Koh Grill & Sushi Bar

Wow, is this place crowded or what! Made reservations but we still waited for almost 30 minutes for our table, not sure how long those in the queue waited for (always make reservations!)

So, the famous shiok maki, combining every Singaporean's favorite - eel, salmon, roe and covered with this thick creamy sauce then flame grilled. Visually stunning, hence the name. I quite like it but when it comes to sushi I am a bit of a purist and this is just a tad too much sauce for me. 

Shiok Gen 2 which comes with prawns instead of eel. Prefer Gen 1.

Crabby maki (why the names so cute!) - soft shell crab with swordfish. Mmm now this was good, my favorite of the rolls probably cause it wasnt slathered in sauce so I could really taste the roll proper.

Another weird creation, the Pitan maki, sushi roll with century egg sauce. I cant stand century egg so didnt really try this.

The rest of the food we had were pretty decent too, though nothing really outstanding but at those prices, no wonder the queues are ridiculous. 

A very pleasant surprise was how good the service was. Sure the waiters all looked slightly harassed (who werent with that crowd) but they were also consistently friendly and polite. Impressive.

Koh Grill & Sushi Bar
#04-21, Wisma Atria
435 Orchard Road
9180 3805

Revisit: Mikuni

I am starting to become a regular here, cant get over how awesome the FAR discount is. I shall miss Mikuni dearly once my card expires this Oct but in the meantime, I shall dine at Mikuni as often as possible (Read more here and here)

This time, I am here for the lunch set ($70, a steal when I have 50% discount :) )

As usual everything was fresh and delicious. Items that I especially enjoyed were the garlic rice, prawns in special sauce and that scallop. 

Mikuni Japanese Restaurant
80 Bras Basah Road
Level 3 Fairmont Singapore
Tel: +65 6431 6156

Alkaff Mansion Terrace

We have been visiting a few potential wedding venues for meals. 

Alkaff Mansion is a very gorgeous place, old victorian vibe and super romantic, especially the cascading stairs and that fountain. Unfortunately, the venue was way beyond our budget though.

Settled for brunch at the terrace area outside. 

The pancakes stack ($8.80) was visually stunning, Layers of bananas and blue berries in between perfectly cooked pancakes. Tasted pretty good too though the blueberry sauce was a tad too sour. I like my pancakes sweet.

Great scrambled eggs and that mushroom with brie was probably the best thing. I love my cheese! Breakfast platter ($12.80)

I am not sure if anyone would travel all the way to Alkaff just for brunch but do pop by if you happen to be hiking around the area. Btw prices here are very reasonable!

Alkaff Mansion

10 Telok Blangah Green

Singapore 109178

Moa New Zealand Bar and Grill

Changi City Point is super happening eh! Even on wknights, you can find the various bars/restaurants on the first floor outside the mall packed with happy drinking people

Moa New Zealand bar and Grill probably benefitted from the spillover traffic from Table Manners and 5 izakaya in the beginning but now, I think its starting to hold on its own.

We ordered the ribs and bangers & mash. The former was the better dish, ribs were tender and sweet. As for the latter, I prefer my mash to be more creamy.  This place is a microbrewery so they do serve some pretty neat beers too.

Moa suffers from the problem of being pretty forgettable, no real selling points and no key standouts. 

But its a nice place to dine at, especially if your an Eastie like me.

Moa New Zealand Bar and Grill

#01-70/71 Changi City Point 

5 Changi Business Park Central 1

Why 97 Pub & Restaurant

Restaurants at Asiatique are gorgeous and Why 97 is no exception. We wandered into this restaurant simply because 'it looked pretty' and no regrets man.

First up, Why 97 is a gorgeous restaurant. High ceilings and spacious interior with a bar sprawled thru one half of the restaurant. The walls were lined with vintage, kitschy items but  did not come off as cheesy. I especially love the lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling.

In fact, it would have been the perfect place for my wedding if not for the fact that it is in Bangkok.

On to the food, everything was flavorful and tasted good. 

Best dish of the night was probably the prawn capellini with roe. Just the right amount of seasoning and  tasted so fresh.

 Ribs - meat falling of its bones

Service was not fantastic, I chalk it up to the waiters not being masters of the English langauge but I will definitely come back again.

Bangkok Travel Diary Pt 2 - April 2013

A follow up to Pt 1 here. 

I always try to go for a Japanese meal everytime I am in bangkok (cheap and good!)

This tonkichi from Kuu at Centralworld was particularly good. There are so many restaurants in that darn mall, we had some difficulties deciding where to go

Gorgeous handphone covers from a roadside stall. These pictures were transferred onto the covers by hand.

Terminal 21 - the cutest mall ever. Each floor had a specific city theme (San Fran, UK etc) and the mall itself was the airport, even the security guards were dressed as pilots.

Terminal 21's food court has an extensive variety of food and all pretty cheap! We went slightly crazy there. 

Boat ride to Asiatique market. Such a lovely place. Large airy night market with pretty lights and gorgeous looking restaurants. A classier version of our Clarke Quay 

Tried the famed food court at Platinum mall which did not disappoint. That claypot beef ball noodles in particular was very very good. 

Bangkok Travel Diary Pt 1 - April 2013

Back then, Bangkok used to be a twice yearly trip for me. Having not been back for the last couple of years, I indulged in my recent trip like an addict off the wagon. 

Stayed at the Novotel Platinum hotel, just next to Platinum mall. Super convenient if you love to shop at Platinum but not so if your a fan of the BTS. Location aside, the hotel was modern and chic. Very nice. 

 Fascinated by the wobbly glasses that contained our welcome drinks

View from the room. The infamous traffic jams at night

Novotel has a pretty good breakfast spread. From the usual American fare (sausage, bacon, egg station) to a small selection of dim sum/congee to the cereal bar. The best thing though was the cheese station - brie + crusty bread = win.

Favorite combi - half boiled egg + bread + cheese

Revisiting my old favorites in Chatukchak. I swear that market has the best of everything.

Sweetest mango sticky rice - push cart in the centre of the market (sells fruit shakes too)

I can never make a trip to Bangkok without eating at Dinphow Cuisine. I have been eating here for at least 10 years and the food has been consistently good. Perhaps the food has remained delicious because of the sense of nostalgia but damm everything is just perfect. 

The tom yum soup with just the right amount of spice and sourness; hot but not numbingly so. That sesame chicken thats crispy on the outside, tender inside.

I actually ate here 2 days in a row this trip (didnt lie about indulging) 

And of course, the famous coconut ice cream. I love mine with atap chee, whats your favorite topping?

Anyone also uses the 'tower' as a meeting point?