Showing posts with label Blow out the Candle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blow out the Candle. Show all posts

Monday, November 9, 2015

Birthday Dinner at Morton's Steakhouse

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Leecher got himself lucky since I did not have any birthday celebration for 2 consecutive years. We ended year 2014 with a belated birthday "celebration"/dinner on Boxing Day courtesy of Kaiwei & Yanni. See, even our friends were so sweet to plan a celebration for me while my own hubby just fake ignorance. Haiz, what is the world coming to?#marriedlife
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The guys arrived earlier and ordered one round of drinks before sending this pic over to the chat group. Yanni and I arrived later - thanks for the pickup! - and joined them, while they head for their 3rd round. We had to gently remind the boys - Leecher in particular - to slow down since we still have a bottle of red to finish.
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I have always enjoyed Morton's lychee martini, but I decided to go for Chocolate martini first. Sweet, but the alcohol content still kicks a punch!
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Morton has renovated their place since the last visit (a good 4 years!), from cozy to modern. The restaurant was brightly lit, and even boost a view of the open concept kitchen. We sat at the other end, hence we couldn't catch the chefs in action apart from through the lens. Even though the place has changed, the service remained. Top-notch, if I may add. 
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Leecher eyeing for his dose of red wine, since we'll be having steak.  
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 We started off with a lovely loaf of bread. The crust was crispy, the bread was so delicious - either on its own or paired with butter. It was a torture not to order thirds (we had seconds!) as we need to save stomach space for the main dishes.  
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A bottle of red to go with our mains.
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Steak, my favourite! The meat was tender and juicy, literally melting in your mouth. Omg, I'm feeling so hungry right now.
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Mac and Cheese for sharing, awesome comfort food. This is easily one of my favourites, given that mac & cheese tend to be cloying after a while. One of the best mac & cheese I had was at Overeasy & I found the same love at White Rabbit, since both belonged to the same Lo & Behold Group.
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Jumbo lump crab-cake, still as yummy as ever.   PC269230 copy 
Thanks for celebrating my birthday with me :)  
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Morton also celebrated my birthday with a complimentary chocolate lava cake, topped with vanilla bean ice cream and candle by the side. Leecher blew out the candle on my behalf, for I didn't want to "celebrate" the birthday due to Baby Bro's passing a year ago. Anyway, the cake was delicious, but what stole our hearts away was the New York cheese cake. Once again, Morton doesn't disappoint and I'm looking forward to the next visit! 
Morton's The Steakhouse 
Mandarin Oriental Singapore
Fourth Storey, 5 Raffles Avenue
Marina Square, Singapore
Tel: 65 6339 3740

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Skirt, W Hotel

Happy Jubilee Birthday, Singapore! When 7th Aug was declared as a public holiday, I had a strong urge to jet off to another country since we'll get 4 days off. However, we decided to stay behind and celebrate our homeland's 50th birthday in true blue SG spirit. Since we are celebrating the nation's birthday, I thought it would be nice if I can finish up on Kaiwei's birthday celebration at Skirt, W Hotel as I'm a year too late in documenting this *grins*
 
Our dinner venue, Skirt. Located at W hotel, this was one of the best restaurants in Singapore for good quality steaks. I've pledged my loyalty to Morton's, nevertheless I'm always game to try out new steakhouses. Leecher called weeks in advance to secure a table and also to inform them that we will be having a birthday celebration. 
We were shown to our table at a secluded corner, though on hindsight we should have requested for the booth seats since they looked so comfortable. If you're looking for a long dinner at Skirt, strongly recommended to request for booth seats.
We ordered a bottle of sparkling water as we pondered over the food choices. Subsequently, they opened another bottle, without checking with us first if we would like another bottle. I certainly don't mind paying for it, but I would appreciate that we were informed beforehand instead of knowing it through the bill. 
Love the copper pans! If I had a chance to renovate the kitchen again, I'll incorporate this into the design (provided Leecher doesn't kill me first), tsk tsk.  
Tai tai training part #2 (^^)
Bread promptly arrived at the table once our orders were placed. Boy, the bread was so tasty that we had to resist ourselves from filling our hungry stomachs with it. Nonetheless, we did requested for 2nd serving halfway through our course.
Red wine to go with our steaks. 
The cow symbol embossed on the table mat. 

Getting engrossed with ceiling decorations that I almost forgot to look through the menu. They kinda reminded me of the kinetic rain sculpture at Changi Airport, except that this stayed fixed instead of moving. 
I think we had the 4-course meal and some ala carte for sharing. I couldn't find the exact menu online anymore, so this is really based on my memory. We had Asaparagus, Mushroom Textures and Beef Carpaccio with raspberry and confit egg yolk. The starters wowed us over, so it was off to a good start!
 
Check out Yanni's very pro DSLR! My Olympus paled in comparison, lol.  
Next, lobster bisque served with garlic cream and torched petuna ocean trout served with cauliflower and radish.
 
Both Kaiwei and Leecher gave 2 thumbs up for lobster bisque. Initially I thought the garlic cream would be too overwhelming but it was just nice. As for ocean trout, it was just ordinary.
Before the main dishes are served, you'll be presented with two tiny bottles. The bottle of the left is for the steak (which will be served later) while greenish transparent bottle is a drink that helps to cleanse your palette.
Bottoms up!

Truffle fries for sharing before we embarked on our carnivore journey. 
Black Market Sirloin with braised lentils and celeriac, together with full blood wagyu grain fed, Blackmore MS9+. We had to send Kaiwei's steak back to the kitchen for it wasn't cooked the way it was supposed to be as Kaiwei had asked for medium rare but it came out medium. They changed the plate for us, but it wasn't the type of mistake that you'll expect from a restaurant that specialize in steak.
Grainy pic taken with iPhone 5S :(
Lemon Meringue Pie served with tea sorbet and Banouffe Pie with torched banana. 
Even the waiter had a hard time with my point-and-shot camera.
The birthday boy with his cake. While others have complimented greatly on Skirt for their excellent service, I beg to differ. It is no doubt that they provide service, but it was normal at best. When we made the reservation, Leecher had already indicated that it was for a birthday celebration. We reminded them again on the birthday celebration when we arrived at the restaurant (when birthday boy went to park the car). When desserts were served, there was still no sight of the birthday cake. I thought that they might have waited till we finished desserts before they served the cake. After we finished desserts and they cleared our plates, still no sight of the cake. Leecher had to walk away to remind them and you know what, they forgotten about it! Despite 2 checks - once during reservation and another one when we arrived, they forgot about it? This is not acceptable!   
A parting shot at the carpark of W Hotel with Yanni :) Check out her long legs, lol! I look like a dwarf next to her. Anyway, I doubt I'll return to Skirt anytime soon after this unpleasant episode. There is a reason why I pledge my loyalty to Morton. 
Skirt, W Hotel
Sentosa Cove, 21 Ocean Way
Singapore 098374
Tel: 65 6808 7278    

Monday, May 11, 2015

Leecher's Birthday 2015: NOX, Dine in the Dark

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Since we had japanese omakase dinner for Leecher's pre-birthday celebration, I decided that we should try something different for his actual birthday. Thus, we headed to Nox, Dine in the Dark for Leecher's actual birthday celebration. As the name suggested, patrons basically dine in the dark relying on the other senses - taste, touch, smell and touch - on the culinary journey. 
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Upon arriving, we were ushered to a table in the main hall. I ordered a Rubus Pink cocktail, which was an exquisite combination of raspberry, vanilla and the aroms of rosemary. Leecher went for wine-pairing menu instead, where he get to enjoy 3 selected wines to match every course of his dinner. We opted for the drinks to be served upstairs during dinner.
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 That was the only amuse bouche that you can see before adjourning to the dining hall. Before heading upstairs, there are a couple of items to take note:
  1. All personal belongings are to be kept inside the locker. 
  2. (if you like) Pay a visit to the toilet first. 
  3. It is totally pitch dark in the dining room, apart from a tiny red source that comes from the security camera.
  4. Always follow the instructions of the server.
  5. Call for the server if help is required. 
In short, stay put at the table and don't move around unless necessary. When we were ready, our server appeared at the door leading up a flight of stairs. He is visually impaired but he acted as our eyes in total darkness. I put my hands on his shoulders, with Leecher behind me, as he guided us up the stairs and into total darkness. He moved about swiftly and I had a hard time catching up. He led us to our table and guided us to the chairs. It was pitch dark, akin to 伸手不见五指. Our server gave a short introduction on what was on the table - fork/spoon on the left and right, plate in the middle etc. When the dishes were served, we had to eat in a clock-wise direction starting from 6'0 clock. Initially, I had my eyes opened but decided that I should probably close it since I can't see a thing anyway.

We had a mystery 3 course meal which came with 4 small tapas sized dishes for each course. It felt like going through a blind test. We had to guess what we were eating for all the 12 dishes presented. I told Leecher jokingly that the chef don't have to worry about plating; just cook, put into plates and served. I basically scrapped my food off the plates, as I wasn't sure if I'm missing out any food that could be "hidden" at a corner, lol! 

After the meal, the server will led you back to the main hall where you will regain your sight. My eyes took a while to adjust after being in total darkness for some time. Then, a questionnaire will be given where you have to write down what you think you had earlier before they reveal the pictures of the dishes on the tablet.
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Birthday cake for the birthday boy. This tiny cake costs me $20 as I couldn't bring my own cake into the restaurant.
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Rather grainy pictures as the camera doesn't work well in dark environment. Nevertheless, happy birthday my love. Another year older, so make sure you are one year wiser!
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Thanks for the wonderful experience, Nox! 
Nox, Dine in the Dark
269 Beach Road
Singapore 199546
Tel: +65 6298 0708
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