alexis blogs: December 2019

Cocktail review: Oriental Elixir at 10 Haji Lane, Singapore 189203

December 25, 2019

Dinner Review: Caffe Cicheti at South Beach, 26 Beach Rd #B1-21, Singapore 189768

December 23, 2019

What's coastal Italian cuisine you might wonder? You might heard that the new Caffe Cicheti at South Beach was described as serving such food. Well, it is still Italian style but features a touch more seafood since they have the access to it from the sea, making it a bit more Mediterranean. And that's the perfect transition from Australian brunch cafe Finn's to this new concept by the same owners of the Cicheti family. Cicheti means little plates and since opening up the original woodfired pizza and pasta place at Kandahar St, they have since opened Bar Cicheti at Jiak Chuan Rd and now, Caffe Cicheti.

The decor still works, and it's easy breezy beautiful! (:P thanks Covergirl)

Here's the short 2 page menu (love) with just 6 sections - the panini being only available from lunch at 11.30 to 2.30pm. Prices are also very very ok for where they are.

We started with some Sardine Fritte (S$18) with garlic aioli. Straight up coastal feels, haha. It was nice and crunchy but not very remarkable. Maybe get some prosciutto to pair with their lovely wine list (more relaxed, organic/natural wines available) instead. 2.5/5

We also had the appetising Panzanella (S$15) featuring heirloom tomatoes, stracciatella cheese, Spanish onions, cucumber and herb croutons. For cheese lovers this is a tangy and creamy one to whet your appetite! I felt it was exactly that, and a good way to start even if no technical skills were involved. 3/5

We also sampled an off-menu special of octopus and kale, or Polpo if you want its Italian name. This was well-seasoned and the octopus was soft and tender, like a sea potato. Try requesting this if you are there for a starter dish!

On to the star. The Pesto pasta (S$22) was such a simple but scrumptious dish with the generous use of basil and grounded pine nuts on al dente spaghetti. One of my personal favourites of the night. Everyone knows I'm a pasta monster. 4.5/5

The Gnocchi (S$23) with mushroom veloute, forest mushrooms and shaved parmigiano was delicious too. Those naughty balls of dough were bouncy and bright without being too monotonous. For vegetarians this or the Pesto pasta are both good dishes to have! 3.5/5

Then there's the Cioppino (S$26) for seafood lovers. It's a rich seafood stew with flower clams, grey prawns, squid, big fat scallops alongside some very well-baked homemade focaccia (so addictive!!). I had hoped the stew to be even thicker for the bread to soak up, but the generous servings of ingredients more than made up for it.

By the way, don't turn your attention away from the sides because the Brussels sprouts (S$10) was AMAZING. The pomegranate molasses and candied pecan really elevated this to a buttery umami-ness that was unexpected. What a dark horse! I think even non-fans of brussels sprouts will change their mind when they have the ones here.4.5/5 In comparison the Asparago (S$13.50) in the background was so-so only at 3/5.

That prepared us for the proper main dish - the flavourful Iberico pork with granny smith apple and kale (S$29.50). The apple slices are a bit sad but really what you are there for is the lean, juicy cuts of pork. It was fantastic but we were so stuffed we could barely finish this! 3.5/5

To end off we had another amazing dish, the Giandula semifreddo (S$12.50) dessert. It looked unassuming but it's like having Italian frozen Nutella (yes there's a difference where it is made) ice cream with crunchy hazel choconut bits. No kidding! It's homemade and definitely a MUST-ORDER item when you are here. It's ok to break away from the Tiramisu mold, you know.. 5/5

The lighter Olive oil cake with vanilla gelato (S$11) would be for those who are looking for a sweet but gentle ending to the meal. The citrusy olive cake wasn't too dense and balances well with the gelato! 4/5

We had our desserts paired with this wonderful Sourgal Moscato d'Asti, which was scrumptious on its own. I have a fatal attraction to these sweet wines, and this was just perfect in its slightly tart but light sweetness to refresh the palate! Throughout the meal we had wine recommendations and they went so well with it so if you're there be sure to get something paired!

It was overall a wonderful meal at Caffe Cicheti. I couldn't recommend this place enough since relaxed, modern and good Italian restaurants are hard to find but this has managed to squeeze right in. And I heard that starting from January they will be launching their all-Vegetarian menu with 15 meat-free dishes. Yay!

Caffe Cicheti

26 Beach Road, #B1-21 South Beach, Singapore 189768

Brunch/lunch from 11.30am (11am on Sat, 10.30am on Sundays) to 2.30pm (4.30pm on Sundays); dinner from 5.30pm to 10pm (no dinner on Sundays)

+65 63841878

Thanks Daniel and Caffe Cicheti for the invite!

brunch

Food review: Walking on Sunshine at #03-07 Orchard Central, Singapore 238896

December 23, 2019

Do you often feel like there's no place good in town for chilling and eating with your friends because it's too crowded everywhere? Well, seek and you shall find because here at Orchard Central, Walking on Sunshine is a lifestyle concept hair salon and cafe bistro that manages to carve out some respite in the midst of it all. I was pleasantly surprised when I was invited a few weeks back to see this Korean concept hidden on the 3rd floor of the OC, which is probably still the least crowded mall in all of Orchard. We also had quite the feast, as this beautiful flat lay shows:

What I really liked about this place is all the greenery with the plants (doesn't matter if its real or fake) everywhere.

Very Instagrammable, this. That will probably be where you see all the mentions of this place and its food.

See? Place to chill! I know many people who would love to remote work from here if they could. And it wasn't too cold/warm/noisy as well.

The cafe counter with its assortment of apparatus.

Here's the entrance walkway from the mall when I look back at it. Half of it is the salon, and the other half the chilling area.

Speaking of food, we had a large assortment of dishes - some better than the others, though generally you couldn't go wrong with most of them.

I felt that the Salmon and Avo rice bowl (S$13.50) was also a bit underwhelming. Even if sushi rice was used, I felt the chunks in there were kinda disparate from each other. 2/5

The BBQ pork ribs (S$24.50) were a tad dry and not very meaty - the fries and mash were great though! 2/5

Same with the Korean fried chicken (S$23.50) unfortunately even though I was really excited to try them. The chicken pieces were probably too big and had to be cooked thoroughly, hence losing some of the moisture in the process. 2.5/5

The rest below however are great! First off, my friend's Mocha drink was in fact smooth, creamy and NOT TOO SWEET. My butter caramel latte was... so if you are looking for a drink try this or their fresh juice infusions (grapefruit!) or tea.

The Honey Ham and Cheese panini (S$18.50) was drizzled with honey and came with bits of raisins, which gave the salty ham/cheese combo a nice pop of sweetness together with the nicely toasted ciabatta. One thing though, it is quite expensive I just realised, for a panini... 3/5

For those who don't like sweet and salty mixed, try the Bulgogi Beef Panini (S$17.50) which was a crowd favourite. The slightly sweet thinly sliced beef went well with the ciabatta for a satisfying bite. Again a little too pricey I reckon for the dish but at least it is not bad! 3.5/5

A hit that evening was this brunchy dish - fried eggs with garlic mushrooms (S$18.50), served with 2 slices of generic sourdough toast. The garlic flavours with the earthy bites of mushroom negated the need for any meat. If the sourdough was even more amazing it would have been the MUST-TRY dish at Walking on Sunshine! 4/5

Do consider their signature dish if you are looking for something a bit more substantial! The coal-roasted chicken with miso pesto (S$23.50) using half organic spring chicken did not disappoint this time. The chicken was tender, juicy and rocked tonnes of flavour. I only docked points for the amount of bones on the chicken.. 3.5/5

Lastly, we tried the Matcha Ice Cream with Waffles (S$12.50), which was one of the highlights for me during the meal because the waffle was chewy, yet crispy on the outside without being burnt. The smooth matcha ice cream also was the perfect compliment and overall the dish manages to look pretty at the same time! 4/5

Overall, Walking on Sunshine is actually quite the good chillax spot for a bite of food and having some coffee, tea while getting away from the hustle and bustle. Not many people know of this place so if you go at the right time you could probably finish half a good book (from the Gateway public library next door) in an afternoon!

Walking on Sunshine

#03-07 Orchard Central, Singapore 238896

Monday to Sundays: Salon from 10AM to 8PM; Cafe from 9AM to 10PM

Salon: +65 88778800 and Cafe: +65 88770088

https://www.walkingonsunshine.sg/promotions

Thanks to Walking on Sunshine for the invite!