Archive for the ‘3.1 Places in Singapore’ Category

Gardens by the Bay Flower Dome

May 19th, 2013 365days2play

Tulip Mania is raging on at Gardens by the Bay. I was there today and it was a lovely sight. Reminded me so much of my travels in France where the roadside planters would be stuffed full of tulip plants and other colourful flowers. In fact, I was at the Gardens last week as well, but the tulips hadn’t yet bloomed fully. What a difference a week makes! It was well worth the effort to make the trip to the Flower Dome again today. Tomorrow is the last day of Tulip Mania so do take leave and see it if you can!!

It was actually my first time at the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest last week. For Singaporeans and Permanent Residents, it costs $12 to visit one dome and $20 for 2 domes. If you ask me, you have to make time to visit the Gardens by the Bay Domes at least once. I think it’s really unlike any other attraction that we have in Singapore. How many times have we wished that Singapore wouldn’t be the scorching island that we have to tolerate on a daily basis? The domes allow you to take a walk in the park in cool air conditioned comfort. For those few blissful hours you can imagine yourself on holiday in a temperate country.

And if you’re hungry after the visit to the Domes and want to know what to eat at Gardens by the Bay, do check out the SuperTrees Dining, Cafe Crema or Majestic Bay Seafood Restaurant for dim sum. Smile

Gardens by the Bay Flower Dome Tulips (26)

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Posted in 3.1 Places in Singapore, Gardens by the Bay Tags: , , , 4 Comments »

The Pelican Seafood Bar & Grill One Fullerton

April 8th, 2013 365days2play

*Media Invitation*

The Pelican Seafood Bar & Grill - (16)

Singapore’s latest seafood destination, The Pelican Seafood Bar & Grill is conceptualised by the team behind The Big Idea, which manages a stable of trendy concepts such as Kinki, Fat Cow, Marmalade Pantry and Bedrock Bar & Grill, The Pelican is the group’s latest brainchild that showcases their trademark innovation and expertise in food, design, bar and hospitality.

The Pelican Seafood Bar & Grill - (3)

The Pelican’s culinary team is led by Dan Segall, a well-known figure in the regional scene who has joined The Big Idea as Group Executive Chef. The American chef has built an illustrious international career since he was 16 and chalked up over 20 years of experience at many respected establishments. The Pelican’s Head Chef, Isaac Tan, who successfully launched Bedrock Bar & Grill, also comes onboard with his rich international working experience and expertise with the wood fire grill and seafood, of which 8 years were spent in Sydney.

The Pelican Seafood Bar & Grill - (11)

The menu is inspired by classic East Coast American cuisine. Diners will also be presented with a selection dubbed ‘The Daily Catch’ that is inspired by the ever-changing bounty of the sea. The dishes are meant for sharing and show off some lesser-known cooking techniques that are not often used in a kitchen at home.

The Pelican Seafood Bar & Grill - The Pelican Platter ($99 serves 2 to 3) (1)

The Pelican Platter ($99 / serves 2 to 3)

Featuring seasonal raw oysters (we had the Fanny Bay oysters from Canada for this tasting session) US clams, US Dungeness crab, US poached prawns, Steamed whole Maine lobster from Boston with a lobster tomalley that is basically the liver and roe mixed with mustard and herbs stuffed into its shell, Marinated conch salad using US conch shell fish, US swordfish ceviche, With accompaniments of lemon, cocktail sauce and mignonette dressing

The Pelican Platter is definitely a must order if you plan to be at The Pelican. Apart from it being a humongous platter of crowd pleasing items, most of the items are prepared minimally such that you get to taste the fresh seafood in almost it’s purest form.

I think I must be pretty deprived, because I don’t think I’ve ever tasted crabs as good as the US Dungeness Crab! The sweet flesh came off so easily from the shell, which is a far cry from the messy affair I have to endure when eating crabs from Chinese restaurants. I wonder if it’s because it’s a different breed of crab? Another item worthy of attention was the US conch salad. It’s something you don’t find often and definitely a must try. It has the texture of a mix of clam and abalone.

Once again, a must order for seafood lovers who like strong in your face seafood flavours and ingredients that have not been masked behind a ton of sauce.

The Pelican Seafood Bar & Grill - The Pelican Platter ($99 serves 2 to 3) (5)

Seasonal raw oysters from The Pelican Platter. These here are the Fanny Bay oysters from Canada.

The Pelican Seafood Bar & Grill - Cod’s Tongue Casserole ($26) (2)

Cod’s Tongue Casserole ($26)

This is the muscle from the codfish’s throat area and is a delicacy with a bouncy texture like scallops, it is battered and fried then served with roast garlic and pork scratchings

You won’t be the first if you took a double take at the word throat muscle. Never knew that the throat muscle of a fish would be singled out and cooked into a dish, but I would certainly like to single out this dish as yet another must order at The Pelican. The texture is very similar to squid, so it feels like I’m eating calamari and I’m sure everybody loves calamari!

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Posted in 1.2 Restaurants, One Fullerton Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments »

Map of what to eat and do around City Hall

March 29th, 2013 365days2play

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The Partner’s sister is in town and staying in the City Hall area. The last time they were here I was busy preparing for the wedding. So I was quite appalled to hear that they were eating breakfast daily at Spinelli! I’m like YOU SPENT $10 on a generic sandwich there when you could have gotten much better at the independent cafes and sandwich shops??! So I’m making sure that no such thing happens again, no way, not anyone remotely related to a food blogger!

So here’s a list of nice cafes and good eats around the City Hall / Raffles City area. I’ve only listed my personal favourites or places where I would recommend. This is a really good location to stay at if you’re looking for good hotels in Singapore as the red coloured building in the map is the City Hall MRT interchange station. The City Hall area is also known as the heritage/ museum district, with quite a number of museums within walking distance! The oldest church in Singapore, the Armenian Church is also 10 mins walk away!

When in Singapore, you must try out the local coffee and our favourite breakfast, snack and supper all rolled into one, the ubiquitous KAYA TOAST. Apart from being available at all coffee shops and food courts, my favourites are from Yakun Kaya Toast and ToastBox.

~~~Good Eats in City Hall~~~
  1. Soho Coffee – good coffee here and western dishes.
  2. Funan Digital Mall
    • Yakun Kaya Toast (1st Floor) – My favourite local coffee, soft boiled eggs, and kaya toast
    • Paradise Inn (2nd Floor) – Good and pretty affordable Chinese restaurant.
  3. The Adelphi
    • Stall selling cheap fruit juice. 1st floor down the back end
  4. Raffles City Shopping Centre
    • Tiong Bahru Bakery (Basement) – Good coffee, croissants, pastry, squid ink sandwich
    • Cedele (Basement) – Healthy sandwiches, organic coffee, bread loaves
    • Canele (Basement) – Decadent and pretty cakes
    • Yakun Kaya Toast (Basement)– My favourite local coffee, soft boiled eggs, and kaya toast
    • ToastBox (Basement) – Good Local coffee and cheap tea cakes for $1.40
    • BreadTalk (Basement) – Bread buns with various fillings
    • Din Tai Fung (Basement) – Really good steamed pork dumplings known as Xiao Long Bao, from Taiwan
    • McDonalds (1st floor) – Self explanatory
    • Food court on 3rd floor – worth a visit
  5. Raffles Hotel
    • Royal China (3rd Floor) – One of my favorite places to have Yum Cha / Dim Sum
  6. Chijmes – Lots of restaurants here
    • Chinese, Italian, Western, Pubs, all available here. Budget $25 and above for mains usually.
    • Lei Garden (ground floor) – One of my favorite places for Yum Cha and Double Boiled Soup!
~~~What to do near City Hall~~~

Museums within walking distance of City Hall MRT Station

    • National Museum of Singapore
    • Singapore Art Museum
    • Peranakan Museum
    • Philatelic Museum
    • Fire Station Museum

Good Buys

    • Cameras – John 3:16 at Funan Mall (2)
    • Children’s Clothes – Robinsons or speciality children stores at Raffles City (4)
    • Really cheap bakeware – Sunlik Trading at Purvis Street which is 2 or 3 streets behind Raffles hotel, not in this map.

If you want to look for cheap food around City Hall, you can check out this article I wrote 3 years ago. It should still be fairly accurate.

Posted in 3.1 Places in Singapore, City Hall Tags: , , 3 Comments »

Bornga BBQ Restaurant at Star Vista

March 20th, 2013 365days2play

*Media Invite*

Recently I was invited to try out Bornga, a Korean BBQ Restaurant at Star Vista. I am no expert when it comes to Korean BBQ, having been to only one other a couple of years back at the Esplanade. Which was why I was quite happy to make the trek to Star Vista, even though I live on the opposite end of Singapore.

Established in 2002, Bornga is a BBQ chain restaurant in Korea, and is the brainchild of Jong Won Paik, one of Korea’s most renown celebrity chefs. The opening of Singapore’s restaurant marks the 1st in Singapore and the 13th outlet outside of Korea. You can now find Bornga in China, Indonesia and even one outlet in USA, as well as 33 others in Korea.

Be warned, I will be inundating you with numerous pictures of raw meat. I sure hope pictures of raw meat turns you on, because I sure am getting hungrier as we speak.

Bornga (4)

Okay let me first start with something less bloody…the side dishes. As you know, all Korean meals are accompanied with a variety of small side dishes. I am in awe of all Korean housewives, how they must slave over the stove having to prepare so many different things.

Bornga - Ggot Sal (unmarinated boneless beef; $38) (2)

 Ggot Sal (unmarinated boneless beef; $38)

First up, the Ggot Sal, which is boneless and tender prime beef cuts served non-marinated so that guests can enjoy its deep beef flavour. Now I often hear people saying “oh this meat is great, the beef flavour is not so strong!” and nothing irks me more than to hear those kinds of statements. I’m like, why did you bother to order the dish if you didn’t want to taste it? Notice the rich marbling, which I’m sure is a huge turn on for anyone who loves his meat.

Bornga - Woo Samgyup (thinly sliced beef with BORNGA's special sauce; $22)

Woo Samgyup (thinly sliced beef brisket with BORNGA’s special sauce; $22)

This is one of the favourite dishes in Bornga. Apparently the recipe is patented as the beef slices are seasoned in Bornga’s secret marinade. Unlike the typical Korean BBQ dish of bulgogi which usually appears dull after marinating for at least half a day in dark-coloured sauce, Bornga’s Woo Samgyup is served shortly after being doused in the dressing that retains the meat’s natural colour, while enhancing the traditional bulgogi taste.
While the meat tasted great, I think they can do away with the pumpkin slices as it just looks weird….don’t you think?

Bornga - Samgyup (thinly sliced beef with BORNGA's special sauce; $22) (2)

This is how the Woo Samgyup looked like after being BBQed. Loved the aroma and flavour of the BBQ meat for both the meat dishes I have featured so far. Certainly, keep your calorie counter at home when dining at a Korean BBQ restaurant but it’s well worth the calories! I’m afraid I was a little too busy wolfing the slices down to really pay attention to what Ivy from FoodNews was saying.

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Posted in 1.0 Media Invites, 1.3 Casual Restaurants, Buona Vista Tags: , , , , , , , , No Comments »

Quayside Isle Sentosa Cove

February 25th, 2013 365days2play

After my birthday lunch today at Il Lido Sentosa Golf Club, we decided to swing by the latest enclave in town, or should I say out of town, the Quayside Isle at Sentosa Cove. It’s definitely worth a visit because the place really is very picturesque and idyllic. There are many yachts parked at the marina, and there are 2 rows of restaurants flanking the waters.

City Developments Limited, the property developer of Quayside Isle, describes the place the place as the Capri of Southeast Asia. I don’t know if it can ever be compared to the real Capri, nonetheless, Quayside Isle is a must visit destination when you are in Sentosa. I like it so much I’m going to make a reservation at one of the restaurants next week!

A list of what to do at Quayside Isle is available at the bottom of this post.

Photos of Quayside Isle and a list of all the restaurants at Quayside Isle

Quayside Isle Sentosa Cove (21)

This is one arm of Quayside Isle, with tenants such as Kith cafe, Note di Sicilia, Ezoca Japanese Restaurant etc

Quayside Isle Sentosa Cove (2)

The view you can enjoy as you sip your beer by the waters.

Quayside Isle Sentosa Cove (13)

Scroll down for the list of restaurants and shops at Quayside Isle

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Posted in 3.1 Places in Singapore Tags: , , , , No Comments »
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