High Tea at the Equinox (Fairmont Hotel, formerly Raffles Plaza Hotel)

May 1, 2008 (Labor Day): It was a high tea many were looking forward to. Most remembered the Chinese New Year Lunch we had at the Equinox. The sashimi, the sushi, the happy waiters and the lau-hei (Chinese New Year fish salad tossed with vegetables and crisps), and the splendorous desserts...

This high tea offers the same atmosphere: Equinox is grand, bright and spacious. Located on the 72nd floor, it can't fail to impress with the panorama of the Singapore waterfront. I rate the high tea spread, though, as average, although the quality of ingredients scores well. But I don't take my high tea elsewhere, so I am probably not a fair evaluator. There are focaccia sandwiches, green salads, sushi (again, not as great as those served in the Chinese New Year lunch buffet), spaghetti, Chinese dessert soups, porridge, buffalo wings, taro-fingers, pizza...


My favorites are the taro and chicken wings. Most of my guests voted for the warm apple tart which they said was AWESOME! Alas, I was too filled up to relish it. The next time I go, I won't forget. But I will make sure I go for the lunch buffet. This is, after all, my second high tea, but nevertheless, remains a good experience.

The Ultimate Raffles Buffet

April 26, 2008 (Sat): A rather wholesome experience, I must say. I was most enchanted by the meticulously designed tropical paradise harmonized with British imports in the hotel compound. Inside any shop or restaurant in the hotel- except for Seah Deli and Ah Teng's Bakery- a royal British air pervades.

This restaurant, the Bar and Billiard Room, 'hidden' behind the waxy tropical foliage, have been missed in my walks around the hotel. Outside the restaurant, there are comfortable sturdy sofas that serve those who have to wait for its doors to open; inside, the ultimate beauty embraces you as you wine and dine. I liked the painting of a British man in Malay sarong and songkok and the cupboard displaying fine cigars. I was seated within proximity to them. Then I ordered my chilled beer after waiting for fifteen minutes in the humidity outside the restaurant. The effervescence pleasantly teased my parched throat as my ears were greeted with cracking sound from the BBQ outside on the terrace flanked by tall skinny palms and lilies. The fragrant smoke sailed in with the light breeze through the gaps in the doors.

I followed the trail of aroma and stopped at a pile of frankfurters, beef steaks and big prawns, gourds and zucchinis -- almost done. I came in and checked the whole salmon wrapped in pastry, the beef sirloin and the pasta. Then I walked right to the end where the billiard tables stand. Under the warm glow, the white orchid blossoms hovered over the spread of delicacies: pepper-crusted tuna tataki with wild Mediterannean rice and fruit, an elegant display of salads ( prawn, mozarella, Caesar, duck, etc.), cold pesto ravioli with sundried tomato, a sashimi counter, a spread of big fresh oysters on an ice-bed, a table of cheese sticks, crackers and rolls and the various premium Chablais varieties, desserts (shooters, jellies, pralines, financiers, ice creams) in different colors and flavors, aesthetically arranged in tasteful containers and staggering heights...

There were also eggplant lasagne, stir-fried beef, fish and soups (crabmeat coconut chowder and French onion consomme and tomato) that one could do without.

I started with a bit of everything from the salad bar followed by a small adventure of the 'best oyster hunt'. Frankly each oyster I picked slipped down my throat flushing out the sweetest cold marine goodness.

My next sojourn was at the BBQ table where I picked up three grilled shrimps. "This slice is better!" chipped the chef and flop! a slab of succulent roast landed on my plate followed with bits of the warm colorful Mediteranean veggie. I gave the plump sausages, roast beef and lamb shoulder a pass even though the human line gave a hint of their worthiness. I'd have another chance! I promised myself.

Three hours passed by, and time slowed down for some sweets. The lychee and ginger ice cream and tea (red tea) ice cream were great with my well-assembled plate of very sweet tropical produce: starfruit, dragon fruit, apple, orange, papaya and melons. The pralines resting on a tall multi-tiered glass-stand looked irresistible following the arrival of my hot peppermint tea.


This SGD 69++-per-person experience scores as follows:
Ambience: 5.0 /5.0; service: 3.5/5.0; food: quality-4.8/5.0; variety: 4.8/5.0

Chinese-Singaporean Food (2): Crab with Salted Egg Yolk, etc.

September 7, 2007: A and I thought hard on where to take his rather un-localized Japanese friend for dinner. We both agreed on the cze char place on Upper Bukit Timah Road, Forture Seafood, simply because of its variety and casualness.

His friend came in his best Aquascutum long-sleeve shirt. It wasn't that out of place at this eat-out because some white customers came properly dressed in black night attire, though not overwhelming kind of dinner outfit.

We asked what he would like, and the reply was "boiled crab with ice" -doesn't that sound like Hokkaido hairy crab? We replied, "Oh... sorry, there's no such crab dish here. There're others..." He said, "No chilli crab or pepper crab for me, please". So we settled on the crab with salted egg yolk - which Makansutra recommends.

This crab dish was not that well-done as I expected it to be. It was not as dry as it should be - like the shrimps in salted egg yolk at Imperial Treasure (Marina Square). Though it was not dripping with oil, you can tell it's been fried in oil.

Forture's shrimps in cereal- my favourite local dish- is one of those easily available and affordable excellent versions, though. It's very drained in oil and one can't tell whether it's been fried or not. However, I've also tasted the version whereby the shrimp shells are kept intact-and the shrimps certainly turn out tastier.

We've had a lot that evening. The sheng mian (literally, raw noodles which are crispy instead) was very good. The vegetables with scallop was also fantastic - and I only wished there was lesser oil.

The oyster omelette was unforgettable as well- the egg was soft and the oysters small but plump and succulent. They are better than those at Newton's Circus.

At last, we ordered desserts, but oops, there weren't any. Sorry, we told our guest. Whatabout an ice-cream somewhere else along Bukit Timah? He chose "chatting" as his dessert and seemed quite pleased with conversation rather than with food.
(* 24 April 2011: We suspect a heavy dosage of MSG is used at the stall. We did have to clear our throats several times after each meal.)

Cze Char Store, Forture Seafood (Beside Tessarina Condominium, Upper Bukit Timah Road)

August 25, 2007 (Saturday): A. has suddenly become fascinated with this term 'cze char' -literally, 'cook and fry' in the Hokkien (Fujian) dialect.

'Cze char' refers to the wide array of more elaborately cooked (restaurant style) dishes that one can get at the local neighbourhood coffee shop. That means at much lower prices which are not necessarily translated as inferior taste and quality.

I recall having gone to Plaza Market Cafe at Raffles Stamford Hotel a couple of weeks ago and had a very average buffet dinner - so unexciting that I didn't think of blogging about it. It is when you have hit upon really not-quite-there eateries in slightly up-market hotels that you wish you had gone to the small neighborhood shops.

'Cze char' is new to A., although he has enjoyed some 'cze char'dishes around Singapore. Combining the first consonants of 'cze' and 'ch' is a horrendous task for him - and his best attempts resulted in 'chai chee' or 'chee char' - which was close enough.

This 'cze char' shop appears in Makansutra 2007 which is not as up to date as you may expect. A. found it in the publication in his fit of wanting to know about the great eating places in Singapore. The shop is FORTURE, not Fortune, as you would associate with a Chinese restaurant. Its name is the coinage of a fengshui master, writes Makansutra. The atmosphere is so relaxing that a Japanese man even appeared in his slippers and samue. Samue was the comfortable attire of monks when there was work to be done at the temple. It used to be made in natural fibre such as the hemp and is probably the best type of clothes for summer as the light fabric wicks away sweat quickly. Today it remains a popular attire for Japanese men in summer or at home.

The recommendations for this shop by Makansutra are the fried eggplant with pork floss, herbal chicken, fish head cooked in Thai style, and crab cooked with salted egg yolk.

With my stomach still filled with the Mini-set I had for lunch at Donguri, I went for the Thai style fish head (SGD 15) and quick sprouts-and-mushroom stir-fry (SGD 4). The former turned out an average because I prefer my own style of fish head; but the sprouts were superbly light and fragrant.

For appetizer, there was achar, the Peranakan cucumber appetizer, and I ordered just Chinese tea for beverage.

The price tag was SGD 24.90- the price of one-and-a-half packs of Marks and Spencer sandwiches in Oxford!

I really think Singapore is a great place to eat and won't be bothered by how others rate it. Just imagine if you were in Oxford, you would have to pay SGD 25 bucks to have Japanese food the quality of those served at school canteens here.

I'd return to this 'cze char' place to try out more from its endless menu, but I'll make sure I go there when I am ravenous.