Bites & Brews – A Laid Back Resort Like Café with Yummy Food [MEDIA INVITE]

Bites and Brews Singapore (“B&B”) is the first official outpost of the Shanghai-based Bibimi F&B Group. The Singapore outpost is located in our Peranakan heritage neighbourhood, Joo Chiat. This new 60-seater casual dining restaurant embodies the brand’s commitment to sustainability and embracing the heritage of its surroundings.

Bites & Brews

B&B Facade (Image Credit: Bites & Brew)

In line with its sustainability theme, B&B is decorated with warm textured wood furnishing, recycled doors, windows and open brick walls which also creates a laid-back resort-like ambiance. The furniture used is sourced from second-hand, while the Perankanan-inspired fabric ceiling drapes, lamps and tiles add an extra touch of charm and pay homage to the rich heritage of Joo Chiat.

Al-Fresco Dining Area

Part of Indoor Dining Area

Peranakan Inspired Light & Vase

To set the mood, the music is controlled by a team member from the DJ station. During brunch, the music is tuned to something hipper to lift the spirit of the diners, while in the evening it will induce more calming music to set intimate dining scene and to chill.

Part of Indoor Dining Area, DJ area under the B&B logo

We started our dining experience at B&B with some mocktails. Passion Fruit – Raspberry Lemonade [$9] made with Fresh passion fruit, homemade raspberry juice, Lemon juice, soda water. A refreshing combination of citrus and berries.

Passion Fruit – Raspberry Lemonade

Kaffir Limes – Lemongrass Sencha Tea [$9] made with Resh kaffir lime, fresh calamansi, cold sencha tea, cold brew butterfly pea flowers. A complex drink with Peranakan influence.

Kaffir Limes – Lemongrass Sencha Tea 

Following the drinks is Shawarma Lamb Pide Pizza [$28]. This boat-shaped pizza is inspired by Turkish tradition. The sourdough base pizza crust is crisp and fluffy with a nice chewiness. The lamb shawarma uses premium lamb shoulder, marinated for 12-hours in a blend of Middle Eastern spices and sous-vide for 24 hours. Completing the generous toppings are creamy feta cheese, spicy red pepper sauce infused with Middle Eastern-style yoghurt, roasted peppers and fresh mint. What a “Flavour Bomb”

Shawarma Lamb Pide Pizza 

B&B Cheeseburger Burger [$28] - Kimchi Jam, Spicy Mayo and Arugula. Soft and fluffy charcoal buns with perfectly cooked burger patty and melted cheese. The kimchi jam and spicy mayo work wonders on the background, infusing sweet, fermented and creamy flavour.

B&B Cheeseburger 

Perfectly Cooked Patty

Grilled Iberico Pork Jowl [$35] – Coffee-roasted parsnip, pea sprouts, grilled pineapple, fig-sesame mostarda. At a glance, it looks like a simple stir-fried dish. It turns out to be the opposite. The pork jowl is tasty and juicy, the parsnip is crunchy with a lovely smoky aroma, while grilled pineapple and fig-sesame mostarda added a different type of sweetness to this dish. A lovely dish with plenty of flavours.

Grilled Iberico Pork Jowl 

Spicy “Pina Colada” Red Snapper [$45]. A signature dish at BB inspired by Puerto Rico's Pina Colada cocktails. The red snapper is firm yet tender, stuffed with Chinese cabbage, kaffir lime & ginger, topped with house-made basil-lime leaves oil and luscious pina colada sauce.

Spicy “Pina Colada” Red Snapper 

The result is a culinary delight, sophisticated and filled with the charm of the tropical ocean. Love the combination of the creamy pina colada and the perfectly cooked fish.

Mapo Tofu Lasagna [$21] Sichuan meat & tofu ragu, mozzarella, tomato sauce, parmesan. A fusion of Chinese and Italian cuisine. Instead of the usual creamy tomato, the fillings are replaced with Signature mapo tofu meat sauce and the sauce sips nicely into the pasta sheets. The signature mala spicy Sichuan flavour helps to balance the usually rich lasagna dish.

Mapo Tofu Lasagna

Dessert was Berries & Cream Waffle [$18] – Fresh berries, raspberry gel, strawberry chamomile gelato, whipped cream. The crispy and chewy waffle provided a nice comfort and a sweet ending to the meal.

Berries & Cream Waffle 

Don’t forget to check out their Signature Cocktails such as RUMORbanana (finest Bumbu Rum, homemade apricot-honey cordial, Assam Tea); DRUNKMatchaka (Gin, homemade raspberry jam, Matcha tea); and TomRUMYum (coconut water, lime juice, Rum, kaffir lime and ginger juice).

RUMORbanana

DRUNKMatchaka

TomRUMYum

Overall, LD and I had a great time during our tasting session. The culinary creations are well executed and each have a unique twist. Our pick for the food are Lamb Shawarma Pide Pizza, Grilled Iberico Pork Jowl and Spicy “Pina Colada” Red Snapper. The Signature cocktails and mocktails are a must-try as well. Cheers!!

B&B SG Menu 1

B&B SG Menu 2

I brought my overseas guests for brunch the following week and I ordered Lamb Shawarma Benedict [$28] – Poached eggs, harissa hollandaise, spinach, house-made brioche. I must say, anything with Lamb Shawarma on B&B’s menu is a must order!!

Lamb Shawarma Benedict 

Flat White

Thank you, Christine (CQ Works) and Team Bites & Brews, for the invitation and for hosting us.

B&B SG Menu 3

B&B SG Menu 4

Food & Drink: 8.5/10

Value: 7.5/10

Service: N/A (Media Invite)

Ambiance: 8.75/10

Budget per Person: $26-$50; $51 – 80

Bites & Brews

15 Crane Road

Singapore 429360

T: +65 8815 9615

W: https://www.bitesandbrews.life/

F: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557413591352

IG: @Bitesnbrew_sg

OH:

Tue to Thu and Sun, 11.00 – 22.00

Fri, 11.00 - Midnight

Sat, 10.00 - Midnight

Closed on Mon

[CLOSED] Lau Hock Guan Kee Bak Kut Teh – A Taste of Home A Taste of Tradition

Lau Hock Guan Bak Kut Teh

A Taste of Home, A Taste of Tradition; a phrase that I use to describe this historical restaurant. It was one of LD's Akong favourite place and her family as well. It was also one of the first traditional restaurant that I dine in during my first visit in Singapore, before I married LD.

I return countless time to dine here since 2002, as the food here is just sublime. During lunch and dinner, this place will be packed. Don't be surprise if you see lots of a lot of luxury cars parked in front of the shop, and lots of Tow Kays eating here and sipping their gongfu tea. Lau Hock Guan Kee Bak Kut Teh ('LHG') run on two shift, where each of the brothers will helm the kitchen during each shift. Note that each brother has their own signature dish to cater to their own crowd.

The Bak Kut Teh ($12 - $25) is actually nicer in the morning than the evening. It is served in the big claypot for sharing, and you can order the kidney or liver if you want. The soup is the clear and peppery type, infused with the sweetness of the pork bone. The black seaweed and lettuce are added to absorb the robust broth. The ribs are about the length of you fingers, always with the perfect balance between the meat and fats. Yum Yum. Unfortunately, they don't serve youtiao here like other bak kut teh places.

Bak Kut Teh

2The Pot – Mookata and Chicken Pot [CLOSED]

Thank you very much to OpenRice and 2The Pot team for the food tasting invitation.

Ready for Mookata

2The Pot is the first restaurant in Singapore that serve Mookata and Chicken Pot under one roof. As both current dishes are very popular to diners in Singapore, 2The Pot is trying to capitalise on this and help diners avoid making the difficult choice so everyone can have the best taste of both world. FYI, this is the first time Chubby Botak Koala ever had Chicken Pot, as LD don't like her pot of food full black sauce. :)

[CLOSED] Hogs Bar Restaurant – The New Menu

Thanks to the Hogs Bar Restaurant Team for the invitation.

Hogs Bar Restaurant ('Hogs Bar') is located on the eye catching Colonial design building in Joo Chiat Road. To be exact, it is just opposite the Joo Chiat Community Center. While many F&B establishments trying to make their mark here, it was to no avail. However, this location seems to be tailored-made for Hogs Bar.

[CLOSED] Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice Joo Chiat – The First Expansion

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice @ Joo Chiat

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice needs no introduction. Rated as one of the best chicken rice in Singapore, its original shop in Maxwell market drew the crowd like no others. During meal time, expect the queue to stretch around to shop to the open air car park. And that's not all, most of the tourist guide, blogs or other food reference, recommend Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice ('Tian Tian) as a must try in Singapore.  

Fatboy's The Burger Bar – Burgerlicious!!

Fatboy's The Burger Bar ('Fatboy') is a home grown burger chain, founded with the promise of bringing burger evolution to Singapore burger lovers. In the recent years, Singaporeans palate for burgers has evolve due to the exposure of many top notch artisan burgers. We are no longer satisfied with ordinary fast food chains burgers, we expect, NO! we DEMAND better quality burgers.

Filling the gap between upmarket artisan burgers and fast food burgers is Fatboy. Fatboy offered reasonable priced burgers; different type of patties such as chicken, lamb and beef; and best of all freedom to build your own burger. In short, the menu in Fatboy is similar to typical American Diners, of course with a slight 'naughty' local twist included.

BYO Burger (Build Your Own Burger)

As I was not that hungry that night, I ordered Wimpy Beef ($11.50). This is actually a single patty version of their best creation Fat Basterd. The chuck patties are topped with bacon, cheddar cheese, a fried egg and homemade BBQ sauce. The patty is thick and juicy. The bacon and fried egg gave a different texture to the burger and the BBQ sauce just provide a nice finish. The burger has the nice thickness to hold with both hands and bit it. Delicious!!

Wimpy Beef 

Each burger are served with thick fries, and only a single slice of tomato and lettuce leaf. The fries crispy and moist inside, however the portion is quite small and tasted quite ordinary. The tomato and lettuce is merely there for decoration, I hope they can actually give more salad for a more balance presentation instead of looking quite stingy on the plate.

Meanwhile, Little Devil had Swiss Shroom ($13). Fatboy use sauteed shitake mushrooms instead the normal portabello, melted Swiss cheese, with garlic aioli to accompany healthier whole meal bun. The patty is thick and juicy, the shitake mushrooms gave a stronger mushroom flavour and the garlic aioli just bind the whole ingredients together. For the heat, LD add jalapeno to the burger and pickles to balance the richness in the burger. Yummyyy !!

Swiss Shroom 

To add some healthy veggies to complement our burger, we decided to order Chicken Caeser Salad ($11.50). The Romaine Lettuce is just fresh and crisp. The chicken fillet is flavourful, juicy and succulent. The Caesar dressing is lighter than the usual, however it just provide a light and refreshing salad.

Chicken Caeser Salad

One item in a drink that get our approval is Lemon Lime and Bitter. Although it came in the bottled Bundaberg from the Australian manufacturer, we are just glad we had something refreshing to enjoy with our burger.

Bundaberg Lemon Lime & Bitter

The atmosphere in Fatboy is very casual. They have TVs that is showing the EPL games, so it is a good destination when the games are on during the weekend. Service is very minimum and inconsistent between the each service staff. It seems that they are more a part timer, which lack the proper service training. Luckily Fatboy does not charge customer for service.

Eyes on the TV

Overall, Fatboy deliver a good, solid and flavourful burgers. Based on the food that we have tasted so far, the rest of the items on the menu should be quite good. If you can ignore the inconsistent of their service level, Fatboy is the place to go for good-priced American Diner food. Cheers!!

Food & Drink: 7/10

Value: 7.5/10

Service: 5/10

Ambiance: 7/10

FatBoy's The Burger Bar
187 Upper Thompson Road

Singapore 574335

T: +65 6252 8780
W: http://www.fatboys.sg 
F: https://www.facebook.com/FatboysUpperThomson/ 

OH: Daily 12.00 – 23.00

Previous Location reviewed:

465 Joo Chiat Road
Singapore 427677

Heavenly Gobi Soufflé

Gobi! A name that can be mistaken for a desert in Mongolia instead of desserts. Gobi come into my attention when Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow vouched that they served the best soufflé in Singapore. During my recent visit to the Lawn, I tried the cakes that was sourced from Gobi and it tasted nice Therefore, as the opportunity presented itself, we decided to give this place a try.

With many different and funky food establishment popping up in Joo Chiat, it has slowly becoming a melting pot of the world's cuisine. Thus, it is not a surprise that you will get to have authentic French desserts along the Joo Chiat Road.

We actually got to this place close to 8.30pm on one of the weekday. We were politely informed that they will be closing in 30 mins, so we need to get our order in quickly.

As we just had a big dinner, we decided to order two desserts to share. Chocolate Soufflé ($12) and Crème Brulee ($8).

The Crème Brulee came first. Served in shallow pink ceramic oval bowl, presented with strawberry on top of thinly caramelised sugar. The caramelised sugar is consistently crispy, thin and easy to crack. The cream has the nice balance of sweetness and smoothness of the egg yolk. The only thing missing here is the vanilla seeds, so it is more likely that they use vanilla paste instead of fresh vanilla pods according to our expert baker. However, the Crème Brulee manage to satisfy my Little Devil.

Crème Brulee

Next come the main attraction, Chocolate Soufflé. It is light, fluffy, airy and has a beautiful chocolate texture. The chocolate sauce to accompany the soufflé is just to die for. Two Thumbs up for the chef. Before the end of this, we already planning when to come back for more.

 Chocolate Soufflé

 Chocolate Soufflé

Although the desserts are delightful and excellent, I believe the real improvement needed is their coffee. I ordered a latte. The milk was burnt (too hot) and the coffee is bland without any body at all. Although it seems they have a good coffee machine, the service staff don't know how to use it. Hopefully they look into this, improve or send their service staff on a quick barista course. I personally believe a perfect cup of coffee will elevate their desserts further.

Latte

The décor of the place is mostly white, supported with chandelier theme and sixties lighting. As the place can only cater for around 20 people, the service is quite efficient with limited staff.

The Decor

Specials 

Other Desserts

Overall, Gobi Cakes is definitely a place to try for desserts. Pricing is very reasonable and their desserts are just astonishing. I will personally skip the coffee and go for other drinks. Little Devil and I already can't wait for our next visit here.

Food & Drink: 9/10 for desserts; 4/10 for coffee

Value: 8.5/10

Service: 7/10

Ambiance: 7.5/10

Gobi Cakes
350 Joo Chiat Road
Singapore 427598


Tel: 6345 2127
Website: http://www.gobi.com.sg/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GobiCakes
Op Hours:
Tue – Thu: 12.00 – 21.00
Fri – Sun: 12.00 – 22.00
Closed on Mondays