Foliage - Delicate, Balanced, Amazing Local Tastes

I always know that I will be back at Foliage, a quaint intimate cosy dining location born out of a couple's passion for food and their travels through Japan. And so here I am!

What I love about the food is its unique taste of distinctive Southeast Asian flavours with the clean and clear taste of Japanese cuisine, where the natural sweetness of the specially sourced ingredients is highlighted. And as I have said before, the owner couple work together to add an extra cosiness to their place with their hospitality, curated cutleries, sake, produce from their travels in Japan, and make the experience feel like private dining.

The dining experience here is one of a kind that I definitely look forward to enjoy again.

Monga Ika & Oba Spring Roll, Hojiso & Umeboshi White Rojak amazes me with an unbelievably clean, light and balanced taste of rojak. Roasted almonds add the nutty earthy taste for that distinctive rojak taste, and Hojiso aka ginger flower adds vegetal freshness to lift up the flavours. The ika, aka cuttlefish filling, is so fluffy and milky briny sweet, juxtaposing perfectly with the super crispy spring roll skin that nicely breaks at a bite. The crunchy vegetables tastes so refreshing, brightening the taste of rojak. Best Rojak!

Hamo Conger Eel, Sayur Assam, inspired by a Javanese soup, makes me go, "Wow!" with its unique comforting sweet, savoury taste with a hint of zest. The taste is like southeast Asian umami. The fish is so fresh, having briny sweet and juicy flesh.

 

Murasaki Uni & Akaebi "Lemak Ikan Asin" with Green Yuzu and Coconut is wow, wow, wow. It is unbelievably and amazingly delicious. The taste is super sweet, featuring different layers of sweetness, and refreshing. I love the blend of briny sweetness, vegetal freshness, creamy umami, nutty creaminess and hint of herbal pungency in this dish. The variety of textures present: creaminess and crunchiness, is awesome too.

Fresh Crab & Kani Miso "White Laksa" Pie Tee is stuffed with shredded Coconut Canadian Red Crab and super crunchy shredded turnip that makes for a lovely local taste with extra sweetness, refreshing element, zest from laksa and briny sweetness.  The housemade Pie Tee shell is so amazing on its own due to the extra sweet aroma of baked sweets present, made possible with the addition of coconut milk. And the shell, being freshly made, is so so crispy. Best Pie Tee.

Somen-Kabocha & Manganji Pepper "Soto Ayam Lamongan" with Japanese leeks features fluffy and meaty Grilled Ika & Kampong Chicken Tsukune, which is meatball, soaked in slightly spicy broth full of goodness of taste of Southeast Asia due to the medley of goodies added. The unique slightly crunchy somen, which is like strands of thin fine turnip, absorbs the umami of the broth to taste so good. 

Suzuki & Grilled Nasu White Wine Fish Curry with Prata ala Minute is like the best curry! The Japanese vegetables soaked in the spicy, sweet, buttery curry has this refreshing taste that contrasts so well with the thick curry. The prata here is exceptional too, being made from Hokkaido flour and Normandy butter, and is thus extra fragrant. Yes, best prata!

Amela Tomato & Kanten "Ice Jelly" with White peach is so refreshing and zesty, with vegetal freshness. I love the kanten jelly that introduces the bouncy texture and clear sweetness.

Hojicha made from stems, therefore having less caffeine and is smoother in texture.

White Corn & Wasanbon Kueh Dadar has French sea salt added for sparks of excitement. This dessert is packed with floral buttery sweetness of white corn and creamy nutty sweetness of coconut. The pandan green wrapping skin has such good texture, it is like super thin kueh. The filling features different kinds of crunchiness from coconut and corn, making for an excelent bite. Stellar Southeast Asian dessert. 

I also get to savour rare Japanese wine from Nagano, which cannot be easily found at other establishments. The couple managed to secure supply deal with the winery owner by helping with the harvesting of the grapes. I love the story behind getting wines from this unique, quaint winery. It adds an extra touch of warmth and passion to the experience. The wine is clean and crisp in taste, making the food tastes even sweeter.

I also get to try the red wine from this quaint winery, and it is made from Kyoho grapes. Wow, I have never tried wines made from Kyoho grapes, so I'm so excited to enjoy it. This wine carries the distinctive sweet aroma and wine-like richness of Kyoho grapes and the taste is fresh, with hints of sparkling feel. A must try here.

Thoughts: Amazing, Clean, Balanced Southeast Asian tastes realised by Passion

11 Kee Seng Street

#01-03

Sufood - Clean, Clear, Light and Delicious

Actually, I don't feel really well, so I decide to dine at Sufood, a Taiwanese vegetarian restaurant, for a filling yet light and easy dinner. And I end up getting a delicious, satisfying, light, flavourful meal here. In fact, I feel better after a dinner here!

Yes, this is the best vegetarian food restaurant, where all vegetarian ingredients are served as ... vegetables, without me feeling that I'm eating only vegetables. If anyone wants me to recommend a place serving, cleaning, healthy and delicious food, this is the one.

Wafu Yuzu Potato Salad is creamy, due to the potato, and zesty, due to the yuzu and cute bite-sized fruits, whihc is a lovely combination.

Mulberry Cider is surprisingly sweet and refreshing, with hint of the zest. So good that I can finish this whole jar.

Soft yet crunchy breadsticks that can be paired with the light creamy sauce. Sea grapes has the briny sweetness, together with the zest of the clear sauce and refreshing element of shredded turnip, totally whets the appetite. 

Pickle, another zesty appetite-whetting goodie.

Tofu with vegetable sauce is refreshingly tending towards earthy tones while retaining the freshness to open up the palates.

Butterfuly Pea Flower Cooler is gorgeous and a good thirst quencher,

Double-boiled Cordyceps with White Fungus and Black Garlic is so so good because this is full of goodies and tastes so nourishing, featuring the savoury herbal taste of double-boiled Chinese soup.

Peppery Golden Quinoa Risotto has awesome texture, having the starchy and slightly chewy bite due to the mix of fluffy risotto and quinoa. Pumpkin adds a nice sweet earthy savoury goodness to the grains. Absolutely hearty treat.

Rosy White Fungus with Peach Gum is such a cooling nice dessert that also tastes nourishing. I especially love the gelatinous yummy peach gum added in this.

Thoughts: Healthy, Natural and Absolutely Delicious

252 North Bridge Road
Raffles City Shopping Centre #02-19

Misato - Quality Japanese Food made with Passion

I’m back at Misato, a Japanese restaurant famous for food crafted and made with love, and the boss’ singing videos on Misato’s social media. Relocated to Orchard Gateway, the venue is slighter larger, with the exact same decor and feel as the previous location at Centrepoint. The food here is still as good, featuring hearty, robust flavours yielded from quality Japanese ingredients and condiments. And the service crew is as friendly and warm as ever.

I’m not exactly a Donburi person but I absolutely love the Wagyu Donburi here, which is served in a hot Japanese claypot to ensure every bite is piping hot. The medium rare beef is so tender, juicy, meaty and sweet that every bite makes me feel so blissful. The meat tastes and feels so luxurious, when paired with the smooth starchy Japanese rice, tastes so comforting. A must-order here.

The Corn Soup pleasantly surprises me how incredibly sweet it is, with laces of savoury goodness. A dash of pepper makes it even more exciting and lifts up the creamy sweetness. Best corn soup? Yes!

The signature Okonomiyaki here is packed with lots of goodies, such as cabbage, mayo and bonito flakes, yielding a taste that packs lots of punches. The texture is excellent too, where the custardy core juxtaposes so well with the crunchy cabbage and slightly crispy exterior.

I order Grilled Mochi because I’m simply curious on its taste. Grilled mochi is more chewy after grilled, but is still easy to bite, completed with a layer of char for extra dimension in taste. My favourite part of this dessert is actually the matcha soup with red bean. The clear astringent, slightly bitter taste of matcha is perfect match with the earthy sweetness of the red bean.

The Lemongrass drink here is loaded with most amount of the aromatic herbal goodness of lemongrass. Even more concentrated than the lemongrass drinks in Thai restaurants! This is definitely, 100%, the best lemongrass drink.

Thoughts: Comforting Excellent Food, with no Holding Back

Orchard Gateway #B1-11

Wheeler’s Estate - Wheeling Good Times

Since I started to have a liking to chilling at alfresco restaurants with live bands, I decided to go to Wheeler's Estate, which is pretty near to my lair, to possibly add an restaurant to my list of favourite restaurants with live bands. After a visit, yes, this restaurant goes into the list! And this place is one of the few places where I can get to via direct bus, so this is now my top choice for dining with live bands.

I had said it before in another post that listening to live bands feels so different. The lively vibe, the real time interaction, the vibration of the music, the presence of the performers make it so much more immersive than listening to the jukebox.

The food here has good variety from pizzas, pastas, mains to appetizers, and all these feature crowd-pleasing, hearty tastes that we all enjoy.

Purple Rain showcases that slightly tangy Cranberry Juice can actually tastes smooth and floral due to the Mint Leaves and Lychee Syrup added. This is good!

A5 Wagyu Beef Skewer with Garlic Chips, Shaved Red Onion, and Lemon Wedge is da bomb of the night. Each piece is so juicy and tender, completed with meaty sweetness and a hint of char. Higher price tag, but totally worth it.

I have to admit that after savouring the skewers, the Ribeye Beef tastes very ordinary and its tougher in texture. Still can be enjoyed, but after the A5 Wagyu skewers.

Galiciana Queen Scallops is Salt Baked Zamburina Scallops soaked in Garlic Herbed Butter, completed with Pickled Pepper at the side. So briny sweet, so zesty, so savoury, these scallops are packed with good robust flavours.

Grilled Octopus is also briny sweet, laced with balanced robust flavours of Chimichurri, Lemon Capers and Butter Sauce. Another hearty treat.

Thoughts: Absolutely Cool Place to Chill, Dine and Enjoy Live Music

2 Park Lane

Absurdities Vol 1 - Exciting Dining in Different Worlds

After the awesome experience at Wonderland Upside Down, I’m all eager to experience what Absurdities, another dining concept of ANSOFORTH. This has the same concept of interactive dining, with a huge difference in how Absurdities focuses on the food, exploration of different tastes, while immersing in the different worlds. It feels like dining in six different restaurants in one night, and I love it.

The food here is unique in both taste and the pairing of ingredients, in a very good way. Most importantly, they are delicious.

The host of each world adds vibrancy to the atmosphere of each verse, making the experience here one of a kind and totally worth it. And we have some light games to make the experience even more fun.

First verse of the experience is a quaint cafe, called Asylum Cafe, decked with Muji vibes and European sensibilities:

The first dish of the night absolutely impresses me with how refreshing, flavourful and unique the taste is. And this dish is lovingly made with herbs grown in-house. The herbal vegetal creaminess, with a well-balanced of zest, sweetness, savoury goodness and bitterness, turns the super crispy bread into a light, delightful snack. The special clear broth made with mushrooms and herbs add a nice earthiness to the taste of the bread. This is actually my favourite dish of the dish:

Then it’s time to figure out which of these doors lead to another verse:

We walk through the correct door and what lies before us makes everyone goes, “Wow!” Including me, of course. Before us is a futuristic Kaleidoscope-like hallway, full of dazzling lights of different colours:

Within this fantastical hallway, we need to shout, “Hello!” For the secret door to open, which leads to a secret cavern that speaks of nature and harmony:

The burger is so delicious, in which the patty is meaty sweet super juicy, and the light tangy taste of the thin strips of pickles cut through meaty flavour to balance the richness. I also like the cassava fries, whose earthy sweetness is elevated by vegetable seasoning sprinkled on top:

Then we have a mini game, and I’m the winner 🎉 I get a dragon origami as prize ✌️ 

Then we have to find the secret door in the cavern that brings us to a world that speaks of Arabian Nights. Sand dunes, beautiful Middle-Eastern lamps, bronze tables with motifs, translucent drapes and the mysterious host with a hypnotic voice make me feel like I’m in a secret world hidden in the vast desert:

Whiffs of smoke escape from the dish the moment I lift up the clay cover. It feels so magical: 

The fish is fresh and succulent, and Arabian spices makes the taste exotic and eve better. The accompanying cubed vegetables add the refreshing element that juxtaposes well with the spices. I'm not exactly a fish person,  but this fish dish gets my approval 😉 

After the stay at the Arabian tent, it's time to climb up a ladder to get to the next world:

And through a top cupboard in a kitchen, we step into a whimsical world of the 50s. I love the pastel pink and green walls, kitchen wares scattered at the stove, English crockery and the radio playing songs of the 50s and commercials of the old times:

There are lots of corn flakes boxes lining the shelves, which means that the next dish is packed with corn flakes. And surprisingly, the corn flakes go so well wth the chicken. The crispiness of the corn flakes contrasts so well with the texture of the chicken. This dish actually tastes meaty. The special milk made from cauliflower adds a nice light creaminess to this dish:

Then we need to crawl through the tunnel to get to secret alchemy for magicians. Shelves of books, potions lining the shelves, drawers storing herbs for conjuring magic, the setting here will delight fans of Harry Potter. I'm not a fan but I love it too:

Umami bomb, an additional drink that I have ordered, is full of umami. And the little bottle of herbs is for adding to the risotto to create some magic:

It is so fun to add the special herb and special crystal salt to this bowl of risotto, recite the magic spell together and then stir everything together to see dish turning purplish red, and the briny sweet smell manifest also upon stirring. The risotto is actually made from squid rice, so the texture is slightly bouncy while the taste is milky umami with seaweed flavour. I love this:

After the magic lesson, it is time to rest and relax on board a plane with champagne and dessert:

The jelly tastes so light and refreshing. I like the gold flakes added for a touch of lux.

When the plane is landing at "Jalan Besar airport", we sing a song together before alighting from the plane and going back to the real world 😊

Thoughts: Intriguing, Multifaceted Dining Experience