Modesto's

Authentic italian restaurants are on the vanishing edge with the rise of the fusion pasta wave- but this one still comes close. The chefs were firm in ensuring that the standards were not spoilt by weird matches, even if it had to oppose the diner's preference.

I became one such victim.


Foccacia Bread


Linguine Al Salmone Affumicato ($21)

I made a couple of approved moderations: from fettuccine to linguine, tomato cream to pure tomato sauce. Attempts for aglio and white wine sauce were a rejectively no-no by the chef.

And i was so glad i heeded the advice- this is no doubt the best smoked salmon pasta i had by far chance! The sauce was pleasantly palatable, the smoked salmon such lusciously sizeable chunks that i slurped up every mouthful with much ease.

What fascinated me most was how homemade linguine can be cooked to such aldente goodness. It had to be an experienced master at work.


Spaghetti Alle Vongole ($18)


Crostata Di Mele Con Gelato Alla Cannella ($11)

Homemade apple pie served warm and topped with cinnamon icecream. The icecream was above the average fare but the pie unfortunately didnt appeal. It was flat, absurdly soft and over flavoured with rich butter-caramelised apples which lost its basic stance.


I am looking forward to trying their $18.80 set lunch.

Modesto's Vivo
1 Harbourfront Walk
#01-166/167 Vivocity

Han's Set Lunch

On our way to the Geylang East Polyclinic, Dad conveniently drove into Trinity Church along Paya Lebar Road for lunch. I always find this a weird location for expansion, but this old-time cafe is sure surviving good- for the lunch crowd was visible.

The sandwiches here are one of Dad's loves but we settled on set lunch instead. An affordable variety offered, accompanied with soup, garlic bread, drink and a dessert- if half a peach in syrup is considered one.


Soup with Garlic Toast


Grilled Seabass ($13.80)


Grilled Salmon ($13.80)

Whilst Dad took a seabass fillet, i appropriately grabbed my favourite fish. Over here they noticeably coat all their fish with flour, perhaps to mask the fishyness or merely to give it a prettier brown surface. Neglecting the saltyness, the hot flesh made the cut but i personally believe fish is best on its own.


Peach & Teh-O

Hans Cafe
Paya Lebar Road
Trinity Christian Church
Level 2

Barracks

If you are looking for somewhere out of the bustling city, somewhere trendy yet intimate- this is the place. It took me so long before i actually stepped foot into the happening Dempsey Hill for an eye-opening exposure to the many new food haunts!

Amongst them was Barracks, which Dad and I have heard plenty about. We were greeted right at the entrance, ushered into a spacious two-seater and presented with an unusually cute menu. Brunchtime is available from 11am to 4 pm on weekends, offering pages of morning-fuels made with free range eggs.



The interior featured a complicated concept, with kitcshy mismatched chairs for an exclusive confusion. A wide use of tin crockery would sure remind the guys of NS days and for me, the outdoor cooking in guides.

Desserts were inventive and took a style of its own.


Barracks Big Strawberry Shortcake ($9.50)

One which especially took to my fancy was the strawberry shortcake. It wasn't too large to verify that hefty pricetag but quality says it all.

Light and a tinge fluffy, it came pleasant to the palate yet without any hint of heavy cream. Instead, nicely stewed strawberry pieces are used to filled the middle layers and i salute that cloy-free intention.

If i had to do some serious nit-picking, it would have to be that vanilla bean cream. This condiment matched to every shortcake order was disappointingly bland in the absence of vanilla pods. Trust me, you wouldn't want it to dampen the goodness of their shortcake.


Carrot Cake ($8)

If you were thinking of something less taxing on the tummy, steer clear from the carrot cake. This fella here has got all the power to fill you up to the very last bit. Densely-dominated by a chockful of carrots, coconuts, raisins, pineapples and walnuts, the level of substantiality was self-explanatory.


Vanilla Sky Black Tea ($6)

Tea is also another focus here. The wide variety of exotic tea mixes were pampering, and it took us awhile before we could decide on our choices. The Buddha Blend featured a cultural exchange of organic chinese garden green tea and indian darjeeling, while my Vanilla Sky combined vanilla, jasmine petals and jasmine green pearls for a rich robust flavour.

"Add some milk and it'll taste like a muffin", added to the waitress.

Barracks is a great addition to Dempsey Hill, which is arguably the new IN place to dine. I loved the whole chilled mellow vibe, retro cum ecclectic decor, lush greenery surroundings, engaging service (the waitress even walked us out to the car with umbrellas)... all the little touches here and there.

House, Barracks and Camp
8D Dempsey Road
#01-01/06 Tanglin Village
http://www.dempseyhouse.com/

Relish

Dad and i were driving along the Bukit Timah roads when i chanced upon an orange "relish" atop Cluny Court, alerted him and we happily turned in for a hamburger fix.



We may not be one of those kids-go-gaga type of burger fanatics, but i sure approached the food with great anxiety. How could the second brainchild of lawyer-turned-chef Willin Low go anywhere too wrong right? And indeed, the place already struck a positive impression.



The eatery's unadorned white walls and high ceiling drew a youthful welcoming vibe, just as unintimidating as their simple menu.Adding just a bit of fun is a wall mural filled with squiggles of cartoon drawings of cows, pig and a chicken. Quite an entertaining insert.



There are just three salads, three side orders, 10 burgers and three desserts- to go along with a beverage list. Picking off this single-sided menu board was not much of a dilemma for me since half the range was beef-based. Then, i spotted the... charsiew burger. ahah this one practically called out to me.


Bacon Cheese Burger ($19)

The wait for Dad's burger was quite significant as he wanted his beef patty well done. This was the basic classic of meat patty, cheese, bacon strips between burger buns.


Char Siew Burger ($19)

Then came my order. The BBQ char siew pork open burger turned out to be unlike any char siew I've eaten- i knew red was not right but black wasn't any prettier.

To nitpick, it had failed to meet the local charsiew characteristics. A major identity crisis lied in this East-Meets-West creation, struggling to find a hit spot between its hawker roots and a gourmet status. However, i still thought i could relish it up with much ease- the soft-bone pork made things really tender while the meat proved a flavoursome addiction.

As i was nearing the end of my open-faced focaccia, something hard hit on my teeth. A plastic-chip-in-homemade-bread sounded gross but a delight to the bill- that sedap charsiew fella became a full subsidy.

A blessing in disguise.

So Relish boasted the concept, the appeal and the flavour but missed to instill a distinct identity on its diners. Plus, the price is an anti-climax (unless you are as lucky as me).

Relish
501 Bukit Timah Road
#02-01 Cluny Court

Dome Cafe

I doubt i will ever be able to convince dad into Swensen's breakfast- until he gets over with Dome. There is just a little magnetic force here so successful in ensuring his regular returns.

I call it the latte-power.


Latte ($4.80)

Yes, this cup of gourmet coffee can do wonders. Served in an unique metal handle for better grip and a frothy peak, and a bite-sized biscotti deserving of a mention.


Green Tea by Cup ($3.30)


Bacon and Egg Toast ($8)

If there was a second magnet lurking around, this had to be it. A platter piled up with his favourites like scrambled eggs, bacon rashes & multigrain bread, it possesed all it took to win his heart. Except maybe for that tomato, which came mysteriously green in colour.


Multigrain Toast with Preserves & Smoked Salmon ($7)

While dad's order came component-packed, my seemingly condensed platter came priced-packed. By natural sense i was fully dissatisfied with those three(three-quartered) slices of smoked salmon for $4! Not a very worthy addition indeed.

Nevertheless, i still loved their ultra crispy toasts clinged with grains of wholesome seeds on the crust (think i spotted walnuts too). Even the strawberry preserves were of cravable standards.

I foresee i will have more toasts to come, but perhaps give a second thought regarding the smoked salmon.

Dome
80 Marine Parade Road
#B1-156/158 Parkway Parade

Menotti

Time for tea, and today we went italian.

Menotti sits in a barely noticeable corner of Raffles City, only accessible through outside. A fashionable cafe & bar designed to project a stylish contemporary envrionment with warm red and brown colours and an array of desserts as their main drawn.


Cappuccino ($5.80)


Tiramisu ($6.80)

The shape was a weird, hilarious lump but it contained enough substance to get me swallowing (a dessert i don't exactly fancy). The mousse was commendable while the layers of sponge tore unresistingly with the fork's directions.


Crostata ($5.90)

My exotic fruit tart featured an uncommonly seen chocolate tart shell, bright yellowy custard deeply plonked and lucious raspberries laid atop. They make premium toppings indeed.


Jasmine Green Tea ($4.80)

Menotti The Original Italian Cafe
252 North Bridge Road
#01-17 Raffles City Shopping Centre

Best from Out of the Pan

After multiple visits to this favourite creperie of ours, they managed to strike a new fascination in me again. The lively "open-concept" still stretched right to the dining atmosphere itself, making us little displays for shoppers but we have already been immuned to that.



No, also not the splendid waffles this time...it was the Smoked Salmon crepe that claimed the credit. Or perhaps the service did-i received my first ever greeting from the chef (reckon the head chef dressed in white) seconds after my entry, and it was an energetic "good morning!".


Norwegian Smoked Salmon Crepe ($15.50)

Then, after that mood-boosting prelude, an excellent crepe followed-up. My attempt on their smoked salmon, plantation chutney & pistachio cream cheese was no doubt a pleasant one. Luscious, tender slices of semi-cooked salmon is firmly rolled in a whole-wheat crepe... oh-so-good and comforting! Not forgetting the fact it was also value-for money.

It gave me a strong drive to compliment and acknowledge the chef's generousity.


Pork Bratwurst Crepe ($15.50)

Dad gave something new a try as well. Homemade pork sausage slices, glazed apple, onions and mustard sauce in whole-wheat crepe. Unfortunately it didn't shine like how mine did.

I will be back for smoked salmon, for sure.