Restaurant Review - SuperTree by IndoChine

Restaurant Review - SuperTree by IndoChine

18 Marina Gardens Drive
Gardens by the Bay, #03-01
Singapore 018953

 +65 6694 8489

One of Michael Ma's latest addition to the IndoChine group of restaurants, hotels and clubs is located in the heart of Singapore's Gardens by the Bay. Placatively named SuperTree, the restaurant cum rooftop bar sits atop the biggest artificial tree in Gardens by the Bay. Visiting at night is particularly impressing, as the trees are lit up in serene colours and the SuperTree stands out against the impressive sight of Marina Bay Sands in the background.

Mink Tan, the interior designer for the SuperTree also designed various popular clubs in Singapore. Unfortunately, and in my personal opinion, the interior design is indeed more apt for a night club (and rather one from the 70s) rather than a treetop restaurant, with cow hides on the floor, cow-themed bar stools and a bubble chair hanging from the ceiling. Even the elevator up to the restaurant is a homage to the disco era, with a marine theme and white jellyfish painted on the walls, and including a broken vent with duct tape hanging from the ceiling. Inside the restaurant, I recommend a table away from the glaring colored lights hanging behind the bar, as they reflect in the glass windows, preventing you from enjoying the view. The restaurant in the SuperTree opened just 7 months ago, yet much of the interior already looks worn and chipped (more duct tape at the corner of the bar, badly scratched cutlery, worn-out menus) As you can see from the pictures, the table deco also follows the 70s theme, and unfortunately the table cloth does not get changed after every meal, so there are splotches. 

You might gather correctly that my first impression of IndoChine's SuperTree was not very favourable. Fortunately, however, SupreTree has a few aces up its sleeve that more than make up for its drawbacks.

First, the food. We were a small party, but we ordered quite a lot of food and two bottles of wine. We started out with the SuperTree Platter. This platter is made up four of each Bó La Lot (Grilled beef in wild betel leaves), Nem Khao Hor (Rice paper hand rolls with minced chicken and roasted organic brown rice), Gói Cuôn (Vietnamese fresh rice paper rolls with tiger prawn), Lychee Beignets with kurobuta pork loin and bacon, as well as Nem Re So (Vietnamese scallop rolls in crispy sliver threadskin). This starter was nothing short of delicious, with all items tasting fabulously.

The Chef’s Special Chargrilled Fresh Squid might have been good, but it arrived at our table lukewarm, and after a few minutes on the table it was cold, so that I did not try more than 2 pieces, which tasted decently.

We had two salads at Supertree, namely the Tam Som – Traditional Papaya Salad with shredded green papaya, dried shrimp, long beans, chilli, carrots, cherry tomatoes, lime juice & peanuts, dressed with a traditional Laotian sauce as well as the Gói Buòi Saigon – Pomelo Prawn Salad of Saigon, with freshly poached tiger prawns, pomelo, dried shrimp, chilli & carrot tossed with the IndoChine house dressing. On the latter, our friendly waitress rightfully advised us that it would taste rather intensely of fish. Both salads were quite decent and notably made with fresh ingredients.

Of the Tom Yam Lobster Broth with wild Asian herbs, tomatoes & lobster meat we had both the creamy and the clear versions at our table. The Tom Yam was not very spicy and very full-flavored, with a fresh aftertaste, making the broth very savoury. Maybe because of the overpowering explosion of Tom-Yam flavour, the lobster did not really shine.

The Thit Bo Luc Lac – Prime Black Pepper Beef sautéed in herbs, spices & melted butter was served on a bed of sliced onions & tomatoes, accompanied by a sour-sweet dip.The "basket of daily selected garden greens for traditional wrapping" was nothing more than regular lettuce leaves, but the beef itself was alright.

Another highly-recommended signature dish at the SuperTree restaurant is steamed black cod with a sauce of lemon juice, garlic, coriander & chilli, topped a poached tiger prawn. While the cod and prawn were decent, I would not call it a signature dish, as it did not outperform some of the other dishes we tried that night. Instead, I recommend trying the pan-seared red drum fish with poached pear, tamarind dressing, and cashew nuts, as this was more intense in flavor and definitely one of the better dishes at SuperTree.

IndoChine's lightly fried rice with chicken & prawns is spiced with special herbs & a home-made sauce,
and was also quite yummy, accompanying our other dishes nicely.

Second big pro for Indochine's Supertree are the outdoor seating areas. Due to the fact that seating is 360 degrees around the tree, the outdoor seating areas provide a modicum of privacy and do not appear crowded even when a number of patrons are seated. In fact, as far as I could tell that night, not a single person was sitting in the outdoor area of the restaurant, which is actually ideal, as you get a breeze, a great view and you can hear the sounds from the Gardens by the Bay in a loft setting.

I recommend to have a drink at the revolving rooftop bar after your dinner at SuperTree (hopefully it will revolve again, as it was out of order when we were visiting). The design of the tree makes you feel like you are sitting on a floating platform, and the 360 degree view is impressive. A particular highlight is sunset atop the SuperTree, with the sun slipping behind the horizon and its last rays glinting off the ships in the bay.

Overall, I'd say very good food and the surrounding Gardens by the Bay offset SuperTree's interior design and make for a nice evening in an unusual surrounding.

4/5 Stars

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Restaurant Review: Tamarind Hill Singapore

Restaurant Review: Tamarind Hill Singapore

30 Labrador Villa Road
Singapore 119189
+65 6278 6364

Tamarind Hill restaurant is located in a colonial building situated on top of a hill in the green oasis of Labrador Park. Formerly known as Labrador Villa, this building was once the home of businessman George John Mansfield. As you can see in the below picture, the entrance to Tamarind Hill restaurant is nothing short of spectacular, with a staircase more befitting a royal palace than a home.

Copyright: Samadhi

In line with the elegant setting, the dress code at Tamarin Hill is smart casual and so as not to disturb dinner guests, children below the age of 14 are not permitted entrance. Arriving at Labrador Villa, one might get the impression that the place is deserted, as no signs of occupation are visible from the outside. However, once you enter the restaurant, you will quickly notice that the many tables are taken for the most part, at least on a weekend night.

For starters, we ordered the Tamarind Hill Platter, which is one of the restaurant's signature dishes and combines 4 different starters, with two items of each caramelized minced chicken and peanut embedded in tangerine, breaded calamari, prawn cake and salmon tataki. While this platter was not huge, and in line with what you'd expect from most elegant restaurants, it made up for it in flavor, with especially the salmon tataki and prawn cake standing out.

When our two main courses arrived (grilled fish and deep-fried duck, as per the waiter's recommendation also signature dishes at Tamarind Hill), I was very positively surprised by their sheer size. Usually, and as was the case with the starters and desert platters at Tamarind Hill, the portions in fancy restaurants tend to be rather inadequate for a hungry person. However, in this Labrador Park restaurant, the serving size for the main dishes is very, very generous. I'm not entirely sure how many ducks had to give their lives to fill this big platter with duck breast, and the grilled fish was quite decently sized as well. Of the two, the Thai-style grilled fish was the clear winner, hands down. The meat was succulent and doused with the accompanying sauce, this was by far the best dish we tried at Tamarind Hill, and I highly recommend giving it a try. Unfortunately, the deep-fried duck was not up to par, as the deepfrying apparently sapped most of the flavor from the duck meat, and even with the good tamarind sauce, the flavor was disappointing. Given the generous serving sizes, we were barely able to finish both dishes.

To finish our meal at Labrador Park, we decided on Tamarind Hill's desert platter. There were a few more or less traditional Thai deserts, and the only two I found tasty, my companion refused to eat, saying they were way too sweet. Now, I do have a sweet tooth, but I have to say they were indeed rather intensively sweet. The other desert items I found to be average at best, and my companion was also not impressed by this course.

Two items saved our dining experience at Tamarind Hill. First, the very nice location and atmosphere, and second the best grilled fish I have eaten in Singapore to date. On the downside, the other dishes we had varied below and above average, and service was merely ok (had to ask for cold water twice), although the staff was friendly. In line with its reputation, dinner at Tamarind Hill was not a cheap affair at a total of SGD ~250, including a bottle of  wine.

4/5 Stars

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Restaurant Review - Rabbit Carrot Gun

Rabbit Carrot Gun Bed & Breakfast (& Lunch & Dinner)

49 East Coast Road
Singapore 428768

+65 6348 8568

Rabbit Carrot Gun is hard to describe. It's a Bed & Breakfast, it's a lunch place, it's a dinner locale, it's a pub, it's restaurant, all under one cozy roof with a common, uncommon theme. The restaurant is located on Singapore's East Coast area, close to the hustle and bustle of 112 Katong. A number of new restaurants and bars are sprouting up in this area, next to old-established hawkers and drinking places, adding their own mark to the mix and yet another interesting area to explore in Singapore.

We went to Rabbit Carrot Gun restaurant on a Friday night, so the place was pretty packed. You will meet locals here, but also a number of foreigners from all walks of life. At night, the restaurant itself is rather cozy and dark, which fits the rabbit-hole theme and makes it look more like a pub than a restaurant. As would befit any English pub, the Rabbit Carrot Gun has its own beer, called Buckshot Pint, which has a very rich dark-red-brownish colour and tastes similar to Guinness.

For a starter, we chose the Casserole of Mushrooms & Crème Fraiche on Toasted Brioche with Balsamic Poached Egg. Unlike many other (even supposedly very good) restaurants in Singapore, the ingredients used at the Rabbit Carrot Gun were very fresh, easily noticeable in the taste. The mushrooms were not quite hot enough, but still warm and the whole dish was a feast for the taste buds. The poached egg oozed out once cut, and saturated the brioche with creamy yellow goodness, making each bite a pleasure.

Unfortunately, the chef at Rabbit Carrot Gun restaurant seemed to have run out of some ingredients that night, so that our friendly waitress informed us that the Roasted Chicken Breast and the Lamb Shank on the menu would come with different sauces, which is why we went with two other main dishes instead. Mr McGregor’s Fish Pie Topped with Mashed Potatoes Served with Seasonal Vegetables apparently is a signature dish at the Rabbit Carrot Gun and as our second option we ordered Pork, Rosemary & Apple Sausage with Bubble & Squeak Served with Ale & Onion Gravy.

Mr. McGregor apparently knows his fish pies, as this recipe is definitely a secret that should be guarded well. Again, the different fish in the pie had a very fresh and intense taste to them and the dish was mouth-watering good. In my view, the Pork Sausage was the weakest dish we tried that night at the Rabbit Carrot Gun restaurant. While still good, this dish seemed nothing out of the ordinary, though the gravy was quite yummy.

To finish our meal, we chose 3-chesse-platter, with English Stilton, a very creamy brie and a rather strong blue cheese, that probably would be a bit too much for most Singaporean palates. All three cheeses were extraordinarily and finger-licking good, ideally complimented by aromatic strawberries, walnuts and toasted bread.

Overall, the dining experience at the Rabbit Carrot Gun was a very nice one, and quite different from your standard fare in Singapore. If you're bored of fine dining but still want good food, or if you're tired of hawker meals, this will make for a very nice change. However, as so often, quality has its price, and with 2 beers, 1 starter, 2 mains and 1 desert, the total bill came up to SGD 125, well worth it imho.

4/5 Stars

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