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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Chefs for a Cause 2014: please go!

Hello everyone!

Am very very grateful to have been invited to this media preview of this event which I must say, humbled me a lot and made me rethink a few things in life. I'm also very heartened after attending this talk that there are still many good souls out there who are willing to sacrifice for others. I was very touched by the efforts of all who are involved in this event. So what IS this event?

Project Happy Feet's Chefs for a Cause started out in 2009, conceptualised by Chef Jimmy Chok. He roped in 9 other local chefs for his cause and together they executed the inaugural event for Chefs for a Cause. Firstly, they contributed recipes to a cookbook "Recipes from the Heart" where 100% of the proceeds were donated to the beneficiaries namely MILK (Mainly I Love Kids) and Project Happy Feet's beneficiaries. The highlight was whipping up a 3-course meal for 600 underprivileged children at Swissotel Merchant Court. They showed us a video of that event and I smiled numerous times while watching it :) "this is my first time having a meal in a hotel" "I loved the magic show" were what the kids were saying. Seeing the kids facial expressions in response to the magic show, the food etc really just put a smile on my face. 

So why did Chef Jimmy Chok think of starting Chefs for a Cause? Well because he wanted to give back to society while doing what he loved, and what he was good at. So naturally cooking! Hence this idea was born and acted upon with amazing results! 

So this year, the event is coming back bigger!

Chefs participating this year

13 local chefs from Singapore's Top Restaurants are coming together for the first time ever to present this gastronomical event in hope of raising $50, 000 in support of Children's Cancer Foundation. The chefs will be serving their signature dishes and newly conceptualised dishes for this event happening on 24 August 2014!

Now why should you go? 

1) More than 35 mouth-watering dishes will be served - mixture of local delights and new creations such as sea urchin chawanmushi, salt-crusted stripling, nasi lemak sushi, white truffle cookies etc. More details below!

2) ALL and I mean ALL proceeds, 100% go to Children's Cancer Foundation why?

3) Because everything is sponsored. Yes the chefs sponsor the ingredients, the cooking, the prep, everything to do with preparation of the dishes. The venue is sponsored by Swissotel Merchant Court once again. The PR is also done pro-bono. Basically, all the costs have been covered by sponsors hence 100%, all of your money WILL SURELY go to Children's Cancer Foundation!

3) You get to speak to and rub shoulders with some of Singapore's top chefs

4) You get to watch your food prepared live in front of you!

Okay so now I'll talk more about the food that we had the privilege of trying during the preview.

Seabass ceviche, coriander, shaved asparagus, pomegranate, ginger

Chef Robin Ho

This was very refreshing and a great starter to our wonderful evening. The sea bass was really well marinated and had a slightly chewy texture. The sauce was great - not too tart, tones of sweetness, spiciness from the ginger, some creaminess. The pomegranate lent a nice contrast of textures. 4/5

Chef Forest Leong Inspired Pomelo + Coconut salad with Prawn

Chef Forest Leung

Now I don't like pomelo actually because my luck with them have been really bad - almost always bitter and yucky. So I stay clear of them and never eat nor order dishes with them in it. However, the boy tried this and told me it was good so I decided to take a leap of faith and try it. Turns out? It was good! The pomelo honestly, wasn't bitter but neither was it very sweet. The salad was refreshing with citrusy tones, crunchy nuts, fresh pomelo, and a crunchy prawn :) 4.2/5

Pissaldiere - onion, anchovies, black olive tart

Chef Daniel Sia

This was the highlight for me! I've never eaten such a combination of savoury ingredients and the taste was very unique! I can't exactly articulate it so you've gotta try it for yourself. Its served on a crispy puff-pastry look alike layer with caramelised onions and the aforementioned ingredients. I wanted to take another slice but there were none left! Also I saw people taking seconds as well :) showing how yummy it is! Sweet salty crunchy all mixed together but no one overpowers any and they all blend and merge beautifully 4.8/5

Deep Fried Seafood Cake with Lemon Mayo and Mango Salad

We didn't manage to try this cos it was already all taken by the time we got there!

Laksa

This was a very light bowl of laksa! The noodles were very very smooth and extremely slurp-worthy! Love such perfectly cooked noodles! The broth could've a tad stronger coconut taste but it was alright! Spicy level was mild. Prawns were fresh. The egg was slightly molten which I liked. The boy who doesn't like laksa, tried this and said that it was q good! The other chefs also tried this dish and had good comments about it! Also I kept hearing people attending the event saying that the laksa's good :) Sorry but am not sure which chef this came from! 4/5

Compressed watermelon with prawns salad

Chef Yen Koh

This was my 2nd fav dish that night! Sweet juicy watermelon paired with creamy crunchy cubed prawns. I love the taste contrast between the watermelon and the prawns. This was a sweet savoury dish done well! Pity it was such a small portion :( 4.5/5

Pull pork sandwich and wasabi mayo

Mohammad Shahrom

The boy thought that there was a little too much bread for this one. However the pulled pork was flavourful, with a smokey taste that was balanced out by the tangy creamy wasabi mayo. 3.2/5 

Chawanmushi with sea urchin, ikura and chives

Chef Jimmy Chok

The egg was so smooth and I quickly slurped it down along with the uni and the ikura! I really love this chawanmushi! The eggy taste isn't overly strong which is a good thing imo. The uni was okayish sweet but didn't do much for the dish I feel. The ikura gave it texture but again, taste wise nothing to shout about! The egg's really good though by itself :) 3.9/5

Black Forest

Chef Pang Kok Keong

We didn't manage to try this!

Matcha and red bean butter cake

Chef Christopher Tan

This was a little little bit too dense for my liking as I like fluffy, loose cakes. The matcha flavour didn't shine through nor did the red beans have much taste :/ 2.9/5

Okay so that was all the food presented to us at the food tasting, there's still 20+ more dishes we've yet to try! So to try these dishes and to find out yourself how the other 20+ dishes taste like, do make it down for the event!

Now let me give you more information about the beneficiary and Project Happy Feet.

Project Happy Feet is a not-for-profit organisation, started off in 2009 with the aim of empowering underprivileged youths and children by supporting their education and training so that they can break out of poverty. It was established because the two founders, Grace and Deborah, went on a holiday to Cambodia and visited a few schools there. They brought over slippers and stationery for the kids. The response from the kids was extremely heartwarming and it touched their hearts deeply. They came back and told family + friends about their experience and subsequently managed to get 800 pairs of slippers for the kids there. Soon they were receiving more and more money and they decided that they needed to set up a company to maintain transparency, and to embark on greater projects. 

At this point, I must say I am really humbled and inspired by them. I myself have been on OCIP trips quite a few times, but the spark and the experience lingers for awhile and then it dies down in the midst of the hustle and bustle of life. There's no lasting flame that spurs me on to do what they did. Same for my friends. I think its very encouraging and heart-warming to know that people actually do stuff about the things they've seen or felt after an overseas community experience. So they pride themselves on carrying out a signature event per year and their events must be fully sponsored so they actively look for and rope in sponsors for their events! Theirs is a 100% volunteer based organisation and most of them are working with full-time jobs! They now raise funds for mainly kids in Singapore who are under meaningful and sustainable education-related initiatives and programmes run by local non-profit organisations. They have not forgotten their Cambodian roots! They fly back annually to check on the organisation they've selected to benefit in Cambodia and the people involved.

Children's Cancer Foundation is a non-profit organisation with a mission to improve the quality of life of children with cancer and their families through enhancing emotional, social and medical well-being. It is founded in 1992 and they help about 2000 children and their families each year. They have an integrated hospital-home-community service model catering to the symptoms of each patient and their time of presentation. They also conduct therapeutic play, back to school programmes, caregiver/sibling support and many others! Honestly, cancer at such a young age, has many repercussions and it is definitely not something easy to deal with so they really need your help :)

How will this event be carried out? It will be held on 24 August 2014, 4-6pm. So basically 300 tickets will be sold. Each chef will have their own station in the ballroom of Swissotel Merchant Court and they'll be cooking their dishes on the spot! So you just walk around and get whatever you want :) free & easy! I think its amazing that its live cooking and its kinda like a mini market with 13 pop-up food stations!

So in summary! Savouring good food while knowing that the money you paid, 100% goes to Children's Cancer foundation, what could be better than that? You're effectively not paying for your meal but making a donation with a free meal added upon! 

I'm definitely going on the 24th, and hope to see you there! May I also ask a favour from you? Even if you've read this and can't go, please do spread the message!

To read more information or to buy tickets, please visit www.projecthappyfeet.org 

Thank you!

Also thank you to Amantha from Nuffnang who invited me for this media tasting event where I met so many inspirational people :)

Lime Sunday Brunch Part 1!

Hello! I was thinking of places to go on Sunday for lunch then all of a sudden I thought of Lime! I've been wanting to go for a buffet (since I've not been in q awhile, okay more like an excuse to eat alot and not feel that guilty) so the boy and I went for Sunday Brunch.

I called the night before about 9+pm 10 to make a reservation and the lady who picked up told me that the restaurant will call me back themselves to confirm my reservation. I assumed the restaurant would call me back that night as I thought 10ish would be when they're less busy and can call to confirm my reservation. Instead, I got no calls from them and only got a call next morning at 10+am close to 11am saying that I had to try and walk-in because their reservations are full!

Imagine waking up to that! What a bummer! But the boy & I still decided to go and try our luck. The restaurant was relatively empty when we arrived at 12.30pm and we managed to get a table for 2. I really like the "entrance" of this restaurant which showcases the cakes&tarts available that day. I will show a photo of this entrance in the Part 2 of my post about the buffet because it is too image heavy!

Part 1 - cold seafood/appetisers/mains

Part 2 - desserts/ambience/service etc (this will be posted later!)

So here's the spread!

Oysters

Freshly shucked on the spot!

Lobsters (these were refilled rather slowly!) -> I am glad that they have the half lobster available!
Mussels
Clams
Prawns

Salmon & tuna sashimi
Assortment of sushi - their maki rolls look quite creative!
I also like how they have a variety of pickles to choose from! Okay its just 3 but better than many many buffets I know that dont even have pickles to choose from!

Appetisers - Tomatoes x crab meat | seared tuna w apple & avocado | duck salad

Assortment of pre-mixed salads eg potato/waldorf/peking duck

US Prime Rib

Roasted Cajun Chicken & Lamb rack

There's also a baked snapper at the end of this row which I forgot to snap a photo of! There's a chef stationed here but sometimes he is too busy w one diner that the rest have to wait around and sometimes they help themselves to the cutting of the meat then he'll come scurrying over to help. Which I felt was a little awkward for the guests because well idk for me, I wasnt sure to take the food myself or wait for him to serve me.

Assorted Thai salads! Beef | pomelo | papaya | mango

Wide array of breads to choose from!

Buttery goodness!

Jams + Echire Butter!

Penang Laksa Station!

The boy and I didnt try this that day but from reviews, it's apparently v good!

The food offered at this row of the buffet (not pictured) consists of Asian mains eg beef rendang, sea bass + eggplant + okra curry, there was also this fried chicken but I forgot what sauce it was coated in! And 2 other dishes which I cant remember, sorry!

I dont think what this station is called but basically it's like yong tau foo. You pick up a bowl next to what's shown here, then you proceed to choose your own ingredients + the quantity then you pass it to the chef and tell him how you want it cooked!

Live Pan-seared Foie Gras Station 

Poached Eggs x Rosti Station

This row (not pictured) at the buffet houses the Western mains - herb-crusted Cod fillet, lamb shank, coq au vin, ratatouille, beef (its either stewed or braised), cant rmb if there's anything else sorry! And at the end of this "line" is the live mushroom risotto station! It features a gigantic parmesan wheel where the chef places your risotto into aft cooking, mixes it around a little and then scoops up your risotto!

So here's what I/the boy had that day:

Oysters - 2 out of 3 I ate had sand in them! They were okay, not terribly fresh and neither did they have much taste
Prawns, mussels - not much taste
Clams - smelly taste/smell
Sashimi - nearing average quality

In general - cold seafood that has the essentials for me but doesnt quite deliver in taste

Lobsters - okayish as well!

Pan-fried Foie Gras w Apple Passionfruit Compote

1) I really love that it is apple passionfruit! I love the tartness of the passionfruit and how there are real fruit slices/pieces in the compote!
2) The foie gras was quite nicely done, only a slight crispy exterior with the interior a tad overcooked but its still q good overall! Like it w the compote!

However I feel that they probably should have an air ventilator above the foie gras station or something because when the boy and I became progressively fuller, the oily rich smell of pan fried foie gras clogged our noses whenever we passed by and made us feel like puking! I had to hold my breath everytime I walk pass the station. Not sure if this just happens to us though haha.

Thai Mango/Papaya Salad - I really liked the fact that at this station you can choose your own salad "toppings" eg amt of crushed peanuts, amt of chilli sauce/oil you wanna put etc.! I felt that mango/papaya used doesnt really have the fragrance of those I've tried at oth establishments!

Smoked salmon -  not really salty

Tomato x crab - cant really taste that its crab you're eating, tomato not terribly sweet, semi so

Seared tuna x avocado x apple: i like the mix of avocados + apple! The seared tuna was not bad

Scallop carpaccio: quite fresh! Makes up for the loss of scallops in the cod seafood section

Grilled capsicum/eggplant nth much can go wrong w these

Poached egg | salmon gravlax | rosti

The boy said this tasted quite normal though it looks good!

His plate
Foreground
Lamb shank: the boy said this was really tender and good!
Grilled eggplant/asparagus: nth much to shout abt
Herb-crusted cod: cant really taste the natural flavours of the cod (its v subtle!) so this is more for texture of cod + knowledge that you are eating cod haha but its still good nonetheless! I had 3 slices (as shown below) and still wanted to go back for more!

Background
Beef: the boy really liked this too saying its super soft!
Roast snapper: a little tough the meat
Cajun chicken: the boy asked for breast meat but even so, it was super super tender and soft! We were pleasantly surprised by this!

My plate
Snapper 
Lamb Rack: was lacking a bit in terms of flavour, not enough marinade maybe? Meat was cooked rather nicely. Prefer grilled lamb of Basilico's though!
Ratatouille: I thought it could've been a bit more intense the tomato flavour! But overall, nice veg mix
Herb-crusted cod

Mushroom risotto

Well I know risotto takes quite awhile (Few hrs) to cook it nicely so these short live stations probably already prepped the risotto before hand and just need to warm it up or something? Note this is just MY guess, I have no idea srsly. Anyway this risotto was still too hard and tastes of starch. Not perfume-y this one.

A waiter will come around with pizza and ask if you want it, freshly baked pizza of course. The crust is unbelievably thin + crispy. Hope ingredients can be more plentiful in the future though!

Mushroom soup

The boy said this was a bit watery for him but it was still okay. The other soup on offer that day was the Lobster Bisque, my oh my, it was SO watery that it flowed like flowing water. I wanted to drink it but after scooping it up and seeing that texture, I closed the lid.

I also tried the sea bass curry w eggplant & okra -> I thought it wasnt spicy at all and the veg lost its taste. The sea bass was cooked q nicely though.

Please read my next post for the desserts + service + ambience etc!