adults is quite reasonable.

Sumptous Crab Feast at PARKROYAL on Beach Road
Date: 5 July to 31 August 2012

Dinner (Mon-Thu): Adult $52, Child $31
Dinner (Fri-Sun): Adult $55, Child $33
Prices are subject to 10% service charge and 7% GST.

Plaza Brasserie @ Parkroyal on Beach Road 7500 Beach Road Singapore 199591 Tel: 6505 5710

Cedele @ Wheelock Place

The wife and I were hungry and we thought of a few places to eat a few evenings ago. We were near the Thai Embassy end of Orchard Road. She's really hungry and could not put up with my deciding of this or that. Thai at Orchard Towers (don't feel like having spicy), Tonkichi (will be tempted to eat fried food), O Coffee Club (non air con, was a warm evening), Bangkok Jam (spicy food), Ion Orchard restaurants (lazy to cross the road), Antoinette (not in the mood for Paris Garden setting).

She decided Cedele it will be. All right. That will be it. Don't argue with hungry people. They bite!
We realised Cedele has renovated their Wheelock Place branch. It looks much brighter now, cleaner look too.

The wife gave a 'I told you I am right' smirk when we saw they have an opening special board. Pasta Special Set: a soup, a pasta and coffee/tea for $21.80. Sounds like quite a good deal!


We guessed the kitchen was a bit busy, as we waited a while for the food. The wife was too hungry that she decided some carbo from the bread bin will ease the hunger pangs. We have been trying to avoid unnecessary carbo in the evenings.

This sesame crusted bagel tasted exceptionally delicious to the hungry wife. A bite and a smile came to her face, I guessed I must try it too. It's quite fragrant with all the sesame seeds, but we thought it was a bit tough to bite though. 


The Soup we had was the mushroom soup of the day or something that sounded like that. We did not catch it but we were quite surprised when it came.

Surprise 1: We like the colour and the taste of it. It tastes like potato yet it had hints of pumpkin. A nice fragrance to it too. Yes, it had mushroom pieces hidden below it.

Surprise 2: The small soup is not small. It's bigger than what most places will serve for full portions!



I had the Shredded Beef Ragu. (Normally, it would have been $18).

I chose linguine for the pasta. Most of us won't have the patience to prepare beef ragu at home, slow-cooking beef for 3-4 hours though the ingredients are simple. It was a delight to put tender chunks of beef in your mouth.

(I don't know if they took a long time to cook it, maybe they pressure cooked it, most of us will do it the slow cook way at home right?)


The wife had the Lemongrass and Lime Fish Pasta. (normally $17.90).
It has a limey/sourish refreshing taste to it. It's a herby dish that she likes. We will experiment something like this at home.

It's quite a decent portion of sea bass there too. The tomato salsa gave it a nice touch too.


For tea, we could pick any tea except 2 from the menu. We had organic green and red rooibos teas.

We thought this is quite a good deal. Cedele serves decent food and lots of organic variety too. This time we did not have our usual Home-Style Chunky Beef Stew and chicken wings!

We are not sure when the deal will end, we just happen to walk pass it. So I thought I will put this post up quick, so some of you might get to try it too. Give them a call to ask. ;-)

Cedele @ Wheelock Place 501 Orchard Road #03-14 Wheelock Place Singapore 238880 Tel: +65 6732 8520 Hours: Mon - Sun/Public Holidays: 10.00am to 10.00pm Web: http://www.cedeledepot.com

Durians Buffets and other thorny stuff.

It's the durian season and many people are craving for the King of Fruits.

Let me put up a quick post about durians since we have to 'hunt' for durian offers to please the parents and parents-in-laws. Since I have some info, let me share it with you all.

The funny thing is that I have stopped eating durian since secondary school! My in-laws absolutely love them and I have been buying durian stuff for them. The wife says it's the son-in-law 'bribing' the parents-in-law! (The wife does not touch durians at all!)


I saw this the other day at Clementi Central. One durian for $2!

The catch, they won't open it and you got to bring the whole fruit home. Walking into their shop, they have the $20 for 3 varieties, where they will open and pack it into boxes for you.



My colleagues have been having durian party too. We have a colleague who has in-laws in Batu Pahat, Johor who has their own durian plantation have been bringing in frozen containers of the best durian in the plantation. You should see their happy faces!


Even as a reformed non durian eater, I was still tempted by this smooth durian! It does smell very good!

Colleague brought it from home frozen and left it to thaw in the office for 2-3 hours. It becomes soft and the smell starts to get stronger too!


Colleagues were showing off their durians!

~ ~ Durian Buffets in Singapore  ~ ~

1) Durian Fiesta at Goodwood Park Hotel.

The hotel in Singapore that is famous for durians is Goodwood Park Hotel.
They have been having their Durian Fiesta yearly and it has been on and will run till 31 July!

I have been buying their signature Durian Puffs, Durian Mousse Cake, Durian Crepe etc for the in-laws and also my aunt. They use D24 durian to make them.

From 26 May to 31 July, you can have a range of durian pastries with the regular dessert buffet at their Coffee Lounge during lunch and dinner.

From their website it says:

There will be 6 durian delights available: Durian puff, Durian mousse cake, Durian cappuccino cake and the all-new homemade Durian pengat with glutinous rice and gula melaka. Special live station highlights are the Durian pancake and Mini chocolate or vanilla waffle cones filled with durian mousse. Other desserts in the buffet include delectable cakes, hot or chilled local desserts, ice cream and more. Prices are as follows:

-          $32.80++ per person (Dessert Buffet with Durian Pastries only)
-          $26.80++ per person (Top-up with any a la carte main course order)

Call their Coffee Lounge at 6730 1746 for enquiries and reservations.



2) RWS Invites Durian Extravaganza



The wife and I paid for an RWS subscription because we wanted to try out places at RWS. Recently in our snail mail, we got a brochure of their Durian Extravaganza brochure in the shape of an durian mailed to us. (The photo above) It came in a clear plastic wrap like how magazines are delivered. On the outside it had the words, "Warning, it smells!" We thought nothing of it, until a few days ago, I decided to open it up! The durian brochure has been scented with sweet durian smell!!

They are serving Jing Feng, Zhu Jiao, D13, D24, Ang Kar and Mao Shan Wang according to their invite. They said their durians will be freshly harvested on the day of the event just for their guest. They will also have tropical fruits Mangosteens, Rambutan, Jackfruits, Duku Langsats and Sugarcane to go with the durians.

Mark their dates if you are interested:

Date: 27 July 2012, Friday
Time: 7pm – 9pm or 9pm – 11pm
Venue: Coliseum, Hard Rock Hotel® Singapore, Resorts World Sentosa

Price:
RWS Invites members: $48 for adults and $25 for children*
Non-members: $60 for adults and $35 for children*
*children aged 12 and below

For enquiries, please call +65 6577 9788 or email rwsinvites@rwsentosa.com




3) Sands Fruits Festival

Not missing out in the action is Marina Bay Sands. They have a 2 day fiesta that will have more than 10 kinds of tropical fruits for guests to indulge in. Their star will be the Mao Shan Wang variety. Also on the durian buffet is XO, D24 and Golden Phoenix.

Other popular fruits are mangosteens, lychees, longans and coconuts to go with the durians. There's also durian flavoured cream puffs and ice cream on the buffet line. 

Mark these dates:

Date: 21 and 22 July 2012 (Saturday and Sunday)
Time: 7pm - 11 pm
Venue: Event Plaza, Marina Bay Sands

Price:
$88 nett per person.
Family of four, can enjoy a package at $208 nett.


4) Corner Shop facing car park at Toa Payoh.

Not sure if it's true, but in the Hardwarezone forums, forumers there said that there's at $15 all you can eat for 1 hour durians.

Location is at Block 211, Lorong 8 Toa Payoh. The corner shop facing the car park.

Enjoy your durians!

Chef Chan Kwok DBS Masterclass with Chef Chan Kwok

This event was an invitation by AsianFoodChannel (AFC) Studio and DBS Indulge.

I am sure most people in Singapore has a DBS or POSB Card. If you have you would have known about the DBS Indulge program that DBS has. You will be able to attend Masterclasses by well known chefs in Singapore.

This Masterclass I attended was conducted by Chef Chan Kwok from Hua Ting. Hua Ting is known for their Cantonese food and if you have read about Chef Chan Kwok, he has won so many awards that Hua Ting's manager spoke to me, she said they have to stop the Chef from participating to give others a chance to win!

His latest honour was the Chef of the Year and Asian Cuisine Chef of the Year in the 2011 World Gourmet Summit Awards of Excellence.

 
This is Chef Chan Kwok posing for all of us!

As this was a Cantonese Chef, I thought I would invite my Cantonese mother-in-law to attend the session with me! My mother-in-law was so excited to go with his son-in-law. She said she will replicate all the dishes she learn that night for all of us! She did 2 weeks later! I have photo evidence of it too, but I shall not post it here ;-)

Chef Chan Kwok demonstrated 3 dishes for the audience that night.
His first dish was something made from winter melon.


My mother-in-law was a career woman and she used to entertain a lot at different restaurants. She has tried many dishes in hotels and restaurants but have never tried to cook them herself. She said she wasn't sure how it will turn out so she did not try them.

It was quite entertaining after the masterclass that she said she finally knew how certain dishes are prepared and it was prepared right before her eyes and she got to taste it.


Dish 1: Braised Winter Melon Stuffed with Shimeiji Mushrooms Topped with Salmon Roe.

Chef seems to make cooking such an effortless task! It's kind of a morale-booster for people who don't cook. Something so delicious and can be prepared so easily at home too!


Dish 2: Pan Fried Sea Perch on Crispy Rice.

It started very 'quiet', until this second dish, Chef was speaking few words and he was not comfortable speaking English. Our dear eloquent MC Anita Kapoor was quick to notice, and surprise surprise! She ask the audience if we should ask Chef to speak in Cantonese or Chinese perhaps?

Suddenly the session became so entertaining! Yup, it seems there was quite a few cantonese speaking audience and they were asking lots of questions. Chef was very happy to answer them as well. If you are like me who only understand a few cantonese words, don't worry, the MC managed to translate for us! Anita understands Cantonese? (My mother-in-law was my personal translator! haha)


When the whole audience was excited, people started to walk nearer to the front too. Yes, it became more intimate. For those who still prefer to sit down, there's always a big TV screen to watch chef prepare the food.


I got quite close! Oh, that's Kurobuta he's preparing!
He told us the neck part is one of the best part and it will taste really good.


When someone is comfortable speaking, you can hear the enthusiasm and the 'happiness' that seems to come out from his voice. He starts to give cooking tips too.


I do realised Chef is very flexible. He was cooking with a big metal serving spoon. He does not seem fussy and will make do. To cook the second dish, he pan fries the kurobuta first.


Set aside the pork, and stir fry the capsicums. We did notice that he did not use garlic when he was preparing the dish. He uses spring onions instead of garlic for this dish. He wants a different taste to the dish.


(Now who says every Chinese dish needs to start by frying garlic? No wonder Chef has been winning awards, his knowledge of ingredients and taste of how things will go together is superb)


Dish 3: Sauteed Kurobuta Pork with Assorted Capsicums

Tada! Look how simple it is, but it can be quite tasty.
My mother-in-law made this same dish for us at home few weeks later. We think she did quite well, it tasted and looks just like the above!


Not part of the demonstration, but we were served this pastry.

You might have miss his Masterclass, but if you want to try his food, you can head to Hua Ting Restaurant where he is the Group Master Chef.

........................

Want to learn from the Chef themselves? Register for their Masterclass.
Head on to http://www.asianfoodchannel.com/dbs/ and see who's the Chef presenting the Masterclass.

For the month of July,  Chef Ronnie Chua from the acclaimed Tatsuya Japanese Restaurant will be presenting the masterclass. Interesting to see how he prepares a meal in front of you? For Japanese food lovers, this would be an eye opener.