All things Bruno Menard

Bruno Menard &Made as well as La Cantine almost made me swear he must have heard me complain that fine dining or food by famous Michelin starred chefs in Singapore all too often comes with a premium price tag (almost costing a star).

His first foray into the local scene saw him start off with &Made.

&Made by Bruno Menard
9 Scotts Road
#01-04/05/06 Pacific Plaza
Tel:+65 66907566

Well, I like the fact that at this joint they do make pretty good mojito. There's this green tea & shisho leaf mojito that i really enjoyed. Food-wise, the burger was delicious with juicy patties. I did try the three little pigs burger and that was a winner for me. I felt it was decently priced with good quality and tasty burger. My friend did try the kimchi flavoured one, and his opinion was that it is a little peculiar not bad tasting just not quite used to it. I do regret not giving that a shot as i am quite a big fan of korean food and kimchi.

Just a quick note, I did try Omakase burgers and i reckon i will give my vote to Bruno Menard's &Made. One of my gripe is that it can be quite a pain sometimes to queue and wait. But I must say it was a smart move to have a food joint that was priced below what you would expect from a michelin chef. I guess he was targeting a different market segment.

And so after Bruno Menard, I was convinced to give another of his establishment a shot, which was La Cantine. I did try the lunch and I must say it was good and for the price you are paying certainly worth every cent. After so many months, if you asked me what do i still remember of the lunch, it will certainly be the risotto. Nicely done, not too watery just right in texture and viscosity and the flavours were infused into the grains. The dessert was an assortment of different desserts and the creme brule was definitely my fave. its fragrant and in malay "lemak" feeling to it. Love it!  However, I am two minds when it comes to dinner I can't seem to put my finger down on what I didnt quite enjoy. Maybe I will head back again and come up with a better review, afterall its been a while since i have been to La Cantine.

La Cantine (Asia Square)

8 Marina View

#01-01 Asia Square Tower 1

Tel: 6690756

Yoshiyuki at the Forum Shopping Mall

Yoshiyuki
583 Orchard Road
#B1-39, Forum The Shopping Mall
Tel: +6581880900

The new year of 2013 started with a rather pleasant surprise and certainly an exquisitely prepared lunch at Yoshiyuki. When i first walked in past the entrance, into a short dimly lit corridor suddenly the door slid open and we were greeted by the manager of the restaurant. If you looked around, there isnt any window from where you enter but we were expected, almost felt like in those paranormal movies. We were then led into the restaurant and we came to a junction where it felt like a dead end and then she pushes against one side of the wall and the door swung open like a trap door for a moment i felt i should have worn my ninja suit and carried my shurikens.

We finally entered a well lit area, and was greeted by a sushi bar which doesnt appear to sit many. After which we began our kaiseki lunch prepared by Chef Yoshiyuki Kashiwabara Kyoto style. I bet you would have read a bit about the Chef who succeeded Goto San as the Chef for the Japanese Ambassdor and now he brought back to Singapore by Ignatius Chan who started Iggy's.

So far, this restaurant appears to have gotten it all right and ended last year with Wong Ah Yoke stating it to be one of his favourite restaurants for 2012.

I must say the dishes were beautifully prepared and the quality was impeccable.

A very personable dining experience...

The Rabbit Stash 
(http://www.therabbitstash.com.sg or  https://www.facebook.com/therabbitstash.fanpage )
354/356 Alexandra Road #01-07 Alexis, Singapore, Singapore 159948
Tel: 91730723

After an experience with private dining in Hong Kong, I was rather determine to sniff out similar dining places in Singapore. That's where i chance upon Rabbit Stash by Chef Matthew Mok.

I did attempt to head over to Rabbit Stash when it was at Ulu Pandan but they were closed and preparing for a new place. And so, when it was up and running recently now over at Alexis (close to where Ikea Alexandra is) I was glad I went over for lunch.

The thing about private dining that i enjoy is that some really is a no frills place but serves good food with a very personable approach to dining. And we are not simply referring to the service crew but you actually have the chef come out and have a chat, understand the needs and get a feel of the customers.

We tried his beef tenderloin and as stated in other blogs, it is nicely done tender and juicy. I tried the salmon and the texture was beautiful making it a rather pleasant surprise considering the fact that recently i did try out Salt Grill and Sky Bar and i wasnt too impressed with the doners of the fish (i tried three different kinds of fish then even!).

We did start off with the pea voloute and for a pea hater, this was not overwhelmingly strong but a good balance of the flavours and spices. This was something that i noticed for all the dishes. It was a smart use of spices to give that extra edge and challenge the taste buds in a way that opens up the palate.

The Basil cheesecake was not too creamy and maybe it was the tinge of basil in it that gave it that added edge to it. I have a sweet tooth and so this cheesecake i really dig.

Be sure to call in and book. In the past when it was at Ulu Pandan... if i am not mistaken they use to be able to seat only 12 folks but now with the new place Alexis i think they have pretty much double up the capacity to about 25-30. Don't worry. the place ain't cramped up, instead nicely spaced. Go on down and tell me what you think about Rabbit Stash.

 This was really nice. Sorry forgot to take down the name.. its salmon with smoked duck. 

Travel Files 1: Amsterdam

Amsterdam in June is beautiful, and its also in season for herring! It was my first time having it and you can find a few stores along the bridges across quite a few rivers. the herring was fresh and really delicious with a little onion, dash of pepper and nothing more.

I did however visit Ron Blauw's restaurant (2 Michelin Star), Restuarant De Klas as well as Yamazato Restaurant in Okura Hotel (only Japanese restaurant outside of Japan to be awarded 1 Michelin Star).

So this June 2012, Ron Blauw in Amsterdam was my first stop. I can't say i was "wow"ed by the experience during lunch but i do have some pictures to share for this restaurant. 

To be honest, there were occasions i felt, some similarities to what i had in Fat Duck. But the use of fresh in season produce was refreshing on some instances and maybe my palate isnt as refined as i would like it to be... there were times I wasn't quite sure what to appreciate. 

Restaurant De Klas on the other hand was a pleasant experience, and rather romantic you walk across a stream off the main road into this park where a huge green house nestled in the serene green surroundings. Food was nice, and the entire feel of the area eating within a greenhouse, looking out into the beautiful park left me with no regret in dining at this place.

If my memory serves me well, it was "omakase" like as in we didn't get to choose but rather the chef cooks what he feels like for the day and serves our some produce that they actually harvested from their greenhouse. I was not a fan of olive but the olive they served us was really nice and organic... I sincerely do believe organic food do taste different.

My final stop was Yamazato as i spent my last day's dinner at this traditional Japanese restaurant in Amsterdam. We had wine/sake pairing with our omakase and that was rather novel at least for me. Food wise, can't help it but feel Shinji in Singapore was heaps better. Not that it was bad food, don't get me wrong the dishes were good but for the amount of money we were paying somehow it fell short of our expectations.  Anyway, the following are some of the pictures I took and maybe you can share with me your opinions on some of the places and maybe some tips even or suggestions so that I can check other restaurants out should i be back in Amsterdam.