Spruce @ Firestation

You've heard of creative entrepreneurs who have turned an old church into a classy restaurant (The White Rabbit). How about one who turns an old fire station into an ultra cool restaurant? At Spruce, the owners have made use of this old space to open their 2nd outlet and bring an awesome dining experience, consisting of high ceilings and soaring glass windows to the enjoyment of their patrons.

Daniel Boulud bistro moderne

The family celebrated Jie's bday at DB bistro moderne located at Marian Bay Sands Singapore. Known for its desserts, the sweet tooth in me just had to get something sweet to make it a trip worth while. 

Black Angus Steakhouse

If you're a steak lover, you've got to try this steakhouse out. 

With a series of awards to its name, you can bet your money that you time will be well spent here. All steaks are air flown from the United States. I ordered the Prime Ribeye 10oz set, which came with mashed potatoes, asparagus and a bowl of soup. It cost $55.90 per set. I like how the beef was succulent on the inside but yet had this top crispy layer on the outside. A definite worth your money meal! 

Black Angus Steakhouse

Orchard Parade Hotel

#01-08 

Website | Click here

Sun - Thur | 1100 - 2300

Fri - Sat | 1100 - 0000

Taste bug's, Bukit Indah, Johor

Had a rather free weekend with no work for once, screams for joy and throws bowls of confetti, and thus we decided to try something different. Instead of crossing the woodlands causeway, we ventured into unfamiliar territory. We crossed the Tuas causeway, drove down the E3 expressway and found ourselves in the town of Bukit Indah. 

Although this placed does not get as much fanfare as Johor Bahru city or Legoland, it was still common to see the familiar Singapore registered car plates parking alongside massage parlours and newly opened restaurants. A hidden gem that has been kept away from spotlight, perhaps this may just be the next big tourist town for Singaporeans. 

For our dinner, we headed to Taste bug's, an Italian-Spanish restaurant that prides itself on serving high quality food. 

Exterior of the restaurant

There is both indoor and outdoor dining for patrons.

Chef doing his work at the open kitchen concept.

Wedges

Approx SGD 3.60

Crunchy, tasty and extremely well deep fried

Salmon and quail egg salad

Approx SGD 8.28

Love the unique sauce that was mixed with the salad. Salmon was cooked on one side and raw on the other side. A pity they only gave us one quail egg for the salad. 

Beef Steak

Approx SGD 23

Extremely big slab of beef that was probably around 200g. Succulent, juicy and extremely worth the money. Girls, your boyfriend or father would love this! 

Spanish meatball Paella

Approx SGD 12

Rice was soft and slightly moist thanks to the layer of oil at the bottom of the pan. I like how they were very generous with the servings of the meat. 

Restaurant is located at Point B

Taste bug's restaurant

Main Outlet

No. 2, Jalan Indah 15/1

Taman Bukit Indah 

81200 Johor Bahru

Tel: +60 72395521

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TasteBugsRestaurant/info

Riders Cafe - A Sunday brunch affair

Situated at the Bukit Timah Saddle Club, this open air cafe serves western food while allowing you to catch a view of the horses either in their stables or out bringing the kids for a ride. It's a nice cafe to just chillax at and let your afternoon go by. The day I was there, I saw eager young adults taking graduation photos next to the greenery, an expatriate family having a picnic on the grass and young kids playing at the large field. Observing such carefree scenes, always brings a moment of joy to the weekday worker in me. It's always nice to abandon those weekday KPIs for something relaxing on a weekend. 

Baked miso cod served with mashed potatoes and sauteed vegetables

This was a house special for the day. The fish was fresh and and the potatoes filled the appetite of the hungry eater. Thumbs up to this dish!

Rider's burger with rocket, brie, relish, bacon and seasoned fries

The fries had a tinged of truffle taste to it, so I'm guessing that it was cooked in truffle oil.

The meat was big and succulent. After devouring my burger, I had to "tapao" my leftover fries. Don't judge a burger by its cover, it was really one big slab of meat hidden between the two buns. I absolutely enjoyed the beef steak in my burger and wouldn't mind coming back here again. 

For those intending to check this place out...

- Remember to reserve a seat! My folks and I waited for a good 30 minutes due to our impromptu decision to come here.

- Their neighbour, Marmalade Pantry was equally fully book during the Sunday brunch hour

- Parking is FREE!!! Rejoice!

- It is a very long walk in. Take a cab if you are not driving. 

- It is kid friendly. I saw lots of families with their babies

Riders Cafe

51 Fairways Drive

S(286965)

Tel: 64669819

Till the next brunch post 

♥

Restaurant Week Review - Gaia

Today is the 2nd last day of restaurant week, hence for those heading down to GAIA for dinner tonight or tomorrow, here's a sneak peak of the dishes you can expect to get.

Fresh tuna fish tartar

Watermelon, melon, black "taggiasca" olives

and mint leaf salad lemon oil dressing

The fish was fresh and paired well with the fruits and vegetables.

This dish gets 4 out of 5 stars.

Carrot and basil cream soup

with homemade sesame bread stick

The taste was average. It felt like a normal bowl of cream soup to me.

Passable so I'll give it 3 out of 5 stars. 

Malloreddus Sardinian Pasta

Pork sausage, cherry tomato and fennel sauce

Pecorino cheese

The pasta was a bit hard to eat, perhaps mine might have been slightly overcooked.

A lot of chewing was needed to break down the pasta. The saving grace were the pork sausages which made the dish more bearable. This dish gets 2 out of 5 stars. 

Slow cooked cod fish Vicentina style

Parsley mush potatoes

light lobster bisque

Definitely the star dish for the night.

It gets 5 out of 5 stars for its freshness, crispy upper layer of skin and for the light bisque that paired well with the cod. 

Warm Apple Strudel

Vanilla ice cream

It is sadly evident that my ice cream came melted. 

Thankfully, my dinner companion for the night told the waitress and she kindly exchanged our sets of another one. But it just got to show how sometimes we can miss the simple details when in a rush. To serve melted ice cream in a 5 star hotel is definitely a no-no! 

This dish would have passed if not for my melted ice cream.

What an experience!

GAIA restaurant

Goodwood Park hotel

The dishes served were part of restaurant week's set dinners that cost $55++

♥

Weekend Pig Out 3 - Lolla

Tired of your usual eggs benedict and toast breakfast? I tried a new restaurant last week and its a kid in town that is definitely different from your usual brunch cafes. At Lolla, you sit right next to the counter and in one straight row. It is something similar to the Japanese concept of watching the chef prepare your food for you and you slurp it loudly in return for him to hear. However, do note that most of the actual cooking is prepared behind another kitchen. So don't worry about being splattered by sprinkles of oil or having your makeup melted from the wok's heat. At the counter, most of work involves combining the different ingredients together in preparation for the final touches.  Of course, the perks of being seated at the counter would include the honour of being served by the head chef and with his big friendly smile. (:

And now for the food pictures!!!

Their famous Sea Urchin Pudding

$19.00

This is a cold dish which requires an acquired taste. I have heard lots of raves about this dish and many people testifying that it is the number 1 dish to try at Lolla. The texture of this dish is rather mushy and I was licking the mash off my spoon throughout the experience. 

Tortilla with smoke eel

$19.00

I personally preferred this dish as I like my food warm and cooked. The tortilla went really well with the cooked eel. When eaten together, this dish evokes a salty warm taste. 

House speciality of the day: Sardines

$26

I liked this too as it was grilled to perfection and the red seasoning added a nice finishing touch to the Sardines. The dish wasn't overly salty and I felt it was just nice for my taste buds. I also liked how the fish was crunchy enough for me to do a little battle with it in my mouth! Oh Yes, I'm still a kid at heart and I love to have internal battles with my food.  

Foie Gras

$30

Another house special. This Foie Gras was good because of the other ingredients that came with it. The berries paired really well with the Foie Gras as it gave the dish a sweet and salty taste. For those who dislike putting globs of salty food into your mouth, the fruits come in really handy at neutralizing the saltiness. I also liked how the texture of the Foie Gras was chewable and yet not too hard or too mushy. 

This restaurant follows the European style of bite size sharing and dining. I went with a girlfriend and the two of us spent $110. 

Lolla

22 Ang Siang Road

Tel: 6423 1228

www.lolla.com.sg 

♥

Grub - restaurant in a park

Theres more reason to rejoice for those staying in the Bishan/Upper Thomson area. A new restaurant has just opened it doors at Bishan park :)

Located next to the carpark along the Sing Ming area, Grub serves mainly western food. Interestingly, the restaurant believes in serving responsible ingredients and that means choosing animals that have been fed naturally or have had little or no contact with antibiotics/chemicals. It's great that people here are being more conscious of the food we eat. Hope this concept of responsible ingredients rides on more restaurants in Singapore! Its time to stop harming our bodies with the chemicals from fishes and injected hormones from chickens etc.

 Anyhow, this is a wide angle view of the restaurant

Bicycles were parked just outside on the grass. 

The restaurant is definitely a good place for cyclist to use as a pitstop.

If you sit outdoors, this is the amazing tranquil view of Bishan park which you would get!

Definitely a nice place to relax in the late evenings.

Pear Cider, $10

Seems like the current trend is to import NZ cider.

I'm not complaining as I love my cider.

Back in 2008, most cafes didnt even sell cider.

What a difference a few years make :)

The menu with their beliefs printed on it.

When my friend first saw it, he was like, "Why are we eating healthy food? Why no oily fried food?Unhealthy food always tastes better!!!!"

Ok but low and behold when his food came.....

He was more than pleased with his ultra huge slice of fried fish. 

It definitely made his day seeing the long slice of fish protruding out of his burger.

Crispy fish burger, $11

served with a cup of fries

Grilled steak with fries, $18.50

I'm not sure if I am not used to eating grass-fed steak but the ribeye just didnt taste good. I've tasted better steaks in Astons and Chargrill. Hence for the price, sadly I wasnt satisfied. I felt the meat lacked the succulent texture that good steaks have and lets just say, the dish tasted very flat. 

At nightfall, this place was bustling with patrons and there was even a queue outside the restaurant.

Nestled in the middle of a park, this place does provide a nice atmosphere away from our concrete jungle. While they do score points for their ambience and responsible ingredients, I feel they could do better on the taste of their food.

GRUB

510 AMK Ave 1

Bishan park 1

+65 645 95743

On to my psychedelic #OOTD which I wore to GRUB

Island Beverly pink sleeveless from Hong Kong

Louvisa three chain cross necklace

Cotton On blue pants

Fern and Kiwi - New Zealand food @ Clarke Quay

Judging by its name, one would immediately associate this restaurant with New Zealand. As there are hardly any New Zealand restaurants in Singapore, this is indeed a refreshing change to the myriad of  Thai/Italian/Japanese restaurants that sprinkle around our tiny island. 

At my dining table, the menu greeted me with a 'KIA ORA' which translates to be well/healthy in the Maori language.

APPETIZERS

For appetizers we ordered the Manuka smoked snapper salad

Freshly flaked snapper pieces were mixed with spinach, rocket and cos lettuce, avocado, julienned tomatoes and a light lemony vinaigrette

Our 2nd appetizer consisted of the Classic pork spare ribs

They do serve it as a main course too, but the appetizer portion was big enough for me. 

The spare ribs came in 4 large chunks dripped in honey, hoisin and orange glaze.

MAINS

Introducing the Aucklander pizza

filled with harissa spiced chicken, roasted poblano chillis, feta cheese, harissa yoghurt and coriander

The 12 hour braised lamb shank

A slow cooked lamb shank in rich tomato and red wine stock.

Dish comes with potato mash, Otago pinot poached shallots and a port wine jus

DRINKS TIME!

THE MELT-IN-YOUR-MOUTH DESSERT

Minature Pavlovas

The texture of pavlovas are somewhat similar to meringues. You just need to take small bite into a chunk of it and the rest will melt slowly in your mouth. A good dessert choice if one is looking for something light and fluffy. 

The menu is heavily laced with places and food commonly found in New Zealand. 

Words like "Pavlovas",  "Manuka", "Otago" etc spring up as you scroll down the menu. 

If you're looking for food commonly eaten in New Zealand, this is a place to consider. 

A plus point is the bar downstairs which is a good place to chillax after your dinner. 

Prices are similar to the restaurants nearby and it is conveniently located in the heart of clarke quay. 

Fern and Kiwi

Clarke Quay

S(179024)

+65 6336 2271

Salta - Good steak in Singapore

Celebrated Dad's birthday at this restaurant on Friday as we had some vouchers to use. I googled the reviews prior to heading down and almost all were raving about the good beef steaks they sold. As such, being a beef lover, I knew what was going to head into my stomach for that night. 

I tried reserving a table otw down but the waitress on the line said that they were on full house for that Friday night! Thus, we had to try our luck by just heading down and hoping that some patrons were about to leave. Low and behold, we were in quite a bit of luck, perhaps it's Dad's birthday luck? But whatever it is, we got a seat after waiting for about 3 minutes. Hooray to that :)

We sat next to this picture which taught us about the different parts of a cow.

Very useful when ordering one's beef steak as some parts are known to be more tender the other. 

Fresh bread served with pate on the house

I had to use my steak knife to cut through the bread as it was one tough stubborn loaf! 

The pate (cup next to the bread) was done nicely and I like how it wasn't too mushy or watery.

My sister's Caprinha thirst quencher.

And now for what you've been waiting for

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Two plates of Ojo de Bife or commonly known as beef rib eye ($37.45) 

The restaurant only sells it at 300g per plate.

You cant get anything smaller than that.

Because of that, mummy and I resorted to sharing our 300g beef tenderloin or lomo ($40.66).

Btw, I originally wanted the 200g out-side skirt, but the restaurant has changed the minimum size to 300g.

Our grilled vegetable side to compliment our mains. 

The courgette was delightfully chewy! 

We were so full after our mains (wells, we were served 300g slabs of meat compared to the usual 100/200g) that we skipped the desserts we had originally planned to have. 

I plan to bring my meat lover friends here. For a $35 - $40++ plate of meat, the ambience and taste does justify the price. 

SALTA

Icon Village

12 Gopeng Street

#01-56

Tel: 6225 8443