Tea time tai tai

39C Harding Road

64739965

Food:             5/10

Ambiance:    8/10

Service:         7/10

Price: $25-60 per person

Take a drive down Harding Road and steer your car into the direction of a historical and somewhat gothic looking chapel. As you get out of the car, you find yourself surrounded by lush greenery.  Emerald green leaves, light filtering through the branches,  a rich earthy smell exudes making one would feel transported back in time and place to an old English countryside.

As you walk further on, an entrance to a rabbit reveals, hidden in the folds of the dense greenery, ah the earthy smell of beginnings and endings.

White Rabbit had a promising beginning for me but sadly, not so much a happy ending. I began then night with high expectations, hoping to tuck into classic European comfort food.

  View from the bar

   Lobster Bisque

The lobster bisque was good. It was full of flavor and had a subtle tangy hint which was a nice surprise. They were generous with the lobster claw usually i get versions with only the meat in it so this was another surprise. The paste at the center of the bowl is butterunt squash puree.

The seafood stock of the bisque is poignant and not overpowered by succulence, which is commendable. But my only complaint is that it is not creamy enough. Traditionally bisques are supposed to be smooth, creamy and rich but sadly this soup is lacking in that aspect.

                       Tomato Fennel Consomme

Beautiful presentation. Very very tangy. The views about this dish are very subjective. I thought it tasted like a Thai spa massage oil (not that i have tasted that but it reminded me of the fumes), my mother thought it was refreshing. Try it at your risk.

48 hour braised beef short ribs

It was soft and tender to the point you can feel the fibers of the meat separate in your mouth. The sauce was bourguignon or beef burgundy. Beef bourguinon was one of the peasant dishes in the past that became haute cuisine. Really it means beef stew. The beef is simmered in wine in order to break down the tough meat to make it easy to chew. The ribs were not bad but i have had better.

                        Lobster thermidor and steak combination

They were generous with lobster meat for the dish. This became an issue for me after visiting Sydneys Harbour market where stallholders removed chunks of meat and used cream to cover it up.. incident had enraged me so much that now im a lobster meat nazi. The mornay sauce sauce at best, average. The steak was tender but average in taste as well.

The staff were pretty good though. They noticed that i was still reading the menu after i had ordered so they brought out their brunch menu as well for me to take a look at. Very attentive.

10 Bay front Avenue

Marina Bay Sands

Price per person: 150-250 (ours was $260 per pax because of all the champagne hehe)

Food: 3/5

Service: 5/5

Ambiance: 4/5

Today’s post would be a very special post. Most of the food here will be reviewed by my friend Wen because unfortunately, i got braces the day before. As a result, the only thing i could eat there was really the artichoke soup (thank goodness its one of its famed dishes if not it’ll be such a wasted trip!) and copious amounts of champagne to keep me full.

Best meal of the night. Artichoke and black truffle soup with toasted mushroom brioche and black truffle butter. This award winning soup is very smooth and creamy, topped with aromatic truffles and biting Parmesan shavings. The truffles were aromatic but were a little wasted because i could hardly taste it. This makes the price increase like crazy for no reason.

Overall its great, but Wen and i decided that the artichoke soup at Cutler and Company in Melbourne is much better whilst cheaper. However, the quiet companion, the mushroom brioche is the real star of the show. Before slathering the brioches with sweet salty truffle goodness, the staff asked if i was health conscious. Haha not for this meal at least. They slathered on the butter and wow, one of the best soup combination yet. I am pretty blown away by it.

A very happy diner

Piegon “ponche-roti”, smoked eggplant royale and zucchinni. This dish was done two ways, seared and pan fried. I was not able to try it because of the braces but here is what she thinks:

“The panfried was nice. But it is quite normal. Like so many other restaurants do panfried pigeon quail. Its always good, this one was like every one. I didn’t really enjoy the seared one.. guy savoy likes to preserve the integrity of his ingredients by not doing a whole lot to itand letting the freshness/quality of the ingredient speak for itself but it could either go two ways: mindblowing or rather unimaginative and normal”

Apple textures was the dessert of my choice. It is a sorbet with crisp apple shavings. I was a little disappointed with this because i was hoping they would be more inventive with the dessert. You know, spices here and there, a  play with different textures.  The crispy apple shavings were a great add but what killed it was the sorbet, it was more apple juice.

I loved the presentation of this dessert- Grapfruit terrine with tea sauce. To Wen it was a square piece of grape fruit dipped in tea. The staff were really lovely though and took it off the bill when she gave them her honest opinion. Excellent service.

I would definitely go back just for the soup but i am hesitant about the other dishes. From the outside of the restaurant you can see all the chefs putting in their hard work so i feel a little bad writing a slightly negative review. Maybe ill give the restaurant a try again in the next few months, hopefully the food would be better !

Oh oh i forgot! Check out the wine ‘menu’ hhahahahaha its like a bible, so awesome.

Galleria Level, B1 (Next to the Theaters), The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands

Price per person: $150-250 per person.

Food: 3.5/5

Service: 4/5

Ambiance: 5/5

It was big on the headlines when Wolfgang Puck, the Austrian-American celebrity chef came to Singapore to establish another restaurant in his fine-dining empire. I feel really proud as a Singaporean because it shows how much has Singapore come up in terms of worldly recognition. CUT aims to offer the best quality of beef possible in a classy setting with a outstanding selection of 500 wines.

The service was good. Initially, i felt a little put off because it felt like the waiters and waitresses were being a little snooty. I felt a little annoyed because at the beginning, they talked really fast about what they offer making you feel a little dumb should you question them again. Also, they do stuff as if they are doing you a favor. “I got for you some cheese bread from our kitchen” was what one commented when it was a standard thing that came with the meal.  But those are just small pointers, in general the service was great and the staff were likable.

                       The Menu

 Puffed cheese pastry

There was a name for it which i forgot. It was nice, a little soggy because it had been out for some time but i finished it none the less!

Cheese bread sticks-YUM!

Light, crispy and not too cheesy. Just the way i like it.

    Just doing my thing haha, but of course just before  i was slouching all over the table in sleepiness

Maple-marinated roast pork belly with Fuji apple salad and Sesame-orange dressing.

Very delicious. The pork was crisp on the top and the maple wasn’t too sweet. The Fuji apple salad was refreshing and the sesame orange dressing balanced out the entire dish.

Hokkaido Scallop with Wasabi- kosho ponzu.

Excellent dish. The scallops were fresh and sweet tasting which went well with the foamy texture of the wasabi-kosho ponzu. The ponzu was great because it allows you to have a subtle hint of wasabi. Especially for me because i can’t stand wasabi, this time i kept scooping the ponzu up.

Prawn cocktail with Wasabi Panna Cotta, celery salt and  Avacado mousse

This is quite a delicious and creamy starter.  There are many layers of flavors and colors to this dish which all blended together very well with the juicy texture of fresh prawns.Everything from sweet, salty, sour came into play and i was very satisfied with this dish.

Before the steak prep

Okay you’ve got your usual mustards, djion and what not. You’ve also got the customary sea salt. What i would like to highlight to you is the grape mustard on the top right hand corner. Fantastic with beef.

Beef tasting platter

This consisted of 3 different types of beef. From left its U.S.D.A prime illionois corn fed, American “Kobe style” from Snake river farms and the last one was Japanese Wagyu from Shiga prefacture (on the right).

The U.S.D.A prime cuts are known for their tender texture and buttery flavor. One cannot get them at normal supermarkets because it is just so high in demand with gourmets. The beef meets( or meats haha)  its expectations, it is slightly buttery in taste and nice to chew. The spice rub used for the beef is slightly salty, bringing out the flavor of the beef.

American “Kobe Style” is a disappointment because it was dry and tough. Im so sad thinking about it because i had high hopes.

Japanese Wagyu was out of this world. It was so good that it felt that only the steak and i existed. It melted in your mouth, in all its fatty goodness but was not too oily. The top layer is slightly crisp from the grilling and it created a very surreal experience for me. I will order this if i come back. Just amazing.

More sauces for the beef but i never use them. I love to taste the beef for itself, using sauces is just a way to cover up their flaws. hah!

New york sirlion with potato puree and creamed spinach

The sirlion was good. Meaty yet tender which i felt was better than the American kobe style. However, even though the quality of beef used is one of the better ones it tasted like how stuart anderson does the steak for a fraction of the price. The potato puree is handsdown one of the best mashed potatoes i’ve eaten (and im a huge mashed potato fan), its sweet creamy goodness cannot be easily replicated. Kudos to that. The creamed spinach was alright, i prefer the one at Lawrys.

All in all the food was great but the steaks were a little disappointing. Considering that CUT prides itself as a steakhouse, the expectation i held were not met. Till another time!

Xx