Curious Palette @ Prinsep Street - Presents A New Menu Of Tantalising Creations By Consultant Chef Desmond Shen, Formerly From Magic Square

This June, Curious Palette collaborates with Magic Square alumnus, Chef Desmond Shen to roll out a new menu with expanded offerings. The tantalising line-up of starters and sides combine seasonal vegetables, pristine seafood, and robust meats with house-made sauces and dips to form inventive and sophisticated creations to pique your tastebuds.

Together with the Curious Palette team, Consultant Chef Desmond Shen has created a menu encompassing an all-day selection of starters and sweets (available from 9am – 10pm), brunch (9am – 3pm), lunch (12 – 10pm), and dinner (6 – 10pm).

Tomato, Tamarind Ponzu 3.8/5

To kickstart our meal, we had the appetiser, Tomato, Tamarind Ponzu ($10.90) which is a refreshing palate-cleanser with its plump and juicy tomatoes, along with yuzu and pickled lemon to enliven the dish with a subtle citrusy, tangy flavour.

Fried Cauliflower with Fish Sauce Caramel 4.2/5

The Fried Cauliflower with Fish Sauce Caramel ($11.90) was a highly addictive snack comprising of crispy battered and fried cauliflower florets dusted with curry powder. The fragrant lemon emulsion provides a tangy contrast to the luscious house-made savoury-sweet fish sauce caramel.

Sugarloaf Cabbage with Seaweed Butter 4/5

The Sugarloaf Cabbage with Seaweed Butter ($12.90) come in a bundle of juicy, roasted cabbages and a generous sprinkling of toasted nuts, seeds, buckwheat and crispy curry leaves. The cabbage boosts a natural sweetness to it, while the toasted nuts add a nutty, smoky aftertaste. The dish is also accompanied with an umami creaminess of the seaweed butter, and a perfectly poached egg to harmonise the various components.

Mentaiko Belacan Pasta 4.2/5

The Mentaiko Belacan Pasta ($18.90) comprises creamy al dente pasta tossed in a heady sauce prepared with prawn and shallot oil, butter, and a hint of belacan to give it a rich, briny umami flavour. Topped with a trio of charcoal-grilled tiger prawns and chilli powder to complete the dish.

Cray Roll 3.8/5

The Cray Roll ($19.90) comes in generous, tender chunks of crayfish and ebikko stuffed into a fluffy, toasted brioche roll. Topped with prawn mayonnaise and fried capers which adds an umami creaminess to the roll, and served with a pile of crispy golden shoestring fries.

Slow Cooked Shortrib 4/5

The Slow Cooked Shortrib ($29.90) features a beef short ribs sous vide in soy sauce, mirin, burnt onions, and apple juice. It is finished off with treacly burnt soy and brown butter. The juicy short rib boosts a fork-tender consistency, with slightly crispy edges which adds a charred smokiness to the meat. It is best enjoyed wrapped in fresh lettuce, with pickles and yuzu kosho for a touch of tang.

Kaya, Coffee Butter 3.5/5

End the meal on a sweet note with the Kaya, Coffee Butter ($9.50) which features a crispy buttered and toasted white bread with a generous spread of kaya (coconut jam) made with gula melaka (palm sugar), and a thick slice of fridge-cold coffee butter tucked within. For the quintessential experience, dip the kaya toast in the accompanying saucer of sous vide egg and espresso shoyu (soy sauce).

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.


Curious Palette
64 Prinsep Street
Singapore 188667
Tel: +65 62381068
Facebook
Nearest MRT: Bras Basah (CC Line), Bencoolen (DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon, Wed-Sun: 9am - 10pm
(Closed on Tue)

Direction: 
1) Alight at Bencoolen MRT station. Take Exit A or B. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 mins minutes.[Map]

2) Alight at Bras Basah MRT station. Take Exit D & E. Walk down Bras Basah road towards Prinsep Street. Turn right onto Prinsep Street. Walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]

Udon Kamon @ Eat At Seven (Suntec City Mall) - Singapore's First-ever Tricoloured, All-natural Udon Offerings

For this warm summer, Udon Kamon at Suntec City Mall is offering the new tricoloured chilled udon, a first of its kind in Singapore. Each bowl comes with Udon Kamon's original white udon, green matcha udon and red chilli udon, made with natural ingredients. With the tricoloured chilled udon combined in one bowl, Chef Kamogi Noriyuki has created three offerings - Mentai Maze Udon, Beef Shabu Shabu Bukkake Udon and Uni Maze Udon.

Mentai Maze Udon 3/5

The Mentai Maze Udon ($12.80++) features the tricoloured chilled udon. The green matcha udon is made with Uji matcha from Kyoto while the red chilli udon is made with Korean chilli powder. It is paired with mentaiko, onsen tamago, seaweed and spring onions. Break the egg and mix everything together, allowing the silky egg white to coat the spicy cod roe on every strand of the chewy noodle. It is light and refreshing, perfect for the summer weather.

Uni Maze Udon 3.8/5

Diners with a heavier palate may go for the Uni Maze Udon ($19.80++) with the tricoloured chilled udon resting in a pool of luscious uni sauce. It is topped with creamy and savoury sea urchin from Hokkaido. It actually tasted like a plate of creamy and rich pasta, except that I could not really detect the uni in it.

Beef Shabu Shabu Bukkake Udon 4/5

The last offering for the tricoloured udon is the soup version Beef Shabu Shabu Bukkake Udon ($13.80++). The cold udon noodles are drenched in a chilled dashi sauce and topped with tender beef short plate from Australia. This is my favourite among the 3 new creations, for its refreshing and sweet note, that complement the chewy udon.

Smoked Duck Udon 4.2/5

Not into chilled udon, one can always go for their signature udon such as the Smoked Duck Udon ($11.80++). I felt that the texture of the Sanuki udon fares better in the hot wafu broth made with dashi stock. I also like the addition of yuzu peel, which imparts a citrusy aroma to the finishing. It also comes with succulent pinkish smoked duck that is specially air-flown from Italy.

Nestled in Eat At Seven, Suntec City Mall, Udon Kamon doles out sanuki udon, the most popular type of udon in the Shikoku region. Made freshly with Japanese wheat flour, salt and water, the noodles are thick, squarish and have flat edges. It also comes with a chewy textural bite, which is really delightful.

Note: This is an invited tasting.


Udon Kamon
Suntec City Mall
North Wing Tower 1
3 Temasek Boulevard
#03-315
Singapore 038983
Tel: +65 62665338
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Nearest MRT: Esplanade (CC Line), Promenade (CC Line, DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Sun: 1130 - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Promenade MRT station. Take Exit C. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Esplanade MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

Hokkaido-Ya @ Vivocity - New Fast Casual Japanese Restaurant At Wallet Friendly Prices

A brand new fast casual, self-service restaurant concept - Hokkaido-Ya has opened at Vivocity on 14 June 2018,  offering Hokkaido-inspired dishes using premium ingredients at wallet friendly prices. The new restaurant is the brand child of the Sushi Tei.

Edamame 4/5

For the sides, dines can start with the Edamame ($3.50), Chawanmushi ($3) and Ebi Cream Croquette ($3.50). The Edamame is a delightful snack to much on before starting on the mains.

Chawanmushi 3.5/5

The Chawanmushi was flavourful and smooth. In the steamed egg custard, one can find crab stick, mushroom and chicken.

Ebi Cream Croquette 4/5

Creamy in the inside and crispy on the exterior is the Ebi Cream Croquette ($3.50). This is pretty addictive, it may be hard to just stop at one.

Bara Chirashi Salad 4/5

Diners are getting more health conscious nowadays and many have cut down on the consumption of carbo. At Hokkaido-Ya, you can go for the Bara Chirashi Salad ($14.90) replacing the rice with salad. It can still be a delicious and filling meal.

Truffle Salmon Don 3.5/5

Hokkaido-Ya prides itself for using best catch air-flown salmon from Norway that is chilled, not frozen for freshness. I tried the Truffle Salmon Don ($10.90) that come with a cubed salmon, tobiko, refreshing cucumber atop a bed of Japanese rice, drizzled with fragrant truffle oil. Other variations such as normal salmon don, aburi salmon don and aburi salmon mentai don are also available on the menu.

Aburi Mentai Bara Chirashi Don 4/5

One of the crowd favourite is the Aburi Mentai Bara Chirashi Don ($14.90). The housemade mentaiko simply elevated the whole dimension, complementing the various raw ingredients in the bowl. The refreshing and crunchy cucumbers also help to balance the richness of the mentaiko.

Shirobuta Pork Katsu Hokkaido White Curry Rice 3.5/5

A specialty in Hokkaido is the Hokkaido White Curry, which is a variation of the ubiquitous Japanese curry in white. The mild curry consists of  a mix of cumin cinnamon, cardamon, onion and garlic powder, cooked with milk. It is understand that the white curry is inspired from the snow-covered landscape of Hokkaido in the winter.

Ebi Fried Hokkaido White Curry Udon 3.8/5

For the white curry dishes, diners can opt for rice or udon (additional $1) to go with the fried ingredients. I tried the Shirobuta Pork Katsu Hokkaido White Curry Rice ($12.90) and Ebi Fried Hokkaido White Curry Udon ($12.90). What I missed out is the tori karaage chicken. I personally prefer the white curry with udon, it seems to go better with the thick noodles for a slurping good time.

Hokkaido Butter Corn Hotate Ramen

If you are looking for a bowl of hot pipping ramen, there is the Hokkaido Butter Corn Hotate Ramen ($12.90) and Hokkaido Beef Ramen ($15.90). Diners can have a choice of 3 broths - Paitan, Miso and Spicy Miso. For the Hokkaido Butter Corn, Hotate Ramen, butter is added to the broth for fragrant and creaminess while the sweet corns lends a crunchy textural contrast

Hokkaido Beef Ramen

As for the Hokkaido Beef Ramen, we picked the miso broth. It comes with thinly sliced Hokkaido beef, pan fried to medium rare doneness to retain flavour and texture. The flavour is more robust compare to the hokkaido butter corn hotate ramen.

Hokkaido Milk Monaka and Chocolate Monaka 4/5

Ending the meal on a sweet note, I tried the Hokkaido Milk Monaka ($3.90) and Chocolate Monaka ($3.90) which is full cream Hokkaido milk ice cream sandwiched in biscuity wafer.

Yawamochi Matcha Monaka 4.5/5

If you like enjoy the Hokkaido milk monaka, then you will like the Yawamochi Matcha Monaka ($3.50). Besides the creamy green tea ice cream and sweet red bean encased in the wafer shells, you also get the delightful combination of chewy mochi. This is level up compare to the milk monaka.

Note: This is an invited tasting.


Hokkaido-Ya
Vivocity
1 Harbour Front Walk
#02-153
Singapore 098585
Tel: +65 63768387
Facebook
Nearest MRT: Harbourfront (CC Line, NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1130am - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Harbourfront MRT Station. Take Exit C or E. Walk to Vivocity. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

Kabe no Ana and Men-ichi Ramen @ Jurong Point Shopping Centre - Mentaiko Madness

RE&S, the team who bring you your popular Japanese cuisine concepts such as Ichiban Boshi, Kuisin Bo, Kuriya, celebrates their 30th anniversary with Mentaiko Madness! Men-ichi Japanese Ramen and Kabe No Ana are the two out of its four restaurants concepts that will be running this special promotion.

Hakata Mentaiko Tonkotsu Ramen 3.8/5

From now till 4 June at Men-ichi Japanese Ramen, enjoy a bowl of collagen rich tonkotsu soup with mentaiko served as a whole. The commonly known versions of menatiko dishes often present mentaiko in the form of cream sauce, mayo drizzle etc, it is really the traditional way of serving it that allows one to appreciate the deep umami taste of mentaiko which I have learnt during my trip to Fukuoka. At only $14.90, I thought this Hakata Mentaiko Tonkotsu Ramen is quite decently priced, considering the rest of the regular dishes are priced within the same range.

Mentai Mayo Gyoza 3.8/5

Don't miss out the Mentai Mayo Gyoza ($6.90) - chicken gyoza drizzled with mentai mayo. Though it is back to a mayo form, that deep umami flavour of mentaiko is still quite pronounced.

Mochi Mentaiko Pizza 3/5

Do you know that Kabe no Ana is the creator behind the origina mentaiko spaghetti? And for this occasion, out came another four new mentaiko creations, of which are Mochi Mentaiko Pizza ($16.90) and Mentaiko Gnocchi set ($22.90). What I like about the pizza is the use of toppings that really get your jaw going - Chewy Japanese mochi, squid and succulent prawns.

Mentaiko Gnocchi 3.8/5

The Gnocchi dish really surprises me, given the fact that it is not a true blue Italian place. The pillows of gnocchi are light and fluffy, with a very slight stretchy texture. The mentaiko spinach cream sauce isn't too creamy and the perilla leaves brightens up the dish and gives its flavour a lift with its sharp, minty nuances. A truly enjoyable dish as you get a bit of everything in one spoonful - the pillowy gnocchi coated with mentaiko sauce, the succulent salmon cubes, ikura.

Each set comes with 2 appetisers, Iberico Pork with Tomato Salsa & Rocket Arugla, and Smoked Duck & Grapefruit Salad, as well as a Ume Spakrling Soda, available from now till 2 July. As some of you may find the mentaiko in its original state an acquired taste, these Japanese-Italian creations will be suitable to have with friends and loved ones.

If you are a mentaiko fans, do check out Tokyo Eater Pop-Up Store at Nex or Ichiban Sushi for more Mentaiko Madness. My preference still goes to the ramen as it allows me to savour the entire hunk of mentaiko as such dishes ain't readily available elsewhere.

Photograph and words 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.


Kabe no Ana and Men-ichi Ramen
Jurong Point Shopping Centre
1 Jurong West Central 2
#B1-55
Singapore 648886
Tel: +65 63970435
Facebook
Nearest MRT: Boon Lay (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11am - 10pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Boon Lay MRT station. Take Exit C, D, E. Walk to the new wing of the shopping centre. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]