Group Therapy

I went to this place when it first started but haven't really been back since because they only had a limited menu when they started. 

However, it looks like they have expanded their menu to serve proper lunch.

Turmeric and Squid Ink ravioli with stuffed roasted mushrooms topped with tomato basil sauce

The above sounds fancy and looks good. It doesn't taste bad but I would say it looks better than it tasted. I would have preferred a simple ravioli with more stuffing as I could not taste much from the squid ink or turmeric. It was too mild to add any value. The tomatoes tasted a wee bit too tart without much juicy sweetness. There was truffle oil. While the aroma was in the dish, the taste was not evident. It would be better to use simple and fresh ingredients. Serving was also quite small for $20

Waffles with fruit, chocolate and maple sauce and almonds

The waffles weren't bad. But in my opinion, they pale in comparison with what you get in L'entrecote and Restore. I think warm waffles should always come with contrasting cold ice cream which this plate didn't have. Also the chocolate sauce was way too sweet and tasted like it came from cheap bottled stuff. For $12, I won't go back.

Group Therapy is a nice space and venue, but I find it too expensive for the quality of food. Service is a bit slow. But given I was not in a rush, that wasn't a big issue. 

Location: 49 Duxton Road 02-01

Website: http://www.gtcoffee.com/

Prices: I spent about $40 for a drink, main and dessert

Bonheur Patisserie

This place has been opened for a while but I have only been there 3 times.

Cakes aren't bad but the reason for my infrequent visits is really because there are so many good choices for dessert in the TP area. Also I find the cakes quite expensive.

Opera cake

I went for a opera cake this time. It is layers of almond sponge soaked in coffee syrup layered with cream and chocolate ganache. It wasn't bad but wasn't spectacular which is pretty sad as the small slice was $7.50. I found the coffee cream too buttery and it didn't meld well with the other layers.

What I like there are actually the hot drinks- yuzu tea and hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was thicker than I would have liked it but at least it was rich and luscious.

Location: 70 Duxton Hill
Website: http://www.bonheurpatisserie.com.sg/
Opening Hours: Mon- Thu: 10am- 8pm; Fri- Sat: 10am- 10pm
Contact number: 62211148

Inaho's Kitchen

This is not a easy place to find. The sign is hard to see as it is not at eye level and the place is on the second floor of a shop house behind a very discrete black door.

I think a lot of Japanese businessman frequent this place and are the main clientele. The place feels like an exclusive sake club.

Simple Decor with shelves lined with sake bottles

Pickled Octopus Salad

We were given an entree of pickled octopus salad.

 

Bacon and Spinach

This was a tasty and simple dish. I think the dish was cooked with butter. The style looks and feels like home cooked food.

 

 Onigiri- Bonito flakes and Salmon

I call this a stomach filler. The Onigiri bonito flakes rice ball is a bit too salty for me.

 Grilled Squid with Ponzu Mayo

Ponzu with seafood is a combination that works together. I couldn't taste the grilled flavor of the squid at all.

Grilled Saury Fish

This was simply done and very fresh.

 

Grilled Pork Rolls

The rolls had leeks and enoki mushrooms in it. I am also pretty sure it had shiso leaves to give it quite a unique flavor. I don't know any herb that you can substitute shiso for. I liked it but felt it lacked a touch of acidity.

The thing I like about Inaho is that it feels private. The food is not bad and a bit different from most Japanese places. It feels home cooked and it's the sort of food I think goes well with a drink.

I do think it is on the expensive side though. I have been here a couple of times and its rarely my first choice for Japanese in the area for that reason.

Location: 60A Duxton Road, Tanjong Pagar
Contact Number: 62220852

La Maison Fatien

This french restaurant has only been open for about a week when we walked through its doors.
My brother and I were led to the second level and seated in a comfortable section that had a cosy high tea feel.

The dishes on the menu are traditional French. Wine list was not bad according to my brother.

Apparently the owner comes from Burgundy and owns a vineyard there with the name of La Maison Fatien (this wine is on the wine list) hence the name of the restaurant. The director that runs the restaurant is French and came by to speak to us. He requested for honest feedback for the food after the meal. It was nice to see the person running the place take interest in the customer.

Beef Bourguignon

I ordered beef bourguignon- beef in red wine. The dish came in a nice small casserole dish that looked like a le creuset dish. I always like beef bourguignon in this presentation as it is simple and reflects the rustic dish.
The sauce of the bourguignon was rich and flavourful. However, the meat was not tender enough and the red wine alcohol taste lingered in my tongue. This indicated that the alcohol had not been completely boiled off. The mash potatoes that were served with it were nice but a bit chunkier than my brother's preference. When we spoke to the director, he pointed out that they did that deliberately in that style. So I think it comes down to what you prefer. I would say this is one of the better beef bourguignon I have had in Singapore as a lot of the stuff I have tasted here is too watery.
I would have also liked more of a bay leaf flavor in this dish and some parsley sprinkled on top.

Lamb Shanks

My brother had the lamb shanks. The sauce was delicious. But similar to the beef bourguignon, the lamb shank was not tender enough and did not fall off the bone. My brother and I felt like this dish needed more rosemary to lift it up.

My little baby started crying for a feed during lunch so we had to run off back to my place. This was unfortunate as the place was relaxing and service was good and I would have liked to stay there longer. I guess I would just have to go back again.

Food wise, I would say it's reasonable for the Tanjong Pagar restaurant area from about $20-$30 for the mains. This is one more good restaurant for the area that is close to me. I am pleased.

Website: http://www.facebook.com/pages/La-Maison-Fatien/134362506663280
Location: 76 Duxton Road, Tanjong Pagar
Opening Hours: Mon- Fri 1030am- 12pm, Sat 6pm-1030pm
Contact Number: 62203822

Hanayoshi

Hanayoshi is fairly new in the Tanjong Pagar neighbourhood having opened in August.

 My husband and I decided to try it out for lunch. Lunches are always a fraction of the dinner price and will give me an indication on how the dinner will be like.

Hanayoshi has a beautiful and clean setup. The Japanese restaurant looks classy and seems to be aimed at a fine dining crowd. Everything about the presentation of Hanayoshi is well thought through. From the design of the place, to the tea sets used, to the sauce containers and the layout of the dishes. I am impressed by the level of detail in the presentation.

Beer

This was quite good. It was like a belgium beer styled beer but made by a Japanese producer. The flavor was clean and fruity. 

Wagyu and Sashimi Set $42

I ordered the wagyu and sashimi set.

The salad was quite nice. It was chopped up surf clam with a green salad. The surf clam had a crunchy texture and was covered with mayo that went well with the sweetness of the clam. The salad had a soy type dressing.

Wagyu beef was covered with a teriyaki type sauce and had some melt in the mouth fat running through it. I must say I like my wagyu cooked in a simpler style without sauce. This is because I can taste the flavor of the fatty beef and enjoy it. This was a fairly generous wagyu helping as you can see in the picture. The sashimi was fresh. There was some variety with yellow tail, tuna, salmon and sweet prawn. 

Unagi

Tempura

My husband got the unagi and tempura set $38. The unagi was nicely glazed with a teriyaki type sauce. I think the tempura is the star of this dish. The tempura batter was light and crispy. You can see from the pictures how crispy they are. I could hear the crunch as I bit into the tempura. This goes well with beer.

The food here is quite good. I think the drawback of the place is the service. While the staff are friendly and polite and ready to meet any need, they may need some training in terms of food knowledge. 

I asked them if the salad had octopus and they said they had to check with the chef. They came back to tell me it was some sort of shellfish but could not tell me the type of shellfish. Similar, when I asked about the salad dressing, they did not know what was in it.

Fine dining establishments in Singapore often fall short as they don't train their staff sufficiently about the food that comes out of the kitchen. Hence, most wait staff are unable to answer the customer who is interested in finding out more. This generally sets apart ordinary service from extraordinary service- the passion to serve. 

I enjoyed lunch here but I'm not so sure about coming back for dinner. The dinner prices are a lot steeper.

Website: http://www.facebook.com/hanayoshi.sg?sk=wall
Location: 21 Duxton Road
Opening Hours: Mon- Sat 12pm- 230pm; 6:30pm- 10pm
Contact Number:
Prices: $15+ to $42+ for set lunch

Cafe L' Operetta

Cafe L'Operetta sits below Berjaya hotel in Duxton Road.

It is part of the L'Opera group chain that includes Enoteca L'Operetta sitting at the end of Boat Quay. 

Cafe L' Operetta is a more toned down than Enoteca L' Operetta. Being on maternity leave pre baby, I dropped in for the set lunch.

The set lunches include a pre main buffet spread, a cold drink, a main course and a coffee/tea.

Pre main buffet spread

Salad and soup from buffet

The buffet spread is nicely laid out in style. Items include salads, cold ham, antipasti of semi sundried tomato and mushrooms, pumpkin soup etc. Spread was reasonable but not fantastic. Still, it is nice to have a selection to choose before the main course.

Squid Ink Pasta

I selected Squid Ink Pasta as the main. This was quite nice and came with pieces of squid. I think it had a sort of tomato base as it was slightly tangy and the sauce showed signs of being a bit reddish. Though, the squid ink hides almost everything. The pasta was cooked quite nicely al dente. This was good but it was not the best squid ink pasta I had eaten. 

Desserts- not part of buffet

After tea, they asked me if I wanted dessert. I was too full having gorged on the buffet. The wait staff suggested that I still take a look as real visuals were more powerful than the menu. Even though I was too full, I was glad they suggested it. The available desserts look wonderful as you can see. There is a specialized pastry chef who does this.

Cafe L'Operetta is open for high tea and I will be going back to try their desserts.

Website: http://www.operetta.sg/?page_id=74
Location: 83 Duxton Road, Hotel Berjaya Lobby
Contact Number: 62244298

Opening Hours:

Breakfast: Tue-Sun 7:00am-11:00am, Lunch: Tue-Sun 12:00pm-3:00pm , High Tea: Fri- Sun 3:00pm- 5:00pm, Dinner: Tue-Sun 6:00pm-10:30pm
Prices: Set Lunch is about $30- $40 

Etna

Etna is part of the Sicilia Mia Group of Italian Restaurants in Singapore. The group seems to specialise in Sicilian Cuisine.

Food there is generous, decent and relatively reasonable.

A lot of the pastas are handmade an about $20- $25 per dish. This is reasonable for the price of hand made pasta in Singapore. 

Some dishes that I have had there:

Bresaola Alla Contadina

Marinated raw beef with rocket salad, cherry tomatoes and parmesan cheese

I am not a fan of this and like beef carpaccio better. The difference between this and the beef carpaccio is that the bresaola is marinated and the carpaccio is not. 

Soft cheese from Puglia with parma ham and a rocket cherry tomato  salad

The cheese is creamy and soft. This cheese classically paired with good parma ham is a selection that is hard to go wrong. 

Pizza with parma ham, cheese, mushrooms and pistachios

The mix of parma ham and cheese is a bit too salty for my liking. I'm not sure if the pistachios add much to the taste.

Tiramisu

You can see pistachios are used quite a lot in Etna. The staff proudly tells me that the pistachios come straight from Bronte in Sicily and are some of the best in the world. This product is apparently more superior and expensive than the pistachios in Turkey and other regions. 

The tiramisu is their top dessert recommendation. 3 of us shared one to try. None of us were tiramisu fans but we all agreed that it was very good. I think that most tiramisus are far too sweet but this one has a good balance of coffee, liquor and cream. What makes it stand out is the pistachios. The pistachios enhance the tiramisu and is the star of this dish. It's quite interesting that there isn't that much pistachio but it still manages to stand out. 

Pistachio Mousse

I love pistachios but this mousse is pistachio overdose. Apparently they also call this the pistachio bomb. They use pistachios, pistachio cream, pistachio powder and something else pistachio. The texture is too thick and heavy to be called a mousse. It was closer to a paste. 

Website: http://www.sicilia-mia.com/etna_res.html

Location: 49/50 Duxton Road

Prices: About $15 for entrees, $25 for mains, $12 for dessert.

Speciality: Pistachio Tiramisu

Littered with books

Independent book store with decent prices.

Browsing through books in this shophouse on a lazy afternoon is the thing to do. The prices are pretty decent and the staff are friendly without being over bearing.

There is coffee and water available for the wanderer.

 Cupcakes at a book launch

There is a good selection of fiction, children, non fiction and cook books.

Website: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Littered-with-Books/153135064725041?sk=info

Location: 20 Duxton Road

Opening Hours: Mon- Thu 12pm- 8pm. Fri 12pm -9pm. Sat 11am- 9pm. Sun 11am - 8pm