There are a few kinds of restaurant owners –restaurateurs who outsource for potential chefs to helm the kitchen, and independent Chef-owners. These are two of which.

Chef-owners who safeguard their secret recipes needn’t be afraid of assistants and helpers leaving the squad –all they need to do is put up new ads to seek new employees –their business will not crumble just yet.

Restaurateurs who engage prestigious chefs will need to keep their pockets fat (with $$), or risk losing them someday to rivals. The consequences for losing the commander-in-chief (together with his secret recipes) overnight, over a small (or large) dispute, would be especially drastic if the restaurant has already garnered a long-standing reputation. It would take a while for the restaurant to get back on track, and to keep up with the same consistent quality.

Sounds like a scene from one of Mediacorp’s drama series, but I do know of a small business that has garnered rave reviews previously, who is now facing this situation.

Fortunately for Platters Bistro & Wine Bar, they need not fret about losing a resident chef and fluster at adverse consequences. Every four months, a new guest chef takes charge of the kitchen and menu.

There’s always something new to look forward to.

The guest chef programme is co-conceptualised and curated by FoodCult, an F&B think tank.

Guest chefs are invited to interpret, design and create what he/she believes is appropriate to be served as a sharing platter. This concept fosters creativity, and allows involved chefs to showcase dishes that would otherwise be irrelevant for restaurants they currently own or are working at. The only restriction is that the food should fit within the surface area of Platters’ signature wooden boards.

Dining at Platters is all about sharing and bonding.

The ever-changing-menu concept also applies to the extensive Euro-centric wine selection, which will likewise be revivified on a regular basis.

Organic Lemon Lime and Bitters ($7)

Non-alcohol drinkers can sip on organic beverages such as ginger beer, lemonade and cola.

Roll with it ($36/$68)

Platters introduced its third guest chef, Tan Yong Hua, in late November 2012. Born and bred in Singapore, Chef Tan is a well-known celebrity chef in the Chinese culinary world, with more than 23 years of culinary experience. His constant love for innovation makes him an ideal candidate as a guest chef for Platters.

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Fancy an icy, creamy Mid-Autumn Festival? It is time to ditch the traditions for a short moment and indulge in creative, contemporary mooncakes at Haagen-Dazs.

I am a huge fan of Haagen-Dazs ice cream for its premium quality –my favourite flavour being the Caramel Biscuit & Cream. Nope, they do not have mooncakes made using that flavour, but four flavours of mooncakes consist of a crispy praline ‘biscuit’ base for that nutty crunch.

Dark Chocolate ($24)

All four flavours also come with a Mango Sorbet ‘yolk’ in the centre to symbolise the full moon –an icy, refreshing and tangy contrast to the rich, creamy ice cream!
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From my last review of Arbite in October 2011, the charming restaurant has made a teeny-weeny bit of modification to its interior. The then-existing cosy corner with sofa seating and a coffee table has now been replaced with dining tables to cater to the overflowing dining crowd.

To celebrate it’s second anniversary, Arbite is launching a new menu that showcases refined fresh handmade pasta with an inventive touch, along with perennial favourites that are not to be missed.

The menu offers a wide variety of delectable choices, thus posing a formidable challenge of decision-making. Can we please order everything?
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With a rich heritage originating from France, Kronenbourg 1664 has been the best-selling beer in France for decades. Using only the purest waters from the Vosges Mountains are used to brew Kronenbourg 1664, it lends a uniquely delightful and clean, smooth taste –it is an ideal choice for the urbane to enjoy the civilised indulgence of a premium beer.

On 24 February 2012, the premium French lager unveils a first-ever Facebook application in Singapore that is designed to engage singles in a fun and interactive way, and approachable yet subtle for the shy ones.

Singles who are always in pursuit of that dream partner who shares the same interest will get to meet through this user-friendly application.

Here are the steps for interested participants:

1) ‘Like’ the facebook page at
2) Take part in a fun personality survey, which will determine which category your main interests falls on.
3) A personal profile will be set up and can upload your own photo.
4) You will be able to chat with like-minded people.
5) (Optional) If you happen to fancy someone else in a different category, meeting him/her isn’t impossible. You can start over on the personality survey and tweak your answers.
Note: This isn’t exactly considered cheating; opposites attract and sometimes it takes just a little more effort to find that special someone!

The cupid doesn’t stop there. Taking place from 24 February to 31 May 2012, this three-month campaign will also organise parties for participants to meet and mingle in real life –no more hiding behind the computer screen and secretly admiring; and no more racking of brains to initiate the first date!
The first party will take place on 30 March 2012 at SkyLoft @iFly, Sentosa.

Most excitingly, a deserving newly-matched Bachelor and Bachelorette will be stand a chance to win a coveted trip to Paris for the ultimate romantic escapade, with expenses fully paid for!

A pair of limited-edition phone casing premiums can be redeemed upon purchase of Kronenbourg 1664 beers from 1 March to 30 April 2012.

With the gorgeous Kronenbourg angel, Jasper from http://six-and-seven.com and musician-come-writer Nicholas.

Do visit their facebook page for more information!

For the full report at Sparklette, go to:
http://sparklette.net/travel/singapore/sentosa-flowers-2012/

(more pictures!)
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Nothing beats a piping hot bowl of congee, of a thick and smooth consistency, topped with cut-up chunks of dough sticks, drizzled with fragrant sesame oil, and finished off with a crack of an egg, for the ultimate comfort food.

Pork and liver porridge with egg, $3.50

I love my congee with a high level of brokenness. Chomp Chomp’s isn’t the best, but ample to satisfy my fastidious taste buds.

How do you like your congee?

Chomp Chomp Food Centre

Ever since the last meal I had at The Tastings Room 2 months ago, the experience is deeply etched in my heart. Whenever someone asks me for food recommendations, The Tastings Room comes to my mind :)

Here’s what they have to offer this Christmas!

Visit their website for more information http://www.thetastingsroom.com/

Growing up, I wasn’t deprived of delicacy such as Shark Fin; it is a common staple in chinese dinners/wedding dinners. When I was young, I used to look forward to the shark fin soup whenever there’re such dinners, ignorant of the fact that shark fin is actually tasteless -it was the broth that I was mesmerized with. I’ve never liked the texture of shark fin, and I would always pick them out and just slurp up the luscious soup.

When I grew older, I learnt that the delicious soup can be achieved with the right seasonings – without the addition of shark fin – since the fin itself is tasteless.
At a recent Chinese New Year tasting session, there was shark fin soup on the menu. I’m not against the idea of eating shark fin, since I do know people who actually enjoy it. However, I wish more publicity would be made to discourage the eating of shark fin, or perhaps make it less easily available.
I enjoyed the soup thoroughly, drinking to the last drop! but felt terribly guilty of not finishing the fin. Well, as much as I didn’t want the shark to die for nothing, I can’t force myself to eat something I dislike.

^Picture of he leftover shark fin, gone to waste. I did try some, before finally deciding that I really don’t like the texture at all.

Here’s Gordon Ramsay’s take on Shark fin

What’s your take on Shark Fin?

Beverages included in the buffet are Iced Tea & Hot Tea, but to my stupefaction, iced water is charged at 20cents per glass. Seriously???????? Just. order. TEA.

Iced milk tea…….. I really don’t need that much ice.

Self service bar include salads, dressings, a soup of the day, mashed potatoes and a brown gravy that hasn’t been replenished from the moment I entered till about 2 hours later.

Finally had a taste of the brown gravy. A tad too salty for my liking, but it’s not too bad.

The potato wedges are highly addictive! Fried upon order, thus served hot and crispy with a fluffy interior.

Prepare yourself for a high cholesterol intake; the buffet menu comprises MANY egg items. scrambled eggs with various sides and omelets folded around different fillings.

One option is the scrambled eggs with garlic toast on the side.

which i eventually used to dip into the Cheese Fondue -you may order only 1 type of fondue; chocolate or cheese.
Smoked duck and salmon are another 2 options. I enjoyed the tender smoked duck that isn’t chewy!

You can also have omelet with cheese and mushroom or ham.

A simple omelet with mozzarella cheese filling is pure comfort food!

The buffet comes with 1 serving of Spicy Agilo Olio or Italian Pilaf Rice; I opted for the Spicy Agilo Olio with mushrooms -you can choose to have salmon or smoked duck to go with your pasta as well but I think I made a splendid choice by choosing the fragrant mushrooms :D) The pasta turned out a little underdone for my liking, but it’s nicely seasoned and sufficiently spicy with an asian twist.

Savory or sweet pancakes are available with a small variety of sides. For the savory ones, the available sides are congruent to those available for the scrambled eggs. For sweet pancakes, a healthy topping of banana is available, but I’m not a fan of bananas. I went for a maple syrup topping with soft-serve ice cream on the side WHICH i went on to order 2 more servings of soft-serve ice cream thereafter because it was so good!

Sitting atop crispy waffle cone, I’d sooooo have servings after servings if I wasn’t freezing from all the ice cream.

I sampled 5 different flavors of ice cream that come with different toppings. They weren’t spectacular, especially after having the luscious soft serves.

The buffet is available from 2pm-6pm, and it costed me less than $25 including GST. I’ll probably only patronize them IF i have that much time to kill, it’s not exactly economical, but it’s not expensive. Food is decent, at least nothing tasted bad.

Check it out at: http://www.hungryepicurean.com/2011/11/the-tastings-room/

http://www.hungryepicurean.com/2011/09/dbs-indulge-presents-a-masterclass-with-yong-bing-ngen-at-the-afc-studio-3/

http://www.hungryepicurean.com/2011/09/dbs-indulge-presents-a-masterclass-with-yong-bing-ngen-at-the-afc-studio-3/

http://sparklette.net/food/stacked-dim-sum-bar/

My final year project:

Finally taking the time to upload my previous works!
Here’s the one for the DBS Competition