Bacchanalia

This place was well recommended by our foodie friends. So we went on a double date to check out this restaurant. Bacchanalia have been around since last year and they are very well known in Singapore to provide great quality fusion food from the freshest produce. Everything served here is made from scratch and guaranteed no processed food! Heck they even strapped a GoPro camera on their forehead while they are cooking to show you. (You can see them projecting the video on the wall whilst you are dining so you can be sure) =P

The meaning of Bacchanalia basically means "a Roman festival of Bacchus celebrated with dancing, song and revelry". For us it was like a celebration without our children around. I must say it was probably the best dinner we ever had! haha. For those parents with children reading, I bet you are agreeing with me. =P.

And so we ordered an orgy array of food to share and taste. And boy I tell you we probably ordered 65% of their menu. Since it was sharing concept heck why not just load up! haha. Below are 'some' of the dishes we had.....

Rice & Coconut (creamy coconut risotto, chilli paste, fermented coconut, Thai inspired flavors)

A Different Vegetable Salad (organic cameron highland greens & seasonal root vegetables, roasted & pickled with braised banana hearts, banana purée, ponzu veil)

Calamari Grenobloise (grilled calamari, violet artichokes, hasselback potatoes, artichoke purée, sauce grenobloise)

HD Scallops (norwegian hand dived scallops, borlotti beans, kalix caviar, cocoa)

Steak & Sauce Rossini (365 days grain fed petit tender beef, cauliflower mushroom, celeriac, foie gras & red wine jus, potato crisp)

Chicken Cnocchi (grilled chicken breast, vermouth emulsion, house-made gnocchi, grapefruit & red onion salad)

Duck & Carrots (al mattone duck magret, carrot purée & salad, chickpea panisse, sweet & sour duckjus)

French Onion Soup (80c caramelised onion broth, crispy cheddar nuggets, rye bread, onion marmalade & ricotta)

Tiramisu (marsala mousse, coffee ganache, cocoa gel, blackcurrant sorbet)

The Chocolate Cake (chocolate sponge cake, caramelised white chocolate mousse, strawberry jam & strawberry sorbet)

Downtown Manhattan

Monkey Triple

Overall the food here is awesome and my favourite dish that stood out was the 'Chicken Gnocchi'. Their chicken breast was perfectly smooth in texture and so tender that it melts in your mouth. The host mentioned to us that there was a lot of thought process been put together to create this dish. So all we had to do was enjoy every bite of it.  Definitely recommended for you chicken fans!

This restaurant is located at:-

23A Coleman St

Singapore 179806

Tel: +65 65091453

Street Food @ Ho Chi Minh

If you are ever in Ho Ci Minh and you did not managed to eat any street food then I guess you have never been there. A trip to this country is not complete without tasting the street food. There are hundreds and thousands of street food vending across HCM and whichever you take a stab will definitely give you a good experience! =D

These is just my little collection of the variety of different local street food delights I managed to try. 

Com Tam (Broken rice with grilled pork, fatty pork strips, fried egg and vietnamese sausages)

Fresh Spring Roll

Bahn Xeo (Vietnamese Pan Cake with bean sprouts)

Bahn Trang Tron (Vietnamese Mixed Rice Paper street food)

Bahn Cuon (Steamed rice noodle roll topped off with luncheon meat)

Com Chay (Deep Fried Rice Cracker topped off with finely chopped spring onions, chilli, meat floss and honey syrup)

Steamed clams in Lemongrass chili broth sauce

Sea snails in chilli

3 types of meat (Chicken, King Prawn, Fish slices) noodles with rice noodle vermicelli

House Dempsey

Came here on a busy Sunday with the kids. This place is super kid friendly for those who have children. We came here to support one of our friend's pop up booth selling some canvas prints. House is a popular place amongst the local who haunts here for their amazing brunch meals.

We only managed to try 2 dishes as we know the dishes here tends to be pretty large. And yes we weren't surprised when it arrived. Both dishes we had below were totally up to expectation and superbly delicious. Next time we come back, we will attempt to try their other dishes on their menu.

Bay Prawns Spaghetti Capellini (Chilli with prawn bolognese and braised baby leeks garnished with micro herbs, Topped with pecorino cheese shavings)

The seafood taste on the gravy was a perfect balance. And the spaghetti is perfectly al dante done. Thumbs up and what I worry is resisting myself to order it again for my next visit because I want to try their other stuffs on their menu.

Asian pork sliders (Prime pork belly cuts tenderly and longingly braised with premium soy sauce accompanied with asian spice and a kick of chilli) with Taro truffle fries 

The pork was a little tough for my liking but the taste makes up for it. Typical "Tau Yew Bak" asian pork gravy done perfectly. And the taro truffle fries were a bonus for us to wash our palettes in...haha

Mint Berry Gin Fizz (Gin, Creme de Cassis, Pressed Lemon)

Ordered this refreshing House signature cocktail. Guaranteed a thirst quencher and de-stress for relaxing weekend! =)


This restaurant is located at:-
Block 8D
Dempsey Rd
Singapore 249672

Tel: +65 64757787

Anak East Coast

I was drawn to this place by its unique name and have also been driving pass this joint many times always telling myself to give it a try. And so we did, and we have to say it was a pleasant surprise of goodness! :)

Nasi Kerabu

The blue colour rice may throw you off slightly but I assure you it taste authentic as it looks. The shaven coconut toppings is like icing on the top of a great dish. It looks like a simple dish to replicate but I hear the effort that goes into making it is hard work!. So I chose the wise option to go out and buy it if I ever crave for Nasi Kerabu! haha

Nasi Dagang Ayam 

I did not think too much about this dish. Rice was a little bit too sticky for my liking and the taste of the accompanying chicken curry tasted bland. I felt that there could be some room for improvement here. 

Kelantan Fried Hokkien Noodle

This was surprisingly good coz I was a bit sceptical when ordering Hokkien mee from here not knowing the outcome. Worth a try if you fancy some noodles in this joint.

Honey Lemon syrup (Left) and Pineapple Lemon syrup (Right)

This restaurant is located at:-
59 Jalan SS2/24
47300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor

Tel: +6012 2515102

Old Siam Kopitiam

If you are in One Utama and looking for decent good affordable food then this is the place to visit. Since I have stumbled across Old Siam Kopitiam it has been my favourite haunt when I am shopping in One Utama.

There are plenty of food and cafes in One Utama but still this one gets my everyday eats vote. Just plain simple good affordable food on the go which doesn't put a hole in your wallet. Fully recommended to try if you have not!

Thai Chicken curry with Fried egg

Khao Kruk Kapi

This Thai belacan fried rice served with sweet pork accompanied with strips of sour mango and egg omelette brings back memories. How can something so simple taste so good?! This dish definitely gives you the perfect balance of sweet, sour and spicy altogether.


This restaurant is located:-
Lot LG 325, Lower Ground, 1 Utama Shopping Centre, 
Lebuh Bandar Utama  47800 
Petaling Jaya

Tel: +60377277768

Bistro @ Gardenasia

We were having our family stay-cation in Kranji area and we thought we drive around the area to hunt for food. So stumbled across this little gem not too far away from our hotel. From the outside it could be easily missed as the sign posted was not very clear. Luckily enough my wife's hungry eyes managed to spot it.

As you entered the bistro, you are welcomed by a huge man made pond right in the middle of the Bistro. It was very impressive and I have to say the mist blower gave it a nice ambience as well... haha.

Rosella with real cactus extract (Awesome thirst quencher on this hot lovely day!)

Mee Goreng Pasta 

I have to say this is probably one of the top mee goreng dishes I had Singapore to be honest. Most of what you get around Singapore are this chefs tends to dye their Mee Goreng noodles in red colour to make it look appetising but in fact does the opposite for me. As a born and bred Malaysian, I am obviously very particular about how Malaysian food supposed to be cooked and taste like. =P 

Ribeye Steak

For a bistro cafe, I thought the steak was pretty good. Despite it slightly done more towards medium well when I ordered it medium rare. Taste wise was pretty good and the caramelised onions and gravy makes it juicer to chomp on it.

Portobello mushroom salad

I was looking forward to this dish as I wanted some greens in my system. However, I felt that the leaves and mushroom were a tad bit dry. For the price, I reckon the portobello mushroom could be a bit bigger. 

Pet play area whilst patrons dine

This restaurant is located at:-

240 Neo Tiew Crescent

Lim Chu Kang

Singapore 718898

Pho Le

I guess there is not much introduction when it comes to this vietnamese dish. There are only a few dishes why you come to Vietnam to eat and Pho is one of them. To be honest, I can practically eat this for all 3 meals of my day. 

When it comes to Pho, there are hundreds and thousands of restaurant to choose from in HCM that vends this dish. Since my visit there, we have been trying different places that serves this hearty beef broth noodle dish. And I have came to a conclusion this is one of the best that HCM has to offer. Unfortunately I did not managed to take a pic of the restaurant as they were really busy. I think maybe my mind was already ready to eat! haha =P

The broth is clear based and full of beef flavour. Compared to the ones I have previously tasted around the globe, this totally set a new standard and its definitely on a different level. The beef slices were so tender and the meat balls you could tell was lovingly home made to perfection. I ordered the mix beef parts so that I can enjoy the happiness of the different beef parts on every bite.

In HCM, everywhere you go you have accompanying green veges to make sure you have your daily dose of balanced diet in your system. Also not to mention it gives your individual bowl of broths a unique taste as well! ;)

I must say, if you have not been to this restaurant in Ho Chi Minh, then you have not been to Ho Chi Minh before! haha. This 'Pho Le' is really good!! (Pardon the pun) =P


This restaurant is located at:-
413-414 Nguyen Trai Street
P.7, District 5
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

Hoang Ty

Got to know of this place from my friend whom is a local in HCM. This restaurant looks like a regular haunt for most of the locals around the area. How we realise that is because we came here really early before lunch time and there were people already eating. Once we sat down, floods of people started pouring in. So I guess its definitely a must try for those who loves paper rolls.

They serve variety of food here ranging from Vietnamese steamboat to paper rolls. Totally different from what we tourist have normally been exposed to dining in the streets of HCM. 

These seats are all reserved! You can see what I mean by getting here early before the flock floods in.

Mountain and plentiful of vietnamese veges to accompany your rolls

Unique star fruit looking slices to accompany your rolls

Grilled beef wrapped in grape leaves

Nam Neung grilled meat with pork crackling skin (This is superb!!)

Deep fried spring rolls

Homemade fish cake slices

Fully recommended to visit this restaurant if you are ever in HCM. Definitely like what all Singaporeans would say 'Die Die Must Try!"


This restaurant is located at:-
74 Truong Quoc Dung
P.10, Q.Phu Nhuan

Tel: +84 0839974368