Hokkaido-Ya

Located on the 2nd floor of VivoCity, Hokkaido-Ya is a new conept by Sushi Tei Pte Ltd. Decide what you want using a hardcopy of the menu, so as not to hog the self-ordering kiosk – there are two, at the entrance. The place is more for tech-savvy and literate customers, as you can only order through the kiosk and there is no staff to assist you in the process. Upon placing your order, grab a buzzer and place it a distance away from the camera to take a photo of its QR code. Pay by NETS or credit card at the kiosk, or cash at the counter. Since it opened on 12 June, I have tried its aburi salmon don and truffle bara chirashi don. Preferred the latter as the cubes of sweet tamago and fresh sashimi (salmon, scallop, tuna and prawn) went well with the truffle-oil-coated shiny pearls of rice. Together with crunchy cucumber, roes and tempura batter crisps for a balanced texture. Niigata rice and chilled, not frozen, salmon from Norway are used here.

Mak's Noodle

Founded by Mak Woon Chi in 1920, Mak's Noodle moved from Guangzhou to Hong Kong during the Second World War. It has since expanded from an open air street stall in Central to six eateries with indoor seating (Causeway Bay, Jordan, Tin Hau, Tsim Sha Tsui, The Peak). Its 1st branch in Singapore opened at Centrepoint last year, and can also be found at Westgate and VivoCity. I finally tried at the latter recently for a quick bite before going Sentosa. Ordered wonton and dumpling noodles in soup to try both the wonton and dumpling – both had well-marinated succulent prawns I could not fault. As it was originally intended as a snack, the portion is small which also keeps the springy noodles from turning soggy. While my dining companion thought it was above average, I found it good enough though supposedly not as good as Hong Kong's. Now, I just want to buy an air ticket and fly there to try the real thing at the original Central branch. Wait for me…

Update: The branches at Westgate and Vivocity have closed.

Nyonya & Baba

My dining companions and I met up for dinner over the weekend at VivoCity. As queues were the norm for most restaurants, we settled for one of the few exceptions. Located opposite Cyrstal Jade Jiang Nan, between Jpot and TungLok Signatures where seats were also available, is Nyonya & Baba. Having eaten and loved The Blue Ginger at Tanjong Pagar, we decided to try this Peranakan restaurant. Ordered a dinner set for two, with an additional bowl of rice, to share among three. For the soup and poultry, we chose Bakwang Kepeting over Hu Piao and Ayam Buah Keluak over Sate Ayam respectively. Seasoned meatballs made of minced pork, crabmeat and prawn in a surprisingly light broth were better than expected. While the chicken was tender, I did not like the sweet and spicy black nut gravy it was stewed in.

The Chop House

Part of Wooloomooloo Group, The Chop House boasts a SelfTap Beer system – imported from America and the 1st in Asia, where diners buy a stored value card to tap against the reader before pulling their own cold pint from the beer keg. Also available are artisan beers, crafted cocktails, whiskey and wines. Choose between the air-conditioned indoors and alfresco outdoors at this casual dining concept on the 1st floor of VivoCity near Artisan Boulangerie Compagnie, Jamie's Italian and Poulet. Lots of wood could be seen in the 160-seater place with accents of red and black (high stools by the bar and black chairs with red seats among others). Together with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the waterfront, it exudes a casual and relaxed vibe. According to the website, its menu offers "an array of international dishes with a contemporary spin" using only high quality fresh ingredients from all over the world with their natural flavours revealed in the food and beverage.

LeNu

Le Nu Taiwan Beef Noodle Bar, located on the 2nd floor of VivoCity, was empty when we visited on a weekday for lunch. It opened last year but either not many were aware of this restaurant or the food was expensive and/or tasted bad. Anyhow, we went ahead to save ourselves the hassle of squeezing with the lunch crowd at other places. Similar to Vietnamese Nam Nam Noodle Bar, we indicated our choices on the order chit before proceeding to the counter for payment and waiting for food to be served to our table. Instead of choosing firmness of noodles and amount of oil like Keisuke Takeda's Japanese restaurants, we chose from three types of broth and noodles each. The former included authentic beef broth, authentic beef broth with pickled cabbages, hot and spicy broth while the latter had options of broad and thin noodle or hor fun.

Central Hong Kong Café

 

Central means being centre of, and is commonly referred to as the heart of town. But there is also The Central above Clarke Quay MRT Station and Central Hong Kong Café in Singapore. The latter was established in 2004 and has branches in Jurong Point, The Star Vista and VivoCity. White marble tables and black or brown wooden chairs blended in with the black and white mosaic floor, which together with posters of Hong Kong stars, gave the place a nostalgic charm. Hanging lights were interestingly encased in bird cages, with ceiling fans and a white old-school grill that served as a divider. In addition to a menu typical of a cha chaan teng in Hong Kong, there is also a take-away counter selling Hong Kong street food. Having tried many curry fishballs in Hong Kong and Singapore, I realised the versions here are more bouncy than chewy. This was no different, and tasted salty with notes of spiciness from both the chilli and curry, the curry powder balanced by a distinct sweetness.

New Kid on the Block – Jamie’s Italian

The Naked Chef Jamie Oliver (and his mentor Gennaro Contaldo) is now on our shores with their successful joint venture opened two weeks ago. With 35 branches worldwide, the five-year-old UK restaurant chain is committed to using only free-range, sustainably sourced produce. And the Singapore branch, in collaboration with Singapore's Hotel Properties Limited, is Jamie Oliver's first foray into Asia and the fourth outside UK after Dublin, Perth and Saint Petersburg. Upcoming locations include Canberra, Dubai and Turkey. Serving family-friendly and relatively affordable Italian fare, the casual eatery on the 1st floor of VivoCity opposite Poulet caters mainly to walk-ins with a small percentage of tables reserved for those who book online via its website. Though the 6,500 sq ft restaurant has more than 200 seats, customers were not seated outdoor when my dining companions and I visited yesterday and a few indoor tables were left empty.

Madam Kwan’s

Venerable Malaysian doyenne Madam Kwan Swee Lian, who is 80 this year, 1st made a name for herself and her nasi lemak running Sakura restaurant in Jalan Imbi from 1977 to 1997. The popular casual-dining restaurant, Madam Kwan's, started in 1999 as a shop in Bangsar and now has six more branches in Kuala Lumpur malls such as Suria KLCC and Pavilion. And its 1st overseas branch opened in Singapore on 19 May so you do not have to travel 5 hours north for your fix of swanky street food. Located on the 1st floor of VivoCity, the 4,000 sq ft contemporary-designed space decked in gold and lots of wood could sit about 200. Most often than not, there would be a queue outside so my dining companion and I considered ourselves lucky there were none (in fact, there were a few empty tables) when we visited on a weekday evening. Despite so, we waited very long to order but food was served fast enough. Chinese tea, a pot each for pouring into a cup or glass with ice – hot/cold, was refilled quickly.

Bornga

The brainchild of renowned Korean Celebrity Chef Jong Won Paik, Bornga is Korea's leading chain of barbeque restaurants with almost 50 branches worldwide since it was established in 2002. 33 of these are in Korea with the rest in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States. Following the successful debut of its 1st foray here (last November at The Star Vista), a 2nd has opened on the 2nd floor of VivoCity in May this year. My dining companions and I waited for more than half an hour on a weekend evening before we were seated near the back with a view of Sentosa and its fireworks. Dimly-lit and spacious but a tad smoky despite extendable black exhaust tubes hanging from the ceiling, which could be pulled down to just an inch above the grill. With the exception of kimchi as well as broccoli and cauliflower with accompanying sauce, complimentary free-flow banchan were mostly salty and nothing to rave about or fault.

New Kid on the Block – SaintMarc Café

Another Japanese brand has joined the booming local coffee scene – nope, not Okada Coffee scheduled to open in November but SaintMarc Café with almost 300 branches in Japan. Owned by SaintMarc Singapore whose parent company SaintMarc Holdings has about 700 cafés across 12 brands, Singapore is its 2nd overseas location and the 1st in South-East Asia. A few doors away from Costa Coffee on the 1st floor of VivoCity, the airy and spacious place looked cosy with lots of wood and comfortable armchairs. Using the same colour scheme as its logo, a wall and two columns in orange stood out against the mostly dark palette saved for a few white tables and the tops worn by staff beneath their brown striped aprons. Other than enticing displays typical of Japanese restaurants, there was also a nice aroma of freshly-baked breads reminiscent of a bakery.