Suprette, Jalan Besar

{ Corn Nibblets ($9) }

{ Braised Beef Cheeks ($26) }

{ Smores ($12) }

Bay Sushi, Marina Bay Sands

Ah yes, MBS. Any affordable food to be had here before our Avenue Q show at 2pm? Bay sushi turned up multiple times from my searches - popular and highly recommended for their selection of funky sushi rolls - and their quoted prices here seems just above Sushi Tei which is great!

 Tucked in the opposite end of the food court, it's at B2 directly below the MBFC-side entrance or a short walk left after exiting the Bayfront MRT station. Todai next door was squeezing Gangnam Style for customers - not sure how that turned out.

 Decor was semi-posh - complete with private dining rooms and wine lists. Some wine with my sushi? Mmm ... not quite.

{ Aburi Salmon Belly ($4) }

 We ordered two rolls (more on that later) and 3 plates of nigiri which came first. We're the boring kind - salmon belly and mekajiki please! Twas pretty good - well aburi-ed with something citrus-y as a pairing. To me I felt like the balance was a little off - there was not enough rice (for balance) and the salmon was a cut a little thin. But overall was still pretty good!

{ Salmon Belly ($4) }

 Again I felt similarly about the balance - the onions were ok (though the slight piquance distracts) but I felt the dollop of mayo took the focus away from the salmon instead of providing a compliment.

{ Mekajiki ($4) }

 Nice slab of swordfish - sweet and al dente as we like it! The fermented bean though, again felt like it was distracting the flavour instead of complimenting it.

 Ok, now about the rolls. Good thing  - they have a huge selection of rolls (think Dragon Roll from Sushi Tei but like 20+ kinds!). Bad thing - we have no frickin idea what they all were. PLEASE ADD A DESCRIPTION. Of course you can ask the waiter, but you're not going to be asking them one by one. Also given the number of ingredients in each roll, customers should be able to see the ingredient list just so they don't order something they don't or can't eat. That really rustled my jimmies.

It also doesn't say how many pieces there were - for both the rolls we ordered we were expecting 3 - 4 pieces each (as shown in the photo), turns out both rolls had 8 pieces. We stuffed ourselves silly.

{ Angry Salmon Lv17 Roll ($15) }
Spicy Salmon, Chilli Sauce, Negi, Sesame Seed, rice wrapped with Aburi Salmon

 This popped up more than once when I read up about this place previously so we got it. The ingredient list sounds good on paper, but it was so wet. Wet sushi tastes strange. The first piece I had was overpowering, the sheer amount of sauce - sweet and spicy - completely distracted from any salmon taste whatsoever. Though I grew to like it somewhat after the 3rd and 4th piece, the sauce was just too overbearing and does not really go well with salmon, or sushi for that matter.

{ Jekyll and Hyde Roll ($15) }
Spicy Salmon, Cucumber, rice wrapped with Mekajiki topped with chilli sauce and pickle

 While you can hazard a wild guess as to what an 'Angry Salmon' roll could be, trying to figure this one out is not as easy. We had a waiter explain to us that the outside bit is swordfish and nestled inside is spicy salmon. Now this all sounds like a good and is even pretty a smart idea, and we went for it. It looks really nice too, presented on a single long plate. Taste-wise this was equally if not more confusing than the Enraged Salmon. I think the chilli/spiciness is a bit too overwhelming that you eventually forget what you're eating. We may have made an error of ordering 2 spicy rolls.. it's like a party gone wrong in your mouth, lol.

 Might as have been spicy tuna instead of salmon, but with the amount of sauce it really didn't matter! 

 After lunch we made the following conclusion:
- We much prefer our sushi the simple and traditional way, with all focus on the flavour and freshness of the fish and rice, i.e. no sauce please
- Come here for the rolls only - they are really quite unique (their names are anyway) and there's a variety to choose from
- Don't get more than 1 roll that has some element of spiciness in it

 Even the regular nigiri, I feel like the chef was trying too hard to add things to complement it and make it better. And I don't necessarily agree - I think ultimate simplicity is the highest art form when it comes to sushi [the JIRO way]. If you don't like the taste of fresh raw fish ... this place is perfect for you, as there are so many flavours that distract you from it. But if you're a true lover of sushi ... I would stay away.

Bay Sushi

Marina Bay Sands, #B2-01B
Bayfront station (don't think you need a map)

Discounts : 10% with DBS / POSB credit cards
Main website : http://www.baysushi.com.sg/
HGW Link (88% recommended at time of writing) : http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/Bay_Sushi/
Rating (out of 4) : 

Zero Zero, The Central

The night after indulging in a lovely anniversary dinner at Dozo, I was back in a very familiar territory for yet another multiple-course dinner (!) While my stomach doth protest, I was keen to sample what this new restaurant under the Tao's restaurant group had to offer (and therefore completing the holy trinity :P)

Zero Zero is located on the 4th floor of The Central at Clarke Quay. My family seemed to be the only diners on Saturday night, which made the spacious interior of the restaurant look even bigger. We had a cosy little private dining room to ourselves with nice views of bustling Clarke Quay and the river.

 We all went for the 6-course Signature Set, usually priced at $89.80++ - but there was a 50% discount for UOB cardholders, so it was pretty good value! Along with this promo, we also got glasses of house wine for $10 each.

I thought it was nice that our waitress explained the menu to us using an iPad to show how each dish looks like.

{ Amuse Bouche : Assorted Platter }

 To start off, we had a small shot glass of plum juice (pictured on the far left above, if you can see it) and the amuse bouche of 3 items: wee bit of foie gras on thick toast, potato croquette and scallop on watermelon. Loved the presentation!

{ Cold Dish : Smoked Duck Breast with Apple Slice }

 I chose the smoked duck breast as my starting cold dish. This was pretty good - the duck was soft and went well with apples.

{ Side Dish : Grilled Escargot with Cheese Gratin }

 Couldn't resist the escargot.. I had exactly the same thing at Dozo just the night before! Each grilled snail came atop a small cube of thick toast. Not too chewy and had the right amount of cheese - yum! It paired nicely with the crispy toast.

{ Soup : Cream of Pumpkin }

 Pumpkin soup was sweet and creamy. Would have liked it better if freshly ground black pepper was offered. I didn't ask, and the soup is really nice as it is, but I think that additional depth and aroma of pepper would have made it perfect.

{ Main : Beef Loin on Magnolia Leaf }

 Almost everyone at the table went for the steak. And it was a good choice! The pieces of beef continues to cook as you are eating, and you can decide on the doneness. I think my stone was extraordinarily hot though - it continued sizzling until the magnolia leaf was burnt to a crisp. So my steak was well-done but it was still really good. Beef was tender and lean, and the accompanying mustard sauce (not in picture) along with our glasses of red wine was a wonderful complement. Must say the portion was quite generous too!

{ Dessert : Macerated Pomelo Orange and Mango Pannacotta }

 By now we were stuffed, but happily gobbled down dessert anyway. I loved this panna cotta - it was like a denser and more decadent mango pudding. Also came with bits of orange and pomelo, so there is my fruit/fibre intake for the night :)

ZeroZero has lots of potential, given the success of Tao's and Dozo and also its accessible location. Personally I somehow slightly prefer the food here to Dozo, but the service seems better at Dozo. Still, I highly recommend this place (especially if you're a UOB cardholder until end of July, lol.)

Zero.Zero

6 Eu Tong Seng Street, #04-86 The Central

View Larger Map

Main website : http://www.zerozero.com.sg/
HGW Link (77% recommended at time of posting) : http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/Zero_Zero/
Rating (out of 4) :