Miam Miam

France in Japan or Japan in France? Whichever way you want to call it. The food here is superb! No doubt that I've only gone for desserts for my entire meal. But there was so many other great looking dishes that I would have ordered if my appetite was larger. Miam Miam only recently opened upon the shores of Singapore and has been a huge hit since. Gathering pace and status, I was eager to try them out.

 <French Toast>

I quite like it. It was really light and fluffy. The eggs went straight through the yummy brioche. Sprinkled with icing sugar and scoop of cream, it really brightened up my otherwise sneezing day.

 <Caramelised Banana Pancake>

Okay, the photo doesn't quite do the pancake justice. It was a really thick slab of pancake. Probably an inch and a half in height. It was light but quite bland. In a way, it matched really well with the sweetness of the banans, maple syrup and softee ice cream. If you find it too sweet, just make sure you take a bite of the blue berries once every a few mouths to cleanse your palate.

<Valrhona Chocolate Souffle>

Rich, decadent and sinful! You almost can't go wrong with Valrhona chocolates. They are intense and bring along a whole lot of surprises to your taste buds. What's more, the souffle was baked to perfection too. Only thing I would complain is that the bottom of the pot looks kinda oily. It made me feel I have sinned even more. LOL...

Verdict
Ambience - Good
Food - Great
Cost - $20+
Overall - Must try!

Address
#02-14 Bugis Junction, 200 Victoria Street, Singapore 188021
http://miam.sg/

Opening Hours
Daily: 11.30am to 10pm

Jamie's Italian

Jamie's Italian! An acclaimed restaurant opened by Celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver who hails from Britain but once trained under the Italian maestro, Antonio Carluccio. The restaurant is always fully packed during meal times with queues up to 3 hours. So if you want to dine here, make sure you book way in advance or visit during the off peak hours.

<Fish and Meat Planks> 

One of his signatures are planks. There are fish, meat and vegetable planks. The fish plank was under whelming. There wasn't really much to it and the fishes that accompanied it were mediocre. The meat plank however, was great. It had a wide variety and good quality cured meats like Prosciutto Ham, Pistachio mortadella, Bresaola & Hot Soppressata to satisfy any picky mouths out there.

<Polenta Chips>

Holy crap! This was really really good. Crispy on the outside, soft and moist on the inside. Almost like fried tofu but with a nice fragrance of corn. The shaved Parmesan cheese on the top added the needed saltiness. Well balanced and tasty!

 <Prawn Linguine>

Fresh pasta cooked to al-dente. Fresh prawns and yummy bisque smothers your palate with every bite.

 <Wild Truffle Risotto>

Cooked decently, but slightly mushed for my liking. The risotto accentuated a very strong smell of the truffle and taste of the drizzled olive oil. Not bad, but I probably wouldn't order this again.

 <Tagliatelle Bolognese>

Perfectly cooked fresh pasta. Deep rich flavours from the bolognese. Huge portion! One of the best bolognese pasta I've eaten before.

 <Mortadella & Ricotta Panzerotti>

Ravioli filled with mortadella & chicken, coated in a blue cheese sauce. Topped with toasted, spiced nuts & an apple, lemon & parsley salad. Tasty, light, refreshing and abundance of textures. Loved it!

 <Grilled Pork Chops>

Good and bad. The pork itself was tender, juicy and flavourful. But the crackling... almost broke my tooth... It was so hard! Not crispy.. T__T

<Tiramisu>

Decent tiramisu. Had a good balance of cocoa and coffee liqueur. What I like about it was that it wasn't too wet. Just the right consistency that I feel a tiramisu should have.

Verdict
Ambience - Good
Food - Good
Cost - $25+
Overall - Try it!

Address
1 HarbourFront Walk, VivoCity, #1 165-167 Singapore 098585
http://www.jamieoliver.com/italian/singapore/home

Opening Hours
Sunday to Thursday: 12pm to 10pm
Friday & Saturday: 12pm to 11pm

Old Hong Kong Legend

 <Mini Egg Tarts>

 <Deep Fried Beancurd Skin Rolls with Prawns>

 <Shanghai Meat Dumplings - Missing one cause I ate it :x >

 <Steamed Shrimp and Pork Dumpling>

 <Baked South African Abalone Puff>

 <Steam Spare Ribs with Black Beans>

<Steam Sponge Cake>

What a let down... all of the dim sum here were mediocre or below average. They were either too dry or way too hard like a ping pong ball. The only saving grace were the abalone puffs. But they didn't come cheap at $9.80 each and required a minimum order of two. The puffs were moist and pack full of mushroom flavour. The abalone on the top provided the necessary bite to the otherwise boring texture.

But wait! Upon checking with my close friend. Old Hong Kong Legend isn't famous for their dim sum, rather for their specialties. One of which would be the abalone puff. So before you give this place a miss, you might want to check out the rest of their specialties before you cast your final verdict.

Verdict
Ambience - Good
Food - Average
Cost - $4+
Overall - Worth a try

Address
252 North Bridge RoadRaffles City Shopping Centre#02-18 Singapore 179103
http://www.oldhongkong.com.sg/

Opening Hours
10:30am to 10:30pm

The Chop House

The Chop House. A slightly lower tiered restaurant under the Wooloomooloo Group which houses the famous Wooloomooloo Steakhouse from Hong Kong. The ambience was country and pleasant. But the staff could try to be a little friendlier without their strict faces.

 <Pumpkin Soup>

Excellent! Velvety and full of pumpkin sweetness. The croutons added a good crunch and toasty depth to the soup as well. I will definitely recommend anyone to try this.

 <Crispy Calamari>

The squids were fresh and the tartar sauce tangy. But the coating on the outside kept falling off the squid. I guess they probably didn't do a proper coating before frying them. From my understanding, it only falls off if you don't double coat them. As in, flour --> egg --> batter.

<Linguini Bolognese>

Though the pasta were those pre-made types, it was cooked to perfection. However, the bolognese was way way too salty. Remember to drink loads of water after that.

<Berkshire Pork Chop served with rhubarb jam, mustard and onion jam>

The highlight of the day! O.M.G! The pork chop is to die for! It is super tender, super moist and super flavourful. They got the balance of the hoisin and black bean chilli sauce spot on. It was one of those few times that I wish the meal could go on. I even picked up the bone and chomp on the bits on it. T__T But I suppose the only way you could have dislike this dish might be, if you prefer to taste the really porky flavour of the pork. Otherwise, there is no reason for you to not like this.

Verdict
Ambience - Good
Food - Great
Cost - $40+
Overall - Must try!

Address
1 Harbourfront Walk, #01-161-162 VivoCity, Singapore 098585
http://www.wooloo-mooloo.com/sg/the-chop-house.aspx

Opening Hours
Mon to Thurs: 12pm to 11pm
Fri, Sat and Eve of Public Holidays: 12pm to 12am
Sun and Public Holidays: 11am to 11pm

Magnum Singapore

 <Venice in a Jar>

<Mid-summer's Night Dream>

Fanciful names with fanciful plating. That is about as good as it gets. The specialty desserts sold at the pop-up outlets had no real depth to them in my opinion. They were all just relying on their looks to draw in the crowd. Not to mention the hefty price tag that comes along with them. In all negativity, at least the ice cream from magnum was still good. I'll probably just continue my foray with their original flavours from the supermarkets.

No location and opening hours provided as the outlets were just temporary.

Verdict
Ambience - Not good.
Food - Average
Cost - $8+
Overall - Stick to the supermarket Magnums

Peperoni Pizzeria

A pizzeria under the Le Amis Group. We had quite high hopes for the pizza as Le Amis has a few good restaurant brand names under them. The restaurant was furnished with very simple decor, nothing over the board nor pretentious.  

 <Half/Half Margherita and Quattro Formaggi>

They only have one type of crust and the pizza is baked in a wood fire oven. The taste is simple, good and fresh. However, if you are really hungry, you could easily gobble down 2 large pizzas on your own as they are really light.

 <Gnocchi>

Home made soft potato dumplings gratinated in four cheese sauce. Too heavy, too dense and rich for my liking. Overall, I didn't like it at all.

 <Tiramisu>

This Tiramisu was just average. The mascarpone cheese was too heavy. Not sure which way it wanted to go, it was neither cocoa-ish nor coffee-ish enough nor alcholic enough.

 <Tortino al Cioccolato>

Chocolate lava cake made from Valrhona chocolate. Alas! That was its only saving grace. Without the intense chocolaty flavour from Valrhona, this dessert would have been a total let down. It is over cooked and the ice cream served with it is just plain average.

Verdict
Ambience - Average
Food - Average
Cost - $20+
Overall - Worth a try. But could give the desserts a miss.

Address
3 Temasek Boulevard #B1-130
http://peperoni.com.sg/

Opening Hours
Mondays to Saturdays: 11am to 9.30pm
Sundays: 11am to 9.30pm

Juchheim Baumkuchen

Baumkuchen or "tree log" originated from Germany. It was brought over to Japan and it won over the hearts of many Japanese. It sort of resembles the "kueh lapis" that we are familiar with. The store in Singapore sold its flagship original flavour along with others such as chocolate and earl grey. I bought the earl grey one as my wife loves the fragrance of the tea. The cake is very dense but not oily. It is slightly dry but has a very good depth of flavour to it. You should chomp on each bite slowly to let the aroma permeate your entire mouth. Though texturally, I prefer a lighter and more moist cake. This cake is interesting enough to make me want to go back and at least try out another flavour.

Verdict

Ambience - N.A

Food - Average

Cost - $5+

Overall - Worth a try

Address

391 Orchard Road Singapore 238873, Singapore Takashimaya B2 205 3-1

http://www.juchheim.co.jp/english/store/

Opening Hours

11am to 9pm (Un-confirmed)

Bistro Du Vin

 <Rabbit Terrine>

First time trying rabbit and first time for a terrine too. Not quite sure what to expect. But I didn't enjoy it as much as I would like to have. The  terrine was dry and the meat was flaky. There were pots of solidified oil that proved a little overwhelming in the end. Don't get me wrong, maybe I do not know how to enjoy it. But Bistro Du Vin has been one of my favourite places so far. I guess my adventure ended on the wrong side today.

 <Nicoise Salad>

A mixture of mesclun salad, tuna flakes, anchovies, black olives, hard-boiled egg, green beans and bell pepper. It was a hefty and decently delish salad. However, some might find it a little fishy for their liking.

 <Char Grilled Australian Augus Ribeye>

Served with French fries and Bearnaise sauce, the steak has a really good char all around it. Making it really flavourful and it also locked up all the juice within it as well. Really tender! Will definitely recommend it to steak lovers out there to try it. Just to rant, somehow I still can't bring myself to like Bearnaise sauce. =.=

 <Grand Marnier Souffle>

Puffy, fluffy and well executed. For me, it was cooked to perfection. And I've always preferred for souffles to be served with ice cream. *Thumbs up!* I just wished that they offered other flavours too.

<Petit Pot Au Chocolate with Madelines> 

Overall it was quite average. Nothing spectacular about it. If you are going to visit this awesome bistro for the first time, if you like, do try out their French onion soup and duck confit. I do rate them as amongst one of the best in Singapore.

Verdict
Ambience - Good
Food - Great
Cost - $30+ per pax
Overall - Must try!

Address
1 Scotts Road, Shaw Centre, #01-12, Singapore 228208
http://www.lesamis.com.sg

Opening Hours
Lunch: 12pm to 2pm
Dinner: 6.30pm to 10.30pm

Bedrock Bar & Grill

Located at Pan Pacific Suites, located just beside 313 Somerset. It serves up some really good steaks, bustling warm ambience and excellent sides. My dad wanted to treat me to something good for my birthday and I suggested this place since we both love steaks.

<Oysters>

Served with red wine-shallot mignonette and lemon. I didn't really eat this as I wasn't into oysters. But my parents and my wife said it was fresh and refreshing. A pity it somehow came to my mind that my dad experience a mild diarrhoea when he got home. It might have been something else he ate, but this remains on our list of suspects. But just to clarify, my mum and wife didn't experience anything bad though.

<French Onion Soup>

Hoho! This French onion soup is certainly one for the carnivores! Not only is it cooked with the usual ingredients such as onion, beef broth and gruyere gratin. It has bacon in it too! Nothing could go wrong. It added an additional depth to the already hearty soup. But it still ranks a very close second to my favourite at Bistro Du Vin. 

<Roasted Bone Marrow>

Roasted with chopped parsley salad and served toast. This was my FIRST taste of bone marrow. I was constantly contemplating but yet excited when it finally arrived on our table. It was really fatty and gelatin-ish. But it tasted good and balance if you smear it on the toast. It was so good that I asked for more toast to go with it and they Obliged! ^^ 

<Wild Halibut>

A beauty on a plate. The delicate fish was served up along side confit of potato, fresh cherry tomato and lemon verbena vinaigrette dressing. It tasted almost like cod but without the fattiness. The fish was perfectly cooked that it flakes off smoothly.

<Steamed Asparagus>

Well, we just had to have something to cut through all this evil goodness that we are downing right? Hee ^^ But boy, it was fresh and not overcooked. Crunchy!

 <Truffle Mash Potato>

Excellent excellent excellent! Despite it looking oily. You can tell and taste that it was made from fresh potatoes and not some packet powder crap. It was velvety but yet retained some small bites in it for texture. And the truffle's aroma really came through. *Thumbs up!*

 <Duck Fat Potatoes>

How could one skip this if this is your first time? They are really crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. It had a very nice aroma from cooking in duck fat too. But given the choice if I went back again, I might just choose the mash over this.

 <Tomahawk Steak>

The highlight of the day! The Tomahawk steak! Fed with 400 days grain, this wagyu packed a punch. With it you had a full range of done-ness to sample, ranging from rare to medium well. Ordering this steak also entitles you to receive the whole range of sauces that the restaurant offers, which would have otherwise cost you $4 each. There are red wine sauce, bedrock chili oil, classic bearnaise, wholegrain whiskey mustard, chimichurri sauce. I personally prefer the mustard. Steak wise, it was really good but pricey as one would suspect. Oh! If you are adventurous enough, take the entire bone and get the tough looking bits off it. It is really crispy and tastes like beef jerky! 

Verdict

Ambience - Good

Food - Great

Cost - $100+ per pax

Overall - Must try!

Address

96 Somerset Road, #01-05 Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Orchard, Singapore 238163

http://bedrock.com.sg/

Opening Hours

Lunch: Mondays to Fridays, 12pm to 3pm (last order at 2:30pm)

Dinner: Mondays to Saturdays, 6:30pm to 11pm (last order at 10:30pm)

Brunch: Saturdays, 11am to 3pm

Bar: 5pm to 12am

Closed on Sundays