Brine Restaurant - Contemporary Singaporean Cuisine, Nostalgic and Beautiful Taste

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Upon knowing about Brine, a restaurant helmed by local chef, I immediately note down this place into my Wishlist. I had assumed that the dishes here will be European with a bit of Asian touches, and the dishes totally surprise me regarding this, and in a very good way.

The dishes here are distinctively Singaporean, prepared in European style and elevated with complex flavours. They invoke the nostalgia, yet at the same time manage to be unique in taste. I really love the dishes, they exceed my expectations.

The place, at the first glance, looks more like a nice, modern minimalist cafe. In fact, I asked if it's Brine when I first stepped in 😂. But when I look around the place, I realise that there is a mini art gallery in this! At one side of the place, pottery art pieces and hand made glassware populate the tables and shelves there. This is so cool. All of them were made by the owner and for sale. Needless to say, I take lots of pictures of the art gallery.

The service is very good too. The young lady staff is very friendly and is fast to response to requests.

The second Battered Cauliflower is served, I immediately catch the lovely familiar whiffs of pepper and spices sprinkled over the crispy batter coating each mildly sweet cauliflower. Lots of subtle flavours packed into the cauliflower, and it tastes even more exciting when eaten with the mashed duqqa  for the extra kick in flavour and mashed hummus for the earthy, nutty element. I also love the crunchy roasted brussel sprouts, which is so good to bite on.

Knife Cut Noodles with buttered crab is so delicious. I love the texture of the special knife cut noodles, which is flat, curly and a bit springy. This is different from the usual noodles, and knife cut noodles are not exactly easy to find in Singapore. Hints of spiciness from the chilli and tangy flavour from the lemon juice makes this dish such a delight to savour. And best of all, I find chucks of briny sweet crab among the noodles. Two thumbs-up for the generosity in adding lots of crab meat. Caviar and Ikura are pops of essence of the ocean that add more umami goodness to the dish. A must-try.

Another must-try is Coconut noodles, laksa leaf jelly, kaffir lime meringue. I swoon in pure bliss when tucking into this dessert full of South East Asian flavours. The pungency of laksa leaf actually works beautifully in this dessert, complementing the tart taste of kaffir lim and the mild milky nutty flavour of coconut noddles. And the textures of this dessert is awesome due to the crispy meringue, springy noodles, crunchy sugar-coated peanuts and sorbet+jelly consistency of laksa leaf jelly.

Brine Restaurant is not just any good restaurant, it is a restaurant that serves up very good, unique food that showcases the essence of local food. It is full of passion and vision. I'm so into this place after an outing here. I look forward to come here again.

Thoughts: So Singaporean, So Awesome

This place is no longer in operation

Huevos - Simply Delicious Mexican Food

I simply can't get enough of Mexican food, so I have to visit the much raved about Huevos to satisfy my cravings and curiosity.

And goal met after an outing here! The food here is one of the best Mexican food in Singapore. Note that I said "Food". Yes, the place itself is very humble in the humble neighbourhood of Jalan Besar, but the food is totally worth the special trip to there. There are so many choices to choose from the extensive menu. Surely there is something here for someone. This is one place I will not hesitate to recommend to everyone because of the awesome food and the super attractive price point. 

One Quesadilla, which is big enough for sharing, costs less than twenty bucks. Imagine that.

Talking about Quesadilla, which I had been wanting to try due to the addition of melty cheese, I decide to order Al Pastor Pork. The taste of Grilled Pork, the simulating flavours of Chiptole Aioli (made from mayonnaise, garlic, lemon and chiptole pepper), the refreshing sweetness of Pina Salsa and creaminess of cheese come together to become a delightful and delicious satisfying treat. I totally love this.

I'm not a fan of pineapple, but I l finish every one of pineapple cubes because they taste so good when paired with the rich Mexican flavours in this dish. 

For a bit of indulgence, I got Scallop La Mexicana, which is five huge, plump, juicy, pan-seared Hokkaido Scallops sitting on a blanket of sweet and tangy Corn Puree, Ezapote, Butter and Arugula Radicchio. To make it even more luscious, dots of caviar are added onto each scallop. All the taste buds are engaged when tucking into this dish. So does this taste as good as it looks? An astounding YES! It's absolutely delicious.

Tres Leches: Three Milk Cake topped with Ice Cream.

The Cake is surprisingly soft and fluffy. And it is full of milky goodness. The sauce the cake is sitting in is like evaporated milk, adding to the lovely milkiness. The ice-cream is really special. It's of a pleasant taste that I had never tried before. It's smoky and has a hint of coffee in it.

Then I found out that they used popcorn to churn out this home-made ice-cream. I'm impressed. I like this dessert a lot. But since it's very sweet, best to share this.

Horchata is House-made Cinnamon Rice Milk, which is milky and refreshing. Good recommendation by the friendly staff.

This place has decor that has the Mexican touches to it, like the colourful straw hats lamps, pastel green walls, white bricks, special orange loud font and pictures of Mexican wrestler on the T-shirts of the service crew. The service is very efficient, being able to handle the constant stream of crowd coming in. The slim guy is very friendly.

This is one restaurant that I will go back regularly because of the great food at great price. Yup, being good to both the tummy and the wallet.

By the way, I went after 1:30pm to avoid the crowd, and patrons can use the restaurant's wifi to log in paynow to settle the bill.

Thoughts: Super Good Mexican food. Gracias Amigo!

803 North Bridge Rd

Nearest MRT: Lavender or Jalan Besar

Asia Grand - Nice Restaurant with a Difference

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Asia Grand is always the 1st restaurant that pops into my mind if I want to go to a different restaurant, other than my usual favourites (Summer Palace and Li Bai). And in the area of food, Asia Grand does not disappoint. The dishes are made with fresh ingredients, being refreshing, light yet tasty, the tastes are quite different from the ones at other restaurants. The Prawn Salad and the Chicken Soup are nice, but the best dish got to be the steamed Bamboo Clam in garlic, whose flesh is soft, soaked in the extremely flavourful sauce, saturated with the fragrance of garlic. The Spicy Dumpling is also highly recommended, bursting with robust flavours of chilli, garlic and vinegar.

The Peking duck is considered as value for money since its price tag is lower than that in other restaurants but the standard and taste is comparable. The food here is of classic type, yet the taste is surprisingly different in very subtle ways that I have no qualms about visiting this place even after suffering from overloading my stomach with Chinese food for a week.

The place is of typical Chinese restaurant ambience which can get a bit noisy when crowded, but at least there are still sufficient spaces between each tables. Service is ok, though not excellent; then again, most Chinese restaurants do not have excellent service.

The food, service and ambience is good enough for me to drop by every once in a while.

My Thoughts: Very Nice!

This restaurant is no longer in operation.