Cliff(y) Goes Dining

"The last sausage kiosk before the equator" A German sausage stall in the heart of Chinatown - sounds cool enough? As one walks past the stall, one will see the chef in his uniform, whipping up various sausage dishes to curious customers. I'm not sure how true is the tagline though. 

A decent, but plain-looking asparagus risotto... For an eclectic selection of Eastern and Western dishes, Dino Bistro at the Nirwana Resort Hotel lobby may be an eatery to consider while staying at the resort. It's mentioned in the website that there's a live acoustic performance in the evening to complete your dining experience.

Delightful, albeit expensive, Javanese style fried noodle!  I found myself back at Nirwana Gardens Resort in Bintan, Indonesia for another quick getaway after slightly less than two years. I stayed in one of the cabanas at Nirwana Beach Club, whereas this year, I stayed at Nirwana Resort Hotel. Let's check out what they've got to offer at The Poolside.

More-than-decent pulled pork burger and chocolate roll! I've seen a few branches of Artisan Boulangerie Co. around the island, or ABC in short, but have never sat down there to have something to satiate my stomach. Led by Eran Mayer, an award-winning artisan baker, the bakery imports its flour from a traditional flour mill outside Paris.

Decent chicken rice and veggie with oyster sauce~ I used to eat chicken rice pretty frequently before my university days, but rarely so these days. It was nice that someone ordered chicken rice when you didn't know what to eat for dinner.

Stunningly succulent prawns with amazing creamy lemon sauce! UPDATE (18/09/2017):  The restaurant has closed down. Occupying two floors of Thye Shan Mansion near Outram Park MRT Station, Grand Mandarina is a Chinese fine dining restaurant that combines tradition, modernity and elegance. All the good reviews online prompted me to walk down from my house to have a sumptuous dinner.

Has the standard of the pork chop gone down slightly? Who doesn't know this particular chain of restaurants that's the pride of Taiwan? I happened to be looking at my older posts yesterday, only to be surprised by the fact that I'd never written about Din Tai Fung before. There's a branch conveniently located within a stone's throw away from home, which is at Chinatown Point.

Yummy noodle with fresh crab meat, but the portion can be bigger~ Focusing mainly on Cantonese cuisine with a touch of modernity and creative interpretation, Xin Yue is helmed by an award-winning chef by the name of Fung Chi Keung. It's known that he spearheaded the first fine dining concept of the Paradise Group: Taste Paradise.

Delicious roasted chicken and mushroom spaghetti in a French eatery! UPDATE (22/09/2018):  The eatery has closed down. What an interesting name for an eatery, don't you think? For the uninitiated, it's an informal expression used to excuse yourself for swearing. Well, I'm pretty sure the owner just tried to put up such a name to catch our attention on the small, but promising French eatery.

Have you heard of the Indonesian 'submarine fish cake' before? There are days when you're feeling lazy to cook or go out. Yesterday was one of them. Craving for Indonesian food, I decided to check out what Spice Corner, a Kopitiam stall at Plaza Singapura, has got to offer. I think I tried something from that stall a few years ago, though I can't remember much.

Moist beef meatballs with spicy creamy sauce, anyone? Helmed by Chef Ryan, The Forgotten Recipe aims to "celebrate our past, remember our roots and savour our memories" by serving traditional food cooked the original way, while some of them are upgraded into fusion cuisine.

Truly aromatic oven-roasted chicken, thanks to garlic and cinnamon! Many people have been raving about Chir Chir, which apparently is South Korea's largest chain of restaurants that's famous for its interesting chicken dishes. Yes, it was only recently that I finally decided to give it a try. Don't judge! :P

Decent seafood marinara, but insipid chicken curry... Located at Keppel Club alongside the waves of the ocean, Sea Scent Restaurant offers a variety of Asian and Western dishes. It overlooks the ramparts of the old Fort Siloso and Labrador Park, where diners can occasionally watch the ferries ply the harbour. 

Super thick and rich 'liquid gold'! A brand conceptualised by two Singaporean women, albeit having the first outlet in Shanghai, Cocoa Colony is the place for cocoa drink lovers. Dubbed as the 'Amazonian liquid gold', the cocoa beverages are certainly not to be missed out.

Matcha and salted egg yolk in a croissant! UPDATE (26/05/2020):  With the closure of Liang Court, the restaurant has moved to UIC Building at 5 Shenton Way. Happy birthday, Melon! Have you noticed that her birthday is exactly two weeks after Pikachu's? Anyway, on this special occasion, I brought her to the highly rated Western-Japanese fusion eatery named Dulcet & Studio, which is part of the Tampopo group. 

Popular Hainanese pork chop since its early days~ The history of Mooi Chin Place dates back to 1935 when it only served Western fare and alcoholic drinks, being one of the very few restaurants with a liqueur license back then. After World War II, it started serving Chinese cuisine, while keeping its Western dishes on the menu. I'm going to review the Chinese dishes that my BFF and I had for dinner.

Is the breakfast set from the leading coffee chain worth it? I'm not the kind of person who goes to Starbucks regularly. In fact, I can count with my fingers the number of times I drop by the famous coffee chain every year. What I really fancy is the smooth and creamy green tea latte, but the focus of this review is on the Breakfast Set  that's available until 11.30am on weekdays and 2.30pm on weekends and public holidays.

Dine like an emperor with beef soup, crispy potatoes and creamed spinach!  UPDATE (15/10/2018):  The restaurant has closed down. Kaiserhaus is a glamorous restaurant inside the Capitol Theatre, offering a plethora of Eastern European dishes. It promises "an exquisite dining menu fit for an Emperor" with culinary delights from the former Habsburg Empire.

European-Asian fusion dishes with herbal power! UPDATE (15/03/2019):  The restaurant has closed down. If you're looking for a semi-formal fine dining restaurant, you may want to head down to Tanjong Pagar. Violet Herbs is said to be a restaurant that "differentiates [itself] by an extensive use of herbs in all of [its] food and signature cocktails".

I wonder if Heisenberg used to like hamburgers? UPDATE (12/07/2020):  The eatery has closed down. Happy birthday to Pikachu and me! Although I haven't really been celebrating mine in the recent years, I took the opportunity to go to an eatery I've always wanted to go to. I'm pretty sure Chemistry teachers, myself included, will love this particular place where syringes, beakers and test tubes are a common sight.

A nice blend of fragrant osmanthus and refreshing yuzu in a mooncake! How many of us can recall offhand the full name of TCC? Prior to the act of writing this review, I couldn't. Anyway, The Connoisseur Concerto offers its selection of eight snowskin mooncake flavours to keep your sweet tooth sated this season of joy.

Delectable skewers, but super salty cabbage appetiser... Sumire Yakitori House hails from Japan with its first store in Tokyo starting business in June 2009. Its logo, a slight spin of the character 笑 (lit. smile, laugh), is further highlighted in its mission to promote that "smile is priceless". It can be achieved through good food and service.

Good garlic stuff: honey garlic chicken and garlic fried rice! With so many Korean fried chicken joints around the island, one is certainly spoilt for choice. While I'm not so crazy about those seasoned chicken, I suppose it won't harm trying once in a while. Not far from my house is Oppa Chicken, which has just turned a year old at the point of writing.

Delectable grilled sea bass with refreshingly sweet and sour soup! UPDATE (24/07/2019):  The restaurant has moved to IMM Building at 2 Jurong East Street 21. A relatively new player at Resorts World Sentosa, Shu Jiang Grilled Fish Restaurant does look grand from the outside. Its pseudo-underwater dining concept, coupled with its signature grilled fish cooked in an array of flavours, promises diners of a treat for the tongue and soul.

Fulfilling fusion dinner, especially the roast beef and the cream spaghetti! UPDATE (26/12/2018):  The restaurant has closed down. I'm not sure, but I believe there aren't many restaurants here in Singapore serving Japanese-Italian fusion food. Apart from the affordable Saizeriya , I have recently discovered a hidden gem not too far from my house. Upon entering Bene Spaghetti, I felt as if I was in Japan as I heard the staff spoke in Japanese to each other.

Thick mushroom soup that was way too rich for my blood... How many of you have been to the Lifelong Learning Institute at Paya Lebar? Launched in 2013, the institute provides an avenue for in-demand skills training, as well as professional upgrading programmes. On the first floor is a  Halal  certified bistro serving a variety of international dishes. 

Mouth-watering spicy prawns on a hotplate that could be fresher... UPDATE (13/07/2020):  The restaurant has closed down. I can't believe that my last review on Peranakan cuisine is dated all the way back to 2014. That was when I visited Melaka, Malaysia. To break this hiatus, I'm going to write about O'nya Sayang (lit. love of a Peranakan mother) that I chanced upon when I was at Tampines.

How did the limited edition salted egg yolk item fare? Prior to dropping by the outlet at Changi Airport, it'd been a long time since I last dined at Fish & Co., which was probably during my Junior College days. After sending my sister off, my BFF and I decided to check out how the menu has changed over the years.

Heart-warming signature stew with oh-so-tender pork ribs! Not that this post is about local cuisine, but Happy National Day! I hope everyone has been having a great week so far. I'm currently down with a bit of flu, but that isn't going to stop me from venturing for food. In fact, today's dinner has made me feel healthier, thanks to the hearty stew that I had.

Decent fettuccine with pink sauce, but not enough mushrooms... When I first heard the name of the restaurant, I thought that was 'pasta' joined with 'more'. After looking more closely to the capitalisation in the middle, I've eventually come to a realisation that the name is actually a concatenation of 'pasta' and the Italian word for 'love':  amore .

Virgin experience with carbonara risotto! I wrote about  Spizzico  sometime last year, an Italian restaurant that used to be at UE Square, but it has since moved to Westgate Mall at Jurong East. It appears that the space has been overtaken by another Italian restaurant, which is what I'm going to review today. 

Truly hearty chicken stew with a touch of white wine! UPDATE (02/11/2019):  The restaurant has closed down. August is here! After visiting the cool Library@Orchard for the first time, my BFF and I walked our way to Orchard Central. We stumbled upon Milagro Spanish Restaurant, which offers quite an extensive food items from various regions of the country. 

Truly tender beef short ribs over the Pacific Ocean! Soon after the announcement for boarding was made, my BFF and I exited the Tabua Club Lounge and made our way to the priority lane at the gate. We were greeted with a warm smile by one of the graceful flight attendants. I was so excited of what lay ahead for the next 10 hours, even though I was feeling somewhat gloomy that I'd be leaving Fiji soon.

Really spicy chicken skewers in a somewhat stuffy lounge...  In a blink of an eye, I found myself back at the airport. After a smooth check-in at the Business Class counter, my BFF and I went straight away to the 75-seater Tabua Club Lounge. The airline website describes it as a "Fijian Oasis", though that's certainly an overstatement. Let's take a look at what the was offered that evening.

Can Indonesian corn fritter be considered as a 'dim sum' item? The last lunch time in Fiji was spent at one of the restaurants within the Hilton Fiji Beach Resort & Spa complex. In the afternoon, Maravu offers dim sum dishes to unsuspecting guests from 12 noon to 3.00pm. As the sun was glaring, my BFF and I chose to sit in the sheltered area.

Possible to DIY Indonesian style porridge! Out of the few resorts available on Denarau Island, Fiji, my BFF and I decided to try Hilton Fiji Beach Resort & Spa (5*) out. It certainly felt great to stay in one of the spacious one-bedroom beachfront villas without having to worry about anything. The buffet breakfast didn't quite impress me though.

Where the dishes with coconut milk were good and not sickeningly rich at all~ Here's another eatery that I patronised at Port Denarau Marina: the legendary Nadina Authentic Fijian Restaurant that was originally located at Nadi Downtown. As my BFF and I reached there before sunset, we seized the opportunity to sit at the al fresco area, on one of the tables next to the sea to be more specific.

Heated up by seafood chowder, and cooled down by rum cocktail~ The last part of the Fiji trip was spent Denarau Island, where the largest integrated resort is in the whole of the South Pacific. Located approximately 10 km away from Nadi Downtown, it boasts not only several luxury accommodation chains, but also a huge 18-hole championship golf course. I had lunch at Cardo's Steakhouse & Cocktail Bar at the marina.

An Australian born fried chicken chain with good coleslaw~ I observed the absence of KFC in Fiji during my trip. It appears that the famous fried chicken chain has pulled out of the country since 2011. On the other hand, there are quite a few branches of Chicken Express, hailing from Australia.

Amazing Korean sweet and sour chicken in Nadi! I learnt about Grace Road Kitchen from the advertisement in the Fiji Airways magazine. The Korean restaurant is run by Grace Road Group Limited, a South Korean church-based foundation set up in the Pacific. I didn't take note of the address, but happened to come across it while wandering around Nadi Downtown.

Beef curry that turned out to be somewhat like 'rendang'! Fiji has been severely affected by Cyclone Winston in February this year. A significant amount of its local produce was wiped out, but the country is recuperating from the aftermath slowly. Located at the downtown area near Nadi River, The New Nadi Farmers Club prides itself in using local ingredients, which unfortunately translates into the fact that not all the dishes would be available.

What a cheap and huge Chinese fried noodle dish! :O After having a wonderful time at Taveuni, I flew back to Nadi and subsequently stayed at the basic Nadi Downtown Hotel (2*). There are many eateries within walking distance from the hotel, and I've got to say that there are lots of Chinese restaurants around. I decided to drop by Tigers Lounge Bar & Café that serves mainly Chinese and Indo-Fijian cuisine.

Delicious Sunday roast with top-notch hospitality! Everyone says that spending only 3D2N at Taveuni Island in Fiji is way too short. Nevertheless, I've never regretted the decision as I managed to visit the places I wanted to go. Anyway, I stayed at the highly rated, homely Aroha Taveuni that has only five guest rooms, all of which face the beach.

Delicious fish korma with stir-fried French beans! Bula! I'm finally back from Fiji, although I wish I could stay there longer. It's been an amazing journey at such an exotic destination, which hospitality began in the 10-hour flight from Singapore to Nadi. Anyway, more stories will be available in the near future on my travel blog.

Quite a nice bowl of salad with chunky beef in front of the sea, but... UPDATE (05/10/2018):  The eatery has closed down. Situated along Siloso Beach on Sentosa Island, Mambo Beach Club draws its inspiration from the classic 1950s beach bars in Miami, the USA. Facing the ocean front, it serves not only cocktails, which I didn't try, but also snacks and main courses.

What a well-dressed vegan matcha cake with matcha icing! Following the last delivery food review, I'm going to feature another vegetarian option in the Chinatown area. The eatery is located below Eight Treasures Vegetarian Restaurant that serves great food, but I haven't written about it in this blog.

A premium beef noodle eatery, where you can go for imported Kobe beef! :P To end off the short trip to Bangkok, Thailand, my BFF and I decided to drop by Siam Paragon, one of the biggest shopping centres in Asia, again after four years. The purpose was to try a more upscale beef noodle, elevated from the traditional street food, at Nuer Koo. 

Authentic Thai dishes with organic ingredients in a quaint little resort! A small family-run resort owned by a burly and friendly British man, QG Resort (2*) in Bangkok, Thailand has been given lots of thumbs up online by many customers. Providing a free transfer to and from Suvarnabhumi Airport, it's no doubt a comfortable place to catch a good sleep, especially so when one is transiting.

Fresh vegetables from the salad bar, but any Grab & Go service available? Prior to the recent trip to Bangkok, Thailand, I'd never stayed at any of Holiday Inn properties. Hence, my experience at Holiday Inn Express: Bangkok Siam (3*) was the first. Strategically located in the heart of Siam, next to National Stadium BTS sky train station, it features 300 rooms, as well as a rooftop garden.

Alluring smoky aroma of BBQ meat and seafood from the first stall! I've been hearing about the small food paradise that's Sukhumvit Soi 38 in Bangkok, Thailand. In today's short and hopefully sweet review, I'm featuring the BBQ stall, which is the very first stall that you'll see on the right-hand side of the alley.