Winter Season - Nagomi Omakase Dinner (Cuppage Plaza) | ThumbsForFood

Remember our review Nagomi? Click here to relook at it! So, we were at Nagomi in December last year to try it's Omakase Dinner, Winter Menu. 

Entrance of Nagomi

When you step into the restaurant, you will feel that the whole ambience is cozy, warm and comfortable. The lights however were a little too dim for us. There are counter seats at the side of the table where you will see rows of taverns filled with different kinds of sake. 

Counter lined with taverns of sake

We were excited to try what was in store for us as we didn't know what was on the menu.

So first up, Oysters. For me, I am a huge fan of oysters! I really love oysters. So, I was pleasantly surprised. The oysters were fresh and succulent. The freshness was really overwhelming in the mouth. So good! I would however, prefer more oysters. One was simply not enough.

Oysters

And then, there was Sashimi Platter. My favorite in the platter is the sea urchin. It was so tasty. The other sashimi was however, disappointing probably because the platter was not cold enough. For us, sashimi was weighed a lot to us. Hence, it fell short of our expectations.

Sashimi Platter

Next up, a hit for us. The cheek of winter jacket fish, if i didn't remember wrongly. It was so good. Definitely one of our favorites. The flesh of the fish is so smooth and so tasty. For me, who is not too much of a fish lover, I loved it.

Cheek of Winter Jacket

Alaskan Crab was next! The flesh of the crab was fresh and I guess that's important when you eat cold seafood. Having said that, it was not particularly astounding in taste.

Alaskan Crab

Yes, we ordered some sake. You can describe your preference of sake and they would pick something that would match your preference. For us, we requested from something sweeter. We really liked what was served.

Sake

Then, cooked food, which were Shishamo, Pork and Chicken. We requested for no beef during the dinner, so there were no beef dishes. The Shishamo was good and fresh. I like that it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The pork and chicken dishes were not anything extraordinary.

Shishamo

Pork

Chicken

Then, we were served the carbohydrate, porridge, which I felt was a good dish to end because it was hot and warms the stomach. Tasty and comforting.

Chicken Porridge

Lastly, the dessert served was Strawberry. Absolutely tasty, sweet and fragrant. The strawberry flavor totally rich and enriching!

Desserts: Strawberries

Overall, I guessed we went with high expectations and there were some misses on the menu, like the Sashimi which weighed a lot to us. If you enjoy more cooked food, the Omakase dinner here will satisfy you. For $140 per person, we felt it was alright, but, the Sashimi could have been much better.

Our Rating: 7.5/10

Nagomi Japanese Restaurant

5 Koek Road

#02-22 Cuppage Plaza

Tel: 6732 4300

Love, Y

Absinthe (Boat Quay): Restaurant Week 2012 | ThumbsForFood

Restaurant Week is in it’s fifth instalment and thistime it’s from 7^th October 2012 to 14^th October 2012.Basically, high quality restaurants from Singapore will serve special 3-courseset lunch and either 3 or 4-course set dinner. Reservations can only make viathe official website.

So, for this Restaurant Week, my friend and I were pleasedto dine at Absinthe. I’m sure French Food lovers would have heard of thispopular fine dining restaurant. It has since moved to Boat Quay from itsprevious premises.

We were greeted by friendly waiters who ushered us to our seats on the top floor of the restaurant. The restaurant consists of 3 main dining areas – al fresco outdoor dining, 1st floor indoors dining and top floor indoor dining. The alfresco dining area overlooks Singapore River. If you love to dine while people watching, choosing the alfresco area would be a good choice.

The menu for Restaurant Week is neatly placed on thetable. Entrees and soup can be substituted depending on the price of the dishyou would like to substitute for. As you can see on the photo below, this waswhat we had to choose from.

As we were making our choices, the waiters promptlyfilled our glasses with iced water and placed 2 slices of bread a piece ofbutter on our plates.

For Entrees, we decided to substitute one of oursalads to Foie Gras (additional $15++). GrilledMarinated Baby Octopus Salad, Mesclun and Olives was really good. The saladdressing went really well with the greens. There was a tinge of vinegar, but,it wasn’t too choking and overpowering that it covered the freshness of thevegetables. Being an octopus lover, I enjoyed the marinated baby octopuses alot. I would say for a salad, it is really appetising and marks a good start tothe meal.

FoieGras,our other entrees, is one of the better tasting foie gras my friend and Itasted. The taste lingers in the mouth. I feel that the sauce berry sauce thatwent with it complemented the oiliness of the foie gras, making me hungrierwith every bite of it. 

Next up, Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup. Mushroom soup is comfort food that warms up the tummy in preparation for the main courses. I think it is not very exceptional, but, tasty.

We paired our food with Chardonnay white wine which goes well with pork, seafood dishes or recipes with creamy or buttery base. 

For our main course, Crispy Braised Kurobuta Pork Belly (photo is precedent) and Black Cod. The pork belly was served with beans and potatoes and aniseed sauce. It is really quite good. For those who do not like to eat fatty parts of a pork belly, not to worry, the fats are minimal and if you remove them, then it would not be as savory. I feel that the sauce went well with the meat and it was fresh, leaving no bad aftertaste. The Black Cod is foamy served with prawn crushed potato. Personally, I did not know how to appreciate the foam. My friend quipped that it felt like soap. The fish was fresh and I like the buttery texture of the cod. I guess for me, I really like the prawn crushed potatoes, you can say better than the cod itself. 

Last but not least, dessert, Upside down Caramelized Apple Cake with Vanilla Cream. I guess the dessert was alright. It was not too sweet which is something that I appreciated. It did not overpower and wash off the lingering taste from the main courses. It was a comfortable way to end the courses. We heard more ravings about the tarts and cakes that were available and would hope to try them one day!

Last but not least, I really like the ambiance in the restaurant. It was relaxing and soothing. The waiters were friendly. I must say the interior of the restaurant was really good with rustic furniture placed around to give the restaurant a vintage feel. We even saw waiters ironing the table cloths of other tables that were empty. It shows ow much thought they put into every detail.  

So, overall, we left with a very good impression of Absinthe. The food is really expensive if you order ala carte. So, I guess we would be dining in if we're up for the set lunches and dinners. We feel that Restaurant Week lunch menu can be made more impressive.

Overall, our ratings for Absinthe: 8.8/10

Must Tries: Foie Gras, Crispy Braised Kurobuta Pork Belly

With Love,

Y.

Absinthe

72 Boat Quay

6222 9068

Mon - Fri: 12:00 - 14:30

Mon - Fri: 18:30 - 22:30

Sat: 18:30 - 22:30

Lawry's, The Prime Rib (Mandarin Gallery) | ThumbsForFood

I love steaks and beef. So when I heard about Lawry's, I was really excited to have a try at the 'best' steakhouse in Singapore.

I really loved the decorations there and the waitress was very attentive to us as well. I have tried both the tea and the lunch there! Review about the Afternoon Indulgence can be found below!

They served the bread before our food was served. The butter was really nice and this served as a good buffer while you wait for your food!

Cream of Mushroom $10. The portion is suitable for one. Good start to the meal. 

The USDA Prime Rib Lunch $69.90- $106.90 (Depending on the cut). The lunch comes with the spinning bowl salad, Yorkshire Pudding, Mashed Potatoes and most importantly, the beef. 

The Famous Original Spinning Bowl Salad. The salad was served chilled and the fork was chilled as well. It was pretty cool to have the waitress preparing the salad in front of you. The salad contains lettuce, watercress, shredded beets, chopped eggs and croutons with Lawry's exclusive dressing. However, I would think that there's nothing too special about this salad. 

Idaho Mashed Potatoes. Pretty creamy and a good side to go along with the more heavy beef! 

Yorkshire Pudding. I like this and it goes well with the brown sauce as well. The puffy appearance just makes me want to eat it! 

The steak [: It comes with the Whipped Cream Horseradish which is a good combination with the beef. It gives a spicy aftertaste (something like wasabi with sashimi) and makes you want to eat more. One point to note is that the famous beef here is actually Roast Beef so it may not appeal to you if you are someone who prefers grilled steak. 

Personally, I like the cut. The meat is tender and blends in with the brown sauce. My favourite part will be the side where the fats are. Taking a bite into the fatty parts is certainly sinful but who cares! Of course, those are the best parts of the meat but for people who are on a lean diet, it would be convenient for them to just skip the fatty parts as the fats are pretty much on the side!

 Afternoon Indulgence [2.30- 5.00 Daily]

Okay, so I have been there several times and one fine day, I decided to try the tea there! Surprisingly, the Afternoon Indulgence was pretty awesome!

For $15, you get to choose 1 Sweet and 1 Savoury from the menu. It is also served with a choice of Italian Coffee, Gryphon Artisan Tea, Soft Drinks or Juices.

Shrimp Quesadilla. This is a really nice and simple snack. The shrimp inside is crunchy and I like it dipped with the sauce by the side!

Crème Brulee with Berries Compote. This is a normal creme brulee you can find, with the addition of the berries. 

All in all, Lawry's is good place for fine dining. The service and the food is certainly one of the best. Of course, the price will not come cheap as well. I would recommend you to visit Lawry's during lunch as they have a 1-for-1 Main Course with DBS/POSB cards. Even after the 1-for-1, the price is still pretty high so be prepared to burn a hole in your pocket if you are planning on visiting the place for some good beef and ambience!

Our ratings of Lawry's, The Prime Rib: 8.5/10 

Must Tries: Idaho Mashed Potatoes, Yorkshire Pudding, Roasted Steak 

Lawry's The Prime Rib Singapore
333A Orchard Road #04-01/31 Mandarin Gallery,
Mandarin Orchard Singapore 238897
Tel: 6836 3333

Operating Hours
Sundays - Thursdays: 11.30am - 10.00pm
Fridays / Saturdays / Eve & Public Holidays: 11.30am - 10.30pm
(Last Order at 10.30pm)

Cheers,

Z