Ku Dé Ta, Marina Bay Sands

A banana towers over the Singapore skyline - "The Floating Banana" is what I call it. After all, it does look like a banana half suspended in mid air. Marina Bay Sands is one of the two integrated resorts in Singapore and was the most expensive integrated resort developed in the world as of last year.

AND WOULD YOU JUST LOOK AT THE VIEW?

Unfortunately, the food at Ku Dé Ta Restaurant takes a backseat in this place to see and be seen.

The environment was vibrant and noisy; if you're seated in the inside I hear it can be somewhat stifling (if you call to make a reservation, be sure to request for outdoor patio seating!). Then again, I'd even suggest you go there to knock back a few cocktails and enjoy the view - and just forget about the food.

We ordered a couple of their dishes that had been featured in the Sunday Times as pictured below.

Spicy 'Bo ssam' Pork Belly Salad

Spicy 'Bo ssam' Pork Belly Salad ($13): This was a delightful dish to start the night off. As its name implies, this salad is rather spicy. House made pickles and cucumber vinaigrette lend this salad a tang as well, which is a delight to the palate. The offerings of pork was rather pathetic. Then again, I'm not normally a salad person! 2.5/5

Crispy Skin Bamboo Steamed Duck

Crispy Skin Bamboo Steamed Duck ($58): I don't recall this dish being very 'crispy'. Slices of steamed duck decorated this dish, garnished with kaffir lime and blood plum sauce. Not Impressed :( 1/5

Wok-Charred Cherry Tomatoes & Tofu

Wok-charred Cherry Tomatoes & Tofu ($10): I genuinely enjoyed this dish. Each bite produces a burst of savory flavor in your mouth, and the texture of the wok charred cherry tomatoes (cooked till they were quite soft and bursting with juice) goes very well with the tofu. 4/5

Minced Muscovy Duck

Minced Muscovy Duck (No Longer on the Menu): I think the description says it all. Imagine your mini sang choy bao but at an exorbidant price - voila, you have minced muscovy duck. 

House-Cured Scottish Salmon Tartare

House-Cured Scottish Salmon Tartare (No Longer on Menu): NOOOOOOOOO why did they retire this dish :( The salmon simply melted in the mouth and went perfectly with the Avocado. Pickled seasoning gave the dish more of a kick and saved it from being bland. Simply lovely, and my favorite dish that night. 5/5.

Jumbo Softshell Crab

Crunchy Jumbo Softshell crab ($18): This was fried with green chilli mayonnaise to make it more tender and spice up the dish. By the time it arrived at our table however, the crabs were soggy. Go to Geylang or a good seafood place to get your fix for softshell crabs in my opinion. 2/5

Ku De Ta 40 Flavor Fried Rice

'forty flavor' fried rice ($18): Baked in lotus leaf, this offering tastes exactly like... *drumroll* the sticky peanut glutinous rice you can get at dim sum places. So not worth it. :( 1.5/5. 

We didn't stay for dessert, having been disappointed by most of their dishes so far. The view was great - but you have to pay extra if you're not a guest and you wish to go down to the boardwalk. 

Final Verdict: Having been to Ku De Ta, I think I shall stick to Equinox or Loof in the future.

Recommended for: Yuppies & Tourists

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Ku Dé Ta Restaurant, Singapore
1 Bayfront Avenue
SkyPark at Marina Bay Sands, North Tower
Singapore 018971
Tel (reservations generally required): 6688 7688

Opening Hours
Breakfast: 7 AM - 11 AM
Lunch: 12 PM - 3 PM
Dinner: 6 PM - 11 PM
(SkyBar, Club Lounge & SkyDeck open till late)

The Tastings Room, Marina Square

The Tastings Room is a new establishment that opened on the 2nd of July 2011. Seeing that they were offering a 1-for-1 Pasta Deal, the boyfriend and I decided to have dinner here 2 weeks after it opened. The interior of this restaurant is more cafe-like than anything, with wooden chairs and tables. However, it gives off a classy vibe without being intimidating - I especially love the lights and the modern bar. The waitress that served us looked really young, but she was rather patient in explaining the numerous deals to us & service was definitely not an issue here.  

Describing themselves as a restaurant that specializes in gourmet food and wine, one would expect prices to be exorbitant. As of this post, every single main course on their menu is under SGD $30. On their website at the moment is a promotional wine retailing for $9.99 a bottle... need I say more? GO AND TRY THIS PLACE, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Fine, fine, I'll get on with the review.

I got the Truffle Wild Mushroom Spaghetti ($17.90) which featured spaghetti in a cream-based sauce with herbs, surrounded by mushrooms and crowned with truffle infused foam. Mix them together and voila!, a sinful hint of earthy smoky taste is incorporated into the pasta.

I liked this dish - I adore anything that has truffle in it. My only beef with it was that it was so rich and filling that I had to get the boyfriend to finish off most of it for me. Spaghetti always seems to be more filling than fettucini, penne, fusilli or other forms of pasta. Maybe it's a personal thing.

The boyfriend picked the Tomato Seafood Linguine which was a lighter and more refreshing choice. The tomato pesto that coated the linguine was lovely on the palate, and the seafood was fresh. 

  

Another thing about this place - I love the menus! They're adorable, colorful and filled with lovely quotes that make you want to order lots of wine, haha. If we had set aside more time for dinner I might have been tempted by the wines. Or the Chocolate Durian Cake. Or Aglio Olio. Or the Tiramisu. 

Somehow, I think a second visit (or three) are in the books. P.S. Eggs Benedict for $13.90! I <3.

Recommended for: Large Groups, Intimate Gatherings, First Dates (i.e. Everyone)

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The Tastings Room

6 Raffles Boulevard
Marina Square 
#01-08 (It's outside Marina Square Shopping Centre) 
S(039594)
Tel: 6338 1829

Opening Hours
Sun - Thu: 10 AM - 10 PM
Fri - Sat: 10 AM - 12 MN

Suanthai Restaurant, Killiney

Suanthai Restaurant was awarded Singapore's Top Restaurant in 2008 and 2009. I hadn't heard of this place before - so when my friend Pooh Bear Girl discovered that Suanthai offered an a la carte buffet (as described here), we decided to give it a go.  We visited Suanthai for dinner on a Friday night - although the tables on the inside were unoccupied, we ended up having to sit outside al fresco style since all the tables had been reserved. Definitely not a plus when temperatures are sweltering and you are seated right next to the busy, smoky road.

We (Pooh Bear Girl, Choir Boy and I) paid $19.90 per pax and added $1.99 for free flow of Ice Lemon Tea. For the price, you get a full selection of the 28 items on the standard menu (although some items may only be ordered once). 

Green Mango Salad - I found this offering to be somewhat mediocre. Texture wise this was a very crunchy salad, with tangs of sweetness hidden underneath the otherwise bland, cucumber-like greens (not a fan of cucumber here). This dish was a favourite of Pooh Bear Girl's however.

Deep Fried Egg Beancurd with Special Sauce - If you like the traditional Egg Tofu you get with combination mixed rice, you should love this dish! Think of it like Super Egg Tofu! The beancurd is deep fried to perfection, with a crunchy exterior and tofu that melts in your mouth. Yes, I made it sound like an M&M commercial. The sweet thai chilli with herbs complemented the beancurd to perfection, adding an extra kick to the taste.

Thai Papaya Salad - Really good salad :) Pictured on the top right of the introductory picture, this salad was crunchy and satisfying. The blending of fish sauce, sweet chilli and cashew nuts went very well with the papaya. It ended up acting as a palate cleanser between dishes because of its refreshing nature! I found the long beans to be slightly out of place but then again, that was easily solved.

Thai Spring Roll & Thai Fish Cake - Did Not Like; give these so called 'staples' a miss, in my opinion. The Thai Fishcake was overcooked and rubbery - I gave up on eating it after two bites.

Tom Yum Soup - One of the nicest Tom Yum Soups I've had in a while! This soup was authentic, if rather simple. We ordered the chicken Tom Yum soup - my only regret is that we didn't have sufficient storage space to order the prawn version of this as well. The chicken was nice and tender and the ingredients were well cooked. The soup was the perfect balance of sour & spice... I'm glad to say I didn't cry after finishing a bowl!

Green Chicken Curry - (bottom left of introductory picture) Nothing special, just your standard green curry. The green curry at Suanthai is sweeter and thicker than most places; definitely more coconut milk in this version. 

Boneless Stuffed Chicken Wing - These juicy chicken wings were practically bursting with flavour. The savory seasoning and stuffing could give KFC's 11 secret herbs and spices a run for their money. A Thai delicacy, I'd say this is a must try.

Chicken Wrapped in Pandan Leaf - Hmm. I have mixed feelings about this one. The pandan leaves lent a very nice flavor to the chicken. However, the chicken was too dry - It would have been much better if the chicken was steamed rather than fried. Plus, this dish was literally bite size.... think of a KFC popcorn chicken. Or two popcorn chicken(s?) fused together (I don't know what is with these KFC analogies). 

Thai Style Chicken Satay - Definitely a must try as well. The chicken pieces are larger than the Singaporean style satay. Well seasoned with peanut sauce and sweet chilli, the thai style chicken satay reminds me of a kebab stick sans vegetables. 

Dessert - We tried all 3 desserts (Thai Red Ruby, Steamed Tapioca & Mixed Fruits). The steamed tapioca was a hit, the Thai Red Ruby a miss and the Mixed Fruits was definitely a welcome refresher after a heavy meal like this one.

Recommended For: Romantic Dates (get an inside table!), Intimate Groups, Boys/ Girls Night out

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Suanthai Restaurant
101 Killiney Road
S(239544)
Tel: 6235 4126

Opening Hours
Mon - Fri: 11.30 AM - 2.30 PM, 6 PM - 10 PM
Weekends: 12 PM - 2.30 PM, 6 PM - 10 PM

Wild Honey, Mandarin Gallery

During the time I've been away from Singapore, a spate of All-Day Breakfast cafes have been springing up- such as Hatched, Strictly Pancakes and Wild Honey. While this concept is nothing new in Perth (where I live most of the time), it seems that this craze has caught the attention of many Singaporeans, in particular the yuppie and twenty-something crowd. Wild Honey is an all-breakfast cafe located on the third floor of Mandarin Gallery: be warned, they have a no-reservation policy so be prepared to wait. Some reviews I've read of this place have mentioned up to 1.5 hour waits during busy periods (I only had to wait 10 minutes, yay!). The interior of the cafe is vintage-styled and filled with sofas set around small circular tables. Dim lighting and plump cushions complete the look, lending the cafe a distinctive coziness. 

I ordered the European Breakfast ($18), which is Wild Honey's interpretation of Eggs Benedict (I did mention that I'm a fan of Eggs Benedict in my earlier post, didn't I?).  I have to admit I found the price rather steep for Breakfast ($18 for breakfast, really!? And this is coming from me, living in Perth!). I also ordered an Iced Coffee and my breakfast partner decided on the English Breakfast ($22) with OJ. 

The Eggs Benedict  was made of sautéed mushrooms and poached eggs wrapped in prosciutto (cured uncooked ham) that sat on toasted brioche, topped with hollandaise sauce. The eggs were poached to perfection and unlike Aussie poached eggs, they didn't literally explode when you cut into them (always a positive to remain a neat eater). The proscuitto added a smoky savory taste that went very well with the brioche, eggs and hollandaise sauce in my opinion (this is a first having Eggs Benedict with brioche, but I quite enjoyed it!). Although I loved the mushrooms, I felt that they didn't add much to the dish. Fresh spinach(!!) would have been a much better option, so I thought.

I also have to say that I was rather disappointed with the Iced Coffee ($7). It was mediocre and like most places in Singapore, I was literally served with a glass of black Coffee with ice and sugar syrup. Where is my iced-latte style coffee?! For $7 I would have expected something like that at the very least.

My friend ordered the English breakfast, which he swears is Legendary. Apparently he's already tried it but simply NEEDED to have it again after seeing the menu (which is on an iPad). The breakfast classic contains scrambled eggs, sausages, sautéed mushrooms, baked beans, fried bacon, tomato, a side of potatoes and toast. He didn't want to eat his tomato so I did the honors - and boy, was that tomato fresh. BEST TOMATO EVER (and I don't normally like tomatoes).

While I still think that Wild Honey is overpriced, I might return - if only to try their Tunisian or Mexican breakfast.

Recommended for: Cozy tête à têtes, Couples, Small gatherings


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Wild Honey
333A Mandarin Gallery 
#03-02 Orchard Road
Singapore 238897
Tel: 6235 3900

Opening Hours
Monday to Friday: 9 AM - 10.30 PM
Saturday & Sunday: 8 AM - 10.30 PM