SO/ Singapore – Christmas Brunch 2021 [MEDIA INVITE]

Roast Turkey @ Xperience

Santa is SO/ coming to town, come and celebrate this festive season ith over-the-top feasts done the SO/ audacious way through Christmas Brunches, Dinners and Takeaways. In-house dining will take place at Xperience, a vibrant all-day restaurant and bar known for its tantalizing cuisine and attentive service. Chef Nyon Yan Quan has taken the lead this time around and has curated a sumptuous meal for us to savour.

Over-Flowing Brunch Tower

We were invited to try the Christmas Brunches and we started the meal with Xperience Signature Over-Flowing Brunch Tower. Consist of 3 levels of treats, from savoury to sweets. At level 1, we have overflowing platter filled with appetizer, artisanal cold cults, cheese and brunch items.

Over-Flowing Brunch Tower

The Beef Con Carne Tortilla Chips with Cheese hits the sweet spot in me. It is thick, robust and bursting with flavour, sitting perfectly on crispy tortilla chips. Together with smoked salmon and wild rocket salad, it was a nice start to the meal.

Level 1

Level 1

Moving to Level 2, you are treated with Bounty of the Sea. I enjoy the flesh of the Garlic Butter Roasted Boston Lobster. Most of the time, I enjoyed my Alaskan King Crab served on an iced bowl, it takes a bit of getting used to having it served at room temperature.

Level 2

Level 3 are reserved for desserts and you must pace yourself and keep some space for them at the end of your meal. However, before I go to level 3, let’s take a detour to the free flow Carving Stations. A sampler platter will be served to your table to start, you can then inform the service staff of additional dishes that you want to add.

Whole Roasted Turkey. Perfectly roasted. The dark meat is juicy, succulent and packs with flavour. Meanwhile, the white meat part is lean, yet moist. The gravy complements both cuts nicely.

Whole Roasted Turkey

Whole Roasted Turkey

Homemade Honey Baked Ham. Served in generous thick slices, I like the smokiness of the flesh. It is very meaty, therefore best enjoy with the braised purple cabbage.

Homemade Honey Baked Ham

Mediterranean Spiced Roasted Striploin. Roasted to medium-rare, each slice of the striploin is pink in the middle. The fats from the top of the sirloin, rendered into the meat to ensure the flesh remains juicy and succulent. The crust at the edges of the roast delivers a contrasting texture to the flesh and infused the meat with additional flavour. I asked for additional servings of the beef and it definitely goes well with warm potato salad.

Mediterranean Spiced Roasted Striploin

Mediterranean Spiced Roasted Striploin

Seabass Fillet with Tomato and Olive salsa. The boneless seabass is moist, meaty yet flaky. The fish is lightly seasoned and it just melts in your mouth. The tomato and olive salsa provided a sweet and tangy burst of flavour but did not overpowering the flavour of the fish. Yummy!.

Seabass Fillet with Tomato and Olive Salsa

Now coming back to Level 3, the desserts. From the folks that curated Sunday brunch menu fully based on pancakes, you know the pancakes are a must-try Moist, flavourful with a hint of chewiness, it is just delicious. Together with chantilly cream, brown butter and maple syrup are just impeccable.

Level 3, Desserts

The Macaroons has a light, smooth and crisp exterior. Followed by a chewy filling that is not overpoweringly sweet. Also don’t miss out on the solid chocolate Santa.

Chocolate Santa

Overall, it was an enjoyable Christmas Brunch meal. The Carving Stations and dessert level of the brunch tower are my favourites. If you are still looking for a Christmas Brunch place this season, do consider Xperience at SO/ Singapore. Cheers!!

The Gin Cart

Christmas Brunches Menu

SO/ Singapore Festive Dining Options [click on the blue link for more details & menu]

Daily Festive Set Dinners

01 to 30 December 2021 from 6pm

$98++ per person

Top up $68++ for free-flow Prosecco, wine and beer

Top up $98++ for free-flow champagne, festive spritz, jingle juice, gin cart

Festive Set Dinners
Image Credit: SO/ Singapore

Christmas Dinners

24, 25, 26 December 2021 from 6pm

$98++ per person

Top up $68++ for free-flow Prosecco, wine and beer

Top up $98++ for free-flow champagne, festive spritz, jingle juice, gin cart

Christmas Brunches

25 & 26 December 2021 from 12pm

$98++ per person

Top up $68++ for free-flow Prosecco, wine and beer

Top up $98++ for free-flow champagne, festive spritz, jingle juice, gin cart

Christmas Takeaway Brunch

25 & 26 December 2021 | 11am and 5pm

$298+ for 2-3 persons

$348+ for 4-5 persons

Christmas Takeaway Brunch

Christmas Festive Takeaway

New Year’s Dinner

31 December, 01 & 02 January from 6pm

$78++ per person

Top up $48++ for free-flow Prosecco, wine and beer

Top up $68++ for free-flow champagne and gin cart

Hangover Brunch

01 & 02 January from 12pm

$78++ per person

Top up $48++ for free-flow Prosecco, wine and beer

Top up $68++ for free-flow champagne and gin cart

Party Pack 2022

31 December, 01 & 02 January | 11am and 5pm

$298+ for 2-3 persons

$348+ for 4-5 persons

Thank you very much SO/ Singapore team for hosting me.

Food: 7.75/10

Value: 7/10

Service: N/A (Tasting Invitation)

Ambiance: 8/10

Budget per Person: $81 & Above

Xperience Restaurant

SO/ SINGAPORE

35 Robinson Road

Singapore 068876

T: +65 6701 6700

W: https://www.so-singapore.com/

F: https://www.facebook.com/SOSingaporeOfficial

IG: @Sosingaporeofficial

OH:

Mon – Sun: 08.00 – 21.30

Sat & Sun Brunch: 12.00 – 14.00

Dumplings.ru – Flavour of Russia [MEDIA INVITE]

Dumplings 12pcs Combo Platter 

Dumplings.ru is an authentic family-owned Russian restaurant, brainchild of Russian Owners Vadim Zoubovski and his wife, Alena Zubovska. Dumplings.ru serves dishes from Vadim and Alena family-owned recipes that have been passed down over 100 years. In short, you can expect to taste authentic home-cooked Russian food, Russian drinks together with Russian hospitality.

Dumplings.RU

LD and I were there on Friday afternoon and the place are buzzing with lunch crowd. The restaurant is cosy, with industrial design flair and without a doubt, the bar is the centrepiece of the restaurant. It can also fall under the classification of Gastropub.

The Bar

We started our tasting with Kholodets (Chicken Jelly Terrine, $8.90). Our first-time trying this and we just loved it. These mini jelly chicken cups are light and wobbly. The initial taste is very neutral almost bland like it is not seasoned at all. However, once you eat it with the mustard and spring onion, the flavour of the chicken, egg and dill just burst. Awesome.

Kholodets

Kholodets is served with slices of Rye Bread, also known as Black Bread in Russia. The Rye bread is a staple of the Russian household and always available on every dinner table. Rye bread is normally made with sourdough, but this version served by Dumplings.ru is soft, moist and neutral in flavour, slightly different from the rye bread we tried before.

Kholodets

Shuba (Salted Herring Salad, $9.90). Nicely plated salad filled with chopped potatoes, carrots, onion, hard-boiled egg, salted herring, chopped beetroot and topped with mayo and spring onions. We like the medley of flavours in the salad as it works well together, in between you get the surprising salty flavour from the salted herring that perk up the salad. A refreshing salad indeed.

Shuba

Pork Chebureki 2pcs ($12). I called this the giant fried wanton. It has a crispy exterior (like Malay curry puff) filled slightly with pork fillings. The fillings are a bit salty, however, they can be offset with mayonnaise dip. Suitable for bar bites during drinking.

Pork Chebureki

Pork Chebureki - The Fillings

Okroshka Cold Summer Soup ($8.50). A quick sip of the soup tasted like watery yoghurt soup. Ingredients consist of potato, cucumber, egg, dill, sour cream, vinegar and served cold. It is refreshing, suitable for summer and also helps to balance the carbo-loaded dishes.

Okroshka Cold Summer Soup

We finally reach the star dish of the restaurant, Pelmeni (Russian Dumpling). We ordered the Dumplings 12pcs Combo Platter ($19.90). It comes in multi-colour; each colour represents one type of fillings. Black for beef, green for lamb, orange for hog (pork), yellow for chicken, white & pink for salmon. For the complete guide, see Dumpling 101 photo below.

Dumplings 12pcs Combo Platter 

Unlike the Chinese version of the dumpling, Pelmeni skin is thick, dense and chewy. The colouring does not influence the flavour of the skin, instead the flavour come from the fillings.

Dumpling 101 - Your Dumpling Guide

We like the black (beef) and orange (hog / pork) flavour most. They are moist and tasty. Surprisingly, the dumplings with potato fillings are moist and delicious, like mashed potatoes fillings.

Dumplings 12pcs Combo Platter

The lamb fillings are very gamy and best eaten with the sour cream that serves with every order of the Pelmeni. If you don’t like strong gamy flavour, you might want to give the lamb a miss.

To end the meal, we choose Medovik (Honey Cake) and Napoleon Cake ($7.90 each) as desserts. Medovik is a traditional honey layer cake, well-loved by the Russian. It is fragrant, sweet and just melts in your mouth. The unique flavour comes from honey and browned butter and sugar. Think of it as Russia’s version of Mille Crepe. As the Medovik came out straight from the fridge, it is best to let it thawed for about 5 to 10 minutes. Once it’s thawed, you can enjoy the dessert melts in your mouth with each bite.

Medovik

Meanwhile, Napoleon cake is another multi-layer traditional Russian cake. It is made from filo pastry and cream. It is light, fluffy and easily melts in your mouth. For Napoleon, you can eat this straight away, no need to let it thawed.

Napoleon

Dining in a Russian restaurant will not be complete without the alcohols. I shall not mention their world-famous vodka, instead let me cast the light on their beer, wine and non-alcoholic drinks.

Kompot & Khvanchkara

LD tried their red wine Khvanchkara ($17 per glass), also known as ‘Joseph Stalin’s favourite Georgian red wine. The schuchmann is semi-sweet, smooth and easy to drink. I tried Kompot, a non-alcoholic fruit punch made from cooking fruits such as strawberries, apples, rhubarb with sugar or raisins. It tasted like cranberry juice with reduced acidity and sweetness.

Khvanchkara - The schuchmann 

Dumpling.ru also serve bottled Russian Beer ($16 per bottle). From the size, it will give the German beer a run for their money.

Russian Beer

Overall, it was a pleasant dining experience at Dumpling.ru. The food is tasty, hearty, delicious and homely. The kholodets, schuba, pork chebureki and dumplings are a must-try. Not forgetting sweets offering or Napoleon cake and Medovik. Cheers!

Thank you very much Protegie Consultancy and Dumpling.ru team for hosting us.

Food & Drinks: 7.5/10

Value: 7.5/10

Service: N/A (Tasting Invitation)

Ambiance: 7.25/10

Budget per Person: $11 - $25; $26 - $50

Dumplings.ru

32 Maxwell Road

#01-05 Maxwell Chambers

(Tanjong Pagar MRT Exit B)

S069115

T: +65 8875 7033

W: https://www.angmohdumplings.com/

F: https://www.facebook.com/dumplings.ru

IG: @dumplings.ru

OH:

Mon: 17.30 – 20.30

Tue – Sun: 12.00 – 14.30; 17.30 – 22.30

[CLOSED] Minka – Premium Sushi Omakase

Chutoro Sushi

Omakase is a Japanese term used in a restaurant to give the Chef free hand to decide on the menu. Originated in Japan, it has become a part of modern dining scene worldwide. To ensure a memorable dining experience, boundaries are set like price, dietary restrictions or even includes items that you dislike.

Minka Singapore

Minka is a stylish and contemporary Japanese restaurant located at Oxley Tower, Tanjong Pagar. The restaurant is small and can only fit less than 20 pax. Most of them will be seated on the Chef’s table, having the view of the chef preparing their meal.

We decided on the $98 Omakase Menu to ensure we get to try more items.

Walnut with Bonito Flakes

Appetizers: Walnut with Bonito Flakes and Onsen Egg. The walnut is crunchy, well coated with salty, umami bonito flakes. Meanwhile, the onsen egg is served cold with sweet sauce. The egg is rich and creamy and you can taste the sweet sauce in between each slurp. Meanwhile, the ikura (salmon roe) gave it an intermittent burst of salty flavour.

Onsen Egg

Sashimi. A small portion of sashimi, consist of Bonito, Otoro and Octopus. The bonito is marinated in ginger seasoning to offset the salty flavour and infused sweetness to it. The octopus is springy and crunchy, while the Otoro, just melts in your mouth. We were hoping the portion can be bigger.

Sashimi, consist of Bonito, Otoro and Octopus

Vegetable. Chilled spinach with light soy sauce. A very light seasoning to allow the spinach flavour to shine, it can be mistaken for sesame oil instead of soy sauce.

Spinach

Sushi. All the sushi here uses Japanese Premium Sushi Rice and seasoned with black vinegar. Each grain of the sushi rice is soft, yet still QQ (chewy).

Aburi Sushi Preparation

Aburi Engawa Sushi. Part muscle in the flounder edge, fatty and melts in your mouth. The charred accentuate the flavour of the fish and the lime finish, reduce any overwhelming flavour from the fish.

Aburi Engawa Sushi

Ika (Squid). Crunchy with a bit of stickiness plus a touch of sweet soy sauce.

Ika Sushi

Aburi Hotategai Sushi (Scallops). Combining a slight bitterness from the torch with the sweetness of the scallops.

Aburi Hotategai Sushi 

Tai Sushi (Japanese Snapper). Crunchy, springy and followed with a subtle sweet taste of the flesh.

Tai Sushi (Japanese Snapper)

Hiroshima Oyster with Yuzu Jelly. Plump, brainy, sweet and shiok. The yuzu jelly compliments the huge oyster nicely.

Hiroshima Oyster with Yuzu Jelly

Hirame Sushi (Flounder). It has a tough and chewy flesh. Topped with a red sauce extracted from Japanese red leaves, which give it a bit perky taste.

Hirame Sushi (Flounder)

Kampachi Belly Sushi (Yellowtail). Rich and fatty with peppery finish from the yuzu citrus pepper. Yum Yum.

Kampachi Belly Sushi

Maguro Sushi (Tuna). A generous cut from lean part of Tuna meat with yuzu shavings.

Maguro Sushi

Chutoro Sushi (Medium Fatty Tuna). This is one of those OMG feel with you finish chewing and swallowing the sushi. It is fatty and melts in your mouth like no other.

Chutoro Sushi

Uni Sushi. Rich, creamy and heavenly. The seaweed helps to balance the richness of the uni.

Uni Sushi

Chopped Tuna Belly with Ikura. Another delicious fatty tuna, topped with salty popping salmon roe. Difficult to eat it all in on go, but it is just so delicious.

Chopped Tuna Belly with Ikura

Aburi Sashimi Rice Bowl topped with Ikura. Bitter and slightly chewy. However, after the gastronomic height of the sushi and hand roll, the rice bowl is pale in comparison. Should have served this at the beginning or replace this with a non-sashimi dish such as Oyakodon or Ramen.

Aburi Sashimi Rice Bowl

Miso Soup. A palate cleanser to wash down all the delicious sushi and final rice bowl.

Miso Soup

Dessert. Matcha (Green Tea) or Black Sesame Ice Cream. We tried both and we find both very yummy. The green tea and black sesame flavours are really strong.

Matcha Ice Cream

Black Sesame Ice Cream

Overall, it was a unique and enriching experience. Aside from the food, the most intriguing experiences is to see up front Chef J at work, creating most of the dishes and pick his brain as well. Kanpai!! Cheers!!

Food: 8.25/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Ambiance: 7.5/10

Budget per Person: $26 - $50, $51 - $80, $81 and Above

Minka

138 Robinson Road

#01-06 Oxley Tower

Singapore 068906

T: +65 8689 1686 (Inc. Whatsapp)

W: http://minka.sg/

F: https://www.facebook.com/minkajapsg/

IG: @Minkajapsg

OH:

Mon – Fri: 11.30 – 14.00; 18.00 – 22.00

Sat: 18.00 – 22.00

Closed on Sunday.

*Please note: Only 6PM, 7.30PM and 8.30PM seatings are available for dinner.

Lunch offerings are Kaisendons and Chirashi bowl.

Menu available online