Gatherings

with our favourite chinese food and with a view of our beautiful bay.

Had the baby abalone meesua ($30), pre-ordered claypot chicken rice ($32), and garoupa with garlic and vermicelli ($38, not in pic)

The baby abalone is chewy though the meesua is as usual. Enjoyed eating the claypot chicken rice with its mild ginger taste, tender chicken, and consistently crispy rice bits (!!). Do note that there's only 4 portions of the claypot rice, which has to be reserved in advanced. I am lucky that its still available even though I only called in 3 hours in advance.

The garoupa also captured my favourite taste of garlic in soy sauce.

For $136 including some dimsum and tea, it makes for a good meal amongst 4 people!

Privé [pre-vay] stands for a secret, and its like a secret garden with fairy lights for tinkling glasses, flowing conversations and laughter.

Had the Impossible Meatball Spaghetti - and happy to see how the impossible/beyond meats are sweeping across all these restaurants.

A plant-based patty (mostly soy) can replace our protein but it is still high in saturared fats. Nevertheless i like how earthy and mushroomy it tastes. May be hype now but hope its a lil better for our environment.

($19)

As NOC shared, S'poreans simply love our hotpot. Finally got to try BITP which has been much raved. We got the Collagen soup broth and Mala soup broth (which really gave me the kick, its deffo spicy). For me that love steamboats for the soups, i really enjoyed the collagen soup.

Its on the pricier end (about $50 a person) but in this place with pink classy booths and good customer service where they'll tell you how long to cook it for.

The must orders for me: dumplings!! bean curd skin, homemade prawn paste. This place is also part of the paradise group, hence very worth it to get their memberships. Support local!!

To note that they charge you $3.80 if you either mix the sauce or try their fruits! Towels are complimentary

Felt like a magical garden party, with fairy lights that come to life at night. Its international buffet spread was perfect for me and my team, with us hitting the live seafood corner (with live prawn catching! which i didnt dare) and good cuts of meat - steaks!! Beef rolls!! Everything. The fried food section covered all grounds too - i love the cheese baked pasta best.

Most memorably, they also serve a cheese grilled lobster to each of us. While cold, the flavours were lip smacking good.

Slightly ulu, may need to cab. Also, didnt realise there is indeed some resident peacocks around.

($38++ for dinner)

Love the al fresco dining here, amidst all the cbd people traffic. This is definitely a very value for money burpple deal, where we got the steak for a steal ($30). The cut is less fatty and slightly more tough, but the mix with truffle mash is irresistible. Not sure what sauce it was, but does give a salty punch.

Dining barefoot got us in a comfy mood, and i feel so connected to the earth as we settled ourselves on their floor cushions, the zen music, while getting taunted by the smells of the food. We got the set that includes a creamy-rich butter chicken, fish curry, dhal, spinach and potatoes, garlic naan, chicken 65, sheek kebab - accompanied by its unique salted mint lassi. While servings run a lil smaller, it gives you room to eat more.

I completely wiped the butter chicken sauce clean, its that goood. First time feasting in lil india!

Coming here after a game of futsal has become the ritual: chilling by the river with burger, pizza and beers got to be one of the best way to reward yourself after a game.

Tried the bistro burger that comes with blue cheese, which gives a surprisingly strong kick. The fluffy bun soaks up the essence of the just-right patty ($25 for Bistro Burger)

Ps. This place has entertainer deals!

Coming here is always an indulgent, especially with the level of service!! We ordered some dishes that went so well with the soup - pork meatball, cheese sausages, pork belly, fentiao e.g. Am happy just with my tomato soup broth, though its slightly oily too. Getting the 4 soup choice is great.

Its about $30 for each of us :-) we were entertained by the sudoku which we didnt get to crack

Had the fortune to be treated to a meal here, and we had the peking duck wraps. The crispy skin was paper thin and not at all fatty - and the meat is lean as well. The staff will then skillfully slice the duck and prepare these peking duck wraps. Loved the juicy mix together with some cucumbers, savoury sauce and sugar.

A great treat to end off a very fruitful month! The duck has to be preordered ($90)

Celebrated the bf's birthday here with the dual flavour grilled fish. We got the buffet deal with the patin fish (which is more fatty, and the waiter shared is most popular for hot pots) and it also gave us unlimited sides - beef, pork, fried yam and the likes. We got the 1-spice fragrant pot and mushroom pot.

Overall, felt the soup wasnt the most fragrant, + the mala base is also oily. Both the soups becomes increasingly salty near the end... and the fish wasnt too much either (about 600-700g). Also, the serving size of sides are killer (more than enough for 2 people). How i wished they offer a mini portion instead.

Perks is we get a lucky draw with every $80 spent and we won a dinner treat the next time we're here! Buffet is ~$35 each, with gst to be included

Feasting here at friday evening has a different tone to it, the chimes from the mosque nearby amidst a golden sunset glow, together with grill platter of meats and rounds of beers. The grilled lamb kofta is my favourite - crisp with its flavours brought out, together with the fragrant minced chicken sausage. The grilled chicken chunks was on the drier side. We loved the grilled haloumi, hummus, falefel

This feast is on the pricier end (~$75). Enjoyed this middle eastern cuisine and will love to find slightly cheaper alternatives too

The paella is on the fishy end, and it is unusual that they have such chunky pieces of chickens. This didnt meet my expectations for the usual paella, although the squid and prawns are tender and fresh. The wines definitely made up for it.