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.

[Media Invite] Kay Lee Roast Meat 琪利珠江燒臘 @ Tanjong Katong Road

Kay Lee made the headlines two years back in 2014, when it was sold to Aztech Group for a cool sum of $4 million Singapore dollars. Fast forward two years later in 2016, Kay Lee's outlets have grown to 7 in total. Located at various parts of Singapore, these outlets aim to bring Kay Lee roast meats closer to the people. There's one at Upper Paya Lebar, Suntec City, Ubi, Tanjong Katong, Singtel Comcentre, Bedok North and the latest at Bukit Batok WCEGA Tower. Expect difference in ambiance, price points and promotions at these different outlets.

Was invited for a tasting and rounded up a few others to try Kay Lee's famous roast meat at its Tanjong Katong outlet. If not wrong, this outlet was launched in 2015, and nestled amongst the many other restaurants along the stretch of Tanjong Katong food street.

Kay Lee Roast Meat @ 283 Tanjong Katong Road

This is a self-service outlet, so just go ahead and place your order at the counter located at its entrance. The menu is shown prominently at the counter as well.

hmm, char siew, roast pork or duck, or triple combo?

The place is airconditioned and has plenty of seats for diners. Whether you're a single diner or in groups of 8 pax, this outlet could accommodate.

spacious and clean

wall of fame (spot Gordon)

Since I've not tried Kay Lee before, was pretty curious to know how it'll taste like. The primary focus is still the dark char siew, roast duck and roast pork but its parent company has also invested in R&D to add variety to its F&B line-ups.

We tried the Kay Lee savoury meat roll, or otherwise also known as wu xiang. Small compact and well-fried. Suitable as light bites. The meat was soft, strongly flavoured and slightly moist. Best eaten while its hot.

Kay Lee savoury meat roll  潮州五香 @$6.90

For drinks, one could choose from its $1.50 range that has Ice Citrus (which tasted like plum), the healthy red Roselle Tea, homemade barley or a favourite of mine, the Honey Plum. Honey Plum (桔子梅) is priced at $2. Stir well before drinking. The Roselle Tea was nicely sweet with an attractive dark red hue.

(left to right) Roselle Tea, Ice Citrus, Homemade Barley and Honey Plum

If you don't feel like eating too much meat, one could opt for the wanton or shrimp dumpling noodles instead. As usual, we left the noodles out for far too long and by the time we wanted to eat it, it was clumped up. Not to worry, as a few spoonfuls of soup and liberal tossing around, the noodles became nicely separated and as good as new. I liked mine with some chili. The shrimp dumpling was rather good. Firm, crunchy and sweet.

wanton noodles 云吞面 @$5

shrimp dumpling noodles 水饺面 @$5

housemade chili

Next, of course was the 3 Combi Meat Platter. This combi platter comes in Small, Medium or Large and priced at $24, $36 and $44 respectively. Tanjong Katong's outlet current promotion include free rice for each of these platter with the 2 free rice for small, 4 rice for medium and 6 rice for large.

3 Combi Meat Platter 烧味三拼 (Large) @$44

important step

One of the important step to elevate the enjoyment of roast meats, is to drizzle those deliciously dark savoury sauce over the steamed white rice grains. Kay Lee's dark sauce was not overly sweet nor too salty. The dark char siew was well caramelized and the only lament that we had, was that the meat was overly lean! Unfortunately, the fattier cuts were all sold out. Do come early, if you want to try the fattier cuts.

The roasted pork was pretty good too. Would've preferred a thicker cut to maximize the taste. Its skin was crackling and the ratio of fats was good too. Those who had tried original Kay Lee mentioned that the roast duck looked very different now. The current version has meat that's more moist and the duck skin colour is no longer black but restored to a shining sheen of brownish hue (like peking duck skin).

If you're dining alone, I'd recommend getting a dark char siew rice with double boiled soup. That's because this outlet is having a Super Deal promo and you could get those for just $6.90. Rather good deal as the savings is about $2.10. One could add a drink for just $1 when you get this deal. Hence, total savings is potentially $2.60.

We tried the Salted Vegetable and Duck Soup. Portion was just right for 1 pax. This heat reducing soup was slightly sweeter than other places and pleasant to drink.

Tanjong Katong outlet promo

salted vegetables and duck soup (ala-carte) $4.50

As this was a food tasting, we had the privilege of trying Kay Lee's desserts that are only available at its Suntec City Mall outlet.

Tried the Red Bean Cream, Ginger Tea (both with glutinous rice balls) and the Yam Paste. My favourite was the Ginger Tea. Strong ginger taste. Can be less sweet though. The Yam Paste has no lard, and suitable for vegetarian. It was smooth and sweet.

Available at Suntec City Mall: Red bean cream with glutinous rice ball @$4.50

Available at Suntec City Mall: Ginger tea with glutinous rice ball @$4.50

Available at Suntec City Mall: Yam paste (orh nee) @$5.90

Thank you to Haysen, Noelle, Christine and Kay Lee for the invite and hosting the tasting. It was great to explore the Tanjong Katong Road area with my fellow foodies.

view from across Kay Lee

Kay Lee Roast Meat @ Tanjong Katong Outlet

Address: 283, Tanjong Katong Road, Singapore 437066
Website: http://www.kayleeroastmeatjoint.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kayleeroastmeatjoint/
Business Hours:
Monday to Friday: 12:00pm - 9:00pm
Weekends / Public Holidays: 11:00am - 9:00pm