Tonny Restaurant – Comforting Cantonese Cuisine

Braised Crocodile Palm with Quail Eggs

Tonny Restaurant is named after its founder Chef Tonny Chan, a renowned Cantonese Chef from Hong Kong, with over 30 years of experience. Throughout his cooking career, Chef Tonny Chan has won many awards including Gold at Singapore Golden Tripod Award in 2002 with his famous dish named The Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. You can still enjoy this dish at Tonny Restaurant.

Tonny Restaurant

I passed by Tonny Restaurant (‘TR’) a lot of times, as it is located beside the restaurant that serves frog porridge. For our CNY 2018 gathering, our makan kakis agreed to give this place a try.

The lunch started with Spanish Iberico Yu Sheng ($58 / $88). A unique version of Yu Sheng. The basic ingredients are simple, the usual shaved carrots, shaved radish together with pickled and dried ingredients. Fresh Lettuce, Fried Fish Skin and Spanish Iberico ham are the unique touches of Tonny Restaurant. The Yu Sheng tasted refreshing and crunchy, while the Iberico Ham gave the Yu Sheng a unique umami saltiness.

Spanish Iberico Yu Sheng - $88

Spanish Iberico 

We decided not to order the CNY set menu, instead, we ordered from the selected CNY ala carte menu. Crispy Yam with Truffle Oil ($16). This is a signature dish of this restaurant. The Yam is crispy and light, bind together with truffle oil and a touch of mayonnaise. Just to simply describe it, Yummy!!

Crispy Yam with Truffle Oil

Crispy Yam with Truffle Oil

Braised Home Made Beancurd with Dried Scallop ($20). The exterior of the homemade beancurd is slightly crisp as it was deep fried before. The interior is smooth and tasty, while the thick gooey dried scallops’ gravy just elevates the flavour in this dish. I suggest that you have a bowl of white rice with this to soak up the rich gravy.

Braised Home Made Beancurd with Dried Scallop

Claypot Chicken with Chinese Wine ($38), ordered by LD. The chicken is seasoned with salt, baked and cooked in claypot. Once the lid of the claypot was lifted, the appetizing aroma just filled the room. As TR uses Kampong Chicken, the chicken is firm, springy and succulent at the same time. We like the texture of the skin plus the stock extracted from the chicken. Another “rice thief” dish.

Claypot Chicken with Chinese Wine

I manage to get my hand on the chicken bishop and it does not disappoint. The fats just melt in your mouth and absent of oiliness texture. Yum Yum.

Braised Crocodile Palm with Quail Eggs ($52). Something exquisite from Chef Tonny recipe vault. I did not eat the crocodile meat is too ‘heaty’ for me and I will have a nosebleed if I consume it. The crocodile palm is filled with collagen, topped with rich and delicious gravy. Well, the rest of the makan kakis agree that this exotic dish is worth to try.

Braised Crocodile Palm with Quail Eggs

Braised Ee-Fu Noodles with Lobster ($68 for 4 pax). The idea of this dish is to let the Ee-Fu me to absorbs the flavour of the lobster. The lobster is nicely cooked, where you can taste the flesh springy and bouncy. Though the Ee-Fu noodle soaks the flavour of the lobster, I found it lacking the OMPH factor.

Braised Ee-Fu Noodles with Lobster

Braised Ee-Fu Noodles with Lobster
Handmodel: Jelly Loves Food

For dessert, Pan-Fried New Year Cake ($8). For presentation – unattractive!  Taste wise, definitely not what we expected, the rice cake is not flavourful and aromatic, to make the dish worse, it was burnt on one side. This dish is definitely not recommended.

Pan-Fried New Year Cake

The décor of the restaurant actually paid homage to most of the restaurant in Hong Kong. The Chinese calligraphy decorated the dining area together with Chef Tonny achievements and publications on Chef Tonny. The gold colour tablecloths showcase a modern touch to the restaurant, which I find it better than the dark red colour. Service is friendly with a touch of oldies personality.

Part of Dining Area

Overall, it was indeed a good dining experience. Their signature dishes such as Crispy Yam with Truffle Oil, Homemade Beancurd and Claypot Chicken with Chinese Wine are a must to order here. Chef Tonny dishes also showcase his ability to combine modern ingredients with his Cantonese cooking style. Looking forward to my next visit. Cheers!!

Food & Drink: 8/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 7/10

Ambiance: 6.75/10

Budget per Person: $26 - $50, $51 - $80.

Tonny Restaurant

No 8-10 Lor 3 Geylang

Singapore 388862

T: +65 6748 6618

W: http://tonnyrestaurant.sg/

F: http://bit.ly/2JqMYaC

OH:

Tue – Sun: 12.00 – 14.00, 18.00 – 22.30

Closed on Monday

Royale Restaurant – Surf and Turf Season [MEDIA INVITE]

Royale Restaurant is the All-Day Dining outlet for Mercure Singapore Bugis. With its Regal setting, it welcomes diners for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. From 08 March to 27 May 2018 Royale Restaurant celebrate the best of land and sea with their Surf and Turf Buffet. Full details of the buffet timing available below.

Check out the video clip of the buffet

To kick start the Surf and Turf gastronomic journey, each person will be served Surf & Turf Welcome Platter. This platter consists of Black Pepper Crab in a Bucket, Clam Gratin and Beef Slider.

Surf & Turf Welcome Platter

The beef patty is cooked to medium rare, resulting in juicy and succulent sliders. The lettuce, tomato and mayo on the sliders just make each bite more memorable. The clam is juicy and well covered with the crisply baked cheese. Meanwhile, the black pepper crab has a good aromatic pepper flavour to go with the meaty Indonesia mud crab.

The Salad Bar

The Sushi Bar

From the sea, the Prawn Bisque with Brandy is a must try. The soup is thick and creamy, while a bitter touch of the brandy and extract of the prawn essence give this soup the OMPH. The homemade soft roll bread plus butter just provide a good balance to the soup.

Prawn Bisque

The Nyonya Bakes Seabass Fillet with Pineapple Slaw offer something unique. Perfectly cooked, the flesh fillet is flaky with a touch of buttery feel. The Nyonya spices sure gave it a bit of fireworks while the pineapple slaw paired well with the fish.

Pan-seared Garlic Prawn with Custard and Superior Broth

From the land, the buffet offers the selection of beef, lamb, pork and duck. My top choice is the Duck Leg Confit with Tomato and Garlic. The irresistible crispy duck skin plus the succulent and flavourful meat is absolutely not to be missed. Second to that is their Mongolian style slow braised Lamb Leg that just melts in your mouth.

Duck Leg Confit with Tomato and Garlic 

Mongolian Style Slow-braised Lamb Leg with Red Sago, Rose Wine and Spices

Homemade Lor Mee with Crayfish is the signature for the Live Station. I must admit, I am not a Lor Mee fan. Having said that, I found the taste of the Lor Mee here is agreeable to my palate. The not so sticky robust broth topped with minced garlic bodes well with the Mee Pok. The crayfish topping seems to elevate this version of Lor Mee instead of the usual fried batang fish.  

Homemade Lor Mee with Crayfish

Homemade Lor Mee with Crayfish

Two other savoury dishes that I like are Potatoes Dauphinoise and Seafood Casserole. Both have the baked cheese and cream components to eat and it just feels compatible with my taste buds.

Potatoes Dauphinoise

Seafood Casserole

Desserts of the night are Strawberry Short Cake and Chocolate Banana Cake for me. The sponge on the strawberry short cake is light and moist. Topped with strawberries and crispy almond just make it so Yummy. The chocolate banana cake is good but feels like missing a sauce. I recommend that you drizzle some of the chocolate sauce from the fondue to make this cake so so much better.

The Desserts Selection 

Royale Special Chocolate Banana Cake

In summary, a destination to consider for buffet in Singapore. Although the spread is limited, Royale Restaurant is focused on the quality.

Part of the Dining Area

Surf & Turf Buffet

When: 08 March – 27 May 2018.

Timing:

Dinner: Thursday – Sunday; 18.00 – 22.00

Lunch: Saturday & Sunday; 12.00 – 14.30

Price: $58++ (A). $29++ (C)

Promotion: There is 1-for-1 Promotion if you book with HungryGoWhere or follow this link

http://hgw.sg/royale-1-for-1-surf-turf

Food & Drink: 7.25/10

Value: 7.5/10

Service: N/A (Tasting Invitation)

Ambiance: 7.5/10

Budget per Person: $51 - $80

Royale Restaurant

122 Middle Road

Level 3 Mercure Singapore Bugis

Singapore 188973

T: +65 6884 6884 (For Reservation)

     +65 6521 6030 (For Enquiries)

W: http://www.mercure-singapore-bugis.com/restaurants-bars/royale/

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

IG: @MercureSingaporeBugis

OH:

Breakfast: 06.00 – 10.30

Buffet Lunch: 12.00 – 14.30

Buffet Dinner: 18.00 – 22.00

A La Carte: 11.00 – 23.00 (L.O. 22.30)

Kanshoku Ramen Bar – Oishi Tonkotsu Ramen

Signature Kanshoku Ramen

Kanshoku Ramen Bar is a Singapore born Ramen Bar created by Melvin and Brendon, founded in 2014. Kanshoku means 'to finish eating every last bit of your food'. This sometimes can be difficult when it comes to Tonkotsu ramen, however this duo manages to create this in Kashoku.

Kanshoku Ramen Bar @ ION Orchard

My order is Signature Kanshoku Ramen ($13.90), with hard ramen texture. The presentation is simple with only the necessary ingredients. Ramen, Char Siew, Fungus, Spring Onions and Seaweed.

Signature Kanshoku Ramen

First slurp, the broth tasted creamy, robust with a subtle umami flavour. I noticed that it is not oily, however you can feel the subtle Oink Oinkness in the broth. The ramen is thin and springy and easily soaks up the flavour of the broth. The chasu is thin, well-balanced fats and it just melts in your mouth. Oishi!!

Check out the Ramen

As I was hungry, I decided to top up with Noodle with broth ($5.50). It is basically the Ramen with the broth, topped with white sesame. The portion is generous and the texture of the ramen is consistent.

Ramen with Broth

Shoyu Ramen ($13.90). The broth of this ramen is the opposite of the Signature Ramen. It is clear and well infused with quality shoyu. The ramen is thin and springy, complemented the broth nicely. The chasu is thin, well-balanced fats and just melts in your mouth. Suitable for someone looking for a lighter ramen.

Shoyu Ramen

We also ordered the Pork Gyoza ($6.50).The skin is crispy and the pork fillings just burst in your mouth. The tangy vinegar helps to balance too much richness from the pork.

Pork Gyoza

The décor of the restaurant is bright, zen, creating the atmosphere of dining in a Japanese establishment. You can be forgiven if you think of it as a dessert bar instead of ramen bar due to its modern aesthetic. The ordering process is simple and seamless, while the service is no fuss as well.

The Menu

Overall, in the beginning, I thought this restaurant is another franchise from Japanese Ramen outlet. Kudos to Melvin and Brendon in creating a homegrown Ramen Bar. It is definitely comparable to those established brands. For the ramens, they are just OISHI. Cheers!!

Food & Drink: 8/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 7.75/10

Ambiance: 7.5/10

Budget per Person: $11 - $25.

Kanshoku Ramen Bar

2 Orchard Turn

#B3-18, ION Orchard

Singapore 238801

T: +65 6509 8221

W: https://www.kanshokuramen.com/

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

IG: @Kanshokuramen

OH: Daily 11.00 – 22.00

Other outlets are listed on their website

The Three Peacocks – Open Air BBQ Experience

The Lobsters

The Three Peacocks at Labrador Park is an outdoor dining destination for those charcoal BBQ lovers. My first encounter with this open fire charcoal BBQ is at New Rod Fai Night Market in Bangkok, where they sell the seafood BBQ. At The Three Peacocks ('TTP') the menu goes beyond seafood and they incorporate the flavours of Western, Korean and Thai cuisines.

Part of The Dining Area

TPP is located in the green open area at Labrador Park. It is an open-air barbecued buffet restaurant, where you can enjoy extensive of offerings under the beautiful sky. Once you are seated, the service staff will bring the table BBQ pit, loaded with charcoal and you are ready to proceed with your BBQ. As it is an open-air environment, expect your clothes to be smelly at the end of the dining session here.

Charcoal BBQ

Charcoal BBQ with Mash

Top of the list for BBQ here is their lobster. Each person allowed to claim one each. Bring your payment receipt to the fish tanks area to claim your lobster. The lobster will take a long time to BBQ, and you need to keep an eye on it so it does not get overcooked. It is better that you don't cook them all at once.

Lobsters on Fire

Prawns and Bamboo clams are highly recommended by me. When you put it on the mash, the clams will be the first one to be cooked, following that are the prawns. They both taste springy, juicy and fresh. I ate it without any sauce. There are some dipping sauce you can choose from, but it looks like everyone is going for the homemade chilli sauce.

Prawns

Bamboo Clams

TTP also have crabs, crayfishes, oysters, scallops, salmon fish, stingray and other seafood as well. The offering is very extensive, it just depends on what you like. I personally don't like BBQ oysters, so I go for crayfishes instead.

Crayfishes & Pork Belly

Crayfish Meat

Crabs

For the meat, it is marinated in Korean and Thai flavour. They offer thick cut pork belly, marinated beef short ribs, pork bulgogi, spicy pork. The meat is good to be grilled with direct fire, unfortunately, if you are a clean freak, the black colour mash from extensive BBQing will definitely turn you off. You can get aluminium foil to cover the mash, but it is almost useless as the food easily sticks on it and need to be replaced frequently.

Part Seafood Selections

Two meat items that you must try are the thick cut pork belly and the marinated beef ribs. Both are surprisingly good and the beef short ribs succulent and well marinated. Best if you grilled it on the open fire, on the mash, without the aluminium foil.

For the side dishes, they have choices of crab sticks, fishcakes, balls, mushrooms, corns, onions and crab claws. We BBQ the mushroom on the aluminium foil with lots of margarine on it.

Side Dishes

The cooked food is definitely extensive. It includes braised chicken wings, braised prawns and clams, fried rice, fried chicken wings, spring rolls, beancurd skins, hot dogs in tomato sauce, salad, fried mantou and french loaf.

Cooked Food Part 1

Cooked Food Part 2

Cooked Food Part 3

We top up our buffet with free flow of drinks. It has a very good selection, including coke zero, sarsi, ice cream soda. Although they recommend Thai Milk tea as their signature drink, I don't recommend it. Stick with the bottled drinks.

Overall, if you are someone that enjoys outdoor BBQ, you definitely should give this place a try. Another plus point is that you can stay as long as you want, there is no time limit on the seating even on the weekend. Cheers!!

Food & Drink: 6.75/10

Value: 7.25/10

Service: 7/10

Ambiance: 6,5/10

Budget per Person: $26 - $50.

The Three Peacocks

8 Port Road

Labrador Park

Singapore 117540

T: +65 9851 1802

W: https://www.thethreepeacocks.com/

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

IG: #Thethreepeacocks

OH: Daily 17.30 – 01.00

Price:

$38+ per pax for Seafood & Meat BBQ Buffet

$3.99+ for Free Flow Drinks (Thai Milk Tea, Soft Drinks and Cordial Drinks)