Saturday, June 4, 2016

[Media Invite] The RawR Kitchen @ The Splendour Bukit Batok Crescent

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The RawR Kitchen is a cosy little bistro in the day serving homely comfort Italian-styled food. It is also a local micro brewery that has been recently awarded Silver in the 2016 Southeast Asia Beer Award for its Weizen (wheat beer). Another favourite of mine, Hitachino was also awarded for its Pilsner and Stout.

But where in the world is this bistro brewery located? Address states 31 Bukit Batok Crescent, The Splendour. The only places in Bukit Batok that I know of would be Bukit Batok MRT and bus interchange, Little Guilin and Keming Primary School.

The Splendour is actually an industrial area, so unless you're staying or working nearby, then likely this will be the first time getting to know its name. A quick search on Google, and you'll see that the landmark to The Splendour would be Unity Center. It was not difficult to get to Bukit Batok Crescent but locating The Splendour was a tad tricky for first timers. Once you turn in to The Splendour, go down and turn left and you'll see a Japanese restaurant called Kotoshi Ryori. RawR is located at level 2 above Kotoshi Ryori.

Bus #189 from Clementi MRT station towards Bukit Batok would bring you to Bukit Batok Crescent Midview Building bus stop. From there, it is walkable to The Splendour. The RawR Kitchen (#02-01) is accessible via the lift at the right side of Kotoshi.

entrance


cosy bistro

drink beer, fresh brewed craft

But what is craft beer? The loose definition of craft beer; beer made in a traditional or non-mechanized way by a small, independant brewery. Simply put, craft beers are beer not brewed by 'mega-brewery' or the big boys. Then, what is a microbrewery? A small independant breweries that produces less than 1,800,000 liters (or 15,000 beer barrels) annually.

Ok, 'nuff talk. Getting thirsty and hungry! Let's see what RawR has to offer.The prices of craft beer here are all day Happy Hour pricing. Nothing more than $11++.

coffee, or ontap?

Not to worry if you're a teetotaller, there's still coffee. But, for the drinkers, there's enough choices to warrant repeat visits. Or, just get their craft beer buffet on weekends. For $35 nett, you'll get to drink as much as you want, as many flavours (up to 11 taps, depending on availability) within 2 hours time limit. But a word of caution, and yes, if you drink then don't drive.

light sampler (left to right) cider, wheat beer and root beer
brown sampler (left to right) brown ale, english bitter and pilsner
dark sampler (right to left) IPA, dunkel, stout

Was privileged to be able to sample 9 types of beer ontap, but it was hard to focus once you've found your favourite.

Let's see what kind of beer that I've drunk and liked. There's Kölsch (RedDot), White Ale (Hitachino Nest), Tokyo Blonde (Far Yeast), Chimay Rouge (Trappist), Asahi, Sapporo, Kronenbourg Blanc, Satan Gold and ciders. Usually Belgian and Japanese stuffs.

Guess which is my favourite from RawR?
The Root Beer. Yeah, where the beer is finally restored back to its origin. Did you know that the tradition of brewing root beer was thought to have evolved from small beer, where fermented drinks with low alcohol content were thought to be healthier as water contamination was rampant then.

RawR Root Beer ABV 3%

I think it wasn't a good idea to drink the award-winning Wheat Beer after the Root Beer. Nevertheless, the Wheat Beer has a light golden colour, fresh yeasty taste and overall balanced flavour.

The other drink that I thought was quite interesting, was the Dunkel with its pronounced roastiness. The Stout was very coffee-like, smooth and at times hinging on a bit of saltiness especially when drunk after food.

Yes, the drinks are all laid out on the table but what about the food at RawR? With all the drinks, am ready for something hearty and hearty is what RawR does well.

Carbonara Spaghetti @$13++




A generous plate of noodles cooked with lots of bacon, onions, garlic, then added with small dose of cream and topped with a raw egg sprinkled with lots of black pepper and grated parmesan cheese. Hmm, the prawns...not too sure why there are prawns in the carbonara but I'll eat it with thanks.

pretty, isn't it?

The carbonara is just the cure for the hungries. Slurp up the noodles easily, and each bite surely has some bacon bits and onions in it. Yummy.

But, the best is yet to come.

The Bolognese Spaghetti was really photogenic even in its simple form. Pasta, meat sauce and grated cheese. However, the meat sauce was really a labour of love. Cooked and stirred over 6 hours before we, as diners, finally got to eat it. And this effort, was conveyed through the taste. My first mouthful was so good that I kept wanting more of that. Was also thinking if they have nachos chips to scoop up those minced meat...wonder if they'd ever do a spicy version of this...

Bolognese Spaghetti @$11++


You might have known by now that RawR serves up some mean Molten Wings. Dangerously high in spice level that its printed red on the menu. Would I be eating some? No, thank you. Lucky us, we got the Salted Egg Yolk Wings instead.

Salted Egg Yolk Wings @$7++ (3 wings)

These sets of wings were so juicy, so tasty! The size of the wings were reasonable. The salted egg yolk sauce wasn't overpowering and one could still taste the marinade of the wings. Very good to go with the beers.


Hop on down on weekends (Fri, Sat and Sun), and you could drink like a fish with their Craft Beer Buffet priced at $35 nett per pax for 2 hours. How many glasses of beers have you tried drinking in two hours? And on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, do keep a lookout for the deep fried pork belly that's not available on weekdays.

the pull of craft beers ontap
craft beer buffet

Overall, RawR Kitchen is a good place to visit for locally fresh brewed craft beers and hearty, good food.
Root beer will taste the same, but yet, never be the same again thereafter.

Thank you RawR Kitchen for hosting the dinner, and Hence for the invite.



Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Travel | Bangkok 15 to 17 May 2016 | Karmakamet Secret World - Aromatic Shop & Diner

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Love our impromptu'ness, our spontaneity. In other words, we didn't have a plan. Well, at least not for that night. It was a lazy Sunday, we had our late lunch at Thanying. Ate our meal slowly, almost like a kaiseki course and by the time we were done, it was already late evening. We were too full for dinner and abit too late to go traipsing around. And so, we remembered Elle and her instagram post of a giant candy floss.

That place was really really near Thanying, so we decided to go for it. Let's go! Took a cab and it brought us to some condominium. Then we were stopped by security as cars weren't allowed past a certain point. Ooh, and we saw people walking out and figured, they don't look like residents but more like patrons of a cafe. Went to investigate and true enough, we found the secret diner.

is it really here?

outside

entrance
let's go

This place smells so good. This wasn't my first encounter with Karmakamet. It was way back in 2010 where we stumbled upon this aromatherapy shop near JJ Market (Chatuchak).

step right in, to another world

The soothing aromatics, the cosy ambiance combined with industrial decor...it felt somewhat surreal. Almost anime like. For some odd reason, I was reminded of Fullmetal Alchemist.

welcome
drawers of potions?

Liked the stained menu, feels like old world. I'm charmed. The other diners seemed to be from the artistic/creative crowd.

mostly western
something to drink?

every nook and corner looks interesting

Many patrons were seen taking photographs, exploring the lovely corners. The service staff were all friendly and welcoming.

Ivan's drink (alcoholic)
double espresso @ ‎฿110
the gigantic ball of candy floss


Yes, we did get the giant ball of candy floss. It was named as "Strawberry Shortcake on the Clouds". Such fluffy, dreamy name. Little did we know...we were in for a disappointment.

But first, where is the strawberry shortcake? Though, it was also rather fun to dunk a chunk of the floss into the espresso to see it disappear and also to act as sweetener.

strawberry shortcake?
yoghurt?! I want cake!

Luckily, the group ordered another dessert. The usual chocolate lava cake and a creme brulee. Lovely parmesan cracker too. That scoop of ice cream was good too. This dessert was more agreeable than the earlier fluffy one.

chocolate lava and creme brulee

Karmakamet is suited for intimate dinners. The ambiance, lighting, mood was all quite romantic.

lovely ambiance
signage

Karmakamet Secret World - Aromatic Shop & Diner

Address: Metheenivet, Klongton, Klongtoey, 30 Soi 1, Khwaeng Ram Inthra, Khet Khan Na Yao, Bangkok 10230, Thailand
Contact+66 2 262 0700
Business Hours: 10am to 1130pm

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Travel | Bangkok 15 to 17 May 2016 | Thanying Restaurant Genuine Royal Thai Cuisine

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It was an impromptu decision to visit this restaurant. Was pretty hungry since touched down in Bangkok and it wasn't till 2.15pm before we finally decided to meet up for late lunch. Four of us took a cab to Thanying and it was a pretty long ride, due to the traffic condition as well as an unexpected closure of a lane that forced us to take a detour. The cab uncle was shaking his head through out. Oops.

Finally arrived, and the restaurant looks cosy on its private premise of an old house in Pramuan Street. It gave off a tranquil vibe and we did arrive at an odd hour to have a meal. It was almost 3pm then.

stepping in
nice courtyard
reception cum bar
dining area

This is the kind of restaurant that made me want to talk in whispers. Smart casual dressing is appropriate.

menu
Was famished and thirsty, so ordered up a Thai Milk tea to quench the thirst. When in a group, we'll do communal dining. Each of us was responsible to order one dish of our choice. Collectively, we decided to go with the four curries set, a couple of appetisers and dishes that were recommended by Tracy's Thai friend.

looks like my kind of drink, except it wasn't for that day. Singha @ ‎฿110
coconut slushie @ ‎฿120
my first glass (and only glass!!) of Thai Iced Milk Tea @ ‎฿100

Must say that the beer pricing was rather good. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the Thai tea though the tea flavour wasn't as I'd like.

First up, appetisers of Miang Kha Na, sweet corn fritters and rice crackers with pork.

Miang Kha Na (เมี่ยงคะน้า) @ ฿180
lovely flavours

Fell in love with the Miang Kha Na, kid you not. Chinese kale leave as the wrapper and toss in a couple of dried shrimps, crispy pork fat (deep fried lard), peanuts, ginger dice, fresh shallots, bird's eye chili, lime and a good dollop of that sweet dried shrimp paste equates to an explosion of flavours. So yums and refreshing. Have to bite slowly though as the dried stuffs are pretty hard and requires good teeth.

Sweet Corn Fritters (ข้าวโพดทอด) @ ฿160

Khao Tang Hna Tang (ข้าวตังหน้าตั้ง) @ ฿160

Second favourite appetiser was surely the crispy rice crackers with minced pork. Again, the flavours shone through. The coconut milk dip of the minced pork was a winner and eaten with crispy rice crackers was a joy in terms of texture.

For mains, we had a set of 4 curries; sweet beef massaman, sweet chicken curry, prawn green curry with sweet basil and roasted duck in red curry. At one shot, we had tried half out of the 8 available curries.

Set of 4 kinds of curries @ ฿480
tom yum goong (ต้มยำกุ้ง) @ ฿180
Tom Kha Gai (ต้มข่าไก่) @ ฿160
Also had a taste of the soups; Tom Yum Goong and Tom Kha Gai (chicken in coconut broth). The versions here would be leaning towards the sweet side of things and of subtler flavours.

Roti Gang Gai @ ฿180

The Indian roti was nicely crispy and fluffy. So tasty on its own.

Yamm Tua Poo (ยำถั่วพู) @ ฿170
Crab meat with curry @ ฿320

The crab meat stir fried with omelette, seafood and some curry broth was good with its fresh seafood, and the winged beans was nicely crunchy much like the Malay ulam (salad).

Late lunch was enjoyable and do come with an open mind. The flavours here is much subtler and sweeter. Allow at least an hour and a half to dine here. The ambiance is relaxing and service was friendly. The meal costs ฿2,879 in total and fed the 4 of us comfortably. The cost was about SDG30 per pax.


Must orders: Miang Kha Na, Khao Tang Hna Tang (crispy rice crackers with minced pork), crab meat with curry, Indian roti


signage

 

Thanying

Location: 10 Thanon Pramuan (Pramuan St.), off Silom Rd., between Silom 17 and 19, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500, Thailand
Nearest BTS: Surasak BTS Station
Website: http://thanying.com/
Contact: Tel (66) 02-236-4361, (66) 02-235-0371 Fax (66) 02-635-0113
Email:
Business Hours: Daily from 11:30am and last order is at 10:00pm
Cuisine: Genuine Royal Thai
Price: Reasonable ($$)
 
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