[MEDIA INVITE] For the complete review, click here:
http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2015/07/portico-saturday-at-portico.htmlPortico a restaurant located in the middle of concrete jungle of Singapore Power compound and surrounded itself with edible herb and vegetable garden. Headed by Chef Nixon Low, who has extensive resume working in Shangri-La Hotel, Restaurant Andre and Saint Pierre.The menu in Portico are constructed using the freshest seasonal ingredients in collaboration with Singapore local producers, to complement their Modern European Cooking Technique with local flairs.Other than dining, Portico also organise activities every Saturday afternoon with the purpose to build a closer relationship between the diners with the food through sharing and demo by Chef Nixon. Or others like Latte Art Demo Class, Plating demo of Signature tomato salad and Carl Pollenation Honey Talk. Thanks to the experienced Barista, I had manage to try my hands in latte art. I basically got a brief hands on experience from grinding, tamping, making the espresso, frothing the milk and trying my hand on the latte art on my latte. Though the latte art was not very successful, I get to try my own cuppa using Illy coffee beans. Next was Plating demonstration by Executive Chef Nixon Low. Chef Nixon explain and show us the steps and preparation work in creating Portico Salad of vine-ripened tomatoes. For example the rock melon preparation to maintain the consistent sweetness, or how to check if the tomatoes are ripened. The effort that goes into a simple salad is just amazing.Well of course the best part was I manage to eat what I plated. he..he..For the finale, we listen to a brief Bee education by Carl, one of the founder of Pollen Nation. We also got to sample different type of honeys, including the limited edition and most expensive one that came from the bees they relocated from Sentosa Cove. Overall, it was indeed an interesting experience. We get a more in-depth knowledge on how the food and drinks are prepared, including other aspects related to food. Every month, Portico will change its activities and best of all it is free of charge. So if you are looking for something to do on Saturday afternoon, drop by at Portico. Please contact them directly for registration as space are limited.

Thanks to OpenRice and Portico for the invitation.

For the complete review, follow the below link:
http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2015/05/park-hotel-crab-buffet-at-brizo-crazier.htmlThe annual Crab Lovers Buffet is back. This annual event by Brizo Restaurant & Bar at Park Hotel Clarke Quay has been gathering a substantial fans in recent years. The star of the attraction are of course the Crabs. Featuring more than 22 types of crab dishes and 26 kind of seafood dishes, this is a place to try for crab lovers. After hearing so many positive reviews from past few and some crab cravings influenced decision, LD made the booking at Brizo. At first, she was told there was no more seating available indoor, however when we arrived there, the service staff managed to squeeze a spot for 3 of us. LD, S and Me indoor. Extra points for the service We arrived about 6.30pm, so the place was a little quaint. Without further delay, we proceed to attack the buffet line. First in line, the cold dish. Consist of Spammer Crabs, Alaskan Crab Claw, Prawns, Mussels, Escargots, Blue Swimmer Crabs, Salmon Sashimi and Assorted Sushi. I skipped the spammer crabs as I do not like the texture, and go straight for the Alaskan Crab Claws. The meat is fresh and sweet, no fishy smells at all. The prawns and mussels are fresh and springy. While the escargots slip out from the shell without much effort and enjoyable. First minus point for the night is the Salmon Sashimi. It is difficult for me to say this, but it is not up to hotel standard. Uneven cut, stick together and also WATCH OUT for the BONES!!! You can be forgiven for 1 or 2, but if it is on every second slice, something is definitely WRONG!! So stay away from the sashimi. The highlight of this year Crab Buffet is Crab in a Pan. This is Brizo answer to the Seafood in the bag craze in Singapore. You can choose the sauces of Mariniere, Bouillabaisse or Cioppino. We choose Bouillabaisse. The seafood (crab, prawns, clams & mussels) cooked just right, together with the sauce, corn and potatoes. The Bouillabaisse sauce was on the lighter side, it will be better if it is more buttery. It is also served with thick cut fries, where you can dipped in the sauce. While waiting for my tummy to settle down, I went for Baked Crab Shell and Crab Stick Pizza for my palate cleanser he..he.. Baked Crab is cheesy, but bind the whole ingredients nicely. While the pizza is interesting, as it uses a more upper class crab stick, so it tasted quite good. Now to the crabs. Brizo used Indonesian Mud Crabs instead of the Sri-Lankan version. The Chilli Crab with Fried Bun is good and tasty. The spiciness level is has been lowered, so the sauce more towards sweet and more acceptable to everyone. The same can be said with the Black Pepper Crab, it is the dry pepper version and it is not spicy. The pepper serving more as aromatics instead of the fiery type. The overall verdict, of these two specially dishes, is not up to standard in compared to some of the Tze Char places out there, as the sauce did not absorb into the crabs. The Heavenly Fragrance Crab draw a mixed review from the diner in our table. Some are not used to the curry powder added into it. I am neutral about this. Butter crab tasted to slightly overwhelming, and made you feel jelak. I wish they transfer some of the butter into the “Crab in a Pan”. No salted egg crab and steam crab for the night. All the crabs are fresh, although some of them can feel a bit overcooked as it was put on a warmer. Penne Pasta with Spicy Tomato Crabmeat sauce and Baked Cauliflower with Crab Stick and Cheese surprisingly good. They are the kind of comfort food that I like to eat. Meanwhile the Crab Meat Fried rice has a decent Wok Hei, but lack of flavour. The Laksa is a must try. The gravy is thick, rich and good spiciness level to warm up your stomach. Meanwhile, the Kueh Pai Tee is average only. They turnip was cut too big, making it hard to put inside the kueh. It is also very hot, so when you finish making your Kueh Pai Tee, it become soggy. I suggest you give this a miss. As I had my fill, I proceed to desserts counter. Tried a few of the pastries, jelly shots and durian pengat. They are decent, but does not scream Die Die Must Try. The Melon Sago basically a puree, as they blend the melon into oblivion. Instead of spoon, you can use take a straw and sip it, without getting your straw stuck. Luckily, they have mini Magnum!! I got a double chocolate, so it kind of cover up for the disappointing dessert. The setting for Brizo is modern and trendy. Serving as the main restaurant for Park Hotel Clarke Quay, the design is very functional. The service here is excellent. They are friendly, efficient and it was a breeze to get their attention.

Overall, dining at Park Hotel Crab Buffet is a unique experience. The crabs are fresh, but the overall dishes do not give us the WOW factor. Fortunately, this can be resolve with a little bit of fine tuning such as the taste and definitely in the sashimi area. Meat eater, Be Warned that there is no two legged or four legged protein here. Only Crabs and Seafood. So if you have not try Crab Buffet before, it is still Available on Wednesday to Sunday, until 28 June 2015. Cheers!!

My first encounter with Chef Melvin Lim's creation of Ah Hood Burger was during the Ultimate Hawker Festival 2014. It was a combination of Savoury Kong Ba Bao and Salted Egg Yolk Lobster Crab Cake with Curry Mayonnaise. I was impressed by its creativity and the tastiness of its creation.So when we were looking for a place for a friends' gathering, we decided to give Flavours of Zhongshan a try. The Chef had just recently came out with a Semi Buffet Zichar. In case you are confused, it is a combination of buffet spread with some ala minute zichar dishes. It is also a fusion style of cooking where the some of the dishes are the meeting between East and West style of cooking.For starters, we decided to attack the buffet counter. The cold seafood selection have salmon sashimi, prawns, scallops and mussels. The sashimi are fresh and decent. Although the sashimi are not the top of the line, it is good enough. The scallops, mussels and prawns are fresh as well. For the papaya salad and glass noodle salad, Little Devil (LD) feels that it has been toned down to suit the common folks. Unlike the original Thai version. In the mix salad sections you can choose from the local version of DIY Rojak or the Ceasar Salad, the western version. We tried the local version, we find the Rojak paste is quite tasty. There was even an oven to toast the you tiao. On that day, they have western version of suckling pig. Although the meat is tender, the skin was very disappointing. It has become 'lembek' (Indonesian word soft, chewy and tough). The pre-cooked dishes are combination of local flavours such as beef rendang, babi pongteh, Bak Kut Teh, steam pork ribs, scallops dumpling and kueh paitee. The one that impressed me the most is the Beef Rendang. It basically melts in your mouth and rich in flavour. So far it is the best dish for the night. The BKT is not far behind, the peppery broth provide a good wake up call for the appetite. Now, for the ZiChar part of the meal. For entree, we were served Crispy Beer Marinated Pork Belly, Deep Fried Scallops Tofu with Seaweed Salad and Baked Miso Cod. The pork belly was tender and well flavoured by the beer marinate, however the skin was not crispy, instead it was chewy. The scallops was moist internally, really complement the light and crispy batter. Meanwhile the cod fish was just tasty and cooked just right.Next we can choose two out of three for beef, pork and chicken. We decided on Black Pepper Beef and Pork in Red Wine Honey Ginger. The beef was just tender, succulent with a little bit of heat coming from the black pepper sauce. Although the pork was considerably tender but the taste was just quite ordinary for me.For seafood, we have Butter Cereal Prawn and Fish in Flavours Signature Sauce. The prawns were fresh and the dish was just fragrant. It will be better if the prawns are more crispy, so we can just ate the skin without peeling it. The signature sauce was good, however there was slightly unpleasant taste in the fish.Sauteed Kailan with Hae Bee Hiam was the pick for vegetables and Fried Rice with “Stoccafisso” Salted cod to round up the CiZhar dishes. I did not manage to try the vegetables, but from others they commented that the Hae Bee Hiam lacks of punch. The fried rice got a decent wok hei, it has a subtle saltiness from the cod fish.Desserts from the buffet with choices of soft serve ice cream, Peranakan desserts & Shots, cakes, French Pastries and Tau Suan. I was totally stuffed, so I end up with only with Durian pengat shot, which was packs with durian flavours and well-balanced with gula melaka; And some fresh fruits. One of our friend commented that the soft serve ice cream tasted more like a full whipped cream instead of ice cream.The décor of the place is bright with a combination of modern with Peranakan flair. Lots of flower were used to decorate the table or divider between seats.Service was very good. The service staff was friendly and attentive. Although we have a bit of mix up during the reservation, the restaurant gracefully corrected the mistake.

Overall, Flavours at Zhongsan Park provide a good spread for its ZiChar semi buffet. While it is good trying to impress customer with ZiChar dishes, but most of the dishes are ordinary and lacks a 'ohm' taste. With the exception for the beef rendang, baked cod fish from amuse bouche and durian pengat shots, the only other memorable thing for me are the friendliness of the service staff. There are lots of room for improvements, I do hope it can be done soon. Cheers!!

For the complete Chubby Botak Koala dining experience, click / copy the link below to your browser: http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2015/04/flavours-at-zhongshan-park.html

GGB Bistro Bar & Cafe ('GGB'), is the F&B establishment owned by the same shareholder of Go Go Bambini. The idea is to provide a place for parents to relax while the kids having their activities in the kids playground next door and for children Birthday parties. We actually find this place by accident. Looking for something different for lunch, we found this quiet cafe in the middle of Dempsey. From the parking lot, you will not notice that it has any relations with the Go Go Bambini, until you step into the indoor dining area. From here you can see the connecting door to the indoor playground. Even if you need to use the restroom, you need to go through indoor playground section. For a quick meal, we both decided to go for burger. LD ordered the Mushroom Burger ($16.90), while I ordered Ultimate Pork Burger ($20.90).

While we are waiting for our burgers, we were served thick white bread, with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Hmm, this is a positive sign. The appetizer seems sophisticated. The bread is thick and dense in texture, and it works well as a sponge to absorb the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. A good appetizer and looking forward for more to come. It took about about 10 mins before the burger arrived. Served on a wooden plank, accompany with fries, it was jaw dropping awesome. Nice presentation, very tall and looks appetizing. The bread is crisp and not soggy. The portabello mushroom is thick and juicy. It has a nice flavour and the double fried fries is crispy, yet moist inside. The pork burger is really the ultimate. You got two stack, where the bottom stack consist of bacon, pork patties, pull pork and cheese. Of course it will be better if you have pork belly, but where can you fit all of it. Each different type of pork has its own unique flavour and the presentation is superb. The top stack consist of tomatoes and fresh greens. This burger is even taller compare to the mushroom burger and I had a hard time holding it and even finishing it. Its gigantic. Although it was a quiet afternoon, it was really hard to get the attention of the service staff. But not to worry, the design of the place allow you to do some self service. If you need anything, you can get it from the centre bench, including plates, napkins, ketchup, chilli sauce, water and others. Overall, GGB Bistro is really a surprise find. While it is common for similar establishment to neglect the food, GGB Bistro excel in this area. The owner really did a good job to hire a great chef to come out with the menu in the bistro. Their burger is comparable to any specialised burger joint in Singapore. Kudos to them and I hope they keep it up. Cheers!

For the complete Chubby Botak Koala experience, click / copy the following link:
http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2015/03/ggb-bistro-bar-cafe.html

A quick google search for a top 10 steakhouse in Singapore, 99% chance Bedrock Bar & Grill ('Bedrock') will be listed as one of them. Bedrock pride itself to serve the finest cuts of steak and whisky, so you are not wrong to expect impeccable service here.During the weekend dinner service, they have two seat-timing; 6 pm and 8.45 pm. Due to last minute reservation, we only manage to get 8.45pm seating. Knowing our friends' (HK&SH) rubber timing, I told them the reservation at 8.30 pm. Alas, the hunger pangs got to them first and they arrived on the dot and our seat was not ready.In any higher establishments, it is the normal practice that when your table is not ready, the host will referred you to the bar for drinks first. However, this was not the case here. In an impolite manner and with a straight-face, we were told by the host to take a seat at the outdoor tables and wait like a mannequin or decoration without any offer of serving drinks. We waited for more than 20 minutes before our table was ready (which is after our reservation time). We were then seated on the first table after the wine chiller. From here, we can get a clear view of the food bar where the cold dish are prepared, jamon iberico de bellota on the bench, the pass on window where the food come out from the main kitchen and even the door leading to the kitchen. There is a rustic feel to this set up, however the concept of fining dining being portrayed to us via the media/social network seems to be missing. For starter we had Bedrock Smoked Tomato Soup ($16), and the complimentary flat bread. True to its name, the tomato soup has a pleasant smokey flavour, with a smooth and creamy taste to it. SH and LD enjoyed it. The flat bread was served warm and it goes down well with the rich butter. I am not a roasted garlic person, but HK approved of it. We shared the mains of U.S.D.A Prime Dry Aged Ribeye – 300g ($96), U.S.D.A Prime tenderloin - 240g ($89) and Mangalica Pork Collar – 300g ($59). All cooked to Medium. The Rib Eye was thick and with good marbling. Cooked to medium as per order. It is lightly seasoned, tender but slightly chewy considering it was dry aged. My appetite for good porkie seems to have grown. Mangalica Pork Collar here represent a good cut. Although some might say it is a little fat, similar to the marbling in the beef, the pork just melts in your mouth. Unlike the ribeye, tenderloin has less fat / marble. We find it is tough and slightly chewy. The seasoning are sparse in between. So this protein does not get our nod. For sides, we ordered duck fat potatoes ($16), sautéed mushrooms ($18), creamed spinach ($18) and French fries ($12). Fried in the duck fat, the potatoes are crispy on the outside and moist inside. It has a nice golden brown colour which looks very appetizing. Seasoning was just right. The same can be said about the fries. Sautéed mushrooms and creamed spinach did not leave a lasting impression. The mushroom tasted dry and bland. It can be better with a dollop or two of butter to polish up the dish. Meanwhile the creamed spinach, they did not use baby spinach thus it tasted a bit bitter. Dessert was Apple Crumble for 2 ($26). Nice presentation with a giant ball of vanilla ice cream. While this dish might look easy and can be commonly found, it is difficult to execute it perfectly. The crumble was hard and the baked apple are just to sweet for our liking. More over, the ice cream was on the heavy side, so double dose of unwanted sweetness. Not a very pleasant ending to our meal. The décor of Bedrock are predominately wood base with classic touch. Lighting is minimum so quite challenging to capture a good shot here. I personally find it lacks the classy finishing touch in the furnishing department. Also the distance between the tables are just to close, we actually struggling to hear ourself chatting because the next table was too rowdy. Service really need to be improved. Based on the price charged, we expect a fine dining standard of service. However, we found the basic service etiquette was missing. Friendly smile, attentiveness and providing good recommendations seems have been booted out the door. There are times when we feel that the service staff are looking down at you instead. I sincerely hope the management can look into this.

Overall, I respect the passion that Bedrock has to allow the ingredients to speak for itself. However, when it comes to fine dining, the taste and overall experience are still the most important factors. Comparing to other steakhouses in Singapore that I visited before, a lot of work need to be done to improve the standard here. Will I be back? Unlikely. Cheers!!

For the complete Chubby Botak Koala dining experince at Bedrock, click / copy the link below:
http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2015/02/bedrock-bar-grill.html