Nectarie

Waffle with Caramelised Bananas. Yum.

Jaan, Swissotel The Stamford

I'm on a roll with two back-to-back fine dining French meals in a week, all courtesy of the same instigator. I must say though, coming off such a fantastic dinner at Le Normandie, it really would have taken quite a lot to trump that. Sadly, Jaan just didn't quite make the cut. the food was good but not great and seeing as how it the portions were rather more modest than what we'd gotten at Le Normandie, hideously expensive to boot.

we had the five course menu that was probably enjoyed at a pace not quite befitting a fine-dining setting. it was 9 in the evening and we were so hungry. first up was a cold platter that was all right, although not impressive. we also had the lobster cannelloni, the "latte" pumpkin soup that came with popcorn, the veal i had as my main, the pre-dessert consisting of a yogurt sorbet and the dessert proper. the veal was, for me, the best course of the night although i must admit i did enjoy the pumpkin soup. the popcorn made it really fun.

i can't really rave about the view unfortunately because we didn't get a window seat, unlike at Le Normandie. but that said, even if we had gotten a window seat, i really won't be sure how the view of an ocean full of ships stack up against the Chao Phraya. it might smell better, i'll grant you, but there's was something really charming about the Chao Phraya by night.

Le Normandie

(picture courtesy of The Oriental Hotel, Bangkok)

after a long hiatus from this site, i think it's great that the first post in ages is about the much talked about Le Normandie at the Oriental Hotel, Bangkok.

the Oriental Hotel oozes old world luxury, a theme that's carried through to Le Normandie which is on the top floor of the annex. we were lucky. although almost all the tables afforded views of both sides of the building, we had a beautiful view of the chao phraya by night. although the place is almost stiffly formal, the four of us had quite a good time nonetheless. i think its a refreshing change having to dress up for a dinner like that once in a long while.

the reviews about Le Normandie have been mixed. personally though, i thought the restaurant boasted a stronger entree menu than mains. the goose liver ravioli with truffle sauce was a stunner. the best dish of the night by far. i also had the breast of pigeon for my main which was also really quite good. the veal that my dinner dates had was all right. i had the crepe suzette to close and i must say i enjoyed it. it was a good way to end a great - if not a little long- evening.

but all that came at a price of course - a very steep price in fact. we had been forewarned that it was going to be expensive, but even then, we were still a bit surprised at how expensive it was. the bill for the four of us, including a half bottle of red wine, four entrees, two mains to share and three desserts came to a grand total of 16,000 baht. you all can do the math.

i would suggest trying lunch instead but i must say that if the lunch menu doesnt have the goose liver ravioli, you'd be missing something really special.


Le Normandie
The Oriental Hotel
48 Oriental Avenue
Bangkok, Thailand 10500

Sins

you know, i never was a chocolate addict. that is/was largely due to the fact that i've never really paid very much for my chocolate and i used to wander invariably from cadbury to mars bars and then recently, to a middle eastern brand my mum used to buy back from dubai.

no more.

on my birthday a few days ago, my parents bought me gourmet chocolates - Sins chocolates to be specific, all beautifully wrapped up in its pretty box, "Exquisite Handmade Pralines" etched in gold on its cover. and boy are they exquisite.

i used to wonder why chocolates were said to be aphrodisiacs. i don't any more. these definitely hit the spot, every time.

sunset bar and grill

you know, i never figured myself as a narcissist... not until i had level 7 rodeo wings at sunset bar and grill. boy did that light a slow burning fire in my mouth, but somehow, even through watering eyes, flushed face and multiple drinks, i kept going back for another one.

ok so i stopped at three. but in my defence i'll have you know that i'd already had a bowl of really good clam chowder and calamari to boot. the fact that it was such sweet torture to go back for another wing is totally besides the point. it was nuts.

food aside, which was quite good, sunset is not a place for those expecting speedy, efficient service because they are anything but. the food took over an hour to arrive (though we'd been warned beforehand when ordering) and it took forever to flag a waiter/waitress in between. towards the end of the evening we heard the complaints of a very unsatisfied customer at the next table who'd arrived at 730 pm but was still waiting for some first orders at 930pm. not. good.

still, its second branch along yio chu kang road is a nice place to hang out (if you're not in a rush), chillout and catch-up with friends. set up by the people who were behind the original jerry's at jln kayu, i'd say go once and try their wings which go up to level 10 for those with absolutely dead tastebuds in their mouths. mains are, reportedly, quite good and those to try are the lamb chops and grilled fish. i'll let you all know if i make it back again.

Ricciotti

this has long been a favourite restaurant of mine. touted as the (younger) sister restaurant of Menotti's, i'd say i'd prefer Riciotti any day.... any day that i don't feel like having seafood risotto that is. that remains the one dish on Menotti's menu that i wish is on Ricciotti's.

but otherwise, this crabmeat pasta at Riciotti remains, currently, the best i've eaten thus far. not kidding. the dish has some italian name which i cannot remember right now, but its the only crabmeat pasta on the menu. though i can't really think of how they can think up a better crabmeat pasta than this one. honestly.

the other thing i adore here is their mango float. served in a pretty glass and a scoop of their fab vanilla bean ice cream, its seriously my favourite drink there. no pictures however, i totally forgot in my rush to sip it all up.

and to finish up my meal that day, i had the profiteroles and not my usual tiramisu for once. i think this remains one of the easiest profiteroles to eat without everything spilling out in all directions.



the pastry was light but didnt fall apart when you bit into it and everything was held together with a good dark chocolate that was not too sweet. each serving comes with three profiteroles with different fillings nestled in a chocolate shell (which incidentally made a pretty good after dinner chocolate in itself). so yeah generally good but personally i felt there was just a wee bit too much chocolate.

the marmalade pantry

the toffee date pudding (is that what its called?) was just divine.

that's the apple crumble in the distance. it was pretty good but its nothing on the pudding. seriously.

Royal Copenhagen

this was why gastric flu didn't stop rae from coming. i thought the food was pretty good save for the petty pastry with shrimp and asparagus which could have been better. personally enjoyed the mushroom soup the best though the salmon platter was also not bad a'tall.

from the top:
the menu
roasted mushroom soup
the salmon platter
petty pastry with shrimp and asparagus
our overladen table
grandma's scones
ice-cream cake with marzipan and fruit salad

Miso Snow Fish @ TCC

i just had to post this. this is fab. coupled with an azuki coffee, it absolutely made my last friday.

Food For Thought

hiho. in line with the new year, i think its pretty apt that i'm going to start of the year with a review on Food For Thought. good food for a good cause.



its one of those places where i've always tried to go but couldn't before because it was full or the kitchen was closed and etc. but i finally got the chance to yesterday and i'm glad i did. it's a great place for a lazy saturday afternoon to kick back and catch up with friends.

as i'd had a pretty heavy breakfast, all i had at Food For Thought were their desserts. and what other dessert was there to try if you were there for the first time proper than their red velvet cake? i really quite liked it.



the color's pretty misleading because it doesnt remotely taste of berries or even beetroot which was what we were surmising they added to get that red color (red food coloring did cross our mind but we'll give them the benefit of the doubt). but it actually tastes like a thick and not too rich sponge cake. the cream cheese icing was fab but strong enough that it pretty much covered the taste of the cake when you reached the end of the slice.



there were plenty of other desserts at their place as evidence by their window display. we also had their carrot cake and oreo cheesecake (not pictured) which were both really quite good as well, especially the latter. even shin, who doesn't like oreo cheesecake ordinarily, liked this one. it was light and the base was just firm enough that it was really close to being the biscuit of the original oreo but more moist. the carrot cake i only had a bite of because i was so full by then but it wasn't too rich again. i'd have that the next time i go.



although i didn't have mains, my lovely dining companions did. they opted for the combination which cost less than $10 (the prices vary depending on what combination you choose). shown here was the popular choice of the table: mushroom soup and basil pesto chicken sandwich. i was assured that it really tasted quite good. will try that when i next go.

because it was full inside and we hadn't booked before hand, we sat outside and dined al fresco which i really enjoyed. we had beautiful weather yesterday (the rain only came much later) and it was a great place to kid-watch, particularly the little chap in blue and bright yellow crocs. crocs only look good on kids. and then as we were leaving...



talk about multipurpose welcome sign. haha.


Food For Thought

420 North Bridge Road

North Bridge Centre

#01-06

Singapore 188727