I was really impressed with the Chilean Seabass that I had the previous visit . This time round, I took the usual weekly chef’s menu priced at $58++.


Vis a Vis House Salad

It was clearly a simple mesclun salad but what makes it a little ”special” was the addition of some strawberries . The balsamic vinaigrette was sweet and has a pleasant taste.

The set comes with a choice of striploin or the Roasted rainbow trout. I would definitely go for the latter as this fish is high in Omega 3 (essential fatty acid gd for health).

Frankly speaking, Rainbow trout is not really an expensive fish but it is not commonly sold in wet markets and supermarkets. I bought a packet of frozen rainbow trouts which cost only $15 !!! ( 5 whole rainbow trouts) . If you do your calculations, it cost a mere $3 for one whole fish and the restaurant raised the price 10X. Well, you can save the hassle of deboning and I wouldn’t mind paying if the chef does a good job.


Roasted Rainbow trout perfumed with beurre blanc

The fish is panfried , served with some asapargus and pomme noisettes . When the dish was served to me, I mistook the pomme noisette as mini scallops. I tried to verify with them and they told me it was scallops.

The texture is very different from scallops which was supposed to be slightly chewy and perhaps bouncy . However, the ‘‘scallops” was a little starchy and floury. I began to suspect it to be pomme noisette. I verify it again with another staff whom she confirmed it was pomme noisette. In the first place, why did confirm it was scallops?The fish was overdone, resulting in a rough texture. I have tried grilling the Rainbow trout @ home and the meat was smooth and soft, very different from this. I was a little disappointed with the preparation of this dish.



Baked Parcel of crepe with chocolate couverture & Vanilla ice-cream

In simpler words , crepe filled with chocolate and sliced bananas.

The crepe was filled with slices of bananas and dark chocolate. There is nothing fanciful or special about this crepe except that the Chocolate used was Valrhona chocolate ( which is bittersweet) . The crepe itself was neither here nor there .The chef’s menu changes weekly (every Wednesday) & perhaps luck is on my side that day thus the 3 dishes was rather disappointing and overpriced at $58++. How I wish they would introduce the Chilean seabass again…..

The exact location of Italiannies is well hidden in the sense that you would have to walk right to the end( walked past Imperial Treasure) and the restaurant is pretty small.

Italiannies offers a ‘Never Ending Lunch” which is only available from Mon- Fri (11.30-2.30pm) . It is a semi buffet lunch with never ending pastas, pizzas, desserts, main course + drinks priced at only $15.90nett. It think this is really worth the money and you get to sample all their dishes.

However, I doubt I would have the opportunity to drop by during weekdays thus I settled with their ala-carte.


They offer 2 types of bread- Focaccia and Tuscan which is baked freshly inhouse. They do sell the bread in loaves. Do get them if you enjoy it. I opted for the Focaccia as I prefer them to plain ciabatta.The bread is slightly on the dry side and the flavour of herbs is not that strong.


Caesar Salad with toasted focaccia croutons( $4.90++)

The portion for the salad is pretty generous. Romaine lettuce with their home made focaccia croutons and sprinkled with lots of parmesan cheese. I was not an avid fan of cheese thus I felt that there were too much cheese, making the salad a little heavy.


Parmesan Crusted Fish ($17.90++)



”Oven-baked Fish fillet, served over fried zucchini and red onion rings with white capers sauce”.

The dory fish is crumbed with parmesan and herbs, baked till golden brown. The parmesan crust wasn’t too salty but I thought it was rather bland. The fish itself is also bland (tasteless) , perhaps prior pre-seasoning would salvage .Those who enjoy fried onion rings would be overjoyed. The fried zucchini and red onion rings served along with the fish is addictive , crispy and not too oily. However, for health reasons, best to enjoy in small serving.

Verdict: They are pretty generous with the food portion which I guess it well worth every penny you paid for. The pizzas are pretty popular here and enjoy the freshly baked pizzas from the oven. I was very impressed with the service here. The staff were very prompt, efficient and courteous. I think Singapore needs more such people in the service and F& B industry!

What comes to your mind when you hear Pacific Plaza? Adidas Shop? ”That CD Shop”? Other than these 2 popular shops, there is a cafe that is right behind ” That CD Shop”. That’ s right, it’s CREAM BISTRO which off a fusion of cuisine here. You can find Japanese, Korean, Western and Asian cuisine here and I feel that this bistro provides a relaxing and comfortable atmospshere for chilling out, away from the hustle and bustle of Orchard Road.

Like I mention earlier, they offer Japanese, Korean, Asian and Western cuisine. The dishes are clearly classified into different sections.

They do offer a daily $9.90++ set meal which allows you to choose from different cuisine as well . You can actually have your lunch here daily without having the same food. E.g Monday ( Japanese set ), Tuesday ( Korean set ) and so on.



Chicken Caesar Salad ($6.50++)


Lots and lots of chicken with tukey bacon.



Pan-seared Cod ($15.50++)


The 2 slices of cod fillets comes with mashed potatoes and side salad but I change them all to side salad. They even allow me to choose the salad dressing and I had the Tomato vinaigrette.

The Cod was slightly pan-fried rather than seared as it forms a crisp outer layer. The cod fillets were thin and I felt that the fish was not really fresh. They do not provide any sauce/ dressing to go with the cod instead, they served chilli sauce!

Generally, the food is average but the service is pretty good. I was given a $10 voucher which I could use it to off-set my bill in the next visit.

The Tavern Restaurant , located along the shophouse of River valley road, offers Swiss & Continental cuisine. It has been there for 6years! The Tavern is a resturant well-known for it’s excellent Traditional European food and of course it is one of the restuarant that the rich and famous would frequent. However or sadly, I am not one of them.

The decor of the interior adopts a Traditional style and ambience. They divide the restaurant into 2 to occupy more tables. The cosy restaurant seats 100 persons and has a private rooms on the second level that is usually used for private functions.

The menu is not printed in a form of a menu booklet but instead, the dishes are written on a chalkboard where the service staff would push the menu board over to you to have a look. Starters, mains and desserts are written on different chalkboard thus it makes it easier for reference and placing orders. I personally feel that the dishes are priced on the higher side (even more ex than other popular restaurants) . The starters are priced $18 and above thus expect to pay around $50 per person here.

They do offer a 1 for 1 set lunch ( for DBS / POSB Credit card holders) priced at $60++. I would strongly recommend to go for the set lunch as it is much more worth it . I believe that it is the quality that matters and thus if you don’t mind forking out extra $ , order some of their signature dishes.

The restaurant signature dishes are Pan fried goose liver ( Foie gras), scallop carpaccio and the Raclette cheese.



1/2 dozen Escargots ($16.50++)

Definitely one of the best I’ve tried so far. The escragots ( snails) are cooked with their home-made garlic butter and baked till perfection. The home-made garlic butter smells fragrant and they added some minced onions to it. The escargots are huge , meaty and succulent!



Stuffed Portobello mushrooms ($18++)

The portobello mushrooms serve as a light appetitizer. 2 portobello mushrooms topped with fresh carbmeat (crab leg), cubes of carrots , minced onions light mayonnaise dressing and finish off with pesto sauce.

The crabmeat was fresh and sweet and they were pretty generous with the crabmeat. Portobello mushrooms were juicy but I find the size a little too petite.

Verdict: Other than the pricey factor, there is no reason why I should not make a return. The food is good, service is good, ambience is good but the price… not very good !

Deste, a Tradition in Confectionery was established as a ”chocolate laboratory” at the Riverwalk. They have been experimenting and creating chocolate bon bons, pralines and cakes. The first Deste outlet opened it’s door at The Mandarin Gallery (for takeway) and the most recent cafe was at 313 @ Somerset where you can enjoy your desserts in alfresco style.

The chocolate bon bons and pralines are made from artificial sweetener, Maltitol which is suitable even for diabetics! Pralines are normally made from caramel but the Patissier had found a method which allows him to produce these sugar-free pralines. For those who wants to cut off their sugar inake without having to forgo Chocolates, Deste pralines are a safe bet!

Enjoy a slice of pastry/cake of your choice , a piece of chocolate bon bon & a scoop of gelato + coffee/ Tea for $14.90++ ( available from 12-6pm)



Black Forest : Chocolate cream, cherries in brandy, flourless chocolate sponge and lots of chocolate
I am an avid of desserts infused/ flavoured with liquor thus my personal favourites are Tiramisu and Blackforest. My favourite blackforest would be the ones from Laurent’s and Cafe Pralet.

Deste version of Blackforest would be slightly on the mild side . The cream was a little bland but the chocolate was flavoured with adequate amount of liquor . I love brandied cherries but there was merely 3 mini cherries soaked in very mild liquor. The chocolate sponge has a burnt chocolate taste.



Bon Bon: Espresso

One of the popular flavour would be the Boero ( Brandy) but since I am having the Blackforest, I shall try the Espresso . The espresso and chocolate ganache was pretty smooth and not too sweet. Perhaps due to the usage of artificial sweetener.


Gelato: Chocolate crunchy caramel

The gelato was served frozen(molten) but melts pretty fast and becomes slightly watery after some time. I couldn’t detect any caramel flavour but instead, a strong espresso syrup is present. The gelato taste more like coffee flavoured ice-cream to me. I like the crunchy chocolate cookies in the gelato which added a little crunch.