[Media Invite] A Lavish Christmas Brunch @ Roots Mediterranean

Here's another idea on where to celebrate the festivities, and where one could be spoilt for choice because Roots Mediterranean does Italian, Spanish, Greek and Levantine cuisines! We had a sneak peak into Roots' Christmas Brunch menu and boy, what a treat it was. Thank you Jennifer from JY Consultancy for the invite and Roots Mediterranean for hosting the brunch tasting.

awaiting for the feast... I mean for other guests to arrive

assorted breads and pastry

Started with an assortment of breads and I was besotted with this one. Not sure what it's name was, but it sure was delicious! Crispy puff with a dusting of icing sugar. There was a thin layer of custard in it.

favourite pastry

Tried the Octopus Gallego Carpaccio from the "Tapas, Mezze and Antipasti" selection. It was a beautiful plate. Thinly sliced flattened octopus, and drizzled with olive oil, lemon juice and with a scattering of herbs. Its texture was tender and only required a gentle chew. An interesting plate.

looks like art

look, how thinly sliced this was

One could walk around the stations setup inside the restaurant and pick-out your favourite cheeses, salads, or more mezze!

hi there!

my plate

From the Carving Station, one could get the Wellington Fillet and the Roasted Lamb Leg. For any roasted/baked items, the outer layer would be slightly more cooked than the center. Meat was rather lean for both the lamb and beef.

Roasted Lamb Leg, Wellington Fillet

Wellington Fillet Center view

slicing done

Wellington Fillet (beef)

slicing the lamb

There are also items served to your table during the Christmas Brunch, such as Oysters with Cava, Pizza Lobster and Prawns and Roasted Wild Range French Yellow Chicken.

oysters

Cava

Roasted Wild Range French Yellow Chicken

I must say that the roasted wild range French yellow chicken was my favourite meat for that day. Natural flavours with some super tender meat and lovely aroma from the skin. The skin was lightly brushed with truffle butter. The roasted potatoes was a crowd favourite and I particularly liked its wrinkled skin.

look at those juicy flesh

Take a break from all the meats and hear the oohs and ahhs, when the Pizza Lobster and Prawns is served. Succulent and well cooked prawns and lobster meat on pizza integlia alla romana.

Pizza Lobster and Prawns

front view

And, of course there would be dessert. The festivities would not be complete without some Panettone!

cheese for dessert

dessert galore

lemon cake

chocolate tart, yoghurt cake and berries cake

The chocolate tart was excellent with its rich dark chocolate flavour on light crust. The yoghurt cake was surprisingly good too and best paired with a cup of coffee.

The Deal

The Christmas Brunch: $78+ with soft drinks and $98+ with Prosecco and Chianti. 

Kids aged 8 to 12 enjoy the special price of $35+. Kids below the age of 8 years dine free. 

The Promo

For my dear readers, remember to quote "Purple Taste" when making your reservations for Christmas Brunch at Roots and you'll receive a complimentary bottle of Prosecco to take home. Cheers!

quote "Purple Taste" when making your reservation!

For reservations, please call +65 6463 4206 or email info@therootsrestaurants.com.

Roots Mediterranean

Address: 2 Greenwood Avenue, Singapore (289189)

Contact: 6463 4206

Reservation: Hungrygowhere

Business Hours:

Mon-Thu: 11:30am-2:30pm, 5-10:30pm

Fri-Sun: 11:30am-10:30pm

La Cala @ DUO Galleria

Once again, we met at the designated place. This time round, a jug of Sangria was already placed on the table with a quarter of its content finding its way into the wine glasses held by Ivan and Elle. Of course, in no time, some of those fruity grape juice made its way into mine as well. Hoong Ann of course, eventually had his glass filled as well. Cheers to our wine dinner!

Sangria (Red) @$65

The Sangria was adequately fortified and it came with plenty of fruit slices. Of oranges, strawberries, pineapples and pears. Enjoyable but a tad too sweet. Go slow on this as one might consume too much if goes unnoticed.

menu

Work situation was chaotic this week and was actually quite famished by dinner time. Ivan suggested the tasting menu which consists of appetisers, tapas, main and dessert. Minimum two to order and each costs $98. The friendly service captain suggested to do the regular mains and a couple of tapas in order to enjoy slightly bigger portion (relatively) for the mains.

tasting menu

After a short consideration, we opted for the ala-carte selections. Freedom to choose! And, we chose pigeon paella, crispy suckling pig and roasted octopus as the mains. For tapas, we ordered the jamon croquetas (one of the specials on the board), Tsarskaya oysters No. 2 and Foie gras terrine cookie. We were informed that each mains feeds around 2 pax.

olives

Where's my bread? In the oven, they said. The bread came after some time as it was heated up in the oven prior to serving. Warm and toasty mini baguette. Yums.

bread basket (extra basket @$3.50)

Let's start with the oysters. Tsarskaya oysters are from France and is a type of farmed oysters. Tasted clean, mild and plump. Two is never enough.

Tsarskaya Oyster No. 2 @ $36 (2 piece for $18)

Next, was the foie gras terrine cookie. Presentation was rather pretty. Looked like a dessert. The puff pastry was light and inside there was a spread of duck foie gras terrine. The 'cookie' was placed atop of the apple compote which was still stuck to the plate after the cookie was lifted. Interesting piece but somewhat acquired taste.

foie gras terrine @$18

As for the jamon croquetas, it came in a two-bite size with a lovely piece of cured ham. Flavours were good and creamy. But all those tapas, did nothing to satiate the hunger within. The pigeon paella came just at the right time. Something that's piping hot with stronger flavours.

Pigeon Paella @$38

The grains were just right for me. Loved that it was nicely moist and well coated with flavours. Each grain was savoured with maximum satisfaction. Though the pan was large, the rice covered only a shallow depth hence, the fastest spoon wins. After the few scoops, the pan was almost empty.

Crispy Suckling Pig @$35

The suckling pig looked tempting with its thin crackly skin that beckons with its light sheen of oil. The meat itself was fork tender. Not too gamey and we had fun trying to figure out those accompanying sauces. Nice presentation but it wouldn't satisfy any cravings for suckling pig.

Roasted Octopus @$32

Am glad that we ordered the roasted octopus with potatoes crisp and romesco sauce. So so good! Flavours were mild and while it lacked that charred flavour, I liked that it was so tender. Couldn't believe that I was chewing on a piece of octopus that was really so enjoyable to bite. Lovely texture. The sauce was of nut and red pepper-based sauce that originated from Tarragona, Catalonia.

Good company, good food and good mood. All Fridays should be of such.

Cheers, and see you guys again!

[Media Invite] Element On Tras Street and Element @ Amara Hotel Tanjong Pagar

On which occassions do you dine in hotels in Singapore? For most locals, perhaps during weddings, or to seek out buffets, high-teas, or for other celebratory occassions like anniversary, birthdays etc. Amara Hotel has been around for the longest time and the restaurants that I usually associate with it, are Hyang-to-gol and Thanying. Nearby and within hotel vicinity, there's Bar-Roque Grill which recently was awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

Was invited for a hosted tasting at Amara Hotel and we tried Element on Tras and Element Restaurant. If you walk in from the hotel lobby, you'll find Element Restaurant at the lobby level. Element On Tras Street (EOTS) is the alfresco extension of Element Restaurant. Bar is open from 12pm to 1am while dinner hours are from 6pm to 1030pm. Serving Spanish fare and there's about 17 tapas on the menu, with a couple of soups, starters, mains and dessert. Cuando pienso en España, pienso en tapas y sangria.

Element on Tras Street

Element on Tras Street (EOTS)

kitchen

Happy Hour till 8pm, and one could quench their thirst with draft beer, house sparkling, housepour wine and selected spirits for $10. Cheers! Enjoy the lively music and view of the street from EOTS.

House Sparkling @$10++ /$15++ (HH/Non-HH)

The house sparkling (Piccini Prosecco Vino Spumante Extra Dry) was nice and bubbly, and one sort of wish that the weather would be kinder. Maybe beer would work better in our humidity. Nevertheless, music was lively and company was great.

As there were only three of us, we sampled 4 items from the tapas menu. The usual classic order would be meatballs, gambas (prawns) and pulpo. Which we did.

Brava Meatballs @$14++

Pulpo ala Gallega @$18++

Thought it tasted of blue cheese in the beef meatballs but later on, found out that it had been stuffed with goat cheese. The sauce was spicy tomato and contains pork but it wasn't spicy at all. Flavour of the goat cheese made it interesting but the meat a little dry.


Enjoyed the pulpo quite a bit. The sliced octopus was tender and strongly seasoned. Goes well with wine or sparkling and of course, beer! I think I ate the whole pan of these.

Gambas al Ajillo @$15++

Mini Hamburguesas de la Casa @$16++

When comparing price points and value, I'd go for the mini hamburgers where one gets dry-aged beef burgers with its solid patty done medium rare. The buns was a bit of a letdown though as it was rather dry and not fluffy.

dry-aged beef patty in house dressing

On the tapas menu, there was an item that I was interested in but had forgotten to order, was this Provolone a la Plancha; grilled Provolone cheese with raspberry coulis, honey mustard and balsamic reduction. Let me know if you had try it.

Element Restaurant

If you're interested to know what Element Restaurant has to offer for its current buffet line, here are some photos:

sushi and sashimi counter

cold seafood section

cooked cold seafood

breads

cheese

cooked food

The dishes that I've enjoyed was the pasta cooked upon order at the pasta station. Chose a carbonara and mini raviolis (pork and spinach). Simple in taste and prepared with heart. There is also ramen station if you like but I'd prefer the pasta.

carbonara cooked ala-minute

from ramen station

From cooked food section, I liked the braised pork with black fungus quite a bit, stir-fried beef and salmon mini croquette. The mutton rendang was rather nice too.

braised pork with black fungus

stir-fried pepper beef

salmon croquette

There were french onion soup and ginseng chicken soup available during our visit on a weekday night. For the sashimi, we sampled unagi, cooked prawns, octopus, ika, salmon, maguro and mekajiki. Usually I will skip the ika as I believe it should be eaten very fresh or cooked.

sashimi platter

For dessert, I tried the mango pudding and tiramisu. No complaints there. The staff brought us jackfruit creme brulee and it was a surprise taste as I wasn't expecting this flavour.

tiramisu

jackfruit creme brulee

Thank you Lindy and Amara Singapore for hosting the tasting session. Enjoyed the introduction to Element on Tras Street tapas and its flavours of Spain, and hope to see new menu on the buffet line in Element Restaurant.

Amara Hotel

Address: 165 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088539

Reservations and enquiries:
Tel: (65) 6879 2607
Email: fnb.sg@amarahotels.com

 

Element on Tras Street

Business Hours:
Restaurant
Lunch (Monday to Friday), 12pm to 2.30pm
Dinner (Monday to Saturday & Public Holiday), 6pm to 10.30pm

Bar
Monday to Friday, 12pm to 1am
Saturday, Sunday & Public Holiday, 3pm to 2am

Element Restaurant

Business Hours:

Breakfast (Daily), 6.30 am to 10.30 am
Lunch (Monday to Friday, except Public Holiday), 12 pm to 2.30 pm
Weekend Lunch (Saturday, Sunday & Public Holiday), 11.30 am to 2.30 pm
Dinner (Daily), 6.30 pm to 10 pm

Buffet Lunch (12pm to 2.30pm, Monday to Friday)
Adult (12 and above): S$49++
Child (5-11 years old): S$25++

Buffet Dinner (6.30pm to 10pm daily)
Adult (12 and above): S$65++
Child (5-11 years old): S$32++

Brunch (Saturdays/Sundays & Public Holidays – 11.30am to 3.30pm)
Adult (12 and above): S$49++
Child (5-11 years old): S$25++

Weekends Only

Element on Tras Street: Breakfast Set
From S$15++ per pax

Element: Breakfast Buffet
Adult: S$25++ per pax
Child (6-12 years old): S$12++ per pax

Opening hours:
Weekend breakfast: 7am – 11am