VENUE by Sebastian @ Downtown Gallery - New Menu Additions to Chef Sebastian’s Range of Contemporary European Cuisine with Mediterranean and Asian Influences

VENUE by Sebastian at Downtown Gallery, helmed by Chef-Owner Sebastian Ng, has refreshed the menu with new offerings. The casual restaurant's menu highlights contemporary European cuisine with Mediterranean and Asian influences, with items priced very reasonably for its quality.

In conjunction with its 7th anniversary celebrations, diners can look forward to new menu additions and a newly launched three-course dinner menu available from just $58!

Roasted Cauliflower Salad 4.5/5

The Roasted Cauliflower Salad ($18) provided a delightful medley of textures. Combined with toasted almonds and jewelled salad, it was finished with a dollop of mint yoghurt, lending a fresh and minty brightness. The addition of pomegranate added a clever touch of sweetness.

Crispy Potato 4.2/5

A new dish on the menu, this Crispy Potato ($9) was a quick favourite among my dining companions. The crispy, thin shreds of potatoes were paired with toppings of chorizo, sautéed mushroom and a poached egg. We were recommended to break and mix the egg to allow its yolk to coat the dish evenly. It was both slightly earthy and intensely savoury.

Foie Gras Mousse 4.5/5

For a more luxurious starter, go for the Foie Gras Mousse ($19). I loved how it was very simply presented but tasted otherwise. In fact, all that the creamy and rich foie gras mousse needed to be paired with, was their lightly toasted and soft housemade brioche. I would like more bread to make the most of the spread!

Farro & Mushrooms 4.8/5

Calling out to fellow mushroom lovers to try this new Farro & Mushrooms ($26) dish! It was profoundly earthy yet not at all overwhelming, unlike how some similar risotto dishes may be. The bed of farro had a slight chew, done with a generous amount of mushrooms and kombu butter, topped with parmigiano reggiano and a poached egg.

I loved the combination of textures and flavours here. Even though this was meant to be a starter, it would also work perfectly as a main.

Braised 12 Hours Wagyu Beef Cheek Au Jus

While I couldn't take beef, my dining companions sang praises of the Braised 12-hour Wagyu Beef Cheek Au Jus ($38) for its texture. The beef was served with pomme purée and broccolini.

Chilean Seabass 4.5/5

The Chilean Seabass ($42) was tender and flaky. It was served with mushroom-bacon ragout and sat in truffle yuzu butter sauce. The flavours were well-balanced, but the portion of seabass could be slightly bigger.

Iberico Pork Collar 4/5

Our last meat dish was the grilled Iberico Pork Collar ($38). I appreciated the smoky char on the slices, but I found the cuts slightly too chewy. The mint yoghurt lent a refreshing touch.

Pistachio Financier 4/5

Our first dessert featured the nutty Pistachio Financier ($15) paired with a scoop of grand marnier ice cream and tangy raspberry yoghurt dressing. We heard that the dessert components were all homemade.

Pear Tart 4.5/5

Next was the unassuming Pear Tart ($15). It had an impressively light and thin pastry with sweet pear bits within, topped with crumble and paired with Bailey ice cream. The crisp texture was a lovely surprise.

Classic Peach Melba 4/5

Finally, we sampled the new Classic Peach Melba ($15) with vanilla ice cream, chantilly cream and fresh raspberry sauce. This would be a good choice if you're craving for something more sweet to end the meal, although I would have preferred a bit more crunch for texture.

Photos and words by Jo. A girl who loves her Mala (麻辣) at Da La (大辣), discovering hidden food gems and a good cup of matcha latte. Note: This is an invited tasting.


VENUE by Sebastian
Downtown Gallery
#01-02
6A Shenton Way
Singapore 068815
Tel: +65 6904 9688
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Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar MRT (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1130am - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Tanjong Pagar MRT station. Take Exit E. Walk to traffic junction of Maxwell Road and Shenton Way. Cross the road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Shenton Way MRT station. Take Exit 6. Walk to Shenton Way. Cross the road. Turn left and walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

Café 2000 @ M Hotel Singapore - Launches Enchanting Festive Buffet at Cafe 2000

M Hotel Singapore, situated on Anson Road in Singapore, presents an enchanting Festive Buffet at Cafe 2000 this Christmas. The buffet offers a delightful array of culinary delights, ranging from the freshest seafood-on-ice to exceptional carvings like Chargrilled Australian Tomahawk with Kampot Pepper, Roast Turkey, Bone-in Gammon Ham, Foie Gras with Berries Coulis, including ‘live’ Crowaffle and Flambe Crepes station and unforgettable spread of yuletide desserts.

The Festive Dinner is available from November 16 to December 21, followed by the Christmas buffet starting from December 22. It's a perfect opportunity to celebrate the Yuletide season with a blend of festive flavours and a joyful ambience at M Hotel Singapore.

The Seafood On Ice display is a captivating showcase of oceanic delights, offering a feast for seafood enthusiasts. The display features an assortment of premium seafood, including succulent crab legs, plump prawns, and a variety of mussels and clams.

The Christmas specials include Roast Lamb Rib, Roast Beef, Roasted Turkey, and Honey Baked Ham. The standout is the freshly grilled Roast Beef, sliced and cooked on the spot, imparting a smoky taste. It is also superbly tender and juicy, with the fatty parts, in particular, showcasing a melt-in-the-mouth sensation, adding a luxurious and indulgent touch to every bite.

The Roast Lamb Rib promises succulence, Roasted Turkey delivers a classic holiday experience, and the Honey-baked Ham combines sweetness with savoury notes.

The local delight of Chilli Crab captures the essence of Singapore's rich food culture perfectly. The Chilli Crab features a luscious and flavourful sauce, showcasing the perfect blend of sweet, savoury, and spicy notes that define this iconic dish. The combination is a harmonious marriage of textures and flavours, paired with crispy mantou.

For an alternative crab option, the Tanghoon Crab features crab paired with tanghoon, also known as glass noodles. The crab was prepared with a flavourful sauce that coats the tanghoon, creating a delightful combination of textures and tastes. At the same time, the noodles absorbed the savoury essence of the crab and sauce, providing a unique and enjoyable mouthfeel.

Don't miss out on the Baked Lobsters adorned with a rich and flamed cheesy sauce that adds a layer of decadence to the dish. The sauce features a creamy and flavourful blend, complementing the succulent lobster meat harmoniously.

Other delectable options in the buffet include Steamed Fish and Nonya Curry, Fried Seafood Beehoon, Lamb Stew, Chicken Satay, Hawaiian Pizza and many more.

The dessert section is a haven for sweet lovers, featuring a diverse selection of indulgent treats. Highlights include the classic Apple Crumble, decadent Chocolate Fudge Cake, velvety Cream Caramel, refreshing Yuzu Cake, and delightful Assorted Cupcakes.

For a local twist, don't miss the mini glasses of Durian Pengat, showcasing the unique durian flavour. A standout is the Croffle, a hybrid treat combining a croissant's crispiness with a waffle's fluffy texture. This dessert spread caters to a spectrum of preferences, ensuring a satisfying and sweet conclusion to the dining experience.

Photos and words by Crystal. A girl who likes to eat, photograph, and write about food, and dreams about travelling around the world one day. Note: This is an invited tasting.


Café 2000
M Hotel Sigapore
81 Anson Road
Singapore 079908
Tel: +65 6500 6112
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Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 7am - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Tanjong Pagar MRT station. Take Exit C. Turn right onto Anson Road. Walk down Anson Road. Cross the road and walk to destination. Journey time about 6 minutes. [Map]

Tokachi Tontaro @ OUE Downtown Gallery - Hearty Butadon Less Than $12 in The Heart Of CBD

Tokachi Tontaro at OUE Downtown Gallery specialises in Butadon, a well-loved pork rice bowl originated from Tokachi, Hokkaido, a place where pig farming started in the early 1900s. While each shop may use similar method of simply grilling the pork over charcoals, every shop owns its butadon by imprinting every bowl with their very own tare made with soy sauce and sugar. This special tare is used to steep the pork before grill, which also seeps deep into the rice in the bowl and flavouring each don, whetting the appetite of their customers.

At Tokachi Tontaro, the porks are from Kagoshima and US. As explained by the owner, as Kagoshima produces and exports a higher quantity of pork, there is a higher consistency compared to that of Hokkaido. Premium Butadon ($22.80R, $25.80L) features this better quality pork with the original tare. If you just want to experience what a Butadon is, you can just go for Regular Butadon ($11.80/$13.80/$16.80) which uses the US pork that will only cost half the price!

Premium Butadon 4.2/5

Looking forward to a bowl of Kagoshima pork that is lip smacking juicy and flavourful but ours seem to fall short of expectations.Perhaps due to the leaner type of pork that the owner has decided to use, mostly due to the feedback from the waistline of the conscious CBD crowd. The rice though, was yummy with the special tare and partly thanks to the state-of-the-art rice washing machine that was purchased to preserve the quality of the high grade Japanese rice right from the start.

Spicy Tomato 4/5

If you would like some heat, you can opt for the exclusive Spicy Tomato ($11.80/$13.80/$16.80) that comes with extra sauce should you need more of the kick. I would prefer it to be more tomatoey.  It uses the US Pork. While the US pork is tender, somehow the flavours that they exude lack the aroma and dimensions that I get from the Japanese counterpart.

Miso Butadon 3.8/5

Another variation is the Miso Butadon ($12.80/$14.80/$17.80) that uses the US Pork. Unfortunately the kitchen seems to be a bit heavy with he peppers, overwhelming the miso flavours. Nevertheless, the pork is still tender and juicy.

Salmon Don 2.5/5

Catering to the non-meat crowd is the Salmon Don ($17.80). I don't remember the last time when I had such a dry and overcooked salmon in a Japanese joint.

Hokkaido Imomochi Cheese 4/5

Hokkaido Crab Cream Croquette 4/5

We tried 2 sides - Hokkaido Imomochi Cheese ($6.50) and Hokkaido Crab Cream Croquette ($7). When they are all hot and oozy, you may derive greater pleasure from them than the mains.

All the dons can be upsize to include Onsen Egg, Tofu salad and drink. Adding the Onsen egg and mix it together with the rice, definitely up the satisfaction by a notch.

Written by Si An. A girl who is allured by travelling, loves the feel of freedom, smell of the rain and the aroma of fine coffee and food.


Tokachi Tontaro 
OUE Downtown Gallery
6A Shenton Way
#03-20
Singapore 068815
Tel: +65 62241470
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Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Sat: 11am - 930pm
(Closed on Sun)

Direction: 
1) Alight at Tanjong Pagar MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to traffic light junction. Cross the traffic light to Maxwell Road. Turn right and walk towards Shenton Way. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

WAKANUI Grill Dining @ Marina One - The Restaurant That Redefined Steak Experience In Tokyo Now Opens In Marina One

It seems like there is a new trend of grill houses opening in Singapore and one of them is WAKANUI Grill Dining located on the level 4 of the new Marina One complex. The restaurant is situated in a stunning glass structure on the fourth floor of the West Tower offering New Zealand Ocean Beef and Wakanui Spring Lamb which are grilled over Japan-sourced Binchotan charcoal. It also offers New Zealand seafood, such as Ora King salmon, New Zealand-sourced sashimi-quality fresh fish and green lip mussels, and other seasonal produce and dairy products imported from New Zealand.

WAKANUI Spring Lamb Chop 4.8/5

Wakanui is not only known for their beef but they are also popular with their lamb. It is so popular that it opens a lamb specialty restaurant in Japan. The WAKANUI Spring Lamb Chop ($8/pc) uses lamb that is born in late winter/early spring, raises for 4-6 months and aged for around 4 weeks. The lamb chop was very tender and juicy. The flavour and texture was really top notch. This is probably one the best lamp chop I have eaten and you don't get that gaminess at all.

Kikorangi Blue Cheese Caesar Salad 4/5

The Kikorangi Blue Cheese Caesar Salad ($22) comes with a medley of New Zealand Romaine lettuce, jazz apple, walnuts tossed with Kikorangi blue cheese. It is then topped with shaved parmasen and walnuts. For those that is worried about the strong flavour of blue cheese, you will not get it here as the blue cheese dressing is made of a blend of Italian anchovies, whipped cream, a touch of salt and extra virgin olive oil.

Hot Smoked Salmon 3.5/5

Mentioned earlier the restaurant also offers seafood on the menu such as the Hot Smoked Salmon ($24) topped with diced fresh tomatoes. While I love the smokiness from the cherrywood chips but I thought the texture was a bit dry due to the cooking. I still prefer my piece of the salmon to be more pink in colour. for that moister texture.

Seasonal Hassun 3.5/5

Giving a feminine touch to the restaurant is the Seasonal Hassun ($32), a traditional kaiseki style starter using seasonal ingredients. On the plate, we have Japanese Tomatoes with Plum Sauce, Lotus Root Tempura topped with Bonito Flakes and Unagi on Daikon and Beetroot Puree. Beautifully plated and thoughtfully put together for guest to enjoy a combination of flavorus and textures.

What is actually Ocean Beef? It is started by ANZCO Foods, a New Zealand-based meat company specializing in premium-quality New Zealand beef and lamb. The concept behind Ocean Beef was to develop beef that achieves the perfect balance between marbling and leanness, while retaining natural juiciness and an intense beef flavour. The cattle are grass-fed for 18 months on the lush green, high-protein pastures in a stress-free environment to develop a muscular form, and then finished on specially formulated wheat, barley and maize-based feed for 4 months.

Bone-in Ribeye 4.2/5, Ribeye Cut 4.5/5, Canterbury Grass-fed Fillet 4/5

To taste the difference of the different beef, we had the Ocean Beef Bone-in Ribeye ($199 for 1Kg), Ocean Beef Ribeye Cut ($79 for 350gram/ $109 for 500gram) and Canterbury Grass-fed Fillet ($78 for 250gram/ $138 for 500gram). Among us we have our own preference and I prefer the Ocean Beef Ribeye Cut for its sweeter flavour. For those that likes a stronger beefy and earthy flavour, then the Canterbury Grass-fed fillet will be your choice.

WAKANUI Spring Lamb 4.2/5

Earlier we had the lamb chop and you think it is not sufficient, you can go for the WAKANUI Spring Lamb ($42 half rack/ $82 full rack). Wow the lamb rack is nicely cooked, I would preferred the lamb chop because I will get the sear on both sides and I also find that there is lesser fats.

Hokey Pokey Ice Cream 3.8/5

Moving to the dessert, we started with the Hokey Pokey Ice Cream ($14) which consists of housemade vanilla ice cream with caramel brittle. For those that is not familiar, hokey pokey is a flavour of ice cream from New Zealand. It actually means honeycomb toffee in New Zealand.

Pavlova 3.5/5

Unfortunately I am not a big fan of Pavlova ($14) as I find the dessert itself is too sweet for me. If you have a sweet tooth, then you will enjoy the pavlova with chantilly cream, passion fruit sauce and mixed fruits.

Baked Rare Chocolate Cake 4/5

I actually enjoyed the Baked Rare Chocolate Cake ($14) most among the 3 desserts. The richness of the bake chocolate cake is perfectly balanced with the tang from the strawberry ice cream.

WAKANUI Grill Dining is a culinary experience enjoyed in a quiet oasis, where the views of the lush central gardens of Marina One provide a welcome respite from the bustle of city life. Pricing maybe a bit on the steep side but the dry-aged beef and lamb here are top quality and well executed.

Note: This is an invited tasting.


WAKANUI Grill Dining
Marina One The Heart
5 Straits View
#04-02
Singapore 018935
Tel: +65 63842665
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Downtown (DT Line), Marina Bay (CC Line, NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri: 1130am - 3pm, 530pm - 11pm
Sat: 530pm - 11pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Downtown MRT station. Take Exit D. What to Straits View road. Turn right on Straits View road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Marina Bay MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to Marina Way road. Cross the road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]