Spageddies @ Orchard Central

Located at Level 4 of Orchard Central. This place was rather peaceful during weekday lunch hour. Was enticed by its OCBC credit card 1-for-1 main course offer.

One can choose any two main courses and the lower priced one shall be complimentary. After placing our orders, noticed that we had covered everything from land to the sea, and with carbs and vege. Not bad. Not bad at all!

lamb shank

The lamb shank was quite a hunk. Served with broccoli, yellow zuchini and carrots. Mostly tender although there are dried out parts too. Good to share.

tenderloin

The beef tenderloin looked quite nice. Served with small potatoes and grilled vege. But at medium, it was already quite tough. Probably medium rare would fare better?

spaghetti with lobster and chicken

Lobster? Hmm. A small one perhaps? The spaghetti was al-dente but overall, this dish was a tad too dry for me. Not much flavour from the fried chicken breast.

seafood sizzlelini

The seafood sizzlelini boasts of scallops, mussels, prawns and crayfish. Served in spicy neopolitan sauce which was not spicy at all, but tangy and savoury sweetish. Liked the doneness of the pasta here, as the heat helped to soften it further but not till too soggy. Good dish to share.

Hence, for a party of two, the lamb shank and the seafood sizzlelini would probably make a good meal.

Spent about $17 per pax.

Hansang Korean Family Restaurant @ Novena Square 2

Located at Level 3 of Novena Square 2. Dropped by for lunch, and they were packed. Mostly office crowd and the occassional tourist. There weren't any tables left for 2 pax, so they decided to let us sit at the BBQ table meant for 4. Cool.

BBQ?

Plenty of options during lunch hour. One can opt for ala-carte dishes, or BBQ buffet, or set lunches or daily special etc. Set lunches is at $15++ for one pax. Got myself a bowl of jajangmyun (炸酱面) @$8.90++. This is part of the special menu where one must place the order between 12pm to 1pm. There's bibimbap and ramyun options as well, amongst others. All served with side dishes and without drinks.

banchan (kimchi, fish cake, chives flower and pickles)

The pickled something was nice. Piquant, sourish sweet. Can't tell if it's a fruit or radish...

jajangmyun (자장면)

The jjajang noodles was tasty and not overly salty. A bit sweetish too. Plenty of onions and some minced meat. The single prawn was of a good size too. Quite enjoyable but could get a bit boring, if not for the banchans.

Iced water is served here. Service was good even though lunch hour was a busy period. The lady manager was courteous and helpful.

Sugisawa Japanese Restaurant @ Robertson Quay

Located at Riverside View, Robertson Quay. It's at the same cluster as Aburiya and opposite of the Laurent Bernard's cluster. It was easy to walk past Sugisawa without realising that we had done so. And that's exactly what happened to us. Haha! Hardly surprising since the last visit was almost two years ago.

signboard

Were quite famished after having the pre-dinner drinks at Verre Wine Bar, so we came to Sugisawa for something more substantial than bar food.

Friend had enjoyed her bento the other time, so I knew I wanted to get a bento set too! Another friend ordered the beef paper hot pot, which I think was a pretty good idea. Hot soup in the tummy is a good hangover cure. Not sure if I did qualify for that, since it has just been less than half an hour since the last glass of bubbly. *hic*

hot tea at Sugisawa

The place was crowded and walk-ins will need to wait for about 10-20 minutes. We got ours within 10 minutes because another table was already finishing their dinner. Lucky us.

same same yet different

The beef paper hot pot (without rice) was the first to arrive, followed by unagi bento set. Most items are below $20 except for unagi bento set priced at $25. The soup from this paper hot pot was sweet but not overly. Warm and soothing, but unless you eat like a bird, this might not last you through the night.

beef kaminabe

And there shall be sashimis.

ika (squid), hamachi, (yellow tail) salmon, maguro (tuna), ebi (prawn) sashimi

Had a piece of maguro and the ebis. Liked the thicker cut of the tuna.

Both of our orders of beef yakiniku bento set were the last to arrive. Starving already.

stir fried beef with onions, pickled item,  stewed/boiled items and sashimi (maguro and salmon)

I think it's a good deal for this beef yakiniku bento set. Ample slices of thin beef, stir fried in sweet sauce. Goes well with the rice. Bento set comes with a bowl of rice and seaweed tofu miso soup. In the stewed items compartment, one could find bamboo shoot, juliened turnip, tamago, sweet carrot, konyaku, a slice of fish cake, mashed potato and a boiled prawn.

carbs

It was rather difficult to get the tea refill. Tried four times and was successful on the fourth try. Busy busy place!

Dinner costs about $121 for 4-pax.


Click here to view more of first visit.

Verre Wine Bar @ Rodyk Street

Located at 8 Rodyk Street, Robertson Quay. Along the same stretch as Bar Bar Black Sheep, Merry Men, Anthesis Cafe etc.

Thought this place was new but alas, it has been around for 2 years now. True. Have not been to Robertson Quay for quite awhile now. Time to get re-acquainted!

Verre's Happy Hour is till 7pm on a Mon-Fridays and 6pm on weekends, where there's a 1-for-1 deal on all wine and champagne by the glass, cocktails and beers. WoOoohOoo, sounds great!

interior

A short perusal of the drinks menu and we're ready to order.

drinks menu

choice of drink

Guy Charlemagne Brut Classic

During Happy Hour, and with every 3-orders of the champagne by the glass which eventually equates to 6 glasses, Verre will serve a bottle for the table. Nice.

Bellini

Ordered some snacks to accompany the pre-dinner drinks.

tarte flambee and fries

Forestiere @$11 - light sour cream, onions, bacon and mushroom

Service was friendly and sincere. Seldom order champagne by the glass, so was a tad surprised when they brought out the bottle. "Did I accidentally ordered a bottle?" I thought. Hahaa, think I was abit suaku.

It's part of the service and for champagne by the glass, it's poured by the table. Thank you to the service staff who attended to us. Sorry if I couldn't catch what you were saying. The Guy Charlemagne Brut Classic tasted fruity, light and semi-sweet.

The tarte flambee was a nice snack though the flavours could be stronger.

Verre is quite cosy and when night falls, the ambiance was pretty nice.

when night falls

wine bar came alight~

Total cost for 2 alcoholic drinks, an iced coffee and snacks came up to $70+ for 3 pax.

Tanuki Raw @ Orchard Central

Located at Level 2 of Orchard Central. Visited on a Wednesday evening. This place has been around for awhile, and why it took so long for me to visit? Because I'd thought that it'll be very crowded here.

Happy Hour is from 5pm till 8pm, where martinis go for $10 and each alcoholic drink will entitle patrons to half a dozen oysters at $2 each.

outdoors, high stool, city view

menu

promo menu

Got myself a mojito for $12 (HH) and half a dozen oyster to share. We weren't hungry. Friend got the saketini for $10 (HH).

saketini, mojito and oysters

The oysters were.... rather flat. Well, can't complain for that price. Friend felt it was quite worthed it. Briny and salty.

oysters @$2 a pop

The alcohol in the cocktails gave us quite a buzz. Had another lychee martini and the third one was a cocktail recommended by the staff. Didn't finish the last one because it had a spicy and non-likeable taste. Had a basket of truffle fries and a plate of salmon sashimi.

The thing about outdoor seats was that it was pretty noisy from the birds between 730 to 8ish in the evening. Had to like speak louder times three, if you want to be heard.

Spent about $43 per pax that night.