| FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2019 | THE STRAITS TIMES | happenings life D5

FOOD Wong Ah Yoke Food Critic recommends PROMOTIONS New Italian Delights PENCAI DELICIOUS At Dolce Vita If you have tried heating up your OLD-SCHOOL Italian restaurant Dolce Vita has more takeaway pencai for Chinese New FISH STEAMBOAT than 10 new dishes, including Year on the stove, you might have Much as I enjoy the

Barbabietola (salad), pan-seared Food Picks found that the bottom-most layer has spicy hotpots that octopus with creamy potatoes, confit a tendency to get burnt. have popped up in datterino and taggiasca olives; and Some restaurants put a metal disc recent years, I will Fregola Sarda, poached red shrimps or a piece of woven rattan beneath always have room for on bead-shaped pasta. the food to prevent this and it helps. an old-fashioned fish WHERE: Mandarin Oriental , Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant, head steamboat 5 Raffles Avenue MRT: Promenade however, does not have this problem served with a charcoal-fed fire. WHEN: Lunch: noon - 2.30pm because its version, called Fortune So I am happy to discover a new place to enjoy this (weekdays); brunch: noon - 3pm Pot In Peking Style, comes with a soup Teochew dish. (weekends); dinner: 6.30 - 10.30pm instead of the thick brown sauce of Huats Kee Fish Head Steamboat, which opened about daily PRICE: Call to inquire most pencai. Still, I’d suggest you use a week ago at The Grandstand, gets it right with a TEL: 6885-3500 INFO: E-mail low to medium heat to prevent the full-bodied, tasty broth packed with pieces of fish, [email protected] food from being overcooked. tomatoes, beancurd, yam and Tientsin cabbage. You get the premium ingredients I tried the one with red garoupa ($35 for small, $48 for CHINESE NEW YEAR typical of a Chinese New Year pencai, big) and the fish is fresh and firm. There is a cheaper including sea cucumber, fish maw, version with angoli fish ($25 and $35). Chopsuey Lo Hei & abalone, dried , prawns and The casual eatery also has a menu of zi char dishes Giggling Pig Cocktail mushrooms. There are roast pork and and these are very good too. Chopsuey Cafe’s Lucky Lunar Lo Hei pig’s tendon too. I can see the Seafood Double Taste Hor Fun ($8) ($28++ for half, $48++ for full) offers a The broth is light and flavourful and easily winning fans with its combination of stir-fried hor different take on with trout, you can eat the pot on its own without fun and crispy, deep-fried hor fun drenched in a tasty kale, celeriac, sprouts, red radish, rice – which is great if you’re on a gravy cooked with prawns and clams. blueberries and wild rice. The bar low-carbohydrate diet. I like the Oyster Noodle ($8) too, which is like an team has also created a cocktail The Fortune Pot comes in two sizes old-fashioned, home-cooked fried mee. It called The Giggling Pig ($21++), which – $368 for six people and $498 for 10 comes with only yellow noodles though, which have a combines cognac with Cointreau people. You need to order it at least distinct alkaline taste. So if you have a problem with topped with strawberry bak kwa. two days in advance for both dine-in that, give this a miss. Go instead for Fried Oyster ($8), WHERE: 01-23, 10 Dempsey Road and takeaway. which is like an oyster , but without the starch MRT: Botanic Gardens WHEN: Till WHERE: Prima Tower Revolving and with very plump shellfish. Feb 19, 11.30am - 4pm & 6 - 11pm Restaurant, 201 Keppel Road I saw a very tempting plate of La La Fried Bee Hoon PRICE: Lo Hei: $28++ - $48++, cocktail MRT: HarbourFront WHEN: Till Feb 19, ($6) at the next table, but I was too stuffed. That is on $21++ TEL: 9224-6611 11am to 2.30pm, 6.30 to 10.30pm my list for the next visit. INFO: pscafe.com TEL: 6272-8822 If you are wondering if the name of the stall has a spelling error, Huats means a lot of Huat, says the boss. Feasts Of Prosperity At Rise Just what is needed for a prosperous Chinese New Year. Welcome Chinese New Year at Rise PHOTOS: GOODWOOD PARK HOTEL, WHERE: Huats Kee Fish Head Steamboat, 01-05 with dishes such as eight treasures PRIMA TOWER REVOLVING RESTAURANT, The Grandstand, 200 Turf Club Road MRT: Sixth Avenue rice, braised pork knuckle and almond WONG AH YOKE OPEN: 11am to 2.30pm, 6 to 11pm daily soup with dumpling. WHERE: Lobby Hotel Tower 1, Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Avenue MRT: Bayfront WHEN: Till Feb 19 (except Feb 14) PRICE: Lunch: from WESTERN HAWKER DEGUSTATION $68++ an adult, $25++ a child; dinner: from $88++ an adult, $38++ a child PUDDING WITH Riding on Singapore’s bicentennial TEL: 6688-5525 INFO: E-mail A CHINESE celebrations this year, Goodwood [email protected] TOUCH Park Hotel has come up with a in Chinese degustation menu at its Coffee Li Bai’s Festive Highlights restaurants are Lounge showcasing local hawker And Set Menus usually standard dishes. Five dishes are selected from Celebrate at home with festive items such as the cafe’s a la carte menu to offerings from Li Bai mango pudding and represent the nation’s heritage Restaurant. These include the Lo Hei almond cream. But hawker fare, and served course by Platters Of Fortune with abalone not at Empress, the course in smaller servings than a la ($93+ for small/$168+ for large), restaurant in the carte versions. lobster ($128+/$238+) or salmon Asian Civilisations The meal starts with two sticks of ($68+/$118+). There is also a Museum. Desserts chicken served with vegetarian version ($55+/$92+). here are a highlight and raw onion and cucumber. Next is Other takeaways include traditional for me. that comprises turnip, with red dates and lotus The one not to miss is Sticky Date & Longan Pudding pineapple, cucumber, tau pok, seeds ($50+) and Signature Buddha ($14), a popular Western pudding given a Chinese touch. kangkong, beansprouts and peanut; Jumps Over The Wall with three-head The pudding is moist and rich, with bits of dried longan in it followed by abalone ($520+). For dine-in, there for added texture. It comes with a scoop of vanilla ice and . is bubur pulut are set menus for two to 10 people, cream and gula melaka butterscotch, which has deeper hitam. with dishes such as braised superior flavours than ordinary sugar. My favourites are the rojak and bird’s nest with lobster claw, and I don’t have a sweet tooth, but this, I am happy to eat any chicken rice. The laksa is a little stewed fish noodles with Alaskan time. sweet for my liking and there are no Degustation Menu would work for WHERE: Coffee Lounge, Goodwood crabmeat and X.O. chilli sauce. WHERE: Empress, 01-03 Asian Civilisations Museum, cockles, which is a deal-breaker for those who want to eat all their Park Hotel, 22 Scotts Road WHERE: Sheraton Towers Singapore, 1 Empress Place MRT: Raffles Place OPEN: 11.30am to 3pm some people. favourite food at one sitting. It is MRT: Orchard WHEN: Till April 30, 39 Scotts Road MRT: Newton (weekdays), 11am to 4pm (weekends), 6 to 10pm daily Priced at $40 a person, the great too as a treat for friends noon to 2.30pm, 6 to 10.30pm WHEN: Till Feb 19, noon - 2.30pm & TEL: 6776-0777 Singapore Commemoration Local visiting from overseas. TEL: 6730-1746 6 - 10pm PRICE: Takeaways: $50+ - $520+; set menus: $1,038++ (eight people) - $3,488++ (10 people) TEL: 6839-5623 INFO: E-mail [email protected]

Fortune From Mui Kee braised shark’s fin soup with (6 - 10pm): $78++ an adult, $39++ a LeVeL33 In The Mood For Love leaves, salt crust roasted corn puree MRT: Farrer Park WHEN: Feb 14, Enjoy a taste of comfort and tradition crabmeat, eight treasures chicken child TEL: 6311-8195 INFO: E-mail Designed to be shared, the and red currant. 11.30am lunch (a la carte only), 6pm at Mui Kee, which is offering three and stir-fried flower crab with chilli. [email protected] Valentine’s Day menu at urban WHERE: Level 43 Ocean Financial dinner (set only) PRICE: Set: $78++ festive dishes. Fortune Congee WHERE: Lobby level, York Hotel microbrewery LeVeL33 will take Centre, 10 Collyer Quay MRT: Raffles a couple TEL: 6824-8851 ($10.90++) comes with dried mussels Singapore, 21 Mount Elizabeth couples through the different Place WHEN/PRICE: Feb 14 (from INFO: E-mail hello@ and moss, while Abundant Harvest MRT: Orchard WHEN: Mon, 6.30 - VALENTINE’S DAY feelings sparked by love that are 5.30pm): Ti Amo menu, $248++ a bluejasmine.com.sg ($16.80++) comprises lotus root, 10pm PRICE: $62++ an adult, $30 a related to tastes such as person (add $60++ a person for wine carrot, snow pea, celery, baby corn, Call Me Cupid At Wakanui Grill child aged five - 11 TEL: 6737-0511 sweet and bitter. pairing); Sunset menu, $128++ a wood-ear mushroom and red bell Wakanui Grill’s seven-course INFO: E-mail whiterosecafe@ WHERE: 33-01 Marina Bay Financial person (add $45++ for wine pairing); WINE EVENT pepper. Treasure Seafood Pot Valentine’s Day Menu offers two yorkhotel.com.sg options for couples – individual mains Centre Tower 1, 8 Marina Boulevard Romantic Terrace Experience, ($68.80++) contains abalone, Alaskan The Cuisine Of Chef Lino Sauro crab leg, Hokkaido scallop, dried ($228++ for two) or mains to share MRT: Downtown WHEN: Feb 13 - 15, $198++ a couple TEL: 6509-1488 With Frescobaldi Wines mussels, mushroom and moss. Prosperity Buffet At ($288++). Dishes include spring lamb 6pm PRICE: $148++ a person INFO: E-mail [email protected] WHERE: 01-12 Shaw Centre, 1 Scotts Carlton’s Cafe Mosaic chop and chargrilled eel with foie TEL: 6834-3133 INFO: level33.com.sg The six-course menu includes raw Road MRT: Orchard WHEN: Till Feb 28 The Prosperity Buffet at Cafe Mosaic gras. The Black Angus beef tomahawk Spice It Up At Blue Jasmine shrimp (ama ebi), poached mackerel (closed this Mon & Tue), 11.30am - offers seafood on ice, festive dishes or 1kg Ocean Beef OP ribeye is for Say Ti Amo At Zafferano Blue Jasmine’s light bites include and housemade chitarra spaghetti. 9.30pm PRICE: $10.90++ - $68.80++ such as braised fish maw soup and sharing, while couples who prefer Zafferano Italian Restaurant & pan-seared salmon cubes with a Featured wines include Pomino TEL: 6737-2422 INFO: muikee.com.sg BBQ delights such as Peking duck. variety can enjoy a choice of Black Lounge offers a Romantic Terrace spicy, crispy salad of deep-fried rose Bianco 2017 and Nipozzano Chianti Mains include braised duck with sea Angus beef cube roll, Ocean Beef gyu Experience with a three-course petals. Savour mains such as roasted Rufina Riserva 2014. Reunion Buffet Dinner cucumber and Chinese mushroom. katsu or Boston lobster thermidor. sharing platter and bottle of duck breast in and the WHERE: Gattopardo Ristorante di White Rose Cafe WHERE: Carlton Hotel Singapore, WHERE: 04-02 Marina One The Heart, Spumante wine, a five-course Say Ti signature holy basil krapao with Mare, 34 Tras Street MRT: Tanjong For the Reunion Buffet Dinner at 76 Bras Basah Road MRT: City Hall 5 Straits View MRT: Downtown Amo menu and a three-course Sunset squid. Finish with a trio of desserts. Pagar WHEN: Feb 21, 7pm White Rose Cafe, groups of at least WHEN/PRICE: Mon dinner (6 - 10pm): WHEN: Feb 8 - 16, 5.30 - 10.30pm menu. Highlights include a Tajima Diners get a complimentary duo of PRICE: $161++ a person ($128.80++ four people will get a complimentary $88++ an adult, $42++ a child; Tue & PRICE: $228++ - $288++ a couple wagyu beef tartare appetiser and chocolate pralines. for HSBC cardholders) traditional Prosperity Lo Hei platter. Wed lunch (noon - 2.30pm): $68++ an TEL: 6384-2665 INFO: E-mail mains such as roasted red mullet and WHERE: Level 5 Park Hotel Farrer TEL: 6319-4038 INFO: E-mail The feast features delicacies such as adult, $34++ a child; Tue & Wed dinner [email protected] oven-baked Bresse pigeon in corn Park, 10 Farrer Park Station Road [email protected]