Long Phung Vietnamese Restaurant

Labor day hols and we set off in search of a late lunch after sleeping off the decadence of the night before. "How about checking out Little Vietnam at Joo Chiat?" I suggested. So off we went, for some authentic Vietnamese fare and if we were lucky, some "action" on the sleazy front. 

Long Phung was packed at 3pm (No surprises, I guess the clientele keeps late night too hehehe). Besides a large proportion of Vietnamese local girls, we noticed a fair number of tables with foreigners too. A tourist attraction in itself? 

Whatever the business model, my oh my the food was fantastic! As a starter, we shared the summer spring rolls - the roll was a bit thick but the accompanying peanut/ chilli/ sweet sauce was absolutely delish. Satisfyingly spicy - tasted even better after we added asome lime juice to give it some zest.

Next came the pho. I had the special beef pho which had an egg cracked in, and B had the rare beef pho. I have to say, this is the best pho I've had in Singapore so far! Fantastic soup base, not too heavy but oh so flavorful. They didn't stinge on the beef either.

Our roving eyes landed on the steamed clams the next table were having. B unbashedly said "I want that too." Good call - the clams were succulent and the broth was fragrant and comforting.

The bill came up to less $30 for the 2 of us, including 2 coconuts and an iced viet coffee. Now, THIS, is what I call excellent value.

Fish Soup (Part 2): Mei Xiang Black & White

I love fish soup. My usual haunt is Han Kee at Amoy but B and I have been trying to check out alternative places for our fish soup fix. I was on leave that afternoon, so with time (minus stress) in my favor, we decided to check at Mei Xiang Black & White fish soup at Jalan Besar market. They are only open from Mon to Fri and closed weekends and public holidays, so..

We got there at 11.50am, just before the snaking queue formed - scores!

This fish soup stall is quite quirky. There's a huge clock hung up to show that they are open at EXACTLY 11.12am everyday. Interesting how there were these huge black fans against the otherwise white stall decor too. They are famous for the mix of fresh ("white") and fried ("black") fish slices soup mix. I asked if I could only have "white" and they flatly said no. Hmph.

Food nazist aside, the fish soup was indeed good! Fish and prawns were fresh and the soup was very flavorful. A tad oily and not the most healthy around but we slurped our bowls dry. Yummy!

Would I return? Yes, probably. But it's a bit out of the way though, so perhaps on the next day off.   

7Adam

Friday night - the end of a long tedious work week and time to reward myself with a nice dinner. 7Adam was a relatively new place so we decided to go check it out.

My review in a nutshell – some winners but overall a tad over-priced and mediocre food. The bottle of Angove Clare Valley Riesling ($80) was ok-priced for a restaurant table wine but steer clear of the house red – Oldenwood Cabernet Savignon – it’s pretty nasty.

As per earlier reviews we read online, we also ordered the trio of appetizers ($27) to share – Foie gras, crab cake and seared tuna. Portions are shown above. I thought the crab cake was very tasty and B liked the foie gras too. The seared tuna was just so-so.  Presentation of this dish was nice though.

We were looking forward to the mains but they were rather underwhelming, for the prices. They weren’t BAD bad, I guess we had high expectations and they fell short of them. I had the king prawn with sake sauce ($32) which came highly recommended and sounded good on the menu - I love mango chutney. Sadly, whilst the prawns were fresh, they were a bit overcooked and I could neither taste mango chutney or sake. I had to season with lots of salt and pepper.

B had the lamb shank ($40), which again, came highly recommended. This was cooked nicely but unfortunately, the sauce was way too salty (and I have a high threshold for salt).

Dinner for two including the above as well as a shared fondant dessert came close to $250. For that price, I can think of many other better restaurants we could have gone to. To be fair, the surroundings and ambience of 7Adam was very nice. I love the idea of combining dining and art. It’d be good if they can improve the execution of the food though.  

Damotory

It’s been a hard week at work and B decided I needed mid-week drinks. Go figure. Naturally, I am not one to argue (heh) and he did not have to do a lot of persuasion.

We got to Robertson Walk at a work-life-balanced 8.45pm (“early”, relatively) and were just about to auto-pilot direct ourselves to Orihara for some sake and oden when Damotory (I can't find the address online but it's right in the middle of the courtyard you can't miss it) caught our eye. The banner screamed “opening 50% discount for WINE & BEER” – it was quite the no-brainer for two thirsty and hungry people to be drawn into the restaurant.

Damotory was almost full house but lucky us, we scored a nice tatami mat table in the corner . The clientele seemed to comprise a fair number of local Koreans – always a good sign.

The food menu was simple – about 15-20 items on a small flipboard with pictures, we quickly settled on 3 items for sharing. The drink menu, on the other hand, was quite challenging – so many types of rice wines, shochu, medicinal wines! I was tempted to order the chrysanthemum wine but B wanted the maggeolli (rice wine) instead.

There was a bit of a wait for the food since it was full house but we comforted our stomachs with the free banchan (small dishes) first. I loved the sautéed onions. The kimchi radish was pretty good too. B was very pleased with the maggeolli. Yes that white shoulder in the picture belongs to B.

When the food came, I was personally pretty stuffed on banchan. But I have to say, it was, for the most part, worth the wait. First up, the Gibijjim – traditional korean style braised short ribs $20. This came sizzling in a stone pot and the meat was so tender that it was falling off the bone … The “sauce/ soup”, though a tad too sweet for my liking, provided warm comfort. The radish soaked up the sauce nicely, I polished off most of it.

Next came the Nakji Bokeum - spicy stir-fried octopus with vegetables and noodles $20. Wow this packed quite a spicy kick. I really liked the thin cold noodles this came with, perfect with the spicy sauce.

By the time the Gyeran Malee - folded-over omelette with cheese came $15, we were really, really stuffed. It’s a simple dish, but I thought they did it well. The egg was moist and I loved eating it layer by layer. Too much of a good thing though, we had to pack the remainder home. “Bet it’ll taste even better cold”, B says.

A much needed respite from a crazy work week at a neat price of $65++ for the 2 of us. I am definitely returning to try the exotic (Korean ginseng?) wines and more food items. Hmm, I wonder when the 50% discount ends.

Bites from Bo Innovation

So I was fortunate enough to land myself a free ticket to Savour 2012 this year - tickets for Friday afternoon. Not ideal, I had thought initially (ok I know I really shouldn't be complaining since it was free) but it turned out pretty darn good - no queues to buy the food and it was sheer bliss at the free wine tasting session - everyone eagerly offering us wine.

Yes, I'm quite the cheap drunk (as if you didn't know already).

Anyway, the highlight foodwise for me was the Bo Innovation booth. I can't afford to go for a meal at the HK restaurant proper, but I did spend all of my $21 savour dollars there!



First, I tried the legendary "molecular xiao long bao (XLB)" which most rave about. Indeed, Alvin Leung's technique of making skinless raviolis (apparently popularized by Ferran Adria) was most impressive. The "bubble" just burst XLB juice in my mouth and it was really very tasty. At $9 dollars a pop though, I'd say it's a "try once" novelty.

Luckily, the Har Mae Lo Mein was more filling. It's supposed to be a deconstructed version of the famous Malaysian classic. I loved it - dry noodles infused with rich robust prawn flavour and the scattering of tobiko truly complemented the dish.



Hmm, is it too ambitious for me to say I'd try re-creating this at home? Nice event, Savour. I'd go again next year!

Platters Bistro and Wine Bar

Ok so the owner of this place is a friend. But that fact doesn’t make my review biaised. Not when it’s Jimmy Chok helming the kitchen and he’s undisputedly talented. I missed the soft opening of Platters, but after hearing everyone else rave about the food, I knew I had to get my (growing) ass there asap. So I gathered a group of 8 makan kakis and made a reservation last Friday.

NOTE: Jimmy Chok’s only going to be there for a limited period (they rotate chefs so the menu’s always different!) so hurry!

Conveniently located at Club Street, the bistro was nicely done up with cozy and casual chic vibes. It’s not a big place, seats maybe around 30 pax max. a bit of a Mediterranean feel to the whole place. Our large group got a whole private corner to ourselves – nice!


True to its name, this bistro serves a variety of platters with nice interesting names. They come in half and full boards. For the record, we ended the night with 5 full boards and a mixed cheese platter. Burp.

My personal favorite was the “Bare Naked Ladies” – hokkaido scallop carpacio served with soy, tuna bean coat (omg this was so good), cheese wrapped with smoked salmon and a nice heap of avocado (yum). Definitely a must-order, the platter itself (see above) looked like a work of art.

B and the guys attacked the “Carnivore”platter with gusto – braised beef ribs with horseradish sauce, roasted honey lamb ribs with pommery mustard and poached pork belly with sweet mustard. I wasn’t in a meaty mood to begin with but those short ribs! They tasted so delicious with the sauce. “Order one more?” B turned to ask. No prizes for guessing what my answer was.

Seafood lovers will love the “Out of the shell” platter – a medley of crayfish with mango salsa, sautéed tiger prawn with garlic parsley, crab meat mayo and (yay) more avocado. The crusty bread served with all these platters were super addictive, I found myself wiping the platter clean of crab mayo sauce (oops).

The last platter we tried was “The farmer’s craft” – Mozzarella, parma ham, truffle mayo, melted gruyere paprika served with gherkins, ricotta and watermelon. To be honest I wasn’t too excited by this platter. Or maybe I was just too stuffed from the earlier platters.

Naturally, we also had tons of wines. I gotta say, the wine prices here are pretty reasonable. Amongst the wines we tried was a Spanish red, 2008 Bodegas Ochoa 8a Mil Gracias Graciano from Navarraand a French white Thierry Germain Domaine des Roches Neuves l'Insolite Saumur Blanc. Both were excellent recommendations (thanks to the Bar manager Flo) and went well with the food.

Damage for 5 full boards, a cheese board and 5 bottles of wine came up to about $100 per person – I don’t know about you but I thought this was good value. Really enjoyable dinner. Thanks for the lovely company, makan kakis!

Who’s keen to join me for my next trip (soon)
?

Alkaff Mansion

So it’s Restaurant Week and I had to restrain myself from making too many reservations. “Keep-to-2” was the rule and trust me, it wasn’t easy eliminating and finally settling on the two places I most wanted to check out – Alkafff Mansion and the new Bistro Du Vin on Zion Road.

I have not been to the “old” Alkaff Mansion but my oh my, the restored premises was simple lovely! So grand and chi-chi- I especially love the wood-paneled 1920s second level setting and the outdoor bar – I wanna hold an event here!

Service was fantastic the moment we stepped in. Warm and friendly, the service staff made us feel at home straight away. Maybe it was them, or more likely it was the romantic setting – B ordered a bottle of prosecco (*swoon*).

The restaurant week lunch was at $36++. We looked at the normal menu and noticed that the normal executive set lunch was similarly priced and had the same courses too. No matter, what a wonderful (and, can I repeat, romantic) lunch!

For starters, both B and I ordered the tuna tartar served with avocado and passion fruit dressing. Doesn't it look gorgeous? I really liked the freshness of the tuna and the tanginess from the passion fruit. This dish really opened up our tastebuds for the main courses.

First up, my lobster ravioli in its own bisque. I absolutely love (who doesn’t) lobsters so this dish really hit the spot for me. The ravioli was well made and the bisque was robust yet not too over-powering. I could have had a second serving of this haha.

B had the beef short ribs in porto wine sauce and it looked delish too. I thought the serving size was a bit small for him so it was very kind of him to offer me a sliver to try – yums! Very tasty and well-marinated. We saw some people ordering the cod fish and that looked good too.

For desserts, we both had the blueberry cheese cake. Although not mind-blowing, it was the perfect ending to an elegant (romantic!) lunch.

I’m glad I decided to check out Alkaff Mansion for restaurant week. Watch this space for my review on the new Bistro Du Vin!