June 2016 - Gazing and Grazing

Odette – Divine Dining if Not For the Wine Pairing

June 13th, 2016

One of Singapore's more highly lauded fine dining restaurants since it opened in late 2015, Odette's food definitely deserves its accolades. In fact, it's likely to be one of those with Michelin stars when the inaugural list for Singapore is published in July. In short, the food is good but our experience was marred by a rather bizarre wine pairing that seemed to fight Chef Julien Royer's creations rather than to complement them (at least in my simple non-expert view - I've seen contrary...

Nice Day Out at Singapore’s National Orchid Garden

June 6th, 2016

As a friend says, the Botanical Gardens is possibly the best thing about Singapore and certainly, the National Orchid Garden is one key reason. I do a regular Sunday walk at the Botanical Gardens but seldom go into the National Orchid Garden because there's usually a SGD5.00 fee and it's not part of the exercise routine. However, it really is a small fee to pay as the area is beautifully landscaped and there is a wide variety of orchids you don't normally see elsewhere. Since my walking...

Royal J’s Seafood – Hits and Some Miss

June 2nd, 2016

Royal J's Seafood is a highly lauded coffeeshop for local (Singapore/Malaysia) style Chinese food with some standout dishes but also some odd items. For me, the outstanding items were the fried porridge, and the two chicken dishes - one fried and one steamed. Two of the other main house specialties, the crab with glass vermicelli and the prawns with cheese, disappointed us. And with the hot weather in Singapore recently, eating at Royal J's, which is located in a food court with no air...