For photos, please visit Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow: http://rubbisheatrubbishgrow.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/brotzeit-313-somerset/

Two new friends, Mr NGFL and I got down to Brotzeit to try their Game Menu for Christmas, till 31 Dec only. What is game? Not computer game ok?? In movies or books, the aristocrats will gather at someone’s huge mansion, and they will go hunting in the forest. Any animal that is hunted in the wild is called game. It can range from fowl to beasts.

“Brot” means “bread” and “zeit” means “time” and together, it means a homely meal with beer. Haha, you think it’s “bread time” right?? We argued over some time how to pronounce it. ”Zeit” is definitely pronounced as “tsahyt” as in the English word “zeitgeist.” And since I write this blog, I decided to pronounce “bro-tsahyt.” Yo, for the bros, man!

Despite that the restaurant-bar is huge, spanning two storeys, it gives a very cozy and intimate ambience. I love how funky the murals are: Animals found in Germany are in the process of brewing beer in Singapore, signaled by iconic Singapore buildings. The lightning is yellowish, which is how all restaurants’ lighting should be. It’s definitely a good after-work place or just hangout with friends.

For starters, we had the pretzels and, from the game menu, the duck confit with cranberry sauce and Brezn sticks ($18.50). Brezn stick is baguette form of pretzels, which is white bread treated in an alkali solution, according to Chef Claus, the executive chef of Brotzeit. The duck confit took 18 painstaking hours to prepare and cook. I usually dislike duck confit–don’t like overly salty things–but if you stuff the salty shredded duck and sweet berry-ish but not tart cranberry into the bread, the mixture of the taste, a little bit of everything, titillates the tongue.

Although the starters were good, I’d say, go for the mains because Brotzeit gives a very generous serving of mains. We four only ordered two mains because of the starter. I think next time I go, I’ll just kill on the mains and eat one entire plate on my own.

From the Game Menu, there is a choice of roast or stew and we picked one from each.

Wildragout ($38.50), as in Wild-ragout and not wil-drag-out Drag Queen Kumar style, is deer and wild boar stewed till tender with onions, bacon, juniper berries, finished with sour cream. My new friend asked if I could distinguish between the deer and wild boar. So proud of myself, I can!!! The deer is very tender, and comes out in shreds in your mouth, and has a very, very distinct smokey aroma, like it has been on the charcoal grill for some time. The deer was truly delicious. Next time I come, I want to ask them if I can have a plate of just deer because I’m a dear.

The dish also comes with red cabbage that takes 24 hours to prepare and tasted like the Chinese salted vegetables; buttered Spatzle, a seasoned dough poached in boiling water, that tasted like mee hoon kueh; and fine beans wrapped in a piece of bacon.

We didn’t like wildschweinbraten ($34.50), roast wild boar, so much. We know the dish is well cooked but it’s just that we’re not used to the toughness of the meat. Wild boars and Babe (farm pig) are very different. Babe gets fed, becomes fat, and fats give meat the tenderness–that’s why I’m so tender. But to survive in the wild, boars are muscular and have tight hides, so that’s why the meat is tough.

However, the sides were AWESOME. I can’t stop eating the napkin dumplings! It’s white bread treated with paisley and spices and boiled in a napkin. It tasted like mashed potato salad with black pepper. I love potato salad! This dish also has red cabbage and fine beans wrapped in a piece of bacon.We each had a Gluhwein ($14.50), pronounced as “gluen,” which is Xmas seasoned hot red wine served with vanilla ice cream and strawberries and the Heisser Gluhwein ($12.50) itself, which is hot red wine. This truly, truly reminds me of Christmas. When I was at the Ah Beng Boot Camp in New York, the weather was freezing, minus ten degrees. And at Union Square Farmers Market, I bought this hot red wine, and it felt so warm inside despite the freeze.

Ice cream is also very winter-ly. It actually feels very good eating ice cream in winter. So Gluhwein is really a great creation, with the sweetness of vanilla, the woody spice of cinnamon and sweetness of berry (both ingredients are very Xmasy), and aroma of the Xmas wine. I want to go back and eat more of this!

The Game Menu is an eye-opener for me. I’ve eaten game fowl before, but not game-four-legs. The entire experience feels very Christmassy – probably because the restaurant uses many Xmas ingredients, lots of berries, cinnamon, and a winter beer, Weihnachtsbier, a sweet, full-bodied lager that has a berry aftertaste. I think I’ll go back soon before the game meat menu is over.

For photos, please visit Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow: http://rubbisheatrubbishgrow.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/yong-he-eating-house-geylang/

We five, not full from JB Ah Meng–well, actually I think only Yan Dao and I were the ones who were still hungry–so we went to Yong He for their soya bean curd. I predict the recent beancurd jelly war will bring people back to the roots of eating the traditional beancurd. And of course, we ordered many other things. Price list:

soya bean drink $1.20
Bean curd $1.70
yu tiao $1.10
taiwan noodle (mee sua) $3.80The food was really quite solid. The Mee Sua, which I usually dislike, was robust and packed a punch. The beancurd was quite smooth and the yu tiao (fried dough) was cripsy and very delicious but just a tad too oily. We, adventurous, tried the salty beancurd with cai-po, soya sauce, white pepper and green onions. You’d think it strange but it was actually very appetizing. It’s like eating a healthy alternative of chwee kueh.

Service was Superwoman quick. And the ambience–well, if you want to escape the gangster street of Geylang, this seems to be a good shelter. Quite old school coffeeshop chic. I endorse this shop. Open 24 hours. Eat already can go on the streets to earn back the dinner money some more, unless you’re an old uncle lah, then you’ve to pay. Uncles are the only human species with no market value: women of all ages and young boys have. Sigh, we live in a sexist world, I, an uncle, feel discriminated against.

For more photos, please visit Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow: http://rubbisheatrubbishgrow.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/khmer-delight-east-coast/

Have been wanting to come here for the longest time because this is the only Cambodian restaurant in Singapore and it serves deep-fried Tarantula spiders! Bought $40 discount coupons for Cambodian buffet for two ($20/pax). Very worth the money!

When we arrived, the waitress very politely told us that the coupons couldn’t be used for Saturday dinners. The waitress gave us Alicia’s, the director, number and I called her. A generalization: The first instinct that Singaporean patrons do when things don’t go their way is to shout at the service staff. I think it reflects very badly on the patrons, but it’s like the patrons are merely venting their work or love or family frustration on the staff. It makes the service staff feel bad and you might not get things done your way. This is what I did:

“Hello Alicia. My friend and I are at your restaurant now and we want to use the discount coupon. It isn’t stated anywhere that we can’t use it for Saturday dinners and when we made reservations, informing that we would be using coupons, the waitress didn’t tell us. We don’t live around here so as a form of good will, do you mind allowing us to use the coupons please?”

She said very sweetly, “Yes, sure.”

See what you can achieve if you’re polite and use reason, instead high decibel, using words like “please” and ending with a question, instead of a demand. Use charm, don’t use force.

For a buffet, the food was pretty damn good! The food tasted like a cross between Chinese and Thai cuisine but without the intense spiciness of Thai food. Special mentions: spare ribs, spring roll, fish amok and eggplant. I liked the fish amok because it was otah using real fish you can see; although the spare ribs weren’t too tender, the sauce was spectacular, like a honey bbq sauce with herbs such as anise, I think. Mao Mao and I both loved the crispy, not oily spring roll, which tasted more flavorful than normal Chinese ones. Mao Mao liked the way the eggplant was cooked, not too soggy or gluey. Another plus point: all the food were hot and freshly prepared.

Of course, my philosophy is no matter how stuff you’re, ALWAYS end a meal with desserts, which unfortunately aren’t in the Buffet list. So we ordered: Banana Sesame Fritters with Ice Cream ($6.90); Durian Paste.No shit jokes about the banana fritters, please. The hot banana on cold ball of ice cream – such a turn on. The D24 durian paste was awesome, probably better than the Merchant Court one, and I ate all of it myself.

The food came out slowly but hey at least they were piping hot and delicious. The service was good, smiling faces all round and they refilled water fast. Best service staff: The waitress. We tried to say “Thank You” in Cambodian to them, and the waiter said, laughing, “I’m not Cambodian.” Hahaha. We saw a couple waiting at the door for a long time but the wait staff was dishing out the food and the couple walked away. I thought the staff could have sat the couple first to retain customers. Not enough servers? The ambience is run-of-the-mill for a mid-range restaurant. Given the value-for-money food, we’d definitely return. Khmer Delight should be renamed Comer’s Delight. Oh, what happened to the tarantula spiders? Didn’t see it on the menu no more.

For more photos, please visit Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow: http://rubbisheatrubbishgrow.wordpress.com/2011/11/24/boomarang-bistro-bar-robertson-quay/

Mr NGFL and I, slaves, just finished work at 10 pm ON A FRIDAY and agreed to eat at Boomarang, an Australian eatery that hosts a trivial quiz night on Tuesdays. The winning table gets the bar tab on the house.I had a Kangaroo Loin ($30) and Mr NGFL had a Spring Chicken ($30). Tasting a bit of the Spring Chicken, I think it was very tender and superb but my Kangaroo Loin is da bomb! The mashed sweet potato was SO AWESOME. I hate sweet potato because I was brought up into thinking that only during wartime, when there are no other options, then we eat sweet potato. It’s the last resort. But this one was very savory and sweet and creamy and smooth! The distinctive taste of kangaroo meat is that it is a little bitter but the sour cream covered the bitterness in this case–tender and succulent!

Ambience: Several areas having different ambience. (1) Outdoor smoking with the ubiquitous aluminum chairs and tables. (2) Indoor dining with eco-friendly recycled decor. (3) relaxing lounge sofas along the corridors. The TVs were playing sports channel. Why can’t they play Kylie MTVs? She’s Australian!

Service: All Filipinos here. Mixed service here. A very gorgeous Pinay was very attentive and helpful but in general, the Pinoys were distracted, unfocussed and you’ve to repeat your order a few times, or you need to ask for a fork a few times before he gets it to you. But they were nice and polite. And although there is no closing time, meaning they are open until the last guest leaves, the servers looked tired and eager to end work. (I can’t blame them for wanting to go home. They probably had been standing for hours.) They actually closed off sections, covered the lounge sofas with tarpaulins–which was a pretty strong hint?

Great food, but slightly overpriced. ($71 for two.) Nice relaxing ambience and average service. Recommended. Should be coming back here again.

For photos, please visit Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow: http://rubbisheatrubbishgrow.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/brasserie-les-saveurs-st-regis-orchard/

I’m still shopping for where to have Xmas dinner so we test-drived (drove?) Brasserie Les Saveurs’s Champagne Brunch (see below for Xmas menu). Has anyone watched the best drama on TV, Downton Abbey? It’s about the habits of an aristocrat family in the 20th century. How an aristocrat eats for breakfast: it is buffet-style with a butler on standby because everyone wakes up at different times. Brasserie Les Saveurs is exactly like Downton Abbey. Eating here makes me feel like a duke.

The free-flow champagne buffet brunch costs $170++ per person, but it also includes wines and cocktails. Without alcohol, $138++. Children from 4-12 years old: $75++. Here are some reasons to justify the cost:

See how luxurious and ducal the decor is? Floral-and-vine motif carpet of thistle color with matching beige and deep crimson plush armchairs. Three elaborate chandeliers. Tall ceiling. French windows four-storeys high, showing a view of the swimming pool with the most gigantic drawn laurel-green curtains you’d ever see. If you sit by the window, you exist in a world of your own but there is sunlight beaming in – Fann Wong and Edward Cullum from Twilight will avoid UV. There are also private rooms available. A jazz band played awesomely in the background–Mom! I found my wedding singers! Now I’ll just have to find a partner! and it is the easy part. A reservation is a must – seats were almost taken up.

The service was impeccable. The utensils were changed regularly. All the servers were very friendly and cheerful and thoughtful. The angmoh maitre-d looks exactly like the handsome, villainous footman in Downton Abbey. He was carving slices of parma ham off something that looked like a huge decorative log. The helpful assistant maitre-d, Leila, talked to me and told me that the chef, who was making his rounds, saying hi, worked in a top restaurant in France. He came to Singapore six years ago, wanting to teach culinary arts, but realized his passion is still in cooking. But among all the service staff, my favorite has to be a Chinese middle-aged man. He reminds me of the butler in Downton Abbey, very no-nonsense, respectable, responsible, but underneath the strict facade, very caring. For instance, I told him my throat itched after drinking the complimentary freshly squeezed orange juice and asked if I could get honey. He immediately got a very tiny bottle of honey for me to add in my TWG tea. I was a hug away from calling him dad!

One last thing I want to mention is the clientele. I recently went to a buffet in another hotel, that costs about $80. My scoop was slow-mo moving in on the ice cream tub when all of a sudden, a morbidly obese Singaporean swooped in and edged me out!! I stared at him in shock, and he said, “Soli ah” and continued scooping his ice cream. You’ll NEVER find such kiasu Singaporeans here. The elegance of the place was so pervasive that it seeped into the bones of the patrons. Everyone was courteous and polite. I’d love to live in a society like this.

Let the feasting begin! The cuisine is mostly French-style. Although the range of the food wasn’t extensive, there was depth. On the buffet table, there were varieties of ham, bread, salad and cheese. For example, there were various types of salad: cucumber salad, potato salad, caesar salad, nicoise salad (with beef), grilled vegetables, asparagus, etc. The angmohs usually eat cheese for desserts, but hey, eat however you want it. Cheese with bread? Go ahead! But we skipped this because we’re typical Singaporeans, we go for the expensive stuff! The butter, with “St Regis” embossed on it, was pretty cool.

On the cold dish side, there were smoked salmon, salmon sashimi, three types of freshly shucked oysters, and crabs. Look at how ginormous the claw of the crab was!

What is brunch without eggs cooked to your liking? We had eggs benedict, which is a poached egg with a slice of ham and hollandaise sauce (my favorite sauce!).

There are two cooking stations serving pan-fried foie gras and black pepper lobster. We didn’t like this perhaps because the junior chefs were in charge of cooking very complicated dishes The foie gras was too hard and the lobster was chokingly spicy.

My other petty grouse for this buffet is there ought to be more hot food. Some of the food are prepared in the kitchen first and then served to each table. The portions are tiny, but these are super delicious. I wish they could be readily available on the buffet table as hot food. Some of the outstanding ones are: (1) Foie Gras Creme brulee with red onion compote and compressed apple – super original! (2) lobster bisque – warm, warming to the body, and bursting with wholesome flavors! (3) Artichoke risotto with aged parmesan cheese – Chiobu hated this but I loved it! You have to appreciate smelly cheese, which is an acquired taste, to like this.For the buffet brunch, each person is entitled to a choice of one main course from 11 choices. The Black Angus Beef Tartare, raw seasoned beef served in a small cake form, was zesty, onion-y, and black-peppery. Very tasty but for those who are unaccustomed eating beef raw, you may want to skip this. I ordered the roasted lamb rack (medium-rare). Well-executed without the stench of mutton. Chiobu loved how fine the mashed potato was – but the portion could be bigger.

I vowed to eat all the desserts! But I failed. Can you see the mountains of desserts?!! I doubt it’s humanly possible to try everything. Our favorites are the macaroons, a mango lime eclair with a very surprising burst of lemongrass!, and the chocolate tart with the St Regis Sail on it.

6- and 7-course set menu dinners are available for Xmas Eve ($178+) and New Year Eve ($188++), including a glass of champagne.

The buffets on Christmas and New Year at $158+ (without alcohol) and $188+ (with free flow of alcohol) have special festive menus.

Xmas Hampers ($510+) and roasts are available too: Turkey ($148 , 5kg), ham ($188, 5kg), leg of lamb ($178, 5kg) prime ribs ($388, 5kg) and log cakes ($48 onwards, ok, this one is not a roast, you know right?)

All in all, our experience at Brasserie Les Saveurs at St Regis’s lobby was leisurely and enjoyable. The ambience and service were tops. As for the food, it is different from our usual Singaporean buffets which have a wide range but no depth. A European, or a person who has lived in Europe for an extended time or a well-travelled person would appreciate the delicacy and intricacy of the food. Of course, if you can hold your alcohol, this buffet is not to be missed.