alexis blogs: February 2021

Brunch review: Tanoke Sake Brunch at 7 Purvis St, Singapore 188586

February 25, 2021

So this is coming out ahead of the actual Tanoke sake gastrobar review (it's newly opened in 2021), but this daytime Sunday sake brunch has less items so I thought I'll share about it first! I went on 14th February, Valentine's Day (and also the 3rd day of CNY) for a tasting of Tanoke's Sake Brunch which is available every Sunday, 11.30am to 3pm and must say it is a super good deal drinks-wise. And the food items are oishii to boot so this is a great place to brighten up your Sundays if you feel like escaping the humdrum of regular life. The gastrobar is situated right opposite Garibaldi at Purvis St on the 2nd floor (near Bras Basah, City Hall) and it looks quite different in the day than night. Cosy place, so reservations are definitely recommend.

Here's their menu, with a lot of brunchy items you won't find in their lunch or dinner menu. For example, chicken and pancakes! Egg benedict with a twist! Sandwiches and burgers with wagyu! Maybe come with at least 1 or 3 or 7 people so you can try more items.

What I like is the option to add on an unlimited flow of sake at $48 per pax - and the sakes are not just any roadside ones. The Bijofu Junmai Ginjo for example - one of my favs at Tanoke. The Hitotoki sparkling sake is also great especially mixed with some free-flow orange juice (pictured here) for a Sake Mimosa as well.

We tried 3 mains and a side, with no more room left for desserts or anything from their yummy binchotan grill (must try for dinner!).

First, the picturesque Foie gras & onsen benedict (S$34). Actually super worth it because of that foie gras that sits so delicately above the English muffin, topped with the half-cooked onsen eggs which was blanketed by a yuzu hollandaise. Everything paired nicely. The foie was a luxurious meat butter that the yuzu cut through, with the egg yolk acting as the binder for both. 4/5

We also got a vegetarian item because it is possible to not eat meat here when their non-meat dishes are just as creative and tasty - the Portobello mushroom sando (S$22). I love portobello. It's always good in a burger and the juicy umami-ness gives, in this case, the milk bread, life. It also came with an omelette, some greens and a side of mushrooms! This surpassed everyone's expectations, I think. 5/5

And then, the just-as-good if not better Pancakes & Karaage (S$28). Chicken and pancakes or waffles have started to become a thing lately and here the fried chicken is done so brilliantly, it was literally an ASMR moment when I bit into a piece. Everyone could hear it. And yet underneath that skin the meat was tender, juicy and full of that natural chicken flavour. That stole the show for us - though the pancakes were nice and soft esp with the hand-whipped cream and berries. 4.5/5

If you're looking for a place for an alternative brunch in Singapore, this is it. The Sunday Sake Brunch at Tanoke gives you the excuse for day-drinking while savouring some superbly made Japanese-Western brunch dishes (but not fusion in that, not here not there way). Kudos to Chef Rio and the team for this amazing experience and I hope to be back soon to try out the rest of the menu!

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Tanoke

2nd Floor, 7 Purvis St, Singapore 188586

Sake brunch every Sunday, 11.30am to 3pm

Reservations on website

Thanks for the invite, Tanoke!

burgers

Food Review: Lombardo's Durian and Blue Cheese burgers at 15 Duxton Rd, Singapore 089481

February 20, 2021

Durian is divisive. You either love it or hate it. And when you eat it, you have to divide it up 😂 For me, I am in the love-it camp, having grown up eating the King of Fruits. So I was intrigued when I received the invite to try out Lombardo Burger Singapore's limited time only Durian Burger (S$28) till 28th Feb 2021. I've been to Lombardo's before when they just opened and had the world's most expensive burger. I had a classic cheeseburger then and remember liking it a lot. Anyway here's the burger! There's D24 durian puree together with their special homemade burger sauce, all of which is slathered on top of 180g of USDA Black Angus beef patty with red cabbage compote, lettuce, tomatoes and mini pickles underneath. And the toasted buns were the perfect complement.

I did a vlog about the tasting which you can watch here!

It was so good. Here's the cross-section. We also had a side of fries with truffle mayo dip, plus a yummy kombucha each.

Next I also tried their Moo's and Blues (S$28) Blue Cheese burger which had melted Stilton blue cheese sauce on avocado slices and the same great beef patty. This was superb - I think I'm going to have cravings for it after trying! If you are a fan of blue cheese then this is the burger for you. 5/5

Here's the menu of their signature and classic burgers, as well as meat-free alternatives! They also have sides like the crab croquettes (S$13) - not pictured. It was super good though. There's 5 huge battered balls of crabmeat and potato and they tasted really substantial and generous. Definitely good for big eaters. 4.5/5

Lombardo's might have burgers on the slightly pricier side, but you are paying for quality meat and ingredients in a central part of town! This burger joint from the Netherland's has also kept themselves innovative by experimenting with new flavours which is very commendable. If you are a durian fan, you need to go try their limited time only Durian burger before 28th! Otherwise check out their other burgers too because you won't be disappointed.

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Lombardo Burger Singapore
15 Duxton Road, Singapore 089481
11.30am to 10.30pm Tues-Sun
Closed on Mondays
Reservations Chope or call +65 69709470

Thanks Evelyn and Lombardo's for the invite!

food review

Greek Restaurant Review: Blu Kouzina at 10 Dempsey Rd, Singapore 247700

February 15, 2021

There aren't many Greek restaurants in Singapore, which is unfortunate, because after my trip to Athens/Santorini I fell in love with their cuisine. Therefore I was determined to try out all the major Greek restaurants in Singapore - there's Fotia (they moved from Club St to Duxton Hill), Bakalaki at Tiong Bahru (yes I've tried them and they were not bad but insanely pricey) and of course, Blu Kouzina as well. An institution amongst the Dempsey enclave, I can't believe it took me so much time to get there!

The restaurant definitely has the most charm among the 3 I've gone to, with a little grocery and wine corner selling produce and alcohol imported from Greece. I even saw the wine from a vineyard I've gone to in Santorini (yes, it's an small island without much fresh water so they had to bring it in from the mainland just to make wine).

Now on to the food! We scanned the QR code for their digital menu - it being Covid times and all. For starters we tried the Fried Artichokes (S$14.80). They were nicely fried and crispy while bringing across the unique artichoke flavour within the soft interior. 4/5

We also had the Taramasalata dip (S$16.8) which is made with white cod roe, lemon, capers, EVOO. I got addicted to this salty umami white cod roe dip since I went to Greece and it is best paired with warm grilled pita, which we got some of. There's 4 pieces for every $3.90 portion which is not bad! 4/5

Then there's the Xtapodi, or grilled octopus (S$39.8). For some reason I feel like octopus is a very Greek ingredient. But I am not going to eat anymore octopus after watching the Netflix docu on My Octopus Teacher. This was quite substantial (as is the price) but not too tough or rubbery. The octopus instead gives way while maintaining its structure when you bite down on it. 3.5/5

We also got the Effie's vegetarian moussaka (S$29.80) which comes in this baked dish and was filled with tomato, chickpeas, lentils, eggplant, potato & bechamel. Pretty decent as well - it's one of their recommended dishes, though I wouldn't say it blew my mind. 3 of us felt pretty full after having this to chase the main seafood dish. 3.5/5

The desserts were probably the weakest. We had the Rizogalo (S$12.8) which is Greek rice pudding with cinnamon & zests because I love the French rice pudding. But this was just sweet rice pudding cooked in some milk/cream. It wasn't rich or thick enough, nor that fragrant despite seeing some vanilla bean granules inside. 3/5

Because of that we wanted another more representative dessert from the region so the waiter recommended the Greek Kanafeh (S$15.8) made with kadaifi & kesari cheese, as we didn't want any of the filo pastry ones. This was interesting - but a plate of warm melty cheese with some crispy textures and pistachio bits on top was about as far as I could go to describe it. Still nothing particularly exciting or unique to me. 3/5

Judging by the number of diners there I'd say they have managed to keep up with expectations and wallets to continue to attract the crowd despite the pandemic! The food's classic, well executed and had soul, so I'd say it is a good option together with Fotia.

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Blu Kouzina
10 Dempsey Road, Singapore 247700
Tuesdays, Wednesdays 12-3pm, 5-10pm
Fridays to Sundays 12pm to various timings
Closed on Mondays

food review

Best Thai Restaurant 2021: Dee Tongue Thai at #02-33 Golden Mile Complex, Singapore 199588

February 08, 2021

I found a Thai restaurant in Singapore that surpassed my previous favourite which coincidentally is in the same building just directly downstairs (Beer Thai) at Golden Mile Complex, or Little Thailand. It's called Dee Tongue Thai by Rung Mama, and I'm happy to say that this place serves one of the most authentic Thai food in Singapore. It is with slight trepidation that I am sharing this place for fear that it will become too popular - but I hope they will continue to do well as well, having been established since the 80s here. (How is it that I only found out about them in 2021??)

For example, every Thai restaurant does tom yum soup (S$12/15), but I found this place to do it exceptionally well. It packs heat like a mafia boss packs guns, and the ingredients were also very fresh.

The place is located at a pretty quiet corner upstairs of Golden Mile Complex (not the one with the cinema), the one with the Thai grocery store. It is quite spacious though with 2 shops under its name. However this also meant that there is a bit of a wait for them to serve out the dishes - the only gripe I have with the place, is that.

They have a physical menu, but there's also an online menu to go through. Prices are very fair for what they are serving.

In fact, they have this $10 crab omelette rice thing which I felt like I need to go try.

On the dishes - we ordered quite a fair bit between the 5 of us. There's the Red Curry Paste.. chicken, I think (S$12) which the waitress warned is not like a typical gravy-filled curry but drier. It was nicely spiced - but it didn't really wow me with any particular taste. 3/5

We also got a Grilled Pork with Homemade Sauce (S$12) which I thought might taste porky, but it didn't. With the taste, it was simply aroy-mak! 4/5

The Garlic and pepper chicken (S$12) in the fried section was pretty good too. Everything was crispy and not overpowering but you can tell it's been transformed to their best state. 4/5 (this goes v. well with Singha/Chang beer!)

Then there's a Thai Papaya Salad (S$6) which I asked to be less spicy, and this was just right for our tastebuds. Very addictive and perfectly balanced. 4.5/5

Another salad cos we were hooked. The spicy squid salad (S$12) was pleasant too but I'm not a fan of raw onions so I stayed away from this a little.

A surprise hit was their stir-fried kang kong (S$8) because the water spinach here's pretty raw, but because it's so fresh we didn't mind the slightly tougher bite. And it's not slathered with sambal chilli, which a lot of places do, to cover everything up. 4/5

And of course with every Asian gathering we'll need to have carbs so other than the white rice we shared, there's also some stir-fried vermicelli with prawns (S$7/12/18) and a friend ordered a vegetarian fried rice for himself too. This was also superb by the way. I'm so hungry just writing about this! 4/5

Here we are, happy foodies with good food in our bellies!

Dee Tongue Thai is such a great find, I'm pretty sure I'll be back repeatedly. I can't even call out the must-orders because almost every dish was good. Just be a bit wary about the wait times during peak hours, but during weekdays they should be ok! Get the tom yum soup, if not anything else!

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🤷 Try if nearby
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Dee Tongue Thai by Rung Mama
#02-33 Golden Mile Complex, Singapore 199588
Daily 11am-3pm, 4pm-10pm

Brunch review: Tanoke Sake Brunch at 7 Purvis St, Singapore 188586

Food Review: Lombardo's Durian and Blue Cheese burgers at 15 Duxton Rd, Singapore 089481

Greek Restaurant Review: Blu Kouzina at 10 Dempsey Rd, Singapore 247700

Best Thai Restaurant 2021: Dee Tongue Thai at #02-33 Golden Mile Complex, Singapore 199588

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