Duckland - Fusion Cuisine by Tunglok Group

Apparently Duckland is supposed to be a duck specialty concept by the Tunglok Group however there's too few duck dishes on the menu for me to concur. I would call them a fusion concept and with that, it might be a more appropriate dining concept.

This duck confit and waffles ($20) reminds me of the one at Duck & Waffles in London. The duck is way smaller here though. According to my dining companion he felt the food was decent but gave no indication that it's a clear winner. I personally like the presentation given my soft spot for instagrammable food. This is just the beginning.

I settled for Good Ol' Fish & Chips ($18) which is battered with bread crumbs and comes with coleslaw and potato wedges on the side. I felt that the fish was well cooked but the bread crumb batter was a little over-fried so it's a little on the hard side. Other than that, I pretty much enjoyed my meal.

 

I felt the biggest highlight of this place is their instagrammable food. To prove the point, I had this Speculoos Affogato ($8.50) which is my biggest satisfaction for the night. Given how wary I was about overly sweet desserts, the staff assured me this is not very sweet and she certainly didn't oversell me. It's perfect!

The Ultraviolet Berries Lemonade ($4.50) also scored on how pouring in some liquid and stirring would make it change colour. All our phones were out to capture the moment.

I left the highlight of the night to the last. To say the good stuff first, the staff service was awesome. They asked me if I wanted Ketchup for my fish and chips on their own initiative. She checked if her recommendation of the speculoos ice cream was meeting my sweetness requirements. In the service line, this is so rare, I'll be back again just to experience it.

Sadly the story doesn't end here. The management team apparently were having their own side little party in the restaurant. Boy were they unruly. Oh yes, you read those articles about people smashing tables, laughing loudly and banging stuff in the papers (usually it's because there's disagreement), this one was in a friendly setting but every action imaginable you can associate unruly with, I got a live show. I'm not sure if this was supposed to be part of the instagrammable moment, was I supposed to film it with my camera so that it goes viral? In any case, I didn't have the guts to film such a rowdy group. They look capable of smashing my phone or me for that matter so I prefer to chicken out than risk my well being or my phone's. Because of this experience and I was having an important conversation with another person and we had to raise our voices to be heard, I will not be back again despite them having wonderful service staff. They gave me a voucher, not sure if it's to keep my mouth shut. I left it at the table so I can say whatever I like. What a pity.

Duckland
United Square Shopping Mall, 101 Thomson Road, #B1-09/64/65, S307591

Froth - Asian Fusion Dining in CBD

What do you do if you love Chinese food but end up in a western restaurant because of work? Froth is an Asian Fusion Dining concept located at Ascott Raffles Place. It was introduced to me by a colleague who doesn't enjoy noodles or western food but he mentioned that the food at Froth resonated with him.

This Sio Bak Aglio ($24.90) was his recommendation. It's legitimately good! The sio bak has a very crispy skin with fat, juicy and tender meat. Its flavour was literally oozing out of every bite. To top it off, another friend who also doesn't appreciate these 'atas' dishes actually praised the sio bak. If this isn't valid testimony of the dish, I don't know what is.

The Chilli Crab Pasta ($24.90) is another noteworthy dish. For a start, the fried till crispy shellcrab is loud and distinct. The chef also included a fried mantou at the side which is pretty ingenious. The pasta sauce was slanting towards a tomato sweet flavour which kinda appeals however not spicy enough! As a whole though, the dish stands out for good execution and generosity.

I enjoyed my Prawn Aglio ($24.90) dish. At first glance, it looks kinda ordinary and the prawns used look like something my mom can prepare. Dishing into the linguine, my entire perspective change. For a start, the noodles were oozing with wok-hei flavour. I strongly believe that good pastas are fully immersive in both the initial taste and the subsequent after taste. This one left a lingering after taste which leaves you craving for more. It's western yet chinese which reminds you of char mee yet it's linguine and aglio olio.

I reserve special praise for the linguine. You notice that all 3 dishes were using the same noodles but they all carry their own distinctive taste. The fact that they are all supposed to be aglio olio but yet stand out in such a differentiated manner highlights the ingenuity of the chef's skill. I guess with the hotel price tag, it's a given. That said, good food is good food and my meal at Froth is definitely memorable.

Froth
2 Finlayson Green, Ascott Raffles Place
Singapore Level 2, Singapore 049247

Birds of a Feather - Sichuan Fusion Cuisine

It's Happy Birthday to me! So this week, I've put aside blogging because I was busy eating and meeting up with different people. As it is right now, I have 4 cakes in my fridge and 3 of them are chocolate cakes. I can imagine my waistline expanding! Very happy with my celebrations this year... I hope the rest of the year will remain awesome.

Vain Pot is currently overseas so I had the opportunity to entertain myself this year. I brought a friend to enjoy Sichuan food! Birds of a Feather is a Sichuan fusion restaurant that brings the East and West together in a manner that doesn't seem too deliberate. Most fusion cuisines don't really agree with me because I felt most try too hard. Over here, the cooking appears natural and you don't feel the chef forcing Chinese ingredients on Western style cooking and vice versa. This post is made up of 2 visits with a visit done earlier last year.

We settled for some mains and small plates. Everything was shared. Basically, being on Birthday mood, I didn't really research much on the food. I simply asked the staff to recommend. So we had Crispy Gyoza with Truffle Soy Vinaigrette ($16), Find the Chicken in the Chillies ($16) and Fortune Skewer in Sichuan Pepper Broth ($19).

I found the Gyoza to be well fried and the tastiness of the meat met expectations. However, I just realised it's supposed to have truffle which I failed to taste any. While the dish was executed well, I failed to see why the staff would recommend us to try.

Find the Chicken in the Chillies is the big winner of the night. The chicken chunks were fried and seasoned well. I found the chicken to be well infused with the Sichuan chilli and the chef got the flavour right. It feels authentic and legit as a Sichuan dish and it's so addictive I found myself digging through the chillies in hope of more chicken when we finished every piece.

The fortune skewers is also well cooked. The peppery broth stood out because it soothes the throat wetting our appetite before the mains arrived. While the dish is another tasty one due to its spiciness, I found the ingredients used for the skewers to be very ordinary. I don't feel it warrants the price it charges.

As for mains, there's the Hot and Sour Chazuke ($25), 'Xiang Su' Duck ($33) and Spicy Oriental Bolongnaise ($22). I found the Hot and Sour Chazuke to be delicious except it comes with rice. The hot spicy pickled mustard green broth really gives an added oomph for meal satisfaction.

'Xiang Su' Duck carried a twin style of seared braised breast meat and duck leg confit with roasted potato puree. I found the ducks to be well prepared. Duck confit had a well fried skin with tender meat that goes excellently with the potato puree. Braised meat was tender too!

The Spicy Oriental Bolognaise is a dish that stays deeply in my memory. Once the spicy angle hair pasta gets mixed with the onsen egg, the effect creates a creamy tangy taste which I like a lot.

Dessert was eaten during my first visit. Coffee latte ($7) and Caramel Chocolate Coffee Cubes Latte ($8). Latte taste like latte so $7 feels really pricey. On the other hand, I like it that the Chocolate Coffee Cubes are instagrammable and generally something different from the usual.

Would I return? Well, it's a yes since I came here twice. I really enjoy the spicy Sichuan food with a twist here. The ambiance is also awesome. This is probably the first fusion food joint I'm raving about because the chef managed to make east and west gel so well together. I'd strongly recommend this place for anyone who likes spicy Chinese food.

Birds of a Feather
15 Amoy Street #01-01 S069935