Pohang Seafood and Butchery @ Aperia Mall

Heard about this place from Hence and Tracy, and finally, we managed to get together for a dinner at Aperia Mall to try some Korean sashimi. Thank you Tiara for making the reservations!

shopfront

I think we're having one of these for dinner

looks good

Was given the non-BBQ table, which was ok since we were there to try out the sashimi and other cooked food. Dinner was with Ivan, Kris, Alvin, Tiara, CK, Tracy and Hence. For the eight of us, the group decided on the (L) Flat Fish and Tuna Set @$390++ which was indicated for 4 pax. Supposed to have live octopus included in this but it was out of stock, so the staff said it will be replaced with something else.

table setting

banchans

juk (porridge)

The side dishes were quickly brought out as soon as we placed our order. We started with a small bowl of juk. It was served mildly warm. So best to eat soonest. The porridge had some good flavours albeit mild, and it was rather soothing.

There was one abalone to be shared, so we had a bite each. Hmm, abalone sashimi was rather crunchy.

fresh abalone

Staff informed that the sliced boiled octopus was the replacement for the 'live' ones. Hmm, same same but different. Hehe.

sliced octopus 문어

The porridge was quickly devoured and we munched on banchans while awaiting for more food to arrive. My favourite was the kimchi. Nicely fermented and tangy. 

kimchi

Banchans are refillable, so just need to inform the staff and they will kindly refill it for you.

salmon sashimi

cheese corn

salad

We chatted and tried the various sides that came together with the set. There was one dish that caught my eye because of its unique look.

can you guess what this is?

It was like a bowl with coloured iced shavings piled ontop of it. Was thinking, if that would taste spicy or what sort of flavours... Ahh, it turned out to be cold noodles with shredded vegetables in it. The frozen feeling of this dish somehow reminded me of the meal I had with Wendy ages ago in Insadong.

mixed it all up and enjoy the icy sensation

Other things that we ate included pancake. It wasn't a big slice but I wasn't a fan of it. The insides of the pancake was rather mushy and it was a tad more sour than expected.

pancake profile view

We had small fried fishies too. Not too sure what type of fish these were. Soft flesh and need to be careful with its bones.

fried small fish

Let's get to the main course, shall we. The flatfish sashimi was an all white dish (mostly). The chewiness of the meat depended on which part it was sliced from. First piece that I had was rather chewy but the subsequent ones (the leaner ones) were rather enjoyable. 

Flat fish sashimi 광어

I had mine with the sesame dip. Could also wrap the fish up in lettuce or seaweed for more variety in texture.

let's wrap it up

close up view

There was a small bowl of peppery mussels soup too but I forgot to take photo of it.

assorted tempura of prawns and pumpkin

Tuna sashimi was looking so incredibly enticing! I was in awe with it. It tasted as good as it looked! Fatty mouthfeel, and each bite was to be savoured slowly.

Tuna Sashimi 

Towards the end of the meal, staff would bring out the soup made with the fish bones and one could opt to top-up some money to add ramen sari (plain noodles) to the soup.

pot of soup

sliding the noodles in

there it goes

There's rice too served in a small hot stone pot. Carbs to end the meal!

colourful bibimbap

mix well and enjoy!

Happy to celebrate Ivan's birthday with the foodie gang! May you enjoy more success, more travels and more good food!

Pohang Seafood and Butchery 

Address: 12 Kallang Avenue, #02-10, Aperia Mall, Singapore 339511

Website: https://www.facebook.com/Pohang.Seafood.Butchery/

Contact: 9010 4781

Business Hours: 

Daily 11:45 am–3 pm, 5:30–10:20 pm

Together for Christmas @ Oscar's (Conrad Centennial Singapore)

The group has decided on buffet for this year's Christmas gathering, so we descended on to Oscar's at Conrad Hotel.

Now that buffet is back in full swing, let's see how's the experience compared to before. Was there for Festive Brunch and most of us got the $108++ per adult and $54++ per child, with free flow Soft Drinks, Chilled Juices, Coffee and Tea. A few in the group went for the $148++ per person with free flow Rosé Sparkling Wine, House Wines, Gin & Tonic, Draft Beer and Soft Drinks.

Buffet timing is 12:30–3:30pm (Last order at 3:15pm). However, there was no staff at the front even at 12.20pm. Is this the norm? Not sure.

entrance to Oscar's

let's talk a tour

Classic Western Mains

roast turkey

Local Seafood Station

Local Flavours

Compound Salad

Sashimi Counter

Assortment of sushi

The Ice Bar

Drinkers of Change (partnership with Little Ripples)

Dessert

Dessert

eat, drink and make merry

dessert

The oysters looked good and what's more, there's Japan oysters and there's USA oysters. Let's do a taste test!

starter plate

Japan oyster

The visuals for the oyster from Japan looked better. Smooth, plump and mild flavours. Very little muscle (that scallop like thingy) hence, it glided off smoothly from its shell.

USA oyster

The visuals for the USA oyster seemed a tad fierce, no? But it packed bold flavours. Loved this in terms of flavours but texture wise, preferred the ones from Japan. It has strong and big muscle, so it was a bit of a hassle to dig out the flesh in comparison.

The Foie Gras Live Station have two Chefs at least, one to setup the base plating and another to place components onto the plate. They made it pretty.

Pan-Seared Foie Gras and Raukal Smoked Duck

The gingerbread crisp added a touch of Christmas magic to the plate. Preferred a thicker slice of foie gras, but otherwise, it was lovely.

plate of classic western mains

Hmm, what type of buffet eater are you? I noticed my style is to gather everything onto one plate because am lazy to go round and round so many times. Of course, I wouldn't mix hot and cold food together. I have friends who did individual plates separately for most of the items...

Gammon Ham

Turkey with Roasted Pumpkin – Cranberries Sauce and Gravy

One could not go wrong with Gammon ham. Texture was lovely, flavours was as expected. The turkey (Chef gave me center breast meat) was not and flavours mainly from the sauce.

skinny asparagus for the vegetables

chicken satay from the Grill Station

Chicken satay was nice as well as the Sambal Tumis Sotong Bakar. But the sambal not spicy, so that was a surprise. 

The biggest letdown was the Grilled BBQ Lobster. The meat was mushy. For the beef yakiniku, it depends. One piece was very well done hence it was tough, but another was nice as it was grilled just nice.

Grilled BBQ Lobster

Ended up eating dessert earlier, as the foods didn't seem to excite.

Yule Logs Galore (front to back); Matcha, Chocolate, Cassis

small bites

best of 3; Chocolate/Hazelnut Yule Log

Seemed like there were multiple tables who were celebrating their loved ones/friend's birthday, and we did one for Tiara too. Sorry, but it was too funny! Hahahaa!

All in all, it was a joyous get-together with foodie friends. We have stuck around each other for like, 7 years now. Cheers and here's to good health, good food and good company!

Was I a good buffet eater? Definitely, no. Hahaa, it's called ageism.

Oscar's

Address: 2 Temasek Blvd, Singapore 038982

Website: https://eatdrinkhilton.com/oscars/