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Dim sum @ Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine

January 8, 2017 in Chinese

Because of our busy schedules, my friends and I would block out dates on our calendars in advance. However, as our meet-up date drew nearer, we couldn’t decide on our venue. I usually have many ideas, but was undecided this time. One wanted to go to Botanist Singapore but I objected since I was there just 2 weeks ago. Haha.

And 1 day before my friends and I were to meet, we decided to have dim sum. And 1 of places that came up during our brainstorm was Imperial Treasure. It’s ironic how Imperial Treasure is like a household name, yet I haven’t been there for their dim sum. My friend highly recommended Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine, and thus we decided to go with his recommendation since he doesn’t mind going back to same restaurants.

Relocated from Takashimaya Shopping Centre to ION Orchard, my friend assisted to call the restaurant. And we were very lucky to secure a reservation for 12pm despite calling only 3 hours before our meal at 9am.

And from the dim sum menu (pages 1, 2), we ordered:-

1) 笋尖鲜虾餃, $6.20 (above) – Steamed prawn dumpling “ha kau”.


2) 潮州家乡茶果, $4.50 (above) – Steamed roasted peanut dumpling in Teochew style. I really liked this.


3) 奶皇流沙包, $5 (above) – Steamed custard bun.


4) 酥皮蛋撻仔, $4.20 (above) – Baked egg tart.


5) 香芒炸虾筒, $5.50 (above) – Deep fried shrimp & mango roll.

6) 豉汁蒸鳳爪, $4.80 (above) – Steamed chicken feet with black bean.

7) 臘味蘿卜糕, $4.80 (above) – Pan fried carrot cake.

8) 叉燒蒸腸粉, $7 (above) – Steamed rice roll with BBQ pork.

9) 虾米椒酱炒肠, $8 (above) – This was not on the menu. My friend has a list of dishes which he must order when dim sum-ing, and this was one of them. And this was impressive. When we placed our orders, we split it up into 3 and this was served in the last batch. We thought we wouldn’t be able to finish the dish cause we were feeling full, but the dish was so tasty that we left nothing behind.


10) 菠蘿叉燒包, $5 (above) – Baked BBQ pork bun. A must try.


11) 燒味三拼, $28 (small) (above) – Triple combination of barbecue meat. We could choose the meats, and we went with the staff’s recommendation; Barbecue pork with honey sauce, roasted duck, roasted pork. The roasted pork was so, so good. A must order.

12) 鹹菜粉腸雜, $9.80 (above) – Pig intestine with salted vegetables. We were surprised when we were served a big bowl of soup as we were expecting a plate of stir-fried intestines. We thought the staff mistakenly served us porridge. Ha. And the soup was rich and flavourful. However, there wasn’t many pieces within. I tried to split the innards evenly among (the 3 of) us but found only 7 pieces inside. Hmm…

Honestly, I didn’t expect myself to be blown away by our dining experience. But my friends and I really enjoyed ourselves. Food was spot on. Service was good. Ambiance was great. And of course, company was perfect. Keke. I would say the spot we were sitting at contributed much. We were allocated a table by the ceiling-high window. And with the sunlight entering through the glass, the atmosphere was bright and cheery. Definitely beat sitting in a private room, facing 4 walls. Had enough of that in office. Keke.

And when my friend made the reservation, the staff informed that they needed the table back by 2.15pm. However, our friend forgot to rely the message to us. At 2.30pm, the staff came up to us and apologetically said they needed the table as the next group had been waiting for 20 minutes. Oops! Luckily we were almost done. And for that, we left the restaurant feeling very even more impressed with the service.

Highly recommended. I’m already thinking of bringing my family to Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine for dim sum. Am curious how it’s like with the other outlets of Imperial Treasure.

IMPERIAL TREASURE FINE TEOCHEW CUISINE
2 Orchard Turn, ION Orchard, #03-05, Singapore
6736 2118, Website, Facebook
Overall: 8
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 8
Mon – Fri : 11:30 – 15:00 (Lunch)
Ambience: 8
Sat : 11:00 – 15:00 (Lunch)
Value: 8
Sun : 10:30 – 15:00 (Lunch)
Service: 8
Mon – Fri : 18:00 – 22:30 (Dinner)
Sat – Sun : 18:00 – 23:00 (Dinner)

UPDATE: Restaurant was awarded 1 Michelin star by Michelin Guide Singapore 2017.

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Dinner @ Buona Terra

January 2, 2017 in Italian

Determined to break what seemed to be a spell of bad dinners (Yes, one after another after another. Sob), I was positive Buona Terra was the antidote. I last dined at Buona Terra 3 years back, and I remembered enjoying myself. And their new menu looked pretty good too.

However, after learning Buona Terra was located within the same colonial building as Kakure (one of our disappointing dinners), my friend went “You sure? Same place means same standard.” But I insisted with “Same management but different chefs.” Ha. And after 2 failed attempts at making reservation as Buona Terra was closed for private events, we successfully made reservation for a weekday dinner on our third attempt.

Parking wasn’t an issue as there was ample parking space within the compound. One could either park one’s car or let the valet service staff assist. And upon entering the restaurant, I noticed the space was more brightly lit. Which was good for my photographs taking, but not for the romantic vibe. Haha. And when we were given the menu, the staff said we could customise our meal; Number of courses and what we wanted to eat. Yes… One could have a dinner of desserts only, if one wanted.

With 4, 5 and 6 courses priced at $128, $148 and $168 respectively, my friend and I decided to go with 4 and 5 courses. We actually intended to do two 5 courses, but as we neared the end of our meal, we realised we were too full for desserts. But that said, I couldn’t allow our dinner to end without a dessert too. Haha.

And so, from the menu (pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5), we ordered:-

1) Pre-appetiser, Complimentary (above) – Assorted crackers with flavours of black rice, original with poppy seed and saffron.

2) Bread, Complimentary (above)

3) Appetiser, Complimentary (above) (above) – Ocean trout and salmon roe served on fried (ocean trout) skin, scallop tartar in cone, and ham mousse on deep fried dough.

4) Dal mare (from the sea) with options of:-

(A) Gambero rosso (above) – Marianted “rosso di mazara” sicilian red prawns with caviar and prickly pear cold soup. The prawns were to be plated as deshelled prawns as per the menu description, but I requested for the tartare version by showing the staff instagram pictures of what chef Denis Lucchi had prepared for the private events. Haha. And this was lovely. Honestly, one can’t go wrong with this combination. But the portion was small; I could easily finish everything in one mouthful. But I controlled and savoured it slowly with 3 small bites.

(B) Cappesante (above) – Seared hand dive scallop with braised pork belly, apple chip and marsala reduction. I like this. I especially like the addition of crispy pork ‘crumbs’ which gave the dish a very strong, fragrant aroma.

(C) Rombo (above) – Wild caught turbot stuffed with Sicilian purple prawn, black rice crust, mussel, heirloom carrot and saffron sauce.

5) La pasta (pasta) with options of:-

(A) Tagliolini ai pioppini (above) – Homemade truffle tagliolini with girolle mushroom, 36 months parmesan cheese sauce and truffle. Since Alba white truffle was in the season, we decided to top up $10 per gram for it instead of having the seasonal black truffle as per menu. And between my friend and I, we ate a total of 12 grams. And I enjoyed this, although my friend felt the pasta was served a little too wet.

(B) Capellini (above) – Angel hair with sea urchin, lemon and “giaveri” oscietra caviar. My friend and I agreed the dish could do with less sauce. Perhaps it’s chef Denis’s style; Wet pasta.

6) Dalla terra (from the earth) with options of:-

(A) Malale iberico (above) – Charcoal grilled iberico secreto pork with trombetta zucchini.

(B) Flietto di vitello (above) – Veal tenderloin with asparagus and herbs sabayon, sweet garlic cream and moscato sauce.

7) I dolci (the sweets) with options of:-


(A) Sigaro esotico (above) – Cocoa wafer “cigar” with white chocolate passion fruit mousse, mango and coconuts meringue. And we ordered this out of curiosity. We earlier overheard the staff introducing the dessert to our neighbouring table, and the dish looked so realistic when we stole a peak that my friend couldn’t help but ask out of bewilderment, “You allow smoking in the restaurant?” And this was certainly interesting. But it’s more a fun dish than a dessert that would fill one up. My friend stopped at two bites citing it’s a dirty dish. I guess it has that effect for diners who are smokers. My friend felt weird eating the ‘ash’. Haha.

8) Petit fours (above) – Chocolate, pate de fruit, cookie and nougat.

9) Coffee, Complimentary

Did we finally break the spell and enjoy a good dinner together? I guess we did. =)

I wouldn’t say we were blown away by the food at Buona Terra, but I was happy it didn’t disappoint. I liked that we can choose any dish from any category instead of the usual 1 from each category, since there’s times when I liked nothing from one category but 2 of the 2 options in another category.

And I was impressed with their service. The waitress appointed to our table regularly checked on us during the course of our dinner without being intrusive. And when she spoke with us, she made reference to our earlier conversation. Apparently when she took our orders, she didn’t just take them mindlessly. She remembered our preference when we asked for recommendation, etc. I appreciated that. It differentiated the just-working-for-the-sake-of-working staff from the truly-passionate-about-work staff.

However, at 10.15pm, only two tables remained in the restaurant. And I didn’t think it was appropriate when the staff started to change table lining of the empty tables.

BUONA TERRA
29 Scotts Road, Singapore
6733 0209, Website, Facebook
Overall: 8
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 8
Mon – Fri : 12:00 – 14:30 (Lunch)
Ambience: 7
Mon – Sat : 18:30 – 22:30 (Dinner)
Value: 8
Service: 8
* Closed on Sun

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Dinner @ Les Amis [Revisit]

December 5, 2016 in French

Am not one to return to the same restaurant, but I decided to head back as it has been a long while (4 years at least) since I had dinner at Les Amis which has 2 Michelin Stars to its name now. And thankfully, my friend always let me decide on the venue. Keke.

And it’s a pity I didn’t take many pictures of my previous dinner cause it would have been nice to compare and see how much they have changed improved. Oh well… I will get to do that (comparison) in… 2020? Keke.

While using Google to search for the contact number, I was surprised to find Les Amis on Chope. And since it wasn’t too convenient to call while at work, I decided to go through Chope. Keke.

Online reservation was made at 10am on the day of our dinner. Yes, last minute booking again. And at 3pm, I received a ‘looking forward to welcoming you’ text from Les Amis. In the same text, the cancellation fee was also mentioned. Cancellation fee of $50 is imposed for bookings cancelled 24 hours before dinner, and $100 for 12 hours before. So yes, credit card detail is required for reservation. However, I am guessing Les Amis didn’t have time to ask for mine.

What my friend and I didn’t know was that Les Amis provide complimentary valet service for patrons. But thankfully, it didn’t take us long to find a parking lot within Shaw Centre.

And from the menu (pages 1, 2, 3), we ordered:-

1) Amuse bouche #1 (above) – Before our order was taken, we were served with an assortment of canapes which include sardine rilette with chive, comte cheese wrapped with dry aged beef, and Mediterranean cake (eggplant, olive, bacon and cheese tart). Unfortunately, my friend and I had to forgo the cheese-beef stick cause we don’t take beef. Of the remaining 2, my favourite was the rilette.


2) Bread platter, Complimentary (above) – And it’s hard to give up the assortment of sea salt brioche feuilletee (above, topmost), sourdough, mini baguette, wholewheat and bacon-cheese bun. Especially when we were pairing the breads with salted and non-salted Le Ponclet butters; Served in less than 20 restaurants in the world, and made from 3 different types of bio-certified milk from Briittany.


3) Amuse bouche #2 (above) – Chestnut soup topped with truffle.

4) Le menu automne, $295 comprised of:-

(A) Dish #1 (above) – Cold angel hair pasta balanced with kombu, caviar and white truffle. A pure delight to consume this signature dish of Les Amis. I could have finished the dish with 2 big slurps, but had to hold myself back and finished it with 4 dainty mouthfuls instead. Keke.

(B) Dish #2 (above) – Erquy scallop and caviar served in clam and scallion sauce.


(C) Dish #3 (above) – Warm French cadoret oyster in veloute. When the bowl of oyster and asparagus was placed before me, I was told bthat this was an award-winning oyster before the staff proceeded to pour warm soup over the oyster. “Oysters shouldn’t be overcooked,” he explained.

(D) Dish #4 (above) – Roasted line caught sea bass served on baby leeks, verjus du perigord sauce.


(E) Dish #5 (above) – Camus artichoke with parmesan souffle and seasonal white truffle. Yes, Alba white truffle is in the season! Yum.



(F) Dish #6 (above) – Pheasant served in a tourte with duck foie gras. Transferred from a tray of 2 types of grass, the filling was a little dry. Thus, it should be eaten with the gravy that’s served along with it.

(G) Dish #7 (above) – French pork belly with glazed onions and potato crisps. This replaced the menu’s original main course of veal tenderloin with black truffle cause I don’t take beef. Unfortunately, I didn’t finish my main because I found it salty and was feeling pretty full. The staff later explained the pork belly was in fact salted. After the salt treatment, the pork was soaked in water (for 12 hours if I didn’t hear wrongly) where the water was regularly changed.

(H) Palate cleanser (above) – This, to me, was a sorbet of green juices; Tarragon, parsley, basil, mint, etc. The staff lost me at the fourth green. I was surprised at how healthy the palate cleanser was. Haha. And it was really sour because of the lime juice.


(I) Dish #9 (above) – Williams pear poached in an infusion of star anise and bourbon vanilla, with light caramel cream. This, was, good.


(J) Dish #10 (above) – Crisp sugar sphere filled with seasonal chasselas and muscat grapes. This, was, insanely, good. The filling enclosed within the sphere was mousse! Such a beautiful creation.

(K) Petit fours/ mignardises, Complimentary (above) – Chestnut tart and canele.

(L) Coffee, Complimentary (above)

5) Le menu classique, $185 comprised of:-

(A) Dish #1 (above) – Seasonal mushroom tart on duxelles with a confit of egg yolk and lardo di colonnata. This was pretty good, especially the pastry crust which was flaky and buttery.

(B) Dish #2 – Langoustine in raviole served in a light parmesan broth with caviar and white truffle.

(C) Dish #3 – Similar to mine, sea bass served on baby leeks.

(D) Dish #4 (above) – French pork belly with glazed onions and potato crisps. And for main, my friend had the option to choose between beef and pork. However, he had to forgo the sweetbread cooked in a cocottee with baby leaf as he doesn’t take beef too.

(E) Palate cleanser

(F) Dish #6 (above) – Iranian pistachios served in a warm souffle with toasted pistachio ice cream.

(G) Petit fours/ mignardises, Complimentary – Chestnut tart and canele.

(H) Coffee, Complimentary


  

6) Fig cake, Complimentary (above) – And when the staff presented us with the silver boxes, we were surprised. We thought dinner ended with the petit fours and coffee. The staff, who knew we were very full, jokingly said “Eat for breakfast tomorrow.” But I must say, my friend and I loved the boxes. Keke.

Did we enjoy our dinner? A big “yes”! Food was great, although I must admit the appetisers were boring. In the sense that the dishes lacked creativity. But I am letting them get away with the big portions of caviar. Haha. However, the desserts at Les Amis impressed me lots! If I am to make a return trip to Les Amis anytime soon, it will be for the desserts.

And of course, service at Les Amis was impeccable. In fact, this being my third time at Les Amis, I have taken their professional standard of service for granted. Oops. =p I still remember my first time dining at Les Amis. I was a little intimidated by the staff who were all suited up. I remember feeling very conscious of myself, trying my very best not to be clumsy. Ha.

LES AMIS
1 Scotts Road, Shaw Centre, #02-16, Singapore
6733 2225, Website, Facebook
Overall: 8.5
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 9
Mon – Sat : 12:00 – 14:00 (Lunch)
Ambience: 8
Mon – Sat : 18:30 – 21:30 (Dinner)
Value: 8
Service: 9
* Closed on Sun

UPDATE 1: Restaurant was awarded 2 Michelin stars by Michelin Guide Singapore 2017.
UPDATE 2: Restaurant was awarded 2 Michelin stars by Michelin Guide Singapore 2018.

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