Poulet, Bugis+ (former Iluma)

Went to Bugis for the first time since my recent return to Singapore and realized things have changed so much. Iluma is now replaced by Bugis+, and the whole street outside Peace Center leading to Citadines is full of pasar-malam-like stalls selling all sorts of clothes and accessories. 

Checked out Poulet, which had a 85% rating on HGW and thought that the food was overrated. I think the speciality of the house (the poulet/ chicken) was pretty tender and moist but portions were tiny and prices were relatively steep in my opinion. I think the better deal would be to get the Oxtail de Bourguignon although quite honestly, I wouldn't go back to Poulet with the variety of dining options available at Bugis.

[Clockwise L-R: 1. Chicken salad, which totally just looks & tastes like chicken with mayo without salad!; 2. Escargot de Bourgogne, which was very plain; 3. Poulet's specialty chicken! (not bad); 4. Restaurant front; 5. Oxtail de Bourguignon, which is probably the best dish]

Foodprinted on 9 Dec 2012, Sunday

Soup Restaurant (II)

I've briefly mentioned Soup Restaurant in my last post, so here's a more in-depth post with pictures to do the restaurant justice when I had dinner there with my family yesterday. :)

TOP ORDER: SAMSUI GINGER CHICKEN!!!

Normally we would order 2 servings of the Samsui ginger chicken ($15.90 / $29.90) but I decided to switch the menu up a little tonight by ordering other dishes :)

Also ordered their very delicious Hometown Fried Fish Belly with Chilli ($12.90) and outlet specialty, Claypot Salted Fish with Sliced Pork ($8.80)

Then I caught sight of the 8 Treasure Vegetable Wrap ($12.90). Limited to 10 servings a day, this is an individually crafted delight of vegetables medley (with mushrooms, tau kee etc.) drizzled with a really flavorful stock of chicken and pork. Yummmmm! :)

 The Penang Fried Mee Suah ($13.90 for medium size that easily feeds 6 people) sounded interesting so we ordered that too, and IT WAS FANTASTIC!!! I think it beats their famous Ah Gong/ Ah Po Ginger Fried Rice hands down! :)

Also ordered the famous Steamed Hand-chopped Minced Pork with Salted Fish ($8.90), limited to 30 orders a day and the Spicy Bak Chor Chay Po Tofu ($8.90) which was really divine. I say it from the viewpoint of someone who would normally not eat Tofu ;)

Pretty amazing meal huh! :) Can't go wrong with Soup Kitchen! Total damage: $100.95

Foodprinted on 6 December 2012, Thursday

Soup Restaurant (I)

Love, love, LOVE the Samsui Ginger Chicken at Soup Restaurant! 

I don't think I could ever get tired of it. Trust me, it's even better with family & friends. :)

Foodprinted on 23 Nov 2012, Friday

Bishan Park - a cluster of hidden restaurants!

I must have been away from Singapore too long that it was a delight when I discovered that you could dine amongst lush greenery in the middle of Bishan Park!

YS & I were famished by the time we got there so we picked the first restaurant we saw to dine at - Canopy Garden & Bar, an Australian style cafe.

I was excited by the whole alfresco dining amidst lush greenery concept and was (pleasantly) surprised to see that the place was rather empty. That gave us a great, quiet place to catch up on old times.

At first glance, I thought that the prices were quite expensive (mains are in the $40s). But I guess you're paying for the ambience more than anything else. Service was so-so here although other diners seemed to have had a bad experience.

I had the Smoked Duck pizza (homemade thin crust topped with smoked duck, pomodoro, mozzarella cheese, shredded apple, rocket salad and truffle mayo , SGD20/ USD16) which was very, very good! The crust was really thin and crunchy (low carb!) and the toppings were generous and flavorful. I don't suppose you can go wrong with apple, rocket and truffle mayo! :) 

My back-up dish would have been the Prawns & Mango Salad (fresh prawns and sweet mango on a bed of mixed greens with cherry tomatoes and spicy mango basil dressing), which is supposedly pretty good too.

YS ordered the Carbonara pasta (fusilli tossed with sauteed bacon, onion, mushroom, and light cream sauce, SGD17 / USD 14) which was just so-so/ you could easily cook it at home.

I also noticed another restaurant right next door called The Green Room Cafe, a vegetarian restaurant which has pretty good reviews. It partners with Aramsa Spa at the same site and I was instantly reminded of Sonya's Garden in Tagaytay, Philippines.

There's also another Western Fusion Bistro by the name of The Cornerstone in the same cluster but I didn't get a chance to check it out. Reviews don't look too good though. All in all, it was such a pleasant evening that I'd love to be back again!

Foodprinted on 5 Nov 2012, Monday.

Coastal Settlement

Celebrated Foi's birthday at Coastal Settlement today. Hadn't heard of it before since I've been overseas for too long but with a special occasion and a curiosity to try something new, I decided why not check it out?

Recommended eats: 

Truffle fries ($15) - Shoe string fries with truffle oil and house tomato relish. I liked the way truffle oil was generously mixed evenly throughout the fries (which had a good texture).

Prosciutto & Arugula pizza ($22) - 36 months aged Prosciutto, Baby tomatoes, Mozzarella & Cheddar, Arugula. This was very, very, very good. Thin crispy crusty pizza was very light and the quality ingredients blended together nicely without overwhelming. Plus I love arugula!!! :)

T-bone steak ($38) - T-bone steak 400g, Truffle mashed potato, Asparagus, Veal jus. The veal jus was very good and the T-bone looked amazing even though the meat was only slightly above par. The truffle mashed potato were to die-for, though. (No way to go wrong with truffle eh??) ^_^

Rene and her bf also had Mac & Cheese ($15, Oven-baked macaroni with triple cheese) and Rib Eye Rosti ($32, 250-day Grass-fed Rib Eye 240g with Crispy hand-cut rosti, Broccolini, Veal jus) and highly recommended those too.

What was special about Coastal Settlement is also their retro decor from the 80s. They decorated the place with common items from the 80s like the fighting fishes we used to keep as pets, old-school scooters that used to drop me off at school, and gave complimentary colorful cookies with icing sugar that reminded me of my school-time lunchbox. Boy those memories feel so good.

There was even an old grandpa taking his granddaughter around to show her what he used to do with those common household items hanging from the walls of the cafe. Very heart-warming. <3 :)

Great dining experience, worth the visit and worth a re-visit. :)

Foodprinted on 28 October 2012, Sunday