The Disgruntled Brasserie
Near Tanjong pagar MRT
Heard much about The Disgruntled Chef, both positive and negative reviews and have little interest to visit it as it is in the faraway Dempsey and also because most of the negativity came from the anorexic portions that they serve; I am a big eater. Then came The Disgruntled Brasserie right smacked in city centre which I think deserves a shout out as the mains over here felt cheerful, hearty and well thought through. Modern, sleek decoration, that comes across as professional and not in any way opulent, together with that strong air conditioning in the background, it is indeed a comfortable restaurant to be in for an intimate gathering or even if you just want to have some quiet me time. I guess the widely spaced tables also made the whole restaurant quieter as you do not need to holler at the top of your voice to make yourself heard. The moment the menu was explained, you know that service is enthusiastic and the crew does have a good knowledge on what they sell.
We started off with the cheese souffle, flavoured with caramelised onions and Chardonnay fondue. Looking like a very special and exciting invention, what actually made this starter so strong is the eggy, fluffy core that doesn’t have an overdose of cheese in it. The balance is there. $16.
Truffle fries with fried egg and parmigiano reggiano cheese. Predictable strong truffle fragrant emanating from the fries, however felt a little dry and therefore the Dutch duo is summoned – both the ketchup and mayonnaise that made it an extra comforting snack. $18.
I guess by the time we got to the mains, we realised we made a mistake in pairing our starters and mains as they are all heavier tasting with a stronger cream / cheese base. Having said that, they still taste delicious individually; refined yet most importantly not morsel-like in their portions. This carbonara taglierini was made special with the sauce that somehow has a bit of sourness in it to cut through the thick creamy base. Unique flavour indeed and exquisitely executed. $24.
Well the heart throb was the seafood bouillabaise and I was glad we moved away from the ‘cheese’ theme. Super thick broth filled with that distinct crustacean umami, the broth just tasted decadent. This is the kind of food that I will never fail to order when I am at any Italian restaurant. The meticulous thoughts could clearly be seen in almost all their dishes, especially when the toasties by the side came lightly buttered. Impressive. $38.
We love the place, I like the ambiance, the food was moreish and yes I would like to try more of the menu in future!
Verdict: A good restaurant. 3.9/5.
Cosy, homey open kitchen Morsels has and I was half hearted coming here for dinner as somehow the pictures from reviews didn’t grab my attention. Still made it here after all as the foodie H wanted to try it badly. I guess I am starting to love my bigger portions more and if they were to shrink, the taste better be sharp, piquant and complex yet not clashing.
Let me start off by saying, this cafe-bar isn’t cheap, especially so if you were to get there intriguing cocktails. And given the higher price point, yet cluttered interior as the tables are really spaced closely to one another, one may find it not so worthy after all. What Xiao Ya Tou could offer though, as its name has suggested, is a retro, hipster experience that would whisk you back to the 60s with its nostalgic furniture and background music that seemed to be played out from a cassette. Just by peering through that old window frame that you could find only at the older flats or landed properties, you would notice that quaint little kitchen that is more open than most modern ones as it doesn’t have a higher table top or chic glass facade.
And as we look around, you would realise that almost everywhere is worth a picture as the owner boasts that huge collection of retro stuff that he has or has bought in, yet not forgetting to add a little bit of modern elements to make it awkwardly attractive. Service was fun, bubbly though it is evident that they are short staffed; the waitress has tried her best I say and that any unintended tardiness should be forgiven.
Seated at the table initially, I requested to move to the counter table that gives you a much bigger private space, actually the entire area as most preferred the tables. 2 cocktails for the brunch and that thick delicious milo dinosaur was my favourite as it had alcohol. Being the more refreshing option, I loved the suntory highball initially but the dilution factor was a little large as the ice melts. $15 for each glass.
Crispy Otak Otak roll – Otak paste hidden within those crispy rolls that are given a delicious nutty body by the sauce! $12.
Unagi Benedict – one of the highlights you can find in every review, the poached egg underneath was perfectly runny and that hollandaise sauce was given a Japanese slant that managed to amalgamate the teriyaki unagi with the buttery brioche. $23.
Xiao Ya Tou breakfast with Kimchi scrambled eggs and chicken cheese sausage. $23.
The spread.
And all the sweets for you when you get the bill.
Very Chinese looking, especially so with those lanterns hanging there that actually form the entire menu, Nanjing Impressions does feel like an old quaint restaurant by a random Chinese river. Ambiance worked and the food did leave a pretty good impression on us. Always going for the more familiar and fragrant Cantonese style (or at least it is in my opinion); that has also formed the benchmark when it comes to oriental cuisine even though I know that there’s many different types of cooking all across massive China. And I say, this is a Chinese restaurant that I actually appreciate. The fragrance is there and the food doesn’t feel coarse (an attribute I always associate with Chinese food) which made everything more palatable, but just slightly heavy handed on the grease there.
Sesame scented beancurd Julienne. $11.80.
Jinling noodles in light soy sauce broth. $6.80.
Jinling roast duck – $32. That crispy skin was on point and the sauce it was drenched in was marvellous.
Palace Chicken with pickled chilli. $13.80. Prepared in a very beautiful bowl indeed and that crispy chicken skin together with the tender meat underneath was flavoured up greatly by the light spicy kick.
Shrimp Roe Custard with scallions. This was however a little mediocre for us. $10.80.
Loving those Celestial Roast duck dumplings over there as they were huge, packed solidly with duck meat fillings soaked in an intense duck broth. $6.80.
The savoury for the night!
Osmanthus steamed sponge. Very chewy, dense, solid, perfumed with that Osmanthus fragrance throughout; this has become the favourite dessert dish over there. $4.80.
Red Bean glutinous rice balls in Sweet Wine. $4.80. Wine in my dessert? Bring it on and yes indeed you could taste that alcohol in it!
That’s it, we finally got the the famous Tai Cheung Bakery cafe that has attracted a huge beeline when they first open few months ago. Not anywhere else, but here in Sg the first cafe is opened in, is perhaps something we have already heard for the nth time. But this is somehow the reason that this bakery is getting all the attention! Got there at 12pm and was a little peeved as I was afraid that it might be a grueling 30min wait in the hot weather but were lucky to just have one patron in front, that makes it a very fast 10min wait to get an air conditioned seat. Beautiful egg tart counter outside that are selling exactly like hot tarts and I could hear quite a few different languages from the queue (Japanese definitely who are by birth foodies), that’s how international this awesome egg tart has gone!
Two of us indeed, but three mains were ordered! Started off with the scrambled egg toast stack with chicken chop and that chop seemed to be panting with a bulky mash of scrambled above it. Of the right consistency but could be slightly light handed on the butter for some, this was adequate for me as I am for a healthier scrambled toast anytime! And that chicken chop was fried to that beautiful crisp! $9.50.
This Beef Brisket Curry Rice may seem a little stingy, with a meagre amount of beef cubes in it only. While the plating might have done injustices to it, the curry was definitely impeccable with its thicker sauce that tasted so fragrant and intense. Fried wedges added and the shallots added helped to lift the flavour further. It could be served in a smaller bowl for a fuller look I thought. $10.++.
And the final savoury – Three coloured silky eggs with rice and char siew and crispy pork belly. Three different kinds of egg used here to yield that eggy experience, I felt this a hearty main actually while the colours and textures seemed to have been worked on by the kitchen team!
And what other way to end the meal perfectly but with the Tai Cheung egg tarts! So buttery, eggy and fragrant, they are indeed worthy of the calories! $1.90 for one.
Simply foodolicious! おいしい! 好吃! 맛있는! délicieux! delicioso! 好食! 