Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine

It has been a year since Imperial Treasure Teochew Cuisine moved from Takashimaya to Ion Orchard. Located on the 3rd floor, the always-fully-booked Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine was one of the new entrants that made its way into 2017 Michelin Guide Singapore. My dining companions and I finally managed to get seats for dinner yesterday, despite walking in without prior reservations. Thin slices of tender duck meat were poached in a mix of soya sauces and spices that was not too salty, and served on top of marinated beancurd. Skin of the roast pork was a tad thick but still crispy, and there was an equal amount of meat and fats. We also ordered the recommended homemade beancurd with Chinese spinach and mushrooms – not on the menu, and hor fun with sliced pork (instead of beef) in peanut sauce. And I added an individual portion of succulent prawn with lovely egg white in truffle oil that did not overwhelm. Could neither rave about nor fault any of the dishes we ordered.

Nara Thai Cuisine Revisited

There are now two branches of Nara Thai in Singapore, at B3 of Ion Orchard and 3rd floor of Westgate. While I have visited the restaurant a few times over the years, it has always been to the former. For appetiser, my dining companions and I usually go for its tangy green mango salad or pomelo salad. The latter consists of crunchy and juicy pomelo and prawns, with cashew nut and shallots in a spicy and more-sweet-than-sour dressing. Instead of River Prawns in Spicy Lemongrass and Lime Soup, we would order Tom Yum Kung with chicken. Could neither rave about its tender Gai Pak Panang, or barbequed chicken in spicy Thai marinade that reminded me of our local satay, and Kaeng Phed Ped Yang (roasted duck red curry) nor fault the Kang Panaeng Moo/Gai – red curry with pork/chicken, Phad Thai with chicken and stir-fried minced pork with chilli and hot basil served with steamed jasmine rice. And nothing beats washing these food down with an ice-blended plum juice.

Kanshoku Ramen Bar

I thought there was an aroma of truffles in the air. Sniffing around to trace its source, it seemed to come from Kanshoku Ramen Bar. Located at B3 of Ion Orchard between Imperial Treasure Noodle & Congee House and Wrap & Roll, this is a local brand and its 3rd branch after The Metropolis and Orchard Gateway. We found a table for four and sat ourselves down. An order chit (but no writing instrument) was brought to us. My dining companions ordered Signature Kanshoku Ramen while I had the dry version of Truffle Ramen. Also shared Black Truffle Edamame – simply edamame drizzled with truffle oil, and Pork Gyoza. The latter was the best dish of our meal as the Hakata-style ramen was a tad hard and mine was too dry despite the onsen egg. Could neither rave about the Ramen Egg that we added nor fault the torched caramelised Chashu that one of us found sweet.

Gyoza Ya

Gyoza Ya first opened last year at the basement of Robinsons Orchard between Laurent's Café and Sushi Goshin, also by the Akashi Group. It has since expanded its presence to B4 of Ion Orchard opposite 4 Fingers Crispy Chicken. I have been to both branches on different occasions and tried its Yaki Meshi or Seafood Fried Rice, Tokusei Tonkotsu Ramen, Pan-Fried and Boiled Dumpling with Pork. There was a lovely wok hei in the fried rice with every grain evenly seasoned nicely and no lack of ingredients to go with every satisfying mouth of rice. Special pork bone soup was flavourful yet light and springy ramen was cooked just right. But the only piece of chashu was so chunky that the fats were too cloying and the meat tough. Skin of gyoza was thin with the pan-fried version crispy on one side. Preferred this to the boiled ones. Both were packed with generous filling of delectable and succulent pork. Sit at the counter if you want to watch how these are uniformly wrapped.

You may also be interested in Gyoza King by Keisuke Takeda.

IndoBox

The menu at Ion Orchard's BaliThai was different from its other branches at Novena Square and Suntec City. Coupled with an almost non-existent service, I never went back and was not surprised that it bit the dust. At B3 where it used to be now stands IndoBox by Katrina Holdings who also owns BaliThai, Bayang and So Phô among others. We were looking for dinner in the area on a weekend and decided on IndoBox with a queue shorter than nearby Imperial Treasure Noodle & Congee House, Itacho Sushi and Nara Thai Cuisine. Did not have to wait long for our turn and we wasted no time in ordering. My dining companion had Ayam Penyet, deep fried smashed chicken, with steamed rice. And I ate Nasi Goreng Istimewa – fried rice with a tomato slice, sunny-side up and deep-fried chicken wing as well as two sticks of chicken sate (better known as satay locally) and a few pieces of keropok. Both were nothing to rave about or fault though the meats were succulent.

Update: So Phô has taken over the space at Tampines Mall.

Itacho Sushi

I like Itacho Sushi for its quality and mostly well-executed sushi. Although a tad expensive, and almost always having to wait for seats (no different from Sushi Tei, another Japanese restaurant I frequent for its variety and consistent standard). We visited the one at B3 of Ion Orchard, located between Nara Thai Cuisine and Wrap & Roll, for dinner on a weekend. Other branches can be found at Bedok Mall, Bugis Junction, Changi Airport, JCube, Plaza Singapura and The Star Vista. My dining companion ordered the roasted duck breast sushi and pork sushi not commonly found elsewhere as well as prawn sushi and mango roll. Having tried the whole sea eel sushi before and not particularly impressed with it, I went for a seasonal fish sushi, the scallop with roasted duck breast sushi and a sashimi platter. Also shared sautéed scallops with mushrooms and strips of cabbage, capsicum and carrots in black pepper sauce on hotplate. None of these fresh and succulent dishes disappoint.

Wrap & Roll

I first saw Wrap & Roll in The Star Vista and thought it only sells Vietnamese rice paper rolls. That is, until my dining companions and I saw it over the weekend in Ion Orchard. We were looking for a place to lunch before our Christmas shopping and decided to eat at the contemporary casual dining restaurant from Ho Chi Minh, after trying a sample of its Grilled Pork Steamed Rice Crepe Rolls – tender pork full of flavour from the marinade with a nice charred aroma. The award-winning chain was established in 2006 and currently has more than 10 branches in Australia, Singapore and Vietnam. According to the website, it is the first Vietnamese restaurant on our sunny shores to serve freshly made steamed rice paper rolls. Every dish is delicately handmade with more than 50% of the ingredients imported from Vietnam to maintain its authenticity. For quality control, the chefs are trained in Vietnam for a month while chefs from Vietnam will train the staff here every 6 months.

Menya Musashi

My dining companions and I were looking for a place to lunch at Westgate yesterday when we chanced upon Menya Musashi's lunch sets at $13.90 for a ramen and a side dish. Since Ippudo has yet to open and Paul is better known for its pastries and sweets, we decided to try this Japanese ramen chain located on the 2nd floor. Established since 1996 in Japan, it was named after legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi famous for his double sword style. Other branches in Singapore include Bedok Mall, Ion Orchard, Raffles City Shopping Centre, The Star Vista, Thomson Plaza and VivoCity. There are three versions of soup base for its ramen – white or original, red (spicy) and black with garlic. The tonkotsu broth is supposedly boiled with a substantial amount of pork bones for more than 9 hours with a chef stirring it every half an hour to prevent the bottom from being burned. According to the website, it is creamier than most other places.

New Kid on the Block – Bécasse Bakery

Australian Bécasse Bakery finally opened in Singapore two weeks ago; half a year after it was due to do so. Brought in by jones the grocer, which acquired the bakery as well as burger joint Charlie & Co. from The North Group, its first outlet is located at the atrium on the 4th floor of Ion Orchard outside the entrance to Magosaburou. Charlie & Co. opened at B4 of the same shopping mall in January this year and both used to be part of The North Group, owned by Australian celebrity chef Justin North and his wife Georgia, that went into voluntary administration in June last year. According to the website, its French-style pastries and breads are baked in-house using traditional artisan methods with premium ingredients. And the new contemporary bakery is within walking distance to overseas offshoots of well-known bakeries, boulangeries and patisseries such as Japanese's Maison Kayser at Wheelock Place, Korean's Paris Baguette at Wisma Atria and French's Paul at Takashimaya.

4 Fingers Crispy Chicken

4 Fingers Crispy Chicken opened a few years ago in Singapore but I have always been put off by the long queue at Ion Orchard. Set up by four foodie friends who saw and tried several eateries in bustling New York selling Korean-style fried chicken, this is not a franchise from South Korea. Other branches include the one at Plaza Singapura (there was no queue when I passed by after eating at Tim Ho Wan), another three in the Philippines and four in Indonesia. Located at basement 4 opposite the first overseas outlet of Sydney-based burger heavyweight Charlie & Co, the queue was not long enough to deter me from joining after I saw the snaking one at Krispy Kreme. Still, it took me about 10 minutes to reach the counter. Was given a "buzzer" that would light up, sound and vibrate when my order was ready for collection and a good 20 minutes passed before it was my turn.

The Marmalade Pantry

Walked around Ion Orchard after dinner on a weekday, looking for a place to have either drinks or desserts and was down to two choices – The Marmalade Pantry on the 3rd floor or jones the grocer on the 4th. 1st ate at the former years ago in Holland Village (it has since closed and in 2011, The Marmalade Group merged with Refinery Concepts to form TheBigIdea) and remembered the food was good though a tad expensive. Loved its simple white menu with black prints on a clipboard too but my last dining experience at this branch left an impression for the wrong reasons and I have not been back since. However, I was tempted enough by the Lemon Meringue Sponge Cake on its menu that I decided to give it another chance. Though the open-concept place was most of the time packed when I passed by, empty seats seemed to be beckoning my dining companions and I. So in we went and sat comfortably on cushioned bench seats and wooden chairs with backrest.

New Kid on the Block – Nara Thai Cuisine

Nara Thai Cuisine started at the basement of Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok in 2006 to bring Thai street food into the comforts of an air-conditioned restaurant. Since then, another two branches have opened in Bangkok at Central World and Ei8ht Thonglor. And now its 1st overseas branch, a 112-seater located at B3 of Ion Orchard where Burger King used to be, opened on 12 Sep. There were a few available tables when we visited the place, which exudes extravagance with royal purple and lots of gold that stood out against wooden furniture, on a weekday evening. On the menu were signature drinks – a mocktail and two cocktails specially designed by Bar Stories, known for its artisanal concoctions, and inspired by the vibrant flavours of Thai cuisine as well as items not typically seen in other Thai restaurants in Singapore. The latter includes Kuay Tiew Rua, Ayuthaya boat noodles with beef or pork served dry or in soup, and Yum Som O, pomelo salad.

jones the grocer

An impromptu decision for late lunch at Dempsey Hill led me to premium Australian gourmet store, jones the grocer. Bigger than the one at Mandarin Gallery and probably Ion Orchard too, this includes a temperature-and-humidity-controlled cheese room in a corner. Industrial-looking metal shelves along the walls complemented concrete floor in the sprawling space with high ceilings. Sat at one of the long wooden tables inside (outdoor seating also available) and ordered a jones club, requesting for the sauce to be served separately. Loved the toasted bread with a nice charred aroma, the bacon though it lacked melt-in-the-mouth fats and might be too hard for some, and the fried egg. While the grilled chicken was a tad bland and dry, it went well with other ingredients in the sandwich including the raw lettuce and avocado. With a side salad in tart dressing, the meal was well-balanced not just in terms of taste and texture but also nutritional value and portion. Thumbs up!

Update: The branches at Ion Orchard and Mandarin Gallery have closed.

Magosaburou

While the meeting time and venue was fixed a few weeks ago, my dining companion and I did not settle on the restaurant to eat. So it was a last minute decision to try the only one in Singapore that imports the whole cow and serves rarer cuts of meat not usually available locally. From its entrance on the 4th floor of Ion Orchard, we were led down a long corridor and up the staircase to the 5th floor. Considered ourselves lucky to get a table without reservations, especially for dinner on a Friday, but did not manage to secure window seats looking out to the cross-junction of Orchard and Paterson Road. Modern touches atypical of Japanese restaurants could be seen in its luxurious interior design with comfortable leather high back chairs and lots of wood that combined to give the dimly lit place a warm and cosy ambience. An extensive menu meant we could have a well-balanced meal of meat, seafood and vegetables. And wash the barbequed food down with Kirin Ichiban beer.