Ikoi Japanese Restaurant

On a Sunday evening we found ourselves at Ikoi, a Japanese restaurant on ground floor of Hotel Miramar. Same as all the other patrons on the night, we were there for its buffet.

Within two hours, we could order anything on the buffet menu, which included sashimi, nigiri sushi, maki sushi, deep-fried and grilled items, rice, noodles and some side dishes such as salads. The extensive drink menu included Japanese beers, sake, cocktails, juices and soft drinks. Just like the desserts, they were not included in the price of the buffet.
There were a few complimentary dishes, the first one being the salmon sashimi seasoned with a light soy-based sauce. Miso soup was not presented in individual portions, but in a pot still boiling above a burning candle to be shared between the two of us. The fat from the salmon was released into the soup, which was too oily for my taste. After the candle burnt out, globules of fat was floating on the surface, which was not a pretty sight. We were presented with a second rather salty soup, which was served in a teapot with a lime for seasoning. With all the other delicacies from the menu waiting to be ordered, we pretty much left the soups untouched. 

While there were not many different types of sashimi available, what they offered was fresh and delicious. The tuna and salmon were thick, tender and sweet and the cuttlefish was crunchy. The snapper (not photographed) was sliced so thin that it was transparent.

We ordered tempura of prawn, eggplant, mushroom, cuttlefish, fish, lotus root and onion. Comparing to their sashimi the tempura was a bit disappointing. The batter was not crispy enough and the prawn was mushy. Whiting tempura tasted like the kind of soggy battered fish that would be served with chips. The lotus root was cut too thick, making it hard to eat.

Yakitori was juicy and the sauce was a nice balance between sweet and savoury. But W complained that it lacked the smokiness from the grill.

We did not manage to try many side dishes as we were too full from having sashima. The cold udon was silky smooth and slightly springy, despite being soaked in the dipping sauce. 

The seating was quite cramped and not very comfortable as waiters tried to squeeze between tables and chairs throughout the whole night. Most of the dishes we tried were mediocre, with the exception of the sashimi and sushi. Do not expect to have an abundant Japanese feast here but for $45 I am not complaining. 

Ikoi Japanese Restaurant
#01-01 Hotel Miramar
401 Havelock Road

Artichoke Café + Bar

Craving for something a bit more unusual, we decided to have a girls' night out at Artichoke Café + Bar for a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean experience. Hidden at the back of the Sculpture Square on Middle Road, this restaurant is not quite noticeable unless for those who know its existence. For those who have managed to find it, they will find themselves surrounded by walls decorated with chalk drawings and unpolished wooden furniture and rustic metal lamp shields. With both indoor and alfresco dining areas and upbeat jazz music, the ambience was cosy and homey. 

Another first impression of the place was the rather limited choice of food. In fact its drinks menu was at least twice the length of the food menu. They offered about 6-7 different dips, a few appetizers and main courses and a handful of desserts. They were two specials of the night.

The hummus was a flavourful blend of chickpeas, zesty lemon juice and fragrant tahini. The red paprika and the garlic added a contrasting sweetness and a mild kick.

The baba ganoush is a slightly chunky dip made from roasted and mashed eggplant, tahini, lemon juice and olive oil. Comparing to the hummus, it was rather bland and had way too much lemon, whose flavour had overpowered the smokiness of the eggplant. The hero of the dish was the pomegranate seeds, which shone like red jewels in the dull-looking spread and released its fruitiness in your mouth.
There was nothing Turkish about the Turkish bread that we ordered. It was slices of white French loaf drizzled with olive oil. Nevertheless we smeared the spread generously on the bread.

Grilled hamoumi cheese turned out to be a winner. Made from a mixture of cow, goat and sheep's milk, the block of cheese stayed firm and springy after cooking. The lightly browned crust was a bit crispy and the interior was gooey and soft. The cherry tomatoes, gem lettuce with sunflower sprouts made up a simple but refreshing salad. 

So far the lamb I have eaten in Singapore has yet to impress me but this slow roast leg of lamb was not bad. The flavours from the herbs were infused into the meat, which was so succulent and tender that it fell of the bone as the fork touched it. 
It was served with some pickled cucumber, carrots and radish and a garlicky sauce. The pickles were very tangy and strangely addictive. The creamy sauce was spicy and failed to complement the rest of the dish.  It was left pretty much untouched.

Recommended by a waiting staff, the pan-fried kingfish was one of the specials. The skin was golden brown and crispy and the fish underneath was tender and delicious and literally melted in my mouth. We only wished the fillet was bigger. 

Attached to the side of the restaurant is a small bakery called Overdough. Sweet treats such as baklava, brownies and tarts can be ordered to be served at Artichoke. This passion fruit meringue had a crunchy and buttery pastry, which was the best part of the dessert. The meringue was not light or fluffy enough and did not have any height. The filling was a bit too thick and sticky and lacked the tangy flavours of the passion fruit.  

Oreo cookie cheesecake block was another mediocre dessert. Kids would have loved it though. 

While most of the food was enjoyable, the portion was quite small. The main courses did not come with any carbohydrate (eg potato) so they were not that filling either. As some bloggers have rightly pointed out, the waiting staff here can improve on their customer service (although there were one or two waitresses who were very friendly and cheerful, including the one who helped us with the group photograph). Although it is claimed to be a Middle-Eastern restaurant, many of the dishes are simply western food with a Middle-Eastern twist such as steak with hibiscus salt and roast lamb with condiments. 
Artichoke is a nice place for an after-work drink or a coffee in a lazy afternoon, less so for a sit-down dinner. 

Artichoke Café + Bar
161 Middle Road

Tiong Bahru

Although Singapore is commonly acknowledged as one of the smallest countries in the world map, there are still many parts of the island that I have yet to set foot in. Until today, Tiong Bahru was one of them.

According to local as well as international media such as Lonely Planet, CNN and even Ming Pao in Hong Kong, it is an old neighbourhood which has undergone some major transformation, turning it into one of the hip districts for the expats and young, trendy locals. 

While a generic, multi-level shopping mall stood at one side of the Tiong Bahru MRT station, an old-fashioned shopping complex remained outside the other exit of the train station, probably from decades ago by its beaten appearance.

Among the fruit stall, optical store and a hawker centre was 良辰美點 (Leung Sang Hong Kong Pastry), a family-run bakery selling Hong Kong style buns and pastries of about a dozen different types. While I walked past I could see the family kneading and shaping the dough by hand around a big working bench behind the front counter. Trays of unbaked buns and tarts were stacking on top of each other. The round and shiny egg tarts caught my eyes and I had to try one. The crunchy and buttery tart base crumbled in my mouth as I bit into it. The generous serving of filling made of eggs, evaporated milk and vanilla extract was pillow-soft and silky smooth. 

About two blocks away from the MRT station is Yong Siak Street, where the weekend crowds come for their caffeine fix and photography-lovers come to capture images of nostalgia. 
Surrounded by the tall iconically Singaporean HDB blocks, the residential buildings along this street were only 2-3 levels high, with the ground flood rented out as shop houses. This is where the new Tiong Bahru began.

Started as an online website, Books Actually is an independent book shop owned by two Singaporeans and stocks primarily local literature and rare-to-find books. From Sigmund Freud, Lee Kwan Yuen to the latest Singaporean poet, from sociology, economy to pop culture, the book collection here aims to provide variety and appeal to a wide local audience. At the back of the shop is a gift shop section cramped with vintage items such as second-hand kitchenware, beer bottles, cassettes and cassette players, black and white photographs of celebrities and unknowns, buttons and badges. There was also a column dedicated to vintage books, one of which made me sneeze as soon as I opened it. Another side of their business is publishing works written by local writers.

Not far from Books Actually was Woods in the Books, a shop that I know my mum would be crazy about if she came here when we were kids. Almost like a sister store to Books Actually, it is a children's book shop, stocking colourful picture books, story books, beautifully designed pop-up books, phone-book-thick encyclopaedia, etc. A group of school-age kids were learning to draw a crocodile in a painting class in the back room during my visit.

Strangelets is a lifestyle store with minimal decoration, allowing customers to focus all their attention on their products. Here one can expect to find interesting designs from bags and jewellery to toys and kitchenware and gorgeous body soups and beautifully packaged scented candles. 

Tiong Bahru has become quite a popular destination among foodies. Forty Hands, Tiong Bahru Bakery, Orange Thimble and Drips Bakery Café made up the vibrant cafés scene. Western restaurants are in abundance, such as Open Door Policy, SocialHaus and Two Face Pizza and Taproom, just to name a few. For some Japanese fair, you can head to Ikyu, which serves modern Japanese cuisine. Not wishing to burn a hole in your pocket? There was a hawker centre almost at every corner of the street.

A stroll away was the Tiong Bahru Market. Above the wet market on the ground floor was a hawker centre occupying the whole level, where some locals would claim to find some of the best hawker food in Singapore.

With its quiet alleyways, bustling wet market, quirky designer stores and boutique cafés, Tiong Bahru is a charming neighbourhood as well as a harmonious blend of Singapore's past and present. 

Doong Ji

Until recently my impression of Korean consisted mainly of kimchi and barbeque meat. Never a fan of overly spicy or medicinal food (ginseng chicken anyone?), it has never quite appeal to my appetite. The generic names of the dishes in their menu do not help either. Stir fried beef, spicy seafood soup and spicy pork stew sound as Chinese as they do Korean. But my encounter with Korean fair at this small Korean restaurant was pleasantly enjoyable.

One Google search will tell you that there is no lack of Korean eateries in Singapore. As I live in the east I feel obliged to try the restaurants in this part of the city. Located along East Coast Road, Doong Ji is easily accessible by bus. The shop front could probably cater for no more than 50 patrons and all the walls were decorated with puzzles, small paintings and wall arts like this one.

After orders are taken we were served six different side dishes. The kimchi was disapointingly bland and soggy. The mash potato was creamy and slightly sweet, with a few peas and chopped carrots inside. The jelly with the spicy paste was nice too, although I had no idea what it was made of. Refill was available upon request.

This is the non-spicy glass noodles with beefs. The noodles, made of sweet potato starch, became translucent and springy after cooking and mopped up all the juices and goodness released from the other ingredients. They were stir-fried with beef, fried mushrooms, finely sliced carrots, slice onions and mung bean sprouts, with spring onions and sesame sprinkled on the top. The beef was juicy and tender and the beans sprouts stood out with its crunchiness and its unique flavour.

The seafood pancake came with a salty and sour dipping sauce. While the sauce was not to my liking, I found the pancake tasty enough on its own. It was bouncy and stretchy and pan-fried to give a slightly crispy edge. Topped with prawns, squid, and spring onion it was a delicious appetiser.  

The beef soup was another non-spicy dish, not to be fooled by the two slivers of chillie for garnishing. It was a stew of beef slices, onions, mushrooms, garlic and glass noodles. The meat and the onion have released all its sweetness in the soup and the glass noodles remained springy and al dente, despite being soaked in the soup (am I allowed to use that description in non-Italian cuisine?). While a bit too sweet and salty on its own, this dish could only truly be appreciated with white rice. The rich flavours of the soup were absorbed by the plain rice and the grains of rice also added to the texture of the stew. 

While I cannot comment on the authenticity of the food, both the flavours and the servings of the dishes at Doong Ji were well above average. The waiting staff also provided good customer service. This is somewhere I would recommend for casual and affordable Korean dining. 

Doong Ji

222 East Coast Road

Paul

Since the opening of Paul's Singaporean outlet at Takashimaya, the only item I have tried from them was take-away croissant, which was not nearly enough to satisfy my craving for decent French pastry. 

I wanted to treat myself to a nice breakfast and it was a no-brainer-decision to go to Paul. They have closed off the main dining area so I got a table by the inside the mall. Otherwise it would have been nice to sit by the window with a view of Orchard Road. 

Several breakfast sets were available on the menu, most consisting of French bread or a croissant and a hot drink of your choice, with an option of an additional juice. (And I have to say that having both a cold and a hot drink in the same morning meal is a very French thing.) Waffles, pancakes and full breakfast sets with eggs were also on the menu. Not wishing for anything too heavy, I ordered a Petit Déjeuner Parisien.

My café au lait was smooth and milky. The mellow coffee is nice when you do not feel like something too strong for breakfast. 

Included in the breakfast set was half a loaf of flûte. Although it did not look much to start with, it was actually quite filling! The freshly toasted bread had a golden brown thin crust and a soft and fluffy interior. Topped with the creamy butter and apricot jam, it made a delicious breakfast.

I also brought home a loaf of pain complet. The wholemeal, sourdough bread was aromatic, dense and flavourful. Air bubbles randomly scattered throughout the loaf, giving it a spongy and coarse texture. I made sandwiches with it for lunch and it had kept well for the next few days.

After enjoying the delicious bread from Paul, it will be impossible to go back to having supermarket bread!

PAUL
#03-16/17, Takashimaya Shopping Centre
391 Orchard Road

Tamoya

Tamoya at Liang Court is a Japanese eatery specialising in udon. Their menu is as simple as their design of the restaurant. Orders from customers are taken at the counter, just like a fast food outlet. The udon is available in 5-6 hot or cold varieties and comes with option toppings of beef, pork or curry chicken. The noodles are prepared on the other side of the counter and passed to you when they are ready. A variety of tampura can be added to the tray as you move along the bench. Payment is then made at the cashier according to your selection of side dishes and noodle. Customers can help themselves with the sauce and condiments such as ginger and seaweed from a station at the centre of the shop. 

When I went there on a weekday afternoon, there were not a lot side dishes available. I picked the basic Kake udon and a few vegetable tampura. Although seemingly a simple dish, the broth was delicious without being too salty. The udon noodles were thick and smooth with a lot of bite.

The tampura was all quite cold, after being left on the counter for some time. The batter was no longer crispy but they were still quite flavourful. I preferred the shitake mushrooms and the pumpkin. 

Tamoya is worth the visit if you are craving some good udon or you just want a light and fuss free meal. The portion of the udon was a bit small so a larger size is available. Perhaps the timing of my visit was unfortunate but I would like to see a wider selection of side dishes.

Tamoya

#01-32, 177 River Valley Road, Liang Court

Jamie's Italian in Singapore & The Addams Family Musical

Having lunch at Jamie's Italian at Covent Garden was one of the highlights of my trip to London. After years of watching his cooking shows and repeated attempts of replicating his recipes, going to one of Jamie Oliver's restaurants was a dream come true. That meal was such a wonderful experience so I was thrilled to know that he decided to open his first outlet in Asia in a country I'm living in!

After watching the musical, the four of us headed to Vivo City for an Italian treat at the newly opened Jamie's Italian.
The interior and the vibe of the restaurant is consistent with other branches. Wooden sturdy tables, metal outdoorsy chair, lots of natural lighting during the day and candles for the night and cans and cookbooks stacked up to the ceiling created a casual and comfortable dining environment. 

It would be wrong not to start the meal with the Italian bread selection. Warm crusty bread with fragrant extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Enough said. 

Jamie's walnut salad was a crunchy combination of salad greens, baby beets and chopped walnuts. The bitterness from the leaves was well balanced by the sweet balsamic dressing.

Honeycomb cannelloni three-ways was filled with aubergine and sun-dried tomato, pumpkin and spinach and ricotta cheese and baked in a tomato-based sauce. The cannelloni was creamy and delicious. Pumpkin was my favourite!

Prawn linguine was my favourite pasta dish of tonight. The prawns were juicy and the thin pasta, cooked to al dente, was perfect for the delicate sauce of tomato, fennel and chilli. 

This was the tagliatelle bolognese. The flat pasta had a slightly rough texture and had absorbed the intense sweetness from the mince and aromatic tomato sauce. The generous serving of Parmesan cheese gave the sauce extra richness. 

Vongole tagliolini was slightly bland when compared to other pasta. The clams were a bit small and dry and the sauce was a bit spicy. 

The smooth and creamy tiramisu was an unbeatable dessert. The orange flavour lightened the heaviness of the mascarpone cheese and the bitter espresso. I enjoyed every bite of this. 

Brioche con gelato, quitely literally, consisted of lemon and strawberry ice-creams sandwiched between two brioche buns. Despite the lovable presentation, this was just an average dessert. The ice-creams were melting quite quickly and the brioche became soggy after absorbing the melted ice-cream. The best part of the dish was the lemon ice-cream, which was refreshingly sour and icy.

Although the menu was not as extensive, the standard of the food here at the Singaporean branch was comparable to the one I tried in London. Their pasta, made freshly on site, is definitely something I would come back for. I had expected better customer service after reading several reviews complimenting their waiting staff. The server for our table was absent for most of the night and we had trouble locating a waiter for ordering and the bill. I look forward to my next meal here (which I am sure won't be long), hopefully with more variety on the menu.

Jamie's Italian
1 Harbour Front Walk, Vivo City
#01-165-167

The Addams Family Musical from Broadway was on tour and we bought tickets to watch it on their last day in Singapore. Without much expectations, it turned out to be one of the most entertaining stage performance I have seen.
The songs were catchy and energetic and filled with comical lyrics. There were a lot of dance routines and all the choreography was amazing. Jennifer Fogarty who played Wednesday had an incredibly powerful voice and the sweetest face. Keleen Snowgren and Jesse Sharp shared great dynamics as Morticia and Gomez. Jeremy Todd Shinder who played Pugsley probably had the weakest voice among the cast and struggled with some high notes. 
In this production Wednesday introduced to the Addams her "normal" boyfriend and his parents, who came to visit the family from Ohio. It is definitely an experience that most of us can relate to and the father-and-daughter scene had even made me shed a few tears. 
From the cast to the costume I have thoroughly enjoyed this musical. I have yet been able to stop playing the soundtrack on my phone.