Al Qasr, Holland Village

I've found another place to return to for Lebanese food at Al Qasr (46 Lorong Mambong, Holland Village, tel : +65 6467 7793). I had heard about this place some time back when they started business and had always been wanting to visit. This was another one of those places that had been put on the "to check out" list for quite a long time until today.

The restaurant started off serving some appetizers which was consisted of olives, vegetable sticks and pickles. Which looked pretty much like what I remember from a neighbouring Lebanese restaurant Al Hamra.

We ordered a serving of their flat breads for the benefit of the hummus which we were also getting. The flat bread were surprisingly fragrant. They were freshly made and steaming hot and puffy when they were served.

The grilled Halloumi cheese were really good. These mozzarella-like cheese have a richer milky flavour and a higher content of salt, making them pretty salty if you ate them on their own. The melting point of these cheeses were also higher due to their composition. Hence they can be grilled or pan fried without melting into a gooey mess. The texture was enjoyably chewy coupled with fragrance from the charred parts.

Their hommos karwarma was our order of hummus. Topped with pan fried minced lamb and a sprinkle of pine nuts. Nothing better than this creamy meaty dip for the flat bread. Nothing on their menu at least.

To satiate the craving of lamb, we also went with a serving of sawda ghanam. Pan fried lamb livers with butter, some spices and lemon juice. The livers were a little tough after the cooking but made up for themselves from their lamb-y livery flavour and an appetizing sauce paired with the squeeze of lemon. Also great with the flat bread.

To top off the bunch of Lebanese tapas, we ordered a Sultani kebab which featured a spiced, but unidentifiable as lamb piece of grilled meat and a couple of kebab koobideh accompanied by saffron infused basmati rice. The kebabs were finely minced and and had a taste that reminded me of sausages. Not really how I had expected them but I guess the important thing was that they were tasty.

Dessert was a chilled almond pudding scented with rose and topped with bits of ground pistachio. This was very delicious. Sweet and creamily textured, they reminded me of a very milky panna cotta.

Big mixed grill from Colbar

It's been quite a while since I've last visited Colbar. I haven't eaten here much so I still found the menu slightly overwhelming. Today, I discovered that their trick was pretty much rearrangement of ingredients over different plates so there wasn't that much else I haven't eaten over the little times I've been here. 

Ordered the big mixed grill since the little one cost just 4 dollars less. Turned up to be a plate laden with some meats that one can get from other dishes on menu (as with all mixed grills). There was the cow, the lamb, some sliced pig, unidentified pig parts in a tube form, a fried egg and a generous slice of cow liver; slathered in a ubiquitous brown sauce along with peas, mushrooms and chips. I can't say that it was anything that I hadn't expected except for the liver - which I'm pretty sure no one else includes into their mixed grill. This was probably one of the largest mixed grills I've had and also possibly the most expensive that I've come across for $25. A load of red meat, grease and stuff that your heart won't forgive you for in one seating.

L'Entrecote, Duxton Hill

This was some enjoyable steak frites at L'Entrecote (36 Duxton Hill, S089614, tel : +65 6238 5700). Unlike the other French bistro styled eateries we have, this one specializes in only steak frites. That was the only item on the mains section of the menu that one can order.

What they served was a no pretension plate of what was claimed to be striploin (approximately 180-200g) cooked to the choice of doneness and served with their specialty sauce with a stack of golden shoestring fries. The steak, pre-sliced, was served in two portions. The picture above was the first half.

Was it a good steak? I enjoyed it. Even liked the tangy sauce that it came with. Creamy and robust, that sauce which I found so familiar but was unable to put a finger to didn't overwhelm the flavours of the meat. No complains about their crispy and adequately salted fries as well.

There were a bunch of options for entrée and we thought that the rich roasted bone marrow and creamy duck rillettes were good enough that we could come back again just for them.

One however needs to get used to the tightly spaced tables in the restaurant. Conversation from the next table spills over easily. Not the place you'll wanna be at if you're looking for privacy or a quiet dinner. Also not a place I expected to make a conversation with a neighbour an elbow away to discover that he's actually Lamine Guendil, CEO of Senso Holdings.

Li Xin Teochew Fishball Noodles, Food Opera @ ION

This was probably the most expensive fishball noodles I've ever had. Apart from those large ivory globules of hamachi fishball, it was also the constant queue that piqued my curiosity over the stall. Yeap, it is mentioned that yellowtails are used for the making of those fishballs which were honestly pretty good. Thee texture was both light and bouncy. What I didn't think that much of was their supposedly special blend of chilli sauce which tasted a little sweet and tangy like that of the bottled variety. It was definitely that pork lard that salvaged that chilli sauce for me.

Rosti with raclette cheese and egg from Marché

I say it's a pretty good way to start the day, don't you think?

Pietrasanta, Portsdown Road

I'd be tempted to drop by this place (5B Portsdown Road, #01-03 Wessex Estate, tel : +65 6479 9521) more often if not for the location. Funny thing that I used to work a few minutes drive away and I've never came by even though I was aware of it's existence then.

Pietrasanta themes itself as a Tuscan styled restaurant. As much as can be seen, the setup was comfortably country. It's a little unfortunate about the weather here or otherwise, outdoor sitting would have been great.

We started off with some trippa alla Fiorentina which was a delicate balanced mix of flavors that wasn't overly tangy from the tomato base with a healthy dose of Parmesan cheese and a very appropriate use of rosemary on the soft stewed tripe and beans. Definitely wasn't excessive on the herbs and that made the stew aromatic rather than overpowering. Portions and flavors were nothing short of hearty. I think I liked this better than the one over at La Braceria.

The same heartiness could be used to describe their polenta with bits of spicy sausage. It did arrive looking quite similar with their stewed tripe, but here, the flavors was a nice mix of smokiness and spiciness. The meaty textures were also of a different type since this was really minced sausage over a steaming hot cake of comforting polenta that disintegrated after you popped it into your mouth.

Very nice tagliatelle con salsiccia e tartufo they have here. The sauce was both light in texture and rich in flavors, fairly intensely of the truffle coupled with generous bits of more sausage. Quite the best representative of Italian ba chor mee I've ever had. This one, for it's lack of oregano and a much more truffle-y flavors beats the rendition from Da Mario.

Their cannelloni di cinghiale gratinati did look rather ubiquitous, but pleasantly surprising were the fillings of intense flavors. The minced wild boar was gamey enough to remind me of mutton which I found myself enjoying, blended in almost equal parts of intensity with the chopped olives and Parmesan cheese on the insides. Juicy!

The cannoli was unfortunately a little disappointing for me. It wasn't so much of the fruit filled ricotta cheese than the not so crispy chocolate tube. I was really imagining something like the one over at Garibaldi.

Blood orange sorbet here was pretty good. There was a nice mix of bitters and citrus there. The texture was surprisingly creamy and one might have thought that there was cream until it melted in the mouth and the flavors told otherwise.

This is the part where I'm suppose to say, I'll be back. :p

Angelo's, Killiney Road

Extremely disappointing. Has got to be the worst Italian food I've had this year. Will not return. Waste of money.

Ayam Penyet Ria, Lucky Plaza

I admit to being a little skeptical on first sight at this place (304 Orchard Road, #01-45 Lucky Plaza tel : +65 6235 6390) from the huge crowd and lengthening queue. The first thing that had occurred to me was simply how the kitchen could've kept up with what must have been a mad demand for their fried chicken since it was pretty much what everyone was having. The pessimist in me imagined greasy battered chicken fried in a rush resulting in what I thought to be another over rated chicken joint.

To my surprise, it was all pretty damn good in spite of their flash fast service after the order. And no, the chicken wasn't excessively greasy at all. What surprised me was that the crispy thin batter was nicely done, encapsulating meat that wasn't overly dehydrated. Even their fried tempeh has a creamy quality about it. Not to mention a really tasty gado gado with a rich and sweet peanut gravy. I'm definitely coming back again.

Our Food Story, Chinatown Point

Wasn't much of a story to be told here (Chinatown Point, Block 133 New Bridge Road, #01-01A) in this little restaurant attached to the Korean grocery joint down in Chinatown Point. The food might have been home styled but it left us little interest in returning. Let's see - their spicy tuna jigae was made from shredded canned tuna instead of pieces of the fish.

Couldn't find much redemption from that small portioned kimchi fried rice which packed the barest of flavour of kimchi. It looked like it was microwaved with some sliced cheese. Not that I was expecting a dizzying spread out of the banchan but they were quite forgettable and there wasn't any refills to speak of. I've had much better kimchi from Koufu at Toa Payoh Central.

So there you go, my food story.

Specials from Da Mario

Well, these didn't exactly look that special, but they were picked from the Specials section of their menu. Basically, a starter of scamoza cheese wrapped in some prosciutto crudo di Parma with a sprinkle of pepper and some rockets followed by egg tagliatelle with Porcini and shaven black truffles in a light cream sauce.

The choice of starter turned out to be the most satisfying for me since I had pretty much had a Warrior's diet for the day and the onrush of the salt from the milky curd cheese and ham was exactly what my body was craving for. The chewy cheese weren't the smoked variety and were probably just lightly pan fried with very little browning. Still things came together very nicely with the nutty ham for a great savory finish.

So, what did I think of the pasta? It was timely cooked, still had the hint of egg even though it was doused in the cream sauce loaded with various fungi. I did think that the flavors tonight could have been one of those good instances of a well balanced robustness, redolent of mushrooms instead of being excessive at that. It lingered with my burps even after a bottle of wine and a pint. Overall, was an enjoyable choice for my late impromptu dinner.