GRUB

So it was my birthday. My in-laws wanted to celebrate with me and I suggested GRUB. A friend mentioned it before but because its in Bishan park, none of my other friends are willing to entertain the distance. Since the in-laws all stay in the north, it's very convenient for us. Moreover they had some vegetarian options for my hubby.

If you order their GRUB breakfast set, it comes with a coffee or tea. So here's the latte that was served before the food arrives.

Latte

For sharing, we ordered a Chilli con carne to share. The hubby ate the chips plain. We also ordered fries and that one he could enjoy. He got the rocket salad as his main dish, with tomato slices and feta cheese. I can't seem to find that on their online menu now, so I guess this item has been removed.

Chilli con carne

Fries

Rocket salad

CM got their roasted portobello. Big portobello mushroom caps roasted to juiciness, complemented by a salsa and rocket leaves. My hubby totally can eat this actually, but he doesn't like portobello mushrooms in general.

Roasted portobello

W got the French toast. Beautifully browned French toast, served with garlic thyme pork sausage, strawberries, sour cream and maple syrup, and finally dusted with some iceing sugar. Sweet and savory on one plate. She liked it.

French toast

I had the egg cocotte, because frankly, I cannot resist truffled anything. The parma ham is small and forgettable. The eggs a little too soft for my liking. The foccacia were good vehicles for dipping into the egg. Truffle wise, it wasn't very strong. I very much preferred Forty Hand's version.

Truffled egg cocotte

G's breakfast set comes as a pretty small portion, despite the variety. I expected a much fuller plate for a breakfast set. I mean, I always get food coma from breakfast sets elsewhere so this was a little disappointing.

GRUB breakfast set

The cafe had a nice alfresco area, which is pretty pleasant on a not-too-hot day. Location wise it's pretty inaccessible by public transport. That said, the food quality and portion size actually don't make any intentional trip here especially worth it. But to be fair, the prices aren't exorbitant either. I doubt I'll be back though. It wasn't impressive enough to stick in my mind (and my stomach), so much so that I forgot about blogging it altogether. Note that they don't entertain reservations, and it gets pretty busy on weekend mornings.


GRUB
510, Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 (Bishan Park 1)
Singapore 569983
Tel: +65 64595743

Bistro Du Vin (Zion Road)

So it was one of those days I had to work late, with 3 hours of waiting time in between to spare. So XP, FQ and I decided to check out Bistro Du Vin, which we passed by when we went for Pepperoni Pizza. A quick googling revealed that it was under the Les Amis Group, together with Pepperoni Pizza. So off we went, for that treat to ourselves for working late.

Like all proper French restaurants, we were served crusty bread with butter while we were still browsing the menu. Though it wasn't warm, the baguette was delicious, and very welcomed. Especially when I was super hungry.

Bread and butter

And what's French food without my two favourites? Escargots and foie gras. Their escargots are the cutest I have ever seen. Served without shells in individual mini ramekins. It wasn't mind blowing, but the garlic/butter/herbs combination worked together very well. And the meat weren't overcooked too. Very pleasant start to the meal. Pan-seared foie gras came next. Crisp on the outside, melt-in-the-mouth interior. I was in bliss.

Escargots

Foie gras

For mains, I opted for slow cooked lamb shank. It was served in a Le Creuset casserole. When the lid came off, I was swarmed in a delicious steam of rich broth. I wanted bread to soak up all that goodness. However, lamb shank being lamb shank, it had a lot of fatty bits. So although I started off a happy girl, I was a little sick by the middle of my meal and struggled a little to finish. It was served with crushed potatoes on the side. It was a little bland and a little neglected, not because it wasn't good, just because it had a competition. Truffle fries. I cannot not order truffle fries when I see that on any menu. And Bistro Du Vin's doesn't disappoint. The moment it was set down on our table, the whiff of truffle came to me immediately. I also liked it was thick-cut fries, which have a fluffier interior that I prefer over shoe-string fries.

Lamb shank

Truffle fries

XP had the suckling pig belly confit. Brave boy. Of course he was pretty sick by the end of it. Nothing to do with poorly prepared food. Pork belly is simply to rich for one person to finish one shot. It was delicious on the first few mouths. Very crisp, very fragrant. FQ had the Australian pork chop, also deliciously prepared, and generously topped with caramelised onions. I think among the three of us, he had the least difficulty finishing his main. But still with a little bit of struggle. We concluded their level of richness probably will require us to share 2 mains among 3 persons in future.

Suckling pig confit, choucroute & bacon (belly)

Pan-roasted Australian pork chop, caramelized shallot, garlic & mashed potato

For dessert, because we were so gelat, we wanted something to cleanse our oil-laden palate. So we chose the Colonel, which had the description "lemon sorbet with Vodka", thinking that the lemon sorbet will help us curb the oiliness. We were expecting Vodka infused lemon sorbet or something. Little did we expect what we got. Literally lemon sorbet floating in neat Vodka. It was still nice, but I didn't plan to end the meal with that much alcohol, and I find the alcohol too strong for a dessert. Shared among the three of us, it was ok. Nobody got drunk. Haha...

Colonel

Writing this, I realise the part I miss most is the truffle fries. Theirs really caught my attention. I wanna go back just for that. Bistro Du Vin is a quiet little restaurant that served up delicious French food. I think its a nice and cosy place for a dinner. Maybe I'll bring Lynn back. At least for the fries.

Bistro Du Vin

56 Zion Road

Singapore 247781

Tel: 6836 6313

Lele Pot

We are always up for trying new things at lunch. Once, on the way to another place for lunch, we walked pass Lele Pot. Upon checking out their set lunch menus, we decided, why not? The set lunch were going at less than $10. Seemed like a decent deal for hot pot. You choose a set you wan, then choose your soup base and your carbo.

Set lunch menu

I got the beef set (of course!) with herbal soup and tang hoon (glass noodles). Granted, the set comes cheap for a reason. It's a big plate of mostly veggies, with three beef meatballs, a few thin slices of beef, and imitation crabsticks. The mini pot of soup took forever to boil, from that little canister of (candle?) fire. That said, the soup was a nice, rich, herbal soup, which I really liked. The thinly sliced beef cooked very fast, so they remain nice and tender. For a $10 lunch? Not bad at all.

Beef set

On rainy days they can get pretty crowded since everyone want hotpot on rainy days. And be warned, you come out smelling like hotpot. This joint is opened by a Mediacorp actor, so while you eat you can look at the photographs of himself with all the (more famous) actors. Even several overseas celebrities.


Lele Pot
58 Seng Poh Road

#01-23 

Singapore 160058 

Tel: 6222 9442