Over last weekend, during my staycation at the nearby Marina Mandarin Hotel, I chanced upon a Cantonese restaurant within Marina Square mall. Opened on Valentine's Day this year, its first branch began in Aperia Mall, selling only dim sum items. A few months later in September, the second second branch within Marina Square mall was opened, serving not only Dim Sum, but also other Cantonese fare.With an experienced kitchen crew spearheaded by Executive Chef Leong (who previously came from a Shang Palace background), they target to preserve traditional Cantonese flavours, serving a wide range of Cantonese dishes, such as 'Roast Peking Duck, Pan Fried “Kurobuta” Pork Chop with Honey Sauce, Braised Homemade Bean curd with Bamboo Charcoal Powder, Braised Pork belly in Special Sauce, Deep Fried Prawn with Pumpkin creamy Sauce, Double Boiled Fish Maw in Superior Shark’s bone soup and many more'.Being a Cantonese girl myself and a lover of Cantonese food, I was very excited to dig into their dishes upon hearing about it.

Did you know?

Visitors to their restaurant can also get a free Marina Square parking coupon from Dragon Bowl when they dine in the restaurant. That's awesome!

LET'S EAT!
We took up their $78++ current promotion, which includes their signature Roasted Peking Duck, Roast Duck Bone Soup and Braised Duck E-Fu Noodle.

This promotion serves up a 6-people portion. But as there were only 4 of us, we took half of the promotion, paying only about $39++, and also added on some ala-carte dishes to share.Needless to say, this promotion of theirs is really worth it, because their usual price for the Peking Duck costs about $22 for half, and $40 for whole.And they also did not waste any ounce of the duck meat, as the remaining duck was used to make the Roast duck bone soup (with preserved vegetables) and the Braised Duck E-fu Noodles, both are dishes that you will not be able to order off the ala carte menu. And even these non-menu items, tasted awesome.Going back to the Roasted Duck, I can understand why it is their signature dish. In all ways, they did this dish right. The duck meat is tender and mostly lean, the duck skin is crisp and melts in your mouth.Even the sweet sauce that you lather within the crepe before wrapping the duck in, is tasty and not overly sweet. (Pardon my tummy growling now while I'm typing this, recapping what I ate there is simply not easy.)Under the ala-carte menu, we ordered their highly recommended Stir-Fried Tenderloin Beef Cube with Black Pepper & Red Wine (紅酒黑椒牛柳粒, $24 for small size). Seriously, I loved this dish.The beef cubes were not only tender and flavourful, it was amazingly filled with the wok's breath (aka wok-hei). Even a picky eater, like my sister, could not stop munching on this.We also tried their Braised Mixed Vegetables with Shredded Conpoy & Superior Stock in Claypot (上汤干贝什菜煲, $12 for small size), and our tummies were pleased with its flavours in entirety, as the conpoy really enhanced the fragrance and taste of the dish.Sit back, eat and relax as a pretty lady in cheongsam strums and plucks on her Pipa, producing lovely classic and fusion tunes for your enjoyment. This live performance is only available on Fridays and Saturdays.Overall, I really enjoyed the entire dining experience here, from the food, to the surroundings, to its service. I'm glad to add this restaurant as one of my favourite Cantonese restaurant. And yes, I will be back again to try out their dim sum too!

Dragon Bowl is also located very near Milk & Honey yogurt soft serve, which you can visit for dessert after a satisfying meal here.

Opened on 20 August, the multi-branch A-One Claypot House is now officially venturing into Bak Kut Teh (肉骨茶, abbrev. BKT). This new concept of theirs is known as A-One Bak Kut Teh, and the branch at Star Vista is their first BKT themed eatery, which has taken over the now defunct Boston Seafood shack.DETAILS

Accessibility:

Approx. 3 mins walk from Buona Vista MRT Station (Exit C)

LET'S EAT!

All cooked with their signature Bak Kut Teh (BKT) stock recipe, which uses high grade white pepper for boiling and simmering for hours, they have churned out many BKT themed dishes, some of which we tried when we visited. Some were less peppery, some were more fiery.Under the dishes cooked with their bak kut teh recipe, I liked the good ol' Pork Ribs Soup ($10.90) which was peppery. I also liked that the tender meat which was easy to remove from the bone.

Take the meat and dip it into their dipping sauce mixture: Sweet black sauce, chopped garlic and chilli padi. The taste is awesome.I am a lover of Pig's Organs Soup. Surprisingly, if you order their Pig's Organs Soup ($9.90), they also cooked it with a less peppery version of their BKT stock. However, I can't say this is my favourite, because the peppery taste takes away the essence of the soup, somewhat.If you want something more filling, try their BKT Pork Ribs Porridge ($10.90) and Minced Meat with Meat Ball Porridge ($9.90). Like usual popular A-One porridge in other branches, the porridge here is cooked with pearl rice, which makes the porridge smooth, with softer grains. Both porridge is cooked with BKT stock for 45 minutes, using high pressure cookers.

Meat lovers, you can try the dry BKT Chicken Cubes ($12.90) and the Braised Platter ($14.90). The Dry BKT Chicken cubes are interestingly similar to the Kung Pao chicken dish. But for their rendition, they used their BKT soup base to cook it. It's fragrant, with addition of thinly sliced dried cuttlefish.

The Braised Platter, on another hand, is similar to the assorted braised items that you would go with your kway chap. While the gravy is flavourful, I was a little bummed out that they didn't include pig intestines in this dish. Both dishes are great with rice.For non-meat lovers, you can have a go at the Ampang Yong Tau Foo and Assorted Vegetables in Sambal sauce ($10.90).For the Ampang Yong Tau Foo, it comes in 3 sizes: small ($9.90, medium ($14.90) and large ($18.90). Ours was the medium sized one, good for 2 - 3 pax.

The assorted vegetables feature, what A-One likes to call, the 4 'heavenly kings' of vegetables, namely: Sweet peas, eggplant, ladyfinger and long beans.Overall, it is interesting that they have come up with this concept where most things can be cooked with a signature bak kut teh stock, but the control of the BKT flavour - more fiery, spicy, peppery or BKT prominent - are just a thin line from being different.

Hopefully, they have mastered controlling the flavours for various Bak Kut Teh dishes, because there must be an edge to the various dishes even if it is BKT themed. Importantly, flavours need to be kept consistent for its returning BKT loving customers.

This is an invited media tasting session.

It was a lovely evening, and a couple of us gathered for an al fresco at Marine Parade's Parkway Centre.Seattle Pike Chowder is a franchise brought into Singapore by Giojio International, alongside Giovanni L. Seattle Pike Chowder hails from the America’s celebrated chowder house - Pike Place Chowder in Seattle, Washington (United States), owned and founded by Larry Mellum. To maintain the quality of the chowders, Seattle Pike Chowder has the chowders imported from Seattle. Area:

Marine Parade

Country:

Singapore

Price:

$

Good For:

Small Groups / Friends / Solo / Family

Accessibility:

Not too accessible - better to drive here, or take a bus.Note: There are 3 sizes per soup. Another option is to have it in a bread bowl as well

New England Clam Chowder (Prices from $8.90 - $14.90. $12.90 with bread bowl)This was my favourite. Not only me, but this award-winning chowder from Pike Place Chowder has not failed to impress most at the table. With its ingredients freshly imported from Seattle, it was flavourful and rightly thick.They were also very generous with their clams and other ingredients, like potatoes, celery, onions, etc.

Seafood Bisque Chowder (Prices from $9.90 - $15.90, $13.90 with bread bowl)This is also another flavourful chowder, prepared with tomatoes and generous with their seafood.

Smoked Salmon Chowder (Prices from $9.90 - $15.90, $13.90 with bread bowl)Unfortunately, this was my least favourite as I felt the taste of the salmon is a little strong for me. This would sit well with those who loves a smoky hint in their soups.

Each soup takes about 15 minutes to prepare, but it is worth the wait.

This review is by invitation. Thanks to Openrice and Seattle Pike Chowder for hosting the session.

Recently, I swung by Mad for Garlic with the besties for dinner. I've always heard about this place, so I was pretty happy about checking it out. I went to the one at Clarke Quay, but there's another branch at Suntec as well.Area:

Clarke Quay

Country:

Singapore

Price:

$$

Good For:

Groups / Solos / Friends / Family

Accessibility:

Average

(Takes about 10 - 12 minutes walk from Clarke Quay MRT Station)

Here's the ticker right outside their restaurant, showing the number of Garlic Snowing Pizzas served. The number is still increasing!Some information about Mad for Garlic:

Mad for Garlic is Korea’s first garlic-themed Italian restaurant. The unique concept made its debut in 2001 through Mad for Garlic’s first restaurant in Apgujeong-dong, an affluent entertainment and residential district in southern Seoul.

With its unique and innovative menu with garlic-specialized Italian cuisine and an excellent selection of wines, Mad for Garlic soon became one of Korea's most popular restaurant chains. Rather than having a central kitchen system, at Mad for Garlic, the entire cooking process starts with raw materials in the kitchen of each branch to bring fresh food to the table.

In 2013, Mad for Garlic was voted by Korea Times and Korea Herald as the Best Performing Italian Restaurant concept in Korea.It was a well-lit restaurant though its design bathed in black. I also like how the area is really wide and there is good space between tables, ample 'private' space, good enough to feel really comfortable. Lots of garlic strewn around, just to make a point.Garlic Snowing Pizza ($22.50) Yes! I tried their signature pizza, a sweet type of pizza topped with shrimps, pineapple dice and cheese. Also, of course, not forgetting... the garlic flakes! Surprisingly, it was so garlicky but in an absolutely good way. I really enjoyed this dish!A slice of goodness.Lobster Cream Pasta ($23.50)

This is another signature dish from them, and you'll find no garlic slices here. Why? Because the garlic has been infused in the cream!While this is yummy, but I don't find it very interesting as I didn't really taste too much garlic in the pasta. A tasty eat, no doubt.

Banana Chocolate Pizza ($12.90)

My friends were really hesitant to try this dessert. How does banana, chocolate, icecream and garlic sound to you?I was glad I forced them to order it. It was really good and they turned out liking this dish too!The chocolate was thinly spread on a nice crepe, sliced bananas and garlic filled the dessert. The ingredients went really well together and the crispy, thin crepe did not disappoint too!The Best bit: Garlic snowing pizza, banana chocolate pizza (dessert) and comfortable seating.

Worst bit: Dishes are all detox machines. (Haha!)

Ratings: 7 / 10

Mad for Garlic Singapore 매드 포 갈릭

Location: Clarke Quay branch - Block 3B, River Valley Rd #01-16, The Foundry 179021

Operating Hours: Sun to Thu: 11:30am to 10:00pm / Fri & Sat: 11:30am to 11:00pm

Tel: (65) 6238 1930

Website: Link

Hosted in the cozy setting in Marina Square, a couple of bloggers chilled out to lovely gelatos on a lovely Sunday in April, at Alfero Gelato.

About Alfero Gelato:

Alfero Artisan Gelato is prepared with a mixture of high quality ingredients – milk, cream, sugar, eggs, fruits, chocolate, nuts, etc. with a high nutritional value. Italian gelato contains less fat than ice cream, has less incorporated air and is served at a higher temperature (-11 degree Celsius). Our gelato provides a greater flavour experience because there is less fat that coats the tongue, more flavour per spoonful (due to less air), and the taste buds are more alive since the temperature is not so cold as to numb the sensitivity. The lower fat content also means fewer calories to burn.

Alfero Gelato is one of the 16 finalists in the Gelato World Tour's best gelato flavour competition, and that explains my excitement to try it!

Here's a photo from Alfero Gelato, showing the man behind the gelato brand - Marco Alfero - and his gelato entry for the competition (right). (Photo credits to Alfero Gelato)

A side note: Many hotels and Italian restaurants place orders for his gelatos as they like its quality and texture!Why are the tubs all closed? There's a special reason.

The gelato tubs are kept closed to minimise their contact with air, light and the inconsistent temperatures. This helps to retain the quality of the gelatos. I started off with some hot chocolate. It's really smooth and not even that sweet. It's totally my style of how a good hot chocolate should be. When I tasted this, I knew that the chocolate gelato here was not going to disappoint. For the young ones - he's also done up a pure Milk Gelato flavour to suit the taste buds of children. It's really flavoured with milk, but it was too light for my tastebuds and I would still stick with the other flavoured gelatos.

However, the brownie totally didn't make the mark for me, so I will focus on the gelatos instead.He is also very experimental with his products, and to appeal to the local market with the help of a staff, he came up with...

Chendol Waffles paired with Chendol Merdeka Gelato! This gelato flavour was also the one which got him into the top 16 in the Best Gelato Flavour Competition.

Combining the fragrance of coconut milk, freshly squeezed pandan juice, flavourful gula melaka, velvety red beans and smooth chendol (green starched jelly), Chendol Merdeka Gelato is created to commemorate Singapore’s 50th Birthday, which also explains why the word ‘Merdeka’ is added to the name, and the love for local food by the locals.It was an interesting idea, and the gelato was really lovely! But I personally feel that the waffles should be crispier.

Here are the various gelato flavours we tried!

Tested Flavours (Not in order): Pistachio, Dark Chocolate, Yuzu, Passion Fruit, Durian, Strawberry Sorbet, Avocado, Mango, Chendol, Walnut and Bacio (Hazelnut and Chocolate)

My favourite flavours are the pistachio (although I'm not a pistachio person!), dark chocolate, yuzu, mango and avocado! Be sure to try these flavours when you drop by.Looking from the photo above, were you able to spot the pistachio?

No, it's not the cup in the front row, spotting a brighter green. Their pistachio ice cream colour is a slightly dirtier green because there's absolutely no colouring used in his gelatos.

The Pistachio ice cream is hidden here! The green one in the front row is Avocado Marco sources and imports the ingredients used in his gelatos from Italy. You can be sure that you're getting the best from your 'simple' cup of gelato, as the distinctive ingredients are from the best parts of the country.

To put it simply, for example, he'll only import from the place in Italy which spouts best pistachios! So much effort goes into a scoop, and only natural ingredients are used, that's why I love their gelato. Another thing I like about their gelatos are that there's no gum added in the ice-cream, that's why it melts faster than other ice-creams.

MELTING~!Finally, my points go to Alfero Gelato as they only sport 2% to 9% fat, as opposed to ice-cream, which has about 18% to 30% fat in it! I'm sure this will be a huge score point for the girls!

Girls, time to enjoy!

Alfero Artisan Gelato (Marina Square Branch)

Location: 6 Raffles Boulevard 02-226A/B Marina Square Singapore 039594

Tel: +65 6338 5828

Operation Hours: Monday to Sunday 12:00 to 22:00

Website: http://www.alferogelato.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alferogelato