Having seen my friend's interesting photos of this Laboratory-look-alike restaurant with 'Lab technicians' chefs using strange apparatus to churn out delicious ice cream, I've been utterly intrigued and wanna try this 'high tech' dessert when I saw one outlet at RWS, Sentosa. So after our hearty meal at Coca, my 'experienced' friend lead us to this newly opened ice cream parlor.

Needless to say we all became curious little kitties checking out the unusual and high tech looking setup at this restaurant. The walls are filled with science formulas and complicated chemical drawings. There are a handful of tables and a counter with high stools catered for patrons who wish to dine-in.We can't stop taking photos of the high tech ice cream makers and the ingredients housed in Erlenmeyer flasks (a.k.a conical flask) just like those in the labs!While we were placing order for ice creams at the cashier, something else caught our eyes. The complex looking Drip coffee apparatus and rows of Test tubes beside it. The staff told us that they have a new item on the menu called Test tube coffee! I couldn't resist the curiosity and ordered one set of that to go with my ice cream.After payment at the cashier, we moved over to watch the 'Lab technicians' do their work. The ice cream was made using Liquid nitrogen to rapidly cool down the mixtures within minutes to produce ice cream on the spot without the need of a freezer. The process created lotsa cool smoke we usually see coming from dry ice.The end product, is an unusually smooth and velvety textured ice cream made with very little milk and zero sugar content which makes it 'sinless' to eat!

My Flakin Chocolate $6.90 (small), is very creamy, silky smooth and a delight to eat. It is not sweet and contains generous amount of chocolate flakes, simply delish!My friend's New Popcorn $6.90 (small), was yummilicious as well with nice caramel popcorn flavor and bits of crushed popcorn giving it a good bite with every scoop.While I'm still savoring my ice cream, the Test tube coffee $6.90 arrived with paparazzi in toll. The staff explained the interesting concept of serving a cup of drip coffee divided evenly into 7 test tubes plus 1 test tube serving of milk. The set comes with regular sugar cubes as well. We gotta use a test tube clamp to pour the hot coffee into the cup...very interesting!The drip coffee's robust and full bodied flavor really wakes up my senses...giving me caffeine rush! I love my cuppa!

Service here was very good, staffs had good knowledge of their products and took time to explain their unique dining concept to us. They also waited patiently while we are doing our paparazzi stunts. The prices here is on the high side, I guess half of what we paid for goes to the unique dining experience we can't find anywhere else in SG. The selection of ice cream flavors here is kinda limited for now, I hope they will add new exciting flavors in the near future.

For full review and more photos - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2013/09/just-like-it-liquid-nitrogen-ice-cream.html

For full review and more photos please visit - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2013/03/kuriya-penthouse-japanese-fine-dining.html

I chanced upon this Japanese Fine dining place while looking at restaurant menus owned by the RE&S restaurant group. Some of the well known eatery owned by them are Ichiban Boshi/Sushi, Kuishin Bo, Kuriya Dining and Green Pumpkin bakery etc. What really attracted me was the roof top garden setting and the full length glass windows that let in the sights of downtown Orchard road while diners have their meals.

After doing some review reading, I decided to jio a few of my foodie friends who are keen to try this place out on a Sunday afternoon. We discovered that they do have affordable lunch sets on offer after checking their website menu and FB page. Their special lunch & dinner sets changes every month and according to Japan seasons. March is the Snow crab season and there were a few new set meals on offer, however we decided to stick to their popular 松花堂 lunch sets. As the ingredients are air flown directly from the Tsukiji market (Tokyo) every morning, diners were advised to make an advance order as all dishes are offered in a limited quantity daily.

The decor is simple and cozy with enough space in between tables to ensure privacy of diners. There is a dedicated waiting staff to every table and they were very prompt to react to our needs. Every lady that enters the restaurant carrying a bag will be offered a dedicated stool for their bags right beside their seats...nice touch!We had made a pre-order for the Shokado Bento sets (松花堂弁当ｾﾂﾄ) via email a couple of days prior to our visit. So we were only presented the drinks menu upon arrival. I chose to have the Pineapple juice $4.50++ while some of my friends ordered from their list of Japanese plum wines $8.00++ per serving. Their drinks were faultless. For the main meal, I had the delicious Kaede set (楓ｾﾂﾄ) that consists of a starter, 3 kinds of sashimi, a bento box containing 3 appetizers, chicken karaage & almond prawn, grill fish & tamago and braised pork belly & daikon, claypot rice & pickles, chawanmushi & miso soup, dessert of the day and coffee/tea. All of these for an affordable price of $37.80++! Every single item of this set meal was meticulously prepared and I could taste the effort and the freshness in them...thumbs up! Some other sets that my friends had were...

Shokado Bento set (松花堂弁当ｾﾂﾄ) $42++, comes with starter, 2 kinds of sashimi, grill salmon, duck meat, tamago, rice with mushroom & anchovies, pickles, chawanmushi, miso soup, dessert and coffee/tea.Tsubaki set (椿ｾﾂﾄ) $42++, comes with starter, 5 kinds of sushi, chawanmushi, a bento box with assorted tempura & sashimi, grill fish & appetizers, miso soup, dessert and coffee/tea.We were stuffed at the end of the lunch session!

If you wanna enjoy dining at a place with stunning view, quiet & cozy ambiance, good food coupled with excellent service...look no further, this is the place to be! Find them at:

Kuriya Penthouse

Lunch: 12:00pm – 2:30pm
Dinner: 6:30pm – 10:00pm

#12-02 Orchard Central, 181 Orchard Road
Singapore 238896

Tel: 6509 4222

We ordered the Signatures Seafood Set at $218++ for 4 pax (经典海鲜餐) plus an ala carte plate of Crispy pork belly 冰烧三层肉 $10. All dishes are yummy! I especially love the salted egg yolk scallop, huge n juicy and the salted egg sauce tasted just right. The crabmeat fish maw pumpkin soup is also very nice. The crispy pork belly dish is also highly recommended for roast meat lover...the skin is very crispy and fragrant.

visit my blog for more pics..

http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2013/05/tung-lok-signatures-vivo.html

Full review - http://midas400.blogspot.com/2015/12/birthday-lunch-at-halia-raffles-hotel.html

Halia, a well known fine dining establishment in the F&B scene, with numerous accolades in it's name, was the venue of choice for our Nov sistas birthday celebration. I've heard only good words for this restaurant, so it's high time we give this place a try.The Raffles Hotel's branch has the same garden theme as its big sister at the Botanic gardens, with added colonial vibes. Planted foliage matched with colonial style black and white theme decor, and tall classic French windows giving the interior natural lighting during the day. Check out the centerpiece, a carved wooden table made from a 150yrs old tree.Interesting table setting with cutlery housed in an old school tin container and ice water served in a wine/beer bottle. The menu here showcased modern European dishes with Asian influences.We ordered a main course each and two appetizers for sharing.

For drinks, I had the Ginger Jive $12++, a concoction of fresh ginger, fruits and wild honey. I love its refreshing fruity taste with subtle hints of ginger kick. Some of my friends had their signature Halia Infusion $10++, a ginger drink served with wild honey (hot/cold). The ginger taste was more prominent for this beverage as compared to my mocktail.Appetizers were served shortly after we placed orders. Crispy salt & chilli squid $15++ served with piquant mayo and ginger & spring onion lime dip, and Potato fries $8++ served with piquant mayo and truffle aioli dip. Both were delish and addictive to munch on.The main courses did not take long to be served but alas, they keyed in the wrong order for two of our dishes. The apologetic staff explained the error to us, and quickly served up another set of appetizers (on the house) for us to kill time (another 15mins wait) while they prepare the dishes. Good service recovery from the restaurant!

My Halibut en Papillote $44++, baked fish fillet wrapped in parchment paper with mirin broth and veggies, served with sushi rice and wakame. This was a fabulous dish, fish was succulent and well infused with flavors. The rice topped with seaweed and cucumbers has a nice contrast of textures too. Thumbs up.My friend's Slow Cooked Canadian Pork Loin $33++, was amazingly tender despite its 2" thickness. We suspect it has been sous vide for long hours before pan frying to achieve the nice browning on its exterior. Another excellent dish.Steak & Eggs $30++, with extra Bacon top up at $4++, served with grilled tomatoes, poached eggs & spinach on toast, and buttery Béarnaise sauce. The steak's doneness was just right, retaining its moist and juicy texture, wonderfully executed.To end the enjoyable lunch on a sweet note, complimentary dessert was served. Crème Brûlée with Rum & Raisins ice cream, and a Happy Birthday message. This simple looking dish tasted much better than its looks, we were not disappointed.Halia definitely lived up to its reputation as one of the best restaurants in town. Magnificent food, incredible service, coupled with lovely ambiance, a great choice for that special occasion you are planning to celebrate. Prices could be a little on the steep side but it is well worth the money spent. We utilized two The Entertainer App 1 for 1 Mains vouchers and waived about $60++ off the bill, a good deal indeed.

Halia also has an Al fresco bar just outside the restaurant.

Another birthday celebration with fellow evil sista, who chose to dine at Forest 森 restaurant at Equarius hotel. Forest 森, named after celeb chef Sam Leong's wife, serves up Thai/Chinese contemporary dishes with western style presentation. Inline with this dining concept, the fine dining restaurant is designed to impress with majestic tree-like pillars shooting up the roof with branches sprawling across the ceiling. The dining area is brightly lit with natural sunlight flooding in through the full length glass windows.The restaurant also features an open concept kitchen with unobstructed view of the culinary team crafting out dishes to evoke the diners' senses.We all ordered the Special Sunday set lunch Discover Sam Leong’s Finest Creations at Forest 森 $68++, an 8 course set lunch consisting of 13 appetizer portion dishes made with premium ingredients. This menu is only available for Sunday lunch and the menu items are updated monthly. They also serve a 4 course Kids menu at $32++ per pax.Lemongrass Drink with Basil Seeds, available with every set meal for additional $5.00++. A refreshing way to kick start the meal.Soup of the Day was Winter Melon soup with wolfberries. Very nicely brewed soup that was packed with flavors...warms up the soul pronto!First up, Tuna Tartar marinated w/ Fresh Mango and Baby Abalone in Thai Style sauce. The tuna tartar was served in a charcoal waffle cone, fish was fresh and juicy with a hint of mango sweetness. The baby abalone sitting on a tiny bed of Thai mango salad tasted really good with a nice bouncy texture.Pan-seared Hokkaido Scallop in Black Bean Sauce and Vietnamese Roll w/ Sliced Lobster in X.O. Chili Sauce. The jumbo scallop was plump and succulent, and the Viet summer roll was mildly spicy...both were rather tasty.Deep-fried Prawn w/ Crispy Cereal and Chawanmushi w/ Crab meat & Flying fish roe. I love the silky smooth chawanmushi and its savory crab meat and tobiko toppings. The cereal prawn was well executed too.Steamed Cod Fillet w/ Yunnan Ham & minced Ginger, the cod fish was fresh and tender which tasted great with the rich and aromatic ginger sauce, extremely delish!Wok-Fried Cubes of Beef Tenderloin in Black Pepper Sauce & Pan-seared Foie Gras. A luxurious dish that is not just pretty to look at but tasted wonderful too, beef was really tender and goose liver uber creamy and fragrant.For diners who don't take beef, they served the Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Thigh w/ Foie Gras. The chicken thigh was nicely marinated and juicy in texture, and pleasantly complimented by the creamy foie gras.Japanese 'Ramen' w/ Crab Meat & Shredded Chicken in Chicken Broth and Wok-fried Japanese Pearl Rice w/ Smoke Duck & X.O. sausage. The ramen is actually mee sua cooked in chicken soup, the broth was sweet and flavorful...not bad. The fried rice was good though, has powerful wok hei aroma and the lup cheong was splendid.Last but not least, the final course Forest Delight, the chef's special dessert of the day. We had Pandan Kaya cake and Mango Pomelo in Shot glass. Both were fabulous, ending the meal on a sweet note.As this was a birthday celebration, the restaurant had prepared a complimentary slice of birthday cake with candle, completed with elaborate plating. My sista was a happy girl!We enjoyed our lunch at Forest restaurant immensely. The ambiance here is lovely, food and service quality is definitely top of the line. It is worthy of an occasional splurge. For price conscious diners, their Sunday set lunch is great value for money!

For full review: http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2014/07/sunday-lunch-at-forest-equarius-rws.html