[Media Invite] 8 Korean BBQ @ The Central Clarke Quay

This is their original outlet when 8 Korean BBQ first opened in Singapore way back in 2013. Known for their Mangalica pork bellies marinated eight ways, 8 Korean BBQ also brew their own makgeolli. Yummy! Nearest MRT would be Clarke Quay MRT station, alight and the shop is located at Level 2 of The Central.

mandatory signboard shot

Saw that now, they have added samgyetang (ginseng chicken) to their Lunch Special menu. It's rare to see black ginseng chicken in Singapore, yes? Wonder if they serve it with a shot of ginseng liqour.

new alert lunch special

Another new item in the menu is the Cheesy Pork Ribs. My first time having pulled cheese pork ribs. Guess it's a fun way of eating! Though the insides of my head was really proclaiming about the calories, the calories! Hahaa!

Cheesy Pork Ribs @$32++

When you're ready, the staff would turn on the heat and slowly, the mozarella and cheddar cheeses will eventually begin to melt. Do remember to turn it off before it starts boiling. Burnt cheese is no joke. Wonder how they'd scrub off those burnt bits...

It was really fascinating just to watch the cheese melting and starts to bubble. That is if one is not too preoccupied with the side dishes. Alas, they don't have the yummy baby potatoes here. For the banchan, there's fish cake, cucumber kimchi, pickled radish and lotus root.

twirl the cheese, round and round

The pork ribs were tender and well marinated. Tasty enough on its own. The cheese was just a fun way of eating this. Hmm, we should have rolled the fish cake with cheese too. Or maybe, rolled cheese in lettuce?

playing with my food

At times like this, a shot of makgeolli would be nice. The yucha makgeolli was really nice and I think the alcoholic content of this would be low, probably similar to beer. The citron makgeolli was easy to drink, very frothy and had bits of the fruit peel in it.

Yucha Makgeolli (유자 막걸리) @$35++

Lets's line the tummy with some rice. How about designing your own bibimbap? If you want this, please order by 2pm and is available from 1130am to 230pm only. Opt for your favourite meat and there's a poach egg sitting on top of the rice. Quite unusual, considering most will do sunny side-up.

Design your own bibimbap @$10.90 upwards (only during lunch hours)

 

mix it well

tasty bibimbap

For crowd favourites, one must order the colour pork belly set. For a group of 5, you may want to get the 4-colours set. Larger group, one needs the 8-colours set! Those thick bellies looked good. The available flavours are Wine, Original, Garlic, Herb, Miso, Curry, Red Pepper Paste, Kalbi. These are in the order of light to strong. For the 4-colours set, the strongest flavour we had was the curry.

4 colours set @$58++

let it sizzle!

cover it all up and await

peek-a-boo

hana deul set, go!

Staff would do the grilling, so sit back and sip on the yucha makgeolli. Am not sure why, but most of my friends crave for army stew. Why? Please tell me why! I mean, it's just ramyun, spam, onions, baked beans and cheese. However, by far the most intense flavoured (and smallest in size!) army stew was from Joo Bar. Quite shioks, that one.

army stew (included in the 4-colours set) @$24++

And, of course, for the finale we had dessert. The 'bibimbap' bingsu, signature of 8 Korean BBQ. There's  tiny marshmallows, crunch, mango and strawberry cubes, azuki beans, kiwi and housemade milk ice. Preparations would take approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Great to share with a group of friends.

Bibimbap Bingsu @$28++

chocolate sauce onto the bingsu

We enjoyed it as it is. No mixing for us! Am just waiting for the day when someone pours chocolate fudge all over this and when it touches the ice...whoa, chocolate crust. Hahhaa!

Thank you Shermaine (@littletinysun) for the invite and 8 Korean BBQ for hosting.

OMT Carnival Themed Cafe ( Oh My 天 Bakehouse and Cafe ) @ Whampoa West (CLOSED)

This cafe is located at Whampoa West where its nearest MRT is Boon Keng. A rather quaint cafe, with a carnival theme and nestled within the sleepy neighbourhood. If you're there at night, this place would be flanked by the bright neon from the salon next door and smoke from the nearby zhichar shops.

dine under the carousel tent

The place is semi self-service. Order and pay at the counter. Staff will serve the food thereafter. Do help yourself to the utensils and sauces.

utensils, sauce and tissue counter

The staff are mostly youngsters, and the place exudes a youthful vibe. Patrons wise, a mix of young adults, and working adults.

Was invited to try the menu and since we went as a party of 8, we started with curly fries and nachos. It was eat until peng portion for the curly fries (large size). The salted egg dip was tasty but its texture was rather grainy.

Curly Fries with salted egg yolk dip @$12 /Large or $8/Regular)

For a more substantial appetiser, there's seafood gyoza for sharing. Comes as 8 pieces and served with ginger and black vinegar. The usual fillings of shrimp, mushroom, leek and cabbage. These would be most suited if am having a beer.

Seafood Gyoza @$12

For the thristy, tap water is available. We tried OMT specialty drink, the Heavenly Milkshake which is laced with chocolate sauce, double scoop of vanilla ice-cream and topped with whipped cream. This was my favourite drink. Not too thick and non-too sweet. Sinful, nevertheless.

Heavenly Milkshake @$8.80

Or, if you prefer something less milky, there's the handcrafted refreshing Italian soda. It was strawberry flavoured with soda water and steam milk.

Refreshing Italian Soda @$6.80

Also tried a couple of mains from the menu. There's chicken fillet with japanese curry rice. In fact, there were a few variations of these. One could have it with either chicken fillet or chicken thigh and spicy or non-spicy version.

Plenty of proteins and carbs in this dish. Portion was generous. Liked that it was served with a sunny side-up, sliced japanese cucumber and cherry tomatoes and a crisp lettuce leaves. However, would have prefer the curry sauce to be less thick and less salty. As japanese curry tend to be very mild, I'd go for the spcy version.

Oyakodon fillet curry rice @$15.80

If you prefer less carb, then the Greeny Protein will satisfy that criteria. A huge bowl of chicken fillet, served with vegetables and hard boiled egg. The chicken fillet was definitely lean. Wonder if they'd make a thigh version for this?

Greeny Protein @$14.80

For one that prefers seafood, there's a fish and chip but with a twist. The fish batter was black as charcoal. Visually shocking! Served with curly fries, cucumber and cherry tomatoes and salted egg yolk sauce. On the side, there's a tiny cup of thai chili sauce for the fish.

Dory Voyage (fish and chips) @$18.80

thai chili sauce for the fish

If you have a sudden craving for saba shioyaki, it is on the menu as well. This was just the fish, glazed with teriyaki sauce and served with vegetables and bonito flakes. Quirky find, on a cafe menu.

Saba Shioyaki @$12.80

In the spirit of carnival fun, one could find seafood platter with lobster no less in this place.The platter consists of 2 lobsters, 3 large prawns, grilled potatoes and some greens.

Lobster Seafood Platter @$59.80

For dessert, there's the usual waffles and for more oriental type of dessert, one could opt for the light and soft tofu beancurd.

OMT ice-cream waffles (2 scoops) @$12.50

Donut ice-cream @$6

Am unsure of what to make of the donut ice-cream. A tad haphazard looking but, still it was ice-cream.  However, the thought of sweet donut underneath the ice-cream, plus the generous drizzle of sauce plus a marshmallow...sweetness overload!

For the health-conscious, the homemade dou fu fa would be a good choice. Served hot and enough for two pax. Silky smooth as it should be.

homemade dou fu fa @$5

orange sugar for some sweetness

Thank you Elle for the invite and OMT for hosting the tasting.

OMT Carnival Themed Cafe

Location: 34 Whampoa West #01-79 (S)330034
Contact: +65 6612 1166
Website: https://www.ohmytian.sg/
Business Hours:
Tues to Sun.  12:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Closed on Mondays

[Media Invite] Kwee Zeen @ Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort

Kwee Zeen is located at Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort and serves Western-French and Pan-Asian cuisine. Not forgetting, delicious handcrafted chocolate creations as well from the chocolate masters at Chocholaterie. Alight at Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort lobby and walk towards the left to find Kwee Zeen.

entrance to Kwee Zeen

On Mondays to Wednesdays, one could order from its ala-carte menu and from Fridays to Saturdays, Kwee Zeen serves French Rotisserie buffet. On Thursdays, there's a Cheese Rendezvous night where one could get unlimited servings from a selection of 32 types of cheeses. Just need to pick the right wine to enhance the experience. On Sunday, there's the Magnifique Sunday Champagne Brunch.

Bienvenue

interior

Liked the high ceilings and the comfortable seats. Now that seating arrangements are settled, let's explore the buffet area. We were there on a Friday night, so we were having the French Rotisserie themed items.

from the Rotisserie - beef

Enjoy items such as poulet, porc and du boeuf from the rotisserie. The chicken with some skin was the best. Or, for seafood lover, there is fish.

bread station

What is your preferred sequence at a buffet? Bread and soup? Tried the french onion soup and it was pretty tasty. Just missing that layer melty cheese. There's creamy leek soup as well if you prefer.

french onion soup

Or, how about starting with some fresh sashimi or oyster? We had Irish oysters. Be it Irish or France, I like my oysters. The plump'er the better!

oyster counter

Besides Irish oysters, there's clams, mussels and boiled prawns.

let's start

There are a couple of appetisers around, and most are pretty healthy looking. Kimchi, tofu, salads and the likes.

tofu with shimeji mushrooms in light soy sauce

Since it is a buffet, after the initial cold seafood, usually I'd go for the mains. Took the rotisserie items; beef and chicken and the fish. For the greens, had the ratatouille and the broccoli. For carbs, had rice and the gratin. Here's what my plate of assorted items looked like:

meats, rice, gratin

Oh my, you should try the truffle gratin. It was good. Here's a photo of it from the buffet line.

truffle pasta gratin

Out of the main dining area, walk through the side door to find a small selection of dim sum items, prata and masala, and a small noodle station. Had a bowl of fishball laksa to try.

laksa

There's also a small selection of cheeses and charchuterie, in case you'd like to have those with a glass of wine to wind down.

cheese station

cured meats

Here's a photo of my modest looking plate.

salami, prosciutto, smoked beef, breadstick and cheeses

Did not have them with wine though. Had a glass of mango juice (ala-carte order) instead. Lovely sweetness from the fruit.

mango juice

To end the meal, let's have some dessert.  Don't leave without trying the chocolate pudding. Definitely a must-try!

dessert counter

Chocolate pudding and vanilla ice-cream. The best combination. And, of course, coffee. Now, the idea is just to have a bit of that chocolate pudding. It was dense, a little bit like a cake but so good. Pairing it with vanilla ice-cream was a good choice.

millefeuille, chocolate pudding and vanilla ice-cream

And, do try the handcrafted chocolates from Chocolaterie. You can have an Eiffel Tower and eat it too! My favourite was the Dulcey. On the plate was chocolate pralines, rocher, rose, Eiffel Tower and dulcey. The rose was interesting too. Soft center and fragrance of the flower. Though the Dulcey was the sweetest, it was charming and so agreeable to our tastebuds. Good as gift too. The handcrafted chocolates are not part of the buffet and each piece cost $2.50++.

assorted chocolates (@$2.50++ each)

Thank you Kwee Zeen, Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort for hosting the dinner and HGW for the invite.

The pricing of the buffet are as follows:
Thursdays:  Cheese Rendezvous at $42++ per adult
Fridays to Saturdays: French Rotisserie Buffet at $68++ per adult
Sundays: Magnifique Sunday Champagne Brunch at $168++ per adult (free-flow champagne) or $138++ per adult / $58++ per child (free-flow juices and soft drinks).

Prices are subjected to change. Please refer to restaurant website here.