Zambuca was once part of the Michelango’s Group but now it has been taken over by Pan Pacific Hotel. Zambuca has gone through a transformation and now it is located at the 3rd floor of The Pan Pacific Hotel and it is led by Chef Dennis Sim and his team.

The decor of the interior adopts an elegant style- High ceiling , dim-lighting and comfy sofas. There is a wine cellar featuring exotic wines and a private room for intimate dining.

The menu is printed in a form of a large menu board. They have limited selections on the appetitzers and mains and focus more on their pasta, risotto and the pizzas. Based on reviews, their risotto is quite popular.

They also offer a 3 or 4 course set lunch priced at $35 ++ and $45++ respectively. Due to the limited selections on the ala-carte menu, I decided to have the 4 course set lunch.


Semi-dried tomato & Spinach salad with pine nuts, parmagiano reggiano with chilli & garlic dressing


The small serving salad came in an over-sized blue plate. I had the salad without the pinenuts.This was a simple spinach salad but was on the oily side as the chef uses a large amount of olive oil in the salad.


Soup of the day- Cream of vegetable soup


I am not a fan of soup except the fabulous Lobster Bisque I had at Le Saint Julien. This vegetable soup taste like carrot soup with cream and I was feeling thirsty after having a few spoonful. Perhaps due to the MSG reaction???


Grilled cod fillet with tomato salsa & Balsamic reduction
Other choices for mains includes the Grilled King Prawns, Pork Escalope and the Rack of Lamb. I didn’t took notice the Grilled King Prawns on the menu until I took a picture of the menu. I actually would prefer having the King Prawns to the Grilled Cod but I didn’t make the change to save the trouble. I was glad I made a wise choice for my mains. The cod fillet was baked, presented beautifully on a bed of spinach, topped with salsa and garnished with two jumbo and juicy tomatoes.The cod, was crispy on the outside but so soft and tender on the interior. The fish flakes off easily using my fork, I have nothing but praises for the baked cod. However, the balsamic reduction was a little on the greasy side (see the oil!) . I hope the oil is either olive oil or the fish oil from the cod. The tomato salsa and the orange segments added a refreshing after-taste after enjoying the cod! Love the cod!



I simplyyy love tomatoes and when I popped each of the jumbo tomatoes into my mouth, the juice of the tomato just burst out! I had to cover my mouth to prevent it from spilling and of course, the unglam scene.


Maraschino ice-cream


Dessert was a choice of the Maraschino ice-cream or the Basil marinated strawberries. Seriously, I have no idea what is Maraschino until I did a goggle search on the net. I was told that the ice-cream had a bubble-gum flavour and was worth trying. The scoop of *Maraschino ice-cream is served with some gooseberries and blueberries in a tall glass. When I first tried it, it taste quite funny and unique. It reminds me of some sort of cough syrup but was generally quite ok.



Overall verdict: Generally, I am very pleased with the food, ambience and service here. The food that I had was pretty good (just a little on the greasy side), the ambience scored at least an 8 as I like the design and decor of the interior. The service was professional and attentive.

Many had raved about their restaurant, the signature Foie Gras and the cod. Sage’s kitchen chef’s are trained are les amis which explains the standard of food being served. The consistency of the food had always maintained after many years.


Sage had relocated from Robertson Walk to one of the Mohd Sultan Road’s conservation shophouses. I would have never notice it’s existence if I had not search their website of the exact location. The interior is cosy, perfect for intimate dining.


The 3 course set lunch are priced at $38++ and 4 course at $45++. Some of the dishes require additional top-ups such as the foie gras and cod. Do not miss their signature foie gras here even if you have to top up additional $15. Do try their” Asaparagus & egg” and the ” Mushroom Cappuccino.



Asparagus & Egg

Deep-fried hen’s egg coated in Parmagiano on steamed green asparagus & brown butter Hollandaise.
This dish is ”highly” recommended by many reviewers and diners. I was certainly impressed with this starter that I had. The 4 spears of asparagus with lightly steamed and topped with a deep-fried egg and drenched with hollandaise sauce. The hollandaise sauce is something unique, it taste like some hard-boiled egg mixed with mayonnaise. It is rich in flavour and not heavy and goes well with the asparagus too.


Runny egg yolk

The Egg is really crispy on the outside & when you cut it open with your knife, the runny egg yolk just flows out, blend in with the hollandaise sauce and ”soaking” the crispy skin…. woooh! it was marvellous!


Sauteed foie gras with cherry compote on pain d’e spices

Please do not invite your family doctor here for the foie-gras. This 2 pieces of artery-clogging liver is going to make him scream at you! The foie gras was pan-fried and presented on the gingerbread with sweet red wine sauce. The foie-gras really lift up it’s name. It is really crispy on the outside and when you bite in it , the juice just burst out , lingering around your tongue. It melts in my mouth in every bite.


It’s simply too delicious that I can’t find any fault or excuse not to like it. I had to savour it slowly…
The red wine accompanying sauce is sweet & pleasant to the taste-bud. The sweetness complements with the foie-gas very well.
I like the ginger-bread, it is not too soft and it taste good when you actually ”soak” it in the red wine sauce. May I proclaim that this Foie gras is damn fxxxxxg good!!!


Fillet of cod topped with prawn and cognac butter, roasted mini ,spanish red peppers stuffed with salt cod brandade, caramelized lemon confit and saffron cream
The cod is highly raved as well but it just failed to impress me. The fish was not warm enough when it is being served to me. I was a little disappointed as the fish is little tad over-cooked, resulting in a little rough in the texture. The fish is topped with prawn& cognac butter which was rather interesting but I find it just normal.



Spanish Red peppers

I was deceived by it’s colourful appearance. The red peppers were fiery hot! They were stuffed with salted cod brandied which taste like the spicy dried shrimp. Personally, I did not really like it. Avoid this if you can’t take spicy food.
Overall, there were some hits & misses. Generally, I felt that it’s worth coming here for the Foie gras alone. The foie gras was indeed a dish that I would really come back for.
The bill came up to about $80 as I had to top up additional of $30 for the foie gras and the cod. I do agree that the price is on the higher side but it all depends whether you feel it’s worth it.
The service here is friendly and attentive.

It was my third time here @ The Black Sheep Cafe. Lunch was preferred as I can have enjoy my food here in ”peace”. It was quiet during lunch but expect the restaurant to be running full during dinner. A piece of advice – Call ahead to make reservations !

The Menu

The food that regulars come back for- Baked Brie cheese & The Duck Confit.

Caesar Salad with prawns ($12.50)

I am a fussy eater.
This Caesar Salad with prawns supposedly to come with bacon, croutons and parmesan cheese but I requested to omit all of them. I wanna have a simple & light Caesar salad with prawns. What stands out in this Caesar salad was the dressing. The dressing was home-made and it tasted very different from the traditional caesar dressing . It was slightly yellowish in colour and had a milder flavour. I enjoyed it ~


Snapper fillet ($22.50)

The daily specials for fish/seafood was the Snapper fillet. Although I had the similar the previous visit, I gladly would like to have this again. Anyway, there aren’t any choices.
The fish was fresh, thick and firm. It comes with some potato mash and side vegetables which I enjoyed it. The potato mash has cubes of potatoes unlike some that are too mushy or creamy.


It was a simple way of presenting the dish, no fanciful stuff. All I can say is” home-cooked food’.

Verdict: Basically, there are 3 french food places in Little India and I asked Chef Ratha whether his business would be affected. He smiled and answered me with confidence ,” My style of cooking is traditional and many regulars still come back for my food after they have tried the another 2 ”. The confidence level is high and I’m glad this chef takes pride in his cooking.
Do try out The Black Sheep Cafe if you wanna enjoy home-cooked food .
No GST & SERVICE CHARGE

Hidden at the corner of Millenia Walk, it is quite easy to miss Oenotheque by the Wine Universe. The space had been fully made used and the idea of retail-cellar, restaurant and bar (3-in-1) was a contemporary concept.

The restaurant featured Modern French Cuisine, helmed by Head Chef- Paul Longworth. If you wished to observe the chefs at work, request for the bar seats.
Set lunch menu


The restaurant offers a 2 or 3 course set lunch priced at $32++ and $38++ respectively ( some dishes might require additional supplement. It was a challenge to decide for the choice of starters as they all seemed to suit my personal preference.

Tiger prawn tartare, cucumber, quail egg and caviar


It was quite common to see Tuna tartare on the menu but Chef Longworth used Fresh tiger prawns instead and it proved to work very well. The tiger prawns were sweet and without any fishy smell or flavour. The thin-like thread used for garnishing was white radish which I thought was vermicelli!
Quail egg + caviar = Divine!

Fillet of barramundi, salsify braised in red wine and coconut sauce


This dish looks like a piece of art .
The thick ‘‘egg-white” was actually coconut cream which I mistook it for egg white . The barramundi fish was lightly seared , served with thick coconut cream, purple salsify and top with asparagus spears.


The barramundi fillet was simply and light-tasting but I thought there was too much coconut cream and tend to overpower the natural flavour of the fish ( coconut cream is thick and rich).
It was my first time trying purple salsify and I even mistook it for asparagus! The texture indeed reminds me of asparagus but salsify has an ”oyster’‘ flavour and hence it is also known as ‘‘oyster plant”.

Roasted potatoes


It was a little peculiar to serve roasted potatoes as a side dish ( as I did not place an order for that) but anyway, I enjoyed the roasted potatoes.
The skin was incredibly crispy and bursting with flavors in each bite. It was certainly addictive and even a person like me who dislikes starch made an attempt to finish all of them.


Verdict: Thumbs up for the food presentation, simple, light-tasting food.

Ambush, a cafe offering Western cuisine at affordable prices. I walked past this cafe, took a glance @ the menu board & found the prices reasonable & interesting dishes being offered.The cafe adopts an open concept style and people could easily watch what you are doing ( of course eating !) at the cafe.

The Menu
The menu was printed in a large board which makes it easier to read. The cafe offers a wide range of cuisine – spanish paella, Italian pasta, German pork knuckle… yes! you can find them here @ Ambush!They offer a range of pastas which allows you to decide on the sauce and ingredients.


Mesclun salad with salmon belly ($8++)
I had the (s) Mesclun salad with salmon belly and it came with generous fillets of the salmon belly. The salad leaves were cool but the salmon belly was warm. The salmon belly was well prepared ( middle rare ) and oozing with flavours in every bite. I wished the salad leaves were a bigger portion cos there were too much salmon belly fillets.



Salmon fillet with Honey mustard dressing ($14.50++)
The 2 generous salmon fillets were really worth it’s price. I request the salmon to be done medium rare and it was well executed. The salmon fillets were served with slices of potatoes sauteed with bacon strips & onions & top with purple cabbage.
The pieces of potatoes had a fragrant aroma of bacon and the onions further enhance its flavour. I like the sweet purple cabbage which were soft & easy to chew.The salmon was really juicy and has its natural sweetness . The accompanying lemon honey mustard sauce ( serve @ the side ) was really good. It has a tangy flavour and melts in my mouth … like butter.


Verdict: Reasonable prices and delicious food (rate 8/10 ) , I would definitely make a re-visit. Service is prompt and friendly too.