Sunday, January 19, 2014

Ristorante Pietrasanta @ Portsdown Road

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This was one of the restaurants that we had identified to celebrate birthdays last year. But last year, we went to another Italian restaurant instead. So this time round, for the first birthday in our group, he chose to try this place. Yay!

Located at 5B Portsdown Road (Wessex Estate), and was visited by famous blogger Dr Leslie Tay in 2008.
To get to Pietrasanta, you'll need a car, or a cab. Parking is limited.

Had made reservations few days prior, so it was a breeze to get seated. If you're interested in bringing your own wine bottles, do note that corkage is $35 per bottle for wine and $50 for champagne.

menu
table setup

One could opt for sparkling, still or tap for their choice of water. Or, get a bottle of prosecco @$68++.

some bubbly for celebration

While waiting for our mains to arrive, warm bread was served. It looked like a topless pizza and tasted pretty good. Everyone at my table, loved it. Our guess is that if their bread is this good, this could be an indication of their pizza. A quick look around, saw many tables having pizza. The pizza here is of a good size and with generous toppings.

tasty warm bread
tomato bread dip

Indoor dining can get rather boisterous. Not a place for intimate conversations as the sound gets reverbrated and was rather noisy. Otherwise, one could opt to dine at its alfresco area.

Our mains consists of pasta and meats. So, first up. The pastas.

Tagliatelle al Nero Di seppia con salsa Di granchio (@$20.90++)

The squid ink fettucine with crab meat sauce was decent. Pasta was done slightly softer than al-dente. The tomato based sauce was refreshingly tangy.

Ravioli verdi Di spinach e ricotta (@$17.90++)
lots of spinach in ravioli, nice

Usually, I'd find ravioli pretty doughy. But at Pietrasanta, really liked how the ravioli turned out. Ravioli casing that's not too thick, generous fillings of spinach and tasted pretty good.

Then, the meats arrived.

Stinco Di Agnello brasato al Chianti (@$28.90++)

The braised lamb shank with Chianti wine was quite well done. Braised till meat is fork tender, flavourful and not gamey. Pietrasanta kitchen has a good control of seasoning in most of the dishes, resulting in good flavours that's not too strong.

Coscia Di anatra in dolce forte (@$26.90++)

Said to be traditional duck leg recipe from south of Tuscany where it is stewed in red wine, vinegar, raisins and dark chocolate. My first in having chocolate cooked in a savoury dish.

The duck meat was quite exceptional, and non of that duck gameyness. Sauce was reminiscent of chinese stew but smoother, a bit tangy from wine and vinegar and, to me, it had a sort of mysteriousness in taste that one couldn't put a finger onto.

200 days grainfed ribeye (@$42.90++)

Had the ribeye done medium rare. The meat was pretty much on its own natural flavour as there wasn't any sauce that came with this dish. Just the meat, some salt prior to grilling and its own natural jus.

birthday boy doing us the honour of cutting the meat
medium~medium rare

The mid-part of the ribeye has best texture, while the its edges has the best flavour. The salt rub was patchy for this one, hence some parts are really salty while others are mild.

We brought a cake to the restaurant, and Pietrasanta's friendly service crew helped to bring it out as a surprise to the birthday boy, complete with him cueing us to sing the birthday song. And if I remembered correctly, some of the other guests were also quite sporting in singing a phrase or two. Keke!

staff congratulating the birthday boy
yummy rainbow cake from LeChocolat


Service was friendly and most of the customers seemed like regulars. Closes early at 1030pm but noticed that patrons would still be coming in at 10pm.

Nice place, good food, friendly service and reasonably priced. Kudos to Pietrasanta.


Ristorante Pietrasanta

Location: 5B Portsdown Road, #01-03 Singapore 139311
Contact No.: +65 6479 9521
Website: http://www.ristorante-pietrasanta.com/

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Arashi Yakiniku Charcoal Grill Restaurant 嵐炭火烧き肉 @ Boat Quay

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Located at 48 Boat Quay. Took bus #166 and drop-off at Boat Quay bus stop. Walked backwards towards the bridge, then turned right towards the coffeeshops and another left turn into the small lane towards the river. Turn right and you'll pass by Neko Neko Cats Cafe. Walk a few more steps and soon enough, the restaurant shall come into view.

exterior


Housed in a three-storey building, private rooms are available at Level 2 and 3. If one prefers to enjoy the cool breeze while sizzling the meats, then their alfresco area would be ideal.

comfy dining area at Level 1

menu

As dinner that night was a hosted affair, we were invited to dine at Level 2, in one of the private rooms.

view from up the stairs
small private room for 6 pax


The restaurant uses the smokeless charcoal grill system, hence, our dining experience was quite comfortable.


ready to grill

First plate was the beautiful A4 Grade Ohmi wagyu.

Ohmi wagyu
Ohmi wagyu ribeye
Ohmi wagyu karubi

The beef was unmarinated and there is a bowl of sauce provided to dip the meat in first before grilling. In its unadulterated form, the meat (as expected of wagyu) tasted delicate. Karubi fats needed that bit more time on the grill, while the ribeye can be enjoyed after few seconds of sear on each side.

grilling-in-progress

If you're feeling ravenous while slowly grilling the meat, piece by piece, fret not. Have the huge onigiri, or a bowl of garlic fried rice while waiting.

onigiri with seaweed - to grill (@$3.80++)
garlic fried rice (ニンニクのチャーハン @$4.80++)
The crisp that came from roasted seaweed (leave it for a few seconds on the grill) sounded amazing. So crispy!

yaki onigiri 焼きおにぎり, anyone?

The clam miso soup goes quite well with the garlic fried rice.

clam miso soup あさりの味噌汁 (@$7.80++)

For greens intake, had the Arashi Kaisen Salad. Generously loaded with slivers of salmon sashimi, mixed greens (instead of just cabbages, for variety) and with wafu dressing. Fresh greens with tangy sauce. What's not to like?

Chef's Salad of the Day (@$15.80++)

For ala-carte, the serving size is 150 gms. Depending on the cut, the price per serving ranges from $48.80++ to $98.80++ for A4 Grade Ohmi wagyu. Likewise, for Australian wagyu, the price per serving ranges from $28.80++ to $65++.

Australian wagyu plate
grilling up sumptious meat
grilled Australian wagyu

Arashi Yakiniku's Australian wagyu are from purebred cattles. Its meat has less marbling and had a stronger beef flavour as compared to Japanese wagyu.

For non-beef eater, there's pork and seafood to choose from.

Kurobuta pork belly and pork collar
Assorted seafood platter (@$28.80)
Salmon Butter Yaki (@$8.80++)

The grilled pork was very tasty. Contributing factor? Besides good meat, it was also marinated. Guess, we're too accustomed to stronger flavours. Goes well with beer!

butterflied prawn for easier grilling

Lastly, longan jelly for dessert.

longan in jelly

Thank you Royston, Arashi Yakiniku Charcoal Grill Restaurant and HGW for the invited tasting.

For people who enjoys meat but doesn't want to burn too big a hole in their pocket, good news! Arashi Yakiniku shall be starting their buffet (sometime in February 2014). Do check out their facebook page for more information when the date is nearer.


Arashi Yakiniku Charcoal Grill Restaurant

Location: No. 48 Boatquay, Singapore 049837
Contact No.: 65352841
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arashiyakiniku/

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

La Ristrettos Specialty Coffee @ Novena

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Located at Level 8 of Novena Medical Centre. It's a small cosy place with limited seats. So, go right up to the counter, place your order and pay. Once your drink is ready, you might find the boss serving you your cuppa! =)

menu, on paper and on board
view from the garden
words of wisdom, while waiting for coffee & food

Tried their macchiato lungo. Espresso stained with double milk.  Thick and strong. Fire red tiny cup, I like.

macchiato lungo @$4

Also tried the Florentine Croissant. Basically a large croissant with scrambled eggs, cheese and wilted spinach, served with a side of greens, cherry tomatoes and a dash of balsamic.

Florentine Croissant @$10
creamy, moist, yummy eggs

For the works, one might want to get the Grande. Scrambled or poached eggs? You have a choice.

Grande breakfast @$14

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Paradise Inn @ Suntec City

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Located at Basement 1 of Suntec City Mall, Fountain of Wealth, that area. At about 640pm on a Saturday evening, we could still do a walk-in to this place. Noticed that queue started to form at about 7pm.

The soups at Paradise Inn is not bad, so we got ourselves one. Then we ordered my friend's son's must-have dish, the fried eggs with chai-po. And for the adults, a plate of vege and steamed chicken. I need meat. There were only the three of us, so the food that we had, can actually feed one more adult.

Peanuts and towels are chargeable at $1.50++ (per plate) and $0.30++ (per pax).

soup being served
lean meat (pork) with cordycep flowers soup (@$18.90++ per pot)


The pot of soup could easily serve out about 5 small bowls of soup. Plenty of lean meat inside too. The cordyceps flower has a very nice texture. Liked it so much, that I ate 'em all. Hahaa!

Service staff would gladly drop by to help us serve out the soup.


chinese spinach with egg trio and minced meat (@$13.90++)

Main gripe about vegetable dishes in Chinese restaurants like this, is that they sure are expensive.

Grandma's Pan-fried Egg with chai-po (@$8++)

Kids and adults liked the egg. Not overly salty, the chai-po has a certain sweetness and fragrance to it. Eggs were abit too thin though.

steamed chicken with diced mushrooms and black fungus (@$10.90++)

The steamed chicken pieces were rather small, and need to watch out for the small bones. It has an added sweetness courtesy of the red dates. A very mild chicken dish.

This meal costs $66.

 
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