Gastrosmiths

Gastrosmiths stated on its website that it serves globally inspired comfort food. I believe that is equivalent to fusion. Fusion means caution for me as it can either turn out superb or absurd. 

Luckily for Gastrosmiths, it's fusion without confusion. 

The menu is made of European comfort fare with Asian influences. Some out of the box creations include an Atlantic cod fried mee sua, a Shio koji seafood linguine. 

Truffled chopped eggs ($12++, above) were delightfully topped with smoked caviar. The truffle oil was overpowering. The crispy toasted bread topped with  eggs complemented each other well. Overall a decent dish.

We also got another eggs dish - the Sea-ly eggs ($9.50++, above) which includes two 63 degree eggs and toast, garnished with scottish smoked salmon, marinated nori and chili oil. This was slurpy good and sweet and it went well with the nice toast. 

Be brave for the ultimate dish - the Shio Koji Seafood Marinara ($22.50, above). If you can only eat one dish, this is it. Shio Koji is a Japanese seasoning that brings out the umami taste. It is made with rice koji (a mixture of rice with strains of Aspergillus Oryzae, a beneficial mold), salt and water. When matched with the sweet tomato based linguine with the fresh seafood, it was like having both essences of Italian and Japanese cooking. A must try. 

Service was very warm and attentive. The place is really small but it comes across as cozy and sincere restaurant that has its own charm. Easily my favourite of the year. 

P.S: They have some 40% discount Groupon deals but those get sold out quickly. 

Address: 103 Beach Road, Tan Quee Lan Street, Singapore 189704

Tel: 6336 3680

Set Contemporary Cuisine

Set is a restaurant that offers set menus. At really cheap and affordable prices. $28.80 for 5-course set lunch and $38.80 for 6-course set dinner. I was invited to a tasting session for the 6-course dinner. 

There are 6 courses and each course has 4 to 5 choices to pick from. I was amazed at my ability to stuff all of the choices into my little tummy. #AchievementUnlocked.

Picking the right choice for each course was crucial. I have sacrificed myself to eat everything and hence let me share with you which would constitute a good choice. 

Chef Starter | Bacon mushroom with cheese which was creamy and contains nice cheese with bacon. It was a perfect match with the lightly toasted bread that was crispy on the edges.

Cold dish | From top: Huai san carpaccio, Smoked duck breast, Salmon garvlax, Tomato carpaccio 

Out of the five cold dishes available, the tomato carpaccio which was cheese cream on tomatoes was my most favourite. It's airy texture yet rich flavour was like from a spray can.

Side dish | Grilled oyster mushroom that came with teriyaki and mayo sauce, and accompanied by truffle foam. There is no oyster. This is an oyster mushroom. Never a big fan of mushroom. So it was just ok for me. A bit rubbery but not tough. 

Soup | Left: Miso soup with sake, Right from top: Pumpkin soup with truffle oil, Double-boiled herbal chicken, Mushroom veloute with peanut butter

By now, I was wondering if my tummy would survive to see the main course.  Out of the four soups, my favourite was surprisingly the double boiled herbal soup. The herbal soup was intense and the flavour was full of herbs. It was hearty and warming to the stomach, helping to expand the stomach for further consumption of the main course. A close runner-up would be the pumpkin soup with truffle oil which was rich in flavour. 

Main course | From top: Roasted chicken pullet, Grilled snapper with salsa, Marinated rack of lamb, Roasted beef tenderloin, Baby pork back ribs

I'm not a red meat person but the roasted beef tenderloin scores for me. It uses the loin part which was fork tender with the right amount of fats. Second favourite would be the honey glazed baby pork back ribs which I was looking forward to. However the meat was a bit too soft and tender for my liking. 

Desserts | From top: Coconut cake, Poached pear with gelato, Pistachio panna cotta, Huai San jello, Espresso creme brulee.

You might hate me if I tell you I love all five desserts! Hmmm this would be a tough choice but I would go for either the Huai San jello and espresso creme brûlée. If you like something light, refreshing and healthy, go for the Huai San jello. The espresso creme brûlée was strong coffee flavored and topped with a crackle-thin crust of caramelized sugar. 

Overall | Great place for those with a tight budget but unlimited budget for stomach space. Dishes are hit and miss.. So make the right choice. 

Address: 1 Selegie Road, POMO #02-01 Singapore 18830

Telephone: 6337 7644

Website: http://www.set-sg.com

Thanks to Petrina and Lay Peng for the invite.

Dulcet and Studio

Located at the corner of Liang Court, Dulcet & Studio is a Japanese-Western fusion restaurant.. The name is quite interesting.. "Dulcet" supposedly means sweet and melodious.  And the "studio" refers to the baking classes that they hold. The restaurant is designed by a top Japan designer based out of Tokyo. Anyway, my expectations were raised significantly when I saw the colorful displays of cakes and pastries at the shopfront.. So tempting!

They have puddings too...

Not much people on a weekend..

I like the chill vibe of Dulcet & Studio. There's a sofa corner that looks comfy. Tip: They also have free wifi, another plus point.

This is a self-service place. You tick what you want to eat in the paper slip, pay at the counter, take your own cutlery, and wait for the food to be served.

I ordered the Black Pig Bolognese Fettucine ($13, below). Apparently this is Dulcet & Studio's signature dish. Their pasta is made in Hokkaido so it's different from the normal western pasta. The fettucine was a bit hard and chewy, not really to my liking. But the black pig bolognese was quite tasty, well marinated with the tomato based sauce. 3.5/5

My friend had the Full Size US Pork Chop Doria ($16, below). Doria is a Japanese type of food, similar to gratin but with a rice base. To me, it tasted like risotto. The tomato base was quite bland and diluted. I like the pork though which was juicy. 3/5

We waited for quite some time for our food to arrive, probably 20 minutes. My friend's order was Doria which it was indicated on the menu that it will take 15 minutes to prepare. On the other hand, my Black Pig Bolognese Fettucine did not have a minimum preparation time indicated on the menu. However, in the end, my friend's Doria came first before my Black Pig Bolognese Fettucine.

After a not-so-satisfying main course, we were looking forward to the desserts hoping they would help to end the dinner with a wow. We had the Pont Neuf ($5.20, below) which was a cream puff crispy on the outside but creamy and soft on the inside. Yumms! 4/5

Upon the strong recommendation of the service staff, we ordered Dulcet & Studio's signature dessert Fruit Scoop ($7, below). To be honest, it was quite a normal fruit cream cake to us.. Nothing to complain about it.. Until my friend spotted the "cake side" in the middle of the cake.. If you look carefully, there is a brown vertical line in the sponge. That's a cake skin. My friend claims a good bakery should not serve it to customers as the cake skin  is usually used to combine two cakes. 3/5

Overall, we went in with high expectations but actually it's quite average food to us. Not sure if it was because we order the wrong food. Cuz we googled and found quite a lot of good reviews on Dulcet & Studio. If I am in the vicinity again, I will order the matcha chiffon cake which was sadly not available during my visit. 

Address:

Liang Court

177 River Valley Road

#01-41/42