Enbu was the first of seven Japanese dining concepts by
Komars Group ANA Trading, the retail arm of ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS (ANA) to make
its foray into the ever bustling F&B scene in Singapore. With an increasing
appetite for Japanese cuisine, it was definitely a timely opportunity for both
restauranteurs and diners alike.At Enbu, the Izakaya-restaurant took an alfresco
area once occupied by the sky garden of Suntec City. Its outdoor spaces
offer a good respite for beer and Izakaya cuisine from the hustle and bustle of
the Central Business District. Apart from the natural breeze, the high ceiling
and warm lightings of the restaurant also made us feel at ease and comfortable. Special attention was also given to the tableware and cutleries, which were all specially
imported from Japan.Like all Izakayas where alcohol takes centre stage,
patrons can choose from a staggering line-up of exquisite craft beers, from the
fruity Coedo Craft Beer White (350ml, $15) to the soft bitter Coedo Craft Beer
Ruri (350ml, $15), Sakes and a variety of Suntory highballs.Enbu specialises in Warayaki, a grilling style unique
to Kochi prefecture in the Shikoku region of Japan. Resident chef Tatsunori
Yara, despite being an Okinawan native, is an expert in using straw to smoke and grill
meat. We had both the Chicken Warayaki with Special Spring Onion Sauce ($19)
and the Katsuo Warayaki ($16). The chicken was succulent and the fragrance from the smoking of straw was strong and lingering, almost the same aftertaste you get from
drinking aged whisky. The dish also came with lettuce, spring onions and Korean
Gojujang sauce which gave it an interesting Korean twist.Like the Warayaki, the Taco Salad ($15) was an interesting dish adopted from Mexican cuisine. It was also playful as we had
the chance of making our own salad. We were given glass bottles to shake the main ingredients before dressing the salad with guacamole meat sauce and grated cheese, placed into a fried
spring roll skin bowl on top of generous servings of diced cabbage. The fried
spring roll skin added an Asian texture into an otherwise ordinary Mexican
dish.Other dishes were much less adventurous, like the Homemade
Steamed Tofu ($12), which was simply a bowl of steamed tofu with accompanying
condiments such as the Japanese soy sauce and grated ginger. While the tofu tasted
good and was served in a pretty ceramic bowl, I thought it was on the pricier
side. The Smoked Salmon with Homemade Cheese Tofu ($12) was also good though
the taste was somewhat anticipated and lacked originality.Uni was an recurring theme on the menu of Enbu. The Deep
Fried Tofu with Uni Sauce ($12) and the Oyster and Spinach Teppanyaki with Uni
Sauce ($15) were amongst the crowd favourites. The uni dishes were slightly more
savoury than usual, presumably made that way to pair with the beer we were
served.If you are thinking of ordering these dishes, I would suggest getting
alcoholic drinks to better accentuate their brine.My favourite of the night would be the Sashimi Platter ($60
for 2). The Chutoro (medium fatty tuna) was perfect with its marbling of fats,
and it melted onto my tongue before the oil of the fish filled my entire mouth.
Equally excellent was their Hamachi (Japanese amberjack), the Katsuo (Skipjack
tuna) and the huge dollop of Murasaki Uni. My only gripe was they served Sashimi
without gari-gari or pickled ginger.We were wondering where they got their supply of sashimi
from when Kazuhiro Nakao San, Senior Manager of ANA Trading revealed that the
fish were specially air-flown from Tsukiji market by ANA air cargo in the morning.
Fresh fish are air-flown in cargo from ANA almost on a daily basis to ensure
that customers get to enjoy only the freshest of Sashimi. With the airline as
a partner, Enbu and the rest of the group's restaurants definitely enjoyed a
logistical advantage for fresh Japanese ingredients that are unmatched for.Overall it was a nice refreshing experience to dine and
chill over beer at an alfresco Izakaya, the first of its kind in
Singapore. In the pipeline for the group are Megumi, a sushi restaurant, Nigiro
Cafe and NikuNohi, a meat specialty restaurant. Looking forward to their
opening!

It is Finally here! Yes, at the Capitol Piazza, a new mall located adjacent to the Capitol Theatre, Angelina Tea Room And Patisserie has garnered more than 1 thousand likes on its facebook page way before it is opened its door to public. At its 2nd day of soft opening, together with Hazel, Yue Qi and her boyfriend, we made our way down to Angelina after attending an event. Angelina Tea Room And Patisserie was full house when we arrived but we were quite surprised to find no queue in front of us. After about a 10 mins wait, we were given a table. I was kind of glad that we were given a table in the middle of the cafe. As the cafe is located near to the entrance of the mall, every time somebody walked into the mall, a gush of hot air will just blow in. Seriously the weather is crazy these days, isn't it?The interior is a combination of class and elegance which reminded me of Arteastiq boutique tea lounge. Definitely a great place for girly talk or to laze the afternoon away with beautiful desserts. My only complaint is that it is a bit cramp and tables are placed quite close together.The weather was too hot and we decided to try the Old Fashioned Iced Chocolate "L'Africain" ($12), an iced version of the world famous hot chocolate L'Africain. Although I have never tried the hot version, the iced version was rather impressive. It has an intense chocolaty taste, similar to iced milo "gao" (thick) but richer and many times better! We also ordered Angelina mix iced tea ($9.50). It comes with a white little cute syrup pitcher where by you can customise the tea according to the sweetness you prefer. The tea on its own has a beautiful floral aroma.From the "Main", we ordered 2 dishes to share. Yes, I know table etiquette but sharing makes all food taste better right?

The Pan Fried Scallops ($29) is a dish with 4 seared scallops with black venere rice and shellfish cream. Although the black venere rice is named black, it is actually dark purple in colour. It has a taste similar to black glutinous rice but without the stickiness. Personally I feel that the rice is too hard for my liking but it has an unique rich nutty taste, best to consume with the shellfish cream.The Chicken Supreme ($23) is a chicken breast roll served with chestnut puree and braised endive (the leafy vegetable on top of the chicken roll). The chicken roll is relatively small for sharing but is good for 1 lady to have. It is well marinated with herbs and is surprisingly moist given that it is breast meat. Among the 2 dishes, I prefer this more.What is life without desserts?

We ordered Paris-New York ($13), choux pastry with pecan light cream and crunchy pecan praline heart. Although the choux pastry is puffed up beautifully, it is hard to cut through and the cream is slightly too sweet for my liking. This is a hit amongst all the dishes that we have ordered. The Choc Africain ($13) is a beautiful art of chocolate brownie, African pure dark chocolate mousse and bitter dark chocolate cream. I like how well balanced it is, a pure bliss of enjoyment with rich, chocolaty bitterness and sweetness. I would recommend it to go with the iced tea or a pot of tea. Overall, it is a nice cafe with some hits and misses. However as it is still at its infancy stage for its first flagship in Singapore, I guess it is still quite forgivable. The food was served quite promptly and the service was considered friendly and fast. So give it a try if you are near Capitol Piazza.

For more food reviews: http://hannahchia.blogspot.com

Located at Anchorvale Community Centr, Brewbaker's is tucked away from the hustle and bustle while easily access via the public transport (Taxi, bus or LRT). If you are taking LRT, Farmway LRT is within 5 minutes walk to brewbaker's. On top of that, Brewbaker's is also a subsidiary of JP Pepperdine Group ( Jack's Place belongs to them too just in case you are wondering who are they). Thus you can be assure that with years of experience, food here is definitely not "MEH".With the new Head chef from their fellow subsidery company, Hoshigaoka, Brewbaker's has now revamped their menu to a fusion of Japanese Western food. We started our night with Sashimi Caesar Salad ($12.80) which was totally delicious. Simple as it looked but the salad was orgasmic to the mouth with the Yuzu wasabi sauce topped with fresh sashimi (Salmon & Tuna) cubes, chicken cubes and garlic croutons. What I like best about this salad is the wasabi taste wasn't overpowering and with the Yuzu sauce, it tasted very refreshing and appetizing.Atsuage Tofu($11.80) is a grilled tofu that flew in from Japan. Personally I feel that it's similar to Taufu goreng but served with lot of bonito flake and is best eaten with japanese soy sauce and chilli powder. Carbonara Udon ($12.60) is handmade udon with carbonara sauce. Personally i like this a a lot as this dish is rather unique and the carbonara sauce is quite rich and flavourful.Kinoko Pizza ($12.60) is homemade pizza dough with enoki,shimeiji and shitake mushroom. Although the dough was made thicker intentionally so as to not let the customer has a dry aftertaste, personally Ilike my pizza in thin crust. =)N.Z Beef Rib ($21.00) was soft,juicy and tender. On top of that the homemade bbq sauce wasn't too sweet and the serving was relatively huge. Personally I love this dish as the beef here was perfectly cooked!Beef Shabu Shabu ($28.60 for a serving for 2 pax) was served with New Zealand thinly sliced beef. According to the chef, the stock has no msg and is made with bonito flakes, soup stock, soya sauce and mirin. This was another hot fav of the night as the soup was good and there is lot of vegetables. I highly recommended this dish for anyone who like to have lot of vegetable but wanted some tasty meat and also delicious soup as well.Matsu Sushi Moriawase ($31.00) here is made from handmade sushi rice thus this is something special. While I like the sushi rice which is slightly mushy, this might not be so appealing to those who like their rice slightly firmer.We have our Ribeye Yakiniku ($32.80) done on the outdoor to prevent the bbq smell on our clothes. It was served with some shimeiji mushroom and pumpkin. The beef was well marinated and tender while the pumpkin was very sweet after grilling it. Personally I like this as I can hands on and of cos the food also tasted good. If I have a complain, that would be it takes a while before the food is cooked. So must sure you order other cooked food as well if you are ordering this. =)What is a perfect meal without dessert right? Marble Cheesecake in a chocolate cup ($6.50) was served to end the night. All of us was wowed by the presentation of this dish. The cheesecake is those non baked type and not too sweet as well. Overall it was a good dinning experience at brewbaker's. I would definitely go back and try other items on their menu if i am in Sengkang area. Once again, I am very thankful for the great food tasting experience organised by openrice and hosted by brewbaker's.

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Located at Orchard central, Sumiya is easily access via public transport as it's only 1 building away from somerset MRT station. On top of that, it's located between 2 bus stops which has buses that travel to many parts of Singapore. Beside that, there are complimentary valet parking at at Killiney Road entrance and you get to enjoy 3 hours of free parking with a minimum spending of $50 in a single receipt during the weekdays. Thus making it a very convenient place for diners of all walks. Although the renovation here is kept at the minimum with some vintage Japanese deco and cemented floor, it still give you a very comfortable feel due to the high ceilings. On top of that, if you go there before dusk, you can be sure to have a good overview of the orchard road shopping mall. Beside that, you can also choose to sit in the outdoor or indoor. For indoor dinning, there are a choice of high tables and normal tables to choose from. On top of that, i think it's very sweet of the restaurant to provide hooks at the side of the tables for their customers to hang their bags. Thumb up for the little gesture. For the outdoor, you can do some more serious charcoal grilling and also be wowed by the interesting "tin chairs".Dried squid ($8) ,Dried baby squid ($4)and Soft smoked squid ($8) tasted great here. Especially after you grilled it, the smoky aroma of the squid is in the air and enticed you to have even more! Good choice for squid loversThe beer at Sumiya is considered very cheap, at $4.90 per mug and $42 per tower(3 L) before GST and service charge, I reckon that it is the cheapest beer that you can find in Orchard road. On top of that, it is draft Asahi that they are serving, thus making it a sweet deal for Japanese beer lover like me.Dried shisamo ($5) and conger eel($4) are quite interesting and goes well with beer. However do take note of the heat so as not to have charred stuff instead. Personally I feel them slightly dried, perhaps also because I have overcooked them.Lobster Salad here is very delicious as there is a good mixture of other vegetables and it has this natural sweetness that is very alluring to the tastebuds =)Mekajiki sashimi ($8.80) is really fresh. I have tried other sashimi during my first visit. They are equally good as well. For a izakaya place, I am kind of surprise to find the quality of the food to be higher than my expectation.Tako wasabi ($4) is a relatively cheap side dish that has a ting e of the wasabi taste in it. On top of that, the squid was fresh thus making it another good dish to go with the beer.The grilled tontoro ($9) was very well marinated and tender. I would highly recommend this dish as well. Last but not least, we have some fun with the cotton candy($5 per try) machine. For $5, it brings back a lot of childhood memory and also letting you have a try of making your own stick of cotton candy. In my opinion, I think it's cheap and fun.

Overall it was a good dinning experience at Sumiya and I will continue to go back for some cheap Asahi and good dishes to go with the beer. On top of that, service crews here are quite friendly and always full of smile which made this a very jovial place to dine in. However do note that service here are not very consistently attentive.

Penang Kitchen is conveniently located 2 bus stops away from the MRT station thus it's highly accessible via buses which will bring you to either the green or yellow MRT line. On top of that, it can be easily spotted along a row of shophouses with its bright yellow signage. Beside the restaurant is also brightly lit with welcoming orange lights, the seatings here are also spaciously separated. Thus even though it was a small family style restaurant, it gives its customers a very relaxed feel.While we were having a round of introduction with fellow foodies from OpenRice, we were served with the nutmeg lime drink($3.20). This is a very uniquely refreshing drink. Although one of the ingredients is lime but the drink is a spot on that is neither too sweet or sour. On top of that, the drink is also good for digestion and soothing the throat. Personally I like this thirst quencher and would highly recommend it as it is not very commonly found anywhere else and it tastes really special.The first dish we had was the Penang Fruit Rojak ($7.80). It's a mixture of 8 types of fresh fruits and vegetables which includes starfruit, pineapple, green and red apple, mango..etc in their special prawn paste and also their homemade youtiao. This is a very appetising dish with an interesting twist from the usual rojak. Although there are youtiao in it, the youtiao are broken into really small pieces that added some crunchiness to the dish. Interesting! =)Penang Sampler($13) was the other starter that we had. It is a combination of Lor Bak & Belacan Wings. The Lor bak is actually a local ngoh hiang look alike but with a slightly different taste as they are using tender pork wrapped in beancurb skin instead. While the Belacan wings are chicken wings and drumplets marinated in special secret recipe. Personally I would prefer the belacan taste to be a little bit stronger cause otherwise I think it tasted just like normal deep fried chicken wings.One of the highlights of the night must be the Penang Asam Laksa ($8.30). As a big fan of this dish, I have yet to find anything near to the authentic ones that i have tried before. However I am happy that this dish changed my whole gastronomic journey. Not only is this topped with a lot of fresh condiments such as mint, onion, cucumber, pineapple and chilli, every mouth is a flavorful experience for the taste buds with the balance of spicy and sour sardine soup base. This is definitely another die-die-must-try dish here.Nasi Goreng Kampong Penang ($8.90) was another dish that was well loved by the fellow foodies. Not only the restaurant is very generous with the ingredients given, the prawns is really fresh and big! On top of that, it is mildly spicy and every grain of rice is so well fried and seasoned. Kudos to the chef!!!The next dish is the Penang Prawn Noodle Soup (Noodles or bee hoon or combination, $8.30). The soup is really flavourful and the ingredients given are really generous. However, personally I feel that the taste is quite similar to prawns noodles outside, perhaps the different is the taste is more intense.Beside that, we had the Penang Char Kway Teow ($8.30). The kway teow was stir-fried with chinese sausage, prawn, egg, ku-chai, bean sprouts and PORK LARDS!!! What is Char Kway Teow without pork lard, right? The sinful pork lard is that missing ingredients that most hawkers have ommited nowadays. However without it, the dish can never be made wholesome again. Thus the char kway teow here is awesome. Not only does it has that "wok hei", it's not oily and also ingredients are generously added to the dish. Yummilious!Herbal Duck Mee Sua (small serving :$9) was another hit among the foodies. It is a traditional clear soup, well-cooked with herbs for 6 hours. However the duck meat was still so tender when we had it. On top of that, the smell of the herb is really strong and the mee sua is well "soaked"( but not in those soggy soggy texture) with the rich savory herbal soup.Like I always say, there is space for desserts no matter how much you are. The Penang chendol ($3.80) is really not to be missed. Although the colour seems as if there isn't much gula melaka in this dessert, every mouth was a burst of gula melaka in the mouth! The smell of gula melaka is really fragrant and aromatic and with the combination of high quality chendol( the green jelly) , red beans and kidney beans, it's just the perfect dish to end the night.But the chendol wasn't the last dish, we had hot almond with tang yuan ($4.80) before the night end. Accordingly to the boss, the almond paste is handmade from scratch. Thus it's really smooth and fragrant. On top of that, they have added egg white to complete the taste with the sesame tang yuan. It was really good that I even had 2 bowls of takeaway for my family. =)
Overall it was a great dinning experience at Penang Kitchen with all the mouthwatering great Penang dishes. On top of that, the serving staff here are really helpful and friendly. The dirty dishes were cleared away once we finished our meals without us asking the staff to do so. Good job! Penang kitchen is definitely worthwhile for me to travel all the way from the west to the east of Singapore just to have it again!