RedDot Brewhouse @ Dempsey

Visited recently and discovered that their menu had changed somewhat. There was a special brew called Yuzu Biru in the drinks menu. Was interested to try that but it was unavailable on the day of visit. Also noticed that they do seasonal drinks per month. So for the month of June, it is the Saison, described as a Belgian ale with citrusy spicy pepper flavour, floral aroma, medium bodied and dry finish. Ok, liked all that was described except the spicy pepper flavour.

Saison

I liked the Saison, and thankfully the spicy pepper taste, was barely noticeable. As refreshing as the Kölsch but with a stronger finish. It was a mid-week night and the place was not very crowded. For food, we ordered the chicken wings and fish & chips to share. Oops, both deep fried!

Zing Wings

Fish & Chips

The fish and chips had some thick batter and that made the taste a tad doughy but it did fill us up quite a bit. Good for the hungries.

Monster Green Lager

Ended with a Monster Green, which is a spirulina infused lager beer. This drink is synonymous with Reddot. Who says, I didn't have any greens that day?

Expect to spend about $45 per pax.

[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.

Brewerkz @ Riverside Point

Was invited to Brewerkz at Riverside Point, Boat Quay recently. Last visit to this outlet was during my first food trail ever, way back in 2011. A quick link here. It is about time to get re-acquainted.

Along with its craft beers, Brewerkz serves up American-styled cuisine in a functional space that shouts of  testosterone and sporty feel. The screens were showing American football and NBA while we were there. Atmosphere was boisterous, as expected.

The place was rather busy on a weekday night. Seems like everyone needed a drink after a hard day at work. So drink up. Responsibly of course. Heard that its microbrewery is capable of producing lots more so no worries, our throats are never parched while we are here.

interior

yes, please

SG50 promo

Ever wanted to try all of Brewerkz signature and seasonal beers but worry about calories and all? Good news, just get the beer sampler @$14++ where you can have 4 glasses of 125ml beer.

beer sampler of 14 beers

On hindsight, don't get all 14 at one go unless its shared amongst say, 6 pax. It gets warm pretty fast in our climate.

The full sampler has this combination:
Front row: golden ale, hopback, wheat beer, jubilee lager, pilsner
Second row: single hop - lemondrop, steam beer, irish red, black raspberry,  brown ale
Last row: IPA, oatmeal stout, Xipa and black pig (with highest percentage of alcohol)

from light to dark. Front row (left to right): pilsner, golden jubilee, wheat beer and hopback

Common beer profile - its bitter aftertaste. Some lingers longer than the other. For example, steam beer appeared light and mild (almost can taste the water) but has a very strong lingering bitter aftertaste. Even its black raspberry which has a fruity raspberry flavour and perfume, has that strong bitter finish. Still a man's drink, masked with some genteelness. The most outstanding taste profile, was the oat meal stout. Which surprisingly, tasted more of like a good 'ol strong coffee made even stronger by alcohol.

Thou shall not drink with an empty stomach. So let's bring the food out~

For group gatherings, let's start with a huge-ass bowl of soba noodle salad. It was a pretty good bowl of tasty salad. Asian flavoured, with crispy strips for that texture contrast, fresh leaves and lots of good sized teriyaki chicken strips. Half-sized of this bowl can be a main course for me!

soba noodle salad @$23++

If salad is not your thing, how about meat skewers? Loved it! Maybe because this place is American-styled, the skewers felt like an upsize from normal asian satays/yakitori. Look at those firm meat, with good layers of fats that's been grilled to a sizzling drip. Flavourful on its own.

chipotle pork belly satay @$14++

Other appetisers included buffalo wings and mussels. The hot buffalo wings are not spicy actually.

mussels with in-house made bread

hot buffalo wings @$18++

If you are really, really into meat, then go all out for the 3 Big Pigs. A platter of baby back ribs, crispy crackling pork knuckle and kielbasa sausages. Served with sauerkraut and mashed potato.

3 Big Pigs @$90++

The knuckle required quite a bit of strength to cut through but it was worthed the effort. Moist meat yet firm and that crackling of a skin with a thin layer of fats underneath. Yummy. The sausages were easy to eat and none of those overpowering herbs. The ribs were fork tender and reminiscent of asian flavours.

Did someone ask for more beer? How about the Jubilee Lager, that is currently being paired with asian inspired satay seafood angel hair pasta for just $25++ during lunch hour.

Jubilee Lager

satay seafood angel hair pasta

For the cowboys in us, there is a matching Cowboy Burger. Oozing with masculinity (especially with that knife skewered right in the heart of the handmade minced patty. Bam!

Cowboy Burger @$24++

peek-a-boo! beef patty topped with bacon and melted cheddar cheese

Ah, I think we were supposed to put in the raw stuffs of lettuce, tomato and onion slices into the bun but who remembers that when the patty was calling out to us? No time, man! That side of sweet potato fries was distracting too. Can't stop eating that.

potato fries should go with ketchup, even if it is truffled. No?

To wind down from all the drinks and food frenzy, what did we do? We ate somemore! Desserts time.

chocolate fudge cake @$14++

oreo ice-cream cake @$14++

warm brownie @$14++

The ones that we got were all good. Thought we could eat no more, but the desserts were devoured in no time. My favourite desserts that night? Warm brownie stacked with ice-cream that didn't melt too fast and further topped with honeycomb. The sweetness levels were upped seemingly in its stacked order from low to high.

Many thanks to our host, Adora for introducing the many flavours of Brewerkz. The hardworking staff whom took care of our table, and HGW for the invite. The friends; Weighty Man, Running Man, The Arctic Star, that dined together that night, thank you too.

Brewerkz @ Riverside Point

Location: 30 Merchant Road, #01-05/06 Riverside Point, Singapore 058282
Contact: (65) 6438 7438
Website: http://www.brewerkz.com/