Fine Palate Cafe

The restaurant week is about to come to an end for 2012, the second restaurant that I'm checking out with my wife is called Fine Palate Cafe. Here's what we have ordered for the set lunch menu:

- Wild Mushroom Salad

The vegetables are fresh and very crunchy with a tinge of vinaigrette dressing, the mushrooms are sauteed to bring out its natural flavour and it was absolutely fragrant.

- Chicken Liver Mousse

I find that the Chicken Liver Mousse is very rich and creamy, it also has a strong cheesy taste. This dish is not for you if you do not like dairy products.

- Chicken Leek Pie

The Chicken Leek Pie is superb, the chicken and leek was stewed till it is nice and soft. The gravy has the taken the flavours of the chicken and leek making it very rich and tasty. It goes extremely well with the puff pastry.

- Seafood Marinara

This dish is pretty good, the doneness of the pasta is just nice and the ingredients are also fresh. The pasta has a strong seafood taste and you will like this if you are a seafood lover. However, I do find that the pasta is a little dry and it could be better if there are more sauce added to the dish.

- Chocolate Marquise

The Chocolate Marquise is pretty good, it is not too sweet and has a smooth chocolaty taste.

- Citrus Creme Caramel

The Citrus Creme Caramel is smooth and silky. In terms of texture, think bean curd. It goes well with the grapefruit and oranges, giving it a refreshing taste to the palate.

Overall I find that the food here, especially the Chicken and Leek Pie, is pretty good.  It's definitely worth trying.
Rating: 7/10 (Good, Can Try)

Fine Palate Cafe
51 Waterloo Street
#01-04/05
S(187969)
 

Oktober Restaurant & Bar

Today is the start of restaurant week and at the same time celebrate my wife's birthday. I brought her to this restaurant called Oktober Restaurant & Bar. The restaurant has a nice ambience that is perfect for chilling out. Here's what we have ordered:

- Pan-seared Duck Liver served with marinated Red Onion & Port Wine reduction

The Duck Liver is delicious and the doneness is perfect, the duck liver is so soft and sliky like eating bean curd. It just seems to dissolve in your mouth, it has a nice grilled taste with a tinge of sweetness from the port wine.

- Fresh Chilled Pacific Oysters

The  oysters are fresh and goes well with the lemon just the way I like it.

- Grilled Wagyu Beef Top Sirloin with Gratin Potato serve with Black Olive Sauce

The Wagyu Beef is tasty and the doneness is just the the way I like it to be medium, I find that it can be better is there some brown sauce to give it a little more flavour. The gratin potato is pretty good, nice and moist.

- Oven Roasted Spring Chicken on Du Puy Lentil & Chicken Jus

The Roasted Spring Chicken is pretty normal, I find that the chicken is roasted till the meat is too dry and it can be better if it was marintated with some spicies to add more flavour to the dish.

- Chocolate and Banana Bread Pudding

The Chocolate and Banana Bread Pudding is nice and soft, it has also been heated up and you can smell the chocolate scent coming from the pudding. This pudding is not too sweet but can be very heavy after a while.

Overall, I find the food is pretty good and a nice place for chilling out...cheers!
Rating: 6.5/10 (Above Average)

Oktober Restaurant & Bar
18E Dempsey Road
S(246677)
 

Singapura Seafood Restaurant

It has been a couple of years since the last time I patronised this restaurant called Singapura Seafood Restaurant. Today, I'm back with my family to have dinner at the restaurant. Here's what we have ordered:

- Singapura Cold Crab

The Cold Crab is awesome! It is fresh and the flesh is sweet and thick. The roe is rich and creamy and very satisfying. And it goes marvellously well with the chilli sauce that is served together. Delicious is an understatement!

- Fuzhou Fishball Soup

If you like Fuzhou Fishballs, you will like the meat fillings in the fishball. They added seaweed to give the soup a little more flavour, this dish is simple hence gives you a feeling of home cooked food. But that's about all that I would say, nothing fantastic actually.

- Egg Omelette With Shark Fins

The Egg Omelette is fragrant and tasty, the bean sprouts adds crunch to the texture and there is also parsely to garnish and lighten the taste. The shark fins adds a little more texture to the dish but you can't really taste much of it. I must say that the egg omelette taste good on it's own even without the shark fins. So it is not really worth paying a higher price for the shark's fins that are added to the dish.

- Crispy Roast Chicken

The Crispy Roast Chicken is delicious. The skin is crispy and the meat is tasty but a little salty too.  It takes alot of skill to roast the chicken to such crisp and yet not too oily.

- Braised Toufu

The braised Toufu is pretty good, the braised sauce is thick and tasty. You can also find ingredients like vegetables, sliced pork and seafood in it. Certainly a good dish to go with your bowl of white rice.

- Fuzhou Fried Noodles

The Fuzhou Fried Noodles is very tasty. It is like the equivalent of  Hokkien Mee cooked with a lot of seafood. If I could name it, I will call it Seafood Flavour Hokkien Mee. You can even taste the seafood sweetness in the gravy. If you are a seafood lover, you will like this dish. There are  ingredients like clams, prawns, sotong, sliced pork and vegetables. I find that this dish is very unique and delicious.

- Yam Paste With Gingko Nut

The Yam Paste is a great way to end the meal. The Yam paste, that comes with mashed pumpkin and gingko nuts, is very smooth and the sweetness is just nice. The portion is just nice for everyone to have one bowl but it's so nice I wished I could have a second helping.

Overall, I find that the restaurant serves a wide variety of food and the dishes that we tried are generally good. Definitely worth a try!
Rating: 8/10 (Good, Must Try)

Singapura Seafood Restaurant
Blk 9 Selegie Road
#01-31 Selegie House
S(180009)
 

Sin Heng Noodle

I was at Sin Kee Heong Coffeeshop located at Commonwealth Crescent to check out this stall called Sin Heng Noodle. I noticed that they had a newspaper article pasted on the front which features their Special Prawn Noodle. I ordered a bowl of Special Prawn Kway Teow Dry with Extra Chilli for S$3.00. The Prawn Noodle is quite tasty, the chilli sauce reminds me the taste of traditional prawn noodle. The spring onions is very fragrant and adds more flavour to the dish. The soup is sweet with the goodness of the prawns. Overall, I find that the Prawn Noodle is above average and you can give it a try if you are not too fussy about prawn noodles.
Rating: 6.5/10 (Above Average)

Sin Heng Noodle
Blk 117 Commonwealth Crescent
#01-711 Sin Kee Heong Coffeeshop
S(140117)
 

Old Empire Gastrobar

Today I was going to check out this restaurant called Old Empire Gastrobar. Heard that they serve over 76 types of beer. I ordered a Marston's Pedigree Pale Ale for a start. Here's what I ordered to go with my beer:

- Tomato Soup

The Tomato Soup is tasty and has a strong taste of the tomato. It is just like drinking tomato puree. This dish is very appetising and goes very well with the focaccia bread.

- Grilled Chicken with Portabella Mushrooms

The Grilled Chicken is very tasty and is grilled to perfection, the skin is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The doneness is one of the better ones I have tasted. The Portabella Mushrooms makes the dish very fragrant. Instead of the usual fries,  the pan fried cucumber and baby potatoes makes the dish  a healthier choice.

- Brownie and Ice Cream

The Brownie is warm, soft and not too sweet, it goes well with the vanilla ice cream. What a heavenly dessert to end the meal with.

Overall, I find that the food is pretty good and the restaurant is a nice place to chill out at, especially for beer lovers. Cheers!
Rating: 8/10 (Good, Must Try)

Old Empire Gastrobar
491 River Valley Road 
#01-16 Valley Point
S(248371)