[Media Invite] The Wicked Garlic @ Cineleisure Orchard

The Wicked Garlic is a casual eatery that serves pizza, pasta and risotto, which is predominantly Italian fare with the occasional fusion. It has 3 outlets and we visited the one at Cineleisure Orchard level 5. Yes, the same level as the cinema.

wicked lemon tea, mango juice and pineapple juice @$4.50 each

For smoked salmon lovers out there, you would like the Salmon Affumicato. The quantity of smoked salmon on the pizza would make you smile.

Salmon Affumicato @$19

Meat lovers? Not a problem. There is indeed such a pizza topped with spicy Italian sausages, bacon and minced beef topped with mozarella cheese. The staff would recommend prawn pizza. It is unusual to see such large prawns as pizza topping.

Meat Lovers Pizza @$21

Grilled Prawn Pizza @$24

My favourite pizza? The deceptively plain looking crab pizza or Granchio e pepe. Simple and sweet.

Granchio e Pepe @$15

For pastas, we tried the tomato-based spaghetti marinara, the aglio olio with king-sized prawns and penne al granchio. Again, the tomatoes that day was super sweet hence, the spaghetti marinara done in parched paper and the penne al granchio (crab penne) inherited the sweetness in its sauce. My favourite was the aglio olio for that slight heat from pepper.

Spaghetti Marinara alla Cartoccio @$19

Spaghetti Aglio Olio e Acciughe with additional King-sized Prawns @$14

Penne al Granchio @$13

If you are super hungry and must have rice, do try the Curry Prawn Risotto. Yes, The Wicked Garlic seem to have many items with prawns!

Curry Prawn Risotto @$23

What I liked about the curry prawn risotto was that it didn't shy away from the curry spices. Instead, it was embraced with open-arms, and in this case, the arborio rice had been so well cooked and infused with the curry flavour that every scoop was an enjoyment. Warning though that the flavours are strong and heavy. Do share this dish with your friends or partner!

Gnocchi with Truffle cream sauce @$22

The gnocchi dish was super-cute where one gets chewy mochi-like texture with a slight crisp in its outer shell as it had been lightly  pan-fried. The sauce seemed to be a tad too strongly seasoned though.

If you are a fan of cheeses, do try the Cheese Tortellini with Truffle. It was yums! Handmade tortellini pasta stuffed with cheeses and cooked al-dente. Tossed with shitake mushrooms (loads of it!), black truffle in light onion cream sauce and topped with shavings of parmigiano. So good.

Cheese Tortellini with Truffle @$22

Thank you Kris for the invite and Stanley for hosting the tasting session.

The Wicked Garlic

Location: 8 Grange Road, #05-03 Cathay Cineleisure Orchard, Singapore 239695
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWickedGarlic/

[Media Invite] Nanjing Impressions 南京大牌档 @ Plaza Singapura

Nanjing Impressions is located at Level 4 of Plaza Singapura. Its decor is purposeful and diners would probably feel like that they have been transported back to the olden days in China. It was interesting to explore the cavernous space and to take a closer look at the carvings on beams, the little touches here and there.

dining space

private room

What exactly is Nanjing cuisine? For one, it has familiar flavours that's similar to Shanghai or Suzhou cuisine. However, I've learnt that Nanjing cuisine leaned towards showcasing of the excellence of knive-works (刀工) of the chefs, and an overall balance of flavours. The signature eats of Nanjing included salted duck (盐水鸭) and "lion's head" (狮子头) meatball.

menu

南京雨花 or rainflower tea

Nanjing's Yu Hua (雨花 ) tea is light in colour and has a clean yet strong mellow taste. Otherwise, there are some specialty tea that one could order as well. I had a chilled 酸梅汤 (suan mei tang) as this brought back memories of Beijing.

酸梅汤

Have you tried the Chilled Drunken Virgin Red Crayfish? (how would one knows if the shellfish is supposed to be a virgin?) But I supposed the name came about from the 15-year vintage huadiao wine marinade of Nu-er Hong (女儿红) or Virgin Red.

Chilled Drunken Virgin Red Crayfish @$33.80 (12 pcs)

The crayfish doesn't really have much meat in them but the marinade was superb.The sweet 
and aged taste of the nu-er hong plus the saltiness from the plum was to my liking. Nice.

Jinling Signature Salted Duck @$32 (medium)

Salted Duck (盐水鸭) will inevitably turned up if you do a search for Nanjing cuisine.At Nanjing Impressions, diners will get a chance to taste this 400-year old recipe which involves 10 precise steps from dry rubbing, seasoning. brining to hang-drying. These gets translated into delicate texture and well-balanced taste.

"Was it noodles?"  That was the reaction when fellow diners tasted the beancurd julienne. Soft yet it held itself well when picked up using chopsticks.

Sesame-scented Beancurd Julienne @$8.80/portion

Poached "Lion's Head" Meatball @$13.80/portion

I liked the meatball as it has a melt-in-your mouth texture. The adequate fats ratio helped, I think. Best to share the fist-sized meatballs with at least 2 more pax!

yummy meatball

Baby Rooster Stew with Special Sauce @$23.80

The Baby Rooster Stew had a familiar homely taste to it. Served with sesame bun which was good to mop up the thick sauce with.

I believed that I was smitten by the simple dish of fried rice cake drizzled with palm sugar. Meant as a savoury dish but it felt like a dessert to me! Imagine deep fried tokbokki that's crispy on the outside and soft, chewy mochi-ness on its insides. Sweet!

fried rice cake with palm sugar

so chewy, so good

If you are only in the mood for something light and quick, here are a few good options. Could get the Celestial Roast Duck Dumplings for very light bites. This is not xiao long bao, so don't expect any juice to burst out of its skin! The skin was slightly thick and neatly pleated into 20-folds. The meat inside tasted more like pork though it was roast duck in it.

Celestial Roast Duck Dumplings @$5.80/3 pcs

Another deceptively simple but good dish was the Jinling Noodles in Light Soy Sauce Broth. The broth was so good! The thin noodles were easy to slurp and the hot broth was comforting. The soy sauce tasted abit like those that were used for Hongkong style steamed fish.

Jinling Noodles in Light Soy Sauce Broth @$4.80/portion

One dish that I couldn't wrap my head around was the Madam Chiang's Nutritious Beauty Porridge. Sweet soy milk porridge with lily bulbs and Chinese yam. A beauty food (or food to helps you become a beauty?) and named after Soong Meiling (was First Lady of Republic of China). I think I still prefer savoury porridge.

Madam Chiang's Nutritious Beauty Porridge @$6.80 per portion

Ended the night with the Osmanthus-scented Steamed Sponge. It has a slightly denser body and chewy. The fragrance of osmanthus was rather mild and the sweetness was gentle.

Osmanthus-scented Steamed Sponge @$4.80/portion

Thank you Stella and Nanjing Impressions for hosting the dinner and HGW for the invite. I have enjoyed learning more about Nanjing cuisine.

Nanjing Impressions 南京大牌档

Location: 68 Orchard Road, #04-46-51, Plaza Singapura, 238839
Contact:  6352 7877
Website: http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/nanjing-impressions-orchard-river-valley/

Business Hours:

Daily: 11am to 10pm (last order: 9.30pm)

Performance time:
Live “Suzhou Pingtan” performance (storytelling through singing with 3 stringed lute and pipa)
Tue - Thur   6pm – 8.45pm
Fri - Sun    12pm – 2pm / 6pm – 8.45pm

The Refinery @ 115 King George's Avenue

The nearest MRT would be Lavender, although Grab/Uber provides good alternatives to get there from where ever you are especially when there's promo available. The place is nestled amidst non-food shops and pretty easy to miss. The block number is displayed prominently and that was my landmark to find this place. There's a couple of large black barrels outside so that might be a guiding factor as well.

The place is spacious with high ceilings. Ample seatings are available for couples as well as large groups of 10 to 12 pax. Reservation is encouraged especially on weekends after 12pm.

bar and drinks area

mural

We visited on National Day and they were doing brunch menu with some National Day dishes. Would recommend to get the coffee baller. Quite yummy. Plus, add one shot of Auchentoshan whisky for $3. Valid with coffee order till 31 August 2017.

coffee and whisky

Liked the warm milk served in a sake flask. Choose if you'd like a macadamia/vanilla coffee ball. For non-coffee, there's choco version as well.

Coffee Baller (Macadamia) @$8.50

pour in the hot milk

stir for yummy iced milk coffee

hello whisky

For food, we got poutine and karaage for starters and for mains, we had the hambagu steak and eggs, chicken not-so-little waffle and the wild mushroom risotto.

Cheesy Poutine @$13

Yes, it's common to eat Poutine with chopsticks at The Refinery. Haha! The poutine was rather oriental with all the shallots and spring onions and soy-based sauce. Could do with more cheese though. This one is for lovers of soggy fries.

The chicken karaage was more popcorn chicken-like as opposed to karaage. Abit too bite-sized. Larger piece would be great. The togarashi (唐辛子) mayo dip was nice.

Chicken Karaage @$14

Let's head on to the mains. Had high anticipation but not all delivered. Didn't like the spaghetti-like sauce on the waffles as it was too sweet. The meat texture from the chicken karaage was actually better when compared with the chicken on the waffles. The parmesan waffles was also a tad burnt.

Chicken Not-So-Little Waffles @$24

Wild Mushroom Risotto @$18

Hambagu Steak and Eggs @$26

The best main dish was actually the wild mushroom risotto. Pretty safe flavours. The hambagu steak was promising with its presentation and the thick patty. But the herb taste was too overpowering.


Would recommend The Refinery for the coffee baller.

[Media Invite] Provisions @ 7 Dempsey Road

This is the new kid in the Dempsey block. Opened in July 2017 by the talented Justin Foo and KC Rahmat. Justin takes care of the kitchen while KC is head bartender, crafting locally inspired bespoke cocktails.

Chef Justin has trained at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Institute in Ottawa, and his resume included a 2-year stint with Andre Chiang. He became the Head Chef of Senso Ristorante and Bar by the age of 24. Justin is a classically trained French Cuisine chef and at Provisions, Justin is returning to his Asian roots. KC has 14 years of experience in F&B and being half-Thai, he has an affinity in using herbs and spices in the drinks that he crafts.

Provisions

What's up, board?

let's eat

The concept is much like a Provisions store where one could get a knick knack or a snack. Provisions @ Dempsey offers much more and you could chill and relax at this cosy establishment, with hearty Asian foods such as claypot rice, assortment of skewers and a couple of drinks.

No GST, tips are welcome

hello

Feel free to wander in and you might just find that item that reminds you of childhood days. Or, you might catch a glimpse of Chef Justin in his kitchen.

Chef at work

The bar has something interesting and I spied a contained of house brewed makgeolli. Alas, it was still in its experimental mode and yet to be ready. There were also a couple of infused liqueur and perhaps, it could be the base for some of the cocktails? In any case, the bar seemed like a happy place!

smiley crew at the bar

Started off with some cool drinks. From its cocktail curated menu, we had the crowd favourite of Bantai Bandung (pretty in pink), the Passionately Dark and Stormy and the Heard It Through the Grapevine. The Bandung is of aged rum based, similar to Dark and Stormy while mine was the gin-based Grapevine.

(left to right) Heard It Through the Grapevine ($15), Bantai Bandung ($14), Dark & Stormy ($17)

The bandung started on a sweet note and finishes off with that expected liqueur taste. I loved the combination of gin, grapes, rosemary, lemon juice and tonic in the Grapevine drink. Refreshing and suitable on a hot and humid night.

For a salad-like starter, we tried the Scallops & Scallion. Large, sweet pieces of raw scallops tossed in the expected chili, soy, scallion and calamansi. Was there some calamansi peel in there? It carried a hint of bitterness.

Scallops & Scallions @$12

KFC @$10

Order up the KFC, and you might be thinking of Korean Fried Chicken? Nah, this version meant Korean Fried Cauliflower. Definitely finger-licking good and reminiscent of fried chicken but it is still vegetable, after all. Shiok and fills you up, fast. Oh, while it is best eaten hot, do watch out and try not to burn your tongue while enjoying this tasty appetizer.

yep, that's a cauliflower in my KFC

If I'm at a drinking place, and feeling just slightly peckish, most likely I'd go for the skewers. Easy to eat and one could enjoy a variety. The standard order of chicken thigh and chicken heart, please. At Provisions, there's plenty of choices. Purple Taste recommends beef sirloin, sotong, chicken anything and everything, and pork belly.

beef sirloin (@$10), prawn (@$9), Chicken thigh (@$5)

pork belly (@$7), pork jowl (@$7) and chicken heart (@$4)

The best was beef sirloin, which was nicely done with a pink center. Tender meat and seasoned well. The chicken heart tasted of dry rub; chili, cumin and garlic while the pork intestine was of soy-based marinade. Pork belly was a very nice piece of char siew and had a good fats to meat ratio. Yums!

sotong @$8

pork intestines @$5

For something more hearty, there's always the claypot rice. There are a couple of variety and we tried the seafood claypot and the oyster omelette rice. Again, some of us preferred the seafood rice and some the oyster omelette rice. All-in-all, both are quite popular orders at Provisions.

(front) seafood rice @$16 and (back) oyster omelette rice @$18

The rice was tasty and pork meat that was in the seafood rice was really good. Splash a dose of chili sauce onto the rice for a lift of tangy-ness.

If you are in a group of 4 pax, would recommend having at least 2 claypot rice and 4 to 5 skewers to share. Of course, do try the dessert before calling it a night. We had the cempedak and coconut and the pisang sundae.

cempedak & coconut @$8

The grilled cempedak was very sweet and served with gula melaka and crunchy peanut bits. Coconut ice-cream and warm jackfruit makes a good hot & cold duo. The pisang sundae had a small pleasant surprise in-store for us.

Was pretty pleased that sweet ripe banana was used and the vanilla ice-cream ball was huge. Try the batter and tell me what it reminds you of? A very nice touch for this dessert.

pisang sundae @$8

Thank you Jonathan (wom_sgpr) for the invite and Provisions for hosting the tasting.

Chef Justin will be introducing new items in his menu soon, so watch out for it!

Provisions

Location: 7 Dempsey Road, S 249671
Contact: +65 6250 7090
Website: www.unionbridgelifestyle.asia
Business Hours:
Tuesday - Thursday: 4.00pm - 1.00am
Friday & Saturday: 4.00pm - 2.00am
Sunday: 10.30 am - 3.00pm
Closed on Monday