Sunday, June 12, 2016

[Media Invite] Cucina Italian Restaurant @ Aperia Mall Kallang

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Aperia Mall is some 10 minutes distance away from the Kallang MRT. I was lost and ended up having to ask for directions from the good people at 7-Eleven.

Aperia Mall, as seen from across the road

Aperia Mall is actually a huge space with plenty of dining options. If you're looking for restaurants that has plenty of seats and able to accommodate large groups, can consider the restaurants in Aperia Mall. Quiet on weekday nights too.

First time at Aperia Mall and first time trying Cucina Italian Restaurant. Click on the links to check-out Cucina's current promotions at Groupon as well as Hungrygowhere.

set meals are available
what shall we eat?

If you are around the area during lunch hour, you may want to try their lunch pasta special at just $8.90++. Otherwise, there's also an All Day Special Meal @$12.90++.

Lunch Special
more options for All Day Special Meals

Was there for dinner, so we tried quite a bit of starters and main courses. What would be your wine of choice when having Italian food? At Cucina, had a glass of housepour red of Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile. Usually, am not for Chilean wine but found the Cabernet Sauvignon at Cucina pretty drinkable.

housepour red

If you prefer Italian wine, there's only one choice at the moment.

Italian wine
For starters, we had bruschetta, soups, pumpkin salad, rolled parma ham and sauteed vongole.

Zuppa di mare (fresh seafood soup) @$12.90++

Gil Involtini di Proscuitto di Parma (rolled parma ham stuffed with rocket leaves) @$15.90++

Saute Vongole @$15.90++
Pumpkin Salad @$13.90++
Sauteed mushrooms @$10.90++


Of all the appetisers, am favouring the rolled parma ham stuffed with rocket leaves and mascarpone cheese dressed with balsamico. Also liked the bruschetta al Pomodoro, the pumpkin salad and sauteed mushrooms.

Tried the Quattro Stagioni where one gets four flavours in a pizza. Perfect for the undecided. Thin crust, and plenty of cheese. Expect strong flavours. The mushrooms topping was quite lovely.

Pizza Quattro Stagioni - mushroom, seafood with tomatoes, parma ham and pepperoni @$27.90++


Also sampled a risotto and a pasta dish before we proceeded with the meats. Both were pleasant.

Seafood Risotto @$28.90++
Aglio Olio e Peperoncino con Granchi (crabmeat pasta with garlic, olive oil) @$30.90++

Then, of course the meats. Who would've thought that an Italian place would have duck confit? If you're not sure of which meats to get, then perhaps get a platter with 3 types of meats; lamb, ribeye and chicken.

Duck Confit @$32.90++
Primo e base de carne with red wine sauce @$42.90++

Would recommend the lamb cutlet. Good stuff as it was very tender and not too gamey. Seasoned perfectly too. The chicken was good too but tasted a tad too Asian'ish. Would have preferred medium rare for the ribeye as medium doneness was rather chewy.

The favourite for the table, was the grilled barramundi in safron cream sauce. Sounds like fusion but it sure tasted good! Fish was firm and well cooked with a hint of sweetness.

Grilled Barramundi in saffron cream @$28.90++

And, we ended with tiramisu. Don't we always order tiramisu in every Italian restaurant in Singapore?

Tiramisu @$11.90++



Thank you Cucina Italian Restaurant for hosting the dinner and the good folks of HGW for the invite.





Thursday, June 9, 2016

Travel | Bangkok 15 to 17 May 2016 | Daeng Seafood

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We did our touristy stuff on a Monday by going to the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. Since the floating market is around Mae Klong area, decided to vist Daeng Seafood as Tracy and Hence, have had this before and they liked it quite a bit. Our driver was not familiar with the area so it took some time before we found this hidden gem. Actually, we thought it was hidden, but there's plenty of reviews on Tripadvisor!

outside of the restaurant
walk right in, turn right

The place feels pretty old school but thankfully, there's airconditioned dining area. We reached before 12pm and a large group of diners had just finished their meal.

interior
drinks, self-service
order chit - all written in Thai

None of us could converse in Thai, and none of the staff could converse in English. But they tried. A younger staff got roped in or rather got sabo'ed by his colleagues (he looked like a university student) to talk to us in English. It was still pretty much point and sign language but luckily, they brought out a dual-language menu with pictures!

with this, we shall order!

Our table ordered up a storm, or rather, we didn't practice any restraint. It was a feast, a buffet of seafood! Not in an actual sense, but we ate to our hearts' content. So shioks!

To start, we had the Tom Yum Goong to whet our appetites. A big steel pot with charcoal fire. The soup was spicy, tangy and sharp. Just the way we liked it. Be careful that as it kept bubbling, the water evaporates and the flavours intensified to a level that's just a bit too salty for us. Best to drink it before it boils too much.

tom yum goong ต้มยำกุ้ง @ ฿300
huge huge prawns

Then, dishes after dishes started to arrive. 

The fried rice with shrimp looked more like tomato prawns with a bit of rice. The plate that we ordered was supposed to be small, but it looked more like a medium sized plate to me! Amazingly packed with many 'shrimps' that were quite a good size, attractive reddish hue and good flavours. Would have eaten more of this, if weren't for the fact that there were many more dishes on the table.

fried rice with shrimp @ ฿150 (small)

Another popular dish to eat in Thailand, the fried crab meat with curry. It was heavenly and so convenient to eat! Again, the 'small' plate looks kind of huge! Was getting my mind blown by every 'small' sized dish that appeared.

fried crab meat with curry @ ฿450 (small)

The crab meat in curry was not very curry-like and was somewhat sweet and thoroughly enjoyable. The sweet fresh taste of the crab meat was quite apparent. It was just spoonfuls after spoonfuls of crab meat and sauce into the mouth. Yums.

Got crabs, got prawns and now squid came along. Accompanied by garlic 'puffs'. Cooked whole garlic cloves maketh the puff? Looks like a simple dish and tasted fresh and good. The cooked garlic was not pungent and actually more chestnut-ty than garlicky.

garlic puff squid @ ฿200
fried snapper garlic @ ฿350 (small)

Here's another picture to put into perspective of how small is defined at Daeng Seafood. Size aside, the fish is meaty and firm. Preferred it with sauce, as it was abit too dry for me. But a good price for one whole fish, at just SGD14.

good size, good price
steamed crabs (1kg @ ฿1,400)
enjoying our seafood together

It was a very good meal for 4 adults. It could have easily fed up to 6 pax.Thankful to have the opportunity to be able to experience and to enjoy fresh seafood at a fraction of the cost as compared to in SG.

Thank you Tracy (and your local friend) for recommending this place and the dishes to order.

Daeng Seafood

Address: Mae Klong, Mueang Samut Songkhram District, Samut Songkhram, Thailand

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
 
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