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http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2015/09/long-ji.htmlCrab Bee Hoon is one of the dish that LD and I totally have a soft spot for. Dunno how, LD found this new place Long Ji and we fell in love with their Crab Bee Hoon (Long Ji Bee Hoon Crab $55/kg). From the look, it will not win the prettiest crab dish contest, however, who cares as long as it tasted fantastic. The broth / gravy is robust and packs with the freshness and sweetness of the crabs. The bee hoon is covered with Wok Hei, slightly al dente yet manage to soak up the beautiful gravy. For this dish, it is important to use female crab, as the roe adds flavour to this dish together with fried shallots and pork lard. The crabs are good in size and fresh. So definitely worthy to be the signature dish of Long Ji.For this dish, Chef Mac Kong (who can be mistaken for a member of Taiwanese Boy Band) will only use one crab for each servings. So if you ordered 2 crabs, you will get 2 servings of Crab Bee Hoon. At our last visit, we ordered 2 crabs and end up have to packed one of the dish. To my surprise, it even tasted better the next day. The Chef also gave us some extra broth and packed them in different container. What a great service!!If this version of the crab dish is not to your liking, you can try their black pepper crab. Using the male Sri Langkan crab, stir fried and coated with Malaysia version of black pepper crab. It has a nice black pepper aroma to it, but not as spicy as the Singapore version. We still prefer the Crab Bee Hoon way of cooking. To accompany the crabs, we suggest you also try their Fermented Pork Belly ($20 / medium). Crispy, well seasoned and moist internally, and provide you with a good porkgasm experience. Of course if you prefer the chicken version, their Shrimp Paste Chicken ($10 / small) is also pretty good, however we found the seasoning did not penetrate beyond the skin. So the meat can be a bit lacklustre compare to the pork.For Fish Head Curry Lovers, their Curry Fish Head ($25) is an absolute mind blower. They use chilli padi in the curry, it will literally blow you head off. The curry gravy was thick, robust and well absorbed into the fish. If you are looking for a “rice thief” dish here, this is definitely the one.

Crispy Fried Baby Squid in Rojak Sauce ($12). This a good dish to open up your appetite. The squid is deep fried till crispy, and the rojak sauce is not overly sweet, unlike the regular caramel sauce. Not only a good starter, but a good dish to go with your beer.Romaine Lettuce Stir Fried with Fermented Beancurd ($8 / small). A good vegetable dish, with a touch of Cantonese cooking of the fermented beancurd. Panfried Salted Egg Pork Ribs ($15 / small) might be a dish you want to avoid. We find the meat over-tenderised, it does not tasted like pork. Though we are a fan of salted egg dishes, but this might not be right dish.Service here is friendly, but don't expect restaurant standard. As Chef Mac Kong and cooked almost each of the dish personally, be prepare for the food to come at a slower pace. Called ahead to book the crabs, and reservation is recommended everyday. Expect a longer waiting time on the weekend and they only accept cash payment only.

Overall, we personally found a new place to enjoy our Crab Bee Hoon dish. Totally delicious and value for money. There are some hits and misses, however if you are not sure, you can ask the chef for recommendation. We have been there a few times this year and we will probably visit it some more before the end of the year. Cheers!!

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http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2015/08/alkaff-mansion-ristorante.htmlAlkaff Mansion, this grand old dame was originally build in 1918 by Yemeni Alkaff family of spice traders as a weekend retreat bungalow. Located on top of Telok Blangah Hill, it is set up to provide an exquisite dining location. In 2010, LHN Culinary Concepts took over the property and Alkaff Mansion Ristorante ('AMR') is born. The team behind the transformation of Alkaff Mansion are Miss Jilly Wang, the owner and director of LHN Culinary Concepts and Executive Chef Simone Depalmas. Currently, AMR is divided into different section: Bar 1918 for drinks and chill out; Terrace for evening under the stars; The Grand Marquee to host celebration of all sizes which can host up to 600 guests; and The Main Dining area in the mansion, which consist of 2 floors for intimate fine dining for lunch and dinner. Starting from June 2015, AMR introduce Italian BBQ Night (Every Wednesday and Thursday, from 6pm) if the weathers permit. Italian BBQ Night will be hosted at the Terrace. I suggest that you come about 6.30 pm to enjoy the beautiful sunset through Telok Blangah Hill. Once you are seated, you will be teased with the aroma of sizzling meat or seafood coming from the BBQ and be serenade by Italian duet who set the mood like you are in Italy. We started our tasting with the meat platter, consist of roasted French baby chicken, pork belly, lamb rack and tender cut of beef steak. The chicken was slow roasted on rotisserie on the BBQ, resulting in tender and succulent bird. Perfectly cooked and even the breast meat is moist. The same applied to pork belly, lamb rack and beef steak. Nicely cooked, tender and succulent. For those who does not like gamy taste in your lamb at all, you might want to skip the lamb here. But for us, the lamb is really tender and basically melted in your mouth and they are so good that we ordered it for 3 rounds. Don't be surprised if you feel the meat seasoning on the light side. According to Chef Simone, in Italian BBQ, they do not or only lightly seasoned the meat, so we can taste the actual flavour of the meat. LD and I just enjoyed our meat with lemon and sea salt. Tiger prawns, squid, octopus, Mediterranean Tuna and seasonal white fish are the seafood line up for the BBQ. Though we are not a tuna fans, it was grilled to perfection, where the middle section still maintain its pinkishness. The white fish has a firm texture which was good for BBQ. The prawns, octopus and squid is definitely our favourite. The squid is springy and tender. One thing that we notice with the octopus is that the suckers on the tentacles can be slightly chewy after grilling. However, it can easily be scrape off with the knife, so the octopus will be springy yet tender. To accompany your meat and seafood, there is a buffet line for the side dishes. Roasted potatoes, grilled eggplant and capsicums, vegetables salad and bread. Although it is limited, it is sufficient to accompany the BBQ. In typical Italian fashion, the bread are served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. For cocktail lovers, don't miss out on Alkaff Potion when you dine here. Using curry leaf, fresh lime, chilli padi, brown sugar and rum this cocktail not only refreshing it will definitely give you a bit of kick as well. Uniquely Alkaff!! Overall, Italian BBQ Night at Alkaff Mansion really provide you with a unique Italian garden dining experience. The food is fresh, simple and nicely executed by Chef Simone. So if you are looking for a place to dine on Wednesday and Thursday night, give AMR Italian BBQ Night a try. Ciao!! Cheers!! Thank you very much Alkaff Mansion Ristorante and H3(Cube) for the tasting invitation.

Italian BBQ Night (Every Wednesday & Thursday, 6PM onwards):
$68++ per adult
$34++ per child (Ages 5 to 12)*
Children below 5 must be accompanied by at least one adult per child.
Last Order at 9PM

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http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2015/08/the-carvery.htmlA restaurant dedicated to roast has open its door in the new Park Hotel Alexandra. Helmed by Executive Chef Robert Chan who specialise in Western Cuisine for more then 20 years. Listed by UOB as Top 20 Chefs in Singapore in 2009 and with a lot more accolades to his name, dining at the Carvery is definitely something to look forward to. When you enter The Carvery ('TC'), the first thing that will catch your eyes is the roasts table. On the night, the premium meat selection from the roast are the chicken, beef and pork. To accompany the roasts, you have selections of infused butters, salts, mustards, gravy and not forgetting the Yorkshire pudding. I like to keep my roast simple, either with gravy or a little sprinkle of salt. The beef were roasted to perfection, crusted brown on the outside and pink in the middle. Although it is not the prime ribs, instead more of topside or rump, the thinly sliced meat basically just melts in your mouth. I filled the Yorkshire pudding with combination of Veal jus and chicken gravy, it just absorb all the robust flavour into it.The beef is the star of the roast table, but we ended up highly disappointed with the pork and chicken. I got the breast part for the chicken and it tasted dry instead of succulent. For the pork, the meat was tender, but the cracking was just thick and chewy. Not the cracking that I expected.

Moving on to the cold seafood dish. Although there were only three type of seafood, it is always heart warming to see oyster as part of the seafood selections. Kind of elevated the status a little bit. Oysters, prawns and mussels tasted fresh and provide a good start to the meal. There are two items on the cooked food that were pretty good. The Lamb Stew and Red Mullet with Mustard Cream. The lamb cubes are tender, succulent and melts in your mouth was a result of long period of cooking. The red mullet is nicely done, well seasoned, juicy and flaky. Pasta is served at the ala minute station. Penne with tomato sauce - penne was al dente, with a robust tomato sauce. However, it was just too plain jane on the presentation. It did not offer any fillings such as seafood or mushrooms. The same thing happened to our friend who order the spaghetti with cream sauce, white, plain, no fillings. Hopefully they can look into this. LD tasted the pizza and it was not that appealing as the toppings are average and it actually taste like home-cooked pizza without the wood-fire smokiness. After going another 2 more rounds for the beef and Yorkshire pudding, I decided its time for desserts. I sampled 3 items: chocolate shot which smooth with solid chocolate taste; Apple Crumble which was well balanced and such a comfort food for me; and not forgetting Pineapple Jelly infused with Chilli. The last dessert really packs of surprise. It started with the sweetness and gooey texture of the jelly, all of the sudden, the spiciness from the chilli just hits you. WOW, what an awakening. Not reviewed here were the salad bar, soups, cheese selections and other cooked food. The service was friendly and efficient, which I have to applaud for a newly open restaurant. They also help us to provide a mini chocolate cake for our friend who was celebrating his birthday on that day. The Carvery is indeed very spacious. The distance between table are quite good, in maintaining the privacy between tables. The décor is modern, with huge glass window and door connecting to the swimming pool of the hotel. During the day, there will be lots of natural light to brighten up the place. Overall, I personally enjoy the roast beef and Yorkshire pudding very much. The Carvery is definitely a place to go if you are a carnivore, of looking to get your fix for Sunday Roast. It is definitely worth the price of admission. Cheers!!

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http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2015/08/washoku-goen.htmlWashoku Goen ('WG') is a Japanese stall located in Food Republic Outlet in VivoCity and Wisma Atria. Established itself in Singapore since January 2015, Washoku Goen has a reputation for serving gigantic katsu portion and delicious Japanese Curry Rice. Since their opening, they have consistently adding variety to their menu. WG have just introduced Sumibiyaki - Japanese charcoal grill. After you placed your order, the grill master will do the hard work for you and grill the meat to perfection. There are two type of sauce you can choose from Japanese BBQ (using eel sauce) or Singa BBQ (using local flavour). We decided to order Japanese BBQ Menu, Sumibi Yakiton Juu ($6.80). The chicken is well marinated, with a sweet flavour sauce. It is tender and coated with smokey charcoal BBQ flavour. The proportion of rice and chicken are huge. Good Value. On top of that, we also tried Ultimate Original Curry Rice ($19.90). This consist of Fish Katsu, Tonkasu, Chicken Katsu, Sumibi Beef, Croquette and Half Boil Egg, on top of huge plate of rice and curry sauce. This suppose to be good to fill the stomach for 2 to 3 person, but I think it can feed 4 pax easily. To start, we dig in to the Katsu: Fish Katsu, Tonkatsu and Chicken Katsu. We must agree, the size of both the chicken katsu and fish katsu are huge. Each of them almost as big as my two palms combined. The fish is tender and flaky. While the chicken is juicy and succulent. For tonkatsu, they use the lean part of the pork instead of the fatty one. So it is a bit dry and harder compare to the chicken katsu, bur from price point, it is pretty good. The one that catch my attention is the Sumibi Beef. It is tender, succulent, perfectly grilled filled with smokey flavour. The croquette is crispy on the outside while soft in the inside. While the egg is nicely boiled where the yolk will ooze out when it cuts into half. Meanwhile the portion of the rice and curry are just to big for two of us to finish. The curry is robust and flavourful. It is thick but not sticky, with a hint of smoky flavour as well.

FYI, we tabao (packed) half of the katsu + 3/4 of the rice home because we were to full to eat it all. So imagine the Ultimate size.

Overall, We find the portion of the food served are extremely generous. The food is delicious and definitely worth the try. Kanpai!! Cheers!!
Thanks to Washoku Goen Team & WCC Solutions Team for the tasting invitation.

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http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2015/07/bottura-eat-drink-italiano.htmlWalking past the newly opened Bottura on second floor of Suntec City Mall, you will probably think, “Wow! What a huge Gelato desserts bar!” Well, you are not wrong. Bottura is a full fledge modern Italian Restaurant hailed from Bologna, Italy. Overseeing the first overseas expansion for Bottura is Luca Bottura, fifth generation of restaurateur who was a banker before his passion of food come calling. Unlike other authentic Italian restaurant in Singapore, Bottura aims to be your affordable day to day restaurant.Gone are those candles, dim lights, table clothes and padded chairs. Instead, in Bottura you will find modern and simplicity with a touch of industrial theme of the restaurant. There are even a high bench tables with tall stools and low lighting that nicknamed “Instagramer Tables”. While the outlook are modern, Bottura's dishes which includes pastas, mains, antipasti and desserts came directly from Bottura's family cookbook. All ingredients and equipments where possible are imported from Italy, mainly from Bologna. These include the wines, coffee bean, truffle oil and other products as well. Some of the products are available for sale as well. We started the tasting with Tagliere di affettati e formaggi misti con tigelle e marmellate ($22). The cold cuts platter, cheese and marmalade. The size is good for 2 to 3 person, as it consist Prosciutto de Parma, cooked ham and mortadella ham, with Pecorino, aged Pecorino and parmesan cheese. Each of the ham has different characteristic, while the Prosciutto de Parma remain my favourite. For cheese, aged Pecorino has the strongest aroma, so only those with the acquired taste should try it. Tigelle bread, rocket leaf, orange marmalade and olive oil complete the platter. Tigelle bread has similar texture as baguette, however it is more dense and crispy compare to baguette. What a good way to start. Please note that from the beginning we were informed, in Bottura, they only use Olive Oil. No Butter!!!

Piadina (flat bread) with Prosciutto di Parma, stracchino, rucola ($12) is next. The house-made stracchino cheese is a must try here. It is soft, almost cream like texture but with a hint of subtle buffalo mozzarella taste is just an absolute delight. Combine with my favourite ingredient Parma ham and rocket, I can have this everyday. I must confess that I had more than one slices. Yum Yum. Arancini al ragù ($8) Arancini with ragù and tomato sauce. Italian version of rice ball. This tasty risotto ball are packs of flavour. While it is mould in round ball shape each grain of rice retain its shape and not mushy and filled with ragù. The acidity in the tomato sauce provide a good balance to the robust Arancini. For those who like their risotto on the softer side of al-dente, you might need to get used to the harder texture of the rice here. Moving on the main staple of Italian cuisine, Pasta. Gnocchi di patate ai 4 formaggi e rucola ($14) Four cheese gnocchi with rocket pesto. A pasta dish created for the cheese lover. You can smell the aroma and taste the different type of cheese. Pungent or Fragrant, depends on your preference. The gnocci is soft, springy and absorbs the cheese sauce nicely. Foglie di polenta con ragù e besciamella ($18) Polenta lasagne with traditional ragù and béchamel sauce. My first experience with polenta was not a memorable one. Although it has mash potatoes texture, I find the grit was just to much for me. However this dish truly change my opinion on polenta. Cooked, chilled and cut in lasagne shape, each polenta layer absorbs the ragù nicely. Almost like eating mash potatoes with ragù. Ravioli panna prosciutto e funghi ($14) Ravioli with cream, ham and mushrooms. Creamy, cheesy and with a nice burst of flavour when you bit into the ravioli. Meanwhile Tagliolini zebrati con Gamberetti e zucchini ($16) are delightful to see. Two type of tagliolini, egg and squid ink each brings different texture and flavour to the dish. It looks contrasting, however the taste complement each other. I personally like the tomato base sauce. Spaghetti alla carbonara ($12). One of the best known spaghetti and the perennial favourite. Luca said this is the best selling pasta here. I just let the photo speak for itself. Once the pasta is cooked, the chef just slide the egg on top of the pasta. The egg got heated up slightly and resulting in this fine dining esque presentation. Smooth, creamy with al-dente spaghetti with a touch of salt from the bacon. What else can you ask for? From pasta we move on to Bottura 12” signature pizza. Melone, prosciutto di Parma, mozzarella ($24). This is Luca's interpretation of favourite combination of parma ham with rock melon. Instead of making it as an appetizer, he did it in pizza form. Combining the sweet, salty and mozzarella is just fantastico. Did I mention the crust of the pizza is light and crispy as well. Meanwhile Arrabbiata (spicy sauce): pomodoro, capperi , aglio, peperoncino, mozzarella fior di latte, rucola ($18) is definitely for those who like their pizza spicy. Forget about Tabasco sauce, just go for this pizza. It has Tomato, capers, garlic, chilli, mozzarella and rocket. Although the texture is good, it was just too spicy for me. The chilli was like a landmine for me. Well, we finally reach the desserts. If you want to impress somebody during dinner, order this “SPAGHETTI” GELATO ($7). The vanilla gelato went through the presser resulting in spaghetti shaped like desserts. However, you better eat this fast, as the gelato slowly melts, the form turns into a big lump of ice cream again. Bottura also created its own version of Tiramisu ($8). Round in shape, light and fluffy in texture. It has a well balance taste of coffee, chocolate and cream. Unlike the traditional version where it can get to mushy due to prolong soaking by coffee. For something lighter to go with your coffee, I will recommend Pasticceria mignon fresca ($2.5 each) Fresh mignon pastries with Marsala zabaglione. In simple summary, Italian version of profiteroles. The filling is just light and smooth. Overall, Bottura is on the right track to achieve its objective to incorporate modern setting with traditional recipes. You can feel the food are made from the heart and is pocket friendly as well. So if you are near Suntec City Mall, give Bottura a try. Saluti! Cheers!Thank you very much to Bottura team and Pronounce team for the tasting invitation.