Category Archives: Fine Dining

A category I have to create because of invited food reviews. Nevertheless, if it’s value for money, why not let my readers know? :)

Fine Dining, Singapore, Steak House

Steaking Out At Gemma Steakhouse – Singapore

October 23, 2021 Big Roy Leave a comment

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Steaking Out At Gemma Steakhouse – Singapore

Fine Dining, Fusion, Media Invite, Singapore

[Media Invite] G House Restaurant & Eatery – Dempsey Road, Singapore

June 5, 2015 Big Roy Leave a comment

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Recently I was invited to this G House Restaurant located at Dempsey Road, which I have not been for the longest time. I was quite fortunate my dining partner was driving so we made our way there in comfort. The restaurant wasn’t difficult to find, just behind Jones the Grocer and it’s facing the carpark.

A good selection of wine, not a wide range but sufficient.

They have a space at the back which holds easily 40 pax for private functions.

A Pattiserie chef from their dessert partner, Little House of Dreams, at work.

Cakes at the background, cupcakes at the front from the display shelve at Little House of Dreams

Sours for sale at Little House of Dreams

First up, Lychee Ice Blended ($6.90) and Peach Ice Blended ($6.90). Just what we needed, something refreshing to help cool us down before the tasting.

Satay Angus Burger ($28.90). Topped with onion rings, cucumber and an egg. Taste really good, love the satay sauce, patty is definitely hard-grounded and made as per order. Recommended medium rare to medium for the beef.

Grilled Spicy Squid ($26.90). Yummy squid grilled oriental style and accompanied by sambal jam (see next pic). Squid was left on purpose for about 10-15 mins to see how chewy it will become but damn, it was still tender! Highly recommended dish and totally love this.

Sambal jam was really nice and spicy. Spicy enough to make some sweat.

Asian Slow Cook Pork Belly ($26.90). One of my favourites for the night. Crackling skin and melting meat. Definitely a must-order!

Tom Kha Gai ($16.90). Coconut based tom yum thick soup with chicken is really good. I felt it should spice up a little more, so if you’re ordering this, you can request to spice up the level. Good to share with another pax.

Tender chicken chunks inside with the rich creamy coconut soup.

Pork Ribs ($29.90) – Bones fall off. Well marinated. Enough said.

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel ($8.50). Rich, dense and very nice! Quite a large piece too!

Head chef wasn’t around so Sous chef Lionel on the right steps in with chef Gabriel. They are part of a small but dynamic team which whips up all the awesome food at G House!

Rating: 5/5

Taste: Totally enjoyed everything that was served. Great job!

Portion: Above average.

Service: Excellent.

Ambience: Great for romantic dates, groups and parties. The high ceiling will keep noise levels lower than usual.

Price: Affordable throughout.

RTE: Hell yeah!

Location: Block 10, Dempsey Road #01-21, Singapore 247700. Tel: 6479 8119.

Hours:

Monday to Thursday – 11:00 AM to 10pm.

Saturday, Sunday, Public Holidays – 9:00 AM to 10.30pm

(Oct 2015 – With much regrets, I was told G House has closed down. What a pity, food was really good.)

Fine Dining, Media Invite, Singapore, Western Food

SET – Selegie, Singapore

October 29, 2014 Big Roy Leave a comment

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Recently, I was invited by PR Communications to this newly established 94-seater contemporary cuisine restaurant which commenced operations on National Day (9th August 2014) this year! This restaurant is operated by some ex-Tao employees and is located at the same mall where Tao was. Tao was at the basement of PoMo at Selegie when it started some 6-7 years ago and apparently it closed down before I got back from China this year. Nevertheless, SET (probably the shortest name for a restaurant I’ve ever written!) is here with a brand new swanky decorated premise with a touch of class, located at the same PoMo mall. The restaurant’s menu are all in sets (that’s where the restaurant name derives from) and customers have the options to choose from a 5-course lunch at $28.80++ or 6-course dinner at $38.80++. Kids can also enjoy at the price of $18.80++ with a lighter menu with the choice of Baked Flounder with Cheese or Roasted Golden Spring Chicken, which I didn’t get to try. But I reckon should be good.

The Executive Chef, Chef Erick Chun, has a strong background in creative culinary and the passion in bringing the best array of tantalizing contemporary cuisine to his customers.

AMBIENCE

Alfresco for those who prefer natural air and chill over a drink. Their beers are really cheap. Do check them out..

The restaurant’s menu with your choice in each course. However, I got to try everything here!

COLD/SIDE DISHES

My latte was served first. It’s ok for no latte art, extraction is ok as you can tell from the rich crema. Very nice blend from down under. Milk steaming needs some improvement but overall the espresso covers up the flaws.

Bacon & Mushroom Gratin – I always love cheesy dishes, so I definitely love this. A great start but I dunno why it’s not on the menu? Hmmm…

Toasts from a local bakery to go with your gratin.

Lovely combination, almost like soup with the toast except for the thick cheesy cream of the gratin. Love this.

Tomato Caprese – A twist from the usual slab of mozzarella cheese, this starter had cream cheese mousse on the top of the slice of tomato which was actually quite light and refreshing!

Smoked Duck Breast – Not a big fan of smoked duck breast but serving as a salad is a great appetizing choice, especially with tangy dressing!

Salmon Gravlax – Quite a yummy starter, served with a dollop of sour cream (I reckon) on the side.

Huai San Carpaccio – A very unique way of presenting a carpaccio using huai san (known as 山药 Shan Yao in China.) Drizzled in olive oil and pickles made in house, this starter is a light but refreshing dish.

Grilled King Oyster Mushroom – Comes with 6-Course Set only, this king mushroom is served with a secret sauce which tasted like a tinge of hoi sin sauce and also white truffle cream. Very nice dish.

The white truffle cream melts over the mushroom to give a nice aromatic finish to this fungi.

SOUPS

Mushroom Veloute with Peanut Butter – This mushroom veloute is actually mushroom soup with thick cream served with some peanut butter at the bottom of the bowl. The soup itself is already very nice… the peanut butter gives a different finish to the taste. A little more aromatic and creamy finish to it. Interesting.

Double Boiled Herbal Chicken – Pretty hard to snap a non-creamy soup like this in the warm lighting, but you get the idea of herbal chicken soups. You don’t get an overpowering herbal taste in this soup, served with chicken chunks inside. The soup tasted like the stock was boiled over hours with bones (chicken and perhaps pork bones too). Great for families with older folks.

Miso Soup With Sake – This soup didn’t really appeal to me maybe because I don’t drink sake in the first place. Nevertheless it was alright and you can tell the chef has gone through efforts to come up with creative dishes.

MAIN COURSES

Grilled Snapper With Salsa – I didn’t like this dish very much ‘cos there is a degree of fishiness which I cannot accept and the fish was a under-seasoned and a little over cooked. I believe the guys in the kitchen are already looking into this and make it better the next time you visit.

Roasted Chicken Pullet – Interestingly wrapped, I’m guessing steamed to form the shape then roast. Lovely presentation.

Inside the Chicken Pullet. Chestnut, mushrooms, herbs, etc. Uniquely done, and very well received by fellow foodies that day.

Baby Pork Back Ribs – Deceivingly looks like it’s charred and hard. It’s not. It’s surprisingly tender and tasty cos of the tangy sauce spread over while grilling. If you’re a ribs person, this is for you.

Chunk of meat from the ribs. Succulent to the core! Love it!

Roasted Beef Tenderloin – In black pepper sauce, Cooked a little over medium so those who are afraid of too much blood would love this.

The tenderloin was a little over medium but was alright, still tender and tasty.

Marinated Rack of Lamb – Using the same black pepper sauce as the beef tenderloin. But the meat is cooked to perfection, tender, no gamey smell, suspect they are from New Zealand as lamb there is usually milder in smell. But I love this dish the best.

So tempted to just eat the lamb racks like that!

DESSERT

Pistachio Panna Cotta – The cup that the dessert was served in was a little too deep. Different from the regular panna cottas, served on a small plate to display the texture and decorations on the side. Nevertheless it tasted good.

Espresso Creme Brulee – Again the serving cup was a little different from the norm. The creme brulee was good, creamy and not so sweet.

Poached Pear With Gelato – The pear and gelato are made totally in house. The pear is a little strong in taste so some patrons may not like it but the gelato is nice and creamy.

OVERALL REVIEW

I must say the food is really creative and is set to trickle your taste buds! Not to mention affordability for classy crafted cuisine! Chef Erick has painstakingly put together a great array of courses to make this SET restaurant unique in its own way! The awesome settings and ambience of the restaurant coupled with excellent attentive service from the servers and manager, will definitely give diners a great dining experience! I was told by some friends while making reservations for a gathering recently, that SET’s staff actually asked her if there is a special occasion and viola! They prepared a cake for the birthday girls! I am definitely coming back to this place for dinner with my family and friends! Come check it out!

CONTACT DETAILS

Location: No. 1 Selegie Road, PoMo #02-01, Singapore 188306

Opening Hours: Open daily from 11:30am to 22:00pm

Website: http://www.set-sg.com

Pricing For the set menu: 5-course lunch @ $28.80 ++ | 6-course dinner @ $38.80++

Beverages: Wine by the glass at $8++ | From $40++ per bottle

Seating capacity: 94 –seater main dining area | 10 –seater al fresco dining area | 10 – seater private room | 8 to 28 – seater private room | 8 pax outdoor standing bar

Modes of Payment: Cash, AMEX, Visa and Mastercard

Enquiries Phone: 6337 7644 (Reservations highly recommended)

Email: reservation@set-sg.com

Fine Dining, Media Invite, Singapore, Tea

Arteastiq @ Level 4 Mandarin Gallery

March 9, 2010 Big Roy Leave a comment

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I was invited recently via Kozine to check out this place called Arteastiq… It is pronouced as Art- Tea- Stiq as in Artistic but with the Tea as the main focus. Reason is, this little haven in the middle of Orchard Road serves unique tea flavours as well as alcoholic ones! It’s totally new to my Editor and me so we were pretty curious about the tasting session.

The little cafe is located on level 4 of Mandarin Gallery, just in front of the escalator. It’s within an exquisite furniture store, MARXX, which not many of us can afford… Sobs… But for those who wants to live differently, this is the place to go. They do interior designing as well. I was so enthralled by the furnitures and accessories that I forgot why I was there for… haha… check out the layout of the store below:

Signage and promotion... which I'll tell you about it later. ;P

The entrance is straight ahead... check out the accessories...

Then to the right, you see a full island kitchen which I long desire... sigh...

Bird cages... No these are not for sale... Or are they?

Shot from where I sit... a few more random shots coming up... just love the 'santuary' feel

While we wait patiently for the guys to prepare our tasting subjects... hehe

First up... Lychee Tea! This was served cold... Nice lychee taste and not too sweet... - S$11.00

Pear Tea - Light pear fragrance and not so sweet also. They will provide a shot glass of sugar solution but there is rose fragrance in it, might change the taste of the pear tea. - S$11.00

French Kiss! It actually Chicken Consommé! Yes they have light snacks served here as well. This broth takes 3 days to make and you can really taste the essence of the chicken inside! Very very yummy! - S$5.90

French Rose Tea - For the flower tea lovers... Love the fragrance, goes very well with the syrup. - S$11.00

Hot Naked Tops - Topshell with chilled mango achar... Like the Thai Somtam. Very nice but a little spicy. - S$7.90

This is how we do it... hehe... light up the sugar cube which was coated by whiskey!

Then let it melt for a while before pouring in the heated whiskey and melted dark chocolate below... then you stir it well and then let the taste explode in your mouth! Very nice blend of whisky and dark chocolate... very good mix! Yums!

This biscuit is very brittle... some like it dipped in the whiskey chocolate drink!

Choya Sour Plum Tea - Ladies favourite! Very light alcohol tea which a nice sour plum taste. Served cold - S$14.00

Cointreau Menta Lemongrass Tea - Light alcohol with a tinge of lemongrass flavour inside. Very refreshing! - S$14.00

Trinity - 3 choices of samplers. Seen here are Upstream, Knight Without Armour and Lust/Caution. See menu for description. 🙂 - S$8.90

Crispy wraps with Smoked Turkey Ham - It's actually prata with the fillings. Quite good. - S$5.90

Crispy Wraps With Homely Curry Chicken. This one is nice! - S$5.90

Crispy Wraps With Chicken Floss - Ok only. Like our bread wrap with floss lor. Maybe the one with Wagyu beef slices will be a lot nicer but didn't get to try. - S$5.90

Eve (10-11cm diameter) - Orange cake which was delivered personally by the boss the following day because it was out of stock. Cake textured is nice and firm. I imagine going well with teas. But the orange slices on top made the top part of the cake a little soggy. Maybe when eaten at the cafe will be better? - S$8.00

Adam (same size as Eve) - Apple slices filled the top of the cake. A lot nicer than Eve and not soggy. 🙂 - S$8.00

After Dark Promotion for weekdays - Mandarin Gallery can get quite quiet during weekdays hence this will spruce up the crowd at the cafe!

Afternoon Tea Treats! This is a great deal actually. Go try it and you will love it.

Rating: 5/5. Ambience, food, drinks are all nice. Great place for catching up with friends or shopaholics to relax those feet!

Taste: Very nice and refreshing.

Portion: Average. The teas have bigger servings than the snacks though.

Price: Quite good pricing. Below hotel prices and around regular cafe prices for such a location and ambience.

RTE: Yeah definitely. Nice place to catch up with friends or have my afternoon meetings. But the car park at Mandarin Hotel is a killer… Had to pay $16.00 for like 2 hours +?!??!! So maybe have to find other alternatives for parking.

Location: 333A Orchard Road #04-14/15 Mandarin Gallery Singapore 238897. For reservations, please call 6235 8370. You can also join their fan page at http://www.facebook.com/ArteastiqSingapore

1.302274103.836182

Fine Dining, Media Invite, Singapore

Lei Garden @ CHIJMES

December 24, 2009 Big Roy 2 Comments

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Was invited for a press lunch the other day at Lei Garden @ CHIJMES. As we all might know that Lei Garden group of restaurants started from Hong Kong and expanded to Singapore and China. Of late, I’ve been reading a lot of complains and bad reviews online about their service and food at the outlet at Orchard Shoppping Centre. Hence this invitation came timely to taste t for myself.

Lei Garden @ CHIJMES underwent a brand new S$5m renovation and to top it off, another S$2m was spent on furnishings. The whole restaurant has a very Victorian (On Victoria Street!) ambience and very relaxing and comfy while you dine on their revamped menu! Check them out below:

Private Dining Suites. Check out the Victorian paintings on the wall matched with the lovely furnishings. Open Hall Dining - Dining in comfort

Reception Counter - Every ready waiting attendants are always there to open the doors for you. Stairs leading up to the private dining suites

Nostalgic pictures of the old towns all around Singapore.

My cuppa orange juice with very nice table floral deco in the background

A special concoction of grape juice, lemon, lime and something else... sour is the word but interesting though.

Speech given by the Chairman of Lei Garden Restaurant Group, Mr SK Chan

The meaning of 2 pairs of chopsticks. The outer pair is for taking food from the dishes from the centre of the table. The inner ones are used for your personal consumption. I suspect the ends are gold plated... and yes, pretty heavy...

Appetisers (From left to right) - Sea Blubber in vinegar sauce and sesame sauce, Chilled Sea Whelk with wasabi and sour sauce, Beancurd with seaweed and Chilled shredded Chicken in spicy sauce. Very good, but they are not good measures of what is to come next... 🙂

Double Boiled Dried Abalone With Fish MAw In Deluxe Clear Soup - When I first sipped the soup, I almost shouted WAH LAU!!!! It's really damn good and the whole piece of abalone made it better! ;P I emptied the whole mini claypot of soup...but of course. 🙂 Other stuff found in the soup - Sea Cucumber, Fish Maw & Cordycep!

Live Alaskan King Crab - Steamed Crab with chinese wine and Baked Claw with salt and butter. A lot of people thought the one on the right is You Tiao... When bite down, the shell of the crab will shock them... hehe 🙂

The baked part... It was nice but portion is a little though.

To prove that it's LIVE, they brought out the crab model... 🙂

Stir Fried Shark's Fin with Fresh Crab Meat Served With Superior Stock - Portioning for this one is a lot. The art of eating this is to put the fin on the spoon, then dip it into the soup stock that comes with it, and then put the whole spoon in your mouth... It's a total different dining experience... very very tasty.

Braised Sea Whelk With Abalone Sauce - Instead of the usual abalone, the chefs tried on this sea whelk braised to perfect tenderness, topped with thick abalone sauce. Big portion but it's so good that anyone would finish it.

Steamed Sea Grouper Fillet With Preserved Vegetable and Egg White - The fish is really tender, not fishy, fresh tasting, topped with 'Chye Por' and finely shredded ginger. Lovely. The egg white at the bottom, is so well done, I thought it was soya bean curd! Very interesting dish and kids now will take fish because of the egg white 'pudding'!

Braised Ox Tongue With Red Wine - At first, I thought this is a deep fried dish with the deep fried netting. But I was wrong...

There it is... very tender and didn't feel like the tongue...

Poached 2 Kinds of Veg with Drumstick & Silver Mushroom. The white pieces are beancurds. Very nice as they are made in-house.

Dessert - Deep Fried Pastry with Fresh Crab Meat, Bacon & Onion in Black Pepper and Soft Pastry with Strawberry Paste. Both desserts are really nice...

Chilled Guava Juice With Water Chestnut Cubes - This dessert is so refreshing! The fragrance from the young guavas make this dessert a popular one!

Fresh Fruits Platter ended our exquisite lunch.

Followed by a shot of pure lemon juice which is good for digestion and detoxification.

Bidding our farewells to the man who hosted us to such a priviledge lunch.

Rating: 5/5. After trying the food and experiencing the service, I realise that we can only believe 50% of the feedbacks you read online. the other 50% is to try it for yourself. As competition is tough out there among restaurants and eateries, there are many malicious people who would just wanna bring you down just because of 1 bad experience. I felt the staff eager to please and serve while I was there, nothing fake.

Portion: Portioning is good throughout except the Alaskan Crab… I reckon it’s expensive. 🙂

Taste: One of the freshest tasting food I’ve ever tried. MSG very minimal ‘cos you won’t feel thirsty after that. Food quality is excellent. Soup stocks are made daily from 5am.

RTE: If I’m feeling rich, I definitely would!!!

Location: 30 Victoria Street #01-24 CHIJMES

1.295144103.852319

Fine Dining, Media Invite, Singapore

CANTON-i @ ION ORCHARD

December 11, 2009 Big Roy Leave a comment

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So last week, I was asked by a friend to go for some food tasting at Canton-i located at ION Orchard. I was pretty excited ‘cos it was my first time to ION since it’s opening dunno when. 😛 It was raining super heavily that day and I was late for half an hour. But was warmly greeted by the Ops Mgr there together with some media people. The Ops Mgr asked us what do we want to try, I told her that we’ll leave it to her to select the famous dishes for us.