The Botanic @ Raffles City Shopping Centre - Reincarnation Of Salt Tapas & Bar

The Botanic at Raffles City Shopping Centre is an reincarnation of Salt tapas & bar, with a new focus on plant-based dining and eco-conscious wines. Helming this new concept is Group Executive Chef Shannon Binnie, whose Australian culinary culture and travel experiences in Asia form the main forces behind the nature-inspired menu. Alongside free-range, organic meat and seafood offerings, there is an equivalent number of plant-based dishes with vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free plates.

The Botanic 2.5/5, Caffeine Fix 3/5, Guacamole 3/5

Our pre-meal drinks were The Botanic ($18) and Caffeine Fix ($22). Their signature The Botanic is concocted with house infused gin combined with lemongrass, fresh basil and lime juice. Shaken with egg white to give it its foamy body, instead of refreshing the palate, it was too raw for our liking. The latter was also rather average. Guacamole ($14) being our first starter was quite disappointing to see the creamy guacamole being spread thinly on the plate, as if to make up for the small portion.

Grilled Haloumi 3.8/5

Things started to pick up with our second appertiser, Grilled Haloumi ($22). Dust with sumac powder, the combination of its salty sweet taste and the tomato reminded me of the addictive Taiwanese cherry tomatoes stuffed with preserved plum in between. Unusual but the sweet and juicy watermelon worked harmoniously with the savoury haloumi.

Smoked Sambal Short Rib 4/5

Unforgettable was the Smoked Sambal Short Rib ($39) with flavours inspired by Chef Binnie’s travels to Indonesia but cooked with the classic American smokehouse techniques. What resulted was a smokey sweet meat that fell apart easily with a slight tug. The caramelised shallots elevated its smokey sweetness, which was balanced by the sharp horseradish and roasted padron peppers.

Grilled Cape Grim Pasture-fed Sirloin 3.5/5

I like the clean look of Grilled Cape Grim Pasture-fed Sirloin ($42). Meant to be gluten free, hence only roasted onion and slow cooked tomato are served as sides. The meat itself was flavorful but more of the chimichurri would make it even more enjoyable.

Baklava 3.8/5

Our desserts are quite different in terms of their origins but both were equally delightful. The Mediterranean Baklava ($14) stood out with the very distinctive fragrance and flavour of leatherwood honey, bringing me back to Tasmania instantly.

Chendol Pavlova 3.8/5

The Chendol Pavlova ($12) impressed me with its vegan version of an eggless meringue made from chickpeas with coconut cream, albeit a little too sweet. But the rest of the components were well put together to represent that authentic chendol flavour- the jackfruit granita, harum manis mango and salted gula melaka just shout chendol in every way.

Such focus on plant-based dining is not new but The Botanic's way of presentation is different. The dishes are not grouped under starters and mains but into four main category - Vegan, vegetarian, fish and meats. A huge deviation from Salt tapas & bar but hopefully you will enjoy it just as much.

Photos 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. Note: This is an invited tasting.


The Botanic
Raffles City Shopping Centre
252 North Bridge Road
#01-22A
Singapore 179103
Tel: +65 68370995
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Website
Nearest MRT: City Hall (EW Line, NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 12pm - 11pm

Direction:
1) Alight at City Hall MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 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
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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]

The Dempsey Cookhouse & Bar @ COMO Dempsey - Causal Dining Restaurant By 3 Michelin-Starred Chef Jean Georges Vongerichten

Opened earlier in the year at COMO Dempsey is The Dempsey Cookhouse & Bar by world renowned NYC Chef Jean Georges Vongerichten. The casual dining restaurant spots an open kitchen where diners can have full view of the chefs dancing around the kitchen. It felt like a scene in hell kitchen except that they are synchronization in their dance, like a well oiled machine, dishing out dishes after dishes.

Tuna Tartare with Caviar 4.2/5

For appetizer we started with the Tuna Tartare with Caviar ($38). It is both beautiful in presentation and on the palate. The tuna tartare sat on a bed of avocado cream that was well balanced with citrus zest to it.

Fresh Tagliatelle with Clams 4.2/5

Next, we had the Fresh Tagliatelle with Clams ($20) which had a good bite to it, cooked to al dente. This is freshened up by garlic and parsley, together with the sweetness of the clam. Chilli was also added to spice up the pasta dish.

Mushroom, Farm Egg, Parsley-Garlic Oil Pizza 4.2/5

Many diners have gone for the popular black truffle and fontina cheese pizza but we decided to try something different. Hence we ordered the Mushroom Pizza ($19) with Farm Egg and Parsley-Garlic Oil. We didn't regret trying something different, the thin pizza was slightly more doughy on the rim with a little charred. The ingredients may not be the most luxurious, it didn't lose out either with its wholesome flavour.

Roasted Cod 4/5

Cod has always been my preferred choice of fish for its firm and buttery taste. The Roasted Cod ($34) is well executed. It is paired with a herbal coconut broth and comes with broccoli rabe. I did enjoy the dish but I was a little confused by the description of the dish. I could not taste any heat or coconut in the broth.

Peach Pavlova 2.8/5

Moving to the dessert menu, we started with the Peach Pavlova ($18). While we enjoyed the meringue, we did not like the peach at all. It somehow tasted like cough syrup.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream Sundae 4.8/5

A must order is the Salted Caramel Ice Cream Sundae ($14) which is good for sharing. It came with 3 generous scoop of salted caramel ice cream, hot chocolate fudge, peanuts and popcorns. Who would have thought of such heavenly combination? I guarantee you will be fighting to the last scoop, this is simply too good to be missed.

JG Warm Chocolate Cake 4.2/5

An incidentally order from the dessert menu is JG Warm Chocolate Cake ($14) as we wanted to celebrate one of our friend's birthday. It turned out this is the dessert that Chef Jean Georges Vongerichten has made famous in NYC and now almost in every restaurant's menu. While the original creator of this dessert is left to be disputed. Put that aside, I have to say the chocolate cake was really good, it was really rich with a nice exterior crisp.

Overall, the restaurant is really beautiful and food is good. However I find that dining there is a bit expensive. It is probably those restaurant that I will only visit once in a blue moon. I also do not like the 2 seating arrangement. While the staff is polite enough to hint that they have to turn the table for the 2nd seating, it did disrupt my experience at such a lovely restaurant.


The Dempsey Cookhouse & Bar
COMO Dempsey
17D Dempsey Road
Singapore 249676
Tel: 1800 304 5588
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Orchard Road (NS Line), Farrer Road (CC Line), Holland Village (CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Thu: 12pm - 3pm, 6pm - 12midnight
Fri: 12pm - 3pm, 6pm - 1am
Sat: 12pm - 4pm, 6pm - 1am
Sun: 12pm - 4pm, 6pm - 12midnight

Direction:
1) Alight at Orchard MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to bus stop along Orchard Boulevard (Stop ID 09022). Take bus number 7, 77, 106, 123 or 174. Alight 7 stops later. Walk to Dempsey Road. Walk to the round about near block 17 and 18. Walk to destination. Journey time 30 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Holland Village MRT station. Take Exit C. Walk to bus stop at Block 12 (Stop ID 11401). Take bus 106. Alight 4 stops later. Cross the road. Walk to Dempsey Road. Walk to the round about near block 17 and 18. Walk to destination. Journey time 20 minutes. [Map]

3) Alight at Farrer Road MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to bus stop opposite Farrer Road MRT station (Stop ID 11119). Take bus number 174 or 564. Alight 5 stops later. Walk to Dempsey Road. Walk to the round about near block 17 and 18. Walk to destination. Journey time 20 minutes. [Map]