Kemuri - Traditional and Fantastic Japanese Izakaya

Kemuri definitely got my attention with a young new chef, Chef Yukiro Saito, on board and a newly revamped menu. In addition, the promise of Japanese charcoal grilled food sounds so tempting. I also miss soaking in the Izakaya vibe so this restaurant sounds like a good choice to get that. And somehow I have this feeling that there will be a subtle element of uniqueness and surprise in the food here.

And yes, the food here features that Izakaya flair and heartiness, with a touch of refinement. I totally love it. The charcoal grilled items have that lovely smoky aroma, meaty sweetness, hints of excitement from the sea salt and lemon, layered with something special. Example of something special is the Parmesan cheese grated over the Chicken Meatball. Lots of awesome first times here also, where I, for the first time, try the delicious chilled yam somen, most delicious chicken thigh meat and best cod fish served in Izakaya style.

Located in the “hidden gem” Cuppage Plaza, the interior of the restaurant is in a stark contrast to the surrounding. It presents a brilliant juxtapose of a modern stylish bar and a traditional Japanese Izakaya. The jazz music playing in the background, the upmarket grey stone dining counter and the studio-like black walls create this classy chilled vibe. While the open kitchen, charcoal grill station, flames, skewers and sake bottles radiate this feel of Izakaya.

And watching Chef Saito and his team hard at work preparing the food is an experience in itself.

Service here is wonderful and efficient, sealing the deal that this is definitely one of the places I will look forward to come back to.

The quintet of appetizers impresses me with the exploration of distinctively different taste profiles. Each appetizer packs a punch of flavours that is different from its predecessor.

First appetizer of raw Scallop is so sweet, made exciting by the savoury goodness and the incredibly plump juicy texture. This is my favourite of the quintet.

Chicken liver is unlike another chicken liver, being richer in taste and more silky in texture. In fact, this is like Asian style Foie Gras, which is full of thick, creamy savoury umami.

I love how the Duck Breast takes the taste profile in a different direction from Chicken Liver. It fearures this meaty sweetness that actually develops as I bite more into it. And being thinly sliced, it has good perfect bite to it.

Grilled Pacific Saury is full of intense briny sweetness.

Pickles are so refreshing, making them perfect as the last appetizer to cleanse the palates for the mains to come.

A quartet of sashimi that reminds of how much I enjoy quality sashimi.

Kanpachi is sweet and clean in taste.

Chutoro has this lovely melt in your mouth texture and is so buttery sweet.

Kinmedai is lightly seared on the top to showcase the smoky aroma for a touch of complexity to the taste. The texture, interestingly and amazingly, has a light crunch to it.

One of the highlights of the meal and a crowd favourite is the Charcoal Grilled Giant Prawn. I like the theatrics of the chef sprinkling salt liberally over the prawn before grilling. The real highlight of the dish is huge, plump prawn, whose briny sweetness is balanced perfectly by the special wasabi cream sauce. It is a must to bite into the head to get the tasty bits imbued with the aroma of charcoal and taste of sea salt, both of which add a layer of unique sweetness to the meat.

This is a must-try here.

Chilled Yam Somen Noodle is oh so amazing that it feels almost magical. And surprising too. The incredibly thin strands of somen looks slippery, but when biting into it, I am wowed over by its vegetal crunchiness, similar to the texture of turnip. And each strand is soaked with the super refreshing, tangy, savoury goodness of clear broth. I end up finishing every bit of the somen and every drop of broth.

This is one dish that is worth a special trip to Kemuri.

I’m not exactly into chicken thigh meat, but I will gladly order the Flame-Grilled Chicken Thigh here. It is the best chicken thigh. It is so perfectly cooked to eliminate the smell of muscle and sinew while retaining the creaminess and juiciness of the meat. With the aroma of char deepening the robust meaty flavour, it already tastes so good on its own. Miso and chilli powder can be added for variation in taste and extra excitement.

Best Izakaya style Cod Fish comes in the form of Saikyo Miso-Grilled Gindara Cod Fish. This is super briny sweet, creamy and full of goodness of omega oils. The grilled skin makes it even better.

The Chicken Tsukune with Cheese feels so pillowy in texture. Lightly seasoned, the meaty sweetness actually develops with each subsequent bites.

Charcoal-Grilled Kagoshima A5 Wagyu Chateaubriand is super creamy with a good bite. The char adds intensity to the meaty sweetness. And the wasabi works brilliantly to refresh the palates and cut through the creaminess.

Nice unique complimentary dish

Claypot Unagi Rice surprises me with its presentation. Served with clear soup, this dish is surprisingly refreshing while still having that lovely warm, starchy goodness I love in Japanese rice dishes. The lightly seasoned unagi adds the punch in flavour, making this dish such a joy to savour.

Refreshing Yuzu Ice-cream. A good choice to refresh the palates after savouring all these grilled food.

Thoughts: Best Izakaya with lots of Surprises

5 Koek Road

Cuppage Plaza #04-02

Leila - Exotic Delicious Tastes

Since I'm always up for unique experiences and gastronomic adventures, the restaurant Leila immediately caught my attention with cuisine from the Balkan region, which includes countries such as Lebanon, Greece, Albania, Croatia, Serbia and Turkey. So I was so looking forward to enjoying dishes with unique spices, lemons, tomatoes and olive oil.

The food here is truly unique, exotic and delicious in taste. Since Balkan region is where east meets west, the food here really reflects that. It feels like Greek cuisine meets Middle Eastern cuisine. And it totally works wonders.

The first thing I notice upon stepping into the restaurant is the upbeat hypnotic Middle Eastern instrumental music that fills the place with a modern mystic air. I love this. The sandy red walls, wooden panels, table lamps and candlelights accentuate the mystic Middle-Eastern feel. The bar counter, glassware and furniture injects the stylish modern vibe that matches perfectly with the Middle Eastern theme.

The thing that dampens my experience here is the bar counter seats and how my request is handled. I always like sitting at bar counter seats but this place is an exception because neither the bar counter seats here nor the bar counter have any foot rest. Sounds like minor thing? Nope, it’s major discomfort in which my feet are left dangling, I feel like I’m going to fall off if I lean too much to one side, and my legs go numb when I cross my legs. In fact, I feel so horrible that I quickly finish my meal to be spared of the agony. I’m expecting to dine in absolute comfort in such restaurant, but alas, I’m left disappointed by this area.

To make things worse, when I requested to change to a table seat, I was only offered an outdoor seat. If the restaurant is full house, then I totally understand why I cannot change my seat. But the 2 small table seats behind me were empty throughout my whole meal. In fact, there’s a couple seated at first at a table behind me, but they did not like it that it was near the dish counter and requested for a change, which the staff immediately acceded to. Imagine how I feel about the difference in reaction to the requests.

When I’m enquired on how’s everything, I just answer with a deadpan look, “Good.” That’s all. Because I’m not in the mood to elaborate like how I usually do when I love the food.

That aside, the service is good actually, putting some stars back into the service rating. Staff, like Delia and Erika, are very friendly, responsive and energetic. They even offer complimentary shots of cocktail to patrons and do the cheers with us, which really heightens the mood.

I also found out that there are Arabian Nights special on Thursdays, which sounds so exciting. I really want to go, but I’m not eager to experience that bar counter seat again.

All in all, a great place to enjoy unique delicious food in an unique setting full of mystic. But avoid the bar seats if you value comfort.

Green Chilli Shrimp: Meaty, plump, briny sweet prawns taste so awesome when paired with the exotic, spicy (the shiok type that refreshes your senses), slightly pungent green chilli sauce. The finely cubed cucumber and tomato is so juicy and refreshing in taste, brightening up the briny meatiness of the prawns. And I love it that the vegetables, being finely cubed, make for a good mouth feel and place the focus on the star of the dish: the prawns.

In fact, the sauce plus cubed cucumber and tomato are the best to go with the Kubana bread. This is my favourite dip of the night.

Pillowy, fluffy, fine texture, savoury crispy top, soufflé bottom … the Kubana Bread is so delicious, full of the sweetness of wheat. The Creamy Tahini dip is savoury, nutty and exotic. The crushed juicy Fresh Tomato dip is lightly seasoned, thus yielding this refreshing taste with a hint of tang. I prefer the stronger taste of Tahini at first but as I eat more of the bread, I start to prefer the light taste of tomato.

Kunafe is a must-try here and worth that special visit. It is so unique, full of textures due to the juxtapose of thin strands of crispy kataifi and crunchy toasted pistachio. The light wet fluffy Jibana Cheese is the magic for that savoury kick amid the sweetness of the dessert and the sweet aroma of rose.

Sweet Balkan Sunset

Thoughts: Unique, Exotic, Awesome Balkan cuisine

12 Lim Teck Road

Amalfi Party at Fortuna Terrazza

When I found out that Fortuna, the place of my favourite pizzas, was going to host a special party at the soon-to-be-opened Italian Amalfi Brunch Cafe, I immediately sign up for it. The promise of free flow of the best pizzas, a variety of wines and cocktails, gelato is too tempting to resist. And there's a DJ to keeping the night exciting.

This is an Amalfi themed party where attendees are welcomed to dress in Italian Amalfi style. So yes, lots of us are dressed in to the nines in yellow or Mediterranean prints. So it is quite a sight to see a queue of the hippest crowd, dressed in bright cheery Almalfi style, outside the cafe with bright yellow signage and peppy decor. And passerbys are asking what event is it and want to join. So yes, it sure feels very cool to be part of this queue.

The interior of the place reminds one of a quaint, peppy, idyllic, cheerful European cafe near the coast. Yellow walls, yellow plush chairs, yellow and white checkered tables, whimsical yellow and white semicircle canopies over the bar counter, picturesque gouache paintings and pops of greenery.

The pizzas are served fresh out of the oven, and yes, they are good. With a first look at the pizza with big round crust, my friend comments on the preference for thin crust pizza. I immediately say the crust here is very fluffy and airy, which is totally different from the heavy thick crust we grew up eating. In fact, it is lighter than thin crust. And it is best to eat the pizza with this fluffy crust that is packed with the sweetness of wheat, the tang from the fermentation process and the hint of lovely char from the wood-firing cooking. And my friend actually finishes up the crust with the pizzas.

There are lots of wines, beer, prosecco, aperol spritz and of course, limoncello spritz, which is my favourite drink of the night. I do get very happy at the later part of the night and have lots of fun dancing with the newly met gorgeous ladies at the event.

Needless to say, I'm so looking forward to going to this hot new cafe for a good brunch when it officially opens in October.

Yoghurt Gelato and Lemon Gelato with options to add chocolate sauce, pistachio sauce or Amarena Cherry.

DJ of the night who belts out awesome beats to dance to. As the night goes on, lots of us are having a great time dancing to the beats.

As one of the first few attendees to get in, I get to take a picture of the place before it get real crowded.

Photo from Fortuna Terrazza’s instagram video. Look at the queue!

Ladies dressed for the occasion.

Thoughts: Absolute Fun with the hippest crowd!

Shochu High Tea Party - Lovely Pastries and Shochu

Another awesome collaboration between Tarte by Cheryl Koh, Old Moon Spirits and The Other Me comes in the form of “Shochu High Tea Party”!

This time, I’m being pampered with a selection of specially crafted high tea desserts, which is only available for this event. And once again, I’m blown away by how unique and delicious these delectable desserts are. And I got to meet Cheryl Koh, the master behind these desserts!

To make things even better, I get to enjoy a curated range of shochu, courtesy of Old Moon Spirits. The shochu, on rocks, is so refreshing and easy to drink.

Finally, I got a special prize from The Other Me 😉  And while at there, I got a bottle of delicious-smelling lavender & vanilla massage oil.

A lovely mix of savoury and sweet desserts, that is like no other desserts I have ever tried. This kind of events is a must-experience for anyone who loves desserts or food or exclusivity.

Tomato Sorbet topped with drops of basil oil gets the “wow” from me at first spoonful. This dessert presents tomato in a form that I have never tried before. The sorbet speaks of Italian summer with the distinctive sweetness and hints of refreshing tanginess of tomatoes. There is a secret element in the sorbet that adds a lovely intensity to the taste. The texture is so unique in which there is a slight gluey feel layered onto the sorbet. I love it actually.

mimi shochu, made from a blend of Tamaakane and Beniharuka sweet potatoes, is super refreshing. And each subsequent sip gets better and sweeter. I love its cute bottle!

Focaccia with Prosciutto looks ordinary but the taste is on another level. The focaccia is super fluffy and is packed with the sweetness of baked wheat. And this sweetness juxtaposes perfectly with the savoury meatiness of prosciutto ham and the cream with a hint of tangy taste.

Marco, made from Japanese purple sweet potatoes, has this beautiful floral aroma that I fall in love with it at first sip. I love the bottle, of course!

Mushroom & Truffle Pie is full of earthy goodness.

Ga, the result of an amazing blend of different sweet potatoes, black koji and aged sake, features an interesting light umami in the taste.

Yam & Lotus Tart is different from the usual Orh Nee dessert in which the yam paste here has a more pronounced milky taste. And this how I love it.

Cherry Madeleine is like the best Madeleine. The savoury glaze and hint of cherry tart sweetness make this taste so complex and awesome.

Chocolate Macadamia Tart is full of crunchy goodness.

Thoughts: Astounded Again by the Awesome Pastries and Drinks

Marco Shochu - Amazingly Floral Japanese Spirit

I found a new favourite spirit from Old Moon Spirits!

The bottle of Macro Shochu is so beautiful, speaking of florals and pastel dreams. And its aroma reflects the visuals of the bottle, being full of floral aroma, with hints of rose. Made in Kagoshima and made with Japanese purple sweet potato, this tastes so smooth and sweet. I love this so much. In fact, I'm going to get a second bottle.

This drink can be enjoyed on the rocks, neat or with warm water, and I have tried em all. When on rocks, the drink is refreshing with hints of that lovely floral aroma. When drinking this on neat, the floral aroma intensifies and becomes sweeter. This is my favourite way of sipping this Shochu. When mixed one to one ratio with 70 degrees water, it becomes smoother and easier to drink.