Maggie Joan's Dining & Bar @ Amoy Street

The talk in town lately has to be the underground dining place, Maggie Joan's Dining & Bar at Amoy Street. It is physically located at Amoy Street but the main entrance is actually at the back alley via Gemmill Lane. The people behind Maggie Joan's is the father and son team behind Moosehead Kitchen, Glen and Daniel Ballis. The underground dining place also gets its name from Daniel's two grandmothers.

Homemade Garlic and Rosemary Bread, Hummus 4/5

The dinner at Maggie Joan's started with the Homemade Garlic and Rosemary Bread with Hummus ($5). The hummus made with chickpeas, cumin, garlic, olive oil, salt and lemon juice goes with the warm baked bread perfectly kick starting the night.

Poached Egg, Dukkah and Saffron Mayo 4.5/5

The presentation looks more like a muah chee in appearance rather than a Poached Egg ($6). The slow poached egg is rolled in dukka (sesame, corainder, cumin, hazelnut and panko) and then deep fried served with saffron aioli on the side. The execution impressed and enlightened me how the chef can elevate a simple egg to a whole new level, giving it a new life in texture and flavour.

Roast Jerusalem Artichoke and Manchego 4.2/5

Another name for Jerusalem Artichoke is known as sunchoke. The Roasted Jerusalem Artichoke with Manchego ($8) has a delightful crunchy texture excellently paired with the manchego cream and mixed seeds for a lift in taste and texture.

Hamachi Sashimi, Carrots, and Brandade 4/5

The Hamachi Sashimi ($23) is brushed with orange and lemon glaze for a tad of citrus sweetness. I find it weird to pair the raw hamachi with the creamy brandade mousse but it turned out rather pleasing on the palate.

Heirloom Tomatoes, Plum and Burrata 4.2/5

The Heirloom Tomatoes with Plum and Burrata ($21) may look simple on the plate but it is bursting with amazing flavours eaten together with the fresh burrata.

Scallop Carpaccio, Peas and Ham

The Scallop Carpaccio, Peas and Ham ($21) is an interesting combination. The combination of scallop and pea may turn some off but this is cleverly executed so that the pea is not very prominent on the plate. The scallop is marinated in sherry dressing, lemon juice, olive oil and sherry for lift in sweetness, together with the crispy ham for the well thought dish.

Roast Seabass, Pesto and Marinated Tomatoes 4.5/5

The highlight for the Roast Seabass, Pesto and Marinated Tomatoes ($28) is the green pesto sauce made from pine nuts, parmesan, garlic and vegetable stock. The piece of seabass seems to be swimming in joy in the pool of pesto broth and swimming joyfully down my satisfied tummy.

Grilled Iberico Secreto, Prunes and Cauliflower 4.2/5

The Grilled Iberico Secreto ($36) is brine for 4 hours and cook in water bath for 12 hours for a beautiful succulent consistency. The marinated prunes lend a nice sweetness to the meaty Spanish pork complemented by the smooth cauliflower puree.

Figs, Red Wine and Housemade Ricotta 4/5 and Orange Cake Yogurt & Pistachio 4.5/5

White Chocolate, Spiced Crumble and Passion Fruit 4/5

The dessert menu is rather small with only 4 items. Figs, Red Wine and Housemade Ricotta ($10), Orange Cake Yogurt & Pistachio ($10), White Chocolate, Spiced Crumble and Passion Fruit ($10) and Cheese ($12). Surprisingly, my favourite is the orange cake with yogurt and pistachio. The full flavour, denseness and tartness scored highly among the others at the dining table too.

The Mediterranean inspired restaurant with its distinct underground character, reflected in its edgy industrial decor, hidden in the back lane did not disappoint me with its modern take on Mediterranean cuisine and good food. It is worth embarking on an adventurous trail to seek out the underground dining place.


Maggie Joan's Dining & Bar
110 Amoy Street
#01-01
Singapore 069930
(Entrance from Gemmill Lane)
Tel: +65 62215564
Facebook
Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer (DT Line), Tanjong Pagar (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri: 12pm - 230pm, 6pm - 11pm
Sat: 6pm - 11pm
(Closed on Sun)

Direction: 
1) Alight at Telok Ayer MRT station. Take Exit A. Turn left and walk down Cross Street towards Amoy Street. Turn left onto Amoy Street. Take the side lane beside the shop house and walk to the back. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

2)  Alight at Tanjong Pagar MRT station. Take Exit G. Follow the covered walkway to the junction of Mccallum Street, Telok Ayer and Amoy Street. Turn left at the junction onto Amoy Street. Continue on Amoy Street to the end of the road. Take the side lane beside lane at the end of Amoy Street to the back. Walk to destination. Journey time about 12 minutes. [Map]

SUFOOD (舒果) @ Raffles City Shopping Centre

Slightly more than a year into its opening, Sufood located at Raffles City Shopping Centre is looking into fine tuning their menu with new food items and beverages. Known for their Italian-inspired meatless dishes, I was quite eager to see what other interesting ways they can do with their range of mushrooms varietals. As I remember from my first tasting at Sufood, mushrooms is the key ingredient in their dishes, but in different forms to so as to mimic the characteristics of meat. The new dishes ranges from soup, main course, dessert and drinks that continue adhering to the restaurant principle – using basic cooking techniques and only the fresh ingredients to create healthy and innovative meat-free dishes.

Misto Mushroom Soup 4.2/5

We started off with Misto Mushroom Soup. I love it till the last drop. Usually, clear soups without a meat base may lacks flavour and body, but theirs somehow manages to have a depth to it. The lightness of it is more than welcome as it allows me to fully appreciate the taste of the different mushrooms.

Rainbow Baked Pasta 3.5/5

Rainbow Baked Pasta. Oven-baked in tomato-blended cream sauce, and with only a thin layer of mozerella cheese on top, this dish is notably light. Blending the cream sauce with the tomatoes not only helps to moderate its richness, but also gives the dish a nice orange tinge.

Zesty Oyster Mushroom Rice 3.8/5

Zesty Oyster Mushroom Rice. A Bibimbap lookalike dish that is all about texture. Oven roasting the rice compensates for the absence of the stone pot, drying the rice out and intensifying its flavour. Seasoned with olive oil and herbs, the rice is delicious on its own. Together with white radish, cabbage, corns and carrots, I’m sure you will enjoy the crunchy vegetables, as well as the juicy ‘fillet’, which is created from a piece of King Oyster mushroom. I feel it would have been better if there are more crunchy vegetables. I find the overall taste slightly too salty.

Lucky Clover Pizza 2.8/5

Lucky Clover Pizza. A lucky 6-leaf clover-shaped pizza filled with Lion’s Mane mushrooms, broccoli, pepper and scallions. If I were not in the known, I would have thought that the mushrooms were duck meat! A very simple cooking method to bring out the characteristic of this mushroom varietal. However, I find this dish a little carbo-overloaded.

White Ferula Pesto Pasta 3.8/5

Their White Ferula Pesto Pasta is an improvement from that of the old menu, which to me was kind of plain, though heavily coated with their pesto sauce. There is a better balance of texture and flavour for this new pasta dish. As basil pesto sauce may be too heavy on the palette for some diners, the chef pickled some purple cabbages with apple cider vinegar to accompany the pasta. I really like how the ingredients work together, complimenting each other with their respective taste and texture. As I was eating it, I made a mental note to adopt this trick back home.

Mango Frollino 4/5

Mango Frollino dessert is marvellous. It surpasses my expectations as my previous disappointing experience with their desserts. The puff pastry is light and airy, with a layer of very light custard. Diced mangoes are added in between, which lends its beautiful scent and sweetness to the delicate pastry.

There are 5 new juices to replace their cold beverages, in which we got to try 4. There's Pear and yucca roots, orange pineapple, watermelon tomato and Pineapple, choy sum with sour plum, which is my favourite among the four. It looks and feel detoxifying. The Pear and yucca roots juice is the one that I feel does not follow their principle of healthy eating - it was sweeten to make it more pleasing to palette, which I can’t agree on.

I find the ways they engineered the mushrooms into the different dishes rather intriguing, and perhaps you should experience it yourself. They will bring the new dishes to the tables from 1st November onwards, and has also confirmed the opening of their second outlet at Wheelock Place, Orchard Road in mid Dec 2015.

All photo credit to Sufood. 
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.


SUFOOD (舒果) 
Raffles City Shopping Centre
252 North Bridge Road
#02-19
Singapore 179103
Tel: +65 63335338
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sufood.singapore
Website: http://www.sufood.com.sg/
Nearest MRT: City Hall (EW Line, NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1130am - 330pm , 530pm - 10pm

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