Timbre+ @ 73A Ayer Rajah Crescent ( One North )

Located in the far west, just a few minutes walk from One-North MRT Station. Seemed popular and trending these days. Dropped by to visit on a Saturday evening, and boy, it was so crowded. Families, tourists, foodies, the young and trendy, all seemed to be out in full-force to check-out this place with a novelty concept of getting food from containers and food trucks.

food truck concept

crowded

For the uninitiated, this is a hawker-like non air-conditioned container/food truck concept. By 6pm, the hawkers stalls would have pulled down their shutters for the day, but no worries as plenty of options are still available till 11pm. Shops such as Teppei Daidokoro, Two-Wings and Kush were all sporting long queues. Food tray requires a deposit of SGD1 each to encourage the return of tray. However, some will opt for no-tray and just leave their rubbish at the table. Cleaning staff seemed to not take notice and will just stroll by with their bins. The next occupant will then have to chase these uncles to pass them the empty bottles, left-over plates and what-nots.

Depending on your timing and luck, here are the things that you will need to exercise patience. Here's how your patience will be tested:

• Parking - 10 to 15 minutes
• Table - 10 to 15 minutes
• Look around and see what you want to eat - 10 minutes
• Queue for food (per stall) - 30 minutes
• Wait for food to be prepared (per stall) - 20 to 30 minutes
• Get drinks (if food stall doesn't have it) - 5 minutes

Our strategy was as such; deposited a friend to 'jaga' the table, while the other 3 went around to look for food. None of us had anything particular in mind, so we just went around and to choose items at random, depending on what catches our fancy. Since we were rather full, I opted for yakitori sticks while Tiara went to find salted egg yolk wings.

queuing at Kush food truck

The food truck is a confined space, so they can't have too many people in there. And, if you had guessed it, then yes, it does translate to a longer waiting time. Why? Because the person who is taking your order will at some point in time, doubles up as the person who preps the food. Plus, throw in some indecisive customers who takes a slightly longer time to order and then to change order etc, plus another minute for the staff to inform the customer about the tray deposit policy...

in the end, we wait

Kris got a plate of fried calamari from Portico Platos. Unbelievably, bland. Even the sauce provided couldn't save it. The sandy/grainy texture on the batter of the bland calamari made it worse.

Portico Platos - fried calamari @$8

Tiara had specifics in mind, and that would be salted egg yolk wings. My reaction? The wings had shrunken! Haha. The Two-Wings that we had at Essen @ Pinnacle was huge. Fried wings, coated with salted egg, what's not to like? But I think I still prefer their normal huge delicious wings with housemade spicy chili sauce.

Two Wings - salted egg yolk wings

There's also pizza from The World Is Flat by Tanuki Raw. Had the Flat Samurai, which was basically a charcoal pizza topped with chopped cabbage, mayo and bonito flakes. It's like a flattened takoyaki with all the essential ingredients such as prawn, mayo, chopped cabbage, beef, bacon and bonito flakes on a pizza.

The World is Flat - Fat Samurai @$9 per slice

Also had munchies from Kush. Charcoal licked skewers. Hmm, this was decent. But the chicken was rather lean. Angus beef was well seasoned.

Kush - skewers: chicken, angus beef and asparagus bacon (@$2.00, $4.50 and $2.80 per stick respectively)

Come early, if you want to have a more comfortable experience. Be considerate to the next diner and return your own tray or throw away your own rubbish.

beer of a different kind - IBC root beer @$3

Beer prices starts from $10 upwards while cider goes for $15. Fiji water and soft drinks at $3. Some shops may charge extra 20cents for a cup with ice.

Timbre+

Website: http://timbreplus.sg/

Milagro Spanish Restaurant @ Orchard Central

If you have the opportunity to be at Orchard Central during lunch hour on a week-day, you might want to check out their lunch sets. There are two price range for the lunch set meals; $19.90+ or $26.90+ for two course-meal or three course-meal respectively.

There was at least five choices for entrees, mains and desserts. Pretty impressive, I must say. Being a small eater, was happy to do two-courses. Chose the pan-seared seabass as the main, and tiramisu for desserts.

The fish took the longest time to arrive. You can say, it was the last to be served. The Chicken Harissas and pasta all came way earlier...

pan-seared seabass served with sauteed mushrooms, salad, rice and salsa verde

The fish was kind of burning hot from the pan. Cooked quite nicely, but need a tad more seasoning.

Was very happy with my choice of dessert. Served in a jar, and it was just scoop after scoop of delightful yummy-ness.

Here's the tiramisu 3-shots:

tiramisu in a jar

looks good

taste good!

510 Sake Bar @ Novena

Located right next to Nickeldime Drafthouse, 510 Sake Bar has finally opened. Visited this place 'coz I told Frank that yes, will be visiting when his sake bar is opened. Congratulations!

This place is just a few months old, and hence, it is probably still evolving. They got themselves a new chef recently, so looking forward to the creations of Chef Terence, whom had a stint at 2 Michelin-starred restaurant, Quince, in San Francisco.

entrance

types of sake currently available

If you are looking for a place that has sake flight, then you are going to be dissappointed as that option is currently unavailable at this place. It's a pity, really. For sake noobs like myself, I'd appreciate if the sake bar offers a tasting portion option. Currently, a good option to try sake in tasting portions would be at Isetan Westgate where one could try the sake (usually 3 different types are available) for $5 per glass.

sake 日本酒 and shochu 燒酒 menu

At the moment, the smallest serving size of the sake is in 250 ml carafe which typically ranges from $15++ to $35++.

Got myself a Kubota Senju Tokubetsu Honjozo (特別本醸造酒) from Niigata. The honjozo is made from rice, water and koji (mold) and yeast with a small amount of distilled alcohol added at the end of fermentation. From a person who enjoys junmai daiginjyo (純米大吟醸酒), the honjozo was somewhat at the other end, where flavour intensity was played down. It tasted mild, crisp clean (pure) and has just a slight tinge of sweetness. Good thing was, it gave a good buzz after 3 cups. A carafe yielded about 4 cups of sake.

Chef Terence carefully pouring out the sake

Kubota Senju Tokubetsu Honjozo (特別本醸造酒) @$25++

Expect tapas portions for food. Food menu can be found on the board, or simply ask Chef Terence what's off the menu for that day. For today, he has stashed away some Japanese scotch egg for diners to try. Expect ramen egg (ajitsuke tamago), breaded with panko and deep fried.

food board

 As Chef has worked in Spain prior to his Japan stint in Tokyo, one will likely find some Spanish influenced creation in the menu. Friendly and amicable, it was an enjoyable conversation to have and to share common love of food with one another.

For me, give me some Honey Soyu Glazed Wings that has been confitted in bacon fat. Sitting at the bar allows a clear view on how the food was cooked and plated.

Honey Soyu Glazed Wings @$5++ (half portion)

Wings were gloriously sweet and flavourful on its outerside, but unfortunately, its insides were rather bland.

Baked Scallop with wakame and mentaiko @$12++

The scallop was imported from Hokkaido, diced and baked just about right but not too much, wakame was added in for contrast in texture and lastly, mentaiko sauce was piled on it with a dash of teriyaki as well. I think I'm rather 'purist' in terms of scallops. Still preferred those freshly grilled scallops from Hakodate Morning Market, that was flavoured simply with shoyu and butter. I do enjoy mentaiko dishes but am all for chunkier scallops! Although probably the diced bites allow more sauce to be coated. I think the Kawa Ebi Angel Hair Pasta with seaweed and ikura might be a better choice in terms of value for money.

For sake bar food, am looking forward to more substantial serving portions and probably more meat items such as pork belly and beef. How about consider putting some stir fry vegetables and garlic fried rice into the food menu, perhaps?

Milagro Spanish Restaurant @ Orchard Central

Time passes by really quickly. Last visited this place in August 2014 and back again for a revisit sometime in July 2015. Almost a year apart. Was there during dinner time on a public holiday eve that coincided with a Friday. Throngs of people at the mall. Here's a link to the earlier visit.

As usual, got a drink and some tapas to share. The deep fried squid was quite nice to chew on.

lemonade and sangria

deep fried squid

The buffalo wings were just as good a year ago, with a slight change in the way it was presented.

buffalo wings with blue cheese sauce

For mains, we shared a seafood paella. The paella feeds 2 as mains. The paella required a waiting time of at least 20 minutes. The dish had a nice colour to it, and liked the amount of seafood on the pan. Squids, mussels clams and prawns. It was not too sourish, just nicely tangy and moist. Tasty.

seafood paella for 2 pax

fried scallops and asparagus

Hmmm, skip the asparagus with scallops. The thinnest pencil-like asparagus that's slightly bitter, and tiny scallops.

Ordered three types of desserts. Churros with chocolate sauce, molten lava cake and fried milk. The churros was tiny and thin. Nicely crispy and dusted with cinnamon and sugar. I like my churros fat, crispy on its outside and soft/chewy on its inside. The chocolate sauce was nice.

The lava cake was enjoyable as per normal. But I still prefer the fried milk here. Simply yums.

churros

molten lava cake with ice-cream

fried milk

Don Quijote Spanish Restaurant @ Block 7 Dempsey

What was the first thing that came to mind when someone says Spanish food. Was it Paella? Cochinillo? Tapas? Churros? Sangria? Ok, technically, the last one doesn't count but it is one of my must order in any Spanish restaurant. Old habits die hard, I guess. Had the good fortune of being invited for a tasting at Don Quijote recently and yes, I had a glass. Very drinkable red, with some cubed fresh fruits and that was about it. Kept simple, and it was one of the best Sangria that I had thus far.

bienvenida

The restaurant is pretty spacious and the place was pretty busy on a weekday night. Reservations are recommended. Liked the decor for its cosy intimate ambiance. Candles would be lighted up as soon as evening sets in, at about 630pm.

interior

If you must dine in a private room, Don Quijote does have one. Do note that there is a minimum spending required for the private dining room. A higher rate applies during the weekends. On the night of visit, the private room was occupied. Managed to sneak a picture before the guests arrived.

a peek into the private dining room

The many pictures that adorn the walls in Don Quijote, were actually captured during the business owners' yearly trips to Spain. The photographs lend a certain charm to the restaurant.

Thirsty? Let's start with a Sangria de Cava or Sparkling White Sangria. Sweet but where had the bubbly gone?

Sangria de Cava @$17++ per glass or $70++ per jug

The tapas menu alone consist of about 40 items. On top of that, there is also the chalkboard Menu del Mercato (Market Menu) where some seasonal live seafood can be enjoyed by guests. Talk about spoilt for choice! Sampled the live prawns from the Market Menu, and it tasted as good as it looked. Very simply seasoned with salt and pepper, drizzled with olive oil and topped with fragrant fried garlic bits.

Market Menu: Live Prawns Ajillo style @$18++

Or, how about some live clams in white wine sauce? Served piping hot, and goes so well with the bread. Yums! Liked the bread for its slightly crisp exterior and so fluffy on its inside. It came served with a side-dish of herbed butter which tasted really good with the bread. Major plus points for meaty clams.

Market Menu: Live Clams @$29++

break a fluffy bread and soak up the white wine clam sauce

Next up, we sampled three different variations of squids.Grilled squid that has a little extra kick, courtesy of the picante spice that was sprinkled so generously on the tender squid. Was surprised by the level of spice in that picante.

Grilled Squid @$16++

If you're not into slightly chewier texture and spicy heat, how about a serving of battered deep fried baby squids. These were well-fried till nicely golden and tasty on its own. But the best, is yet to come. For beer, there's San Miguel on tap.

at the bar

Chipiron @$15++

For the Chipiron baby squids, guess what was the best cooking style? For me, it tasted best when cooked in its own ink. Not much of a looker with those blackish hues, but nicely garnished with tasty oily crunchy golden brown garlic bits. A bite into those squishy babies, and the mouth welcomes a dose of umami'ness. Good texture, good flavour.

Chipiron (baby squids) in its own ink @$15++

For non-seafood item, Don Quijote serves up the Madrid favourite of Huevos Estrellados or also known as 'Broken Eggs' with Chorizo and Potato Wedges. Served hot, and best to eat it together with the potato wedges. Sadly, am not a fan of chorizo though.

Huevos Estrellados @$15++

We can tapas all night long, but hey, it was time to bring out the big boys. But, let's have some more drinks. Sangria Red, highly recommended. SiHaN, can I say you approves? Heehee~

Sangria Red @$14.50++ per glass or $60++ per jug

Drinks on hand, appetite comfortably stimulated and we are ready for our next course. A dish that requires two days advance reservation; the Asado de Cochinillo Espanol or affectionately known as the Spanish Suckling Pig. Yep, the piglet is from Spain.

The meat was tender, and surprisingly lean. Flavour profile was clean tasting. The pork collar/neck part was slightly more flavourful. This one's for the meatatarian in us. Growl.

Spanish Suckling Pig (half) @$169++

thick cut tender meat, crispy skin, mostly lean

If you have not tasted Fideuá before, then you might be missing out! It is a Valencian dish that is similar to paella ala cooked in a pan, but using pasta noodles instead. Fideuá Negra is a pan of bee-hoon like noodles cooked in squid ink with ingredients such as shrimps and squid, garnished with some diced tomato. Tomato was just to add a dash of colour, probably. Squeeze those lemon wedges and buen provecho! The bottom of the pan held crusted bee-hoon, and if you like wok-hei flavour, this was it. Yummy.

Fideuá Negra (L) @$65++

Again, for seafood lovers, there is a paella dish that has everything. Introducing the "Paella Especial Don Quijote™"  Also known as the DQ Special. An abundance of seafood such as prawns, scallops, mussels and clams. And, as if that's not enough, diners are free to add "live" boston lobster to it (subjected to availability). Lobster is at market price, so do enquire with the staff if interested. The lobster that we had was priced at $69++ for one.

Paella Especial Don Quijote™ (L) with one live Boston lobster @$167++

The rich essence from the seafood was well absorbed by the rice. Enjoyable and it was one impressive looking pan. Luxurious, indeed.

side profile view

With more than enough food in our bellies, how could we take in more? Could we say no to desserts? Probably not. Let's see what we had.

Yes, the must-have churros mantra we adhered to. Churros at DQ is served with Spanish chocolate sauce. It was a gentle kind of sweetness. Loved the chocolate sauce.

Churros @$16++

The fried milk (leche frita) is served in a rectangular block. There's also the Choco Puff, pastry sandwiching a scoop of ice-cream and drizzled with those Spanish chocolate sauce. The bottom puff pastry layer had custard cream in it as well.

Leche Frita @$9++

Choco Puff @$19++

My favourite dessert at Don Quijote? The not-quite Spanish but rather English; Bread and Butter Pudding. It does have a Spanish name though, the Pudin de Pan y Manteqilla. Soft, fluffy spongy bread generously drizzled with sweet milk cream sauce. So good.

Pudin de Pan y Manteqilla (Bread and Butter Pudding) @$8++

It was a night filled with good food, good company where one could unwind and just enjoy.

Many thanks to Ken, for sharing with us your love of Spain and your philosophy when it comes to food. Thank you HGW team for the invite and to my fellow diners, was great to see you again. Till next time, happy eating!

 

Don Quijote

Address: 01-02, 7 Dempsey Road, 249671, Singapore
Contact:  +65 6476 2811
Website: http://www.don-quijote-restaurants.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donquijotespanishrestaurant