The Cellar Room

I like restaurants with their own wine retail shops. They intend to have lower mark-ups on the wines, and that’s a big plus point in my book. Moomba at Boat Quay is a good place, with solid good food to boot. Incontro at Robertson, is another favourite of mine (although I recommend going for the cheese/meat platters rather than the main courses).

I have heard of the Cellar Door for the longest time but I never got around to checking out the place. Vivo is just one of those places I don’t frequent so often. They have recently removed the corkage charge, previously imposed when you buy from the retail shop to consume at the bistro. So I figured this was a sign for me to check out the place.

The first male waiter who served us was very friendly, telling us about the wines and cheese they had. The other lady who served us subsequently had a really sour face and made us feel second class (she was fawning over the Caucasian couple beside us!).

For the month of October, they have on promotion some wines which are discounted. I thought the two whites we ordered were rather good value:

Ata Rangi Pinot Gris 2010 (Normal $48.60 OFFER $41.31) – we had a bottle of this and it went beautifully with the cheese platter. I think it would be a very pleasant drink on its own.

Villa Maria Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Taylor Pass 2009 (Normal $54.90 OFFER $46.67) – this was one of the more complex NZ SBs I’ve had to-date. There’s some chalkiness, which was interesting. Strangely, this complimented our Eggs Benedict well.

Foodwise, the selection was not large. There were quiches and chicken pies, all-day breakfast sets, some main courses etc. Desserts were limited to mainly cakes. But what they did have, they did reasonably well. Don’t order the mussels though – expensive and very mediocre. I would be back to try the quiche and chicken pie.

And more wines. Of course.

Carrefour Wine Fair

When it comes to buying wines from Supermarkets, Carrefour (Suntec City) is my number one choice. Their range is huge, and their wines are consistently the cheapest. With my POSB Everyday Card I also get a 5% rebate on all purchases – it’s one sweet deal. So it’s no surprise that I wound up at the Carrefour International Wine Fair 2011 last Sunday.

This time around, the wines featured include: Chateau Malartic Lagraviere 2009 Pessac Leognan Rouge, Connetable Du Chateau Talbot 2008 Saint Julien, Reserve De La Comtesse 2009 Pauillac, Chateau Bernadotte 2009 Haut-medoc, Chateau Marquis De Terme 2009 Cru Classe Margaux, Chateau Soutard 1981 Grand Cru Classe Saint Emilion Grand Cru, Arthur Metz Alsace and Carrefour Demazel 2000 Bordeaux Rouge. Prices are in the brochure below.


But I bought none of those. Me, I was just there to stock up on cheap Bordeaux. Like I was telling a friend the other day, one mustn’t spoil one’s wine palate too much. As it is, my regular wine dinners with vino shifu has “exposed” me to too many expensive (fabulously delicious) wines. My palate has, GASP, unwittingly become DISCERNING!

For casual drinking, I think I should stick to under $25 wines. Carrefour is the perfect place to stock up on these. There’s a good range from Bordeaux which, although non-impressive, are still very enjoyable. The Chateau Lartigue at $18 and the Chatueau Cajus at $25 are perfect examples. As is the South African Tall Horse Pinotage at $19 – a reliable everyday red. Slightlier pricier at $29, Château Lamothe Bergeron is an excellent buy (one of my faves).

I also discovered an excellent value sauvignon blanc - Clearwater Cove from Yealand Estate, Malbourough, NZ. Very easy drinking with green-pepper aromas and subtle characteristic gooseberry flavours. At $19 a pop, I made sure to stock up a few bottles!

The fair will be ongoing for a bit so be sure to check out these wines. Erm.. if you are a cheap drunk like me lah. Check out how much we stocked up on!

Event Details:
Date: 30 September – 12 October 2011
Venue: Carrefour Suntec Atrium

I Want to be a Domesticated Goddess (Part 1)

I’ve never been much of the homemaker sort. My friends will probably tell you that is the understatement of the year. Even when I moved out to my own place this year, I still bring mum my laundry and she very promptly arranges a part-time maid to clean my house every week. I figure it’s time for a change.

I am still adverse to cleaning, of course. But cooking, now, that’s a different story. I love love love food. And I’m darned good at hunting down the best chow around. Surely that is a sign of talent? Haha. Cooking can’t be that hard, can it?

Well, there was only one way to find out. So a few weekends ago I invited some close friends over to the Shoebox for a roast beef dinner. I am told it is easy to prepare a roast beef. Invest in a good cut, marinate well, throw into the oven and pay it some attention while it cooks itself. This was my plan for my 2kg (serves 8) of meat:

5.30pm - Preheat oven to 220c, put beef with halves of onion, sear roast for 30min
6pm - Turn heat down to 160c, baste #1 Parboil potatoes in salted water for 10min.
6.30pm - Put potatoes into oven, baste #2
7pm - Baste #3
7.10pm - Remove roast from oven when middle is 50c. Turn up temperature for another 20min to crisp potatoes.
7.30pm - Let meat stand for 20min with foil over it. Remove potatoes from oven. Serve!

To be honest, I had Domino’s number on speed dial, just in case the roast beef experiment went wrong. But guess what, it was a tremendous success! Check out my perfect medium rare roast! Whoever invented the meat thermometer is a genius *grin*

The roast potatoes and onions were simply lovely too. Yellow onions taste fantastic when roasted. Keeping the potato skins on was a good decision too, everyone loved the contrast between the creamy insides and the crisp outside. All that time in the oven soaking up the fat from the roast imparted so much flavour into them.

I am so proud of myself. See, Liz can cook!

Of course, minor victories like these are best shared with the excellent company of friends, and of course, the special bottle of Rebourgeon-Mure Pommard 1er Cru "Clos des Arvelets" 2007 I popped open.

This is definitely something I would try again. A pork loin, perhaps, the next time?

Tastings Room

I am still sorely lamenting the fact that I rushed from the office to Morton’s Bar at 6.15pm and I failed to get any of the free steak sandwiches. Greedy fellow patrons who grab two or three sandwiches at one go – shame on you.



We were starved after our martinis and needed dinner desperately. Since I had a hungry deal 30% discount voucher, I suggested checking out Tastings Room, located not too far at Marina Square. The place was packed on a Friday but I had called 30 minutes ahead to book and they very nicely showed our group of 6 to a small private dining area. Heh. I feel like a VIP.



The food orders came fast – excellent. A few of us had the duck confit ($23) and it was pretty tasty, albeit dry in some parts. I liked the mash potatoes. Others who had the seared salmon ($23) said it was fresh and well-cooked too. Only the pumpkin risotto ($18) was not well-received.



We couldn’t not try the wines, given that the place was called Tasting Room. Bert suggested trying a Burgundy (atas palate) so we got a lower-price-range bottle of Bouchard Père & Fils Beaune du Château Pinot Noir at $89. Hmmm, nice honeysuckle and chalk nose, soft and easy to drink, but it’s lacking liveliness.



We weren’t too impressed with the first pinot, so for our second bottle we settled for a good value $64 “cannot-fail-us” bottle Kiwi pinot – the Ata Rangi Crimson Pinot Noir 2009. It’s nothing too elegant, just plain vibrant black cherries and plum, but we liked it.



I can’t say the food was fantastic but it was adequate enough for me to log on to hungrydeals again the next day to buy another discount voucher. Will return to try the appetizers and maybe a bottle or two of the other wines.

The Dempsey Brasserie

It might be a new joint but the Dempsey Brasserie rocked. Good customer service is such a refreshing breath of fresh air! We were impressed from the moment we arrived and the manager (I think) warmly showed us to our table. A waiter almost immediately appeared and asked if we would like some iced water. Nice.



"Pick a nice bottle of white wine" Papa Bear says. Heh, ok. I look at the wine list and decided to pick a bottle of 2008 Valduero Sobresaliente 9 from Ribera del Douro, Spain ($65) which looked interesting. The wine was a light straw colour and had a very nice aroma of pineapple (100% albillo grape). I was surprised by how light it was, until a quick google on the iphone showed that it only had a 9% low alcohol graduation.

It was just the 3 of us so we decided to order a few things to share - trio of mini burgers ($17), mussels in mariniere ($36), rocket salad ($11) and roasted poussin chicken ($28). We upgraded the fries (came with mussels) to truffle fries with grated parmesan for an additional $5.

The mini burgers were pretty good, although nothing can beat my favourite ones from Overeasy. Besides ketchup and chilli sauce, it came with a buttery sauce which I thought was quite nice. Roast chicken was nice and moist but the portion was a bit small for the 3 of us to share. More please.

The mussels and truffle fries were definitely winners. Mussels were sweet and fresh, much better than those from Brussel Sprouts. We couldn't resist drinking the mariniere sauce like a soup and cleaned the pot dry. Very satisfying, haha.

Mama Bear came to join us later and we decided to order some desserts to share. The chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream ($14) was excellent but the suzette with orange and vanilla ice cream ($12) was a disappointment. Oh well, we can't win it all.

Kudos to the excellent service staff who made our dinner such a pleasant one. I'm making plans to return with Sis for brunch.

Rocca Giovanni Barolo 2004 DOCG

I recently splurged on a collection of Italian wines, including some Rocca Giovanni Barolo 2004 DOCG. Vino Shifu has advised that I stagger consumption of the 3 bottles to see how it develops over the years. So last night, I popped open the first bottle. With some aged gouda cheese, some figs and raisins. Life is good.

“Barolo is a red DOCG wine produced in the northern Italian region of Piedmont. It is made from the Nebbiolo grape and is often described as one of Italy's greatest wines. Barolo is often described as having the aromas of tar and roses, and the wines are noted for their ability to age and usually take on a rust red tinge as they mature.”

I decantered the wine for an hour before pouring. The nose was a bit tight at first but it slowly opened up. Smells of dark fruit and earth (hmm I couldn’t pick up the Nebbiolo grape’s characteristic rose aroma though). The wine is rusty garnet, quite light coloured and non-opaque.

Ok, a sip. Medium bodied and full of dark cherries (ok, I can detect the rose now). Loving the nice looong finish. Tannins go well with creamy fatty cheese, yums.

This barolo was likely to be made in the “modern way" with new French oak. It’s quite drinkable even though it’s relatively young. More pleasurable and less “intellectual”, as compared to the high acidity/tannin of more “traditional” Barolo. In this (Barolo) war I think I’m on the side of the modernists.

They say a well-aged Barolo will turn lighter, so I shall wait a few more years to see if that’s true. It’s also supposed to become more velvety as the tannins integrate into the wine. 25 year old Barolo, anyone?

"As a young person, you love big, rich flavors -- so you drink Barolo. In your middle age, you seek something more solid, something less obvious -- so you drink Barolo. In your wisest years, you want a wine that allows you to think about and savor the pleasures of maturity, both its maturity and your own -- so you drink Barolo."

Happy Crabs

I read about Happy Crabs from a food blog (http://food.recentrunes.com/) and it’s been on my radar ever since. Delicious BBQ crabs at coffee shop prices. BYOB friendly. Best of all, located at Guillemard Village (old badminton hall), it’s a 5 min walk away from my new place!

So on Saturday night, I gathered my group of happy shiny people to check out Happy Crabs. At first, the westies in the group were reluctant to make the journey. By the end of the night, we all cheerily agreed it was a “damm-shiok-damm-affordable” meal, well worth their pilgrimage.

It’s a relatively new coffee shop – spacious, clean and breezy. It wasn’t crowded on a weekend night (let’s hope it stays that way). Happy Crabs is a modest stall tucked away in the corner. We excitedly ordered 3 king crabs from the stall at $25 each. Yums. They were fresh and full of creamy roe. They provide 3 sauces – chilli, mayo and wasabi with soya sauce, but I preferred the crabs on its own. The stall owner also recommended we try the fried fish. Hmm, crispy and the chili was hot and spicy, I like.

To supplement the meal we also ordered from the other stalls. I was hoping to try the thai food but it was closed. Oh well. we settled for two bowls of pig organ soup which was surprisingly satisfying, and a fried chicken cutlet from the western food stall which was well-executed.

It was sheer perfection – excellent company and plentiful good wine (my Saint Aubin was a good buy) served in atas riedel wine glasses we brought along. We paid the drink stall $1 for an ice bucket to keep our whites chilled. Shiok!

Wine Dinner at Shin Yeh

We paired german wines with Taiwanese food last night. Epiphany Wines had a Hans Flach wine dinner at Shin Yeh and oh man, the food and wines were really excellent value. Kudos to Irene from Epiphany for a fantastic night out, been so long since we last met and she was looking hot, that babe.

We started off with a combination platter of Homemade Taiwan Sausage, Roasted Mullet Fish Roe with Cuttlefish, Golden Mushrooms in Mustard Sauce, paired with a Ravensburg Muller Thurgau Kabinett halbtrocken 2003. The second and third dish were the Braised Shark’s Fin soup and the Steamed Sliced Cod with Superior Soya Sauce, paired with a Ravensburg Silvaner Kabinett 2003.

I didn’t like the fish roe with cuttlefish combination, it was way too fishy. But the shark’s fin soup was really yummy (apologize to those with ethical issues here) and the cod was silky smooth - shiok. This was my first time coming across the Müller-Thurgau and Silvaner grapes, I felt a bit suaku. The muller-thurgau grape is apparently the second most widely planted grape in Germany, after the Riesling grape. Silvaner, is an old variety that once was the most important grape in Germany. Interesting, I liked how light the two wines were.

Next up were the “heavier” dishes. I loved the Crisp-fried Prawn Rolls with Yam Paste – crispy indeed and very fragrant and well-executed. The highlight of the meal was the 脆皮如歌, Crispy Roasted Pigeon. It was EXCELLENT. Not as good as the Shatin Pigeon in Hong Kong, but possibly the best I have had in Singapore. We had these two dishes with some red wines various friends had generously brought to share at dinner – some very nice pinots there, thank you.

The meal ended up with a hearty bowl of Taiwanese-style Beef Noodles, nothing like a hot bowl of beef broth to make me smile. “You have a very healthy appetite”, Paul commented, as I slurped the bowl clean. “Thank you” I replied, grinning widely.

For dessert, we had Sweetened Almond Jelly with Peach in Syrup. This was interesting, the almond jelly was textured and chewy! I rather liked this twist. We ended the meal with two Rieslings - Spatlese 2005 and Auslese 2004, and a Scheurebe Auslese 2005. Yum. Sweet/dessert wines can do no wrong.

The dinner was priced at $90++ per person but we had a big group so it was $80++ per person.

I was quite intrigued with the shape of the bottles the wines came in - it reminded me of the bottles of X.O. my dad used to have. A quick google showed up some bits of trivia – the bottle is called a Bocksbeutel and it’s commonly used for wines from Franconia in Germany. The bottle is deliberately flattened for practical purposes, for example, to keep the bottle from rolling away on uneven ground.

Problem: In my semi-intoxicated state last night, I believed I purchased a few bottles of silvaner from Irene. Erm, how does one store these bottles in the wine fridge? *scratch head*

Wine Dinner at MLSP

I hadn’t hung out with Vivo Shifu for a while, so when he asked me to join for the June Ribera del Duero dinner at My Little Spanish Place, I was quite happy to join. The promise of free-flow jamon definitely helped sweeten the deal haha.

So there I was, blind tasting various (blends of) tinto fino (the local name for tempranillo) and stuffing my face with jamon. Whilst the offerings from Pago de los Capellanes, Domino de Atauta and Protos were all fairly decent, it turns out my favorite was the Crianza 2008 from Pago de los Capellanes – what can I say, I’m a cheap drunk!

Dinner with wines was priced at $90+, good value, considering the jamon-ful dinner and “freebies” of rose wine. Foodwise other than the jamon, the paella was flavorful although a tad dry for my liking. I remember from the last time we celebrated Bev’s birthday here that the meatballs, grilled squid and mushroom tapas were a hit, so be sure to sample those if you happen to visit MLSP.

Incontro

Let me let you in on a little secret. The wine prices at Incontro are AMAZING. Take the Torzi Matthews Frost Dodger Shiraz 2008 (delicious burst of dark berry and tobacco) from Eden Valley for example. I have a bottle in my fridge which I bought from Wine Directions for $51. Over at Incontro, you can order it for $54 a pop – the (what) mark-up is wayyy reasonable. I wish I could say the same for many other restaurants out there.

Incontro is this rustic Italian bistro and bar located at Robertson Quay and it is officially my favourite wine bar for now. The food is not particularly impressive but it’s good enough. Give me my wine and some Tête de Moine with crackers and I’m a happy girl. In true Italian hospitality, the service is friendly and attentive.

Unlike many other wine bars which carry mostly mainstream labels, what I like about Incontro is its carefully selected wine portfolio which the owners personally enjoy and recommend. When I complimented Amy on the fantastic setup she had going, she replied that they wanted to create a haven for people to enjoy wines at affordable prices.

We had the “La Braja” 2007 from Piemonte last night and it was a cracker, that one! I think you will find me at Incontro A LOT.

Nueva Cuba

It was the first launch of “Wine Tastings Evenings” by Trevor and I decided to show support by rounding up a group of wino friends for the event. Tastings of 6 different wines from France along with 6 Cuban tapas. $65/pax. A pretty neat deal, considering what we had.

I was there early and as usual I was starving. We got some tostadas to tide us over first – creamy cheesy shrimp and mozzarella cheese mushroom – good stuff, especially paired with the welcome glass of Chateau d'Esclans Whispering Angel Rose.

Finally my group of 8 arrived and the tasting started proper. First up, a nice tapas platter to pair with 3 white wines. To be honest, I’ve only been to Nueva Cuba for drinks, so I was pleasantly surprised by how good the food was. I really enjoyed the quesadilla, salmon wrapped asparagus and skewered mushrooms. Not to mention the glass of Sacha Lichine, yums.

The second tapas platter was just as impressive as the first. Here we had beef, salsa and cheese layered tortilla (I think that was what we had but it was excellent, in any case), some chorizo tostada, and bacon wrapped asparagus. 3 reds were paired with this, my favourite being the Bordeaux from Thunevin Presidial.

Verdict: I’ve known for a long time that Nueva Cuba, like its Clarke Quay counterpart Cuba Libre, serves up the best mojitos in town. It’s good to know that they have now also expanded their wine list for the benefit of us wino-sapiens. Most importantly, they serve really delicious food! I see myself making return visits to further explore the food menu here.

Shopping for a Wine Fridge

As many of you are aware, I am (aspire to be) a wine geek. Now that I’m getting my own flat, the single important appliance I want to purchase is a wine fridge. A big one, for 100+ bottles. Yes, I have outgrown my teeny 16-bottle fridge!

So I've been doing some research. Here’s sharing my two cents on buying a wine fridge:

Some Things to Consider

1. First of all, you gotta decide how many bottles you want to store. As a rule of thumb, I would recommend more capacity than you think you need. Think about it, most wine distributors only deliver free above a dozen bottles, so the bottles accumulate very easily I tell you.

2. If you enjoy both red and wine wine, you can consider buying a fridge with dual temperature zones. I thought about it but decided this feature wasn’t worth the extra cost. I figure it’s no trouble storing all my wines at red wine temperature and then popping the whites into my normal fridge just before I want to drink them.

3. The experts recommend wooden shelves instead of metal shelves. Something about the former having more vibration control. But anyway most of the wine fridges have wooden shelves, so I wouldn’t be too bothered about that.

4. Another factor is humidity. Most wine fridges (versus normal fridges) maintain the proper humidity level, but the fancier ones still circulate the air within to prevent mold and mildew.

5. Insulated glass panes are important to help maintain a constant temperature but again, most wine fridges come with them.

6. Singapore is hot so if you can, get a fridge with an opaque door. I hear from friends that glass doors tend to have very bad condensation.

7. My vino shifu advises me to get a unit with more shelves so that I need not stack the wines on top of each other. Not only is it difficult to take inventory, it's hard to get out the bottles from the bottom. He’s drunk many bottles, so I say, listen to the man.

Some market intelligence (prices correct as at May 2011). Please note I only listed the (few) brands within my budget and these are the models with many shelves, which is ideal:

Vintec V110 SGESS (110 btls) - Hong Liang (tel: 62736109/ 62783331) $2,000
Kadeka KA 110WR (110 btls) – Hong Liang $1,430

Europace EWC 1108 (111 btls) - Europace (tel: 6457 3678) $1,740

In a perfect world, I would splurge on a Miele 187-bottle fridge without batting an eyelash. Unfortunately, my pockets are not deep enough. In fact, my budget for a 100+ bottle is less than SGD 2K - quite a stretch, considering what’s out there in the market. Luckily for me, I eventually got the manager of Cuba Nueva to sell me his old unit cheap - $500 for a (model to be inserted) is one sweet deal, thank you Trevor.

Hubers Food & Wine Fair

If you are looking for a place to hang out on weekends, this might be worth checking out. In conjunction with the Straits Wine Company, Huber's Butchery at Dempsey is having an outdoor food and wine fair. Up for sampling are a selection of meats, cheeses and antipasto, with (they say perfect) wine pairings no less.

Wine. Cheese. My two favourite things :)

Event details
Date: 28 - 29th May, Sat & Sun
Time: 9.30am - 6pm
Location: Huber's Butchery, 18A Dempsey Road
Price: $25 (Full access for 1 day, rain or shine)

Get your tickets at Huber's Butchery or the Straits Wine Company.

Cafe de Hong Kong

Last Friday I gathered some vino-minded friends for a riesling-themed wine dinner. I organized it at 新天地小厨 Cafe de Hong Kong, having heard good reviews on the food, no corkage policy and excellent service which includes providing proper stemware.

Wine

We had 4 rieslings that night:
1. Frey – Sohler Riesling 2006, from Alsace (France)
2. Rheinhessen, Weingut Georg Julius, Gundheim Riesling Kabinett Feinherb 2008 (Germany)

3. Weingut Johannes Hirsch, Riesling Gaisberg 2007 (Austria)
4. Grosset Polish Hill Riesling, from Clare Valley (Australia).

Of the 4, the Gaisberg riesling from Austria was a winner - attractive apricot peach nose with a touch of ginger, juicy minerality and nice finish. No wonder it beat the French and German rieslings at the international tasting. I plan to stock up on this one once my wine fridge arrives!

Food

In usual fashion we over-ordered:

1. fortune seafood roll - deep fried but light on the palate and not oily, liked this very much
2. steamed fish head in black bean sauce - tender but nothing impressive
3. coffee spare ribs - loved the coffee flavour infused in this
4. roast chicken (need to pre-order) - this was excellent, very tender and juicy, the crowd loved it
5. braised lamb brisket - so-so only

6. pumpkin paste and salted egg prawn - my favourite dish of the night but the others found it too heavy. hee hee all the more for me!
7. steamed coral tofu8. fish roe fried rice - loved how the fish roe bursts in the mouth, very tasty
8. french toast - we were already stuffed but we HAD to order two servings of this to share. Very very good.

Value
Excellent. We ordered a truckload of food and total bill came up to $150 for the 6 of us. I will definitely return for more.

Shangri-La Hotel's Big 40

It just gets better and better. First, it was 38% discount off total bill, to celebrate their 38th anniversary. Then, it was 39% discount, to celebrate the 39th anniversary. This year is the 40 大寿 so from now till 31st July 2011, Shangri-La Hotel is offering 40% discount! It's true what they say, that life just gets better as you grow older hurhur.

The discount applies to The Line, Shang Palace, Nadaman, The Rose Veranda and BLU, for a maximum of 8 persons. Reservations can be made up to 40 days in advance and only online at http://dine.slsrewards.com.sg/.

Tips

1. I managed to snag a booking for 5 pax at the Line’s Thursday Seafood buffet last year and it was a fantastic deal. Originally $88++, each of us ended up paying only $63 nett – for copious amounts of fresh lobsters, oysters, prawns, crab (you get the idea) AND best of all, free flow of house wines, beer and juices! The free flow of booze only applies on Thursdays though so plan your reservation ahead of time.

2. My next target is to use the promotion to check out the degustation “Experience Menu” at BLU (original price $148++ per pax). I can’t wait! 6 courses left to the imagination of Chef Kevin Cherkas - previously from Lafite in KL, and stints at 3-Michelin stars Arzak and El Bulli. Woohoo – the gym can wait haha.

Wine Company @ Sentosa Boardwalk

It was one of the first places in Singapore to bring quality wines at affordable prices to consumers and I'm happy that Wine Company has done well for itself. Many a bottle and cheese platter I have lingered over in the good company of family and friends.

My usual hangout is at Dempsey or Woods, but when I heard that they opened a new outlet at Sentosa Boardwalk, I knew I had to go check it out.

Spot by the water, Mediterranean theme, this outlet definitely stands out from the rest. Luckily, the value-for-money concept still remains. We ordered a nice Fairview shiraz from South Africa (deep red, ripe plum aroma with pepper and some spice, good full finish) - $45, great price.

There's more on the menu in terms of food here. In addition to casual bites, they attempt more serious eats including coq au vin, lambshank and duck confit . We ordered the steamed mussels (just so-so), aglio olio (good - spicy and al dente), the cheese platter (can't go wrong) and tuna steak (favourite - nicely seared, semi-rare and juicy).

Tips

1. Make a reservation for either the indoor window seats or go alfresco if weather permits. You'll get a nice sunset view of the harbour. Also watch out for the buskers and stilt walkers.

2. Sign up for the your wine company card (ywcc). It's $21.40 for a year membership and it entitles you to 10% off all food and drinks, definitely worth the cost.

3. Park at Vivo City and walk to Sentosa Boardwalk. We didn't know and drove in to Sentosa before turning back out.

I hear there's another new outlet at Changi Village. Will be checking that out soon!

Wine Club

I want to start a wine club. Anyone keen?

This is how it will work:

1. Finding the right people – For a start, I plan to keep the group intimate. A group of 10 members will be ideal since the average bottle of wine pours that number of “tasting” servings. Given that I myself am a novice, I expect most of the members to share a similar level of wine know-how. Experts are welcome of course, but you must be prepared to be patient with us.

2. How a club meeting should work – We aim to meet once a month. Each of the members takes turns hosting the monthly meetings, planning the meal and choosing the wines, and then shares with the group information about the origins, food pairings, and flavors of the wine chosen for the month’s gathering. Tasting note sheets will be given out so that people stay focused. It can be difficult to remember what we drink after too many glasses. Meetings can be done either at someone’s house, or we can use the opportunity to check out new restaurants.

3. Costs – We won’t be targeting the Chateau Margauxs but we should explore beyond the supermarket brands. We aim to keep the per-bottle cost from $40 to $80 a bottle. The host will purchase the bottles first, then total costs will be split together with the cost of the food.

Please let me know if you are keen to join the wine club and learn more about wines. Some commitment is required, because members will need to research and plan for meetings. No sleeping members please. Suggestions on what to name the club?

On a separate basis I will also be organizing more casual wine dinners for people to BYOB and gather. Watch this space!

Affordable Morton's

Last June, I checked out Morton's Steak and Seafood Combo and walked away a very happy girl. Guess what... the offer is now back. Until March 31st so hurry!


Same deal: $95++ gets you the following:

First Course:Caesar Salad or Morton's Salad
Second Course:Single Cut Filet
Seafood side: (select one) Broiled Sea Scallops, Colossal Shrimp Alexander or Jumbo Lump Crab Cake
Vegetable side: (select one) Signature Potato or Fresh Vegetable

Tips
1. Go with a friend and upsize the steak to a double cut for $15 more. Share everything else.

2. Go easy on the onion loaf, I know it's hard to resist. Doggy back the remaining and toast it the next day with some garlic butter - heaven!

3. $60 corkage is a killer and wines by bottles are expensive. Order by the glass. $20++ per glass is still pricey but they are generous so yay.

4. Save some space and order a Chocolate Martini from the bar. Best dessert ever.