[Tasting] New Menu @ 51Soho Telok Ayer

Am a huge fan of their Lobster Stew Rice (read about it here) and when I heard about the upcoming change in menu, was excited to try out the new items and it was a relief that the Boston Lobster Grains Risotto (@$38++) is still available!

new menu

of grains and stews

For the new menu, the focus is on hearty and comforting dishes. Think wholesome grains, stews and pasta. The restaurant's staple of meat skewers remains on the menu with newer items added to the skewers selection. 

Are you hungry yet? I am, so let's eat!

freshly shucked French oysters @$2++ per piece (promo)

Started with French oysters for just $2 a piece. Ahh, that's because there is a promotion for these tasty mollusks. Usual price would be $30 for half a dozen. Oh, excuse me while I devour a few more of these.

This time round, we finally tried the Prosperity Cup, that came complete with its signature edible 'money'.

51Soho Specials - Prosperity Cup @$88++ for 9 cups, $100++ for 12 cups

Next up, usually one would get the skewers or 串串 (chuan chuan in Chinese). The skewers were done up in house marination and coated with addictive spice dust. 

Skewers (price ranging from $1.50++ to $5.50++, depending on type)

We tried chicken skin, pork rectum (?), mantou (?), chicken meat and pork belly. Ok, I ate the chicken skin without having a photo of it, but it was a really skinny stick with the skin done up ultra crispy. Addictive indeed.

The pork rectum sounded like a fear factor item but it tasted just like intestine. Not as crunchy as the chicken skin as it retained a slight chewiness similar to intestine. Nice.

I didn't know fried mantou could be a skewer item! Interesting. It was quite likeable, in fact. But I think my brain had been wired to the need of a dipping sauce for fried mantou.

mantou (held up), with chicken skin directly underneath it and the rectum skewer on the right (top)

Enoki Mushrooms @$5++

Let's try something brand new in the menu for the next appetiser dish. Did you know that you could get Beef Bone Marrow for just $12 at 51Soho? Presentation of the dish was on point and dig out a good chunk of that creamy, rich marrow, spread it onto the bread. Take a bite and tell me if that doesn't impresses you.

Beef Bone Marrow @$12++

marrow awaiting

All of us were impressed by the value of the dish and the amazing bread that was paired with it. So yummy.

amazing bread

One more appetiser before we move on to the mains. This plate is strongly flavoured with the base of creamy sesame dressing. Soy marinated lava egg, asparagus, crispy silver fish toppings and sweet pea forms up this delicious plate. I liked and will gladly eat all my vegetables if it was like this plate!

Grilled Romaine Lettuce and Vegetables @$14++

At this juncture, don't you feel kind of thirsty? Let's get some more drinks! We got the namesake drink - 51Soho. Of plum wines, rose and lychee. My favourite, actually. Sweet and such a nice scent by using the lychee.

51Soho @$88++ for 9 cups, and $100++ for 12 cups

pouring me a cup, again

Let's get some more food into our bellies, shall we?

what's smoking?

Classic French Chicken Cassoulet @$24++

First time having the Classic French Chicken Cassoulet. According to Wiki, it is a rich, slow-cooked casserole containing meat and white beans (haricots blancs). The chicken (two large pieces and nicely browned) inside this casserole has soaked up all the good flavours and it was so delightfully tender! Wished there was more chicken meat though. The sauce was so so good. Hearty meal indeed. One gets very full from eating all that beans!

Chicken and Mushroom Stew @$18++

The Chicken and Mushroom Stew was really interesting with its flavour that I thought was pretty familiar much like the chicken and mushroom broth that we make at home to cook flavoured porridge with. 

This was of a lighter flavour as compared to the cassoulet and had lots of grains in it such as the black rice, oat groats , barley, carrot, button mushrooms and kale. Again, lots of grains to munch on and it is a filling dish. I can imagine myself having this if am feeling under the weather or just to get comforted by the homely flavours.

let's get pasta

We got an Italian Carbonara to try. This one is without cream. Took a few bites and wow, this one's a heavyweight in terms of punchy flavours! The noodles texture was on-point.  If you love cheeses, then this carbonara is for you. I won't be able to finish this plate on my own as the flavours from the cheeses were really strong.

Italian Carbonara @$17++

Stronger flavours requires a stronger drink. What's better than a "Dancing in the Moonlight"?

51Soho Specials - Dancing in the Moonlight @$88++ for 12 cups and $120++ for 24 cups

Took a whiff and whoa, this one's a strong drink! Looked harmless with a bit of white fungus swimming at its surface of golden yellow hue. Reminds me of chrysanthemum which it was not.

Introducing Jiangxiaobai (白酒) - Joyouth 

The liqour is concocted with baijiu from the Jiang Distillery. The Joyouth (from 40% collection) is used here. This is an award winning chinese wine in 2017.

One was supposed to down it in one shot but I was too chicken. Took a sip and boy, it was strong! The throat would still be feeling some heat from the pathway the liquor took while travelling smoothly down. 40% alcohol yo, so drink responsibly!

Ok, now we are ready for desserts. Something cold, yes? A plate of greens was placed infront of us. Uhm, we didn't ask for salad again, did we?

Apple, Cucumber and Yoghurt @$10++

another angle

It was love at first bite. Ahhh, such refreshing flavour! Choya marinated cucumber and apple (pickled with plum wine? ooohhh), cucumber granita, and that deliciously light and wobbly greek yoghurt panna cotta, and topped with crumble. We attacked this dish relentlessly till not a drop of crumb was left. It was that good. Try it for yourself.

For pretty looking dessert, there's the Strawberry and Balsamico plated dessert. The vanilla ice-cream was really good and topped with a layer of salted cheese blanket (ya, like those bubble tea...).

Strawberry and Balsamico @$10++

51Soho is about 3 minutes walk from Telok Ayer MRT station, hence if you are around the vicinity, do drop by to try some of their foods.

For spending above $60, you could redeem a pasta or grain stew free of charge. And this redemption could be for the same day use as well.

voucher with every $60 spent

Thank you Kris for the invite and Chef Eugene, 51Soho for your generous hospitality. Kudos to the kitchen team for the delicious meal.

Dinner with Ivan, Tiara and Kris.

beautiful space

promotion

51 Soho

Address: 51 Telok Ayer St, #01-01, Singapore 048441
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/51soho/
Contact: 9755 1058
Reservation: https://www.chope.co/singapore-restaurants/restaurant/51-soho
Business Hours:
Mon to Fri:   8am to 11pm
Sat:            10am to 11pm
Sun:           10am to 10pm

[Tasting] Wang Yuan Desserts and Coffee @ 33 Keong Saik Road

Located at No. 33 Keong Saik Road, Wang Yuan Desserts and Coffee offers a comfortable environment to hide away from the hustles and bustles surrounding it. Want to get some 'bingsu' to counter the ever increasing temperature? Wang Yuan offers localised flavours with maximum yummy-ness while maintaining at a reasonable price point. Oh, you wanted coffee? I tried their 'Barista Signature' and enjoyed that cuppa smooth delicious coffee. How about food then? Why not have an Iced Gula Melaka Latte with a plate of delicious nasi lemak?

Wang Yuan Desserts and Coffee, as seen from opposite side of the road

entrance

let's browse the menu

interior

menu

This was an invited tasting so we got to try a variety of items. For drinks, I wanted a hot coffee, so I ended up choosing the Barista Signature because it sounded special. Liked that the barista actually asked the type of coffee that the diner prefers, and when the cup that was brought forth, hits all the right spot.

Barista Signature coffee @$6 

"not too acidic, smooth and mildly sweetened"

Wang Yuan uses their own house-blend for the coffee resulting in a balanced profile. Well, I liked its moderate strength that's easy to drink with a velvety smoothness overall. Was warned that it would be sweetened and that was fine since it wasn't overly sweet.

Here's a quick look at the other drinks:

milk tea

Butterscotch Caramel Milk @$7

Feeling hungry? Let's dive in to some hot food. Hankering for some Katong laksa? Yes, they serve it here. Cockles (螄蚶), fish cake slices (鱼饼片), beansprouts (豆芽), prawns (虾) and half a hard boiled egg (水煮蛋 - 一半). Ah, yes...not forgetting the finely chopped laksa leaves. The laksa gravy is slurp-able, with a gentle orange hue that does not feel overly rich yet tasty.

Traditional Katong Laksa 传统加东叻沙 @$7

Feel like having rice? How about a plate of good 'ol nasi lemak, one of our national favourite dish? A few options available; with Chicken Katsu or Sambal Chicken/Cuttlefish/Prawns. We tried the one with chicken katsu. The plate came with well fried crunchy chicken katsu, a large piece of mackerel otah, peanuts and ikan bilis, sambal, cucumber slices and half a hard boiled egg. The rice is pandan flavoured. Loved the chicken katsu for its crunchy batter with juicy and well seasoned meat. Thought the sambal could be spicier.

Nasi Lemak Chicken Katsu @$8

Next up, if you would like to have prata with curry chicken, they do have it here. The curry chicken gravy was light and tasted healthy. Do note that this is typically served with chicken winglets and potatoes.

Curry Chicken (winglets) with Prata (招牌咖喱鸡印度煎饼) @$8

Ever heard of Seafood Laksa Risotto? This dish is Wang Yuan's take on modern and traditional fusion. Imagine laksa broth as the base for seafood risotto. Do note that there is a waiting time of 20 minutes for this dish.

Seafood Laksa Risotto 海鲜叻沙烩饭 @$15.80

Overall, for the food, I liked the Katong Laksa and the Nasi Lemak for its flavors and value-for-money. Hmm, if I could just get some of those crunchy ikan bilis or the chicken katsu onto the laksa, then that will be uwu!

Next up, we are completing our meal with dessert, I mean desserts. Plenty of it!

Bobo ChaCha 摩摩喳喳 @$5.80

a good bowl of bobo chacha

Bubur Pulut Hitam 黑糯米粥 @$4.80

my attempt at an 'arty-swirl' on the pulut hitam

Between the bobo chacha and the pulut hitam, both were good. Traditionalist dessert done right. The bobo chacha was fragrant with the coconut milk flavour yet not overly sweet and healthy tasting. The pulut hitam was of the right consistency and slightly sweeter but hey, this is dessert afterall ;)

No worries if you're not a fan of warm dessert. The cold ones were awesome too!

Chendol Coconut Snow Mountain 煎蕊椰子奶雪花冰@$10.80

The Chendol Coconut Snow Mountain was interestingly presented in a coconut husk. Served with a separate side of homebrewed gula melaka, we drizzled every drop of it onto the 'snow'. Sweet but we still liked it! On hindsight, suggest not to drizzle all of it! Packed with toppings like red bean, corn, green rice flour jelly and attap seeds. Lovely!

For some bingsu, we got the Mango Snow Mountain. Just got to love the fact that we could get this dessert for less than $10 and can be shared amongst 2 pax. Came with two drizzles; mango and milk cap.

Mango Snow Mountain @$8.80

it's snowing mango

And for the finale, there was the Milo Dinosaur Snow Mountain. Milo powder ice tower and served with a green dino perched dangerously ontop of the cocoa snow mountain. Instead of red lava, we have the white lava flowing down its slopes.

Milo Dinosaur Snow Mountain 恐龙美禄雪花冰 @$7.80

Thank you to Kris and Ting Feng for the invite, and Wang Yuan Desserts and Coffee for hosting the session. Special thanks to staff who took care of us.

Wang Yuan Desserts and Coffee 

Address: 33 Keong Saik Rd., Singapore 089140
Website: https://www.facebook.com/wangyuancafe/
Contact: 8348 3393
Business Hours:
Mon-Thurs: 9am to 10pm
Fri: 9am to 12am
Sat: 10am to 12am
Closed on Sundays

[Tasting] 51 Soho @ 51 Telok Ayer Street

Conveniently located just 2 minutes away from Telok Ayer MRT Station (DT18), 51 Soho is an all day dining venue that transforms itself into a drinking destination with delicious food once the sun begins to set. I was impressed by its beautiful bling bling custom built bar that spans the length of its interior.

exterior

Happy Hour

bar

Happy Hour is from 5pm to 8pm and there is a current on-going promotion where SGD28 will get you not one but two Happy Hour drinks and four charcoal BBQ skewers!

may the spirit be with you

more reasons to cheer!

The specialty drinks would be their "51 Soho Specials" menu. A clever mix of Chinese spirits and ingredients. We tried two types from this special menu; "Bamboo Dream" and the restaurant's namesake "51 Soho".

51 Soho Specials - 51 Soho and Bamboo Dreams

My favourite of the two would be the "51 Soho" which was concocted of plum wine, rose and decorated with lychee. While Bamboo Dreams was refreshing from the sweet fermented glutinous rice wine, osmanthus oolong tea, yuzu, vanilla and passionfruit, the 51 Soho would be its mature cousin with a mellow but still refreshing taste topped with the sweet lychee fragrance. As the alcohol level in these two cups were rather mild, I think one pax could easily finish 3 out of the 9 cups. Usually sold in 9s/12s @$88/$100 respectively.

Thank you Rain for preparing the drinks!

pour me a 51 Soho

Let's order some food to accompany the drinks. For skewers, we tried the chicken heart, chicken meat, padron peppers with halloumi cheese and pork meat skewers. The marinade for the skewers were similar to the Xinjiang BBQ skewers (新疆烤串) as there were cumin seeds, salt, pepper, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes.

chicken heart (@$6), chicken meat (@$7.50),padron peppers with halloumi cheese (@$8) and pork meat skewers (@$7.50)

padron peppers with halloumi cheese

The Padron Peppers with Halloumi cheese was interesting and overall, the skewers were tasty! But we were still hungry. Let's move on to the mains.

The Buffalo Pork had an interesting name and we learnt that it was because its sauce was fashioned after Buffalo Wings. There's sauteed brussels sprouts in there and it was delicious when dabbed with a bit of those blue cheese sauce.

Buffalo Pork @$25

Our Spicy Pasta @$24

The very first bite of Spicy Pasta would have revealed itself the two major components of the sauce. Tabasco and peppercorn. Such interesting combo where tangy spicy meets ma-la (麻辣). Like hello East and West! Though oily, it was delicious! Loved the spice level and the numbing ma-la. The prawns were done well too with a rather crunchy texture that's reflective of a cooked-just-right crustaceans.

Salmon & Pearl

For a dish that is comparatively lighter, that has to be the Salmon & Pearl. Aptly named because the couscous resembled small pearls with its round shiny exterior. Broth made of sour vegetables, which coated the pearl couscous with its luxurious sheen, pop buckwheat for an interesting texture, diced pickled cucumbers and those pretty little micro vegetables.

The salmon was rather good with a moist flaky flesh and crisp skin. No other seasoning beyond salt and pepper. Natural flavours of the fish that paired really well with the sour vegetable and pearl couscous. Very interesting explosion of textures that harmonizes itself in due time.

My favourite dish for the night was the Lobster Rice Stew. I could never had guessed its flavour profile just by looking at its description alone.

Lobster Stew Rice @$38

But once that first spoonful of those perfectly cooked grains was taken, one could not help to exclaim such amazing flavours that's utterly delicious! Imagine butter crab sauce that's deeply imbibed into the very soul of those mixed grains of black rice, barley and sorghum. Super yummy with its rich, creamy butter sauce that's full of umami and touched with a hint of heat from the chopped red chili padis.

The grilled mushrooms, perfectly pan-roasted half lobster and those lovely garlic stems added to the flavour landscape of this dish. This is a must-order.

Thank you Kris for the invite, 51 Soho for hosting the tasting and Eugene for feeding us. Kudos to the team and looking forward to more deliciousness to come!

51 Soho

Address: 51 Telok Ayer St, #01-01, Singapore 048441
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/51soho/
Contact: 9755 1058
Reservation: https://www.chope.co/singapore-restaurants/restaurant/51-soho
Business Hours:
Mon to Fri: 8am to 11pm
Sat:            10am to 11pm
Sun:           10am to 10pm