Top 10 undiscovered culinary capitals

I found this list while surfing the net for top restaurants in Singapore.

SYDNEY - For foodies looking for somewhere new to explore and give their taste buds a work-out, men’s Web portal AskMen.com has come up with a list of the world’s top 10 undiscovered culinary gems.

The list was compiled by editors at www.askmen.com and is not endorsed by Reuters:

1. San Sebastian, Spain

San Sebastian on the north coast of Spain in the country’s Basque region, which is famous for its cuisine, especially its tapas. This small city has three restaurants with three Michelin stars each -- Akelare, Arzak and Martin Berasategui.

2. Mougins, France

Mougins in southeastern France is not only famous for being the site of Pablo Picasso’s death, but also for its gastronomic climate. Mougins only has about 16,000 inhabitants but it has more than 50 restaurants, including Moulin de Mougins, located in an old mill with two Michelin stars, founded by Chef Roger Verg De. Restaurant Candille is also Michelin-starred.

3. Luxembourg

It’s a country of less than 500,000 people but a dozen Michelin-starred restaurants. Its culinary influences are French, Belgian and Germanic, which is found in regional specialties like trout, pike and crayfish, as well as in pastries and cakes.

4. Gothenburg, Sweden

Gothenburg, Sweden’s second city, boasts five Michelin-starred restaurants -- 28+, Basement, Fond, Sjomagasinet, and Kock & Vin -- and has produced a surprising number of Sweden’s best chefs.

5. Palermo, Italy

Sicilian culture is the product of many influences and its cuisine reflects this. In Palermo, enjoy greens and vegetables, and fish and grain, seasoned with the best influences of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Try restaurants like Il Mulinazzo and Osteria Altri Tempi for classic Sicilian favourites.

6. Ludlow, England

This town once boasted more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other outside London with onlhy 10,000 inhabitants. Sadly, Ludlow is on the decline and now boasts only one, Mr Underhill’s, but there’s artisan food shops and pubs serving great fare.

7. Las Vegas, Nevada

Everyone knows Las Vegas is all about glitz, glamour and gambling, but it also excels in fine dining and is the second home to many chefs -- Gordon Ramsay, Mario Batali, Thomas Keller, and Emeril Lagasse. Top restaurants include Guy Savoy, Commander’s Palace, and Firefly or three-starred Joel Robuchon.

8. Bologna, Italy

The nickname for the region in which Bologna is located is La Grassa, which means “the fat” -- a celebration of the rich diet enjoyed here. The use of pork is prevalent throughout Bologna which is also famous for other cured meats and pasta with top restaurants including Al Pappagallo and Da Bertino.

9. Edinburgh, Scotland

Home to three Michelin-starred restaurants (Martin Wishart, Number One and The Kitchin), and also a hot spot for all things cultural and famous for its farmer’s markets, tea rooms, pubs.

10. Singapore

British and Asian influences combine to make Singapore one of the world’s top undiscovered culinary capitals. The Singapore food festival, held every July, is a showcase of the best local foods. Head to Clarke Quay and Boat Quay for the best restaurants and to Chinatown Food Street and Lau Pat Sat Festival Market for the best local eats. Top restaurants include One Rochester for French dishes and Lei Garden for grilled shark.

-source

I'm surprised though that Singapore is considered undiscovered when Singapore is very much known for good food aside from shopping.

The list mentions Lau Pa Sat, which is a hawker place near the central area. Best to go there at night when they close off one of the streets to offer great satay.

Clarke Quay and Boat Quay have a lot of restaurants and bars. You won't be able to go through them all in one visit.

I haven't tried Rochester but I've been to Lei Garden. Lei Garden is quite good but also very expensive.

No Signboard Seafood Review - Are you sure?

This is probably the worst experience we've had primarily in terms of service. Read on if you want to know why.

No Signboard Seafood(Vivo City branch) serves, yes you got it right, seafood! They are known to serve the famous Singapore Chili Crabs.

1. Food

Singapore Chili Crabs
I'll be honest with you. I feel that the Chili Crabs are overrated! I'm not saying that they're not good, but I didn't understand the hype about it.

There's no denying that the crabs were huge and good quality. But the chili sauce, it's just normal. It's sweet and spicy, but still normal. In fact, I do prefer the White Pepper Crabs over the Chili Crabs.

Crispy Cereal Prawns
This dish is like tempura but uses cereal as coating. The cereal is quite sweet which I felt kind of overpowers the flavor of the shrimp.

One thing I don't understand is how they prepared the shrimp. What's wrong with the preparation: nobody bothered to deshell the shrimps! Which means that after you deshell the shrimp (on your own), you end up removing the coating as well! Sheesh, you're not a hawker stall! We pay good money and don't have time to deshell the shrimp?

The rest of the food are so-so. Large servings but nothing special.

2. Ambiance
At least for Vivo City, the place looks a bit more to the high-end fine dining setting.

The place has dark wood furniture and white linen which make it look clean and formal.

You'll notice that there is a hierarchy in personnel. There are waiters and there are cleaners/servers. The waiters are the English speakers who will be taking your orders. The cleaners/servers are the non-English speakers and are mainly Chinese. So if ever you need to get something and you don't speak Chinese, you need to ask the waiters.

3. Service
This is where this review gets very interesting. It's our first time to eat here.

We went in as a group of 6 people, got our seats immediately because there was no queue and then checked out the menu.

Their set menus looked the same as their competitor, Jumbo Seafood. We expected the servings to be big so instead of ordering the "set menu for 6", we decided to order a "set menu for 4" plus order a few more on the side.

So comes Mr. Waiter ready to take our order. So I told him, "We'll order the set menu for 4 and then.."

"Are you sure?", he interrupts with a boggled face, counts our heads as if mocking me for not knowing how to count. "There are six of you!"

"Yes, I know," I answered back with a bit of irritation. "That's why we plan to order some more."

Mr. Waiter is silenced.

Then with the set of 4 menu, I added another crab set and the crispy cereal shrimp. Now, the set menu had noodles with it, but being Filipinos who mainly eat rice, we decided to have a small order of fried rice.

"Are you sure?" Mr. Waiter blurted out again. "You already have noodles and you still want rice?"

"Uh, yes?" I was already trying to control myself.

In my mind, I was thinking WTF is wrong with this guy? First, he interrupts me for not ordering enough. Now that we're ordering more, he's stopping me? Seriously, what does this guy want?

Finally, we settled our orders and I finally get to relax. Some of us ordered some drinks while the rest just wanted water.

"Are you sure you want water?" Mr. Waiter blurted out. "Would you like to have soft drinks instead?"

Yes, I simply couldn't believe it.

4. Price
Objectively, their prices are slightly more expensive than Jumbo Seafood.

Personally speaking, with that very irritating service, I say it was a waste of money! You came in to pay for good food and leave the restaurant happy. Why would anyone want to pay to get themselves irritated!?

Final Verdict:
A simple answer, "NO". To Mr. Waiter, "Yes, I'm sure it's a NO!"

Just an advise to restaurants. Please please please teach your personnel proper manners! They are the people who face your customers, not the cook, not the accountant, not the dishwasher! If they don't make a good impression to your customers, then it reflects the kind of restaurant you have.

It doesn't matter if your food is good. Service is also your product! If all we wanted was good food, we could have just went to the hawker center.



So to those reading this, leave a comment if you've encountered the same thing whether in the same restaurant or not.

Also, leave a comment if you disagree that the Singapore Chili Crabs are overrated. Let us know where we can find the best chili crabs so we can check it out too.

Btw, sorry for the lack of pictures. I wasn't in the mood.

Thanks!
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Jones the Grocer Review - more than just a restaurant!

Jones the Grocer is one of the restaurants found in Dempsey Hill. (map)

They are popular for their breakfast and brunch meals. What's also great is that you can find a lot of imported goods for sale since it's a grocery too!



1. Food

Their popular breakfast meal is the Jones' Breakfast. It includes mushrooms, bacon, sausages, roasted tomatos sourdough bread and 2 eggs. Now that's a heavy breakfast! By the way, can choose how you want your eggs done (scrambled, poached, fried, etc.). This breakfast meal is totally worth it!



I got myself one of the brunch meals: a baby spinach salad with cajun spiced chicken breast, jones roasted garlic aioli, cherry tomatoes, crispy bacon and reggiano parmiggiano. I loved the salad! The dressing great and does not have an overpowering flavor. The baby spinach is crispy fresh and the chicken is cooked well. Unfortunately, I found the salad serving quite small as a brunch set. The Jones Breakfast seemed to be more fitting as a brunch set.



I had to order some bread to fill myself a bit more. I ordered Sourdough Bread with Jam and Butter. I'm usually not a fan of jams, but I enjoyed this one especially the strawberry jam. Their strawberry jam is not too sour unlike what you can by from your local groceries.




2. Ambiance

The first time you go inside Jones the Grocer, you'll think of it first as a grocer and not a dining place. All the walls are lined up with food items for sale! They've got pasta, meats, cooking aids, wines, herbs and spices!







They also have a separate cheese "cellar", just to make sure that the smell of cheese doesn't fill up the whole place. Cheese lovers will be in heaven!



Jones the Grocer have long tables inside so expect to be sharing tables with other guests. There are also chairs and tables outside, if you don't mind the tropical heat.

3. Service

Someone at the entrance will immediately attend to you. There's only one person keeping track of the occupied tables but she seemed very efficient at it.

When we came in, the seats inside are all occupied so we waited a few minutes first because we didn't want to bake in the heat outside.

Food is served quite fast. If you have eggs in your meal, you can choose how you want it cooked.

One thing that I'm particular about service in restaurants is the incorrect punching of orders. We got the correct orders, but when we got our bill, we were charged some additional items. They did reverse the order but it's something that really annoys me. It's already hard enough to explain that you did not order that dish, they would still have to recheck if the voided item did or did not come out of the kitchen.

Well, I'll let that pass for now. This was our second visit to Jones the Grocer and we didn't encounter that the first time.

4. Price

Their prices are quite reasonable. I can't really say it's cheap. If you think about it, SG$20 for the huge Jones' Breakfast serving is totally worth it.

The salad was around SG$14. Serving size is just right but too small as brunch.

I think, the best part about their prices is what's written at the bottom of their menu: prices are inclusive of taxes! No need to do the math. What you see is what you get.


***
My verdict: Jones the Grocer is something worth coming back for. This is a good place to have a nice breakfast or brunch.

Aside from eating there, they've got a variety of imported goods, some of which they actually serve. So if you like something they just served you, it's good to know you can have it at home too!



The only thing I don't like is the location. Dempsey Hill is a destination location, which means that you really intended to go there. It's nowhere near a mall or any touristy place. Best way in and out of Dempsey Hill is via taxi cab.

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La Nonna Review - The Great Pasta Hunt

The Great Pasta Hunt is a series out of many. Our quest is to uncover the best pasta places in Singapore and we are prepared to go near or as far as our wallets will take us, just to find it!



Last Saturday, we explored the village of Holland (Holland Village) and our quest brought us to La Nonna. Although this hunt is focused on pasta, we will comment on the non-pasta items we ordered such as the calamari and the complimentary bread basket that we had for appetizers. But, the star will definitely be the pasta!

1. Food

La Nonna, which means “The Grandmother”, serves home-style Italian cuisine. Think of hearty and rustic meals that your grandmother might have prepared if you were in Italy.


Their unique menu is very simple and does not smother you with so many choices.

For starters, we were given a complimentary basket of bread accompanied by olive oil and balsamic vinegar, which is practiced by most Italian restaurants. There were two varieties of bread, round and chewy and the other one was flat and crispy. I love getting bread baskets especially when parmesan cheese is added to the olive oil and balsamic dip! The server was generous with the parmesan cheese and gave us a lot of it.



We also ordered Calamari, which was served with a side of salad greens in a tangy balsamic dressing. I must say that the portion of the calamari was quite generous, as there were three of us and we had trouble finishing up the plate. While the calamari was soft and not overcooked, I felt that the flavour of the batter could be improved. In my opinion, all the ingredients in a good batter or any dish should work together to create a seamless flavour. However, the salt in the calamari was the only flavour that stood out and overpowered the batter.



The Pastas were next. We tried three kinds, the Spaghetti Al Granchio, Ravioli, and the Vongole. The pasta with clams was not in the menu, but the server said that they make it upon request. I thought this was great of them, they are so accommodating! When I tasted the pasta, I was really disappointed because the flavour was lacking! I am not exaggerating, but the Vongole pasta was sooo bland that I was adding salt, pepper and parmesan cheese from the first to the last bite. Despite the lack in flavour, I finished my plate because the pasta was cooked just right, al dente, and any pasta lover would appreciate that. The clams were also fresh and again, the serving was filling for one.

The Spaghetti Al Granchio and Ravioli were very good choices! The Al Granchio had crab meat in cream and paprika sauce. They did not scrimp on the crab meat and it was not processed crab meat either. The Ravioli with truffle-scented had good flavour but the smell was quite overpowering. Both pasta were al dente and the flavours were just right, not like the Vongole. The servings were quite generous too.





2. Service
The staff immediately pours you a glass of water and they are usually alert to refill it. A big plus in my book! I consider the service very good because a server quickly approached us whenever we raised our hand or needed something. Note that we were seated indoors and near most of the wait staff.


There's no hard rule about what wine goes with what dish. Choose wine that will not overpower the taste of your dish.

3. Ambiance
The Holland V branch is a simple place to bring friends or family but not a romantic date. Not sure how the branch in Namly Place looks like.

4. Price
The pasta costs around SG$18-20 per serving. I noticed that the price of pasta in Singapore is around that range, so I think this is worth it.

Don't forget that the prices are exclusive of service charge and tax.

The Verdict
Would I return again? Yes, I would be back for the service and to try the other pasta dishes, the soups and the pizzas but definitely not the Vongole. Do note that the Vongole was not in the menu.



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The Great Pasta Hunt series is written by our pasta-loving author, Cheryl.

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Good News, Bad News!

Let's start with the bad news: I'm scrapping the rating system.

Well, I initially wanted to have an objective way of rating the restaurants. However, I found it taxing to follow my rating system. Hahaha! It's a lot easier to just freely write whatever you want.

Secondly, which is the good news, I've invited other foodies to eat and review restaurants with me! Not having a rating system would make it easier for my co-authors to write reviews.

Watch out for the upcoming reviews of top restaurants in Singapore! I hope you'll still like it without the rating system, because this time, our reviews will be straight from the heart.

See you soon!

PS. Leave your email here so I can tell you where the good restaurants are.

Cha Cha Cha Review - Let's do the Cha Cha Cha!

Let's do the...



Cha Cha Cha!

But this time, we're not dancing. We're eating, Mexican Style!

Cha Cha Cha is a Mexican restaurant in Holland Village (Holland V). Holland V is packed with restaurants, but Cha Cha Cha is one of our favorites.


1. Food
There is one thing that you shouldn't miss at Cha Cha Cha and that would be their uberliscious nachos!



Cha Cha Cha nachos seem to be home-made. We've never found nacho chips like these in the supermarket. They're crisp and served hot from the fryer!

When you dine in, you'll automatically be served a complimentary basket of nachos and salsa. Yes, it's there to tempt you to buy more nachos! Just give in to the temptation. It's worth it!

Let me tempt you some more. ;) One way to enjoy these nachos topped with melted cheese, chopped tomatoes, onions and jalapenos! Very generous toppings! The other way is to order the Nachos con Queso, a basket of nachos served with a huge, huge, bowl of spicy cheese dip! Careful with the cheese dip, it's hot!

Aside from Nachos, Cha Cha Cha serves Enchiladas, Tacos, Burritos, Chimichangas and Flautas. You can choose your own filling of ground beef, shredded beef, shredded chicken or shrimp(for select dishes). You can never go wrong with these. Everything is perfectly cooked and has a real Mexican taste.

These dishes are topped with salsa, sour cream and guacamole. In most restaurants, you'll be very picky with the sauces. In Cha Cha Cha, these sauces are perfect! You'll want to have them all! There's no one overpowering sauce.




When ordering burritos or tacos, you'll be given enough wraps/shells for 3 servings. If you don't think you can finish 3 whole burritos, don't hesitate to go sharing. You'll have to assemble the burritos or tacos on your own. Some may find it troublesome, but I feel that it's part of the experience of enjoying your food.

Mexican food can never be complete with frozen margaritas or your favorite local beer.

We've been to Cha Cha Cha many times already. We've practically eaten most of the items in the menu. We don't have much complaints about their food.

The only thing I noticed is that the fillings, beef and chicken, are prepared the same way whether you have Chimichangas, Burritos, Tacos or Flautas. It's like choosing a filling, and then choose how you want it served. So there are times when you'll feel that you've eaten the same thing as before. (-1)



Overall, we really do enjoy the food at Cha Cha Cha. We don't hesitate bringing our friends and visitors here whenever we're at Holland V.

Food Rating: 9/10


2. Ambiance
Cha Cha Cha is a very colorful Mexican restaurant. It has yellow and orange walls. The table tops are decorated with plain tiles with an earthy feel.

The place is quite open. Smokers and people watchers will enjoy the tables right by the street. Others can choose to have tables towards the back where the air-conditioning is available.

It's a great place to be with friends, catching up over drinks and nachos!

Cha Cha Cha's earthy feel is not for the posh diners. The yellow and orange walls are quite colorful, but may look dirty for some. Add the fact that some of the paint peeling off the shelves make the place look a lot older. (-1)

One thing that boggles me, "What does the 'Tom & Jerry' cartoon have to do with anything Mexican?" They play 'Tom & Jerry' over the flat-screen. The cartoon is hilarious! It reminds me of my childhood, but what's so Mexican about them? If anybody can't answer my question, I'll have to count this as a minus. (-1)

Ambiance Rating: 8/10


3. Service
One of the good things you'll notice when dining in Cha Cha Cha is the fast service. Your orders are served in 5-10 mins. We've never waited long enough to start complaining.

Your water glasses are refilled immediately. You don't have to worry straining your armpits for trying to get the waiters attention.

First time visitors might not notice this, but Cha Cha Cha recently hired new waiters. There are times that you'll see them scramble to serve customers, but it's not really too bad. If you're a regular diner, you'll feel a little bit more waiting than usual. (-1)

Service Rating: 9/10


4. Price
The main courses in this Mexican restaurant costs SG$15-20 (US$22-30). This is quite a bargain since many will find the servings quite big. Burritos and Tacos are good for 3 servings so it's very well worth it.

The complimentary nachos are a plus on the overall value.

Do take note that their prices are exclusive of tax and service charge, which is a standard in Singapore.

Not much complaints here. Good food + good service = great value!

Price Rating: 10/10


***
Overall score: 36/40 Highly Recommended!

This is a highly recommended Mexican restaurant! There are other Mexican restaurants in Singapore that we've tried, but we still find ourselves going back to Cha Cha Cha.

The food is really great and worth your dollar. You won't ever feel cheated.

Bring your friends over so you can have drinks and much on their uberliscious nachos!



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Here's how I rate the food I ate.

Feel free to drop in your comments if you have suggestions or violent reactions!

How I rate the food I ate

Ok, so how do I rate the food that I ate?

Categories
First, let's make it simple. I'll look at the restaurant based on the following categories:

1. Quality of Food
You can't be a good dining place if your food is not good. That's the most basic requirement of any dining place. The food must be good.

If not, then everything else doesn't matter. You may have the best service, nice looking place or gold plated cutlery, but if your food sucks, don't expect us to come back.

2. Quality of Service
Most of the time, we give a big tip if the service is good. That is when you don't wait so long for the food, waiters are attentive to your needs, the place is clean and so are the waiters!

Although it's not a custom in Singapore to give tips, leaving the restaurant with a big smile is something we (and the resto management) always want.

3. Ambiance
We were taught in cooking school that if it's fine dining, all the cutlery should be in place. If it's buffet, just one set. If it's ala carte, they give you cutlery to match your orders.

Simply put, the restaurant should be what they say they are.

4. Price
When was the last time you had food so great but only paid so little?

Me, I just had one last weekend. It wasn't cheap, but that doesn't mean I've been cheated. It's all about how we perceive value.

This category is quite difficult to rate since it's about my personal view. However, I'll do my best to be fair.

Scoring

Now that I'm done with the categories, here is how I'll do the rating:

Each category will automatically have a rating of 10. So each restaurant automatically has 40 points.

If I have a complaint, that specific category gets a minus 1 point. So if I have lots of complaints, that would be a lot of minuses up to a lowest score of 0 for that category.

There!.. now that I've laid out my rules, let's get it on!

Why do a food blog when there are already many out there?

Why?

Simply because I love food! I enjoy eating and cooking, but let's reserve the cooking for another blog.

There are two past-times in Singapore: Shopping and Eating. I'm not a shopper, so I'm going for the eating part.

In my quest to find the best restaurants, I found myself disappointed with the food review sites currently available online.

These sites encouraged diners to give their own reviews and give a rating of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest. The idea was to get an honest opinion from the diners themselves.

Unfortunately, reviews of a single restaurant can be high 10 from one person but a can also be lowly 5 five from another. So who do we believe? the person who loved the food so much and gave a rating of 6, or the person who hated the service but gave an 8 rating?

So what now?

Well, I have nothing to do here but go around and eat. So might as well review the food that I eat.

So here I am writing this blog to share to you the food that I get to enjoy. So that when you get to visit Singapore, you can have your fill too.