The Armoury x Yellow Cup Coffee @ South Beach Avenue

Cosy and casual young vibes all round, The Armoury x Yellow Cup Coffee is a business where the brothers are in-charge. This is a place where you get craft beer, burgers and coffee all under one roof. Chanced upon this place during one of the weekends, and with Happy Hour prices, got myself a Hawaiian Kona draft beer to try.

on tap

hmm

happy pricing

sampler

The cool thing about this place is that the people here are friendly. The craft beers on tap are mostly American and if you weren't sure of what to get, they were alright with offering a sampler if you're already bought a drink or if you ask really nicely.

They have Rogue ale the hazelnut brown nectar one, Stone IPA and coffee stout amongst others. Have had those elsewhere so this time round, chose the Kona Golden Ale.

Aloha

The beer was light and balanced, pretty easy to drink though it was rather early that day.

Kona Golden Ale (4.4% ABV) @$6 (HH)

For food, we sampled the Beer Battered Chicken Cutlet on Waffles for savoury and for the sweets, we had the Berry Ricotta Pancake (special order and depends on availability of ingredients, as the on-menu version was matcha).

Beer Battered Chicken Cutlet on Waffles @$21

The beer battered chicken had nicely crisp batter that was music to the ears. Yums! It had a bit of salted egg lava drizzled onto the cutlet, served with sunny side up which oozes nicely when sliced and some dots of ricotta cheese. On the overall, the chicken thigh was well marinated and tasty but it was also a bit on the sweeter side. Preferred it to be more savoury and perhaps with a touch more of spice like chili flakes or chili padi. The waffles was nicely eggy. Would have loved to bite into these chicken cutlet again!

I'm the only one with beer while the rest were happily sipping their honey or nutella latte. Then, I got a spoonful of nutella to try. What did I do? Why, have it with beer of course! Surprisingly, this combo works. In fact, it works extremely well with the Hawaiian Kona beer.

nutella and golden ale, because I can

The coffee here is from Yellow Cup Coffee and using the La Marzocco machine.

coffee counter

for that intense flavour

coffee

And, the Berry Ricotta Pancake had like 3-stacks of pancake in there and topped with lots of seasonal berries; we got blueberries, strawberries; raspberries, yuzu gel and mascarpone cheese.

Berry Ricotta Pancake @$22

We were stuffed from eating too much that day with Fynn's being our first brunch stop.

young vibes

Worth checking out if you are in the vicinity, as they do have a good selection of drinks and good food. Or, drop by for a drink and casual chat with the young bosses.

drinks menu

Orchid Live Seafood @ 1 Bah Soon Pah Rd

"Miss, the place that you're going...sounds quite ulu-hor?"

That was what the taxi uncle said after the address to the destination was given. Yes, GPS was switched on and we arrived at the destination but it looked more like a nursery (plants) from the outside so we overshot and went further up. Had to make a u-turn since the unit numbers were getting larger.

Turns out, it was right at the entrance to this road. First impression of this place? It felt like an out-of-town place somewhere in Malaysia.

alfresco otherwise turn towards the right for the air-conditioned restaurant entrance

live seafood tanks

Pretty old-school eatery and chef's recommendation are plastered all over the air-conditioned restaurant for easy reference.

old school feels

Dinner was gathered by Justin and everyone had common motive; which was to try the lobster porridge. Of course, since there were 6 of us, we ordered some other zichar (煮炒) dishes to share as well.

coconut water

For the lobster porridge, one could choose whether it's for 2, 3, 4, 6 or 8 pax. The difference is on the weight of the lobsters combined that'll feed those numbers of pax. Smallest would be 600g while largest would be 2kg. Price of live seafood will commensurate with weight.

Besides lobster porridge, we ordered dishes such as sambal kangkung (morning glory), stevens chicken, chili mussels, crispy tofu with topshell and a plate of hokkien noodles to try.

sambal kangkung

crispy tofu with topshell

chili mussels

The mussels were so plump but the sauce a tad too watery for me. Spice level was very mild. The crispy tofu was pretty ordinary...can skip. Perhaps a hotplate tofu would be better in terms of taste.

Our favourite dish? The stevens chicken. It was so good that we did a second order for this. Think we did medium x 2. Perhaps next time, a large portion from the start?!

Why we loved it? Served piping hot with crisp skin and moist inside. Adequate seasoning and mildly sweet on its skin. Not too oily.

stevens chicken

The porridge for 6 pax, was incredibly huge. A heavy pot was brought to tableside and the staff will help to dish out lobsters and to set it aside to prevent it from cooking any further. Porridge is then portioned into individual bowls. There were copious amount of porridge and broth available for thirds and fourths!

lobsters removed

lobster porridge is served

The essence was all in the broth. Comforting on a wet rainy day. A man who had finished his dinner with his family, walked past ours as we were about to start and he commented that both our tables ordered the same things. Hahaa! Guess so since most of the stuffs that we ordered were stated as chef's recommendation.

communal dining

Parking is available at this place. Otherwise need to grab since this is nowhere near any MRT.

Expect to spend about $50 to $60 per pax, if getting any live seafood.

Thank you Justin for initiating and Bel for getting the reservation. Communal dining with Justin, Bel, Kai, Cae, Tiara and Jen.

Fynn's @ South Beach Avenue

Visited Fynn's for brunch during the weekends with fellow foodies. The brunch menu was rather compact; ie. a one-pager, so it wasn't difficult to decide on what to have. Kris recommended the chia seed pudding, so we just needed to choose another two dishes for sharing. Decided on stuffed french toast and pulled chicken pita.

brunch menu

interior

First time having chia seed pudding in an oat'ish kind of item, and am a new convert. Very nice. Liked the coconut flavour in this dish.

chia seed pudding, pineapples and granola @$14++

Drizzle the gula melaka and dig in! The raisins provided much sweetness but it also will get stuck in between of the teeth...

closer view

The next healthy dish was the pulled chicken pita. The hummus was used as a spread in the pita. The chicken was adequately seasoned and the light mayo gave it some moistness into an otherwise seemingly 'dry' dish.

pulled chicken pita, hummus, cranberry. lettuce, scallions @$17++

There was some leftover of gula melaka, so I dipped a piece of pita into that and the taste was awesome! Hehe. Multi-purpose.

The one dish that had all our votes, was the stuffed french toast with bacon, gruyere and roasted tomatoes.
Looked appetising and tasted good. We loved this!

stuffed french toast @$19.50++

Also sampled a piece of the peanut butter biscuit that would come along with the coffee. Crispy and airy. Not too sweet.

peanut butter cookies

Spent half a weekend with Kris, Jennifer, Shermaine and Tiara.

Fynn's

Location: 26 Beach Road #B1-21, 189768
Website: http://fynnsrestaurant.com/ 
Contact: 6384 1878
Business Hours:
Tuesday to Friday: 9:00am – 10:00pm
Saturday: 11:00am – 10:00pm
Sunday: 11:00am  – 5:00pm
Monday: closed
 

Aburi Sushi Heishirou @ Westgate Jurong East

Chanced upon this shop when I was browsing through the JPassport app. It was offering 5 pieces of aburi sushi for $10 (usual price $18). Plus, was looking for a place to dine with my bro as he is working at that area. The deal clincher? 1-for-1 on bottled beer during Happy Hour (till 730pm). Cool~

The shop is located at Level 3 of Westgate, next to Papparich. Nearby, there's Tsukado Nojo and Ippudo. The Japanese chef at Heishirou seemed grumpy that day, though he'd still nod his head at you when eye contact is made.

Orion bottled beer $9++

The menu seemed limited with most of it being sushi, aburi sushi, donburis and the usual sets. Then, there's the tamagoyaki section which states that these are made upon order. Well, that's that and wouldn't miss the chance to try.

For the two of us, we ordered a seafood salad, plain tamagoyaki, a dragon roll and that plate of aburi sushi's on promo plus our beer. An abundance!

seafood salad @$15++

The seafood salad was actually mainly aburi salmon belly salad, with a bit of ebiko and seaweed that made up the 'seafood'. It was pretty looking, and loved the fresh vegetables. Pour in the salad sauce with abandon and enjoy! With this size, the salad could have fed 4 pax as starter.

aburi sushi - salmon, tuna, kajiki, scallop and yellowtail @$10++ (u.p $18++)

Am heartened by the size of the sushi at Heishirou. It was of the right size. If it was those tiny tiny sushi that some joints are serving nowadays, I'd be angry. Seriously.

plain tamagoyaki 卵焼き @$12++

The tamagoyaki was slightly sweeter than expected and its texture not as smooth. Enjoyable nonetheless. Hot eggs and beer. Yums.

When the waitress said their dragon roll is the biggest, I was amused. But she tells the truth. While it may or may not be the biggest, it was certainly impressively large. Tasty and not too overpowering.

our meal

It was actually too much food for the two of us. Felt so full after that. Hahaa!

Estimate to spend about $35 per pax for a meal here with a drink.

Aburi Sushi Heishirou

Location: 3 Gateway Drive, #03-05 Westgate Mall, 608532
Contact: 6369 9489
Website: http://www.aburiheishirou.com.sg/
Business Hours:
Lunch: 11am - 230pm 
Dinner: 5pm to 930pm

Sat, Sun, Public Hols - 11am to 930pm

Ginett Restaurant and Wine Bar @ Hotel G

This beautiful place is located on the first floor of Hotel G, located at 200 Middle Road. Uniquely, one needs to pass through its carpark for its taxi drop-off (and pick-up) point. There, at the hotel lobby, take the lift down to the restaurant.

High ceiling, dimly lit cosy classy ambiance at this European-styled restaurant. The bar area is very striking. The upper level is where the kitchen is. The chefs were looking quite serious.

Ginett

interior

street level

Floor manager and supervisors were quick to attend to our queries and requests. However, a few staff was noticeably new and has limited product knowledge.

promotions

Noticeably, the bottled wines at Ginett are priced reasonably. We started with a bottle of merlot which presumably was picked by Ivan? I do like merlot. In terms of red, my top preferences would be the likes of merlot and malbecs.

Château Martinat, Côte de Bourg @$55++

The Martinat was medium bodied, dry and easy to drink. Low tannins meant no siap-siapness (hokkien colloquial). Yay.

I was soo hungry. Ever since I've started this new job, I'd be the last to arrive at any dinner gatherings during the weekdays. Much apologies to my friends!

Chewy crusty bread served slightly warm. Just spread some of those salty creamy butter on it did wonders to curb that hunger. Plus it allowed me to steal some sips of that delicious wine. Yums.

complimentary bread with butter

The food and drinks here are decidedly French, so we started with Pâté en Croûte. This starter has terrine encased in puff pastry and cooked. The accompanying bread was crisp and flavourful. The terrine is black pork and French foie gras. Not that am able to differentiate non-French foie gras for that matter. This dish was sublime. However, am opined to think that I like rillettes more for its stronger flavours.

Pâté en Croûte@$19++

Ahh, so what's the difference between pate, terrines and rillettes? No idea man, so I did a quick Google search. Interestingly, all pâtés are terrines, but not all terrines are pâtés. All of these are basically preserved meats. Terrines are usually made of ground meat, while rillettes are chopped/shredded and pâtés are blended.

La Joue de Boeuf @ $32++

Our first main dish arrived in the form of La Joue de Boeuf or also known as wagyu beef cheek that has been braised for 12 hours, with sauteed mushrooms and served with a side of smooth creamy mash.

closer view of the beef cheek

Beef cheek was well-braised and the sauce was just right. Not too overpowering. The mash was enjoyable.  The next meaty main course came in the form of roasted baby chicken. Lovely colour and served table-side. The staff would help to carve out the chicken. Lovely service.

Le Coquelet De Ferme Rôti aux Herbes de Provence @$34++

bite-sized

French-styled roasted chicken are always subtle. Mild flavours all round and tender chicken with some moist retained. I got the breast meat and it was still nice. This came with truffled mash and the whole table simply adored that as well.

Next up, was a new dish that I had never seen before. Ivan said he ordered fish dumpling, so in my mind, they'd look something like a ravioli or such. Imagine the surprise when a large yellow sausage looking dish arrived. Hee!

La Quenelle de Brochet Gratinée @ $28++

As I am the group's unofficial cutter, had the honour to slice through this 'dumpling'. It was so soft! The texture and flavour was akin to tofu with minced fish. The dumpling itself has such soft, gentle flavours but the sauce (and cheese, yes?)  provided a twist in the taste with its stronger flavours. If you are like me and need to know how does a pike fish look like, here is a link.

pike fish dumpling chardonnay sauce

To continue with our meaty adventure, next was the pork chop, served with potato wedges. The meat was adequately seasoned but it was just lacking abit of fats. The lean meat was dangerously and almost veering towards the dry side.

Kurobuta Chop @ $32++

sliced pork chop

Luckily, the finale meat dish did not dissappoint and that, came in the form of La Côte de Boeuf. A hulk of a prime rib that was meant for 2 pax but eaten by 8.

La Côte de Boeuf @ $120++

I saw you, medium rare

Served with three types of sauces; Béarnaise, pepper, blue cheese. All sauces were pretty nice. The meat was wonderful. Thick slices of tender beef cooked medium rare. Each person still gets to enjoy a good-sized cut of the meat. Red meat, red wine. I was happy.

Lastly, our night cap included another bottle of wine. Hey, a sparkling for $30? Why not?

Cuvée Splendid, Sparkling Wine @$30++

And of course, we had to check out the desserts. Ordered a couple to try. Out of the lot, the least enjoyable one was the mille-feuille. The crust was not flaky.  The creme brulee was a tad too sweet for me, so I went with the profiteroles. The choux was decent and who can resist ice-cream?

Mille-feuille @$13++

Crème Brûlée @$8++

Profiteroles @$13++

Expect to spend about $57 to $65 per pax for a meal with a glass of wine. Recommend the La Côte de Boeuf and wines.