Hamanoya @ Marina Square

Located at Level 2 of Marina Square, at the section also known as 'The Dining Edition'. Walked in on a Saturday afternoon for a late lunch, and the place was pretty empty. This restaurant offers robatayaki cuisine (炉端焼き). But its setup was non-traditional, in the sense that one does not sit around the grill area.

robata at the far end

window seats..sort of

The place has bento sets as well as ala-carte items. Friend had a yakitori rice bowl (@$12.99++) and we shared two ala-carte items; Ayu fish (@$14.99++) and Beef Tataki (@$14.99++).

Hamanoya menus

Hot japanese tea was served in a small little nice pot, but it came with a price tag.

hot japanese tea (@$3.99++)

iced green tea (@$1.99++)

First plate to arrive, the Gyu Tataki (たたき). According to wiki, tataki means 'pounded', or 'hit into pieces'. Slices of beef briefly seared. Beef was lean, and the flavour actually came from the dabs of brownish paste (was it miso?). The bell peppers were rather sweet but everything was cold. Not something that I'd order again.

beef tataki

eating up the greens

Friend's yakitori (焼き鳥) don came next, and it looked quite appealing.

yakitori rice bowl, served with miso soup and pickles

tsukune, chicken meat with leek and tebasaki

Portion was not very big, so guys might find this bowl too little for them. The skinny tebasaki was nice with charred flavour but the chicken with leek was a little tough.

Ayu fish (年魚) was the last to arrive. It required at least 15 to 20 minutes of preparation time. A tiny expensive fish, and one that I had wanted to try, ever since it was shown over at Japan Hour years ago (and it didn't look so tiny then!). Ayu fish is also known as sweetfish.

Ayu fish

sweet cottony flesh

Any fish that's done over the charcoal grill and sprinkled with salt, equates to just one word...yums. The fish was presented whole, and with all its intestinal stuffs intact. Asked the service staff, and he confirmed that it was intentionally served that way. So, when eating, you may want to avoid the bitter stuffs.

Café 2000 @ M Hotel

Located at 81 Anson Road, Tanjong Pagar. Took bus #57, and alighted one stop before the old railway station. Then, walk about 10 minutes to reach. Café 2000 serves International Buffet Dinner on weekdays, and its popular Seafood and BBQ Buffet Dinner is available on Fridays and Saturdays. Was invited over for dinner on a Thursday evening.

cafe entrance

Upon entrance, one would be greeted by the warm dim lights, smiling service staff who'll lead you to your table. And a quick glance around, showed that the cafe is rather small but had mostly occupied tables on a weekday evening. Clink-clanking sounds of utensils, chatters from the tables surrounding yours, all added to the charm of the place.

party of four

If you're looking for alot of variety in a buffet, then you might feel a tad disappointed here as probably the smallish space didn't allow for alot of items. However, I was plenty happy to see what I'd be eating that night; oysters, roast beef, pork knuckles!

But first, a walkabout to see what's available for dinner.

bread section

butter

salads and such

cold seafood

mussels

pork knuckles, sausages, roast beef

beer battered seafood section

replenishing supply

Hungry yet? Then, let's sit down and have some.

tuna and salmon sashimi

mussels, oysters and prawns, all mine!

Liked the mussels, surprisingly. Prawns were good but too much of a hassle to eat. Was unlucky to encounter the first two oysters that had a bit of sand in them. But subsequent oysters that were freshly brought out were fantastic! There was a distinct diference in taste. A taste of freshness and sea-goodness. Yums. Probably inhaled half a dozen oysters that night. Haha!

plump, juicy, sea-briny fresh-tasty oyster (USA)

so good

How about some soups to warm the tummy? The chicken lotus root soup tasted homely, while the crab smoked salmon soup tasted similar to creamy potato soup.

chicken lotus root soup and crab & smoked salmon soup

For fried food lovers, how about some British Beer Battered Seafood?

'Chef's Selection'

Had the chance to meet Chef Danny earlier, and he's so friendly that he literally treats you like an old friend. Chef Danny hails from East Malaysia, and has travelled far and wide. His favourite country? Europe. Asked about his favourite food and his reply was, "I like simple food." An affable man, this one.

My guess was that Chef probably thought that we weren't getting enough food, so he sent the above beer battered seafood selection over to our table. No worries, those are the same items one could get from the beer battered section, just that for this once, it was presented in a prettier way.

calamari

moist, firm fish

The thin beer batter was undeniably crispy, and it stayed so even 20 minutes later. Nice. For fried food lovers.

German pork knuckles and sausages

Australian roast beef

Sampled the knuckles, sausages (two types) and roast beef (medium rare). The sausages and roasts will be seared upon order.

pork sausages and knuckles

roast beef with black pepper sauce

The thin-orangey looking sausage was tasty, while the white plump chipolata-lookalike was mild. Knuckles, would be much better if it came with the crunchy crackling. The thinly sliced roast beef was tender, and had mine done medium rare.

Spanish Squid Ink Paella Rice

There was one item that kept getting snapped up so quickly, the satay. Kept on throwing furtive glances at the buffet table, and finally managed to secure some.

elusive satay, lovingly smothered with peanut sauce, and a side of cucumber with pineapple puree

The satay looked so tiny. But the texture of the meat was firm and tender plus well marinated.

Food done, now was time for desserts!

chocolate fountain

cakes

looks good (and popular too with so many pieces gone!)

Chef Danny came over and chatted with us for quite a while, and by 9+pm, the desserts tray looked rather forlorn with most of it gone.

So, we got Chef's Special again.

chef's dessert platter - mango crepe

chocolate cake with cream cheese (middle) and tiramisu in choco cup

Sweet endings, and loved the liqour laden tiramisu.

September Specials Lunch Hour

Daily buffets and 'Feast on the Move'

Some of the dishes are rotated on a daily basis, and its menu on a weekly basis.

Seafood and BBQ Buffet Dinner, sees the outer section of the cafe opened out for the grill. Hence, more choices with the addition of bbq items. "Feast On The Move" sounds interesting with its themed buffet, so do look out for the next one!

Special thanks to Ms Lindy Lin, my host and dining companion. Chef Danny, for sharing anecdotes and info about yourself plus ensuring that your diners are well-fed. Thank you both!

Café 2000 M Hotel

Location : 81 Anson Road, Singapore, 079908
Telephone: +65 6500 6112
Opening Hours: Daily, 6.30am - 10.30pm
Website: http://www.millenniumhotels.com.sg/mhotelsingapore/dining/cafe-2000.html

Ambush @ Plaza Singapura

Located at Level 4, this was one of the less crowded restaurants in Plaza Singapura on a Saturday evening. Queues everywhere especially at the more popular restaurants. It started before 6pm!

The outlet at JEM fared better in terms of ambiance, as that one is housed inside a proper shop. Didn't see a kitchen, so I wondered where did the food come from...

open space concept

The good thing about Ambush here, is its table availability during weekends. But one not so good thing, is that few of the junior service staff seemed pretty laid-back, and not responsive to our waving nor eye contact, nor our calls for service. Those in black uniform were better.

satan gold (@$10.90++)

Had a mini sausage platter to go with the beer. Think it was pork sausage.

mini sausage platter (@8.80++)

Friend had lambshank. Lamb was tender and breaks easily with a fork. Flavour was rather mild and muted. Had to dab bits of mustard sauce to break the monotony of the flavour.

lamb shank (@$19.90++)

Twoface Pizza & Taproom @ Tanjong Katong

Was there on a Friday night. Kopi shop by day, and drinking place by night. Not very atmospheric, with it being in a coffeeshop, but it was ok. Was pleasantly surprised that they have menu that looked pretty sturdy and friendly service.

food and drinks menu

info board

high stools, for that bar feel

The food and drinks menu do contain some exotic sounding fusionised items. For example, pizza with 'kiam her' (salted fish pizza?!). Haha.

Not feeling adventurous, plus we just had dinner earlier, so we ordered one smoked duck pizza to share and some drinks.

smoked duck pizza

closer view

Pizza was quite good. Crust that was neither too thick nor too thin, and doesn't feel that oily. Liking the loads of arrugula but smoked duck slices were really limited edition.

pear cider

For every 2 bottled beers order, one can get a basket of wedges for free. So we had that as well. However, half a pint of Sapporo only costs $5 but one bottled beer can set you back by $10.

Rokeby @ Jalan Riang, Serangoon

Located at Jalan Riang, not the most accessible places imho. But of course, if the weather is good and you're stuck without a transport, then the trustee legs will have to make do. About 10 minutes walk from Lorong Chuan. Exit the Lorong Chuan MRT towards the taxi stand, then turn left and head towards Nanyang Junior College, cross the road to the right and turn right into Jalan Girang. Reach the intersection with Jalan Riang and walk straight (don't turn to the left).

Rokeby is located towards the left end of the stretch of restaurants there.

menu

Started off with a plate of plump golden calamari rings. Bear in mind that the rings aint crunchy but it was enjoyably tender. Liked the balsamic on the leaves!

rockets with balsamic vinegar, mayo tartar sauce and tender squid rings

Next, for our mains. Choice of pasta, meat and another appetiser.

Linguini Vongole in Tomato Cream

closer view

First taste of the tomato cream sauce. Hmm, some resemblance to lobster bisque. Slightly tangy but only slightly so. Mildly seasoned and pleasant. Think that most of the clams taste had gone into the sauce since it didn't have much taste to its meat.

Kurobuta Pork Collar

meat chunks

Again, the pork collar was just mildly seasoned. My friends decided that it was rather underseasoned. Salt and pepper grinders are on each table, so one can add that bit more salt if necessary. Texture was good, and well-cooked with a hint of pink. Mash was a tad lumpy.

Chose Vegemite Glazed Chicken because it sounded like it could be an Aussie favourite.

Vegemite Glazed Chicken

generously slathered in vegemite salty goodness

First impression, "wow, so black!" Hahaa. But for vegemite lovers, one wouldn't mind, right? But it was really salty. Seriously. Probably this makes good beer food? Drumlets retained its crunchy exterior even when slathered with much vegemite glaze.

Expect to spend about $20~$30 per pax. Good that there's no GST nor service charge, and yet, diners still get to enjoy friendly service at roc-ker-bee.