Allo – Delicious French Food

Allo is a French bistro located in shophouses along Desker Road, Little India. I was attracted to Allo when I saw a posting on Allo’s dish on social media and added it to my list of places to try.

Allo

When you reach the front door of Allo, you will be welcomed by a nice al-fresco dining area, complete with rattan chairs and white round tables, just like those found in France. The indoor dining area is separated by white steel doors with glass windows. In the evening, the ambient of the indoor dining area is dimly lit. It is furnished, with square tables, rattan chairs and long banquette seats, for seats against the wall. Though not an open kitchen, through the pass, you can see the chefs at work in the kitchen.

Allo's Al-fresco dining area

We started the meal with Pan Seared Foie Gras [$26] - Pan-Seared Foie Gras, Figs Compote, Rice Crackers. A generous serving of foie gras, cooked to perfection. It has a lovely crisp externally, smooth and creamy internally. The figs compote is sweet and bodes well with foie gras and crispy rice crackers.

Pan Seared Foie Gras 

Warm Oven Truffled Camembert with Figs Compote [$28] - Camembert Cheese, Truffle Paste, Figs compote. The camembert is sliced evenly like a muffin and generously slathered with truffle paste. It is then baked, to the point where the cheese is warm and gooey. Eaten together with crispy sourdough and figs compote, it is just delicious.

Warm Oven Truffled Camembert with Figs Compote 

Moving to mains Wagyu Sirloin Steak with Pomme Puree & Seasonal Vegetable [$38] - Sirloin, pomme puree, brandy sauce. The steak is cooked to medium-rare, as ordered. It is nicely seasoned, juicy and succulent. The pomme puree (French mashed potatoes) is creamy, velvety and ridiculously delicious complemented by the crunchy seasonal vegetables. Yummy!!

Wagyu Sirloin Steak with Pomme Puree & Seasonal Vegetable

Beef Tenderloin with Potato Dauphinoise & Seasonal Vegetable [$38] - Brandy Sauce. The thick beef tenderloin is meaty and succulent. Unlike the sirloin which has more fats, the tenderloin offers a nice meaty texture. The Potato Dauphinoise (Potato au Gratin) has a crisp exterior, followed by a creamy interior, which complements the beef tenderloin nicely. The seasonal vegetables are crunchy, while the brandy sauce binds all the ingredients nicely.

Beef Tenderloin with Potato Dauphinoise & Seasonal Vegetable 

The service is friendly but minimal. On that night, we only have 1 service staff covering 4 tables.

Overall, Allo served delicious French cuisine in a French café atmosphere. The food is fairly priced and we will surely return for more. Santé!! Cheers!!

Food & Drink: 8/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 6.5/10

Ambiance: 7.5/10

Budget per Person: $26 - $50; $51 - $80

Allo French Restaurant

72 Desker Road

Singapore 209595

T: +65 8897 9230

W: https://allo.com.sg/

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

IG: @Allo.com.sg

OH:

Tue – Thu, Sun: 11.00 – 15.00, 18.00 – 22.30

Fri – Sat: 11.00 – 15.00; 18.00 – Midnight

Closed on Mondays

Permata Singapore – Enchanting Malacca Cuisine [MEDIA INVITE]

In the month of July, Permata Singapore (which means “Jewel” in Malay), led by culinary director Chef Mel Dean invites us to savour the enchanting Flavours of Malacca in the 1-FOR-1 Halal buffet format. Malacca cuisine offers a unique blend of Malay, Chinese, Indian, Eurasian and Peranakan culinary influences that most Singaporeans are familiar with.

Flavors of Malacca

There are a lot of foods to try on this amazing culinary adventure, and here are some of the highlights:

Starters

Asam Pedas Daging Tetel. It is a spicy and tangy dish made from beef trimmings, including tendon, tripe, offcuts and fats stewed over a long period to extract that delicious flavour. The spicy and tangy gravy is irresistible and goes well with bread or the aromatic Nasi Goreng Kerabu. I went back twice for this dish. Yummy!!

Ayam Pedas Daging Tetel

Nasi Goreng Kerabu

Nyonya Chang. This halal version of Nyonya Chang is just superb. The sticky and moist glutinous rice is divided into two parts. The top part is coloured with blue pea flowers, while the bottom part is just natural. The fillings consist of tender and succulent chicken, cooked with shitake mushroom and packed with umami.

Nyonya Chang

Chicken Rice Ball. The famous version of chicken rice in Malacca. Deboned succulent poached chicken accompanied with a fragrant chicken rice ball. Complete with the dark soy sauce, crushed ginger plus spicy and tangy chilli.

Chicken Rice Ball

Ayam Buah Keluak Risotto. The new interpretation of Ayam Buah Keluak by Chef Mel Dean. Think of it as truffle mushroom risotto, but using Asian truffle.

Ayam Buah Keluak Risotto

Chicken Curry Devil. The most famous Eurasian chicken recipe. The chicken is tender and absorbs the blend of spices. Not forgetting it can be super spicy as well.

Chicken Curry Devil

Medan Bakar Parameswara. Inspired by the popular outdoor bbq eatery in Malacca, complete with a nice cool sea breeze atmosphere. The Udang Bakar is fresh and spot on. You can dip it with kicap cili padi, but I enjoyed mine without any sauce. Meanwhile, the Chargrilled Striploin is tender accompanied by rich and spicy lemak cili api sauce.

Udang Bakar

Chargrilled Striploin

Pengat Durian. This is the more traditional version of pengat durian. Thick, gooey and served warm, just like those dips with Kuih Serabai. Since we did not have kuih serabai, I end up eating it with Roti Jala.

Pengat Durian

While the Flavours of the Malacca are the main theme for July 2024, you can also try the delicious International and Nusantara food served in Permata; such as Seafood on Ice, Tulang Merah, Soup Hayam, Laksa, Satay, Beef Rendang and many more.

Seafood on Ice

Tulang Merah

Laksa

Beef Rendang

Satay

Overall, it was a delicious journey to savour the Flavours of Malacca. LD and I enjoy the food, the taste and the experience. Don’t miss out on this! Cheers!!

Mains

Flavours of Malacca (1-FOR-1 HALAL BUFFET)

When: 1st July to 31 July 2024

Time: Lunch, Daily, 12.00 – 14.30

Dinner, Mon – Fri, 18.30 – 21.30

Dinner, Sat – Sun, 1st Seating 17.00 – 19.00

Dinner, Sat – Sun, 2nd Seating 19.30 – 21.30

Price: Lunch, Daily, $88++ Adult - $15++ Children 6 yrs - 10 yrs

Dinner, $98++ Adult - $15++ Children 6 yrs - 10yrs

(1-FOR-1 Buffet Promotion)

For Reservation:

Call 9082 9941 or Email: reservation@gedungkining.sg / event@gedungkuning.sg

https://www.sevenrooms.com/reservations/permata/chef-mel-dean

Thank you very much to Chef Mel Dean and Permata team for hosting us.

Desserts

Food & Drink: 8/10

Value: 8/10

Service: N/A (Tasting Invitation)

Ambiance: 8/10

Budget per Person: $51 - $80

Permata Singapore

73 Sultan Gate

Singapore 198497

T: +65 9082 9941

W: https://www.gedungkuning.sg/permata

F: https://www.facebook.com/permata.restaurant

IG: @Permata.singapore

OH:

Lunch, Daily, 12.00 – 14.30

Dinner, Mon – Fri, 18.30 – 21.30

Dinner, Sat – Sun, 1st Seating 17.00 – 19.00

Dinner, Sat – Sun, 2nd Seating 19.30 – 21.30

MYODIVE SONICTM MASSAGE GUN [PRODUCT REVIEW]

A massage gun is one of the best equipment to have when your muscle is feeling sore and in need of quick relief. I like a good body massage, but sometimes it is just not practical to spend 60 minutes on a massage table when only a small area in your body needs to be “tenderised”.

MYODIVE SONIC^TM MASSAGE GUN

The team from MYODIVE offered to send MYODIVE SONIC^TM MASSAGE GUN for me to review. After a quick check on their product, I agreed to the offer. I purchased a budget massage gun previously and was unhappy with the result. The budget massage gun feels heavy and the vibration only touches the skin’s surface instead of going deep into the tissue. The battery also does not last very long, usually I need to recharge it after 30 minutes of use.

In the box

So, what do I like about MYODIVE SONIC^TM MASSAGE GUN

· SeamlessTrack™ German Brushless Motor Technology

· The premium feel. It is made with best-in-class materials and parts.

· It is very quiet, just like the sound of my standing fan and it delivers a great power. The technical term is arguably the highest power to sound and power to weight ratio of any massage gun on the market, Myodive Sonic™’s incredible engineering enables the massage gun to extract an astonishing 18kg of force below 45 db.

· It is ultra-light 800g of net weight. I can hold on to it for a long time without getting your wrists sore.

· It comes with 5 speeds, 1300 up to 3200 RPM

· Long battery life, up to 6 hours working time.

In the pack, MYODIVE SONIC^TM MASSAGE GUN comes with 5 types of Attachment Heads. They are the Ball Head, Fork Head, Bullet Head, Flat Head and Air Cushion Head. Please refer to the picture below for the type of muscle. I like those with wider surfaces, like Ball Head and Air Cushion Head because I have lower pain tolerance.

Image Credit: MYODIVE

Image Credit: MYODIVE

Which area do I use MYODIVE SONIC^TM MASSAGE GUN most:

1. Neck and Shoulder. Working on my laptop over a long period, I easily get stiffness around my neck and shoulder. Other than stretching, the MYODIVE helped me to ease the stubborn stiffness during the long break.

Shoulder Massage

2. My lower back. Another area that gets stiff after a long period on the chair. It is hard to reach this area on my own, so I need LD’s help with this.

Lower Back Massage

3. My thigh. This helps to reduce my post-exercise muscle soreness.

Thigh

So, how much does this great gadget cost? The regular price is $284 and it is currently on sale at $199. This includes 30-day risk-free trial, 1.5 year warranty, free shipping in Singapore and free return & exchanges within 30 days. You can purchase MYODIVE SONIC^TM MASSAGE GUN from their website or click here.

CBK Verdict: I am loving it. It is light, powerful, easy to use and it looks sleek. If you are looking for a massage gun, you must strongly consider MYODIVE SONIC^TM MASSAGE GUN!

Thank you very much to MYODIVE team for the offer. For more information, you can visit https://massagegun.com.sg/

MYODIVE

105 Sims Avenue

#02-09

Singapore 387429

M: +65 9180 4209

W: https://massagegun.com.sg/

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

IG: https://www.instagram.com/myodive/

TheFoodPan3 – New Local Pies Flavour [MEDIA DROP]

The team from TheFoodPan3 just dropped off their latest creations of savoury meat pies. They have created 2 new locally inspired flavours pies, Ayam Kari Kapitan [$8] and Chunky Beef Rendang [$9].

Delivery from TheFoodPan3

TheFoodPan3 is a home-based business that make its artisanal pies from scratch. The base of the pie is thick, buttery, yet you can taste the puffiness in the pastry. The pies are freshly baked and they try to time it as close as possible to the delivery or picked up time. Another thing that impresses me, is the size of their pies. They are HUGE!

The Pies

When I opened the top pastry of the Ayam Kari Kapitan pie, the ingredients filled the pie to the brim. The fillings consist of one-half of a hard-boiled egg, chunky carrots, potatoes and chicken pieces. All of the coated in curry and deliver spicy and rich flavour. I can taste the rich and robust flavour of the curry chicken, encased in the puffy, buttery pastry in every bite. The spiciness level is around 8/10. Yummy.

Ayam Kari Kapitan Pies

Moving to the Chunky Beef Rendang. Shape-wise, it is probably one of the closest-looking pies to the one I like to consume in Australia, but double in size. When I slice the pie, I can smell the aromatic rempah, herbs and spices coming out from the fillings. The beef is soft, fork tender, soaks up all the rempah, herbs and spices inside. Since it is a rendang, the fillings are a bit on the sweet side.

Chunky Beef Rendang

TheFoodPan3 team also send us the classic pies, Classic Chicken Pie [$7] and Red Wine Chunky Beef Pie [$9]. I reviewed them previously; however, it seems the taste of the classic pies have improved.

For the Classic Chicken Pie, the fillings consist of chicken, potatoes, carrots, peas, cooked in cream and one-half of a hard-boiled egg added during the pie-making process. The cream binds all the ingredients together, yet it is not heavy and allows the natural flavour of the ingredients to stand out. Definitely, one of the best chicken pies I ever tried in Singapore.

Classic Chicken Pie

The red wine chunky beef pies are the ones with dry chopped herbs on top. When I cut through the pies, the fillings did not flow out easily. It shows that they packed the fillings to the brim. The chunky beef cuts are lean, yet it is tender and well cooked. The gravy cooked with carrot and red wine, penetrated well into the inner part of the meat and at the same time extracted the beef essence into the delicious gravy.

Red Wine Chunky Beef Pie

CBK Verdict: I am impressed with the latest creation from TheFoodPan3. They have gone local with Ayam Kari Kapitan and Chunky Beef Rendang Pies, and they are pretty nice. If you like meat pies like I do, TheFoodPan3 artisanal meat pies are definitely a must-try. Cheers!!

Storage conditions: If you order the pies fresh, you can keep them refrigerated for 3 days. Or you can order the pies frozen, then you can keep them longer. Reheat instructions will be provided on the box as well.

Storage & Reheating instructions

Thank you very much TheFoodPan3 for arranging the delivery.

TheFoodPan3

Home Base Business

Made to order Pies & Specialities

F: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084932408558

IG: @TheFoodPan3

E: thefoodpan3@gmail.com

WA: +65 9796 5460