Restaurant Ibid @ North Canal Road - Inaugural Asia MasterChef Winner Opens His First Restaurant

The month of May has been an exciting one for the Singapore's F&B scene with many new restaurants opening. One of them is Restaurant Ibid by MasterChef Asia winner of the first season - Woo Wai Leong. He calls his cuisine Nanyang-style. Basically inspired by the South East Asia multi-cultural society, synthesis of Asian and Western cooking techniques, and the quest to forge a  new identity as well as to reconnect with his cultural heritage.

Spring Onion Shaobing 4/5

Dinner at Restaurant Ibid comes in set menus. There are 3 set menus, 4 course ($78++), 6 course ($88+) and 8 course ($118++). We started with the complementary Spring Onion Shaobing, a typical street food snack which can be found in China. At Ibid, the shaobing is stuffed with mozzarella cheese paired with yeast butter and laksa leaves. The pungent from the black pepper gives the snack a beautiful aroma as one bites into it.

Escargot Skewers 3.5/5

The other complimentary dish is the Escargot Skewers. The escargot is brushed with Dou Ban Jiang mayonnaise, grilled over charcoal and then dipped in bawang goreng (caramelised shallots). It is then wrapped in betel leaves and torched until charred. Its an interesting way of appreciating the escargot but I thought it needed a bit of zest to lift the flavour.

Tea Egg Soubise 4.2/5

The Tea Egg Soubise comes with  a centrepiece of sous vide organic egg in a light and refreshing broth made from a blend of aged mandarin peels and Pu Er tea leaves. crystal rock sugar and kelp. It is paired with fresh shiitake mushrooms and gingko nuts that have been fried in brown butter and salt.

Lamb Tartare 3.8/5

Lamb Tartare probably is a first for me. The lamb rump is charred in pan and then chopped into small pieces before tossing with finely chopped celery white onions. You will not get the gaminess as the chopped lamb is mixed with a spice mix of cumin, dried chillies and Szechuan peppercorn. I only wish there are more of the lotus root cracker for me to go with the lamb tartare.

White Radish Porridge 3/5

The texture of the White Radish Porridge tastes more like a puree for its creamy texture. The creaminess comes from the soy milk cooked with overnight rice. Thinly sliced radish strips provide a nice crunch to the smooth finishing. While it is a nice dish, I felt that the dish did not give me the satisfaction or anticipation, somewhat like the rhythm is broken.

Ah Hua Kelong Grouper 4.5/5

The Ah Hua Kelong Grouper may looks like any ordinary pan seared fish fillet with crispy skin but you will discover the treasure when you dive into it. Lying on the bottom of the seabed is the silky tofu butter. The dish jumps to live with the shaoxing fumet, an emulsion of fish stock, carnation milk, shaoxing butter, shallots and black peppercorn.

Black Garlic Short Rib 4.8/5

I heard that the Black Garlic Short Rib is a signature dish of Chef Woo, which he has showcases in numerous pop-up before opening the currently restaurant. Besides the tender and juicy short rib, the highlight is the used of angelica root and pickled black fungus for that extra crunch. The acidity of the black fungus pickled in soya sauce, black vinegar and sugar helps to cut through the richness, for a harmonised enjoyment.

Momoiro Collar 4.5/5

The Momoiro Collar is grilled over charcoal for a beautiful smokey aroma while retaining the succulence. What surprises me is the accompanying sauce that is made of caramel glazed black vinegar, red fermented beancurd and red rice wine and butter, which complements the pork excellently.

Lotus Rice 4/5

The last course before moving to dessert is the Lotus Rice. Infused with the lotus leaves flavour, the glutinous rice is packed with an abundance of flavours from the mushroom, foie gras and preserved liver sausages.

Hibiscus Dessert 3/5

I actually didn't know that hibiscus can be eaten until I had the Hibiscus Dessert. The beautiful hibiscus garden comes with rosella tang yuan, Chinese ginger sugar crumble, house-made red bean jam and yoghurt ice cream. The chewy tang yuan is rather bland, so have it together with the sweet red bean jam and yoghurt ice cream to enjoy it.

Soy Milk Ice Cream 4.8/5

A must try at Restaurant Ibid is the Soy Milk Ice Cream made from soy milk and tofu. Its like our local beancurd. There is a sense of familiarity but yet elevated by the technique and other components on the plate such as the almond espuma and sesame cake.

Overall I have enjoyed the food and dining experience at Restaurant Ibid. I like how Chef Woo uses ingredients that is close to our heritage but given it a new modernize interpretation with western culinary technique. While some of the dishes may still need a bit of fine tuning but its heading the right direction, with great potential to be the next big hit

Note: This is an invited tasting.


Restaurant Ibid
18 North Canal Road
Singapore 048830
Tel: +65 91518698
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Clarke Quay (NE Line), Raffles Place (EW Line, NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Sat: 1130am - 230pm, 630pm - 1030pm
(Closed on Sun)

Direction:
1) Alight at Clarke Quay MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk towards the junction of North Canal Road and South Bridge Road. Cross the junction and continue on North Canal Road. Walk along the shophouses along North Canal Road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Raffles Place MRT station. Take Exit G. Walk towards North Canal Road. Continue on North Canal Road. Walk along the shophouses along North Canal Road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]

White Rose Cafe @ York Hotel - A Refreshed A La Carte Menu

York Hotel is renowned for its Penang Hawkers' Fare buffet but lesser known is their local and Asian cuisine served at the White Rose Cafe. Helmed by Chef Charlie Tham, the culinary team has refreshed the a la carte menu showcasing new re-interpretations of Asian dishes and Western classics.

Satay 4.2/5

We started with some Satay that is well marinated and grilled to a nice exterior char. Diners have a choice of chicken or pork. It comes with rice rice cakes, sliced cucumber, onion and peanut sauce topped with grated pineapple. Love the fact that the sauce comes with grated pineapple for the hint of sweetness on top of the nutty sauce.

White Rose Cafe New Specialties Mee Siam 4/5

Even thought it is a refreshed menu, it also brought back some of the old favourites such as the Mee Siam. The tangy and spicy gravy topped with prawns, sliced egg, bean sprouts and diced fried bean curd complements the rice vermicelli excellently. Do note this is sampling portion.

Vietnamese Beef Pho 4/5

Chef Charlie has also introduced Vietnamese cuisine in the refreshed menu. The soup for the Vietnamese Beef Pho is boiled for hours using beef bone marrow for a good 8 hours, resulting in a light but rich broth.  The flavourful broth is accompanied by the smooth flat rice noodles, tender sliced beef, bean sprouts and onion. It is then garnished with red chilli, lime and fresh local herbs.

Vietnamese Pork Chop 4.2/5

The other Vietnamese dish on the menu is the Vietnamese Pork Chop. I love the aroma of lemongrass in the marination of the pork fillet. Grilled to tender perfection, it is served with sunny-side up egg, fresh local herbs, pickled vegetables and steamed fragrant rice.

Seafood Mee Goreng 4.5/5

There is the Malay style mee goreng as well as the Chinese style. I prefer the latter for its wetter version, which is a bit like the hokkien mee. The Seafood Mee Goreng here hits all the right notes for me. Mildly spiced, the wok fried yellow noodles comes with egg, prawns, squid, sliced fish and bean sprouts.

Fish Head Curry 4.2/5

One should not miss having the Fish Head Curry at White Rose Cafe. The fish head curry is prepared accordingly to the well guarded recipe from Soon Heng Restaurant dating from 1970s, touted as the creator of the Singaporean Chinese style fish head curry. The red snapper fish head is first steamed and then cooked in a mildly spiced assam or tamarind based curry sauce together with tomatoes lady fingers, sliced onions and fresh chillies. The fish is cooked perfectly, firm and moist with a delectable sweetness of the flesh.

Grilled Chicken Thigh 4/5

Besides the Asian fares, there are Western classics such as Fish N Chips and Grilled Chicken Thigh. I tried the grilled chicken thigh which is served with seasonal vegetables and sauteed potatoes. The chicken skin is grilled to a nice crisp while the meat is tender and juicy.

Tang Yuan 3/5

Wrapping up our dinner, we had the Tang Yuan, traditional glutinous rice balls stuffed with black sesame filling in hot ginger flavoured syrup. While I enjoyed the soft glutinous rice, I felt that the ginger soup is a bit too sharp. It need some extra sweetness to balance the sharpness.

I really enjoyed the refreshed a la carte menu at White Rose Cafe. The dishes served are food that is closed to our heart and I have to admit that it has executed them well. I would recommend the fish head curry, mee goreng and mee siam as my favourite.

Note: This is an invited tasting.


White Rose Cafe
York Hotel
21 Mount Elizabeth
Singapore 228516
Tel: +65 68301156
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Orchard (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11am - 11pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Orchard MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk down Scotts Road towards Goodwood Park Hotel. At Goodwood Park, turn right and walk to the end of the carpark. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]

Mr Bean @ Bedok Mall

I am actually quite excited drafting this article because I have chanced upon a discovery that I am very eager to share with my fellow foodies. Not only that, I would say it was a discovery that will change the whole appreciation of the traditional beancurd. Move aside chilled beancurd, the next in thing is savoury beancurd. Mr Bean a household name in the local food and beverage scene has created this new and unique savoury beancurd inspired simply by our local hawker fare, Bak Chor Mee taking the traditional dessert to a whole new level.

Signature Savoury Beancurd 香辣鸡肉脞拌豆花 4.5/5

Mr Bean's Signature Savoury Beancurd ($3.50) is a hot beancurd dessert topped with ingredients such as minced chicken, mushroom, chilli oil, fried shallots, vegetarian floss and vinegar. It somewhat tastes like mapo tofu initially but as the vinegar hits the palate, the picture of a bowl of bak chor mee minus noodle sets in. Interestingly, I felt like I was having tofu instead of beancurd without noticing the soya flavour, probably covered by the flavourful chilli oil and vinegar. The signature savoury beancurd itself can be quite heavy and filling, so it is better to share. In my humble opinion Mr Bean needs to have a more catchy English name for the beancurd as the current name is too generic and does not really represent the dish unlike the Chinese name of the beancurd.

8 Treasure Beancurd 八宝豆花 4.2/5

The other hot beancurd dessert introduced by Mr Bean's new dessert concept store at Bedok Mall is the 8 Treasure Beancurd ($3.30). This is a sweet dessert with 8 different types of beans. The bowl of warm beancurd comes with red beans, green beans, lotus seeds, yellow beans, great lima beans, red kidney beans, barley and peanuts. It is very comforting that comes with different bites of textures that will be enjoyed by both young and old.

Pearly Mango Paradise 3.5/5

Moving on to some cold desserts at the new Mr Bean's dessert concept store, there is the Pearly Mango Paradise ($4.50) that comes with a soya pudding buried underneath the mango chunks, pearls and pomelo pulps. A refreshing dessert that comes with delightful chewy bites. Probably due to the season or the species of mango used, it fell short of the sweetness I was looking for.

Tango Twist 2.8/5

The other cold dessert without soya is the Tango Twist ($4) that is a rendition of the popular mango sago dessert. In my opinion this is the weakest link. I could tell that the mango puree was substituted with syrup which is a disappointment.

Three's A Crowd 三色小圆冰 4/5

An interesting name for a dessert, Three's A Crowd ($4) which comes with specially made grass jelly topped with red beans, soft peanuts and black chewy pearls. The goodness of grass jelly with its hint of herbal taste can be quite boring and flat if to be consumed by itself. Usually the local likes to have it mixed with soya milk or served with longan. Given a little twist, Mr Bean's new creation allows one to enjoy the grass jelly with delightful bites of texture. As there is a layer of crushed ice underneath the ingredients to keep it chilled, my advice is to give it a good mix before consuming to have a bit of everything with each spoonful.

Tang Yuan 汤圆 4/5

At the new dessert concept store, Mr Bean has injected a playful element to the tradition Tang Yuan ($3.30). The usual choice of rice dumpling filing of peanut or black sesame is the same but now in addition of that, one gets a choice of 3 different coating that is available in Peanut, Black & White Sesame and Kinako.

Tang Yuan 汤圆 4/5

Now there is 2 ways of eating the Tang Yuan. One can choose to have it original or roll the Tang Yuan in the preferred choice of coating. One tradition, two ways of eating.

Ice Blended Yuzu Soya Milk 4.2/5

In conjunction with Chinese New Year, Mr Bean has also rolled out the Ice Blended Yuzu Soya Milk ($3/$3.5) for a limited period. The refreshing Yuzu flavoured ice blended soya milk comes with little popping suprises of pineapple pearls making it a auspicious and fun drink.

Mr Bean's latest dessert concept store at Bedok Mall offers a dine in area for patrons to enjoy the new range of sweet and savoury desserts in a refreshing different way. Great news to the fans of SG Food on Foot who quote '我爱甜品' at Mr Bean's Bedok Mall dessert concept store ONLY, gets to purchase a 1-for-1 dessert* (*free dessert redeemed has to be of a lower price than the purchased dessert). Offer is only valid from 1-31 January 2014. Do not miss the opportunity to check out the new desserts!


Mr Bean (Dessert Concept Store)
Bedok Mall
311 New Upper Changi Road
#01-94
Singapore 467360
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MrBeanSingapore
Website: http://www.mrbean.com.sg/index.aspx
Nearest MRT: Bedok (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 7am - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Bedok MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to Bedok Mall. At Bedok Mall entrance, take the right pathway facing the hawker centre (do not go into mall). Continue on the pathway and walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]

Homemade Tangyuan (汤圆) for Dongzhi (冬至) Festival

Dongzhi Festival or Winter Solstice Festival is traditionally a time for the family to get together. Traditionally Tangyuan was made and ate during the get togethers. It is made from glutinous rice flour and symbolize reunion.

For my family, it is also a time to worship ancestors. The recipe was passed down to my mum from grandma. I love the homemade Tangyuan from my mum because it was full of color and ingredients. Besides the balls of glutinous rice, there were red dates, dried longgan and gingko nuts.