Absinthe Birthday Celebration

Here i go again, another round of birthday celebration, with my good friend T.  This time, the location was at Absinthe, a restaurant recommended by Lynx for its Lobster Bisque.  Absinthe is located at Bukit Pasoh, a stone away from Outram MRT.  Absinthe is historically described as a distilled, highly alcoholic (45–74% ABV) beverage.  It is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from herbs, including the flowers and leaves of the herb Artemisia absinthium, commonly referred to as "grande wormwood". Absinthe traditionally has a natural green colour and therefore it is commonly referred to the Green Fairy.  I suppose if a restaurant named itself after some spirit, it would be famous for that!

We started the night with some beer outside the restaurant.  Right after we ordered the beer, I was immediately impressed by the restaurant manager, Mr Philippe Pau, who offered to take my bag and jacket in.  The other waiter, a tall & funny malay guy, (Lets call him Funny) recommended that we have some ham to go with the beer, and he brought along some bread too.

After the beer, we proceeded into the restaurant, and we ushered to our table, where my bag was nicely palced at a small leather stool next to our table.

As usual, I left it to T to choose the wine.  He is good with that, using feeling to choose that.  However with the extensive wine list, he asked the tall waiter to recommend.  The waiter was very knowledgable, and knew his wine very well.  He recommended a wine, based on the main course that we were having.

I started the night with the Lobster Bisque with cognac, while T had the special appertiser, prawns with almond.  Funny recommended a glass of white to go with our appertiser. 

Lobster Bisque with Cognac

Prawans with almond

Complimentary Foie Gras, with pancake and raspberry.  Foie Gras was pan fried, and the pancake took away the oilness feeling.  

Close up:

T's main:  Beef Tenderloin, medium rare.

Rack of Lamb medium well.

Wine for the night.  I am not an expert in wine, and i like something that is too not dry, while T prefer something dry, full bodied.  So we gave Funny the challenge, to choose something in between, and he recommended this.  He said that this wine will go very well with the 2 red meats that we have ordered, and after breathing, it should be good to drink.  I was very impressed with how dedicated Funny was to his job.  He came back to ask if he could try some of the wine during the later part of the dinner, so that he could recommend it to his clients next time. 

According to Funny, the wine was a bit "short" such as it did not really remain long in the palate.  We assured him that we loved it :-)

I ordered a dessert to share, the Warm Valhrona Chocolate Fondant and Macadamia Nut Ice Cream.  (Those on the right of this photo).  The rest were complimentary from Absinthe, and they wrote of the plate, Happy Birthday Babe!  Hee hee, so my name was Babe! The berries (those on the left) were very very good.

T was telling me the history of Absinthe, and he wanted to verify it with Funny.  Funny asked Mr Philippe to tell us the story, as being a french, he knows his history very well.  Mr Philippe not only told us the story, he also let us try 2 different type of the Absinthe.  I was very intrigued by the set up for the Absinthe.

This was how it looked:

I had the one on the left, thought it looked more greenish and not as strong as the one on the right.

This holds water, to drip on the glass with the metal spoon, with sugar.

The Absinthe I had.

I had a great night, good food, good wine, great service and most importantly, great company.  The only slight complain that i had was that some tables with some french men were a little noisy at times, probably due to the Absinthe! 

Overall:  10/10
Absinthe

48 Bukit Pasoh Road
Singapore 089858
Tel: (65) 6222 9068

The Sage Restaurant- Another Birthday Celebration

Another round of birthday celebration..heehee :-))
This time, GT and I checked out The Sage Restaurant, which was alwyas on my "to go" list.  Initially we were on waiting list because the restaurant had a tentative booking for a private event.  The event was cancelled, and we managed to secure a table.  And perhaps because of this, the whole place was empty, we were the only 2 diners, and it felt like we have booked the whole restaurant!  It was kind of strange feeling, because all the attention were on us!

Nice table setting:

Their Menu Degustation, but we did not go for that, 6 dishes are way too much!

Wine for the night

Escargot & Prawn Risotto

A risotto with Burgundy escargot and tiger prawn bits flambéed with pastis, parmesan crusted poached egg 

and parsley veloute.
The escargot were deshelled, not like what i have imagined it to be.  It was juciy, and the crusted poached egg reminded me of Egg Benedict when the yolked oozed out.

Hokkaido Scallop

Seared Hokkaido scallops on potato blinis with chilled capellini salad tossed with crème fraiche, smoked salmon and fresh dill, Avruga caviar.  Scallops were succulent and juicy, and the pork belly was crisy.

Main:  Beef Cheek

Caramelized 300 days grain fed Black Angus beef cheek topped with horseradish parfait, Layonnaise potatoes with bone marrow and sautéed field mushrooms

This was also not what we have imagined it to be.  We have imagined it to be a big piece of beef cheek, did not expected it to be in small pieces.  Nevertheless, it was tender & juicy.

Duck Confit

Deboned duck leg confit meat wrapped in cabbage with fricassee of field mushrooms and foie gras, crispy duck skin with potato puree and Pommery mustard jus.  Can you see how crispy the skin was?  The fats just melt in your mouth, and while you ate it, you can hear the crispness.

Complimentary birthday cake for me (:

At first we have decided o skip dessert and have coffee, so we were pleasantly surprise when they gave us the complimentary cake.  The candle happended to be GT's favourite colour, blue & white.  The raspberry sorbet was a perfect partner to the rich chocolate cake, and those crispy oats gave the cake the extra texture.

We adjorn to Robertson Quay for another round of drink, before i got home to get ready for the Semi Final between Netherland & Uruguay.  It was a great evening, thanks GT :-)

Overall is 8.5/10.  Service was friendly, though not exactly knowledgable, especially on the wine list.

Sage, The Restaurant

No. 7 Mohamed Sultan Road

Singapore 238957

Tel: (65) 6333 8726

Ikoi - Another birthday get together

Ikoi- Heard some much rave about it, and the difficulties of making reservation in this place..Finally it is my turn!!!  Assigned Mel to do the logistics, actually he was supposed to be the one buying me the dinner for the tips that I have been giving me to woo his girls (some other tips too :P), but he decided that he shall share out the cost. Hee heee...Actually nothing of that sort, it was just the usual suspects getting together :-)

Ikoi is located at first floor of Miramar Hotel, tucked nicely at a corner.  I was lazy to walk 2 bus stops distance, and decided to take a bus.  Guess what, I bumped into Harrison & WJ, no wonder we are friends.  We were sitted to a nice corner, typical Japanse sitting and we had to take off our shoes, luckily nobody wore a torn socks that day ;-)

Ikoi served Ala Carte Buffet, means you can order and eat as much as you want.  Before we ordered, they served us some appertisers, such as smoked salmon, chips and Edamame.  We left it to Mel for the ordering task, and we just randomly add the quantity, attempting to confuse the waitress.

Smoked Salmon

Tapioca Chips

Grilled Shishamo.  I always call it pregnant fish, and was chided by WJ.  They have a name, you know!

Assorted Sashimi.  Very fresh & sweet.  Excellent!

Can you see the Wasabi?  Precious.  I was told that they give you enough for the night, and would only refill upon special request!  So we guard it with our life.

Sword Fish Sashimi, ordered by WJ.

Yakitori.  Not the best Yakitori that I had, meat was a bit tough and the sauce not as sweet.

Curry Don for Harrison.  WJ & I decided not to have too much carbo, so that we can eat more of the rest of the food!

Another Don for Melvyn.

Potato Croquette.  There was 2, but before i could take a photo, Harrison ate the other.  Crispy on the outside, hot and soft in the inside.

Tapioca Tempura.  My favourite of all the tempura.  I have always love tapioca, regardless whether it was tempura or baked tapioca.

I finished the night with Macha Green Tea ice cream.  Desserts are not included in the buffet, and you have to pay extra for it.  But well, a meal is not complete without dessert! 

 Melvyn is the one that is sensitive to the camera

Me & WJ

The men.  Harrison did not look very happy to take photo.  Lunch with Harrison was always great, as he always delivered a fatal one liner.

Overall 9/10 for the value & the quantity.  Service is a bit slow, but friendly.  Will be back when I have a craving for Jap food.

Ikoi Japanese Restaurant

401 Havelock Road #01-01 Hotel Miramar Singapore

Tel: +65 6887 3788

Prive- Round 1 of Birthday Get Together

I went to check out Prive, both to catch up with P and also to celebrate my birthday (in advance).  I decided to go there earlier to check out the place to take some photo.  Prive is located in Keppel Bay, about 10-15 minutes walk from Harbour Front MRT.  It is a nice walk, quiet and you can see sunset, Sentosa and Cable cars in the background.  There are joggers along the bridge, definitely would be a nice place to jog, and admire the sunset and yachts at the same time.

Chris asked why are the buildings slanted!!?  Haha

There are 3 Prives along Keppel Bay, one is the bakery, one is the pub and the other is the restaurant.  We made a reservation at the restarant to have dinner, and we chose to sit outdoor to enjoy the ambience of the Keppel Bay.  It was nice and quiet, not very good for taking photo as it was too dark.  Price are not cheap for the quantity of the portion, but it was definitely good food. 

A half pint Guinness to start the night.   I was very tempted to take the mug for Lilian..but failed.

Bread Basket.  The breads are warm & soft, especially the raisins one.  And they allow refill

Portobello Mushrooms

French Duck Leg, with Barley!  Weird combination, but taste good.  Not exactly the crispy skin type of duck confitt, but it was nice.  Meat was tender and juicy.

Some pudding with ice cream.

Rich Royal Chocolate Cake from Prive Bakery.  The chocolate cake was very rich, and a tad too sweet for me, so much so that I do not need to add sugar to my coffee!

Me & P

Overall 8.5/10.  A recommended place to go to get away from the hustle & buzz of the city, chill out with your friends and admire the yachts :-)

I told Lilian that i will bring her here, for the half pint ;-)

Prive Restaurant

2 Keppel Bay Vista GF Marina at Keppel Bay Singapore