DRINK EAT TRIP: October 2014

Monday 27 October 2014

SWARTLAND WINERY FROM SOUTH AFRICA

Swartland Winery is located in South Africa and came in Singapore to make us discover their wines.

Swartland Winery is one of the leading wineries in South Africa, producing approximately 23 000 tons of grapes per annum. And the members’ farms extend for a 22 km radius in the hills surrounding Malmesbury, covering roughly 3,600 hectares.

The arable land of the Swartland region is ideally suited for the growth of grapes in the bushvine style and the many microclimates enable the cultivation of a wide selection of wines. The end product is much sought after for blending as bush vines produce grapes of excellent quality and flavor.

The climate is hot and dry, which they used to their advantage in Swartland’s vineyards. Dry conditions and a lack of water in the soil leads to lower yields and smaller, more-concentrated fruit.

It is a mineral style wine, which can be interesting to try for wine amateur, but not for everyone.

They will perfectly goes with BBQ, roasted or grilled meat, strong cheeses…

Swartland Winery selection

Morne le Roux - GM of Swartland Winery & Lee Qi Da Director of Stellez vine

Morne le Roux – GM of Swartland Winery and Lee Qi Da Director of Stellez vine

N.O.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

#swartlandwinery #bushvine #Stellezwinery #praelum

OKB @ ONE KAMPONG BAHRU

Living near by, my GF and I decided to give this “Local Cafe” a try.

To be honest I never heard about them, and not even checked any comments before.

You know, sometimes on a Saturday at lunch time, the choices are limited… Some places are closed or they are so crowded, that you don’t want to wait 45mn for some dry scrambled eggs.

When we walked in, it was fairly quiet, and we got a warm welcome from the 2 floor staffs. One of them proposed us a table, and while giving the menus, did recommend the dish of the day.

Well, they do not have an extensive menu, but sometimes it’s better… Too many choices in a menu can result to a very bad meal! But let’s continue.

Not being too hungry we decided on 1 main course each with a side for me and 2 glasses of wine.

She took the SEAFOOD LAKSA LiNGUINE with a glass of Chardonnay from Argentina, and I followed the recommendation of the day which was a SLOW COOKED SHORT RIB with a side of SWEET POTATO SMASHED and a glass of Cabernet Shiraz from Australia.

To our surprise, the Chardonnay was really light, I mean really light..! No buttery flavour so distinct of a this grape. Don’t get me wrong, it was drinkable, but in any case looks like a Chardonnay, maybe a poor cousin, when, normally the Argentinian wines are exuberant, full of power and generous. This one was non-existent… But well, no much choice then we drunk it.

To the contrary, the Cabernet Shiraz was pleasant and did work well with the food.

To be honest the food was good. Maybe need a bit of adjustment as the chilli in the Laksa Linguine was overpowering the rest of the dish, but otherwise it was tasty.

And The Short Rib, was a perfect hit. I am, in general scare of the ” suggestion of the day” as it can be anything left over form the kitchen. But I repeat, it was really good. The beef was cooked to perfection, tender and not dry.

For the Sweet Potato Smashed, it could be a but more seasoned and buttery, but well maybe that’s the Healthier choice…. ahahah.

We finished our meal with the famous CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKE with a Vanilla Ice cream. Waouh, good, good, good. Perfectly cooked, hard on the outside and melting in the inside, with a full on black chocolate flavour… loved it.

I tried this dessert in many places around the world, and in a lot of time it is a FAIL… Not this time….

While of course, I’m reviewing this place, I want to share with you, that as foodies, we did also share our comments with the staffs; as an advise and we actually they were pretty happy on our point of you.

Will we go back, definitively as it was good.

When it’s good, it’s good!!!

THE WICKED GARLIC @ INTERNATIONAL PLAZA

Sometimes, As a F&B operator, you get the chance to attract office people by being in the heart of their offices. This is what happen with this place. Located Level 1 of International Plaza, even if the inside seating is limited, the location is great for lunch; and maybe also for the early dinner…

Few times, I passed by for lunch and that is true, it is always full. You better wait or come early.

The fact of seeing a queue doesn’t mean it’s good, but well shouldn’t be so bad….

Finally, we decided to go for an early dinner

It is true that is not expensive and their website claims: ” Welcome to a truly authentic Italian shack in Singapore…” so we ordered a SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA and a RISOTTO QUATTRO FORMAGGI E FUNGHI. In an auto-claimed “authentic Italian shack”, we shouldn’t get wrong!

The concept is, grab a table, choose what you want to eat, go at the cashier to order and pay, then wait…

In our case we did wait, and wait again… yeah my food is here, “ok darling you will have to wait too”… and wait, while other tables (came after us) got their food before my GF… Ok now, all of us got our food, let’s eat…!

For what it is an “authentic shack in Singapore” their is a lack of deco, i mean I don’t necessary have high expectation if I go in a local cafe, but at least good food and in this case Italian feel…. well nothing…

Unfortunately it is a pure disappointment.

Let me explain:

For the Real Italian, the Carbonara is made of Pancetta or bacon, egg and cheese and pepper. But in lots of places and even me at home, I like to add some cream (creme fraiche) and this is a personal taste. The trick, in my case, is to slow cook the creme to thicken it.

In our present case, in this “truly authentic Italian shack”, cream was raw… yes raw, or maybe was in a pot for less than a minute to warm it… Sir, when the cream is still liquid means something is wrong….

Now, what can I say about the Risotto… Undercooked! Of course it takes time to do a Risotto, but if I have to wait 20minutes for an undercooked risotto , as the grains are still hard, I do not necessary want to hear that you guys are cooking it “al dente”…

There is a difference between undercooked and “al dente”, and apparently you don’t know it…

My conclusion: if you are really hungry and want an average pasta, go to “Pastamania”… or just eat something else.

Should I return…??? Really? You ask me the question…

N.O.

ALLEGRINI’S WINE TASTING

I had the chance to do participate to the Wine Tasting of the Allegrini’s Winery.

They are one of the Star’s winery in Italy. Located in the Province of Verone.

Mostly knowns for the Valpolicella’s wine, the region also produce Ripasso, Amarone. And it’s a DOC appellation.

The Valpolicella is typically made from three grape varieties: Corvina Veronese, Rondinella and Molinara which give a light and fragant red wine.

Let’s talk about the tasting.

The representative of the winery brought a large range of wines, from white to red, expressing a full panel of flavours… It is a family owned vineyard which knows how to do great wine.

My comments about the wines:

- The “Soave” (white wine): medium-intense straw yellow in colour. The nose reveals distinct notes of white flowers with a crisp and delicate citrus fresh palate. It’s a medium body wine which will work perfectly with grilled seafood and shellfish, sushi and sweet and sour dishes typical of Asian cuisine. Must be served chilled.

- The “Valpolicella” (red wine): ruby red in colour, the nose reflect berries and aromatic herbs. A bit young on the palate with soft tannin, fresh acidity and clean finish. Can be kept a bit longer. It will work with roasted and grilled white meat.

-The “Palazzo Della Torre” (red wine): Deep ruby red in colour with nice dark berries aroma. It’s medium plus body, rich and velvety tannin. Perfect for grilled meats and roasts, it can be good with tomato based dishes and cheeses.

-The “La Grola” (red wine): Deep ruby red, it is a full and intense body. Bright cherry, good acidity. Well balanced, better decant it at least 1hr before serving. Perfect for lamb or even stewed meat and medium to aged cheese

-The “Amarone Classico DOC” (red wine): Deep dark ruby colour, chocolate, cassis and cherry flavour, full body with velvety tannins, long finish, it is a beautiful and intense wine which MUST be decanted at least 1hr minimum, and it will open perfectly. Red meat, grilled or roasted; aged cheeses, dark chocolate.

Of course, for me I will recommend to keep some Amarone in your cellar as it will aged perfectly and can be kept easily 5 to 10 years…

N.O.

FLEUR DE SEL RESTAURANT

Fleur de Sel mean “Flower of Salt” which is the prime quality salt crystal, but this is the name of this french restaurant opened 1 year ago in Tras Street.

It is an open kitchen concept with around 20+ seats in the cosy main dinning room and they do have a private dinning which can accommodate 12 persons. And Yes, you will see the chef cooking for you!

I will call that a “delicate” classic french, as everything is home-made and well plated, I mean nothing more / nothing less… Compare to some restaurant which like to add so many thing in the plate, they will do a classic yet elegant plating.

A good restaurant need to bring up the flavour of each dish and this is exactly what they are doing.

Personally I like to go there for dinner, taking the time to enjoy my food with, of course, a good bottle of wine.

Interestingly speaking their wine list is not over pricey, obviously it will depend on what you order but you can find good wines to a reasonable price.

Good thing is, they do have 2 Set Lunch menu for you to choose from. Both perfectly executed, it will depend on your appetite.

Dinner time it will be “A la Carte” and they do also have a Degustation Menu. Who knows, ask the Maitre D’h, as they might have something special…

Overall, it is a yummy place to go.

Lamb “Amuse Bouche”

Lobster bisque before

Pouring the Lobster Bisque

Snails

Beef Tenderloin

The Cheese troley

Dark Chocolate dessert

N.O.

OXWELL & CO

Since they opened, I’ve been there a couple of time, mostly to catch up with friends for a drink.

Of course at the opening they got a great publicity due to the fact that Chef Mark Sargeant “Chef consultant” (one of the protege of the famous Chef Gordon Ramsey) was involve in the food and in collaboration with the General Manager and Head Bartender Luke Whearty, created a nice place to eat and drink in Club Street area…

Well, do not get me wrong, there is a lot of places in Club St., and the competition is rude… As I say more competition will give better choice for the customer…

Honestly I am not a fan to go directly at the opening of a new place.

Why? Because, in general it is overcrowded, the food, might be too good (but standard will drop really soon) or they are so busy that the quality is not here yet but it will be in couple of month. Come on, the few weeks of any opening is stressful for the staff, as they need to adjust to a new environment, I believe you can understand… So DO NOT be too excited at the beginning, the best might come (or not…)

Their concept seems to be the new trend, industrial look with some rustic furniture…

To my disappointment, it seems, that the opening team “Mark Sargeant” is not here anymore. To be confirmed as the website still mention them, but I will not be surprised as this is also a trend in F&B those days, get some renowned people to open something and then, after few month, they are gone but the business still bank on their name…

OK, let’s go to the point, this will be the first review of this place as we just had couple of drinks (yes, ok a certain number…) and some Bar food. And promise I will go and try the dinning…

For the drink, I will talk about their home-made “on Tap” Mojito and Pina Colada.

Just to clarify, S$20 for any of them is way too expensive, even if you pay only S$10 during Happy Hour, I think it is way too expensive.

Mojito “on Tap”

Pina Colada “on Tap”

For the taste, I will say they were both light and refreshing , but a good friend of mine told, for a cocktail to be good, you need the proper balance of all the ingredients then you cannot taste the alcohol.

Just don’t get me wrong, the 2 cocktails were nice, way better than the wine by the glass. The red wine was bad…

For the snacks, we got Angus beef Burger and I will call that the monster Hot Dog..

Hot Dog

Angus Burger

Honestly both were good, tasty, juicy, not over cooked.In a way it is not complicated to do that, you need the proper ingredients but compare to some other places, it was good.

I will definitively go back to their proper dinning at Level 2 to try their food.

To resume all, not bad cocktails of bar food, crowded really fast, feel free to go to the bar to order.

N.O.