Chilling out at Oyster Bar @ Customs House

It was by chance that *Rachel, *Faith and I stumbled upon Oyster Bar, located at 70 Collyer Quay #01-01 Customs House, Singapore 049323 and the number to dial is 6534 5534.

Situated at a prominent location with two stories and an open gallery for drinks, Oyster Bar boosts of an elegant interior ambience and a relaxing outdoor seating area offering river breezes. It is a European champagne and seafood bar that serves the best seafood and drinks, and we were here for the drinks and chilling out. They have an extensive drinks list as well as very friendly service crew.

I started with a cocktail (the name eludes me) after we snagged an outdoor seat and letting the music soothe us while the winds embrace our flesh. The night was young but slowly got old. The patrons were a good mix of expats and locals, and everyone was very friendly + outgoing so soon, we were table hopping (including our own).

Then I had a glass of Melbac, which tasted a tad strong and too sour for my liking (this particular brand they were serving - usually I am okay with Melbac).

Someone opened a bottle of this sweet delicacy at our table, and we were busy drinking and making friends as the night dawned on.

We polished the previous bottle of and had another bottle of drinks (from our new friends or the manager here, I cannot remember).

We ended the fun night at this charming place by taking a tour up the rooftop level on top, and enjoying the gorgeous night views of Marina Bay Sands area.  Will we return to Oyster Bar? You bet, and this time we plan on trying the quality and fresh seafood out too.

Dinner at Sek Tong Gai Chinese Restaurant

I actually had the honor of having dinner with Nat and Derrick this night, and another lovely lady whose name / blog eludes me as of now (you really have to pardon me - even for Nat and Derrick, I had to ask them a few times before my bad memory served me well).

The selected venue is none other than a very authentic Cantonese / Chinese restaurant named Sek Tong Gai located at 47 Tanglin Halt Road #01-317 Singapore 141047 and the number to dial is 6474 4547. It looks like a high-class kopitiam, but don't be fooled by the non-descript exterior.

Providing a casual, relaxed ambience for families and friends alike to enjoy a good meal in a non-fussy environment, this clean-cut Chinese restaurant serves everything from soup to seafood, basically a wide range of zichar dishes, and the "menu" comes in the form of an electronic tablet.

Although we agreed that each person should order an item to share, we still relied rather heavily on recommendations of other patrons who'd been here before, and also those of the lady taking our orders. You'd be amazed to know that the service in this humble little restaurant is excellent - the waitress serving us even abode by rules such as no leaning over diners to serve the person next to us, and changing of plates in between courses.

We all had the Herbal Tea (SGD$1.80), believed to be home-brewed of course , since it tastes exactly like it is! I think it is honeysuckle flower - good for keeping us cool in this extremely hot weather.

The first dish that was served was the Chinese Spinach with mini dried scallops and cellophane noodles (more commonly known as "tang hoon"), at SGD$21.00. This seemingly simple dish was immersed in the most tasty broth, the fresh spinach was finely soft, and the cellophane noodles were silky smooth, so this dish passed on all counts - taste, texture and outlook.

Next, we had the Claypot chicken with salted fish (SGD$18.00) - the chicken was not ultra-tender, but the taste was superb in savoury's element. Imagine tiny bits of salted fish and the overture of spring onion orchestrating flavors on top of the saltish gravy the chicken was infused with.

Following this, we had the Soon Hock Fish (SGD$97.00) - cooked in traditional Cantonese style alongside cubes of beancurd, white mushrooms and brinjal. The fish was fresh and saccharine in its sea-worthy manner, and the brinjal was meltingly soft. This was a dish with everything  - meat and vegetables tossed into one.

Finally, the Steamed Pork Ribs (SGD$21.00) - it looked so deceptively plain but was the dish with the most prominent aroma - exactly like heartwarming, homecooked pork ribs cooked with soy bean paste. We couldnt resist them, and I had to admit the gravy was exactly the way my mom would cook it (and I deem my mom a superb cook of Cantonese cuisine!). The only thing was that the ribs were not as tender as I would have loved for them to be.

There were a couple of interesting items such as Honey Baked Eel and Bamboo Clams (the latter was recommended by the lady taking our order) that unfortunately, were unavailable. So each of us spent SGD$42.00 on our dinner, with our stomaches all in happy agreement with this place when we left.

Brunch at Backstage Cafe

It was time for brunch and off I went with *Katherine, at this hidden cafe in an industrial area - Backstage Cafe.  The exact location is 158 Kallang Way, #01-06 Safekeep Building, Singapore 349245. The number to dial is 6743 6893.

Backstage Cafe provides the perfect hideaway for busy executives to relax and have a drink or two, and the spacious cafe hosts a very relaxing ambience ideal for meals, chit-chat or hanging out. I heard that this place was started by media stars hence if one is lucky, they may catch sight of media artistes hanging out here or using this place as a location set.

I was first drawn to the desserts counter with its array of delectable looking cakes, before proceeding to check out the menu. Then I caught sight of something which I knew I had to have...

The Rainbow Cake (SGD$7.50) was the item I ordered first, since I have been having craving for it for a while. The bright colors were pure temptation, and I dug in happily. The first couple of bites gave us the impression that it was too hard and dry, but then we realized that a 7-layered cake could not be too moist - if not the cake would "sink". The texture grew on us, and the different colored layers provided different sweet flavors - the most prominent being lemon with its citrusy, sour charms.

We had the Crabmeat Pasta (SGD$16.00) next, cooked in pesto sauce and garlic, with chunks of crab meat and springy noodles. It was a rather tasty dish, but we thought the sapid sweetness of crabmeat should've been more prominent, instead of being obliterated by the tiny garlic cubes.

The Tori Karaage - fried chicken cubes (SGD$6.00) - were served next -  a little disappointing. The chicken chunks were not crispy enough; in fact it was rather oily / moist, with lots of fatty meats. The taste was quite all right, but being a fan of non-fats meat, I nibbled on tiny slivers of flesh and discarded the rest (a sinful act of waste of food, yes, regrettably).

Next up, the Deep-fried Shitake Mushrooms (SGD$7.00) - generous servings of huge black mushrooms deep fried to a golden texture and tender softness beneath its crispy outer layer. We appreciated that the mushrooms were halved instead of being cut into tiny pieces like other restaurants / cafes, so this dish got the thumbs up.

I had my Cuppacino fix (SGD$4.50), my favorite foamy hot brew with simple latte art but where was the chocolate / cocoa powder?

*Katherine had her Latte (SGD$4.50) - sweet milky coffee that I doubt anyone could go very wrong on preparing, right?

Overall, we spent a total of SGD$45.50 for two persons, in a comfortable environment with pretty acceptable food and impeccable service. No, we didn't spot any "stars" as we were leaving.

Tea break at Brew Maison @ Bukit Timah

I'd crawled out of bed with a hangover, took a hearty home-cooked lunch, and then the message from *Celine came, asking me to go chill at Brew Maison. It sounded like a good cure for a headache-y Saturday afternoon, so I headed down to join her.

 The address is at 383 Bukit Timah Road, #01-9B Alocassia Apartments, Singapore 259727 and the numbers to dial are 6836 2948 / 6735 5068.

Brew Maison is a very new cafe opened in March 2014, done in refreshing Japanese  and Korean concept. Don't be fooled by the non-descript door - the spacious interior exudes a very inviting charm, with its sleek whiteness, beautifully objets d'art adorning the walls and cushy white couches. The clean-cut look and good service spells a very successful future for this lovely cafe, for sure.

I nearly missed my friend because she was seated at the other side (the cafe is huge!) with mirrored wall panels and more couches, and more walls painted in soothing pastel tones. There was no loud music or rowdy chatter, so all was very pleasant.

Their food menu was interesting. You choose your meat, followed by source of carbohydrates (bread? rice? pasta?), followed by the sauce.  It was adorable, and somewhat mysterious.

The cakes counter caught my attention - an assortment of mouthwatering cakes, muffins , eclairs and croissants. I was debating between one of these, or the ice-cream sandwiches beckoning to me from the posters they're mounted on.

After ordering, we were given a "pager" which would vibrate when the orders were ready, so we could self-collect. Despite the good counter service, there is no service charge hence we DIY in serving ourselves.

I ordered the Tea Set (SGD$8.00) comprising of a slice of cake and a hot beverage. My cake of choice was the Blackforest cake. It was very fine and smooth in texture, and was not too sweet in taste as well. The generous inclusion of huge dark cherries was what I loved most, so this was a keeper. The tiny watering-can with flowers on the table was just too adorable I had to snap a photo of it.

The Cuppacino was rather fragrant, and rather light in flavor. It was pleasant enough for this lazy Saturday afternoon, and its non-sweet, slightly-bitter overture complemented my cake very well. They have pretty latte art (including 3D) but I wasn't offered any - I heard reservations for latte art is required.

Photo courtesy of *Celine

*Celine had the Pork belly with Pasta and curry sauce lunch (SGD$8.20). The noodles were rather springy and the pork belly slices rather tender. The curry sauce was slightly spicy (I prefer spicier ones) but the overall flavor was good - refreshing but tasty.

Photo courtesy of *Celine

Drinks-wise, she had the Goguma Latte - sweet potato latte (SGD$4.00) - an interesting flavor despite its simple outlook. The sweet potato flavor filled the mouth with its aroma - a pity I'd ordered my usual Cuppaccino before I checked with her, lol. I would've loved to have this!

We also shared the Tori Bites (SGD$6.00) - handmade chicken nuggets that comes with fries and sauce (we took the recommended "brown Korean sauce"). The nuggets were crispy and the minced chicken flesh was distinctive (for most nuggets, all we see and taste is the flour) in flavor. The fries were very crispy, and remained crispy at the end of our 2-hours chillout session. The brown sauce was normal - a savoury sauce that added some taste to the fries but nothing to go gaga over.

Overall, it was a lovely place to be at, whether spending some me-time alone or catching up with friends, dodging the hot, hot weather, and enjoying some quality food and drinks.

Dinner at Senso Ristorante & Bar

Having heard about Senso Ristorante & Bar for a while, I finally made plans to eat there. It is located between Tanjong Pagar and Outram area, at 21 Club Street, Singapore 069410, and the number to dial is 6224 3534.

This authentic Italian restaurant serving classical fine-dining cuisine sits amongst a row of Colonial shophouses and boosts of a sophisticated, elegant interior complete with a long hallway leading to the dining halls.

The neo-classical beauty of this place includes a courtyard meant for alfresco dining, complete with second-floor balcony and white-themed sleek decor.

*Charliez and I browsed through the menu, though I already had an inkling of what I wanted to eat beause I'd browsed the online menu before tonight. Upon ordering, we were served a Bread Basket with freshly-baked bread rolls and breadsticks along with olive oil. I enjoyed the crisp breadsticks and soft foccacia alot.

The complimentary starter was an Asparagus Mousse served with a crispy piece of toast - it is their asparagus season. The mousse was somewhat sweet, and rich in its creamy texture. It got a bit too rich after the second spoonful so I had to spread it on my focaccia and dip it with my breadstick - and the combination thereof was awesome (albeit a little déclassé!) 

Our appetiser was served next - Goose Liver "Rou-gie" (SGD$32.00) - pan-seared goose liver "rou-gie" with caramelized poached pear in spices, wine and Balsamico di Modena vinegar. The goose liver was tender and juicy, like roast game encapsulated by warm melted butter. The sweet poached pear was crunchy and delicious, pairing well with the savoury flavor of goose liver.

For main courses, there was the Risotto and Hare (SGD$34.00) - traditional Carnaroli risotto with braised saddle of hare, rosemary, juniper berries and butternut pumpkin.  I have never eaten hare meat before, hence it was the first time I tried this delicacy - tasted like a cross between pork and quail meat actually. The risotto was not grainy enough in taste (the way I like it, done in French style), but the taste of the overall dish was fabulous, a blend of saccharine with savoury overtures, in a soft porridge-like texture.

We also shared the Senso "Bolo"-bster Lasagna (SGD$34.00) - homemade lasagne with fresh lobster meat and tomato sauce. Flavor-wise, there was the hints of lobster sweetness when we bit into the lobster chunks within this baked pasta dish, but the cheese taste was a tad light, unlike the usual lasagne taste. The texture was also non-sticky, and somewhat dry. The crusts were hard, like how Chinese pan-fried carrot cake's ones are like. Once the knife met the lasagne, it crumbled into pieces. It was a little disappointing.

Finally, despite us feeling full, we felt that we were entitled to a bit of desserts, so we had the Lemon Tartlet "Big Meringue" (SGD$16.00) to finish off the meal - lemon tartlet stuffed with red berries topped with meringue. We were thankful that the spiral layers of white above the tart was lemon cream (sourish) instead of sweet icing à la the conventional meringues. The tart was crunchy and flaky, and there were raspberries and blueberries hidden in the womb of this meringue tart, making it a welcoming refresher after the heavier courses earlier on.

We spent a total of SGD$136.53 for this meal, accompanied with excellent and attentive service, as well as a lovely ambience.