Cocotte Roast Chicken

Cocotte, a very difficult place to get a seat.  The first time I tried was back in Dec, but the place was fully booked for event.  I tried again after a few months, finally got the table, but it was at the late second seating, which start from 830pm.  A bit irriating, but well, I think I had to reschedule my schedule to fit to Cocotte's schedule.

It is located in Wanderlust Hotel, 2 lanes away from Dunlop Street, and 1 lane away from Mayo Street, where the famous Black Sheep cafe is.  The overall mood was very relax and homely, not your classly fussy french restaurant.

Starter:  Pig's Trotters.  Not your typical german's style, but still yummy.  Fried til crispy on the outside, and soft in the inside. 

This is the famous organic chicken - Poulet Roti.  The selling point was that it was a hormone free chicken and marinated for 2 days.  It was served with roast baby potatoes and spring vegetables.  The chicken was roasted to perfection, crispy and fragant, yet the meat was still juicy and tender.  I thought that the portion for the baby potatoes was a big small to complement such a big chicken.  Other than that, it was a hearty meal, enough for 2-3 people to share.  I was so full that I did not even had dessert.  Highly recommended.

Cocotte
Address:

No. 2 Dickson Road
Singapore 209494


Opening Hours:
Lunch:
1200hrs – 1430hrs
(Last order 1400hrs)

Dinner:
Mondays to Thursdays
1830hrs – 2230hrs
(Last order 2200hrs)
Fridays to Saturdays
1830hrs – 2300hrs
(Last order 2230hrs)

Shanghai March 2011

I had not been to Shanghai since 2005.   This time, thanks to a workshop, I had the chance to visit Shanghai again.  It was also a good chance to catch up with my friend D, whom I had not met since 2005.  Gosh!  His son was already so big.  As i was there for a workshop, I did not have a chance to walk around, other than the Bund where we had our dinner.  The Bund looks different after the renovation for the World Expo.  The road seems to be wider.  I enjoyed Shanghai's weather in early March, cool in the day and a bit cooler in the night (about 2-9 degrees).  The only thing that i did not enjoy was my stomach.  I had stomach problem on the 2nd day and it was really painful.  Somehow when I went to Shanghai, I would return home sick.  Was it me or the water or the air??  Maybe I should not try again for the 3rd time. 

Team Photo:

Buffet Dinner @ Tiffany Cafe Furama Hotel Singapore

Another bad buffet experience.  So bad that though I had my camera with me, I did not feel like taking photo.  The food display was bad.  There was only 2 live station, one BBQ squids which have been cooked, and the other was a noodle station.

Sushi felt like those in Carrefour.  The cooked food were nothing fantastic too.

Place was quite empty, other than a big group of army boys.  The table and seating arrangement were bad too.  Tables were arranged in rows, it felt like a canteen.  To make it worse, it was very cramped.  If you are too fat, you probably cannot walk to your seat without distrubing your neighbour from the next table.

Please, if you have the money, save it up for better place.

Worst Buffet in Singapore?

I had one of my worst buffet experience when i went to Triple 3 in Mandarin Singapore.

On a Saturday night, it was priced at $98+++ per person (I did not know the price before I went there as the venue was chosen by my friend V, V did not know the price too!  V chose it because he had vouchers)  We only got to know the price when we saw the bill!

Like other 5 stars hotel buffet, there was a decent selection of food. 

Japanese:  Sushi and sashimi counter with the usual suspects.  I asked for some salmon belly, and the chef prepared a total of 6 slices for me.

Japanese II:  Tempura counter, freshly fried.  Prawns and vegetables tempura, and they have the japanese tapoica (the purple colour ones). 

Japanese III:  Teppanyaki.  Beef, Bean Sprouts, Prawns and Mushrooms.  Average, though I applauded the less use of MSG.

Italian:  Pasta, prepared freshly on the spot.  You can choose your ingredients, seafood or ham.  It was alright, though the pasta felt like the mass market, don't expect any homemade pasta.

Indian:  Currys, Naan, Briyani, Papadum.  I skipped most of the curries as they did not look appertising.

Chinese Roast:  Roast Duck and suckling pig.  Disappointing.  The skin of the roast duck and the suckling pig were more hard than crunchy.  The chilli lack lustre.  There was also noodle soup, though I skipped that too.

Seafood:  There was lobster with black pepper.  Actually I think that they were cray fish. 

Roast:  Beef and Ham.  Alright, edible.

Sweets:  Quite a big range including ice cream, but nothing striked home.

Overall:  3/10.  Highly not recommended, especially with such a hefty price tag!

Lleno @ NEX Singapore- Toothache experience

My colleague Banana was singing praises about this place, so I chose this place when meeting T and N since we were nearer to Northeast.

Lleno is derived from a Spanish phrase, means ‘to be full of praise / full house. It served quality modern culinary fare ‘European cooking techniques with an Asian twist’. I reached there at 7pm, surprised to find that there was only 1 table. T arrived on time, and we proceeded to order while waiting for N.

We had the escargots with mushrooms as starters. A small appetizer, there were only 4 of them. They were de-shelled, and served on the mushroom. Quite good, though I still prefer those served in a shell.

The next dish was the Hake Fish, surprising small piece, probably the same size as my palm. (Minus the fingers).  Definitely not enough for a big eater.  The fish was fresh but a bit too salty.

The last challenge was the ribs.  It came in 4 big pieces, so it passed on the quantity.  However, it failed terribly on the quality.  It was too tough, and after chewing one piece, my gums ached.  I thought I was the only one, and upon asking, i realised that I was not alone.  Probably age is catching up.  Such ribs are only for the young only.

The sweet was Earl Grey Tiramisu.  Quite special, though I found it too sweet for me.

I ended the nights felling nostalgic with a bad toothache.

Highly recommended NOT to go.