[Media Invite] NO MILK Bistro @ 18 Pahang Street

Located at 18 Pahang Street, the closest MRT would be Bugis or Lavender. The shop has two levels. The first floor houses the Fish Soup Boutique while second floor has a cool bistro with all the happening vibes and a bar. One could do their chillin' at the rooftop, yo!

signage

Fish Soup Boutique

Available daily from 11am - 10pm (Mon-Sat), order up your favourite bowl of fish/seafood soup and enjoys the comforting taste of the nourishing Teochew-style fish broth. My favourite is the mackerel fish slices as one could taste the fresh sweetness. For the fried fish, they are using seabass. This means one could get two types of fish in two styles!

Mixed Fish Soup (sliced and fried) 双鱼片汤 @$7

Just right next to the Fish Soup Boutique is a small door that opens up to a staircase. This would lead diners up to the No Milk Bistro at Level 2 (rooftop) for some drinks, chillax vibes and interesting foods. Opens from 5pm to 12am (Mon-Sat).

let's go up

feelin' it

and the fun begins~

Started off with a beer. and the owners have carefully selected Singapore craft beers that pairs well with the food. I got a "Sunday's Brew Pilsner" even though it was not a Sunday but hey, why not yo!

Sunday's Brew Pilsner @$13 (Check out that 照才猫 ~)

The craft beer is from Rye & Pint Brewery, which was started by 3 Singaporean brothers as a hobby. The cold pilsner is refreshing in our hot and humid weather and with ABV 5%, it was a good slow start to the long weekend. Ahhh...

Tasted of citrus with a touch of floral, it finishes with a malty smoothness. Liking this beer. Now that we have our drinks, let's get some food in our bellies.

The menu is an eclectic fusion of the East and the West. There are the usual bar food like fried chicken wings, potato wedges and at No Milk Bistro, these are fused with an Eastern influenced-take. It could be in the marinade, the sauces etc. No Milk Bistro emphasizes on heritage preservation while adding a touch of their individual identities to the foods.

Homemade Meats - Black Charsiu, Secret Recipe Pork Belly and Ngor Hiang (not actual serving size)

The Black Charsiu, Pork Belly and Ngor Hiang are three separate items on the menu with the Charsiu and the Pork Belly priced at $12.80 per plate while the Ngor Hiang goes for $2. My personal favourite would be the Black Charsiu served with a tangy sambal belachan sauce. Nice caramelization on the skin for that sweet smokey taste. Would have been awesome if the slices of meat was thicker!

For finger food (or the usual bar grub), the fried chicken wings had a nice crispy batter and moist meat. The meat was well marinated and flavourful. But do dip into the chili sauce for added oomph. The various chili dips are made from scratch in the shop.

Deep Fried Chicken Wings @$14.80 (8 pieces)

A big sip of beer and a bite of those crunchy wings. Mmmm, now we are talking. No carbs? Nah, just No Milk. There's carbs and they are in the form of delicious freshly made tagliatelle and egg noodles.

Tagliatelle - Thai Red Curry with Tiger Prawns @$18.80

Tagliatelle - Beef Rendang @$16.80

The tagliatelle are long, flat ribbons that are similar in shape to fettuccine and its texture is slightly rough and porous, making it ideal for meat sauces. At No Milk Bistro, they made this pasta using just flour and egg. No water. End result was a more eggy version of the pasta with a delightful bouncy chew.

Both the Thai Red Curry and Beef Rendang sauces shared the similarity of having that familiar Asian spices, providing a rich fragrance and satisfying complement to the pasta. I find the Thai Red Curry lemak and appetizing while the beef rendang has a sweeter start with a hint of spicy finish.

All these talk are making me thirsty (again). Let's get some cocktails for a sweet finish. Tried the gin-based cocktail; Hendrik's Elixer and Blueberry Cucumber Gimlet. While I had my initial apprehension about blueberry and cucumber cocktail, it turned out to be a hit! It's a pretty good ladies drink. Do give it a try and let me know if you liked it.

Hendrick's Elixer @$15 - with elderflower, citrus, mint

Roku Gin based - Blueberry Cucumber Gimlet @$15

If a sudden craving for Chinese noodles hits you, why not try a bowl of the spicy fragrant egg noodles with grilled pork belly/fish belly. Fashioned like mala noodles, one could opt for its spice levels of 小辣，中辣， 大辣 (low, medium, high spicy).

香辣手工鸡蛋面与烤三辰肉或炸鱼肚 (干) @$8

The lowest level of spice, was barely there hence, you might want to opt for mid and above level of spicy. Ours was a bowl with the deep fried fish belly and it was belly-good! However, the salt quotient is high on this one (on the meat).

If you'd like to sober up a tad after all the drinks, you could still order up a bowl of hot, hearty, comforting fish soup. Yes, the menu is interchangeable between the Fish Boutique and the Bistro.

comfort food

Thank you Danielle for the invite and No Milk for hosting the tasting session.

No Milk Bistro

Address: 18 Pahang St, Singapore 198615
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/nomilksg
Contact: 6291 5854
Business Hours: Mon-Sat
No Milk Fish Boutique (Level 1): 11am - 10pm
No Milk Bistro: 5pm - 12am
Closed on Sundays

[PROMO] Café Lodge Easter Sunday Special 21 Apr 2019 @ YWCA Fort Canning

Looking for a spacious space for a lunch buffet on Easter to celebrate with your family? Cafe Lodge offers buffet of Asian flavours, special activity of egg-painting and chocolate gifts for the kids. Available on 21 Apr 2019 and from 11am to 4pm.

Easter Sunday Lunch Buffet Price

Adult at $32++ per pax and Child (6 to 12yrs) $15.80++ per pax

Promotion

1 Child Dines Free with every 2 Paying Adults!

Sampler from the Easter Lunch Buffet Menu

Appetisers and Salad

Smoked salmon

Marinated octopus

Main Course

Stew duck with Chinese Mushroom and sea cucumber

Dessert

Fresh Fruit Platter

Besides the above, the other dishes in the buffet menu consists of:

Appetizer 

• Prawn cocktail 
• Oriental Roast Pork 
• Marinated octopus (photo above)
• Smoked salmon (photo above)

  

Soup 

• Fish Maw soup with mushroom 

  

Live station

• Kong Bak Pau with braised pork 
• Loh Mee with condiments 

Salad 

• Garden salad with 7 condiments 

  

Main course  

• Steamed seabass fillet with teo chew style 
• Sautéed prawn with celery and xo sauce 
• Braised spinach with trio eggs  
• Fred beef with black pepper 
• Fried crispy chicken with prawn cracker 
• Stew duck with Chinese mushroom and sea cucumber (photo above)
• Fragrance rice 

  

Dessert 

• Honey melon with sago and fruit 
• Bo bo cha cha 
• Chin chow and longan 
• French pastries 
• Assorted ice cream 
• Mango mousse cake 
• Double fudge chocolate cake 
• Nutella tea cake 
• Fresh fruit platter (photo above)
• Ruby orange mousse cake 
• Assorted nonya kueh 

For enquiries and reservations, please direct them to Cafe Lodge.

Café Lodge

Address: FORT CANNING LODGE, 6 FORT CANNING ROAD, 179494
Website: https://ywca.org.sg/cafe-lodges-easter-promotion/
Reservation: 6333 0487 or email cafe@ywcafclodge.org.sg
Online reservation: https://reservations.hungrygowhere.com/cafe_lodge/?s=arwoibw

[Tasting] 13 Stages @ Kallang Wave Mall

13 Stages has two outlets in Singapore; Kallang Wave Mall and Tanjong Pagar Centre. It is famed for its steamed whole chicken leg rice dishes as well as delicious kopi brewed by barista. Opened by local celebrity Mark Lee (李国煌), 13 Stages at Kallang Wave Mall is into 20 months of operations (since August 2017), while the one at Tanjong Pagar Centre is its second outlet.

We sampled some of their bestsellers and is delighted to know that come May 2019, they are expanding the menu with more flavours for its chicken dishes.

13 Stages at Kallang Wave Mall is huge and able to seat a group of 20 rather easily.

shopfront

menu

Walk right up front to the coffee counter and notice the 13 bottles of kopi powder from the 13 states of East and West Malaysia. How to choose from so many? Fret not, its menu had listed out the profiles for each of the kopi so you may want to decide based on that. Otherwise, one could also do the "Best of 2" or "Gems of 3 States". "Best of 2" means guests could order up a mix of two kopi while "Gems of 3 States" allows a tasting portion for 3 selected kopi of the day.

13Stages kopi

I opted for a taste of my hometown, Selangor (雪兰莪州). Did not know what to expect from the Malaysia Barista Kopi actually. Was pleasantly surprised to see it being served in a clear glass with a tag.

After one sip, I can proudly say that the barista kopi here, hits the spot, especially the kopi from Selangor, The barista made it less sweet to bring out the kopi profile and to me, that was perfect. Adequate, and enjoyable. Thank you!

Malaysia Barista Kopi - Selangor (medium, rich, less sweet)

Gems of 3 States

And if you are ever there during breakfast (10am to 12pm) or kopi-break (2pm to 5pm), do yourself a favour and order up the delicious butter toasted mantou. We had it with kaya but there was an option for condensed milk too. Salty sweet treats that goes well with the freshly brewed kopi.

mini butter toasted mantou @ $4.20/$4.80 (4/6 pieces)

with a good dollop of kaya

We also tried the curry chicken chee cheong fun from its Snacks/小吃 menu. The chee cheong fun was silky smooth and one need not chew too much on it before it disintegrates. The chicken shreds added a tiny bit of contrast in texture. Now, if only we have some yong tau foo items to complete the meal.

Curry Chicken Chee Cheong Fun @$5.50

Oh, I need to tell you about their steamed egg. Now, this is parked under the Sides/小菜 menu. Served in a small rice bowl, its portion is larger than the usual chawanmushi. Tasted homely and eggy. The chicken floss added a bit of savoury sweetness to this light tasty dish. Perfect when you feeling peckish but doesn't want anything too heavy.

Steamed Egg Chicken Floss (肉松滑蛋) @$3.20

sluurpilicious~

Now, let's look at what one could get for lunch/dinner. How about some aromatic chicken rice? It's current bestsellers for its steamed chicken leg rice are the Imperial Ginger Chicken, Sesame Chicken and Curry Chicken. For customers who prefer seafood, there is an unusual 'Steamed Fish and Chips' or one could opt for the Tom Yam Seafood or the Sesame Fish done in the same manner as its Sesame Chicken dish.

All of its Imperial Chicken dishes are priced at $9.50 nett while the Fish/Seafood option goes for $9.90 nett. Each set comes with aromatic chicken rice or plain rice, soup and sauces (chili and dark soy).

menu

let's eat~

All of us unanimously voted the Imperial Ginger Chicken as the best tasting dish!

Imperial Ginger Chicken (姜蓉皇帝鸡) 

The ginger was so good that I do not need to have it with chili. But then, the chili was tangy and did its job to elevate the taste further. The chicken meat was perfectly tender, moist and tasty with the toppings.

The curry chicken here is the lighter version and of very mild spice level.

Curry Chicken (咖喱鸡)

Dang Gui Chicken (当归鸡)

lovely aromatic chicken rice

The assam chicken here is pretty interesting and tasted unlike of the assam dishes that I've ever had. The mala chicken has the numbing spices right but it was oily as well.

Assam Chicken

Mala Chicken (麻辣鸡)

The fish dishes were good too, especially the Sesame Fish. This would rank right up behind Imperial Ginger Chicken, in terms of flavour. Overall, the Sesame Fish leans a tad towards the sweet side.

Sesame Fish 芝麻炸蛋鱼

Appearance-wise, the entire dish was off-white except for the deep fried egg floss topping which was golden brown in colour. There's tofu in the dish as well.

Sesame Fish

tofu

vege sticks with sesame sauce

Steamed Fish and Chips

The Steamed Fish and Chips is actually similar to Teochew styled steam fish dish. There's salted vegetable, tomatoes, sour plum and mushrooms. The fish fillet is wrapped within the thin beancurd skin and is super tender.

Overall, the food was tasty and the freshly brewed barista kopi was fantastic. Would recommend the Imperial Ginger Chicken, Sesame Fish, Butter Toasted Mantous and of course, the kopi.

Thank you Ivan for the invite and Steven for hosting the dinner. Kudos to the barista for the kopi brewed with love.

13 Stages

Address: No. 1 Stadium Place #01-41 Kallang Wave Mall Singapore, Singapore, 397628
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/13-Stages-100404353942702/
Contact: 6384 0502
Business Hours:
Daily 10am to 9pm

[Tasting] Bearded Bella @ 8 Craig Road

Bearded Bella is a cosy casual eatery with good coffee, wholesome food and good company. Started by Regina Tay and Sarah Ling, the place exudes a lovely soft ambiance and staffed by fun, young adults. There's a front-yard where diners could chill outside too.

front-yard

Happy Birthday Bearded Bella!

Was invited for dinner and its dinner menu would be of sharing plates concept. A quick browse of the dinner menu had us easily identifying our dinner plates. But first order of things, would be....drinks, of course. It was TGIF after all!

Wanted something with sweetness and was recommended a G&T named as "The jam sessions." Special drink for its reverse infused gin and tonic. Botanist gin and tonic infused with mixed berries, lemon and sage. A lovely pinkish hued glass that is adequately sweet and easy to drink.

"The jam sessions" @$14

Or, you could opt for some bright gold sparkling Spanish cava. Fresh, crisp and with fine bubbles. 

Franck Massard Mas Sardana, Cava Brut Nature @$14

Snacks

Though we'd start strong with an order of beef cheeks. The portion was just right for us. We were a party of 3! The Australian grass-fed beef cheeks was braised in red wine jus till delicately fork tender and served sitting on-top of a puffy mound of creamy celeriac puree. Devoured in two bites. Ok, probably 3-bites for more lady-like dining.

Australian grass-fed beef cheeks @$15

SGD9 for two eggs are not exactly economical but glad I ordered the Devilled Eggs at Bearded Bella. Lovely golden yellow hues for its crips parmesan chip as well as the tasty miso yolk. Was pleasantly surprised with the slight sweetness at the end of the bite. Was there caramelised sugar?

Devilled Eggs @$9

Garden

Yes, it is mandatory to have two servings of vegetables for every meal. Hence, we got ourselves the cauliflower done three ways; roasted, couscous and crisps. Loved the puree in this dish. So creamy and milky. I enjoyed the cauliflower couscous and the roasted version but not the crisps as it tasted like dehydrated.

Cauliflower done 3-ways @$12

Regina sent us one of her favourite garden plate and that was how, the baby beetroot plate landed on our table. Would I have ordered baby beetroot? Unlikely. But after having a taste of this version, I'd gladly order one if I'm there again!

sweet baby beetroot, beetroot juice, pickled beetroot, feta @$10

Sweet is so apt to describe the baby beets. So sweeeeet~ in fact. So good with a bit of the feta cheese crumbs and those crunchy nuts. More please.

Sea

The treasures from the sea that we opted for was the sea bass. I liked that the sea bass natural flavours were accentuated with the coconut tom kha sauce and the fragrant curry leaf. Good mouthfeel overall.

Sea bass, lime, coconut tom kha sauce, grilled tomatoes, curry leaves @$22

Another dish that I enjoyed was the seared scallops. Good price point, reasonably sized and bouncy scallops with refreshing mint pea puree. Loved the colours on this plate.

Yuzu ponzu pan-seared scallops, mint pea puree, hazelnuts @$17

Land

Pork, beef or chicken? We had pork jowl as well as the beef cubes. Be warned that these would be quite filling especially after all the starters.

Seared Spanish pork jowl, honey truffle pear, celeriac and pork crackling @$13

Yes, we did the pork crackling test and it was amazingly crunchy! If you could only hear the sound of the crunch. So loud! Hahahaa! Yes, it was a tad embarassing but in a good way. For this dish, best to get a drink ready as the pork jowl was fatty and rich. Flavourful, oily mouthfeel with super tender meat and scoop a few of those julienned sweet pear and some celeriac mash. So good!

Of course, on the other extreme, you could opt for the healthy lean chicken. I think this would make very good gym food. Lean white meat that wasn't tough, clean tasting and paired well with creamy cauliflower puree.

Chicken, roasted butternut squash, cauliflower puree @$14

For the second most expensive plate around, it was the Australian grass-fed tenderloin cubes. 180g was enough to induce a short bout of meatgasm. The medium rare meat was jaw friendly, flavourful with each chew and complete with jus.

Australian grass-fed tenderloin cubes (180 g), yuzu shoyu, chili threads @$28

It was at this stage that we figured that we had eaten more than we should. Tummies filled and heart full.

But, what about dessert? Will we be able to bear leaving yet not knowing how dessert would have tasted like?

Plated Dessert

Dark chocolate and orange bread pudding @$13

Yassss to dessert! But because we only can choose one (as any more we would've combusted there and then), we exercised caution and a long deliberation before deciding on dark chocolate and orange bread pudding.

I think this plate was nothing short of magical. Scoops after scoops of that pudding went into our mouth as though we had not eaten anything for dinner prior! It was just that good.

Served warm, its texture was delightfully moist (or dare I say, molten?) and contrasting with the wonderfully cold (but melted too fast) vanilla bean ice-cream. Sweet endings indeed.

This is bounced up into the must-order list.

Thank you Kris for the invitation. To Regina, thank you for your generosity and hospitality. To Bearded Bella crew, thank you for taking care of us on our night of visit.

See you again!

Bearded Bella

Address: 8 Craig Rd, Singapore 089668

Website: https://www.beardedbella.com/

Contact: 9880 0775

Business Hours:

Monday to Thurs: 730am to 5pm

Fri: 730am to 11pm

Sat to Sun: 730am to 6pm