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Thursday, October 06, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Nanbantei Japanese Restaurant @ Far East Plaza
Nanbantei's specialty is with their yakitori or Japanese skewers. This is my 3rd visit there and they did not disappoint. Located at the top floor of Far East Plaza, most people do not know the existence of this fabulous restaurant.
This could be due to the fact that there's hardly any queue outside the restaurant. Most patrons would already have had a taste of the crowd and be convinced that a reservation is a must to avoid disappointment. Others would probably have been discouraged by the long waiting time, typically more than 30mins. But don't be, we once waited for 30mins and it was well worth the wait. Even the Japanese themselves patronize this place, there is surely no mistake about it.
There are 3 yakitori set to choose from:
A-course ($36) being the exotic choice with 12 sticks of exotic yakitori. If ox tongue, chicken liver and the likes are your kind of things, then go ahead and get the A-course to have an exotic gastronomical experience.
B-course ($36) is the chef's recommended choice, featuring 8 chef's recommended yakitori sticks, sashimi, rice, miso soup and a dessert. This is the one I always ordered as, so far, it didn't really disappoint.
C-course ($30) is the vegetarian choice, which is pretty self-explanatory.
Ok, on with the food we go:
Yasai Stick with special miso sauce ($2)
A starters that everyone will get once you get seated. It cost $2 by the way, I'm not sure if you can cancel this but I would say it's worth a try as its a great appetizer. It's definitely the miso paste, you've gotta try it.
Warmed Japanese Sake ($7.80) and Assorted Sashimi [Part of B-course set]
Warmed Sake, great on a cold day, is a bit on the strong side but still manageable.
Sashimi is fresh and nothing much to complain about.
Pork with Shiso Leaf & Asparagus wrapped in Pork [Part of B-course set]
The first thing that came to my mind, and most first timer alike, would have been that the food here is pretty salty. If you get to sit at the counter seats, you get to witness the generosity of the chefs with their sprinkler of salt as they grill the skewers. I would strongly recommend hot green tea to go with the food or that a post meal water parade as a standard procedure.
Mini Tomato Maki & Okra (Lady Finger) [Part of B-course set]
Mini tomato maki is a must try. It's an explosion of flavors inside your mouth; now repeat after me: it explodes. The juice simply bursts out as you bite it and its just feels great and makes you feels like tomatoes just became your heavenly food ever since. Ok exaggerated and oh don't forget to let it cool down just a tiny winy little bit before you attack it, for it burns...enuff said.
Okra was grilled with a right proportion of salt, but nothing special. Its fiber. And you need it. Trust me.
Tsukune (Chicken meatballs) & Chicken with Leek [Part of B-course set]
Tsukune is tender but not juicy, definitely better than the Tori tori ball, no? Leek never tasted so good before, the grilling removes the unpleasant taste that causes most people to have a certain grudge with. grudge with.
Tebasaki (chicken wings) & Garlic Chicken with Leek [Part of B-course set]
Chicken wings was pretty tasty but a tad too salty for our liking. I kinda forgot if that's garlic chicken or garlic pork, I think it's chicken. But nonetheless, eat the garlic leek and chicken together; they blends well.
Sake Harasu (Salmon Belly) ($6.90)
The salmon belly was fresh, to say the least, and it was really juicy and tender, much to our delight and excitement.
Shiitake ($6)
BBQ Japanese mushrooms with all its flavors retained. It's good and juicy. Another option is mushroom stuffed with chicken, also not too bad.
Uzura Tamago (quail's egg) ($4.50)
I was actually having high expectations for this one. But it didn't really work for me. It's worse than hard boiled egg and the sauce really didn't quite blend well.
Tomato Pork Maki with cheese ($5.20)
After having a great experience with the exploding mini tomatoes maki, we decided to try out another of a similar dish. This one uses a tomato, not the mini one duh, cut into wedges and wrapped in pork and cheese. Not too bad as well, kinda preferred the mini ones. But considering this is our last dish and the law of diminishing returns, the result can be biased.
Red bean mochi [Part of B-course set]
Lastly, the dessert is the red bean mochi. It's thick and sweet, and we were very full.
Total time taken was 2 hours and total damage was $125. It was quite worth it, do try it as it could change your opinion about certain vegetables that you once considered untouchable, well.. at least for that meal that is. Service wise, I was hoping the staffs to be a bit more forthcoming; green teas normally goes unfilled and empty plates sometimes are unattended to. But I'm not complaining much, they are a friendly lot and makes the whole dining experience a pretty cozy and enjoyable one.
Nanbantei Japanese Restaurant
Address: 14 Scotts Road #05-132 Far East Plaza Singapore
Tel: +65 6733 5666
This could be due to the fact that there's hardly any queue outside the restaurant. Most patrons would already have had a taste of the crowd and be convinced that a reservation is a must to avoid disappointment. Others would probably have been discouraged by the long waiting time, typically more than 30mins. But don't be, we once waited for 30mins and it was well worth the wait. Even the Japanese themselves patronize this place, there is surely no mistake about it.
There are 3 yakitori set to choose from:
A-course ($36) being the exotic choice with 12 sticks of exotic yakitori. If ox tongue, chicken liver and the likes are your kind of things, then go ahead and get the A-course to have an exotic gastronomical experience.
B-course ($36) is the chef's recommended choice, featuring 8 chef's recommended yakitori sticks, sashimi, rice, miso soup and a dessert. This is the one I always ordered as, so far, it didn't really disappoint.
C-course ($30) is the vegetarian choice, which is pretty self-explanatory.
Ok, on with the food we go:
Yasai Stick with special miso sauce ($2)
A starters that everyone will get once you get seated. It cost $2 by the way, I'm not sure if you can cancel this but I would say it's worth a try as its a great appetizer. It's definitely the miso paste, you've gotta try it.
Warmed Japanese Sake ($7.80) and Assorted Sashimi [Part of B-course set]
Warmed Sake, great on a cold day, is a bit on the strong side but still manageable.
Sashimi is fresh and nothing much to complain about.
Pork with Shiso Leaf & Asparagus wrapped in Pork [Part of B-course set]
The first thing that came to my mind, and most first timer alike, would have been that the food here is pretty salty. If you get to sit at the counter seats, you get to witness the generosity of the chefs with their sprinkler of salt as they grill the skewers. I would strongly recommend hot green tea to go with the food or that a post meal water parade as a standard procedure.
Mini Tomato Maki & Okra (Lady Finger) [Part of B-course set]
Mini tomato maki is a must try. It's an explosion of flavors inside your mouth; now repeat after me: it explodes. The juice simply bursts out as you bite it and its just feels great and makes you feels like tomatoes just became your heavenly food ever since. Ok exaggerated and oh don't forget to let it cool down just a tiny winy little bit before you attack it, for it burns...enuff said.
Okra was grilled with a right proportion of salt, but nothing special. Its fiber. And you need it. Trust me.
Tsukune (Chicken meatballs) & Chicken with Leek [Part of B-course set]
Tsukune is tender but not juicy, definitely better than the Tori tori ball, no? Leek never tasted so good before, the grilling removes the unpleasant taste that causes most people to have a certain grudge with. grudge with.
Tebasaki (chicken wings) & Garlic Chicken with Leek [Part of B-course set]
Chicken wings was pretty tasty but a tad too salty for our liking. I kinda forgot if that's garlic chicken or garlic pork, I think it's chicken. But nonetheless, eat the garlic leek and chicken together; they blends well.
Sake Harasu (Salmon Belly) ($6.90)
The salmon belly was fresh, to say the least, and it was really juicy and tender, much to our delight and excitement.
Shiitake ($6)
BBQ Japanese mushrooms with all its flavors retained. It's good and juicy. Another option is mushroom stuffed with chicken, also not too bad.
Uzura Tamago (quail's egg) ($4.50)
I was actually having high expectations for this one. But it didn't really work for me. It's worse than hard boiled egg and the sauce really didn't quite blend well.
Tomato Pork Maki with cheese ($5.20)
After having a great experience with the exploding mini tomatoes maki, we decided to try out another of a similar dish. This one uses a tomato, not the mini one duh, cut into wedges and wrapped in pork and cheese. Not too bad as well, kinda preferred the mini ones. But considering this is our last dish and the law of diminishing returns, the result can be biased.
Red bean mochi [Part of B-course set]
Lastly, the dessert is the red bean mochi. It's thick and sweet, and we were very full.
Total time taken was 2 hours and total damage was $125. It was quite worth it, do try it as it could change your opinion about certain vegetables that you once considered untouchable, well.. at least for that meal that is. Service wise, I was hoping the staffs to be a bit more forthcoming; green teas normally goes unfilled and empty plates sometimes are unattended to. But I'm not complaining much, they are a friendly lot and makes the whole dining experience a pretty cozy and enjoyable one.
Nanbantei Japanese Restaurant
Address: 14 Scotts Road #05-132 Far East Plaza Singapore
Tel: +65 6733 5666
Friday, December 10, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Hatched @ Evans Lodge
In yet another of our food adventure in search of good breakfast place, we chanced upon this place called Hatched. It is very near to the NUS Law campus at Bukit Timah. So, it's a bit of a walk in, but its all worth it. And as the name suggest, Hatched's specialty is of course eggs! All kinds of eggs: boiled, poached, baked, fried, scrambled, omelettes. But I've been warned of my unhealthy eggs consumption of late, so yes will be eating lesser..
Apple Orange Juice ($4.50 Each)
Popeye's Salute ($14)
We decided to try out this version of egg Benedict which have spinach (and thus the name) instead of ham. Well other than the fact that the eggs are so puny, I must say that the spinach doesn't really go well with the rest of the ingredients. It taste very weird with the spinach; somehow the spinach causes the taste of the whole dish to be very separated. First, the spinach taste kicks in, which had a slight hint of a bittery taste. Follow by the egg with the hollandaise sauce and then the muffin. By itself, all taste great. But as a whole, it just feels wrong; better to stick with the original Eggs Benedict with ham which is called the Sir Benedict here.
Comes with tomato and mash potatoes as side dishes
Pancake Party with caramelized apples ($8)
The pancake is omg very fluffy and thus a bit too filling. But it's toasted pretty nicely and with the syrup and the cream, there's not much complain to this dish.
Where's Waffle? with black forest ham and egg ($12)
The waffle was pretty normal, but the ham was really good. The egg was disappointing.
Spent around $20 per person. Their service is a bit slow, but hey there's no service charge... It's a pretty cozy place to chill out on a nice Sunday morning.
Hatched
Address: 26 Evans Road #01-06 Evans Lodge Singapore
Tel: +65 6735 0012
Website: http://www.hatched.sg/
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Of the lenses I want or want to try out
The AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f1.8G (~SGD 300+):
I'm currently using this one a lot and have thus replace my 18-55mm kit lens. Pretty good for low light shooting and its extremely light-weighted so it's quite fun carrying it around together with the D40. So far I'm more than satisfied with this purchase.
AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm f4-5.6G IF-ED (~SGD 300+):
I think I will be getting this one next for the telescopic zoom ranges from 55-200mm focal length. I've never play with such ranges before so I'm not quite sure whether this lens suit my needs. But I guess I could use it to capture people and their expression at ease (as most people are not natural with a camera too close) as well as for macro purposes? If this is not my kind of thing, I can always get rid of it by selling in clubsnap forum.
AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f1.4G (~SGD 800+):
If the 55-200mm doesn't work for me, I will probably go straight into this one with a whopping aperture of 1.4. As I dun really like high ISO (very grainy photos), I usually compensate with wider aperture size (smaller f stop number) than to increase the ISO under poor light conditions.
AF-S DX NIKKOR 10-24mm f3.5-4.5G ED (~SGD 1.3K+):
This ultra wide zoom lens is of course the least priority of them all and its here because I've always wanted to try an ultra wide. But the price is ultra expensive too...! Haa
I'm currently using this one a lot and have thus replace my 18-55mm kit lens. Pretty good for low light shooting and its extremely light-weighted so it's quite fun carrying it around together with the D40. So far I'm more than satisfied with this purchase.
AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm f4-5.6G IF-ED (~SGD 300+):
I think I will be getting this one next for the telescopic zoom ranges from 55-200mm focal length. I've never play with such ranges before so I'm not quite sure whether this lens suit my needs. But I guess I could use it to capture people and their expression at ease (as most people are not natural with a camera too close) as well as for macro purposes? If this is not my kind of thing, I can always get rid of it by selling in clubsnap forum.
AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f1.4G (~SGD 800+):
If the 55-200mm doesn't work for me, I will probably go straight into this one with a whopping aperture of 1.4. As I dun really like high ISO (very grainy photos), I usually compensate with wider aperture size (smaller f stop number) than to increase the ISO under poor light conditions.
AF-S DX NIKKOR 10-24mm f3.5-4.5G ED (~SGD 1.3K+):
This ultra wide zoom lens is of course the least priority of them all and its here because I've always wanted to try an ultra wide. But the price is ultra expensive too...! Haa
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