Foodbar Dada

I'd say, Foodbar Dada is an unassuming looking place that packs a punch in terms of food AND drinks! This below, is their entrance, I mean can the sign get any smaller? Haha but anyway we were SO glad we found it :) Its RIGHT next to Smitten in case you're looking for it too haha. 

The restaurant is REALLY small, kinda like Liberty Coffee if you've been there but anyways, the seats are V limited and its best you make reservations before going down! Max 2hrs eating but I think that's quite enough time!! 

The boy and I got seated at the bar, in front of the "kitchen" where the chefs did their thing and the mixologist did his. It was nice watching them prepare our food! Props go to the chef manning the Josper grill, man that thing is HOT when you open it! We could feel the heat from where we were seated and that's where all your food is cooked! Its like a stove to him haha and its awesome how he cooks stuff with it!

Here's their menu for the night! An updated one can be found on their Fb!

Amuse boche

Toast with roasted red peppers, onion and vinegar

The toast was v crispy! A little morsel that was not bad!

Watermelon Gazpacho and Charcoal Olive Oil Ice Cream

$12

I love this! A great starter I'd say. It was sourish which piqued our appetite and what's more interesting is that its both sweet AND savory! The brown pieces there are crispy fried onions which is sweet but savory at the same time, the ice cream went VERY well w the gazpacho and its a really interesting flavour. Its kinda nice to see how the chef drops this ice cream quenelle into the soup w care :) This is marked a good start to our meal :) 4.3/5

The boy's drink: vodka, passionfruit, thyme, lemon, pineapple

He asked for something sweet and sour so this was what he got! We liked the drink but couldn't really taste the alcohol! It was a great mix nonetheless :)

Josper mini squid with eggs
$18


This was so warm, delicious and homey! Its like something you'd eat at a cze char stall but w less oil, more flavour and fresh squids!! The squids were chewy but in a good way and it was good w the runny eggs :) 4.2/5

Grilled bread


This came along w the squids and since it was just plain bread, we ate it w the squids on top! Not a bad combi. We were asked if we wanted more bread but declined.

My drink: (forgot what the base was sorry!), mixed berries, egg white

I loved my drink! I asked for sth sweet and refreshing and this was what I got! The alcohol was q strong and dont worry abt the egg white, there wasn't any funny taste!

They have a drink menu currently and a list of cocktails you can try but if you're up for sth else, do tell the wait staff what you'd like your drink to be and the mixologist will come up w sth for you! :)

Sishito Peppers and Shitakes
$11


The star of this dish is truly the mushrooms!!!! Its UBER juicy and flavourful, awesome awesome mushrooms :) to quote hsueh, "I would love a scoop of the mushrooms on bakchormee"! The brown circles you see are nuts I think, caramelized which brought a nice sweet crunch to this dish. Peppers were not bad but outshone by mushrooms!! 4.5/5

Black Mediterranean rice
$8


This is one portion aka $8 and its good for one so yup do order accordingly! This was not bad, we saw the chef pouring seafood stock onto the rice numerous times before serving it. The dollop of cream or wtv it is goes very well w the rice, I suggest you eat it w the rice weight watchers!! Cos its good! :) Would like to have more of the squid ink flavour shining through tho (am assuming that's where the black colour comes from) or the seafood flavour, for now its q bland. Not too wet though. 3.6/5

Grilled Sea bass a la "donostiarra"

$6

The menu on Foodbar's fb says the seabass is $25 now but I guess its probably a bigger portion? The $6 for the above dish definitely justifies it!! The 3 slices were q thick and nicely done! Crispy skin, soft flesh which went well w the sauce and the caramelized onions (I suppose) 4.5/5

Josper chocolate souffle, vanilla and passionfruit
$12


This was done in an oven looking thing and not the Josper grill haha anyway the chocolate souffle was not bad. The first impression was: ok it doesnt rise up as nicely and as high as ODP's souffle or other souffles I've seen. It kinda resembles a molten lava cake more but anw, the choc was not bad, gooey and flow-y, good for someone who likes choc and wants comfort food :) Vanilla and passionfruit was more like vanilla creme and passionfruit on top, not bad w the souffle. 3.8/5

Yoghurt mousse with mango, lime and basil chutney
$8


At first I forgot the white thing was yoghurt mousse and not whipped cream haha. Anw I think this is SO much better than whipped cream!!! Slightly tangy but creamy too, eaten w the sweet & sour combi of mango and lime mixed w basil, mmmm, it was a light and refreshing end to the nice meal we had :) 4.2/5

Their fb menu's more extensive vs the one I had that day and its a good thing! Means new dishes are being introduced :) Guys may not be full after a meal here depending on what you order but based on what the boy and I ordered, we were q full and it was just enough for us. We spent about $120 for all that's stated above!

Service was very friendly and q attentive! Food was served fast and piping hot :) Great place to chill I feel! The tables are q small so large grps may have a bit more trouble. The bar area (aka sitting in front of the open kitchen + bar) I'd say is conducive for 3 people or less. They do have non-bar area seats w proper tables and stuff.

Foodbar Dada

60 Robertson Quay, The Quayside #01-12 (just look for Stacked Dim Sum and Smitten, its in btwn)

Opens only for dinner

Tues-Sun

6pm-12am

Website

Bistro Soori - Good value set lunch

After looking at their lunch, dinner and brunch menu, I felt that the set lunch menu was the most value for money because essentially the food you're getting is similar but at a cheaper price! And lunch is from 11.30am-2.30pm, great for early eaters!!

The boy and I walked from Chinatown MRT station and the walk was quite fast! Umm about 10mins or so? If you need directions, I can help you! (:

2 kinds of bread

Mixed seed and wholemeal

Liked the seed one better! 

Butter with pepper bits! Note: they only have olive oil and not balsamic vinegar!

Karaage Fried Prawn, Cherry tomato, Kaffir Lime, Russian Dressing

This was good, light batter, not too oily, liked the Indian-ish tinge to this dish because it somehow tasted like lemongrass? Haha. Succulent juicy prawns!! 4.3/5

Scallop, pistachio, arugula, truffle, pear vinegar gelee

Scallops were a tad salty if eaten on its own with smothering it in the good truffle sauce! Loved the sour & sweet gelee! 3.5/5

Miso soup 

You cant choose the soup you want, it depends on the day! This was ok, lots of mushrooms though for such a small cup.

Fish of the day (butterfish), fennel, tamarind, thai basil

This was done pan-fried and boy was I glad to have ordered this instead of boring ol' salmon!! This was like cod fish, but less oily, flesh was definitely soft and super fresh!! The boy and I both loved it! Also liked the crunchy fennel and the yummy sauce! (: 4.7/5

Braised short ribs, polenta 

This somehow isnt in their menu on their website so I think the menu isnt updated? At first the boy was like "huh such a small piece ah *sad face*" but after he bit into one piece of the ribs, he gave a huge satisfied smile and went "mmmmm so soft!! THIS IS GOOD!" He happily ate the remaining piece of the ribs and yearned for more! He says he'll order it ala carte next time! (The ala carte lunch menu has the same items as the set lunch menu! Just that I guess, it has larger portions?) 5/5

Beautiful and relaxed interior of Bistro Soori. Makes me feel like I'm in a restaurant in Bali! Love how the sunlight illuminates the place so nicely and the clean minimalist feel of the place! The man there behind the counter is Chef Benjamin McBride! Quite friendly guy! The chefs really do prepare your food behind that counter so if you want to have a look, do ask for those seats!

Pandan Souffle, Strawberry

Look at that! Pretty & perfectttt. Dug into it like a happy kid and was glad it was airy, soft, quite strong pandan taste (reminded me of pandan waffles like those from prima deli haha), scrapped every last bit of it I could! The cookies were butter cookies, v crisp and light!! Evil because I could eat them all day. 4.3/5

Almond panna cotta, blueberry, lemongrass

This almond panna cotta isnt v strong unlike the chi desserts, firm but soft at the same time. Those nuts lend a nice crunch to this dessert! The boy was quite happy with this! 4/5

Service was definitely very good here, friendly, polite, water constantly refilled and nice atmosphere! (: Its quite near both Outram and Chinatown MRT! Nestled in the old shop house, wonderful neighbourhood to walk around after your meal (: Oh and set lunches are 39++!! Quite a few choices to choose from for appetisers, mains and desserts!

Bistro Soori

No 2 Teck Lim Road

Novus - A wonderful experience!

Hello everyone!

Felt really stupid because I charged my camera's battery but forgot to put the battery into my camera -.- so anyway, pictures are from iPhone 4! Please forgive the quality of some pictures okay!

Pretty balloons once you step into National Museum (I think National Museum's really pretty btw!)

Interior

Bread basket, olives, butter with sunflower seeds, balsamic vinegar & olive oil

The bread was slightly warm! Good fluffy quality breads!

I bet you'll NEVER guess what this is unless you've eaten at Novus.

OYSTER LEAVES.

Yes I'll give you a moment to digest that. And I shall repeat that, OYSTER LEAVES.

Now the boy and I were wondering, what the hell are oyster leaves?? Are we supposed to eat the leaf? Or what?? We decided, ok we shall just eat the leaf and we were AMAZED. The leaf taste like an OYSTER. I AM NOT KIDDING. As we chewed the leaf slowly in our mouths, we could taste the saltiness and the distinct taste of oysters, and we were like WOW, this really tastes like oyster!!

You've gotta slowly chew the leaf though! If you put it all into your mouth at one shot together with the gel like thing, you'd barely taste oysters. 5/5

Btw, this was served to us right after we ordered our food, an amuse bouche sort of thing I'd say.

The waiters will give you a small stand with a card telling you about the food that you ordered! I love this because I love understanding more about my food! Great food for thought! Can tell the chef treats his food and his guests seriously. I love this small gesture and feel that other restaurants should do this too!

Yellowfin Tuna & Heirloom Tomato

short seared yellowfin tuna, assorted heirloom tomato, avocado, rocket cress

I think the sauce was made out of avocado because there werent any avocado slices. The tuna was seared perfectly, though it was a little salty for my taste. The tomatoes were sweet! Not a bad appetiser dish! 3.8/5

Foie Gras Anglaise

goose liver custard, duck confit, ginkgo nuts, truffle salsa, parmesan foam

NOW THIS IS A MUST-TRY!!! The boy and I both think this is better than Andre's Memory (click here for review) because this has the same wonderful aromatic truffle aroma but has many more different textures (pieces of duck, ginkgo nuts etc)! Andre's is just a chawanmushi like foie gras with a truffle coulis (though I think its wonderful too), Novus' is a level above it because of the different textures it has that breaks up the monotony. The boy was SO happy that he ordered this!! He couldnt stop gushing about how wonderful and how delicious this dish is! 5/5

Berkshire Porkbelly & Saffron Risotto

thin sliced pork belly on creamy saffron risotto, pork crackers, parmesan, char-grilled capsicum, garden cress, red radish, Joselito ham

Pork crackers - the boy was amazed because he said "omg this really tastes like pork" Haha and he said its really nice!

Pork Belly - he said it isnt jia lat at all, and its soft and tender!

Saffron Risotto - now this was reallyyyyy aromatic!! Saffron is a spice we both love and our eyes sparkled when we ate this, yummy fragrant saffron!

Joselito ham - This is great! Its a 36 months old aged Iberico ham (can have it as appetiser too) and it was mmmm~ You can tell its v different from normal ones in terms of the depth of flavour and the texture

Overall - 4.6/5

Snow Cod in Black and White

squid ink infused snow cod, globe artichoke, Sicilian olive creme, char-grilled capsicum gel, squid ink crumble, smoked ratte potatoes

The cod was MELT-IN-YOUR-MOUTH. You do not even need to bite them!!! You have the slight smokey taste from the squid ink, and the flakey, melt-in-your-mouth soft and yummy goodness of the cod fish, mmmm~~ was totally in heaven! Squid ink crumble was a little dry but I liked it nonetheless. Potatoes were good!! 4.6/5

Grape Ravioli

Grape jelly stuffed with honey crumble, bee pollen, elderflower sorbet, chamomile infusion

This is a real floral dish so if you do not like that kinda stuff, do NOT order this! It has a really light and gentle soothing taste. They'll pour the chamomile infusion when they've put the plate on your table. The ravioli was quite refreshing though you cant really taste the grapes. Honey, yes you can taste it but not overpoweringly so. The sorbet was good, a little bit of sourness and a mild sweet tinge. 4.5/5

 Valrhona Chocolate Test

L-R 38% aerated mousse, 55% souffle, 66% sorbet, 72% warm custard, 85% dehydrated chocolate

In case you're wondering what the percentages mean, its the percentage of cocoa used. Higher the percentage, "darker" the chocolate, ie more bitter. 

Mousse: We both loved this!! Extremely light and the brown bits on top are popping candies!! So they'll pop in your mouth after eating them haha. This seems quite popular with restaurants nowadays! Tippling Club, Andre, and now Novus!

Souffle: Very light as well, but not the star among all though it was surely yummy!

Sorbet: Now this was GOOOOOOOOD. The chocolate was so luscious and so mind-blowingly awesome that we totally cleaned that small little dish!! We both loved this!!

Warm Custard: This I liked because of the dark chocolate used. This was slightly more dense than the mousse (duh its a custard) but it manages to maintain a sort of "airy" feeling that made it an enjoyable dessert!

Dehydrated chocolate: its like milo powder hahaha. No okay, after you bite it (its kinda hard btw) and taste it for awhile, let it linger in your mouth and you'll think it taste kinda like milo haha.

Overall: a must-try!!! 4.6/5

Complimentary cupcake!

I ate this right after lunch haha while walking out. The frosting was slightly sweet for me but the cupcake was crumbly and yummy though I couldnt really tell whether it was chocolate or a nutty flavour. A really nice gesture anyway! 4/5

The menu at Novus changes very regularly and you can find their updated menus on their website. Set lunches are very worth it I feel, 3 courses for $40++ (we paid I think $96 or so for two?) and 2 courses for $32++. The dinner set menu has about the same dishes though there are slightly more to choose from but the price is very much more expensive!

The boy loved the whole experience so much that he said we MUST go back again to try the food when the menu changes! The service was very good as well, smile on all their faces everytime, constantly topping up our water, and quite humorous too!! The boy said he didnt mind giving them a $10 tip! Thats how good they are (:

We're definitely coming back for more, Novus!

Novus

National Museum

Website

Link to their current (as of Oct 2 2011) set lunch

PS Complimentary parking coupons provided!