Sunrise Bistro & Bar at Big Splash, East Coast Park Review

I was invited for a food tasting session at Sunrise Bistro & Bar at Big Splash, East Coast Park and was a little hesitant to go at first. You see, I'm currently pregnant and in my first trimester. And this pregnancy is more difficult than my previous one. I have been puking and feeling nauseous on most days and the idea of eating doesn't really entice me right now. Somehow, I discovered that I can stomach more if the cooking is great. So, I decided to give this food tasting session a go. Afterall, the restaurant is helmed by Chef Vincent Teng who has 22 years experience with The Dining Room, Table 66, Skyve & The scarlet Hotel.

Sunrise Bistro & Bar has a rather casual layout, giving it a relaxed, by the beach feel. The decor was minimal and kept simple. We were served the Festive Communal Dining Set specially put together by Chef Vincent for Christmas 2015. 

First up was the Chilled Assorted Seafood Platter with Freshly Shucked Australian Coffin Bay Oysters, White Wine Blanched Live Prawns, Australian Blue Mussels, Venus Clams & Salmon Sashimi.

When I saw the oysters and sashimi, I was like. "Oh man, I cannot have these... Oh well." Hubby tried the oyster first and he egged me on to try it. Yes, my hubby is THAT chill about both my pregnancies. Only after finding out that these Australian Coffin Bay Oysters were freshly delivered on that day itself did I eat one. And it was mind blowing. Yes, it felt just like that to me. The oyster was slightly creamy and not briny. The flesh wasn't that creamy until I wouldn't be able to take more than a few. For this one, I can imagine wolfing down 10 or so easily. It was easy on the palate and really tantalizing. I was surprised I didn't feel queasy eating raw oysters despite my terrible morning sickness. In fact, it left me wanting more. The Australian Blue Mussels are also worth raving about. It was fresh and not powdery nor tough. They went really well with the Roasted Tomato  Dip that came along with the platter. The rest of the seafood were fresh too but these 2 were my favourites. I definitely won't mind going back for more oysters after giving birth. :P~~

The next dish took quite a while to be served. The Orange Cointreau Fizz ($28+++) helped and hubby was telling me he liked it more than the usual Cointreau drinks. 

The main course was the Meat Platter with Whole Red Snapper & Cereal Crust, BBQ Black Angus Beef Ribs & Crispy Pork Belly With Five Spice Salt. It came along with Potato & Pumpkin Mash, Seasonal Sauteed Vegetables and also Truffle Fries with Salt. The condiments for this course were pretty interesting, consisting of Homemade Apple & Smoked Tomato Ketchup, Sweet Chilli & Pineapple Salsa and Honey Mustard Sauce. 

I reached for the beef first and oh mine, it was so succulent and tender! It was infused with flavours... Chef Vincent specialises in Sous Vide style of cooking and his skills really showed up with this course. The pork belly was equally delicious with a superbly done skin that was crackling as I bit into it. The red snapper was meant to be paired with he Pineapple salsa but I find that it went very well with the delightful Homemade Apple & Smoked Tomato Ketchup. This sauce tasted somewhat like sambal instead and has an Asian twist to it. The taste was pretty unique and intriguing.

While waiting for the extra dish to be served, the guys at the table mentioned that they would have preferred if the whole platter consisted of meat that were more Western style instead of having the fish which made it somewhat Asian. I felt differently though. The fish was light and balanced off the meat platter for me. I guess the guys just can never get enough of meat. :P

Asian Five Spice Duck Leg Confit ($28++) was next and this is not part of the Festive Communal Dining Set. It is Sunrise Bistro & Bar's signature dish and Chef Vincent wanted us to have a try. I am not a fan of Duck Confit but I can see why this is their signature dish. The meat was really tender and juicy, unlike most duck confits that are usually a little drier. Of course, this was cooked using the Sous Vide technique too for 8 hours and that's how the juice gets retained in the meat, giving it its softness. It went well with the passionfruit sauce served with pomegranate and Mandarin orange. I would have liked this dish better if there was more of the passionfruit sauce or if the taste of the Asian Five Spice was stronger. 

By then, all 4 of us at the table had our fill already and were ready for the exciting dessert, Salted Egg Yolk & White Chocolate Fondue. 

The fondue came with with Banana, Strawberry, Marshmallow, Panettone & Cookies. And the salted egg chocolate went surprisingly well with all these, except for the banana, which tasted kinda weird to me. I am not one with a sweet tooth so this dessert had the right pairing of savoury and sweet flavour for me. As the chocolate fondue got heated up, it didn't get sweeter as it thickened, so yeah!

The whole dining experience was lovely. The food was great and well done. The portion sans the Duck Confit & Orange Cointreau Fizz, was surprisingly sufficient for 2-3 pax . In fact, I would think that it's a little filling for 2 pax. With the fantastic seafood platter, I find the set at $99++ really worth it. It's really good food with a price that's easy on your pocket. With the communal set, it'll be a great way to share a good meal while catching up with your loved ones this holiday season!

For those who enjoy Asian cooking with a French flair, Sunrise Bistro & Bar is really worth a try this festive season!

Sunrise Bistro & Bar

Add: 902 East Coast Parkway

Block B #01-05

Singapore 449874

Tel: 6440 9090

Website: www.SunriseBistroBar

To make reservations online

Bratislava Trip & Skaritz Hotel & Residence Review

It's always nice to blog about my trip 'coz it gives me a chance to relive my happy-away-from-home moments. Sadly, I don't seem to have much time this year to do so and this is inversely proportionate to the amount of travelling I've done the past year.

Well, at least I can squeeze some time out for Bratislava, Slovakia, only because there was nothing much that caught my attention to write in detail.

Town Square

This lesser known city was a last minute insertion to our itinerary since we were only going to 3 other cities in 2 weeks. We thought that Bratislava is en route from Krakow to Budapest and we could just take the overnight train and wake up in Bratislava. Wrong! It was, in a way... but we had to change train in the wee hours of the morning at 2am at a station called "Bohumin". Bad idea as I was woken up about 5 mins before arriving at the transfer station and all toilets were closed for the day. There was only 1 seedy looking snack-BAR at the deserted station.

At least we saw 2 policemen patrolling and the connecting train arrived 20 mins earlier. What a relief to board the train early and head back into slumber land. 

We arrived in Bratislava around 6am and it was rainy and cold. The weather in Central Europe was still bad and I was pretty reluctant to head to our hotel in the foul weather.

To reach Skaritz Hotel & Residence, we had to buy a 70-cent ticket each (from the yellow ticketing machine at the bus stop) at the bus station located right in front of the rail station and board Bus No. 93 which comes every 10 mins or so. After validating the ticket in the ticket marker on the bus, just alight at Hodžovo nám which is 2 stops away and walk to the hotel. The map can be found here: http://goo.gl/maps/cQisI

It was such a joy when we found it! Warm & toasty it was and we were offered coffee and hot tea while waiting to check in.

And the best thing was they allowed us to check in at 8+am once the room was ready! This is the earliest I've ever checked into a hotel. Naturally, I was happy. It was the only hotel we stayed in for this trip as Slovakia has the cheapest accommodation comparing to Prague, Krakow & Budapest. We stayed in apartments for the other 3 cities.

2 thumbs up for Skaritz Hotel & Residence service and stay!! It is located in a convenient location in the heart of the old town, near to the various tourist attractions.

Summer Archbishop Palace in Sweet Pink

For the 1st day, we visited the castle, ate some good Slovakian traditional cuisine like dumplings with sheep's milk cheese and Kapustnica (sauerkraut soup with sausage), which is now my fav. =P~~

Potato Dumpling with Sheep's Milk Cheese

Kapustnica

Here's some pics of the castle which we found sterile and a tad boring.

Stairs to the Castle

Bratislava Castle Grounds

Castle Courtyard

This was how bored we were when we started to pose in front of the mirrors in the castle.

It was only on the highest level that we read that parts of the castle were destroyed by a fire in early 2012. There were only some exhibits on display; so little that they could all pack into a room. We headed back to the old town for coffee and went back to laze in the hotel before googling for good dinner spots in town.

The next morning, we went out early to The Church of St Elisabeth which is on another side of the old town. When I saw the cute blue church, it brought a smile to my face.

Designed in Art Noveau architectural style, the curves and colour look really adorable for a church.

It was well worth my morning walk before we left for Budapest.

One day in Bratislava was enough for me. The old town is small and it is pleasant to stroll around. One thing stood out was the high number of Sushi bars in this small area. After reading about their economy, I realised they must have quite a few business dealings with Japanese for their car manufacturing &  electrical engineering industries.

Weird take away info for my Bratislava trip...

Le Petite Cancale @ Duxton Hill

Fantastic meal @ Le Petite Cancale with bf that made me go ooo..lala...

The crab was creamy (in bf's words), the whelks was fresh and succulent.

The oysters were divine.

The Salted Butter & Caramel Lava Cake was heavenly. And even the bread was good.

The weather was perfect and the company was everything I've always wanted.

As I sipped away on my wine, I felt...

**Bliss**

Cocotte French Restaurant @ Wanderlust Hotel, Dickson Road

I've been busy but still managed to catch a good meal last week at Cocotte, a french restaurant situated at the ground floor of Wanderlust hotel at Dickson Road.

I just found out that Cocotte means both a round casserole and prostitute in French. It's an interesting play of word, especially since Dickson Road is at shady end of Little India. 

Wanderlust Hotel @ Dickson Road

Cocotte serves french cuisine in a casual setting and with a communal dining concept.

See, they even have a communal round dining table that can sit 12.

The food at Cocotte tastes excellent and it goes very well with the relaxed ambiance.

I ordered a set with a French Cured Pork Sausage as appetizer.

Bf had the Roast Pork Collar topped with mustard sauce and brussels sprouts with roasted almond. And the ooh-la-la mushrooms.

Oooo... thinking of that dish makes my mouth waters. It was very delicious and the mustard sauce complimented the roasted pork collar very well.

I had the Bouef Bourguignon, which is a beef stew. The beef was very tender but I still preferred bf's dish. So, it was swapped midway into the meal. heh!

We ended the meal with Chocolate Royal, a Varhona chocolate mousse cake with praline at the bottom and a nice cuppa of coffee. Mmmmm... heavenly...

Wanderlust Hotel Lobby

I had a great meal that afternoon and it was entertaining to watch the chicly dressed hotel guests streamed  into Wanderlust Hotel lobby.

Cocotte serves up quality food made with fine ingredients and the whole meal cost us about $80. It's a great restaurant to go to with friends and definitely a recommended place to try out at least once!

Tokyo Tsukiji Fish Market Food Adventure

Here are some pictures of my first trip to Tokyo Tsukiji Fish Market in May this year. 

I stayed at Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku which has a Tokyo Subway Station elevator right next to the hotel entrance, making it exceptionally convenient to stumble my way to Tsukiji Market in the wee hours of the morning. Read more about the hotel here.

We reached Tsukiji Fish Market early in the morning when the sun has just risen. We didn't make plans to experience the tuna auction 'coz it was way beyond my waking ability. If you want to do so, click here for more information.

So, we only walked around the outside market looking at all the fresh seafood catch of the day.

Then, we came upon this shop that hung up a lot of wild life! *Gasp*

I quickly took some shots. Look at the bear, eagle, crocodile etc! I don't know what were they selling exactly but I think it's dried seafood.

We also came across quite a few Tamagoyaki specialty shops in Tsukiji Fish Market like the one below.

And one little interesting fried fugu store where we had a little pre-breakfast snack.

This whole shop sells Fugu aka Puffer fish.

We also had a Sashimi breakfast, the must do in Tsukiji Fish market even though I wasn't really up to it; eating raw food for breakfast.

It was the best Sashimi we had that trip. 

A Mix Of Raw & Slightly Cooked Fish & Horse Meat

You can read more about my food adventures in my last Tokyo trip here too.

I really miss Japan and posting up these pictures make me relief the happy moments all over again! Yeah! =)

CA*California Restaurant At Dempsey Hill Review

Bf had an unexpectedly free Saturday this week so we ventured to Dempsey for a relaxing weekend lunch.

Lovely Picture From Jones The Grocer Main Page

It seems like Singaporeans all flock to the same few places on weekends and our first choice of Jones The Grocer was packed! Being the impatient girl that I am, I couldnt bear to wait for 10-30 mins just for a meal that is not that fabulous IMO. 

So, Culina was next and it was packed too with some chi chi people eating oysters and sipping white wine. Well, we had to wait for about 20 mins so I crossed that place out too.

We conveniently hop by to the next door restaurant which turned out to be CA*California. 

I didn't know what to make out of the restaurant and what it serves exactly but the friendly waiter and available seats were just so inviting. Without hesitation, I walked right in to take shelter from the hot hot July sun.

My initial thought was to have a serving of salad since I wasn't even hungry. Somehow, the ambiance had an effect that made me greedy to try the many sandwiches and wraps they serve (and I'm not even a bread person to begin with).

I ordered the recommended BBQ Chicken Burrito at $15.80 and it was tasty! The wrap was so fragrant and perfectly toasted. Stuffed with chicken pieces, mushrooms and melted cheddar cheese, I just couldn't stop chomping away. This dish is yummy and the portion is just nice. The only thing I didn't like about it was the guacamole sauce.

Bf chose the In-coming Burger. It cost $14.80 and you can add ingredients by topping up more (for eg, $4 for cheese which we find pricey).

Anyway, he didn't add anything to it and he felt that the burger was a little bland without sauce or cheese. It helped by  adding some salsa / taco sauce to the burger. But I really like the way the dish was presented with 2 slices of orange. It made the whole serving more appetizing and seemingly more wholesome.

So, we had a good dish and a not so good one. Overall, I would say this is a pretty decent and cozy place to go to at Dempsey, especially when the other places are always so crowded!

The indoor seats are pretty limited and I was surprised that we could get a seat immediately. The booth that we were seated in was quaint and provided some privacy with the curtains. 

In fact, CA*California shares the same space as Ben & Jerry's which is located right on the other side of their kitchen.

I was happy enough with the orange as my dessert that day. And bored enough to blog about this.