New Restaurant: The Sushi Bar

The Sushi Bar was featured in the Lifestyle Weekend section of 2 Nov's papers and the boy and I decided to head down for lunch on 2 Nov itself to try it out!

Unagi

Think this was about $18 or so? Around that price range and for that price, I expected a bigger piece of unagi! The unagi arrives piping hot and a downside is that its not cut already! So its just one chunk of unagi and yknow in jap restaurants, you dont really have knives as cutlery so you gotta use the chopsticks to cut this and it isnt exactly very fun doing it so I'd suggest they cut it up!! Taste-wise, this was average. 3.5/5

Aburi Salmon Soft Shell Crab Sushi

The boy had this and he said can taste the soft shell crab unlike some oth places where its more flour haha. Nicely seared yummy salmon too :) 4/5

Chicken Katsu

$8.90/$9.90

This is part of the lunch "sets" and doesnt come w rice, only chicken! And as you can see, 2 v distinct colours of chicken, we suspect the darker coloured one is a leftover? Nonetheless, the boy said the chicken's v normal, nothing special and he probably wont order it again. 2.8/5

Premium Chirashi

$34.90

Its around that price stated above, and I feel this is super value for money!!! There is SO much variety here. There's salmon sashimi, then aburi salmon, then akagai (omg!), and aburi UNI (!!!), slabs of tuna, salmon roe, octopus, tamago, aburi swordfish, and another aburi fish which I do not know the name of, yellow tail, I think the one behind the salmon roe is scallop? Not sure. But my oh my, look at the list!!!! Fsh is definitely quite fresh and v generous portions! Though I'd like the sashimi to be a lil colder. Rice I would say, not seasoned enough for me but with the yummy sashimi, who's complaining? :) 4.3/5

Close up shot of the akagai

The Sushi Bar is a small shop located in Far East Plaza, really small shop!! Service was okay. I'd say the sushi is quite value for money and the menu has all the usual items in a sushi restaurant. I'd say go for the sushis and the chirashi! They have quite a lot of rather cheap rice bowls as well so you might wanna give it a try if you're in the vicinity.

The Sushi Bar

#03-89 Far East Plaza

Mon-Sun 12-9.30pm

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New Restaurant: Kaixo

Another new tapas bar popped up in town! The people behind Kaixo, according to their Facebook page, started out in private dining, but now they've opened their own shop front! Serving Spanish tapas, but what's different from normal tapas joints in Singapore is that they serve Pinxtos, please look at the pic below for more details about what it is! Basically its something like a brushcetta w a variety of toppings!

The bar area and where you choose your pintxos

Here's their menu for your reference:

The paella was not available that day and we were v disappointed :/

Interesting cutlery shapes!

Pinxtos

$12 for 3

From left to right:

Avocado, Jamon, Sundried Tomato - I like the sun dried tomato here! The jamon isnt very salty and went quite well with the avocado! 4/5

Cheese w quince jam - I love this combination! The jam went so well with the cheese :) 4.3/5

Piquillo pepper w anchovies - I love piquillo peppers and this was good! I love the aroma of the pepper, and the anchovy was sort of like a back-up in this cos the star for me was the pepper! The boy and I both love this the most :) 4.6/5

The toast they use as the base is a little hard but still a tad crispy so its not that bad :) The toppings are really good though! There were 5 diff types on display for us to choose.

Cherry Flavoured Gazpacho

$6

This doesnt taste like cherry haha just tastes like tomato soup! Of course the good thing is that its served chilleddddd and its quite sour so its a v good appetiser!! That blob of white stuff is cream but its kinda semi-solid and doesnt really add much flavour to the soup. 4.2/5

Roast Scallops w Baby Leeks

$12

Plump scallops and at $12, this is quite a steal! Though this dish was kinda average for us as the scallop wasnt sweet 3.5/4

Roast French Pigeon Breast w Saffron Plums

$18

We asked for ours to be done rare and I think this was super good! Very tender meat with a nice aroma to it, mmm I ate a lot of this :) Plums tasted more like apricots to us haha but yes the pigeon's good! 4.7/5

Squid in its own ink

$12

This was so-so I feel, the squid didnt have much taste and the ink sauce, a little bland. The squid wasnt too chewy though which is good. 3.5/5

They serve a set lunch menu with a few tapas items from the dinner menu and for dinner, they serve the menu I've shown above! The set lunch changes weekly and its very affordable! $23++ for 2 courses and $28++ for 3!!!! Do check our their set lunch menu on the Facebook page!

Service there is okay, not very attentive/friendly but passable :) No complaints!

When we went at about 6.40pm, their happy hour was still on and its 1-for-1 house pours/Stella Artois! The house pour includes a red or a white wine. And its $10, so quite worth it I feel.

Kaixo

96 Tanjong Pagar Road

6225 0545

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Mon-Fri: 12-2.30pm, 5.30-11pm

Sat: 5.30-11pm

New Restaurant: Bomba

Now the craze in Singapore seems to be Spanish tapas restaurants! Bomba Paella Bar, as the name suggests, serves paella and is certainly serves more traditional Spanish food vs some of the tapas bars in Singapore! Do note that I visited Bomba on 27 Oct 2012 and the menu has since changed a little!

Quite small interior. Try and spot this counter that's particularly bright next to the huge ass painting at the background of the picture on the right. That's where you can find the "fresh" seafood of the day, pick what you like and the chef'll cook it for you! Alternatively you can refer to the black boards on top or ask the wait staff what's available.

White sangria!

La Plancha Razor Clams

Basically the method of cooking is grilling and these were super super plump!!!! Fat and fresh. 3.8/5

Plancha Carabeneros 

V juicy prawns!! The meat is quite little though for a prawn this size! A little on the dry side for me but nicely seasoned 3.8/5

Arroz Negro

$35 (S)

A wet paella of squid ink, squid, dry sherry, fish stock, spring onions & black mushrooms

This was um a tad too salty for us? Its not the squid ink salty kind of salty, its just a slight overuse of salt? It was really wet no doubt, in a good way :) Little morsels of squid sprinkled throughout, not a bad rendition though. Oh yes, there are 3 sizes for the paella; small, medium and large, this is small! 3.6/5

Chilli Roasted Quail,

Golden Sultana Quinoa

$22

Chilli, lemon juice and honey marinade, caramelized grilled quail served with quinoa tabouleh

This was cooked over "loko mangrove charcoal spiced with apple branch wood chips" and I tell you its tastes good. Tender and nicely roasted! Like the slight charred taste from the roasting and the hints of caramelized sweetness! However I think they took this off the menu alr? Cos the current dinner menu posted on their website does not feature this dish anymore and the menu has also changed a little from when I visited! 4.2/5

Sea Bream

Not sure how this was cooked but it was one of the seasonal specials of the day. The two blobs of sauce went quite well w the fish, if only they gave us more so that we can eat the back part of the fish w the sauce as well! The red one's a tomato based paste (not like ketchup) and I forgot what the yellow one was heh. Anw the fish is really really fresh, not overcooked at all, juicy and yumz. Really nice to share this fish! 4.2/5

Piquillo Peppers Stuffed with Salted Cod Brandade

$14

Baked with maschego

I must say I really love the maschego cheese here! Its totally the star of the show! You can only taste hints of my lovely roasted piquillo pepper, the salted cod brandade... not really. Great to eat it when warm with that heavenly cheese~ 4.2/5

Clams, Sherry & Ham

$20

Stew of shallots, garlic, cubed ham, clams, sherry and parsely

A very normal dish of steamed clams I feel just that this has a lil more alcohol to it? Go for it if you're really hankering for clams. 3.5/5

Roasted King Scallops, Iberico Ham, Broad Beans

$22

Scallops a la plancha, with a stew of braised beans, dry ham and chicken stock

Scallops were really quite big but were a lil tasteless for me though nicely roasted. The big slice of ham is dried so doesnt taste like the jamon we eat, its thinner, slightly crispier and harder! 3.9/5

Langoustine Squid & Prawns Paella

$40 (S)

Seafood paella, cooked with tomatoes and seafood stock

This one really has a lot of ingredients!! I think there were 4 prawns, 3-4 clams and some squid in there.  This one's drier vs the squid ink and similarly a tad too salty for us. Quite flavourful though, 3.5/5

Bitter chocolate ice cream, sour dough bread and salted olive oil

$14

I think $14 for this is a lil expensive? The ice cream isnt really um cold haha and has a texture like a mousse? The white stuff you see on top is actually salt! But the ice cream is good though, really is q bitter, v yummy :) The olive oil didnt really add much to this dish, neither did the sour dough? 3.4/5

Do note that there is NO service charge at Bomba. The service that night was quite slow, we had to tell them quite a lot of times to refill our water. Our dessert took super long to come vs the oth main dishes which came quickly in succession. Though it was slow, they are polite and are helpful :) 

Perhaps my expectations for Bomba were raised really high due to all the praise beforehand. After having visit it, I must must agree that the menu certainly looks darn good and perhaps its because I didnt try their special dishes like the suckling pig and the iberico cooked on the coal pit. But I did try the paella and well, firstly it was salty for us and secondly flavours just didnt shine through as strong as the ones we had in Spain so :/ 

Do note that your table will only be held for 15mins and that for reservations under 5 ppl, they require the table back within 1h 45mins!! They have a promotion going on called Plancha time so do check out their fb page for more updates! :)

Bomba

38 Martin Road (yes same place as Kha!)

65091680

www.bomba.sg

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Isetan Hokkaido Harvest & Food Fair (2 Nov - 11 Nov)

Isetan is always having Japanese fairs which is a SUPERB thing for foodies like me hehe. But well, totally not good for my $$$$ stash. Always depletes quickly when I'm there!

Some highlights of things they have this time (am listing things I didnt take pics of):

• Lavender ice cream & vanilla ice cream from Hokkaido + lots of lavender scented products!! $6.50 per cone of ice cream! Really wanna try the lavender one, will probably go back to give it a try!
• Croquettes, HUGEASSSSS king crabs!!! -> they seem to have this at every fair
• Cream puffs, vanilla swiss rolls
• Parfaits! They have matcha, WHITE, melon etc flavours
• Japanese Fish balls (this is towards the end of the supermarket)
• Crepe cakes (there's cheese flavour! Choc and strawberry too! This is towards the end of the supermarket too)
• Dried seafood
• Lots of frozen Jap fish

This is a stall selling these lovely swiss rolls! The filling is made of berries special to Hokkaido The Haskap roll (the one in the 1st pic and at the top of this pic), there are no samples for that but you can sample the jam in it! Its sour but not overly so, with a tinge of sweetness! Balances the slightly sweet sponge cake perfectly and the cream used in the swiss roll tastes like cheese!! Vvvvvv good but expensive!! It is $8.50 per slice in the first pic! Of course they sell it for a longer roll but cant rmb how much that is!

The cassis roll, there's a tester for this and this is sweeter than the Haskap rolls generally.

This stall also sells the jam made from the diff berries & yoghurt smoothie made on the spot!

The very kind Jap man here let me try a haskap berry (idk if its called that haha but am assuming) and it was not too sour really but appetising! :)

Apple Pie | Apple Chiffon Cake

Apple Tart | Cheesecake

The apple tart has samples and its like v little tart, LOTS of apple slices haha

Cheesecake tester!

THIS IS SO GOOD. SO. GOOD. The cheese is so smooth and not too creamy, loved it so much!!! According to the sales aunty, the Jap guy only brought in 30 boxes of this cos he thought not many ppl will buy it and on 2 Nov before like 3+pm, 15 boxes were alr sold out! Am not sure if this is a marketing ploy or sth hahah but well I kinda believe it? Cos its so yummy! The jap man here at this booth is so sincere and polite :)

HUGE scallops + squid being grilled!!!!!

LOOK WHAT WE FOUND

Shiroi Koibito's Chocolate Drink!!! Yes its the famous bai se lian ren! V ex though think its $5 for this small can!

BIG frozen scallops

Think this was some high grade pork, sorry didnt take note!

Our grilled scallop! Asked for w/o sauce. Sauce is basically the yakitori kinda sauce. The scallops are v nicely grilled, the part below the roe is soft and quite sweet!! 

Ok this is not part of the fair but found at Sun Moulin, the bakery opposite Isetan supermarket! 

This fair is certainly worth a visit!

New Restaurant: The Big Sheila

The Big Sheila just opened on 23 October and the boy and I went down to try out on 27 October, Saturday! Here's what's in store for you :)

Upon entering the store, you'll see white shiny tables lining the sides of the shop with diff types of cakes, salads, breads etc, wtv's on offer that day that they can display :) Do note that all these can also be found in the menu!

Santorini Salad

Butternut Sweetness

Not sure if they are made in house but they sure look good!

The other half that got cut off says homemade muesli w greek yoghurt & berries and poached pears w strawberries & cream.

Brunch Puds - French Croissants Bread & butter pudding

The GIGANTIC tiramisu!! You can order a portion of it off the menu but do note that the portion is VERYVERY big. Definitely share-able among 3-4 ppl post-meal!!! Not only is the width of the dessert big when they serve it to you, it is also 4 layers!! So its really hugeeeeee.

When you order the dips/pates, you'll be served v crusty baguettes that're v nice as well

Here are pics of the menu!

Butternut Sweetness

$9

Roasted pumpkin, chargrilled eggplant mousse, almonds, sesame & sunflower seeds

The pumpkin was a tiny bit dry for me but it was quite sweet! Nice to eat it all together w the rocket, pomegranate, eggplant mousse, almonds and pistachios! Diff textures and tastes :) Light meal if you want one! 3.5/5

My Big Balls

Lovely $16.50

Rich beef & pork balls, with olives & tomato sauce

The sauce is really really good and the boy mopped it up with the awesome crusty baguette that's made in-house! The meatballs are q chewy, unlike some that you get from outside. Portion is quite big and can be filling for one! Its kinda funny when you order this from the wait staff though haha, imagine saying "Can I have my big balls?" or if you want to check on your order "Could you check on my big balls?" Also this dish comes in two sizes so the server asked us "what size do you want your uh big balls to be" so its kinda funny haha. 3.5/5

The Banker Cake
$7
This is rich and dangerous! Whisky soaked prunes, turned in a rich dark (& a bit more whisky) chocolate cake all lavishly topped with a chocolate mousse top

Honestly, the texture's diff from what I expected! The top is mousse but a little harder than usual and the bottom is quite hard! Its like almost solid?? Its definitely not the usual cake texture that we're used to. Its like eating a block of cold choc fudge? The part at the bottom is much less sweet vs the mousse, so for a balance of sweet + bitter, have them both at once! The whisky taste is quite subtle. Overall I'd say this cake is definitely meant for sharing as it could get a bit overwhelming for one after awhile! A little too rich and towards the end, it just feels sweet haha. 3/5

Lemon, Yoghurt, Semolina & Almond Cake
With a zesty lemon syrup
$7

This cake is really crumbly, totally opposite of the Banker Cake. Because of its ingredients, its quite light and fluffy! Lemon taste is not strong and I find it a lil dry unless you eat it tgt w the yummy lemon syrup (thats more sweet than sour).  The lemon slices are more for decoration! This is a light end to the meal and one you may want to consider! 3.7/5

Staff were friendly here but we had to ask for our water to be refilled. The other tables ordered pie and it took quite long to come, the nuggets as well, I'm not sure if they're made on the spot. The place is really small with only a big table in the middle of the shop sitting maybe about 8-10 ppl, another 2 tables sitting 8 ppl and then its the outdoor seats of 6. Its really quite a small shop so either reach early/prepare to wait! You can also takeaway your food! It will come in a super pretty box, even if you cant finish the food in the restaurant and want to takeaway, it'll come in that same pretty box! :) They have a online catering service so you can order your food through the website and have it delivered to you! :)

The Big Sheila 

15 Swan Avenue

Mon-Fri: 8am - 8pm (opens super early for brekkie!!)

Sat: 9am - 6pm

6645 4422

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