Stepping into Serenity with a dimly lighted ambiance and spacious seating arrangements exuding posh yet promoting casual and intimate dinning experience.Sangria White ($16). I’m more of a white wine than red wine person as white wine usually have a sweeter finishing note. This sangria cocktail is indeed refreshing with accompaniment of mixtures of citrus fruits for a heavy tasting meal which follows after.Pulpo Gallega ($19.80). Grilled octopus marinated with paprika spices, garlic, flake salt and extra virgin oil. There’s some hits and misses to this tapas dish. The octopus slices were grilled to perfection with meat so juicy and tender yet having the right chewiness on your teeth. But they could really hold back on their serving of salt, as the dish falls on to the saltier side with apparent presence of cluttered salt unevenly marinated onto the octopus. I would really love this dish if not for the cluttered salt.Chipirones Fritos ($18.80). They are actually simply known as fried calamari with alioli as dipping sauce. These chipirones have really crispy batter yet not oily on the outside and remains tender on the inside. A very addictive simple tapas dish to go with any beer.Coles Salteado ($18.80) is also better known as Sauteed Brussels sprouts with serrano hams. Brussels sprouts was fresh and crisp with savory flavors from the serrano hams but by nature, brussels sprouts has that tinge of bitter astringent aftertaste. More hams would be appreciated please!Seafood Paella (Serves 2, $58). I would find their paella disappointing with the fact that it comes from a spanish restaurant. The paella rice was overly soggy to begin with and there’s no distinct seafood flavor in the rice. The flavors of the ingredients were not infused and absorbed into the rice. Despite ordering two different kind of paellas, their taste and outlook were that similar that we could not really differentiate them apart except for the fact that Paella Valencia, is a little saltier in taste due to the incorporation of chorizo. Nonetheless, there was generosity in the amount of ingredients used and the seafood were fresh and not overcooked.Suckling Pig (Serves 6-8, $338). Cute little piglet at an exorbitant price yet able to leave our stomach and taste buds feeling all satisfied and worthwhile. This piglet is marinated with sherry wine, white wine, vinegar and herbs and slowly roasted for more than 6 hours. Be aware that prior reservation is needed for the suckling pig! You’re not able to order on the day itself when you dine. The piping hot suckling pig is brought to the table on an enormous wooden platter with coupled of potatoes, and the piglet is portioned into smaller pieces with the use of a small plate to show how crispy the skin was roasted till and how tender the meat is. As the plate slices through the crispy skin and meat, you get to witness the tender and juicy pork before even savoring it. Traditionally, Spanish will throw the plate used to cut the pig on the floor or into a wooden box believing it will throw all the bad luck away. Don’t you feel like salivating and drooling just by looking at it now? The suckling pig comes with 3 sauces – Brown sauce, jam with cinnamon and au jus (juice drippings from the roasting process). If you like it savory, pair it with your brown sauce; if you like it sweet, pair it with the jam sauce; and if you like to taste it’s natural flavors, have it with the au jus! The taste is still lingering in my mind up till today!‘Crime Scene of the suckling pig’ Churros ($10.80). Their home-made churros were quite decent and good, not too sweet nor too starchy. Perfect taste and mouthfeel after a dip into the chocolate sauce.
A delectable dining experience with the delish golden crispy suckling pig.

https://poohlovesfood.wordpress.com/2015/08/27/serenity-spanish-bar-restaurant/

Well hidden under a block of estates and shops along the waterloo street sit The Betterfield, which is reputable for its affordable ribeye steak of quality. Stepping into an empty cafe during the dinner hour kept me puzzled, “why is there no crowd” despite all the raving reviews. But the thoughts were slowly demised after the food was served and the crowd begun to stroll in at the later hours. Decorations and furnishing wise was kept simple and clean, except for an eye-catching artwork plastered onto the vast white walls of the cafe.Menu was kept simple with a few popular cafe fares and others with some added novelties. Their mains ranges from $16-$20 and starters from $7-$15. One of the best things in the cafe is that, all the prices stated are nett!The Ultimate Italian Black Truffle Fries ($7, medium) was dished out filling the air with aroma of truffle. In love with how crispy the shoestrings fries were on the outside, and how warm and soft the inside was. The fries were fried using truffle oil and tossed with truffle salt, allowing every stick of fries be filled with flavors and traces of truffle. Not only that, the accompanying dressing was truffle mustard which was more subtle and light in taste, but the truffle combo of this dish was really the ultimate, not too overpowering but yet you definitely won’t miss out the truffle taste lingering around the dish!Prawn Aglio Olio ($18) falls a little oily with the noodles feeling a little dry but the taste was quite good to begin with. The dish will be perfect if it’s a little creamier with prawn head broth to intensify and seal off the flavor.I had the Black Angus Ribeye Steak (200grams, $21) medium done. Luscious piece of steak with the meat in sheer red and blood oozing out right under the knife. Each piece of meat was nicely done with each bite so tender and juicy but the ends may get a little chewy. Instead of the usual pairing with brown sauce and pomme puree, it was paired with a mixture of black and white truffle mustard which went really well with the steak. Satisfying steak at affordable price.
What i like about The Betterfield, is their continuous creations of novelty dishes with quality ingredients yet at pocket friendly prices which will totally keeps your stomach curious and craving for more.

https://poohlovesfood.wordpress.com/2015/08/22/the-betterfield/

The first impression i had for Gastrosmith is something along the line of extravaganza with snippets of their food plating looking classic and dainty. Upon stepping in, i was welcomed by the artsy graffitied wall. Deck in a coat of silver-grey with great resemblance to that of a cemented wall bringing about a rustic feel.Extensive food and drinks menu with a few choices available from different categories. Drinks prices are surprisingly reasonable while the food prices are dangling on the higher end. You are able to get a cup of coffee/tea for just $4-$5 whereas the starters will range from $10 – $12 and the mains from $20 – $25 subject to 7% GST and 10% Service charge.Mocha ($5)Crab & Caviar Bruschetta ($15) – A dish that is too brilliant and awesome to not give it a try. Well toasted bruschetta giving a golden shine to the top and leaving the edges crispy. We are won over by their generosity of shredded swimmer crab meat with mayo that keeps this starter light and refreshing and the unique taste of smoked cavier that bursts right into our mouth.Braised Lamb Shank ($27) – Tender braised lamb shank that almost achieve melt in your mouth denotation. Full flavors well infused right to the bone after long hours of braising with red wine and korean red pepper paste, gochujang. The pairing with sauteed mushrooms and smooth creamy pomme puree which absorbs the piquant savory sauce has delighted our taste buds greatly.Pork Collar Ragu ($21.50) – Linguine tossed with truckloads chunks of braised pork collar and abundance of parmesan cheese. What kept me puzzled and disappointed was the supposedly red wine tomato cream based pasta which turns out to be an italian dish filled more with asian flavors. Generally, the dish is generous with their meats but could hold back on their oil a little.Gastrosmith had whipped out quite a decent number of exquisite quality dishes which may have set themselves apart from the rest of the cafes. It’s a place you would return to for some occasional cafe pampering at a higher cost but with a quiet laid-back personal space.

https://poohlovesfood.wordpress.com/2015/08/16/gastrosmith/

I like how bistros and cafes are popping up in the neighborhood these days instead. It certainly brings about more choices and conveniences right to the heartland! The simplicity in the creative use of crates and wooden planks as their furnishing coupled with dim lighting has mystically give the place a casual and cozy finishing touch.This Quasi-German bistro served a couple of traditional german foods such as German Pork Knuckles and Pork Schnitzel with the rest a medley of Western and Italian dishes such as Bangers & Mash, Steaks and Pasta. Decent choices of beer at affordable prices are available too. Food prices ranging from $8 to $12 nett and drinks prices from $4 to $8 nett!Pork Schnitzel ($8) - A sizeable portion of a thin slice of pork cutlet that was lightly breaded with crumbs and deep fried into a golden stellar 'pair of wings'. Despite such a thin slice of pork cutlet, each bite into it was crispy followed by firm and meaty and towards the end i'm greatly overwhelmed by the generosity of both the pork and sides.German Pork Knuckles ($10) - Supposedly the highlight of the bistro but in comparison to the Pork Schnitzel, this plate of German Pork Knuckle accompanied with a scoop of mash and sauerkraut by the sides definitely lacks the lustre and colors. Taste wise was pretty normal and typical with the exception of sauerkraut having a smoothening effect on the rich tasting pork knuckles. Nevertheless, the tender meat with the crispy skin atop has definitely helped the dish in scoring some brownie points!
If you're looking for decent food with a heartwarming taste at affordable prices, Knuckles Bistro is the place to satisfy your cravings! Staffs were friendly, while service may begin to slow down when the bistro gets crowded. Overall, it was still quite a pleasing dining experience.

https://poohlovesfood.wordpress.com/2015/08/08/knuckles/

Joining the stretch of bars and eateries along Maju Avenue is none other than Plonk. Plonk has actually been around for good 2 years. With a laid back setting and some dim lightings, one is ready for some tapas and drinks for the night.Beside their printed menu, they do have a ‘Specials’ menu for the night which ranges from tapas to drinks to even some mains. Not only that, sometimes they have One for One pizza on Tuesday Nights too!Food Menu – Good variety of Tapas to Mains to Desserts.Drinks Menu – it should have something for everybody and remember to check out their Happy Hour!Plonk is generally known for their tapas and drinks, so we decided to go for some tapas, mains and desserts less the drinks. While waiting for our order to be served, Complimentary Bread accompanied with Olive oil dip with a big dollop of balsamic vinegar was shown to our table. Very crisp crust and soft lightly dense body with olive oil and vinegar makes it a good starter for the meal.Since they are known for their Tapas, we decided to try 2 of them, one from the menu and one on the ‘Specials’ board. First one from the menu was all time favorite Char-Grill Calamari, Chilli, Garlic, Lemon and Fresh Herbs ($12). Calamari was grilled to perfection retaining the springy and bouncy texture which is not too tough and chewy. The dressing falls a little to the sour side which literally whet up ones’ appetite. Very refreshing with a faint hint of tingling sensation from the chilli.The second tapas that was ordered from the ‘Specials’ board was Hot Buffalo Wings ($14). There’s a choice of Hot or Original and came in a set of 6 mid-joint wings. The sauce tasted somewhat familiar yet special. It has a slight resemblance to the Belacan Chilli from the Zi Char stall, spicy yet aromatic and with traces of kaffir lime being used. The wings was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. It’s a delightful marriage of the sauce and marination with the mid-joint wings.The only main that we tried was Seafood Aglio Olio ($22). Linguine tossed in olive oil, garlic and herbs served with fresh and succulent seafood such as the crunchy tiger prawns, juicy black mussels and springy squids. Very good ratio of almost 1:1, seafoodasta. I find it a little too oily but the flavor and taste was really good.Of course to not forgetting a plate of dessert to end off our meal. We went for something that we thought it sounded special – Deconstructed Lemon Tart with Fried Shallot Ice cream ($13). Beautiful plating of dessert was done with cookie crumbs that lay the plate and triangular lemon tart and fried shallot ice cream that rests above. These triangular lemon tart is so sour that it will literally send a chill down your spine. Advisable to not be taken alone but with the cookie crumbs or fried shallot ice cream to neutralize the sour-ness. With that said, the fried shallot ice cream turns out to be quite pleasant, the ice cream wasn’t really heavy or strong in shallot taste and in fact, it’s those fried shallot itself that bring out and enhance the fried shallot flavor and aroma. I must agree, the fried shallot indeed complement well with the lemon tart. This dessert wouldn’t be that perfect if any of the one component is missing.
Plonk is a good escapade from the bustling busy town area for a night filled with drinks and foods. Quality wise is good i would say while i may find the price a little on the higher side after all it being in a neighborhood area. But still, it’s worth a trip down!

https://poohlovesfood.wordpress.com/2015/08/07/plonk/