New Restaurant: Tess Bar & Kitchen

Following the explosion of cafes in Singapore, the new trend seems to be cocktail + tapas-style food joints! One such place opened recently and with an experienced bartender (ex Bitters & Love), and chef (ex L'Atelier Robuchon), I told the boy "Okay we're eating here this Friday!" and he was like "but there's no menu online and the instagram posts of the food looks q limited!" but I insisted knowing it'll likely be good. Am v happy I did! He was v happy too that dinner turned out to be good :)

We arrived at about 6.30pm and managed to snag a lot along the street outside the restaurant! Its quite difficult to park along that road so I suggest leaving some time for finding parking space. 

They were having happy hour till 7pm and I must say, their happy hour deal is quite attractive! 30% off all house pours, 10% off all alcohol. 

I really love the atmosphere of the place and we were greeted with really awesome hospitality. Very sincere and friendly! Initially I did not want to sit at the low tables (foreground of the picture below) as I do not like having to bend down to eat, and compressing my stomach (damn uncomfortable!?), so we moved to the bar seats. However the bf wanted to sit at the table (cos we usually order a lot and well, its more spacious) so we kept looking over. Then the same staff came over and asked if we changed our minds, then convinced me that its not so bad and gladly told me that she'll give me the corner seat (initially ours was in the middle) with the cute doggie armrest haha. So we moved there and it really wasn't that bad! 

The space at night

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So the staff will explain the drinks + food menu to you upon sitting down and I think this is sorta an added value to the experience! I wouldn't go as far to say that all restaurants should do this cos I know manpower issues and all, but its a good plus point. 

Do note that the tiger prawns for small plates is actually 6 pieces (photo later) -> they're still in the process of tweaking their menu!

Their very interesting cocktail menu!! I remember we were recommended Dawa for sth sour, and scandalous pear for sth sweet! I really like their mix of ingredients for the cocktails and makes me feel like trying 'em all! Cocktail review coming up after the food review below!

Bohemian Vegetables Love
Grilled zucchini, bell peppers wrap in aubergine with pepper coulis 
$9

Basically its grilled veggies served in a wrap form accompanied by a slightly tangy but slightly sweet coulis that was served cold. The grilled veggies were hot of course. So this was quite a good contrast and well its hard to fault these sweet veggies 3.8/5

Triple truffle fries
Yukon, idaho, sweet potatoes, deep fried and seasoned with truffle oil + salt
$10

The boy said this was a little dry and honestly the way they cut it? More of wedges haha except maybe the sweet potato ones. The truffle oil taste wasn't strong. 3/5

Crispy pork belly
Served with spiced Asian dip
$10

Sea bass, Momotaro & Arugula
Seared sea bass slices, momotaro tomatoes sliced and topped with arugula salad
$12

Please do not order this. Its such a waste of money! The fish was dry and unflavourful. Saving grace was the very crispy skin. The tomato, honestly maybe momotaro tomatoes or not in season or sth but this tastes like our regular tomatoes and nothing like the ones I've had at Tatsuya or other Jap restaurants. And if putting a few strands of arugula is considered salad… I have nothing to say. I won't even give a grade for this

Tiger prawns in Herb Garlic Butter
King prawns seared to perfection
$18

This was very very juicy, bursting with flavours. Can really taste the butter in the sauce but the herbs didn't really shine through. 3.6/5

Seared Smoked Duck Breast + Foie Gras
Served with braised lentils & blueberry compote
$18

Really really love how they used lentils as a side dish cos not many places in Singapore use lentils and I love lentils! The Foie gras is on the left and its average at best. Blueberry compote was good, but hard to go wrong. The smoked duck was beautiful. Just a tinge of saltiness, with a rather firm but still a little soft kind of texture, with a mild duck taste. This was quite a good rendition of duck I must say! Not too fatty either :) 3.9/5

Tess Wagyu Cubes & Bone Marrow
Seared wagyu beef cubes on bone marrow glaze with veal jus
$26

This was very good according to the boy! The sauce was very flavourful, the marrow melted in his mouth and went beautifully with the amazing wagyu cubes! You've gotta scoop up the marrow from the bone which adds an element of "fun" to this dish. The wagyu cubes were very soft and bursting with flavours from the sauce. 4.5/5

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We didn't order any desserts because they did not interest us.

Bespoke cocktail - refreshing + no bitter taste

I can't really remember what was in my cocktail but it was refreshing! :) These bespoke cocktails are charged based on the alcoholic base they use and the prices of these "bases" can be found in their menu. You can tell them whatever you want, or don't want and something will be created for you :)

Godfather
Monkey Shoulder scotch whisky, Disaronno amaretto with cigar smoke
$21

We were curious about the cigar smoke! You gotta breathe in deeply + quickly when you open it as the smell dissipates really quickly!

Figticious
Wild Turkey 81 whiskey, home made fives puree, fresh lemon with tonic
$21

Was very intrigued by figs in cocktails as I've never had such a drink before. However there was barely any fig taste in the drink! :/ it was quite refreshing though

Their cocktails are really easy to drink and thats dangerous haha cos you can just keep going on and on like you're not drinking alcohol cos you don't feel any burning in your throat or difficult to swallow or whatever.

Overall

Service: friendly, good, rather prompt

Ambience: bar + tables w seats, industrial kind of decor, quite pretty at night!

Food: above average food

Cocktails: creative! Would like to try more

Tess Bar & Kitchen

38 Seah Street S188394

63377355

Mon- Thurs 1130am-1am

Fri 1130am - 2am

Sat 430pm to 2am

closed Sundays

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Rather New Restaurant: Moosehead Kitchen & Bar

Had dinner with the boy at this restaurant that's been on my radar for awhile! The chef here used to work at FoodBarDada and I was quite fond of the food there so I was q excited about dinner that night! 

Pictured below is the restaurant, do take note that it is at the beginning of Telok Ayer Street if you're driving in and its on your right :) Was quite surprised that it is such a small restaurant! 

The interior! Dimly lit, quite romantic? Even though its small, privacy isn't compromised which is good :) Buttttt it also means that photos would likely be of low quality, so please do forgive the photos below! And forgive my amateur photo shooting + editing skills! I only use iPhoto to edit!

Scrambled Eggs, smoked porcini, summer truffle

$16

The menu presented to us said "scrambled eggs" but we got a sunny side up when the dish arrived. We just took it as it is, broke the runny yolk and mixed everything up :) The mushrooms were quite nice, but its hard to go wrong right? I thought this dish was rather okay, average at best. Cant really taste any truffle. The truffle slices itself weren't all that fragrant as well. The baguette was a bit chewy for me, not crusty enough and many parts were charred, carcinogenic no? 3/5

Chargrilled Asparagus, leeks, garlic miso dressing

$12

Now this, this was the STAR of the night!!!! Wonderfully juicy crunchy asparagus with the umami dressing, the first mouthful of this dish will just make you yearn for more! Its wonderful with the leeks as well, because the leeks provide a textural contrast against the heavenly asparagus! Please please order this. I would say you'd love it even if you dont like veggies! As I type this, I'm still reminiscing this excellent simple dish done superbly well! Initially I was skeptical, how good can chargrilled asparagus be? But I realised, the fat juicy asparagus, the magical savoury dressing and the leeks are what makes this dish work! 5/5 

Iberian pork "Presa", pickled portobello, shishito peppers

$34

We were quite surprised when this dish was served because the plate used is usually associated with Chinese tse char restaurants! I really loved the pickled portobello mushrooms in this dish Its kinda like preserved mushrooms. Not quite sure how the pork was done but basically it was cut into small sizeable portions. Minimal fat in the pork and it was not too tough/chewy/difficult to bite, rather it was beautifully cooked (see pic below). Although seasoning was a bit bland for me, the mushrooms were a great pairing with the "heavier" pork. Shishito peppers somehow werent as fragrant as I wanted/remembered them to be. 4.1/5

Pitsachio tart, yuzu creme fraiche

$10

Do note that this is NOT a tart!!!!! Its more of a crumbly cake, there's no tart crust/pastry cream etc. I felt that the cake itself was a little bland but it was still good in terms of texture for me - slightly crumbly but not overly so, and moist enough for my taste! The yuzu creme fraiche is, like what many others have raved, an ingenious creation! It makes a cream-adverse person like me want and willing to eat cream! It goes very well with the cake! Cant really discern any pistachio anywhere. There are pistachio nuts studded here & there. 3.6/5

Service: very friendly, prompt and smiley. Water was constantly refilled. Was q surprised when the chef himself served us some of the dishes. Definitely satisfactory service!

When we were there (10 sept), the guy said that they were changing their menus soon! So by now, it is possible that their menu is different. 

Moosehead Kitchen & Bar

110 Telok Ayer Street

6636 8055

Mon-Sat 11am-11pm (note that their lunch menu is a bit smaller than dinner and there are some items that're in the lunch menu thats not in dinner menu)

Happy hour: Mon-Fri 4-7pm 1-1 selected wines/spirits etc 

Facebook (do check for their menu, they upload it sporadically)

New Restaurant: edge - Buffet Restaurant at Pan Pacific Singapore

The newly refurbished Pan Pacific has a all new look! I'd say it does look quite nice :)

Here's what you see when you enter via Marina Square

Think this idea is kinda cool! Lil pods where people sit inside, have their private space to catch up/talk/chill. And its on water too as well! Not all of them though, those closer to the lifts are.

A HUGEASS space dedicated to edge! Its takes up like half of the whole level! The new buffet restaurant at Pan Pacific :)

They've adopted a new buffet concept featuring SEVEN open kitchens! Featuring mainly Asian Pacific Cuisines (tho Western's v good too imo)

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Some pictures of the restaurant itself - which is super big!!!

To the right is the cold seafood area + sashimi + sushi + thai salad + otak

To the left is the hot food section

This is the salad bar, nachos, cold cuts, cheese, fruits section

On your table there'll be wet towels and the bowl w water + lemon for you to wash your hands! Super thoughtful! I like :)

Also if you reserve, they'll write your name on a plate to "mark" out your table and you'll see it when they show you to your table!

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Here are pictures of the spread! Do note that this is Sunday Dinner and we visited on 7 Oct 2012

Cheese!

I'd say theirs is quite a good selection! Took the soft cheeses and I loved them all :) They had quite a wide variety of "toppings" to go w the cheese too. Assorted crackers, lots of variety of dried fruit + nuts!

Assorted smoked meat & pates

Tried the smoked fish on the left (pale flesh one) and the smoked salmon, a little too salty for me! But then again, am not a fan of smoked stuff :)

Fruit Section

Again a nice big variety! Though I'd appreciate it if they put bowls here as well cos its a little hard to keep the grapes on the plate hahaha (cos they're already "plucked"). Fruits are generally quite sweet, not the best I've had though!

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Salad Station

I like that they have a nice pretty selection of pre-mixed salad and that you can mix your own if you want as well!!! Really loved this :)

Nice and refreshing

Very good roasted mushrooms w sundried tomato and feta!!

DIY salad station

Rojak Station

The chef at this counter will mix it up for you but of course you can customize it however way you want! More of this/more of that. My mom said that the jambu (a type of fruit found in rojak) was super super sweet and juicy so she actually went to ask for a bowl of that fruit hehe.

Otak otak!

Sushi Spread

First time seeing aburi tuna at a buffet spread!

Sashimi

They have the usual - salmon, tuna, octopus, prawn and not sure what else! Didnt try this that night so not sure about the freshness!

King Crab Legs & Scallops

I remember the king crab legs to be fresh and rather sweet, a joy to eat I'd say! And the shell's already nicely cracked for you so no hassle :) 

Scallops were quite sweet and as you can see, definitely plump!

Prawns, Oysters

Prawns were sweet!!! Fresh and good

Oysters - thought lacking some sweetness was good for hotel quality and I'd say I even went back for more!!! Cos well, they're plump, rather fresh and sometimes sweet!!  

What I had on my first plate & subsequently went back for more!

Love the wide variety here even though I didnt try it!

Soba (diff types somemore!), cold udon, and the thin noodles in front which I can't name haha

Jap Tofu

Thai Mango Salad or was this papaya... cant really rmb haha

Thai Papaya Salad or mango..

Thai Seafood Salad

A thing to note about all the thai salads is that the chef mixes it on the spot to replenish it! The ingredients are all laid out behind so once it starts dwindling, she'll mix it up and replenish it! Do note that it IS quite spicy but super good :) Love the mango one!

Nachos with choice of dips

Found it quite interesting that they even had a nacho counter w diff types of dips!!

Teriyaki Counter

Liked that they incorporated this! Choose from chicken, beef and sausage!

This is found at your table and it works Kushinbo-style! So you order at the teriyaki station then you pass this to the staff so they know where to send your orders to when its ready :)

Teriyaki Sausage

The boy said its quite juicy though cant really taste the "grilled" taste

Lobster Bisque

This was good. Certainly not diluted and the flavours were all there!! Thick but not too thick, creamy but not overly so. So good when you want something comforting :)

DIY Tom Yum Soup

Basically its the soup and you add in your own ingredients!!

Didnt try this though

Mainly to show the plump yummy looking prawn :)

Pizza

They have a few types of pizza and they're all made on the spot!!!! I mean obviously not just for you, but they make it on the spot to replenish it. Nice (Y)

Quiche

Which looks so good

Lasagne

SO sorry this picture is so orange!! The lighting is this colour so... Anw they had like 4 types of baked cheesy stuff for all you creamy, cheesy lovers out there! There was pasta baked w seafood, and with other things as well (Sorry memory failing!), of course there was the classic lasagne as well! The boy says its quite nice

Suckling Pig

I've never seen this at a buffet before! My mom said the skin is super super crispy (Even tho it doesnt look like it) and she really loved it :) Quite rare I guess, for a buffet!

All the food there are prepared in pretty looking Le Creuset pots! Spent my time alternating between ogling at the food and being mesmerized by the pots!! They come in all sizes and are so cute and pretty!

Braised Beef

The boy was raving abt how soft this is, how tender it is and how yummy it is!

Mushroom & Pumpkin Gnocchi 

The pumpkin gnocchi doesnt really have a pumpkin taste, but its not flour-y either. Definitely cant go wrong w mushrooms!

Braised Lamb Shank

Super super soft and tender as well, (wonders of Le Creuset maybe?) but not flavourful enough for me. No smelly lamb taste though!

Baked Mussels w Cheese 

Pan fried Beef 

The boy says this is quite nice

I think this was chicken? Am not too sure!

Pan-fried Black Cod with Tomato Coulis and Green Asparagus

Omg this was my FAVOURITE dish of the night!!!!! I went back for SO many servings my family was appalled haha. Honestly it wasnt very sweet, but I just love the texture of cod and this one had a rather nice texture so I kept going back for more :)

Lamb rack

This was good, though I'd like more flavours! Meat wasnt too tough and not too rare, just nice! No smelly lamb taste too :)

Duck Confit

This was good with the sauce according to the boy and I've never seen duck confit at buffets too! Much less one that's done quite nicely!

Broccoli

Would be nicer if it were softer?? Still tastes a lil undercooked to me

Wide variety of sauce to choose from

This is what you find at the end of those Western hot dishes shown up there! And see what I mean abt the cute Le Creuset pots?? Haha (Sorry I keep mentioning them, kinda like fantasy to own one :D). Okay main point is = wide variety of sauces!! Which oth buffet have you seen this at?

Western Hot Food Spread and the live kitchen there

Indian Station

Moving on to the Indian station we have all sorts of curry - fish/chicken/lamb/veggie/dhal etc and naan! Their naan's not bad though I'd like it slightly crispier (its alr crispy dont get me wrong!). Dhal is not too spicy.

The chefs at the Indian station are really really friendly and so cheerful haha always ready and eager to explain to you what there is at the Indian station

Assorted Satays

Chili Crab

Black Pepper Crab

Size of the crab for this is um quite small so even if you take the pincer, there's not much meat! It isnt spicy either!

& of course there's the must-have fried man tous right next to it!

Prawns! This tastes more like tasteless steamed prawns to me. This was under the Malay section though. Not sure what its supposed to be!

Seafood Curry

Looks spicy!

Assorted Malay dishes

Keropok!!

Diff types - prawn, fish etc. There are more behind! Really like how they have a variety of keropoks (aka crackers)! However they're not crispy anymore :/ at least the prawn one isnt and doesnt have much taste either

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Okay guys 'cos this post is already so image heavy, I'll post a part II showcasing the Chinese food station and the DESSERT STATION! :) Will also talk about the service & my general comments! Part II will come on Saturday morning okay, I promise :)

Am really sorry that I cannot give you a proper description of the dishes on display because one annoying thing I do not like about the buffet is that THERE ARE NO LABELS. So you dk what the food is. And not all the chefs are eager and take the initiative to tell you what the food is/introduce the food to you although they're supposed to do that (I know 'cos I asked one of them why there are no labels). So I suggest either put labels or get your chefs to be more proactive!!! But its kinda uh illogical to make them introduce it over and over again to diff hoards of ppl?

Details of buffet:

Breakfast (6:00am to 11:00am)
Adult - $48++, Child - $32++

Lunch (12:00 noon to 2:30pm)
Adult - $48++, Child - $32++

Dinner (6:30pm to 10:30pm)
Adult - $55++, Child - $39++

This is their introductory offer price and I'm not sure when the promotion ends so better call to check!

Watch out for Part II!