The fried rice from Pasta Mania

I got this packed for lunch just out of curiosity. I'm not picking on a low cost pasta place and  then complaining excessively because I prefer the original dish, but this was definitely fried rice. I don't know how I could have been convinced that it wasn't, unless in the context of Pasta Mania, Riso = fried rice. The name attempts to suggest risotto, but this doesn't look or taste remotely like it. For fried rice, it's actually not too bad. Lol. There's a fair bit of mixed mushrooms and wow, even pine nuts. And the rice tasted garlicky enough. If it had been a tad less oily with fluffier rice, Crystal Jade should watch out.

More from Brussels Sprouts...

I have been down dinnering and drinking at this place for a couple of consecutive evenings. I know I mentioned repeated visits previously. But these were totally unplanned and I'm digging this place more than I expected. I swear it's the excellent selection of Belgian beer, Hoegaarden and Leffe Blond on tap and it gives me the excuse to try their other mains and mussels. Not the waitresses. For one, this is probably one of the drinking places that does at least passable food instead of the regular overpriced and overfried pub grub or what is passed off as drinking snacks.

Vin Blanc ( onion, parsley, celery, butter & white wine)

Cream (onion, parsley, celery, cream & white wine)

Gratinee (gratinated with breadcrumbs, butter, nutmeg & cheese)

The mussels pretty much taste the same since it doesn't really absorb the broth in the pot. You need to be scooping up the broth to eat with the mussels to really appreciate any differences. I end up drinking it after I'm done with the mussels mostly. With the exception of the Gratinee, I think it would be true for most of the broth varieties. And I'm getting the hang out of scraping out the nice chewy flesh that glues the rest of the meat to the shells. Cheese lovers ought to try the Gratinee....it's cheesy enough and with the butter, it's really quite mouth watering.

Braised Meatballs with dark beer, onions and mustard

These meatballs are larger than the usual variety expected and are more lumpy than ball like. Meat's hearty as minced ones get, but there's really nothing much to the sauce. The menu omits the mentioning of mushrooms there.

Braised beef cheek infused in Belgian beer with Pommes croquettes

un-crepe like crepe stuffed with wild mushrooms, ham and cheese

Leffe Blond

the Grand Cru

The Forbidden Fruit

A foot in the Subway

No I didn't find someone or something's feet lying in the subway. What I did was to uncharacteristically order a foot of double meat Subway Club in Parmesan Oregano for lunch, not realising that double + foot = much more enormous than usual of solids I had to ingest. I think I can skip dinner today already.

Sun Maid raisins in Vanilla Yoghurt

I saw these for the first time and never realised that Sun Maid's raisins came "flavoured". These vanilla yoghurt actually don't taste anything like yoghurt. In fact, they were more like white chocolate coated raisins. Not too bad though.

Senso, 21 Club Street

Elegant looking restaurant piqued my curiosity from some time back with their colonial styled decor decked out at the front with all white. I've been told that the food is pretty good. This first visit left a positive impression that exceeded my expectations in terms of service. From the sommeliers to the waiters, the staff at Senso indeed made more than visible effort to provide a pleasant dining experience. The restaurant itself also featured a small (and subjectively romantic) courtyard in the middle - a dining sanctuary of a totally different ambience from the rest of the restaurant. And it seems that Senso has seen more than its fair share accolades from various local presses and media.

bread basket

chickpea puree dip for the bread

amuse bouche of tuna on a square of beetroot

carpaccio

mozzarella

We had carpaccio with shaved Parmigiano Reggiano. Their mozzarella (Pan-Fried Buffalo Mozzarella Wrapped In Parma Ham, With Marinated Raisins And Pine Kernels In Balsamico), a supposed signature antipasti of their's was delicious as well. The texture of the cheese was light with almost of a soft fungi like texture and a light chewiness. The accompanying Parma ham was had a nice deep flavour. Both cheese and ham paired nicely with the marinated raisins and balsamic vinegar. Mouth watering would be a good word to describe them.

ossobuco

The ossobuco (braised veal shank with mashed potatoes, rosemary and lemon Gremolata) here was delicious stuff. Even though I thought it could have been as good without the gremolata, this was a well done veal shank with flavourful meat that fell off the bone. The prize of this dish was the marrow in the centre of the bone which was heart clogging delicious. It was almost like eating foie gras.

Brussels Sprouts, The Pier @ Robertson

Themed by the peroxide blond Chef in Black, Emmanuel Stroobant of Saint Pierre, this is a relatively new place located along the river at Robertson Quay just within sighting distance from the courtyard at Frasier Place. Brussels Sprouts in its sparse and minimalist decor appears to be a bar cum restaurant establishment whipping up "Belgian food" and importantly Norwegian mussels that gets served by the pot. 

The mussels were for me the highlight of the place. I came here decidedly on trying them if not anything else. Said Norwegian mussels were smaller than the regular ones that are found locally, but were also more tender and sweet. Because of their size, eating them by the pot isn't really as intimidating as it sounds. A starter portion comes with 300 grams of them mollusks and a main portion ups it to 700 grams. Minus the shells, it's not that hefty. Plus it was all really good with the large selection of Belgian beer on their menu. Hoegaarden white ($11.50 for the Magnum, $9.50 during happy hours. Yay!) and Leffe Blonde is on tap at this place too! This combination means that I will be back....and possibly back again....and again. Lol. This was actually my third visit here, but it is the first time I'm ordering food.

   

The mussels here are served in a variety of broths. I've only tried the Brussels Sprouts Special they're cooked in a buttery broth with celery and pepper. Broth was so tasty with the mussels that I was drinking it from the pot after the shellfish were done. Each order of the mussels comes with a free flow of Belgian fries. Totally hearty and heart clogging with the accompanied mayonnaise. Besides the mussels, Brussels Sprouts has a small menu of mains (ranging from $20-$30) and a variety of sides on menu. The mains are supposedly Belgian styled, but I'm not exactly familiar with what's the signature of Belgian food apart from a mentioning of horse steak (which isn't in the menu by the way) from someone. We managed an order of the pork belly and unexciting chicken.

 

Pork belly glazed with Juniper Berry Honey and Braised Red Cabbage with Apple ($20)

Poached Chicken Waterzooi with leek, carrot, baby potatoes, parsley and lemon juice ($20)

I didn't think much of the mains. Generally not a big a fan of non roasted fatty pork but to be fair, they didn't taste bad. Could have been the beer affecting my tongue but I could have sworn a hint of ginseng in there. The side of red cabbage tasted a lot like raisins and the little lump of orange was sweet grated carrot. The poached chicken drenched in the creamy sauce felt like chicken carbonara... which is about as direct as I can describe it. This turned out to be a great place to hang out for dinner and drinks. Also discovered another good label based on recommendation by a friend. Kwak!