Restaurant Review: Dolce Vita Mandarin Oriental Singapore

Dolce Vita Mandarin Oriental Singapore

5 Raffles Avenue, Marina Square

Singapore 039797

+65 6338 0066

Dolce Vita is an Italian restaurant located at the poolside of the Mandarin Oriental Singapore with a view of Marina Bay Sands and the skyline. Even on weekends the restaurant is rarely booked out, but if you want a more quiet and out of the way table, it might be a good idea to call beforehand. If the weather allows for it, or in the evenings, sitting outside next to the pool is very chilled, especially as the pool itself is not frequented a lot.

While you might want to enjoy the chilled atmosphere outdoors, the indoors area of Dolce Vita is more dignified, with stone floors and wall, a big bar and a cozy/stylish Italian air. The staff is impeccably professional (even though sometimes it might be a little hard to get their attention) and very friendly and accommodating. On our first visit, we were greeted by Jan Immoff, the recently appointed restaurant manager of Dolce Vita. It’s always a nice touch if management takes 5 minutes to say hello at your table, no matter where you go.

The food at Dolce Vita is not cheap, but it’s among the more decent Italian restaurants you will find in Singapore. Some of Dolce Vita’s signature dishes include a wide selection of yummy thin-crust pizzas, penne with osso bucco ragout and beef tenderloin with foie gras. A very nice starter or palate cleanser in between courses is their oven-fresh bread with olives. If you’re wine connoisseur, you will appreciate the wide selection on offer.

Complimentary Gazpacho at Dolce Vita

Complimentary oven-fresh buns at Dolce Vita

Penne Carbonara at Dolce Vita

Tris di Pasta at Dolce Vita

Tris di Pasta at Dolce Vita

At times, Dolce Vita invites guest cooks that stay for a week or so (when we were there two cooks from Norway were visiting and we were invited to try some complimentary smoked salmon). During these times, guests have the opportunity to sample special menus/dishes at very reasonable prices.

4/5 Stars

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SUR - Nuevo Latino Kitchen Restaurant Review

SUR - Nuevo Latino Kitchen

13 North Canal Rd

Singapore 048826

+656222 2897 

Recently opened SUR - Nuevo Latino Kitchen is a family-owned Latin-American fusion restaurant in the heart of Singapore's CBD. If you're having trouble finding the place, it's right opposite the OCBC building on North Canal Road, close to the MOM.

The restaurant extends over two floors, with the ground floor having more of a bar atmosphere, whereas the upper floor looks more like a classical bodega. The menu at SUR - Nuevo Latino Kitchen is not very extensive, and I like a restaurant that focuses on a few dishes -provided that it is able to prepare these very well.

In the evenings, SUR - Nuevo Latino Kitchen has a one-for-one offer on their small, international beer selection, which we took advantage of. For our mains we ordered:

Ceviche de Camarón, which is a cold dish comprising shrimp, tomato, red onion, jalapeño pepper, passion fruit leche de tigra and mint. As you can see from the pictures, the portions at SUR - Nuevo Latino Kitchen are not exactly huge, and the Ceviche was served in a somewhat smallish bowl. Flavor-wise this dish was decent, although I would have prefer a more intense seafood flavor.

Our second main, Pabellón, or braised short rib, came accompanied by black bean tacu-tacu, and roasted sweet plantain. I must say, this short rib was cooked very well, and the beef was very, very tender. However, again I would have preferred a more intense flavor and perhaps a bit more seasoning.

Lastly, we had a dish of Chorizo Carupanero, which was (not very) spicy pork sausage, sauteed bell peppers, and fresh cheese on a bed of rice. Usually, proper chorizo has a very intense, almost sweet flavor, and if you chose the spicy variety, you do taste it. I'd be interested in knowing where the chef at SUR sources his chorizo from, as this one was a rather bland affair. Likewise, the fresh cheese and rice were rather lacking, making this dish a rather disappointing affair that now amount of seasoning with pepper and salt was able to rescue.

SUR - Nuevo Latino Kitchen is by no means a cheap eatery and for our dinner with drinks we paid ~ SGD 150. While this is standard for decent international cuisine in Singapore, I'd expect more value for my money. I have yet to find a really good Spanish/Latin-American restaurant in Singapore, so If anyone has any suggestions, please post them in the comments section.

3/5 Stars

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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: Broth @ Duxton Hill

Restaurant Review: Broth @ Duxton Hill

21 Duxton Hill
Singapore 089604

+65 6323 3353 

Situated in a corner of Duxton Hill, Broth is an elegant little restaurant with an atmosphere best suited for a nice dinner for two or a quiet evening out with friends. Given the elevated prices, usually it is not hard to find a table even at times when more trending places such as Lucha Loco (also on Duxton Hill), are packed. Curiously enough, the restaurant does not have a theme of soups/broths but is rather the acronym for Bar Restaurant On The Hill...could have fooled me ;-)

We went on a weekday night and besides ours, only two other tables were taken. The staff is friendly and the service pretty decent. The menu is not very extensive, and if you have any dietary restrictions (e.g. as a vegetarian) you will only have a handful of items to choose from, most of which are starters. Since my companion and I found the Lamb Loin In A Green Coat On Fine Beans, Rosemary Potatoes & Mint Jus the most appealing, we both ordered the same main dish (usually we choose two different ones, so we can switch, but as I said the selection at Broth is rather limited and nothing else tickled our fancy). As mentioned above, Broth is not focused around soup, so the only soup they have is a "Broth of the Day', which in our case was potato soup. To be honest, I don't see the point of paying 12 bucks in a fancy-shmanzy restaurant for a potato soup even the most novice chef can't go wrong with cooking it at home. Instead, we ordered Sugar Beet Cured Salmon, Cucumber Tagliatelle, Caperberries & Mandarine Dressing and some house-made olive/onion bread with oil, butter and pepper to start our dinner.

Home/house made bread sounds good, and the two slices we were served at Broth did look appetizing (as an appetizer should ;-) ), however, the dough was much too soft, so instead of a rich wholemeal bread, it rather had the consistency of soggy toast. Not sure if baking it longer would help, but they should do something about it. The olive oil seemed of decent quality, and what can go wrong with butter and salt. Would have been so simple to make this into a decent appetizer, but Broth failed.

Disappointingly, as it happens in many elegant restaurants, the salad was rather tiny and the few slices of salmon were well hidden by a camouflage of greens. If the starter had made up in taste what it was lacking for in size, I wouldn't complain. However, the mandarin dressing did not have a fruity flavor, the two olives that came with the salad were pickled and the cucumber was absolutely devoid of taste. The salmon itself was ok, but nothing that you wouldn't get at cold storage, i.e. no beet-cured taste at all.

The lamb loin that we had did look appealing, and was quite decent taste-wise. The crust could have been a little more thick and crisp, but otherwise it was savory. Wedged in between the slices of lamp were two or three slices of roast potato. If you're hungry, better order several dishes (like starters) or go elsewhere, otherwise a grown man or woman with a healthy appetite will go home hungry.

With 2 glasses of wine, 2 starters and 2 mains the total bill was close to SGD 170. For this kind of money for a dinner for 2, I would have expected the food to be of higher quality and not just average overall. Still, the restaurant does have a nice athmosphere at night, and may still be worth a visit, at least once.

3/5 Stars

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Restaurant Review: Tong Le Private Dining @ OUE Tower

Restaurant Review: Tong Le Private Dining @ OUE Tower

OUE Tower, Level 4 & 5
60 Collyer Quay
Singapore 049322

+65 6634 3233

As one of only two remaining revolving restaurants, Tong Le Private Dining has secured its place in the Singapore fine dining scene. Under the umbrella of well-known TungLok Group (Chinois, Humble House, Taipan), Tong Le offers select a la carte items and different set menus that change frequently. OUE Tower is special amongst revolving restaurants, as on the "inner circle" you will find Shinji and on the outer, revolving part you will find the private dining rooms and semi-private dining areas of Tong Le. Guest have the option to choose from the menus of both Shinji and Tong Le. Reservations are obligatory for both venues.

As OUE Tower’s Tong Le is located right at the bay, the revolving view includes the Fullerton Bay Hotel, Marina Bay Sands, the Art Museum and the Singapore Flyer (but also a very unimpressive view of the office building right next to it). One revolution takes a bit more than two hours, so during the course of a set meal you should have more than sufficient time to enjoy the view.

If you go to Tong Le's website, the interior decor appears quite bright, however, we found the restaurant itself was lit rather dimly and the wooden furnishing is much darker than depicted on the website (this holds true only for Tong Le, as Shinji's decor is much lighter). For my taste, they could indeed have allowed for a little more light, especially as the light intensity sometimes changes when the restaurant revolves.

As we went during Chinese New Year, we had to order one of Tong Le's set menus and decided on the following: Prosperous Yu Sheng/ Yee Sang with Yellow Fin, Tuna and Lobster; Braised Superlative Shark's Fin with Australia Winter Black Truffle in “Noble” Tanfu Broth; Steamed Wild Ocean Fish with Japanese Black Garlic in Premium Black Bean Sauce; Chilled Homemade Sorbet to cleanse the palate; Braised South African Abalone with Fish Maw; Poached Alaska King Crab with Fish Mousse Noodle in Superior Broth; and for desert Pumpkin Puree Diced Mango topped with Coconut Ice Cream and served in Young Coconut. Price per person was about S$ 200 (excluding the bottle of 2005 Chianti we shared).

The Prosperous Yu Sheng/ Yee Sang with Yellow Fin, Tuna and Lobster was definitely a few notches above the ready made CNY Yee Sang you usually get at the store. I'm not too keen on Yee Sang, as I generally find it too sweet, but the one at Tong Le was well-liked by everyone at our table.

My fellow diners all ordered Braised Superlative Shark's Fin with Australia Winter Black Truffle in “Noble” Tanfu Broth, whereas I opted for the Bird's Nest in chicken consomme. Both dishes were served on flaming platters and were equally delicious. In contrast to say Yan Ting, Tong Le's shark's fin was tender, with very flavorful broth and the bird's nest was perfectly accentuating the chicken consomme.

The Steamed Wild Ocean Fish with Japanese Black Garlic in Premium Black Bean Sauce turned out to be Garoupa. Tong Le 's presentation of the fish was also visually appealing, and it was juicy and tender in consistency, but could have used a bit more seasoning for my taste.

Thereafter, Tong Le served a Chilled Homemade Sorbet served to cleanse the palate. The addition of poprocks to the sorbet made for an interesting culinary experience to say the least. The sorbet itself was fruity and flavorful, as you'd expect. The following course was Braised South African Abalone with Fish Maw. Most people will know Abalone, but not everyone knows that fish maw is actually a fish's swim bladder. Due to the difficulty of cleansing and preparing fish maw, and since the fish itself has to be of a decent size, it takes special skills to prepare this dish, which you will most likely only find in Chines cuisine, and which the chef at Tong Le seems to have mastered to perfection. The consistency is somewhat gelatinous, but not at all unpleasant and, as you may have guessed, it tastes intensely of fish. The Abalone was decent, but nothing out of the ordinary.

When the Poached Alaska King Crab with Fish Mousse Noodle in Superior Broth arrived, most of us were already well stuffed and possibly we were unable to fully appreciate this second-last dish. Unfortunately, I found bits of crab shell crunching between my teeth as I tasted the King Crab, which made me sample the next few bites more cautiously. The croutons in the broth were very rich in flavor and the crab meat itself was decent. The Fish Mousse Noodle I found rather disappointing, but the superior broth well deserved its name. You can't see it properly below, but some poor soul at Tong Le was obviously tasked with cutting out all the CNY coasters, as we could clearly see the scissor marks on the not-quite-round circle.

Last but not least, desert was served on dried ice, which again made for a visually stimulating culinary experience. Tong Le's Pumpkin Puree Diced Mango was topped with Coconut Ice Cream and served in Young Coconut. Unfortunately, my coconut was not so young anymore, so the coconut meat was rather hard. Otherwise the desert was creamy, yummy and not too sweet, setting a nice finishing point to our meal.

The staff at Tong Le was generally nice and there were some positive aspects (they didn’t mind our extensive photo-taking requests, overall polite and friendly) and some other things that definitely need improving: one of the waitresses spoke very minimal English, which is not what I’d expect in a fine dining setting, our main waitress kept addressing us very informally as “guys” (personally I wouldn’t have minded but there were quite senior people present and I’d have expected more formality). Lastly, at the end one course, three of us were still eating while one person had already finished, whereupon they cleared his plate and immediately served him the next course, which was rather inappropriate. Even though proper attire was requested, a diner at another table was wearing t-shirt and shorts, which surprised me somewhat as I’d been told Tong Le denies you entry if you are not dressed appropriately.

Overall, a decent but not quite perfect dining experience in a nice setting. I'd recommend dining at night, as the bay view is less captivating during the day. If you fancy a drink afterwards, there are plenty of bars nearby, and Latern at Fullerton Bayside is always a safe option to finish the evening.

4/5 Stars

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