53 - a dining collaboration between lawyer turned chef, Michael Han and the Les Amis group. Chef Han, who trained at the prestigious Fat Duck in England, brought along Fat Duck's 2nd pastry chef, Leoandro, to helm 53's pastry department. What makes this restaurant stand out is that there is no ala carte menu, which means the chef decides, to a certain extent, what you eat.

Aptly located at 53 Armenian Street, the restaurant is situated in a double story shophouse with the private dining room and kitchen located on the first level and the main dining hall and wine cellar on the second. The place is tiny and sparsely furnished with simple tables and chairs and the main dining area can probably only accommodate about 5 tables for a total capacity of 20. Hence reservations are of utmost importance. Try making them at least 2 weeks in advance.

I thought that the sky juice (no still or sparkling nonsense) deserved a mention because the serving jug has a piece of charcoal in it, which is said to remove the harmful particles in water and allow good minerals that are essential to the body to pass through. Reminds me of charcoal tablets.

Potato Crisps - A most interesting appetiser, the potato crisps were served on a charcoal holding stand and dusted with vinegar. The crisps were, well, crisp and not too dry with a light sourish hint of vinegar. Great way to start off.

Complimentary Bread - The complimentary buckwheat (from Manitoba, Canada) bread came served in a sack that promised to keep the bread warm for 20 minutes. The secret lies at the bottom of the sack, which contains pebbles that are heated before the bread is served and dissipates heat to keep the bread warm. Ingenious! The bread looked like a muffin but outside was hard while inside was rather spongy. Served alongside was a dish of buttermilk butter that was sprinkled with buckwheat. Very nice!

Air Cured Wagyu and Hibiscus, Beetroot and Apple - I thought the pairing of cured wagyu and beetroot was rather interesting, if outlandish. 53 proved me wrong though. The wagyu had a nice salty tinge to it while the beetroot gave it a mild sweetness. Nice subtle contrast. The beetroot sorbet added an almost surreal chilling dimension to the dish. Mind boggling!

Scallop and Buckwheat, Chicken "Oysters" - I'm guessing the chicken pieces look like oyster hence the name And they were probably the best chicken pieces I've eaten in a long long time. They were extremely tender and tasty but the less then generous portions kept my cravings in check. The scallops were seared to perfection with the right texture and came across as very flavourful as well.

Beef Cheeks and Onion, Pearl Barley and Watercress - This dish was a little of a let down. I couldn't quite make out any inherent beefy taste and the beef cheek was all shredded and almost pulp like. It was just salty with a little sweetness, probably from the barley. A nausea inducing dish.

Barramundi, Blackberries and Green Beans - The fish was freshly sweet with the skin nicely crisp but a tad salty. I am guessing the extra salt is useful and delightful in contrasting the sweetness from the blackberry and pear jam thats smeared alongside. And the whole dish was topped with a slice of amazingly thin Ciabatta that rendered me speechless.

Szechuan Peppercorn Ice Cream, Roasted Figs and Olive Puree - I've never been a fan of figs but this one was surprisingly acceptable to me (I only managed to finish 1 slice though). What was interesting was the ice cream, which came across as very "perfumy" so to speak with a mild numbing sensation from the szechuan peppercorn. The little black speckles atop were actually olive sprinkles that gave it a light savoury taste. Very interesting combination.

Chocolate Caramel, Enoki and Raspberries - Another interesting piece of dessert. The chocolate caramel was gooey and came with enoki mushrooms which surprisingly accentuated the taste of the caramel. Dried raspberry cubes by the side complemented the dash of peanut butter very well and was almost reminiscent of the peanuts in a peanut butter spread. And to top everything off, there was the raspberry sorbet for a sourish and chilled finish.

Apple Risotto and Rosemary - Tiny cubes of apple cooked the risotto way, with constant adding of apple juice - that's how this dessert was made. I thought that it was nice and mildly sweet with a subtle lingering taste of ginger. The risotto texture was crunchy and the rosemary foam was light as air and hinted of rosemary. Interesting to say the least.

Petit Fours - The perfect Gin and Tonic sweet is what 53 calls its petit fours and rightly so. How the sweet works is this. You place it on your tongue and let it slowly dissolve to release the gin tonic taste. When you decide that its too strong for you, just wash it away with water. Quite a novelty I must say.

Sitting pretty on the 2nd level of an old monorail station along Palawan beach, Braise plays neighbour to Amara Sanctuary's Silk Road of the Sea, which is located on the ground floor. The interior of Braise is nothing short of breathtaking, offering a splendid view of the surrounding Palawan beach through floor to ceilings windows throughout the entire place - very reminiscent of a green house actually. Temperatures are kept to a comfortable low through the use of powerful airconditioning. Essentially the place offers the best of both worlds - bright and cheery with a view in the comfort of an airconditioned environment.

Complimentary Bread - The complimentary bread was served warm and had bits of herbs in it, coming across as crusty on the outside while soft on the outside. Overall a mildly flavourful piece of dough that saw me asking for seconds.

Pressed Duck and Potato Terrine with Mix Greens and Balsamic Onion - Wrapped up with a flimsy layer of lettuce, the duck had a lightly salted smokey aftertaste that went well with the smoothness of the potato. Subtly pleasing to the tastebuds but not exactly my idea of a fantastic appetiser though as it failed to open up my appetite.

Pan Seared Foie Gras, Lentils Fricassee and Red Wine Sauce - I would gladly sacrifice my health for another piece of this foie gras. Though smallish, the foie gras was pan seared till the exterior was a tad crisp yet remaining soft and quivery on the inside. Equally outstanding was the lentil stew with red wine sauce which lent its savouries to the foie gras and created one of the best foie gras dishes I've had this year.

Turkey Breast, Braised Vegetables, Honey Spiced Sauce - Turkey, especially the breast portion, tends to be associated with toughness. However Braise's rendition was, on the contrary, surprisingly tender without losing its fibrous texture. A pity the sauce was a little lacklustre, coming across merely as a little sweet from the honey.

Venison with Braised Vegetables, Cassis Sauce - Believe it or not, this is the first time I'm having venison in a non Chinese restaurant and I am suitably impressed with what Braise presented. Well seasoned and grilled till the meat retained but a nice pinkish hue, it tasted rather similar to a well done piece of steak, albeit more tender. Buttery overtones carrying a pepperish tinge complemented the sweetness of the meat and left me lamenting about the portion size. The only gripe I had about this dish was the sauce, which tasted like cough syrup to me.

Tout Chocolate Combination - Comprising a scoop of chocolate ice cream topped with chocolate balls, a slice of chocolate cake and chocolate mousse on a biscuit base, this dessert didn't exactly involve much aesthetics and looked rather haphazard if you ask me. However, I must say that I enjoyed it quite a bit. The chocolate ice cream was smooth and more bitter then sweet (great for those who don't like too sweet stuff) with the chocolate balls giving it an extra crunch. The sponge layers on the cake were moist and compact while the chocolate layers gelled everything together for a nice and simple chocolate cake. As for the mousse, it had a nice bitter hazelnut taste on a crunchy biscuit base.

Vanilla Creme Brulee, Figs, Passion Fruit Sorbet - I thought that the creme brulee was quite decent save for the fact that the sugar layer was overly thick. Made from real vanilla beans, as evident by the black vanilla seeds in the pudding, this dessert didn't overwhelm with its sweetness and had a smooth and almost creamy texture. The passion fruit sorbet provided the sourish contrast to the pudding's sweetness, allowing for a more varied taste sensation.

The venue for the September edition of our monthly dinner was the much anticipated Hai Tien Lo. After all the rather substandard monthly dinners we had been having over the last 2 months, it was decided that a road more familiar would be taken for once and the patronising of new places would be left to subsequent dinners.

Classic Sliced Beijing Duck Accompanied with Homemade Chinese Pancakes - The skin was as I remembered it to be, crisp with minimal fats and wrapped in nice and thin pancakes. However, the meat was a little disappointing on this occasion. Some parts of the meat were a little dry and tough while some were fine. Not evenly roasted if you ask me. But its still good.

Hai Tien Lo Homemade Beancurd with Minced Pork & Pine Mushroom Sauce - A signature dish of Hai Tien Lo, the tofu was a little lacklustre today. Sure, it was still silky and smooth, but I personally found the taste a little too weak as compared to a similar dish I had on a previous occasion. Nevertheless, the gravy did make up for it some sort as it came across as a little starchy and full of flavours from the minced pork and mushroom.

Sautéed Snow Peas with Deep Fried Crispy Dried Scallops & Fermented Mustard Vegetables - Not a particularly exciting dish, the snow peas were crunchy and fresh though and went well with the slightly salty mustard vegetables or Cai Por as most people know it. Sadly, the dried scallops didn't really taste like scallops. In fact it didn't have much taste at all. Maybe its purpose was just to provide a nice crisp to the whole dish.

Sautéed Silvers of Ostrich with Honey Pepper Sauce - A rather exotic dish which you don't commonly find elsewhere, the ostrich meat tasted to me like a softer rendition of pork and was mildy sweet and pepperish from the sauce. Served atop a bed of fresh crunchy snow peas, the colour contrast was boldly striking and enticing.

Sautéed Scallops & Lobster with Garlic - I didn't expect this dish to come with asparagus as an added bonus. The lobster pieces were relatively fresh and crunchy and so were the scallops, which were both generous in size and quantity. Whats not to like

Steamed Prawns with Mashed Garlic Served in Bamboo Basket - Humongous fresh and crunchy prawns steamed and served with a nice flavourful garlic sauce, the steamed prawns were rightly one of the stars for the evening. A pity we were only allocated 2 pieces of prawns each.

Stewed Fish Noodles with Ginger & Spring Onions Served with King Prawn - The honour of being the Pièce de résistance for the evening went to a very well executed stewed fish noodles. Common as it may be in most Chinese restaurants of similar standing, Hai Tien Lo's offering is a cut above the rest and yes, that includes the excellent one I had from Li Bai. Hai Tien Lo's rendition carried more flavour in the stock and the noodles were slightly thinner yet equally robust and chewy, making for a gastronomical indulgence. May I add that the king prawn was huge as well However, as with Li Bai, portions were small and this dish could well do with more of the tasty noodles.

Cod Fish Baked & Glazed with Moet & Chandon Champagne Sauce - The cod fish glazed with Moet & Chandon champagne was nicely baked, a little charred along the edges and tender, albeit a tad too soft and sweet from the sauce. Couldn't quite make out the Moet or champagne though. What I liked about this dish was that it came with tiny cubes of jackfruit and strawberries, which complemented the dish very well.

How much would you expect to pay for such a filling and wonderful dinner Nothing less than $564 for 6 pax. Do the math and it comes to about $94 per head, which is rather expensive. But hey, with a 25% discount, the bill drops to a more manageable $70, a price everyone was more than happy to pay. Add the fact that you are perched 37 storeys up with a bird's eye view and you have a clear winner.

A certain maniacal yearning for dim sum saw me at Wah Lok on a busy Saturday morning, in an attempt to kill off the tiny voice in my head that screamed "dim sum" over and over again.

Carrot Cake - Best eaten piping hot, the carrot cake was smooth with bits of pork and shrimp, but not sublime enough with the gravy being a tad too salty. A decent eat nonetheless.

BBQ Chee Cheong Fun - Silky semi translucent skin hiding a generous serving of BBQ pork and topped with chives, which gave it a nice contrast and helped cut through the nausea. Nice but best eaten warm/hot as well, lest the skin turns limp when cold.

Century Egg Porridge - I'm not a big fan of century egg so I shall reserve my comments save for the fact that the porridge was nicely textured with bits of grain evident.

Pork Dumpling - The siew mai hit the right notes with its low proportion of fatty meat as well as a generous serving of relatively fresh and crunchy prawns. Not too salty as well.

Prawn Dumpling - Another quintessential dim sum staple, the har gao had nice crunchy prawns enveloped in a thin, not too elastic skin.

BBQ Pork Bun - Wah Lok purportedly serves up one of the best BBQ Pork Bun aka Bo Lo Bao (波萝包) in Singapore and its easy to see why. A crusty semi sweet top coupled with a nice, almost oozing BBQ pork filling that wasn't cloyingly sweet - No complaints, really.

BBQ Pork Pastry - I thought that the char siew sou lacked the buttery goodness in its pastry, something which I personally prefer. But still a notch above most places with its flakiness and not too sweet BBQ pork filling that had nice chewy bits of fat.

Egg Tart - Flaky pastry with a nice, moderately sweet custard center. Came in a nice bite size as well. Only thing lacking was the butter, in my humble opinion.

Custard Pastry - The 美人腰 (pretty lady's waist) ended our dim sum session on a positive note with its flaky pastry coated with tons of icing sugar, belying a warm, smooth and mildly sweet custard filling within.

A satisfying dim sum lunch cost the both of us about $58, which is very reasonable considering the quality. Wah Lok has managed to maintain its consistency over the years and I am sure I'll be returning for many dim sum trips to come.

See all my pictures at http://www.timelessfacade.com/2010/06/wah-lok-part-iii.html

Met up with my former classmates for a long awaited dinner at Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck (ITSPD for short), a branch of the esteemed chain of restaurants which I personally like. As the name suggests, the restaurant is well known for what else but its peking duck. I do think that the name could be a little more polished though as the current one sounds downright cheesy. But that's just me.

The interior has a dated elegance to it and a portion of the sitting area consists of semi private partitioned areas linked by a common corridor which can comfortably fit a table of 4. Lighting is dim but adequate and the whole atmosphere has a somber tone to it, perfect for a business gathering.

Appetiser - The glazed cashew nuts were a nice start to the dinner. Crunchy and fresh without the rancid oil taste and topped with a smattering of sesame seeds.

Asparagus with Garlic - A simple dish yet well executed with the asparagus crunchy and fried alongside diced garlic. Fragrant and tasty.

Peking Duck - The signature dish of ITSPD - Peking duck. Honestly I wasn't very wowed by it, seeing that the skin, though crisp to a certain extent, did seem a little limp. Best eaten with sugar. Crepes were provided for the loose slivers of skin and meat but they were a little too thick for my liking. I personally liked the plain and simple chunks of duck served up in a swan like platter - no frills, just juicy and tender and probably the sole saving grace.
We opted to use the remaining duck to do a noodle dish and well, let's just say it was very decent but not something that I personally would have gone for.

Sauteed Scallops with Italian White Truffle Oil - One of my must order dishes whenever I visit any Imperial Treasure outlet (provided they carry it of course!), ITSPD's rendition of the scallops with white truffle oil was a wee bit lacklustre as compared to its cousin at Crowne Plaza Hotel. That's not to say it wasn't any good though. As a matter of fact, the scallops were fragrant from the aromatic truffle oil and tasty to say the least. The only gripe I had was that they seemed a little too soft. Still the pièce de résistance nonetheless.

Sauteed Beancurd with Mushrooms - Smooth but not exactly savoury, the beancurd was decent and I liked the generous topping of mushrooms - comfort food for the soul.

Steamed Custard Bun - This is usually a dim sum item but apparently it's so popular that they stock up some for dinner as well. Having eaten this quite a few times, I am still of the opinion that Peach Garden does a better rendition (at least they used to!), but Imperial Treasure's offering comes in a close second with its oozing sinful custard infused with egg yolk sediment.

Durian Pudding - The moment I set my eyes upon the durian pudding, I had a hunch it wasn't going to turn out well. And I was right. The pudding wasn't rich enough and tasted way too gelatin for my liking. More durian please.

The 4 of us spent a total of $204 for dinner, which isn't too expensive considering the decent quality of food and the reasonably good service. I personally like the privacy that the restaurant offers and I'm sure ITSPD will give nearby Crystal Jade Golden Palace a run for it's money.

See all my pictures at http://www.timelessfacade.com/2010/10/imperial-treasure-super-peking-duck.html