Brunch at Brotzeit @ Westgate, Jurong

3 Gateway Drive, #01-04 Westgate, Singapore 608532

Tel: 6465 9874

Website: http://brotzeit.co

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com

This must be my 50th time at a Brotzeit outlet, and I am still loving it. Okay, exaggerations aside, I was glad to meet *Gareth for brunch at Brotzeit @ Westgate over the St. Paddy's weekend.

He started with Original Weissbier (SGD$10.00) a while I had the Beer Tasting Paddle (SGD$13.00). The latter came with 4 beer samplers, being Weininger PD 1813 Naturtrub Zwickl, Wieninger Dunkels Lager Naturtrub, Hofbrauhaus Munchen Original Weissbier and Schneider Weisse Tap 7 (Meine Original).

The German Breakfast Platter for 2 (SGD$30.00) comprised an array of cold cut items, thinly-sliced cheese triangles, fruits, gherkins, and assortment of bread rolls, served with a neat mug of scrambled eggs. I must say that I could definitely get used to a Chacuterie-noard style breakfast everyday - tasty and fun to eat.

We also added on a mini Cheese Board (SGD$13.00) aka Kase Platte, made up of fresh juicy grapes, small variety of European Cheese and crackers.

Overall, we enjoyed our food and drinks here very much.

Chilling Out at Harry's Bar @ Novena Square (Revisit)

238 Thomson Road #01-59 / 60 Novena Square, Singapore 307683

Tel: 6478 3011

Website: http://harrys.com.sg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harrysbar.sg

No stranger to Harry's Bar for sure, having visited their outlets from Dempsey to Harbourfront to Esplanade. They provide a really good, unpretentious ambience for chilling out and rather quality bar grub.

This time round, I returned to the branch at Novena Square, an outlet that has been around for as long as I could remember. Service has gone down a few notches it seems - no serviettes were issued even though my dish did not come with cutlery, they cleared my water glass when it was empty instead of refilling it, and they keyed in the wrong bill (it was afternoon time so hardly busy; merely about 3 tables in all).

A big portion of Amigos Nachos (SGD$18.00) kept us busy. Crackling corn chips drizzled with cheese sauce, sliced olives and green chili; served with diluted Chili Beef dip and Guacamole dip on the side. One can't really complain about a dish such as Nachos because it hardly goes wrong.

Missing their Frozen Daiquiri, I tried to request for the same but was informed they no longer serve it. So I settled for their Hemingway Daiquiri (SGD$16.00) - a rather lovely concoction of Rum, Aperol, Grapefruit and Lime.

Overall experience was pretty all right, really. Harry's Bar is still good old Harry's Bar after all - hate it or love it, I have a feeling I'll still be back somehow.

Dinner at Wine & Chef @ Tanjong Pagar [Revisit]

7 Keong Saik Street, Singapore 089115

Tel: 6221 9279

Website: http://sgwinecellar.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Winenchef

We decided to revisit Wine and Chef for our monthly wine gathering. To share a little about Wine and Chef, it is an unpretentious, laid- back bistro serving a wide array of interesting Italian Wine, as well as palatable Italian-inspired, "Hokkien" Chinese dishes. So yes, you may call them fusionized.  You may also check out previous review here, to get an idea of what they served.

We started with a bottle of red wine, the Piceno Rosso Fillelu Montepulciano (SGD$45.00). Lovely cherry fruit notes tinged with mild spicy hints.

My all-time favourite starter is a good Chacuterie and Cheese Board, and we had it here. An assortment of Cured Ham and Cheese with condiments. Cured Ham selection includes Prosciutto di Parma, Truffle Salami, Coopa Ham and Speck (SGD$10.00 per ham or SGD$32.00 for assorted platter). I appreciated that their Cured Ham was not very salty; taste was really just nice.

For Cheese, there are Brillat Savarin, Truffle Gouda, Aged Comte and Gorgonzola (SGD$9.00 per cheese or SGD$30.00 for assorted platter). The Truffle Gouza stole the show with its earthly aroma.

There were also Shrimp Paste Chicken Drumlets (SGD$10.00) with honey and soy glaze, deep-fried to a lovely golden hue with a crispy exterior.

Next, Seared Foie Gras (SGD$16.00) with sea salt, pistachio, served on toasted ciabatta with a side of Apple & thyme brandy compote. One of those butter-textured, flavorsome items I could easily eat 10 of.

For mains, we tried the Salmon Risotto (SGD$20.00) - soy and coriander cured salmon fillet and fish roe on a bed of mascarpone barley risotto. It was simply tasty; the barley grains adding texturized bite to the dish.

Lastly, "Bak Chor Mee" Linguine (SGD$24.00), an "atas-ication" of a favourite local hawker dish. Springy strands of linguine pasta tossed in bean paste sauce, with spicy minced chicken meat, Iberico pork lard and truffle-infused wantons (deep-fried meat dumplings). Delightful dish that connected with the palate perfectly.

Another bottle of Sweet Sparkling Wine aka "Happy Drinks", to complete the evening, and we concluded the meal, relishing in yet another happy dining experience at Wine And Chef.

Dinner at La Cala Restaurant @ Duo Galleries (Revisit)

7 Fraser Street #01-40 / 43 Duo Galleries, Singapore 189356

Tel: 6282 9200

Website: None supplied

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lacalasg

After the first visit to La Cala Restaurant (review here), I decided to go back with another group of friends. Service was still personable, and we still liked the settings even though we were seated at the other end of the restaurant now (the last time we sat near the back door; tonight we sat near the front door).

We started with a 1-liter Pitcher of Red Wine Sangria (SGD$65.00), relishing the sweet fruity flavours of this cocktail drink.

Hot crispy Housemade Baguette came fresh out from the oven, and had a lovely grainy mouthfeel. I finished mine mostly without the without the need to dip into the olive oil (it was that good). Pickled Olives were lovely as well; I enjoyed the purplish ones over the green ones.

One of the items from the Tapas list that we ordered was the Foie Gras on Terrine Biscuit (SGD$18.00). It was interesting.... definitely not the usual terrine I was expecting - this one did a standing ovation for us, and reminded me of ice-cream sandwiches. Flavour was light and fluffy, biscuit was crispy and melted in the mouth; the only slight drawback was the inclusion of the Apple compote that kind of clashed with the overall flavours.

Then we had the Jamon Iberico Croquette, which was a specials for the night. The Croquette was soft, slightly mushy and not crusty like how Croquettes typically are. The cured ham was good though.

Super loved these addictive Tsarskaya Oysters (SGD$18.00 for 2 pieces); fresh and juicy!

Moving on the mains - we had the Roasted Octopus (SGD$32.00), served on a bed of creamy mashed potato and romesco. This was delectable for sure.

Crispy Suckling Pig with Melon (SGD$35.00) featured 3 pieces of crackling skin and succulent, melty flesh that left us all yearning for more.

Finally, the Pigeon Paella (SGD$38.00); every bite of the grainy rice and tender pigeon was bursting with flavours. As mentioned during my first review, we thought this paella dish could be drier, so that the rice would be kind of crispy. But the taste definitely scored high points.

Overall dining experience at La Cala Restaurant was lovely once again, with palatable food and delicious drinks to start off the weekend superbly.

Dinner at Ginett Singapore @ Beach Road

200 Middle Road, Level 1, Hotel G, Singapore 188980

Tel: 6809 7989

Website: https://www.randblab.com/ginett-sg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ginettsingapore

Ginett Singapore is a restaurant and wine bar serving up quality French dishes, located at the new Hotel G along Middle Road. Ambiance is casual chic with a gentle touch of rustic vintage, service was painfully slow.  They offer a very good variety of cheese and wine - the latter surprisingly affordable. We were here for our Wine Wednesday gathering.

Baguette Slices kicked off the meal, paired with their rich, extremely tasty butter. It was tempting to grab more bread just so we could eat the butter.

We started with a Cheese Board named "G-Board" (SGD$33.00), comprising 3 types of cheeses and 3 cold cuts. The cheese selection for the night were Brillat Savarin, Camembert and Livarot, ranging from soft, semi-soft to hard cheese respectively. The cold cuts were Parma Ham, Mortadella and Chorizo. The board was interestingly served with honey, baby carrots, walnuts and gherkins.

We started with a bottle of white wine, Domaine de la Seigneurie des tourelles, Saumur Blanc 2015 (SGD$40.00) with was light and smooth, a good palette teaser preparing for the good food to come.

Then it was Burgundy Snails (SGD$19.00) - basically an escargot dish prepared in garlic and butter sauce.

Following that, the Wagyu Beef Cheek (SGD$35.00) - the "La Joue de Boeuf", braised for a good 12 hours to give that moistened tenderness, served with sauteed mushrooms and mash potatoes. It was a palette provoking dish, an enjoyable dish.

Last but not least, something from the special Black Truffle Showcase Menu - Roasted Bresse Chicken (SGD$42.00), a succulent roasted French chicken in black truffle butter and served with soft-boiled ratte potatoes. This was our favorite dish of the night.

A bottle of red wine was ordered next, Domaine des Hautes Troglodytes, Saumur Champigny 2016 (SGD$45.00) - smooth and lighter than most Cabernet wines.

All in all, dining experience at Ginett Singapore was good enough - enjoyable, with rather quality food. If service was warmer and tables were not so closely-spaced, it would have been kind of perfect.

Drinks at Starker Bistro @ Bukit Timah

4 Hill View Rise, #01-02 Hillv2, Singapore 667979

Tel: 6336 8550

Website: http://www.starkergroup.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarkerSingapore

Starker Group specialises in fresh beer and delicious Western cuisine. They have many outlets in Singapore from Tanjong Pagar Centre to Holland Village to Bukit Timah to JEM to Katong Square to Punggol. We visited the one at Hillv2, Bukit Timah, for proximity reasons.

Service was super attentive in the afternoon when the bistro was dead quiet. I liked the ambiance of brick walls and dim lighting, giving the place a vintage charm.

*Zachery had the Starker Aromatic Beer (SGD$16.90) - a light beer with fruity, floral and herbals notes. The pale golden-yellow hue was lovely, leaving a crisp and sweet aftertaste in the mouth.

I was torn between grabbing a Beer or Lychee Martini, and the answer came to me literally - Starker Lychee Beer (SGD$16.90), giving me the best of both worlds. This beer was also a beautiful shade of gold, sweet-flavoured with aromatic of Belgium Lychee, and a faint muskiness; very smooth and easy on the palate.

Happy drinks made for happy us, looking forward to seconds here at Starker Bistro, perhaps coupled with some light bites to go along with the delicious beers.