Relish

We had a craving for burgers on a Saturday and off to Relish by Wild Rocket at Cluny Court we went.

We arrived there at 8.30pm for dinner. Thinking that it was pretty late, no reservation was made. We noted there were empty tables but were told that we had to wait for 15 min. 15 min came and went and we got a table! Relish is a small approximately 40 seater burger place. Cosy however a pretty noisy place with the chatter of the crowd predominantly in their 20s and 30s.

Now off to select the dinner for the night! There was a blackboard menu with the list of burgers for patrons to pick from. Nice touch. There was also a pasta of the day for non-burger lovers.. ha. As Relish is part of the wild rocket group, we were not surprised found local food inspired burgers like Ramlee, curry chicken and Char Siew!!


We picked the Wild Rocket Burger and Grilled Beef Burger with Black Pepper Sauce. The menu also listed out beers that would go well with the burgers we picked! The burgers by default came as medium rare, which in my view is the best way a burger as it retains it juciness.

The Wild Rocket Burger ($17) is a 170g beef patty served with argula, sarawak pepper cream and sun-dried tomato relish. The burger was tasty! Patty was tender and juicy yet surprisingly less oily compared to burgers from Seah Street Deli and Blooies'. The sun-dried tomato relish was sweet, together with arugula, brought a pleasant fresh taste to the burger.




The grilled beef burger with Black Pepper Sauce ($18) is a 170g beef patty served with home-made black pepper crab sauce, baby spinach and served with a sunny side up. The patty like the 1st burger was juicy and fresh. However, we felt the black pepper sauce was a tad overpowering and covered up the taste and freshness of the patty.


A nice place for group to catch up over burgers and beers. Do try to make reservations.

Food: 7/10
Service: 5.5/10
Ambience: 5.5/10

Overall: 6/10

Relish
#02-01, Cluny Court
Tel: 6763 1547

Au Petit Salut @ Dempsey

After many failed last minute reservations for Saturday nights, we finally managed to make one for Boogie's birthday on a Thursday night!


Au Petit Salut is a solitary colonial house along Dempsey facing Dempsey Road. It has both air-con and al fresco seatings. Being al fresco fans, we made a reservation outdoors. Ambience was great with greenery, tiki lamps and the calming sounds of waterfall.

For appetisers, we had Bisque de homard (Lobster bisque with tarragon and lobster ravioli) [$16] and Terrine de Foie Gras de canard au Sauternes (Terrine of duck Foie Gras infused with Sauternes wine served with mesclun and homemade brioche) [$23]. The soup was thick, tasty and a surprisingly big serving. The attentive waitress noted that both of us were sharing the soup and took intiative to split the soup into 2 servings. Thats service! Now onto the foie gras. We decided to take a deviation from the standard pan fried foie gras and went for the cold terrine foie gras. Creamy with a strong taste of wine, it went very well with the brioche. However, for non adventorous eaters, pan fried foie gras would probably go easier on the palette.

For mains we had, Caille rôtie farçie aux Foie Gras et champignons sauvages (Oven roasted French quail stuffed with duck Foie Gras and wild mushrooms, mashed potatoes and brown jus) [$32] Filet de boeuf pöelé au poivree (200gm) (Pan-roasted beef tenderloin caramelized with white peppercorn, mashed potato and red wine sauce) [$39]. The quail was tender and done pretty well. However, a bit too salty for my liking. The steak was juicy and done to a good wellness.

The total bill came up to $180 for 2 appetisers, 2 mains and half a bottle of wine ($50).

We would recommend this place for the extensive menu, attentive service (including the sommelier) and the relaxed and cosy atmosphere. However for food, Jaan might have been a better choice.
Food: 6.5/10
Ambience: 8/10
Service: 8.5/10
Overall: 7/10

Au Petit Salut
40C Harding Road
Tel: 6475 1976

Prive

Apologies for the long absence! Boogie has been eating but not posting.. will try to come back with some post dated blogs.. but for now.. lets review Prive..the lastest restaurant in town!

Arrived at Marina at Keppel Bay before dark. View is relaxing.. and it was pleasant sight to see the boats docked at hte Marina. Theres 3 outlets here. Prive the Restaurant, Prive Gastrobar and Prive Bakery Cafe. Having been here for drinks twice at Gastrobar...its time to try the restaurant!!

The restaurant is a small 80+ seater modern styled New York restaurant. Service standard is close to a fine dining restaurant yet atmostphere is lively with banter going on in the room. I must say Gastrobar has a much better view, a pity it only serves drinks!

For appetisers, we had warm spinach salad with goat cheese and tataki tenderlion. The tataki tenderloin is a japenese style raw beef. The beef was tender, however a little bland for our liking. The warm spinach salad with goat cheese on the other hand was very inviting! The spinach was fresh served with a tangy sauce. The goat cheese was soft and full of flavour. Yumz!

For mains we had: 1) Duck Confit Pasta [$30+] 2) BraisedOx-Tail [$30+] 3) Grilled Double Rib Lamb Chops [$50+] 4) Grilled Striploin Angus (300g) [$50+]

As recommended by the waitress, the grilled items were indeed more appetizing as compared to item 1 and 2. The lamb was succulent and very tasty. It was also very well done, with no parts overdone or too raw. The grilled striploin was also a pleasant surprise. Tasty, grilled on a even basis, with no parts too raw or overcooked. It was also a generous portion of 300g+!

However, the duck confit pasta was a dissappointment. The pasta was not al dente. The duck confit and the overall dish was also a bit on the dry side. The ox tail was pretty tasty but it did not wowed me. Tender and tasty, however the taste was pretty much like a chinese dish.

Other highlights of the dinner was the wine and dessert. Theres an extensive wine. We had a First Cru from Burgundy. It was a full bodied wine with a strong nose and a tinge of sweetness in its taste. Nice!

For dessert we had a chocolate platter. It consist of a warm chocolate lava cake, a chocolate tart and rich chocolate ice-cream served on top of a biscuit. Cake with warm and fluffy which flowed with hot molten chocolate. The ice cream was rich which complemented the cake very well.

An overall interesting find. Location at the Marina, grill menu and wine list are its main draws. A drink prior to dinner or after dinner at the gastrobar will definitly heighten the experience. Will be back for its grilled menu and perhaps its less pricey version at lunch.

Total damage for 2 appeitizers, 4 mains, 1 desser and a bottle of wine: $450

PS: The gastrobar is a great place for Chill out drinks! View: Yachts docked at the Marina..

Food: 8.5 (for grilled items), 7 (for other mains)

Service: 8 (attentive waiters who filled our water glasses without request)

Ambience: 8

Overall: 8

Prive

No 2 Keppel Bay Vista

Marina at Keppel Bay

Olive Restorante

It was a lazy, casual weekday dinner and Boogie, as usual, is out for a nice comforting meal to ease the pain of a mundane work week. The plan was for Boogie to have a easy meal at Villa Bali(80% drink, 20% food). Down ECP we went and we exited via Telok Blangah. Minutes later, inches away from our destination, right before the junction of Labrabor Park, a supposedly renowned restaurant, Olive Restorante, came to mind.

We had read and heard about it and yet, in our prowl around the island, we had never ever came close to it. Probably due to its location, at one corner of the island, out of the way from town, there was also not much of a reason to be anywhere near this place, except for romantic(sleazy) make-outs, WWII monuments(barracks and underground tunnel) and the occasional ghost-hunters. Not kidding. I actually know of someone who has actually been there to try to capture shots of the “Other World”.

Olive, is more of an Italian bistro, tucked slightly up a slope from a round-about at the bottom of the hill. A short stroll, about 200 metres, is necessary from the nearest carpark. There are a few distinctive signboards that should lead you to this bistro without much difficulty and once there, you will be surprised how a pleasant and cozy restaurant fits nicely in this no-man’s site. This would be a very nice place for a quiet dinner away from the crowd.

Fare is mainly Italian. After some pondering, we decided upon the following:

1) Portobello Mushroom Salad (As appetizer)

2) Tenderloin Steak

3) Spaghetti vongolle in white-wine sauce

4) Hot chocolate cake (As dessert)

Overall, the meal was satisfying and it went down pretty well on us.

The Portobello wasn’t too bad as a palate cleanser. It was mildly sweet, I suppose that’s how it should be and it seems like a good way to start-off your meal, especially when you are really hungry. You know how everything taste good when you are really hungry and when your food arrives, you’ll just woof everything down. The Portobello serves to prevent starvation from deluding your taste bud and by not leaving too much after-taste, it keeps your taste bud in the “neutral state”. Ok ok, I know this is not some wine-tasting session, but its something that just came to mind.

From Olive Restorante

Carrying on, the spaghetti vongolle! According to the waitress, I vaguely recall that this is one of their house specials. It was good and we dare say that it was the one of the best that we tried. We had a similar dish at Prego and by comparison, we felt Olive had a better version. At Olive, the white-wine sauce’s presence was strong and the dish was definitely much more tasteful, with bigger serving as well. Not to mention, more affordable.

For the tenderloin steak, well since this is not a steak house, we should not be overly critical. We noticed that most restaurants tend to be very inconsistent when it comes to steak. We’ll usually ask for it to be medium-done, yet half the time, it would turn out as medium rare or well-done. Given that this is just a typical Italian bistro, as long as they do not screw this up, we’ll just pass it. The steak actually turns up pretty juicy and nicely done.

For the dessert, well, its tough to go wrong with a warm chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream by the side. Overall, we felt that this was a good meal and though not on the cheap side, it was affordable still and value for money. A place with some good dishes and an unusual location nestled in Labrador Park tucked away from the town. However, Olive is fully al fresco and can get a little stuffy. The above meal cost us SGD 80 for 2. We’ll definitely be back.

Food: 7/10

Ambience: 6.5/10

Service: 6.5/10

Overall Rating: 6.5/10

House @ Dempsey - 1st Post!!

Quite awhile ago, Boogie stumbled upon this place while checking out the newly-revamped Dempsey Village. Enter the building from a side door, we went on a pretty "cold stroll" within the building. Why "cold"? It was hard to explain. The various sections of the building were very different in terms of decor, and there were quite a few rooms with glass walls just so you can look into them, coupled with tables scattered on the main dining room amidst lots of furniture and ornament(simply read: messy), we felt like we were really intruding into someone else's house. Still, we like it. It was fun. The concept is kewl. And we told ourselves that we must come and dine some time soon.

From http://picasaweb.google.com/boogiefoodie/BarracksHouse

That, we did. However, for the sake of ambience, we decided to do it in the al fresco area where they named Barracks. Barracks and House is really just one establishment, just different areas.



Straight to the point, for starter, we had the soup, Foie Gras Consomme. Wasn't exactly impressed. The foie gras was within a ravioli and the taste of the soup was mild, much like a lighter version of chicken broth.



Next, we had the Prawn Capellini, which was suppose to be one of their favourites and speciality. It was a fairly decent dish, tasty though slightly saltish.



The other main that we had was the marinated lamb chief. This was, by comparison, a nicer dish. The lamb was tender and sweet, nicely done medium.



To top it up, we had the Strawberry shortcake for dessert. Taste was not bad although we were amused by the way it was served. Fitting of a dessert at a barrack, don't you think?



The dessert was served on a mess tin, bringing me back to memories of my army days. Can't remember when was the last time I ate from a mess tin. Even brought out a few sniggers from me as I imagined SAF soldiers having this dessert from mess tins during outfield training.

Overall, the meal was satisfaction. Nothing to rave about but then again, I don't think anyone will come here purely for the food. One more thing, they do have a wide range of beverages and wine list to choose from, plus given the ambience, it is more of a chill-out place for a simple drinking session with friends.

PS: Theres a live DJ spinning on weekends and Fri on the other side of the House. Its a non restaurant portion but just drinks facing greenery. Pretty cool for chill out. I recommend the Tiffin Punch for a gals night out. Sweet cocktail served in metal tiffin containers!

Damage: The above meal costed $89.50 (with service and GST, $105.34)
Food: 6/10
Ambience: 8/10
Service: 6/10
Overall: 7/10

Address:
8D Dempsey Road
#01-01 to 06 Tanglin VillageSS
(Tel: 6475 7787)