Po @ The Warehouse Hotel

 "A refined modern Singaporean concept" as stated on their website. Ivan recommended this place for our wine gathering and so we went.

I did some checking up on their food menu prior to the visit and instantly, "expensive local jiak" was ingrained in my mind. I don't think I'd ever be comfortable paying $20 for a plate of chee cheong fun (handmade rice roll), so no to that as of now.

inside Warehouse Hotel

Was ushered to our table because the few of us were early. Warm lights and cosy. Service crew were courteous, and made an effort to attend to our table.

a table in Po

how to enjoy popiah~

For starters, we had cocktails. Guess, which was mine.

Old Soul @$24++

Rose Chan @$26++

Lady Luck @$24++

B.B King @$26++

I could only tell you how mine tasted like. The 'Old Soul' was nothing of what I had expected. It has bourbon, laksa leaf, gula melaka and bitters. Hmmm, maybe am not a bourbon person after all, or this mixture is not my kind of thing. Needless to say, I didn't enjoy it. Moderate alcoholic strength for this drink.

Now, onto the food. Let's start with some 'keropok'. The belinjo crackers was nice. Served with small sides of kechap manis and sambal. The sambal packed a swift punch too!

Bar Snacks

Belinjo Crackers @$9++

I suppose we were expected to like, do tiny dips onto the sambal with our crackers since the amount was so little? Hahaa, not enough for us and we asked for more but it still came in trickling. Limited edition!

There's also the Indonesian Prawn Crackers but that tasted pretty run of the mill. Between the two, I'd recommend Belinjo.

Indonesian Prawn Crackers @$9++

Did we order chicken wing? At first glance, I thought we ordered fried chicken wings but alas, no.. it was the soft-shell crab. Pretty good to eat while it is hot. Didn't need any sauce, but you can have it with the lime mayo dip that came along with it.

Soft Shell Crab @$22++

yummy

Otah @$18++

Wow, the otah was delicious! Just the right balance of chunky, savoury, tangy and a rich coconut milk rempah taste. Lovely.

With just 3 skewers of satay, it better be good at $8 per stick. Well, it was good but not sure if I will order this again.

Charcoal Grilled Iberico Satay @$24++

We also had the Kurobuta Char Siew. Hmm, what's the difference between Kurobuta and Iberico? Well, Iberico is from Spain while Kurobuta is from Japan. Both meat are of a likeable texture.

I preferred the Kurobuta Char Siew at Po because one could taste more of the natural flavours of the meat and since it was sous vide, it has a more tender mouthfeel as well. 

Kurobuta Char Siew @$20++

Popiah

Popiah Classic (6 pax) @$48++

to sprinkle: crushed peanuts, crispy flatfish, crispy shallots, corriander sprigs, chili, garlic, eggs

Yes, one gets to DIY their popiah here. We got the classic ones and there were enough ingredients to  make 2 rolls per pax. I recommend some crushed belinjo inside this mix to make it extra crunchy!

classic popiah with satay

While the appetisers didn't do much to satisfy our hunger, the popiah filled us up pretty quickly. Or was it because we had 2 rolls instead of 1? Muahaha!

But that didn't deter us from trying more food. Time for main course.

Mains

Paper Spring Chicken @$68++

They did a table side carving of the chicken but I didn't get the pre-carve shot as I went to the ladies when the dish was served. Although I had initially balked at the idea of having spring chicken, this dish here was good. The chicken was of a good size (meaning not too small) and it was stuffed with glutinous rice. The star was the rice. So tasty from the conpoy, dried shrimps, mushrooms and chinese sausage. Legit yums.

Equatorial @$24++

Singapore Sazerac @$26++

We didn't have dessert to end the meal. Instead, we had a glammed up version of hokkien mee. 

Giant River Prawns Konbu Mee @$38++

It was impressive, in terms of its visuals. In terms of taste, it was good but I have my favourite elsewhere. Or, maybe I was simply too full.

We spent about $105 per pax. Thank you Hoong An, Ivan, Elle, Tracy and Hence for the company!

Po

Address: 320 Havelock Rd, Singapore 169628

Website: https://www.po.com.sg/

Business Hours:

Closed: Mon-Tues

Wed - Sun: 7–10:30am, 12–3pm, 6–10:30pm

6ixty 7even Restaurant & Bar @ 67 Neil Road

Went back with a group of friends as promised. Read more on our previous visit here. This time round, we opted for the upstairs dining experience.

table for six

Got ourselves a bottle of red, while some of us were having cocktails to start.

cheers~

Fries and wine, why not? Our small bowl of truffle fries were so delectable as it was served piping hot. Yums!

Truffle fries with gruyere cheese and truffle aioli @$15

Korean Yangyeom Style Crispy Chicken Karaage @$14

Pan Roasted Foiegras, Caramelised Granny Smith Apples, Mulled Wine Raisins, Feuille de Brick @$26

Loved the chicken karaage as it was well fried and not too tiny to bite. The foie gras was a tad challenging to be shared amongst so many of us, haha! 

Kurobuta Pork Chop Bone In, 250g @$42

For mains, we ordered the pork chop, chicken roulade and braised beef cheek. Everyone loved the mash that came with the roulade because it was so naturally sweet. The beef cheek was the standout dish for it was so flavourful and tender. Hits all the right spots. Loved the pork chop as well but it was just 250g. Limited edition but was good enough for everyone to have a taste.

Crispy Roulade of Farmed Chicken @$28

Signature Connor Stout Braised Beef Cheek @$32

To end our meal, we had the Basque Burnt Cheesecake. It was lovely.

Basque Burnt Cheesecake @$20

Cosmopolitan @$16

Had fun hanging out with the monthly buddies. Cheers and see you again!

Expect to spend about $80 per pax, inclusive of a drink.

6ixty 7even Restaurant & Bar (67 Restaurant)

Address: 67 Neil Rd, Singapore 088898

Website: https://6ixty7even.com.sg/

Contact: 6988 6767 

Business Hours:

Closed on Sundays.

Mon - Sat: 3pm – 10:30pm

Bar | Analogue Initiative @ Chijmes

It all started when I asked Rachelle to bring me along on her next exploration of drinking places in SG. Analogue is an interesting suggestion as this will be the first time am going to a bar that doesn't serve meat.

Reservation was made and we went on the appointed date. There are outdoor and indoor seatings, and indoor low tables are limited. First noticeable item, is it's cool 3D printed blue wavy bar top.

Staff are welcoming and friendly so one gets comfortable immediately.

100% plant based menu

Its table tops are made from recycled plastic and Mycelium. Interesting, I'd say.

of Mycelium and recycled plastics

Guess, what's my first drink.

cocktail menu

Make a guess, and I'll show the photo.

Cactus, with sparkly Tajim rim salt

staring right into pink dragonfruit, Mezcal, prickly pear (whatever this is!)

It tasted light and agreeable. Not quite what I expected but it was alright. Now let's take a look at Ivan's and Rachelle's choice of poison that night.

Smokey Jerkey

Spaceman

Loved it when presentation was that little tad extra! 

But I was getting hungry. Let's order food. 

what would you recommend?

We asked Shermaine for recommendations, and bingo! The recommended items were what I was thinking about as well.

Puri Poppers @$16

Pumpkin Dumplings @$22

Puri poppers had the right aesthetics but tasted mild. Was expecting a stronger flavours out of it, but well, it was a good start.

Was a tad disappointed in Pumpkin Dumplings, from its visuals perspective but it had a nice sweet taste to it. Fillings were mushy and dumplings were soft, hence there wasn't any contrast in texture.

All of us loved the main dish; the Jackfruit Tacos. Lovely strong rendang flavours with crisp taco shell. Yay!

Jackfruit Tacos @$26

After our meal, we tried different drinks. Here is my next drink, which happened to be my favourite for the night.

looking like plain water

It looked like a tall glass of water, with a sprig of mint leaves on top(which eventually fell off). I took a second look at the menu and clarified again if it was really "Hunter Beer". The staff confirmed that indeed, the order served was correct.

Hunter Beer, with new sprig of mint

Hunter Beer tasted of aromatics because its ingredients are galangal, tamarind, curry leaves. Not a beer per se and I think it is equally lightweight in terms of alcoholic content. I think I like the taste of curry leaves in my cocktails!

We had our post meal drinks at the bar area, and that's where we get to see Nicholas in action. Actually, already seen him crafting the drinks from our table, but now it is even more up-close.

how about some wine

The natural wines from Japan looked interesting, so we ordered it to try.

Natural Wines(left to right); Sato Pinot Gris, Coco Farm & Winery Noumin Rosso and Fattoria Al Fiore Ohno Field Blend

Guess, which drink was mine.

Noumin Rosso 2019, Tochigi @$17 per glass

I went witht the safest drink, a red from Tochigi. Coco Farm and Winery Noumin Rosso tasted balanced and juicy, with grape varietals predominantly of merlot, muscat bailey and cabernet sauvignon. No wonder I liked.

Sato Pinot Gris 2018, New Zealand @$17 per glass

Sato Pinot Gris has a Vivino ratings of 3.8 and the most interesting drink, was Rachelle's choice; Ohno Field Blend which has a Vivino ratings of 3.7. Its grape varietal are Chardonnay, Merlot and Steuben. Its taste profile described it with raspberry, tomato and light acidity. 

Nothing but grapes and love

Fattoria Al Fiore Ohno Field Blend 2019, Miyagi @$21 per glass

 

And, we had a dessert to end our meal. One pax could finish this. Tasted of clove (ice-cream), and I absolutely loved those chickpea tuille. But one will need to love the taste of clove first because that is the strongest flavour here.

Pina Clavo @$10

give me pineapples

It was an interesting experience at Analogue. Thank you Rachelle for the recommendation and Ivan for accompanying us! Happy to have met Shermaine, Nicholas and other wonderful staff there.

Analogue

Website: https://www.analogueinitiative.com/

Contact: 8518 1882

Business Hours: 

Closed on Mondays.

Tue - Sun: 5–10:30pm