[Media Invite] NO MILK Bistro @ 18 Pahang Street

Located at 18 Pahang Street, the closest MRT would be Bugis or Lavender. The shop has two levels. The first floor houses the Fish Soup Boutique while second floor has a cool bistro with all the happening vibes and a bar. One could do their chillin' at the rooftop, yo!

signage

Fish Soup Boutique

Available daily from 11am - 10pm (Mon-Sat), order up your favourite bowl of fish/seafood soup and enjoys the comforting taste of the nourishing Teochew-style fish broth. My favourite is the mackerel fish slices as one could taste the fresh sweetness. For the fried fish, they are using seabass. This means one could get two types of fish in two styles!

Mixed Fish Soup (sliced and fried) 双鱼片汤 @$7

Just right next to the Fish Soup Boutique is a small door that opens up to a staircase. This would lead diners up to the No Milk Bistro at Level 2 (rooftop) for some drinks, chillax vibes and interesting foods. Opens from 5pm to 12am (Mon-Sat).

let's go up

feelin' it

and the fun begins~

Started off with a beer. and the owners have carefully selected Singapore craft beers that pairs well with the food. I got a "Sunday's Brew Pilsner" even though it was not a Sunday but hey, why not yo!

Sunday's Brew Pilsner @$13 (Check out that 照才猫 ~)

The craft beer is from Rye & Pint Brewery, which was started by 3 Singaporean brothers as a hobby. The cold pilsner is refreshing in our hot and humid weather and with ABV 5%, it was a good slow start to the long weekend. Ahhh...

Tasted of citrus with a touch of floral, it finishes with a malty smoothness. Liking this beer. Now that we have our drinks, let's get some food in our bellies.

The menu is an eclectic fusion of the East and the West. There are the usual bar food like fried chicken wings, potato wedges and at No Milk Bistro, these are fused with an Eastern influenced-take. It could be in the marinade, the sauces etc. No Milk Bistro emphasizes on heritage preservation while adding a touch of their individual identities to the foods.

Homemade Meats - Black Charsiu, Secret Recipe Pork Belly and Ngor Hiang (not actual serving size)

The Black Charsiu, Pork Belly and Ngor Hiang are three separate items on the menu with the Charsiu and the Pork Belly priced at $12.80 per plate while the Ngor Hiang goes for $2. My personal favourite would be the Black Charsiu served with a tangy sambal belachan sauce. Nice caramelization on the skin for that sweet smokey taste. Would have been awesome if the slices of meat was thicker!

For finger food (or the usual bar grub), the fried chicken wings had a nice crispy batter and moist meat. The meat was well marinated and flavourful. But do dip into the chili sauce for added oomph. The various chili dips are made from scratch in the shop.

Deep Fried Chicken Wings @$14.80 (8 pieces)

A big sip of beer and a bite of those crunchy wings. Mmmm, now we are talking. No carbs? Nah, just No Milk. There's carbs and they are in the form of delicious freshly made tagliatelle and egg noodles.

Tagliatelle - Thai Red Curry with Tiger Prawns @$18.80

Tagliatelle - Beef Rendang @$16.80

The tagliatelle are long, flat ribbons that are similar in shape to fettuccine and its texture is slightly rough and porous, making it ideal for meat sauces. At No Milk Bistro, they made this pasta using just flour and egg. No water. End result was a more eggy version of the pasta with a delightful bouncy chew.

Both the Thai Red Curry and Beef Rendang sauces shared the similarity of having that familiar Asian spices, providing a rich fragrance and satisfying complement to the pasta. I find the Thai Red Curry lemak and appetizing while the beef rendang has a sweeter start with a hint of spicy finish.

All these talk are making me thirsty (again). Let's get some cocktails for a sweet finish. Tried the gin-based cocktail; Hendrik's Elixer and Blueberry Cucumber Gimlet. While I had my initial apprehension about blueberry and cucumber cocktail, it turned out to be a hit! It's a pretty good ladies drink. Do give it a try and let me know if you liked it.

Hendrick's Elixer @$15 - with elderflower, citrus, mint

Roku Gin based - Blueberry Cucumber Gimlet @$15

If a sudden craving for Chinese noodles hits you, why not try a bowl of the spicy fragrant egg noodles with grilled pork belly/fish belly. Fashioned like mala noodles, one could opt for its spice levels of 小辣，中辣， 大辣 (low, medium, high spicy).

香辣手工鸡蛋面与烤三辰肉或炸鱼肚 (干) @$8

The lowest level of spice, was barely there hence, you might want to opt for mid and above level of spicy. Ours was a bowl with the deep fried fish belly and it was belly-good! However, the salt quotient is high on this one (on the meat).

If you'd like to sober up a tad after all the drinks, you could still order up a bowl of hot, hearty, comforting fish soup. Yes, the menu is interchangeable between the Fish Boutique and the Bistro.

comfort food

Thank you Danielle for the invite and No Milk for hosting the tasting session.

No Milk Bistro

Address: 18 Pahang St, Singapore 198615
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/nomilksg
Contact: 6291 5854
Business Hours: Mon-Sat
No Milk Fish Boutique (Level 1): 11am - 10pm
No Milk Bistro: 5pm - 12am
Closed on Sundays

[Media Invite] Nassim Hill Bakery Bistro Bar @ Tanglin Post Office | GSS 2016 Food Trail

In conjunction with GSS 2016, Nassim Hill Bakery Bistro Bar offers the 4th main free with every 3 paid main courses. The offer is valid after 4pm and till 14 August. While you are there and if you are thirsty, Nassim Hill does have a few drinks on offer. How about 1-for-1 draught beer? Happy Hour till 9pm. Or, how about Ladies Night with free flow Prosecco with a minimum of $25 spend. Do take advantage of all these goodies!

take a look

As part of our last stop in this GSS 2016 Orchard Dining Delights food trail, we landed on Nassim Hill for a drink and shared some more food. Previously, I had the Raspberry Lychee drink. That night, I opted for Yuzu Breeze. It was a good choice. Refreshing taste of sweet yuzu, soda water, Prosecco and Triple Sec. The alcohol level seemed to be slightly higher than previous visit. Now, that's improvement.

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Yuzu Breeze @$19++

Cheddar Cheese Bacon Waffles @$19++

For food, we revisited the items as tried previously; cheese bacon waffles, chili crab pasta and poutine. The chili crab pasta now comes with large chunks of jumbo lump crab meat sitting atop of the pasta, doused with fiery sauce. Spicy but nothing that the Yuzu Breeze can't douse.

chili crab pasta @$16++/$25++ (half/full portion)

The poutine tasted better than the ones that we had previously. The fries managed to maintain some crispness to it while the minced beef, entrecote sauce (with red wine) seemed tastier than previous too. Good with a drink on hand.

Poutine @$13++

Next up, we tried something new, the Baked Bone Marrow. The bones came with crispy toasted baguette, parsley and shallots. Scoop some marrow and spread it onto the bread, then topped with shallots and parsley. Rather nice, I must say.

Baked Bone Marrow @$12++

For desserts, there's a new addition of banana and chocolate waffles but we were too full to have that. Opted for a slice of Triple X.  Our new friend on her first visit to Nassim Hill, found this dessert to her liking.

Triple X with Triple Sec @$9++

All in all, expect to spend about $40 per pax for a shared appetiser, main course, shared dessert and a drink.


Good news for ladies. With a minimum spend of $25++, you'll get to enjoy free-flowing Prosecco. Wow!
Click here to view Nassim Hill's July Specials (to Nassim Hill FB page).

View and book HGW GSS deals here. Or, call reservation hotline (68846884). GSS offers ends on 14 August 2016.

[Media Invite] The RawR Kitchen @ The Splendour Bukit Batok Crescent

The RawR Kitchen is a cosy little bistro in the day serving homely comfort Italian-styled food. It is also a local micro brewery that has been recently awarded Silver in the 2016 Southeast Asia Beer Award for its Weizen (wheat beer). Another favourite of mine, Hitachino was also awarded for its Pilsner and Stout.

But where in the world is this bistro brewery located? Address states 31 Bukit Batok Crescent, The Splendour. The only places in Bukit Batok that I know of would be Bukit Batok MRT and bus interchange, Little Guilin and Keming Primary School.

The Splendour is actually an industrial area, so unless you're staying or working nearby, then likely this will be the first time getting to know its name. A quick search on Google, and you'll see that the landmark to The Splendour would be Unity Center. It was not difficult to get to Bukit Batok Crescent but locating The Splendour was a tad tricky for first timers. Once you turn in to The Splendour, go down and turn left and you'll see a Japanese restaurant called Kotoshi Ryori. RawR is located at level 2 above Kotoshi Ryori.

Bus #189 from Clementi MRT station towards Bukit Batok would bring you to Bukit Batok Crescent Midview Building bus stop. From there, it is walkable to The Splendour. The RawR Kitchen (#02-01) is accessible via the lift at the right side of Kotoshi.

entrance

cosy bistro

drink beer, fresh brewed craft

But what is craft beer? The loose definition of craft beer; beer made in a traditional or non-mechanized way by a small, independant brewery. Simply put, craft beers are beer not brewed by 'mega-brewery' or the big boys. Then, what is a microbrewery? A small independant breweries that produces less than 1,800,000 liters (or 15,000 beer barrels) annually.

Ok, 'nuff talk. Getting thirsty and hungry! Let's see what RawR has to offer.The prices of craft beer here are all day Happy Hour pricing. Nothing more than $11++.

coffee, or ontap?

Not to worry if you're a teetotaller, there's still coffee. But, for the drinkers, there's enough choices to warrant repeat visits. Or, just get their craft beer buffet on weekends. For $35 nett, you'll get to drink as much as you want, as many flavours (up to 11 taps, depending on availability) within 2 hours time limit. But a word of caution, and yes, if you drink then don't drive.

light sampler (left to right) cider, wheat beer and root beer

brown sampler (left to right) brown ale, english bitter and pilsner

dark sampler (right to left) IPA, dunkel, stout

Was privileged to be able to sample 9 types of beer ontap, but it was hard to focus once you've found your favourite.

Let's see what kind of beer that I've drunk and liked. There's Kölsch (RedDot), White Ale (Hitachino Nest), Tokyo Blonde (Far Yeast), Chimay Rouge (Trappist), Asahi, Sapporo, Kronenbourg Blanc, Satan Gold and ciders. Usually Belgian and Japanese stuffs.

Guess which is my favourite from RawR?
The Root Beer. Yeah, where the beer is finally restored back to its origin. Did you know that the tradition of brewing root beer was thought to have evolved from small beer, where fermented drinks with low alcohol content were thought to be healthier as water contamination was rampant then.

RawR Root Beer ABV 3%

I think it wasn't a good idea to drink the award-winning Wheat Beer after the Root Beer. Nevertheless, the Wheat Beer has a light golden colour, fresh yeasty taste and overall balanced flavour.

The other drink that I thought was quite interesting, was the Dunkel with its pronounced roastiness. The Stout was very coffee-like, smooth and at times hinging on a bit of saltiness especially when drunk after food.

Yes, the drinks are all laid out on the table but what about the food at RawR? With all the drinks, am ready for something hearty and hearty is what RawR does well.

Carbonara Spaghetti @$13++

A generous plate of noodles cooked with lots of bacon, onions, garlic, then added with small dose of cream and topped with a raw egg sprinkled with lots of black pepper and grated parmesan cheese. Hmm, the prawns...not too sure why there are prawns in the carbonara but I'll eat it with thanks.

pretty, isn't it?

The carbonara is just the cure for the hungries. Slurp up the noodles easily, and each bite surely has some bacon bits and onions in it. Yummy.

But, the best is yet to come.

The Bolognese Spaghetti was really photogenic even in its simple form. Pasta, meat sauce and grated cheese. However, the meat sauce was really a labour of love. Cooked and stirred over 6 hours before we, as diners, finally got to eat it. And this effort, was conveyed through the taste. My first mouthful was so good that I kept wanting more of that. Was also thinking if they have nachos chips to scoop up those minced meat...wonder if they'd ever do a spicy version of this...

Bolognese Spaghetti @$11++

You might have known by now that RawR serves up some mean Molten Wings. Dangerously high in spice level that its printed red on the menu. Would I be eating some? No, thank you. Lucky us, we got the Salted Egg Yolk Wings instead.

Salted Egg Yolk Wings @$7++ (3 wings)

These sets of wings were so juicy, so tasty! The size of the wings were reasonable. The salted egg yolk sauce wasn't overpowering and one could still taste the marinade of the wings. Very good to go with the beers.


Hop on down on weekends (Fri, Sat and Sun), and you could drink like a fish with their Craft Beer Buffet priced at $35 nett per pax for 2 hours. How many glasses of beers have you tried drinking in two hours? And on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, do keep a lookout for the deep fried pork belly that's not available on weekdays.

the pull of craft beers ontap

craft beer buffet

Overall, RawR Kitchen is a good place to visit for locally fresh brewed craft beers and hearty, good food.
Root beer will taste the same, but yet, never be the same again thereafter.

Thank you RawR Kitchen for hosting the dinner, and Hence for the invite.

GastroSmiths Bistro and Bakery @ Tan Quee Lan Street

Been curious about this place for a while now. Blame it on the postings by myfoodsirens. Reservation was via SMS and response was pretty quick. Staff would do a verification on that day itself and we are all set. Located at 103 Beach Road, Tan Quee Lan St., this place is very near the Downtown Line MRT exit.

First impression of GastroSmiths, was that its indoor seating area was rather small and compact. Lovely wall art. Suits the mood.

interior

The menu can be found online. For drinks, we had the umeshu and yuzu vodka soda. Guess which one was mine?

komasa umeshu with soda @$8.50++

Yuzu Vodka Soda @$12.50++

Yuzu really goes quite well with soda water! Haha, yup. Had the yuzu vodka and I liked it. Maybe will recreate this at home, one day.

For appetiser, we had the Scallop Ceviche. Cubes of raw Hokkaido scallop, marinated with citrus juice and dressed with olive oil, salt and corriander. Hmm, it was less tasty than I imagined. Slightly bitterish aftertaste from the marinade. The scallop unfortunately lacked its natural sweetness.

Scallop Ceviche @$14.50++

My friend, Flo, ordered the Cast-Iron Grilled Chicken. When the dish landed on the table, the first thought that struck, was of its serving size. Felt like something was missing from the plate. Perhaps a side of greens would have compensated for the space on the plate? This one is for breast meat lovers. The sear on the chicken was nice and the taste was simple and light. Loved the sauteed mushrooms and the smoked yoghurt potato mash was something different.

Cast-Iron Grilled Chicken @$24++

Next, was my main course. The 150 days grain-fed Angus Striploin. Ok, both plates were pretty minimalistic. How do you like your beef to be done? If it is not a French restaurant, then medium-rare would be my option. Pink at its center, please. The cauliflower was roasted with salsa verde sauce. Tasty as there were concentrated sprinkles of salt at the cauliflower's head. The angus has a good beefy chew and loved the thin layer of fats at its side, especially with the charred bits. The pomme puree was rather lovely with its buttery creamy scent.

220gms Angus 150day grain-fed Striploin @$33.50++

lovely medium rare

Lastly, was dessert. Went for the Valrhona Lava Cake. A waiting time of at least 10 minutes would be required. Perused the coffee menu and saw an item called 'Magic'. Curious, so enquired from the staff. Oh, it's a ristretto and since it is extracted with half amount of water, then its flavours would be more concentrated. Didn't try that, but the Shoyu Caramel Latte looked interesting. Went for my usual piccolo.

Piccolo Latte @$4++

The plating of the dessert was lovely. Manjari chocolate was delightful, with a good balance of sweetness and bitter. However, was there essence of banana underneath the ice-cream?

Valrhona Lava Cake @$15.50++

Manjari 64%, vanilla ice-cream, banana

Expect to spend about $67 per pax for a two-course dinner with an alcoholic drink.

1 Tyrwhitt Bistro Bar @ Jalan Besar

This place is fairly new and was invited there for a tasting. 1 Tyrwhitt Bistro Bar is located near Jalan Besar Stadium. So people who drives, perhaps you'd like to park there. Had cabbed there but taxi uncle dropped me off at #155 Tyrwhitt instead. If you see Parc Sovereign Hotel, then 1 Tyrwhitt Road is at the far end along the same side of the road heading opposite direction of the hotel.

entrance

The bistro is Karen and Paul's first foray into the F&B business. However, the Teo's are no stranger to starting from scratch. They are experienced in another business and is now attempting the bistro cafe scene. For the moment, there isn't any brunch nor breakfast offered. Business hours starts from 1130am till 12 midnight.

The 1 Tyrwhitt Bistro Bar has a cosy ambiance, and the menu has currently a limited menu offering of finger food, pizza, pasta and meats. For beer drinkers, there are two types of beer on tap; Carlsberg Premium and Kronenbourg Blanc. Spotted some whiskeys in the shop too. Not Japanese ones though.

good price for beers

menu

For a group of beer guzzlers, a tower of for $49++ might satiate your thirst on a hot warm night. It yields about 7 to 8 glasses of beer. For beer finger food, we tried the Crispy Mid-Wings. Batter was not too thick and well fried. Wonderfully crispy outside and retained its moist juicy meat inside. Strong peppery taste.

ready to dispense

Crispy Mid-Wings @$10++

The walk to reach this place has depleted some energy, so will need substantial food to replenish. Let's roll out the pizzas! Chef's recommendation are the Spizy Pepperoni and Black Truffle Egg Pizza. I'd dare say, the Cheese Lover pizza ought to be in Chef's recommendation as well! Maybe Chef doesn't like cheese? *hmm*

Spicy Pepperoni @$19.80++

Cheese Lover @$19.80++

Black Truffle Egg Pizza @$23.80++

The pizza are of the thin crust variant and must eat while it is hot. The Spicy Pepperoni flavours just grows on you while you slowly chews. Though the menu indicated cut chilies in the spiy pepperoni, am not sure as it wasn't seen nor was it spicy.

The Cheese Lover pizza has 5 types of cheeses; scarmoza, feta, mozarella, taleggio and gorgonzola blue cheese. While enjoyable, the blue cheese taste was very prominent. Overall, this pizza flavour ranked higher in the sodium quotient.

Don't you think an egg ontop of a pizza looks kinda attractive? Yea, am a sucker for nice packaging and presentation. The Black Truffle Egg Pizza was nice but we waited far too long to taste it. It was probably photographed to death. Think it would have tasted even greater when just served.

Bacon Carbonara @$16.80++

Aglio e Olio @$16.80++

Seafood Marinara @$17.80++

The Bacon Carbonara was a miss for me.  It was unfortunately overly heavy with cream and the bacon would probably be better if it was browned more. So, my vote for pasta went to the two seafood pasta options; Aglio Olio and Seafood Marinara. Agreeable flavours with the Aglio Olio, attractive looking prawns of a good size and not too oily. The Seafood Marinara was a pleasant tangy tomato based sauce with lots of seafood.

The thin-crust pizzas were more like appetisers while the pasta would surely fill up those growling tummies.

If carbs is not your choice, then how about solid meats? We tried salmon, chicken and pork.

Grilled Salmon @$20.80++

Liked the plating of the grilled salmon. Looked so pretty. Nicely cooked salmon sitting ontop of lemon butter sauce, accompanied by a mound of soft mash potato. Loved the grilled vegetables too.

Chicken Chop @$16.80++

A decent plate of tender chicken chop with sauteed mushrooms and same mash potatoes, drenched in savoury brown sauce. Wouldn't want to share this plate though, because I'd like to have it all for myself.

Pork Chop @$16.80++

Similar to the chicken chop, the pork chop is nicely presented with a side of home-styled vegetables and potato wedges. It is said to be the favourite of those whom tried it.

There is a whole lot of debate on whether pork can be eaten pink or not. From what I've read, the cooking temperatures for pork is said to be at 145 degrees celcius to 160 degrees celcius. Undercooked meat poses a risk of contracting trichinosis. What is your take on whether pork can be eaten pink or not. Would love to hear your comments.

For desserts, we sampled the panna cotta and the tiramisu. Very likeable desserts that's not too sweet.

Tiramisu @$8.80++

Panna Cotta @$8.80++

For a dinner of two, will recommend a pizza to share as a starter and a main course of any of the meats and some beer to drink, if you are not a teetotaler.

Special thanks to Karen and Paul for hosting the dinner, and Elle for the invite. To my fellow dining companions, thanks for a wonderful night, again.

1 Tyrwhitt Bistro Bar @ Jalan Besar

Address: 1 Tyrwhitt Road, Singapore 207522
Contact: 6341 5167
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1TyrwhittBistroBar
Reservations: http://www.chope.co/singapore-restaurants/restaurant/one-tyrwhitt-bistro-bar