Showing posts with label joo chiat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label joo chiat. Show all posts

Saturday, June 10, 2023

Blue Smoke @ Joo Chiat

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I first got to know about 1925 Brewing Company was via its beer, "Liang Teh". Haha, yeah. So curiosity was piqued when I found out about Blue Smoke, an Asian Smokehouse by 1925 Brewing Co., which incidentally, is within the vicinity of my staycay at Katong.

Kris, Tracy, Hence and Ivan are agreeable to have dinner at this place, so Ivan made a same day reservation since it was risky to do a walk-in on a weekend evening. There's a $15 per pax deposit for reservations of 4-pax and above.

Walking to Blue Smoke from Hotel Indigo, took us about 10 minutes or so. Ivan, Hence and Tracy were already seated by the time Kris and myself got there.

signage

interior

The early birds had ordered appetizers of chicken skin and belinjo. So we reached at the right time!

Crispy Chicken Skins @$14

Emping Belinjo @$6

Chicken skin was not as crispy as we had imagined it to be, but for me, it was strangely addictive. One piece after the other. The emping belinjo was as expected and the homemade chili balado became a star on our table. It has the right spicy kick and loveable taste! We refused to let go of it, even when the belinjo crackers were long gone. This later was proven to be the right choice, as the chili balado goes well with the dirty rice too!

Vienna Lager @$7

I got myself a Vienna Lager, which is a limited edition brew. Limited till when? No idea also, but am a sucker for this type of wordings on the menu. Hahaa! Flavours of malt with a touch of bitterness as the aftertaste.

Lychee Lager @$7.50

I like the Lychee Lager more, as it was sweeter and more refreshing as that night was hot and humid!

Miso Shitake Buns @$8

Read plenty of reviews about the umami miso shitake buns. It was just alright for me. Good flavours of mushrooms earthiness but was somewhat expecting a stronger flavour punch. Loved the soft brioche, but everything on it was soft too.

Smoked Crispy Pork Belly @$22

Our first plate of meat was the pork belly! Lovely vibes from this dish. Not too porky taste, meat was tender with a good bite, and lovely to eat with the wasabi sour cream.

But, of course we need our vegetables too! Thus, I insisted on the cabbage.

Charred Napa Cabbage @$14

We could probably get alot of Napa Cabbage from the market with that price but oh boy, this plate was delicious! Cabbage was softened, the fried shallots on top gave it a hint of crunchiness, and swipe a piece with the garlic aioli, and oh yes, this one was umami! One of my favourite plate of that night.

served with roasted garlic aioli (that blob there, the one that looked like a prune..)

Chargrilled Wagyu @$28

200 gms of wagyu, was finished in no time. Flavours were on-point, but pistachio crumble were really scarce. Didn't taste much of it. Enjoyable mouthfeel for each piece of the wagyu slice. 

Smoked and Grilled Pineapple @$10

I didn't remember much of the pineapple but the sunflower seed cream, was causing me to lose my mind. It has a peculiar taste and that was the most intriguing part of this dish. We even asked the service staff to enquire if there's anything special in the sauce. I found it interesting!

"Dirty" Rice Basmati @$8

Initially, I thought ordering rice will not be a good choice as usually, I'd avoid carbs when eating out with the group. But this, was worth ordering especially for sharing. It paired real well with our main course of Wood Smoked Beef Brisket.

Wood Smoke Beef Brisket (left to right: Naval End, Point End) @$48

If my memory is correct, I think we got 100gms of Naval End and 200 gms of Point End with Point End being the fattier cut.

Naval End Smoked Beef Brisket


Loved the pickles served with the brisket. The rendang sauce, basmati rice and the bits of the brisket goes very well together. And, add a dash of that homemade sambal balado for extra oomph!

Having had brisket from other smokehouse before, I like the version at Blue Smoke more as the seasoning is not too strong.

Wood Fired Basque Cheesecake @$18

Ended our meal with the cheesecake and birthday wishes from the group. Thank you Tracy, Hence, Ivan and Kris for the meal! 

Special thanks to the two friendly service staff who attended to our table and answered all our queries during dinner.


Blue Smoke

Address: 261 Joo Chiat Rd, Singapore 427515

Websitehttp://www.the1925.com.sg/bluesmoke

Contact: 8923 1592

Business Hours:

Closed: Mon

Fri - Sat: 12:30 pm–12:00 am

Sun: 12:30–10:00 pm

Tues-Thu: 4:00–11:00 pm

Saturday, May 20, 2023

Staycation @ Hotel Indigo Katong Singapore

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Been saying it for a while and finally, decided to book a 3 days 2 nights stay at Indigo Katong. This was my journey to the East. 

exterior


entrance


Arrived at the hotel and check-in was a breeze, thanks to Kelly. Guest was offered a complimentary welcome drink of tea/coffee. Guess what I chose.

reception area

welcome drink - iced latte


My room was up at Level 8, after enjoying the cold latte, Kelly walked with me for a short distance to the lift lobby. Loved the decor at the hotel with Peranakan motifs.



King Bed Standard Room 30sqm

spacious room


Room was of a comfortable good sized and was looking forward to explore the nearby areas. I thought I could play carrom while I was there but, that's just a table that looked like a carrom board... hahaha.

view from the other side

bathrobe

bathroom

retro seat and washbasin for the tired feet

'sole' purpose


The toilet is near the room door while the bath area is way at the back of the room. No complaints, as both areas have their own sink.

Thanks to housekeeping for keeping the room clean and tidy! Bumped into her at the corridor too, friendly and cheerful lady.


glass bottle

view from 8th floor

lovely tiles

shower area


The shower area is rather spacious and shower strength was good and easy to adjust between the rainfall and the handheld.

is it visible to the outside? 


The room is equipped with a coffee machine and a kettle. Minibar is empty saved for milk shots in lieu of creamer for the coffee. Not an issue as there is NTUC Finest just a few minutes walk away to stock up on any drinks of your liking.

so cute the cups

sweets

illy, I like

time to stock up

room decor points elevated


With all the trinkets/decor in the room, it's probably challenging to maintain but glad to see everything's pretty well kept at Indigo Katong. Kudos to the team!

lovely cushion covers


Went to check out the swimming pool at Level 11 and bumped into an exercise class being held at the pool. Cool!

let's go up

let's visit the rooftop pool

basking in the sun

can dine at the rooftop when it is cooler in the evenings

view from rooftop


Hotel was rather sweet to arrange a delivery of a slice of ondeh ondeh cake for the birthday girl.

for the birthday girl

thanks for the lovely cake~


Will post more on the hotel breakfast, as well as other things to do in this area. See ya soon!

Hotel Indigo Katong

Address: 86 E Coast Rd, Singapore 428788
Contact: 6723 7001

 
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