Late Plate @ NUS Shaw Foundation Alumni House.

How time flies! The food in today's post was eaten almost a month ago!

My colleagues and I wanted something different and decided to try out a place that is different from the usual canteen fare. We read that there's a new place that serves all day breakfast in the NUS Kent Ridge Campus. It's headed by an Australian Chef Roland Graham, who's worked in a few countries and few top hotels too. We thought we shall try it out.

For those familiar with NUS, this dining place is at the Shaw Foundation Alumni House. The last time we were here, it was a cafe that was a subsidiary of a local catering firm that all of us probably eaten before. It's a nice chance to have a new tenant at the Alumni House.


As you can see, the view outside is quite pleasant. It's near to the modern looking NUS Business School as well. Why is it call Late Plate? It's because they serve all day breakfast! No matter how late you go, you can still get breakfast!


A colleague, HY tested out the Cappuccino. ($4.50 hot / $5.50 cold)

I am not a coffee drinker, but the aroma was wonderful. She quite enjoyed it. You can tell a coffee drinker who likes their coffee when it perks them up suddenly! (oh these caffeine addicts!)


HY ordered the soup of the day which was interesting!
It's "cream of broccoli, corn and ham hock". We were too curious and we asked our colleague if we could try it. It was good! Really good!

The broccoli cream was blended, however to give it a nice texture, they had tiny little bits of broccoli to give it a nice little crunch. Interesting eh?



This is the Pot Pie. It comes as a special when we visited it with the Soup of the day above.
(Pot Pie and Soup of the Day was $15)


The Pot Pie here was not covered with the usual pastry, but the bowl was topped with mash potatoes. The top layer according to colleague A was a little cheesy crusty. The potato sure doesn't taste like those instant ones, so it's probably made from fresh potatoes.

The beef bolognaise was hidden below and she said it was good. Looks really tempting doesn't it?



I ordered the Red Snapper Fillet. It was served on top of roasted dutch tomatoes. ($16)
The snapper was wonderful. Not overcooked and it was succulent. The dutch tomatoes roasted was good too. As a person who loves tomatoes, I wished there were more of it!


On the side was black endive and basil mash topped with I think tasted like sweet potato crisp. Very pleasant flavour and I mix it with the olive oil and fish jus that was from the fish.



Another colleague, DP ordered the Corned Beef Hash ($15)
When it arrived, he was going to say, I did not order this! A bowl of eggs for lunch?

It is really his order. The menu says Onion and Gruyere Cheese Baked Eggs with Scorched Sourdough Caper Gremolata. He or rather all of us did not read the description above when we ordered it. We were too busy talking about work in the office.

Beneath the layer of egg and cheese is a layer of mash potato. Below the mash potato is the corned beef. According to DP, it's very rich and quite an indulgence.



HY is a dessert girl! Desserts were all $5 ($3 if it an add on to your mains), so we were game to try it with her! This was the Vanilla Almond Tart & Ice cream with passionfruit puree.

It's not a huge dessert. We wished it could be bigger. The tart about the size of the mini macarons that we usually buy in Singapore. The taste was quite good though. The ice cream was very good too!



We saw the first dessert was not that big, so we thought we can fill up more calories! We ordered the Dark Chocolate Pistachio tart with toasted marshmallows and white cocoa sauce. The tart was filled with dark chocolate that has been melted into the tart shell. Very thick and sinful. We thought the white cocoa sauce tasted like thick condensed milk.
 
Total bill costs us $54 for 3 persons.

Late Plate 11 Kent Ridge Drive #01-03 Shaw Foundation Alumni House Singapore 119244 Tel: +65 8328 3127 Web: www.lateplate.sg Hours: Mon-Wed: 10am-6pm,  Thu-Fri: 10am-8pm, Sat: 10am-4pm

Alcove Asian Restaurant Bar @ NUS University Cultural Centre

Colleagues and I got curious recently and went 'all the way' to the NUS University Cultural Centre to have lunch! We heard there's a new 'zhi char' style food eating place in NUS.

It was a very hot and bright afternoon, it's no wonder no one sits at the outdoor seating area! The outdoor area is most probably for those who come for drinks at night. We don't know if anyone will go there except maybe during performance nights at the University Cultural Centre?




"Alcove. Asian Restaurant. Bar" has taken over from KR50. We notice something when we got there. It's another Pines Catering food outlet! The staff uniform has the Pines logo!

But we like the Filipino service staff here! They were so helpful and when we said we were cold (yes, the aircon was blowing so strong!) they offered us another table and came back to check if we were still cold 2 to 3 times after!




The place as you can see look quite modern. But looking at the menu, I was reminded of my student days in Melbourne! It's the kind of menu that has nice border, super simple with just the dishes and the price.

If you know what I mean, it's the kind of menu used in Malaysian / Vietnamese or Singapore restaurants in Melbourne that sells food to students!

This was the express lunch menu. ;-)




A colleague tried their congee and found it pretty decent. $5.50
It's a huge bowl and it was served very hot. Taste was OK and ingredients not too stingy too.




Another colleague had the beef stir fry with rice. $5.50
He's a big eater so he found it a bit too small the portion.




I also had the rice dishes from the menu. I picked Mongolian Pork Ribs and Rice. $5.50
I found the pork ribs rather tender and quite a few pieces too.

Portions are OK to last till 4 pm before you need to snack. ;-)




Another colleague had the Claypot Noodle $5.
We all think hers is the most 'worth' it. Portions are bigger than ours, she said it was delicious too, and the food stays hot because it's a claypot.


NUS Staff and Student producing identification gets discounts too. They serve plain water FOC too. So we thought it's a place we can come back. We want to try their a la carte dishes one of these days.


Alcove. Asian Restaurant. Bar.
University Cultural Centre, NUS.
50 Kent Ridge Crescent,
Singapore 119279.

Burger King Tendergrill @ NUS Deck Canteen

Since I am doing all burger posts these few days, I might as well blog about this burger craze today.
I am sure most people would have seen the $1 Tendergrill advertisement by Burger King.

Colleagues and I decided to join the queue today!

Time is precious and why waste it by queuing for burgers?

Well, if you have been working hard the whole morning, giving presentations (I was) or sitting the whole morning, it's ok! You deserve doing something totally different and enjoy it as well. Your eyes needs rest, you need to laugh and chat with your colleagues or friends. It really brings sanity back.

But if you have already been wasting time the whole day, then don't waste your time queuing. You can't afford too because you have not been a good steward of time ;-p





Colleagues and I went to the nearest Burger King outlet that we know of. The Burger King at Singapore's 1st Eco-Food Court! At the Deck Canteen, NUS.

BK is on the 2nd floor, but the queue went all the way to the 1st floor!




People do know how to queue. No fights here, they are a civilized lot here!

In fact, as you queue, you notice there are students or academics reading (academic) papers!
No wonder in today's newspaper, NUS is ranked 27th in the world and 3rd in Asia! (read the news here)




So many people? No, not everyone was in the queue for Burger King. The rest of the stalls also have queues. If you visit this canteen like colleagues and I sometimes do, the queues here are always long.

But the longest queue for the day was at Burger King. You add around 20 minutes more to your normal waiting time if you queue at Burger King today.




Finally at the upper floor.
When you are at this canteen, you can tell which faculty the students are from! It's as easy as ABC!

(A)rts, (B)usiness and (C)omputing students hang out here and you can tell by their dressing!
No prize for guessing where the nerdy ones belong to!




Hmm. Why is the girl scratching her head? (She must be an Arts student!)
There was only 1 burger to order for the day! Tendergrill.





One of the early birds who got his burger.
He seems to be really enjoying it. He was on that pose for some time!
Some more he is 'kiao-kar-ing'! (crossing-his-legs)




Colleague and I finally got our burgers.



Wow, the burger today had a big piece of meat! It's protruding out of the bun!
It was well worth the $1. The only complaint was that it was not warm enough. The kitchen staff must be rushing like mad today, cutting a few seconds off the grilling over the flame timing?

I had this burger few weeks ago with normal queuing and waiting time, it is nice and warm. Today's version is definitely a rush job.




Overall, it was a fun and a bit silly queuing for the $1 burger. But colleagues and I had a good time!

Try the burger another day when it's not so busy. You will enjoy it more.

The University Club Lounge and Dining Rooms @ Shaw Foundation Alumni House

We have gotten quite bored with the same food near our office. It's always the same few stalls we go to. One colleague had been "very bored" with our "boring lunches" suggested that we venture out somewhere unknown places. Somehow, we ended up the NUS Alumni House. We have not been here for some time.

When we got there, we found nothing interesting in the building. We noticed a cafe by Pines. (by one of the food catering companies.)  We remembered reading in the papers about a new place to eat in the Alumni House, we walked around the first floor and we can't find anything. We decided to asked the receptionist (who has been looking and us, waiting for us to ask her something haha) and she said, oh, that's on the 4th floor. Take the lift up and you will see it.



We got out the lift and was surprise to see such a cosy and classy place in the University! White table cloth dining at the University, what a difference from the Arts canteen nearby!

The University Club Lounge and Dining Rooms is run by The Prive Group.



This is the "Dining Room". A cosy dining room where we can even see the chefs preparing food via the 'one way' mirror. The "Lounge Room" is next door where they have an impressive 600 bottle wine cellar!

We had the set lunches. The 3 course set costs $28 and the 2 course set costs $25.
The serving staff told us the menu changes weekly, so we should come back again if we liked the food.

What impressed us was that the service staff knows what they are talking about when we asked about the food.You know fanciful restaurant have fanciful names for their dishes. We asked her what some dishes were, she knew exactly what we were asking and she replied with tact and eloquence too!

We took some time to look at the menu. So much choices. We wanted to try everything! We finally settled on our choices of Starters, Mains and Desserts. Here goes:

*** pain ***

A basket of warm loaves was served shortly after we placed our order. Three white loaves and three wholemeal loaves with raisins.



We really like the warm raisin loaves. It came with salted butter and it gently melts as we spread it on the warm loaves.

*** amuse-bouche ***

After the bread basket was cleared, we were waiting for the starters to be served. The service staff surprised us with this amuse-bouche for each of us. Arugula that's rolled with smoked tuna. It went into our mouth and it sure was nice! The magic in the mouth: slightly crunchy arugula mixed with the slight saltiness of the smoked tuna and when you bite, the bursting of the black fish roe! Wicked!

Those are not the design of the serving dish. It's balsamic vinegar. Fanciful!


Our three starters:

*** Boston Lobster Cannelloni *** 

HW ordered the Boston Lobster Cannelloni. It's too pretty to be eaten! Boston Lobsters with chopped coriander leaves, salted black fermented beans all stuffed inside the cannelloni pasta with Mornay Sauce. It's all about tantalizing your taste buds!

*** Baby Spinach and Portobello Mushroom ***

THY ordered the salad. It looks so healthy and light! Mini tower of stacked baby spinach layered with sliced portobello mushroom and sprinkled with sun dried tomatoes with bits of crispy shallots and raspberry shallot vinaigrette. Looks like a mini Christmas tree! The dressing is light and slightly tart. Nice!

*** Bay Scallop Carpaccio ***

I had the scallop carpaccio. Look how pretty they had 'carpaccio'-ed the scallop. So thinly sliced, the texture is like chee cheong fun. It really soaked up the black sesame and ponzu vinaigrette.


Our Three Mains:

*** Braised French Duck Leg ***

HW had the braised duck leg. We knew he really liked it. Why? We saw him smile at himself a few times! We have been colleagues for so long, we know his mannerism! LOL. The duck leg was served on top of pearl barley risotto with pink grapefruit segments and duck jus.

*** Pan Roasted Lamb Rump ***

THY has the lamb rump and it was good too. It was served with edamames, roasted heirloom tomatoes with thyme, garlic chips and lamb jus. We all gave bits of our mains to each other and this lamb was good!

*** Crispy Skin Barramundi ***

I had the barramundi. Yes, the skin was really crispy. The fish below the crispy skin was juicy as if it was steamed. I got so amused, that the Holland baby carrot puree was served like a carrot! Nice baby food! I like the sauteed baby spinach. The vine of san marzano tomatoes that was roasted till the vine was crispy was good!

(Anyone knows where I can get vines of san marzano tomatoes in Singapore? I want to try it at home!)


Our three desserts:

*** Cinnamon Apple Crumble ***

We were recommended the apple crumble. It was spot on. The warm apple crumble went well with the honey and fig ice cream. Oh, the plate was really hot, so the apple crumbled stayed warm. The honey and fig ice cream had this acquired 'fig' taste.

That sugar deco makes it looks grand eh? Queen of the desserts?

*** Bourbon Madagascan Vanilla Crème Brûlée ***

Balsamic Marinated Berries with oh so yummy crème brûlée. Do I need to say more?

*** Sticky Date Pudding ***

One bite into the sticky date pudding makes you want more! Oh the vanilla ice cream and butterscotch sauce with walnut. Yummy! If you think it looks familiar, it's the famous sticky date pudding from Prive. (Same company remember?)

A nice cosy place, with great food. Not that expensive too!
We will be back! The restaurant is open to public.


The University Club Lounge and Dining Rooms
Shaw Foundation Alumni House
4th Floor
11 Kent Ridge Drive
Singapore 119244

Tel: 6779-8919
Hours: Closed on Sun and Public Holidays.
The Dining Rooms: Mon-Sat, 12:00 pm  - 2:30 pm, 6.30 pm - 11:00 pm
The Lounge: Mon-Sat, 12:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Authentic Korean Cuisine @ NUS Business/School of Computing Canteen.

Those working in NUS/NUH/Science Parks will be happy with this new discovery. A new Korean food stall has replaced the chicken rice stall at the NUS Business / School of Computing Canteen.

The name of the stall is simply "Authentic Korean Cuisine". It opened this week and many people have been trying it and giving it a thumbs up. It seems they are only offering part of the menu now as they sort out opening headaches.

One thing we noticed is that they are Korean ladies and teenagers manning the stall. You know in many so called 'korean' stalls, when you order beef bulgogi, the person will shout 'niu rou' or when you order daeji bulgogi they will shout to the kitchen 'zhu rou'. Well here, they read out the orders in Korean to the Korean 'aunties' in the kitchen. They also mumble some Korean that we don't understand. Colleagues and I think it's quite authentic (for now!)

Another thing we like about this new stall is their prices.

***

Over the last few days, colleagues and I have been eating from this stall. This Bibim bap was quite nice and it only costs $3.50. There are some meat hidden below the egg by the way. You scoop your own spicy sauce over it from the table.

I think a colleague is now addicted to this as she has taken the same in 3 straight days! LOL



It came with a bowl of soup (which we notice varies by the day) and some kimchi and peanuts/anchovies.

***

This was the Daeji Bulgogi (Spicy Marinated Pork) that one colleague tried. (I also tried it another day). They were quite generous with the meat. The pork had been well marinated and it was spicy. It also has lots of onions (my favourite) but some of you who hate onions, too bad lah...

You actually finish your rice before the meat. This only costs $4 with a stainless steel bowl of rice and the kimchi and peanut/anchovies side dish.

***

Another colleague tried their Beef Bulgogi. A few of us tried the beef and we liked it. But the colleague who ate this was the fussy eater. He said the meat is too marinated so the flavour is too strong for him. 

So, if you like your beef and you like well marinated meat, maybe this is for you. If you like light tasting food, we would suggest you try the yong tau foo stall next door. :-p

The beef bulgogi costs $4.50 with rice and side dishes.

***

Another colleague tried the Ginseng Chicken Soup. (on another day) The chicken piece was quite big. The flavour according to my colleague is nicer than Kim's Family Food (For Kim's you need to add your own salt, but the ones here salt is already added).

The chicken had glutinous rice stuffed in the cavity of the chicken. It looks quite a filling meal. It costs only $4.50 with a bowl of rice and the side dishes.

***

So far, we think this place is good. We just hope it's not the opening bonus that we are getting what we see now. We hope their quantity and quality stays. It seems most things are under $5 here, probably the most affordable Korean cuisines around from a real korean kitchen.

I think Science Park folks will be taking the free shuttle buses into NUS now. It's still the university break, so there are lots of seating places. We see NUS staff and students forming a snaking queue now.


Authentic Korean Cuisine
NUS Business/School of Computing Canteen,
National University of Singapore. 
15 Computing Drive
Singapore 117418

The Scholar @ NUS Society Kent Ridge Guild House

This was our office lunch with a few days back. Can you guess who funded this lunch? Money we got from the company's productivity / Office of Quality Management fund!


My office mates and I enjoy food and we tend to go all around this little island for lunch. We got a problem though. If we travel out and back, it sometimes exceed the 1 hour lunch time. So how not to get the sack?

We think of ways to get things done accurately and quickly. We also carry devices that allows us to connect back to the machines when we are away! It might sound shameless, but we all think we are doing very well! In fact, we submit our work processes and suggestions to the Office of Quality Management and they found it good, and rewarded us with cash! The cost savings from our project is 50 times what they reward us!

This will be one of the many lunches from that stash of cash. We used to go to places that are more expensive and we realize the money depletes too fast. So this year we are going to places with nice food and not so expensive. We want to have more meals!

This was lunch at The Scholar. It's the Chinese Restaurant of the NUS Society.


We started our lunch with a good old Herbal Duck Soup. Hey, that piece is sea cucumber.
It was delicious!




This was the Pan-fried Marmite Chicken with Broccoli.
The chicken was good. Anything marmite always taste good right? Unless you hated it while growing up. ;-)





The Wasabi Prawns. Little round balls of fried prawns coated with mayo with wasabi. I think if there's more wasabi it would have been better!




The Crispy Yam Ring. The yam was not bad. It taste rather good.

Breaking it up reveals all the delicious ingredients inside. It's like our close knit team. We think we are the treasure of our organization. LOL




The pig liver with kailan. I am not a pig liver person but many of my colleagues are. I liked the kailan beside it though. We realize the dishes here all have generous amounts of greens beside it. It's rather healthy eh?




The Long Bean with Crispy Brinjal dish. This dish is rather unique. I have never tried this combi before! The fried brinjal was excellent! It taste a little like fried tofu!




The promo that they have was the DIY Popiah. We had two sets of it, so that it could feed the 10 of us.
Two colleagues volunteered to be the Popiah wrapper. ;-)




Looks rather appetizing eh?




The carbo dish was the Hokkien Yellow Noodles.
Not too bad, but probably not lardy enough for some people. No 'lard crispy' was found! LOL...




For desserts, some of us had the Mango Pudding. Who can resist the mango pudding?




Some had the Warm Purple Rice with Durian Syrup. (Or Chok Bee)
Those who had it said there's durian smell, but no durian taste! LOL..




The Yam Puree (Or Nee).
Those who ate it said it was quite decent.




We got to thank one colleague who did all the work of submission our projects. If not, we will not be able to win the cash for this lunch. ;-)


The Scholar
National University of Singapore Society
Kent Ridge Guild House
9 Kent Ridge Drive
Singapore 119241

Reservations: 6586 3710