G and my life has officially been changed with the arrival of our twin boys on the eleventh of April. I thought we had a week more for me to update eatgazelove but the boys couldn’t wait to say hello so the posts in drafts would really need to be put in storage for a while. I do thank everyone for their patience and for those wondering, there are no plans to shut this site…just to put it on ice for just a bit!

I will likely be tweeting more so do follow me there or check back to eatgazelove which captures my tweets too.

So for now, it is going to be intermission time here at eatgazelove.

Do keep eating, gazing and loving on my behalf yah?

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With my now quite swollen belly, venturing out beyond the usual comfort quarters of the eastern half of the island has been cut down to quite a minimum. However, with sis and bro-in-law out for dinner one Saturday evening, Pak Law decided to give himself a break from cooking and buy us dinner instead, so we landed ourselves an alfresco spot at Les Amis’ new joint Casa Verde at the Singapore Botanics. Having been there a week or so back for breakfast with my niece E, Pak Law must have been quite taken by the menu and the food served up at Casa Verde to warrant a second visit. I too was quite curious as it was a little strange that Les Amis, with Au Jardin already established at the Gardens,  would set up another joint at the same place.

The menu turned out to be simple classic but comprehensive italian bistro fare, with something literally for everyone. We went through dinner that evening in true Italian style, starting off with 3 antipasti dishes – a salad, the clean insalata fresca, a soup, the zuppa di funghi, and the calamari fritti. The salad did its job of refreshing the palate and preparing the tastebuds for the courses to come, while the mushroom soup warmed up the tummy on that somewhat wet Saturday evening with some honest to goodness creamy fresh white button mushroom puree.

The highlight of the lot for me was definitely the calamari. Not being a huge fan of the dish in general, I was taken by surprise at the crisp texture and sweet flavors that come with each bite of these yummy rings. Breaded and deep fried to golden, these squid rings tasted fabulous on their own but was even more phenomenal with Casa Verde’s homemade tartar sauce. A definite win in my book and a must order for any trip to Casa Verde.

For the pasta course, we thoroughly enjoyed the serving of the squid ink pasta which was the pasta of the day, while the kids basically devoured their classic penne cabonara. There are various ways to do squid ink, and Casa Verde served their version up in a style I like best – al dente fetuccine swimming in black goey goodness. Seasoned just right with a touch of olive oil and balanced with a hint of garlic and chilli, the pasta was extremely well done and huge a pity that it isn’t featured as one of the main stays on their pasta menu.

Next, pizza. Having dined at Les Amis’ other pizzeria joint (Pepperoni), I was somewhat expecting a similar style pizza but was yet again pleasantly surprised with what was served. The crust was thin but slightly more doughy than those served up at Pepperoni and had a nice generous slather of fresh tomato puree and what I think is a mixure of cheeses. Topped simply with just well done beef slices and fresh capsicums, the pizza of the day turned out to be quite a show stopper with us diners. Never would I have expected beef to go this well on a pizza, but I guess 3 slices is prove that I am now a convert!

To round up the meal, secondi was a plate of herb crusted lamb racks, which came highly recommended by the service staff as the special of the day. Served with buttery herb roasted potatoes and a pumpkin puree, the slices of lamb were done perfectly medium rare. Judging by how quickly the 4 bones were finished off, the chefs definitely got it right by keeping the dish simple and letting the meat shine. This probably isn’t the best rack of lamb we’ve had but I do have to give it to Casa Verde for having quite a mean stab at the dish.

It would have been nice if we could truly round up the italian dinner with a course of dolci but we were way too stuffed to stomach anything further. All good though as I’ve already made the mental note to have a go at the torta di limone the next time around I’m in the Gardens!

Casa Verde . 1 Cluny Road . Singapore Botanic Gardens . (65) 6467 7326

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There is something about Sundays and holidays that makes one crave a huge brunch. That was me a week ago, craving creamy fluffy scrambled eggs, crisp bacon, slightly greasy sausages, baked beans and warm toast. I thought of swinging by Oriole’s new roasting joint but they were closed on New Year’s Day so we ended up in the Arab Street area after recalling Chubby Hubby’s latest rave about Maison Ikkoku, a new cafe joint tucked just round the corner from Singapore’s Indie fashion lane at Haji.

I was a little worried that the cafe would be busy but it was on the contrary, nice and quietly busy. The cafe was small and outfitted simply with hints of local retro furniture that would remind one of your childhood. The people already there were obviously enjoying the day off, with newspaper or book in one hand and cup of joe in the other….and it was clear that Maison Ikkoku was one place you could go to to really kick back, relax and watch the day go by without feeling guilty. The food was fabulous and definitely satisfied the guilty craving I had. I did wish though that I could savor some of that awesome coffee they serve there but I will have to take a rain check on that one. Apart from serving the good old brekkie favorites (think the likes of eggs benny and eggs florie), Maison Ikkoku did have two pretty intriguing appetizers on their menu – the MI musubi and the MI pork bun. We had an order of both but missed the pork bun (read kong ba bao) as we were a tad too early for the early afternoon delivery of MI’s signature stewed pork bun. Nevertheless, we tucked in and thoroughly enjoyed the musubi which essentially was a pimped out spam sushi. Who would have thought slapping a piece of spam on top of japanese rice infused with pork floss and other japanese condiments would have created such an awesome combination of flavors and textures!

Maison Ikkoku is one of those places that remind me of those quaint cafes in Melbourne where it is simply just all about good simple food, great coffee and a fabulous laid back vibe. A true gem and I do hope Maison Ikkoku continues to stay true to its simple indie roots!

Maison Ikkoku . 20 Kandahar Street . (65) 6294 0078

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It being the first post of the new year, I decided that it would only be fitting to share with everyone the first fab meal I managed to thoroughly enjoy after coming out of about ten weeks of queasiness. For those of you who don’t already know, G and I are expecting new additions to our family so the silence here on eatgazelove was largely due to the fact that I was battling morning sickness and the onslaught of fatigue that made blogging quite a challenge after a day at work. The sickness lasted till about my tenth week which was kinda timely as G and I were planning to head out to somewhere nice to celebrate our one year’s anniversary. With all the new places sprouting about the island, we were quite spoilt for choice as to dinner venues, but we decided to head back to Ember, one of our all time favorite places, for we knew we were definitely going to be spoilt rotten with a fab meal.

I always remember the last meal we had at Ember a good two (or was it three!) years ago. G and I indulged in the chef’s table which was a 8-course degustation meal, themed around the extremely decadent foie gras, and we were definitely blown away but each and every course. This time around, we decided to keep things simple with G having a 4-course set and me with the ala carte just to slowly reintroduce the tummy back to the thing called food. G’s dinner started off with a nice fusiony take on sashimi. Think thinly sliced slivers of fresh hamachi, cured the teochew way with tangy lime and accompanied with roasted sesame and garden fresh spring onions. To be honest, I was longing to have a taste of the fish being such a huge fan of hamachi and teochew styled raw fish but raw fish was a no-no for me so I could only imagine the explosion of flavors through G’s descriptions.

Following the hamachi was one of what I would think is one of the things ember does fantastically, and that is serving up some fab foie gras. It was a generous serving and done up quite fancifully with a warm poached egg, red wine jus, crisp sweet potato chip and touch of truffle. The liver was as always, cooked to perfectly melt in one’s mouth and the combination of runny egg yolk and hints of truffle definitely topped this already decadent treat.

While g wiped his dish clean, I savored some tummy warming field mushroom soup. The soup, topped with a light cream foam, was choc-a-block full of earthy goodness. Made I think from a combination of mushrooms, the soup had a good balance of creaminess and textures that excited the taste buds. Ember is one that doesn’t scrimp on its portion so the soup was a decent size and definitely got my tummy ready for my ebi sakura pasta (title pic) that was to come!

I remembered loving the ebi pasta from the degustation meal we had before so my choice of main was quite rhetorical. The pasta turned out to be as good as I remembered, with al dente angel hair pasta tossed in some light garlic and olive oil and topped with the cutest, freshest, crisp little ebi sakura. The bubs must have loved it for I demolished the entire dish pretty much single-handedly, leaving just enough for G to have a taste! Judging by how G was slowly but surely devouring his medium rare cut of beef and wiping off each bit jus, I knew that Ember definitely knew how to serve a steak right.

We rounded up the extraordinary meal with ember’s signature apple tarte tartin. Served warm with a cannelle of vanilla bean ice cream, the tartin had melt in your mouth flaky pastry and nicely spiced apple cubes. Not overly sweet, the balance of cinnamon and buttery pastry with the sweet cold vanilla ice cream was a perfect ending to yet another gorgeous meal at Ember.

Can’t wait to be back again!

Restaurant Ember . 50 Keong Siak Road . Hotel 1929 . (65) 6347 1928

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It has truly been a while, much longer than I originally intended this break to be, and I like to firstly thank everyone for being patient and still supporting eatgazelove despite its dormancy. The good news is that I’ve finally gotten back on my feet, cleaned off the dust on my lumee and begun somewhat getting back into the familiar routine of capturing special moments to share on eatgazelove. With it being Christmas and all, I thought it’d would be a nice time to initiate another get together of sorts, so yes….eatgazelove is online again and back I am!

the next post is already brewing so do hit us back here. till then, happy christmas everyone and truly indulge in the season for eating, gazing and most importantly, loving!

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It has been almost two weeks since my last post and I blush that it has been that long. To be honest, the time literally just flew by with work being phenomenally busy and me feeling under the weather. The not so good news is that work is still going to be crazy but I do hope I will feel better soon and I will get back into the groove of posting. I do have a pile I am sitting on so I hope everyone enjoys the quick break as I take a quick time out and promise to be back as soon as possible.

till then…remember to eat, gaze and love!

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I am not sure about you but I am one keen follower of Chubby Hubby. I love his down to earth-ness and diverse style, covering both the uber high end dining bits as well as the round the corner local joints. He is taking a bit of a hiatus from blogging to revamp his site but I am still fervently following him on twitter which has led me to the discovery of a new Penang food joint. Reviewed by Chubby Hubby himself to be ‘yum’, I knew I absolutely had to check out the place and see how it stacks up against Keu and of course the good old Penang Hawker Fare.

Located along the same stretch as famous Wee Nam Kee and Peach Garden, Penang Road Cafe appears to be the newest addition to Novena ville block. Furnished simply, the cafe was already quite busy despite not being quite lunch time yet. The menu featured your usual Penang classics of assam laksa, prawn noodles and char kway teow in addition to the less common suspects of rojak, lor bak and chendol. In essence, the Penang Road Cafe pretty much had all of the goodies served up at the Penang Hawker Fare less the kway teow tng, cuttlefish kangkong and hard to beat peanut pancake. In terms of taste, I would rank Penang Road Cafe about a notch and a half below that of the hawker fare. The rojak was good, filled with fresh mango, pineapple, cucumber and turnip, topped with rich prawn paste sauce and generous amounts of groundnuts, but I felt that the prawn paste was a touch too heavy, masking the raw sweetness of the beautiful fruit and veggies.

The laksa took a while to grow on me, with the tangy spicy assam flavors only fully developing on the palate after I dug through a third of the bowl. After that though, the flavors were quite authentic with chunky bits of fish adding a textural dimension to the crunchy cucumber strips and stringy rice noodles. While I enjoyed the laska, I think the Hawker Fare and Keu’s version both still have a certain special punch that push their assam laksa bowls to a higher level in my book.

The char kway teow on the other hand though won my vote for it reminded me of the awesome version we tucked into at the corner kopi tiam at Kafe Heng Huat in Penang. I recently grew to enjoy the Penang version of the char kway teow a little bit more for I felt it tasted almost like a pad thai (which I absolutely love) but had a nice lemak twist to it. Penang Road Cafe’s version was nice in that it was not too oily and was chock a block full of fresh bean sprouts, sweet prawns and chunky bits of pork lard.

There were many other things I would have loved to try, including the raved about prawn noodles by Chubby Hubby so a second visit is definitely on the cards. A nice discovery and I can’t wait to see how the rest of the dishes stack up.

Thank you Chubby Hubby for letting in on a great Penang find!

Penang Road  Cafe . 275 Thomson Road #01-08 . Novena Ville . (65) 6256 3218

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Le Bistrot has always been one of those places that we have always wanted to bring Pak Law to. Both G and I think the world of this place, with its simple classic French fare, and figured that it might just strike a chord with Pak Law and maybe even inspire his cooking. So when Pak Law mentioned that he would like to head out for dinner last Saturday and left the place to my recommendation, I promptly made a reservation for four at Le Bistrot!

Braised Tripe in Tomato Gratin.

Caviar du Pauvre.

Pak Law must have been excited as he seemed to have had done some homework looking up reviews on the place. He explained about the reviews he read on the drive in to Kallang about Le Bistrot’s lamb and steak and seemed to have more or less already decided what we were going to have! We ended up sharing three full prix fixe meals between the four of us and kicked off the meal with 4 fabulous entrees. Pak Law had the special of the day which consisted of some perfectly braised tripe baked in a nice tangy tomato gratin. G had the Caviar du Pauvre or poor man’s caviar which I think won the unanimous vote for the most outstanding dish that evening.  Served with freshly chargrilled bread, this verrine of eggplant, garlic purée, chicken liver mousse and Pernod crème fraîche was exquisite. The combination of flavors from the sweetness of the eggplant to the sharp kick of the garlic and velvety textures was like nothing we have ever tasted before. It left Pak Law so extremely intrigued that we ‘cornered’ one of the service staff to see if we could get a bit more about how the jar was put together!

Gravlax (Saumon Cru Mariné), Oeuf Mollet Croquant, Crème Fraîche à la Menthe.

I chose to indulge in the Gravlax and was pleasantly surprised how the French version of this Scandinavian classic was simply turned top-notch with the drizzling of some white truffle oil, and served with a deep-fried soft boiled egg. The combination was once again outstanding and the runny egg added an earthy creamy balance to the fresh homecured salmon. This is one dish that I could definitely have more of so I was secretly glad that Pak Law said he would recreate this back at one six b soon! Le Bistrot’s classic french onion soup was the last entree we had and it most definitely hit the spot on that cool wet evening. Fabulously caramelized, the onion soup had rich wholesome overtones and was topped with just the right amount of grilled emmenthal cheese.

Soupe à l’Oignon Gratinée.

Porc Au Lait.

Already quite full from the repertiore of awesome entrees, I was a little afraid that we would not be able to fully indulge in the mains. All our three mains were served in extremely generous portions and despite being full, each and every dish was so well done that between the four of us, we still managed to polish off all three plates! The duck confit stayed consistent and was as well done as the first time G had it almost a year back. The highlights mains-wise though definitely went out to the roast lamb rack and the korabuta pork belly special. The lamb was moist, tender and roasted till pink. Think melt in your mouth textures and delicious flavors of thyme, augmenting the sweetness of the tender meat. The pork belly was equally phenomenal with similar melt in your mouth sensations achieved from braising the belly in milk. The milk jus reduction coupled with sweet pureed carrot went outstandingly well with the rich belly, cutting through the richness and adding a definite dimension to the flavors of the dish.

Confit de Cuisses de Canard.

Mousse au Chocolat.

Rounding up the meal was a trio of Le Bistrot’s desserts. We had a good mix of sweets, taking us from the classic French Creme Brulee, to the simple Mousse au Chocolat and more complex Nougat Glacé aux Noisettes. All three sweets were perfectly executed but we were definitely way to0 stuffed to be able to fully enjoy the richness of the desserts. I made a mental note next time that I would not be pressured to indulge in the Prix Fixe but go ala carte with one entree and one dessert. Don’t get me wrong, Le Bistrot’s mains are definitely not to be missed so maybe I should qualify and add that I would go with either the entree and main, or main and dessert prix fixe on ‘hungrier’ days.

Nougat Glacé aux Noisettes.

Creme Brulee (Amaretto-griottine, Bergamot -Earl Grey tea & Dark chocolate).

Dinner was extremely enjoyable and on behalf of the family, I would like to give huge kudos to Chef-Owner Lee and his staff for running a true French gem in sunny Singapore. Pak Law enjoyed the meal so much that he has already made plans for his annual office dinner to be held at Le Bistrot!

Merci Beaucoup!

Le Bistrot . 2 Stadium Walk . #01-03 . Singapore Indoor Stadium . (65) 6447 0018

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Every since I got word of Chef Willin’s new venture at Punggol Park, I have been trying to find every excuse to head over to soak up the new vibe I am sure Wild Oats has definitely breathed into the new old estate. With Willin’s track record, it is no wonder that this part watering hole part cafe was overwhelmed the minute it opened. There were apparently some teething problems the team faced trying to keep up with the crowds but when G and I visited, there was hardly any evidence of any problems and the place was a buzz like any aged old establishment.

I absolutely love the way the place has been done up – simple and clean with a hint of local retro vibe with cane and wood furniture adorning the 300 seater space. The place is sans the a/c and the huge windows and open space is truly a breath of fresh air to the claustrophobic spaces we have subconsciously become encased within.

Staying true to Willin’s characteristic style, Wild Oats serves up a nice variety of finger food, burgers, mains and desserts, all done with a fabulous local twist. From luncheon meat fries, otah bruschetta to laksa pesto and chicken chop, the food is slightly less refined then that served up at Willin’s other establishments but it was nevertheless still hearty and definitely reminds one of home. I thoroughly enjoyed my braised dark soy sauce chicken with instant noodles, inspired of course by the zha-can-ting style from Hong Kong. The meat was braised beautifully with a fantastic blast of garlic flavor and served with simply blanched cabbage for the added dimension of crunch.

G’s chicken cutlet with garlic mayo was a mash up of the classic chicken cutlet and the Hainanese style pork chop. I found it a tad rich as the cutlet was fried and not grilled but the garlic mayo definitely helped to cut through the creaminess. Accompanied with doubly fried shoe string fries and a huge serving of good old bake beans, this is one dish that truly deserves the title of good old ‘comfort food’.

G and I were actually quite stuffed, but we knew we absolutely had to have Wild Oat’s version of the local chendol dessert. Done in a somewhat deconstructed style, the chendol had perfect layers of red bean, green jelly, creamy coconut milk, all important gula melaka and coarsely crushed ice. Topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream, this is one chendol that I could easily devour anytime. The ingredients were fresh and the layers mixed mashed fabulously together. The chendol had the perfect balance of brown sugar sweetness and creamy hints of coconut milk, and stayed true to the classic dessert with the textural sensations of crunchy red beans and green jelly worms. A fabulous end to a nice laid back dinner and I am already looking forward to coming back to kick back and chill at Wild Oats really soon.

Wild Oats . 1 Punggol Park . Hougang Avenue 8 . (65) 6858 2087

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Finally, we made it to Mozza. We were meant to have dined at Pizzeria Mozza back in May for Mom and Pak Law’s wedding anniversary but Mom fell ill so we had to KIV the dinner. Since then, it has been quite a challenge scoring a table at Mario Batali’s pizza bistro as it seems to be proving to be a huge hit with the folks on this island. This past week though, thanks to my niece E who graciously allowed us to have a Mozza meal on her birthday (she sacrificed her requested KFC dinner!), we finally made it to Mozza.

This being my first dining experience at the Marina Bay Sands, I was like a kid in a candy store, pouring over the menu and soaking up the very busy vibe of the pizzeria. Dinner started off with what sounded like the best entries on the antipasti menu. First, we tucked into a serving of arancine alla bolognese, then some bone marrow al forno, fried goat cheese with Umbrian lentils, before rounding up the tasting session with the calamari al forno with fagioli and oregano. The ingredients were without a doubt fresh and definitely contributed to the fabulous flavors experienced with each of the antipasti dishes. The arancine opened up the palate with its sweet yet tangy bolognese sauce, off setting the slight richness of the risotto cheese balls. The salt and creaminess of the bone marrow then balanced out the sweetness in the mouth with its more down to earth salty flavor and fire from the grilled garlic. The lentils were a little unusual and would probably take some getting used to but eaten with a sliver of goat cheese definitely helps marry the strong characters of both the lentils and the cheese. The calamari was done al dente and perfectly spiced with oregano which I felt was a nice change from the usual battered squid rings.

Bone marrow al forno.

Deep fried goat cheese with Umbrian lentils.

Calamari al forno with fagioli and oregano.

Staying true to the essence of an Italian meal, following our platters of antipasti, we tucked into the primo piatto of meat. This course was taken in two parts with the first served up on crisply toasted bruschette via finely minced chicken liver with capers, parsley and panchetta. Not being too big a fan of liver, I sampled only half of one bruschette and was caught by surprise how smooth and not at all briney nor iron-y the mince tasted. A definite change from the usual salsa topped bruschette and one that definitely added a nice savory touch that I could get used to.

Part 2 was a slowly braised lamb shank. While good, this shank could have done with a bit more time to braise so as to achieve the ultimate fall of the bone texture so desired for the dish. The sauce though, was rich and chock full of herb flavors that was a definite plus over the less than ideal braised lamb.

The secondo piatto of dinner that evening was not the usual mains but rather a trio of Mozza’s classic pizzas. Of the three, the funghi misti was a clear winner for me with its earthy mushroom flavors balanced by the milky taleggio. The bacon salami and prosciutto de parma pizzas had Mozza’s signature thin yet doughy crust but I found the cured meats a touch too salty for our Asian palates. Overall, I was honestly a little disappointed with the pizzas. They were good but they were not exactly great so I’m sorry Batali, but Mozza won’t really be on the top of my list of places to head to cure a pizza craving.

Bacon, salami, fennel sausage, pancetta, tomato & mozzarella.

Prosciutto di Parma, rucola, tomato & mozzarella.

For the final course of dolci, we were actually considering joint hopping to another place for some sweets but decided to stay put after sighting some pretty interesting desserts on Mozza’s menu. We pretty much went all out with six desserts and were initially worried that it might be a bit too much. One taste of the sweets and the worries immediately vanished as it turned out that Mozza actually served up some really mean desserts! Everything from the simple gelato to the to die for mixed berry compote and banana gelato pie, Mozza definitely wowed us by taking the simple dessert and taking it to a phenomenal level. The freshness of the ingredients and rich flavors and textures rang loud and strong in all of the desserts and I would definitely be back to sample the remaining 4 dolci’s we didn’t manage to try this time around.

Trip of Gelato – Vanilla, Chocolate & Milk Chocolate Malt.

Dried fig crostata.

Mixed berry copetta.

Banana gelato pie.

All in all, it was a fun and good dinner. It was priced a little higher than I would have imagined by I guess that’s how it is with world renowned chef owned establishments. Whatever it is, grazie Mozza!

Pizzeria Mozza . 2 Bayfront Avenue . B1 – 42/46 . 6688 8522

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