Wandering Fel

Showing posts with label Western food. Show all posts

"Can I pick your brain and get to know your thoughts? So I can read your mind when you don't wanna talk."

Good evening people. Yes, it is currently after midnight and yet I am not on the bed yet because I just had my dinner at 10PM. I suppose a 7.40 gym class does not really help my diet in a way because by the time I finish my class, it's already 8.40 and after shower time, it's already 9+ PM and I reached home at slightly before 10PM. Great time management indeed. Hahaha.

Anyway I was passing by Far East Square on my way home and I remembered that I have not shared my latest foodie adventure at &SONS.

I actually often visited &SONS a year back for lunch because my office located nearby. However, since I have changed job, I seldom eat at &SONS even for lunch. So one night on a Friday, my friend and I decided to visit &SONS for its dinner menu since I have never tried dining here at night and my friend has never even visited &SONS before. &SONS has different menu for lunch and dinner. We ordered one main dish and one pasta dish to share amongst the two of us. The lighting at at &SONS is set to give out romantic vibe and hence, not so good for picture taking.

The main dish that we ordered is Lamb Shank with Pumpkin and Eggplant (SGD 28). The lamb shank taste so good and tender and it goes well with the brown sauce.

Lamb shank with pumpkin and eggplant from &SONS at Telok Ayer

For the pasta, we ordered Wagyu Beef Ravioli with Roast Jus (SGD 26). I am a fan of ravioli which in concept, is the Italian rendition of dumplings. The meaty ravioli taste yummy as the wagyu beef seems to have been soaked in the sauce for quite a long time before cooked. Yummy!

Wagyu beef ravioli with roast jus from &SONS at Telok Ayer

The portion of both dishes is not very big (either that or we were just greedy), so we still had a space in our tummy to eat dessert. Here comes our dessert of the day, the Tiramisu (SGD 12). The tiramisu is served in a cup with a stick of ladyfinger. Be a bit careful when eating the tiramisu as the chocolate powder can make you cough. Other than that, the tiramisu taste good with enough coffee flavour within.

&SONS is located at:

20 Cross Street

China Square Central #01-19

Opening hours:

Monday to Friday - 11.30AM to 1AM

Saturday - 6PM to 2AM

Sunday - Closed

It has been a pretty rough Thursday but yeah, I made it peeps! I have to resort to Gong Cha's caramel milk tea for a dose of happiness but other the unfortunate 1 kg weight gain (probably due to the Gong Cha drug plus Tai Cheong's egg tart), I'm glad I manage to go through Thursday. Thanks God indeed.

If you are looking for a place to chill tomorrow after work (yaassssss Friday is just around the corner), you may want to consider coming to the Wine Company at Sentosa Boardwalk. Especially if you can come out of office before 7PM.

Singapore Eats: The Wine Company, Sentosa Boardwalk

The easiest way to reach the Wine Company is by coming through Vivo City. You can make your way to the entrance/exit door from Vivo City to Sentosa Boardwalk between Brotzeit and Barrio by MexOut. If you want to sit inside, you have to make a reservation though. We did not make one last time and hence, we settled for an al fresco table.

If sunset-watching is your favourite pastime, you should opt for an al-fresco table really. You will be able to enjoy this view right across your table. I do not have so many opportunities to catch sunset in Singapore (thanks 9-to-not-6 job!), so I really enjoy lazing around while waiting for the sun to set. The last time I have this opportunity is 2 months ago when I travelled to Bali. That lovely island.

Sunset view at Sentosa Boardwalk Harbourfront

What to order when you are in the Wine Company? Of course, the wines. You can laugh at me and my dining buddy but initially we planned to make it a "clean" dinner. Like no-alcohol kind of clean. What a joke, right? Hahaha. Obviously both of us failed our own plan and ended up with a glass of Infusion (Anniston pomegranate & rose, Western cape) and Sparkling (Riebeek Cellars Sparkling Brut NV, Swartland). Each glass of 150ml wine costs SGD 9.90++.

Sparkling wine and moscato at the Wine Company

Since the atmosphere and the weather were quite cool and cozy that night, we decided to have our dinner here. We ordered three food from the menu. The first one is the salt & pepper squid (SGD 9.90) which is a kind of dish that cannot and should not go wrong at all since you just need to season the squid, batter them and fry them to wonderful crisp. Hahaha.

Fried calamari from the Wine Company at Sentosa Boardwalk

The next bite that we ordered is a classic Singaporean dish, Crabmeat Chunks. The crabmeat soupy sauce has the taste of sweet and sour compared to the chili crab taste but nonetheless, it still goes well with the fried mantou (i.e. the two golden fried buns). This has been my favourite dish back then in my younger days whenever we came to Hard Rock cafe to listen to a live band. Omg, the day where my money crash and burn seems to be just yesterday. Hahaha.

Chili crab mantou from the Wine Company at Sentosa Boardwalk

The last dish that we ordered is actually a kinda wake-up dish from the alcohol that we have been consuming because it has coffee taste. Yep, it is a coffee-rubbed spareribs (SGD 22.90). I personally find the coffee taste a bit too strong to my liking but my dining buddy find it to be okay. Hmm, I wonder if my tastebud does not really go well with caffeine.

Coffee Pork Ribs from the Wine Company at Sentosa Boardwalk

The Wine Company is situated at:

6 Sentosa Gateway

Sentosa Boardwalk

Opening times:

Monday - Thursday: 5PM - Midnight

Friday, Saturday, Eve of Public Holiday: 5PM - 2AM Sunday, Public Holiday: 5PM - 1AM

If you are looking for a bar to watch sports game together with a group of friends, you can make your way to Boat Quay in Singapore. There is a stretch of bars broadcasting live sports on their telly from rugby to football to basketball in Boat Quay. If you simply want to have a nice meal without watching the sports, well, no worry, you can also come to Boat Quay because most bars here have 2 floors. The live sports are usually broadcasted on the level 1 while level 2 is opened for those diners who prefer quieter dining experience. Tonight, we are going to try Australian bistro and bar, Boomarang.

For a bistro & bar, Boomarang surprisingly opens pretty early in the morning and it provides breakfast items and coffee from 6AM to 11AM (7AM from Robertson Quay branch) on weekdays and from 7AM to 11AM on weekends.

There was not anything to watch on telly that day because we came on the New Year's Eve. I don't think anyone play match on that day anywhere in the world. Good for us, because we can have our nice quite evening. Not many people chose Boomarang as their dining option to celebrate New Year's Eve too. I wonder why. Not posh enough? But there are more diners downstairs though so at least they are still making a business that day.

Level 2 of Boomarang Bistro & Bar Boat Quay

Right, let's dive in to the dishes offered by Boomarang. Boomarang offers mostly Western food with occasional Australian dishes (like kangaroo meats). For a starter, we ordered wedges to share amongst the two of us. Taste pretty much normal.

Potato Wedges at Boomarang Bistro & Bar Boat Quay

I have read a lot of raving reviews online about Boomarang's Chicken Parmigiano so we decided to order one. My first impression? It is damn huge. I don't think it is meant to be consumed by one person, really. The Chicken Parmigiano (SGD 25++) is cooked with Napolitana sauce, sliced leg ham and mozzarella and cheddar. It is served together with fries (which you can barely see because they are hidden by the chicken). I love Boomarang's chicken parmigiano. Pretty good and tasty. Although I kinda suspect that I like everything cooked with cheese. LOL.

Chicken Parmigiano at Boomarang Bistro & Bar Boat Quay

Boomarang claims the next dish to be their no. 1 selling pizza. It is called the Boomarang Deluxe. It comes in two sizes, small (SGD 22++) and large (SGD 28++). Boomarang Deluxe pizza comes with wagyu beef, pepperoni, spicy Italian sausage, bacon, Spanish onion, mushroom and bbq sauce. It tastes okay because I think an order of potato wedges, a pizza and a chicken parmigiana are too much for two ladies to finish. Hahaha. Next time, we must order reasonably I guess.

Boomarang Deluxe Pizza at Boomarang Bistro & Deluxe Boat Quay

Boomarang Bistro & Bar has two locations in Singapore:

1. Boat Quay 51 Circular Road

2. 60 Robertson Quay

I personally think the outlet at Boat Quay is easier to reach because you can take train to Raffles Place MRT and walk for a bit from the MRT station. Meanwhile, if you want to go to Robertson Quay you must take bus.

Other than the popular K Underground Mall, Taipei Main Station has a lot of other shopping centres in the vicinity. Located on the second floor above the ticket purchase area at Taipei Main Station, the Breeze has a lot of cafes, restaurants and stalls serving international food from Shanghai, Japan, local Taiwan to Western food.

Did I tell you that my friend is a Western food junkie? With that being said, he dragged me again to his popular Western food chain in Taipei, Texas Roadhouse. Texas Roadhouse is quite popular amongst the Taiwanese as well. The restaurant is always crowded.

Let's not forget the steak sauce when you are eating steak. Hmm, I wonder if this is homemade sauce or imported straight from the US. We can't see the importer label so we guess this is made by Texas Roadhouse itself.

This time around, I tried the Steak Kabob. The dish is basically marinated steak served with onion, mushroom, tomato, red pepper and green pepper. The steak kabob (and all those veggies) are served on a bed of seasoned rice with a choice of one side. I chose a bowl of garden veggie as the side dish.

Steak Kabob at Texas Roadhouse at the Breeze Taipei

With a very full stomach, now it is my turn to drag my friend to accompany me walking around in Taipei Main Station. With that kind of meal, we really need some kind of exercise even though it is in the form of a simple walk. I spot a very cute LINE installation for Brown and Cony. Oh wait, there's Sally too (i.e. the yellow duck), which is my favourite character from LINE. ^^

LINE Brown at Taipei Main Station Taiwan

I was not originally a LINE user. I used to use Whatsapp for my chat last time. But since I came to Taipei, nearly everyone encouraged me to install LINE and since then on, I am hooked to LINE because of well, its cute stickers. #weaktocutestuff

Taipei Main Station is really a good place to spend your time especially when you really have nothing else to do. A lot of interesting random stuffs often pop up in this bustling station, which I guess most of the time, makes me open my wallet. Oops!

Taiwan is known as a culinary destination for a lot of travellers. It is not a surprise since the country itself is very proud of its food culture. This can be spotted from the numerous night markets scattered all around in the country. But, one does wonder, where to eat delicious Western BBQ in Taiwan? Especially when you are not at the big cities like Taipei and Kaohsiung. What if you are, in fact, somewhere in Hualien? Well, look no more, you can have a delicious Western BBQ at Salt Lick in Hualien.

Delicious Western BBQ at Salt Lick in Hualien

Salt Lick was opened back in 2013 by Jason Delickta and Benjamin Mercer, both came from the US. Having spent years in the catering business, they aim to bring the real American BBQ style to Taiwan shore. Some of the restaurant's signature dishes can be spotted in the entrees such as Texas Beef Brisket and the pulled pork from the Carolinas. TaipeiTimes said that all of Salt Lick's signature dishes are made using a smoker that was built in Hualien to Delickta's own design.

Salt Lick Western Restaurant in Hualien Taiwan

Salt Lick also serves a lot of ala carte menu. Oh wow, this is the first time I saw a Western restaurant in Taiwan serving Gumbo. So far, I have only known Gumbo from cooking game like Cooking Mama. Other than Gumbo, another dish that pricked my taste bud is the Kansas Baby-back ribs. Salt Lick also makes their own sauces for the ribs and other BBQ items.

After minutes of deep thinking, we decided to order the DIY Combo Plate for starter. DIY Combo Platter is the combination of side dishes like coleslaw, fresh cut french fries and hush puppies (huh?) served with a side of wedges (another fries?). The hush puppies are the fried meat-ball looking thing. They are kinda taste (and look) like croquettes.

For the mains, I finally decided to order the Gumbo, which is as described, a bowl of chicken and sausage stew served with a big dollop of white rice in the middle of the bowl. My friend ordered the Carolina pulled pork and wow, looks at how generous the meat portion is. O_O!

Gumbo and Carolina Pulled Pork at Salt Lick in Hualien

Salt Lick is located at the following address:

147 Chongshan Rd, Hualien City (花蓮市中山路147號)

Salt Lick opens from 11.30AM to 2.30PM for lunch and from 5PM to 11PM for dinner.

While you are in Hualien, you can also continue your foodie journey to the famous night market at Zhiqiang Night Market after finishing your meal at Salt Lick. Hahaha.