The Hungry Bunny

I was devastated when celebrated Chef Sebastian Ng exited the food business entirely. Restaurant Ember , which he steered to glory as Chef de Cuisine, was never the same after that . So when I heard that the good chef returned to the scene, with an iteration wholly owned by him this time, I was ecstatic. I'd missed his chilean seabass ( that truffle butter was awesomesauce ), and crossed my fingers that he'd bring it back at this new venture. The cherry on the already delicious parfait: the new restaurant, Venue by Sebastian , is now super duper convenient to get to: it's right smack in middle of the CBD at UOE Downtown. The corresponding downside: even with the bigger premises (compared to Restaurant Ember's 40-seater space) it's ridiculously packed EVERY weekday mealtime, i.e. reservations are, as before, a must. Clearly, the break away has not diminished the chef's craft. I've dined at Venue several times since it's opened, and tried just about e...

The Hubs balked when I suggested Dempsey Cookhouse & Bar for dinner. You see, to all Singaporean males who have been conscripted, a "cookhouse" refers to the canteens in the barracks. And I think, to ensure our Singaporean males get "the full war-time experience", these cookhouses simulate the type of garbage available as food during deployment. The particular sort of slop they had to stomach for two whole years will forever be seared in their collective memories, and a 'cookhouse' will consequently be forever associated with swill. But, you know, I'm the self-proclaimed food blogger right, so he follows where I say we go. Besides, I was at the adjoining bar a few weeks back having work drinks to toast a new venture, and The Big Kahuna had rhapsodized about "the fantastic egg caviar". And because this guy is legit high-SES, it's safe to assume he knows his haute cuisine. Also, I love caviar. I may not care for many expensive delica...

Prive Grill wouldn't be my first draft for a working lunch. In fact, it wouldn't even be in the top 20. But the restaurant is scenic, the ambience relaxed, and more importantly, their weekday set lunches are incredibly economical, at $28 for two courses and $32 for three courses. And obviously, at such low prices, be sure to temper your expectations accordingly. Like, I wouldn't expect Ruth Chris -standard steaks for a sub-30 lunch set. That being said, we were apparently one of the last few diners at the now-defunct Prive Grill , which was due to be overhauled into a new seafood concept, still under the Prive Group. The new restaurant opens next month. The peppery notes of the arugula cut through the gamey aftertaste of the  Smoked Duck Breast Salad , and the livery foie gras that was more paste than mousse. Pine nuts and croutons lent crunch. The Tuna Nicoise Salad  was a better option, with tuna being a failsafe protein. This was loaded with baby potatoes, h...

Pollen 's been on my to-eat list forever...its location at Gardens by the Bay being the main deterrent for my procrastination. I think, I've only ever been to the Gardens one other time, for some event at its Flower Dome, and even then, wasn't particularly enthused about it overflowing with tourists galore.  So I finally got around to hitting up Pollen , at the behest of a girlfriend , for a husbands-free dinner. Service was faultless, and our wait-staff were jovial, attentive and efficient. But the awesome service was let down by the food, which was a hit-and-miss. I expected better, in view of the fact that Pollen , part of Loh Lik Peng's Unlisted Collection group of restaurants, is helmed by an alumni of Gordon Ramsey's 1-Michelin starred Claridge's. I can only presume that the departure of 1-Michelin-starred English chef Jason Atherton from his collaborative ventures with the Unlisted Collection affected Pollen , adversely. The highs were just-so, and the ...