IO Italian Osteria @ HillV2

Nearest MRT would be Hillview MRT and it takes about 8 minutes to walk to HillV2. Plenty of dining options at HillV2, and my boss recommends us to try IO Italian Osteria.

Reservation is recommended as the place gets pretty crowded during lunch.

My boss said the must-try here, is the truffle bread. Indeed, as most tables seemed to have chosen this starter.

Traditional Roman Schiaciata @$10

oozing with melted truffle cheese

I thought the bread tasted like foccacia and I'm not wrong. So apparently these two breads are similar but schiacciata does not require a lengthy process. Crispy bread and toasty truffle cheese, makes it a popular choice.

Angus beef carpaccio, parmigiano shavings @16

Our next appetiser is the beef carpaccio and the version here, tasted light and healthy. Lovely with wine, but we didn't have any.

I was curious about old Italian style baked eggs, so we ordered one. Little did I know, it came with truffle cheese as well. Talk about cheesy overload!

'Al Coccio' Old Italian Style Baked Eggs @$14

Served piping hot, and I think it makes a good brunch dish. Just don't order too many cheesy items at one go.

piping hot, cheesy, truffly, eggy

And for 2 pax, I don't recommend ordering more than 2 appetisers.

We shared one main course; Octopus pasta in marinara sauce. The staff recommends penne for this.

Octopus Penne Pasta in Marinara sauce

Plenty of octopus chunks in there. Savoury and flavourful. We were pretty stuffed at this point.

But, I needed to try the dessert. Ordered their pistachio tiramisu to try.

Pistachio Tiramisu @$14

Latte @$6

If you like milky latte, then you'll like the one from IO Italian Osteria.

Thank you boss for the treat!

IO Italian Osteria

Address: 4 Hillview Rise, 02 - 01, Singapore 667979

Website: https://io-osteria.com/

Contact: 6710 7150

Business Hours: 

Mon-Fri: 11:30am–10pm

Sat-Sun: 10am–10pm

[Tasting] Winestone's Immersive Christmas Experience @ NOVOTEL Singapore on Stevens

Congratulations to Winestone on its achievement in securing the Singapore Environment Council’s (SEC) Eco F&B certification. The award is in recognition of the restaurant’s efforts on sustainability. Besides its ongoing efforts in its management of energy, water and waste practices, one noteworthy effort is its implementation of the green purchasing policy is the use of locally sourced fish and vegetable produce.

Are you ready to experience an immersive journey towards new inspirations, new rituals and new tastes for this Christmas?

Be inspired by four local makers - Dannon Har (Section D), Leon Hay (Hay Dairies), June Chen (Floral Mikelle) and Jas Rehan (A Poet’s Terroir) as Winestone presents a series of festive cocktails, sustainable floral wine hampers, freshly made cheese from locally harvested goat's milk and lastly, the art of taste, wine art from palate to palette.

Festive Cocktails

by Dannon Har, Section D Bar

A Berry Christmas – wheat beer, spice syrup @$20

Candy Rush – peppermint vodka, lemon, Cointreau, prosecco, candy cane @$23

Taste the Snow – gin, heavy cream, vanilla ice cream @$18

Santa’s Mudslide – cognac, coffee liquor, bailey’s Irish cream, heavy cream, chocolate shavings @$28

Warm Hugs – dark rum, spiced syrup, butter, cinnamon @$20

My favourite would be Taste the Snow. Ice-cream in my alcohol? Yes please!

Discover Local: Goat’s Milk

by Winestone’s culinary team

Goat’s Cheese Salad – prosciutto, fresh goat’s milk ricotta, rock melon pickle

Christmas Wine Hampers

by June Chen, Floral Mikelle

Elegant Blanc @$140

Elegant Blanc

A rosé and white wine packed in a modern chic red bag paired with winter wonderland in tones of elegance – white, silver and gold. Free delivery included.

• Hecht and Bannier Languedoc Rosé Languedoc, France
• Famille Perrin Luberon Blanc, Rhone Valley, France

The Art of Taste

by Jas Rehan, A Poet’s Terroir

• An artistic experience of tasting and painting your wine

• A visual journey of wine and art as we take you through the wine tasting experience

• Explore it on a colour filled canvas, along with a 3-course lunch

• Priced at $220 per person, seats are exclusive and limited

• Available on 26 November, 27 November, 4 December and 5 December 2021

Shop festive at Winestone. Merry Christmas!

Festive 4-Course Dine-In Menu

15 Nov 2021 - 30 Dec 2021

Pepper Tuna Salad

Seafood Bisque

Grain Fed Rosedale Ruby Pure Australian MS 2 Ribeye 

medium rare

Mille Feuille, Apple Croustillant, Molten Chocolate Log Cake

For the main course, one could choose either ribeye, free range organic chicken or sea perch. The ribeye was cooked just the way I liked it, flavourful and lovely texture.

The salad was good too and loved the micro greens with a burst of bright yellow. Visually pleasing and tasted refreshing.

For dessert, my favourite were the Mille Feuille and the Molten Chocolate Log Cake. The pastry was crisp while the chocolate was melt in your mouth.

Mille Feuille

Molten Chocolate Log Cake

Thank you to Juliana, Cheryl and Stephanie and Novotel for the invite, and Winestone for hosting the tasting. Special thanks to Christina for taking care of us.

Winestone, interior

Winestone

Address: 30 Stevens Rd, #01-09, Singapore 257840

Website: http://www.winestone.sg

Contact: 6491 6100

Business Hours:

Closed on Mondays.

Sun to Thurs: 12pm to 10pm

Fri to Sat: 12.00pm to 10.30pm

The Beast Southern Kitchen + Bourbon Bar @ 17 Jalan Klapa

Was at Pan Pacific Serviced Suites and decided to drop by for dinner. Reservation is recommended. It was a warm weather night, so we hid out in the comfort of air-conditioning.

We ordered fried chicken, cornbread, fish and chips, pork ribs and an extra serving of slaw. For drinks, happy hour was till 8pm, so got myself the Brass Lion Butterfly Blue Pea Gin.

bar counter

Lemonade @$8

Diet Coke @$6

Bourbon Russell's Reserve Kentucky Straight @$15

Brass Lion Butterfly Pea Gin @$18

The gin was delicious and sweet. Ladies drink, if you'd like.

coleslaw @$6

cornbread @$8 x 2

Have I mentioned that I loved cornbread? I do, especially well-made ones. The version at The Beast was firm and somewhat drier but still so good. Served with house made whipped honey butter.

house made whipped honey butter

The purple slaw was nicely crunchy and not overly sweet. Refreshing and the necessary vegetable component in the meal plan. 

Catfish & Chips @$22

The portion for the Catfish & Chips was good though I didn't quite like the batter as it was a tad thicker than expected. The fish itself needed lots of tartar sauce.

Bourbon Glazed Ribs @$32

The single most expensive plate that night was the Bourbon Glazed Ribs. Lovely texture of the meat that was fork-tender, flavourful and not too overpowering. Quite yummy.

served with sweet potato fries

I was in high anticipation for the fried chicken when it was served. My friend remarked that that size seemed to have somewhat decreased as compared to their previous visit.

Southern Fried Chicken @$20

I liked the fried chicken. Crisp flavourful skin, moist insides and you just gotta eat it while it is hot. Didn't need any sauce too. While it may not be the best fried chicken, it is comfort food.

Staff are genial and friendly with good knowledge on their food items, portion and also drinks.

The Beast Southern Kitchen + Bourbon Bar

Address: 17 Jln Klapa, Singapore 199329

Website: https://thebeast.sg/

Contact: 6295 0017

Business Hours:

Mon-Fri: 4–10:01pm

Sat-Sun: 11:30am–10pm

An Evening at Multi-Concept Restaurant SOCIEATY by Les Amis Group @ One Farrer Hotel

This is a one-stop dining space where guests could order from a collection of brand names like Mui Kee Congee, Peperoni Pizzeria, Nam Nam, Tenjin, Sushi Jin, Tarte by Cheryl Koh, Lemak Boys amongst others.

Conveniently located at One Farrer Hotel lobby level, it is within walking distance from Farrer Park MRT. For us, we saw that the restaurant was perpetually busy during dinner time and reservation is encouraged during our 3 days 2 nights at the hotel. 

The staff there are really friendly, and thus, we decided to give it a try. Remember to sign-up and use their webapp for new user's 15% discount.

sign-up and order via the SOCIEATY webapp

We ordered congee from Mui Kee, beef donburi from Sushi Jin and a dessert from Tarte by Cheryl Koh.

First time trying Mui Kee, and its congee is typical of the smooth Hong-Kong style that cannot see the rice type. Added side dishes of century egg and sliced amberjack.

Mui Kee Dace Fishball Congee @$10.80++

close-up

Soft-centered century egg with pickled ginger 糖心皮蛋 @$2.80++

Sliced Raw Amberjack @$12.80++

Wanted to see if the century egg has similar molten center as the one I had in Yung Kee 鏞記(Wellington Street HK) many years ago, but it was not. The taste and texture of the century egg in Yung Kee is still etched in memory.

2017 Pasqua Chianti @$13++

I did enjoy the red wine at SOCIEATY, as it was smooth and pleasant. Wine and porridge？ That works too!

The Steak Don from Sushi Jin uses Australian Angus beef, served with a healthy dose of truffle oil, and topped with onsen egg and pickled radish. All served in a pretty lacquer box with a side of miso soup.

Sushi Jin Steak Don @$29.80++

closer look

I was surprised that we could still eat rice at 830pm after the last meal intake at about 430pm where we indulged in Nasi Kandar and Tandoori dishes. But then, we were legendary once... so shouldn't be surprised actually. Hahhaa!

For finale, we tried the blackforest that's made of lovely dark chocolate, morello cherries and decorated with a single snowflake. I didn't have any expectation for the tart as am not a fan of cherry. But wow, I loved it. It looked gorgeous too.

Blackforest Tarte by Cheryl Koh

inner piece

We enjoyed dining at SOCIEATY as service was good, and staff was friendly and efficient. Just be sure to make your reservations.

Staycation eats with Ivan, Hence and Tracy.

SOCIEATY by Les Amis Group

Address: 1 Farrer Park Station Rd, #01-01A One Farrer Hotel & Spa, Singapore 217562

Website: https://www.socieaty.net/menu

Contact: 9662 8697

Business Hours:

Daily 11:30am–3pm, 5:30–10pm