Arteastiq Boutique Tea House @ Mandarin Gallery

Wanted to have a quiet dinner in town, and happened to see Arteastiq listed in The Entertainer App. Reservation is recommended, especially during Friday and Saturday evenings. Moreover, am quite curious to taste what Chef Benson had crafted for Arteastiq together with Chefs Jason Vito and Jack Tan.

menu

shopfront

next door Arteastiq Art Jam

nice lighting

The place was rather dark, and not as chi-chi as anticipated. On the night of visit, there seemed to be only 2 service staff around. 

Started with a snack of sweet potato fries. Pretty well fried and rather addictive.

Sweet Potato Fries @$12++

The Lychee Tea looked good, and we ordered both hot and cold versions of it. Quite interesting. The hot version had a lighter taste as compared to the slightly sweeter cold version.  Liked the cold lychee tea better for an instant refreshing taste.

Hot Lychee Tea @$11++

Cold Lychee Tea @$11++

close up view

 For food, we ordered plenty to share. From the "Ladies Affair" section of the menu, we had the crabcake egg benny and Louisiana Love-Chicken and Waffles. From the "Gentlemans Dinner" section, we ordered The French Connection - Striploin.

To be honest, was quite disappointed when the crabcake eggs benedict arrived. The maryland crabcake itself was rather thin, and unusual as it was not browned to a crisp exterior. The paprika hollandaise sauce was thick, creamy and savoury but slightly reminiscent of curry? But the poached egg had some translucent parts still, and was reminded of the yakun-type softboiled eggs instead.

Aphrodite-Crabcake Benedict @$25++

Louisiana Love-Chicken Waffles @$22++

The Louisiana Love-Chicken Waffles was decent, and the waffle was interesting to eat with the maple butter. Loved the tangy slaw.

The French Connection-Striploin @$30++

The striploin was served with a poached egg with hollandaise sauce, and sweet potato fries. Actually, didn't quite know what to do with the poached egg.

Do we pour the egg over the steak?
Do we dip the fries into the egg?
Do we dip the meat into the egg?

Asked one of the service staff, and he mentioned that it can be used as a dip for the sweet potato fries. Dug into the depth of the poached egg bowl and discovered similar hollandaise sauce as the crabcake benny.

dip the sweet potato fries into the egg

striploin - medium rare

Expect to spend about $27 to $45 per pax.

Arteastiq Boutique Tea House

Location: Mandarin Gallery, #04-14/15 333 and Plaza Singapura #03-70/72 Singapore
Website: http://www.arteastiq.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArteastiqSingapore

KPO Cafe Bar @ 1 Kiliney Road

Been there a couple of times, mostly for drinks and light bites. Was wracking the brain for a place to have dinner on a Saturday evening, and KPO came to mind. "Let's go there and eat hokkien mee!" I suggested. Hehe, this was said to a fellow blogger friend, only because I have confidence in KPO's rendition of the noodles.

The place was relaxed on that evening, possibly because it was just right after the rain. Previous visits on weekday evenings always saw this place packed. Live music was playing upstairs, and the volume must've been set to probably about level 4 out of 5, and hence, conversations inside the airconditioned place would be almost impossible unless you were either shouting or whispering right into the ear of the other person! Choosing to do neither of those, we ventured to its al-fresco area at ground level. Only contention was the humid weather and one or two flying insects.

It was still during Happy Hour, so got myself a bottle of Asahi Super "Dry" Black for $10+. I think I have a certain fondness for Japanese beer.

Cheers かんぱい

Satay and KPO Hokkien Mee

The chicken satay was well marinated and tender to the bite. Sauce was flavourful but lacked the spicy kick. But the ketupat (rice cake) was strangely charred on its exterior and was too dense for liking. Yet, am still recommending the satay for as it is. Very nice snack or light bites to have with the drinks.

Chicken Satay (12 sticks) @$18+

KPO Hokkien Mee @$16+

The noodles were well cooked with the flavourful stock coating the strands that was of a soft delightful chew. Nice to slurped it up! Each bite was accompanied by the strips of 'sio-bak' or roasted pork meat (minus crackling). Deep fried lard is a welcomed sight on the plate. But the two pieces of prawns were very overcooked though.

Thus far, the service from the service staff of KPO had been good. That night, it was the same. Thank you and kudos to KPO service crew. Much appreciative.

KPO is listed in The Entertainer App Singapore, hence, do take advantage of the app and get one main free with every 2 orders of mains. Saved $16 that night using the app.

KPO Cafe Bar

Location: 1 Kiliney Road, Kiliney Post Office, Singapore 239518
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KPO.sg/
Website: http://www.imaginings.com.sg/
Reservation: Through Hungrygowhere link or 6733 3648

Bejewelled Christmas By The Bay - Street 50 Restaurant & Bar @ Bay Hotel Singapore

Looking for a place to dine during the festive season? Street 50 Restaurant & Bar is having a "Bejewelled Christmas By The Bay" festive buffet dinners during the eves of Christmas and New Year, plus one could enjoy its seafood themed buffet on 25 & 26 December, 1 & 2 January at only $58++ per pax. On the eves, it cost $68++ per pax. Or, if you are their lucky winner, you might just walk away with a set of Goldheart jewellery worth $2000! Wondering about any credit card promotions for this buffet? Indeed, Maybank Credit cardholders dines free with every 2 paying adults.

Was invited to a preview of the restaurant's 'Bejewelled Christmas By The Bay' dinner with a group of digital media friends, to sample of some of their festive menu highlights.

Bay Hotel is just a few minutes walk from Vivocity MRT. Take Exit D and turn left. The hotel is straight ahead. Street 50 Restaurant & Bar is conveniently located right next to the lobby entrance.

Glittering Christmas by The Bay

The restaurant is of a cosy size and furnished in dark tones and accents. Vibe is relaxed.

Christmas-sy accessories

yay to crabs

Some interesting drinks on their ala-carte beverages menu. Tried the Salty Calamansi and the Ais Serai. Was warned that The Salty Calamansi drink is said to be using the original vietnamese recipe and hence, will be quite salty. Ok, game on!

Salty Calamansi @$6++

Hmm, actually it tasted pretty much like a more intense version of 吉子酸酶. The ratio of those salty stuffs were more than a third of the jar. But that suits my taste, though.

drinks menu

The 'pretty-in-pink' Soda Gembira is the familiar bandung made of rose syrup and condensed milk in soda water.  Stir well before drinking.

Soda Gembira @$6++

bevy of drinks (left to right): hot honey lemon, iced lychee tea, lemongrass with soda (ais serai) and salty calamansi

Let's get on with the food! If you see the Salmon Carpaccio with Coriander & Pinenut Vinaigrette at the buffet table, just grab this appetiser! No need to hesitate, especially if you are a fan of salmon. Light appetiser and enjoyable with just enough sauce to burst out of the salmon. Was a tasty mess.

Salmon Carpaccio with Coriander & Pinenut Vinaigrette

Repeat the same with the Smoked Oyster & Crab Cake. But don't stop at one. Take two at least. It was good. Didn't matter if there wasn't any apparent oyster taste in these babies. The crab cakes were of a good size, well cooked and with familiar Asian spice from the sambal. Lovely.

brown beauties - Smoked Oyster & Crab Cake topped with papaya sambal

have more

The other light bites was a scallop dish. Think it was a my first in trying tomato-based scallops, that was not part of a pasta dish. Easy to eat in one bite alongside with the crunchiness of the diced radish. Best eaten while still warm. A touch of elegance in the usual buffets line-up.

Bay Scallop with Warm Tomato Essence

For something more substantial, let's head on to the Black Pepper Alaskan Crab Claw with Gingko Nut and the Seafood Paella.

Black Pepper Alaskan Crab Claw with Gingko Nut

One word of caution before you dived right into the claws; the pepper sauce was power! Strong fiery pepper. However, some might find it a tad too salty. Having accustomed to the salty calamansi drink, this seemed alright. Interesting though to find gingko nuts in a crab dish.

The Seafood Paella was pretty. Look at its appetising colours! Yellow rice topped with prawns, mussels, squids, olives and juicy cherry tomatoes. Found the paella very different from the ones that am accustomed to. This dish is for those who needs their carbs.

Seafood Paella

And, for the finale, we had the Tandoori Turkey, served conveniently sliced up. There are two dips for the meat; the tangy red spicy pineapple salsa and the refreshing green cucumber coriander sauce.

Tandoori Turkey Breast for Christmas

lovely char, lovely sauces

Ended on a sweet note with crêpe suzette. No table-side cooking though. Wonder how it will be setup during the buffet. Would there be a live-station?

Liked the sweet citrusy mandarin orange sauce. My first ever, crêpe suzette.

Crêpe Suzette with mandarin orange

 Thank you Christine, Aloysius and Street 50 Restaurant & Bar for the lovely festive preview.

Street 50 Restaurant & Bar 

Location: 50 Telok Blangah Rd, 098828
Contact: 6818 6681
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Street50/

 

The Holqa Cafe @ East Coast Road

The Holqa Cafe is one bus stop away from Katong Shopping Centre. This small shop is without a proper door, and situated just right behind the bus stop. The cafe serves up mostly western fares that's heavy on asian influenced flavours. Curiosity and an invitation from a fellow blogger friend brought me there, and travelling to this 'remote' place was via bus #14 from Dhoby Ghaut Station.

signboard

you might have noticed this plastered on the cafe's glass window

The Holqa is a small cosy cafe, a place where a group of student friends first banded together to realize their dreams of owning a business. Having met Welson, Simple and Desmond in the cafe that day, I found their enterprising spirit admirable.

meaning of Holqa

interior

The cafe is setup simply and without frills, and exudes a quiet charm. This was the sort of place where one could drop by either for a snack, or to simply sit by the window and read a book quietly while sipping on a latte.

for the young adults

If you like fried chicken wings as much as I do, then the wings at Holqa will pique your interest. The wings are prepared almost similarly, with the difference in its sauce. Only mid-wings are used here. The young bosses shared that the sauces are prepared fresh upon order, and hence, the waiting time for these wings could go up to 15 minutes.

But fret not, an order of their mini-sliders would help to appease the growling stomach while waiting for the freshly cooked wings.

(left to right) Holqa Pulled Pork mini-burger and the Open Sesame mini-burger

Both are priced at $12 for 3 mini-burgers and served with fries. All mini burgers have lettuce, mayo and cheese in it. The pulled pork was leaning on the sweeter side of things, while the homemade pork and prawn patty in the Open Sesame mini burger were very homely tasting. The patty has a ngor-hiong (五香) flavour with very likeable texture. Both were tasty and moist but I like the Open Sesame patty more. Was asking for a bigger version!

Soon, the much awaited wings made their appearances. That night we sampled five different flavours; Ninja, Peanut Butter, Salted Egg Yolk, SNS-ji and Pineapple Buffalo Wings. The wings are served in sets of 6, or 9 pieces.

Peanut Butter Space Jam Wings @$9 (6 pieces) | $12 (9 pieces)

Yallow Yallow Dirty Fella (Salted Egg Yolk Sauce) @$12 (6 pieces)

Having the peanut butter wings really felt like biting into a thick spread of peanut butter. For people who seriously love their peanut butter jams. Much preferred the salted egg yolk version that was lusciously thick, golden and with a bit of spice from the chili. Yums.

HOLQA SNS-ji @$9 (6 pieces) | $12 (9 pieces)

Ninja Wings @$9 (6 pieces) | $12 (9 pieces)

The SNS-ji is Holqa's signature dish and probably Korean inspired, judging from its name while the Ninja Wings is sort-of like a variant of the SNS-ji dish. The Ninja was created to cater to the non-spice eaters aka young children.

Hmm, I must confess. I do like the Ninja Wings better! Crispy wings, coated in soy-based savoury and caramelized sweetness. The sauce was sticky and reminiscent of malt sugar.

If all these are too mild for you, no worries, you just need to get your hands on the Pineapple Buffalo Wings. As individual spice level tolerance differs from person to person, I'd give this a level 5 out of 10. Just enough heat to feel a slow burn on the tongue and some tingling on the scalp but not enough to make you sweat.

Pineapple Buffalo Wings @$11 (6 pieces) | $16 (9 pieces)

Of course, it helps if there is an icy cold drink on-hand to help douse some of the fire. Had the Crabbies alcoholic ginger beer of the strawberry and lime flavour. Nice and cooling. Sweet~

Crabbies Strawberry and Lime (Alcoholic Ginger Beer) @$9

Thank you Welson, Simple and Desmond for having us at the Holqa Cafe, and Kris for jio'ing us there.

Szechuan Court & Kitchen 四川阁 @ Fairmont Singapore

With regards to Chinese cuisine, I grew up predominantly on Hokkien and Cantonese dishes as a kiddo, and progressively having some exposure to Hakka, Teochew, Shanghai and Beijing dishes when in adulthood. The latter was mainly due to easy availability of such cuisine in Singapore and also attributed to the opportunity to travel. If you ask me whether I've tasted szechuan cuisine before, I'd be hard pressed for an answer. The only szechuan I've eaten would be the szechuan preserved vegetable (mustard root). Doesn't count, right?

Thanks to the invitation from Hungrygowhere and hosted by Fairmont, had the opportunity to dine at Szechuan Court at Fairmont. This restaurant serves up fine Szechuan and Cantonese cuisine under the helm of Master Chef Mok Wan Lok.

interior of Szechuan Court

cosy dining

The restaurant is spacious and comfortable, with a modern Chinese interior. While waiting for the mains, one could sample the snacks already available on the table; the boiled peanuts and szechuan pickled vegetable. The pickle was delectably crunchy and tangy with a touch of chili. Quite addictive.

szechuan pickled vegetable with chili

boiled peanuts

let's have some tea, 饮茶

For tea alone, diners are spoilt for choice. Take your pick from premium leaves of Lion's Peak Dragon Well (狮峰龙井), High Mountain Dongding Oolong (冻顶乌龙), Aged Old Pu-er (陈年旧普洱) 12 years or handcrafted tea, amongst others.

Feeling ravenous, we started with the cold dishes of "Chong Qing" Poached Chicken in spicy peanut sesame sauce and the Braised Beef Tripe with Shimeji mushrooms in peanut chili sauce.

Combination of "Chong Qing" Poached Chicken, Spicy Peanut Sesame Sauce (重庆口水鸡) @$18++

Was pleasantly surprised that the spice level of the poached chicken was actually very likeable and not of the mind-numbing variant. The sauce was more of a fragrance inducer with a tingling of spice to excite the taste buds. The chicken itself was smooth and tender.

The overall texture of the beef tripe dish was enjoyably tasty, 爽口.

Braised Beef Tripe, Shimeji Mushrooms, Peanut Chili Sauce (老干妈五香牛肚伴松茸菇) @$18++

The first two dishes are strong in flavours, and if you prefer something more soothing, do try the Braised Bird's Nest with Cabbage in Chicken Broth.

A luxurious bowl of nutritious bird's nest on velvety smooth flavourful chicken broth. Very well prepared. Indeed a Chef's recommended dish.

Braised Bird's Nest, Cabbage, Chicken Broth (红烧菜胆鸡汁燕窝) @$42++

Next, we had the Steamed Cod fish with Soya Bean Crumbs.

Call me a novice but wasn't able tell what the topping was without looking at the menu. It looked pretty much like minced fried garlic. But its taste was of something more umami-ish. Really liked the soft-oily flesh of cod fish prepared simply by steaming it and doused with soy based sauce, with the fish topped with crunchy fried soya bean crumbs, minced garlic and a secret ingredient. Very good.

Steamed Cod Fish with Soya Bean Crumbs (豆酥) @$18++

Was happy to know that there are plenty of meat dishes in the menu.

The Wok-Fried Sliced Chicken dish was pleasant to taste with impeccably smooth and tender (嫩) chicken slices. The ginger tasted like pickled ginger and added to the tangy element of the dish. The Stir-Fried Duck Breast, surprisingly tasted more like tender beef/venison texture. Lovely dish, and loved the black fungus as well. Yums.

Wok-Fried Sliced Chicken, Young Ginger, Sweet and Sour Sauce @ (Small $28++, Medium $42++) 

Stir-Fried Duck Breast, Black Fungus, Pickled Wild Chilli @ (Small $32++, Medium $48++)

Next, we had the Braised Pork Belly Ribs with Crispy Rice and Sweet Vinegar Sauce. Come to think of it, Chinese cooking can be simple as well as complex. Boiled, braised, deep fried and then stir-fried. So many steps just for one dish alone! The presentation of this dish was as pretty as a painting.

Braised Pork Belly Ribs, Crispy Rice, Sweet Vinegar Sauce @ (Small $30++, Medium $45++)

Really enjoyed the crunch of the light batter, moist juicy meat and the perfect balance of sweet and sour in the sauce. Careful of the bones from the ribs though. The spice in this dish was of the peppercorn variant that provided a slight tinge of numbness (麻辣) on the lips.

In Chinese course meal, usually it will end with a carb of either rice or noodles. At Szechuan Court, we had Wok-Fried Fish Noodles, Shredded Pork and Black Pepper.

Wok-Fried Fish Noodles, Shredded Pork, Black Pepper @(Small $28++ , Medium $42++, Large $56++)

In the menu, there is an indicator of the spice level for each of the spicy dishes. But I think Chef Mok was kidding us when the menu for the Wok-Fried Fish Noodles stated an icon for 'pinch spicy'. This bowl of noodles was of the most spicy (from the black pepper) of all the dishes that we had tasted that night. It deserves an upgrade to 'Hot spicy' level! No worries, Chef  Mok has shared that if you prefer more spicy or less spicy, just let the staff know when you order the dish.

After sampling four of the spicy dishes that night, I'd dare say that the most of the spice level are acceptable to our foreign friends from the non-Asian countries.

Ended the night with a sweet cooling dessert of Pandan Ice Jelly with Honey Sea Coconut. Nice fragrance from the pandan jelly, with nice wobbly smooth texture.

Pandan Ice Jelly with Honey Sea Coconut @$8++

A big thank you goes to Medwin and Wendy for having us at Szechuan Court, Fairmont Singapore. Chef Mok for the delightful dishes and for spending time answering our queries. Many thanks to Hungrygowhere Singapore for the invite, and the foodie kakis, great company as always.

Szechuan Court & Kitchen 四川阁 

Location: 80 Bras Basah Road, Singapore 189560
Website: http://www.fairmont.com/singapore/dining/szechuancourt/
Reservation: +65 6431 6156 or email dining.singapore@fairmont.com
Business Hours:
Lunch:
Monday to Friday - 12:00pm to 2:30pm
Saturday, Sunday & Public Holiday - 12:00pm to 3:00pm

Dim Sum Buffet:
Saturday, Sunday & Public Holiday - 12:00pm to 2:15pm

Dinner:
Daily - 6:30pm to 10:30pm

Note: The information is correct at time of print. For more updated information, please visit the restaurant's website. Thank you