A971 Cafe

not good. not if you're there for drinks and to catch up with a bunch of friends and chill. it felt as though they weren't sure if they wanted to be a pub, club or restaurant and hence tried to be all three.

the drinks, and - while I can't vouch for it as we didn't eat there but at the rather more established Tampopo across the river - apparently the food also suffers the same unfocused fate. fusion with occasionally exciting or promising descriptions, we found that the only real focus they had was this: to deliver your drinks with fairly minimal hints of alcohol save for one cocktail and bottled beers.

you can pass on the Irish Strawberry (unless you're up for a light foamy strawberry milkshake) and definitely the Roppongi Sling unless cherry vodka is quite your thing. cocktails wise, we found that the Strawberry D'light was perhaps the only delight of the night, save that it came only half a champagne glass full.

so yes, not a place that's high up on my list of places to recommend - unless you have a small group of about 15-20 and need a little space inside for a party. the music's really pretty decent but as i said, not quite a club, pub or restaurant.

maybe you all had a better experience there?


A971 Cafe
30 Merchant Road
Riverside Point
Singapore 058282

The Brunch Series

when one of the nicest ways to start a weekend is to sleep in and then wake up to a late saturday brunch, i figure a series on the chicest and yummiest brunch places is most apropos.

but first, i need a coffee... say, the piccolo at Jones the Grocer.

stay tuned.

Bali Eats

i blame the Arien side of me for the huge lack of updates - always beginning and struggling towards the end. anyhow, hello again y'all, its been a while :)

but yes, Bali. it wasn't too long ago that I was there to spend a large portion of it ensconced in a private villa. but with colleagues like mine, I was armed with 11 pages worth of Bali eats to try. way too many choices for the three days I was there unfortunately. nonetheless, there were definitely some highlights:



the shrimp down at Bubba Gump down in Kuta. not mind-blowing but definitely full of addictive garlicky goodness. i could do some real damage with these if this was any closer to where we were hiding in Seminyak. the restaurant itself is quite a fun place, especially if you're partial to all things Forrest Gump. i'm sure you get it if you've ever been to any Bubba Gump before :)



the crispy duck at Warung Eropa. happily for us, this place was literally located not 2 minutes from the doorstep of our villa. the other highlight of this place was definitely the sate. the best friend and I definitely bought back many a pack to our villa and it was a great snack for watching F1.

and to cap things off, we decided to treat ourselves on our last evening there right down at the beach in Seminyak. no, not at Ku De Ta, but its quieter and more sedate neighbour - The Samaya. i can honestly say that that dinner at Breeze, which is The Samaya's main restaurant, was quite possibly THE dinner of 2009 for me.

a beach front table, a really really good mojito, the trademark golden Bali sunset, the yummiest foie gras since Le Normandie as an entree and the freshest moistest local snapper with a light seafood broth and risotto on the side.



divine.

we didn't actually have that much variety of food while there to be honest, we were so busy bumming (the Sanyas Suites - definitely worth checking it out. great service and the coolest outdoor bathroom). plus - breakfast is served at our own dining patio every morning at your requested time. there are only so many meals in one day really. but in case you might want to drop by where we did:

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
Komplek Pertokoan Kuta Centre, Blok A1 No. 1
JL Kartika Plaza No. 8X,
Kuta, Bali

Warung Eropa
Jln Cendrawasih, Peti Tenget,
Seminyak, Bali

Breeze at The Samaya
Jl. Laksmana, Seminyak Beach, Seminyak, Bali


i have traveled since (back to taipei again hah!) and i am definitely in the mood for more traveling soon. lets hope the next you check back, this one's still up and running. gold coast and melbourne here i come!

Quan An Ngon, Ho Chi Minh City

i obviously did not take the time to focus on this one haha. pictured in the foreground is the most fabulous (words fail me) pho with tomato and herb soup.

this was definitely one of the best things i had there though, along with the grilled squid. OH. MY. GOSH. even for a soup and squid lover like me, this was really right up there as some of the best food i've ever had. i would actually consider going all the way back again to HCMC just for the food. really.

another notable mention would be the pho at Pho Hoa Pasteur. no location details though, its mighty hard to keep track of something when it doesn't sound remotely like what it looks like.

would actually like to go back now.

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