H&C Café – A New & Better Choice for You [MEDIA INVITE]

H&C Café has launched a new menu focused on healthy, hearty, wholesome and delicious. To accompany the new culinary creation, H&C also introduced Fancy Chinese Tea range.

H&C Cafe

Part of Dining Area

There are 9 options for the Fancy Chinese Tea, and we only managed to try 3 of them.

Fancy Chinese Tea

Cold Brew Orchid Pu’erh Tea [$10.90] – Orchid Flower and Pu’erh Tea Leaves. I like the presentation; the bottle looks similar to XO Cognac. The tea has a strong Pu’erh flavour, is not bitter and with refreshing orchid aftertaste.

Cold Brew Orchid Pu’erh Tea 

Beau-tea-ful You [$14] – Mixed Dried Fruits, Rose, Strawberries and Dragon fruit & Tea-rrifically Healthy [$14] Chrysanthemum, Buckwheat Tea and Osmanthus. These teas are brewed using the Siphon method and poured into a glass teapot before servings. The Beau-tea-ful You is naturally sweet from the fruits and rose, with a touch of sourness from the berries. Meanwhile, the Tea-rrifically Healthy has a refreshing chrysanthemum flower with a slight bitter finish from the buckwheat. Each of the brews is only for 1 time only.

Siphon Method

Beau-tea-ful You 

Tea-rrifically Healthy

Moving to the food, we started with Crispy Squid [$18]. The squid is crunchy and the exterior is covered with spicy, sweet and savoury concoction. Once we drizzle the lime juice, the acidity brings a nice twang to the dish. A good start to the meal.

Crispy Squid

Hot & Sour Gyoza [$14]. The pan-fried chicken gyoza has a crispy and chewy texture. The tangy sour mustard greens soup, complemented by the sweetness from the cherry tomatoes opened up my appetite.

Hot & Sour Gyoza

Sticky Pork Ribs [$15.50]. Bite-size pork ribs, deep fried and coated with classic sweet vinegar glaze. The sweet and savoury flavour combo makes the pork ribs plus the longan make this dish irresistible.

Sticky Pork Ribs

Low Cal, Avocado Scallion Capellini [$22.50]. The scallion capellini is fragrant and smooth. The avocado, mushroom, nori and cherry tomatoes made the dish look healthy. Surprisingly, it brought up the nostalgic feeling, like I am eating high-end version of economic bee hoon.

Low Cal, Avocado Scallion Capellini 

Hot Sauce Prawn Pasta [$27.50]. The prawns are fresh and crunchy, while the capellini absorbs the rich and umami essence from the prawn and hot sauce. The kale adds a healthy and contrasting texture to the dish, while the egg confit helps to tame the spicy hot sauce.

Hot Sauce Prawn Pasta

Tomato Beef Stew [$19.50] served with sourdough. The beef cheek has a nice caramelisation and fork tender as well. The stew is light, tasty, tangy and a touch of Sichuan spice to perk up the stew. The crisp sourdough complements the stew nicely with its texture and to polish up the gravy. (*instead of sourdough, you can ask for scallion pancake).

Tomato Beef Stew 

Humble Grain Stone Bowl [$16.50]. A beautiful medley of vegetables and grains. There are mixed grains, potato, mixed mushrooms, fried kale, white sesame and scallion soy sauce. Each of the ingredients brought unique and tasty components to the dish, complemented by the charred from the hot stone bowl.

Humble Grain Stone Bowl

Salmon & Grains [$34]. Lovely seared salmon fillet with a crispy skin plated on the top of mixed grain tossed with scallion soy sauce. The charred Romaine lettuce adds a nice smoky flavour and crunchy texture. The avocado adds a rich creamy texture to the dish, while the squeeze of lemon binds all the ingredients together and remove any fishiness from the salmon.

Salmon & Grains

Squid Mixed Grain Rice Stew [$26.50]. A fusion creation that blends the East and West. The sour mustard green broth works well with the mixed grains, while the squid and cherry tomatoes brought exciting texture and burst of flavours to this dish. A delicious creation indeed.

Squid Mixed Grain Rice Stew 

Overall, I like the latest creations at H&C Café. The food is internationally inspired, creative and tasty, while maintaining the healthy and lower in calories principles. The Fancy Chinese Tea concoctions are also nice and easy to drink. Definitely a place to try. Cheers!!

Thank you, Kristine, Executive Chef Eugene and H&C Café team, for hosting us.

Food & Drink: 8.5/10

Value: 8/10

Service: N/A (Tasting Invitation)

Ambiance: 8.5/10

Budget per Person: $26 - $50

H&C Cafe

290 Orchard Road

#03-09 Paragon Shipping Centre

Singapore 238859

T: +65 9727 511

W: https://linktr.ee/halcyonandcrane

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

IG: @halcyoncrane

OH: Daily 11.00 – 20.30

[CLOSED] Bowls & Bites – Delicious, Health, Wholesome Meal [MEDIA INVITE]

Truffle Beef Bowl 

Bowls & Bites is a new concept by the folks behind Black Fairy Coffee. Bowls & Bites (“BB”) aim to deliver an enchanting experience through good food and drinks. Located in CBD, BB offers a hearty, wholesome and nutritious meal followed by an extensive Happy Hour and value alcohol offerings.

Bowls & Bites

We started the tasting with BB signature Truffle Beef Bowl ($15.90) with additional Foie Gras ($3). For the base, you can choose between Pearl Rice, Brown Rice or Salad. The toppings include medium-rare beef tenderloin that delivers a lean yet tender protein, onsen egg, boiled broccoli and furikake Together with diced foie gras and truffle oil, it’s like a flavour bomb happening in your mouth.

Truffle Beef Bowl 

I realised the base sauce for this beef bowl is on the sweet side. Luckily, each rice bowls are served with apple salad. It is crunchy and slightly sourish, mixed with dried cranberries which helps to balance the rice bowl perfectly. There is an option to get the large version for ($8.90), it is good to have it on its own or as a main meal.

Beef Tenderloin

Apple Salad with dried Cranberry

Mentaiko Salmon Bowl ($14.90). Brown Rice, Salmon topped with Mentaiko sauce, onsen egg and broccoli. The brown rice is tasty and crunchy, the mentaiko sauce paired well with the salmon. The salmon is a bit overcooked of my liking, as it tasted dry without the mentaiko sauce.

Mentaiko Salmon Bowl

The Salmon

Rustic Beef Stew ($14.90). This is one of my comfort foods. A huge chunk of beef, stewed with potato, carrots and herbs. BB uses a leaner cut of the beef, however, I tasted three different parts of the beef: the lean meat, tendon and also the fats. The broth of the stew is on the lighter side and soaked up nicely by the toasted ciabatta. For small eater, this dish can easily satisfy two people.

Rustic Beef Stew

Rustic Beef Stew

We washed down the meal with refreshing Lemongrass Pandan ($4 for cold) and Grapefruit Pomelo ($4 for Cold).

Grapefruit Pamelo & Lemongrass Pandan

The furnishing of the place is simple yet attractive. A combination of a gold colour steel base and walnut are used for the high table and chairs. There are two seating areas, inside the China Square Food Centre and outdoor, just beside the entrance to the food centre. However, most of the glass window and walls are covered with alcohol promotions.

Part of Indoor Dining Area

Food Menu

Drink Menu

Overall, Bowls & Bites cater to the CBD dining trend. It provides a delicious, healthy and wholesome meal for lunch, followed by long happy hours for the after-office hour crowd. The Truffle Beef Bowl and Rustic Beef Stew is a must-try. Cheers!!

Note:

- This Media Tasting is conducted before the Phase 2 Heightened Alert.

- During this P2HA, Bowls & Bites only catered for Islandwide Delivery only, from 10AM to 8PM daily. Order through WhatsApp 8444 0352 or visit order.tabsquare.ai/BowlsandBites

- Check out Bowls & Bites FB page for more details here.

Thank you very much Protegie PR and Bowls & Bites Team for hosting us.

Food & Drinks: 7/10

Value: 7/10

Service: N/A (Tasting Invitation)

Ambiance: 6.5/10

Budget per Person: $11 - $25

Bowls & Bites

51 Telok Ayer Street

#01-03 China Square Food Centre

Singapore 048441

T: +65 8444 0352

F: https://www.facebook.com/bowlsnbites.sg

IG: @Bowlsnbites.sg

Order: https://www.blackfairycoffee.com/fgv

OH:

Mon – Fri: 10.00 – 20.00

Sat – Sun: Closed

[CLOSED] FrapasBar – French Tapas Concept by Saveur [MEDIA INVITE]

Crispy Pork Belly

FrapasBar by Saveur is the latest concept by the passionate and talented people in Saveur. FrapasBar is a combination of French Cuisine with Tapas style of presentation.

FrapasBar

Located in now-defunct Concetto, the Italian concept by Saveur; the group next concept is following the current market trend of pairing small bites with drinks. As the group strength in French cuisine, it is just natural that French style Tapas is the direction they are heading plus showcasing their forte.

Part of Bar & Dining Area

Not an alcohol drinker, I decided to order Frizzy Lemonade ($8). Citrusy, ice-cold and refreshing. Good as thirst cruncher for Singapore hot weather. 

Frizzy Lemonade

We started with Mussels & Cream ($12). Mussels cooked with white wine, cream, shallots and parsley. Creamy and fragrant broth to go with the juicy mussels’ flesh. It is best to squeeze the lemon into the dish as it helps to cuts through the richness of the sauce. As this dish does not come with bread, I suggest you order garlic bread ($3) to polish the sauce.

Mussels & Cream

Crispy Pork Belly ($15). One of the signature dishes in Saveur and I am glad that they bring it over to FrapasBar and revolutionise it.  Served with orange mustard puree, pickled daikon and balsamic baby onion.

The pork is juicy, succulent and almost melts in your mouth. While the skin is crispy and crumbly, almost like the Cantonese version of crispy roast pork. The mustard puree instead of the regular Dijon mustard elevates the presentation and flavour in this dish. While the tangy pickled daikon and balsamic baby onion gave this dish the OMPH factor and cuts through the "jelakness" of the pork. Yum yum.

Crispy Pork Belly

Seafood Bouillabaisse ($16). Mussel, prawn, seabass, squid, fennel, potato. A very robust soup base, filled with bold seafood essence. The medley of seafood provides different texture and flavours, while, the charred garlic bread has a nice smoky aroma and good to absorb the soup.

Seafood Bouillabaisse

Stuffed Squid ($18) with French Onion Rice. Though the presentation looks awesome, the texture of the squid let us down. It is a bit rubbery, even the fragrant French Orion rice unable to help in saving this dish. Will skip this dish next time around.

Stuffed Squid

Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks ($18). The super WOW dish at FrapasBar. The beef cheek is so tender, you can pick it apart with your fork. The braising jus and seasoning well infused into the beef, as you can taste them while it melts in your mouth. Serving this dish with smooth velvety mash potatoes is just so comforting, while the picked red Bombay onion helps balance the richness of this dish. Yum Yum.

Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks

Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks
Hand Model Tiara_Star 

We manage to leave some space for Sticky Date & Pecan Pudding ($10). Crispy externally, followed with a sweet sticky texture internally. The ice cream is generous and the creaminess goes well with the pudding. A must-order for those who enjoy sweet desserts.

Sticky Date & Pecan Pudding
Hand Model Tiara_Star 

The restaurant setting is modern and casual. Surrounded with floor to ceiling glasses, it maximises the use of natural daylight during the day. Good place to take photos.

Part of the Dining Area

Overall, the food in FrapasBar is on par with those served in Saveur. My personal picks are Crispy Pork Belly, Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks and Seafood Bouillabaisse. I look forward to returning to this place to try other dishes. Cheers!!

Thank you Msginginly for jioing and Tiara_Star for sharing the calories.

Food & Drink: 7.25/10

Value: 7.5/10

Service: N/A (Tasting Invitation)

Ambiance: 7.25/10

Budget per Person: $26 - $50,

FrapasBar by Saveur

2 Handy Road

#01-11/12, The Cathay

Singapore 229233

T: +65 6735 1141

W: https://www.frapasbar.sg/

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

IG: @Frapasbar

OH:

Sun – Thu: 12.00 – 01.00

Fri & Sat: 12.00 – 02.00

Food Last Order 21.30

Menu available Online