Oscar's Weekend Brunch @ Conrad Centennial Singapore

Hence and Tracy jio'ed us for a buffet on Boxing Day and we readily agreed. Loved this impromptu gang! They are known to have frequented Conrad, and for me, it'll mark my first time there.

decor

festive dining

There are 3 different pricing tiers for the buffet; $98++, $128++ and $158++. The $98++ package is the basic option with no alcoholic drinks.

Weekend Brunch Beverage List

There are 4 items which can be ordered through staff and served to the table, while the rest of the buffet items are served from the buffet counters. 

For BBQ, one needs to bring along the black pegs on the table when you want to order and once the food is ready, it will be served to your table.

take this along, when you want to order from BBQ counter

We were seated right in-front of the drinks counter, and my choice of drinks for that day, seemed to be just G&T.

Beefeater and Gordon's Pink Gin

Beefeater24 Gin

citrus and strawberry

As usual, started with oysters from the Ice Bar. How much oysters can we eat? Not much apparently... hahaa! Happy with 3.

Canadian Oysters - a dozen

Decided to try some festive items from the Carving Board; Turkey, Honey Glazed Ham, Ribeye and Cranberry Foie Gras Bread Stuffing. For vegetables, opted for some brussels sprouts.

from Carving Board

Cranberry Foie Gras Bread Stuffing

Turkey was nicely tender, ham was a nice if you get the inside piece and the rib-eye was nicely pink in the center. The bread stuffing was fluffy but unable to detect the foie gras.

Tracy's nicely plated ribeye

Hence helped us to order the Foie Gras-Egg Wild Mushroom Truffle Toast. There's spinach somewhere in there as well. Egg was perfectly poached and the bread was chewy.

Foie Gras-Egg Wild Mushroom Truffle Toast

perfectly poached egg

Loved the smokey smell from the BBQ items. Lamb chop and stuffed chicken wings were on the menu that day. Was surprised to see the size of the stuffed wings to be about the same as the lamb chop!

BBQ Lamb Chop

BBQ Stuffed Chicken Wing

Only managed one slice of the lamb and half portion of the chicken wings. Why? Because am feeling full~ Full from the love of my foodie gang.

Let's toast to that, cheers! And, I prefer the taste of the Juniper inspired classic gin with elderflower syrup than the first one.

Beefeater Gin - Juniper inspired Classic London Gin with elderflower syrup

lovely drink

And, because Hence and Tracy are regulars to this place, we got to enjoy the privilege extended from the kitchen by Chef. With off-menu item suddenly appearing at our table!

Fried Cod fish fillet, served with asparagus and brussel sprouts (off-menu)

Who doesn't like Cod Fish? Served hot, sweet and flaky, with mild fragrance from curry leaves and not spicy unless you purposely bite onto the bird eye chili... and that's a different story which Ivan, could tell you from his blog.

Fried Chicken, Bacon and Egg

Mala-spiced buttermilk fried chicken tasted more western than oriental. It was nice to have a light spicy kick when having the well-fried chicken. The bacon and egg were more fiery than the chicken per se. Quite shioks, but cant't have too much of this, especially after all the richness from the Foie Gras-Egg Wild Mushroom Truffle Toast.

But, I can have another drink to balance out, somewhat. But I made a request for a different garnish from the first two. Staff explained that strawberry fits Gordon's Pink Gin the best but will try their best to accommodate.

Ok, I admit. The drink with strawberry garnish was the prettiest. But was kinda hoping for the bartender to be more bold in styling the G&T.

Gordon's Pink Gin - with lemon and elderflower syrup

If you need to have carbs, there's the signature Lobster Laksa as well as Dan Dan Noodles. The laksa sauce was evidently very lemak! I didn't try any of the noodles because simply, too stuffed by now.

Lobster Laksa

Classic Dan Dan Noodles

Plus, Hence and Tracy insisted that we keep some tummy space for dessert. So off to our last course. Finale, with sweets.

black coffee with a side of milk

I returned with an unassuming plate of 3 items; Yule Log (2 types) and a praline. Ooh, the Yule Log choco version was so good with the crispy thing inside. Highly recommend. The praline looks like the pill from the Matrix (no, there wasn't any blue coloured praline..). This was good too with raspberry / cherry taste.

Yule Log (white), Yule Log (chocolate) and Praline

cakes and tarts - sacher, cheesecake (front), pecan and hazelnut tarts (back)

All the cakes and tarts were good. But there is one dessert that is highly recommended by Hence and Ivan.

must eat

Overall experience at Oscar's was good. Staff are pro-active in clearing the plates. The Chefs at the buffet counters were friendly and default portion was just nice for a taste. 

And, age is catching up on us and buffet will be that rare occassion. But hey, this life is worth celebrating once in a while, so cheers to our friendship and camaraderie!

Brunch date with Elle, Ivan, Tracy and Hence. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Oscar's

Address: Conrad Centennial, 2 Temasek Blvd, Singapore 038982

Website: https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/sincici-conrad-centennial-singapore/dining/

Contact: 6432 7481

Business Hours:

Daily 7:00am - 10:30pm

Rosso Vino @ Robertson Quay

For this year's Christmas Gathering, Ivan suggested Rosso Vino for Italian fare plus, reasonably priced wine. We readily agreed and reservations were made immediately.

Our dinner was at 730pm on a weekday and the place was not too busy yet. There are alfresco dining area if you prefer but for us, we like the comfortable air-conditioned indoor seats.

interior

Festive Specials

Have to wait a bit for the rest of the party to arrive, so started with a Rose IGP (Negramaro) from Puglia.

Rose IGP (Negramaro), Puglia 2020 @$14

When the rest arrived, we made it a point for each person in the party to order one dish of their choice. Mine was the Gnocchi alla Sorentina. Reason is, I wanted to try the different gnocchi in Singapore. Thus far, the best one was at Club Street but unfortunately, can't recall the name of the restaurant. Next was from Gattopardo (but the gnocchi was only an accompaniment on a meat dish).

Appetiser

Started with Buffalo Mozarella cheese with Parma ham. And here, I was wondering why there's so little greens on this plate. Because there is another meatless option called Burrata fresca di Andria. Keke!

Buffala e Prosciutto @$22

let's start

Next appetiser was fried calamari. Thin batter and still tender. Fried to a nice golden hue. Good with the tartar sauce.

Fritto di Calamari @$17

Main Course(s)

Since we are celebrating the festivities, we picked 2 items from the Festive Chef's Special menu; pizza and the cod fish dish.

Gourmet Pizza al Vitello Tonnato

Didn't read the menu before I sank my teeth into the pizza and the dominant flavour turned out to be tuna! Now I know why. Because there's tuna sauce!

veal slice, white pizza with mozzarella cheese, tuna sauce

It's interesting to have veal as pizza topping. The dough has a nice chew to it. White-based pizza is usually not my first choice.

Tracy requested for a simple tomato based spaghetti and it came before the fish dish was served. We had a quick bite each for the spaghetti and it was lovely.

Spaghetti in tomato sauce

wholesome

The cod fish was served to our table only after we enquired about our missing orders. 

Filetto di Merluzzo Su Purea di Patate e Crema di Aragosta

Loved all the seasonal vegetables in there and the mashed potatoes were so yummy! Fish as expected, was smooth and had a good mouthfeel to it. My favourite dish for the night.

Baked Black Cod Fish on mashed potatoes and Lobster Bisque

But where's my gnocchi? I was ready to give it up but we enquired from the staff again and it arrived almost together with our dessert. Served piping hot, the cheese pull was incredible!

Gnocchi alla Sorentina

look at that cheese pull

The gnocchi texture was good, despite being baked. Everyone in the group enjoyed all the tomato-based pasta dishes. Lovely.

Dessert

The group went all out and ordered 3 desserts when everyone was already feeling full. But that's us.

Tiramisu @$16

Torta agli Arumi di Sicilia @$14

Tiramisu was ok, and I preferred the Traditional Italian Cream Pie more. The homemade citrus jam was good. 

hello chocolate gelato

But my absolute favourite dessert that night, was the Affogato. Simple espresso coffee that's strong with a nice aroma (not burnt!) and topped with vanilla ice-cream that melts faster than you can say Affogato. Hahaa! Thank you guys for not wanting to share this. All mine!

Affogato @$9

My table was attended to by Cyan and Eva. Both are friendly and doesn't mind the intermittent orders for wine top-ups or that random pasta. Plus, one of them is quite proficient in helping guests to take group photos, with multiple shots from various angles.

We also had the friendly owner/manager dropping by to say hello and to offer us limoncello to end our meal. Grazie!

limoncello

Overall, Rosso Vino is a good choice for dinner and for a good time with family/friends. I spied other diners having penne pasta, so next time it is.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Rosso Vino

Address: 15 Merbau Rd, Singapore 239032

Website: https://www.rossovinosingapore.com/

Contact:  6733 7735

Business Hours:

Mon - Sat: 3pm to 12am

Sun: 11.30am to 12am

Bonding Kitchen Revisited @ Orchard Gateway

Brought my colleagues to Bonding Kitchen to try Chef Danny's delicious food. Last visit was in April where my Primary school mates enjoyed the food during our rare gathering.

For guests visiting the restaurant for the first time in a group of 4 pax, I will recommend the set menu as it contains all the favourite dishes.

We pre-ordered the bakwan kepiting soup to share and added a bottle of red. After the meal, we realised that this combination could have easily fed 6 pax.

1st Appetiser

Keropok Ikan and Belinjo

Achar

The first appetisers were polished off before the rice arrived. The achar was pretty good. But better to eat it with rice.

2nd Appetiser

Kueh Pie Tee

Selected the Kueh Pie Tee for the team and helped to assemble for them, complimentary service. They seemed happy.

Wine

Housepour Gold Trees Shiraz (U.P $38)

Pre-Order Soup

Bakwan Kepiting Soup @$16 (pre-order)

impressive homely taste

The bakwan kepiting soup is pricey. And, first thing my colleague said was, "Where's the crab shell..."  

The soup was smooth, much like a cream soup texture yet not that full-on creamy. Soothing, comforting familiar taste with sweetness and savoury from the ingredients. The meatball was flavourful and slightly larger than a golf-sized ball. Enjoyable!

For the mains, I recommended the Hokkien Lor Ark, Ayam Buah Keluak, and Sotong Masak Hitam as one of my colleague, doesn't take beef. Otherwise, the Wagyu Beef Rendang is a must.

Main Course

Sotong Masak Hitam

Ayam Buah Keluak

Hokkien Lor Ark

They were pretty impressed by the sotong, as per my first experience then as well. Keke. For the ayam buah keluak, it came with additional paste for the connoisseur to add on to their rice. Very strong flavours there! Lor ark was lovely, as usual.

Otah

One dish that surprised everyone, was the Otah. This unassuming and common dish, was super tasty with the right balance of refreshing and spicy. So yummy!

Vegetable

Nonya Chap Chye

The portions were good and no one left hungry. All of us were super stuffed that night.

Dessert

Chendol (front), Gula Melaka Panna Cotta (back)

have some

We spent about $60 per pax. Reservation is recommended and happy to see Chef Danny again.

Bonding Kitchen Singapore

Address: 277 Orchard Rd, #02-18, Singapore 238858

Website: https://bondingkitchen.weebly.com/

Contact: 8860 9087

Business Hours:

Sat - Thurs: 11:00am–3pm, 5:00–9:30pm

Fri : 11:00am–3pm, 5:00–9:30pm