After knowing about Humpback Sunday Brunch, I decided to pop by with my Mom to check them out at Bukit Pasoh. The unit where Humpback is located was previously occupied by The Clan. Now that The Clan has shifted, the design of the ground floor was revamped into a more casual dinning spot with only bar tables which I never preferred.On Humpback Sunday Brunch menu, 7 categories were offered; namely Oysters, Snacks, Garden, Egg, Seafood, Meat and Dessert.I was glad to catch sight of oysters on its menu. 4 types of oysters offered. All were from Washington, USA, priced at $3 each. I tried the Eld Inlet and Kumamoto. Lemon, specially concocted vinegar and freshly grated horse radish were served with the oysters. Kumamoto was lighter in oyster pungent as compared Eld Inlet. As such Kumamoto was smoother on the palate. But personally I prefer the Eld Inlet as I like that pungent.Kale Salad ($14) was our picked. Besides kale, the main greens, pear, pecan nuts, buttermilk, topped with kale chips and dusted with a good amount of grated parmesan cheese was in this salad. My mom didn’t appreciate it initially but felt it tasted fabulous after ingesting more of them. Personally, I felt it was like having Cesar Salad, instead of Romaine Lettuce, Kale was replaced.Out of the 4 eggs, we chose the most boring one, Scrambled Egg ($10/18) with Prosciutto, asparagus on sourdough. All except the Omelette has it in either small or big plate. Personally, I would go for either the fried egg ($14/24)with octopus or omelette ($18) with oysters.The scrambled egg has a soft a soft curd texture and was creamy. As lots of chopped parsley (I think they were), resulted in more aroma in the dish.
It was their Lobster Roll ($39) that prompted me the visit to Humpback. Chunky lobster with cream, tobiko in the roll and frisee and fries by the side. We enjoyed Humpback Lobster Roll.At the meat section, either Buttermilk Fried Chicken or Pork Rib ($14) was available. We ordered the latter. The pork rib was extremely tender. With only the fork, the meat was detached from the bone. Again, a pity, the marinate did not get meat-deep.Since Humpback is part of Jigger and Pony establishment, expect a good range of cocktails and wine. Alternatively, one could customize their very own Bloody Mary.
It has limited non-alcoholic drinks though. One of them is the Iced Tea Soda ($6) which we opted to try. Practically, almost like soda.We enjoyed the food offerred at Humpback Sunday Brunch. Though the food weren’t any special but it was well executed. At least the food we ordered were delish.

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For original post, visit http://www.nahmj.com/2016/03/02/humpback-sunday-brunch-menu-bukit-pasoh-outram-park-singapore/

Aura occupied a unit on the fifth as the restaurant while directly above is the sky lounge. I thought it could be a great place for brunch with my mom on a Sunday. I tried making a reservation via the website twice but failed as it requires 24 hours lead time to reply. As such, on my second failed attempt, I decided to take the risk and walk-in early. Indeed, either go early, as early as 12 pm when it opens or make sure a reservation is made if after 1 pm.Both the restaurant and the sky lounge offer different dinning experience with unsimilar ambience. The feel of the restaurant is more slanted to the fine dinning arena while the sky lounge offer an elegant, relaxed and casual dinning atmosphere. A reservation with tables next to the glass at the sky lounge would be a perfect dinning experience.

Sky Lounge

On weekdays, at the sky lounge, it offers Salad Buffet of roasted vegetables, salads and homemade breads.When weekends arrived, an Ala Carte Menu is offered instead with as much as 12 selection, ranging from eggs, salad, sandwiches to pasta and sweets.


Restaurant

Over at the Aura Restaurant, the weekends Brunch Menu is available. I thought the Brunch Menu was a good way to try as many food as possible. It is priced at $48 per person for food only. If diners prefer to have free flow of Prosecco and Bellini, it is priced at $98 per person.Swiftly the complimentary Focaccia bread was served once order was completed.We were served with the pastas before the remaining apperitzer, I decided to start with Stracci with Duck Ragu. We were mesmerized by its taste immediately.Next, was the Trofie with Truffle Pesto and Prawns. This isn’t for my mom at all. She tried and never turned to it for more. I was neutral though not exactly enjoying it. This surely isn’t for everyone due to the strong aroma from both the truffle and pesto resulting in some kind of acquired pungent flavour. Both the Stracci and Troffie were well made; smooth and soft to the chew.Next, the Parma Ham with Musk Melon and Stracciatella & Tomato Bruschetta, Calarmari and Crab Crostini were served. Nothing outstanding about these. But the soft to the chew calamari is still worth highlighting.3 choices for Mains with Sirloin with Asparagus and Red Wine Sauce and Hokkaido Scallops with Porcini and Beetroot as our order. The third was Black Cod with Tomato and Herb Crust.Luckily, I agreed to Medium Rare for the Sirloin with Asparagus and Red Wine Sauce, otherwise, it would prove a challenge for my jaw. My mom doesn’t usually prefer beef actually wanted more after her first small piece.Hokkaido Scallops with Porcini and Beetroot has good pairing of ingredients. As long as seafood is fresh, it can’t go too wrong.We have both the Bailey’s & Hazelnut Feuillantine and Chestnut Pannacotta with Mandarin Coulis. I started with the former. Hazelnut flavour was strong while bailey was weak to savour. Moving to the latter, we were surprised by how the citrusy zest of orange could be in perfect harmony with the nuttiness chestnut. I was blown away by this dessert. As I have no expectation for it since I don't have good prior experience on anything chestnut.Coffee and Tea were part of the Brunch. I have my usual Cappucino. I like the low acidity, full body and nutty cuppa.Aura Restaurant has a classy dinning environment though it gets noisy when the restaurant was at 80% capacity. The service staff that attended our table was warm, chatty and certainly professional; introducing us the menu and making recommendation to us to help the decision process. Coming to food, we felt they were fresh. Most of which leaned towards our preference except for the more adventurous Triofe with Truffle Pesto and Prawns.

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Within a stone throw from the serene lushy Bedok Reservoir is home to a modest cafe, the Burp Kitchen And Bar. It isn't close to any MRT station (as in within walking distance) though several bus routes serve the area. Fortunately, the area is surrounded with residential in Bedok and the close by Tampines. And perhaps after an evening walk around the reservoir, one could pop by to chillout at Burp Kitchen And Bar.The cafe is basically dressed in brown shade and warm lighting with a L-shaped area housing the dining area and bar. Both bar tables and normal dinning tables are available for diners to choose from. Nothing fanciful in the cafe with minimalist.At Burp Kitchen And Bar since alcohol is served, Bar Grub is certainly essential. To complement the Bar Grub selection, burgers and Tacos were added to the menu. As all cafe, Brunch selection is not be to missing from the menu too. As such, it is offered. The food served are mainly Mexican with some touch of American and Filipino.

Bar Grub
First, we started with 4 Bar Grubs. There are 6 other Bar Grub as selection. We kick-off the dinner with Salted Egg Tofu Fries ($8). Generous amount of salted egg sauce was layered over the made in-house Tofu Fries. Personally, I didn't enjoy the dish as I didn't find Tofu and salted egg complemented well. In addition, it is quite salty. And moreover, Tofu isn't quite my kind of food.As an alternative, diner could opt for Wasabi sauce instead. This is one of the 3 vegetarian Bar Grub. The other 2 being Flavoured Popcorn ($6) and Tortilla Corn Chips ($7).One of the common Bar Grub, is the chicken Wings. At Burp Kitchen And Bar, 3 options were provided; Burp Kitchen Wings ($10), Salted Egg Wings ($14) and Spicy Buffalo Wings ($14). We tried 2 out of the 3. Good good news to less once guilt while indulging; the Chicken Wings are Air Fry.Burp Chicken Wings ($10) uses the special Philippines Adobo sauce giving it a tangy and sweet flavour. It is certainly great to wash it down with some beer. A pity the flavouring did not get beyond the skin, hence the chicken flesh was rather bland.With the salted egg craze hitting our shore, salted egg sauce on wings are also available at Burp Kitchen And Bar. Using the same salted egg sauces that was used for the Tofu Fries, the Salted Egg Wings ($14) was born.The last Bar Grub of the night was the Chicken Quesadilla ($9). A tortilla warp filled with Mozzarella and Cheddar cheese and slowed cooked shredded chicken making it a rich cheesy dish. It will be a hit among cheese lovers. Most of felt savoured mainly the cheese and didn't even realise the chicken was in it.
Other selections of Bar Grub include the Nachos ($11) in either BBQ Pulled Pork or Beef Chilli and Sasage Fest ($14).

Burgers
Burgers easily find favour with most. I am one who likes my burgers. 6 creations of burgers are offered at Burp Kitchen And Bar. We tried 2 out of 6.First and foremost, the Burp's Beef Burger ($16). When the burger was served to the table, immediately, I could smell the dou miao (a vegetable that I like a lot). I thought this was a creative great idea. The beef patty was well marinated and fresh. Brioche bun was as fluffy as it should be. I enjoyed the totality of the taste profile. But I suspect some may not quite enjoy it with the pea sprout as it gives off a raw green taste, though, this is what I enjoy. Acquired taste, I suppose.The Crabby Patty Burger ($18) was with an entire fried soft shell crab. You could figure it out from the obvious shape. It is sandwiched with again the salted egg, lettuce in between a squid ink bun which I mistaken it as a charcoal bun. I was glad the bun didn't result in any strong seafood flavour and it is fluffy.
Burp is also very considerate towards vegetarian, you will find The Vegetarian Burger ($10) on its menu too. The remaining 3 non-vegetarian options are Chicken Rendang Burger ($12), Curried Pork Burger ($14) and Ultimate Burp Burger ($20).

Tacos
Finally, the last (but not least) dish of the night, presenting the Tacos. 6 dishes to choose from, namely, Citrus & Miso Tofu ($10) a vegetarian dish, Baja Fish, All Taco dishes come in 2 servings of 6" tacos and corn chips.Baja Fish Tacos ($12) has battered fish, coleslaw, salsa fresca with spicy mayo on the 6" wrap. Most of us like the fish as it was lightly battered and not overly flavoured.Pork Carnitas Tacos ($12) is with the slow cooked BBQ pulled pork. The rest of the ingredients are the same as the Baja Fish Tacos. The distinct taste of this dish is sweet. The flavour reminded me of the narcissus brand canned food, Spiced Pork Cubes.
At this tasting, we tried none of the 11 dishes under the Brunch selection.
Generally, the food served at Burp Kitchen are all right but it is certainly too salty. What I truly appreciate about Burp Kitchen And Bar is the thoughtfulness by providing Vegetarian options at all categories of their menu.
 

Full review on http://www.nahmj.com/2016/02/23/chot-nun/


Chot Nun has a very interesting tag line. ❄ Soft as first snow. Remember our first time ❄ OMG! So romantic. Like calling out all the couples on their first date to have a cup of Chot Nun Bingsu.Bingsu is very common in Singapore. One after another keep introducing it. It seems to no longer a trend food but a Korean dessert here to stay. Chot Nun introduces the Bingsu as takeaway cups. It operates out of a kiosk at the basement of Far East Plaza, the favourite hang out of youth. This could be a draw for the shoppers at Far East Plaza. One could grab a Bingsu on hand as one continues to shop.

Chot Nun offers a total of 12 Bingsu flavours. There are the classic flavours such as Pat Cup, red bean bingsu ($6.50) and the Injeolmi Cup ($7.50). Some usual flavours such as Cookies & Cream Cup ($7.50) and Chocolate Cup ($9.50). If you prefer the fruity version, there are Strawberry Cup ($9.50), Mango Cup ($9.50), Durian Cup ($9.50) and Melon Cup ($9.50). Some usual flavours such as BB Cup ($7.50) comprises of Bacon and Bread while Breakfast Cup ($7.50) consisting of cornflakes and marshmallow, Honey Comb cup ($9.50) and lastly Peanut Butter Cup ($7.50)The kiosk is divided into 2; the kitchen and the order cum collection counter. When the kitchen is done with the cup of bingsu, they will hand it over to the counter through the small window. The front crew will get a larger cup add both water and dry ice into it, then place the bingsu cup over into the bigger cup containing the dry ice.We were so fascinated over the dry ice effect as it was extremely worthy for the squre. And we have completely overlooked the practical purpose of it. That is to keep the bingsu cold; prevent it from melting fast. So even though it is instagram worthy, don’t focus on the it and missed out the important factor.We tried 4 flavours. 3 fruity and the chocolate cup. The 3 fruity flavours were Mango, Strawberry and Durian. The fruit used were fresh and the shaved ice was fine and soft, indeed resembling first snow. The entire cup was lightly sweetened. Each bingsu cup has layers of biscuit crumbs or red bean laced in between to enhance the savouring experience. The chocolate has the oreo crumbs, strawberry has the red bean while both mango and durian has it with biscuit crumbs.Most of the flavours has a soft serve on top of the bingsu cup. Personally I like it with the soft serve. Out of the 3 fruit flavours, Durian overwhelm the lightly milky bingsu flavour while Mango and Strawberry complemented well.I kind of regret not choosing something usual such as BB cup to try. I am sure I will pop by to try the savoury flavour next.

Chot Nun takeaway bingsu is no difference from the many Korean owned bingsu. In fact, I am hoping to see creativity from the owners who are introducing bingsu next. Such as having true flavoured bingsu. Since the shaved ice are sweetened milk, what about using Banana Milk or even Strawberry Milk for example. And introducing DIY toppings and so on.

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More review on http://www.nahmj.com/

Boruto means vault in Japanese since the unit was formerly occupied by a bank. You could still sight traces of bank such as the safe boxes at the second floor. Boruto is suitated along South Bridge Road; offering both Japanese Tapas and Sake to diners. It is opened by Chef Patrick Tan who owns another restaurant, Tamashii Robataya, around the same place. Boruto is currently helmed by Chef Angus Chow who has worked for various big names including FOC.
Occupying 2 level, with entrance at the ground floor is the Tapas Bar while on the second level is the Sake Bar both section offers diners casual dinning environment. The entire design is mainly chic industrial.Sake Bar
At the Sake Bar, located at level 2, is where Boruto offers a private room with cushy leather sofa for diners to sit back and chill out with their favourite drink. This private room is made available for reservation with a minimum charges.

One might very quickly notice the Sake vault with the safe boxes as backdrops.Besides the sake and bespoke cocktails, the Japanese Plum Wine is also offered. Customers could purchase a bottle and store it with Boruto and pop over to enjoy whenever they feel like it.

Tapas Bar
The Tapas Bar features a bar counter facing the open kitchen. Diners could enjoy the food while watching the chefs in action. Boruto offers mainly bar table seatings with a few normal dinning tables as an alternative option.Currently, Boruto offers 5 Salads, 10 Small Bites, 6 Cold Tapas, 14 Hot Tapas, 6 Carbs and 5 Sweets.

Small Bites
We didn’t try any of the 5 salads. Instead we jumped straight into the Small Bites priced from $6.80 to $15.80. Among the 10, we tried only the Crispy Rice Cracker Tacos ($12.80). It is one of the 2 recommended dish for Small Bites. Pulled pork is sat on crispy rice crackers, topped with guacomole & chilli salsa. A flavourful dish with creamy smooth guacomole enhancing the dish and chilli salsa to spice it up. This is one of my top favourite dish at Boruto.In case, you are wondering what’s the second recommendation, it is the Teba Gyoza ($15.80).

Cold Tapas
Coming to the Cold Tapas, we tried 2 out of 6 dishes. Saga Gyu Tataki ($28.80) is one of the very well received dish among the group of taster of the night. Including myself, I thought well of it too. The perfectly seared Japanese Beef with some seaweed and saffron was served with some lovely edible flowers laced on the edge of the plate. Not only it is appealling in sight but certainly flavoursome to the tastebud.Ahi Tataki ($12.80) is the second cold tapas of the night. The Yellowfin Tuna block is slightly pan-fried on the outer before slicing it and served on the plate with chopped black olives, Japanese leek, chilli and wasabi yuzu dressing to whet the appetite.Both the cold tapas we tried were the recommended dishes at Boruto.

Hot Tapas
Tori-Take Roll ($15.80) is a North-eastern Chinese (Dongbei) inspired dish. Crispy chicken roulade with stuffed shitake jam drizzled with Chinese sauce concoction. My other personal favourite. Personally, I like the combination of the shitake jam with chicken.Personally, I thought it was a tough fight with the Saga Gyu Tataki.
Among the 14 Hot Tapas, beside the Tori-take Roll, there are 4 others recommended tapas namely Hotate to Cauliflower no Grill ($15.80), Beef short rib 58°C ($18.80), Kurobuta “Sio Bak” ($20.80) and Zuwai Gani Sausage ($30.80).

Carbs
Knowing that some diners might need carbs to complete the meeal, Boruto introduces 6 dishes to the menu with 3 recommended dish. We tried one of them, the Uni Pasta v1.1 ($35.80). It is known as version 1.1 as it is an improved dish from the original recipe which was with a Aglio Olio based pasta.The version 1.1 has its pasta cooked in seafood broth topped with fresh sea urchin roe and Hokkaido white wasabi. So expect an extremely strong seafood flavour from the dish. You either love it or hate it. I belong to the latter. Personally, I find the flavour too pungent.

Sweets
Desserts are always welcomed even after tons of food. My stomach could always make space for them. Starting from the lightest in taste is the Warabi Mochi ($8.80). A sweet soft to the chew and lightly sweeten, is made from bracken starch and coated with kinako. Most of us find that it lack of the chewiness which is present in mochi.At Boruto, they served the classic Creme Brulee with truffle infused, the Truffle Creme Brulee ($8.80). Though the texture is a little to liquefied but was flavourful, filled with nice vanilla flavour and truffle augmented the dish. But certainly this may not appeal to everyone. As there are some factor of acquired taste I suppose.Finally, the strong in taste is the Chocolate Surprise ($12.80). Half cake, half souffle with molten chocolate in the centre and served with 2 scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream and lastly topped with some crushed peanut.Chocolate fan, you are in it for a treat. Rich and strong chocolate aroma filled this dish. It is tough for me to reject this dish as one of my fave sweet at Boruto.

Final thought ... At Boruto, there are some outstanding dishes while a few pale to comparison. In short, there are hits and misses.