Szechuan Court & Kitchen 四川阁 @ Fairmont Singapore

With regards to Chinese cuisine, I grew up predominantly on Hokkien and Cantonese dishes as a kiddo, and progressively having some exposure to Hakka, Teochew, Shanghai and Beijing dishes when in adulthood. The latter was mainly due to easy availability of such cuisine in Singapore and also attributed to the opportunity to travel. If you ask me whether I've tasted szechuan cuisine before, I'd be hard pressed for an answer. The only szechuan I've eaten would be the szechuan preserved vegetable (mustard root). Doesn't count, right?

Thanks to the invitation from Hungrygowhere and hosted by Fairmont, had the opportunity to dine at Szechuan Court at Fairmont. This restaurant serves up fine Szechuan and Cantonese cuisine under the helm of Master Chef Mok Wan Lok.

interior of Szechuan Court

cosy dining

The restaurant is spacious and comfortable, with a modern Chinese interior. While waiting for the mains, one could sample the snacks already available on the table; the boiled peanuts and szechuan pickled vegetable. The pickle was delectably crunchy and tangy with a touch of chili. Quite addictive.

szechuan pickled vegetable with chili

boiled peanuts

let's have some tea, 饮茶

For tea alone, diners are spoilt for choice. Take your pick from premium leaves of Lion's Peak Dragon Well (狮峰龙井), High Mountain Dongding Oolong (冻顶乌龙), Aged Old Pu-er (陈年旧普洱) 12 years or handcrafted tea, amongst others.

Feeling ravenous, we started with the cold dishes of "Chong Qing" Poached Chicken in spicy peanut sesame sauce and the Braised Beef Tripe with Shimeji mushrooms in peanut chili sauce.

Combination of "Chong Qing" Poached Chicken, Spicy Peanut Sesame Sauce (重庆口水鸡) @$18++

Was pleasantly surprised that the spice level of the poached chicken was actually very likeable and not of the mind-numbing variant. The sauce was more of a fragrance inducer with a tingling of spice to excite the taste buds. The chicken itself was smooth and tender.

The overall texture of the beef tripe dish was enjoyably tasty, 爽口.

Braised Beef Tripe, Shimeji Mushrooms, Peanut Chili Sauce (老干妈五香牛肚伴松茸菇) @$18++

The first two dishes are strong in flavours, and if you prefer something more soothing, do try the Braised Bird's Nest with Cabbage in Chicken Broth.

A luxurious bowl of nutritious bird's nest on velvety smooth flavourful chicken broth. Very well prepared. Indeed a Chef's recommended dish.

Braised Bird's Nest, Cabbage, Chicken Broth (红烧菜胆鸡汁燕窝) @$42++

Next, we had the Steamed Cod fish with Soya Bean Crumbs.

Call me a novice but wasn't able tell what the topping was without looking at the menu. It looked pretty much like minced fried garlic. But its taste was of something more umami-ish. Really liked the soft-oily flesh of cod fish prepared simply by steaming it and doused with soy based sauce, with the fish topped with crunchy fried soya bean crumbs, minced garlic and a secret ingredient. Very good.

Steamed Cod Fish with Soya Bean Crumbs (豆酥) @$18++

Was happy to know that there are plenty of meat dishes in the menu.

The Wok-Fried Sliced Chicken dish was pleasant to taste with impeccably smooth and tender (嫩) chicken slices. The ginger tasted like pickled ginger and added to the tangy element of the dish. The Stir-Fried Duck Breast, surprisingly tasted more like tender beef/venison texture. Lovely dish, and loved the black fungus as well. Yums.

Wok-Fried Sliced Chicken, Young Ginger, Sweet and Sour Sauce @ (Small $28++, Medium $42++) 

Stir-Fried Duck Breast, Black Fungus, Pickled Wild Chilli @ (Small $32++, Medium $48++)

Next, we had the Braised Pork Belly Ribs with Crispy Rice and Sweet Vinegar Sauce. Come to think of it, Chinese cooking can be simple as well as complex. Boiled, braised, deep fried and then stir-fried. So many steps just for one dish alone! The presentation of this dish was as pretty as a painting.

Braised Pork Belly Ribs, Crispy Rice, Sweet Vinegar Sauce @ (Small $30++, Medium $45++)

Really enjoyed the crunch of the light batter, moist juicy meat and the perfect balance of sweet and sour in the sauce. Careful of the bones from the ribs though. The spice in this dish was of the peppercorn variant that provided a slight tinge of numbness (麻辣) on the lips.

In Chinese course meal, usually it will end with a carb of either rice or noodles. At Szechuan Court, we had Wok-Fried Fish Noodles, Shredded Pork and Black Pepper.

Wok-Fried Fish Noodles, Shredded Pork, Black Pepper @(Small $28++ , Medium $42++, Large $56++)

In the menu, there is an indicator of the spice level for each of the spicy dishes. But I think Chef Mok was kidding us when the menu for the Wok-Fried Fish Noodles stated an icon for 'pinch spicy'. This bowl of noodles was of the most spicy (from the black pepper) of all the dishes that we had tasted that night. It deserves an upgrade to 'Hot spicy' level! No worries, Chef  Mok has shared that if you prefer more spicy or less spicy, just let the staff know when you order the dish.

After sampling four of the spicy dishes that night, I'd dare say that the most of the spice level are acceptable to our foreign friends from the non-Asian countries.

Ended the night with a sweet cooling dessert of Pandan Ice Jelly with Honey Sea Coconut. Nice fragrance from the pandan jelly, with nice wobbly smooth texture.

Pandan Ice Jelly with Honey Sea Coconut @$8++

A big thank you goes to Medwin and Wendy for having us at Szechuan Court, Fairmont Singapore. Chef Mok for the delightful dishes and for spending time answering our queries. Many thanks to Hungrygowhere Singapore for the invite, and the foodie kakis, great company as always.

Szechuan Court & Kitchen 四川阁 

Location: 80 Bras Basah Road, Singapore 189560
Website: http://www.fairmont.com/singapore/dining/szechuancourt/
Reservation: +65 6431 6156 or email dining.singapore@fairmont.com
Business Hours:
Lunch:
Monday to Friday - 12:00pm to 2:30pm
Saturday, Sunday & Public Holiday - 12:00pm to 3:00pm

Dim Sum Buffet:
Saturday, Sunday & Public Holiday - 12:00pm to 2:15pm

Dinner:
Daily - 6:30pm to 10:30pm

Note: The information is correct at time of print. For more updated information, please visit the restaurant's website. Thank you

Coffee Jammin! - Three Cups Coffee @ One Raffles Place

Coffee Jammin!? What's that? Was asked by Kris if I'd wanted to follow her to a coffee jamming session. Images of people downing copious amount of coffee surfaced in my mind... haha! No, I think it'd be a session where coffee lovers come together to learn more about their favourite beans. So, we signed up for the session organized by Three Cups Coffee at Level 4 of One Raffles Place.

chalkboard

The session starts from 11am, and by the time I reached, most were already seated with a cuppa in their hands. Ooh, what do I do next? As payment had been made prior, just needed to sign-in at their registration booth, and get a sticker plus a coffee sleeve to redeem your cup of coffee (latte or cappucino). Nice.

aww, cute little hearts for the cappucino

Friendly people at Three Cups Coffee, and the session starts with Michael, the boss introducing the event line-up. Next, was Darren from The Necessary Provision Roasters, talking about coffee beans and demonstrated coffee roasting. Learnt about wet and dry method of removing coffee seeds from its fruit and its impact on coffee acidity.

Darren, on the finer points of roasting coffee beans

Had the opportunity to taste the "Project Y" blend in espresso form. Bitter and strong, but still less caffeinated than our local kopitiam kopi.

Project Y espresso

Next, was a demonstration on coffee flavour extraction via aeropress. This segment was conducted by Evonne. The aeropress is a modern contraption that looks like an oversized syringe.

Zack and Evonne

completing the extraction with exertion of some strength

Hmm, after trying the coffee extracted through the aeropress, am of the opinion that hand-brewed coffee tasted nicer as iced-coffee.

The finger food provided during the jamming session were all good, and can be found in their menu. We tried the egg mayo chicken sandwich, smoked salmon wrap and roast beef sandwich. Yums.

yes to food, was starving!

beef sandwich with caramelized onions and Gruyère cheese

Refreshed by the food (and yes, some shots of espressos), we were ready for the final segment. Siphon Brewing by Zack, the head barista at Three Cups Coffee.

The syphon has been around since the 1830's and while it may look old-fashioned, it is currently still popular in specialty coffee places and there is even a "World Siphonist Championship" event.

let's grind some beans

preparing

second stir

A much informative session and for finale, all participants adjourned to the barista counters to learn and to try their hands on latte art. Woohoo!

hey, everyone's here - Sue, Evonne, Zack and Michael

And, it so happened that Zack was our teacher for the latte art. Yay!

this is how you do it

ta-dah, made by the expert

It was an informative session with sampling of coffee and hands-on opportunity. A place where common love for coffee brings people closer.

Three Cups Coffee

Location: #04-31, 1 Raffles Place Shopping Mall
Website: http://threecupscoffeeco.blogspot.sg/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/threecupscoffeeco
Instagram: threecupscoffeeco
Contact: 6438 4108
Business Hours:

Monday to Friday : 8.00am-9.00pm 

Saturday: 10.00am-6.00pm
Sunday & Public holidays : Closed

Kko Kko Nara 꼬꼬나라 @ 68 Tanjong Pagar Road

Finally has gotten around to try the Korean Fried Chicken by Kko Kko Nara. Our motive was clear. Korean fried chicken and watermelon soju. Let's go!

shopfront

Went up to Level 2, and we sat near the faux fireplace. The fake fire has a kind of semi-hypnotic effect. No wonder we ordered so much food!

The booth seat was quite cool too.

booth seats

faux fireplace

Was very convenient to send the orders via iPad provided on each table.

let's order

water and bowls for bones

Finally tried watermelon soju. Refreshing like a watermelon juice. Easy to drink.

watermelon soju - good for 3 pax @$38++

Ordeed quite a bit food such as japchae, oden, steamed egg and of course, fried chicken.

japchae @$15++

The japchae tasted primarily of sesame oil. Interesting but not quite what I had expected. The oden has peppery broth and tasted alright. Probably the dish to eat if you had too much to drink. The steamed egg was au-natural and very lightly seasoned. But eat it with some of the oden broth and it was a whole new world of familiarity.

oden @$25++

gyeranjjim @$12++

steamed egg

Finally, the fried chicken. Got ourselves the combo chicken set. The chicken tasted like the ones I tried back in Seoul last autumn. The meat was slightly tougher and good for people who likes to chew a tad more. Liked the garlic soy and the yangnyeom (양념 치킨). Spicy level for the yangnyeom was still quite low.

yangnyeom chicken , soy garlic and original (8 pieces) @$25++

pickled radish

Can't believe we had another order of the combo chicken again. The four of us, ate so much! Wow.
Expect to spend about $40 per pax.

Location: 68 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088489
Website:  www.kkokkonara.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kkokkonara/
Contact: +(65) 6224-8186
Business Hours:
Lunch. 12pm ~ 3pm / Dinner. 6pm ~ 3am (Closed: Sunday Lunch)

Hyde & Co - Jekyll's Hyde Out @ 785 North Bridge Road

"Dinner is served." This may sound trivial but it was not until recently that Hyde started their dinner service. Available on every Wednesdays to Saturdays from 6.30pm to 10.30pm. Read on if you would like to find out more on what's on the dinner menu. Linger around a while longer and you'll get a glimpse of the Christmas Waffle. Meanwhile, Hyde is running their 1st Anniversary Dinner this week on 27 to 28 November, so their dinner menu will resume on the 1st week of December.

shopfront

If you are driving, I heard that the nearest parking would be Textile Centre. For me, it was bus #851 and it stops at Parkview Square (the one that looks like Gotham City). Alight from bus and turn left and walk straight for the longest time. Walked past a mosque and once you spot The Ramen Stall, that's a good sign as Hyde is next to it.

in the middle

Let's go easy and start slowly

Out of the four available starters, we tried the Buffalo Wings. The sauce was sweetish and smoky. A beer kind of dish. Good starter and it whets the appetite. Maybe more crudités to dip into the garlic aioli? The four starters cover the Greens (Beetroot Salad), the Meat (Buffalo Wings), the Carb (Truffle Fries) and the Soup (Tomato Bisque).

Buffalo Wings - Chipotle BBQ Sauce, Garlic Aioli @$10

Bring out the mains and bring it out in full force! 

Well, almost. Sampled four out of the seven mains. More than half of the mains are actually Asian dishes, executed with modern European techniques. Chef Nazz is trained in Italian cooking and came from a family who owns a catering business. We tried the interesting Assam Halibut, Beef Cheek Rendang, Nasi Lemak Risotto and Truffle Mac and Cheese. Make a guess on which one was the most 'westernized' dish of the night?

Assam Halibut @$21

The Assam Halibut was served with burnt cauliflower, french beans, soba sitting atop of homemade assam sauce. Halibut and cod are pretty similar in the same whitefish grouping. Halibut is often described as lean, flaky white flesh that is mild in flavour. A good try from Chef but somehow, this dish was more of a miss for me. The soba was unfortunately a tad overcooked and while the halibut was of a good texture, this combination was just not something that I'd preferred.

Next, we had the Nasi Lemak Risotto. All too familiar and expertly cooked and plated. No surprises here.

Nasi Lemak Risotto @$22

Break the poached egg (be careful, it squirts!) and mixed everything together. Tasty.

Homemade sambal (more of this please!) was less spicy than expected but has deep flavours. The prawns were plump, firm and good. The risotto was cooked with coconut water and finished with coconut cream. Tasted like a good fragrant plate of nasi lemak with extra creaminess and moistness. The ikan bilis (anchovies) were perfect. Crispy and crunchy.

let it flow and mix well

For meatatarians, try the Beef Cheek Rendang. It has a well balanced taste and the texture of the meat was still firm yet tender enough. No surprise, since the meat was cooked for 4 hours. The sweet potato mash, the slaw and the crispy 'homemade from scatch' crostini all made wonderful partners to the beef cheeks. This dish was good and satisfying.

Beef Cheek Rendang @$25

The last main dish that we sampled was the Truffle Mac & Cheese. Now, isn't this a purely westernized dish? But who cares!?  This was one of favourite dishes for the night. Classic comfort food. Bacon with its fats rendered, torched crumbs (panko) and roasted mushroom topped with cheese and baked. For best taste, use a spoon to scoop up a mouthful of pasta, bacon, mushrooms and sauce. So good!

Truffle Mac & Cheese @$22

The other mains in the Jekyll's Hyde Out menu included the Chili Crab Pasta, Chicken Confit and Coffee Rub Lamb Rack. The lamb sounds interesting.

Feeling thirsty? Have some refreshing cold tea. We tried the Addams Family and Into the Woods. Addams Family is made of Moroccan Apple Tea and crushed apples while Into the Woods are Iced Berries Tea based with Hibiscus and Rose Hip. Both are refreshing and not very sweet. Perfect cooler for our warm and humid weather.

Addams Family (front) and Into the Woods (back) @$7.50 each

Not forgetting the desserts. We were introduced to the All-Star Tea Affogato. Say what again? Isn't affogato a coffee-based dessert? Usually, yes. But hey, if Hyde wants to do affogato with tea, who is to say can't?

All-Star Tea Affogato (@$7.50 each) - Millie, Matilda, Charlie and Hamilton

Each of the All-Star Tea Affogato was named after a Broadway show. Pictured above, is "Millie", a concoction of Vintage Earl Grey, Orange Zest and mint. The next one was "Matilda" based on Roald Dahl's novel about a five year old girl. Matilda the affogato, tasted of Strawberry Ceylon and Berry Compote.
Followed by "Charlie" as in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, where we get Chocolate Meringue Tea, Salted Chocolate Drizzle. Lovely. Finally, the manly "Hamilton" - based on the biography of Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Father of the United States. Hamilton affogato has the Spiced Lapsang Souchong and Sesame Segments. I'd imagine cigar lovers would love this as this dessert has a heavy, smokey taste to it. 

Each of the affogato has its own uniqueness, so it depends on your preference or mood for that day. That night, I liked the lighter flavoured ones but the crowd was going for Hamilton. Try and see which one of Damien's (Hyde's head barista) creation you like best.

And something special for Christmas, Hyde's Christmas Waffle! A delicious gingerbread buttermilk waffle (contains cinnamon), caramelized apple, wine poached raisins, vanilla bean ice-cream and salted caramel drizzle. Waffle was crisp on the outerside and soft-fluffy-chewy on its inside that's sweet and salty at the same time. Yummeh! Available from first week of December and will be taken off the menu after Christmas, boo hoo! 

Christmas Waffle @$14

For the coffee lovers, try Hyde's Anniversary "Magic" blend with beans from Brazil, Sumatra and Ethiopia. Slightly stronger acidity from previous blend, and tasted of hazelnut and chocolate.

Ordered a latte, and snapped a photo of Damien. The latte art this time was too cute and with a Chrismas-sy feel too. Thanks Damien!

The man and his machine

Merry Christmas Mr Snowman

Thank you to Derrick for hosting the tasting session, Chef Nazz for creating the flavourful menu and Damien for the good teas and coffees. Special thanks to Kris for the invite.


Here's a link to the first visit.

Hyde & Co

Location: 785 North Bridge Road, 198753 
Contact: +65 6636 5785
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hydeandcompany/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hydeandco/
Business Hours:
Sunday to Monday - 11am till 6pm 
Wednesday to Saturday - 11am till 10:30pm
Closed on Tuesdays