Saizeriya City Square - Expect Only The Basic

Kitchener Road

North-East, Singapore

August 2015

Merlion Wayfarer made a lunch stop at Saizeriya City Square near Farrer MRT recently. 

For this outlet, service is (really) basic:

• On entering, you are pointed by a "cardboard man" to the direction where you ought to be seated.
• Cutlery and food are placed on your table with a clutter.
• Staff can hear you but still walk past. In fact, the recommended way to alert them is still by using the beeper system.
• When staff want to clear your table, it is done with gestures. No words will be exchanged.
• Food was thrown away before it was finished because the diner was at the Drinks Station.
• The Nescafe Allegria machine serves only "Milo", "Milo", "Milo", "Milo", and the labels on the fruit punch machine are so faded that you can only choose the orange-coloured drink or the pale yellow drink.

Sitting near the Drinks Station has its advantages. In the short 30 minute meal, this is what occurred:

• A male staff takes a cup and fills it with Milo. Finding it suspicious, he calls his kitchen colleague and makes a phone call to his HQ.
• Being the afternoon lull period, a lady staff takes a cup, rinses it thoroughly on the water counter before filling up with the drink she wants.
• A young staff wiping the drinks counter washes her dish cloth with the water from the cold drinking water tap.

It was fortunate that the food was really value-for-money. For just S$6.90 (no ++), one gets a simple salad, a freeflow drinks bar, and a main dish (pasta or rice).

Generous Thousand Island dressing on the salad topped with roe...

Authentic-tasting basil pasta...

Merlion Wayfarer really likes Saizeriya for its Italian theme and economical Italian-French food and really hopes its management can get its act together soon.

Read More

Sky On 57 - Cocktails On A Panoramic High

Marina Bay Sands

South, Singapore

July 2015

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is introducing STREAT as part of the Singapore Food Festival (SFF) for the first time, as the anchor event to celebrate Singapore's local food and culinary talents. Each year, STREAT will feature a pop-up restaurant helmed by a local chef, accompanied by the chef's specially-curated medley of Singaporean food establishments. And, for the first time, STREAT will be introduced as a part of the SFF as the anchor event to celebrate Singapore’s local food and culinary talents.

Launching STREAT 2015 is internationally-renowned chef Justin Quek. Justin runs Sky on 57, a panoramic restaurant serving Franco Asian cuisine in MBS. With his culinary expertise, he will elevate the street dining experience by amalgamating Singapore’s popular street food with mod-sin cuisine. Up for savouring include Mod-Sin tapas such as Pacific Oysters in Ginger Flower Dressing and Gula Java Crème Brûlée from his pop-up restaurant. Or, indulge in hawker favourites and other innovative dishes from 16 food stalls, such as Nasi Kerabu and Suckling Pig Sandwich with Salted Vegetable Relish.

(Source : Singapore Tourism Board)

As part of the Singapore Food Festival, Merlion Wayfarer went on an experiential gastronomic journey to Justin Quek's Sky on 57.

An introduction to Sky on 57, and the classy entrance...

The Drinks

Drinks were presented to us to kickstart the evening.

Taking our orders for our customized drinks by the inhouse mixologist...

In addition to Justin's personally branded red, the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is absolutely fantastic -

With a tinge of asparagus and green peas, best served chilled, amidst the hues of the setting sun...

The Food

For our visit, Justin personally prepared two dishes for our sampling - the Softshell Crab Salad & the Braised Lamb.

The man himself in action...

 

The platter of condiments...

Preparing the Salad...

The Softshell Crab Salad was light, yet deliciously fragrant with the fried softshell crab. The addition of the ginger flower adds a surprisingly intense touch to a light appetizer.

 Preparing the Braised Lamb...

Careful marination and long hours of cooking removed the lamb smell. Instead, what was left was the rich spice-tinged flavour of lamb with a serving of fresh vegetables.

The View

And of course, to top it all off, the 360-degree view of the entire Marina Bay area is absolutely fantastic!

At sunset...

If you look up, the view of the clear blue sky simply takes your breath away...

When it starts to get blue...

With a matchbox...

 With drinks...

When the golden lights are turned on... 

 When the sky turns dark...

 Looking towards MBFC...

 Here's the Gardens By The Bay view with muted shades of purple and turquoise...

More information on STREAT is available here. The line-up of programs for the Singapore Food Festival is available at Your Singapore. Merlion Wayfarer's coverage of the Singapore Food Festival can be found here.

Thank you for the opportunity...


   

Read More

Poulet - The Rich & The Light

VivoCity
South, Singapore
July 2015

Escargots in Tomato and Garlic Butter:  The strong tomato paste dilutes the fragrance of the butter. The escargots are slightly overcooked this round resulting in a tough rubbery texture.

Oven Roasted Chicken in Mushroom Cream Sauce:  The recipe appears to have changed with a saltier dish now. Instead of swimming in the sauce, each serving now seems to come with only a layer of sauce. However, upon request, the top up is a generous bowl.

Chestnut Rice:  Mild yet flavourful, this dish is a good light accompanying staple to the stronger-tasting dishes above.

Other than that, service at this outlet is mediocre. Some of the seats are positioned below a tree with overhanging leaves. Diners at these tables have to duck under the leaves to sit at their chairs.
     

Read More