Al Borgo Italian Restaurant ...... a cosy homey Italian restaurant

Last lazy Sunday afternoon. HY was asleep on our comfy sofa, with her green tea half drunk and the Hong Kong serial playing on the TV screen. I was just beside enjoying my Vietnamese drip coffee and bread with my home-made peanut butter. I had my Macbook on my lap, slouching on the sofa. My left hand sending bread with peanut butter to my mouth and my right hand, with one finger typing my food diary. Beeping from my cellphone pierce through the idllic quietness of the Sunday afternoon. It was W who suggested meeting up for Italian dinner. I googled up some venues and I suggested Al Borgo that has an address that seem to match my mood.

Al Borgo is located opposite the Singapore Chinese Girls' School and, on the ground floor of an old apartment. The restaurant has a simple decor and a cosy, homely atmosphere.

Even though we claimed that we would like a light dinner, we ended up with quite a bit of food too. Here's what we had.

Deep Fried Calamari

Even though I would prefer my calamari to be crispier and more golden brown, Al Borgo's calamari was quite good. The squid was tender inside. No trace of squid was left on the plate after we were done with it.

Porto Bello Ripieno

Portobello mushroom with mixed vegetable. The Portobello was quite good but not quite as good as Bella Pizza's version of the Portobello Ripieno.

Zuppa di Mare

Seafood Soup with rich tomato soup. This soup was tasty but was too rich to be classified as soup. It was so rich that it can be used as tomato base pasta sauce.

Bistecca alla Florentina

750 gms of Prime cut T-bone steak. Al Borgo recommends the steak to be best eaten medium rare. W and I decided to share this dish as this was early dinner and half a loaf of bread and half my container of peanut butter still lined my stomach. I couldn't appreciate the Florentina steak. My poorly maintained set of teeth didn't allow me to enjoy the the meat as I would like to. Poor old man. HY thought it was good. W who had travelled to Florence to have Steak Florentina thought it was as good as what he had before. The two real beef eaters' comments count in this case.

Nodino di Maiale alla brace

Pork chop. I liked HY's pork chop more than my steak Florentina. It was the first time we were ask how we would like our pork chop done. I always though pork chop must be well done (You can call me 'swa gu' or ignorant). This medium well pork chop was tender and lightly salted and well scented by the use of Rosemary. The sliced potatoes that were served as sides were quite good.

Tiramisu

We always love discovering good tiramisu and Al Borgo certainly served good ones. It was well soaked with liquor, not overly done. What I liked most was the fine cookie crumbs that was sprinkled on top of the soft tiramisu.

Service was prompt, friendly and attentive. When we were done with the mains and attacking the dessert, Chef Domenico Truglia came out to check on us to make sure that the dishes were up to our standards. Of course I didn't tell him that I prefer Bella Pizza's Portobello Ripieno but the rest of the food were truly marvelous.

383 Bukit Timah Road

#01-02 Alocassia Service Apartments

(65) 6737 3546

Location on Google Map

Kith Cafe, a hidden treasure for chilling out

Kith Cafe is a little cafe well hidden from sight. One wouldn't discover it unless you spend sometime walking along the Singapore River. The cafe is located among one of the few shop spaces at the Watermark, a private housing around the Mohammad Sultan area. When we walked towards the cafe, we find that the surrounding was like a little hidden haven within the city. There's the river and the grass patch beside it. It was quiet except for the little bustle that led us to Kith cafe.

Inside Kith Cafe, there are a couple of 4 seaters and a high long communal table for food and drinks. A chalkboard span across one of the walls that has their menu written with chalk. I liked the designs of the tables and benches inside the cafe that seemed to be stacks of wood that made them up. There are little tables and chairs laid outside to allow folks to mingle over their food and drinks. What I liked most is the grass patch outside the cafe, beside the river. It made the whole atmosphere so much more relaxing.

Kith Cafe's Big Breakfast (S$14)

Kith Cafe's Big Breakfast includes toasts, bratwurst, bacon, scrambled eggs and grilled tomato. We liked the bratwurst that taste good and not too oily. I wonder where they got the bread from! We love the toast for the soft and light texture.

Toasties (S$5.50)

I order a set of toasties that was filled with bacon, scrambled egg and cheddar. A bite into the toasties revealed the chewy cheddar with the moist scrambled eggs and the tasty bacon. Yummy!

Latte (S$3.80/glass)

We ordered lattes to satisfy our caffeine needs to start the day. One more glass please!

Sssh ..... don't let anyone know this little cafe haven that we've discovered.

7 Rodyk Street

Watermark @ Robertson Quay #01-33

(65) 6341 9407

Open 7am~7pm daily

Singapore

Location on Google Maps

Kith Cafe Website

Superb Duck from Imperial Treasures Super Peking Duck Restaurant

Minjiang's Peking Duck was the one that I can always name when someone ask me for a Peking Duck recommendation in Singapore. Now, after a visit to Imperial Treasure's Super Peking Duck Restaurant, I think there might be a contender for my top spot for Peking Roasted Duck. This Imperial Treasure Peking Roast Duck Speciality restaurant is coincidentally located on the 5th floor of Paragon Orchard, right across the Crystal Jade Golden Pavillion.

Needless to say, we ordered a whole duck for 3. Ade was glad that we were able to get hold of one duck. They ran out of the duck when her colleagues came the last time. The perfectly roasted duck was brought to us on a trolley and the chef started to slice the whole duck for us. Over at Super Peking Duck, the chef carves out the crispy duck skin with the duck meat such that there wasn't meat left for the typical complimentary duck dish to use up the duck meat.

The Restaurant's Speciality (S$68)

We were told to eat the first few hot crispy duck skin by simply dipping into fine sugar. Delicious!

Here's how I typically prepare it before eating. Place the cucumber stick, spring onion and duck onto the 'popiah' skin (thin flour skin). Drizzle with some char siew sauce or, in some other restaurant, their specially concocted sauce and then roll it up and pop it into my mouth.

One full duck is quite plentiful for 3 people so we only ordered a soup and a fried rice to go with the Peking duck.

Service cannot be bad here as they are right across the Golden Pavillion (Crystal Jade's premium dining). As we walked into the extrance, it opened up into a main dining. We were led to the private dining area. On the left of the corridor is a stretch of 'private dining cubicles' and on the right, private dining rooms that can accomodate more people. HY and I were glad that we were ushered into one of the private dining cubicle that is big enough for four to be comfortable. Sliding doors isolate noise from the corridor. The seats are plush and comfortable. The only nuisance (to the waiteress) is that the doors have to be opened and closed whenever our dish arrive. I thought it is a good idea for a small business meal.

290 Orchard Road

#05-42/45 The Paragon

(65) 6732 7838

Suju Japanese Restaurant @ Mandarin Gallery

Ippudo and Wild Honey were simply impossible for weekend walk-ins. It was Saturday lunch time, HY and I tried to walk into Wild Honey but was told of a 1 hour wait. Up one floor at Ippudo, the crazy, hungry queue can be heard even before you see it. For the sake of novelty, I decided to pass on Jones the Grocer. However, we were still left with Suju Japanese Restaurant that is still in the soft opening stage and hence no queue at all. The menu was concisely fitted in a single page. The extended menu will come with the official launch sometime in February. At the moment they are primarily serving chirashi, katsu don and oyako don sets. A couple of desserts ends the menu page. After this meal, I thought that Suju is a potential Japanese restaurant that is worth a return trip. The reward for being adventurous, a satisfying lunch for HY and me.

At the Counter Seats

We chose our seats right at the counter top where we have full frontal view of the all Japanese chefs preparing our lunch for us.

Chilled Japanese Beans

As we were sipping our green tea, the chef manning the counter presented us with 2 small dishes of Japanese beans as an appetizer. The Hitori musume (yellow beans) and the Karakake mame (green beans) were chilled and salted to taste. They are simple but to the folks who liked steamed nuts/beans, they're tasty.

Our Don Sets

HY chose the Oyako Don Set. Set inside the bowl were well flavored and tender chicken. The egg was still moist and fill the gaps between the pieces of chicken meat. The moist egg texture is usually what I look for in a god oyako don. This oyako don was the closest I have eaten in Singapore to a popular oyako don that we had in Kyoto.

I had Suju's Kurobuta Katsu Don Set. Apart from the perfectly fried Kurobuta, there was some fried vegetable; a slice of yam, pumpkin and a lady finger. Inside the crispy bread crumbs, the tasty pork juices were still well retained. Suju'd bread crumb Kurobuta was indeed marvelous. Apart from that, I liked the deep fried pumpkin for the sweet tasting filling amidst the savoury of the other ingredients.

"Enchanted" Tofu

As the saying goes, 'Save the best for last'. Dessert freaks behold. This Annin Tofu enchanted HY and me. We stared at each other with a silent nod of approval as we tasted a mouthful. Almond fragrance with a rich milky smoothness. I'll definitely come back for this if not for the rest of Suju's food.

Suju uses bronze cookware to make sure that their food are uniformly cooked. The bronze cookware is by no means fully bronze. It's just the exterior that is bronze. The inner layer or the core material is still stainless steel (to provide strength). Bronze has a much better conductivity that allows heat to be quickly and uniformly transferred to all parts of the pot.

At the moment, the service staff and the chefs are all Japanese. It's the standard politeness and the very obliging Japanese restaurant hospitality that made my lunch experience so enjoyable. But I wouldn't know if Suju will start to 'localise' after the official opening.

333A Orchard Road

#04-05/07 Mandarin Gallery

(65) 6737 7764

Singapore

15 Minutes. Friends, Food and Fame

Nowadays, whenever HY suggest that I tag along to meet up with Val for dinner, it just means two things, booze and chicken wings. The regular hang out would be at Que Pasa for their Shrimp Paste Chicken Wings. However, we know one other place for good chicken wings and booze, a good 15 Minutes drive from where I live. We headed for 15 Minutes. Friends, Food and Fame. Yes I know. It was quite a mouthful for a cafe name but I thought was quite appropriately catchy, intriguing and artsy enough for a "canteen" and restaurant located in the swanky LaSalle College of Arts building.

Just before anyone notice that this diary entry become slightly impartial, I have to admit that one of our friend to catch-up is one of the 7 partners that started 15 Minutes. However, we were there as paying customers, not freeloaders.

We learned that each of the partners has a part to play in setting up this cool joint but we are all pretty sure that S has lots of say in the ALCOHOL department. It was funny seeing her all embarassed when she couldn't describe the food item that we pointed in the menu (she seriously don't know what's that) but we noticed that she could slide smoothly behind the bar counter and reached out for that bottle of 1824 MaCallan Single Malt without batting an eyelid. As smooth as the whiskey that she whisked out.

Inside 15 Minutes

Inside 15 Minutes, there are communal tables with benches that brings back distant memories of a school canteen. In reality, 15 Minutes serves as a "canteen" for the art college during lunch time until 6.30pm. After 6.30pm, alcohol is then allowed in the cafe. 15 Minutes is spacious enough for a gathering of friends for food and drinks. You want fame? Try stepping up on the stage near the bar counter and perform. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to be picked up by some talent hunters.

Here's some food from 15 Minutes that I would recommend.

Weekend Tapas Trolley

On Friday and Saturday nights, the tapas trolley will be wheeled out. Although there was little variety to choose from, they were good!

From the tapas trolley ........

Here's our choices of tapas for the night.

Fried Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese

This is a cheese lover chicken wing. Rich blue cheese over fried wings, yummy! This is stuff that is worth the extra effort in the gym.

Southern Fried Chicken Wings

The wings looked dry but that would mean that there's no need to blotch the extra oil with tissue paper isn't it? The skin was crisp and the meat was tender.

Fish & Chips

Crumbled dory with 15 Minutes own made coleslaw and fries. Crispy on the outside, moist and tender on the inside. Bagus!

1 McNally Street

Blk D #01-01

LaSalle College of the Arts

(65) 6333 5915

Location on Google Map

15 Minutes Website

Bella Pizza ...... Simply Tasty Pizzas

The last time we visited Shunjuu, a sumiyaki specialist in Robertson quay, we were already yearning to visit the very busy Bella Pizza just next door. We tried to pounce on Bella Pizza without reservations once and were turned away as they were full house. Another weekend, when we tried to book a dinner reservation, we seemed too late again. This time, we managed to get a table by booking a few days in advance. This pizza specialist is hot!

Bella Pizza, as the name suggests, is a pizza specialist. They served a good variety of pizzas from Red Pizzas (with tomato added to mozarella), White Pizzas (mozarella) and Folded Pizzas (Calzone). Apart from pizzas, they served good pasta as well.

The Pizza Cipolla that we ordered is a white pizza. A tasty savoury cooked up with the gorgonzola and cooked ham. The added caramelised onions made the pizza very fragrant. The crust should be classified as a thin crust type although its not as thin as the skinny pizzas from Barracks Cafe. I liked the texture of the crust.

The Pizza Margherita con Bufala is chosen from Bella's list of red pizzas. It's our must have pizza as W and J were on the same table as us. Having the pizza Margherita now, is like benchmarking coffee in a coffee shop. We'll have to drink it's kopi-O, preferably without sugar. Pizza Margherita is our benchmark and Bella Pizza's Margherita taste above average. We noticed that both the pizzas that we ordered were moist and not hard and dry. That's probably Bella's style and we liked it.

HY made a good choice ordering the Portobello Ripieno. It simply looked a mashed patty of mushroom sitting on some greens topped with sauce. However, the look was really deceiving. The portobello taste superb with the porcini sauce. Can't the portion be bigger? Absolute divine!

We got the Antipasto Bella Pizza which consists of a selection of cheeses with salami and parma ham. I'm not an expert in cheeses and I was told that there were parmesan and mozarella in the plate. The Parma ham and arugula were topped over a small stack of crispy french toast which went well with the cheeses and cuts.

Apart from Pizzas, the Linguini Al Frutti Mare that HY ordered was good too! It's good that HY do not fancy pizzas else we would have skipped Bella Pizza's pasta. The tomato base sauce wasn't cloying and the linguini was tangy. A good pasta choice!

Here's the desserts that we ordered, I thought that the hot chocolate cake and tiramisu was good. I'm not a fan of nutella so the crepe wasn't so enticing for me.

Bella Pizza's casual and lively ambience drew us there. There are Singapore river view seats if you don't mind braving the "harsh" Singapore weather. The restaurant is simple, service was prompt and the food taste above average. Their pizzas is definitely the reason why I will revisit.

30 Robertson Quay

#01-14 Riverside View

Singapore

(65) 6734 0139

Location on Google Map

Bella Pizza Website

Lunch at Inagiku

Before we rush off to spend our holidays in Hanoi, we had to get the X'mas presents out to close friends. We decided on yet another venue, Inagiku, to used the 50% discount with the "Feed at Raffles" card before it expires for the year. The last time I came to Inagiku with HY, the restaurant's decor appeared somewhat retro. This time round, as we gathered to exchange presents, the place was all revamped. Dark cool interiors with spot lights over the tables. There was also an area for sitting right infront of Teppanyaki chefs while they cook you the dishes.

Tokujou Chirashi Sushi Lunch Set (S$95)

The Tokujou Chirashi Sushi Lunch Set comes with a salad (or chawanmushi), a bowl of chirashi sushi and assorted fruits. Initially, I thought the price was high but later I thought it was justified (with the discount). I was glad that I ordered this lunch set. It was delicious!

The Salad

My lunch set started with the salad which I had chosen over the chawanmushi. The fresh greens was sprinkled with crunchies that tasted like fried "por pia" skin.

The Tokujou Chirashi Sushi (my mains)

When my Tokujou Chirashi Sushi came, I was struck by the combination of colors that the nicely arranged ingredients inside the glass bowl presented. Tamago, Crab stick, Snow crab claw, Unagi, Hirame, Salmon, Maguro, Ebi and my favourite, the ootoro. These fresh seafood ingredients were laid over sushi rice mixed with strips of seaweed and bits of salmon.

What I liked most in the chirashi

When I saw the Ootoro, I was delighted. The ootoro that was served with the chirashi was the "melt-in-your-mouth" kind. Look at that strip of omega rich fat and the thinnier streaks of interlaced fats. It was truly enjoyable. The ebi was quite a large one and was sweet to the core.

Inagiku chefs at work

Right at the end of the restaurant, at the teppanyaki section, Inagiku chefs were busy preparing the teppanyaki orders for everyone.

Lobster and Beef Zen (S$80)

Apart from the great chirashi sushi that Inagiku provided, they served equally enjoyable teppanyaki. This dish came with teppanyaki beef tenderloin and lobster. HY chose this lunch set and was agreeable on the high standard of food served to her.

Teppanyaki Beef Tenderloin

The medium cooked beef tenderloin smelled like a slight buttery fragrant before I pop one chunk into my mouth. The beef was still tender and juicy inside. It was a well done medium cooked beef!

Teppanyaki Lobster

I couldn't comment on this teppanyaki lobster as I didn't get to take a peck from the bowl. When I was busy snapping photos of other food items, HY finished them in a jiffy and didn't even offer a bite. Hmm! It must be good!

The lunch experience in Inagiku was an enjoyable. Great food standard aside, the service was unobtrusive, yet prompt. I would be back for more food.

80 Bras Basah Road

3F Fairmont Singapore

+6564316156

Inagiku Website