A one week old Spanish restaurant , Cocina de Pasion was opened along Tanjong Katong Road . Cocina refers to ” Kitchen” in Spanish and true, they serve a blend of Mexican & Spanish Tapas.

They offer a blend of Spanish & Mexican Tapas and therefore you can find Burritos, quesadillas ..(Mexican) , garlic prawns , gazpacho , deep-fried potato balls ( spanish ) in the menu.

Chicken mango salsa ( opening special $10.90 nett)
They are currently offering promotions for opening and choose one from any of the 4 dishes being offered for $10.90 nettA palm-sized chicken breast was served lightly marinated and grilled. The grilled chicken breast was topped with lots of mango cubes and salsa. The mangoes were sweet and salsa added a tangy and refreshing flavour. The baked potatoes were soft but not mushy.

Verdict: NO GST & SVC CHARGE here and prices are reasonable (esp for tapas). The menu selections are limited as they are currently in the process of developing the menu and the restaurant.
P.S The food served are Halal certified (muslims are welcomed!)

The West End Boutique Restaurant is the brainchild of two brothers who share a common love for perfectly grilled meat and they are popular for the tenderloin steak.


The set lunch menu
The set lunch menu changes weekly and you get to choose between 2 main courses. All main course comes with either a soup of the day/ salad. The set lunch offered for today ( 4th week) is the Beef Goulash and Roast Chicken & Salmon Enoki.
Other than the Executive set lunch, the ala-carte menu features asian dishes such as fried rice and tex mex cuisines such as fajitas.

Salad
The salad was a bowl of iceberg lettuce , tomatoes, capsicums , carrot shreds , onions and drizzled with some 1000island dressing. Nothing special about that.

Roasted chicken & Salmon Enoki ($19.90+)
The roasted chicken fillet was nicely roasted and served with teriyaki sauce & top with some sesame seeds. The meat was tender but I find the portion a little small.
The Salmon fillet was wrapped around with enoki mushrooms. The salmon has a crispy texture and the meat was not too tough.
I enjoyed the baked potato the most as the skin was baked till crisp yet it was not mushy.
Verdict: Popular with the office people & expect the restaurant to be crowded during lunch & dinner time. The executive set lunch is changed weekly . No GST here but 10% still applies.

Not too long ago, I brought Mum to try the crepes from Out of the Pan & I enjoyed the Chicken cutlet so much so that I want to order it again. I think the waiter made a mistake the previous time cos I ordered the ‘‘ Asian Spiced chicken salad” but he served me the Chicken cutlet instead. When I ordered the ‘‘ Asian Spiced chicken salad” this time, I was surprised that the dish looks so different and double check if they have made a mistake . After re-confirmation, I realized that the waiter who served me the previous time made a mistake in my order and this time the order was the correct one.


Turkey Salad ($9.50++)
The salad came with generous pieces of turkey ham. I like the tangy apple balsamic which goes very well with the salad leaves and turkey ham.

Asian spiced chicken salad ($12.50++)
This is the correct version of the ”Asian spiced chicken salad”.Pieces of chicken breast meat lightly drizzled with some asian dressing( a little tangy). I am not a fan of breast meat and it was a little tad too dry for my liking.



Peking duck crepe ($16.50++)
The signature crepe here & Mum had it in the sun-dried tomato crepe. She enjoyed the duck meat but the skin was a little too chewy & rubbery. There were significant pieces of lychee meat in it to add a tinge of sweetness. The only downside- Crepe was too thick.


Tandoori chicken crepe($15.50++)
There were generous chunks of tandoori chicken in the crepe but the meat was a little too tough and dry. The crepe skin was again- toooo thick!
Verdict: Hits & misses here. The turkey salad is the type of salad that I personally like & I missed the Chicken cutlet!

It had been quite a long while since I went to Millenia Walk. I vividly remembered it was pretty boring( in terms of restaurant choices) but it undergo some sort of renovations . Some restaurants were being replaced and the newer ones seemed to be ”surviving strong”.
Bel Mondo is one of the newer restaurant and offers South Italian cuisine at reasonable prices.

The use of bright and cheerful colours liven up the atmosphere. There is a bar area facing the window of the kitchen where we can observe the chefs making pizzas on the spot.

The Menu
They offer a $15 nett set lunch on weekdays. The set lunch comes with a soup of the day, pizza/ pasta of choice, dessert of the day and a beverage. The pizzas were freshly made on the spot and thus a waiting time of 10mins is required. The downside, they use a normal oven instead of charcoal oven.
A small selections of appetizers and mains were offered but there were a large selections on pastas and risottos.

Caesar salad ($12++)
The caesar salad comes in a generous portion with romaine lettuce, bacon, garlic croutons and parmesan shavings. The dressing was unevenly mixed and some romaine lettuce were heavily salted. The bacon were also on the salty side and garlic croutons was too hard.

Half roasted chicken with mesclun salad ($25++)
The roasted chicken was recommended by the waitress. I didn’t expect the serving size to be rather huge! The ”bird” was nicely roasted with a crispy and non-oily skin. The meat of chicken leg and wing was rather tender but I simply couldn’t stomach 1/2 roasted chicken by myself, considering that I had the Caesar salad before this. I left the breast part ( which was dry) untouched.
Verdict: The $ 15 nett set lunch is well-worth it and it was popular with the office people working around that area. Service is efficient and ”service with a smile”.

While I do not take beef, I knew there were different cuts , types , marbling factors to consider for a slab of quality beef. Japanese Wagyu, Kobe & The Angus Beef are enjoyed due to their tender and degree of marbling. Now, the question is, where to enjoy them?- Lawry’s the prime ribs, Black Angus Steakhouse, Morton’s the Steakhouse..are some well-known places for quality beef.

If you would like to enjoy quality beef at a lower budget, consider Angus House, located at Level 4 of Takasahimaya Shopping Centre. They offer quality beefs as well as charcoal-grilled seafood . The food here is a fusion of Japanese & American cuisine & expect Japanese-styled salads and more.
The Menu is simple, the different types of beef, charcoal grilled seafood, a range of pastas and a set menu. The set menu comes with choice for your mains , bread, rice, dessert, salad, soup of the day & Tiramisu + coffee/ tea. I would suggest to order the set as it is only $6 difference in the pricing.

Soup of the day: Carrot soup

Salad
A japanese styled California Salad with Wafu dressing. They included 2 extra sides- corn grits and potato salad .

Charcoal grilled seafood set ( King prawns, cuttlefish & scallops ) $33++

The grilled seafood came sizzling and served on a sizzling pan. It smells aromatic due to the charcoal flame. The 2 King prawns were charred and smoky but the shell came off easily.The Cuttlefish were over-grilled resulting in tough and chewy texture, like eating rubber!

Charred King prawns
I forgot to take a shot of the Tiramisu cos the I was busy eating but anyway the Tiramisu is award-winning so it was good.

Verdict: I enjoyed the charcoal-grilled seafood and prices are reasonable . Reservations are recommended as the place seemed to be full on weekends .The scallops were juicy and infused with the smoky flavour… I like this!