Southpaw Bar & Sushi @ Cavan Road (Lavender) - The Unorthodox Pairing Of Whiskey With Japanese Food

Southpaw Bar & Sushi in Cavan Road, Lavender is an intimate 12 seater California-styled sushi bar offering unorthodox pairing of Whiskey with Japanese food. Their omakase set here starts from $68 for 5 courses. The sushi bar is opened by Roy Ng and Chef Kenny. It is home coming for Roy Ng who has been working in Indonesia and Thailand.  He is the owner and whiskey sommelier at Southpaw. The kitchen is helmed by Chef Kenny who has 17 years of experience working at Nogawa and Tatsuya.

Together with my two dining companions, we had the 7 course Omakase ($138). Before starting on our dinner, Roy made us his interpretation of a high ball using organic whiskey.

Appetizer 4/5

Our first course is a trio of appetizer. On the plate, we have a huge Fresh Oyster, marinated Squid and fresh Japanese Tomatoes. The oyster was huge and creamy, with a burst of flavours from the sea. What is even more interesting is Roy gave us a shot of whiskey and asked us to pour into the oyster shell. We are suppose to drink from the shelf and appreciate the usual pairing of whiskey and oyster.

Sashimi Carpaccio 4.2/5

Our next dish is Sashimi Carpaccio which is topped with chopped chives, caviar and toasted bonito with truffle. A colourful firework of flavours ignited in the mouth with each piece of the salmon. A worthy note is the toasted bonito which is housemade by Chef Kenny

Fresh Sashimi 4/5

Next we have a plate of fresh Sashimi considers of 5 different ingredients. As Southpaw operates by reservation only, they only imported what is needed for the today in small quantity. Hence we may expect fresh quality sashimi to be dish out for each diner.

Flounder Fish Sushi 4.2/5

Our next course is an Assortment of 8 different Sushi. Make and serve one at a time, we had the Flounder Fish Sushi, Amberjack Sushi, Squid Sushi, Tuna Sushi, White Tuna Sushi,Salmon Sushi, Botan Ebi Sushi, Uni Sushi and Scallop with Foie Gras Sushi.

Amberjack Sushi 4.5/5

Squid Sushi 4/5

Tuna Sushi 4/5

White Tuna Sushi 4/5

Salmon Sushi 4.2/5

Botan Ebi Sushi 4.5/5

For the $138 Omakase menu, you will get uni, botan ebi and foie gras sushi among the assortment of sushi. My favourite is the scallop with foie gras sushi. I never know that the 2 ingredients can work so heavenly together.

Uni Sushi 4.5/5

Scallop with Foie Gras Sushi 4.8/5

Termaki Roll 3/5

After having the assortment of sushi and you are still not full, don't worry as the next course is Termaki Roll. If you think omakase will leave you hungry after the meal, you will be wrong as I was feeling like a pregnant lady after finishing the hand roll.

Miso Soup 4.5/5

Our second last course is a bowl of hearty and comforting Miso Soup. Boiled with the botan ebi shells and with the addition of egg flower, this is unlike the usual miso soup we get at Japanese soup. This is so good that I asked for a 2nd serving.

Umeshu Jelly 4/5

Our dessert for the day is Umeshu Jelly. I thought it was a good change from the usual ice cream, fruits and mochi.

Beef Tataki 4/5

After finishing our omakase set meal, we decided to order the Beef Tataki from the ala carte menu. During the course of  dinner, I noticed many diners ordered the dish so I was curious to try it. On top of that, it is perfect to go with our bottle of whisky as the night is still young.

I can't say you will get the best of Japanese food here but you will be ensure to get the best from the best ingredients that are imported in small batch to cater only for the diners on that day. On top of that the friendly and cosy place atmosphere made up the merit. I have been to whisky place that pairs yakitori with the drink but I realized the flow of omakase is more suitable for the appreciation of whisky.


Southpaw Bar & Sushi
Cavan Suites
11 Cavan Road
#01-04
Singapore 209848
Tel: +65 91011941
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Nearest MRT: Lavender (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Sat: 6pm - 12midnight
(Closed on Sun)

Direction: 
1) Alight at Lavender MRT station Take Exit B. Walk to Horne Road. Turn left and walk down Horne Road. Turn right onto Cavan Road. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]

Kaiyi's Wonton Noodle @ Golden Mile Food Centre - I Have Found My Best Banh Mi In Singapore

Located at the corner of Golden Mile Food Centre on level 1, facing the main road is Kaiyi's Wonton Noodle stall that sells traditional Vietnamese wonton noodle. What exactly is the difference between our local wanton mee and the Vietnamese version?

Char Siew Wonton Noodle 3/5

To find out the different, we got a bowl of Char Siew Wonton Noodle ($4.50). The bowl of noodle comes with slices of lean char siew, fried wonton and lettuce. The noodle is that those springy type, a bit like our mee kia with a bite. It is tossed in a dark sauce which I found it rather light for local palate. We had the spicy version which I have to applaud the stall owner for making it from scratch. However it is way too spicy, throwing the balance off.

Wonton Soup 3.5/5

Beside the noodle we also ordered a bowl of Wonton Soup ($4). The plump wonton has more vegetable to meat stuffing, giving it a more crunchy meat. However I thought the seasoning was a bit heavy with the the pepper.

Chicken Sticky Rice 3.8/5

Besides the Vietnamese style waoton mee, the stall also sells a variety of noodle and rice dishes. A value for money dish is the Chicken Sticky Rice ($5.50). For the reasonable pricing, the plate of rice comes with a whole chicken leg that is braised to an enjoyable tender texture.

Chicken Curry 3/5

The other chicken dish we tried is the Chicken Curry which comes with 2 huge pieces of chicken. However the Vietnamese curry is not those lemak type and it is actually sweet. It is not the usual curry that we are used to. It may take quite a bit of effort to win over the local palate.

Banh Mi 4.5/5

For me the star at Kaiyi's Wonton Noodle is actually their Banh Mi ($5.50). The Vietnamese style sandwich roll. Unfortunately this is only available on Fridays at the moment. The best Banh Mi I had exactly is from Melbourne, Lee's Bakery. I have not find something close until I tried Kaiyi's version.

 The baguette made with a mixture of rice and wheat flour is extremely light and crispy. It is already so good on its own, imagine when we stuffed it with all the flavourful ingredients. Freshly put together, you can find carrot, cucumber, pickle, chicken, chilli, mayonnaise and cilantro sandwiched in between. You get a firework of flavours and different play of textures with each bite in to the banh mi.

Kaiyi's  Wonton Noodle
Golden Mile Food Centre
505 Beach Road
#01-109
Singapore 199583
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Nearest MRT: Nicoll Highway (CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon, Wed-Fri: 10am - 9pm
Sat-Sun: 9am - 9pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Nicoll Highway MRT station. Take Exit A. Take the overhead bridge and cross over to Beach Road. Walk down Beach Road along the flow of traffic. Walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]