Saturday, October 29, 2011

relish by wildrocket @ Cluny Court

Last Saturday a bunch of us went to Relish @ Cluny Court to celebrate the tennis stars' birthdays. "Tennis stars" because they used to be, gasp!, national players?! I think. Anyway. It was a rainy morning but we still managed to get ourselves out of bed and met there at, 1.15pm. More like lunch. All of us had heard of this place before, but never been here. We had our virgin experience together.

While trying to locate this place at Cluny Court, I came across several interesting cafes on the first floor - another potential brunch place, a cupcake cafe, Awfully Chocolate, Marble Slab Creamery, and what we would later find out, 3-Inch Sin! And Cold Storage. Next to this mini shopping centre is Botanic Gardens. This place has everything you need on a weekend! 


Thankfully we had a reservation, because the place was packed with families, couples, friends, expats... 


Blue Cheese Beef Burger with Rucola, Poached Pear & Walnut Butter ($19) -
Beef burger with pears?! Walnut butter? Blue cheese?? An experimental recipe that would go awry, or be awesome? 
Verdict: Simply, awesome. Two thumbs up! We had it medium done. The pears added a refreshing and delightful taste to the burger and left my taste buds wanting for more, and same goes for the walnut butter, which tasted more like peanut butter. Beef burger with pears and peanut-butter, hm, sounds like an unmixable mix, but they surprisingly well together. I couldn't really taste the blue cheese unless I scoop it out, but Pineapple, whom I shared this with, insisted the taste was very strong. Either my taste buds doesn't work well or I'm not adverse to blue cheese. 


 The Englishman had a Pauwel Kwak (a kind of Belgian Beer) to go along with his Steak Sandwich, and it came in an interesting-looking beer glass and wooden stand. Very authentic, I must say. The Peach Beer and Honeydew Beer sounded interesting as well but sadly, no one ordered them.



Eggs Royale   - 
It wasn't on the menu but Ms Soprano requested for the ham to be changed to smoked salmon instead, with an additional charge.

Smoked Salmon, Scrambled Eggs and Cream Cheese Bagel
The eggs was good, but the smoked salmon was too fishy and the bagel too hard. Wrong choice, unfortunately. Pineapple shot daggers at me because I kinda forced her to share this with me. 


 Crabmeat Linguine 
This tasted pretty good for the first few twirls, but it could be too much for your palate if you were having this on your own. Food taste best when shared IMO :)
Because it wasn't my main and the grass is always greener on the other side, I stole quite a few forkfuls from TY, teehee.
Real crabmeat with generous servings. After a while it tasted like Chili Crab Pasta - East meets West. Which starts to taste strange after you have half of the dish..


 For desserts (which we placed candles at the side and on top of the dessert cup), we had the Signature Cheesecake ($9), which surprised me when it came in a cup (no photos) with ice cream, strawberries, cream cheese, and crumble. It wasn't fantastic, but it might be because I'm not a fan of cheesecake and sour stuff (strawberries). 


Now this was good - Lava cake with ice cream. Look at the volcano of molten chocolate oozing out! Yummy.



It was a good meal - the restaurant was packed but it wasn't too noisy, which some restaurants could be when they have that amount of people. The ambience was laid-back and the atmosphere casual, sunlight streaming in from the side window after a rainy morning, company of friends who enjoy a good meal with you, what's not to like?


How much was spent per pax: $26 - $33 (I can't remember!)
Would I come back here?: Definitely!


501 Bukit timah road
#02-01 Cluny court
Tel: 6763 1547

Monday, October 24, 2011

126 Eating House (Wan Dou Sek 搵到食) @ Sims Ave, Geylang

Being a food lover, I found it appalling that I only knew of this place recently, after Ah Chow and BF brought me here one fine night for supper. Even before we finished the meal, I told myself I must go there again soon! Cheap and good and a delighting variety. So when Miss Doc and Drumstick were planning a trip here, I begged pleaded requested to tag along. 

Located at the red-light district of Singapore, this no-frills eatery ("hole in the wall") is easy to pass by at 7pm on a Monday night. On weekends or later in the night when crowds pick up, the chairs and tables will appear outside the shop and you will recognize the place by the throngs of customers.

"搵到食" (Wan Dou Sek) is Cantonese which can be loosely translated into "found something to eat!". Ok I added the exclamation mark myself. "126" is a clever pun on the Cantonese name which I thought very witty. 

Old-school Hong Kong-style eatery:

 
Service is practically non-existent and I felt like an invisible being there. But I'm not complaining, because the food tickles my taste buds and the prices will not break the bank. 

Sorry, the camera was slower than the hungry birds: Deep Fried Carrot Cake 


 Chee Cheong Fun: With a very special sauce that I never tasted else where... Topped with fragrant shallots and spring onions



 No names and prices for all these I'm afraid - I was pretty much caught up with eating.


 The Siew Mai and Har Gao were not fantastic but the quality suffices and the other items make up for it.



The hugest variety of Eastern tapas you can find there - they even have crabs and noodles! Too many things to try and I shall return soon one day.



How much was spent per pax: $13 per pax
Would I go back again? Definitely!

126 Sims Ave
Singapore 387449
(between Geylang Lor 15 and 17)