Inagiku was long gone (since 2012) and in its place, Mikuni, a Japanese restaurant helmed by Executive Chef Moon Kyung Soo (who is Korean by the way). After seeing all the wonderful reviews about the place (mostly invites though), we decided to drop by for lunch one weekday afternoon.

I really don't know how to begin describing the interior of Mikuni. It had sort of a weird vibe to it, like they couldn't decide whether to make it techno-ish or modern Japanese (what's with the blue overhanging lights?) and tables were placed relatively close to each other. I could make out what the tables to our left and right were talking about which was quite a turn off in my humble opinion, the tron legacy lights notwithstanding (reminded me a little of Eva Air's Infinity Lounge @ Taipei as well).

Appetiser - And we started off with a bowl of complimentary salad and some thin, crustacean crisps (I believe it was ebi) with dashes of spice. Pretty nice.

Sashimi Set - Very fresh sashimi; Tuna, creamily smooth sea urchin, salmon, swordfish, squid and amberjack. Need I say more? Served with a cup of chawanmushi (more on that later) and a rather tasty agedashi tofu sporting a somewhat elastic skin.Australian Beef & Ebi Ougon Sauce Set - Although portions were a tad dainty, this teppanyaki set offered a pretty good sampling of beef and prawn. The beef was tender and flavourful with bits of fat even though it came almost well done instead of my requested medium. However, the highlight was the prawns; Fresh, crunchy and smothered in creamy yet lightly savoury golden sauce (The old Inagiku's rendition was slightly richer and better in my humble opinion though). I personally loved the addition of the fried garlic chips to the dish for that strong garlic infusion and crunch.

The set also included a bowl of fragrant garlic fried rich and a cup of chawanmushi, with the latter silky smooth with bits of prawn and meat inside without coming across as too eggy.Espresso Ice Cream & Petit Fours - I'm usually not a big fan of coffee ice creams but the espresso ice cream was pretty good; Not too strong or acidic and went well with the blob of cream in the center. Biscuit crumbs atop provided a nice crunchy texture to the equation.

The petit fours included rather interesting red bean squares that had a smooth, melt in your mouth texture (similar to paste) but appeared gelatin like. Matcha balls (matcha cream encapsulated by a thin white chocolate shell and dusted with matcha powder) completed the picture and I personally liked how the bitterness of the matcha complemented the sweetness of the chocolate.

If it wasn't for the Feed At Raffles discount, our lunch would have been exorbitantly priced. Thankfully, with the 50% discount, it was a more affordable $103 for two. Food quality was pretty decent but I wouldn't describe it as mind blowing. More like reliable if you ask me. Service was good but the ambience wasn't ideal (lose the blue lights please). However, at such a price point (with the 50% discount) and food quality, I'll be inclined to return.

See all my pictures at http://www.timelessfacade.com/2015/03/mikuni-successor-to-inagiku.html

It was our monthly dinner gathering as well as a pre CNY celebration. The venue of choice was Imperial Treaure Cantonese @ Terminal 3, which also happens to be one of my favourite Chinese restaurants in Singapore.Salmon Yusheng - My first yusheng (鱼生) of 2015 and it got us off to a great start; Thick slices of salmon and fresh tasting crackers coupled with a not cloyingly sweet plum sauce and crunchy strips of carrot, radish etc. Simple yet delightful. Only small gripe I had was that there seemed to be a lingering lemongrass taste in a couple of mouthfuls which I'm no big fan of.

Pea Shoots With Bamboo Shoots - The prized winter bamboo shoots (冬筍) were in season so we had them stir fried with pea shoots for our obligatory greens dish. Which was quite nice really; Nice wok hei and savouriness to the pea shoots whilst the bamboo shoots were very crunchy with a tinge of rawness.

Crabmeat With Egg White And Italian White Truffle Oil - Scallops were our original choice but unfortunately, the quality was suspect that day hence the decision by the restaurant to temporarily withdraw it from the menu. We eventually settled for crab meat in lieu and honestly, it was equally good (prawns don't go well though. See my previous writeup at http://www.timelessfacade.com/2011/04/imperial-treasure-fine-chinese-cuisine.html). The crab meat imparted a nice crustacean flavour to the egg white, which acted as a sponge for the wonderfully aromatic and earthy white truffle oil.

Sauteed Beancurd With Mushroom - Silky smooth with a nice savoury finish from the layer of seaweed atop. Topped with a generous serving of mushrooms. What's not to like?

Sauteed Prawn Ball - Huge, fresh and crunchy de-shelled prawns stir fried with leek, carrots and spring onion; Simple unadulterated sweetness and goodness.

Roasted Duck - The rather sizeable whole duck sported a nicely crisp skin, tender and juicy meat sans an overwhelming fowl taste. Excellent.Truffle Mee Pok With Lingzhi Mushroom - This off the menu dish remains one of our must order items whenever we drop by Imperial Treasure Cantonese. Al dente mee pok coupled with a prominently aromatic truffle oil taste and crunchy beansprouts; Definitely worth the carbohydrates!

Durian Pudding - And we ended off dinner with a round of durian pudding. Chilled and smooth with a distinct taste of durian and bits of the fruit lodged within the pudding. Great way to finish.

The 6 of us clocked in at almost $360, which was pretty reasonable given the quality and quantity of food (we struggled to finish the duck). Service was decent and it was a great dinner all in all!

See all my pictures at http://www.timelessfacade.com/2015/02/imperial-treasure-cantonese-part-ix-pre.html

The Royal Mail had been around for about 2 years but it was never on our to dine at list for one reason or another. We finally decided to give it a shot one Friday evening before the wife took off for an extended work trip to Korea. Interior

Occupying a spot in Ascott Raffles Place, the restaurant's name is inspired by its location, where a former British post office once stood. And it serves up "modern British cuisine" of course.

The restaurant is situated on the second floor, up a flight of stairs that open up right into the oddly shaped dining area whilst the bar takes up a small corner on the first floor. If you value your privacy, it might be a good idea to request for seats further in and not along the stairway, especially on a busy night. Complimentary Bread

Puff pastry with brie cheese - Now that's something you don't get very often. Soft and moist with a nice cheesy nuance. I did find it a wee bit too oily though. Amuse Bouche

The amuse bouche was a classic duck rillette on toast; nice but not creamy enough with a mildly spicy kick. Still a good start nonetheless!The Royal Mail Caesar Salad

Our quintessential greens for the evening, the humble Caesar salad. Spiced up with bacon strips, a nicely poached egg, strips of cheese and toasted bread. Nothing too fancy but it kept the positive momentum going. Sous-Vide Half Maine Lobster

That's a pretty small lobster if you ask me but it was good. Crunchy meat cooked to a perfect consistency and served with a shard of crisp ibérico ham and a slice of mildly sweet Japanese pumpkin, sitting in a pool of rich emulsified butter sauce. Roasted Whole Chicken

The roasted chicken needed quite a fair bit of work, coming across as bland and uninspiring. The accompanying chermoula sauce was just plan oily and we had a hard time finishing the chicken, small as it was.Roast Prime Rib

A signature of the restaurant, we had the classic cut (280g), which came served with delicious sauteed Brussels sprouts topped with pine nuts and blue cheese, a roasted whole garlic and Yorkshire pudding. Done up medium well instead of medium as per my request, the prime rib was quite good; Thickly cut, succulent and tasty. I didn't quite fancy the Yorkshire pudding though, which was neither crisp nor hot. Truffle Risotto

The side of truffle risotto was al dente and beautifully creamy and fragrant with chunks of mushroom in it. Delicious!Chocolate Fondant

Nicely moist fondant with a molten chocolate center and served with a scoop of lacklustre vanilla bean ice cream and deliciously crunchy chocolate soil with freeze dried raspberries atop. I personally loved the texture and tartness that the chocolate soil, dried raspberries combination brought to this dessert. Banoffee Tart

A pretty decent rendition of one of my favourite western desserts (I have many by the way), the banoffee tart sported a crisp tart shell with a filling of banana, crumble and toffee, topped with a dollop of cream and dusted with cocoa powder. The salted caramel sauce could have featured a little more prominently and the bananas could have been a little more moist whilst the tart would have been better with a little more baking in my humble opinion. Bill

With a 50% discount, the bill for the both of us came up to a mere $105, which is a rather good deal considering the very decent quality and quantity of food (with the exception of the chicken). Service was excellent; Personal without coming across as overbearing. At such a price point and quality, I'll be hard pressed to find an excuse not to revisit.

Final Verdict:

Ambience: 7/10

Service: 8/10

Food: 7/10 (6/10 for the chicken)

Value for money: 7/10 (with the 50% discount)

Overall: 7.25/10

Dropped by my favourite dim sum place, Wah Lok, with my friends one weekday afternoon for a leisurely lunch. Suckling Pig Combo

We had the suckling pig and BBQ pork combination and it honestly wasn't a very good start to our meal. The BBQ pork sported a beautiful sheen but lacked bite whilst the suckling pig had a nice crisp skin to it but came across as overwhelmingly oily. Steamed Pork Dumpling

The 烧卖 had a rather low fat to meat ratio thus didn't come across as too overwhelming. Pretty good.Deep Fried Beancurd Skin Roll

A crisp but a wee bit too oily exterior packed with crunchy prawns. Best eaten hot!Steamed Custard Buns

Now this wasn't quite impressive. The flowing custard lacked the saltiness and texture of egg yolk. It was just plain sweet honestly.Steamed Prawn Dumplings

Fresh tasting, crunchy prawns all bundled up in a thin, semi translucent skin. What's not to like?Steamed Crabmeat Dumpling

This tasted rather similar to the steamed prawn dumplings except that it was filled with crab paste instead of prawns and wrapped up in a mildly stretchable, semi translucent skin. Pretty decent.Steamed BBQ Pork Cheong Fun

Another dim sum staple, the BBQ pork cheong fun boasted silky smooth skin with generous servings of BBQ pork within, all sitting in a pool of light soya sauce. Nice!Steamed Carrot Cake

The steamed carrot cake honestly didn't look like much but it came across as smooth, moist and encrusted with savoury dried shrimps. Simple yet nice!Baked BBQ Pork Bun

One of the signature dishes of Wah Lok, the baked BBQ pork bun ranks a close third behind that of Tim Ho Wan and Lung King Heen (top of my chart) in my humble opinion. Sporting a darker than usual colour probably due to a slight overbaking, the bun had a nice crusty top with mildly viscous, semi sweet pork filling encased in soft dough. Abalone & Chicken Pie

Exhibiting a nice sheen on the crust, the abalone and chicken pie was wonderfully buttery with generous bits of moist chicken and abalone cocooned within. It was so good that we had 2 servings!Baked Mini Egg Tarts

Quivery, not too sweet custard center on a flaky tart base. Pretty good but the tart could do with a little more butter in my humble opinion.Baked Custard Pastries

One of my must order dishes whenever I visit Wah Lok, the baked custard pasty (美人腰) was as good as my previous visit. "Lithe" and flaky with a smooth and sweetly satisfying custard filling.Homemade Soya Beancurd

To round up our largely excellent lunch, I had the homemade soya beancurd with gingko nut and chestnut. Though smooth, it honestly wasn't my cup of tea due to the amount of gelatin in it. I personally prefer the silky smooth, soft type. I did like the crunchiness from the chestnuts though.Bill

The 3 of us racked up a bill of over $150 for a pretty satisfying meal, in terms of quality and quantity. Wah Lok has been very consistent over the years and I look forward to returning soon!

Final Verdict:

Ambience: 7/10

Service: 7/10

Food: 7.5/10

Value for money: 7/10

Overall: 7.125/10

Address: 2nd floor, Carlton Hotel

Contact: 63118188/9

Opening Hours:

Lunch 11:30 am - 2.30 pm (Mon - Sat); 11 am - 2:30 pm (Sun & PH)

Dinner 6:30 pm - 10:30 pm

Website: http://www.carlton.com.sg/dining_wah.htm

I had an off day so popped by for an early lunch at Three Buns @ Potato Head Folk, apparently the latest and greatest F&B joint, fresh off the beaches of Bali.

Housed in the iconic, former Tong Ah Building (東亞) along Keong Saik Road, Three Buns @ Potato Head Folk offers takeaway and alfresco dining on the ground floor, table service on the second and a cocktail bar on the third. The kitchen is also located on the ground floor so you can pretty much have a good view of the workings if you choose to sit along the passageway.

Dining alone, I didn't quite fancy any table service and wanted a look at the kitchen hence I made myself comfortable on one of the tiny wooden bar chairs along the passageway. On hindsight, that probably wasn't a great decision as passers-by kept bumping into me due to the rather narrow path. And lets not forget about the afternoon humidity and heat.Naughty Fries - Naughty fries. How catchy. Instead of the usual rectangular shaped strips of fries, these came in wide, thinly shaved pieces and topped with the likes of Parmesan, spiced Bearnaise, shallots, parsley, chopped spring onions and a smattering of mildly spicy hot beef chilli. Apart from the rather interesting Asian twist to an otherwise Western dish, it was essentially Carl's Junior's chilli beef fries with a little more finesse; Fresher tasting with a slightly spicier kick. $9++ gets you a sharing portion for 2pax.Baby Huey - A thick and juicy but mildly overcooked 150g beef patty topped with melted cheese, lettuce, spiced mayo, pickles and 'Notorious T.O.M Sauce' (whatever that means). Served up between two soft and fluffy buns (like the one's from Triple O's), this was one pretty good burger. I personally liked the mild tanginess of the of the whole burger and the crunchiness provided by the pickles. An abundance of sauce made for a very messy burger but it was all good. I'm definitely trying out the double patty burger on my next visit!

A rather sweaty but filling lunch cost me about $37, which seriously isn't cheap by any standards for a burger, fries and an iced coffee (which incidentally tastes like the $1 ones at a local coffeeshop. But don't quote me on that as I know nuts about coffee). No service charge was levied because it was pretty much self serve but I assume a 10% service charge would be tagged on if you were to sit on the second floor. The burger alone is worth a revisit though!

See all my pictures at http://www.timelessfacade.com/2014/07/potato-head-folk-three-buns.html