The Roast Beef Dip showcases a medium rare roast beef, horseradish cream and provolone cheese sandwiched between 2 ciabatta. Initially I felt like a barbarian eating this, since it seemed uncultured to eat cold medium rare beef that has no seasoning to it, with bread. Things took a turn though, when I dipped the entire sandwich into the beef broth which was brimming with flavours. Both components on its own was pretty mediocre, but their marriage took things to a different level and I wouldn't mind ordering this again!
Rumour has it that once brunch has been consumed, you can be overtaken by the need to go back to bed again. So keep the rest of your day free of activities so that you can go back home to reunite with your bed. 😂
Haven't had brunch in ages and I was glad this was my first stop after my brunch hiatus.
Went with the PBD Big Breakfast which was probably for sharing seeing as to how the tables around me featured couples and friends sharing it, while I ordered it with the intention of solo consumption. What a glutton.
Anyhoo, the portion was pretty monstrous, featuring 2 mini ricotta hotcakes with unfathomable fluffiness that'll leave you pointing at it aggressively, signalling your dining partner to give it a try. I love the sunny, yellow, citrusy curd atop it, which gives some fresh respite amidst all the fried, greasy food surrounding it. The yellow cloud of a scrambled egg has a creamy consistency without being too runny, would have been great if there were some pepper dashed on it. The bacon, tater tots were pretty textbook but the sausage was delicious! Soft and tender with herbs thrown in its mix, I am willing to pay ala carte prices to add on more if there were.
The eye-catching shop name caught my attention and decided to give it a go since I'm in the vicinity. As the name suggests, they supposedly serve Nothing But CheeseBurger though there are chicken patty options, fries with various sauces available as an add on, as well as ice cream from Udders.
Went with the NBCB ($11.90) which consists of a single beef patty, topped with cheddar cheese, crunchy lettuce and tomato slices, sandwiched between 2 lightly crisp and charred, buttered, brioche buns. It was everything expected of a cheeseburger - tender and juicy patty with crispy edges for a change in texture, well balanced flavours and non-soggy buns. The Double CheeseBurger ($15.90) had an additional patty (well duh) and we added in some crispy bacon to mitigate the greenery.
We paid an additional $4 to complete the meal with fries and drinks, along with an additional $1 for sauce to accompany the fries. The truffle mayo sauce was good, though I felt that they could be more generous with the sauce since half of my fries were naked. The criss cut fries were soggy and could also do well with more sauces.
Overall, the meal was pretty decent and while it didn't disappoint, it certainly didn't dazzle as well - just good ol’ CB 👅
On to the mains, we had the Picanha 200G. It's quality beef, with tension and flavour. It was well seasoned, served with rosemary and garlic, without any sauces so you can enjoy it at its finest. Sauces are available at additional costs if you'd like.
Overall, a very pleasant dining experience here and I foresee myself coming back again.
The cheeseboard was a little too overwhelming for a lightweight like me, whereas my dining companions had no trouble devouring the blue cheeses with the amazing bread they have. Blue cheese has this sharp, dusky odour that I simply can't get used to, anyone feel me? 😂
Thought the meal was off to a good start with the Beef Tartare and I was absolutely right. The Bone Marrow was bloody amazing, if I can say so. Rich, decadent and soft, the bone marrow was almost butter-like, where you easily scraped a teaspoon worth of the gelatin-like marrow, and spread it across the grilled toast with Portobello Roasted Pine Nuts, Crumbs, Parsely. The flavours are full on and memorable, and pairs well with the wine we ordered, where the bold tannins help to cleanse the palate so that it doesn't become overwhelmingly rich.
a dimly lit, modern bistro nestled among the many shophouses in Telok Ayer. Started off with Tartare, which is mixed with the usual combination of capers, shallot and gherkins. It was extremely flavourful, though it comes with a comforting lightness to it. Pairing it with the crisp bread on the side, it was simply spectacular and if I didn't have to share the bread with my dining companions, I would have made a beef tartare sandwich myself.
Notable for their lamb cuts, they certainly did not disappoint with their thinly sliced meat that did not exude any gamey flavours. Special shoutout to their lamb skewers, which are smokey and seared in all the right places. Tender and juicy, the cumin showered upon it makes this extremely flavourful and I simply couldn't stop at 1. It may be a little too salty for some, but I'm a 重口味 person so this is right up my alley.
My very first visit at @ and I was at a loss on what soup to order so the staff recommended that I take up their most popular soup combination, which is Original White Soup and Mala. I can see the rationale behind this combination, where the light, almost herbal-like White Soup helps to complement the fiery, spicy and flavourful Mala broth that's on the other spectrum. I didn't quite enjoy the White Soup though, as it tasted a little bland for me, or it could be because my taste buds were too accustomed to the Mala broth but nevertheless, it did help to counter the heat from the peppercorns. The Mala broth here was different from what I was accustomed to - clear and light, unlike the thick and dense version that we see at various other hotpot places but that did not affect its taste.
Their Signature Gelato Bun was really good! The warm and crispy craquelin choux puff wraps your choice of gelato - lychee yuzu sorbet in our case, and I was surprised at how the puff was able to hold up its crustiness instead of turning soggy. Lychee Yuzu was a nice combination with a faint fragrance lingering behind even after the bun was long gone.
If you think you're looking at sushi, look again.
This is their Sushi Gelato, which is the 2nd instalment in their 12 Surprises 2022 series where a new concept would be launched each month of the year. Cleverly and gingerly shaped like sushi, the gelato does not taste like sushi at all. Instead, they used gelato spotting the same colours to mimic the sushi design, such as Coconut to mimic rice, Mango to imitate tamago and Watermelon as salmon. However, they did use actual seaweed and inari to hold the 'sushi' together. While it may taste a little too adventurous for me, it was still a really interesting concept 🌟
Do not get full from the hotpot! Leave some space (and soup) behind, so that the staff can use the remaining essence to cook up a bowl of fried rice for you. Taste wise, well, it's largely dependent on what you threw in your hotpot prior, so if you threw in lots of meat, then the fried rice is gonna taste like 1 😂
