The bulk of the restos along Robertson Quay serve mainly italian and japanese food. The Sailors is one of them, tucked in a quiet end of the quay. Pizzas, calzone, pastas, tiramisus, you get the drift. The two of us were longing for a quiet ambience and simple food to fill the tummies. While browsing the menu, I noticed that the pizzas on takeaways were on Buono boxes. Now, you should know that Buono is an italian resto down at Serangoon Gardens that do pretty good food. Knowingly assured, we placed orders for a seafood skewer and a calzone. A bottle of merlot was on standby to accompany the night.

Foodwise, it was pretty competent. Each seafood skewer had chunks of nicely grilled scallop, peppers, zucchinis, salmon, shrimp and cod. A total of 3 skewers on a bed of salad on balsamic vinegrette dressing makes it a good starter for sharing. The calzone was a huge puffy wrap that was almost the length of my forearm. Stuffed with minced pork, bacon, ricotta cheese and bits of mint, the calzone is a refreshing choice from the usual selections of pizzas. The italian merlot was good and had a long finish with a 14% in alcohol.

The service was quite average. Nothing out of special but the competence in refilling ice water, topping up wine glasses and clearing plates. Some of the waitresses do smile a bit more often than the rest. The chef does his walkarounds but without coming to mine. Buono the owner dropped by later in the evening to mingle with his frens cum customers. lighting his cigerette so very often. On that Friday night, there was an in-house magician who went around performing his bags of tricks. Really quite impressive I must say. If you drop by Sailors, do take a look at the ceiling. Those poker cards are part of the magic show.

Wild Honey was designed to look like the owner's New York apartment back in the States. The decor and setting is rather 'chillax', a word that I picked up from some young dudes. The lights are yellow and dim and the background plays the music. Menu is written on a chalkboard with some description of what is on offer. When words fail, graphic representations will help in the form of pictures where one can scroll over in an iPod Touch at the counter. Coffees, teas and honey-infused drinks are served here.

Everything on the menu is eggs-related and are associated with different cities of the world. There are Tunisian, Californian, Scandinavian, Italian and so on plus the likes of eggs benedict and stuff. Between me and my partner, we had a taste of the African and the Sunshine State. The Tunisian was a nice presentation. It came in a pan with 2 sunny eggs floating on the top. Beneath them were a nice mix of chorizo and diced tomatos in a tomato stew. A little curry powder was sprinkled on the eggs to give an African restrospect. Accompanied with 2 pieces of brioche, the breads were great in soaking up all the stewy goodness. The Californian, however, paled in comparison. It just felt very ordinary. On 3 pieces of toasts were scrambled eggs with tofu mushrooms. It was that simple. These are stuff that I can pretty do it in the home kitchen, and pretty good it at.

The drinks we had were so so. The Queen B was a cocktail of grapefruit soda, honey and elderflower. The sourness of the soda was pretty overpowering that it masks the rest of the ingredients. The other drink was like a mixed berries slurpee that came in a martini glass. It was not something I had expected at all, and I do not recall the chalkboard mentioning it was an ice blend (Mandarin Wilderness). It is a refreshing drink but it is not one that goes together with food.

I do feel that the price of the food is a little on the high side. Both the eggs cost $18 each and the so called honey infused drinks were $9 each. I am nitpicking here. If Wild Honey is to be compared with places like Riders, Spruce or Prive, then these 3 win hands down in terms of what their ambience can offer at the similar price range. If it is for convenience, Wild Honey is definitely a better choice.

What exactly is K ki? How to even pronounce it? Well, say it as it is. K ki. When translated, it simply means Cake in japanese, the romaji way. I actually haven't known much about K ki. I know they are quite new, tucked in a little corner of Ann Siang Hill and is run by a young married couple.

K ki does japanese cakes and pastries, from mont blancs to strawberry cakes to cheese tarts. But hey, doesn't this sound a bit like Patisserre Glace? In a way they have quite similar offerings. However, the difference between them is what lies beneath those cakes. While on a personal mission to get some Lim Chee Guan and Kim Joo Guan bak kwa for a taste test, I happened to pass by K ki which is tucked in a corner by Ann Siang Hill. K ki actually shares the shop space with another retailer that sells some quirky and interesting stuff. But that is something for another day. This little bakery also has a small area for eating in, probably 3 to 4 sets of tables and chairs. So that effectively means not more than ten people are able to dine in at any one time.

At the display is the neatly arranged cakes. While I was there, there were about 8 different assortments of them. Some of them which I could remember are the Mont Blanc, Antoinette, chesse soffle, cheese tart and pumpkin tart. There is a certain flair and finesse about this bakery. First of all, the cakes were really lined up nicely, totally prim and proper like soldiers at NDP. Then the shapes and sizes of the cakes all look very uniform to me, even for the likes of mont blanc. Seems to suggest that the chef took a lot of pains to ensure a certain high standard. The quality of the cakes is also exceptional. I had the mont blanc and cheese souffle while the cheese tart and antoinette were for takeaways. The chestnut was smooth and silky. Behind the chestnut cream lies the chestnut bits, soft chiffon and puffs of japanese cream. The cheese souffle was a light rendition of the cheesecake. Light in texture and in taste. It is a very easy-going cake, and that was why I could have them both at the same time. There are also sables on sale at K ki. Uniquely originated from Normandy in France, these french butter cookies are complimentary with every coffee ordered. The sandy texture of this delicate and crumbly shortbread like cookie easily crumbles in your mouth at the first touch. Buttery as they are, you just cannot stop at one. 

This is quite a great hidden find. Great quality of cakes, good presentation and nice friendly staff. By the way, lady behind the display is so every ready to offer little kids her delicious sables.

Someone once lamented to me how difficult it was to find a nice resto that is by the sea. That person, a romantic at heart, was describing how beautiful it will be if one could enjoy wining and dining with a panoramic seaview together with the sunset at dusk.

Barnacles at Sentosa is just this place. I think it fits the bill: the cool seabreeze, the panoramic seaview from the restaurant and the beautiful sunset (weather permitting, that is). The interior is fully glassed, allowing diners within to behold the changing colours of mother nature's creation. At the alfresco, one will be treated to the breathes of seabreezes and the closeness to the sea. If you are like me, one will also appreciate the bar tables outside that are catered to smokers to enjoy a puff while sipping wines.

The menu of this resto covers both Western and Oriental cooking. This is because the kitchen is helmed by 2 main chefs who are responsible for each aspect of the menu. And may I say each of them does a fantastic job.

I was pretty encaptured by the offering of Whitebaits. The type of whitebaits served here are really well-fed. Every piece is a mouthful. The savoury and spiciness of the wonderful combination of salt and chilli powder essentially makes this a great finger food, addictive to say nonethess. The Yuan Yang Tofu is a chef specialty. The tofu is freshly made from soy bean daily . The addition of scallops with delectable seafood gravy and mushroom oyster sauce give another dimension to a usually boring dish. I did not really love this but the Sichuan Hot and Sour Soup may be a favorite of others. A great deal of ingredients can be found in this bowl: scallops, prawns, tofu, black fungus etc. This dish may appeal to the ladies but personally I find this a little to spicy and sour for my delicate tongue.

On the western side of the house, I loved the Braised Beef Cheek. This was served in a red wine reduction and beef jus, served together with carrots, baby onions, mushrooms and truffle mash. I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate the offering of truffle mash here. The cheeks were fantastic, very tender and soft with the eveness spread of fats. This dish is quite a big portion but if you like truffles or beef cheeks as much as me, you would not want to share it. The Seafood Platter on Ice was a sight to behold. Atop a bed of crushed ice, there were frutti de mare of the very best: Boston lobster, alaskan crab, oysters, scallops, bullots, periwinkles and clams. This gigantic plate was sweet, succulent and fresh. Lastly, the dessert of Chocolate Profiteroles with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream provided a nice ending to a wonderful dinner.

This is a place to recommend to that friend of mine, to be charmed, to be romantised or blown away by the food.

It has always been there. Right at Upper Thomson Road selling its Bak Chor Mee all this while. It is located just next to Meng's Kitchen. Upper Thomsoners will know what I am talking about.

Somehow or rather, it has always been Meng's Kitchen for me all these years. If asked for a recommendation, Meng's Kitchen will come into mind. So it was always Meng's and Meng's. I had hardly gave Gao Feng another look, right until that fateful night.

Very interestingly, 2 bak chor mee fiends had a common craving one night and set off for Meng's. After a bowl of BCM each, we decided to do a trial. We shifted our asses next door and ordered a bowl of BCM for sharing between us. You should have seen the Gao Feng waiter's face. Quickly, a bowl was presented to us. The time taken was about 1/10 the waiting time next door. Maybe I exaggerated. Make it 1/5 the time. At $3 a bowl this was 50cents cheaper. We took our time to firstly see the differences. Very telling, there was a slice of abalone and a dumpling, to our surprise. Tasted the soup. Mmmm....nice. Now we starting digging in. The noodles were QQ, not as oily, good use of fried pork lard, great savouriness, the livers was medium rare and the bak chor was generous. Overall, it tasted great considering that we already had a bowl each next door. On my scale, this BCM deserves at least an 8. Meng's now have a good competitor. It's no rocket science if you ask which one I will go back to again to fix the BCM crave.

When the annual tartufo season come and go. what did you wish to be? I wished to be Italian. OTTO is a great place to be Italian. This ristorante dishes great Italian food to tempt the savoury and sweet senses. The service was fantastic. Prompt and immaculate, some of the staff even indulge with us in little small talks despite it being our first visit. The resto gives a classy feel. Tables are set far enough to give a sense of privacy and romance. The OTTO bar sits right outside the ristorante. It is a relatively small place, perfectly suited for drinks and smokes. 'Being Italian', we started started off the dinner with a glass of Belini each, just to kick off the occasion. The tartufo season was just over in Dec. I would expect there could be some leftovers but no. The season was over and there was no more truffles. So that effectively killed one of the dishes ( Scrambled egg with blue swimmer crab and white truffles) that I had wanted to try. All is not lost. The Gourmet Menu looks good. A little portion of the chef's bests. My partner, being more selective, took on the Porcini Mushroom Cappucino with Parmesan cheese stick, the slow braised Veal Cheek with truffle scented mash and the Creme Brulee. Everything on the Gourmet Menu was executed competently. In particular, some were exceptional. The Hokkaido Scallop carpaccio was the freshest, with scattered caviar. The Foie Gras with Chianti poached pear was crispy on the outside while smooth and quivery on the inside. Now, the pasta. The Taglioni with Boston Lobster in spicy light tomato gravy was smply divine. Crunchy bits of fresh lobster meat and the gravy was full of mare. Simple but great. The crispy suckling pig came out to be a simple dish to the eyes. Just two pieces, each piece was filled with crackling from the skin, the melting fats underneath and the distinct taste of pork lies within. The partner's mushroom cappucino was competent. But after dining at Sage, Otto's a few notches down. Take time to savour the crispy Parmesan cheese stick that accompanied. The main of Veal Cheek was done to perfection. Tender and soft, the fats were evenly distributed on the meat, making every mouth chew effortless and wanting. The truffle scented mash (my only consolation of missing the tartufo season) was creamy and smooth, not a touch of sandyness. Finally the creme de la creme brulee, was fantastic. The burnt and caramelised top was so thick that it took me efforts to overcome it. What was fantastic was the burnt caramelised sugar that brings along the bitterness matching sublimely with the sweet Haitian vanilla bean creme beneath. Ultimate pairing. We enjoyed the dinner very much, together with a bottle of 2001 Bordeaux that we brought along. Pardon me here. As much as I love to be Italian, I will still have French wines any day (Bordeaux, please). Overall a great dining experience. Fantastico~

For the record, I thought we were gonna have Dim Sum for dinner. It turns out that yes, there is dim sum but they are only served in the mornings.

The ill-fated Jumbo Seafood Restaurant had been operating at SGCC for years. As it turns out, another chinese resto took over from another. Enters Yum Cha, an new chinese restaurant for Gardens.

The ambience is very typically of most chinese restaurants. The rows of tanks with live fishes swimming in them greet the customers upon entrance. The interior is brightly lit and the ceilings are high. And there is one thing I want to say is, the temperature is cold. Bring along a camisole or pullover if you do not stay in North Pole.

A wide spread of dishes was on the table. Special mention is given those that had an impact on me. There was the Pomfret Tapino which was essentially a pomfret steamboat. Slices of deboned pomfret fillets were placed alongside the steamboat ready to be poached in its flavored soup. The generous use of sour plums did a great job to whip up the appetite to slurp down the savoury soup.

A worthy mention is the steamed garlic prawns. The prawns were split in halves and jointed at the tails. When plated, they look like a spread fan. Garlic were generously used, adding a great punch to the sense of taste and smell. Trust me, I can finish a bowl of rice with just with those (I can do that with just fried pork lard and light soy sauce also).

The hot stone pot of braised chicken in vinegar and chinese wine greeted the table with its domineering aroma. The tender chicken pretty much soaked up the great flavors of its marinade and the end result was a good one.

A pair of crabs followed next. Cooked two ways, chilli and black pepper, the crabs about 2kg in size were stacked like a mini tower. Crabs were fleshy and with succulence. Personally I favour black pepper from the perennial chilli one. but one cannot do without chilli crabs either. The deep fried man tous were the 'ever-so-appropriate match-made in heaven' to the sweet chilli sauce. Kudos to the chef who did a fantastic job on the man tous, definitely on par or better than the other famous chinese restaurant chains on this island.

Other dishes followed suit, like the seaweed tofu with sliced asparagus and scallops on egg white and mango with brocoli. Ending the score was the wet hor fun. These dishes were competent but however not special enough to strike an effect. The hor fun, with loads of it goodness gravy, should have stayed in the wok longer to soak in that wok hei. Lastly the array of desserts of black glutinous rice with ice cream, mango pudding, durian cream and mango sago arrived to round off the good session.

Probably the common problems of a new establishment had been sorted out. At least to me, the crew was efficient in their work. Service was also commendable. I would think a new establishment in a new area would do her best to pep her customers to create a good first impression to ensure sustainabl business. Yum Cha, I feel, have done well in this part.

District 10 was really on the food radar these two weeks. Whether or not it is related to Bonta is not a jive for me but it's the casualness and the chill-out ambience that brought the spontaneity. Well, the fact that this is a place that we have never come to before added a lil bit mysterious feel to it.

The resto is resided in the former premise of Monk's Hill tuckshop. The exterior is very much like dining in the park, with a tree overhead. Sitting areas are comfortable and loungey, best done with a cool cocktail, chilled beer or a bottle of Chardonnay. Mindful that the air may be still on a humid night, fans are installed at various strategic locations to provide moving air to cool the souls. What lies inside seemed to look in contrast from the outside. Bright lights, stiff-looking tables, a little winecellar and a see through kitchen over the glass walls. Ask me at anytime of the day, my choice is outside.

Food and drinks were pretty much described in a two-sided A3 menu. One thing I would want to mention though is, there is breakfast all day and night long; eggs, muffins, fried bacons and the works. The menu is pretty much French-Italian, with the usual suspects of french onion soup, carbonara, pizza, duck confit and so on. The carbonara here was described as 'creamy' on the menu. If you are into authenticity, this may not be your cup of tea. We got the capresse (sliced tomato with buffulo mozza), a roasted baby back ribs, a duck confit and a bottle of Alsace Reisling.

The portion of the capresse seemed a little too lacking. Tomatos and mozza were sliced very thinly. 2 more pieces will probably make up for it as a starter. The roasted baby back was huge. Coated with marinades of wasabi and probably honey, the pork was tasteful on the first bite. The meat was quite tender with the right amount of fats. Perhaps it was the size, the meat became quite boring after a while. The duck confit smelled great and has a nice crisp, but pity the dryness and toughness of some parts of the thigh. The sides, however, on these two mains were really good. The fries that went along with the ribs were crispy outside and soft inside. The sauteed diced potatos on the confit were really nicely browned and absorbed the flavours that they were cooking in. Not to mention the side of greens that included sliced peppers, zuchinis and rockets that were served in both mains - no complains. And these 2 mains came quite speedily, almost immediately once we had finished the starter.

Service from the staff was quite good in my opinion. Maybe they got the feedback, maybe the staff went through re-training. But on the whole the service staff were polite and smiley, always going around tables to clear plates, pour wines, fill glasses.

An old school but modern dining bistro with a chill ambience is what District 10 is. Quality of food is average but for bistros like this, the winning formula should be great ambience and reasonable price.

If someone hadn't told me, I wouldn't have thought there existed a B Restaurant on the upper floor of Bellini Grande. In fact, the kind of impression that Bellini Grande exudes to me is more of a bar cum club outfit rather than a place that can whip up stellar French/European cusines. You can probably tell I had my reservations prior to this food tasting session.

B Restaurant sits on the 2nd floor of Bellini Grande, where the bar is also located. One thing I would like to comment about the bar is that there is a smoking room with good sitting chairs for appreciators of good ciggerettes and drinks. The last I heard, both of them still mix well together. The restaurant sits about 50 odd people. The interior is dimmed but enhanced by yellow hue lights near the tables. Not perfect food photography but it gets my top marks for ambience. A two page dinner menu pretty sums things up, but the variety of choices for starters, pastas, mains and desserts speaks for itself once you peruse them over. A good wine list is also on hand, one which offers grapes from America, Europe, South Africa and Australia. The vin that we had was a good one from Napa Valley which was full bodied and smooth, pairing well with the red meats we had.

Two starters were shared among us: salad of seared peppered indoesian yellowfin tuna loin a la nicoise and beef carpaccio, marinated vegetables, cucumber spaghetti & mini greens. Both the starters were competently done and the freshness of the fish is evident here. The ensemble of vegetables in vinegerette and olive oil was so refreshing, that it brought me memories back from Europe. The beef carpaccio was thinly sliced and delectable. The balsamic vinegerette reduction around it boosts the tastebuds.

I also had a signature cordon bleu crabmeat soup with tarragon all for myself. You should do the same if you were me. The flavours of the crabmeat were bursting on the palate. If this came from the fame culinary instituiton, I wouldn't have disagree. Top marks for this. The good just got better.

My main of chargrilled 200 days aged ribeye with fries and mesclun lettuce was another highlight. Demanded to be medium-rare, this beef was cooked to perfection. Really worthy to note is that the char on the beef was very nicely done, without damaging the meat. With good charring on the fats, I have made a mental note to do the same in my future kitchen adventures. Not forgetting, this piece of meat went excellently well with the good choice of vin.

The finale soon approached with seven desserts and cheese platters all parading in front of the anticipating crowd. There were goat's cheese creme brulee, chocolate chilli tart, warm sticky dates toffee pudding, pineapple ravioli, hot liquid chocolate coullant, a dessert sampler and a cheese platter. All the desserts are of good standards, but if I have to choose, the preference will be on the pineapple ravioli and sticky dates toffee pudding. The raviolis were like fried dumplings but the goodness in the middle is filled with grated pineapple pulp, just like fried pineapple wantons. The pineapple sorbet was so refreshing and rightly sweet. I had a taste, in fact several helpings of the sticky date pudding that I could never get sick of. The rich toffee aroma and the smooth texture of the pudding are worthy of my calories, no doubt. If it's not better, it's definitely as good as Marmalade Pantry's.

The service from the staff is warm, polite and attentive. Glasses are ever so promptly topped, be it water or wine. The array of dishes from soups and starters to desserts are confidently presented to the party.

Prices at B Restaurant are not specifically on the high side. In fact they call themselves a Brasserie instead, serving heart-warming dishes at affordable prices. I think B Brasserie has managed to achieve what it has wanted to do. The food is highly recommendable and may I say satisfaction guaranteed.

There is just so much hype about ION, especially much so regarding its famed B4 foodmall. I do like the concept, the neatness but I really hate the traffic jams in B4.

Heard some news about Arinco and made my way there after a weekend dimsum lunch at CJ. It was about 12pm and the staff at Arinco had just completed putting the finishing touches onto their Arinco rolls. I motioned across from the counter that I wanted a salted caramel one. The good staff smiled and put the one which he had just finished and boxed it up for me. He then whispered to the cashier saying: 'Only 3 left'. So its 12pm and only 3 salted ones left. So don't complain if you are disappointed when you are there late.

The taste of the swissroll is quite unique. There is the fluffy whipped cream, the soft chiffon and the brittleness of bitter-sweet caramel. So do I like it? Yes I do. But spare me the traffic jam!