Pan Pacific Singapore turns 30 this year! As part of the celebration, the good folks at Pan Pac are kicking off a year of exciting privileges, the first being their 30th Anniversary Staycation Package. 

Enjoy a $30 Food and Beverage credit to be redeemed at any of their restaurants and bar, or enjoy $30 off a pampering spa treatment at the St. Gregory Spa. Breakfast buffet at the refresh Edge is included in the package and you'll get to enjoy one of the most extensive buffet spread with 7 live food theatres. 

Need more convincing? Just look at their amazing rooms! Or check out my past reviews on Edge, Hai Tien Lo, Keyaki and Pacific Marketplace. Honestly you'll not go hungry at Pan Pacific Singapore with their stellar F&B outlets. 

Pan Pacific Singapore

7 Raffles Boulevard S(039595)

Tel: +65 6336 8111

Mark your social calendar, lovers of all things alcoholic! Singapore Cocktail Week returns from 12 to 19 March 2016. Gear yourself up for a week of heart-pumping events with the various cocktail workshops, bar tours, supper clubs, brunches, pop-ups, and international guest bartender appearances. If last year’s was amazing, this year’s will be mind-blowing! With 60 participating bars and restaurants and almost 20 cocktail events, the question is: Which one to pick? 

If you're like us and need nibbles with your tipples, then here are some restaurant-bars that we've checked out. Have breakfast any time of day at Tanuki Raw with their Bakon and Espresso drink made with bacon-flavored vodka and Red Espresso, Fortune Cookie Chai Syrup and egg white. We got a kick to the night with the espresso shot but where is the bacon? Nevertheless, we wouldn’t mind having this for breakfast, every day. 

If you're more the juicing sort, then think of the Tanuki Garden (Vodka, Celery Juice, Green Apple Juice, Lime, Absinthe, Basil and Coriander) as your green juice for the day. Well, it's all made from veg no? ;) 

The signature Truffle Yakiniku Beef Donburi was delishly comforting. Digging into the bowl of rice and meat isn’t my thing, but if I had finished it, you can bet it was heaven. The umami truffled rice had a hint of furikake, the blushing slices of meat were sliced to perfect thickness, and the egg oozed and coated every single grain. Definitely a satisfying bowl to prep the stomach for more drinks!

Diablio @ Lucha Loco

At Lucha Loco, be greeted with Mexicano music and sombreros. Here, five drinks are available—Margarita Último, Frambuesa, Loco Pisco Sour, El Megroni and Café Diablo. The El Megroni (Mezcal, Italian Aperitif, Vermouth) and Café Diablo (Mezcal, XO Café dark cocoa, Cynar liqueur, egg white, flamed orange) stood out for me. I must state that the El Megroni leans towards the bitter, so if you aren’t a fan, then stay clear. The other three cocktails were just too fruity or/and romantic for my taste buds.

One can pretend to be a dainty Japanese doll while nibbling on the pretty bites created by Executive Chef Moon Kyung Soo at Mikuni Singapore for the Hina Matsuri (Doll's Festival). It doesn't matter if us Singaporeans aren't familiar with this time-honored festival that is celebrated in Japan, as long as we get to enjoy the delectable feast happening from 1 to 10 Mar 2016.

This special 7 course lunch bento set is a  hit with the ladies (not to say the men wouldn't enjoy it) with its pretty presentation and sheer variety (thankfully portion-controlled). The oohs and aahs went on in typical Japanese fashion as we were presented with our tiered boxes of food (they may as well be jewelry).

A refreshing starter of organic Japanese green salad served with snow crab, orange, blueberries and black sesame helped to prep our palates. This was refreshing with bursts of sweetness and tartness from the berries and citrus. 

The second course is a showcase of eight traditional Japanese appetizers artfully arranged in one tier of the exquisite drawer that Chef Moon specially sourced. Experience a mixture of flavors and textures from the grilled miso cod, slow cooked abalone, unagi, octopus, umeboshi plum, asparagus, Japanese pickles and miso egg. Variety FTW.

Percolate Coffee has been around in the East for a bit but the location at the fringe of the Bedok heartland was and still is a deterrence to repeated visits. But upon word that they make a mean cuppa with the Nylon coffee beans in the east, i dragged myself out to this sleepy corner of Singapore for a couple of shots to regain my sanity. 

The cozy shop accommodates about 30 pax, which would actually be a squeeze already. It's not a place to linger for long over brunch, since they also don't do large plates. So far i've been lucky to be able to hang around for a bit over coffee and some bites.

I had Nylon's Four Chairs blend here the last time and it was well balanced and smooth with a nutty and fruity note ($4.50 for 5oz). On my second visit, it was changed to the Lucky Stars blend (for CNY), which was milder and lighter. I always go for Nylon over Papa Palheta (also offered here), as the latter tends to be too acidic for me. Filter coffee is also available here. 

If you like croissants, then you cannot miss these from B.A.O. Christophe makes one of the best flaky and buttery French croissants in Singapore (from $3.50). Go with the classic Butter ones on its own or have it as a sandwich (from $7). And if you see the Chocolate Almond ($4.50), JUST GRAB IT. The localized Pandan Kaya Gula Melaka one didn't rock my socks though. 

Percolate also has one of the most amazing Banana Date bread that i've tasted. I have a feeling it's from the Muffinry (Drury Lane gets it from there too). For something fancier, get the breakfast loaf version shown above ($8) with mascarpone, berries, crushed almond and Hunters' Kitchenette Almond Nut Butter. 

For something slightly bigger, the Tom Yum Grilled Chicken on Ciabatta ($10) isn't a bad option with tender chicken chunks coated in a punchy  and salty tom yum mayonnaise sauce sandwiched in a fluffy ciabatta. It's a little salty and i found myself reaching for more water than I usually do after.

Percolate is a lovely spot that I'd go back to again and again, if I'm in the East that is. Worth a visit if you're around. 

Percolate

136 Bedok North Avenue 3 #01-152 Singapore 460136

Mon: 10:30 am – 9:30 pm

Wed – Fri: 10:30 am – 9:30 pm

Sat – Sun: 9:00 am – 9:30 pm

Don't cry for Meat Argentina. The truth is... Argentinean cuisine is more than just meat. In fact over at Bochinche, chef Diego Jacquet will expose you to the bold Argentinean flavors with quality seafood, cheese, and greens, other than meats.

The ideal start to a night includes a round of drinks with with the small plates. With the daily Happy Hour on from 5.30 - 7.30pm (wines and cocktails go for $10), you know dinner is off to a good start. Go with the refreshing Mr Hendricks ($19), a classic lemony cucumber cocktail; or shake things up a little with Spicy Lolita ($19) made using a house spiced vodka. Argentinean wines are available too and I highly recommended the smooth and full bodied Cadena 2012 Mendoza Malbec.

Be there on Wednesdays at HH and you'll get the delicious Provoleta with Almond and Oregano honey ($17) free with 1 HH drink! You know where you'll find me on Wednesdays!

That salty sweet baked cheese is best complemented with the Iberico Cold Cuts ($22) which have been cured for 30 months (my favorite is the lomo). I would also have some of Chef's special salted butter (which he makes in small batches each day). If you miss that, the olive oil is amazing too with the Rosemary focaccia and ham.

I'm a crazy bagel fan. I'd have one (or two) a day every time i'm in NYC (it's my post yoga breakfast staple). I even signed up for bagel baking classes just so that i can make my own (i still haven't though) because nothing in Singapore satisfies my craving. Well Sacha & Sons does a decent one but there is only 1 option (sesame, with garlic herb schmear). I've been meaning to try Two Men Bagels for the longest time, upon word that freshly baked hand-rolled doughs are done here. While the lucky CBD folks get to wake to these babies, the sad me had way too many missed opportunities to taste these until recently. 

The hidden spot in ICON Village was hard to find (look for Cold Storage) but we followed the smell of freshly baked dough to get to this hole in the wall, where we were greeted by the sight of these rounds behind the glass walled kitchen. Other than bagels (plain/flavored) with cream cheeses, they also have the more elaborate bagelwiches which make for a heartier lunch option.

To determine the quality of the bagel, i had to order them on their own. Bagels are priced from $2.60 onwards. I went with the Cinnamon Raisin Bagel with Walnut and Raisin Cream Cheese ($4.50) because sweet is always logical with a latte.

Well well. Knock knock. The crust was more like a shell, with a slightly blistered crust all around. It was too hard (mind you i'm comparing them to the NYC ones). Plus the dough was a little thin, thus it lacked that nice doughy chew. Flavor wise, it was also kind of strange, with an alkaline aftertaste, possibly due to the almost pretzel like shell. Perhaps i should have stuck with the regular cream cheese because the walnut raisin one was kind of grainy instead of rich creamy and the amount was so little! URGH. #spoiltbynyc Next time, i may just go with the Plain Cream Cheese and Berries Jelly but honestly they need to have more cheese on these.

Like I said I would, I headed back to Kai Garden for their Dimsum because that Pan Fried Charcoal Pork Bun ($6.80 for 3pcs) induced tears of joy when I first sampled it. Oh and that Peking Duck is another tear jerker (read my previous Kai Garden review here).

Dimsum is available every afternoon, along with their a la carte dishes and set lunches. Despite the generally dead crowd in Marina Square, Kai Garden was packed with dimsum loving people dining in the natural light washed dining hall with a view of the Marina area.

I like to start my dimsum meal with some steamed goodness and the Steamed Cheong-fun with prawns and chives ($7.80) awakened our palates with succulent prawns wrapped in the fluffy rice flour rolls, doused with a light sweet soy.

The Steamed Prawn Dumpling ($6.50 for 4pcs) is often used to determine the standard of dimsum at any Chinese restaurant and as far as this goes, i was very happy. The chunky prawns and sweet seafood broth were held perfectly in that translucent skin. Give the Steamed Scallop Dumpling with Abalone ($9.80) a miss unless you are into super bland dumplings that well.. don't taste much of anything.

I love my traditional Cantonese carrot cake and this Wok-Fried Carrot Cake in X.O. sauce ($9.80) was super addictive. It's even better when you eat it with the housemade chili paste. 

Something special to order at Kai Garden is the Pan-fried Pork Dumpling ($8.80 for 4pcs) 烧卖. These are giant bites of chunky minced pork topped with ebiko. Honestly i would go with steamed because the wanton skin isn't exactly best prepared pan fried and the crust turned out to be a little dry. Well i guess maybe the photo opp makes up for it? Hur.

Chef does the char siew super well btw. The dark charred honey BBQ meat had gorgeous layers of rendered fats, plus the meat was simply tender! Is this the best char siew in Singapore??! 

I also cannot stop raving about the stellar Baked BBQ Honey Pork Pastry ($5.60 for 3pcs) 叉烧酥. That buttery pastry was so thin, flaky, and crunchy, which I found unbelievably good! Of course, it was packed with all the char siew (less fats in this one). It's been a while since i last had such delicious char siew sor. 

If you need something to warm your belly, have the umami Double-boiled Lobster Soup with Dumpling ($14.80).

On to the sweets! Make space for the Mini Egg Tarts ($4.80 for 3pcs)! This super wobbly egg pudding sits within a thin crispy pastry shell which is almost a shortcrust. Yummy!

Kai Garden's other sweet dimsum signature is the Steamed Custard Bun ($5.80 for 4pcs) or Liu Sha Bao. I liked the viscosity of the golden lava but found it to be a tad sweet. Balance that and up the notch of the saltiness and this would be a bigger hit.

My other sweet favorites include the Chilled Aloe Vera and Lemongrass Jelly ($6.80) and Chilled Coconut Puree ($6.80). Both of them provide a cold and refreshing end to the meal. 

Kai Garden is a great addition to my dimsum list with some really stellar hits that i would die for. Will definitely be back!

Kai Garden

#03-128A/B Marina Square

Raffles Boulevard Singapore 039594

Tel: +65 6250 4826

Weekdays: 11.30am - 3.30pm, 6 - 11pm

Weekends & PH: 11am - 4pm

Tian Fu Tea Room is my secret afternoon high tea dimsum spot. It's always an oasis of calm and serenity, perfect for contemplation and small talk over perfectly crafted nibbles paired with excellent Chinese teas. Of course, feel free to let your inner Chinese scholar/poet come out to play (we couldn't resist giving our best shot at some calligraphy).

There are 3 Tian Fu Tea Rooms at the PARKROYAL Hotels at Beach Road, Top of UOB Plaza, and Kitchener Road, each serving slightly different versions of the high tea. During this CNY period from now till 22 Feb 2016, a special Imperial Reunion High Tea is served from 2.30pm - 6pm daily for $38/pax (usual $30/pax). During this period, diners will enjoy an individual portion of Yusheng (yes even if you dine alone), with 9 other light bites (including a rice/noodle dish). Beach Road and Top of UOB plaza serves the crunchy and refreshing Prosperity Salmon Yusheng with crispy fish skin while Kitchener Road serves a Premium Black Truffle Yusheng!

Fine Chinese teas are paired with the dishes. We started with the Bai Mu Dan (White Tea) and then moved on to the Bi Tan Piao Xue (Flower Tea) with our spicier Sichuan dishes at the Beach Road outlet.

I really love the Chong Qing Chicken with Spicy Bean Paste! The ma la chili really whets the appetite and packs a punch. The Chilled Sliced Duck wrapped with Salted Egg helped to balance that spiciness but honestly you don't taste much of the duck.  

Some steamed dimsum bites with the chunky Sliced Prawn in Black Bean Sauce and Steamed Fish Balls with Black Moss, both of which I thought were well made but on the bland side. Somehow they were missing the fresh seafood flavor as the fish paste used in both were a little starchy.

We loved the Pan-fried Glutinous Pancake with Minced Camphor Tea Smoked Duck. This was an expected savory mochi with a dark saucy minced duck filling. 

Behold the paper thin crispy layers of pastry! Give me more of that Deep-fried Radish Puff with Dried Scallop. I was mind blown by how that thin puff could hold all that juicy disintegrated radish. We followed the fried dishes with a Dong Ding Wu Long (Oolong Tea), which is said to cleanse our palate (not that the dishes were any oily).

As much as i tried to avoid carbs, i finished every single grain of the fluffy and fragrant Fried Rice with Waxed Meat and Matsutake Mushrooms. This was amazingly good as the rice seemed more steamed than stir fried actually and had the lingering earthy scent of the lotus leaf and prized Matsutake mushrooms.

I'm a new fan of fried nian gao and Tian Fu Tea Room's version in a flaky and crunchy Honey Glazed Pastry Puff was a stellar rendition of this traditional sweet. 

We've had way many Liu Sha Baos but this was the first super deep-fried one in a slightly mochi like skin. It was artery-cloggingly delicious but we had to drain some of the oil out of the one for fear of a heart attack while finishing this.

If you're up for more traditional dimsum sort, you may want to check out the Kitchener and UOB Plaza outlets. There is the ongoing UOB card promotion- 1 dines free with 3 paying guests. Time to get your lo hei going!

Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant
PARKROYAL on Beach Road
7500 Beach Road, Singapore 199591
Tel: +65 6428 3170

PARKROYAL on Kitchener Road
181 Kitchener Road, Singapore 208533
Tel: +65 6428 3170

TOP of UOB Plaza
80 Raffles Place #60-01, UOB Plaza 1, Singapore 048624
Tel: +65 6535 6006

Daily: 11.30am - 10.30pm
High Tea: 2:30 - 6:30pm

Farther off Robertson Quay is Rodyk Street, which was for a bit, a hipster spot (thanks to Toby's Estate). Even though i used to frequent this spot, i've not noticed Verre, formerly a wine bar hidden behind dark and heavy drapes. Thankfully, after a relaunch, Verre Modern Bistro and Wine Bar has lost all that darkness and brought light, and great food to its mix. 

The new direction cannot be a better choice really. With their expertise in wine (they have over 750 labels of fine wine mainly from Bordeaux and Burgundy), Verre is able to provide great pairings with their Modern French dishes created by Chef Consultant Masashi Horiuchi (who also manages Shelter in the Woods). We had an extensive night of food and wine pairings, something easily done since one could have over 30 wines by the glass with your food choice.

A good start to a meal at Verre would be the creamy Chicken Liver Parfait ($24) paired with a reduction of port wine, madeira wine shallot, balanced with a tangy mandarin orange jelly and a dehydrated honeycomb-like mandarin orange. This was paired with a dry lemon lime Paringa Estate Riesling 2012 ($19.50). 

The Half Lobster Salad ($38) features a sweet Maine lobster cooked in court bouillon, with a creamy guacamole and a refreshing calamansi and honey dressing. I would order this dish for the sweet and tangy dressing! The wine pairing was the Stick Chardonnay 2013 ($18) with flavors of grapefruit, white peach, citrus and oak spice.

I enjoy fine dining, dishes plated like art, and deep conversations over a good red. But sometimes, raucous-energetic-casual is the perfect way to let loose and unwind, with small plates and bites, plus tipples (always). Missing the open air Fukuoka yatais and smoky izakayas in Nagoya, we headed to Uma Uma at its latest location on the Japanese Food Street at Millenia Walk. Here, we kicked back with grilled Yakitori and Kushikatsu,  cocktails and drinks by Horse’s Mouth and Hakata-styled ramen from Uma Uma Ramen.

It really felt like we walked into a Hakata izakaya at Uma Uma, with its slightly crampish seating, long bar/ramen counter and warm Japanese hospitality. Orders were placed swiftly, so that the a la minute sticks with homemade sauces (created by Head Chef, Shota Kaneko) would arrive quickly.  

Ingredients are imported twice weekly from Japan and the quality is best presented through grilling. My favorite Yakitori sticks are the Tsukune (chicken balls with soft bone) which was juicy with some crunch! All resolve to eat healthy will obliterate with a stick (or 2) of that crispy and sweet grilled chicken skin! How did i resist this for so long?! The Butabura (Pork Belly) and chicken thigh were a tad dry-ish and bland for my liking. And obviously I'm not a fan the bland soft bone. All Yakitori sticks are priced between $2 - 3 each.