Ryu's Traditional Japanese Cuisine 柳 @ Capitol Piazza

This year, decided to celebrate Wendy's birthday at Ryu's. We like to try new places, especially for occassions like birthdays. Hmm, however, we have yet to break the tradition of our limited meet-up of twice a year. Once for hers and once for my birthday.

Though Ryu's address is at Capitol Piazza, the restaurant is actually at the theatre side. Lots of dining and drinking places there. Naughty Nuri seemed pretty popular at the moment, judging by the its patrons.

restaurant

Quite liked that Capitol has free wifi for patrons to use. Thumbs up! Ryu's menu is available online, so it was quite easy to pick the food choices.

Arrived at the restaurant at the appointed hour, and while waiting for the birthday girl, I have started with a glass of beer. They serve Kirin here. Hmm, I think the beer head was too much in that glass of beer...
An おしぼり (warm towel) is brought out once you have placed your order.

view from our table

なまビル @$8++ (small)

Unfortunately, the tsukune (minced chicken skewer) took a long time to arrive, so didn't manage to have it as a snack with the beer.

Ordered a tendon as our main course, and supplemented by two ala-carte meats; pork and chicken. Was pleasantly surprised to be served with a bowl of cold soup. Amuse bouche? ありがと!

cold soup - complimentary

The soup was pleasantly smooth, and of mild clean flavours. Think this was the pumpkin soup, judging by its golden colour. The minced chicken skewer (つくね) was quite dense, and quite unlike the versions that I had tried elsewhere.

tsukune (つくね) @$5++ per stick

Tendon Set 天丼 @$25++

The Tendon Set was quite a big bowl and its tempura items had two prawns, sea eels (anago), pumpkin, brinjal and sweet potato. Served with pickles and a tiny teacup bowl of miso soup. We were too engrossed in our conversation, and hence, did not eat the tempura immediately after it was served. No, not because of picture taking, okay.

Grilled Chicken Marinated in Miso Sauce @$12++

Boiled Radish with Miso sauce and stewed Iberian Pork @$17++

Was most impressed by the portion of the stewed Iberian pork. Actually, I had mistakenly thought that the pork would be of slices instead of two huge chunks of pork ribs. The pork was well stewed and could be easily tore off by the chopsticks. The radish was so good as it had soaked in all the sauces. Liked the greens in the dish. Overall, a good dish to have with rice.

Wendy thinks that the miso was missing from the chicken. Might be true as there wasn't any apparent taste of it, and also unlike the pork dish where we could see a dollop of miso sitting atop of the radish.

Time flies when you are with friends, and before we knew it. It was time for desserts.

desserts

On the overall, it was a nice experience at Ryu's. One need not spend a fortune (if you don't want to) here as there are ala-carte dishes and sets that are of reasonable prices.

Happy Birthday, Wendy! May all your wishes, come true (soon!).

P. Bistro @ Owen Road

A place that is about 10 minutes away by cab from the office. Visited recently and they had updated their menu. Read more about first visit here before the change in menu. No worries, as items such as truffle fries, chili crab pasta were all retained.

The seating in P. Bistro is really limited. At one glance, it possibly could seat just about 14 pax. Menu items include pasta, meat and burgers. Most items seemed to be either deep fried or spicy. Was having sore throat, so decided to get the roast chicken.

The place do not serve complimentary water, so the next best option would be bottled water @$1 each, or go for coffee. Saw that they have kumquat tea, and thought that as an item seldom seen in cafes, so got myself one of those. Hot please, for the throat needed a whole lot of soothing.

The wait for food, was about half-hour that day. Hopefully, this is not the norm. Thankfully, the food was worthed the wait. Am loving the kumquat tea as well. Was pleasantly surprised to see that it came in a pot!

Kumquat tea @$4

My colleagues ordered chili crab pasta, salted egg yolk pasta and har cheong gai burger. Thought that the pasta portions were slightly smaller when compared to the burger or to roast chicken.

Salted Egg Yolk Pasta @$13

Gai Burger @$12

The Gai Burger looked slightly bigger than the one I had at Grub. Plenty of vegetables in there too. Served with shoestring fries.

Roast Chicken @$13

I think the Roast Chicken might be a misnomer. Perhaps, more apt to call it chicken chop? Anyways, the portion was good and lovely mushroom sauce where one could see those mushrooms. Yums. Served with small side of salad and shoestring fries.

This place serves up reasonably priced food that tasted good.

P. Bistro

Location: 42 Owen Rd, 218941
Contact: 6392 2333
Website: http://p-bistro.com/
Business Hours:
11am to 10pm

Vietnam Kitchen @ Cheras Leisure Mall Malaysia

Dad wanted to lunch at Wong Kok Cafe but it was packed on a Saturday. Hence, decided on Vietnam Kitchen since it was less crowded. Moreover, parents and sis have yet to try Vietnamese cuisine. Service was courteous and friendly. We were ushered in quickly to our table.

Value sets are available and prices ranges from RM34.90++ (for 2 pax) to about RM86.80++ (for 4 to 5 pax). We decided to go ala-carte, and ordered three appetisers and two mains to share amongst 5 pax.

menu - set meal and ala-carte dishes

Dad ordered  a crepe pork roll, which was basically a minced pork chee cheong fun topped with mushrooms. It also had two slices of what tasted like chicken ham. Quite nice actually.

crepe pork roll @RM10.50++

Mom and sis shared a plate of chicken chop rice. The rice set came with a bowl of meatball soup that was a little bit sourish to whet the appetite. The rice was topped with a sunny side up, served with pickles and a slice of pate. The chicken chop was of a good portion. There were also some shreds of stuffs which I thought was beancurd but was rather odd tasting.

Chicken Chop Rice @RM17.90++

Bro, of course, had a bowl of vermicelli to himself. A man needs to eat like a man.  The bowl of noodles was quite huge and its of a dry version. Plenty of beansprouts, served with some fresh greens and pickles. The thin fried springroll has some minced pork in it. Served with a small bowl of tangy sauce.

Springroll with Lemon Pork Vermicelli @RM15.80++

The appetiser that we got was a lapcheong springroll.

(lapcheong) sausage turnips rice springroll @RM8.35++

Actually, it was my first time seeing the lapcheong roll and chee cheong fun in an original Vietnamese menu. Nevertheless, both tasted quite good.

For me, I went for the traditional prawn springrolls, with a glass of orange juice since my choice of drink; soda chanh, wasn't available. Hmm, the drink cost as much as my food! The orange juice was nicely sweet and has a sour plum in it. Yums. The springroll was healthy and packed with lots of vegetables. Served with a hoisin peanut dip.

Prawn Roll @RM8.35++ and orange juice @RM8.35++

Sis ordered a teapot of Atiso tea (Trà atiso) for RM6.25++. It was kind of unique as this was the first time we've tasted artichoke tea. Quite mild and light. The small pot contained two teabags and request for hot water refill was acceeded to without a fuss, though they had to boil some water first. Haha!

We spent about RM20 per pax. Service was friendly and food was served within reasonable time. If you are at Cheras Leisure Mall on a weekend and in the mood for some Vietnamese cuisine, then I would recommend to drop by Vietnam Kitchen.

COCOTTE Weekend Brunch Trolley @ Wanderlust Hotel

The group decided to have brunch at COCOTTE@Wanderlust just the other weekend, so reservation was made. Cocotte (noun) means casserole, and COCOTTE Weekend Brunch Trolley@$69++ per pax, was what we were looking forward to.

First time having rustic French for brunch, and didn't really know what to expect. Never did any research on this place as well, though I think am still a subscriber to their mailing list. Was somewhat excited to try the food here. For brunch with free-flow Prosecco, that'll be $119++. Hmm, wine is always expensive in Singapore!

many accolades

waiting for our table

Ambiance was nice and cosy. Place feels adequately spacious. Brunch starts from 12pm, so if you are there early, or if need to wait for table to be ready, you could have a go at the foosball table.

retro barber chairs?

Liked the tables by the window, and how the natural lights gently flowed in. Feels a bit homely, a bit countryside.

table for two

Though there wasn't any menu for the brunch, the friendly service crew will drop by the table to explain on how's the experience at COCOTTE was going to be. Food will be pushed out via the trolley and guests will then be served on individual small plates. There will be a few appetisers, followed by three main meats and finally, the desserts trolley. Sounded good, and we were so ready!

And, when they start, the food did come by rather quickly.  First trolley soon appeared next to our table. First appetiser was the bacon and mushroom quiche.

appetiser trolley

For the cautious us, we started by sharing a slice of quiche amongst two pax. The quiche was really lovely. Imagine firm crust and warm wobbly fillings. The quiche was suitably seasoned and flavoured. Expect mild and natural flavours to shine through. Good.

bacon and mushroom quiche - side view

Next, let's have some fresh greens. Next we knew, a plate of salad was presented to our table. The dressing was light and tangy, and the addition of pear gave the salad a fruity sweetness. Actually, it was only in retrospective that we asked the staff what went into the salad. Blue cheese was revealed as one of the items. No wonder, there was a subtle hint of smokey flavour to the salad. Lovely and healthy!

salad leaves with pear and blue cheese

refreshing

Next up, make a guess. Brunch usually will have some form of bread, right? So, the next appetiser was a trolley laden with sandwiches.

ham & brie sandwich

close up view

The sandwich was good. No kidding. A good slice of ham, with some cherry jam spread and melted brie. Ooh-la-la! Savoury sweet combo? Checked. Crusty bread but not jaw breaking? Checked. Lovely, and wished I had one more. But no. Decided to save the tummy space for the next unknown.

Next up, was a fish dish. Oh, does that mean main items had arrived? Liked the sea bass quite a bit and was also contemplating on whether I needed a second plate of this! But no, am not succumbing to temptations. The fish was moist and adequately seasoned. Once again, it was all about natural flavours with the other ingredients complementing it well.

pan-fried sea bass with dill, one more please

At this juncture, we were contemplating on our drinks. Wine? Yes, please. But first, the next course had arrived. Eggs done two-ways, cocotte-style.

sous vide egg with white beans ramekin (front)

scrambled egg with veal tongue and mushrooms

The sous vide egg was nicely done and with thick bright coloured yolk. The taste of the white beans was a tad like a milder version of baked beans. Enjoyable. The scrambled egg was nice too. The veal tongue tasted a bit like a slightly leaner version of ham.

break it and mix it up

Thirsty? Let's order some drinks, ala-carte. The brunch doesn't come with any drinks, except for the prosecco brunch. Coffee/tea/soda are available ala-carte as well.

There are two choices of house pours so I chose a blended white from France. Actually, the other house pour of Semillon Sauvignon Blanc from Barossa and Eden Valley was also to my liking, and had more pronounced flavours.

M. Chapoutier Cotes Du Luberon La Ciboise Blanc 2012 Rhone Valley

house pour white wine @$13++

Now am ready for the meats. Bring them on! Oh, not yet? Still at appetisers? Wow, that was plenty of food and just for appetisers. Next up, we had the mussels and beef tripe. The sauce for the mussels lacked a certain umami'ness to it, while fried beef tripe, well...stewed ones I like, but fried tripe was just lacking in the taste department.

what surprise lies in that pot?

fennel, cream and white wine clams & mussels, served with rustic bread

fried beef tripe with wholegrain mustard and pickles

For meats, we had roast chicken, pork and beef. But first, a sip of the wine. Then, commençons!

roast chicken with couscous

The roast chicken was tender and even the breast meat was alright for me. But the best part, had to be its skin. So flavourful and in limited edition for our plate. Have not tasted that many couscous in my lifetime, and for this dish, it also didn't leave any impression.

The pork was flavourful and slightly chewy but thoroughly enjoyable. Two slices each would be good.

roast pork with pumpkin puree

oyster blade roast beef with kale and roasted pumpkin

The roasted pumpkin was so sweet. Almost like a dessert. The beef texture was tender and one could taste its natural flavours. Meat and wine. Yums.

oyster blade roast beef with kale

Finally, we have reached the final leg of the brunch, and desserts trolley was next. By this time, we were feeling rather full.

For that weekend, the desserts trolley had four-types of desserts; Pistachio creme brulee, homemade basil ice-cream, banana walnut cake with chantilly cream, and chocolate cake with apple tart frangipane.

desserts trolley

Of course, we asked for each items to share and one ice-cream each. Basil ice-cream, how exotic!

banana walnut cake, basil ice-cream and pistachio creme brulee, apple tart and chocolate cake

The apple tart frangipane had an unexpected texture (at least to me) but the taste of it, grew with each bite. It was dense, much unlike the usual apple tart. A cup of coffee would go so well with these cakes.

apple tart frangipane, chocolate cake

basil ice-cream and pistachio creme brulee

The basil taste was really strong in this ice-cream but I think I quite liked it. Texture was good, and tasted refreshing. The pistachio creme brulee was torched at the table-side. Likeable.

But the winner of the desserts trolley, was really the banana walnut cake with chantilly cream. Thumbs up!

banana walnut cake with chantilly creme and macadamia nuts

With a glass of wine, expect to spend about $96 per pax.

Special shout-out to the makan kakis; Elle, Ivan, Hence, Tracy and Kris.