Amazonia brands themselves as an "integrated Family Entertainment Centre", with enthralling amusement facilities going hand-in-hand with a comprehensive menu selection at their bistro. I recently had the pleasure of attending a tasting session with OpenRice at this one-of-a-kind recreation centre, so this post will inevitably focus on the highlights of the bistro!

Amazonia had picked out some of their star dishes for this session, and while there were some hits and misses for me, the sheer variety on offer ensures everyone is bound to find something on the menu that hits the spot.

Our four-course tasting menu consisted of:
- Caesar Avocado Salad
- Chef Nasi Goreng
- Sweet & Spicy Garlic Tiger Prawn
- Chocolate Fondant with Ice Cream

The salad certainly stood out in its use of creamy avocado chunks, which are not usually found in Caesar salads. It definitely was a welcome addition for me! Besides this, you get all you would expect in a Caesar salad, such as croutons, eggs, olives and tomatoes. In particular, the croutons remained crisp instead of turning soggy, and so did the lettuce leaves.No surprises in the nasi goreng, which came with all the usual accoutrements such as prawn crackers, chicken drumsticks, satay and an over-medium egg. The rice was thoroughly aromatic and flavourful, providing a beautiful base for the various accompaniments. While the satay was fragrant and tender, the drumsticks paled in comparison, being rather hard and dry.The tiger prawns arrived on a bed of fragrant fluffy white rice, with an assortment of greens on the side. While there wasn't anything particularly wrong with this dish, I felt it could be made more complete with some garnishes and spices in the rice. That would also go some way in justifying the rather high price of this dish.Rounding off the session was the Chocolant Fondant, which came topped with a generous dollop of ice cream. It was wonderfully rich and creamy, as might be expected with a dessert like that. The fondant was also studded with crunchy chocolate buttons that tasted of surprisingly high quality.As part of the event, we were also shown around the various play areas within the maze-like entertainment complex. The inner-child in me was indeed coaxed out, as I marvelled at the various games rooms, ball pits, slides, trampolines, bridges and tunnels that transported me into a whole universe of fantasy. Amazonia even has a surreal glow-in-the-dark themed recreational golf course in which I spent more time admiring the creative setup than doing any real putting!

I would say Amazonia has indeed succeeded in bringing us a unique brand of family fun and dining, with an entertainment setup that is sure to charm any youngster's heart. It certainly offers a safe and wholesome enthralling escape from the daily rigours of your little ones' lives, whatever they may be! Some of the bistro's offerings, however, may need to be reviewed to see how they can provide more value for the prices charged. 
 

SUFOOD is a vegetarian dining concept founded in 2010 in Taiwan. The very first Singapore outlet was recently launched, and my curiousity compelled me to pay a visit.
Upon entering the restaurant, it struck me as very modern and brightly lit.Furthermore, it felt squeaky clean, even somewhat sterile and hospital-like. Perhaps this may be attributed to the fact that it is barely a month old.

Apart from an inital blip when we were presented with menus printed in Mandarin, service standards were excellent throughout. After replacing our menus with the English version and guiding us through it, we did not hesitate to order the Italian-inspired set menu (SGD 25++). This set consists of a six-course meal, complete with a beverage and dessert. All items are also available a-la-carte.Despite being the first course, the SUFOOD Appetizer left one of the stronger impressions. The poached Japanese yuca root was crunchy, mildly sweet and refreshing, as was the cherry tomato jelly. Although the stack of oriental white water snowflake greens provided a strange and unfamiliar mouthfeel, being slightly slimy, there can be no complaints about the taste. Rosemary breadsticks: simple, rustic, yet delicious. The breadsticks were fragrant and flavourful, especially when dipped in the accompanying mustard. These would be even more stellar if they were slightly softer.  The Tropical Fruit Salad was pretty uninspiring, consisting of chopped fruits with an accompaniment of stawberry yogurt. Nevertheless, it was a juicy and refreshing course.  Perhaps the Cream of Pumpkin Soup was the most disappointing course for me. Although the soup was rich and thick enough, the taste left much to be desired, being strangely bitter. The cube of pumpkin was appreciated though.I was definitely pleased with the Homemade Vegetable Calzone. The huge calzone came stuffed with loads of broccoli, artichokes and a variety of mushrooms. These were generous slathered in a rich creamy pesto sauce and parmesan cheese. Great success!Not that successful for me, however, was the Vegetable Pita Pockets. In this dish, mushrooms, peppers and broccoli are baked in Arrabbiata sauce and served alongside toasted pita pockets. Nothing about this dish stood out for me, although nothing was particularly bad either. Furthermore, I found it a little too piquant. The Osmanthus Flower Jelly was a simple maple syrup jelly infused with Osmanthus flowers. This was mildy sweet and refreshing, and rounded off the rich and heavy calzone well.The traditional panna cotta is given a twist, served with a puree of black sesame and topped with walnuts. It was not too cloyingly sweet, and had a surprisingly light and fluffy texture. 

Each item of the set menu may be had a-la-carte. However, if you have sufficient room for the full set menu, it is certainly recommended as it offers a wide and interesting array of Italian-inspired vegetarian cuisine. Try it to sample this wholesome and niche cuisine at an unbeatable price!

Working Title has recently reopened following renovation works. See, they are always working to serve you better. In fact, Working Title works hard to make your food look good, taste great. They worked so hard, I had to wait for an hour and a half before my slice of pizza was served. Yep, but they redeemed their souls later by giving me an extra slice to make up for the lengthy wait! The cafe is pretty comfortable and spacious, with a blend of industrial-chic minimalism infused with modern-day technology. There is a hidden backyard that leads to the kitchen with a toilet cubicle.
Soup of the Day - S$7.00The soup of the day served during my visit was Mushroom Soup. Served with a slice of wholemeal toast, the thick mushroom soup was great-tasting and perfect as a starter. Each spoonful actually made me crave for more.

Ham & Spinach Quiche — S$7.00Best eaten warm, the quiche melts in your mouth and the flavour sinks gently into your tongue, subtly mesmerizing every tastebud. The crispiness of the crust was an amazing foil to the fluffy beaten eggs, and although the spinach was unsightly, it blended in well as an amalgamation of savoury flavours.

Al Fungi — S$4 (slice) | S$16 (whole)This was highly recommended on several food-sharing mobile apps, and I thought it tasted quite good. There was no foul odour from the mushrooms and the dry parsley enhanced the flavours of the pizza. However, I felt that the mozzarella cheese on the crust was too thinly layered. It didn't have the 'OOMPH' factor.

Smoked Salmon - S$6 (slice) | S$20 (whole)I would highly recommend this to my readers. The Smoked Salmon pizza was topped with generous portions of Smoked salmon, onions, mozzarella & edam cheese, along with a dollop of Greek yoghurt. I am regretting not ordering a whole pizza!

Salted Caramel Drizzle Cake — S$7.50

Too creamy for me

 

Skip this. While my friends loved it, I couldn't quite figure out what it really tasted like. I felt like I was merely eating whipped cream. Somehow, my tongue wasn't appreciative of this cake!

Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate — S$7.00This is a MUST-have! Don't be deceived by the innocent, plain-looking slice. If there are no decorations, it must mean that great flavours are hidden within! Supplied by uglycakeshop (truly ugly isn't it), this cake has the perfect blend of peanut butter and dark chocolate. None of these two flavours overwhelm each other, and that is why it's so great. A new taste is born!

Apple Pie — S$7.00Made from blended apple, banana, muesli, fresh milk, Greek yoghurt and cinnamon, this drink compromised on taste for the sake of nutrition. It didn’t taste awful, but weird.

Hot Chocolate — S$5.50Working Title doesn't serve decaffeinated coffee, so given the late hour, I had to settle for a Hot Chocolate. Surprisingly, it was really good, and they even made a latte art as requested! Ask for low-fat milk if you want a healthier option.

Prior to this Between X OpenRice Food Tasting Session, my only experience with German-based cuisine had been a couple of visits to Brotzeit for some schnitzels and bratwursts. My Deutsch foodie experience was thus greatly enhanced during this Tasting Session, courtesy of Between and OpenRice.

Stuttgart Blackforest Boutique S-Café is a lovely little German eatery that appears to pride itself on delivering an authentically German experience to its patrons. This was evident throughout my visit.

While waiting to be seated, one already catches a glimpse of the exquisitely-furnished café interior. An impressive variety of pastas and spirits sits invitingly on large wooden shelves. Stepping inside, I was struck by the sight of large majestic trees scattered across the eatery, their branches reaching towards the lofty ceiling. Much thought and care was indeed put into the decorations, with a spinning water wheel and a wall of antique cuckoo clocks among the more outstanding features.Water wheel: attention-catching centrepieceWater feature complete with fishShelves upon shelves of specialty pastas

After getting to meet the fellow OpenRicers present as well as Joash, the General Manager (Singapore) of VCNC (which is behind the Between app), we were ready to choose our dishes from a selection of mains and desserts to accompany a Wurstsalat (SGD 18++), a salad with sausages, onions and gherkins.The Wurstsalat was simple yet satisfying in a understated way. The sausage slices possessed a unique mix of tastes, with a slight sourish tang adding some tart zest to the otherwise salty meat. The accompanying greens and cherry tomatoes added the finishing gustatory as well as visual touches.

For my main, I went for the Schwäbische Maultaschen (SGD 25++), which consists of two large pockets of Swabian pasta, each stuffed with savoury minced beef. These were served on a bed of sautéed onions and potatoes. Accompanying these was a mesclun salad complete with bright cherry tomatoes. The two maultaschen were generously sized and appetizingly presented, with the onions, potatoes and salad each adding a distinct dimension to the meat pockets. The pasta itself was soft and subtly fragrant, and provided a perfect foil to the more intense flavours of the minced beef. The maultaschen were well-complemented by the bed of potatoes and onions, whose tangy flavours I presume may be attributed to a vinaigrette dressing. It was indeed a flavourful and well-balanced dish.Flavourful minced beef within!

Accompanying my meal was a cappuccino (SGD 10++) which was easily the most frothy and fluffy coffee I have ever encountered. Check out the froth!

If you cut through all that fluff (literally), you will find that Stuttgart does really do quite a mean cappuccino. The coffee was thick and full-bodied, with intense aromas wafting up with every (divine) sip. Rounding off the feast was a slice of Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (SGD 12++), a freshly-baked Blackforest cake that was fluffy, creamy, light and rich all at once. The spongy cake layers were interspersed with sweet and gooey cherries, with cream and chocolate shavings holding it all together. The cake was delightfully sweet and intensely flavoured with Kirschwasser, a traditional cherry liquor, making it a wonderful flavourful burst on the palate.

While service was reasonably attentive and polite to a fault, it was at times a little slow. We were made to wait uncomfortably long for some of the dishes, but this could be put down to the large group we were in. Overlooking this blemish, the homely ambience and quality of food were indeed top notch, making a visit to Stuttgart Blackforest Boutique S-Café an advisable one. Just be sure to visit only when not in a rush, and go prepared to spend a leisurely evening over some great-tasting German cuisine. Do also take the opportunity to take a few photographs (unintrusively of course), as the café is painstakingly decorated.

En Guete!

There's no place like home, and there is no greater pride than having our very own local Gordon Ramsay in Singapore. Award-winning Chef Tan Yong Hua is not only the FIRST Singaporean chef to emerge triumphant in Iron Chef Thailand, but also a winner of a gold and 2 silver medals at the prestigious 6th World Championship of Chinese Cuisine in China. Now, he has his very own Restaurant HOME brand on his shoulders at The Rail Mall. Is his craft comparable to that of non home-grown brands? Let my tastebuds tell you more. (Read till the end of the post for an ongoing promotion at Restaurant HOME)Chef Tan Yong Hua with his signature smoky, tantalising duck!

Barbecued Peking Duck with Lychee Wood

炭烧荔枝木烤鸭 — SGD $68 (Whole Duck)The Peking Duck is Chef Tan's signature dish! If you order a whole duck, you get a three-in-one dish presented to you. First, the skin from the breast is served together with palm and white sugar. Chef Tan knows his duck really well, and pointed out that this part is the prime cut of the duck. Indeed, it was extremely crispy even while retaining much of the duck's juices. It's best eaten with the mixed palm and white sugar so that the varied flavours melt evenly in your mouth.Meat from the whole duck

Next, the sliced duck meat is served together with cucumbers, leeks, sweet hoisin sauce and crepes. I was surprised we had to put the ingredients together ourselves as most Chinese restaurants serve up ready-made Peking duck crepes. Chef Tan explained that upon exposure, the crepes lose moisture quickly and turn hard. They were thus served in a dim sum steamer which we could cover to retain the moisture.Warm and soft freshly-steamed crepes.

The dish was perfectly balanced and had a therapeutic yin-and-yang feel to it. The cucumber and leek formed the yin food, while the yang food was the meat and hoisin sauce. Combined into the crepe, the dish was both richly savoury and sweet at the same time. Just as Chef Tan pointed out, the crepe was satisfyingly chewy, probably because it was thicker than most other crepes.Baked Marble Goby in Claypot with Chef Tan In-house Recipe

炭烧焗鼎锅笋壳 — $9 per 100gInitially stir-fried with lemon grass, galangal, spring onions and oil, the fish is then steamed in Chinese white wine, ginger and parsley for about 7 to 9 minutes. The taste is extremely compact; the fish packs some strong flavours without any unpleasant fishy smell. I would highly recommend this as a sharing portion for about 4-5 people.Chef Tan explains the intricacies of cooking up a perfect dish

Homemade Egg Bean Curd with Shrimp Paste, Crabmeat and Roe in Pi Pa Style

珊瑚琵琶豆腐 — SGD $18My first reaction to this dish was: Where is the tofu? It seemed as though it was drowned in shrimp paste, crabmeat and roe, but lo and behold, looks are deceiving! The egg bean curd almost melted in my mouth without any vigorous chewing and I thought I could slurp the entire dish down all by myself! It was really fragrant and extremely fresh and soft. Visually, the dish doesn't appear that pleasing but it is victorious in the sensory realms of taste, smell and texture. Contrasted with some other tofu dishes with rough skin and partly burnt edges, this dish was evenly cooked. I couldn't pick out the individual elements of shrimp paste, crabmeat and roe because they had fused into a thick and rich gravy, and one that was absolutely sumptuous.

Three Kinds of Vegetables Wok-fried in X.O. Chili Sauce

酱皇烧田圆 — SGD $18A trio of broccoli, asparagus and snow peas wok-fried in X.O. sauce

Crunchiness defines this dish. The vegetables were sweet and fresh, with a spice kick from the sprinkling of chili flakes. However, I thought the portion was smaller than average. The X.O. chili sauce provides the flavour that unites the dish. This is clearly not for you if you don't like spicy flavours in your food!

Deep-Fried Duck with Dried Chili, Roasted Minced Garlic and Capsicum Pepper Fine Salt

桥低避风塘鸭件— SGD $10This dish is created from the meat left over from the Peking Duck. For an additional $10, the remaining meat can be prepared in one of three ways: as a stew with vegetables, beancurd and mushrooms, wok-fried with ginger and onion, or deep-fried with garlic and chili. The latter version provided a huge contrast to the flavours experienced earlier, and I was surprised at the various ways in which duck meat could be cooked. I thought the capsicum pepper fine salt was slightly overpowering though, and so I didn't really fancy this dish.

Stewed Golden Noodles with Lobster and Spring Onions wrapped in O Ba Leaf

乌巴叶姜葱龙虾焖黄面— SGD $12.50 / 100 gmThe lobster is great enough to be a dish on its own. The huge chunks of briny crustacean made it extremely satisfying to devour, and I didn't think lobster paired with stewed noodles would make such a winning combination. I really loved the creative presentation of this dish, and coupled with the tantalising flavours, it definitely deserves high praise.Stewed Golden Noodles

While I thought the noodles looked like bee hoon, they actually had a bouncier texture, and the strands were easily separated. In other words, it's easy to divide the noodles into serving portions because they are not clumped together.

Soup of the Day (Old Cucumber Soup)

老黄瓜汤 — SGD$20Have you ever had a dish which gives you a heartwarming feeling of home and family? This old cucumber soup is a familiar favourite of mine, and I would say there is a sweet finish to every spoonful. It was only later that I realized the usual pork ribs were replaced with chicken, and this little twist certainly did no harm at all to the taste of this ubiquitous traditional favourite.

Homemade Ramen with 8 Head Quality Amidori Abalone

8头网鲍拉面 — SGD $26We had a sampling portion of the 8 Head Quality Amidori Abalone, and oh my goodness! The abalone had a really chewy texture and I truly enjoyed the dish. The abalone itself is the star and highlight of this dish, and the simple, pared-down presentation allows it to truly shine.

Crispy Roast Pork with Homemade Yellow Noodles

干捞烧腩仔肉黄面 — SGD $24The roast pork is extremely crispy because it is initially boiled before being placed in the steamer and then dripped dry. The layers of pork were almost fused into one, with no visible signs of fat at all. It was indeed very crispy, and there was a slight hint of saltiness cutting through the various flavours.

Barbecued Duck with Lychee Wood served with Homemade Yellow Noodles

干捞荔枝木烧鸭黄面 — SGD $24This dish wasn't as good as the earlier Peking Duck portions as it was a tad too dry. If you are looking for a simple single-portion meal, this should cut it, though my personal preference would be to order the Peking Duck over this dish.

Chilled Japanese Pumpkin Puree with Black Glutinous Rice Served in Pumpkin

金盅南瓜紫米露— SGD$10Another thoughtful presentation that looked like a dish for Halloween. The pumpkin puree with black glutinous rice was heavenly as I could taste the simple pureness of the dessert. It almost gave me goosebumps because I felt it was really light and pleasantly satisfying. I would highly recommend this.

Chilled Rosella Flower Jelly with Diced Mango

洛神冻 — SGD $6This chilled Rosella Flower Jelly makes a great takeaway for sleepyheads, in particular those who encounter after-lunch drowsiness. It really perked me up because of the shocking flavours of extreme sourness, though my friend who is used to the taste of Rosella thought it was perfect. My shoulders and arms trembled with each bite as I tried to suppress my equally sour facial expressions, but I guess the health benefits of this dish make it a great conclusion to the feast.

Restaurant HOME is currently offering a 1-for-1 Set Lunch promotion (min 4 pax) on top of the lunch set menu. More details here: http://www.littletinysun.com/2014/12/restaurant-family-singapore-review.html