okb - one kampong bahru

one kampong bahru is located at the corner of Kampong Bahru Road and Spottiswoode Park, right beside Savor Rey La Mian (which we learned is no longer there!!). From what I've heard, they have an interesting assortment of baked goods by day, but by night it becomes a bistro, serving wine by glass and beer as well. Each dish in the menu has a suggested wine pairing to go with it, for those who like that sort of thing.



The sharing plates concept reminds me a lot of Ku De Ta, but perhaps on a slightly less opulent end of the scale. You also don't get to enjoy a panoramic view of the Singapore city skyline, but hey, our favourite dog groomer is just a few shops down the row, and if you can get a lot, coupon parking is a plus. Chill music can be heard over the speakers, not loud enough to drown out casual conversation, and the vibe of the place is just relaxed with more than a hint of class. The clipboard menu isn't very extensive, with about 10 items on the menu, excluding the side dishes and drinks, just right for a gastronomic tease.

The seared scallops ($9) should be advertised as just seared scallops with secret sauce, rather than blatantly stating 'buah keluar oil' - it's actually really good with the seared outer and semi-soft inner, flavoured by the oil, but I keep wondering how it's supposed to taste like buah keluar, thus diminishing the wow factor. Comes on a bed of salad.

The sliced angus beef ($18) is garnished with raw onions, coriander and a sweet sauce. The best bits were the pure unadulterated fat, which was almost foie gras like, unfortunately I only came across 1 slice like that.

The divine Sheperd's Pie - is actually a meatball covered with mashed potato and pumpkin mix, of the very soft and moist kind. Because it was baked, you also get a little of the charred crisp bits. Really outstanding dish! (at $8, it's the cheapest of the three too).

The dishes came one at a time, allowing us time to slowly savour and discuss the flavours, then musing about other similar dishes we've had elsewhere. Water is provided from the onset and constantly refilled, something that Mky and I appreciate in any restaurant. The waiters are polite and fade into the background, and inquire your views on the food when you pay for the bill. Good service. Since I wasn't there with Mky this time round, I'll probably bring her here the next time Roxy needs her nails trimmed, if at least, just to savour the Sheperd's Pie.

okb

1 Kampong Bahru Rd, Singapore 169339
Tel: 6220 4711

A look in at Homebodies

The creators of our favourite cafe, Henry Congressional, have started a side project at Boat Quay called Homebodies. No, they don't have the awesome pandan chiffon cake or flourless chocolate cake, but they do have some fantastic coffee, specialty hotdogs and, of course, craft beer!

 

Homebodies
60a Boat Quay, Singapore

9169 2821

Accomplished Italian Dining at OChre

OChre has some fantastic Italian food that brought back fond memories of our Italian honeymoon over a year ago. Located at the top of Orchard Central, seating at the restaurant surrounds the open kitchen where the chefs can be seen doing their stuff. Surprisingly, the ventilation is pretty good and so you won't get blasts of hot air, or get choked by the smoke etc. Instead, you get to watch how the chef prepare their dishes, and sometimes, hear the banter of staff too.

For the starter, we went for their Burrata dish, which is a concoction of mozarella cheese and cream. OChre's Burrata arrived on a bed of proscuitto, It was nice and soft, and when cut open, cream/butter oozed out slowly. The menu said there was supposed to be tomato slices so we were a little disappointed that there weren't any tomatoes to be seen. Imagine our surprise when we found the baby tomato slices folded WITHIN the mozarella cheese itself! What a gem! You can also flavour the Burrata with a choice of sea salt, vinegar, pesto or herbs, giving a nice variety of tastes throughout the whole course.

Our first course was a seafood linguine pasta that we asked to be portioned into two (we learnt to share one of the courses if we were going to do the full Italian 2 courses + dessert). Pictured is one portion of the order of pasta - can you see how much ingredients it has? The quality of the squid, clams and mussels were top notch, apart from the type of prawn used. Sorry to say, crystal prawn (low on flavour but full of bite), seemed out of place in this seafood dish. But the white wine sauce and other ingredients more than made up for it, and we both savoured the dish joyfully.

Moving on to the second course - Mky ordered a Tristecca, which is OChre's version of a beef steak (ours might have been a ribeye - no bone), seared on the outside like a bistecca fiorentina, and medium done on the inside. It was full of flavour and bite. Excellent! For under $50, this is a more affordable version of beef steak than the one at Valentino's, and one that definitely satisfies! The truffle potato slices that came with it did not lose its aroma the more one ate of it, unlike some other truffle dishes we have eaten elsewhere. It was soo good and very moreish. 

I went for the Osso Bucco, which was stewed veal shanks on a bed of saffron risotto cake. Ordinarily, this would be a dish that I would really enjoy, however, compared with the linguine and steak earlier, the Osso Bucco just didn't sing for me. As Mky said, by itself, this dish was excellent, with the veal meat gently breaking off the bone with only a little coaxing. She particularly appreciated the slightly crisp and very fragrant saffron risotto cake. Unfortunately, the Tristecca and Seafood Linguine were just that good, and the stew was totally outshone!

 

I have to say, OChre has some delicious Italian food that is priced just above your regular restaurant fare. For the quality of the ingredients and the perfection of execution, this restaurant deserves the attention of more patrons who are looking for great tasting Italian food without having to burn a hole in their pockets. The only complaint we had was the presence of flies. Don't ask me why a restaurant on the 11th floor has those small annoying pests, but it did reduce our level of enjoyment a tad. A little more effort with that issue and we would definitely be back for that Tristecca!

OChre

181 Orchard Road

#11-03/04 Orchard Central

 Tel: 66340423



Farewell for now: Henry Congressional

One of Mky's favourite coffee joints of the year, Henry Congressional, has closed its doors on the 30th of December 2012. They are currently sourcing for a new venue in April and will update their Facebook page once new information is out.

This is a great place to pop by for a ristretto coffee or 2, savour some of their delectable bites and still walk away without feeling the pinch to your pocket. That is, unless you try some of their specially imported beers that can cost over $25 a pop.

We tried their amazing scones on this last visit there. It's a pity we didn't try them sooner! These tasty bites are put into the over upon your order, so they come out nice and toasty. They smell buttery and delicious. And being cut into 4 pieces before baking, they're crunchy on the outside. You get more crunch than the regular scones elsewhere. We can probably modify scones of our own in future after seeing this little innovation.

We wish the owners every success in looking for a new place and we look forward to visiting the next Congressional!

Read our earlier review here.

Home-made: Christmas Chestnut Melts



Every year, just before Christmas rolls around, Mky heads into the kitchen and bakes up a storm. She churns out a recipe of her choice and gift wraps them to give to her colleagues and friends as gifts. This year, she was fascinated with a Chestnut recipe and in keeping the theme of the season, decided to bake some French Chestnut Melts.

The 'Melts' part of the name comes from the fact that the cookie, which doesn't contain any eggs, is not baked as long so it is only hard on the outside. When bitten through, the cookie actually appears to melt in your mouth!

Check out the fancy labels she made too - with just Powerpoint! She's a Powerpoint whiz! =)

Magma - a German Wine Bistro Deli + Shop

 Steak Tartare ala minute

Please enjoy the visual feast.

Magma
2-4 Bukit Pasoh Road
Tel: 62210634

Strangers' Reunion

We finally got to visit this indie coffee joint owned by a friend of mine. It's quite a tiny space, filled with eclectic furniture that don't match. The coffee was great (Mky said it was better than what she had at Jewel Coffee), and we also tried the Red Velvet Cake which Mky really loved cos it was fluffy and not over-dark in colour. I liked the sweet icing. =9 Check out the latte artwork above, really lovely.
However, due to the small enclosed area (and perhaps we were just at a really crowded time), the sound control was horrible. Mky and I could hardly hear each other speak. I walked up to the counter to place my order (apparently you should just sit at your table and wait for someone to take your order), and got a really rude look from one of the staff who seemed to be quite affected by the maddening crowd. I don't blame her, but I can tell you, it turned me off immediately.

The coffee is recommended, but try to visit during less hectic periods.

Strangers' Reunion
37 Kampong Bahru

 Tel: 62224869

Perfect Afternoon "Tea"

 

Henry Congressional is a really interesting place. Stripped bare minimalist, eclectic, yet filled with personal touches that encourages one to sit back and relax - be at home. On approaching the cafe, the glass facade (as seen above), shrouded by a white semi-transparent sheet, gives an impression of an American diner.

Mky was lured to this cafe by the coffee, pandan cake and the flourless chocolate cake. Our friends also recommended trying their American imported beer from Hair of the Dog brewing company. What? Beer in a coffee, cake and tea place? Rare yes, and it turns out that this actually makes for a really great combo for an afternoon tea for Mky and me. What with her coffee and pandan cake, and me with my beer and chocolate cake. =D

All confections found in this little cafe are home-baked by a tattooed guy. Turns out he used to be a sea-faring sailor, and he has some skills at cake-making! Flourless chocolate cakes are perfect for chocolate lovers like me who don't care much for cake. THIS is the kind of cake I love. Thick, no airy-fairy cakey bits getting in the way of the good stuff. And they serve them on those old-school metal plates too. See eclectic above.

Mky thought the pandan cake was divine. Pfft.. Pandan cake? People who love flourless choco cakes don't understand how exquisite a simple pandan cake can be. I'll let her add her comments later. *rolls eyes* hehe

Is that a fixie by the wall? Yea, along with the vacuum tube audio amplifier, the decor of Henry Congressional lures in the cool cats, and the hip-without-trying-to-be crowd. Me and Mky? We're just there to eat and drink. =) And by drink, check out the Westvleteren beer crate! How many places can boast of having a Westvleteren beer crate?? We're talking about Belgium monks churning out one of the best rated beers in the world here.

One thing to note, in the cafe, there are only 2 large tables and 1 smaller one against the wall. That's it. So it's pretty much a communal sitting kinda thing. Don't bring a large group there, you'll have problems with seating. The staff had to request for the customers to bunch up a little to create space for us.

Oh yes, then there's coffee. Mmm coffee. I'll let Mky comment on the coffee.

I chose to go for a cheap $9 St Bernardus 'wit' beer (actually, that was the most expensive thing we had there!), to cool me off from the warm afternoon heat. Nice and mellow. There's lots of craft beer choices, as mentioned, Hair of the Dog as well. Oh, the Westvleteren crate is just a show-off thing, I don't think they sell those. I wouldn't hand-cart those all the way from Belgium just to sell it either.

So since Mky skipped lunch, and I had mine pretty early on in the day, we decided to share one of their sandwiches. The rosemary chicken & watercress sandwich was pretty good. There's a huge chunk of grilled chicken in there, it was warm and it tasted great on the bed of watercress. I love the smell of the cheese, and the ciabatta that enveloped it was a perfectly crisp outer layer.

Seen on the wall of the cafe - "Henry Congressional: of or pertaining to the meeting of common folks for the appreciation of specialty coffee, tea & craft beer." This sort of spells out the intention of the place. Unfortunately, they'll only be around till Feb 2013, so head on over and check 'em out soon!

Henry Congressional

44 Holland Grove Road

9107 7547

Closed Mondays and Tuesdays,
Open till midnight on Fridays & Saturdays.

Aloha Ma Maison!

We are fans of Ma Maison. We love the homely, Hayao Miyazaki-inspired ambience, along with the fusion Japanese/Western food. Unfortunately, we don't go as often as we might like for two reasons. 1) the higher prices don't encourage recurring patronage, 2) the constant queues don't encourage walk-ins.

Fortunately, the Ma Maison group have spawned an offshoot called Aloha Ma Maison. They've adopted a Hawaiian theme and have a menu that is different, yet somewhat similar to the original. Enter the Loco Moco..

Loco moco is a traditional meal in Hawaiian cuisine. There are many variations, but the essential loco moco consists of white rice, topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg, and brown gravy. - from Wiki.

Ok, we won't find Loco Moco at Ma Maison, but the hamburger patty that comes with this dish is a very similar one to what you will get at Ma Maison (ie. the hamburg steak)! And the good news is, it's cheaper! Furthermore, you can opt for either white rice or multi-grain rice at no extra charge, and a further choice of having a larger serving for a slightly higher price.

Take for example the Ma Maison Loco Moco in the picture above. This was the larger portion. Two sunny side ups cover a hamburg steak, stewed apples, macaroni pasta salad in a demi glace sauce with 2 servings of multi-grain rice. And of course, the mayonnaise! Can't recall the price at this moment, but for sub-$20, your Hamburg Steak at Ma Maison won't come with as many sides nor will it be as satisfying, I can assure you.

Ahipoke 

The salad Ahipoke dish has diced vegetables, and would have been perfect except it had some spice in it. We think it's Tabasco sauce, but we can't be certain. All I know is that it was a tad strong for a salad. When our mains came, having the rice with this dish made it more bearable.

Mky: Ahipoke flavours were not well balanced, the dressing overpowered the fresh flavour of the ingredients. The spicy element, which had a strange numbing effect on the tongue, did not add to enjoyability of the dish.

 

Tuna and Avocado Loco Moco 

A heavenly mix of fresh raw tuna and slices of avocado with a heavy dose of mayonnaise.Can't go wrong here. Mky says you can either eat it as presented, or give it a good toss (ala Pepper Lunch) and mix everything up. I chose the latter and enjoyed this dish perfectly.

Very interesting decor making use of the overhead space

Overall, we loved the rice dishes and the two variations we tried. As I understand it, they are also known for their pancakes, something Mky really loves. Unfortunately we were so stuffed by dinner that we couldn't make room for those delicacies. We'll definitely be back to try that next time.

Aloha Ma Maison

201 Victoria Street,
#01-12 Bugis+

+65 6884 4471

Home-made: Mky's Big Breakfast

What was initially supposed to be something that I was to cook for Mky, became something that she put together in the end! And using the much-talked-about Happy Call pan entirely too!

Hash brown with cheesy knackers and scrambled eggs with truffle oil. Topped off with a half slice of grapefruit, baby tomatoes, some cucumber slices and a drink, this could be the breakfast of champions =)

Thanks for the big breakfast dear!