Brewerkz @ Riverside Point

Was invited to Brewerkz at Riverside Point, Boat Quay recently. Last visit to this outlet was during my first food trail ever, way back in 2011. A quick link here. It is about time to get re-acquainted.

Along with its craft beers, Brewerkz serves up American-styled cuisine in a functional space that shouts of  testosterone and sporty feel. The screens were showing American football and NBA while we were there. Atmosphere was boisterous, as expected.

The place was rather busy on a weekday night. Seems like everyone needed a drink after a hard day at work. So drink up. Responsibly of course. Heard that its microbrewery is capable of producing lots more so no worries, our throats are never parched while we are here.

interior

yes, please

SG50 promo

Ever wanted to try all of Brewerkz signature and seasonal beers but worry about calories and all? Good news, just get the beer sampler @$14++ where you can have 4 glasses of 125ml beer.

beer sampler of 14 beers

On hindsight, don't get all 14 at one go unless its shared amongst say, 6 pax. It gets warm pretty fast in our climate.

The full sampler has this combination:
Front row: golden ale, hopback, wheat beer, jubilee lager, pilsner
Second row: single hop - lemondrop, steam beer, irish red, black raspberry,  brown ale
Last row: IPA, oatmeal stout, Xipa and black pig (with highest percentage of alcohol)

from light to dark. Front row (left to right): pilsner, golden jubilee, wheat beer and hopback

Common beer profile - its bitter aftertaste. Some lingers longer than the other. For example, steam beer appeared light and mild (almost can taste the water) but has a very strong lingering bitter aftertaste. Even its black raspberry which has a fruity raspberry flavour and perfume, has that strong bitter finish. Still a man's drink, masked with some genteelness. The most outstanding taste profile, was the oat meal stout. Which surprisingly, tasted more of like a good 'ol strong coffee made even stronger by alcohol.

Thou shall not drink with an empty stomach. So let's bring the food out~

For group gatherings, let's start with a huge-ass bowl of soba noodle salad. It was a pretty good bowl of tasty salad. Asian flavoured, with crispy strips for that texture contrast, fresh leaves and lots of good sized teriyaki chicken strips. Half-sized of this bowl can be a main course for me!

soba noodle salad @$23++

If salad is not your thing, how about meat skewers? Loved it! Maybe because this place is American-styled, the skewers felt like an upsize from normal asian satays/yakitori. Look at those firm meat, with good layers of fats that's been grilled to a sizzling drip. Flavourful on its own.

chipotle pork belly satay @$14++

Other appetisers included buffalo wings and mussels. The hot buffalo wings are not spicy actually.

mussels with in-house made bread

hot buffalo wings @$18++

If you are really, really into meat, then go all out for the 3 Big Pigs. A platter of baby back ribs, crispy crackling pork knuckle and kielbasa sausages. Served with sauerkraut and mashed potato.

3 Big Pigs @$90++

The knuckle required quite a bit of strength to cut through but it was worthed the effort. Moist meat yet firm and that crackling of a skin with a thin layer of fats underneath. Yummy. The sausages were easy to eat and none of those overpowering herbs. The ribs were fork tender and reminiscent of asian flavours.

Did someone ask for more beer? How about the Jubilee Lager, that is currently being paired with asian inspired satay seafood angel hair pasta for just $25++ during lunch hour.

Jubilee Lager

satay seafood angel hair pasta

For the cowboys in us, there is a matching Cowboy Burger. Oozing with masculinity (especially with that knife skewered right in the heart of the handmade minced patty. Bam!

Cowboy Burger @$24++

peek-a-boo! beef patty topped with bacon and melted cheddar cheese

Ah, I think we were supposed to put in the raw stuffs of lettuce, tomato and onion slices into the bun but who remembers that when the patty was calling out to us? No time, man! That side of sweet potato fries was distracting too. Can't stop eating that.

potato fries should go with ketchup, even if it is truffled. No?

To wind down from all the drinks and food frenzy, what did we do? We ate somemore! Desserts time.

chocolate fudge cake @$14++

oreo ice-cream cake @$14++

warm brownie @$14++

The ones that we got were all good. Thought we could eat no more, but the desserts were devoured in no time. My favourite desserts that night? Warm brownie stacked with ice-cream that didn't melt too fast and further topped with honeycomb. The sweetness levels were upped seemingly in its stacked order from low to high.

Many thanks to our host, Adora for introducing the many flavours of Brewerkz. The hardworking staff whom took care of our table, and HGW for the invite. The friends; Weighty Man, Running Man, The Arctic Star, that dined together that night, thank you too.

Brewerkz @ Riverside Point

Location: 30 Merchant Road, #01-05/06 Riverside Point, Singapore 058282
Contact: (65) 6438 7438
Website: http://www.brewerkz.com/

Nickeldime Drafthouse @ Novena

"Let's see what they have, over there." Friend suggested after a heavy dinner at Hong Kong Street. Looked over and saw the word "B E E R". Grinned at my friend and said, "Let's have a drink."

That was how we got acquainted with Nickeldime, with bright neon lights and all.

went towards the lights

da bao beer?

The 15 beers on tap are flashed on-screen. Or, just let Frank know whether you'd like 'em sour, salty, or sweet. I mentioned sweet, so he recommended Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar. Tasted nutty, slight sweetish hints of hazelnut with an almost lingering bitter aftertaste.

Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar

Subsequent visit, we went for Sapporo draft. Nothing beats ice cold beer on a warm night. Frank is seriously friendly, and he introduced a couple of Japanese craft beers to try.

Sapporo 1-for-1 during Happy Hour (before 7pm)

My personal favourite was this bottle of Far Yeast Tokyo Blonde. This is a lager/pilsner beer and very drinkable. Tasted pretty yeasty, slightly citrussy, a bit floral with hints of sweetness and dry. Yums.

Nippon Craft Beer - Far Yeast Tokyo Blonde

Next up, from the same brewery we tried the Kagua Blanc. Hmm, this guy was a bit more lemoney. Very much lime-wheat kind of drink. Refreshing.

Nippon Craft Beer - Kagua Blanc

 Interestingly, there's a Kagua Rouge. A pair of craft beer. Crafty.

Nippon Craft Beer - Kagua Rouge

With a deep colour similar to Tokyo Blonde, but Kagua Rouge had a very distinctive aroma to it.  And its perfume-like aroma was something that's light, and somewhat sweet. Said to pair well with food, but we've yet to try. Was always after dinner nearby, so no more space for food.

And for the daring, you may want to try the sour beer. Salty and pungent sounds more apt. Really. Sour beer is said to be up-and-coming 'in' thing to drink, but one sip for me is enough. Thanks, but no thanks. An acquired taste, but hey, it sure was interesting.

only know this as 'sour beer' but am pretty sure it has its proper name. Definitely not a Japanese beer

In just a few weeks' time, sometime in August, be sure to visit Nickeldime for its new addition to the bar. Cheers!

Nickeldime Drafthouse

Address: 273 Thomson Rd, #01-06 Novena Gardens, Singapore 307644
Contact: 6256 0261
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/nickeldimesg
Website: http://www.nickeldimedrafthouse.com/

Balinese BBQ and Seafood Buffet @ Spice Brasserie | Parkroyal on Kitchener Road

Think of Bali, and vivid imagery of an island surrounded by beautiful beaches, luxurious villas with private pool, or cafe overlooking paddy fields might come to mind. And when one talks about Balinese food, it is usually about seafood BBQ by the beach, or the Babi Guling at the warungs. Yes, not forgetting the urap and the spicy sambals too.

For the few that have yet to set foot to Bali, or if you are simply missing the deliciousness of Bali, read on further. The chance to savour Balinese food is here! The good folks at Spice Brasserie at Parkroyal on Kitchener Road are running its Balinese BBQ and Seafood Dinner buffet from now till 12 September 2015. Savour delicacies such as Grilled Lobster in Coconut, Clam Satay, Cumi Cumi Lsi (stuffed squid), Ikan Bakar, Crab Bakar and Babi Guling amongst the many offerings at its dinner buffet every Thursdays till Saturdays. Priced at $50++ per adult, or in conjunction with SG50 promotion, pay just $78++ for two adults.

BBQ and sambals go hand-in-hand

grill stations

Let's start with some BBQ seafood. Diners get to pick their live seafood and have the chefs grill it. Not often do we get that chance at buffets, right?

mussels and lalas

gong gong (clam/conch)

First time having BBQ'ed mussels, and it was downright delicious! Smokey flavour, and fresh sweet salty flesh.

grilled brown mussels

smokey briny clam

lala

 
The gonggongs texture were firmer, clean tasting and with an enjoyable chew. Chef divulged that these babies were not salted, so we could enjoy eating it at natures best. Quite fun to pick its flesh with a satay stick.

gonggong

conch meat

Lovely start to our Balinese feast. The shellfish were all enjoyable and good to be eaten on its own. If you prefer to have it spicy, there are about 16 types of sambal dips for you to choose from. Talk about spoilt for choice!

If shellfish is not your thing, there are still plenty of options at the buffet spread.

cold seafood

sashimi

salads

Indian food spread

Balinese food spread

crackers

I think I have sort of attained some 'enlightment' of buffet styled feasting. Ate my way rather conservatively with some sampling from cold seafood section (by the way, the cold prawns were big, firm and sweet~), then proceeded to try the grilled fish and chicken (ikan bakar, ayam bakar) and cumi cumi. Oh my, the marinade on the grilled chicken was so delicious! Combination of sweet, savoury with that charred smokey flavour was so good. Chef said kampung chickens are used as it is more flavourful.

ikan bakar and ayam bakar

cumi cumi (grilled squid)

The BBQ squid was cooked just right. One could taste the freshness of this seafood. The glaze was sweet savoury. Good to be eaten as it is.

ketam bakar (grilled crab)

udang bakar (grilled prawns)

Found another gem amongst the buffet items. Braised intestines in dark soy sauce and sambal petai goreng. WooO! Took these and ate it with nasi kuning. Such a good meal.

loving it

Of course, was holding out for the highlight of the night. The Babi Guling. The man, whom made all these happen, Chef Low Hoe Kiat was on-hand to share with us his stories (and also some recipes). He chose to use piglets that are around 6 to 7 months old for its meat would be tender. The pig is then rubbed and stuffed with a concoction of spices and left to marinate for two days. After which, it is then spit-roasted under his watchful eyes to tender perfection.

slow roast

Think this is the only place where one could eat as much suckling pig as one would like to without having to break the bank.

babi guling (suckling pig) served with cooked nangka lemak

The suckling pig was seriously tender. Seasoned just right and no gamey porky aftertaste. The crackling is not those super crispy type but it has a good smokey flavour to it.  First time having cooked nangka and it tasted very sweet, very rich. Chef says it is typically eaten with nasi kuning (yellow rice), with sambal and some vegetables.

Was in meat heaven for that moment.

For drinks, have a try of Spice Brasserie's version of non-alcoholic mojito. Tasted like a glass of refreshing ginger ale.

non-alcoholic mojito (ala-carte order)

For those who likes desserts, here are some pictures. Only managed to try the durian pengat and muah chee. Was too stuffed with food to eat anymore!

assortment of cakes

all time favourite and must eat - durian pengat

the 'roll-it-yourself' muah chee

One could have the durian pengat as it is, or make it into a durian chendol!

durian chendol - shaved ice with sweetened corn, coconut milk, gula melaka and generous scoop of pengat

For the month of June and July, Spice Brasserie would be donating 0.5% of their total sales proceeds to four local charities: AWWA Community Home for Senior Citizens, Bright Hill Evergreen Home, Melrose Home and Singapore Cheshire Home, under the Pan Pacific Hotel Groups' "Eat Well with Us" initiative.

for a good cause

Special thanks to Cleo for the invite and Chef Low for spending time with us. The man has over 20 years of experience in the industry and he is passionate about bringing fresh quality produce to the buffet table.

Spice Brasserie @ Parkroyal On Kitchener Road

Address: 181 Kitchener Road, Singapore 208533
Contact: +65 6428 3000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PRSKT