Yan Ting @ St Regis - It's da bombzxz

(picture courtesy of thefoodchapter)

I've heard from aplenty that Yan Ting serves the best dim sum in Singapore. Now, many of you would go, "Really?"

Well, let's see..

(picture courtesy of lifestyleasia)

I was impressed by the restaurant's elegant decor, and especially love the little booths that we were ushered to. It allowed for more privacy - something that I am very grateful for; I could fully concentrate on enjoying my delectable brunch. The whole time, I felt like I was a dowager enjoying her tea-time in a contemporary palace.

In any dim sum meal, I believe that tea is a mandatory accompaniment - to wash away all that grease and aid digestion. We had Pu Erh, and instead of charging by per pot, we were charged at $4++ per person. That's $8++ in total.

Radish cake ($5++ for 3)

Their radish cake(aka carrot cake) was pan-seared to perfection. It had a nice crisp skin and was not too mushy. Studded with tiny char siew cubes within, giving it a delightful contrasting texture to the otherwise plain radish cake. Barely oily, this was tasty enough, though not mind-blowingly so.

Char siew pastry (aka char siew sou) ($5.40++ for 3)

If I could only have one item at Yan Ting, this would be it. To me, it is THE char siew sou, no two ways about it.

Before even putting it in my mouth, the tantalizing buttery fragrance from the flaky pastry already had me swooning.  It had me speechless for a few secs.

Generously filled with gooey-moist and suitably sweet BBQ pork; the smoky aroma of the latter was unmistakable.

Ambrosial, is the perfect word for it. Try it for yourselves and you'll know what I mean.

Mini egg tarts ($6++ for 2)

These little darlings are rather pricey at $3++ per pop, and imo it's not that worth it. That's not to say that it wasn't good; it hit all the right spots - it wasn't too sweet and was rather tasty, nice flaky tart with nary a sign of oiliness.

But I felt that these didn't justify its hefty price tag.

Order it only if you must have your egg tart fix.

Steamed prawn dumplings (aka har gao) ($6++ for 4)

One of the rare places that gets their har gao skin right. Nicely-translucent skin that wasn't too thin nor thick, wrapped around fresh, crunchy prawns which I thought could have been bigger :P

Definitely above mediocre standards, but not mind-blowing.

Salted egg yolk custard bun ($5++ for 3)

This has recently become my must-have during any dim sum session. I feel indefinite happiness whenever the creamy, savoury-sweet lava within erupts into my mouth.. Yum TTM.

Yan Ting's rendition of this was pretty good, though not toppling Taste Paradise as the #1 contender.

picture courtesy of a-tale-of-two-lambs

I forgot to take a picture of the molten lava.. Thankfully, there's always Google! ^^

It was molten inside and the taste of salted egg yolk was pretty rich, the skin wasn't the softest. But this was my fault for not eating it immediately. I was simply too engrossed with my char siew sou :P

Char siew bun ($5++ for 3)
This was one of the better char siew baos I've had. Even after leaving it untouched for so long, the bun remained soft and fluffy. Imagine if it were eaten warm? Mmm~
And the fillings were exactly the same as its cousin, Char siew sou. Yumz.

 Steamed pork and prawn dumplings (aka siew mai) ($6++ for 4)
I'd probably left it alone for too long, the wanton skins had already turned dry. Oops.
However, I'm glad to report that the pork and prawn used were fresh. Still a delightful siew mai! ^^

 Xiao long bao ($4++ per piece)
It's a misnomer to even call it a xiao long bao; this jumbo baby is totally a da long bao!
My, was I appalled to see that the skin had already broke before we even touched it. All the yummy soup had flowed out of the dumpling :(
Nevertheless, we tried to scoop up the remaining juices which were delicately sweet and very, very more-ish.
The pork within was of fresh quality too.

XO Cheong Fun ($10++)
This was surprising in ways that I didn't expect, surprisingly good that is. The tubes of rolled up cheong fun were rather soft in texture, and I could taste the distinct layers in my mouth.
XO sauce gave it a robust flavour; throwing in ingredients like fried eggs(could've been more of these), leek, and beansprouts made this super delectable.

This is something I'm fairly sure I'll be tempted to order again when I return.

Conclusion: Yes, they were right. Yan Ting indeed serves stellar dim sum that leaves an unforgettable impression. It will be the place that I'll recommend my friends when they ask me, "Where is the best place to go for dim sum?".

St Regis Residences Singapore

29 Tanglin Road

6506 6888

Open Weekdays 11:45am-3:30pm, 6pm-11pm

A taste of Finland @ Gordon Grill

I jumped at the chance when a lovely friend of mine asked if I was interested in this special Finnish promo at Gordon Grill. He tried to further entice me by saying that I could expect to have reindeer meat in this meal. I initially thought it was a joke, until I found out he was dead serious about it.

So here I came, with no expectations at all as I haven't tried anything Finnish before, hence there's nothing for me to benchmark with.

We had the obvious choice: The 6-Course Degustation Dinner at S$98 per person.

The meal kicked off with a glass of lovely pear cider that was light and refreshing.

 Amuse bouche: Dried reindeer steak with red onion jam on a crisp cracker

Chewy, fibrous strips of smoky meat that were reminiscent of beef jerky or in chinese terms - bak kwa. Plenty delish when eaten together with the red onion jam and thin cracker.

 And also a selection of dark rye breads and crackers. Bread was chewy and rustic, but I'm no fan of it. The sandy rye crackers were fragrant and tasted like cornflakes, in a good way.

Juniper marinated reindeer tenderloin with wild mushroom salad, smoked vendace and buckthorn-carrot puree

The meat here was a little more thickly sliced than the amuse bouche, but was miles apart in terms of taste and texture. It was slimy and moist, but had gamy notes of lamb. Wild mushroom salad was yummy, even if it was a tad salty. Vendace was delish in every nibble. Taste-wise, it was like a cross between unagi and sardine, and was non-fishy. And that smoky aroma was simply intoxicating.

 Blini-style buckwheat brioche with salmon trout roe, beetroot-fresh cheese mousse and red onion jam
Cut into two tiny halves, l thought that the brioche looked cute. Served warm and moist, it tasted like a toasty, nutty, non-sweet version of a muffin. I enjoyed eating it together with the red onion jam, which was sweet and slightly tangy. The star of this dish would be the beetroot cheese mousse. Creamy, cheesy and insanely delicious. Beetroot gave it a tinge of sweetness and this yummy stuff was polished off easily. Salmon trout roe however, was so fishy that I couldn't even bring myself to finish it.

 Reindeer roast with liquorice sauce, potato pudding and sautéed cabbage roll

The thickness of the reindeer meat had increased in this dish, as did the intensity of the flavour. Though the gaminess of it tended to overwhelm at times, I still liked the full-bodied and richness of it. and I swore I could taste hints of foie gras. The liquorice sauce was lip-smackingly delicious and did much to enhance the flavour of the meat.

Potato pudding got me at a love-hate situation as I loved its soft, mushy texture but hated the taste of star anise in it. But when eaten with the dollop of lingonberry jam, this was mighty tasty. The tiny beads of barley had an nice chewy texture but was pretty tasteless and the cabbage roll was forgettable.

 Leaf celery sorbet

This was intriguing as neither of us had tasted anything like this before. The first taste had us stumped as it tasted exactly like celery, sharp and pungent. However, it was really addictive and it grew on us after a few more bites. The sugar-crusted celery leaf was way too sweet; it seemed like we were eating sugar crystals.

 Selection of Finnish cheeses with cloudberry jam and toasted oat bread

This was the dish that my dining partner had warned me about, and I was rather apprehensive about this course as I am not a fan of pungent and sharp-tasting cheeses. Surprise-of-the-day, I actually found the cheeses to be plenty toothsome!
Crumbly, salty, with a slight astringent taste, it was such a joy to eat. I especially loved the blue cheese for its sharp and slightly rancid flavour, which bonded beautifully with the delicious cloudberry jam and chewy rye bread.

I hereby pronounce myself as a cheese convert =)

Dessert Symphony – Lapland cottage cheese, milk chocolate mousse and cold blueberry soufflé

This is gorgeous. The best part was the blueberry souffle. Yummilicious, chilled blueberry compote oozed lazily from its dark chocolate shell and had me at wow. Milk chocolate mousse was a little too sweet and got a little cloying after few bites. Lapland cottage cheese was sadly bland and no amount of vanilla sauce could save it.

At the end of the meal, we were served yummy Finnish chocolates and offered the choice of coffee/tea which we both rejected as we did not want to end up awake all night =P

Conclusion: Exotic? Definitely. This was such a rare opportunity and I probably would never have the chance to sample Finnish cuisine again. It was a real eye and palate-opener for me. Simple ingredients used, but the effect produced from the combination was gorgeous. Kudos to Chef Kim Palhus; he made the Finnish and their cuisine proud.

Gordon Grill

22 Scotts Road

Goodwood Park Hotel

6730 1744

Daily: 12pm-2.30pm, 7pm-10.30pm

Coffee Stars by Dao @ Wisma Atria

Dinner time with the soulmate at this newly-opened cafe-restaurant opened at the first level of Wisma Atria. This is its first foray into our sunny shores and proven to be successful, judging from the constant queues forming outside the cafe. We were fortunate that the queue wasn't that long when we arrived, because the queue lengthened soon after we were seated.

photo credit: Sparklette

Isn't it comfy to just spend your whole lazy afternoon in these comfy chairs?

It's open-spaced concept is great for people-watching too, if that's your thing.

Chances are that you'd have thought that this was a chichi high-tea/brunch spot, judging from its elegant, yet trendy decor and wide array of cakes(so tempting) displayed outside.

photo credit: TheFoodNomads

 In fact, they offer international cuisine such as western food, pastas, snacks, as well as Thai dishes and desserts.

This was a wrong order served to me which I failed to realize until the server came by and whisked it away.

If I'm not mistaken, this dish is actually Phad Thai. Smells great btw.

 The correct order of mine: Fried Flat Noodle with Shrimp and Crabmeat in Yellow Curry Egg Sauce

The flat noodles looks like our local hor fun noodles, only a little broader. Rich in flavours, as the aromatic curry had infused the moist noodles and eggs; it made the whole deal rather appetizing.

My friend initially ordered a salmon cream-based pasta but it came in aglio olio-style instead. Teething problems in new start-ups are unavoidable, I guess?

This tasted quite decent, albeit a little on the oily side. And I thought it would be yummier if the salmon came in a whole slab or at the very least, in chunks; instead of the thin slices that she got.

We also ordered a Pandan Coconut Roll to share.

This was so incredibly delicious, you'd just have to try it for yourself!

The flavours of pandan and coconut were superbly balanced; every mouthful was pure pleasure.

Do I even have to tell you that there were bits of coconut flesh evident in every bite?

*sighs in pleasure*

Being so conveniently located, it gives us more reasons to return to Coffee Stars by Dao for more! It's a good place for a casual lunch/dinner/hi-tea and its huge menu would definitely please everyone. One thing though, it's probably not too good for big groups as seats are limited here.

Coffee Stars by Dao

435 Orchard Road

#01-37/41 Wisma Atria

Singapore

Tel: +65 6733 3881

Website

Opening Hours

Daily: 11.30am – 10pm

Wild Honey: All-day brunch

I've been to Wild Honey on several occasions, and it is undisputedly one of my favourite brunch spots in Singapore. Opened in late 2009, it brought to us the concept of all-day breakfast (yippee) housed in a warm and cozy joint. Not that this was unprecedented, but other all-day breakfast joints are usually located far away from town, in places where it's out of the way/not easily accessible.

photo credit: HuiYuan89

I love breakfast so much that I can have it at anytime of the day.

photo credit: AccidentalEpicurean

The sofa seats add a cozy and homely touch to the cafe.

 

photo credit: AccidentalEpicurean

I'm sorry that most of the pictures are "out-sourced"; it was unfortunate that I had forgotten to bring my camera out on that day!

photo credit: CrustyPastels

There's no menu for you to flip thru over here. Just a blackboard with its prices written in chalk, and visuals are displayed on the iPad to tempt you.

Oh, and you'll have to place your order at the counter and the food would be delivered to you thereafter.

photo credit: AccidentalEpicurean

Tunisian set, $18++

This is one of the many reasons why I fell in love with this place.

Serving it in an iron cast pan upped its cool factor; it almost felt like I cooked it myself.

Richly-spiced pepper, onion and tomato stew littered with chorizo slices, sounds delicious no?

I enjoyed breaking the two fried eggs and watch the runny yolk spill over the yummy mess, mmm..

It was huge on flavours and tasted even more delicious with the buttery, thick and fluffy brioche toasts provided.

photo credit: CrustyPastels

Mexican Set, $18++

My friend had this set, which consisted of a fat burrito filled with scrambled eggs, cheese, potatoes, and black beans served with salsa, guacamole, and sour cream.

I felt that this could do with a little more salt, and best eaten with the condiments provided.

But still, it's a hearty and well-balanced meal in one.

Scandinavian set, $22++

I also had this set which consisted of a grilled Norwegian salmon and asparagus nestled on a potato rosti and slathered with hollandaise sauce.

The salmon was grilled to a right texture, not too flaky nor mushy.

And the rosti was ultra crispy, albeit a little oily.

This dish was surprisingly quite filling, which I thought that the Hollandaise sauce had a part to play; it made the whole rich very rich-tasting.

I'll recommend Wild Honey to small groups and couples, or individuals who just want a quiet place to eat and chill. Portions are generous though; people who have small appetites could share the love. I'll definitely be back whenever I'm in town with a craving for breakfast food!

#03-02 Mandarin Gallery

Orchard Road, Singapore

Tel: 6235 3900

Website

Opening hours: 9am-10.30pm (Mon-Fri)

8am-10.30pm (Sat & Sun)

They do not take reservations.

Tetsu - Modern contemporary Jap

TETSU is the first restaurant in Singapore to offer a specialised Tempura and Tonkatsu menu under one roof and to present Tempura & Tonkatsu in Kushi style (on skewer).

Stepping into the restaurant gives you a instant zen-like feel, serene and relaxing. Cream coloured walls, tasteful furniture, and plush seats, it certainly exudes simplistic elegance. One can also sit at the bar counter near the entrance to enjoy a visual feast while chefs prepare the food and also interact with them.

picture courtesy of ieatclub

After admiring the restaurant's surroundings, it's time to order some food!

Jubako set ($32++)

This set is truly a god-send for variety lovers like me. From the top of the set, there is the delightful roll sushi which contained salmon and scallops. Well-seasoned sushi rice were made extra tasty with the addition of crunchy sesame seeds and a generous dollop of umami-rich tobiko. 

We also had a choice between kushi-age(breaded) or kushi-tem(tempura-style), and we chose the former with an assortment of mushroom, scallop, pork, and prawn. The scallop and prawn ones stood out; and while I liked its crisp batter, I still found it unspectacular. Dips included: Mayonnaise, Chilli sauce, and curry salt.

Out of the four appetisers here, I loved the Kani Tofu(century egg tofu; top right) most.

 close-up courtesy of superfinefeline

It was complex in flavours but it turned out to be so mouth-wateringly delectable. The tofu base of chopped imitation crabsticks gave it a subtle sweetness, and the creamy century egg sauce only made it x10000000 more delicious. I've been yearning for this dish for the longest time, I just can't wait for the 2nd visit!

Dobin mushi ($10++)

While scouring the menu, a little teapot caught my eye and I thought it looked cute. Minutes later, it ended up on my table :P It even came with mini tea cups for us to drink in.  

The broth was very light and clean-tasting, and contained a chockfull of ingredients such as fish slices, prawns, mushrooms, leeks, and japanese fishcakes. Novelty aside, I thought that this tasted rather ordinary and I don't think I'll order it again.

Yakiniku (Grilled Beef Tenderloin) ($18.50++)

This is seriously great stuff! So good that it blushes; getting all pink and juicy inside. The meat was utmost tender and succulent; smothered with a lip-smackingly delicious sauce that was refreshingly sweet. 

Simply out of this world.

Conclusion: TETSU makes a nice place for a quiet lunch or dinner. One can choose to go kaiseki here, or just order a la carte from a promising menu which features classic as well as contemporary Jap dishes. Invite a couple of friends for a nice catch-up session over a delectable meal, we should relax ourselves after working so hard ;)

TETSU

163 Tanglin Road

#03-18 Tanglin Mall, Singapore

6836 3112

Opening Hours

Daily: 

Lunch: 11.30am – 3.00pm 

Dinner: 6.00pm – 10.00pm