Palate Pleasers N Tummy Teasers

Kushiyaki from the Heart

I always thought it silly to pay a premium for kushiyaki (charcoal-grilled skewers) when dining at Japanese restaurants, when you can get similar items at half the price from food kiosks that populate the basements of most malls. That was till I was convinced by a friend to check them out:

Specialising in charcoal-grilled skewers of everything from chicken and pork to seafood, their expertise is revealed in every bite of yummy, marinated meats Patience is probably key to the end product of grilled meats that retain a smoky flavour without being burnt.

*Papilles recommend Beef/Pork + Enoki Mushrooms/Asparagus. YUM

Interesting curry and yam flavoured salts for dipping. Papilles advise that these be used minimally, as the meats have been marinated and these flavoured salts do pack a pretty potent punch

A serving of Garlic Rice ($4.80) to go with our Kushiyaki:

Flavourful without being oily - just the way papilles like it

Fans of chilled noodles should check out their Hiyashi Umeshiso Udon/Soba (Chilled noodles in a light broth with sour plum and mulberry leaf). Light and refreshing, these make a good accompaniment to the slightly salty kushiyaki.

Dessert to end the meal on a sweet note:

Beautifully plated Kuro Goma Heaven ($7.80) - a scoop of black sesame ice-cream paired with their in-house black sesame cream and a chocolate wafer stick.

A meal like this is what papilles term cooking with the heart, true to the philosophy behind Shin Kushiya. More items on their menu can be found here.

Shin Kushiya

#02-120/1/2, Vivocity

1 Harbourfront Walk

Fine Dining Italiano Style

A post of indulgence, where food covered with metal lids are presented with a flourish followed by a brief explanation of the goodness (that is the ingredients) that goes into each morsel.

Presenting Forlino’s “Gourmet” Menu:

Complimentary Serving of Homemade Sweetbread 

 Tastebud Tickler: Grilled Squid

Mushrooms with Ricotta Cheese

Parsley Tagliolini with Clams and Sundried Tomatoes

  Halibut Filet with Orange Caramel, Green Asparagus and Martini Vermouth Sauce

Or 

Wagyu Beef Cheek Braised with Marsala Wine and Herb Mashed Potatoes

Molten Lava Chocolate Cake with Banana Gelato and Rum Sauce

Coffee & Petit Fours

$98

True to the description of Forlino’s food as “timeless cuisine”, it was clear in every dish presented that the freshness and quality of ingredients used were never compromised. Even a simple dish of  Tagliolini pasta dressed in olive oil, green peppers and parsley was nothing short of stellar. I could wax lyrical about each and every dish, but short of extending this post to 2 pages long, I can only say that the next time a special occasion comes around that calls for food as fantastic as the ambience, there is no doubt where I’ll be placing my reservations for a table

#02-06 One Fullerton

Beside ButterFactory Club

5-Course Seafood Set Lunch for 2 at $40!

Sounds too good to be true? Well, experience has taught papilles that in the world of marketing gimmicks, it most certainly IS too good to be true!

Perhaps just not in a way one would traditionally come to expect. The Seafood Set Lunch at Long Beach King Seafood in Kallang was going at $39.80++ per pax, with a 1-for-1 promo daily, weekends inclusive. No fine prints, though they pegged it to a Citibank/Amex card promotion (i.e. you gotta make payment using the aforementioned cards).

The catch to this “good deal” came in the form of its food. Nothing one can detect visually (as you’ll soon discover looking at the pictures); quality taste-wise was seriously compromised, ironically, with their seafood dishes

What papilles thought was to be a good start to the entire 5-course:

Starter (left to right): Jellyfish wrapped in Zucchini & Scallop encased in Yam (Deep-fried)

One of the few dishes in the course that scored both on presentation, as well as taste. I liked the scallop-yam combination - soft and mushy on the inside, crisp on the outside; kinda like a mini yam-basket dish

But it all went downhill from here…

Butter-Cereal Lobster (Halved)

From the tasteless, soggy butter-cereal garnish to the stale flesh of the crustacean (there wasn’t even much of that hidden within that shell), nothing went well for this dish. Papilles swore we could taste the freshness of the ocean murkiness of the fish tank in each bite

A stir-fry dish of vegetable stems? ‘Nuff said

Crab Vermicelli in Claypot

Once again, the crab meat tasted stale and came off the shell easily in tiny shreds (a telling sign of how long this crab’s been alive before it went into that claypot). Appears they don’t handle crustaceans very well here; so much for being a “King Seafood” restaurant.

Dessert did do something to lift papilles’ mood at the end of the meal, if only barely:

Nothing remarkable, but at least they didn’t mess this up The total bill came up to $53.44 for 2 (inclusive of 2 drinks and 2 wet towels). A value-for-money dining experience? We’ll leave it to you guys to be the judge.

Long Beach King Seafood Pte Ltd

Next to Kallang Park McDonald

Makan Post-it (8) - For the love of Pork

Pork lovers rejoice! If you’re a fan of well-marbled, fatty cuts of pork, breaded and deep-fried à la tonkatsu style, read on!

After walking past their outlet at Suntec City numerous times (and each time not feeling up for greasy, fried food), a day came when papilles finally decided to check this Tonkatsu Specialty restaurant out

Yup, you read right. Tonkichi serves everything katsu related - katsu curry, katsu don, ramen, simmered with egg, as a platter for sharing; you name it, they’ve got it.

The menu promoted their Hire (pork fillet) and Rosu (pork loin) Katsu as the popular items so here they are:

The curry and ramen weren’t bad, just forgettable. Which papilles find understandable since katsu(s) are supposed to be the main star in this restaurant. Our verdict when we got to the katsu? Nicely breaded till crisp, with a batter that is light and coats the pork pieces in just the right proportion so you don’t feel like you’re only munching on crumbs X enjoyed his Hire Katsu ($22) but I was satiated with my fattier Rosu cut after just 1 piece. Then again, I was never a pork lover to begin with Worth a try if you’re a piggy lover.

Tonkichi outlets and operation hours can be found here.

King of Soups…NOT!

Now’s the period where malls are packed with people rushing to do their last minute bit of shopping before the Lunar New Year or simply cashing in on the post-festive season sales (for those who don’t celebrate CNY ) Like everyone else, papilles was looking for a good meal to reward our growling tummies and aching feet after an entire afternoon traipsing through Suntec City. Off to the mall’s basement in search of food; that was when a majestic looking signboard caught out attention:

Everything from the gold fonts against the black signboard to the stylish decor of the restaurant brought to mind the concept of “Grand Shanghai”. Self-proclaiming to be the king of double-boiled soups and dim sum, this was one place papilles had to feature on this blog (just so everyone knows if they’re as good as they claim to be ).

Papilles Rule of Thumb: When in doubt, go for the recommended/specialty items (quite a no brainer rule actually )

This dish of Glutinous Rice wrapped in lotus leaf ($13.80) was described to contain “silky chicken and mushrooms” which in reality, was more than a little exaggerated. The rice turned out mushy and lacked fragrance; a mediocre dish at best A disappointing start, which unfortunately was to set the tone for the rest of our meal.

Our sampling of Pork Dumplings in Chilli Oil ($4.50) and Deep Fried Mango Roll ($4.50) from the dim sum menu, failed to leave an impression as well. Crystal Jade does a much better version of the former whilst the latter was well-presented but tasted like a crunchy bunch of nothing in particular

A little veg so we have a balanced meal:

This was probably the best dish of the night, simply done, allowing the natural flavours of fresh mushrooms and cabbage to speak for themselves. Relatively pricey at $8.80 though, considering portions aren’t big.

Hoping to end the meal on a sweeter note with desserts, we were once again left discontent with our orders of Honeydew Red Ruby Sago and 3-coloured Sweet Potato Soup ($3.80 each).

Enticed by the novelty of their alternative take on more commonplace local desserts, this had to be their sole selling point since there was nothing worthy of comment beyond their names. I barely bit into any diced chestnuts, a key ingredient of the Red Ruby dessert and X rightly griped that he could literally count the number of sweet potato cubes in his bowl

Final Verdict: Papilles say “Nowhere close to being King or any member of royalty for that matter”

Tang Dian Wang

#B1-033/036 Suntec City Mall