Posts Tagged ‘Duxton Road’

Niku Katsumata–Delicious yakiniku minus the smoke

March 19th, 2017 365days2play

Niku Katsumata (20)

Niku Katsumata Singapore at Duxton Road is the 1st offshoot of the original Niku Katsumata in Ebisu Tokyo. Lucky for us that they have opened a branch in Singapore because it’s an invite-only restaurant in Tokyo, ie you need to know some celebrity or big shot before you can dine there.

Niku Katsumata specialises in lean Japanese beef, although they also have well marbled cuts of Wagyu. Wait a minute, haven’t we been trained that when it comes to marbling, the more the merrier right? But because these leaner cuts have been selected from cattle who have been bred and managed under the “highest Japanese standards”, these leaner cuts taste exceptionally good too.

Another special thing about Niku Katsumata is that it’s probably one of the few places you can have yakiniku without your clothes and hair stinking like hell. The meat here is cooked over a special clear crystal plate. This crystal plate is so special, hardly any smoke is produced so you can enjoy your grilled meat meal without smelling like you’ve just worked 24 hours in a kitchen. Apparently, if you dine there on a full moon, together with the crystal, this creates good Feng Shui….. I don’t know about that but then again you never know…

Niku Katsumata offers a choice of 2 set menus, the Katsumata Course $128++ and the Ebisu Course $198++. There is also an ala carte menu but this is for topping up of the set menu. I had the Katsumata Course when I was there, and there was so much food, I can’t imagine even wanting to order anything else! You can see the full menu here.

Niku Katsumata (14)

This is the special crystal plate. Although you can grill the meat yourself, I highly recommend that you leave it to the experts because you don’t want to be burning or overcooking those expensive morsels of meat.

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Group Therapy Cafe

April 6th, 2013 365days2play

Even though my philosophy when it comes to food is to try and visit as many new places as possible, sometimes it is comforting to revisit old favourites. Back in 2011, I visited Group Therapy Coffee a total of 3 times. That was during the time when Duxton Road was still partly associated with KTVs and Nightclub, but how things have changed.

Group Therapy Cafe - (1)

Recently Group Therapy Coffee came on my radar screen again and guess what, I visited it twice in the span of 1 week! The 1st occasion was a group lunch with the rest of my colleagues. I opted for the very safe ham and cheese Panini sandwich, while the 2 colleagues next to me ordered the eggs benedict (written as poached eggs in the menu). The eggs benedict looked like this.

Group Therapy Cafe - Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon (3)

Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon $16

Suffice to say that I didn’t sleep well for several nights after that. This beautiful dish kept hounding my mind. By the weekend, I just had to drag my parents to visit Group Therapy Cafe.

Group Therapy Cafe - Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon (5)

The truth be told, I’m actually not that huge a fan of eggs benedict. I definitely do love the idea of bursting open a luscious looking egg yolk, encased in a thin and ever so vulnerable egg white membrane. But I prefer to do that to a sunny side up instead.

This eggs benedict is a decadent dish. Come hungry or you won’t have space to eat it all up. The hollandaise sauce is very generous, and so is the smoked salmon.

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Group Therapy Cafe

June 18th, 2011 365days2play

My colleague’s sister’s cafe located in the new and improved Duxton Hill area. Quite a change from the mostly male managed cafes of the likes of Chef Icon, Papa Palheta, Loysel’s Toy, 40Hands and The Plain. I happened to be in the Tanjong Pagar area and wanted a cuppa. You may already know that a number of new cafes and eateries have set up premises in the Duxton area. I didn’t know which one to go to so I thought I’d just walk along the shophouses and stop at one that looked promising. And hey, whaddya’ know, the first cafe that I saw was Group Therapy Coffee. Well, to be exact, I saw their signboard on the 1st floor, right next to Etna Italian Restaurant. Group Therapy Coffee is located above the Etna restaurant, on the 2nd floor.

As compared to Chef Icon, Papa Palheta and so on, Group Therapy Coffee is very spacious! We were the only customers in the time that we were there, as they’ve only opened a few weeks ago. Group Therapy Coffee serves light bites like panini sandwiches, poached eggs, quiche, salads etc. No heavy cooking here as the ventilation won’t allow for it. As the place is larger than usual, with areas that can be cordoned off, private events can be held here as well.

If you can, get a seat by the window so you can look down into the streets below. The streets are quiet on the weekend but I think it’s a nice feeling to be able to stare out and just dream away.

Group Therapy Coffee - Bar Counter (2)

Group Therapy Coffee - Cafe Latte (2)

Cafe Latte $5 – Pretty good. Quite up there with the big boys. When I think that I don’t mind another cup of coffee, I can say they’ve passed the taste test.

Group Therapy Coffee - Grilled Smoked Ham Panini

Grilled Ham with mushrooms and cheese panini $14 – Quite substantial if you were to order it for lunch. I liked the combination of grilled ham and mushrooms, and there was nice light sweet sauce to go along with it. Also like the healthy cous cous salad provided on the side, to ward off the evils of the potato chips. Bread tasted good too but would have been better if it wasn’t burnt.

Group Therapy Coffee - Vegetable Quiche

Vegetable Quiche $11 – Doesn’t look so nice in the photo, but actually tasted quite good! I loved the crust very much and kept taking more even though I was supposed to be having the panini. The filling was nice, but could do with a bit more egg. $11 is a bit pricey for a quiche though.

Group Therapy Coffee - Vanilla Ice Cream with Fruits

Ice Cream with berries

Address 49 Duxton Road, Singapore, Singapore 089513 · Get Directions

Phone +65.9173.4590

Website http://www.jackisnotdull.com/group-therapy

Hours: Mon – Thurs: 11:00 am-6:00 pm

Fri – Sat: 11:00 am-11:00 pm

Sun: 11:00 am-5:00 pm

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Craig’s Place at Tanjong Pagar

August 29th, 2010 365days2play

I can’t believe that such a quaint little place has existed in Singapore for so long without me knowing about it! This goes to show that Singapore has many hidden gems just waiting to be discovered!

Craig's Place (2)Craig’s place looks a little like Emerald Hill road behind Orchard Road, minus the mindboggling crowds. The little pathway flanked by the 3 storey shop houses is paved with cobble stones, adding to its quaintness. There are 2 well-known restaurants (both happen to be Australian themed) on either side of Craig’s Place. One is Uluru and the other is BROTH – Bar Restaurant on The Hill. These sprout into life at night when the dinner crowds descend. Otherwise, Craig’s place seems to be pretty dead in the daytime.

What Craig’s Place lacks is a good cafe for people to enjoy during the day time. Craig’s Place seems wastefully underutilized in the day time! I can just imagine sitting outside on a deck chair sipping a glass of ice-latte, book in hand under the shady trees with birds chirping in the background. Alas, that is a dream for now until some enterprising person opens a cafe here. Be sure to send me an invite!

Craig's Place

Btw, Craig’s Place is just off Craig Road, Duxton Road and Tanjong Pagar Road. These roads are flanked with shop houses containing lots of restaurants and pubs, but unfortunately very few cafes. Craig’s Place specifically, has no cafe that I know of.

BROTH - Bar Restaurant on The Hill

BROTH – Bar Restaurant on The Hill. We went past it at night when it was open. The decor and lighting looked exactly like the type of place I would love to dine at. Ambience and atmosphere rank highly on my scoreboard, especially if you have to pay restaurant prices. Good food is a must, but good food alone just won’t cut it. BROTH is only open during Lunch and Dinner hours and not opened on Sundays at all. What a waste! This would have been a nice place to enjoy a cuppa in the day time!

The Toucan Irish PubThe Toucan Irish Pub is just off Craig’s Place. Looks like they have a 1 dine’s free for every 2 paying customers promotion going on.

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