VENUE By Sebastian @ Downtown Gallery

Heard that the food was good, so went to experience it with a few friends. The food served was described as European with selective Asian influences and tapas-portioned. Reservation is necessary especially on Fridays.

Its menu was printed on a single-paged A4 sized paper so there wasn't any difficulty in choosing our plates. To start, we had the burnt toast. This was ordered more out of curiosity but I think this will be useful to mop up the sauce for other dishes such as the Chilean Seabass.

For a group of 4 pax, it is recommended to get at least one pasta and two main courses, with one or two sides and two desserts.

The service staff has informed that the food will be served as soon as they are ready. Burnt toast was as its namesake. Toasted bread it was.

Burnt Toast @$3

The lamb riblet was just a stick of lamb satay. Hmm, I wouldn't order this again. The whitebait with chili salt was nice and we can't stop eating it. Thus far, all these were like bar-food.

Lamb Riblet @$5 per stick

Whitebait with chili salt @$9

And of course, we had our drinks to go along with the food. Guess which of the drink below was my order.

Yuzu Uijin @$15

C.O.T.M (Check Out These Melons) @$17

Fair Lady @$16

Was delighted with mine, the Fair Lady which was a refreshing cocktail concocted out of tequila, st germaine, cucumber syrup (didn't know this was a thing!) and apple tea. Tasted like apple tea infused with cucumber but has an alcoholic punch to it. It tasted like a thirst quencher but that would probably knock me out thereafter!

Next up was yet another appetiser. The tofu and the octopus. Oh boy, the flavours from the tofu and foie gras mirin were superb. But just two pieces, definitely not enough! Those iced lettuce were genius as well.

Homemade tofu, foie gras mirin sauce and iced lettuce @$12

Grilled octopus, bean puree, capers, burnt butter @$27

Grilled octopus was expectantly tender and enjoyable. Good with the drinks. But we were still hungry. Thus, a pasta dish (or two) is an absolute necessity. Unless you're only there for drinks.

The handcut pasta with duck ragout was an explosion of strong flavours. That pasta texture was unforgettable. Best texture I've tasted from a pasta dish! It surpassed all our expectations and is a must-order. Totally recommended. Will gladly have this again but won't be willing to share! Ok, maybe I'll share it if you have the Chilean Seabass.

Handcut pasta, duck ragout, parmigiano reggiano @$21

Chilean Seabass. mushroom-bacon ragout, truffle yuzu butter sauce @$36

It is of little wonder that the Chilean Seabass is a signature dish at VENUE. Everything on that plate was on-point. Fish was cooked perfectly and the golden top was like a crowning glory. That mushroom-bacon ragout was just so tasty and the yuzu butter sauce, that we made sure it coated every side of the fish. Even contemplated on whether to order another set of burnt toast to mop up those delicious sauce with!

Having had those two outstanding plates, it widened the contrast gap when we tried the duck confit. The duck confit was good with crisp skin and tender meat but it paled in comparison with the handcut pasta and chilean seabass.

36 hours duck confit, truffle emulsion, mesclun, lemon-mustard vinaigrette @$19

By now, our tummies were feeling slightly full and our last main course made its appearance. The fennel crusted lamb belly. Oh my gosh. This was another pleasant surprise. Lamb lovers, please order this plate. It is definitely a must-have! Had a bite of those lamb belly and I went straight up to belly heaven. Seriously good. Those yellow things on that plate which I don't know what it was, we just lapped it up. Very very tasty and wished we had more bread which we would, if we weren't feeling full already by then.

Fennel crusted lamb belly spicy breadcrumbs, romesco @$18

But, we could not leave without first trying their dessert. So we had not just one but two dessert! We had the tiramisu and the financier.

Tiramisu, kahlua, wild cherry in kirsch @$12

The kahlua in the tiramisu was rather mild, and the tiramisu was so light, I could have eaten it all by myself. Ok, I admit. I ate half of it! Those crunchy choco balls on top gave that much needed contrast in texture. But where was the wild cherry?

digging right in

Did not expect the financier to be of such a big rounded piece. The pistachio sauce was the highlight on that plate. So good that most will clamour for it to be bottled so that we could take it home. The financier itself was sweet as expected and rich tasting. Good with a cup of black coffee. I wondered what would be the difference between 'hand-squeezed' coconut versus a machine squeezed one. Fancy.

Pistachio financier, hand-squeezed coconut sorbet, raspberry yoghurt @$14

pistachio financier

Would highly recommend the handcut pasta with duck ragout, the chilean seabass and the fennel crusted lamb belly.

Expect to spend about $75 per pax (inclusive of an alcoholic drink). Happy eating!

[Media Invite] Spring Comes Early - CNY Reunion Dinner 2018 @ Amara Singapore

It is that time of the year again! After Christmas, we look forward to Chinese New Year and that'll be in February this year. While our Public Holiday for Lunar New Year falls on the 16 February, the 立春 date is on 4 February. Nowadays, we all know 立春 is that auspicious date to deposit money in the bank for good fortune but in the olden days, it is the day where farmers welcome the beginning of spring. Nevertheless, it is everyone's wish for good things to come and thus, a celebration with good food with loved ones will be on the cards.

In Malaysia, we would usually eat at home for reunion dinner. Elaborate dishes will usually make its appearance on this special day. Hours and hours of preparation in the kitchen is almost certain. For families that would not go through the hassle of cooking on their own, there is the option of eating out. In Singapore, we are spoilt for choice.

Amara Singapore's team of dedicated Chinese chefs, led by Executive Chef Charles Goh will be preparing a sumptous culinary feast for their guests on 15 February 2018 celebrating this Lunar New Year’s 2018 Earth Dog.

Upon arriving at Amara Hotel lobby, guests shall proceed to take the lift up to the third floor and adjourn to the Grand Ballroom. Amara Singapore Executive Chef Charles Goh and his team has curated a sumptuous 8-course menu for the joyous occasion. Guests can choose from The Golden Prosperity at S$68++ or Joyous Abundance at S$88 per person with a minimum of six persons per table.

For guests who would want a more private and posh dining experience, there is the Imperial Fortune reunion package at S$1,888++ for a table of 10 persons. This special package has a room that even comes equipped with a family karaoke system. Guests for the Imperial Fortune package can enjoy dishes such as sea urchin, black chicken ginseng soup and cod fish.

Of course, all CNY Reunion Dinner packages would come with the special salmon yu sheng set, arranged in an exquisite shape of a dog. It was kind of cute, actually.

Ushering in the Year of the Dog Salmon Yu Sheng 

Lo Hei (捞起) in session - 金银满屋 symbolising household filled with gold and silver

发啊 (Huat Ah) for good luck and abundance of wealth!

Chefs has also prepared a special Pomelo Tangyuan (glutinous rice balls) for the occasion. For the Grand Ballroom Reunion Dinner, the tangyuan comes with edible gold flakes.

Reunion Dinner at Grand Ballroom (15 February 2018)

To make your reservations on the reunion dinner at Grand Ballroom, please call: +65 6879 2598 or
email to events@amarahotels.com.

psst: we have tried the karaoke and it was fun!

For more information, click here.

CNY Buffet Dinner at Element and EOTS (Element on Tras Street)

Had the good fortune to be invited by Amara Singapore to its CNY Reunion Dinner Buffet Tasting and let's see what they have prepared for the buffet line during Chinese New Year reunion feast.

For starters, my favourites were the Chilled Angel Hair Pasta with Truffle Oil and Kombu and the Homemade Beetroot Salmon. The chilled pasta was refreshingly appetising and noodles were well cooked with springy texture intact and evenly tossed in truffle oil.

Chilled Angel Hair Pasta with Truffle Oil and Kombu

The thought of beetroot reminds me of earthy flavours but it was surprisingly light in the salmon dish. For the Lunar New Year, Chef has also prepared another variant of the salmon appetiser with mandarin orange.

Homemade Beetroot Salmon

Homemade Mandarin Orange Salmon

I think the crowd liked the Mandarin Orange Salmon more than the beetroot ones because I didn't get a chance to taste any of the Mandarin Orange Salmon...all sold out!

Cucumber with Sesame Dressing

For the cucumber with sesame dressing, I liked that it had a slight spicy twist to this tasty treat. Since we are on the topic of non-meat, for a change, one can get Vegetarian Treasure Pot (Pen Cai) instead of the usual meaty or seafood ones. The photo below is one without the soup stock. It was tasty and enjoyable.

Vegetarian Treasure Pot (Pen Cai)

Not to worry, the meat-lovers will enjoy the Roasted Chicken, the Smoked Duck and Beef Bourguignon. I think Amara does the roasted chicken pretty good. So, it wasn't surprising that this was one of my favourite dish, together with the crayfish.

The duck was smoked with camphor and tea leaves and this strongly flavoured item would make a good pulled duck sandwich, that is if there is any left-overs.

Roasted Chicken with Spicy Sichuan Sauce

Smoked Duck with Camphor and Tea Leaves (Whole) 

I was wondering what was an 'ang-mo' dish doing in this setup. The Beef Bourguignon seemed out of the theme but nonetheless, it was a good eat. Don't forget to take the flavourful mash potato too.

Beef Bourguignon

Of course, for seafood lovers, the Black Pepper Crayfish is a must. Why stop at one? Get more! Another good dish that I can't get enough of was the Drunken Chicken. The greenish looking ginger mix was sooo goood! Put that entire piece with all those green stuff and it was pure bliss when you chewed on it. Yums!

Black Pepper Crayfish

Drunken Chicken

At Amara Singapore, dessert is a must. This season, we have chempedak everything. From jelly (agar agar) to pudding, cake and creme brulee. Yes, the whole range except for the tangyuan.

Chempedak Agar Agar

Chempedak Swiss Roll

Chempedak Cake

Start with the light tasting Chempedak Agar Agar and taste the fluffiness of the Chempedak Swiss Roll before embarking on the highly satisfying Chempedak Cake.

Chempedak Pudding

Chempedak Butter Cake

And, the perennial favourite for Amara buffet, the Chempedak Crème Brulee. Sweet.

Chempedak Crème Brulee

Thank you Amara Singapore and Lindy for the invite. Special thanks to Chef Charles for the fun interaction. Huat ah!

Amara Singapore

Location: 165 Tg Pagar Rd, Singapore 088539

Website: http://singapore.amarahotels.com/dining/

Contact: +65 6879 2610

Email: fnb.sg@amarahotels.com

CNY F&B Promotions (1 Feb – 2 Mar 2018)

Element and EOTS (Element on Tras Street)

Buffet	Time	Adult*	Child* (6 -12 years)
Reunion Dinner	15 Feb 2018, Thu  6pm – 10.30pm	$88	$43
Lunch	Mon – Fri 12pm – 2.30pm	$58	$29
Dinner	Mon – Sun  6pm – 10.30pm	$78	$39
Hi-tea	Sat – Sun 11.30 am – 2pm 2.30pm – 5pm	$42

*information correct at the time of published. Please enquire from Amara Singapore for more information

Oriole Coffee + Bar @ Capitol Piazza

Having been to Oriole at Somerset in the past, I had the impression that they served quite a good Jamaican jerk chicken and coffee. Had the chance to try Oriole in Capitol Piazza (didn't know they had an outpost there!) recently and here are some photos of what we ate.

Shermaine wanted to use The Entertainer App and we opted for similar value items to enjoy the 1-for-1 offer. For this, the staff informed us that we needed to get 2 items from the same section of Classic and All Day Breakfast. Not sure why there's such a restriction instead of just relying on the price of the dish, we complied nonetheless.

Fish Tacos @$20

Oriole Truffle Burger @$18

Fully Loaded @$20

2 Eggs + 2 Muffins @$21

The Fully Loaded has choice of 2 sausages (pork/cheesy chicken), eggs done your way (scrambled, poached, sunny or overeasy), maple glazed bacon, air dried tomatoes, baked beans and toast. For breakfast, am always in the mood for scrambled eggs. But the portion of the eggs here was rather disappointing.

As with any poached eggs situation, there's the customary flowy egg lava shot. The 2 eggs and 2 muffins were spiffed up with spinach and smoked salmon. However, the smoked salmon here was rather flaky. Not sure why. The poached egg had too much vinegar and thus, it was a tad sour.

profile view

The burger patty was overdone and the tacos shell were neither crispy nor soft. It was just in-between. From our experience, I'd say Oriole Somerset may be the better choice. But then again, the last I went to Oriole Somerset was a few years back. Things might have changed.

Humpback @ Bukit Pasoh

Drinking place and oysters! That's what I'd call Humpback. Operated by the young, the vibe was casual and the expected bar pricing. Tapas-sized, so order up. Drinks at Happy Hour (till 8pm) was around $15. Not exactly happy with that, but oh well.

White Negroni @$14 (HH)

bar counter

On Mondays, they have oysters whole-day Happy Hour. That means, $2 to $3 per shell. WoOohOoo! But first of all, do get their bread and dip. It was really yummy. The bread was thick and served warm. And a glorious spread of that spicy dip. Yasss! Bread without the dip is $7 and served with olive oil and some cut butter.

Bread & Dip @$12

If you're in a group of 5 or 6, you might be ordering most of the food on the menu, like what we did. Let's see which are the plates that we liked the most. The octopus was well-executed and everyone can have one or two slices each. Chewy yet tender, that was the texture that we were looking for. Well seasoned and charred just enough to have that smokey hint.

Octopus @$26

And of course, one must have their greens. There were 4 options listed under 'Garden' section of the menu, but I think we got one that's not exactly in the menu. They have ice-lettuce so we had that.

Salad @$16

Iberico Pork with cauliflower @$28

Of course, not forgetting the oysters. We had the Hama Hama, Blue Pool, Sea Cow and Eld Inlet. Cae was right. Kind of hard to tell which flavour was which. But it was all enjoyable. Some just had more of that briny juice in its shell but probably 'coz some shells had more depth while some was shallow.

oysters galore @$39 (HH)

For other shellfish, there's razor clams as well. These were served cold and rather small portions, in my opinion. Would trade these anytime for the oysters. On hindsight, the two servings of razor clams, could get us another round of 3 oysters per pax.

Razor Clams @$16

If you're hankering for some deep fried stuff, there's mac & cheese balls. One serving is 5 pieces. Could they do additional if you have a group of 6? The answer was a resounding no.

Mac & Cheese Balls @$15

close-up view

Best and most expensive dish of the night? The lobster roll! Served in a well-buttered soft bread roll, topped with firm sweet lobster meat and a side of fries. The seasoning on the fries were a bit erratic but the lobster roll itself was good. Yummy!

Lobster Roll @$45

Since it was a girls' night out, we couldn't leave without dessert! Hahaa! Actually, by now, one would be full from all the food. We had about 10 plates (excluding the oysters) shared amongst the 6 of us.

The salted caramel mousse that came with the churros was overly salty. Was that to compensate on the sweet churros? Gosh. If you had tried it, do let me know what you think of it. Maybe, it was a one-off thing?

Panna Cotta @$11

Churros @$10

Since there were some hits and misses, Purple Taste recommends the freshly shucked oysters (during happy hour for happier pricing), the bread & dip (so that you won't go home feeling hungry), the octopus, a plate of salad, the delicious lobster roll (when you feel like pampering your date and yourself) and a drink. For the teetotaller, there's hot tea or apple juice.

Expect to spend about $80 per pax (with one drink).

Thank you Cae, Mya, Bel, Tiara and Jen for the girls' night out!

Ps: The chairs are all pretty high and could be cumbersome for the vertically challenged like me