Blue Ginger

It was the perfect place to bring my overseas guests. Singapore food to them WAS the chili crab and durian - hello, we (at least I) only eat these foods a few times a year - so I felt an education was necessary. I'd take them to my neighbourhood Old Airport Road hawker centre (yeah, lucky me!) but there were some VIPs who preferred a restaurant.

So peranakan food at Blue Ginger it was. The marriage of Chinese and Malay cuisine, one we fondly call "nonya", after the womenfolk of the Straits Chinese. Ambiance-wise, Blue Ginger had it down pat - quaint shophouse, beautiful peranakan carvings and colourful nonya paintings. Even the tableware oozed old world charm! My guests definitely loved it.

For starters, we ordered the ngo heong and the kueh pie tee. Can I just start by saying that I LOVE kueh pie tee (well, how wrong can you go). The version at Blue Ginger was pretty good, although I thought 4 for one serving at $7 was pretty expensive.

The ngo heong too was good, although I could have preferred it more crispy and fried. My guests really took to the accompanying black sauce, we had to ask for more.

The highlight for the mains was the curry fish head. The seasoned Singapore traveler among my guests said this was better than "that indian curry", whichever that was. Repeated top-ups for rice was requested to mop up the delicious sauce.

The other dishes we ordered were ok too, although less gushed about. We had the sotong keluak, the assam prawns and the chap chye. Personally I thought the chap chye was flavorful but wayy too oily. The sotong keluak was a bit lack lustre.

Everyone was stuffed by this time but I had to let them try the durian chendol. Yay, overseas guests who actually like/can tahan durian! The pic looks a bit gross (like mashed brain) but it was soooo good. Gula melaka with durian rocks.

I would definitely recommend this restaurant as a place to bring guests. But having said that, it is a bit pricey as servings were quite small. Not hearty enough!

Ryoriya Sangokushi

Taiwan Japanese food? Other than the Japanese sounding (mouthful of a) name, and the few beer/sake options on the menu, I’d say the food here is more “Taiwanese”.

Expensive too. The bill came up to $192 for the 4 of us and this was what we ordered:

- century egg tofu
- jelly fish
- some cold sliced pork with cucumber
- claypot “san bei” chicken
- egg fried with prawns
- fried brinjal
- a small bowl of plain noodles
- 2 bowls of rice
- 2 small bottles of Taiwan beer
- 1 small bottle of sake ($22)

I liked the century egg tofu and egg fried with prawns best. But then, it’s hard to go wrong with homely fare like these. The rest of the food were not too memorable and portions (despite my pics) were kinda small.

The food isn't too bad, but for the amount we paid, I doubt we will be back. Darn, should have followed instincts and gone to Bella Pizza.

Shunjuu Izakaya

Shunjuu is one of my favorite jap restaurants. The yakitori items (chicken meatballs, rolled beef with cheese) are pretty good, thought I gotta be honest that Kazu is better. What keeps me going back is the sashimi salad and the century egg tofu. Yums. And, the location. I just lurve hanging out at the Robertson Walk area - super chill vibes.

For the month of October, there's another reason to visit Shunjuu - SHOCHU 1-FOR-1 Promotion!! It's a pretty sweet deal, I paid $75 for these two bottles of 750ml shochu. And if you can't finish two bottles in one go, they allow you to store the unfinished bottles with them for up to 3 months.

Wait for 3 months? Never! I plan to go back very soon to finish up muhahaha.

Liberty Private Works (HK)

I think guys who can cook are sexy. There’s just something about their confidence and how they know their way around a kitchen (which might extend to other important areas) that gets me. And when they unleash inner creativity like Vicky Cheng has with Hong Kong’s hottest private kitchen – Liberty Private Works (LPW), it just blows the mind away.

LPW has just moved into their new premise on Stanley Road – a small trendy space on the 26th floor which has an amazing view of Soho. The concept of an open kitchen remains. Diners sit around a U-shaped bar while watching the lively kitchen action – I love how energetic the chef and his team are, they clearly cook with passion and pride.

We were greeted with warm and efficient service the moment we stepped in. Our reservation for 8.30pm was a tad late and the bar (sits maybe 20 pax?) was almost full. The crowd was definitely beautiful (as were Rosemary and me muhahaha *blush*) and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Excellent.

They allow BYO with no corkage charge (up until the end of October) so Rosemary and I sipped the Riesling I BYO-ed while waiting to be fed. We couldn’t get enough of the crackers they served with the delicious guacamole-like dip. Pure bliss, chilling out with one of my dearest girl friends! Babe, you are truly excellent company I feel totally at ease with.

The amuse bouche we had – a tasting of peppers – was the prettiest, most elaborate amuse bouche I have ever had. Tasty too. We polished it off and twiddled our thumbs while waiting impatiently for the first starter.

Up next, we had a tuna espellete mayonnaise (something like a tuna tartar), topped with generous amount of caviar and crispy puff rice, paired with a frozen longan by the side. By the time I was done with this, I was already impressed. How did the chef create a medley of flavours like this? Loved it!

The second starter swept us away. OMG. From left to right, we had a piece of lobster poached in butter (sweet g*d), corn seared perfectly with corn puree, sauteed escargots and foam of lobster bisque, the last of which was such a tease – we want more…

Next came the scallop with braised enclave and truffle duet of white and dark chocolate emulsion. Now THIS was daring. Scallop with chocolate? So playful but it worked. It really did.

The caviar re-appeared in the next dish – they patiently explained it was oschetra caviar - ravioli with spinach, egg yolk and parmesan cream. “Burst the yolk”, Vicky urged. Gulp. That sounded so sexy.

The next dish married decadence of foie gras and a duck trio with beetroot, in again, chocolate sauce. This is one single dish I would go back to LPW for. Who knew chocolate could go with…. Everything?

Both Rosemary and I were stuffed by the time the last savory dish arrived. But who can say no to a perfectly done beef ribeye, potato bone marrow and sauteed brussel sprouts? I thought that beef was wayyy better than the one I had at Osteria Mozza.

You know girls. We have separate stomachs for dessert. Which was good, because they served not one, but two dessert courses. First up, an intricate palate cleanser of pineapple sorbet, rose poached peaches, dragon fruit and coconut soda. This was refreshing.

Second, we each had a warm chocolate cake with liquid caramel and malden salt. Not too sweet, rich quality chocolate, oozing goodness - I think I died and went to heaven. How can gluttony be a sin when it feels soo right?

When Rosemary and I walked out of LPW at 11.30pm, we were on a high. Not exactly floating, given how much we ate, but seriously, best (and most exciting dining experience ever!)

At HKD800 a pax, even with the current favorable SGD-HKD exchange rate, this dinner ain’t cheap. But I would go back time and time again. In a heart beat. If you are ever in Hong Kong, plan ahead. I’m lucky to have darling Rosemary who helped make our reservations wayyy in advance.

LPW is hands down my pick for “Favorite Restaurant of the Year.”

The Cellar Room

I like restaurants with their own wine retail shops. They intend to have lower mark-ups on the wines, and that’s a big plus point in my book. Moomba at Boat Quay is a good place, with solid good food to boot. Incontro at Robertson, is another favourite of mine (although I recommend going for the cheese/meat platters rather than the main courses).

I have heard of the Cellar Door for the longest time but I never got around to checking out the place. Vivo is just one of those places I don’t frequent so often. They have recently removed the corkage charge, previously imposed when you buy from the retail shop to consume at the bistro. So I figured this was a sign for me to check out the place.

The first male waiter who served us was very friendly, telling us about the wines and cheese they had. The other lady who served us subsequently had a really sour face and made us feel second class (she was fawning over the Caucasian couple beside us!).

For the month of October, they have on promotion some wines which are discounted. I thought the two whites we ordered were rather good value:

Ata Rangi Pinot Gris 2010 (Normal $48.60 OFFER $41.31) – we had a bottle of this and it went beautifully with the cheese platter. I think it would be a very pleasant drink on its own.

Villa Maria Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Taylor Pass 2009 (Normal $54.90 OFFER $46.67) – this was one of the more complex NZ SBs I’ve had to-date. There’s some chalkiness, which was interesting. Strangely, this complimented our Eggs Benedict well.

Foodwise, the selection was not large. There were quiches and chicken pies, all-day breakfast sets, some main courses etc. Desserts were limited to mainly cakes. But what they did have, they did reasonably well. Don’t order the mussels though – expensive and very mediocre. I would be back to try the quiche and chicken pie.

And more wines. Of course.

Takashimaya Hokkaido Fair

Yes, it's on again! I received a mailer and once I saw the pictures of this (see below) little beauty I knew I had to go get it.


Crab Chiraishi. Doesn’t it sound sexy? And it looked utterly tantalising. It ain’t cheap - $23 a bento - but there was no stopping me. What Lizzie wants, Lizzie gets. (Ok, that sounded wrong. Disclaimer: I am only referring to food.)

Also on sale were the famous Maruamami cream puffs, as well as some fried croquettes (selection of crab/corn/scallop cream). They looked so good my eyes kept straying. Focus on your Chiraishi, I willed myself.

For once, resistance worked. I walked away, found a nice seat in the foodcourt and savoured my crab chiraishi. I love how sweet and fresh the pieces of shredded crab were. And the ikura (fish eggs), ooohh once you pop, you can't stop. The rice was a tad dry though, could have done with more vinegar.

No matter. I was one happy girl. The fair ends this Sunday. Go try this!

Carrefour Wine Fair

When it comes to buying wines from Supermarkets, Carrefour (Suntec City) is my number one choice. Their range is huge, and their wines are consistently the cheapest. With my POSB Everyday Card I also get a 5% rebate on all purchases – it’s one sweet deal. So it’s no surprise that I wound up at the Carrefour International Wine Fair 2011 last Sunday.

This time around, the wines featured include: Chateau Malartic Lagraviere 2009 Pessac Leognan Rouge, Connetable Du Chateau Talbot 2008 Saint Julien, Reserve De La Comtesse 2009 Pauillac, Chateau Bernadotte 2009 Haut-medoc, Chateau Marquis De Terme 2009 Cru Classe Margaux, Chateau Soutard 1981 Grand Cru Classe Saint Emilion Grand Cru, Arthur Metz Alsace and Carrefour Demazel 2000 Bordeaux Rouge. Prices are in the brochure below.


But I bought none of those. Me, I was just there to stock up on cheap Bordeaux. Like I was telling a friend the other day, one mustn’t spoil one’s wine palate too much. As it is, my regular wine dinners with vino shifu has “exposed” me to too many expensive (fabulously delicious) wines. My palate has, GASP, unwittingly become DISCERNING!

For casual drinking, I think I should stick to under $25 wines. Carrefour is the perfect place to stock up on these. There’s a good range from Bordeaux which, although non-impressive, are still very enjoyable. The Chateau Lartigue at $18 and the Chatueau Cajus at $25 are perfect examples. As is the South African Tall Horse Pinotage at $19 – a reliable everyday red. Slightlier pricier at $29, Château Lamothe Bergeron is an excellent buy (one of my faves).

I also discovered an excellent value sauvignon blanc - Clearwater Cove from Yealand Estate, Malbourough, NZ. Very easy drinking with green-pepper aromas and subtle characteristic gooseberry flavours. At $19 a pop, I made sure to stock up a few bottles!

The fair will be ongoing for a bit so be sure to check out these wines. Erm.. if you are a cheap drunk like me lah. Check out how much we stocked up on!

Event Details:
Date: 30 September – 12 October 2011
Venue: Carrefour Suntec Atrium