Australian Adventures

After a long hiatus, I decided to dedicate a post to my food overtures in Australia, a place that I recently visited. Whilst I will not be expounding much on the food (for it has been quite some time since the trip and my memory fails me), a note for travellers: You may wish to ask your concierge for a food booklet, as the one that our concierge provided us with has coupons that entitle diners to as much as 50% off should you order between 5-6 p.m. (non-peak time). 

And so, here goes, in the name of culinary concupiscence - 

1. Carrara Market - Some extremely oleaginous fast food that left my stomach reeling from the sheer bout of oil. 

Just survived an oil spill

Lathered in oil from a Javanese massage

2. Bistro Lamp

Although the decor made for a rather cosy setting, my dining partner and I had to squeeze into a corner, making us wish we had learnt the art of contortionism in our lives past. Also, whilst the food was decent, it fell short of expectations due to its mediocrity and miniscule portions, making us wonder what exactly about this restaurant earned it a Tripadvisor award (plebeian palates, perhaps?).

3. Yellowfin Seafood Restaurant

While the pre-peak hour discount that this restaurant offered made for a sweet deal, the food was decent at best, with the specialty item being less than outstanding. In fact, the fish was rather dry, so much so that I devoured more of the chickpeas than the mainstay of the dish. Further to that, the seafood platter was banal and did not offer the variety that platters at other establishments did. Overall, it was sad to say that the unexciting array of dishes made me question if the generous discount was given in good faith, or if it was a desperate means to attract more customers.

4. Sage Cafe Restaurant

This is one of the restaurants that I would recommend, for their off-peak discount of 50% is generous and extremely worthwhile. The platter, which would have cost 120 AUD, was reduced to a mere 60 AUD - a steal, considering that it included generous portions of tender yet chewy (enough to exercise your musculi masticatorii anyway) calamari strips, crispy yet succulent fish fillets, shrimps, oysters, pork and a surprisingly hearty yet juicy piece of beef. 

In addition to our seafood platter, my dining partner and I capitulated to our chocolate cravings and opted for a chocolate pizza. Though the pizza was decadent and oozing with nutella goodness, the floral petals and strawberry slices adorning the pizza base made it stand out in terms of presentation. Mm, simply delightful, especially if you're looking for a filling and sinful dessert.

5. Omeros Brothers

The meal at Omeros Bros was, without a doubt, the highlight of our food exploits, for the high quality food and service, coupled with a scenic view of the bay, created an exquisitely enjoyable dinner experience. Whilst my dining partner opted for the seafood marinara, I chose the king prawn dish, an option which - in my opinion - was the next best alternative to getting a lobster (which cost a whopping 150 AUD). Thankfully, I was satisfied despite having had to settle for my second best choice, for the king prawns were succulent and bursting with a miasma of flavours, and were well-complemented by the aromatic rice (redolent of the Turkish rendition).

Alright, that's about all for now, and for diners travelling to Australia, do not hesitate nor forget to take advantage of the plethora of dinner deals that are available! 

A Short Note

I'd just like to post a short note to look out for new posts coming soon. Apologies for my protracted period of absence due to my extremely heavy workload. Upcoming posts include some featuring my food adventures in Australia, as well as critiques on local restaurants. Please stay tuned!

Charming Chinese Cuisine at Hai Tien Lo

Being a frequent diner at Hai Tien Lo, my dining partner suggested that we make a trip to the famed Hai Tien Lo restaurant located on the third floor of the Pan Pacific Hotel. As the establishment has garnered an impressive array of awards, I harboured relatively high hopes, which - thankfully - were met with finesse and immaculate service.

Occupying one of three sides of the building's triangular configuration, Hai Tien Lo has a welcoming reception space that exudes traditional Chinese opulence (what with vermillion pillars and intricate wood carvings) finetuned with a touch of modernity, such that the interior does not feel overly stuffy and imposing. Upon entering the restaurant, one realises that the space within has been cleverly divided into two sections, one for casual dining and the other for business entertainment. The former comprises a row of outward-facing dining tables that stretches across the entire length of the corridor, while the latter consists of larger round tables, each of which is ensconced in a private space demarcated by wood-carved barriers. Perhaps, what is most striking about this ensemble is that it allows for groups of diners to enjoy their private space, whilst ensuring that the individual parts integrate seamlessly into a resplendent whole. 

For starters, my dining partner and I opted for a thick hot and sour broth along with a couple of Chinese dumplings. Although the broth was viscous, it refrained from being clumpy and was of a homogeneous texture. In addition, the dumplings were bite-sized and the meat filling within was flavourful without reeking of MSG, making them a gustatory delight. 

Soup

Next up came Hai Tien Lo's appetiser specialty dish, which comprised a trifecta of sterling delicacies that encapsulated the true essence of Chinese fine dining. More specifically, the trio consisted of two lightly pan-seared scallops, fried prawn complemented by lotus crisp and perched atop a cylindrical piece of watermelon, as well as a sliver of Peking roast duck skin flanked by a spoonful of jelly fish. While most of the dishes were agreeable with my palate, I personally felt that there was some discordance between the prawn and the watermelon as the two resembled an awkward pair of misanthropes more than bosom buddies. 

Appetiser

Last but not least, for the main course, we opted for another threesome, this time of roast meat. Served in a rose-shaped platter, the trinity comprised char siew, fatty three-layered pork as well as roasted pig skin with several slices of meat. Of the three, I enjoyed the char siew the most, for the meat oozed with a perfectly concocted sweet sauce and had an alluring layer of honey glaze. Indeed, this was the most authentic version of the delicacy that I have tasted thus far.

Ravenous for Roast

All in all, my dining partner and I relished our time at Hai Tien Lo, as the restaurant is committed to serving fine Chinese cuisine that has been painstakingly crafted. Furthermore, our dining experience was made more complete by the impeccable service and charming ambience which combined grandiose splendour with unassuming comfort. Indeed, I would highly recommend this establishment, especially since I am already looking forward to making a return trip.

Thanh Ying Thai

Having been a long-time customer of Thanying restaurant at Amara hotel, we decided to return to this well-established Thai fine dining restaurant after a long hiatus since our last visit. 

For starters, we ordered the pomelo salad, which struck an impeccable equipoise between the palette of flavours - the tangy sweetness of the dressing, the cringe-inducing acidity of the pomelo and the well-balanced richness of the coconut drippings. Mm, the best pomelo salad I've had thus far.

Pomelo Salad

Next up were the soups, one of which I am unable to recall, whilst the other was a perfectly delectable Tom Yam soup which I proceeded to devour. The soup, though fine in consistency, was infused with a potpourri of scents and consisted of a generous serving of button mushrooms along with a menagerie of seafood items. Once again, one of the best Tom Yam soups I have had.

Tom Yam Soup

Following the soup was the catfish salad, which comprised fried and chopped catfish bits complemented by a thick concoction of thai chilli sauce dressing. While this dish was novel and unique in its own right, the catfish bites were slightly dry with a tinge of bitterness and may not be suited to everyone's palate. 

Catfish

Last but not least was the Nyonya steamed fish which was cooked on a hotplate in a sweetly ascerbic broth. The fish was tender and not overcooked, and along with the broth whose panoply of flavours had been exquisitely finetuned, this made for a mouth-watering and savoury dish that we thoroughly enjoyed.

Steamed Fish

For drinks, one may opt for the lemongrass, as Thanh Ying's rendition seems fairly authentic and lacks the ruinous cloyingness that one might find in most other lemongrass drinks (replete with a large dose of sugar solution).

Lemongrass Drink

As for dessert, should one have a large appetite for sweets and treats, consider going for the dessert buffet which offers an impressive variety of kuehs, including the all-time favourite tako delicacy, comprising a trifecta of water chestnut bits, pandan jelly and coconut cream.

Dessert Table

All in all, dinner at Thanh Ying was enjoyable and was one of the best - if not, the best - of Thai cuisine that I have tasted locally in Singapore, although the restaurant should consider revamping their slightly drab interior in favour of a more modern and chic decor.

The Catalunya Catastrophe (Service-wise)

Having read a multitude of reviews exalting and exhorting Catalunya, the newly-opened tapas place at One Fullerton Bay, my dining partner and I decided to give it a shot. Unfortunately, even with the pretty scrumptious food, the service was catastrophic, completely marring our experience. In fact, it was so intolerable to the extent that I decided to write in to the management (the first time I have done as such) so as to highlight our dissatisfactory experience. My email reads:

Dear Sir/Mdm,

I wish to bring to your attention the poor service that I received during my dinner experience at Catalunya the past Sunday, 15 June 2014. Upon my arrival, I informed the reception staff that I wanted two bar seats. As she was on the phone, she told me to take my pick instead of entrusting me to another server - the first of a litany of faux pas that the servers committed. 

Thereafter, I proceeded to the bar counter, which was full except for one section. As there was a bag and no one else seated at that section, I inquired with the bartenders (who had been facing the bar seats) as to whether the seats were taken, only to have received a nonchalant "I do not know", with no effort made to verify with their colleagues. 

After a while, I decided to take a seat, and to my horror, ten minutes later, no one had served me yet - no glass of water had been served, and I had not been provided with a menu. As a result, I had to call for the inattentive female server, who took notice only after a few attempts at getting her attention. She proceeded to provide me with only a cocktail menu and did not bring out the tapas menu until I requested for it again. 

By then, irate with the poor service standards, I called for the manager and informed him that the servers ought to step up their service. While the manager seemed to express contrition, it is unfortunate that other than a dish which was on the house (a gesture that I appreciated), there was hardly any improvement in service standards.

All in all, I deeply feel that the shabby treatment I received is unacceptable and unbecoming of a restaurant that aims to be a premier restaurant on the local scene. While the food is good, the dining experience will not be complete with such poor service. I trust that it will be in the best interest of the management and for the restaurant's reputation to look into hiring better-trained servers or to improve staff training programmes.

Thank You.

Frankly speaking, my wrath had only been quelled after their customer relations senior executive replied to me:

First and foremost, please allow me to apologise on behalf of the team for the undesirable experience that you have encountered. Thank you for taking time to share with us your feedback and truly appreciate it as we firmly believe that guests who do so actually mean well for the restaurant. 

The management has taken time to speak with the operations team in order to better understand the circumstance that night and provide an explanation for this unfortunate encounter. Unfortunately, our guest relations team that greeted you is currently experiencing a lack of man power with only 3 in a team instead of the usual 6. This led to the inexcusable service experience which we deeply regret as they were trying their best to ensure that reservation calls were entertained whilst at the same time ushering guests to their tables.

With all that is said, we empathise with your sentiments and concur that there were service lapses and that our staff did not display a professional attitude that is in line with the service philosophy of Catalunya, leading to discontent. The management has spoken to the relevant staff to ensure that this will be corrected and not continued. The team leader has stressed to her staff that the priority should have been given to guests who are entering the restaurant and not entertaining calls from the hotline.

As a business that place great emphasis in continuously improving our customer service experience, we regret to hear of your experience and appreciate your feedback . We strongly believe that this is an isolated event and sincerely seek your kind understanding as we seek to address the issues you’ve highlighted. Your continued patronage will be a strong support for the team during this time and will be most valuable to us.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any further questions. Thank you and have a great week ahead.

All in all, I had no intention of being vituperative but was simply appalled by the ineptitude of the servers as well as their lackadaisical/nonchalant attitude. Whilst I wholeheartedly accept the PR manager's apology, I thought it fair to share this on Rumrum, as I believe that it would only be fair to give a holistic impression of my experience as I have done with the other restaurants reviewed here. 

Anyway, on to the food:

First and foremost, we tasted the spherical olives, which comprised a gelatinous sac filled with an olive oil-based concoction. While the olives were unique, they were not as special as I had expected them to be, given the gratuitous hype that surrounded this dish. 

Spherical Olives

Next up, we had the bread, which was well done, given that the bread retained its crisp even with the tomato on the surface having been baked slightly beneath the top layer. In addition, it was nice that the tomato had not become overly mushy despite the baking, bearing testament to a good time and temperature control in the kitchen. 

Bread

One of the highlights of dinner was the Octopus "A Feira", which consisted of lightly grilled octopus in melted cheese. While this dish was delectable, I would have liked it to be warmer as well as for the octopus to have been grilled a tad longer as this might have brought out more of the octopus' fragrance.

Octopus "A Feira"

In addition to the octopus, we also opted for the Croquettes de Jamon which were highly recommended by the server, though they tasted rather plebeian (though decent, nevertheless). 

Croquettes de Jamon

Furthermore, we also ordered the Patatas Bravas with "Ali a Oli", i.e., fried potatoes with two special Catalan sauces. Unfortunately, they were mediocre at best, with the sauces being akin to mayonnaise and another commonly found sauce which gives off a half-barbecued-half-ascerbic taste. 

Patatas Bravas

Alas! With the mostly pedestrian dishes, there was finally a winner: the suckling pig tapa. The meat was succulent, and the buttery, milky layers of fat melted ambrosially in one's mouth, tingling and delighting one's tastebuds. In addition, the skin had a nice tier of crisp on the surface, giving the pork belly a slight crunch. Should one visit Catalunya, this would have to be the must-order dish.

Pork Belly

In the final analysis, dinner at Catalunya was decent, though the food was less stunning than I had expected it to be. In addition, the disastrous service was certainly off-putting, calling into question Catalunya's reputation as a world-class restaurant that Singapore might (or now, might not be) proud of. 

Blackbird Cafe: Ravenous for Risotto

Having nursed a risotto craving for quite a while, I jumped at the opportunity to visit Blackbird Cafe after a friend recommended this eatery for its rendition of this classic Italian dish. 

For the mains, I had the seafood risotto, while my dining partner had a burger (oops, my faulty memory fails me now as to the specific kind of burger that she ordered). According to her, the burger was decent, and the fries - which I sampled as well - were more like potato wedges. More specifically, they were chunky and hearty while refraining from being overly greasy and salty, making for a delicious side. 

Burger

Despite the above-average burger, there was no doubt that the highlight of the meal was the seafood risotto, which was the best risotto that I have tasted thus far. Unlike the risotto at Platypus (Bugis Junction) which is often rather grainy, Blackbird's rendition was cooked to soft, silky perfection, replete with an aromatic appeal. Furthermore, the risotto was infused with a multitude of flavours characteristic of the sea, though the chef could have added a tad less of salt. To top it off, the generous serving of seafood (3-4 scallops and 2-3 prawns) was befitting of the dish's "seafood risotto" title, giving me immense joy in polishing everything off my plate.

Mm, what a delight.

As for the drinks, we had the bird's nest, a berry smoothie and a lychee soda. The bird's nest - a cocktail with Chinese white wine as a base and complemented by syrups of traditional Chinese ingredients - was extremely light and tasted a little awkward. As for the non-alcoholic drinks, the berry smoothie was good in that it was not cloyingly nectareous, although it had not been blended homogeneously enough as annoying bits of ice remained. Finally, the lychee soda was decent in that it was not overly saccharine as well. 

Bird's Nest

Berry Smoothie

Lychee Soda

All in all, the meal at Blackbird Cafe was a surprisingly satisfying one. Given the reasonable prices and above-average standard of the food, I would definitely not hesitate to make a return trip to this diner. 

The Song of India: Mellifluous Melody or Clattering Cacophony?

Having read a litany of "encomia" on The Song of India's food, my dining partner and I decided to make a trip down to verify the veracity of these claims. Unfortunately, The Song of India has proven itself to be overrated, and these claims remain, well...unfounded assertions, at least in my opinion.

For starters, the service was extremely poor, for the reception lacked genuine hospitality and the servers seemed nonchalant and ill-trained. Although it was completely empty upon our arrival, the servers were completely inattentive to our calls for service as they had been preoccupied with engaging in conversation amongst themselves. Furthermore, the server was incapable of performing basic duties such as refilling empty glasses of water, bearing testament to the poor service standards at The Song of India - an abysmal experience, given that we paid about $130 per person. 

Both of us opted for the "Journey Through India" six-course degustation experience which was preceded by an amuse bouche consisting of a melange of interesting flavours, one of which consisted of a mayonnaise-like cream with a note of tangy spice.

Amuse Bouche

To get the ball rolling, we were first served some thin, crispy rolls with an accompaniment of two sauces - mint sauce and vegetable chunks/purée. While the mint sauce was decent, the vegetable purée was extremely ascerbic and whether one liked it or not probably depended on his acquired taste for it.

Crispy Rolls

Next up, the soup was below average, and though it was meant to be chicken soup (I believe, for it was so tasteless that I was unable to discern its purported ingredients), it was dismal as it probably represented the nadir of competency in concocting soups. In fact, it tasted as though chicken-flavoured cubes had been carelessly thrown into a pot of water, and even so, it was so dilute to the point that it had no distinct flavours. Isn't it amazing that one can bungle a dish as simple as this?

It can be whatever you imagine it to be, for its tastelessness gives you much room for creativity and imagination

In fact, the poor service was evident at this point, for when I gave the server my honest opinion upon his request for feedback, he was stumped into silence. Instead of apologising and making an attempt at customer recovery - which seems like the protocol, or at least what would be expected of a high-end restaurant - he stared at me unbelievingly, his mouth agape. The best part was that this awkward episode lasted at least a minute, thereby interrupting our dining experience.

Next up, for the appetiser, a duo of chicken and fish - complemented with a slice of lime, chopped green apple and a smear of mango reduction - was served. While the fish had a nice texture and an alluring aroma, the chicken was slightly dry for my liking, and the dish - while decent overall - was not outstanding.

Appetiser

Of all the dishes, the palate-cleanser (lime sorbet) would have had to be the most exceptional, for the hint of lime perfused the entire sorbet without it being overwhelmingly sour. Instead, there was a tinge of saccharine goodness made more complete with a dash of Indian spice, giving this dish a unique spin that was much appreciated. 

Lime Sorbet

As for the mains, a sextet of small portions was beautifully served on a palette along with saffron rice and naan, so, kudos to the restaurant for having at least given some thought to the presentation of its food. Tastewise, the prawn - cooked in the most acrid-tasting, flaming red curry - was pretty delectable, and the chicken was quite decent as well. On the other hand, the beans were mediocre while the beef (if I remember correctly) was slightly tough and sinewy. However, the two highlights of the dish would have to be the soft cheese (cooked and topped with vegetables) as well as the yoghurt with a hint of mango, as these two dishes were novel and interesting. Unfortunately, the downside to the main course was that each individual component was heavy on the palate, such that my appetite was sated after having consumed no more than half of the mains. 

Main Course

Naan

Last but not least, dessert comprised a spongy bolus immersed in cloyingly sweet, diabetes-inducing sugar syrup, as well as some ice cream in which a strong, buttery flavour presented itself. While the ice cream was distinctive initially, it was overly rich, and the fruits - which were not sufficiently citrus-y - represented an inadequate attempt to balance the slightly oleaginous and strongly milky texture of the ice cream.

Putting my insulin to work

To round off our meal, we had teh tarik (milk tea), which was alright but not spectacular, though I shall refrain from commenting further due to my personal aversion to milk tea. 

Teh Tarik

In the final analysis, the food at The Song of India was decent, though nothing was extraordinary, such that the meal ended up being rather monotonous. In my opinion, the larger issue was with the lacklustre service which has definitely turned me off. To diners who may be thinking of patronising this restaurant, perhaps, you may wish to consider otherwise and visit other restaurants (e.g. Punjab Grill) where you can get exquisite, more nuanced Indian cuisine, as well as indulge in the exceptional service that The Song of India is completely deficient in.