alexis blogs: April 2021

Food and cocktail review: Yum Sing! at Blk B at Clarke Quay, Singapore 179021

April 30, 2021

Disclaimer: I was only intrigued by Yum Sing!, a trendy local food gastrobar that recently opened up at Blk B of Clarke Quay because I read it was by the Putien founder. It's quite risky, opening a restaurant in the sort of midst of a pandemic, especially in the suppressed Clarke Quay area due to the 10.30pm drinking curfew and social distancing in place. But they were confident enough to stake their bets on it, so I thought I'll give it a try with a couple of ex-colleagues on a Friday evening. The best part about Yum Sing! is the ambiance and decor, hands down. I'll get to the food in a bit. But for now, enjoy the interior pics in all their glory. They no doubt spent a lot on the renovations to capture the "New World" parks of the 80s feel.

Horsies on the ceiling! Big tentage! Huge murals!

There's even a huge stage for when hosting events or performing live is possible again. Maybe someone might want to hold a wedding here?

Here's the drinks / cocktail menu to start off with. One thing for sure - Yum Sing! is not lacking in creativity when it comes to their cocktails. Prices are also on par with what other bars are charging at the $15-20 range, though for sure the $20 cap is appreciated. As you can see from the wine selection of erm, Cloudy Bay and Casillero.. they are appealing more to the mass drinking crowd.

My friend ordered an Avocado Milkshake (S$8) which I would too if I wasn't saving space for food, since this is super filling. By the way they don't serve tap water here, so.. yea. We are getting into why this restaurant is a conflicting one for me...

I did get the Kaya Toast Set (S$18) cocktail to try also because of .. *sheepishly* Instagram. I mean look at the super authentic kopi cup with saucer! The wafer biscuit representing the toast above had Kaya infused cream, and the cocktail itself was a sweet, pandan flavoured one with possibly egg white foam. Pretty novel and not a bad cocktail with the local spin, even if it was quite sweet. 3.5/5

On to the food, here's their one-page ala carte menu. There's a couple of tasting sets behind this page which MIGHT be good value (we weren't sure so just went with the ala carte). As you can see, this is like the Greatest Hits (remember NOW! That's What I Call Music album compilations??) of local fare. I wouldn't say it's a full zichar menu since there's items like Chicken Rice, Prawn Noodles and Laksa in there. But there are definitely favourites from that such as prawn paste chicken wings, salted egg prawns and Moonlight hor fun. There's even Black Pepper and Chili Crab, if you're feeling festive! And ok, this is where I start my erm, tiny rant.. if you look at the prices.. they might seem ok for a gastrobar in Clarke Quay. But upon ordering.. please scroll down.

This is the $10 Laksa. The kopi cup behind is the scale for comparison. The egg you see in there is a quail egg. As you can see, it is a TINY bowl. That's where my tiny disappointment lies as well. Granted, it was a good bowl of laksa - the laksa gravy was quite rich and the ingredients are all decent. But this portion.. I don't even think this is enough for 1 pax. I guess it's just that laksa to me is a go big or go home type dish so I wish they will increase the portions (even if they had to raise the prices, since it is actually not cheap to make). If it's just for the taste, I'll rate it a 4/5. Minus a point for the portion.

The next dish is the normal sized eggplant with special pork floss (S$8) sharing dish. It was quite shiok with the fried eggplant contrasting with the sweet floss crunch (err but nothing really special?). 3.5/5

Ok this is weird but this Satay (S$10) also pinched a little in the value aspect. 6 sticks, a side of peanut sauce, some cucumbers (no rice). -_- is the face I would make. Granted it was a good dish to go with my Tiger beer (I ordered it after my cocktail to cleanse the palate a little) but the satay wasn't amazing, especially after sitting there for a while. 3/5

The moonlight hor fun (S$10) with dried beef was better. Am not sure how I feel about eating raw egg after some egg scares recently but overall this was decent with a tinge of wok hei popping through. The beef though were non-existent. Just lots of oil and beansprouts, as you can see. 3.5/5

My friend got a Kopi-O Gao (S$20) signature cocktail as well. It was surprisingly not sweet, and I think either bourbon or whisky was the liquor used.

Next, because 3 of us were like totally not full, we got the carrot cake (S$8) to share as well. This was probably the best dish of the night for me. It's more like a grilled egg with carrot cake cubes encased inside, which felt sturdy and wholesome. I can taste the tradition but also the reinvention, just a little bit. The others felt like the cooks were following a Best of Singapore recipe book. 4/5

Oh I forgot, we also got the salted egg fish skin (S$8) at the top corner of the photo here which was super moreish and well-made with the salted egg just at the right level. I would say it's one of my favourites too and goes well with drinks. 4/5

Lastly we got two desserts to share. The chendol (S$6) and cheng tng (S$6) were more palatable in pricing. Both were good, pretty standard fare again, and nothing innovative or new. 3/5

Ok we were stuffed by the time we got to the desserts with our cocktails and the various erm, 'tapas' style dishes. The service was pretty good though with the servers being quick to get to us. Food also didn't take too long. So I guess this place has its pros and cons. The cons is the food could feel out of place considering the ambiance and location, and portions/pricing could be improved, but the ambiance, service and theme of the place does work well in creating a fun dining atmosphere. I wouldn't rush to go back, but this might be a good place for gathering next time when drinking is allowed past 10.30pm.

🙅 Thank you, next
🤷 Try if nearby ✔️
💁 Bookmark this

Yum Sing!
3 River Valley Road, #01-06/07 Clarke Quay, Block B, Singapore 179021
Daily 4pm to 10.30pm
Reserve on Inline.app

cocktail

Sri Lankan food review: Kotuwa at Wanderlust Hotel, 2 Dickson Rd Singapore 209494

April 29, 2021

First up - this Sri Lankan restaurant by Chef Rishi called Kotuwa at Wanderlust Hotel is fully booked for the next few months. So this blog post is probably not very helpful for you in going here for dinner. However, I do quite like the food and my dining experience, which is why I'm still going to write about it. Also because Sri Lankan food is not something that you will find commonly in Singapore. Having visited Sri Lanka before (ah when travel used to be possible!), I do find their cuisine rather intriguing because it can be a mish-mash of the region's cuisines like India, but it is different in some ways. Kinda like Australian cuisine. The restaurant is nicely sized by the way just adjacent to the hotel's wonderful smelling lobby.

The decor's a sight for sore eyes (yearning for travel!).

The dark, lush surroundings with a bit of that colonial chic is very on point.

Here's their drink menu. A surprisingly large selection of wines from Europe, which is welcome.

They also serve wine by th glass, ranging about $18-22 for one, or beer for $12.

I was given a choice of 6 cocktails as well, which is more interesting in my opinion since they utilised Sri Lankan influences like Arrack and Coconut. I had the "Negroni" variant, the Udaya Devi (S$26).

Quite a stiff drink, but well-balanced so nothing sticks out!

Then on to the food! In contrast to their wine menu this one-pager was a bit of a contrast. Perhaps intentionally kept small by chef, seeing how most people won't know how to choose with a larger menu.

We had the Lychee Achcharu (S$8) which saw lychee pickled in mustard, apple cider and chillies. I think we are all familiar with the Southeast Asian achar, so this was a variant that tasted familiar using a fruit we wouldn't have come across. It was sour and spicy and all sorts of appetising. 4/5

Then we also tried the Gova Mallum (S$12) which was shredded cabbage tempered with fresh coconut and turmeric. Very flavourful and acted as a salad for our meal. However it got a bit tiresome after a while. So it was just alright. 3/5

We each also had one of their famous Egg Hoppers (S$6) so we could dip it in some of the Dhal (S$8) which had red lentils with black mustard. Very simple but delicious dip 4/5 perfect with the hopper which is a must-try! 4.5/5.

Our main protein dish was the Yellow curry of sea bass (S$26) which was in a deep coconut gravy. Even though the gravy was great, unfortunately I am not such a big fan of the fish. It had a very heavy mouthfeel and was a bit dry/hard despite all the gravy. So maybe skip it and try the mud crab instead which I heard good reviews for! 3/5

After all that I got a second plain hopper to share, just so we could finish up the various dishes!

Dessert was a watalappam tart (S$16) with coconut custard with jaggery, pistachio, candied orange and spices. This was fun but a bit too sweet for my friend. I don't recall having such a dish in Sri Lanka, as well, haha.

Overall Kotuwa was an interesting culinary journey with the exotic flavours of Sri Lanka and South Asia, transformed and elevated by Chef and his team into what we could enjoy. It's no wonder word got out and everyone wanted to try, so if you are interested.. plan ahead and wait for it. Don't raise your expectations too highly - its not fine dining or anything - but it is worth the try.

🙅 Thank you, next
🤷 Try if nearby
💁 Bookmark this ✔️

Kotuwa
Wanderlust Hotel, 2 Dickson Rd, Singapore 209494
Wednesdays to Sundays 6pm-10pm, Saturdays and Sundays 11am-4pm
Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays
Reserve on Chope.co (1-2 months in advance)

food review

The Purest Co. Birds' Nest Review: Great gift for Mother's Day

April 25, 2021

So I was contacted by The Purest Co. on Instagram recently and just when I thought, not another dodgy bird's nest company (I tend to view those mass market ones as dubious and likely unethical, which is why I would reject them usually), they mentioned that their products are ethically sourced and fully transparent in the process. That's how I decided to give it a try, to support a local Singaporean brand and to support better practices within the industry. I was pleasantly surprised to receive this sturdy box set of 4 of their signatures (S$209) with 2 flavoured bird's nest and 2 snow hashima bottles. They have other flavours and also without flavouring which you can see on their website.

As we could see, the bottles are STUFFED with 9 grammes of pure authentic bird's nest in each bottle, which is an industry best. That means more bang for your buck and no rubbish fillers like gelatine and such. I like that the nests are collected after the younglings have left the nests, and then thoroughly cleaned by hand instead of with bleach and glue and then cooked in small batches. There's also lots of scientifically proven health benefits to bird's nest. In Asia we believe it will help with our skin and also to boost immunity and recovery.

I could tell it's good production quality when I popped open a bottle and tried it for myself. I also did a live taste test on video. Overall, the first thing that hits me was how clean tasting it was, and secondly it wasn't too sweet. The bird's nest was soft and not gelatinous or hard, but requires a bit of a chew. It was recommended a tablespoon every morning, and then it goes in the fridge and a bottle will last a week. So that's what I'll be doing!

I haven't tried the rest, but I'm pretty sure they will be similar to the one I've tried except with different flavours. Overall I feel good about The Purest Co. and would definitely recommend people looking to get authentic, ethical and healthy bird's nest to check them out and also to buy it as a gift for their mum. FYI just till today 25 April 23:59 you will get $20 off if you buy 2 sets, for their Mother's Day promo so click here if you're interested.

Thanks to The Purest Co. for sending over the bird's nest and snow hashima! Me and my mum will be enjoying them with peace of mind :)

Here's the video taste test if you're interested to see.

brunch

Cafe Review: The Brewing Ground at 406 Joo Chiat Pl, #01-24 The Yards, Singapore 428084

April 18, 2021

Checked out a hip cafe called The Brewing Ground in Katong / Joo Chiat area recently and I must say... it was too hip for me. The place is located inside The Yards, some sort of building complex housing art and language schools and the likes. There's an alfresco area where pets are welcome, and a small air conditioned space inside. Perhaps its cause we sat outside where it was really quite warm on a midday. Or maybe because there's really a lot of people. But I wasn't that impressed with the cafe overall (also because of the prices).

Here's the menu. Eggs benjamin for S$21. Wow. Is this what being in Katong means? That you can pay over $20 for a brunch item?

Coffee's more reasonably priced here but if you look at the Refreshers it's $8.50. People might pay for it because its so bloody warm outside. My friend had the Lemongrass and Mint Cooler which he said was pretty good, but I can't get past the price.

For food - I had the Cod Fish & Chips (S$22) which really was just fries, fish and mesclun salad. Tasted very normal. The batter was actually kind of tasteless. The redeeming factor's the fish which was not fishy or overfried. Otherwise... meH. 2.5/5

The Crabmeat Tagliatelle (S$26) my friend had came with a generous serving of crabmeat (which I believe was the tinned type). Again not very impressed because its not like you need much skill to make this. 2.5/5

Lastly, we also tried the Eggs Benjamin (S$21) with thick-cut maple bacon. Sigh. I wish there's more to it than it looks in the pic. Because it tasted exactly how it looked and that's not really anything to rave about. Granted, a very tasty dish due to the salty bacon and the 63 deg eggs with beurre blanc, but that's c'ést tout! 3/5

The Brewing Ground looked quite promising with its location and name, but unfortunately I wasn't impressed by the food nor the coffee. If you are in the area and super sick of ALL other cafes, maybe give this a try but I won't be rushing down for a repeat visit anytime soon.

🙅 Thank you, next ✔️
🤷 Try if nearby
💁 Bookmark this

The Brewing Ground
406 Joo Chiat Place, #01-24, The Yards Singapore 428084
Daily 8.30am to 5pm
Reservations on their website

food review

Restaurant review: Moonbow at 10 Dempsey Rd, #01-21 Singapore 247700

April 11, 2021

So it was only when I was googling Moonbow the restaurant at Dempsey did I realise that the name is used to refer to a rare rainbow that appears at night. Pretty AND cool! This new restaurant popped up in 2021 like a wild pokemon as well, situated right next to Blu Kouzina which I blogged about recently. I had made a reservation here for my birthday dinner with my bestie after hearing some buzz about it from fellow foodies. TL:DR, nice but too pricey. Read on for what.

The dining place seems quite small - but I realised they probably open up the alfresco area at the back for brunch or afternoon service.

I like the "open" kitchen concept behind glass - you get all the action and none of the smell! The decor's pretty too - very pastel, rounded corners, velvet, bronze accents and all that jazz. I'm sure there's a design name for it, I just don't know what it is. Google said art deco. Perhaps!

Anyways, here's the menu. We had opted for the 5-course weekday set at $99 with +$10 for the escargot and wagyu carpaccio, got the beef short ribs +$10 and added on another main to share between 2 of us. So the funniest thing was.. prices seemed quite ok, but it started to add up after everything such that it became about S$113 after service and GST, each!

Here's the regular menu. The restaurant's described as modern European, Asian influence. So perhaps they are trying to avoid the 'f' word, which I totally get. And the modern European with Asian influence descriptor does seem to fit the myriad of dishes which definitely draws from French and Spanish

This is the mains page, which shows which are the European and more Asian dishes. Unfortunately we weren't super adventurous that night to try out the Asian dishes like the fermented red yeast wine barramundi or the "Teochew" schnitzel.

I also had a classic Negroni from their cocktail/wine menu which was about $20. Their house wine selection was pretty decent but I thought I'll try something that matches the decor of the place.

We were given some complimentary bread with butter (plain and tomato) to start with! Then came the small plates. The wagyu carpaccio (S$28) was interesting with the truffle shoyu and that yellow poppy thing (can't remember what it was now). However, the beef slices themselves tasted kind of bland and was not satisfying at all. For the ala carte price too, does not seem worth it. 2/5

The escargots (S$23) were more interesting in comparison, though I wished there was more than 3 of them between the 2 of us. The menu described it as having fresh micro greens, truffle gelato, fruity pearls (more poppy stuff! this time it's lychee yogurt...?), mushroom soil and 3 mounds of mashed edamame. Sigh. I wish the dish was less complicated. This felt like too much everywhere - it was difficult to get everything in a bite (recommended way to eat) - and even if so, the flavours didn't really seem to connect. Props only for effort. 3/5

As part of the set we also got the Crustacean Bisque (S$27) which had some chunks of crab meat in there, and a couple of clams. But honestly the bowl was gigantic and the soup was only 1/20th of the depth, which made it cool down very quickly! Flavours were rich and seafood-y of course, with that particularly "red" shellfish type of taste. But I don't think I'm feeling it at all. 2.5/5

For mains, we got the Angus beef short ribs (S$68) braised 100-day grain fed angus beef short ribs, smoked on a bed of mashed beets and potatoes (?). This is probably one of the highlights of the meal - the beef was so soft it literally fell apart when I tried to cut it. It tasted rich, fatty and just overall carefully thought through. I like that!

Next, the ala carte main I added on - Hokkaido Scallops Orzo (S$38) which was before the orzo paella. I thought it was going to be similar, but it turned out more risotto than anything with the champignon mushrooms and grated parmigiano-reggiano on a super cheesy grain. The scallops cut through well and overall this is a great dish, but needs to be shared or it might get gerlak very quickly. 4/5

I felt the Asian influence from the dessert! The Oolong Tea-ramisu (S$16) was delicate with the fragrance of the oolong tea (also sprinkled on as tea powder). What got us a bit puzzled was the rose flavoured or perfumed ice cream beside. It was a bit icy like a sorbet, and not exactly nice. I wish it was just a classic vanilla, or even an avocado flavour. Something creamy? Oh well. 3.5/5

That concluded our meal at Moonbow! I have to say, I am super ambivalent about the place due to the pricing versus what we managed to taste and its quality. I know times are not super good, but restaurants should also think about how to keep people coming back. With this kinda pricing, I won't really go back, but if I have to recommend something, it will be the short ribs and scallop orzo!

🙅 Thank you, next
🤷 Try if nearby ✔️
💁 Bookmark this

MOONBOW
10 Dempsey Road, #10-21, Singapore 247700
Mondays to Fridays 11.30am to 3pm, 6-10.30pm
Saturdays and Sundays 10am-3pm, 6-10.30pm
Reserve on Quandoo

Food and cocktail review: Yum Sing! at Blk B at Clarke Quay, Singapore 179021

Sri Lankan food review: Kotuwa at Wanderlust Hotel, 2 Dickson Rd Singapore 209494

The Purest Co. Birds' Nest Review: Great gift for Mother's Day

Cafe Review: The Brewing Ground at 406 Joo Chiat Pl, #01-24 The Yards, Singapore 428084

Restaurant review: Moonbow at 10 Dempsey Rd, #01-21 Singapore 247700

About me

Social

Blog archive

Ads