Sho-U, Central

This place at Central (The Central, #03-85 /102/108/109, 6 Eu Tong Sen Street, S059817, tel:65348066) sold itself a contemporary Japanese fine dining. While I agree with the contemporary description, I didn't think it was fine dining unless they were referring to the minute portions that were served. The minimalist decor of the interior from the plush red entrance led into two separate dining areas which were in black and white. The visual style had impact and a positive side to this place was the attentive service from the friendly wait staff. I didn't think so well of the food, especially when this place was pricey.


I admit that a number of the items from the menu did sound appealing; which was what prompted me to give them a go. The actual delivery however didn't leave a similar impression.

Mame soup ($8)

Tried mame soup which was described to be a creamy soup made from edamame. I thought that it might be something akin to chilled green pea soup. The actual soup wasn't quite like what I had in mind. Spart from being cloudy green, I wouldn't attribute the word 'cream' to the taste or consistency. At all. It tasted like a shio broth with only a slight hint of edamame. 

This was something that one can actually finish in 2-3 big mouthfuls. The photo doesn't but the bowl was actually thick and shallow.

Uni avocado tempura ($20)

As intriguing as it appeared on the menu, the uni avocado tempura didn't quite do it for me. Granted, it was sea urchin and avocado encased in a light batter and lightly fried as well, the dish arrived lukewarm. Both the uni and avocado actually turned up pretty dry. The green powder on the side as informed by the server was green tea salt. I couldn't really taste any of it. The tempura came in 3 bite size pieces and there's probably enough uni to make just one good uni sushi in there.

Ika onsen tempura ($12)

This squid tempura filled with egg was probably the best thing that was served. The server had said that they eggs were half boiled so I was thinking that they would be still somewhat runny, but the yolks were actually almost solid. Despite that, these were quite tasty, if pricey.

Foie gras brown rice in stone pot ($22)

tossed

The foie gras brown rice was pretty tasty, but for $22, I would pick on the foie gras being thin and in small pieces. What's more, they were overcooked. So it we didn't get any with creamy insides that dissolved in your mouth. Brown rice was pretty fragrant and came with some brown sauce which was poured into the stone bowl of rice and tossed before eating. The portion was enough to fill up two small bowls.

No doubt that effort has been put into the dishes in Sho-U and that the quality of the dishes are far from mediocre, but for the prices and pathetic portions, I will not be returning. I didn't even feel like dessert after the insubstantial food.

Fisherman's Wharf, New Bridge Road

Last dinner for the year of 2007 came in the form of (North Alantic) cod and chips down at Fisherman's Wharf (27 New Bridge Road, tel : +65 6532 6468). Been quite a while since the last time we were here. Things haven't changed much - just a wider selection of fishes. I don't remember so much from the last time though the cod today was a little dry. Still enjoyable though. It was still a viable option compared to the breaded variety which seems to be everywhere.

Having tried the Halibut and the snow fish, the conclusion I drew were that they were only different in texture. I think. I'm not good at telling. What I didn't see coming were their mashed peas which were surprisingly very dry, nutty and enjoyable.

Happy New Year!

Some random home made hotdog

Looks and tastes much better than the hot bitches! These are pork sausages encased in butter toasted hot dog buns topped with mustard, jarred relish and yellow onions sautéed in butter. Everything can be pretty much bought off supermarkets and assembled except for the onions which have to be diced and fried.

Greenwood Fish Market & Bistro, 34 Greenwood Ave

I found this shop to be a rather pleasant place nestled in the folds of homes along Hillcrest just off Bukit Timah road. Which also meant that the shophouses it is located at isn't visible at all from the main road. Greenwood Fish Market is really, a tiny fish market with a dining dining room built into the back of the stall which sells fresh seafood. Right at the front of the fish shop, is a small al fresco area which sits approximately 15 persons. Presumably, the seafood that the restaurant serves are the same seafood that is sold at the stall front and the menu has a surprising variety for a small place. There were a variety of fishes like yellowfin tuna, barramunda, cod, halibut and a bunch of others which I don't remember. Most of them could be cooked to order based on availability.


The food here was interesting, if not so mundane in execution. What I meant was that while not exotic, it was served in a not so commonly seen (you could say boring) manner. The foie gras and sea scallop ($24.95) were on top of a bread pudding soaked in a port and fig reduction. It came with a small bunch of vine ripen cherry tomatoes and a piece of grilled pineapple on the side. Well, I'm not sure about how this is suppose to be interpreted, but I did enjoy both scallops and foie gras. There's nothing exceptional here, both the liver and the shellfish come as I had expected, so this is actually not bad. It's my first time having them on bread pudding though.


The escargots ($14.95 for half dozen) here weren't drench in garlic butter or olive oil or any of that oil and garlic combinations. It was actually served in what the menu describes as a 'patty case' which was in reality a kueh pie tee shell. So we got here were snails in a kueh pie tee shell blanketed over with a bechamel sauce and topped with a very fine garlic paste and then dizzled with some balsamic vinegar. I thought this wasn't too bad, just unexpected because I had expected escargots to be just served plain. I was initially wondering if something was wrong with the snails to be so covered up in sauces and condiments, but after having the first, I realised that the meat doesn't taste as drenched in the other flavours as I had thought they might have. They were actually fine.


The crab meat vongole was pretty decent. This coming from someone who's usually wary of vongole because of either the miserable portions or lousy quality of clams that are used very often. Or both. This plate from Greenwood was actually vongole that's topped with shredded crab meat. What's more, the spaghetti was al dente. I think I would like liked it better if the crab meat weren't so shredded. This shredded state reminded me of leftovers from other crab dishes, but I'm not complaining. I was just stating a suggestion that might by chance be enacted upon. Lol. The clams here weren't too bad and it was good to know that this plate wasn't propped up with just shells. I don't know why,  I was envisioning a plate filled with crab shells when I ordered this pasta.

I have a feeling that I'll be back another time. I ought to check out their fish and chips.

Obento lunch at Nanbantei

Previously I have had a similar yakitori obento lunch set from Kushigin. Now that I'm having it at Nanbantei (Far East Plaza #05-132, 14 Scotts Road, S228213), I realised that they are exactly the same thing and cost the same amount. A $12.50 bento box with 5 sticks of grills, pickles, rice topped with minced chicken, sauteed mushrooms and seaweed. The difference between the two bento boxes are probably just the rice that is being used and as I recall, the former didn't use the short grained Japanese rice. Otherwise, lunch at both places (same management if you didn't know) are pretty much the same deal. Now I'm not too sure why I was expecting any differences at all.

A second take at Prego

The last time I was here was my first time with an ossobuco wannabe with a very cheesy saffron risotto. This time round, it's pasta. I thought it might be interesting to see what they have up their sleeves. Apparently, there was just a very recent change in the menu.

The one thing I liked about Prego was their wheel of complimentary bread that they served. It has always been the same bread that Prego has been putting on the table ever since I could recall. 

bread

calamari fritti

These calamari from were probably the most expensive ones I've ever had. For $28, it was unremarkable with an almost tasteless batter. The saving graces of this starter came from the squid which had a enjoyable bite and the "spicy tartare dressing" which livened up the fried squid. I didn't think they were worth how much was charged.

spinach gnocchi stuffed with prawn topped with minced crab meat on a crustacean bisque

The gnocchi's tasted Asian. Maybe it's just me, but it had consistency like Chinese yam cake and the pasta looked slip shod. The gnocchi looked like it had meat rolled into them in tubes before they were cut. There weren't scored after they were cut. Was reminded of the fallopian tubes from kuey chup stalls. The taste of the crustacean bisque reminded me spicy dried shrimps (hay bee!). The minced crab meat definitely didn't taste sweet like fresh ones did. Even for pasta made in house, these were the most un-gnocchi like gnocchi I've ever had. Not impressed.

pappardelle della befana
saffron pappardelle tossed with sauteed pancetta and eggplant aglio with provolone piccante cheese

The pappardelle was the better of the two pastas that we picked. This one was something that was from the festive selections on their menu. Didn't know what was so festive about it. In fact, the kitchen could come up with something like this anytime for a change of menu, but I'm not going there. There was just the barest hint of saffron in the pappardelle. Most of the rest of the flavour came from the tangy tomato based sauce and the Provolone piccante.

Zucotto

To demystify, this was just a Kahlua flavored ice cream with a cookie crumble shell. Was actually not too bad.

I don't think I'll be returning for at least for a long while.