Dinner at Ichiban Boshi

Cravings for Japanese food and here we were at Ichiban Boshi, NEX branch

One set meal to share.

Cha Soba and mini Katsudon combo set.

and my all-time favorite, saba sushi!!!

Nice Salmon sushi, with its surfaced lightly torched.

Burp Burp!!

Taking a Stroll in the Garden

We decided to go to Garden by the Bay after lunch.

Our first visit to the garden.

The garden was not as big as what we thought, and we covered most of it in no time. We then went to the main attractions, the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest, but Cloud Forest was closed for maintenance. The tickets that we purchased from Groupon only allows us to enter both the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest on the same day, hence we would need to come back again. Sad daoz....

Supertree Grove.

Looks like the trees in Avatar. 

At the OCBC Skyway

Panoramic view of the Garden as well as the Marina Bay area

 The OCBC Skyway, a 128-metre long walkway that connects the two 25-metre Supertrees

No heels allowed?!?! but why??

Anyway, she wasn't stopped by the staffs too =p

Last shot of the Supertree Grove before leaving the Garden.

Gal's Birthday

No Monday blues for us. Took leave today to have a simple birthday celebration for gal at Ember Restaurant. Reviews on its food were good, and I have always wanted to to bring gal here.

Ember Restaurant is so popular that one would need to make a reservation at least 3-4 days in advance, especially for the lunch seating. I was unable to get a reservation for a couple of times previously, and this time round, I actually called in more than 1 week in advance.

Ember Restaurant is located along Keong Siak road, at the lobby of the boutique hotel, Hotel 1929. The restaurant is quite small and it has a a minimalist interior design. 

Warm Tomato Foccacia bread 

 

The bread may looked hard and dry, and nothing appealing, but it was very fragrant and tasty.

Pan Roasted Scallop with Parma ham, citrus and Tarragon Vinaigrette

There are a variety of dishes on the 3-course set lunch menu, unlike most restaurant. For the appetizers alone, there were 7 dishes to choose from, on top of these, they have their signature Foie Gras prepared in 3 different style at an addition cost $6++. We were spoiled for choice!

Since one of Gal's favorite food is scallop, we decided to settle on the dish above. The 3 scallops were wrapped around with parma ham and then seared, making it crispy on the outside, yet sweet, juicy and succulent. It made us crave for more!

Pan seared Foie Gras with Carammelized apples and clove, port and raspberry glaze

Since the Foie Gras is one of the restaurant signature dish, we were not going to give it a miss! There were 3 different presentation of the foie gras, and we had a hard time to choose between the 3. In the end, we decided to ask the waitress for recommendation and we were quite satisfied with it!

The generous slab of foie gras totally melts on the tongue, with a thin crispy crust from the searing process. The sweet, diced apples helps to keep the foie gras light. It was a pure savory bliss!

36 hours twice cooked Duck Leg Confit with Caramelised Onion Sauce

Just like the appetizers, there were a total of 8 dishes to choose from for the main course. I wanted to try the Pan Roasted USDA Prime Beef Tenderloin but was told it was sold out. One would require to place order for the Prime Beef Tenderloin when making reservation as they had limited supply daily.

The waitress then recommended the Duck Leg Confit as it is one of the favorites among the diners. No regrets ordering this. The skin was very crispy while the meat was tender and it goes well with the sauce, though it was a bit salty.

Pan seared Chilean Seabass with Mushroom and Smoked Bacon Ragout, Truffle Yuzu Butter Sauce

 

This dish is so delicious and incredibly flavorful. The seabass was seared perfectly, giving the top layer a golden brown color. It has a crispy crust, and it combines brilliantly with the truffle yuzu butter sauce. Gal finished this in no time! 

Happy Birthday!

Warm Valrhona Chocolate Fondant with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

 

We can never get sick of the warm valrhona chocolate fondant. It requires a waiting time of at least 20 minutes. It was pretty hot and the soft melting center has a rich and slightly chocolate taste. Combing it with the vanilla bean ice-cream was mind-blowing! And the ice-cream seemed to be prepare specially by them as it has an unique taste.

Crispy Caramelized Pear Tart with Homemade Baileys Ice Cream

Gal's dessert cum birthday tart. It ticked all the requirements of a perfect tart - flaky, crumbly, and buttery. The baileys ice cream was something special too. What a perfect way to end the meal.

As the restaurant has a relatively generous variety of food, it will definitely have guests returning often for various combination! We will be back again!

 

 

 

Ember Restaurant

Hotel 1929, 50 Keong Saik Road
Tel: 65 6347 1928

New Handphone

We finally got the iPhone 5 at a Singtel iPhone 5 Launch @ Marina Bay Sands. No long wait, no long queues. As we have pre-registered our interest online, we managed to get it in less than 30 mins.

We were considering between iPhone 5 and Samsung S3. We eventually chose iPhone 5 as it is more user friendly, more apps, and the loading and navigation seems better and smoother. The only draw back is its screen. We were hoping for a screen size at least as big as the Samsung S3.

My phone for almost past 4 years! I was using my iPhone 3 all these while, resisting to upgrade to iPhone 4S in the hope of a better specs iPhone 5. Though my iPhone 3 was well maintained, it has no values and no shop accepting it for trade in. >.<

Difference between the iPhone 5 and iPhone 3. It seems more compressed at the sides while it is longer in length. Well, I'm perfectly fine with iPhone 5, and it was definitely an upgrade from my iPhone 3! =)

Birthday Celebration @ Wooloomooloo Steak House

Both of us were on leave today to celebrate my big "3" Birthday. It was also an opportunity to try out my new toy, 60D. A test shot before we left our house.

Lunch at Wooloomooloo Steakhouse. Reviews on the steak were quite good and gal can't wait to try the steak. She seemed more excited than me, or rather, it was machiam her birthday! =p

The knife for the steak looks huge!

Should I be expecting a big chunk of steak?? =p~~

Complimentary Bread.

It was nothing to shout about, though it looked like a fluffy pizza.

But the butter was quite tasty, and it add flavor to the bread.

Our appetizers been served! =)

Green Potage. It looked like an asparagus soup to me at first sight. It was actually a potato based soup with fresh aromatic greens (green veggies). It was delicious, and the soup was neither thick nor watery.

Fresh Crab Meat with Poached Egg and Asparagus. Crab Meat was really fresh, sweet and tender, and the poached egg was cooked to perfection, with the yolk oozing out upon slicing it. The asparagus were fresh and crunchy too! 

This was not on the executive lunch set menu. It was recommended by the waiter, the Tuna & Spanner Crab Tartare. It has a base of avocado, orange, shallot & coriander topped with sweet spanner crab & sashimi-grade tuna. The dish is finished with sour cream & salmon roe.

A heavenly cold dish and the seafood was very very fresh! We just can't had enough of it! 

Our main course, and the star of the day!

There were 3 dishes to choose from for the main course: Pan Fried Sea Bass Fillet, Roasted Spatchcock Chicken and the 150-Day Grain Fed USDA Prime Striploin.

We would usually choose 2 different choice of main course but it was not the case today. Dining at a Steakhouse but not ordering its famous steak is simply crazy! Both of us chose the steak and requested it to be medium-rare.

The service here is really commendable. After the steaks were served to us, the waiter would check with us if the steaks were fine for us. Gal's steak was good and the meat were very tender, and you can see a bit of red in the middle of the steak. The unique sauce blends well with the steak, giving it even more flavor.

However, my steak was quite raw and bloody. With every piece of meat that i cut, there was some reddish juice/liquid flooding out. I tried to continue eating but the taste of the blood was too strong for me to take it. Despite me eaten 1/3 of the steak, the waiter apologies and offered to change for me a new steak! He even checked with me if new steak was fine for me.

This was one of the best steak that we have tried so far. It could be even better if there was less fats in the meat. We were wondering if this was due to the different cut of the meat and a quick google confirmed it.

And I had a birthday surprise from the restaurant staffs! The staffs were singing the birthday song for me, gave me a birthday card with a photo of both of us, and a molten lava cake with ice-cream which was on the house!

I was told by gal that when she call in to make the reservation, she told the staff that it was for my birthday celebration. Her friend shared with her that if she told the receptionist that she is celebrating birthday/anniversary at the restaurant, the staffs will make special arrangement, depending on the occasion. Thumbs up for the service and memorable experience!! =) 

My birthday cake from the restaurant! =)

Our Desserts !!!!

Grand Marnier Souffle!! Light, soft and it melts in your mouth! We got to eat it within minutes before it starts to collapse. It was yummy-lious!!!!

The Mini Pavlova, fresh fruits served on Chantilly Cream.

Thanks Dear for the birthday treat! =) 

Wooloomooloo Steak House
2 Stamford Road, Swissotel The Stamford, level 3
Tel: 65 6338 0261