Modern Thai cuisine in the park - Kha

I was recently introduced to Kha, a new Thai bistro situated in the heart of Hort Park in Singapore, surrounded by lush tropical greenery and stunning views of sunsets overlooking the water pond on the upper level of the main building. I've always preferred traditional Thai cuisine, but I couldn't resist experiencing a meal in this beautiful location. So I made a booking for lunch at noon.

The view from the upper level looking into the tropical forest beyond Hort Park was at once calming and a refreshing change from the noise of the city. There was hardly anyone here for lunch on a Thursday afternoon.

There are several options for seating, the area in front of the pond (so you can see the golden sunsets), the back garden outside, or the dining room inside. It was a hot afternoon, so we picked the table inside the air-conditioned room.

We started with several appetizers - tom yum goong, which was a runaway favorite because of the delicious clear broth and herbs, the grilled pork salad with an amazing sweet and sour plum sauce and a cool, refreshing pomelo salad with prawns and chili.

For the main course, we had the pumpkin massamun curry with chicken which was sweet and aromatic, the olive rice which was a bit too moist, and stir-fried spinach.Overall, the lunch was a very satisfying experience, if not very outstanding, but the lush greenery and generally peaceful atmosphere may be the main reason for returning in the future.

Venturing off the beaten path into Geylang

Ok, this entry definitely comes under the Off The Beaten Path category of cuisine exploration around Singapore. It's been many years since I last ventured to this part of the island for a late night supper, and this was the first place that came to mind. You can't really miss it, there's a gigantic read and white signage in front of this old Geylang establishment facing the main road. Just the location of the coffeeshop itself makes for an interesting dining experience where you see locals and foreigners looking for a good bite amongst the prostitutes plying their trade in this seedy side of town. The beef kway teow (stir fried sliced beef with black bean flavored gravy over flat rice noodles) is what everyone comes here for, as the sign says, even though there are quite a selection of local Chinese dishes on the menu. If food is your love, I'd recommend coming here for a meal on Valentine's Day, it's going to be a memorable evening slurping down beef kway teow in this seedy part of town. It's all about the food, you know.

Another day, another lunch in SoHo

As I walked along Elgin Street this afternoon looking for a new place for lunch, I came upon a new restaurant that had just opened the day before. The owner beckoned for me to enter, and seeing that they probably needed my patronage desperately in these hard times, I decided to oblige. La Luna is yet another Spanish restaurant in this stylish food street off SoHo in Hong Kong. The interior decor was warm and earth-toned, but didn't suggest anything Spanish about the establishment, so I was hoping the food would be the highlight.

I ordered the set lunch, consisting of a tuna salad, and a roasted chicken. Both dishes were well prepared, but nothing spectacular, in fact, they tasted a bit like standard hotel fare. But then again, this was lunch, perhaps dinner would be a whole different matter altogether. It's unlikely that I'd return though, if I wanted Spanish, there are better options in SoHo.

Pho Lemon needs more zest

I stumbled upon this little cafe along Elgin Street one afternoon when I had a craving for a bowl of Vietnamese Pho beef noodle soup. They were promoting several 2-course set lunches for HK$88 each, and I chose the steamed rice paper rolls as the appetizer and the Pho as main course. The steamed rice paper rolls were soft and thinly wrapped around minced prawn and pork and mushroom, accompanied by a sweet and spicy fish sauce.

It was very delicious and I almost wanted to order another round. The Pho main course on the other hand, was a bit of a letdown, mainly because it was rather bland and lacking in the usual aromatic beef flavor one expects from a traditional bowl of Pho.

The first one of the year - Si Bon

Ok, I confess, it's been a really long time since I updated this blog with a new restaurant review. Not that I've been avoiding restaurants, on the contrary I've found quite a few really good ones around Asia and Australia. Guess it's a long drawn case of procrastination. At least I'm not the only guilty party here. As we enter yet another new year filled with endless choices of new restaurants to be discovered and new cuisines to be savored, I'll promise to be a bit more diligent about blogging. Note to D Girl - How about trying some video blogging with your new Mino, eh?

So we'll start of this year's blog with a quick review of a new Japanese restaurant on Sentosa Island, Singapore. Probably the only restaurant that prides itself on serving Kushikatsu (or Japanese skewered food), Si Bon is a fantastic escape from the everyday mundane Japanese meal experience. What do I mean by this? You first need to get across to Sentosa Island and head towards the Amara Sanctuary Resort, where Si Bon is located. As you walk towards the restaurant at the far end of the resort, the scenery changes to lush bamboo groves and stone footpaths reminiscent of a private garden in Kyoto. The restaurant entrance appears as you round the corner, revealing a small brick house within the groves of green bamboo. The converted chapel that houses Si Bon contains a very small dining counter for 12 persons, facing the chef's kitchen where food is prepared and cooked in front of the diners. This reminded me of some of the tempura specialty restaurants in Tokyo where the chef cooks each tempura in front of the diners and personally serves them. We were there for the set lunch, which consisted of 3 appetizers, followed by 8 skewers of meat, seafood and vegetables, then a choice of udon/soba, steamed rice or sushi.

The skewers were lightly battered and fried to perfection and served immediately. The chef would then guide us to the appropriate sauce type to dip as accompaniment. Each skewer was a mouthful of delicately arranged tender morsels lightly battered and fried to perfection, and bursting with freshness and flavor. My particular favorites was the prawn skewer topped with fresh uni, and the duck and goose combination skewer wrapped in a shiso leaf. We opted for the steamed rice as it was a specialty from Osaka. The fluffy nori flavored rice was topped with thin slices of Japanese cucumbers, prawns, egg and pickles and was a good way to end the meal. The dessert was Japanese green tea ice cream with fresh strawberries. I have to say service was excellent, the wait staff were super attentive (probably because we were the only ones there that day).

Seven on Club, Singapore, GVSL (Good value set lunch)

When I was living on Gemmill Lane off Club Street in 2003, I used to frequent this restaurant on the corner of Gemmill and Club street.  They were nice enough to deliver nice meals up for my dinner parties and the

chef and the maitre'd were wonderful. 

The restaurant has now transformed into Seven on Club.  I went to lunch with one of my hedge fund manager friends and we had a very decent lunch.

Sunday Brunches In Melbourne

I was just looking for an excuse to post a photo of this cafe called Cumulus that stumbled upon while in Melbourne, Australia for a few days. It happened to be a Sunday, and I was out hunting for an exciting new place for brunch, and ended up in Flinders Lane, the art and fashion district of downtown Melbourne. Cumulus is a bright and cheery cafe with high ceilings and white washed walls and large glass windows that beckons the morning sun into the dining room, giving it a nice warm inviting glow as you enter the main door. I took a seat by the counter and ordered orange juice, coffee and the blood sausage set. The food was excellent, even though I'm not a fan of anything made of blood, and I did clean off my plate. Staff were very pleasant, the manager came round to chat, and when I told him I was new in town, he offered some recommendations for local sightseeing.

Which led me to Getrude Street Enotica, where I got hungry very suddenly as I entered (and thirsty) and ordered a glass of local chardonnay and a buffalo mozzarella pesto bruschetta. I found a little corner near the back of the wine store, where they laid out a plank as a makeshift bench and a white marble slab for a table. And there I sat, eating bruschetta, drinking wine and resting my feet after an afternoon of walking around Melbourne.