Basilico is an award winning Italian Restaurant located in The Regent Hotel Singapore. Basilico means (sweet) basil in English, always emphasises on using the fresh, seasonal in presenting their authentic Italian Cuisine.

Basilico served two dining option: À la carte and semi-buffet. The semi-buffet option mean that you choose one main dish, to accompany the buffet of antipasti and desserts. No doubt you will be able to guess which option that we go for Once you are seated, you will be served bread sticks appetizer with mince olive dip. The bread sticks is freshly baked and crunchy. However, as we are not the people who fancy olives, we did not really appreciate it as much.We started our entrée with the antipasti and begun with something light. Seared Tuna, smoked salmon, Boccocino, Mozzarella Cheese and tomatoes. The Boccocino, Mozzarella Cheese and tomatoes are our favourite. We always order this as entree when we go to any Italian restaurant. It is a simple dish and just allow the ingredients to speak for itself. The same can be said here, the ingredients are fresh and the cheeses are lovely. The same can be said about the sear tuna, while smoked salmon was not overly salty, can be consider quite subtle good to pair with the cheeses.For the cured meat selections the selections are Pancetta, Prosciutto di Parma, Salami and Ham. Unlike other buffet, which they control the output of the parma ham, you can really satisfy yourself with the servings here. Served with slices of rock melon, I have to limit myself, remembering that there is still the main dishes to come.For the mains, I had the Crispy Pork Belly with Oven-Baked Apple. “Agretti” Salad and a Honey Cinnamon Reduction. The crackling is light and crispy, with similar texture to Cantonese roast pork belly. The meat tasted clean and not gamey, while the Oven-Baked apple and honey cinnamon reduction really balance the fattiness of the roast pork belly. Yummyy!!!Little Devil ('LD') ordered Tender Wagyu Rump with Oven-baked Potatoes and Braised Spring Onions. Although using only the Rump cut, the meat is tender and succulent. Cooked to her order of medium rare. The potatoes is slightly crispy on the skin and soft on the inside. The Au Jus is just flavourful.Meanwhile, Tracy's BFF, Lady Baker ('LB') satisfying her cravings for lamb. She had Grilled Spring Lamb Chops with Rhubarb and Ricotta Goat Cheese Cream, Green Asparagus. The lamb chops are small in size, I would say more towards a lady's portion. Consider LB asked it to be cooked to Well Done, it was well executed and the meat remain tender. Asparagus were sweet and crunchy, good with the Ricotta.For desserts, the selections are also impressive. Our picks are: The Bread and Butter Pudding which was very rustic and good. I paired it with a scoop of chocolate sorbet. Bonet (Chocolate Pudding with Amaretti Biscuits provide a good velvety chocolate flavour, while the Crema ai Lamponi (Raspberry cream) will give you a good sour perk up after the meal. For the rest of the desserts, just stick to those with chocolate, as the one without chocolates are quite ordinary.Although the Italian are renowned for the coffee, I was left disappointed with the coffee on offer here. I ordered a cappuccino, not only the coffee feels watery, it was burnt as well. I should have stick with black coffee with milk on the side. On the upside, I need to praise the bartender for coming up a good Lemon Lime and Bitters which I ordered in the beginning of the meal.The atmosphere here is just amazing. The dining section is dimly lid, which provide a very good atmosphere for romantic dinner. The space between table is sufficient to give you a slight sense of privacy. Meanwhile, round central section, is the centre stage for the food. It is brightly lid, with beautiful chandelier and semi open kitchen concepts on the East and West section of the circle. The service is very personalized and professional. One of the best service we ever experience. Big Thumbs up for the service.Overall, Basilico is definitely a place to go for Italian. The Semi Buffet is a must try and the ingredients are always at the freshest and authentic Italian. Kudos to the team for maintaining the consistency all these year. Cincin!! Cheers!!

For the complete Chubby Botak Koala exprience, click / copy the link below:
http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2014/07/Basilico-The-Regent.html

Deciding where to go for excellent Japanese food in Singapore used to be a daunting task. You can step into the Japanese Restaurants in 5 star hotels or higher, you can expect to pay exorbitant price. You go to normal shopping centre, you end up with some sushi franchise with a very standard quality. Fortunately in the past few years, there has been some Japanese restaurant popping up in Singapore providing excellent quality food with reasonable price.

Please note that Chubby Botak Koala referring to “reasonable price” not cheap price.

Located in Triple One Somerset, Fukuichi is slightly out of the way from the major traffic on Orchard Road. Little Devil, I and a guest visited Fukuichi on a Sunday and the Triple One Somerset is not very crowded. There were ample parking space in the building. From our seating, we actually have a glimpse of the Sushi Bar, which was well occupied that day.We started our meal with Yasai Stick (($8) and Tatami Iwashi ($9). The Yasai Stick is combination of raw vegetables with miso paste. The vegetables were chilled, so it remain fresh and crunchy. The miso paste is average, not the better ones. Meanwhile the Tatami Iwashi (Baby Japanese Anchovy) is light and crispy. Good appetizer.The Sashimi Moriawase (Jyo - $78) next to appear. It is the premium assorted cuts consist of swordfish, salmon belly, tuna, scallops, yellow tail and sweet prawns. The cuts are smooth, fresh and good in size.Next we have the Sushi Moriawase ($35) and Shake Aburi Maki ($22), which consist of salmon, scallop, sweet prawn, fish roe, unagi, tuna, swordfish, tamago and mini roll of tuna. The spread of the sushi selection is very good. The rice taste just nice, not lumpy and well balance vinegar taste. Shake Aburi Maki is a seared salmon roll. It seems that seared sushi are in trend at the moment, and the seared salmon just melts in your mouth. Foodgasm? Almost, but not there yet.For the cook food section, we proceed ordered Tako Karaage ($12), Niku Fagura Sauce ($35), Hiyashi Gyomen ($12) & Kaisen Zousui ($16). Tako Karaage or deep fried octopus was juicy, tender with a slight springy texture. It is not chewy and goes well lemon and mayonaise. Niku Fagura Sauce is grilled beef cube with foie gras sauce. The beef cube is tender, grilled to medium rare. It is juicy and tender, but the creamy foie gras sauce is just amazing. Yum Yum, definite foodgasm!!Hiyashi Gyomen is a cold fish noodle. A creative alternative to normal soba. I saw this in an Iron Chef show, so I could not resist to try it out. It is very springy and a bit chewy. The dipping sauce has some ginger in it to offset the fishy smell in the noodle. Very unique, but not to my liking. Kaisen Zousui is just the complete comfort food. It is a rice with seafood broth. The rice are well covered with different cuts of seafood. The clear broth is very robust. A very good way to end the meal.Unfortunately, it was not the end of the meal for us, we decided to satisfy a little bit more of our cravings. So come the Uni sushi ($20/pair), unagi (eel - $10/pair), anago (sea eel - $12/pair) and toro aburi sushi (seared tuna belly - $24/pair). Well LD has the perfect ending, with her uni. The sea eel taste lighter then the normal eel, which was good here. And the seared tuna belly just melts in your mouth. At this point of time, we were basically stuffed and happy to be rolled out from the restaurant.Service here is very friendly and attentive. The service staff even told us to stop ordering, as she was worried that we might ordered to much.

Compliment to Chef John Phua for the excellent food and his friendliness. He even took time to post for the photo below. Thanks Chef!!Overall, we totally have a memorable dining experience dining in Fukuichi. The food is excellent in terms of freshness, quality and taste. Price is very reasonable. You get what you paid for. Our final bill was $348.40 inclusive GST and service tax. We look forward to our next visit. Kassai!!! Cheers!!

For the complete Chubby Botak Koala experience, click / copy the link below to your browser:
http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2014/05/fukuichi-japanese-dining.html

Nakhon Kitchen is simple non air-conditioned café that serve simple authentic Thai food. Nakhon Kitchen has built up their reputation when they opened in Bedok. The second branch are opened in the North-east area. Located in the inner part of Kovan, at the junction of Hougang St 21 and Hougang Ave 1, this small eatery has build up quite a big followers. On the weekends, expect a long queue of customers waiting for their turns to have a fix of traditional Thai food. For Little Devil ('LD') and I, it is more like a game of cat and mouse game. If we passed by Nakhon and don't see any people queuing, we will quickly turn to the car park and grab a quick bite there. However if we see a long queue, then we just keep going. All along, we find all the food here is delicious and authentic. The reason is simple, they bring the same basic ingredients, sauces and condiments direct from Thailand. Majority of their cooks and service staff are also Thai, therefore you can not only taste but also feel their authenticity.

Our favourite dishes here are: Pad Thai ($5), Green Curry Chicken ($8), Stir-fried mince pork w/hot basil leaves ($6) and Pandan Leaves Chicken ($6).

Nakhon Kitchen Pad Thai has a nice balance of sweet and sour. The rice noodle has a springy texture and combine all the ingredients and texture such as bean spout, chives, eggs and crushed peanuts beautifully. Every time I have green curry chicken here, I will more likely end up with extra serving of rice. It has subtle spiciness, fragrant green curry, and richness of the coconut milk are just too inviting. Although the carnivores will feel that the meat in the curry is lacking, I will add the meat from Pandan Leaves Chicken to satisfy my cravings as a carnivore. The Pandan Leaves Chicken is well marinated and fried to perfection with the wrapped pandan leaves. The chicken remain juicy and succulent, with a lovely pandan flavour. The Stir-fried mince pork is very spicy combined with fragrant basil leaves, this dish really open up your appetite. The saltiness of the dish is just right with a little tingling of sweetness, entice you to keep scooping for more even though the chilli is numbing your tongue. The Thai Ice Milk Tea here is the same as the one you get in Thailand. The upside of it, it has less ice than what you normally get in Thailand. The downside, it is almost triple the price you pay in Thailand.

The service here is friendly, efficient and fuss-free. Your first dish will normally be served within 10 minutes after they take your order. If you just want to order take away, you just need to approach the service staff. Decoration is minimum and please be considerate of the other people waiting for your seat

Overall, for those who never been to Nakhon Kitchen, consider this as a hidden find. One of the cheapest and most authentic Thai food you can find in Singapore. Cheers!!!

For full review and more photos, please visit
http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2013/08/nakhon-kitchen-authentic-thai-food.html

OSIA Bar and Restaurant is a fine dining establishment owned and marketed by Ottscott Pte Ltd. A partnership between distinguish and award winnings Chef Scott Webster, who made his name in Australia and his long time friend Chef Otto Weibel, the Swiss Chef previous executive Chef from Swissotel the Stamford and Fairmont Singapore.OSIA offer a fine dining experience, that combines innovative and freshest ingredients, which can be enjoy individually or shared between the diners. Located in RWS, this award winning restaurant not only catered to for the resorts guests, it is also open to public. Helmed by Chef Douglas Tay, winner of several gold medals at Culinary Olympics 2008 and Western Australia Oceanafest 2009; you can look forward to some culinary excellence.We gathered here to celebrate a friend's birthday party so I need to limit my bloggers probing. We started with the signature Stone Hearth Flatbread ($11). Ours was a combination of Truffled Kalamata Olive and sour cream. The flatbreat has a distinct crispiness on the crust, with a a moist, fluffy yet resilient texture in the middle. The pistachio cream cheese dip provide a excellent complement to bread compare to the normal just butter.Next come the fresh oyster, served on salt cast ring. I like eat my oyster as close to nature as possible, with a small squeeze of lemon. It is fresh and succulent, you can actually taste the ocean in your mouth.For mains, I had Byron Bay Berkshire Pork Rack 300 gram ($55). The plating of the dish is quite unique, served on a wooden platform layered with oba leaf. The pork rack looks like a pork chop with the bone in it. The cuts are thick, cooked just right with slight pinkish in the middle but absent of blood. It is well seasoned, tasty, tender and succulent, I almost did not touch the fresh hollandaise sauce. The homemade chutneys, seasoned vegetables and pickles are creamy but under-seasoned. Overall, it can be considered a good main dish, but somehow it's kind of missing the WOW factor.The tables shared the desserts of OSIA Macadamia Soufflé ($32). Since the soufflé intended for 2 persons, the size is quite tall when it rises. It is light, moist, has the right sweetness to it but the taste of the egg is quite strong. The praline provide a crunchy texture to the overall dish and the ice cream is there for contrasting experience of hot and cold.The décor of OSIA is modern and elegant. The open concept kitchen is one of the main feature here. You can see the chef at work no matter where you are seating. Service are excellent, setting the benchmark for fine dining standards. Kudos to the service team.Overall, OSIA provides you with a very good fine dining experience. Starting from the freshest ingredients, modern yet classic cooking technique and exceptionally good service. Cheers!!

For the complete Chubby Botak Koala review, click here:
http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2015/01/osia-rws.html

To name a restaurant WOLF is just a catchy genius. Opened by The Privé group, WOLF is a pork centric restaurant and focus on the nose to tail dining experience.

While you might be familiar with Kurobuta and Iberico pork, you will soon be intimate with Mangalica, Nagano and Duroc-Landrace type of porks as well. These are the Five Little Piggies that made up the Pork Chop selections for WOLF. For those non Moo Moo eater, WOLF is a definitely a new dining destination for you.The restaurant is decorated to pay homage to the adult version of Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. There is an engraved picture of the Wolf, along with the three little pigs are well-decorated on the walls the restaurants. For night dining, the restaurant is dimly lit and the setting is very comfortable. Looking for a place for romantic dinner, this is it. The music playing on the background is funky R&B genre. Great environment, but a real challenge for a blogger like me to take natural shot in this environment.While waiting for QC to arrive, we decided to place the order for starters to share. Pan Roasted Duck Liver ($32), Grilled Ox Tongue ($38) and one of our daring dish to try Grilled Beef Hearts ($22). Duck Liver is supposed to be the cheaper 'cousin' compare to goose liver. However, cooked it properly and combined it with port wine poached figs and aged balsamic vinegar, you can't tell the difference. It tasted velvety and melts in your mouth. Yum Yum.The grill ox tongue is just tender and lightly seasoned. There is no fat in the tongue and it works well with the lentils. The most challenging dish is the Grilled Beef Hearts. The texture is springy texture and gamey as well. Yes, gamey is a nice word for strong foul smell, We do not recommend this dish for the weak stomach and sensitive palates. We definitely won't order it next time as well. The greens, walnuts, grapes and dressing actually work well as warm salad without the beef heart.Our Mains basically Pork Centric, we had Nagano Pork Chop ($40), Mangalica Pork Chop ($42) and Grilled Duroc Pork Collar ($30). As recommended by our service staff, we have ordered our pork chop medium rare because it is direct comparison on how we take our steak. This is the way to taste the tenderness and juicyness of the pork.

Nagano Pork Chop originated from Japan but breed in Canada. The texture of the meat are superior marbling, pinker meat, and the taste comparable to aged wagyu beef.Mangalica Pork has the highest percentage of fats among the pork, resulting the meat that just melts in your mouth. It is flavourful, tender and succulent. For the Duroc Pork Collar, the meat is so tender comparable to any of the pork chops. Pork collar has a lower fat content and the combination with chimichurri tomatoes is just amazing. All the meats are well seasoned, the sauces seems to be well suited for decoration only. Amazingly delicious.For desserts, we decided to order Eton Mess ($13) and Chocolate Stout Cake ($14). The later has a dense texture with a rich chocolate flavour. The berry reduction helps to balance richness, but it is just too heavy to end the night. Eton Mess on the other hand is just perfect. Everything are thrown in together to create different texture with tantalising taste. The balsamic syrup works well to bind and balance all the ingredients for perfect ending to erase the overwhelming sensation from the pork.Service is impeccable. They know everything about the menu and patiently explain to us about the different taste of the pork chop. We were actually quite surprise that with the quality of the food, no other customer was there. Almost looks like we booked the whole restaurant.

If you ever dine in Privé group outlets, they always give something for the diners to bring back with them. For Wolf, you get pork crackling to bring home. Unfortunately it was just too tempting, it did not even pass the front door before it goes Poof!!Overall, I did not know that Pork Chop can be so good. After this experience, I will have think twice on what to order next time I choose between Pork Chop and Steak. For a truly wonderful dining experience, Wolf got two thumbs up by Chubby Botak Koala. Cheers!!

For the complete Chubby Botak Koala dining experiece, click here:
http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2014/09/Wolf.html