Jaan @ Swissotel Stamford

Went back to Jaan for Sunday lunch after the previous great dinner.



The view is stunning in the day from the restaurant, and we can't wait for the IR to be completed so that the whole Marina Bay will be even more attractive than now. And of course, more food to eat.



Feuilles de Combawa - Kaffir lime consomme served with stone crab foie gras tartine and baby leek raviolis. Had this last time during dinner. Standards still there. Refreshing soup for a warm summer afternoon.



Did not have any soup, but Chef Andre Chiang made me this special drink which consisted of lychee and it contains edible gold flakes inside!



Hot foie gras jelly topped wild mushroom fricassee under buckwheat brioche crust and black truffle coulis. Fricassee is like a stew, and coulis is a thick sauce made from vegetables or fruits.



Tartine De Tourteau Effiloche - Citrus scented stone crab effiloché on Ratte potato confit and fresh herbs lukewarm potato mousse



Truffe Noire - Spaghetti simply cooked in black truffle butter and slow roasted free range chicken. Think the chicken was a bit over the top. Prefer the pasta simply cooked with black truffle butter and nothing else.



Wild mushroom cigar, courtesy by the chef again.



Macaroni De Boeuf - Thirty-six hour braised short rib, duxelle macaroni and crispy vitelotte chips and shallots. The beef just melts in your mouth. So tender yet still retains the meat texture and fiber. This is a dish which requires lot's of skills and patience.



Joue De Kurobuta Grille - Char-grilled Kurobuta cheek and romaine, caramelized baby onion and smoked basil oil. The pork is very juicy, and has a salty and sweet taste. Caramelized onions always goes very well with grilled pork. A close 2nd to the braised beef.



Earl Grey Tea



Tarte Au Citron - Lemon tart on mini churros, grapefruit Campari granité and its confit. Reminded me of our National Stadium.



Chocolat - Classic Ngyanbo chocolate palet, Tahiti vanilla ice cream “à la minute”. Recently has cravings for anything with vanilla beans in it, especially ice-cream. Nothing beats real vanilla beans.



Great lunch at Jaan. Good view, good companion and good view.


Jaan
Swissotel Stamford
Level 70
Tel: 6837-3322

Japanese Gourmet Town @ Vivocity

Had a quick lunch at Japanese Gourmet Town at Vivocity. Was quite empty when I went there at 1:45pm, guess the lunch time crowd has already returned to their offices.



Japanese Gourmet Town had 3 restaurants - Botejyu, Yoshimi and Ajisen Ramen. Botejyu is a popular chain of Okonomiyaki restaurants in Osaka Japan, and I am always amazed by how juicy and fresh the Okonomiyaki in Japan are after watching Japan Hour.



The set lunch came with iced green tea and salad. The salad was average, nothing special.



Perhaps my expectation was too high. The Pork Okos I had was dry. The cabbage and pork slices were a bit over-burnt. Quite disappointed with their version of Okonomiyaki, even though it came from Osaka. Perhaps the Singapore chef cooking it has to receive more trainings first.


Japanese Gourmet Town
1 HarbourFront Walk
#01-157/158 Vivocity
Tel: 6224 9690

Julien Bompard @ Ascott Raffles Place

Back at Julien Bompard again for the weekend brunch. The food is great, service is good, and best of all not crowded at all.



Amuse Bouche - Specially made by the chef for us.



"Pain Perdu" French Bread dip in egg and pan seared with mixed berries - the berries are a bit sour, nevertheless the French bread is hearty.



Omelette with cheese, served with chicken sausage, grilled tomatoes, potato wedge and salad leaves - Omelette is creamy and the cheese adds flavour to the dish,



Seafood Bisque - truffle oil is added into the soup. Thick, flavourful and full of seafood goodness.



Traditional Caesar Salad with chicken breast & Parmesan cheese - one of the best version of Caesar salad served in Singapore. Chicken breast is juicy and tender, vegetables are crisp and fresh, and the roasted tomatoes add zing to the salad.



Beef burger with onion, cheese and sesame bun - Not one of their best main course. Prefer the one at Barracks.



"Cordon Bleu" Roast chicken breast with fresh herbs - Find the chicken breast a bit dry.



Cheese and bacon is rolled within the chicken breast, which is suppose to add juice and flavour to the chicken breast. Would prefer if the breast is juicier.



Seasonal fruit platter



Valrhona chocolate fondant with coulis - Valrhona chocolates are one of the best chocolate in the world using the best quality ingredients.


Julien Bompard
2 Finlayson Green,
2nd Level Ascott Raffles Place,
Singapore 049247
TEL: 6509 0908

Din Tai Fung @ Paragon

Din Tai Fung has been in Singapore for quite a few years, ever since BreadTalk group brought over the Singapore franchise from the original Taiwan operators.

Famous for its Steam pork dumplings (Xiao Long Bao), it was voted one of the world's top 10 restaurant in the 1993 edition of New York Times.



Even though I have heard complaints about how standards have dropped, but I still like their food, especially their golden fried rice with a big piece of pork chop, and the braised beef noodles soup.



Their Xiao Long Bao is a must order. I like how each dumpling carry a spoonful of soup inside the thin flour skin. Although the juice did not burst out, but at least there is sufficient juice inside to qualify as a good Xiao Long Bao.



Shrimp and Pork dumplings, otherwise known as Shao Mai. Didn't really like this.



Fried rice with pork chop - Pork chop is crispy and fragrant, but the star is the fluffy fried rice using Taiwanese pearl grains and each rice is coated with golden egg yolk. Rice is very fragrant as it is stir fried with green spring onions. Simple but delicious.


Din Tai Fung
290 Orchard Road
#B1-03 The Paragon
Tel: 6836 8336

Jaan @ Swissotel Stamford

One of the most famous restaurant in Singapore is Jaan which commands one of the best view in Singapore.



Not only that, the current chef de cuisine of Jaan is Andre Chiang, a 33 years old Chinese born in Taiwan and moved to France at the age of 13 to learn how to cook French food.

Many women come here just to see the chef due to his dashing good looks. But I think his food is equally good too. If not, one of the best French food in town.



When exiting the lift, you are greated by a paranomic view of the Singapore skyline.



The view from the Equinox restaurant is fabulous. But of course, the view from Jaan is even better.



As the sun sets in the west, it also herald the start of dinner.



Other than these crispy sticks of bread served at Jaan, the waitresses also served minature breads to all tables. The onion bread and crossaint are one of the best breads I have eaten. I think I must have asked for multiple servings of the onion bread.



The ceiling of Jaan is decorated with Murano Wave crystals, very dreamy and beautiful at night with the city skyline lights.



Amuse Bouche - the crab leg meat is very fresh and sweet.



Duo of Britiany blue lobster, apple basil tapioca tartar and white peach ravioli - I was surprised that the white peach concentrate was infused in a bubble, and when it burst in your mouth, you can enjoy the sweet white peach juice flowing into your throat. Lobster meat is sweet and fresh too.

The little green spheres you see are not peas! They are actually little spheres of apple basil sauce.



Roasted giant live scallop on vitelotte parmentier and wild mushroom cigar - I love the mushroom cigar. Very intense flavour, yet interesting texture.



Kaffir lime consomme served with stone crab tartine - I am not sure how to eat this dish. Wondered for a while if I am to put the stone crab tartine into the soup. In the end, just simply had a spoonful of soup and a bite of the stone crab tartine.



Spaghetti simply cooked in black truffle butter - this is spectacular. Black truffle pan fried with butter and served on a bed of spaghetti. It's amazing how a simple ingredient like truffle is able to create one of the most well loved taste in the world.



Slow roasted lamb fillet, crispy wild rice souffle "carbonara", cumin scented pumpkin and sauce "Deglacage" - So what is Delglacage? Well, it is a technical term in French cookery for the operation of pouring any liquid into the pan in which food has been cooked in butter or some other fat. http://food.oregonstate.edu/glossary/d/deglacage.html




Pre Dessert - White Asparagus ice-cream. Intially, I am unsure how vegetable ice-cream would taste like. But the subtle taste of asparagus actually matches with the creamy vanilla taste.



Petit Fours - Like the Macarons.



Held up the solid stainless steel platter. It is really heavy.



Coffee and...



... tea to a wonderful dinner at Jaan.

It's an expensive dinner, but worth every penny.



Jaan
Swissotel Stamford
Level 70
Tel: 6837-3322

Ootoya @ Orchard Central

Ootoya is a Japanese chain of restaurant serving Japanese home cooked meals, and this restaurant which started out in 1958 in Japan now has many overseas branches in Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia and finally Singapore.



The interior of the restaurant is pretty homely. Menu is beautiful and each dish is accompanied with a photo of how the dish looks like.



Cold green tea was served, and I like the little condiments provided.



The packed seats resemble that of the traditional Japanese family restaurant. But sufficient privacy is still provided for each table.



This is the Ootoya Special Dish, served with soup, rice and this special black colour seaweed appetizer which I enjoyed a lot. There are a few varities of rice to choose from too, such as seaweed rice.



Mains come with sunny side egg, chicken kariage and a potato corquette. Ootoya is quite famous for their crispy chicken kariage, which is very crispy and juicy.



This is chicken kariage served with vinega sweet and sour sauce and assorted Japanese. The brinjal goes very well with the sweet sour vinegar sauce. Very appetizing.



I didn't like this Natto cold appetizer, which had Natto beans, tune sashimi, half boiled egg and white radish. The whole dish is too slimey and cold, which I believe many Singaporeans won't be used to such taste and texture.



Claypot Pork cutlet with egg and onions. The taste is good. Unfortunately, the food is not warm enough. Wish that the claypot was actually boiling hot when served.



Dessert was green tea ice cream mochi, and creme brulee with fruits. Good but not outstanding.



Overall, find the food here tasty, and definitely has this home cooked feeling and taste to it. Price is also quite affordable.


Ootoya
181 Orchard Road, #08-12
Orchard Central, Singapore 238896
Tel: 6884 8901