Diandin Leluk

Diandin Leluk has to be my favourite affordable Thai restaurant in Singapore (my favourite being Than Ying at Amara but I wouldn't define that as affordable). The food is good, the atmosphere akin to being in a dodgy Thai shopping centre and the sights, sounds and smells all seriously authentic.

The prawn cakes were light, fluffy and crispy. Great with sweet chilli sauce.

Phad kaprow using beef. It was good. I can totally imagine how good their phad kaprow gai sai khai dao on a plate of hot steaming rice is.

Fried kangkong - boring.
The crab vermicelli was a surprise - not too oily, and tasty too.
Between the cha yen and naam manao, the latter was the one that did it for me. Although it's less salty than what you get in Muang Thai.
Larb muu without any innards. This was seriously good. The only thing missing was khaw niaw.
Tom yum talaay....terribly spicy.
But with very fresh seafood.
Gaeng khiaw wan gai. The husband loved this. It was rich without being too creamy, and spicy without being too hot.

The oyster omelette was seriously delicious too. It had just the right mix of starch and egg, fried enough so that it was a little crispy yet still chewy.
So good I had to post another photo.
We've never been able to taste their red rubies since they're always sold out. Chendol is not too bad.

5001 Beach Road, Golden Mile Complex #01-67/68/69. Tel: 6293 5101

Brasserie Wolf

This is a rather outdated post but one that I still want to write because it was such a pleasant dining experience. We made a couple of Restaurant Week bookings, and were careful to stay away from the celebrities where extra dining premiums were added - that kind of made the discounts seem meaningless. Brasserie Wolf didn't, so that was right up our alley.
The restaurant wasn't all that full, which got me a little concerned.
I had the foie gras terrine. This was a little too rich for me - after about 5 mouthfuls I started struggling. That's not to say it wasn't good, but perhaps my palate may have changed with age.
The husband had the pan seared scallop on a sort of ratatouille. He loved it. So did I! The scallops were seared just right and had a lovely sweetness.
The husband ordered the mushroom and garlic risotto which was very flavourful. A bit too much garlic for me though.
I had the best boeuf bourguignon I think I've ever eaten. It was sweet, flavourful, rich, warm, and oozing with flavour. I loved the mashed potatoes. Everything about this dish was perfect.
He had the chocolate martini which I thought was ok.
My lemon tart was pretty good though : )We loved the fact that we had scored ourselves a brilliant 3-course dinner for $35, with good quality food of sufficient quantity. We'll definitely be back.

80 Mohamed Sultan Road The Pier at Robertson #01-13 Tel: 6835 7818

Opening hours: Lunch from 12 noon – 2.30 p.m (Mon – Fri, All day on Public Holidays)Dinner from 6 – 10.30 pm (Sun –Thurs), Fri, Sat & Eve of Public Holidays 6 – 11 p.m.

Beef Stew

We were clearing some leave last month and we had some bottles of wine that needed to be opened urgently. So the conclusion was that we would cook with half of it and drink the rest. No better dish than beef stew.

We did a supermarket run to pick up lots of veggies - carrots, celery, pumpkin, mushrooms and potatoes.
Flour seasoned with pepper and salt for dusting

The beef pieces. We used chuck because it was the cheapest stew cut.

I started by frying bacon strips in minced garlic and onions.

Then threw in the beef.

And added some tomato paste, beef stock, as well as the veggies. And poured in half a 2005 bottle of D'Arenberg Footbolt Shiraz.

I threw in a variety of herbs including rosemary, thyme and a bay leaf

After sitting for two hours on the stove

Separately, I minced some garlic with rosemary to sprinkle on top.

Ready to eat!

Great with ciabatta

The very next day, we went to the inlaws' place for dinner. Of course, as luck would have it, the MIL cooked beef stew too. Hers was a different style - she used guinness stout instead of wine. So it was drier and less soupy.

And she baked her own ciabatta with olives and rosemary.

I liked her version better.

The husband brought back some brie from Hunter Valley so we had that after dinner.

It was gloriously smelly

Loved it!

Tian Tian Chicken Rice

My favourite quick lunch at Maxwell Market on a busy day (provided you go after 2.30pm) - the chicken is tender, the rice is fragrant, and it always makes me happy eating it.

Paradise Pavilion

A greedy university friend decided to get the whole group together to try the peking duck at Paradise Pavilion, upon hearing that they had basically got the Quanjude chefs+recipe+oven lock stock and barrel over to Singapore. This was the same guy who got me to tar pau Da Dong peking duck from Beijing, and who had to rescue his peking duck in the toaster after his domestic helper took the initiative to steam it.

The har kau was good - solid firm prawns, and very tasty.

The roast pork platter consisting of char siew, suckling pig and siew yok.

The siew yok was the most outstanding, although the rest were pretty good too

This was to die for - great with the mustard

Some prawn/fish dim sum dish. I didn't do the ordering so had no idea what it was.

I think this was 水晶包.

Ooh the cheong fun was good, I remember. Soft and supple.

I didn't try the pies.

I can't recall how these tasted, but they must have been all right.

Bolo buns. Can't really remember how they tasted (yup the meal was that long ago).

This was good - some shrimp stuffing wrapped with long noodley strands - I had no idea what this was called.

And finally, the duck arrived. First, the skin - best dipped in sugar.

We pretty much had the full array of condiments on our plates.

The lean meat + skin

About to be wrapped

Slightly more fatty meat

For dessert, there was 莲蓉包.

My verdict on the duck is that it's probably the best peking duck I've had in Singapore. Definitely worth a repeat visit - after getting the 13th month or performance bonus.

Paradise Pavilion 乐天阁

#02-01 Marina Bay Financial Centre Ground Plaza

8A Marina Boulevard

Tel: +65 6509 9308

Website: www.paradisegroup.com.sg

Lunch: 11:30am - 3:00pm (Mon - Fri) / 11:00am - 3:30pm (Sat/Sun/PH)

Dinner: 6:00pm - 11:00pm (Daily)

Pasta Brava's Spaghetti Nero

Since the first post on Pasta Brava, I've gone back a few more times for lunch since it's so close to the office. Had the squid ink pasta with seafood and totally loved it!


The vongole pasta isn't too bad either, but somehow this is just so much more special. Make sure to wipe your mouth before leaving.