Chirashi Don from the newly-opened Zipang Japanese Dining Bar along Cavanagh Road behind Concorde Hotel. Essentially Teppei-style but here salt level-perfect marinated sashimi chunks atop fluffy and comfortingly warm rice, with the addition of whitebait adding chewy bitterness and the sashimi being so remarkably fresh that its innate fishly sensuality…
Houjicha Pancake (vanilla ice cream, chia seeds, crushed hazelnuts, matcha spread, seasonable berries) from Les Patisseries’ newly-refreshed menu. The pancake starts off like a comfortably light, brownie-esque chocolate cake before quietly unveiling a dusky, gracefully understated hojicha fragrance and bitterness which lingers on your tongue long after the moment has…
Just thinking about this Stir-Fried Surume Squid and Leek in Squid Liver Sauce that I had sixty-nine zippyzipengs ago at Zipang Japanese Dining Bar, a new concept launching behind Concorde Hotel. (“Zipang” actually means “Japan” in old language.) The menu is extensive and includes izayaka fare (grilled fish, skewers) and…
Maguro Akami from Nobu-ya at Fortune Centre, one of the essential izakaya experiences around. You are paying not for a plate of sashimi but for a Bukit Merah (that’s “red hill”, folks – Social Studies Consultant) of clean, baby buttock-tender tuna flesh, and at the baffling price of $10 it…
Pettite France (French whisky, cream, honey, almond, spiced sable, almond crispy crepes, apricot, mascarpone) from Mad About Sucre’s newly-launched Autumn/Winter cake collection. The nutty and indulgently rich dome was a Tang Wei and Tony Leung-esque filthy romp between roasty, thick and creamy almond nougat and milky, unflinchingly drunken homemade French…
Japanese mackerel (fennel, quinoa, mussels, chorizo) from the lunch menu of the recently Michelin-minted Rhubarb Le Restaurant at Duxton Hill. A delectably oily affair all round – the softly chewy, juicy mackerel was slicker than a Prudential insurance agent, whilst elsewhere the fried rice-esque and lobster foam-crowned quinoa and chorizo…
Spicy Tuna Don from The Horse’s Mouth. The smooth, gently numbing sauce wraps its coquettishly spicy feather boa around the contours of the cool, clean minced tuna – and indeed, the contours of your inner lips – with professional pleasure strictly on its agenda. 4/5 The Horse’s Mouth 583 Orchard…
Scallop Somen (fish roe, ebi, scallop and salted egg yolk sauce) from Janice Wong Singapore. Essentially a comforting and indulgent stir-fry noodle experience, with each slinky and urgently wet strand being positively coated in thick, greasy flavour and various companions like the fish roe, ebi and salted egg yolk sauce…
Cavaillon Melon (melon panna cotta with French melon) from Tarte by Cheryl Koh. The luscious mini melon balls have a sweet, disarmingly sincere juiciness that never borders on watery, whilst elsewhere the milky panna cotta wobbles with a tightrope walker’s confident steadiness and the softly firm crust surrenders unyieldingly to…