By The Way - What to do for National Day

One week more to National Day! Have you put up your flag and readied your red and white outfits? Have your planned your rose water and coconut malk layered agar-agar recipe? We patriotic aunties at SimplyFab are just crazed with excitement and nationalistic fervor! I will be offline this weekend as I am checking in at a hotel to soak in the full dress parade this evening….Yes, I have my little plastic flag at the ready in my quivering hands!

Even if you have not booked your room with a view, there are countless things we can do to mark the delights of independence and self-determination. We the citizens of Singapore can indeed do our bit…. Let SimplyFab count the ways.

Well,  you can go for a spa in celebration…at least that’s what Fairmont Hotel says. For the month of August, they are offering a yummy treat at Willow Stream Spa (level 6). For just $159+, the Spa Burst Experience gives you 90 mins of fun filled pampering - 45mins Customised Deep Cleansing Mini Facial (including skin analysis, gentle exfoliation and masque), 30mins Express Pedicure (Me! Me!) and a 15-min Foot Massage which will surely send me to sleep. Nice!

Tel: 6431 5600, or email: willowstreamenquiries@fairmont.com

We can also surround ourselves with celeb aura…..Master Chef Kunio Tokuoka – he of four Michelin stars – will return to Singapore from 9-14 August to cook at his kaiseki restaurant Kunio at RWS. And since he’s offering a special menu at only $120 (compared to $300 being his usual, baseline menu) I will suggest you Fab Foodies just hot foot there without delay for this fantastic opportunity….and I’m not even paid to say that! The menu also comes with a complimentary glass of Kitcho Teioh sake.

Tel: 6686 3633 and mention the special offer.

And finally for all your MediaCorp fans, pack your Bonia bags and head to Carousel, Royal Plaza on Scotts and eat in honour of local cuisines! From 11 August to 9 September 2010, Nelson Li, guest chef and Peranakan culture adviser from The Little Nyonya series will be whipping up some fiery hot peranakan cuisine. Chef Li picked up his skills from grandma and mom and will be doling up yummies like Ayam Buah Keluak and Curry Assam Fish. Available during dinner at $63.00++ on weekdays (Sun to Thu) and $70.00++ on weekends (Fri, Sat and PH). Don't forget to heave mom-in-law along....Auntie will definitely like!

Tel: 6589 7799 or Carousel@royalplaza.com.sg for details

- Ee Waun

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Binge - Must Eat! Massive Japanese Buffet at Kiseki!

If gargantuan quantities are called for, head to Kiseki, a Japanese buffet restaurant which recently opened at The Heeren. Guess you’ve gotta wade through a sea of angst-and-acne-filled teeny-boppers with their flip flops and facial perforations but there is a spread of 200 buffet items over 29 categories that await.

Apart from the usual suspects of sushi and teppanyaki, there’s a cold seafood counter with spiny lobsters, sweet clams and blue swimmer crabs; robatayaki with items like salmon head and saba, yakitori selections such as grilled salmon belly, okonomiyaki of octopus with shitake and salmon, nabemono, sukiyaki. Four action counters get food cooked up in front of you as you order, including western grills like ribeye steaks, barbecued beef, assorted mushrooms, and beyond, there's pasta like vongole and scallop spaghetti; and a full salad bar featuring rare offerings such as octopus salad and raw tuna salad, with loads of Japanese sauces and dressings. There’s lots more deliciousness going on which we just can’t list here – consider it a food-filled playground to mix and match your meal in unlimited quantities, and end off with over 20 desserts including yummies like Tofu Cheesecake, Goma Pudding, Crepe with filling. Drag the kids along ‘cos there’s a play area too. Weekday dinner and weekend spreads offer more options by the way. (Prices: from $19.80 to $32.80 for adults; $12.80 to $16.80 for kids depending on time and day of week)

The Heeren #B1-01


260 Orchard Road


Tel: 6736 1216
- by Ee Waun

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Binge - Molecular Meets The Masses at Carousel

Here’s something really quite commendable. Royal Plaza on Scotts has brought ‘avant garde’ cuisine – all that Ferran Adria molecular magic that turns drinks into drumsticks, and drumsticks into caviar – to a more level playing field. They’ve introduced avant garde dishes into their usual buffet spread at Carousel, complete with lab-like action station (pictured above), so people can see it being made and eat it, too.

 

This sort of cooking has always been confined to the hushed, uppity-uppity restaurants that allow people in only if they can pronounce ‘foie gras’, so it’s a real hoot that Royal Plaza on Scotts is serving up molecular morsels and bringing it to more people across the board, Aunties and Uncles, kids and Grandma, included.

I had a tasting of it when they launched the first day it flooded on Orchard Road (remember Orchard River? I waded down there through the rain just to check it out!). While the lab coats on the chefs were a bit campy, overall what they were doing for the diners was quite funky, and very admirable.

(Left: Mango ravioli)

 

I remember the ‘reverse buffalo mozzarella with olive ravioli (minus the ravioli)’ which was a cute bulbous morsel that popped in your mouth into a flavourful soup; the miso spaghetti and a rather pretentious 60-second ‘smoked’ lobster (pictured right) that looked like normal poached lobster blasted with some apple chip wood smoke generated from a handheld 'fogging' machine. This was served with a spray of lavender scent - you're just supposed to smell it, not taste it, I was informed - which threatened to send me to sleep. Then there was the ginger-lemongrass ice cream made with liquid nitrogen that created a real show by encasing everyone in a cloud of mist. It tasted very nice though, with an unusual pairing of gazpacho crumble which had a texture of dry marshmallow.

For avant garde cuisine, this is pretty basic – don’t expect gob-smacking behind it. But just remember, they don’t have the luxury of doing it in small portions like the fine dining restaurants; they are churning it out for a larger crowd, which deserves a pat on the back too. (Left: Tomato Jelly Consomme)

 

But those who have not seen it before would enjoy the novelty of it – plus the fact that it hsa been made affordable. I’d say, bring the kids, Ma and Pa just for the fun of it. The avant garde counter will be available at the buffet only until end September.

 

Available only on weekday and weekend dinners only from $58-$70 per adult and $37 - $42 per child.

- Ee Waun (Credit: Pics from Royal Plaza on Scotts)

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Binge - Father’s Day Eats

Father’s Day is round the corner, and for us in the ‘Sandwich Generation’, make sure you do spend time with good old dad and let him know he’s the best. Not all our dad’s are hale and hearty – count your blessings if he is – so spending time with him is the best thing you can do on Father’s Day…and for every opportunity you are given.

So what’s out there for fatherly indulgence? How about what is dubbed ‘the ultimate crab buffet’ (4-27 June)? The chefs at Ellenborough Market Café at Swissotel Merchant Court are rolling out a serious spread of over 20 sinful crab dishes that the food-loving fathers will definitely enjoy. Consider Teochew Style Cold Crab, Steamed Mud Crab with Shaoxing Wine, Salted Egg Flower Crab wok fried with salted egg yolks, Thai Crab Bee Hoon, Dungeness and Snow Crab cooked in Beer, Black Pepper Crab and Sri Lankan Chili Crab with Fried (not steamed!) mantou. With the rich flavours and even richer cholesterol count, this is surely an indulgence reserved only for special occasions. Father’s Day is definitely one such!

Available for dinner daily, and for lunch only on weekends. On Father’s Day weekend, all dining dads get a complimentary Tiger Beer. From $45++ for lunch, and $52++ for dinner. (For HSBC card holders, one dines free for every three paying adults.)

20 Merchant Road

Tel: 62391848

If Dad is into haute gourmet, fill up on foie gras at Ristorante Bologna at the Marina Mandarin Singapore. Chef Patron Carlo Marengoni weaves the flavours of foie gras into authentic Italian cuisine, such as Pan-fried goose liver with fig jam and Brandy sauce ($32++), Pan-fried goose liver with asparagus and Madeira wine sauce ($40++) and Porcini mushroom soup with diced Foie Gras and Truffle oil ($22++). Daily for lunch and dinner for the month of June. (closed Sundays)

Ristorante Bologna, level 4

Marina Mandarin Singapore

6 Raffles Blvd, Marina Sq.

Tel: 6845 1111

For the healthy dad, a meat fest is always a sure winner. Get it at Pan Pacific Singapore’s all-you-can-eat brunch at Global Kitchen on 20 June. Apart from the necessary crustacean counter and salads, there’s roasted carved meats, plus unlimited sparkling wine and beer. Price - $88++ or $108++ with sparkling wine, beers and soda; $28++ per child (6 to 12 years). If dad’s a little old fashioned, heave him up to Hai Tien Lo (37 flr) for the all you can eat brunch (20 June from 11.30am) at a happy $62++ per person $28++ per child (6 to 12 years). The spread includes up to 60 different highlights including dim sum, roasts, soups, noodles, seafood and dessert. But if dad prefers superior quality over quantity, take their set menus (from $78++; 14 – 20 June) of fine Chinese cuisines featuring dishes like Double-boiled ‘Buddha Jumps Over the Wall’ with Black Truffles and Steamed Sea Perch Fillet with Preserved Vegetables.

Pan Pacific Singapore

Hai Tien Lo, 37 Flr

Tel: 6826 8240

- BY EW

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