The Nasi Goreng Iga Hitam (S$17.80) was one of their modern Indonesian cuisine that incorporated squid ink in their fried rice. Those familiar umami notes from squid ink pasta was distinctly flavourful and I thought it was absolutely smart to pair it with braised beef ribs. Although the meat was not slow-cooked till easily pulled apart, I would still gladly finish the whole plate (less the bones of course).

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Tanamera Coffee might be an Indonesian brand that branched out to the Singapore market, but they probably scored in catering to our local crowds this time round with their introduction of YuSheng during the Lunar New Year period.

Other than the Traditional YuSheng that we were mostly familiar with, the Pecel YuSheng (S$45.80) was interestingly their take on the festive dish, comprising other interesting ingredients like fried beancurd (Tahu) and their Indonesian-style peanut sauce.

This Yu Sheng reminded me a bit of Rojak actually, and I must say that the flavours was quite balanced with fresh greens and sufficient spicy, sweet and savoury notes.

But I guessed, perhaps to make sure that the ingredients were served fresh, this item was only available for pre-order 3 days in advance from selected outlets and from their online store. So, if you’d like to try a different kind of Yu Sheng this year, remember to pre-order yours early!

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What better way to put an Indonesian touch to a cup of latte than to introduce ginger into the cuppa? The Ginger Cafe Latte (S$7.00), however, still tasted much like the usual latte, except for a delicate aroma of ginger and a light aftertaste of it, so it would not be too overpowering for those who just wanted a touch of spice in their caffeine fix.

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The Pan Fried Purple Sweet Potato Rice Cake (S$6.80) was one of the 10 festive menu items that was made available, and I would say this was one dish worth ordering. I liked the fact that the pan-frying gave the rice cake a bit of added crisp and fragrance, not forgetting the pleasant half-mochi half-sweet potato combination.

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Dim Sum Haus also offered their take on the Prosperity Abalone Yu Sheng as a dine-in item at S$68.80 for 6 to 10 pax, or a downsized version at S$48.80 only.

The whole set was quite nicely arranged on a glass plate. Though it might be a little awkward to toss the Yu Sheng at a rectangular table set-up, the overall flavour of this festive dish was not too heavy, which would probably not make one feel too overwhelmed for the Dim Sum experience afterwards.

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Still one of the favourites at Mia Restaurant, as like their sister restaurant Eleven Strands, the Prawn Pesto Tagliatelle (S$28.00) was hearty delicious, thanks to the fresh homemade pesto sauce, the al dente handmade Tagliatelle (worth the S$3.00 add-on) and the perfectly seared prawns that felt so sensational as I bit into it.

Believe it or not, with the visible granules of pine nuts found in the pesto sauce, I could not help but use my spoon to discreetly scrape the bowl clean.

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When we checked with the restaurant manager on what he would recommend for desserts, he pointed us to the Lychee Ice Cream (S$6.00) which was decorated with osmanthus flowers, a soaked lychee and a mix of lychee caviar and tadpole jellies.

In the sweetness of the ice cream, I thought this was a light sweet ending to our delicious meal.

Xi Yan at Maxwell mainly offered contemporary Chinese dishes with some culinary hacks to give the meals a more elevated feel. And so as the place was on the quiet side, this might be a perfect place for some upscaled Zi Char in a more private setting!

I was not sure if the Twist and Shout Ribs sounded like a extremely torturous massage or chiropractor session, but the ribs here (S$78.00 per 500g) was quite a fine dish actually.

Upon serving the dish, the staff would assist with dislodging the rib bones to show that these roasted Iberico pork prime ribs had been slow-cooked to perfection. Next, we were told to put a bit of everything — meat, grilled pineapples, sauce and cucumber wasabi caviar — on to our soup spoons. This mouthful combination was quite fascinating, with the savoury flavours from the pork balancing so well with the sweet-acid from the pineapple and then cleansing the palates with the bursting caviar. Just one or two spoonfuls of these and I was already satisfied at the meat section.

The medium portion of this dish, at S$33.00, was actually the perfect appetiser for sharing among 6 persons, as recommended by the restaurant manager.

While eggplants (or brinjal for that matter) might not be the most pleasant vegetable to many, the restaurant had prepared the dish well such that when they were fried and caramelised, you practically could not catch the acquired texture easily. In fact, at a point in time, one of my fellow diners who hated eggplants was caught nibbling on the caramelised sticks while (she thought) we were not looking. That was probably how well-received this dish was.

Taking alcohol in the form of ice cream, the Kahlua Cheesecake was like a alcohol-pronounced Tiramisu less the cocoa powder. For those who would want to feel young but go adventurous with alcoholic flavours, this might be a good flavour to start off.

Prices of a scoop of ice cream would go from S$4.90 onwards, with Premium and Double Premium flavours available at an top-up of S$1.00 and S$2.00 respectively.

While it was true that their Sticky Date Pudding would be a very safe choice for a sweet ending to the meal, I would say that I had enjoyed their Warm Cookie Dough (S$14.00) because I dig chewy texture desserts that were executed well. With a scoop of vanilla ice cream atop the warm dessert, the melted cream added a new dimension of sweetness which was like having a nice parfait or trifle after a thumbs-up meal.

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This had always been one of the dishes that I would like to try before I came here for a meal. The BBQ Baby Pork Ribs (S$26.00) was really juicy even after slow-cooked for numerous hours. Even though the bones could not be pulled out effortlessly, I appreciated the juiciness of the pork amidst the coating of their housemade BBQ sauce.

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