Red House at Prinsep

Red House seafood opened its 3rd restaurant at Prinsep street - and as part of their celebrations, they were offering a 50% off their Chilli crab - although it's valid for only 1 crab. For those not in the know, Red House has been around in Singapore for a really long time, since the east coast road days. Now they've got a branch at UDMC Seafood Centre, one at Robertson, and the new outlet at Prinsep.

We started off with baby squid - which was alright, if a bit too sweet. In fact, sweetness seems to be a perennial trend - the chefs seem to be rather fond of throwing heaps of sugar into each dish - as we shall discover later. This was okay, maybe 6.5/10.

Next up was some bamboo clams - these were really fresh, but I wasn't very impressed with the sauce. They could have probably used better soy sauce - but other than that, it was okay. I only ate a bit of this - not very fond of bamboo clams really. maybe 7/10.

Next up was the Spicy Seafood Combination and this was something I quite liked - this was really alot of fresh seafood in a thai-style dry curry, with some mint leaves, dill, etc - which made for a tasty curry that goes very well with rice. Just the way I like it - with a bit of kick. (8/10). This was, sadly, probably the best dish of the night.

Creamy custard prawns - was good albeit very heavy. Still, the sauce was creamy enough. (7/10)

Moving on, we had beancurd with spinach - which was a rather nuff dish. Not enough salt, to be honest - it wasn't fragrant enough, and the beancurd was rather hard in texture and could have been softer. (5/10)

The crabs came next - first up was the black pepper crab. Here, the black pepper crab was much too sweet. The crabs were really fresh, but the black pepper sauce had too much sugar in it and probably not enough spice. It could have been far better - this was average really. (6.5/10)

The much vaunted chilli crab finally arrived - and no doubt the crab itself was again really fresh - and there was much roe to be had - but then, the sauce was really not up my alley. It was very tomatoey- far too much tomato in it - and with not enough kick. I felt I was eating tomato crab instead of chilli crab, to be honest. It was again, not something I'd go back for although the texture was not too bad. (6.5/10).

This place doesn't hold a candle to Long Beach - the sauce at long beach's just so delicious that I just want to order more man-tou to dip into the sauce (and apparently it's a closely guarded secret recipe made up of fresh Thai chillis and other kinds of chillis). Red house's version was mediocre at best. 

Service was also only so-so ; they were very quick to replenish my plates but were rather unfriendly. Well, I think that's not that big a problem: just solve the food problems first!

Revolution Coffee @ Portsdown

A foodie friend of mine told me about this coffee joint located at Portsdown road where she said one could get Single Origin coffee beans (the shop in Sydney, not a kind of bean). I happened to be looking for a coffee joint around the area - and so off I went in search of Revolution Coffee. It's not that easy to find, as it's located in Media circle - in fact it's actually located at the first floor of Infinite Studios, which is a big black building. 

You hop in, and you're greeted by very tastefully done, artistic decor; an industrial feel, somewhat, though not too industrial; in fact the place reminds me quite a lot of Ninth Street Espresso in NYC; the same kind of vibe. There's quirky touches like local art painted by some local artists; as well as a myriad of sketches and drawings. 

In the photos below you'd be able to see what I'm talking about. The cool interior extends to slogans such as "in caffeine we trust". 

I tried the reservoir road blend from Single Origin bean that day as an espresso and my word it was delicious - a very clean cup; fruity, bursts of flavour; of "stone fruits" (although to be honest I thought I tasted orange), and a clean finish. Definitely 8.5/10 or higher. 

As a cappuccino it was nice too - but well some of the nice flavours were rounded off as a cap. Still good though!

I can't wait to hear what other beans they're bringing in - they feature guest roasts from various coffee roasters in Singapore and the day I went the guest bean was a blend from Smitten.

One of the best new places in Singapore! And no, they are not related to Papa Palheta.

Chicken Up, Tg Pagar Road

Hmm I haven't been posting much because I'm actually officially on a diet, trying some weight management programme; but the guys wanted to go to Chicken Up so I tagged along - having heard so much about this Korean place.

Worth taking the calories for? Most definitely; fried crispy chicken with a tasty marinade; you can't go wrong. The soy sauce wings were exceptionally good and so were the spicy ones in a sauce (can't remember the name). Either way I hear it's cheaper than Kko Kko Nara just across the road - tanjong pagar's becoming a hothouse for Korean joints, it seems!

Meii Sushi, International Plaza

This is my second time blogging about Meii Sushi - I wasn't very impressed the other time I went - snooty service and all - but this time it was a pretty good experience. Meii Sushi was featured in Ieat a few weeks ago - about how fresh his fish is and all that - and today there were some interesting pieces of seafood (read - unusual) in my chirashi don. The tuna had a nice texture - and sweet - which is something you don't find very often; prawns were also very fresh and sweet; so was the yellowtail; some chewy clam-like things; tai was alright; and I really loved the hotate (scallops) - really full of flavour, so sweet. The only let down was the rice - it could have been softer and more vinegary. Nothing comes close to the Tatsuya rice, imho. 

Well - for what it's worth - this is a (8/10). I'm still a Teppei fan though, but then again, who isn't? 

Etna, Duxton Road

Etna's one of the familiar favourites that serves very nice, homely, italian-style food, and always well-received by foodies. We were looking for a place to go have a quick meal and Etna came to mind - I was recommended the baked cod by the friendly waitress, and boy was I glad I tried it; it was delicious. The cod flesh was very soft and warm and not overcooked; juicy indeed; the basil dressing on top was light enough not to overpower everything; and I really liked the addition of capers, sundried tomatoes, olives; all of that Mediterreanean goodness. Delicious. (8/10)

Keisuke Four Seasons @ Bugis

I am going to stick out my neck and say this: Keisuke Four Seasons king is probably the best ramen restaurant in Singapore at the moment. I've tried 3 of their flavours and all have been, par excellence. 

Keisuke needs no introduction to foodies - his restaurants include Keisuke Tokyo; Tonkotsu King; and Tori King, and he's just added this new outlet called Four Seasons King. As the name suggests, there are 4 flavours which correspond to the 4 seasons:

Spring - Basil and cheese;

Summer - spicy minced pork;

Autumn - bonito; fried mushrooms;

Winter - pork tonkotsu

and a special flavour i.e. "King" - stir fried pork.

Autumn

The first I tried was "Autumn" - this was pretty delicious, full bodied, full of umami, and very slurpworthy. Mushrooms added an extra layer of umami to an already rich stock. (8.5/10)

Summer

Summer didn't disappoint either - the addition of spicy minced pork really gave an added "kick" to the thick rich tonkotsu-based broth. (8/10)

King

But if you really want the works, check out the "King" flavour - this is really excellent. The stir fried pork and the addition of ginger really lifts the dish to a whole new level. Here the stock is again excellent - truly delectable depth of flavour, of complex richness and thick mouthfeel. I would, without hesitation, give it a (8.75/10) and proclaim it as probably the best ramen in Singapore.

I would love to hear your comments!