Majestic Restaurant is the award-winning modern Chinese restaurant owned by internationally-renowned chef Yong Bing Ngen. The interior is simple yet tranquil, with holes in the ceiling where one could watch swimmers wading by overhead, if they wish. Service was excellent - attentive and polite; even though this was a Chinese fine-dining restaurant, it was utterly non-pretentious and very comfortable to be at.The Majestic trio platter was magnificent, and beautifully plated. Portions were dainty but very sufficient as appetisers; I did not know which one to start with. The Wasabi Prawns with deep-fried lotus chip. The plump, fresh prawns were luscious and springy, richly-coated with creamy wasabi sauce that lent it a hint of spiciness. The lotus chip was crispy and sweet.Chilli Crab Puff was sweet, crusty and filled with delicious chilli crab paste - a combination of saccharine gravy with hotness; it scored points on taste and texture totally.The Stewed Mee Sua with Oyster and Crab Roe for his mains. The mee sua was the most springy and smoothest I have ever come across - even the ones I'd tried in Taiwan could not top this; each individual strand was lifted easily without, and slid down the palate wonderfully infused with the delectable broth. The plump oysters were fresh - the tank itself is located somewhere near the kitchen - exploding in a burst of deliciousness in the mouth.The stewed Hor Fun with Sliced Fish in Black Bean Sauce for my main. Equally smooth was the hor-fun stripes, almost ready to slide into the throat. The black bean sauce was thick and strong, but not overly salty; the saccharine, flakey fish held a bounce in the texture that indicated its freshness.
For full review and more detailed information, please feel free to visit:
http://thearcticstar.blogspot.sg/2015/12/lunch-at-majestic-restaurant-majestic.html

"Let's make love, coffee, and magic" - famous catchy words that ring in one's head, long after they have been uttered. Opened by Ryan Tan - Singapore National Barista Champion - some say Asean National Barista Champion as well, and some say National Barista Champion three times over - how could one not want to pop by and try their coffee? The interior of Strangers' Reunion was calming, minimalistic and pretty, with exotic paintings adorning the wall. The only qualm was probably the cramped tables - too close to each other. Service was attentive enough, but the level of understanding was a little ruffled. The array of cakes looked so tempting - if we weren't having the set dinners, I would have ordered the colorful Rainbow Cheesecake for sure.The first item aka appetizer was the Inside Out Scotch Egg - cheddar-filled sausage wrapped in egg, with salted egg yolk hollandaise, petit salad and tomato relish. It was the most innovative and tasty dish of the night - loved the crusty battering of the egg and the tasty fillings within the halved hard-boiled egg. The cheddar stood out in particular, heightening the overall flavour of this dish.Next came the main course - consisting of their signature Buttermilk Waffle with yogurt-marinated kashmiri fried chicken, served with southern gravy, red cabbage slaw and corn salad. The fluffy waffles were crispy and light in texture, melting in the mouth with a faintly-detectable buttermilk fragrance. The fried chicken was fairly normal; it went well eaten together with the waffle, cabbage slaw and corn salad in one bite.

For full review and more detailed information please feel free to visit:http://thearcticstar.blogspot.sg/2015/12/dinner-at-strangers-reunion-cafe.html

20F Specialty Coffeehouse is a new kid on the Jalan Besar block. Other than the name just taking after the address aka 20 Foch Road, and how a 60-year old traditional medical hall / clinic has been transformed into a cafe, I cannot find much information about this place. Okayyyy, so they do have a day menu and a night menu - like some other cafes and restaurants.The House Lemon Curd Cake (SGD$5.50) was soft and fluffy in texture, layered with thick, citrusy layer of lemon curd. This was a light dessert with a stronger flavour, and the zesty taste was refreshing. We liked this, and was grateful that the crew at the counter recommended this over the Lemon Curd Tart (SGD$4.50) I'd originally wanted to order instead.The Salty Caramel & Bacon Waffle (SGD$12.00) was made up of half a buttermilk waffle that was crispy in texture, crispy bacon strips, salted caramel ice-cream and espresso Kahlua sauce. *H expertly doused the sauce over the waffle and ice-cream, giving it some artistic plating so it looked good. The salted caramel ice-cream was good, as were the bacon strips. However, the entire creation didn't seem to sync in terms of flavour or link. We felt like we were just eating separate items on the same plate - pile on the ice-cream, pile on the meat, pile on the topping - kind of feeling. There was no harmony between flavours.A couple of us tried the Christmas Special- the 20F Christmas Iced Coffee (SGD$7.00), with a dash of rum and raisin. The bottom of this luscious coffee drink was laden with melon seeds, dried cranberries and raisins, and the rum flavour was very faintly detectable. I personally liked this drink, but thought it might help better if we were given a larger straw or long spoons to scoop the goodies at the bottom, so they would not get stuck to the tiny black straw, hindering our sipping of the aromatic iced coffee.

For full review and more detailed information, please feel free to visit:
http://thearcticstar.blogspot.sg/2015/12/afternoon-tea-at-20f-specialty.html

Killiney Post Office (KPO) Cafe Bar has been a favorite hangout of mine for a while. I enjoyed basking in the lovely ambience, impeccable service and listening to the fabulous live band belting out music of my favorite era, while muhching on good bar grub and sipping cocktails.The Chocolate Lah Martini (SGD$20.00) was concocted from Valrhona Chocolate, Absolut Vodka, cream and marshmallow - a tantalising drink packed with punch and luscious richness.The signature KPO Hokkien Mee (SGD$16.00) - the more luxurious version of our local delight, cooked the traditional way with pork lard, laden with goodness such as prawns, squids, pork belly strips, and yellow and white noodles. Every bite was tasty, filled with very sufficient "wok air" (aka "wok hey") - the quality used to measure a good zichar dish. The noodles were springy, and there was enough gravy to keep the dish moistened yet not soggy. Cravings for this kicked in the very next day onwards.Then Not-A-Ramlee-Burger (SGD$17.00) made its way to us, standing tall and bursting with delicacy within the toasted homemade sesame buns - the signature sliced Yorkshire pork was piled high with lettuce, fried over-easy egg, mayo, chopped pickles and a touch of Sriracha chili; fries were served on the side. It resembled the ramly burger in certain ways, but the Yorkshire pork upped the status of this huge burger. Tender, and exploding with different types of texture, making this an almost fun dish to devour; I especially loved how the distinctive "egg-y" flavour contrasted with the duller flavour of the pork, heightened by the Sriracha.The Wagyu Beef Cubes (SGD$32.00) were so good, we had two plates of them. 200grams of Wagyu beef cubes grilled to perfection and served with sea salt - the meat was nearly melty, utterly succulent and juicy; the natural flavour of beef was marked with smokey hints, and was especially becoming when dabbed with a little sea salt. Dessert was the Chips 'n' Cream (SGD$14.00), another innovative addiction made up of vanilla bean ice-cream, house-made fresh potato chips and salted caramel sauce. Between the crisps and the coldness, between the saltiness and the sweetness, every mouthful was exciting and a new experience. The house-made chips were crispy and yet fleshy- you would taste the potato goodness literally. Most of us fell head over heels in love with this dish.

For full review and more detailed information, please feel free to visit:
http://thearcticstar.blogspot.sg/2015/12/media-invite-dinner-and-drinks-at-kpo.html

Identifiable by the giant white balloon stationed at the "main gate", is Nabins Restaurant, restaurant serving Mediterranean / Arabian food - I was here 3 years back for drinks and sisha, and yearn for that experience again, together with dinner.  Ambience was beautiful, initimate settings with deep maroon cushions and gold drapes. Service was a little slow, but otherwise,We had the Shish Kebab (SGD$22.90), for how could one visit an Arabian restaurant and not try their kebabs (skewered meat)? We chose the lamb kebab - the best, utterly tender lamb on a stick I have ever came across; well-marinated so that there was no gamey taste at all, only palatable sweetness throughout. Paired with the fragrant rice, this dish was a keeper for sure.We also tried the Roasted Chicken with Apricot (SGD$13.90), served with the aromatic rice to accentuate the overall flavour. The chicken was succulent and had a good apricot-infused flavour to it - saccharine and savoury combined beautifully. The dried apricots and cashew nuts added bites to the dish.

For full review and more detailed information, please feel free to visit:
http://thearcticstar.blogspot.sg/2015/12/dinner-and-sisha-at-nabins-restaurant.html