Dinner@Medz, Orchard Central

I went to Medz for dinner with my friend because she wanted to celebrate my achievement of getting a PhD lol. It is the first time that I ate at Medz even though I past it several times whenever we were at Orchard Central. It is a Marche-style restaurant.

Being a Friday night, it was crowded. We managed to get a table and we went to get our food. There are Italian, Greek, French, Turkish, Moroccan and Tunisian, Spanish, Drinks, and Dessert stations. I was so lost with the different choices available lol. My friend got a Chicken Tajine with Couscous with caramelised onion while I ordered a Pork Ribs with Sides. We shared a Pork Belly skewer and a Mixed Salad Platter (eggplant, salad and hummus).

Chicken Tajine with Couscous

I have never tried tajine or couscous before so I thought they were pretty good and tasty. The tajine gravy was a tad salty on its own but with the couscous, the combination was of the right flavour. The chicken was tender and went well with the gravy and couscous. :)

Pork Ribs with sides: mashed potato and grilled tomato

The pork ribs were tender and juicy. The sauce was delicious.

Pork Belly skewer

Mixed Salad Platter: eggplant, hummus and salad

The pork belly skewer was a surprise. I didn't expect it to be crispy and tender at the same time. The mixed salad platter, especially the eggplant and hummus brought balance to the meal lol.
If we hadn't stuffed ourselves so full, we would have gone for more desserts! Lol. But for this meal, a slice of rainbow was a fitting end to a very satisfying meal. :)

I am likely to come back as there are dishes that I would like to try. :)

Sinned Again

We were back at Original Sin for lunch. :)

Besides the food being tasty, the service is great too. The waiter was very attentive and remembered the dish that the girls' father wanted to try for this visit. The girls' father tried the Bosco Misto: spinach, feta and tofu patties served with sautéed button mushrooms in a plum sauce.


Juliane and Marieann ordered Cheese and Pineapple pizza (no photo) and Penne in mushroom and cheese sauce respectively. I had the Porcini Polenta: polenta with porcini, button & Portobello mushroom ragout, with grilled Australian asparagus in a pesto cream sauce drizzled with truffle oil. All the dishes tasted really delicious! :) I just love anything that comes with cream sauce lol. :P

Wickedness at Original Sin

Since it is vegetarian day today, I took the family to Original Sin, Chip Bee Garden for a vegetarian Mediterranean lunch. We arrived around 12 noon and managed to get a parking lot nearby. Since it is our first visit, we ordered based on the waitress's recommendations.

Juliane ordered Mini Pizza: Cheese with Pineapple ($7) and Marieann had Pasta with Tomato Sauce ($7). The girls' father ordered Brunch: Egg Napoletana Set ($20++) which came with scrambled egg, portobello mushroom, grilled tomato, baked beans and ciabatta. I had Absolut ($26++): Penne with asparagus, button mushrooms, spinach, capsicum, flamed with Absolut vodka, topped with shaved parmesan. For sweets, Juliane and Marieann had Chocolate and Vanilla ice cream respectively while I had Apple Pie with Vanilla ice cream. :)







The food was absolutely wicked! :) It was darn delicious, even the girls' cynical father agreed and I think he is willing to go back again lol. The food was tasty and rich. Most importantly, the food is really filling and you don't feel as if you are only having vegetarian food! We absolutely enjoyed our lunch. :)

Mediterranean and Japanese

For a change, we decided to try something different, Mediterranean food. :)

We went to Esmirada at Orchard Hotel for lunch.
The girls shared from the Ala carte menu: Kakavia ($10; Greek fisherman soup: seafood simmered with tomatoes, vegetables and herbs) and Spaghetti Ai Funghi ($20; spaghetti with mushroom, olive oil and basil). The girls really enjoyed the tomato-based soup but they thought the spaghetti was a tad too oily.



The parents had the 3-course set lunch ($26++).
The girls' father had Garlic Butter Mushroom with Crispy Pita Bread as starter, Smoked Salmon with Penne in Tomato Vodka Cream as main and for dessert, Pear Brulee with Almond Raspberry sauce. I thought the mushroom with pita bread was quite nice. The girls really liked the penne in tomato vodka sauce. The brulee really had the taste of pear in it which was quite refreshing and to my liking. :)




I had the soup, Kakavia as starter, which I totally enjoyed too. For main, I had Broiled Honey Mustard Chicken with Tzatziki, potato wedges and glazed vegetables. The chicken was tender and juicy, and the tzatziki (cucumber in yogurt dip) was really nice. For dessert, it was Warmed Melted Chocolate Cake with Ice Cream. The cake had a melted chocolate centre which was heavenly. :P Don't worry, I only had two spoons of the cake. The girls had the rest of it. :)





After lunch, we headed to Isetan Scotts to get a present for a friend's daughter whose birthday party is next week. The Japanese food fair is still on at the supermarket. We bought more of the rice cake to enjoy later at home lol.

LaBrezza, The St Regis

Tonight, we had to pick up my mother from the airport at 10pm. Instead of having dinner at the airport which we seemed to have exhausted most of the eating places, we had our dinner at LaBrezza, The St Regis. Yup, that latest posh hotel in Singapore, lol. :P

Posh hotel is really posh hotel, in a class of its own, lol. When we arrived at the lobby via the car park lift, there was a staff who at once came forward to assist us. He actually led us all the way to LaBrezza restaurant which is on the second level, right next to the pool. He also greeted the girls. Great 1st impression already!

LaBrezza is right by the pool. For all those who are afraid of the heat, don't worry, it is by the pool but indoors with air-con, lol. The decor is this Mediterranean seaside kind, white and blues. Very holiday mood. (Ah, I feel like going on holiday already, lol) At LaBrezza, the staff were also most attentive, not just to us but to the girls too. The staff took time to explain to us the various dishes on the menu, which has Mediterranean, Italian, Greek, French, and Middle Eastern dishes.

Before we made our orders, we were served with bread. We had 4 choices to choose from. The girls had their bread sticks. I had a focaccia with sun-dried tomatoes and a focaccia with blue cheese. Both tasted really great when dipped with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. We were also served with a complimentary starter. But when the staff knew we didn't take beef, she apologised and at once said she would let the chef know so that he could prepare for us something else that we could have. Great service.

The chef changed the complimentary starter to a vegetarian dish for us. I forgot its name, it was like potato sticks with raisins and tasted great with the barbecue sauce provided.


We ordered the following appetisers to share:
Tapas ($25) - grilled marinated octopus with garlic confit, gambas 'al pil pil' with lemon zest, mussels with Xeres vinegar; Brillo Di Treviso cheese with membrillo; natural olives an salted almonds and warm focaccia bread. The seafood was really tasty and none overcooked. The cheese with the fruit jerky was really nice, a wonderful blend of saltiness and sweetness.


Cucumber ($14) - chilled shredded cucumber soup and fresh basil, white balsamic vinegar jelly and white goat cheese with fresh herb. It is a really thick creamy "soup", not your usual watery soup. The soup was really refreshing because it was cold and lemon juice blended into it. The vinegar jelly and goat cheese balls were really yummy. The vinegar took out the heaviness of the cheese, making it very palatable. I really enjoyed this dish.


The girls' father had Risotto ($31): black risotto Carnaroli with grilled baby octopus, Chorizo sausage and melted fontina cheese. I didn't try it because I didn't want to have my mouth stained black with the squid ink in the risotto, lol. Even the girls didn't dare to try after see the "black black thing" as they called it, lol. Their father thought it was a tad salty but otherwise very nice.


I ordered Chicken ($31): Chicken legs Osso Bucco, tomato compote with baby carrot and sweet caramelised onion juice. It came with a bowl of rice, a mix of two different kind of grains, one like the usual plain white rice and the other was brown and crunchy. When chewed together, it was really fragrant and delicious even just on its own. The chicken was very tender and the tomato compote was sourish which I preferred it so and liked very much.


We had the following desserts to share:
Apple ($12) - caramelised apple and french toast with saffron ice cream. I only liked the apple and the ice cream. The toast was a little burnt for my taste so I thought it tasted a little bitter.


Orange ($12) - hazelnut and orange confit Halawa biscuit with Hibiscus honey mousse and rose blossom sorbet. I really love the exotic taste of the mousse and the sorbet. But down side, the portion was too small. Once the girls had their go at it, not much was left for me, lol.


The hotel is really posh looking, ok, it is POSH. The girls' father said he would love to come back again. Hmm, maybe we can stay here for our annual weekend get-away? Well, the girls asked, not me, lol.