Aniba - The Immersive Experience of Posh Mystique

North by Miznon brings me here! Since I absolutely love the robust, multifaceted flavours featured in Miznon, I’m all eager to try the food at Aniba, a Middle Eastern fine dining establishment, which is also under the same FnB group as Miznon. This is where mystique and modernity seamlessly blend together to create an unique, immersive experience like no others. I love this place!

The taste of the food here, with most of the dishes featuring fish as core ingredient, is so unique, exotic and enchanting. Every mouthful is full of many subtle, rich flavours that resemble the mysterious, exotic, rich culture of Middle East. I also love the good juxtapose of different textures presented in the dishes to make things more exciting.

The atmosphere is like no others: I feel like I’m being transported to Middle East, enhanced with the hip coolness of modern bar. Over the open kitchen is a stretch of stone wall with the illusion of hollow pockets of flames burning within, and at the opposite end is an arching rough stone wall engraved with huge Middle Eastern words. And with the candlelights dotted all around the restaurant, this feels so mysterious and culturally immersive. The touches of modern stylish poshness are added through the shelves of wine chillers, round bar counter with dancing lights, DJ booth, view of city through the windows and metallic ceiling with bronze scale-like surface.

The music here is also a highlight of the place. Yes, this is one of the few restaurants with music that totally hits the sweet spot, thus fitting seamlessly with the mood of the place, thanks to the DJ who is in the house on Saturdays. The mix of music with elements of Middle Eastern exotic charm and Techno actually sounds so good.

The service here is delightful: being friendly, thoughtful and professional. One even goes the extra mile to check if the mains meant for sharing can halved for me, a solo diner. I'm so impressed. And the recommendations on food and drinks are great too. The food, atmosphere, coupled with the service, cements this restaurant as one of my top choices to have a good time. 

Pani Puri is definitely one of my favourite dish because it showcases so many different layers of flavours and textures. The delicate buttery sweetness and firm texture of raw hamachi fish is highlighted by the the tang of candied mandarin, crispiness of the puri shell, refreshing mint and the cloud-like yogurt-yuzu foam. The most amazing part is that a floral sweetness actually manifests at the end that surprises me and makes me go, "Wow 😍!"

Crispy Cone filled with ocean trout tartare and quail's egg yolk is a lovely, creamy, savoury snack with hints of nutty sweetness of the raw trout fish.

Crispy Fatayer is creamy goodness with the nutty tang of feta and mild earthy sweetness of spinach. The magic comes in the shot of leeks & Hamusta soup, which is a Middle Eastern vegetable lemon broth. It is so refreshing, tangy and full of vegetal goodness, going so well with the fatayer. This dish is worth a try simply for this soup.

Recommended by the staff here, TLV Toastada is another must-try here. Varied textures from spiced waffled crisp, wild salmon ceviche, creamy charred avocado. And a myriad of flavours from simulating earthy wholesomeness, briny sweetness to vegetal buttery nutty goodness plus the spiciness and tart taste of the gazpacho shot. The taste is so exciting. Best of all, there is a beautiful layer of smokiness in taste making it even more complex and better.

Toro Yemenite Taco is like lightly seared toro steak with thin, fluffy soft pancake, and I love it. Lots of goodies added like lachurch, aioli, pickled celery, crispy shallot, pomelo and cilantro that a bite of this feels like a flood of multiple nuanced flavours teasing the palates. The toro, which is tuna belly, the most prized part of the fish, is of that wonderful melt-in-your-mouth texture, complemented excellently by the fluffiness of the taco. 

Lime Tart is the most beautiful tart I have ever seen thus far. I love it that it is totally different from the usual tart. The lemon custard and chantilly cream lined the ring of soft tart pastry, adorned with mint leaves and blueberries. Within the ring is a scoop of rosemary ice-cream to give that extra exotic oomph to the taste of the dessert. All the distinctive flavours are so well-balanced that I enjoy every bite of this dessert. Probably one of the best tarts.

White wine for the night

Fantastic fruity cocktail: Taste to Oasis

Ambience and mood made more amazing by the talented DJ of the night.

Thoughts: Amazing Experience of Mystique and Coolness

6 Battery Road #05-34

Berlin65 - German’s Melting Pot of Cultures

This restaurant is no longer in operation

As someone who is into German music, language, films and culture, I, naturally, put Berlin65 into my wishlist at the recommendation from Goethe Insitut Singapur. It is always good to have more great choices of restaurants in Singapore to immerse in German culture, weil es wenige deutsche Restaurants in Singapur gibt.

Instead of featuring German food only, Berlin65 actually reflects the inclusive multi-cultural scene of Berlin to feature also Turkish, Israeli, Vietnamese, Greek, French, Thai cuisines. The food here is hearty and delicious. And I can enjoy German’s classics such as Garlic Soup, Currywurst, Preztel and Round Doughnut with other cuisines such as kebabs, bahn mi.

With the colourful graffiti-like paintings resembling Friedrichshain‘s murals adorned with street art, and the hip hop music, it feels like a piece of Berlin is transported to here.

Tiger Prawns roasted and soaked in spiced tomato garlic sauce is succulent and so flavorful with a good mix of savoury goodness, sweetness, zest, herbal pungency and spiciness.

Iskender Kebab sounds glorious with lots of goodies such as chicken from the spit grilled, flatbeard, garlic yoghurt, homemade tomato chilli sauce, grilled tomato tomatoes, pickled pepperoni, Italian parsley. It is a Turkish feast with lots of robust flavours. Yes, a melting pot of flavours like the melting pot of cultures in Berlin.

Wild Garlic Soup with pretzel coutons, sour cream and parsley is the German dish I have for the night. The pungency of garlic is very mild but it is a very hearty and delicious nonetheless due to its rich creaminess and the medley of exotic tastes from the sour cream, parsley snd yes, the light hint of wild garlic.

Berliner is fluffy round shaped doughnut with lots of vanilla bean custard to add the moisture, making it even better.

Ayran is Turkish salted yoghurt drink, which I recommend to try. It is very tasty and unique.

Thoughts: Vibrant Culinary Melting Pot

30 Stanley Street

Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer

North by Miznon - Exciting Journey through the modern Middle East

I have to admit that while I’m excited about trying new cuisine, Israeli cuisine to be precise in this case, there is still a slight bit of trepidation there. Since I’m not sure if the taste of the food suits my palates and there is no menu on the website to know the selection of food. My worries prove to be unfounded when I take a look at the seasonal menu when in the restaurant. In fact, there are so many choices that I want to order at least four of them. But with my limited stomach, I decide on getting 2 dishes instead. And I totally happy with my choices!

The food here is so delicious and flavorful. In fact, there is lots of similarities between Israeli and Greek cuisine. Think olive oil, lemon and tangy cream. The difference is Israeli cuisine has the middle eastern herbs added for the extra oomph and mild pungency. So if you are into Greek cuisine, you will definitely like it here.

The place is like this rustic Middle Eastern tavern with the cement walls, geometric wood panels, soft yellow lights, sand-coloured tapestry and florid tiles. It feels so cosy with a light air of mystique.

Service is very good, helpful and friendly. At lunch, the dining experience here is great. At dinner, the dining experience is absolutely awesome.

By the way, push open the right side of the entrance door to enter since the left side is locked.

Octopus SHISHLIK! is simplicity at its best. The briny sweetness of grilled tender meaty octopus tentacle is accentuated by the simple addition of olive oil, lemon and herbs. Highly recommended.

Tiger Prawns wrapped in tomato seeds butter is another awesome dish of Miznon though it is only in the dinner menu. The prawns are so succulent, briny sweet with firm flesh. "Wrapped in tomato seeds butter", the extra light warm zest with richness of butter makes the prawns taste even better. And the sauce, rich in essence of the ocean and tomato, is perfect for going with the complimentary bread.

Every ribbon of fresh blue crab pasta is coated with the buttery briny flavour of crab. I’m really surprised by how flavourful and rich this seemingly plain looking pasta is. And hidden beneath the pasta is a huge mould of fresh, silky crab meat. There is so much crab meat added, I love it, and the best part is it is delicious.

Grilled Calamari resting in a potato with sour cream and herbs is love at first bite. Yes, with that first bite, I'm spellbound by the light briny goodness with zest, savoury taste, pungency of herbs, tangy creaminess of sour cream and earthy starchiness of potato. This is packed with so many flavours that I love it so much,

Complimentary fluffy soft bread served with sour cream dip with olive oil and herbs at lunch. A very interesting and refreshing bread spread, I like it. Salad à la Mediterranean style is different from the usual type since no lettuce added. Instead olives and onions take its place. I actually prefer this combination of veggies added.

The complimentary bread served at dinner is of another level as compared to its lunch counterpart. I can say it is worth it to specially come here for this bread. The special flatbread here has a delightful slightly chewy texture and is so unique in flavour,. Topped with sliced tomato and green chilli, the bread is full of exotic tastes, and this is amped up even more by the cilantro sauce paired with sour cream. Such a delight to savour this.

Desserts here do feel more like an afterthought instead of an integral part of the dining experience. Since despite the awesome selection of starters and mains, there is only dessert of the day available at lunch for desserts. Naked Chocolate Cake is full of rich, luscious goodness of chocolate with a lovely crispy top and tastes nice, but kind of ordinary and not really memorable.

NOTE: Desserts at dinner is a totally different beast! Lots of selection and the Mango Malabi is insanely good.

Mango Malabi is actually panna cotta in Israeli style. The pudding is so milky, smooth and silky. I love it.

Basque Cheesecake features this lovely char taste that complements the creaminess of the cheesecake so well. Another delightful dessert. 

Thoughts: Israeli Cuisine is now in my list of favourites!

110 Amoy Street

Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer