benben & dardar's food expedition
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Showing posts tagged western
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Oriole Cafe & Bar
Ben had tried this place a few times, so he decided to bring Dar to this place for dinner after shopping at 313 Somerset. He had made a reservation earlier, so we had no qualms getting seats.
Chose the indoor seating as the ambience was much nicer indoors.
Ben told Dar that their barista Keith Loh won Best Barista in the Singapore National Barista Championship 2010. Even though Dar was not a fan of coffee, coffee was on her agenda as she wanted to try out their coffees.
Our Piccolo Latte ($5.80) - Double ristretto, steamed milk
Ben decided on what to order, since he had been here before. We started off with their appetizer:
Arancini ($10.00) - Crispy fried porcini mushroom risotto balls with a gorgonzola dip
The gorgonzola dip - a cream cheese dip made from the blue-veined Italian cheese, was a refreshing addition to the nicely deep fried balls which tended to be a tad too dry.
Spaghetti Prawns ($16.00) - garlic, chilli, tomato, arugula
Ben thought this was decent, but Dar felt it was too dry and not to her liking. After all, she’s a fan of cream-based pastas.
Capellini Crabmeat ($24.00) - jumbo lump crabmeat, piquillo peppers, aglio olio
Dar was complaining about the spiciness of this dish especially with the piquillo peppers used. Ben felt that the spaghetti was not cooked al dente. He was singing praises about a dish that was previously in Oriole’s menu, Salmon Tagliatelle but the dish was apparently removed from their menu.
In the end, Ben decided that if he were to come back to Oriole the next time, he would order his Fish & Chips($15). Having said that, it is still worth going back to Oriole for their coffees and a good chill out place at affordable prices.
Oriole Cafe & Bar
96 Somerset Road #01-01
Pan Pacific Serviced Suites
Website: http://www.oriole.com.sg/home.htm
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valentine’s day stop 3: district 10
Our final stop: District 10 Bistro
For dinner, Ben had made a reservation at a nice and special place along Bukit Timah Road. Hidden in a rather “ulu” place called Windstedt Road, it occupies the venue of a former school building Monk’s Hill Secondary. We had no issues finding the place as we cabbed down from Farrer Park MRT.
The decor was chic yet casual and we chose the al fresco dining area. However, there were mosquitoes despite the staff lighting mosquito coils, which made Dar itch all around :(
As it was Valentine’s Day, every table was reserved and there were already a few couples at the restaurant.They offered a Valentine Day’s menu which was slightly different and had limited choices compared to their normal menu.
As usual, mushroom soup again. For the 1600th time. The Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup was thick and creamy. Dar was all smiles - it was obvious she liked the soup very much!
For the main course, we ordered a unique dish Sambal Chilli Prawn Pizza. It was rather disappointing as Dar commented that it was a weird combination, and Ben agreed that the crust was too thick.
Ben simply couldn’t resist the temptation of ordering desserts, so we ordered two desserts to share. Their Strawberry Cheesecake and Chocolate Fudge Cake. Sadly, they did not meet Ben’s standards. Furthermore, two desserts were simply too jelat, and we had problems finishing them.
District 10 - nice decor and quiet location makes it a good place to chill out. Whether they can attract me to go back will depend on how they execute their dishes.
District 10
10 Windstedt Road
Website: www.district10.com.sg
Happy valentine’s day sweetheart. Love you.
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15 minutes
Here’s another place that we have gone several times, and we finally decided to share this unique area with you. A cafe situated in Lasalle College of the Arts, this place uses a no-frills design but makes use of quirky touches to be hip and modern to target the young teenagers. Ben loves the way the menu is written in a blackboard style!
Dar’s all time favourite - Ham & Mushroom Pink Sauce ($8.90)
Penne with cream, tomato, ham, mushroom and onion. As a fan of pink sauce, this is a must-order dish for Dar. A pity its not served with linguine, though.
Our other favourite dish would be their unique Wasabi Prawn Pizza ($8.50). Topped with prawn, wasabi mayonnaise, sesame seed, red onion and cheese, this fusion pizza is worth a try!
Other must-try dishes would include their Oriental Duck Pizza ($9.90), Prawn Aglio Olio($8.90) as well as Mushroom Arrabiatta ($7.90).
Overall, a wonderful chill-out place nicely tucked in a school. Ideal for hangouts with friends over a couple of drinks and reasonably priced bites. Friends, food and fame, as the name suggests.
15 Minutes
1 McNalley Street
Lasalle College of the Arts
Blk D #01-01
Website: www.15minutes.com.sg
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The House of Robert Timms
Ben & Dar spontaneously decided to try out Robert Timms at Orchard Shopping Centre after catching sight of their one-for-one lunch promotion during GSS! Dar wanted to let Ben satisfy his coffee fix too hee <3
Pretty Piccolo Latte for Ben:
Yummy prawn and asparagus aglio olio for Dar:
Beer Battered Fish and Chips for Ben:
The House of Robert Timms
321 Orchard Road, #01-01/02
Orchard Shopping Centre
Opening hours : 11am to 11pm
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The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
Today is Ben’s birthday! On this special day, Dar decides to give Ben a treat in town at CBTL for breakfast.
Chicken Sausages and Scrambled eggs for Ben:
Smoked Salmon Scramble for Dar:
The smoked salmon scramble was too fishy for Dar’s liking :( Dar passed all her smoked salmon to Ben! Took Ben’s scrambled eggs with tomato ketchup instead yumm!
And of course not to forget our usual coffee fix of Iced Vanilla Latte:
The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
9 Raffles Place
#01-10 Republic Plaza
Singapore 048619Mon - Fri: 7am - 8pm
Eve PH: 7am - 6pm
Sat: 8am - 6pm
Sun & PH: Closed -
Privé Bakery Café
Poor Ben had to choose his own dinner venue and he chose a romantic place to bring Dar to. He had always wanted to go to Privé all this while. Located on Keppel Island, it is slightly inaccessible as one would either have to walk in from the main road or take a cab from Harbourfront MRT.
As the sun sets, the entire place transformed into an idyllic and charming environment with breathtaking waterfront views.
We ordered our usual fave Mushroom Soup
Privé Mushroom Soup ($13)
It was supposed to be with truffle oil but Ben insisted that he couldn’t taste much of it. Well, the garlic bread was toasted nicely and was real crispy.
As for the drinks, we ordered Ice Lemon Tea ($6) and Erdinger Pint ($13.50)
There was much improvement for their service, we had problems trying to get the attention of the service staff. We sat for at least 15 minutes before the menu was given to us, and we had to wait for another 10-15 minutes before ordering.
We started our meal with Ben’s favourite appetizer.
Homemade Calamari with Sesame Tartare Sauce ($12)
Dar was amazed at how the soup cost more than the calamari. The calamari was nicely executed as the batter was thin and of the right texture. Ben simply loved the sesame tartare sauce so much that he finished every drop of it!
Chilli Crab Linguine ($25)
We were allowed to customize the spiciness according to our preference. As Dar had a low tolerance for spicy food, Ben had no choice but to choose the least spicy! Nonetheless, Dar still complained that it was far too spicy for her! It was still a good choice after all, especially with the special chilli-crab pasta base!
One of our greatest complaints would be their service! The service was so slow that by the time the main course arrived, night had fallen and we had to use flash for photography instead!
Of course, how can a birthday celebration be complete without a cake? We had a makeshift cake with Ben’s favourite dessert, Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch and Vanilla Ice Cream ($10). Dar even brought her own candles from home - such a sweet gesture :)
Overall, great view, great ambience, decent food. The slow service could however, pose a great problem. Nonetheless, it is still an idyllic place for a romantic dinner for two and we’ll definitely go back.
Privé Bakery Cafe
2 Keppel Bay Vista
Marina @ Keppel Bay
Opening hours: 9.00am to 12.00am
Website: www.prive.com.sg
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Raindrops Cafe
“ Raindrops keep falling on my head ”
Ben has been speaking of Raindrops cafe and how special it is, so we finally decided to dine there today! Spending our last weekend having fun before school officially starts next week! :D
The place is really small but gives a real cosy feeling! At the most, we think it can only seat up to 15 to 20 people! Plus point: it has only one outlet at *Scape beside Cineleisure! (P.S. Ben doesn’t like commercialized cafes)
Ben and Dar was totally in love with their interior layout, especially the blackboard!
Look at their cute menu! We simply love it (:
The cafe serves a variety of pizzas, pastas, mains and sides! However, as Dar doesn’t eat meat, she settled for pasta instead!
Squid Ink Prawn and Scallop Roe ($14)
Grilled prawns, scallop roe, garlic & squid ink sauce topped with spaghetti. Dar quite liked the dish although it stained her teeth black. She warned that you should definitely not eat this if going out on a first date!
Chicken Roulade ($22)
Though Ben has tried much better chicken roulade elsewhere, the one at Raindrops is decent. Grilled chicken wrapped with bacon and topped with honey mustard sauce, the unique combination is a must-try!
Hidden in a secluded area behind *Scape, the glass house surrounded by lush greenery provides some serenity amidst the vibes of the city. Given the cosy setting, comfort food at affordable prices, we would consider going back if we were in the area.
Raindrops Cafe
2 Orchard Link
#02-38 *Scape
Opening hours: 11.00am to 1.00am
Website: http://raindrops.sg/
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Bazin
After an early dinner at Yu Cuisine, we decided to find a place to chill and watch the pretty sunset at MBS. We chose Bazin out of the many bars available on the decks, especially since Ben’s daddy was craving for beer. We ordered a mocktail for Dar, fruit punch for Ben’s Mummy, beers and bar snacks to go along.
Virgin Pina Colada ($10) for the “virgin” drinker. Dar liked it a lot as it tasted like pineapple milkshake!
Ben’s mummy is a fan of sweet potato, so we decided to order their special bar snack, Sweet Potato Fries ($8) to share. Nicely deep-fried sweet potato seasoned with paprika flour, this was a unique rendition of french fries!
We decided to order some Honey Soy Chicken Wings ($14) for the guys to go with their beers. Supposedly marinated 24 hrs in NZ wild honey, light soya sauce, ginger and garlic as well as rosemary, Ben felt that the chicken wings were so-so and he would have done a much better job.
Situated in a prime location alongside the waterfront, Bazin offers a wonderful place to enjoy the breathtaking view of Marina Bay and the skyline. Great ambience to enjoy a glass of beer over some bar snacks and have a gathering with family or friends. Would possibly come back to try their snacks.
Bazin
2 Bayfront Avenue #01-84
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands
Opening hours: 12pm to 1am daily
Website: www.bazin.com.sg
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Barossa
Ben decided to bring his parents and Dar to Holland Village and we took the newly opened Circle line from Serangoon to Holland Village. We walked around looking for a place for lunch, and we finally settled on Barossa, an Australian-inspired restaurant and bar. The ambience was quite good, a wonderful place to catch up with best friends over beer.
They offered a range of craft beers by Archipelago Brewery. Ben had tried their beers before, so he ordered a Summer Ale and an Irish Ale for him and his dad.
Ben ordered Penne with Jumbo Scallops and Asparagus ($22). The sauce was slightly hot and had a creamy tinge to it. The scallops were huge and juicy and the sauce was so nice that he finished every bit of it. He would prefer it with linguine, though.
Dar and Ben’s daddy decided on the brunch items instead. The brunch came with a free coffee/tea/fruit juice and one could choose eggs done-your-way and 2 side dishes of your choice. Dar had the Simple Brunch Set ($18) where she chose scrambled eggs (as usual), garlic bread and sauteed mushrooms.
P.S. Dar insists that you should try scrambled eggs with tomato ketchup. Ben agrees!
Ben’s daddy chose the Hearty Brunch Set ($22) which included 2 side dishes of your choice, eggs-done-your way, sausages and salad.
Lastly, we ordered a Fish and Chips ($18) for Ben’s mummy. She was shocked at the portions when the dish was served! Ben tried the fish and chips as well and commented that the batter was decent but not fantastic and has tried nicer versions elsewhere!
Overall, portions were HUGE (and we really mean it) and food was decent. However, there was nothing to roar about and we would probably go back to the place if we wanted to chill out over a couple of drinks in Holland Village.
Barossa
Holland Village
22 Lorong Mambong
Website: www.barossa.com.sg
