Nadaman 13th July 2012

This is the first of a 2 part lunch series which sees the exit of one of our founding members – the infamous Michael Cheung Tsun Wai, more lovingly known in circles as Maigai or MG for short.

The night before was a mini advanced celebration of the birthday of Erap II, and as usual, I was accused of hatching a sinister plan to encourage his utmost alcohol intoxication at the pool bar so as to ensure his inability to turn up for work, and thus more importantly for BML the next day. Against this baseless accusation, I have decided to set the record straight. Erap II basically intoxicated himself with 8 bottles of Corona (I actually counted 7, but let’s give the man the benefit of doubt here) over 4 hours. So that’s like just over a pint of beer an hour, and he was plastered. Let’s just say a lady colleague of ours half his size had just as much and made it nicely to work the next day.

So we arrived without too much fuss and given the menu selection and budgetary limits set by MG (S$60 per pax), we all decided to select the Chef’s seasonal menu “Hiru Kaiseki” version, with the exception businessman who decided for a combo meal of Chicken Katsu and Teriyaki Gindara (Cod).

The appetizers for our seasonal menu were a combo or blanched green vegetables, minced fish with stewed root vegetables, and a tofu like custard. The green vegetables and minced fish are pretty standard Japanese fare, and the quality is as expected from most well established Japanese restaurants. But the tofu was something a little more special, with a smooth and firm texture, almost like a softer version of Japanese jelly, and had a taste that was a little sweeter than tofu but still mild.

Next up was the clear soup. The soup had a deep rich and somewhat smokey flavour, and someone commented it tasted a bit like Bovril, although I am pretty sure there were no bovine parts used in the making of the soup. I suspect that there may have been the use of dried smoked seafood delicacies in its creation. Overall, I consider this quite a special soup in my opinion. Accompanying the soup was a caked cube of what I think is a mixture of mushroom shreds, fish paste and egg. It had the texture of dense tamago and was quite delicious.

We were then served the sashimi, which were basically several slices of Hamachi (yellowtail) and Maguro (tuna). I’d say that the fish were acceptably fresh, but not quite the standards of what we’ve experienced in other Japanese BML sessions.

Following this was grilled cod fish. The fish was excellent. It was fresh, rich, smooth, and cooked perfectly. The seasoning was just right and not overpowering.

Next up was the simmered dish paired with the rice, pickles and miso soup. The pickles and miso was standard fare.

The rice however was not your typical white Japanese rice, but the brown version, which is slightly firmer in texture and a little more flavourful and a bit less sticky. It’s probably healthier too.

The simmered dish was actually a mix of figs and root vegetables that had been battered and fried and then left to simmer in the sauce, which tasted a bit like a mix of tempura sauce with some added light soy sauce and sweet vinegar. I thought this dish was quite interesting, but most of the boys were not too enchanted by it. I think they were expecting some seafood pieces, but were disappointed that it wasn’t. Also, the method of frying the veggies/fruits in batter and then simmering resulted in a soggy batter crust surrounding the pieces. I think it was meant to be this way so that it soaked up the sauce, but they were not impressed. I suppose the conventional expectation when you see batter is that it should be crispy, and if it isn’t, then it’s a thumb down.

The final course was desert which (if I remember) was a think creamed jelly with raspberry sauce. The pairing was very good with the creamy jelly nicely matched with the slightly sweet and yet tart raspberry sauce. It was delicious.

As for businessman's selections, his teriyaki cod fish was also excellent, and perhaps a tad more excellent than the version that was served in our seasonal set. It was also bigger, but of course made a lot more smaller by the rest of us wanting to "taste" his dish (since his grilled fish was served before ours).

His Chicken katsu was also delicious and had a nice crispy batter and was quite a generous serving. Dijon mustard was served on the side which I felt did not go so well with it. I would have preferred English mustard. The chicken was well coated, and the batter was tasty and crispy, but not quite as good as the battered up pork cutlet you get at Tonkichi in my view. MG actually felt that it tasted a bit like the battered and fried crispy chicken pieces you get at the Taiwanese street snack chain Shihlin!!!!! I disagreed and thought that this was surely better.

The final damage came to S$370 after a 15% discount with a POSB/DBS credit card. The overall review by the party was that the food was quite good but not blow away great and other than the soup and possibly desert, was not extraordinarily special.

I mentioned that we should have gone for teppanyaki instead, which is what they are more famous for. Jon immediately countered to MG on whether his 2nd exit lunch will be here again for teppanyaki, to which MG flatly refused. The party then reminded MG that we were all expecting a magnificent final exit lunch at our next gathering, something of the order of when he once brought us to our encounter with Buddha!

By: Club Scribe

Club Street Social - 29th June 2012

Dann had originally wanted to pick a place called Corner Stone in Ang Mo Kio (heck where issat?) for this week’s BML, but after much grumbling by the party including veiled threats to invoke the dreaded “samolah”, Dann did an about turn and re-hashed his plans, finally deciding on a place called Club Street Social. Being paymaster, he also invited Jason Chiang as a special guest for this week’s BML.

A bit on our guest -   

Age: mid 20s (I think)

Characteristics – Good natured, not ugly and very athletic (with legendary quads of steel apparently!)

Likes - An avid cyclist (yup as u can see from the photo, he probably cycled to the venue).

As the establishment’s name suggests, the venue was located in a lane just off Club Street. We arrived in 2 cabs 10 minutes from the office, and upon entering what was a relatively modest sized eatery decorated with a mix of French and Italian style café influences, there was rumblings amongst some members that they could not feel the air conditioning and whether that constituted a breach of club rules.

So although the ambience was pretty nice, one could say that the start was not the most auspicious for Dann, especially after the menus were distributed. Dann, having obviously done his sums prior to arriving, said that we could each order up to a maximum of S$60 each since Jon was not attending. Looking at the menu however, we realised that this was;

1. Really a café.

2. The prices were such that hitting $60 may not be too easy since most dishes were priced in the mid-teens.

So Dann mentioned that since we were supporters of Samuel Adams, we were allowed to order a bottle of beer to go along with our lunch. To which MG chimed in to ask to reconfirm if the S$60 spending was inclusive or exclusive of GST and service. At this moment, slightly unsure of his original sums and taken aback, reverted to his true self on reflex and said that the S$60 included the ++.

So we collectively ordered the following:

(Breakfast choice by businessman) - Scrambled Eggs, Fontina, Chives with Smokey Bacon

(Salad) – Romaine, Radicchio, Parmigiano  and confit garlic

(Soups) - Lobster Bisque + Minestrone

(Crostini) - Goat Cheese, Thyme & Honey + Duck Rillets + Anchovy & Ricotta cheese

(Panini) - Proscuitto, Tomato, Mozarella + Ribeye, fontina cheese, garlic + Lobster, avocado + Duck Confit, Portobello mushroom

 (Drinks) – 4 bottles Sam Adams Boston Lager

We were first served our soups, salad and crostinis, and immediately upon our first mouthfuls, the party was overwhelmed with delight.

The lobster bisque was rich and flavourful, and was of a generous helping. The lobster flesh that was included in the soup was crunchy and tasty. It was definitely one of the better lobster bisque’s we have tasted.

As for the minestrone, this was definitely made from scratch. It was full of ingredients, with a base of roughly chopped mirepoix, beans and added vegetables. The soup was rich in flavour (with minimal salt) and you can tell there was hardly any artificial additives or enhancers added to this soup. It was home cooking style with full or stuff sitting in the soup. For anyone looking for a healthy, hearty and nutritious lunch, this is a perfect choice.

The salad was quite a serving as well and there seemed to be garlic paste that was melted with cheese drizzled all over, and further topped with shaven parmesan. The green romaine was crisp and the radicchio was slightly grilled and wilted which I think removed some of the bitterness that you get with radicchio. The dressing for this salad is really something different and interesting. Much more delightful than the usual olive oil and balsamic vinegar or vinaigrette dressing.

We then moved on to the crostinis which I had ordered. I had been looking forward to this as I was reminiscing about some of the really delightful ones I had tasted in Italy. The problem with Italian food in Singapore is that most restaurants do the same thing. Osso bucco, risotto, spaghetti vongole etc etc. So I was hoping in anticipation that this would be good, and I, in fact we all were not disappointed!

The duck rillets were really good and were well paired with the apple and fig compote which was sweet. The mix of ingredients on top of the crispy bread was perfect.

Next came the thyme, honey and goat cheese crostini. Whoa…. this was another fantastic concoction of rich, salty and creamy goat’s cheese infused with thyme and topped with a drizzle of honey. The creaminess of this crostini really gives you that feeling of satisfaction as you wolf it down your throat, and yet it is not overly rich to sort of put you off having another (there was none left anyway). The thyme and honey was lovely with the cheese. The thyme infusion sort of cut away a little of the edgier flavour of the goat’s cheese, whilst the honey balanced off some of the saltiness of the cheese. Half the party voted this the best crostini.

We were then served the anchovy and ricotta cheese. Whoa again….. the anchovies were lovely, fresh and not overly salty and it was wonderful with the fresh and creamy ricotta cheese. You could have 5 of these and not get sick of it. Delicious! The other half of the party voted this the best crostini.

At this point in our meal, everyone agreed that the air-conditioning was definitely working, and even if it was not, no one seemed to care. The head waitress, or possibly the owner of the restaurant came up to comment that the way we surrounded the food and gobbled it down like a pack of animals was quite a sight to behold and would’ve made for a fantastic camera shot.

We were then served Businessman’s breakfast selection. The bacon was so-so, but the eggs were done magnificently well. The cheese and chives that was added to the eggs mixture was really tasty and it was cooked to perfection. Absolutely goldilocks… neither over nor under cooked.

Then came the paninis. Of the 4, the one which we felt was a bit of a let-down was the ribeye Panini. There was nothing wrong with this toasted sandwich except that the beef, being a whole steak was a little hard to eat in a sandwich. We agreed that given a choice, we would prefer a philly cheesesteak sandwich over this anytime.

The lobster and avocado Panini was also given a mixed review. The filling was tasty, but some felt that there was not that much of a lobster flavour to the sandwich. I suspect it was because after the lobster bisque, some of the goons were expecting a concentrated lobster flavour explosion from the Panini. Overall I thought that this was quite a decent Panini.

The duck confit with Portobello mushroom Panini was superb and was a hit with the party. It’s the first time I have had duck confit in a Panini to be honest, and I suppose this is not common simply because diners always want the crispy skin on the duck leg to be intact. In a Panini however, that’s hard if not impossible to achieve, but nonetheless if you are in a rush and in need for a quick takeaway, this is one really tasty Panini you should choose.

Finally, we had the prosciutto, mozzarella and tomato Panini. This is typical Italian fare. Having had quite a few in my travels, I can safely say this is a high quality Panini. The ingredients were good and the Panini was toasted perfectly with the melted mozzarella and wilted tomato slices.

At this point, we highlighted to Dann that there was a small possibility that he may not have hit the minimum spending as per club rules as it was difficult to hit S$53 on the dot, and so most of us were below that threshold, and also that it would truly be a waste if given the food quality we have had so far he were to be penalised for such a technicality. He then murmured sheepishly that we had confused him and that it was his original intention for us to order S$60 before service and taxes.  So he decided to throw in dessert for which we ordered the following:

(Dessert) – berries with Vanilla mascarpone, lemon tart, nutella bread pudding with ice-cream

The vanilla with berries and mascarpone was given a so-so rating. I think most in the group were expecting something a little sweeter (as usual, the country bumpkins would have probably been happier with ice cream), but this dish is probably about pairing the slightly sour berries with the rich mascarpone.

We were then served the nutella pudding. This is one stodgy dessert. More brit style than Italian! I don’t particularly like stodgy desserts, so this was not for me, but to give it credit, it was well made and came piping hot with a big ball of ice cream on top.

The decision on the lemon tart was a bit last minute and we had it thrown in just for comparisons sake. It was lemony and slightly egg-y in flavour, and was not bad. The party agreed that it was better than the one we had last week at Cocotte but still not as good as the one at Au Petit Salut.

I hate to say this, but Dann definitely deserved to be referred to as D-man for his marvellous selection for BML this week. Despite the inauspicious start and the fact that it was a café, this is definitely one of the more memorable lunches we have had. The Sam Adams beer that was thrown in was also a wonderful accompaniment to the lunch and I would thoroughly recommend having some wine or at least a Sam Adams with the food here.

Overall I think the best thing about this establishment are the crostinis. Really a wonderful treat. If I were to come back here in the evenings with some friends, it would be a bottle of wine and all the crostini’s on the menu. Reminds me a bit of Spanish tapas as well. Next best thing are the soups. Following that would possibly be the duck confit Panini and the prosciutto, mozzarella and tomato Panini.

The total damage was about S$360 once the guest’s cost was excluded. Dann had it good this time as the nice lady who served us waived all charges for the 3 desserts we selected. The party suspected this good fortune was due to my good looks J rather than our generous lunch order. Thanks guys!

By: Club Scribe

Cocotte - 22nd June 2012

Collin Cheong had made an interesting choice for this week’s BML. Cocotte, which serves rustic French cuisine is an eatery housed in the charming wanderlust hotel near the serangoon road/jalan besar area. I suspect it must’ve been because he rummaged through the dining treats and discounts offered on the various credit cards he owns. I’ve concluded that Collin has an “auntie” side to him, just like Dann, with the multitude of credit cards just to squeeze the last couple of bonus points, air miles, grocery rebates and dining discounts and deals.

So, upon our arrival at the venue, we were advised by Collin that we are all allowed to order the more expensive executive set lunch. In fact, we were “ordered” not to order the cheaper standard set lunch at S$29++ for obvious reasons. In fact, with his DBS credit card, we needed to only pay for 6 sets and our 7^th would come free. So without going into the math, Collin clearly stated that we will all order the executive set and he will further throw in a couple of Ala carte dishes to juice up the meal experience for the members.

For the set lunch starters, we collectively ordered the Frisee & Lardon Salad, the Rosette, the Escargot and the Foie Gras. For the mains, we had the Stead Tartare, Moule Fritte, Steak au poivre and the Seared Chicken Breast. And finally for dessert we had the lemon tart, crème brulee and 2 types of homemade ice cream, one being the citron flavoured and the other peanut butter and jelly.

Collin then requested for a few additional items from the ala carte menu, but was told unfortunately that this was not possible as the establishment only served set lunches during lunch. At this point he freaked out for a while knowing the financial penalty of not being able to breach the minimum spending, and after the fiasco of MG at Osvaldo, the club has already agreed to certain “steady” rules to avoid a repeat of the MG “I’d rather tell the restaurant don’t give the discount lor” syndrome. I offered a suggestion to Collin to consider opening a bottle of fine red wine in place of the ala carte dishes, but he decided against it (knowing that it will be costly) and begged the waitress to consider if some of the ala carte starters could at least be ordered. Lucky for him, the establishment agreed to let us order 2 pork rillettes and a fried tripe starter. These 2 orders thus allowed Collin Cheong to breach the danger zone.

Proceeding with the starters, the escargots in pastry were a little unusual. The texture of the snail was much softer than the chewy version you usually encounter with oven baked snails which are a more common preparation for escargots that you find in other establishments. It was not a bad starter in terms of the overall taste, but texture is quite an important aspect to consider when eating snails for me personally, and I do prefer a chewier escargot than this. Having had this dish for the first time, I was not sure if it was meant to be a hot starter or a cold starter as it was right bang room temperature, which was a little weird.  

The Frisee and Lardon Salad was a simple dish of salad greens with special smoked bacon bits that had a rich smokey flavour, topped by a perfectly poached egg. There is nothing surprising or exceptional about this dish, as what you see is what you get. A little addition of cracked black pepper would have worked well, but we forgot to ask for it.

The Rosette was a nice starter if you like cured sausages. The sausage had a good balance of flavours, neither too salty or porky or oily. It would have been perfect with a glass of white wine actually.

As for the foie gras, (we always order it, cos every darn restaurant makes it…. Arghhh), the liver could have been pan fried a little longer for a crisper outer layer. But the cherry sauce that it came with was a perfect match. Overall we felt that this foie gras dish was better than the one we had at il Lido but not quite the standard of Saint Pierre’s version.

The fried tripe was quite a treat although there were some amongst our party who were comparing it to the fired intestines they had a few weeks ago at the old airport road market. I reminded the fools that tripe comes from a cow’s stomach and the intestines we had that were fried were the small intestines of the pig, so making such comparisons is like comparing beef tongue to fish eyes. Overall, I thought the fried tripe was battered and done quite well; it was tasty and not overly oily. But being fried and being tripe, you can’t eat a whole bowl of this alone, unless you have some wine or possibly beer to accompany it.

The pork rillettes was a good dish, it was oily, meaty, and slightly salty, and as with most good rillettes, absolutely wonderful with toasted bread. However, some in the party commented that it was not as good as the complimentary rillettes that were offered with bread at Le Nicholas. It was possibly true, although I think both were close in terms of taste and quality. The best rillettes I’ve tasted in Singapore so far though are the ones served by Le Bistrot du Sommelier in Prinsep Street.

Moving on to the mains, the Steak Tartare was prepared well. The meat was fresh and lean and the condiments gave the beef added flavour, with the raw egg adding to the smoothness of the texture. The fries that accompanied the steak were very tasty as well.

As for the Moule Frite, the party agreed that the mussels were of high quality being really fresh and fat. The cream sauce was tasty and not overly heavy, although I personally prefer mussels steamed in white wine and parsley, this was good for a change especially if one likes cream based sauces.

The steak au poivre was given a so-so response by the gang. There was nothing special in the way it was done, and neither was the cut any special as well. The sauce was ordinary too. It was all round ordinary, not far improved from a steak you get at some of the better western stall joints in some hawker centres.

The seared chicken breast with black trompette mushroom cream was not too bad, provided you like cream based dishes. The breast was not overly done and so was not dry and the generous cream sauce did have a good infusion of mushroom flavour. It was a good pairing overall.

For the desserts, the crème brulee was so-so in my view. I don’t consider myself a crème brulee expert, but most of the group felt that they’ve had better tasting crème brulee’s. Somehow, I felt that the custard had quite a bit of kaya taste to it. I actually thought it was kaya infused crème brulee when I first took a spoonful.

The lemon tart was something different, and was lemony with enough tartness. It was a pretty decent dish although Dann pointed out that it was a far cry from the lemon tart which we had quite some time back as a dessert set lunch at Au Petit Salut, which we all agreed.

Finally, the homemade ice creams, i.e. the citron version and the peanut butter version were both good. The citron version was refreshing yet creamy, and the peanut butter version was rich and creamy. 

I personally preferred the peanut butter one which I chose, although I somehow felt that the jelly topping they added is not quite the perfect accompaniment to the peanut butter ice cream. In fact I felt it got in the way. It would have been better to have the peanut butter ice cream on its own or possibly with some chocolate or maybe even hazelnut sauce. I think it would’ve been perfect.

So having finished, we were all sitting around admiring the ambience of what is quite a warm, friendly and eclectically decorated restaurant, whilst waiting for the bill. When it arrived, it was at this moment that Collin started to rummage frantically through his wallet. He then realised that the auntie in him absentmindedly left the credit card at home despite his best efforts to take it out specifically from his multitude of cards and paraphernalia that was probably stuffed in his drawer. He then looked anxiously (knowing his odds were poor) towards Dann to ask his fellow Auntie if he had a DBS credit card with him, to which Dann gave his standard customary answer… “I did not bring my wallet with me”. Immediately the anguish in his face appeared like so many of an auntie defeated at the NTUC checkout for forgetting to bring the link-points card or wat not, although in this case the damage to his personal treasury for such a mistake amounted to about 50 bucks.

Total damage was about S$435 although Collin was probably aiming for S$385. Overall the food at Cocotte is fairly decent given the prices they set. The best options for lunch were probably the pork rillettes, mussels and peanut butter ice cream. But if you were to pick only from the set lunch starters, it would probably be the cured sausage if you had wine to accompany, if not then the foie gras.


By: Club Scribe