Lavish Buffet

Lavish Buffet

Monday 30 March 2015

Set Dinner at Tong Le Private Dining (OUE Tower, Level 8 & 10, 60 Collyer Quay Singapore 049322) Reservation: 6634 3233

It's such a hassle to make reservation through phone - Book now through Chope for Instant Reservations!
 Book now through Chope for instant reservations!

Visited on 14 March 2015 (Sat). There're only 2 revolving restaurants in Singapore. Tong Le Private Dining is one of only two restaurants in Singapore offering the fabulous dining experience in a revolving tower, diners could complete a panoramic tour of the Marina Bay area within two short hours.


Something different about this restaurant - They don't serve ala carte menu. Their menu offers a variation of prefixed menus that changes every 2 weeks. This is good as the chances that you get to eat the same food items is very slim if you dine there a few times in a year. 

7-Course set dinner prices: $120++, $180++ or $250++ per person.

6-Course set lunch prices: $80++, $120++, $180++ or $250++ per person.

As a private dining restaurant, upon request, Tóng Lè is able to tailor your menu according to your dining requirements. (Do inform the staff in advance when you make reservation)

Level 10 of the restaurant offers diners a selection of eight exclusive private dining rooms as well as four cosy dining areas. 

Level 8 offers three luxurious rooms, complete with state-of-the-art karaoke facilities stocked with over 60,000 songs. 



Enter by this entrance - A receptionist will be there to confirm your reservation, and take the lift up to level 10!







Dine at level 10 - Chic, dark wood furniture in the restaurant exude sophistication and elegance.







Exclusive Private Dining Room for Big Group


And Exclusive Private Dining Room for Small Group



It was a rainy night that day.. This was the view at the starting point before it started to revolve.. Looks romantic isn't it?...








Flower Tea at $10++ Per Person
 

A very unique flower tea! It starts off as a closed bud of tea leaves, and as it soaks in the hot water, the "petals" begin to blossom and finally, a stem of "lotus" in the middle of the flower will float to the top. 




This is our 7-Course Set Dinner Menu at $120++ person 





Appetiser: Walnut
Glaced walnuts with sesame seeds. Served in a very pretty bowl with blue highlights.





Sauteed Lobster with Egg White Topped With Kaluga Queen Caviar
The skin exterior was crispy and the lobster was succulent and full of natural flavours. Served on a crispy "bowl" of fried pastry with squid ink. Along with the exquisite caviar, the whole dish was a wonderful combination of the taste of the sea!


Flipping over the lobster pieces, you can see the egg white and lobster, all still juicy and soft! Drooling.........





Braised Cave Bird's Nest with Bamboo Fungus, Crab Meat & Roe


The presentation was superb, with the soup served in a bowl atop a burner. This made the whole bowl look really big, indeed the serving of the soup was generous and that certainly improved my appetite! The soup was full of flavour with generous portions of the bird's nest in the middle! The burner kept the soup hot and bubbling throughout! Yummy!!!




Steamed Wild Ocean Fish with Black Garlic In Premium Black Bean Sauce
The fish was extremely tender with full of natural sweetness. I was actually a little apprehensive of the black bean sauce and black garlic, but surprisingly the taste was quite light. The soy sauce added a nice touch of accent to this wonderful dish.





Chef's Homemade Sorbet
This is "Rocher Sorbet" - For palate cleanser. What a pleasant mid-meal surprise! The sweet and sour sorbet was utterly refreshing, and there were little chips of "popping" lemon fizz sweets in the mouth that really wakes you up if you ever feel tired while going through the courses. 




Grilled 45 Day Grain-Fed Lamb Rack with Chinese Rose Wine & Lemon Grass
The lamb was done really well.. Tender and juicy, each bite was full of flavour. However, the portion was a let down. The size of the lamb cut was tiny to say the least. Take away the bones and you barely have enough bites to savour it.





Char-grilled Iberico Pork Roll stuffed with Assorted Mushroom accompanied with Zucchini
The pork roll was quite tender, taste was fine but didn't leave any memorable sensations... Not a bad dish, but lacking a "wow" factor.



Braised Fragrant Rice with Fish Maw & Foie Gras accompanied with Pan-Seared Hokkaido Scallop
This is one of the best scallop I've ever had!! The exterior was crispy and the moment you bite into it, the burst of fragrance from the scallop fills your palette!!! I really don't know how to describe it anymore.. It's really fantastic scallop!! But the rice itself was so-so... couldn't really taste the foie gras anywhere... Overall this dish was saved by the twins.



Chilled Pumpkin Puree topped with Coconut Ice-cream served in Young Coconut


I'm not a pumpkin lover but this dessert was done pretty well. The pumpkin was slightly sweetened to make it a dessert dish and the creamy texture made it a good base for the coconut ice cream. The coconut ice cream was really great! Scrapped off the coconut flesh to enjoy this to the fullest!




You will see the serving counters, kitchen and the japanese restaurant "Sushi Mieda" at some point while the restaurant makes a full revolution.


Rain makes everything more romantic doesn't it? Reflections on the bay :D




Overall Impression: Their service was prompt and good! Ambience was classy but comfy. Food quality is high, most of the food was really good! But there were some kids running about that night which were a little noisy sometimes..

My only 2 gripes: They don't open on Sunday.. :(

And the serving of the food was a little too fast. Before we could finish our current dish, the next dish is already out at their serving counter waiting for us. As it takes around 2 hours to revolve one round so it would be good if they can let diners rest a while first before the next dish is served so that diners won't feel the whole dinner is in a rush..  We hope to have a relaxing dinner while enjoying the panoramic tour slowly.. :)

Total bill including flower tea that night = $306 for 2 persons.


*Highly Recommended*



Child Policy
Children under the age of 10 will not be admitted. Children under 10 are welcome on Saturdays and Public Holidays, and must be attended to by an adult at all times.


Friday 20 March 2015

Restaurant Week Lunch at Violet Herbs (81 Tras Street, Singapore 079020) Reservation: 6221 3988

It's such a hassle to make reservation through phone - Book now through Chope for Instant Reservations!
 Book now through Chope for instant reservations!

Visited on 14 March 2015 (Sat) during Restaurant Week Lunch.

(No 7% GST Charge Here!)

Violet Herbs is a new age semi-formal fine dining restaurant, serving modern european cuisine in Singapore’s well known business district, Tanjong Pagar from Jan 2015. Fine dining is often perceived as luxurious and extravagant. Violet Herbs aims to reach out to more people to enjoy fine dining cuisine without burning a hole in their pocket. Now you don't have to go to fancy restaurant to enjoy good food!

The restaurant was opened by Chef Edward Hoe, who previously held executive roles in Fish Market & Bistro, Restaurant Ember and The American Club Singapore with 19 years of experience. In preparation for Violet Herbs, Chef Edward challenges himself to re-invent European cuisines with the combination of varied herbs.






Violet Herbs houses a 2-storey, 70 seater restaurant where the colour theme of the 2-storey are totally different. Ladies will definitely be attracted by this purple themed ground floor, including myself! Haha.. Feel like a royal without having to be too classy in their purple themed ground floor OR 


Take the flight of stairs up to their more nature themed second floor.










We started with warm Rosemary bread and we loved the bread so much. The rosemary was so aromatic and I regretted not asking for 1 more.. 


Appetizer: Scallops infused Lemon Verbena
(With Purple Potato Puree, Pomegranate,  Bacon Beurre Blanc)
I enjoyed the lightly chared exterior of the scallops. Purple potatoes and pomegranate made an interesting contrast of soft and crunchy textures too. 


Appetizer: Jerusalem Artichoke Veloute
(With Crispy Duck, Truffle Oil, Micro Herb)

This dish was very interesting as it was the first time I've tasted artichoke done in a cream style. The texture was creamy but a little bland. But that also made the hints of truffle oil and crispy duck slices stand out. A unique creation :-)




Main Course: Sous Vide 36 Hours Duck Confit
(With Baby Spinach, Herb Potato, Duck Jus Reduction)
Duck was very tender, with crispy skin and the meat slides off the bones! Sitting on a bed of soft baby spinach and herb potatoes, dressed with flavorful reduced duck sauce. This dish tasted as good as it looks. 



Main Course: Marinated Cod Fillet
(With Nameko Mushroom, Baby Spinach, Sesame Seed, Ginger Broth)
Marinating is a great way to intensify the flavour of food and this cod fillet was marinated so well! Honey-baked marinated cod that tasted not too sweet, just the right amount of sweetness.. the fillet was quite tender, but it would be perfect if it can be more tender.. Overall, I was totally obsessed with this cod fillet and just can't get enough of it... I'm a person who don't like ginger taste but thankfully the ginger broth here was quite light that I can consume it happily. :)



Dessert: Lemon Grass Panna Cotta 
(With Rosemary Ice Cream, Palm Sugar Coconut Sauce with Sago)


I was quite taken aback by the strong lemongrass taste in the panna cotta. And the rosemary ice-cream atop was too light that I can't really taste the rosemary. I felt that since the panna cotta was of a bigger portion than the ice cream, the bigger panna cotta should be lighter while the smaller portioned ice cream should have more taste. This would have balanced out the 2 flavors.. 



Dessert: Figs & Thyme Cake
(With Thyme Ice Cream, Mix fruit and Edible Flower)
My first time trying figs & thyme cake, the taste was not bad but not everyone will like this type of dessert so it's quite risky...



Overall Impression: As we arrived quite early around 11.30am, we did not receive a smiley-warm reception from the staff upon arrival (perhaps it was still early and the staff had not warmed up yet) But the service started to get better after that so not a big issue to us.. The staff will explain the contents of the dish when served and water was refilled promptly.

Their food quality ranged from average to slightly above average. But dessert has some room for improvement as their 2 dessert did not impress us. They seemed to be unique creations but just didn't win our hearts.. I'm a super dessert lover so was a tad disappointed in the last course. 

If you're looking for fairly good quality food at wallet-friendly prices with admirable semi-formal fine-dining ambience, this place would suit you to a tee!

The parking here are all roadside parallel parking lots so be prepared to bring enough parking coupons ya!

Note: The above menu and prices is only during Restaurant Week. Please refer to their website below for their different types of menu and prices.

Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday
11.30am to 3pm, 6pm to 10pm


Website: http://www.violetherbs.com.sg/weekday-set-dinner/


Sunday 15 March 2015

Jumbo Seafood at Dempsey Hill (Blk 11 #01-16 Dempsey Road Singapore 249673)

It's such a hassle to make reservation through phone - Book now through Chope for Instant Reservations!


Visited on 24 Feb 2015 (Tues) with my colleagues on "Chu 6" during CNY. Whenever people think of eating seafood, Jumbo will usually be among the first to come to mind! As this dinner was with my colleagues, I did not plan to blog about this place, so i didn't bring my good camera. But the crab here were really good, so i just had to blog about this place! Pardon the lower quality photos.. taken with my old mobile phone.


Alfresco seating (Photo from Jumbo)



Indoor seating (Photo from Jumbo)



As a Jumbo member, we received a complimentary Yusheng voucher through mail! We used it on this occasion. Very fresh Yusheng and fantastic sauce here!


Crispy-Fried Baby Squid
The baby squid were fried till super crunchy, coated with sticky sweet marinated sauce and sprinkled with some sesame seeds. All my colleagues regretted not ordering a bigger portion... Haha!


Scallop Wrapped In Yam Ring
A signature dish at Jumbo Seafood! I like the flaky crust of the yam ring. But personally, I felt that the scallop and yam didn't really complemented that well with each other.. I found this dish just average..



Spinach Beancurd with Mushrooms and Broccoli
I'm not a vege person... so by eating tofu with some spinach atop, at least I can eat two healthy stuff at a time! Hehe... The tofu was soft and the gravy made everything come together well.



Roasted Chicken 
The whole group of us kept praising this roasted chicken. Very crisp with aromatic skin and tender meat, even including the breast meat! Just can't get enough of this.... Must-Try!




Australian Lobster 

I can't remember the exact price as my colleague foot the bill. But I know this Australian Lobster cost above $200++!!! You can order Boston lobster (Smaller lobster) for above $100++ if the Australian is too ex for you... About 7-8 pieces of meat, baked with cheese. Wah I love lobster baked with cheese! Perhaps you can try to order this for special occasion - Must try at least once in our whole life mah! Haha..



Salted Egg Yolk Crab
I think this salted egg yolk is not their specialty so the whole group of us shared the same sentiments - Will Not order this next time (The salted egg yolk tasted quite terrible)... 




Award-Winning Chilli Crab
The BEST Chilli Crab and Sauce that I had in my life! No wonder its named as Award-Winning Chilli Crab! The crabs here were very fresh with very firm meat! Warning: Unlike others were mostly sweet-spicy sauce, this is really real spicy sauce that tasted very shiok!! 

Note: There are 2 selections for crab here - Sri Lanka OR Canadian Crab! We chose Canada crab, slightly bigger..


Signature Black Pepper Crab
Another BEST super real spicy black pepper crab! The black pepper was damn good and HOT! Get ready your cold drink!



Yam Paste with Sweet Potato
We find it a tad too sweet.. 




Overall the food were very good except their salted egg yolk crab! Service was prompt too! Will definitely come back again for their real spicy crabs!



JUMBO Seafood @ NSRCC



10 Changi Coast Walk
SAFRA Resort, Singapore 499739 
Tel : 6552-3435 | Fax : 6214-0321

Monday to Saturday
Lunch : 11.30am – 3pm (last order at 2.15pm) 
Dinner : 6pm – 11pm (last order at 10.15pm)

Sunday & P.H.
Lunch : 10am – 3pm (last order at 2.15pm) 
Dinner : 6pm – 11pm (last order at 10.15pm)

Dim Sum available during lunch daily

JUMBO Seafood has arrived at SAFRA Resort. Nestled among the greens of the peaceful Country Club, this outlet is a superb choice for events and gatherings. 




JUMBO Seafood @Riverside Point


30 Merchant Road # 01-01/02 
Riverside Point, Singapore 058282 
Tel : 6532-3435 Fax : 6538-3433

Lunch : 12pm – 3pm (last order at 2.15pm)

Dinner : 6pm – 12am (last order at 11.15pm)

This outlet is located in the Central Business District along the beautiful historic Singapore River.




JUMBO Seafood @The Riverwalk



20 Upper Circular Road, #B1-48 
The Riverwalk, Singapore 058416
Tel : 6534-3435 Fax : 6536-3836

Lunch : 12pm – 3pm (last order at 2.15pm)
Dinner : 6pm – 12am (last order at 11.15pm)

JUMBO Seafood Gallery is located in the heart of the city. Situated along the Singapore River, They're just minutes away from Clarke Quay MRT station, Boat Quay and Funan Centre. Themed as the “Gallery”, JUMBO Seafood Gallery will also serve as a display of art works. This outlet serves Lamb Chop, and BBQ delicacies like BBQ King Prawns, Satay and Otah too.


*Highly Recommended*