Spruce

Late on a lazy weekend morning, we decided to check out Spruce as one of my dining companions had wanted to visit the place for like the longest time. It first opened at Phoenix Park along Tanglin Road in March 2009 and went on to open a 2nd branch at Old Fire Station along Bukit Timah Road in July 2012. We went to the former – a quiet place nestled among trees, and ordered from its weekend brunch menu (last order at 3.45pm). My dining companions had Spruce Chicken Benny and Spruce Big Brekkie while I ate Spruce British Brekkie. Part of The Benedict Collection, Spruce Chicken Benny consists of stewed peppers chicken, bacon poached egg with hollandaise sauce, and corn waffle.

Salute

A dining companion suggested going Immanuel French Kitchen for dinner on a weekday and we arrived just as it was opening. Located at a coffeeshop in the Alexandra Village Food Centre vicinity opposite Alexandra Hospital and Queensway Shopping Centre, it is one of the stalls at Salute. Others include Stew Küche (it means kitchen in German) serving Swiss-German food, Seasalt – The Seafood Place and Two Wings. Upon reaching, we saw blue and white tablecloths on tables atypical of the usual coffeeshop layout. We were asked how many people we had and for a moment, I was reminded of the touting at Newton Food Centre where seats would be arranged for customers who then felt obliged to order from the particular stall which helped to find tables. With the assurance we could order from any stall regardless of where we were seated, we allowed a table to be arranged for us. After checking out the menus, we proceeded to order from each and pay.

Nabehide

The rainy weather of late had my dining companions and me craving for steaming hotpot. Our choice was buffet at Nabehide – Japanese Hotpot Dining where every two diners received a complimentary portion of Premium Japanese Wagyu. Made a reservation and visited the restaurant, located on the 2nd floor of the black and white building next to Anchorpoint and opposite IKEA Alexandra, for dinner on a weekday. No different from Gyu-Kaku with a branch downstairs and Ito-Kacho at Mandarin Gallery, charcoal was used. This evenly heated up and maintained temperature of the soup, which we chose konbu dashi as it was the only soup base that could be ordered without additional cost. Raw ingredients included chicken, thinly-sliced beef and pork, assorted vegetables such as dang-o, shiitake and enoki mushrooms. There were also cooked food like ebi fry and gyoza as well as homemade dipping sauce of Goma and Ponzu. While the food did not disappoint, it was not worth the price.

You may also be interested in Shabu Sai at Causeway Point, Changi City Point and Orchard Central.

Update: The restaurant has closed.