Taste Of Korea 찐 (JJIN) @ 109 Amoy Street

Wendy wanted to have Korean food, so we went to Taste of Korea for the first time. Reservation was made and received the confirmation the next day. Pretty efficient.

shop front

interior

are we doing BBQ today?

Lunch Special for weekdays only

I wanted to try their jjajangmyeon, so we ordered the 'Chinese Value Set' @$42++ which comprises of two bowls of noodles; jjajangmyeon and jjampong plus a serving of tangsuyuk. Came with side dishes.

The staff was concerned as she highlighted that this set is only meant for 2 pax, while we are in a party of 3. Nevertheless, we assured her that we weren't that hungry and if need be, will order more.

side dishes

spicy green chilies

Was thirsty, so ordered the yuzu tea. Otherwise, complimentary cold barley tea was provided as well.

cold roasted barley tea

iced yuzu tea @$5++

The bowls of noodles were rather huge! Definitely can feed 3 pax comfortably.

jjajangmyeon 짜장면 @$15++

Tangsuyuk was served with the sauce on its side. The sauce was flavourful, and adequately sweetened. There was a nice fragrant from the sauce as well. Plenty of onions in the sauce.

tangsuyuk (small) @$28++

dipped in sauce

The tangsuyuk meat was rather lean, and best to eat it while it is hot!

jjampong 짬뽕 @$16++

The jjampong was not spicy and was rather sweet. Could do with more seafood but I do like the addition of black fungus in there. Soup was tasty!

Overall, the food portion was good and we were definitely stuffed.

Thank you Jingwen and Wendy for joining me for lunch.

Taste Of Korea 찐 (JJIN)

Address:  109 Amoy St, Singapore 069929

FB: https://www.facebook.com/TOKJJIN/

Contact: 8030 9691

Business Hours:

Closed on Tuesdays.

Wed - Mon:  11:30am–2:30pm, 5–10:30pm

[Tasting] La Belle Époque @ 63 Boat Quay

La Belle Époque which means ‘the golden age’ in French, serves up modern European cuisine in the heart of Singapore's vibrant dining belt by the river, Boat Quay.

Helmed by creative and passionate Chef Firdauz Nasir, one can expect contemporary European cuisine using fresh ingredients seasoned with natural herbs. In fact, the restaurant has its own herb garden.

La Belle Époque

Happy Hour

I loved browsing through their drinks menu. The Signature Serves (cocktail) are priced at $20++ while the classics are priced at $16++. I was pretty interested in Butterscotch Sgroppino.

For starters, there's Oyster & Iberico. The platter consists of 3 pieces of lightly torched oysters, topped with crispy iberico ham, tomato salsa and Avruga caviar. 

Oyster & Iberico @$26++

The next appetiser was aptly named as "Skins". Chicken, fish and pork skins in fact. The whole bowl looked pretty with the greens and little flowers. The black garlic aioli was lovely with the fresh vegetables but it'll turn the skins soggy in no time.

Skins @$8++

If you prefer vegetarian dish, you'll probably like the Hummus Taco. This plate tasted of chickpeas! Loved the sauce.

Hummus Taco @$10++

For just $28++, the Charcuterie Platter offers good value as one could choose any 4 selection of cold cuts and cheeses. We had cold cuts; Black Forest Raw Ham and Collar boneless (Cabecero) Iberico. Cheeses; Taleggio DOP Cheese and Comte Rivoire. If ordered each items individually, the total would've cost about $36++.

Charcuterie Platter @$28++

Remember to say hi to Andy, as he makes the prettiest cocktails.

Pear & Rose Gin Sour @$20++

For healthier chips, one could try the Tomato Foccacia Chips to munch on. Bread as chips? Interesting!

Tomato Focaccia Chips @$3++

If you prefer meatless, the Cauliflower Steak is pretty substantial, plus gluten free. Meant to be shared, unless you are very hungry. Loved the purple pommes potato. Imagine orh nee but with natural sweetness. The cauliflower was not my thing though.

Cauliflower Steak @$12++

Beef Shortribs @$28++

For meat lovers, there is Beef Shortribs. Braised ribs marinated with local spices, and cooked for 48 hours and served with lightly smoked fine haricot beans, aged port wine & romaine salad.

The Smoked Pork Belly appeared with a golden crackling ontop. It was visually appealing.

Smoked Pork Belly @$16++

served with grilled peach salad

Depending on your luck, you may get a piece of belly that has more jelly/fats than the other. Or, if you happen to get the corners like I did, some bits would be pretty tough to chew. Not a big issue for me and I did prefer the pork belly over the short ribs here.

Let's try some dessert! First was the Lemon Tart. Looked so pretty with the torched Italian meringue. The meringue tasted like soft marshmallow and the lemon custard was more sweet than sour. The cinnamon tart was nice.

Staff described this as a 'surprise' kind of dessert so don't forget to lift up the cover after you're done with the tart. What you'll be getting may not be the same as mine!

Lemon Tart @$10++

dehydrated fruit slice

Next up, is Tiramisu with marsala wine, and served with berries by its side.

Tiramisu @$10++

The finale is for all chocolate lovers. As well as fans of Star Wars. Is there anyone who doesn't like Valrhona chocolate? While the raspberry sorbet looked so vibrant, it was too sour for my liking.

Guerre Stellari @$10++

My top 3 picks are Oyster and Iberico, Smoked Pork Belly and Lemon Tart.

Thank you Jennifer for the invitation and La Belle Époque for hosting us. Special thanks to Chef Firdauz for sharing with us your love and passion for modern European cuisine, and Siva for taking care of our table.

La Belle Époque

Address: 63 Boat Quay, Singapore 049851

FB: https://www.facebook.com/LBEsg

Contact: 6732 1687

Business Hours:

Closed on Sundays.

Mon - Sat: 3pm–11:30pm

Bar | Analogue Initiative @ Chijmes

It all started when I asked Rachelle to bring me along on her next exploration of drinking places in SG. Analogue is an interesting suggestion as this will be the first time am going to a bar that doesn't serve meat.

Reservation was made and we went on the appointed date. There are outdoor and indoor seatings, and indoor low tables are limited. First noticeable item, is it's cool 3D printed blue wavy bar top.

Staff are welcoming and friendly so one gets comfortable immediately.

100% plant based menu

Its table tops are made from recycled plastic and Mycelium. Interesting, I'd say.

of Mycelium and recycled plastics

Guess, what's my first drink.

cocktail menu

Make a guess, and I'll show the photo.

Cactus, with sparkly Tajim rim salt

staring right into pink dragonfruit, Mezcal, prickly pear (whatever this is!)

It tasted light and agreeable. Not quite what I expected but it was alright. Now let's take a look at Ivan's and Rachelle's choice of poison that night.

Smokey Jerkey

Spaceman

Loved it when presentation was that little tad extra! 

But I was getting hungry. Let's order food. 

what would you recommend?

We asked Shermaine for recommendations, and bingo! The recommended items were what I was thinking about as well.

Puri Poppers @$16

Pumpkin Dumplings @$22

Puri poppers had the right aesthetics but tasted mild. Was expecting a stronger flavours out of it, but well, it was a good start.

Was a tad disappointed in Pumpkin Dumplings, from its visuals perspective but it had a nice sweet taste to it. Fillings were mushy and dumplings were soft, hence there wasn't any contrast in texture.

All of us loved the main dish; the Jackfruit Tacos. Lovely strong rendang flavours with crisp taco shell. Yay!

Jackfruit Tacos @$26

After our meal, we tried different drinks. Here is my next drink, which happened to be my favourite for the night.

looking like plain water

It looked like a tall glass of water, with a sprig of mint leaves on top(which eventually fell off). I took a second look at the menu and clarified again if it was really "Hunter Beer". The staff confirmed that indeed, the order served was correct.

Hunter Beer, with new sprig of mint

Hunter Beer tasted of aromatics because its ingredients are galangal, tamarind, curry leaves. Not a beer per se and I think it is equally lightweight in terms of alcoholic content. I think I like the taste of curry leaves in my cocktails!

We had our post meal drinks at the bar area, and that's where we get to see Nicholas in action. Actually, already seen him crafting the drinks from our table, but now it is even more up-close.

how about some wine

The natural wines from Japan looked interesting, so we ordered it to try.

Natural Wines(left to right); Sato Pinot Gris, Coco Farm & Winery Noumin Rosso and Fattoria Al Fiore Ohno Field Blend

Guess, which drink was mine.

Noumin Rosso 2019, Tochigi @$17 per glass

I went witht the safest drink, a red from Tochigi. Coco Farm and Winery Noumin Rosso tasted balanced and juicy, with grape varietals predominantly of merlot, muscat bailey and cabernet sauvignon. No wonder I liked.

Sato Pinot Gris 2018, New Zealand @$17 per glass

Sato Pinot Gris has a Vivino ratings of 3.8 and the most interesting drink, was Rachelle's choice; Ohno Field Blend which has a Vivino ratings of 3.7. Its grape varietal are Chardonnay, Merlot and Steuben. Its taste profile described it with raspberry, tomato and light acidity. 

Nothing but grapes and love

Fattoria Al Fiore Ohno Field Blend 2019, Miyagi @$21 per glass

 

And, we had a dessert to end our meal. One pax could finish this. Tasted of clove (ice-cream), and I absolutely loved those chickpea tuille. But one will need to love the taste of clove first because that is the strongest flavour here.

Pina Clavo @$10

give me pineapples

It was an interesting experience at Analogue. Thank you Rachelle for the recommendation and Ivan for accompanying us! Happy to have met Shermaine, Nicholas and other wonderful staff there.

Analogue

Website: https://www.analogueinitiative.com/

Contact: 8518 1882

Business Hours: 

Closed on Mondays.

Tue - Sun: 5–10:30pm

IO Italian Osteria @ HillV2

Nearest MRT would be Hillview MRT and it takes about 8 minutes to walk to HillV2. Plenty of dining options at HillV2, and my boss recommends us to try IO Italian Osteria.

Reservation is recommended as the place gets pretty crowded during lunch.

My boss said the must-try here, is the truffle bread. Indeed, as most tables seemed to have chosen this starter.

Traditional Roman Schiaciata @$10

oozing with melted truffle cheese

I thought the bread tasted like foccacia and I'm not wrong. So apparently these two breads are similar but schiacciata does not require a lengthy process. Crispy bread and toasty truffle cheese, makes it a popular choice.

Angus beef carpaccio, parmigiano shavings @16

Our next appetiser is the beef carpaccio and the version here, tasted light and healthy. Lovely with wine, but we didn't have any.

I was curious about old Italian style baked eggs, so we ordered one. Little did I know, it came with truffle cheese as well. Talk about cheesy overload!

'Al Coccio' Old Italian Style Baked Eggs @$14

Served piping hot, and I think it makes a good brunch dish. Just don't order too many cheesy items at one go.

piping hot, cheesy, truffly, eggy

And for 2 pax, I don't recommend ordering more than 2 appetisers.

We shared one main course; Octopus pasta in marinara sauce. The staff recommends penne for this.

Octopus Penne Pasta in Marinara sauce

Plenty of octopus chunks in there. Savoury and flavourful. We were pretty stuffed at this point.

But, I needed to try the dessert. Ordered their pistachio tiramisu to try.

Pistachio Tiramisu @$14

Latte @$6

If you like milky latte, then you'll like the one from IO Italian Osteria.

Thank you boss for the treat!

IO Italian Osteria

Address: 4 Hillview Rise, 02 - 01, Singapore 667979

Website: https://io-osteria.com/

Contact: 6710 7150

Business Hours: 

Mon-Fri: 11:30am–10pm

Sat-Sun: 10am–10pm