Mad Nest @ East Coast Road

Located at 378/380 East Coast Road, and accessible via bus #14 (if taking public transportation). If coming from west side, then one will pass by Katong 112, Roxy Square and Holy Family Church. For bus riders, alight after the church. There's a Caltex opposite the restaurant. Limited parking is available in front of the shop.

interior

sushi chef

art pieces on the wall

My friend made reservations but we had a little trouble after that when our party started arriving at the restaurant. A small hiccup but we got our table nonetheless. The indoor dining area was quite spacious with lots of art pieces adorning its walls for diners to admire.

menu & cutlery

menu

plate and cutlery

rounded corners

We ordered plenty for our party of four. Went mad for food and drinks. Wheee~ Happy hours are until 8pm, so we got ourselves two jugs of Stella (HH:$25+,  R:$28+). Iced water is served freely upon request.

nice to see you again, Stella

Sashimi Moriawase San Shu (@$18+) was the first item to land on our table and subsequently in our bellies. The wasabi was a little dried out though.

sashimi moriawase san shu (3 types); salmon, mekajiki and maguro

firm and juicy swordfish

tuna

Next, was the Oishii Maki. Was our first time ever having Oiishi Maki though I've heard of its existance elsewhere on the island. The version here was very tasty. The softness of grilled savoury eel, the butteriness of avocado and the tiny salty bursts of fish roe that's rounded off by creamy mayo. Yums.

Oishii Maki

grilled eel and roasted salmon, served with avocado and homemade mayo sauce

one tiny morsel of oiishiness

Next up, from the hot tapas section: fries. Old Bay Frites to be exact. Its accompanying aioli dip was ultra garlicky and its a must dip for the fries! Otherwise, those spuds tasted just like regular ones.

Old Bay Frites

of salty spices and shaved parmesan

aioli dip

Then, the Mad Nest Wings flew in.

Mad Nest Wings

gorgeous tasty wings

sauce

The chicken wings were good enough on its own. Tasty and well marinated. Enjoyable with the cold beer.

yum yum drumlet

For main courses, my friends ordered Chili Crab pasta (@$21+), described under Italian-Asian section  and  The Mad Breakfast (@$20+), under the All-Day Brunch menu.

Chili Crab

crabmeat sauce and soft-shell crab

crab meat sauce infused with rojak flower and chilies

With the Chili Crab moniker, the tastebud was actually expecting flavours like the well-known chili crab that we're so used to. But the sauce here, has a refreshing taste to it, probably thanks to the rojak flower that has a fragrance similar to laksa leaves. The sauce was rich but not overly so. However, the soft shell crab has absorbed much oil in it.

The Mad Breakfast plate was pretty with nice colours. My friend gave us sampling portion of her breakfast for us to try.

The Mad Breakfast

chicken sausages, scrambled eggs, brioche, bacon, roasted tomato, wilted spinach

roasted tomato

bacon

If you like lean sausages with stronger flavours, then this chicken sausage might be the one for you. Personally I'd prefer 'em juicy and bouncy. Didn't like the bacon because of its tough texture. Personal preference is to have the bacon either still soft and tender or very crispy. No in betweens for me.

The bread. Really liked the brioche. Really. Yummms. It has a tinge of smokiness to it, with a light and airy texture. My friend commented that the eggs need a little more seasoning. I thought the mild flavour of the eggs was adequate.

yummy brioche!

All four of us felt seriously full after the breakfast. Wow, come to think of it, we've had six courses of food! My friend who doesn't drink beer, ordered a latte.

latte with cute biscuit hanging on

Adjourned to outdoor seats to chill, and got ourselves some more drinks.

weekday set meal if interested

outdoor seats

Another friend came by around midnight and she ordered calamari rings and a beer. They have Stella and Hoegaarden on tap.

calamari rings with wasabi mayo dip

closer view of calamari rings

Personally, I'd still prefer the chicken wings.

Service was efficient and sometimes too eager. We had a polite one who served us food, and he always finishes with a little flourish and says, "Enjoy~". Everytime, without fail. Puts a smile to our faces.

The service crew was also pretty quick to come by to top up our beer glasses as soon as it was half full. Just that one of them need further training in beer pouring, as he filled half the glass with foam instead. But am still impressed that they put in effort to take care of their diners. Kudos to the team.

We spent about $59 per pax (based on four pax calc.) for this meal. Note that there's no GST charge here. The 10% service charge is applicable.

Mad Nest online menu can be found here.

TCC @ The Pier, Robertson Quay

Located at 80 Mohamed Sultan Road, this place is not hard to find...once I get my bearings right. Direction is never my forte. Seems like its menu has been revamped, so it looked different and there are a couple of new items in it. Sat at the alfresco area and its chair was damp from the rain earlier. Indoor seats looked nice and there are some wicker egg hanging chairs too. How cool is that!

coaster

Tried the Toffee Choc Espresso and it came looking quite petite, served in espresso cup. Small sips of it was actually quite yummy. Sweet from toffee and bitter from the sprinkled choco powder. Nice and serving size just right. If its volume was any larger, then the sweetness would've been too cloying to handle.

toffee choc espresso

For food, tried the Prawn Cheese-a-toast. Smallish two-bite appetisers that was plated quite prettily. The prawn paste flavour was quite mild and has a bouncy texture. The mayo sauce lent an extra savoury depth to the dish while the egg roes undertook a more decorative purpose.

prawn cheese-a-toast @$10.50++

caviar on toast

pretty looking morsel

My friend had the Melon & Mangosteen tea. Sounds exotic, yes? Has a very nice strong sweet fruity fragrance but taste wise, it was rather flat.

melon & mangosteen tea @$9++

Feeling somewhat peckish, we ordered a Deluxe Snack Platter that consist of all things fried. Not a very health conscious choice too. And come to think of it, all our food that night was fried! Argh, hahaha!

deluxe snack platter (onion rings, squid rings, mozarella sticks and some rocket leaves)

The sauce that accompanied the platter was interesting. Tasted like plum. Goes well with most of the stuffs except squid rings.

This place serves iced-water upon request and our request to top up the hot water for the tea was acceeded with a smile. No issue here.

There was a 15% discount for payment via Citibank or DBS/POSB credit cards. This meal costs about $49 (after discount).

Sun Moulin @ Isetan Scotts (Shaw House)

Was nearby at Isetan supermarket, so decided to head over to this bakery to grab some carbs home.

(from right, counter clockwise) cheddar scone, cheese bread and okinawan cake

okinawan cake @$2.80

This brown coloured okinawan cake reminds me of the local Malay cake (马来糕 or malai gao). It was rather huge and tasted like 发糕 (fatt gao or steamed rice cake). Best eaten with a cup of coffee, otherwise a tad too dry (and a bit too much) to finish on its own.

has a cake plus kueh texture

The cheddar scone may look smallish but it is adequate as a simple breakfast. Its texture is actually a cross between scone and cheese bread. The cheese is not as pronounced as anticipated. Toasting it brings out the cheese smell.

cheddar scone @$1.40

with cheesey bits layered in

The 'cheese bread' (actually I had forgotten what's the actual name for this, so let's just call this cheese bread) was bought on a whim. Was probably thinking of having it with soup or something.

cheese bread @$2.20

ooh, didn't know it has a cheese cube in it~

Decided to margerine up the bread, and toast it with ham ends and cherry tomatoes. The bread was nicely soaky and has a slight chewy texture. Should do well in mopping up sauce or soups.

bread for lunch

slightly chewy bread

PappaMia @ River Valley Road (Part II)

Second visit and tried the Ipoh Kwoay Teow Soup with Steamed Chicken ($7.90++).

Ipoh Kwoay Teow Soup

fine kwoay teow

The soup was nice but the kwoay teow was a little too soft. The steamed chicken looked pretty good and bathed nicely in sauce. The meat was nicely tender and smooth but unfortunately some pieces were rather bland. It was as though the meaty taste was somewhat lost.

steamed chicken

dark meat

Had some alcohols as well, but didn't like the Daiquiri ($9++). It tasted too strongly of lime and very sour.

Here's the link to first visit.

DONQ @ Takashimaya

Located at B2 of Takashimaya, this bakery is nestled deeper inside the food hall. Its latest offering, Mini One, is located nearer to the entrance/exit.

Went there at about noon time on a weekend and there wasn't a queue. Bought home a Tart Bresson Fruit and a Colonnade (Choco).

nice plastic bag

Tart Bresson Fruit @$2.80

Colonnade (Choco) @$2

Liked the Tart Bresson. It's sweet and tangy.

topped with sweet cherries, raspberries, cheese and sprinkling of sugar dust

slighly chewy pancake-like airy crust

The Colonnade Choco was nicely filled with ample chocolate cream that's not too sweet. Would've better if the bread texture is slightly more airy and fluffy.

I forgot that at most Japanese establishment, the cash for payment should be placed onto the tray at the cashier. Hee. The girl at the cashier placed the $10 that I gave her onto the tray, but she handed the return back to me as per norm. Hahaa, is this what we called meet halfway?