Sunrise Bistro & Bar [Media Tasting]

Was invited to chill out at Sunrise Bistro & Bar last week, an impressive restaurant located at a quaint stretch along East Coast Park.

As the name suggests, Sunrise offers both a bistro and a bar, with indoor and alfresco seats.

Helmed by 41 year-old Executive Chef & Owner Vincent Teng with an impressive 22-year culinary experience, Sunrise Bistro & Bar specialises in serving casual fusion dishes - French fare cooked with a contemporary twist and a fine blend of creativity peppered with Asian inspired flavours (the Sous Vide way). This enables diners to experience fine dining at more affordable prices!

There is a live band - The Tripsters - that performs every night at 9pm, and allows you to send song dedications. We definitely had a good time with their performance that evening! All photos credit to molly-mia's camera cos I didn't had mine. We took turns to "work" that night, haha.

We started off our fine dining tasting with a lovely cocktail - Lady in Pink.

Made up of malibu, vodka, cranberry juice, sparkling wine, and topped with sweet, juicy strawberries, I would definitely go back to Sunrise for this anytime!

Seafood Chowder Soup $12

Creamy seafood soup with seasonal fresh seafood, topped with chopped chives and extra virgin olive oil

The seafood chowder didn't come looking like the usual creamy chowder. It was quite orangey as Chef Vincent included tomatoes in the base to give it a more zesty flavour, making it more refreshing as an appetizer. The soup was served with generous amount of seafood and a bread, definitely value-for-money. One of my favourite for the night!

Seared Foie Gras $19

Seared goose liver on brioche bread layered with mango with citrus jam and berry compote

We had half the usual serving-size for the foie gras to leave more tummy space for the rest of the dishes. Sunrise uses goose liver and it was seared to perfection - so fragrant and smooth. The tangy mango slice complements the fatty foie gras flawlessly.

Sunrise "Fish & Chips" $26

Crispy fried red snapper with lemon myrtle pepper served with mango salsa tartare sauce and french fries

Again, this fish & chips was very different from what we had expected. An absolute embodiment of fusion food - Asian dish with Western presentation. I was telling Mia that it tasted like sweet-and-sour fish without the sauce, probably due to the fact that it is fried red snapper instead of the usual battered dory fish.

Cereal Crusted Cod Fish $28

Baked cod fish with cereal crust served with seasonal vegetable braised in sesame oil and giner shoyu broth

This is my favourite main of the evening. 

The cereal crust is so fragrant and crispy, while the texture of the cod fish is tender and flavourful after being soaked in the sesame oil & ginger shoyu broth.

Asian Five Spice Duck Leg Confit $28

Sous vide 8-hour crispy duck leg infused with five spice served with citrus salad & passionfruit sauce

Definitely sous vide for 8 hours as the duck meat was so tender. The skin was totally crispy and fragrant, making me finish up every piece of it.

Marmite Canadian Pork Shoulder $26

Sous vide and grilled pork shoulder with marmite marinate served with seasonal vegetable

The pork shoulder is marinated with marmite before sous vide. This is the first time trying marmite and it was quite good. Not too overwhelming as I had thought. The pork shoulder taste very similar to char siew, without the fattiness, reminding us again of Chef Vincent's fusion culinary approach.

BBQ Beef Short Ribs $32

24-hour Sous vide to tender and roast with homemade BBQ sauce served with seasonal vegetables

This beef short ribs were sous vide for 24 hours making it so tender and juicy. The insides of the ribs remains pink and the meat so succulent.

Tiramisu Semi Freddo $12

Semi frozen mascarpone cheese layered with coffee liquer jelly psonge topped with milo crunch and tuile biscuit

Not the first time having semi-freddo dessert, but it's my first having a semi-freddo version of tiramisu. It went well, especially with the fat, juicy raisin infused with brandy.

Salted Egg Yolk Custard Molten Chocolate Cake $14

Warm chocolate cake with melting salted egg yolk custard in the center served with vanilla ice cream

Another of my favourite for the evening. Chocolate lava cake that oozes salted egg yolk is simply divine!

Sunrise Bistro & Bar

902 East Coast Parkway, Playground @ Big Splash, Block B #01-05

Singapore 6440 9090

Opening Hours

Mon - Thu: 11:30am - 1:00am

Fri: 11:30am - 2:00am

Sat & Eve of Public Holiday: 9:00am - 2:00am

Sun & Public Holiday: 9:00am - 1:00am

Website

http://sunrisebistrobar.com/

Alfero Artisan Gelato – Singapore

Alfero Artisan Gelato – Singapore

6 Raffles Boulevard 02-226A/B 

Marina Square Singapore 039594. 

Tel: 

+65 6338 5828

Opening Hours: 

Monday to Sunday 12:00 to 22:00

Cafes have been popping up all over Singapore in recent years; but we all have heard a number of cafes closing down at the same time – due to lack of flavor (both the food and concept). Setting up a F&B business is never easy, what’s more with required constant efforts in maintaining the fundamental gist of the business – the food. Nonetheless, as much as competitive is still tough, Alfero Artisan Gelato proved itself with quality gelato and steadfastly expanding over these years. Other than that, gelato is also much less sinful than their ice-cream counterpart!

Alfero Artisan Gelato believes that everyone deserves to enjoy a great Italian gelato made as it should be. 

“This is not just a business, but also a lifestyle philosophy - offering and rediscovering the taste of authentic Italian products such as gelato, without sacrificing quality. Alfero Artisan Gelato conforms to a philosophy based on taste and an unforgettable customer experience. We consider that "what we put inside our body" is far more important of what some people think, and that taste and quality matters!”

Ex-colleagues and I used to pop by their gelato outlet at Marina Square for a convenient lunchtime perk-me-up ;) However, we usually have the common safe choices such as mango or lime flavours. The recent tasting session (with Mia, Finaldust, Hazel and Janel) allowed us to indulge in more flavours and also got to know Marco Alfero, the originator of the gelato from Italy. We hear stories of how he became “localized”, coming in touch with ingredients in one of their rawest forms (read, Gula Melaka cubes?) to formulate new gelato flavours and met him personally relishing his own creation in the cafe with his family and friends on that weekend. When a chef appreciates his own food so much, you can be sure he had placed his 100% in cooking it – and this applies the same to a gelato artiste.

“Alfero Artisan Gelato aims to bring to Singapore the real experience of homemade Italian gelato produced with the best quality of imported ingredients and freshness and taste guaranteed. It is designed and catered to the market with a whole unique taste of authentic Italian products with quality assured.”

*credits Molly-Mia

The 11 flavours from top right, in clockwise direction:

(Cup-left) Bacio, (Cup-right) Dark Chocolate, (Cup-back) Yuzu, (Cup-front) Strawberry Milk, (Cup-left) Walnut, (Cup-right) Pistachio, Mango, Durian, Avocado, Passionfruit, Lemon.

My personal favourite out of the lot is still mango ;) There is not even a microscopic hint of any artificial mango flavourings unlike most other mango ice-creams or gelato. I also enjoyed other fruit flavours for alike reasons i.e. the durian, avocado, and yuzu. The tangy zest of the yuzu refreshes your mood instantly.

If you’re looking for something more “filling”, try the durian or avocado which is denser, smoother and more velvety in texture. The durian one actually contains real fruit flesh! Again, no trace of artificial flavourings at all. 

If you would prefer something over the sorbets, try the Bianco! It is chocolate with hazelnuts – similar to other gelato brands’ “Tartufo” or “Ferrero Rocher” flavour. That should be an easy choice to make for the kids especially. For adults, you will not go wrong with pistachio is you would like a more unique flavour. The pistachio gelato is so surprisingly fragrant that the few of us finished that flavour very soon!

Chendol Gelato Waffles

This innovative flavour is specially created by Marco Alfero to cater to the locals. The gelato only has a slight hint of Chendol, which personally I would have prefer it to be stronger. The waffle is pretty soft and fluffy.

Brownie with Snow White Gelato

One of the perfect food combination in the world - brownie with ice-cream.

Snow White is Alfero's milk flavoured gelato and its smooth, velvety texture complements the dry, crumbly brownie flawlessly.

For those looking for afternoon tea, Alfero Artisan Gelato also offers a small selection of coffees and teas. Do check out the menu or enquire with the staff when you’re there :)

❤ ❤ ❤ 

Benjamin Browns Bistro & Bakery @ The Forum Shopping Mall

One of the places you can hide from the bustling crowd in town, The Forum Mall.
Tucked far inside the mall, next to the escalator, we found a hidden gem - Benjamin Browns Bistro.
This bistro may easily escape the attention of many people on a crowded weekday peak hour. We chanced upon it while looking through The Entertainer app's map for nearby cafes to chill.

Benjamin Browns Bistro & Bakery

#01-20/21, 583 Orchard Road
Singapore

Tel
6887 4117

Opening Hours
Mon-Thu: 10am - 9pm
Fri: 10am - 10pm
Sat: 9am - 10pm 
Sun: 9am - 9pm

Website
http://benjaminbrowns.com/

The interior of the bistro is kept simple and visually pleasing with classic wainscoting, soft whites and pale browns, and vintage wares. What attracted me to the cafe was the whole tranquil and relaxed feel, and many adorable ang moh kids roaming by.

Chilli Crab Linguine $20
Linguini tossed with crab meat and vodka arrabbiata sauce

This item on the menu caught our eyes with its local twist to an Italian dish. We definitely didn't regret ordering it. The pasta came with generous servings of shredded fresh crabmeat, and some chunky pieces to give us the 'kick'. At only $20, I would prefer this ready-to-eat crabmeat pasta to real chilli crab anytime!






Seafood Aglio Olio $19
Linguini with fresh seafood, lots of garlic, olive oil and chilli



As you can probably tell from the photo, the aglio olio was lavished with various seafood that adds on to the flavour of the dish. The linguine was cooked al dente, though I wish there can be more garlic.



Before going off, we saw these pretty cakes that made me stopped in my tracks.
May go back for high tea some other day!

***

Benjamin Browns Bistro & Bakery

#01-20/21, 583 Orchard Road
Singapore

Tel
6887 4117

Opening Hours
Mon-Thu: 10am - 9pm
Fri: 10am - 10pm
Sat: 9am - 10pm 
Sun: 9am - 9pm

Website
http://benjaminbrowns.com/