Date Night Spots

[CITY HALL, SINGAPORE] Sushi Zushi is an upgrade from your usual sushi chains. As the sushi pieces are made 1 by 1 by hand, the quality of their sashimi is higher, though prices are higher as well.

Each sushi order comes in pairs, and prices can vary according to how premium the seafood cuts are. Salmon can almost never go wrong, and their Salmon Belly 🍣 ($5.50) were indeed full of umami flavours. The most premium cut we got was the Scallop ($9) that was scrumptious.

There was a sashimi promo going at $1.50 a piece, which was actually quite worthwhile considering how thick the Hamachi 🐟 slices were. Those were succulent and fatty too!

We would say the sushi quality here is very decent though not mind-blowingly good. It's definitely quite a few steps below that of omakase courses. As the sushi pieces are not big, an average male may need to spend about $60 per pax to be adequately full 😂 Perhaps this is a place to try once!

[RAFFLES PLACE/DOWNTOWN, SINGAPORE] ate here for one of my lunches in town area and I was surprised to find pistachio pesto pasta here! Their pasta quality turned out to be scrumptious, and the ambience is so posh, perfect for work events or date nights 😍

Their Pesto Siciliano ($20) 🍝 came in a sizable portion, with a very interesting conchigilette pasta that resembled conch shells, and did its work well to capture the pesto sauce. It was very al dente, and the pesto sauce was not too salty and yet full of umami flavours. You get the strong nuttiness from the grounded pistachio and aromatics from the basil used. Very enjoyable!

During weekday lunch timing, you can add on a side and a drink for $4.90! I tried to be healthy with my mixed salad 🥗 but I tried my friend's fries 🍟 and it was so good! Crispy, fluffy and flavourful.

Now @gigi_gourmet_deli_gastrobar is a place to try if you are working around the area :)

[TANJONG PAGAR, SINGAPORE] If you want to treat yourself to a good lunch in a posh restaurant, @chefstavern is one option to think about! They have a variety of teishoku lunch sets ranging from $28-48 per pax, and we decided to get the premium ones 😁

The Wagyu Flank Steak 🥩 ($48) was wonderfully executed, and it was soft enough to cut using a spoon. The sauces used were interesting, with flavours I've not tasted before. The Teishoku Set came with a variety of appetiser dishes and a choice of either a Japanese rice bowl or sourdough bread. Though I was slightly disappointed with the texture of the hanjuku egg, the vinegared rice made up for it and I was wolfing down that bowl!

If you are a fish lover, the Alaskan Black Cod 🐟 ($48) is an absolute banger. They somehow managed to pan fry the skin till it's really crispy, while making sure that the meat is perfectly cooked. A curry sauce is used to flavour the cod, which complements it well with its aromatics. Sourdough was chosen to mop up the curry sauce, and it was so soft and fluffy!

Just realised that there's 25% off total bill vouchers on #burpplebeyond 😆 will come back with those vouchers!

[TANJONG PAGAR, SINGAPORE] Ok I think @rappu.sg isn't new to most people who love their handrolls, but they have recently introduced the lunch don menu! We won a giveaway to try their new lunch menu, and we were given Mt. Zermatt 🍚 ($65) which was a sharing portion between 2 pax.

There were loads of ingredients, from fresh chopped up tuna, scallop, salmon mix, to unagi and duck tsukune or meatballs. Hidden beneath the ingredients were flavoured rice and some really addictive lotus chips. Felt like the duck meatballs were a tad dry, but the unagi and sashimi mix were delicious. The truffle grilled edamame was a plus point as it was hella addictive too!

We were also given the seasonal handroll, which was their Chu-toro ($24), definitely pricey, but it comes with large slabs of chutoro and uni which were HEAVENLY. Definitely one of the better uni quality I've had.

Lunch dons are definitely a good option given their quality of fresh seafood, but I would like to try their handroll course one day 😋

[CHINATOWN, SINGAPORE] Tried the very famous @damichelesingapore and while their pizzas were absolutely fantastic, their pasta and sides fell short of expectations.

Out of the many pizzas we've had that night, the Truffle Porcini Pizza ($40) was absolutely heavenly. With a huge amount of umami coming from the mushrooms within the pizza, the truffle paste had a good amount of truffle flavour without being too overwhelming. Their dough is really of a different level, as it was chewy yet pillowy. They were very generous with the cheese as well, and speaking of which, if you love your cheese then you gonna love the 4 Cheese Pizza ($35). It had the right amount of savouriness and earthy flavour, with a slight funkiness from the blue cheese. What a delight!

As much as I would like to give compliments for their pizza, their pastas and sides were unfortunately rather disappointing. We had a couple of them like the Linguine Alle Vongole ($35) and their Ragu Della Portiera ($36), and they were at most average. Indeed they were fresh tasting, but just normal.

Their sides were pretty overpriced too, like the Insalata Di Polipo ($36) or Octopus Salad. There were only a few thin slices of octopus for the price paid 😂

All in all, still great vibes but maybe just come for their pizza?

Finally checked @kafeutu off my bucket list! African style food isn't common in Singapore and it was definitely an interesting gastronomical experience! We decided to play abit safer and here are the items we got:

Smoked Pork Belly ($18) - very delectable, the pork belly was rather tender and very rich and smoky. Flavour profile is close to bacon! It is a bit too rich for 1 to finish; would make a good sharing dish.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken ($20) - this was well executed, with the light crispy batter and succulent meat within. The interesting part is their chilli sauce. It has a good kick, with a hint of spices that I have not tasted before!

Calamari Essaouira ($31) - a good hearty stew, it has a good savoury tangy tomato base, with a hint of spice. The calamari was very fresh, due to its crisp texture. This was a comforting dish to have with rice.

Mocha ($7) - good dark chocolate was used and I could still taste the strong coffee notes. It was a good blend and I wished I got a latte instead so that I could taste the coffee more!

Dishes and drinks were all well executed, but it wasn't anything really mind blowing. Considering the price, I don't think I will come back again anytime soon actually. Still, it's an interesting place to try once!

Been a long time since I've eaten at this restaurant, and the quality is still pretty good! Here are the dishes I've tried:

1️⃣ C&C&C&C&C Pasta ($25.90 for main size) - yes their pasta name is interesting, but basically its filled with ingredients starting with C. This cold dish boasts of creamy seafood flavours coming from the crabmeat and lobster bisque! Pretty decent dish that is worth a try.

2️⃣ "Hainanese" Pork Tomahawk ($32.90) - I was surprised how meaty yet tender the pork cutlet was! The sauce that it's drenched in definitely reminds me of Hainanese chicken rice chilli, and the addition of fruit jam definitely made it interesting. It does not get too surfeiting because of that! However, there is still a slight pork smell that some may not like.

3️⃣ Waffles & Roe ($9) - an interesting dish, with deep earthy flavours coming from the waffles and seafood savoury punch from the ikura roe. This is a mix of sweet and savoury flavours that will open up your palette!

With their menu changing every 4 months, you can see the innovative elements in their dishes. Will be back to try more dishes next time!

Finally had a chance to try this pretty fancy restaurant!

Their $35 3 course lunch menu consist of a starter, main and dessert. For the starters we had their Garlic Escargot and Chicken Pate. The Garlic Escargot were okay but we hoped that it can be more garlicky. The chicken pate was really rich and went well with the bread given. It can be quite surfeiting so it's best to share with others!

As for the mains we got the Angus Ribeye and Lamb Chops. The Angus Ribeye was tender and well seasoned and I loved how the compound butter added extra richness to the steak!

The lamb chops were tender and well seasoned as wdll, but the gamey flavour was quite strong. Perhaps lamb lovers will appreciate it better!

Desserts were okay, nothing much to shout out about. The food was overall alright but the ambience is definitely date night worthy!

With all my friends raving about Omote to me, I finally made my way over to give it a try.

I ordered the Umami Soy Chirashi ($19.80) which may look like a small bowl, but is packed full of seafood ingredients under a bed of lovely well marinated rice. From salmon to tuna to octopus, all chopped sashimi were very quite thick, fresh and all drenched in the umami soya sauce. The sauce is very flavourful and is both sweet and savoury. To be honest, as much as the sauce was great, I wished I had ordered it without as the strong flavours might have overpowered the fresh seafood taste of the lovely ingredients. Nonetheless, it was still an extremely enjoyable bowl and I wiped it clean.

I also added on the premium set ($8.80) which came with a plethora of dishes from chawamushi to salmon sashimi to various appetisers. All were well executed, and I was really spoilt for choice on what my next bite should be.

Another worthy mention really got to be their soya sauce on the table. It is thicker than the usual ones, and I love how the umami from the sauce is intensified but yet less salty compared to the commercial ones. Pairing this with their classic Chirashi Don would be the perfect meal.

Absolutely lovely meal. A good place to treat yourself!

Back at one of my favourite cafes once again and had my favourite dishes once again!

The Braised Beef Cheeks ($28 1 for 1 with #burpplebeyond) is what I would describe a comforting dish, as it comes executed well with my 2 favourite ingredients, potato and beef. The mashed potato is beautifully creamy and buttery, and it's perfect with the tender flavourful beef slices and the umami tasting mushroom slices. A must order here I would say!

Prawn Basil Pesto Pasta ($25 1 for 1 with #burpplebeyond) was another good dish to order, as the al dente pasta were well coated with a garlicky and aromatic pesto sauce. Prawns were well bouncy too. Lovely flavours coming from this dish definitely!

Definitely back another day 😍

If you would like some quality Japanese fare, this is one place to go. Although it may be located in a very unknown area, this place has a poolside view for you to enjoy with your food!

I had a Chirashi Don ($19.80) while my friends had the Truffle Wagyu Don with Foie Gras ($35.80) and we got the premium sides (for additional $8) that has miso soup, chaiwanmushi, salmon sashimi and mochi.

The Chirashi Don itself boast quite a few ingredients from scallops to chutoro. Every piece of sashimi is really fresh and they were perfect with the freshly grated wasabi and soy sauce. To me I feel like the quality of the rice really makes or breaks a don, and I'm glad to say that the rice in this don is really something. It's not only fluffy, it's very well flavoured with the right amount of mirin. Absolutely beautiful.

I tried abit of the truffle wagyu don and I loved how crispy and smoky the beef slices were! The beef slices were tender as well and the truffle taste is noticeable. The foie gras pieces were very rich and fatty, perfect with the bed of rice below.

Definitely a good place to come for date nights 😍

Had a dinner at this posh Italian restaurant and the food here is pretty good!

We got the Quattro Formaggi ($26) that contains a variety of cheeses on the pizza that makes this pizza taste pretty decadent! The cheeses complement each other well and has a savoury flavour. I love the addition of walnuts and grapes on the pizza as you do feel like you're having a cheese platter on a pizza 😂 the crust is crispy and fluffy too, and has the smokey flavour from the wood fire oven.

The Salmon Pasta ($27) has quite a good amount of smoked salmon pieces that were torched for extra smokiness. The pasta are of a thicker Linguine, and are al dente. They do catch the creamy mentai sauce well and each mouthful has a very satisfying rich taste.

This place is definitely great for date nights! Very chill and posh ambience with good food 😍