Ristorante Da Valentino

Its the festive season now so I am going to introduce this place which I personally like if you are looking for ideas on where to go for a meal on Christmas w your partner/family. First up would be Ristorante Da Valentino, located at The Grandstand (used to be Turf City). Walk straight up from the parking lot and you'll see it.

As I walked into the restaurant, this was what greeted me at first sight. And I immediately knew this place is going to be lovely, and it was. 

                       

Loads of decanters and ornaments for the wine lovers 

Decor made the place feel homely yet a little grand at the same time. 

In it house a variety of wine and there is a little map on the door that shows their region etc

It was almost full house on the day I paid a visit but the service and waiting time wasn't affected (: There were also little private dining rooms, the area w doors you see in the picture and some at another side of the restaurant without doors. 

  

The service was so good I felt like a personal butler is serving us. They first introduce themselves before moving on to their special for the day/season, then went on to speak about some recommended fav in the menu. Also the waiter did ask for our preference on what we would like to have. They speak good english, was well mannered and wow I was impressed. It definitely made my day even before my food arrives. 

Even the washroom looks so inviting and clean so I decided to take a photo to show you guys. I don't normally take pictures of washrooms hmm. 

Complimentary freshly baked bread w butter for starters. 

Rock Melon w Proscuitto Ham -  A good combination of sweet and savory. The waiter did explain the quality of the different types of ham as there are a couple of choices available and we decided to go w this since this is an Italy restaurant. 

  

Recommended to us was a pork patty for some meat, black pepper taste was strong and it tasted alright. Quite normal for me, thankfully it was juicy enough.

Squid Ink Fettucine w Crab Meat in Tomato Cream Sauce - Simply delish and mind blowing, its not everyday I come across such a yummy fettuccine dish. Fettuccine cooked al dente, huge chunks of fresh crab meat dipped in the sauce just makes it perfect. Man, writing about it now makes me crave for it again. A must order and must try. 

Another picture to show the glorious bits of crab meat. 

Prawns, Clams, Scallops and Squid Pizza - Loaded w copious amount of toppings, crust extremely thin. The good thing about the crust was it remained crispy even after some time, which is good so you can alternate between dishes and slowly savor them without worrying about the crust turning soggy. 

The bill came up to less than $130 and dishes were shared between three. I thought the price was really reasonable considering that the food and service were top notch. Also taking into consideration the ambience the place provides. Thus it has made its way into my list of favorite restaurants to visit. 


Ristorante Da Valentino

200 Turf Club Road #01-19

Singapore 287994

Contact: 6462 0555/9463 8033

Fax: 6462 2247 

Email: ristvale(@)singnet.com.sg

Opening hours 

Tues-Thurs 

Dinner only: 5.30-10.30pm

Fri-Sun

Lunch: 11.30-2.45pm

Dinner: 5.30-10.30pm

Closed on Mondays 

Media Tasting - Som Tam @ Orchard Central

We were invited to a food tasting session at Som Tam and I was looking forward to seeing the girls plus the food that was awaiting us. That's Darilyn shooting me as I was taking pictures of the restaurant's interior, she likes to take candid pictures of us you see. 

Seated at 7pm and it was still quite empty, the crowd comes in around 7.30-8pm and it was almost full house by then. 

Drinks were served first as usual and all of us started snapping away. I had time on my hands after I was done and took the chance to take some photos of my outfit. 

My outfit of the day consists of bell sleeved top w laced details, brown tassel skirt and black boots. I really liked the look after I put it together. Thank you Celeste for helping me w it!

  

Found the good spot so we decided to make full use of it, and we are onto food next.

Left to right: Iced Matcha Yen Float, Thai Ice Tea and Iced Matcha Yen 

Their Thai Ice Tea is a little diluted in my opinion because I'm used to heavy flavored ones. Iced Matcha Yen, basically matcha w thai ice tea was nice though. The matcha flavor goes smoothly w the tea which made it just right. The difference in green color was due to the presence of milk. 

Tom Yum Truffle Fries - Able to taste both the tom yum and truffle flavor although the sprinkles on the fries may not look like much on first sight. Which made it a pleasant surprise, so thumbs up. 

Deep fried chicken coated with creamy salted egg - This was quite yummy, I actually like that this rendition is not the crispy batter type. Taste of the creamy salted egg sauce was there, chicken tender and reasonable portion. 

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Gai Satay (6) - Grilled tender bits of chicken meat slides off the satay stick easily as I eat it. The sauce was amazing, we were told its a kind of seafood sauce. It was spicy, a little sour and had such unique taste it totally elevates the dish. I was however a little iffy about the fact that it was served in a net. Creative yes but I find it a little unhygienic for the salad lovers. 

Phad Kang Kaneng Phet - This was unanimously voted as the dish of the day. The meat was fresh and tender. It smelt of herbs when it first arrived but upon tasting the taste of the sauce had different dimensions to it. Stated in the menu its thai red curry, definitely addictive, spicy and having eggs, soft carrot and onions just adds on flavor. Really yummy, I would go back for this.

Kapi Beef Burger - The shrimp paste didn't go well at all w the beef and the meat itself breaks off into little pieces easily. Also, the beef was rather dry and egg a little overdone. I wouldn't recommend this.

Pasta and noodle came after and I must say their portion is huge,  which is a good thing because diners can order to share/try different ones. 

Pasta x Chicken x Green Curry - I liked that yellow noodles was used because it proved to be a good choice w the green curry. More meat would be nice, this was yummy.

"Som Tam" Style Carbonara Pasta - My favorite amongst the pasta/noodle, lup cheong added oomph and a little sweetness to it although the bits are small. The little bit of salted egg may be overlooked easily but it works so fine w the creamy carbonara sauce. 

Aglio Olio Style Tom Yum Prawn Pasta - I could only taste the sourness for this, no spicyness nor tom yum taste. It was a little dry too, could have used more oil or tom yum sauce. 

Thai Tea Cheesecake - Skip this cake because I think there is much to be improved on. I could taste this faint bitter after taste of thai ice tea, it doesn't have the texture of a cheesecake and was rather dry.  

After You Toast w Thai Basil Choc Chip & Watermelon Sorbet Gelato - Watermelon Sorbet tasted refreshing and light, the Thai Basil one wasn't for me as it reminded me of those old school Vicks sweets. There was too much butter in the toast, and was soggy. Topped w whipped cream and palm sugar syrup, I still find the lack of more elements in terms of the taste and presentation. This was the last dish so we moved on to more photos before heading off. 

Managed to have some nice group shots taken whilst we were waiting for food to be served

The camera switched hands and we didn't know, distracted by the talking  

Supposedly awkward pose turns out alright, really like the decor of waiting area over there!

Overall, there were hits and misses. I would suggest them to concentrate and hone the better tasting ones. Prices are actually pretty reasonable especially for a casual restaurant in town. Also, I like the interior design and atmosphere of the place, thank you Som Tam and Smitten for the invite. 

Orchard Central 
181 Orchard Road, #08-13

Singapore 238896

Phone

Contact: (+65) 6238 6872

Mon - Thurs: 

11:30am to 3:00pm
5:30pm to 10:00pm
Fri - Sun:

11:30am to 10:00pm

Koh Grill & Sushi Bar

Miso Clam Soup - The first thing I noticed was the miso which made the soup really cloudy. And I was impressed the miso did not sink down to the bottom throughout my meal (not like the ones you have to stir after some time. 

Cabbage was really sweet, the clams fresh and the combination of all the elements in the soup makes it really yummy and pretty comforting on a rainy day. Perhaps people who are experiencing hangover can try this too. $5 for such quality and reasonable portion is definitely a steal. Must have and must try if you're here!  

Shiok Maki Generation 2 - Cripsy prawn wrapped with roasted salmon, topped with a ton of roe. Drenched with a combination of mentai and tobiko sauce made it looked even more enticing. Contrary to first impressions upon viewing the menu, the sauce wasn't too heavy, in fact it was quite mild and complements the sushi without overpowering it. It wasn't disappointing but I was kinda expecting more because of the hype. 

Tuna Volcano Maki - The spiciness was barely there I felt, according to what the name suggests. I liked the tempura and asparagus bits though, they added texture to it. However the dried bonito flakes can be dampening for me as I personally am not a fan of it. This was quite a miss for me though a good try, more for diners who are not afraid to consume raw tuna and dried bonito flakes. 

Address: 435 Orchard Road, #04-21 Wisma Atria Shopping Centre, 238877


Contact: 9180 3805


Operating hours: 11.30am-10.30pm 

Republic Poly Loklok

Located at the North food court, there is this cart shop which sells my fav and the only kind of loklok I really love eating thus far. This is a must try and must have! Boiled in mala soup for hours, the flavor would be infused together with the ingredients itself. 

Choose your skewers of food from the menu, no minimum order. My fav to order are the mushroom balls, white radish, tau kwa, sometimes mini fishballs and golden mushroom. 

When the white radish is cooked long enough it would be sweeter, melt-in-your mouth texture and is the ingredient which absorbs the soup the most. Mushroom balls give the soup a better taste compared to the rest and thats why I like to mix them together. When put into the small disposable bowl, it'll still affect the taste of the soup. Thus I would advice to choose something with meat or the taste of food that you'll like to be present in the soup. 

The best hours to consume the wonderful soup would be around 1-4pm. However between 12-2pm would be their lunchtime so be prepared for the long queue, otherwise do go slightly before or after the lunch crowd. 

Mookata at Orto

Mookata at Orto is easily my fav place for Mookata now because of its ambience, the travelling time and cleanliness. And the best part, they use charcoal instead of the electric one which requires gas can and I don't really fancy that. Grabbed this picture from their Facebook to show their shop front. 

This above is the Set for 2 which consists of: A combination of marinated chicken (thigh), pork (collar), prawns, squid, suriyaki, streaky bacon, pork belly, fishball, meatball, crabsticks, otah fishcake, round cabbage, chinese cabbage, kang kong, xiao bai cai, corn, golden mushroom, eggs, tung hoon and tofu. If you don't like any of the vege/meat in the list you can change it to another so long as they are of the same category! Enough for 2-4 adults to fill the tummy without being stuffed. 

The quality of the ingredients are considered alright, not superior but definitely not lousy or unclean as you can see from the picture. My fav amongst the meat would be the marinated chicken, tender when cooked just right and the marination is done well, not just flavoring on the surface. Bacon lovers do look out for the enoki with bacon if the ones in the set does not suffice. 

Tomyum soup base was flavorful, I can taste both the spiciness and the sour element, it is mild to me and doesn't overpower the taste of an ingredient itself. Choosing Tom Yum soup base really gets me savoring my food fast. 

The pork broth is the opposite, I would have to wait patiently for it to thicken and be flavorful because when it comes, it is actually extremely light with just the slightest flavor to it. Not for people who are impatient and for people who prefer to taste the flavor of their food entirely without having it to taste to be interrupted because of a stronger flavored soup base. 

Extra serving side dish of pork liver and enoki mushroom with bacon which is not included in the set. 

Sitting indoors when its empty is good especially in the day because of the unforgiving weather but when it houses too many diners the place might have a very strong mixed food smell due to the air conditioning. 

This will be the Meat Lover's Platter: A combination of pork collar, chicken thigh, sliced beef suriyaki, streaky bacon, shabu shabu, pork belly and 2 premium sausages. 

As I've eaten both platter before I've decided to include this photo for readers who would want an idea of how the meat platter looks like. Enough for at least 3 adults onwards to fill the tummy.

On a busy day their service is still quite good. Out of the so many times I went, the staff were always responsive and polite. 

Their Thai Ice Milk Tea is the real deal, has the aromatic milk tea taste and isn't too sweet. Tastes pretty authentic if I say! I drank this for dinner before and I couldn't sleep till it was almost dawn. Yes, it was that rich. From then on I'll order their Homemade Lime Juice which tastes just right, definitely unique and not the ones which tastes quite off.   

I like to visit this place at night simply because I prefer sitting outdoors than indoors. You'll get to appreciate the scenery, sometimes the night breeze too. 

Oh and just a thing to note, their fan is not the kind which can oscillate if you are sitting outdoors, so be sure to choose a good spot where you feel airy but not having your hair blown in your face whilst eating. After dining it would be the perfect timing to have a walk around to digest, or have a little drink at the pubs which Orto houses too. 

Unit Number:	#01-04
Opening Hours:	Mon – Thu: 1700-0000 Fri: 1700-0100 Sat: 1200 – 0100 Sun: 1200 – 0000 Last Order would be 1 hour before closing time
Contact:	+65 6257 5198

Poulet

Paid a visit to Poulet while I was at Changi Airport T3 with my parents the other day. The 3 of us ordered these to share. It was a little after dinner hours but the place was still quite packed. Waiting time was also reasonable considering that the amount of patrons present. 

Poulet Roti - This is their signature dish so of course we would have to try it for ourselves. I chose this one which is in Cream Sauce with Chardonnay. Its roasted chicken with a crispy exterior yet the meat remains tender, juicy which makes me want to have more. There was almost no wine taste in my opinion but the sauce was right up my alley and I love it. 

The other roasted chicken was the one in cranberry sauce. It is quite sticky as I tried to scoop it up to try. Doesn't taste like what I'd expect from cranberry, is pleasant and leans towards bbq sauce without being smoky. Conclusion, I still like my cream sauce one more. 

Mushroom Soup - Rich yet not overly salty, mushroom soup lovers will love this. I felt the croutons were so so though, probably added to just give it more texture. 

Truffle Mash - This stole the limelight from the main. The fragrance and taste of truffles in the mash is really addictive. Mash itself is also smooth and dense which I like how my mash to be! This is a must have other there. 

65 Airport Boulevard (T3)
#04-01 Viewing Mall South Level 4
Singapore 819663

Contact: (+65) 6542 2529

Operating hours are from 11.30-10pm, Monday to Sunday. 

For other outlets do visit their website here: http://poulet.com.sg/restaurants/