[Media Invite] Xperience Restaurant and Bar @ Sofitel So Singapore

Xperience Restaurant and Bar is located within hotel Sofitel So Singapore. A nice boutique hotel located right smack in CBD area at 35 Robinson Road. Actually, it is very very near Lau Pa Sat. Took bus #57 and alighted at One Raffles Quay. Then walked about 7 minutes towards Boon Tat Street.

hotel as seen from across the road

Xperience

The Xperience Restaurant and Bar has a chic trendy feel to it. Able to seat 80 pax and boasts of an open kitchen where one could watch the chefs at work. If you are there, say hi to Chef Trevor Paulo; Sofitel So Singapore's resident culinary designer and one of Singapore's youngest Executive Chef.

have a seat, and be comfortable

Personable and passionate about his craft, Chef Trevor aims to create that memorable dining experience for everyone who comes to Xperience. Expect menu that changes through the seasons, monthly specials and Chef's Signatures. Learnt that Chef has a soft spot for quality Japanese ingredients which he loves to cook using French techniques. Chef Trevor's flair is to create new textures, design the visuals and introduce flavours with local twists for that So Singapore experience.

Talented Chef Trevor Paulo

menu

While Chef was busy preparing our dinner, we munched on the house bread. Pretty good crusty, chewy bread with unsalted butter. If you like yours salted, fret not. Just reach out for that salt bottle that's on the table.

house bread and unsalted butter

Our first starter was the Poached Sweet Prawns. Fresh succulent tiger prawns were used, expertly poached and marinated in mirin, sake and soy. Firm and sweet, paired with crisp thinly sliced granny smiths and baby radish carpaccio. Decorated with sansho pepper to resemble a golden leave and arranged with some colourful edible flowers. Pleasing to the senses and each bite of the prawn was delightful!

Poached Sweet Prawns @$26++

Next, we tried the Cured Salmon dish. Interestingly, Chef whipped out a bottle of apple juice which he had fermented. This was used instead of consommé. Sounds exciting!

carefully pouring in the fermented apple juice

The cured salmon was snuggly surrounded by cucumber shavings, some microgreens, edible flowers, tobiko, pickled cauliflower and green pearls of dill and corriander. Beautiful contrast of colours as well as textures. It tasted exactly as how it looked. Refreshing with a tinge of sweetness.

Cured Salmon @$25++

Appetisers were very light on the palate and the fermented apple juice whetted our appetite for more. Let's bring on the mains!

Do you like lamb? Have you tried Lamb Confit before? If you are not averse to lamb, I urge you to come and Xperience Lamb Confit. It was delicious, in its own subtle way.

By no means was this easy to prepare. Lamb had to be trimmed, seasoned, ballotined, then sous-vide'd for 36 hours and then a quick sear prior to serving.

Lamb Confit (tasting portion) @$38++ (full portion)

Served with ginger carrot puree for that lovely bright yellow hue, Kenya beans, asparagus, heirloom carrots and Vadouvan jus. Vadouvan is a French derivative of a masala, which is an aromatic spice blends typically of cumin, onion, garlic, mustard seeds and fenugreek.

The lamb was tender and with very mild gameyness to it. The Australian heirloom carrots were great (lovely purple colour!) and really lovable flavour. Can't get enough of the ginger carrot puree. It was around 95% of carrot sweetness and probably just 5% ginger spiciness at the end. Was a happy camper with this plate.

Next, was the restaurant's favourite main dish; the Beef Short Rib. This was the first dish that appealed to the olfactory. Very quickly one detects the fragrance of onions. Rightfully so, since this plate had onion puree, spring onion tempura, onion 'paper' and shallot jus. First time having onion 'paper' and it was a fun eat! Interestingly, the smell of onions while was rather strong when served, the taste of onions was quite mild.

Beef Short Rib @ $38++

The beef has been sous-vide'd for 48 hours and hence, was enjoyably tender. One can't go wrong with a little bit of fats and I ate the slightly fatty bits with glee. Again, mild natural flavours.

Next up, was desserts time. Wonder what Chef Trevor and his Pastry Chef have up their sleeves.

Chocolate Dome @$24++

Am sure most must have seen photos or heard about chocolate dome desserts that melts when warm sauce was slowly poured over it to reveal something else within the dome? Similary, we got to experience here.

hot vanilla cremeux is poured over

melting the top of the dome

just a bit more

araguani chocolate and hazelnut ice-cream

Theatricals, either you like it or you don't. Regardless, the melting chocolate dome dessert was actually good. Balanced sweetness and lovely smooth texture.

Next, was a tasting portion of carrot cake. After trying it, I dare say that this is one cake that you wouldn't want to miss. The cake was moist and shall I say, fluffy but not quite. The espuma cream cheese played lightly on the palate and the carrot chips were like candy. Sweet and intense. It was a new flavour for me, having the apricot sorbet. All in all, yummy.

Now, a cup of good coffee with this carrot cake. Lovely.

Carrot Cake (tasting portion) @$22++ (full portion)

cream cheese espuma, edible flowers, salted caramel sauce, carrot chips. apricot sorbet, maple soil

If you like something a little more special, why not go for the Xperience Celebrations Dessert which is ideal for a party of four. Chef Trevor would personally come round and prepare this feast of a dessert, right in front of you and your guests.

lights off and let the show begin!

Actually, it wasn't really a show. Nothing flashy but there might be some fancy bits. It was more akin to being in your friend's home and watching them prepare your food.

How do I describe the experience of Celebrations Dessert? It was like watching an artist paints his canvas.

Chef Trevor putting his design onto the platter

The ingredients were all laid out, and by watching him one could almost see the creativity flowing. Little pumps of vanilla chantilly here and there, some coulis everywhere, carefully arranging the colourful berries, and a trail of truffle and chocolate soil.

in goes to the huge shell of chocolate ball

finishing touches

There was a fun interaction towards the end, and the end result, was a beautiful edible mess. Not sure when it got there, but there were macarons, merringue and popping candy in there too. Sweet.

For the Celebrations Dessert, do place a one-day advance reservation.

Celebrations Dessert

let's eat

Sofitel So Singapore's Xperience Restaurant and Bar offers memorable experience, good food and good service. Efficient and friendly staff and offers enough variations in menu through the change in seasons. There is almost always something different even for the same dish that you might have tried before. Chef Trevor has his way to present his dishes differently, or uses his ingredients in a different manner.

There are also seasonal monthly items, depending on Chef and what he has sourced for that month.

current month special

If you feel like relaxing by the pool after dinner, sure. Just head up to the rooftop bar where one could enjoy a cocktail or two while watching the CBD skyline.

rooftop bar

by the pool

Special thanks to Sofitel So Singapore, Xperience Restaurant and Bar, Dawn and Chef Trevor for hosting the tasting. Thank you to the good folks at HGW for the invite and fellow foodies for the company.

Xperience Restaurant and Bar

Address: 35 Robinson Rd, 068876
Contact:  6701 6800
Website: http://www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-8655-sofitel-so-singapore/bar.shtml#./restaurant.shtml
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoSofitelSingapore/
Reservations: http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/xperience-restaurant-bar-tanjong-pagar--raffles-place/

Hot Tomato Café & Grill @ Westgate

Have always passed by Hot Tomato, be it their Star Vista branch, or Plaza Singapura and it seemed that its crowd consists mostly of the young adults. Brought parents out for lunch and we ran out of places to eat. The usual favourite would be Ichiban Boshi but mom wasn't in the mood so bro suggested Hot Tomato for us try its western fare.

It was off-peak during a weekend and about 330pm when we visited. Yeah, we were having our meals at odd hours. Having tunch (lunch cum tea)!

Service was friendly and top-up option was explained. Add $3.50 to get a soup of the day and a drink where one could choose from ice lemon tea., lime juice or hot beverages of coffee or tea. We chose ice lemon tea to quench our thirst on a hot Saturday.

dining area

menu

upgrades

The menu consists of salads, meats + pasta, meats + rice combination, or the usual meats+salad+french fries.
By default, the menu where it states pork chop or teriyaki chicken chop...those will come with a side of salad and pasta. One could inform the staff to remove the pasta for bigger salad portion.

top up $3.50 for each order of main course to get soup of the day and a drink

The soup of that day was tomato soup. A tad too watery for me though but generous in serving portion. Dad ordered Roast Chicken & Garlic Shrimp Combo and boy, what a huge serving! It has french fries (his favourite), olive rice and corn on cob with half baby roast chicken. The roast chicken was pretty regular sized and baby seemed like a misnomer.

Roast Chicken & Garlic Shrimp Combo @$12.90

U.S Choice Pork Chop and Sausages @$12.50

The pork chop was of a manageable portion. Guys would love to dine at Hot Tomato. It has enough meat, some carbs and the salad was pretty appetizing with the vinaigrette dressing.

Teriyaki Chicken Chop @$9.20

The chicken chop was a bit dry for me and the rosemary herb was rather strong. A normal juicy well marinated teriyaki chicken thigh would be great. The spaghetti can be done much better as  the current version tasted pretty much just salt-based. The salad was crunchy and refreshing with nice dressing.

In general, it was value-for-money. Meat, carbs and greens. They have it all. According to their friendly manager, the philosophy is so that each customer walks away feeling full and satisfied.
 

Naughty Nuri's @ Tanjong Katong

We were at Tanjong Katong Road, and looking for snacks post dinner. Naughty Nuri's happened to be there and we went in to try their famed ribs. On normal occassions, I'd choose a martini or a beer to go with the ribs, but we were in a company of non-drinkers plus feeling a bit full from dinner.

Chose the minimalist way and ordered pork ribs and burnt squid. Was tempted by Hence to get the burnt corn but....corn could be rather filling and no one else seemed interested, so we didn't.

Naughty Nuri's Signature Pork Ribs (full rack)

The pork ribs were well marinated and flavourful. Was amazed at how cleanly and easily the meat slid off the bones. Rather effortlessly! I don't think am able to finish a full rack on my own, so a half-rack portion would suffice if I'm having this for dinner. Plus a beer. Yes, that too.

When a dish has been prefixed with the 'burnt' word, I'd be expecting something that's somewhat charred looking. The burnt squid was looking rather pale with just specks of burnt'ness. But that was because the squid was slowly braised to ensure tenderness and then charred for smokey flavour. The flavour was subtle and the dip that looked like chili paste was not spicy at all and rather, it enhances the 'fresh' taste of the dish. To add some spice to this, one could eat it with the spicy kecap manis mix that's available in bottle form on each table. Rather yummy and enjoyable.

burnt squid

chili and kecap manis mix

Staff was friendly and accommodating. The place was fairly relaxed on a Friday night.

For two pax, expect to spend about $80 for ribs, shared appetiser and a drink.

Naughty Nuri's @ Tanjong Katong

Address:  306 Tanjong Katong Rd
Contact: 6247 7803

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NurisKatong/
Business Hours:
Mon-Thurs:    17:00 - 23:00
Fri-Sat:    17:00 - 01:00
Sun:    17:00 - 23:00

Kite @ Craig Road

It was after an event at Red Dot Design Museum on a Friday night and we, the girls, wanted to have a place to chill and chit-chat. But, we are three equally fickle-minded or rather the better term would be 随和 (amicable) ladies, ended up walking everywhere to find that place. Passed by Orchard Hotel and saw the super long queues for Ramen Keisuke, Keisuke Gyoza King, Hana Hana and etc. Ok, no gyoza is possible for that night.

Walked on and passed by Korean restaurants and desserts place that peppered around Tanjong Pagar area. Ok, we weren't that hungry so no Korean for us. Jen needed coffee, Kris needed some food and all of us needed air-conditioning as the weather was super humid and hot. Kris brought us to Kite and no questions asked, for we unanimously agreed as we needed to rest our tired soles.

The place was dimly lit, gave a comfortable cosy feel and looked more bar'ish than cafe'ish when night falls.
Service was friendly and welcoming.

bar counter

anyone knows the story of kite logo?

I think its menu was designed by young people with perfect eyesight. With lights that dim, and font size 8...it was very very difficult to see what's on the menu.

food menu

Happy Hour which we missed as we arrived around 9pm

The menu looked pretty interesting with modern fusion food and since Kris had been there before, pretty much left it to her to order our snacks.

When we said, we'll go drinking together...this was what happened. Kris satisfied with ice-cold water, Jen with a cup of hot latte and I'll take a glass of wine. We celebrate diversity.

drinking together

Jen's latte with abstract art

Gerard Bertrand, Languedoc-Roussillon, France, Gris-Blanc 2014

Our first snack was the Chili Miso Chicken Mid-wings, an item from the Bar Snacks section, available from 10pm onwards. It looked a tad like blackened chicken and very strongly flavoured. Spice level was rather mild though. Think it goes well with cider or beer, otherwise it came across as rather salty for us.

Chili Miso Chicken Mid-wings @$12+

Next up, was something from the ala-carte dinner menu; the Ubin Seabass. A rather smallish plate with just a few fish slices on it. However, we were surprised by its taste. Every component on that plate, from the ingredients to the seasoning, flavouring and sauce...it worked.

Ubin Seabass @$14+

Served with lotus roots that tasted a tad dehydrated with a somewhat chewy texture but nicely sweet. Then combined with a slight herby green flavour of the sprouts and soothed over by the creamy yellow sauce and beneath the sauce, there were some dollops of what looked like sesame paste. It tasted pretty much like sesame peanut buttery but this was revealed to be the sunflower seeds. Try it and let me know what you think of the sauce.

yes, the seabass is somewhere in there

Next, we had a pleasant surprise due to Kris's wide network of friends, we got to enjoy a complimentary plate of "Chicken Rice" Crackers. The moniker of "chicken rice" came about due to the use of chicken rice chili and kecap manis that serves as the condiment for this snack. The tapioca crackers were enjoyable but will turn soggy when left soaking in the chili for too long. Good with the bar drinks.

"Chicken Rice" Crackers @$6+

We kept seeing this plate of desserts being ordered, so the curious us also ordered the same. Turned out to be a chocolatey dessert called chocolate forest. Made of caramelized white chocolate, nut soil and herbs. Pretty to look at, and I think I enjoyed it quite a bit since it is not that often I get to eat pretty desserts like these. Haven't been too exposed to the edible soil thingy.

Chocolate Forest @$15+

Surprise find of this dish? The real mushrooms. Yeah, not chocolate white mushroom but really, the actual shrooms shroom. Luckily, it didn't taste weird with the rest of the stufs. There's some passionfruit sauce (Not too sure but it tasted like one) buried underneath the 'soil' and when eaten together, you'll get a dose of sharp tangy fruity distinct taste of the fruit, salty bits from the soil and sweet bits from the chocolates plus some slight herby taste if you happen to bite into any of those green herbs. Not too strong, and overall pretty enjoyable with the dry crumbly texture combined with some gooey sweet texture from the chocolate and passionfruit sauce.

nom nom

Expect to spend about $30+ per pax for some shared light bites and a drink. A single dish from the ala-carte mains may not be enough for a proper meal. If I'm in a cosy group of 2 and am at Kite for a meal, then I'd probably order one or two appetisers to share. Then, from the hot food section, we'd get a meat dish and from the cold food section, the mentaiko somen sounds nice for some carbs and finish off with a dessert to share. Of course, each with a drink. Allocate about $60+ per pax, or you could opt for the set dinner sharing menu for 2 pax at $110+ (without drinks) where you get to try more items as this set dinner has about 8 things in it.

Am glad to be able to explore new places with my fellow foodies, Kris and Jen. Your company on a Friday night was truly a blessing. Thank you for sharing the laughter.

Kite

Website: http://eat-at-kite.sg/
Contact: +65 9729 7988
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kiteoncraig/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatatkite/
Business Hours:
Lunch
Tuesday - Friday 12 pm - 230 pm

Dinner
Tuesday - Sunday 6 pm - 10 pm

Drinks
Tuesday - Saturday 6pm - 12mn

Elemen 元素 @ Millenia Walk

For our foodies get-together, Elemen @ Millenia Walk was suggested. Rather unusual choice but we gave it a try. One of our new friend liked the place quite a bit and has been there for a few times already. Reservations were made (which we later learnt was quite a necessity) and at the appointed date, we turned up for brunch at Elemen.

Elemen is located at Level 1 of Millenia Walk and was quite easy to find. The shop ambiance was refreshing with a rather spacious dining area.

shopfront

interior

Once seated, diners could peruse the paper menu or via the tablet. When ready, just order via the tablet device. One could opt for course set menus of 5-courses @$23.80++ or 8-courses @$32.80++, or go ala-carte.

menu cum ordering pad

traditional menu

Basically the items in ala-carte are the same as those that you can mix and match into the course sets. For ala-carte menu, the starters price ranges from $2.80++, salads goes for $5.80++ while soups can be as high as $8.80++. Main courses generally either $12.80++ or $15.80++ while desserts are priced at $5.80++, $6.80++ and $8.80++.

Liked the restaurant's versatility in terms of not making it compulsory for everyone at the same table to order all ala-cartes or all course sets. For our group of 9 pax, we ordered 2 x 8-courses set and a few ala-carte mains.

rosemary infused water

(included in 8-Course Set) Elemen Appetiser @$4.80++ and apple cider

Didn't manage to taste the Elemen Appetiser except for the small squares of sesame pudding. Nice intense sesame flavours in the beginning but it finishes with a burnt after taste. The apple cider tasted like a sharp version of apple juice.

tomato looks inviting

Wild Mushroom Cream Soup with Truffle Oil

Double Boiled Maca Soup @$8.80++

We chose soups from western and asian influenced. The mushroom cream soup was thick and not too overpowering. It was unfortunate that by the time I managed to get a sip, the soup had turned cold. With all the items served on the table, it was tough to pay equal attention to each dish. The Asian styled Maca soup was pleasant and tasty.

Avocado Salad with BBQ sauce @$5.80++

Mushroom Salad @$5.80++

Gosh, I think I might had missed out on the avocado salad! Haha, what a bummer. Nevertheless, managed to have a bite of the mushroom salad. It looked pretty cute with the plump stem. Light earthy flavour.

For mains, we ordered mostly Asian items. We tried the Tempura Tofu with Avocado Roll, Oven Baked Mountain Yam with Walnut, Braised Pumpkin with Glutinous Rice in Hot Stone and a relatively new item at Elemen, the Japanese Curry Noodles with Beancurd Roll.

Tempura Tofu with Avocado Roll @$15.80++

The Tempura Tofu with Avocado Roll was done up very nicely. Easy to share too! The sushi rice was good and it goes well with the fried bits and the sauce.  Yummy and quite worthwhile to get it in a set. Tasted like something one could get from a Japanese restaurant.

Yet, another Japanese-inspired dish. Japanese Curry Udon with Beancurd Roll may not look pretty but it tasted quite likeable. The sweetish Japanese curry that wasn't too thick, the strands of thin udon that required a bath in the curry gravy, ample leafy greens and lovely beancurd roll too. Surprise find was the chestnuts. 

Japanese Curry Noodles with Beancurd Roll @$12.80++

Next, two dishes that were recommended by foodie friend that had dined at Elemen before. The Wild Mushroom and White Truffle Pizza and the Braised Pumpkin with Glutinous Rice in HotStone.

The pizza was thin-crusted and crispy round its edges. The toppings were not overpowering and great for sharing.

Wild Mushroom and White Truffle Pizza @$15.80++

Braised Pumpkin with Glutinous Rice in Hot Stone @$15.80++

The braised pumpkin hotstone pot was served bubbling. There's green apples, pumpkin, and king oyster mushroom in there. The sauce is made of red wine and teriyaki sauce. The crispy glutinous rice would soften once its soaked enough in the pot.

yuzu mint mojito @$4.80++

For drinks, there are four choices in each of the hot or cold beverage categories. Chose Yuzu Mint Mojito for something cold and the Lychee Black Tea from the hot selection.

The cold yuzu mint mojito had a tad too much ice in it and that kind of diluted it a little. Nevertheless, it was refreshing on a warm day.

The hot Lychee Black Tea was served in lovely black teapot that was pretty heavy. The tea has been properly infused and the fragrance of lychee was noticeable.

Lychee Black Tea @$4.80++

For the Course Sets, we got ourselves desserts; the interesting purple-coloured Sweet Potato Puree and the previously most-ordered cafe dessert of chocolate lava cake served with gelato.

The Sweet Potato Puree offered an unadulterated taste of sweet potato. Mild and light. As for the chocolate lava cake, it was decent and pretty enjoyable. Just don't expect the lava to flow out.

Sweet Potato Puree @$5.80++

Chocolate Lava Cake with Gelato @$8.80++

On the overall, we thought it was quite a good value to get the course-set when you're dining at Elemen.

For a 5-Course Set @$23.80++, one gets:

• 1x Elemen Appetiser
• 1x Salad/Soup
• 1x Main
• 1x Dessert
• 1x Drink

For 8-Course Set @$32.80++, one gets:

• 1x Elemen Appetiser
• 1x Rosemary Breadstick with yoghurt sauce
• 1x Salad
• 1x Soup
• 1x Apple Cider
• 1x Main
• 1x Dessert
• 1x Drink

Recommended for families, large groups or anyone that would like to dine in a comfortable environment to enjoy meatless dishes.