FOO’D by Davide Oldani

It was on a weekday when we had lunch at Italian fine-dining restaurant FOO'D by Davide Oldani, located in Victoria Theatre & Concert Hall. Davide Oldani is a celebrity chef with a one-Michelin-starred restaurant – D'O in Cornaredo, just outside Milan. Started with one of his specialty, caramelised onions with 20 months aged Grana Padano served hot and cold. Our table enjoyed how the sweet and soft onions were balanced by the savoury and creamy Grana Padano, though the standout was the flaky and crispy puff pastry. Could neither rave about nor fault my choice of main course, chicken roulade with truffle sauce. There were mixed reviews for the dessert of lemon curd with meringue, lettuce sorbet and cocoa crumble. I found the lettuce ice-cream bitter with a raw vegetable taste, and gave it a miss. In contrast, the tart lemon curd went well with the sweet meringue and cocoa crumble. Was not impressed with the meal and left the place hungry.

Time Table

After being the only one trying White Restaurant, The Original Sembawang White Bee Hoon for the first time, was again the only one in our group of five who have not been to Time Table café. The latter first opened at East Village in 2014 and expanded its presence to Jurong West last year. Visited its second branch, which happened to be having promotions for its 1st anniversary. Having heard so much about its Vongole Spaghetti, I decided to order that. Al-dente pasta with clams I have no complaints about, in light and clear soup that was not too oily. Accentuated with the aroma of sliced garlic and Chinese parsley (had mine without chilli), it was refreshing and I slurped it all up. Chose chocolate ice-cream for my affogato – a perfect combination, and shared a not-too-sweet waffle with my dining companions. Also tried and could not fault its strawberry, durian and mint ice-cream.

Time Table
Blk 456 Jurong West Street 41 #01-726

Equilibrium

It was an impromptu decison to join in for lunch at Equilibrium, located on the 1st floor of Capitol Piazza between Dazzling Café and Ryu's Dining & Bar. From the outside, the décor of this duplex space looks nothing like a modern Italian bacaro and ristorante. By The Crea8 Group who founded Demand & Supply at Esplanade and Orchard Gateway, and is also behind The East Bureau at Marina Square. I chose Aglio Olio with Shrimps from the Executive Set Lunch menu that comes with lovely handmade bread and trio-of-the-day – assaggio piccolo, petite antipasto and cheese. Could neither rave about nor fault the al dente pasta with fresh and succulent shrimps tossed in hot olive oil, splash of homemade broth, sprinkle of chilli and pepper. With both minced garlic bits and thin garlic slices in the dish topped with parsley, the amount of garlic was copious as aptly described and would seem like overkill if you dislike it. While I loved the aroma, it was a tad overwhelming.

Violet Herbs

Singapore Restaurant Week was from 24 Oct to 1 Nov and my choice this time round was Violet Herbs, a new age semi-formal fine-dining restaurant offering European cuisine with Asian influences. Helmed by Chef Edward Hoe with about two decades of culinary experience, the restaurant has its own herb garden growing up to 20 different kinds of herbs. As the name suggests, herbs are used extensively in its dishes and splashes of violet – chairs and sofa seats stood out against wooden tables, floor and frames (of pictures on one wall and mirrors on another), could be seen on the first floor of the two storey shophouse on Tras Street. Visited last weekend and we had for appetiser, Parma Scallops and Mushroom Cappuccino with truffle foam and chives. The former was succulent and served with burnt figs on bland sweet potato purée, trout roe caviar and melon gel while the latter was strangely bitter.

Dazzling Café

A queue started at 8.30am even though Dazzling Café was supposed to start operating from noon. As the only tenant opened on the first floor of Capitol Piazza, there were hoardings all around as its neighbours were still undergoing construction/renovation works. Yes, this is the hype of the Taiwanese café known for its instagram-worthy thick toast. With no intention of sniffling glue and eating dust, I waited 'til this month to finally drop by. It was for lunch on a weekday and we could be seated immediately. Ordered a main course each as well as an appetiser and two desserts for sharing. Pleasantly surprised that most of the dishes were better than expected – could neither rave about nor fault The Usuals (poached eggs, cream spinach and parma ham on brioche toast with hollandaise and micro herbs) and the recommended Mentaiko Spaghetti in Cream Sauce.

Laurent’s Café – Full Menu in Orchard

My dining companions and I were looking for a place to eat dinner on a weekend when we chanced upon Laurent's Café, tucked away in a quiet corner at the basement of Robinsons Orchard where Costa Coffee used to be. Most of us have tried the sweets from Laurent Bernard Chocolatier, with presence in Robertson Quay and Portsdown as well as takeaway counters at Takashimaya and Hitachi Tower. But not its savoury dishes and decided to give it a shot. As brunch was only served 'til 6pm, we settled for other items on the menu. We started with cold Laurent's Lemonade (orange, lemon, grapefruit, lime juice, brown sugar and soda), hot Double Cappuccino and my disappointing Café Mocha that was too diluted for my liking. Ordered a French Onion Soup and Lobster Bisque for sharing – the former was nothing like the one my dining companion had in France while the latter also turned out very different from all the versions we had in Singapore, France and other parts of Europe.

Dolce Tokyo

After dinner, my dining companions and I were looking for another place to chill out when we chanced upon Dolce Tokyo. Opened by Ministry of Food, the Japanese-Italian café can be found on the 3rd floor of Bugis Junction and 313@Somerset. It was the latter that we visited, and ordered two desserts for sharing. Chocolate Brownie Grande, served in a stone bowl that reminded me of Korean bibimbap, had a scoop of smooth gelato on top of sweet and dense (but not overly so) brownie with caramelised banana cut lengthwise and sweet sliced strawberries as well as gyuuhi and marshmallows lightly-toasted so it had a nice charred aroma and melted in the mouth. We chose black sesame over vanilla, chocolate and the default-if-you-forgot-to-choose matcha for our gelato. Could not fault Abekawa Macha Zen – Hokkaido red bean paste with Japanese rice dumpling topped with Hokkaido green tea gelato and toasted mochi. Oh, and there are savoury items on the menu too.

Table @ Pip’s

My dining companions and I met up for dinner at Table @ Pip's last Friday. Located at B2 of Orchard Central on the same floor as MEDZS, it is tucked away at a corner near the underpass to Centrepoint. Hidden from view due to the lifts in this shopping mall, the casual dining place with an open-concept kitchen emphasises the use of fresh ingredients in its unpretentious food. Items on the menu include BBQ Crocodile Rib and Italian pastas, just to name a few. Foie Gras was lukewarm at best though I loved the sweet glazed apple that the pan-seared duck liver was served with. I have had better ones, just like Escargot Bourguignon – oven-baked Brandy snails stuffed in button mushrooms coated with garlic butter and topped with parsley leaves. With no reminiscence of mud or sand, the snails were not as plump as others I have tried. A tad chewy and bland, the succulent mushrooms were needed for taste.

Platyptus Kitchen

Was looking for dinner on a weekday at Raffles Place when I chanced upon Platypus Test Kitchen, tucked away in a corner on the second floor of Clifford Centre, but it was closed for the day. According to the website, Platypus is a Singapore based restaurant group with nine branches in Singapore including Platypus Gourmet2Go at Golden Shoe and Platyptus Lobster Shack at China Square. Having seen drooling pictures and rave reviews on its food, I decided to try Platyptus Kitchen at Bugis Junction on another day. Ordered The Traditional Lobster Roll where sweet and succulent butter-poached lobster meat, tossed in roasted garlic mayonnaise with chives and a sprinkle of sea salt, was stuffed into a perfectly grilled soft bun and served with sides. Could neither rave about the small mesclun salad in honey lemon vinaigrette nor fault the crispy French fries with a faint aroma and subtle taste of truffle. Other items on the menu include handmade pastas and gourmet risottos.

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.

Ambush

I was intrigued by the catchy name of this casual European restaurant located on the 4th floor of newly-opened Jem, one of Singapore's largest suburban malls. After checking out its menu, my dining companions and I decided to eat there. Weekday lunch sets include a complimentary soup of the day and drink each. À la carte menu reminiscent of old-style newspaper offers a variety of fares such as Belgium moules and palourde (French for mussels and clams respectively), French entrées like Confit Duck Leg, Italian pastas, Spanish paella and Swiss-German wurst. The latter also includes German chicken schnitzels and pork knuckles as well as Swiss rosti among its choice of accompanying starch – other options are mashed potato, fries or pasta. Among us, we had three lunch sets and an à la carte dish. Except Ambush's Paella, the rest were pastas where we could choose fusilli, linguini, penne or spaghetti so our food was served quick enough.