Tasty Tastings

For longtime fans of @harryssingapore , you’ll probably be glad to hear that Harry’s has tinkered with their menu, introducing a few incredibly healthy dishes and fine tuning a couple of menu mainstays. The healthy new dishes certainly raise a few eyebrows as they seem hopelessly out of place in a pub, but they certainly cater to the folks who want some guilt free pub grub and a cheeky pint of low carb beer.⠀
⠀
Two of these healthy new starters are the Baba Ghanoush ($12++), which won’t win any photogenic contests but will certainly win your doctor’s approval. The eggplant dip comes with nacho chips and a whole lotta veggies, ensuring that you get about a whole week’s worth of fibre in one sitting. The Amigos’ Nachos ($12++) may not sound like the healthiest dish, but it’s surprisingly light for a pub snack. The nacho chips are covered in a bit of melted cheese, and complemented by jalapeños & black olives. Kinda basic, but it gets the job done.⠀
⠀
Of course Harry’s has a few more decadent appetisers. Their famous chicken satay (six sticks, $13++) was seasoned & spiced sensationally with aromas of lemongrass & turmeric rising to tantalise your nose. The meat was tremendously tender, and it is definitely the most tender chicken satay I’ve ever had, slithering off the stick with minimal effort. Dip it into the sweet & savoury chunky peanut sauce for maximum satisfaction, and you might just order a second helping for you and you alone.⠀
⠀
The Laksa Popcorn Chicken ($11++) is a unique twist on the ubiquitous pub snack of popcorn chicken. These little chicken chunks are drizzled with some house made laksa mayo, which was creamy & packed all the familiar flavours of laksa. However, I do think Harry’s could go harder on the chili & make it a touch spicier, as the mayo’s richness dulls the heat a bit.⠀
⠀
Thanks for the invite, @burpple & @harryssingapore!

(SPONSORED INVITE) With a name like Berlin65, I was fully expecting @berlin65_ig to showcase German cuisine front and center. Instead, the menu is decidedly much more Turkish in nature, and one of the waitstaff explained to us that @berlin65_ig was recreating the German street food in Berlin. As it turns out, the street food scene in Berlin is mostly Turkish due to the large number of Turkish immigrants living in Berlin.⠀
⠀
As with any middle eastern culture, the meal starts with hummus ($14++). Berlin65’s hummus is smooth, savoury and simple, and the addition of blistered tomatoes gave the hummus sour bursts to break up the monotony. The tahini added lashings of extra savouriness which wasn’t strictly needed, but still welcome nonetheless. Of course you gotta order some Turkish Flatbread ($4.50++), how else are you gonna have hummus?⠀
⠀
At the end of the day, when it comes to getting that bread, Berlin65 is an expert at it. Thank you for the invite, @berlin65_ig & @scalecollab.sg!

It’s no secret that I am partial to @fernandospizzasg , so when I heard that they had new items on the menu I jumped at the chance to sample them. Besides new pizzas, they’ve got a couple of new appetisers as well. Starting off healthy, we have the Central Park Salad ($14 nett), which comes with a choice of two dressings: honey mustard vinaigrette or caesar mayonnaise.⠀
⠀
Central Park is now home to a mix of leafy greens tossed in with avocado, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, pomegranates, quinoa, roasted walnuts and absolutely addictive garlic cheese croutons. The Central Park Salad is a super salad that would put many salad shops to shame, and the healthy variety of different veg & garnishes made this one of the most well rounded & balanced salads. As for the dressings caesar mayo was the undisputed winner here. The honey mustard vinaigrette suffered from a case of severe separation and brought none of the heat of mustard, while the caesar mayo was ravishingly rich, creamy and savoury.⠀
⠀
The NY-style Calamari ($14 nett) had great promise with the crisp, craggy batter which was well seasoned, but the squid itself was slightly past its best. It was unfortunately a bit too soft, and lacked any springiness. Perhaps we caught Fernando’s on an off day, so I’ll be back to give the calamari a fair shake another day.⠀
⠀
Thank you for inviting us @fernandospizzasg, and thanks for organising the Eatup @burpple!

(PARTIALLY SPONSORED) Dry aged beef is getting increasingly popular in recent years, but dry aged fish? That’s @estuary.sg claim to fame, and besides the dry aged fish they serve, they also excel in other seafood dishes. From seafood classics like this Maine Lobster Mac & Cheese ($22++) and Baked Oysters (2nd pic, $12++ for a pair), to unique offerings like their Crispy Stingray and Dungeness Crab Kataifi, there’s more than enough seafood to sustain your see-food diet.⠀

Estuary’s Baked Oysters are their own version of the classic Oysters Rockefeller, and spinach haters will enjoy this spinach-less version of it. A pair of oversized oysters are baked in a blanket of cheese and chopped up bacon, and that’s all that’s needed for an awesome appetiser. The creaminess of the cheese fits perfectly with the briny creaminess of the oysters while adding a satisfying stretchiness, and the salty bacon made everything even better.

Oh and before I forget, selected glasses and BOTTLES of wine are 1-for-1. That’s right, choose a bottle of certain bubblies, rosé, reds or whites and get another on the house! Here at this Estuary, nobody will ever go thirsty or hungry. Thank you for having us @estuary.sg , and thanks to @scalemicroinfluencers for organising this!

(PARTIALLY SPONSORED) Dry aged beef is getting increasingly popular in recent years, but dry aged fish? That’s @estuary.sg claim to fame, and besides the dry aged fish they serve, they also excel in other seafood dishes. From seafood classics like this Maine Lobster Mac & Cheese ($22++) and Baked Oysters (2nd pic, $12++ for a pair), to unique offerings like their Crispy Stingray and Dungeness Crab Kataifi, there’s more than enough seafood to sustain your see-food diet.⠀
⠀
Lobster mac & cheese is already a winning combination, but Estuary did it so sublimely. Elbows of al dente macaroni are amply smothered in a thick, cheesy & ravishingly redolent béchamel that’s supremely luxurious but never gets in danger of being rich. The little lobster bits were perfectly poached, with the tender yet slightly spongy & firm texture that indicates a perfect cook. Lots of breadcrumbs are sprinkled on to add bits of crunch and an extra toasty aroma to the already perfect dish.⠀

While you’re at it, order the Charred Brussels Sprouts ($20++). Now hear me out, these sprouts are stellar. Nobody would’ve thought that bitter Brussels sprouts would pair perfectly with scallop & shrimp XO sauce, but Estuary’s chefs did. The result is a supremely sapid & crunchy veg dish that has enough of a bitter edge to be a top-tier palate cleanser.
⠀
Oh and before I forget, selected glasses and BOTTLES of wine are 1-for-1. That’s right, choose a bottle of certain bubblies, rosé, reds or whites and get another on the house! Here at this Estuary, nobody will ever go thirsty or hungry. Thank you for having us @estuary.sg , and thanks to @scalemicroinfluencers for organising this!

No Mediterranean themed restaurant would be complete without seafood, and so @miskacafe duly serves up a pretty platter of seafood for a party of four to share. The Mix Seafood Grilled ($59++) is a colossal congregation of salmon, squid, fish fillets, prawns and mussels, complemented by roasted potatoes and corn on the cob.⠀
⠀
All the seafood here was grilled quite well, and although some elements were a little lacklustre, nothing was outright bad. The squid was fresh & cooked perfectly with a nice bouncy snap, and the flaky fish fillets were quite well seasoned. The prawns weren’t the freshest, but they were grilled excellently, and the salmon was thankfully not overcooked, although I wish the skin was crisp. The mussels were unfortunately overcooked and were rubbery, although you might have better luck & get expertly cooked mussels. The roasted potatoes were surprisingly delightful though, with a moist and smooth interior complemented by a crisp roasted exterior.⠀
⠀
Dunk every morsel of seafood into the charming chinichurri sauce on the side and you have a stellar seafood feast that’ll sate both your hunger & your tastebuds. Once again, thank you for hosting us @miskacafe, and thank you to @burpple for the invite!

@miskacafe is located in the posh enclave of Sentosa Cove, and despite its inaccessibility from mainland Singapore, is worth a visit if you’re already on Sentosa. They serve satisfying sustenance along with cold tall pints of Paulaner fresh from the tap along with wines & ten buck cocktails, all enjoyed while gazing at the yachts moored at dock. Their cuisine is predominantly Greek with a smattering of Turkish and Western, and it’s all rather fetching.⠀
⠀
First up is the Greek Grilled Chicken ($24++), which surprised me with their excellence. The only breasts I don’t care for are chicken breasts, but Miska did a marvellous job at grilling these cuts of chicken. They were remarkably juicy, and each moist morsel truly impressed me. Miska was rather generous with their chicken portions, which is complemented by a smooth, savoury hummus, lots of salad and a grilled corn cob. Definitely one of the healthiest options on the menu.
⠀
Overall, Miska’s got a good thing going with a view that many restaurants would kill for, and the food’s simple yet decent. Thanks for the invite @burpple & @miskacafe!

Of course, a bistro wouldn’t be complete without a couple of fish options, and @yummochowsg has grilled salmon as well as fish & chips to choose from. Both fish dishes have two options each, and one of each involves mentaiko.
⠀
The Fish & Chip ($30++ u.p.) is a decent albeit pedestrian serving of the British classic. Of course, the thick cut chips are substituted by thin shoestring fries, which does irk me just a little, but I can’t deny that those fries are quite addictive with their crispness. The batter on the fish fillet was up to scratch, with the thin layer producing enough crunch while not absorbing too much oil. The fish fillet itself was a little too soft inside, occasionally bordering on mushy, but nothing particularly egregious. The fish was lightly seasoned though, and it relied heavily on the toothsome tartar sauce to make it delicious.⠀
⠀
Here at Yummo Chow, you can really make your #burpplebeyond work overtime for you. I appreciate the invite, @yummochowsg & @burpple!

Of course, a bistro wouldn’t be complete without a couple of fish options, and @yummochowsg has grilled salmon as well as fish & chips to choose from. Both fish dishes have two options each, and one of each involves mentaiko.⠀
⠀
Starting off with the Grilled Salmon Mentaiko ($34++ usual price), we were quite pleased by how well the salmon was cooked. The skin was crisp enough, while the salmon flesh itself was still moist and in no danger of being overcooked. Even if the salmon were to be dry, there’s a deluge of mentaiko mayo on top that aids in lubrication. The Mentaiko mayonnaise is the exact same one that’s used on the crayfish, but it somehow tastes a lot better here, possibly due to the flavours of the salmon reinvigorating the mayo. Served with smooth, savoury mashed potatoes and a well dressed side salad, this is a dish that checks off all the nutritional checkboxes.
⠀
Here at Yummo Chow, you can really make your #burpplebeyond work overtime for you. I appreciate the invite, @yummochowsg & @burpple!

I like big racks and I cannot lie, you other brothas can’t deny. When I see pork ribs on the menu, I usually wind up ordering that, and @yummochowsg Baby Back Ribs were no exception. This big ol’ rack is glazed in bourbon sauce, and served with thin cut fries & a side of salad.⠀
⠀
Despite what it says on the menu, the bourbon sauce tasted a lot more like a kicap manis (sweet soy sauce) one. The flavours were certainly more kicap manis than bourbon, and the colour definitely supported that. Still, the sweet & slightly savoury glaze was quite complementary to the pork ribs. The pork ribs suffered from a peculiar problem that I’ve only encountered once before: the meat was tender and had no trouble falling off the bone, but it was dry overall with nary a drop of the meaty juices you’d expect from a rack o’ ribs.⠀
⠀
My best guess is that it was sous vide till fully cooked through, and then left to sit until someone placed an order. Upon an order of ribs, the fully cooked ribs would then be glazed with the sauce, and then seared till the pork sports a comely char. It’s a process that makes perfect sense, but the catch is that you have to sell a lot of those ribs in order to maintain tiptop quality. Ribs aside, the shoestring fries were acutely addictive its crisp shell, and the salad served its purpose perfectly as the palate cleanser & guilt killer.⠀
⠀
I’m gonna be honest here: Yummo Chow is one of those restaurants that many people wouldn’t even consider if it weren’t for #burpplebeyond. The food’s decent, but the prices are steep. Forty two dollars for this rack of ribs is slightly shocking, but it becomes incredibly affordable with the one-for-one deals on Burpple Beyond.⠀
⠀
Thanks for hosting us, @yummochowsg & @burpple!

@yummochowsg is one of the six HUNDRED AND twelve partners on #burpplebeyond, and you can stretch that Burpple Beyond membership to its fullest here. Most of their mains are covered by Burpple Beyond, so you can enjoy two entrées, like this plate of Chili Crab pasta ($34++ usual price), for the price of one.⠀
⠀
There are infinite iterations of chili crab pasta out there, but Yummo Chow’s is definitely one of the most outstanding ones. The sauce managed a fine balance between liquidity & thickness, coating the strands of al dente spaghetti superbly without being too viscous. The sauce was spicy and slightly sour, a notable & quite enjoyable difference from most other versions which tend towards the sweeter end of the spectrum. The pasta is topped off with a generous helping of shredded crab meat, and for extra authenticity points, Yummo Chow even gives you two fried mantous to mop up that scintillating chili crab sauce with.

Thanks to Burpple Beyond, you get two plates for the price of one! Thanks for having us, @yummochowsg & @burpple!

If you’re on a low carb diet, Kazoku also has your dietary needs catered for with the Kazoku Salad ($13.90 nett). The same felicitously fresh octopus, salmon, swordfish & tuna from the delicious chirashi don is cubed up instead of sliced, and the rice is subbed off for a massive mound of mixed lettuce and cherry tomatoes, dressed in what tastes like a balsamic vinegar dressing. The sour notes of the vinegar are an excellent foil to the briny seafood, and the crunch of the fresh veg contrast the soft chunks of seafood excellently.⠀
⠀
Thanks for the invite, Burpple & Kazoku!