Grub

Went to Grub at Bishan Park with my secondary school friends. Actually went there before and didn't like the service. We ordered dessert that never came due to misunderstanding by the kitchen and service staff. No apologise were given and we left in a irritated mood. This time they did not fail to let me down again. Poor service as usual. We had to ask for our menu, ask for ice water trice, ask for dessert thrice and ask for the bill twice. Really leaves you in a bad mood if you were to experience what I had experienced.

Iced Honey Lime Juice ($3). A refreshing drink that was not too acidic or sweet.

Sakura Ebi Pasta ($17)- linguine, fried Sakura Ebi prawns and a hint of mentaiko. There were generous with the Sakura Ebi and prawns. However, I prefer Saveurs' pasta which has more flavour.

Chicken Steak ($15)- grilled chicken thighs, sauteed mushrooms, sweet potato mash. Well cooked chicken with earthy mushroom, savoury sauce and a sweet mash, topped with greens.

Mentaiko Fries ($9)- mentaiko aioli, nori seaweed. Fries that are slightly thicker than McDonald and not too salty, drizzled with mentaiko aioli and topped with nori seaweed. Best thing we ate at Grub. Love the mentaiko aioli and wished there was more!

Slow-Cooked Pork Belly ($15)- sous vide and seared, sauteed leeks, sweet potato mash. Pork was well cooked. Could be easily cut. Sauce was too salty, leeks were perfectly soft and seasoned and the mash was sweet. The savoury sauce went well with the sweet mash but eating the sauce with the pork just made it too salty. My favourite component out of this dish was the leeks.

We also got dessert, Churros ($9)- dark chocolate, tangy creme anglaise. Didn't managed to take a picture as we were all fighting for it because there were only 6 pieces but 7 of us. We were all excited about the churros, hearing praises about it before. We all took our first bite and was utterly disappointed. Sure it was crisp on the outside and soft on the inside but taste wise it was bland. Even with the sugar coated around it there was not much taste. Dipping it with the sauce also did not help much.
Overall we started on a bad note, encounter not so good service and couldn't even end it with a sweet dessert instead, disappointing dessert and another waiting time to get our bill....... Maybe the boss is too focus on his other business that he forgot about this one.

Rate:
Iced Honey Lime Juice: 6/10 ☺
Sakura Ebi Pasta: 6/10 ☺
Chicken Steak: 6.5/10 ☺
Mentaiko Fries: 9/10 ☺
Slow-Cooked Pork Belly: 6/10 ☺
Churros: 5/10 ☺

The Cup

The Cup focus on simplicity, style and a healthier korean food culture. Came here for lunch with gf.

The interior. White and Green - Clean and Fresh. 

Bibimbap ($9.90)-Classic Korean stir fried Bulgogi with fresh oyster mushroom, assorted seasoned vegetables over infuse premium Korean rice. Garnished with egg yolk. This is a dish you see at most korean places so we deicided to get one. There was an option of either chicken or beef. We got the beef. Onion, carrot, minced beef, beansprout, vegetable, egg yolk, flying fish roe, sesame seed and the usual sauce in bibimbap on a bed of yellow colored, short grain rice. It tasted nutty and sweet. 

The mixing process...

Spicy Seafood Rice ($7.90)- Assorted ocean fresh seafood & fresh vegetables served over infused premium Korean rice. I think they use frozen seafood from the taste of it. Overall taste super spicy but shiok! Their Korean rice is some short grain rice that is yellow in color.

Each of the rice came with a soup. Salty soup with seaweed in it.

Injeolmi Cup Bingsu ($7.90). My favourite bingsu flavor. Korean rice cake with steamed powdered dried beans. The bingsu was well balanced. Sweetness from the red bean, slight nuttiness from the bean powder and milkiness from the milk podwer. However it gets a little to sweet at the bottom cause of the condensed milk(?) at the bottom of the cup. 

Rate:
Bibimbap: 7/10 ☺
Spicy Seafood Rice: 7/10 ☺
Injeolmi Cup Bingsu: 8/10 ☺

Fish & Co. (Tampines)

Went to Fish & Co. for their Student Catch at $10 nett which comprise of a main and a drink. But hey, if you're not a student there's still the normal set lunch available. I went with zq. We got a table for 2 and was given an iPad to place our orders. Wow suddenly Fish & Co. also uses iPad for ordering.

Soup of the Day (+$3.50). The soup of the day was Fish Chowder. Soup was thick and a little gooey. something like the one I had at The Mind Cafe. Tasted good, portion size was good to.

Bombay Fish & Chips- Our all-time favourite Fish & Chips with an Indian herbs-and-spicy twist. Even King Shah Ruk Khan cannot resist! Not my cup of tea. Tasted a little like some Indian fried snack that I've tried before. The fish batter was super crispy and it went well with the lime. Fries were slightly crisp on the outside yet you can taste the potato-y-ness of the fries because of the thickness.

Seafood Lunch Platter- Grilled prawns, white fish, grilled calamari and blue mussels in garlic lemon butter sauce served with mashed potato. Crispy calamari, delicious mashed potato with taste of prawn that made it OH-SO-DELICIOUS. I prefer this more than the Bombay Fish & Chips.

Rate:
Soup of the Day: 5/10 ☺
Bombay Fish & Chips: 5.5/10 ☺
Seafood Lunch Platter: 7/10 ☺

L'eclair by Sarah Michelle

Went to L'eclair by Sarah Michelle with zq somewhere in December. It's started by two female-Sarah and Michelle, hence the name.

Signature Chicken Bacon Pie with a mini salad ($12). The pie was really good. The pastry was perfect- sweet and buttery which went well with the savoury creamy filling where you could taste the smoky bacon. The salad dressed in balsamic with cherry tomatoes, sliced almond, dried cranberries was refreshing. Both of us really like LOVE the pie!

I got the Speculoos ($7.50?)- Speculoos cream, craquelin choux, chocolate snowman. The snowman looks really cute like a plastic toy but in fact it's made out of chocolate. The speculoos cream in the eclair was thick with hints of speculoos. Not my kind of eclair. I prefer those with cream that are more lighter. But I like the slightly sweet, crackly and crunchy top on this eclair which provided some texture.
For drinks, I had Iced Matcha Latte ($6). I think I should have gotten the hot one instead as there were chunks of undissolved matcha powder in the tea which made it hard to drink.

The eclair's filling...

Zq got the Ispahan ($8.50) Light rose cream, cut lychees, fresh raspberries. I like their rose petal decoration with the shiny sparkle on their pink sugar topping that zq noticed. The cream for this was lighter which was good. There were also chunks of lychee.
For drinks she got the Earl Grey Latte ($5.50). It was really nice, warm, milky with the taste of earl grey.

Rate:
Signature Chicken Bacon Pie: 10/10 ☺

Speculoos: 5.5/10 ☺

Iced Matcha Latte: 5/10 ☺
Ispahan: 6/10 ☺
Earl Grey Latte: 7/10 ☺

Kinsa Sushi (Hillview Rise)

Went with nia to Kinsa Sushi for dinner since the DT line is finally opened! Easier access to HillV2 Shopping Mall.

Green Tea ($1). Freeflow green tea.

Salmon Mentai ($15.80)- Crabmeat and cucumber maki topped with aburi salmon mentai, garnished with salmon roe. Torched, charred and creamy tasting salmon with mentai maki.

Grilled Prawn with Cod Roe Mayo ($9.80). Rich prawn taste with tender meat, topped with a delicious and creamy cod roe mayo.

Tenzaru Cold Udon ($11.80). Cold, chewy, plain thick udon with tempura (prawn, red bell pepper and carrot).  Even though I dipped the udon with the dipping sauce, it still tasted plain. Quite weird. Tempura didn't have any tempura dipping sauce.

Gyu Don ($13.80). Medium rare beef on a bed of warm rice with a half boiled egg. Nia ordered this. The beef tasted quite mild, rice was plain. Overall could use more seasoning for nia's liking. Miso soup was good.

Japanese Steamed Egg with Salmon Roe ($7.80). Silky smooth steamed egg with firm yet soft, salty salmon roes that burst in your mouth. Definitely a must try!

Rate:
Green Tea: 6/10 ☺
Salmon Mentai: 7/10 ☺
Grilled Prawn with Cod Roe Mayo : 9/10 ☺
Tenzaru Cold Udon: 5/10 ☺
Gyu Don: 5/10 ☺
Japanese Steamed Egg with Salmon Roe: 9/10 ☺