Alma by Juan Amador: A Citi Four Hands Kitchen Review.

👍 Imaginative, Asian-fusion'ed European Cuisine. Service is warm and inviting.
👎 Tonight's dinner a tad inconsistent: A few dishes were a little on the weak side.

For April 2019 Citi's 4 Hands Kitchen moves back to Goodwood Park Hotel's Alma by Juan Amador, where resident Chef Haikal Johari hosts Le Normandie (Bangkok)'s Chef Arnaud Dunand Sauthier! The two chefs hold 3 Michelin Stars between them, so the darling and I were pretty excited to be back to try out their 6 course dinner menu!

The dinner starts off with some Snacks, which include a one-bite Strawberry chips with salmon roe and sour plum sauce, Foie gras mousse with apple jelly, Fish tartare cracker, and chili-spiced Prawn tartare cracker topped with frozen yuzu powder. We especially liked how the richness of the foie gras mousse was cut by the tart apple jelly, and the contrast of flavours, textures and temperatures in the Prawn tartare.



To cleanse the palatte before the start of the dinner proper: Alma's Potato Bread with Smoked Butter. It might be a bit strange to fawn over bread, but this is one of the better presentations we've come across. The bread's served in a box on a bed of warm coffee beans, which keeps it warm and provides an amazing coffee aroma at the same time. The smoked butter is pretty damn good, too.


Onwards to the first course, then: the Monkfish Liver, served with beetroot, beef tartare with gochujang paste, and mustard ice cream. Truth be told I'm not entirely on board with ice cream as an appetizer - it's difficult to undo almost two decades of "no ice cream until you finish your food" brainwashing - but otherwise this appetizer was delicious and decadent.


We then move on to one of Chef Arnaud's signature dishes: Caviar Et Oursin (Caviar and sea urchin with potato foam and champagne sauce). This was probably the standout of the night for me: The Potato foam having substantial body to carry and hold together the briny umami and textures of the caviar and uni (buried at the bottom, strangely enough).


Next up was Asperges Vertes Pertuis: Roasted Green Asparagus with Anis and Olive Oil 'fruiteee noire.' According to the server the asparagus was cured for 6 hours prior to a slight roasting on the grill. It was a well cooked stalk, but overall we didn't think the asparagus brought enough to the table, even with the accompanying sauces.


Moving on then to the Maquereau de Ligne: Wild Caught French Mackerel with Fennel, Anis, and a Liquorice-based sauce. Yes, liquorice. If you are one of the few people who like the taste and aroma of liquorice*, more power to you. I am not one of those people, however, and so I ate the fish and greens without it.

* The darling disagrees vehemently. She argues that my prejudice against liquorice tainted my judgement, and that the mild pungence actually complemented the flavours of the mackerel and fennel perfectly, so this was the standout dish of the night for her.


The last savoury course is instantly recognizable as Chef Haikal's handiwork: Ohmi Beef with Ramson (wild garlic), Gobo (burdock root), Yuzu Kosho, and a crispy potato stack. The Ohmi naturally was delicious - it is one of the big three Japanese Wagyus alongside Matsusaka and Kobe after all. The accompanying potatoes, gobo, and vegetable were also nice, but I didn't think the dish needed the watercress sauce so I left it untouched.


Wild Strawberry headlines the 6th - dessert - course, atop umeshu jelly, chantilly, and smoked koshihikari rice puffs. We quite liked this fruity, not overly sweet dessert.


Before we say good night, though, we have a cup of (included in the dinner price) coffee & tea alongside Alma's Petit Fours:

- Chocolate cake with Pear jelly
- Green tea tart
- Raspberry with Gochujang square
- Jackfruit and passion fruit macaron


The 'sticker price' of s$218++ (per pax) is a little high considering that Alma usually only charges s$158++ for its 6-course degustation dinner menu. However with Citi's discounts we ended up paying s$109++, which is pretty good value, and we left the restaurant well fed and more or less extremely satisfied.

Alma by Juan Amador is at Goodwood Park Hotel. Reservations recommended; Non-Halal.

Look See Eat

Great Sunday Brunch at Clipper Lounge, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong (Central)

👍 Generally really good food, superb range of sashimi and cold seafood.
👎 Variety of dishes and types of cuisine on offer isn't as high as some other buffets.

Every once in a while we like to go stuff ourselves silly at a good Sunday Brunch. While visiting Hong Kong we decided to spend the afternoon having brunch at the Clipper Lounge, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong (Next to Central MTR).

Compared to other 5-star hotel buffets, the variety of cuisines and dishes isn't the greatest, but the quality of the dishes on offer were generally very, very delicious. We were quite amazed in particular by the fat and juicy scallops on the sashimi bar, and the king crab legs, oysters, and abalone on the cold seafood table. We also thought the roast prime rib of beef was excellent. There was a huge variety of desserts, some of which were perhaps somewhat an acquired taste, but most of which were good.

Service was friendly, attentive, and prompt, and the dining area is gorgeously elegant. If you're the type of person who absolutely must have over a hundred different dishes at a buffet, then this place might not be for you, but otherwise we highly recommend it if you're hankering for a Sunday Brunch Buffet in the city!


Some photos of the bread and cheese table, sashimi, sushi, oysters and cold seafood bar:









Some photos of the Hainanese chicken (a little dry), Roast Beef & Ham, Hot Dishes, and Desserts:








Some photos of the food we brought back with us to our tables:









Finishing off with (complimentary) coffee and tea:


Sunday Brunch at the Clipper Lounge, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong costs HKD718 per adult (+10% service charge). Add HKD400 to include free-flow Champagne R’ de Ruinart Brut NV, house white and red, beer, soft drinks and fruit juices. Visit the Mandarin Oriental HK website for reservations. Non-halal.

Look See Eat

Singapore Airlines 'New' Regional Business Class Review (SQ638, SIN-NRT)!

👍 The large, straight-on footwell makes for a superior sleeping position.
👎 Seat is relatively narrow (for SQ), no 'double bed.'

The wife and I got the chance to try out Singapore Airlines 'new' Regional Business Class on their B787-10 Dreamliner from Singapore to Tokyo/Narita!


SQ 638 is a 6hr 35min scheduled flight, leaving Singapore at 11:55pm and arriving in Tokyo (Narita) at 7:30am. It's a perfect, albeit a little short, time-saving flight as you can work a full day, sleep in the plane, and then have an entire day of vacationing in Tokyo (or wherever else you're planning to go to in Japan).

Check in at Changi Airport as a premium passenger is, as always, an extremely efficient affair: Just a couple of minutes and you're all checked-in and past immigration. The SilverKris Lounge (for Business Class passengers) was surprisingly packed, so it might not be the best place to get some rest. The food available was far better than most of the other lounges in the airport, however!


The New Regional Business Class seat is a departure from Singapore Airlines' typical Business Class seats, in that it places the footwell right in front of you (instead of skewed to one side). This is, in our opinions, a HUGE improvement in sleeping position, and therefore is probably a superior seat for (relatively) short red-eye / overnight flights like this one. There are a couple of drawbacks though, namely:

• The seat is noticeably narrower than Singapore Airlines' International Business Class (but still perfectly fine for my 86kg frame.
• There is no "double bed" available, and even in the middle "couple-type" seats you need to lean forward quite a bit to speak to your travel companion.

Dinner was served very promptly after take off. We tried the Hanakoireki and the Seared Black Cod ala Nicoise, which were both filling and delicious. Having said that, it's a little odd to have dinner/supper on a flight scheduled to take off at midnight. Wouldn't a heavy breakfast be a better idea instead?

There was also a light continental breakfast served just prior to landing, which we chose to skip in order to get a little more shut-eye.


As is usual for Singapore Airlines, you get water, socks and slippers and an eye shade, but you don't get pajamas in Business Class. You don't get an amenity kit, either: You're expected to head to the toilets to pick up shavers, combs, toothbrushes, etc if you want them.

Overall, the flight was extremely comfortable, although it being so short (actual flight time of around 6 hours) meant that it was really just board, eat, then recline the seat to get as much (very comfortable) sleep as possible.

Look See Eat

Superb cheap charcoal Yakiniku (焼肉) at Aburiya, Boat Quay!

👍 A great balance between cheap off-cuts and pricey premium ones.
👎 Our charcoal pit started losing heat 2/3 way through dinner.

What, to you, is needed for a good Yakiniku (焼肉)? For us, it's these criteria ...
✓ A Charcoal Grill
✓ Good selection of highly marbled meats
✓ A wallet-friendly price

... of which, of course, most places normally only meet two out of three.

We then heard that Aburiya over at Boat Quay might be able to check all three boxes, though, so we headed over on a Friday night to check it out!


The main reason we're here is for their Aburiya Kiriotoshi Tokumori which, at about $16/100gm, is remarkably cheap. Naturally there's a catch: these are the assorted cut-off ends of all the various other types (and cuts) of meat served in the restaurant, so you don't get to choose what cuts you want, and you don't get perfect, artfully arranged slices.


That's okay, though, because these are slices of proper yakiniku Wagyu and Tokachi* beef, and are almost as good as the pretty cuts!

* "Tokachi beef" is a brand of beef from the Tokachi region in Hokkaido. The Tokachi beef served in Aburiya are from a cross breed between Kuroge (黒毛) and Holstein cattle.


Aburiya does serve up a wide variety of more premium cuts and meats too, though! We added on an order of Wagyu Jo Karubi ($16; higher grade available at $26) ...


... and an order of Atsugiri Tongue ($20; other grades available at $16 and $25).


Surprisingly, Aburiya serves the Jo Karubi in (relatively) thick, chunky slices - around 1.5cm rather than the 0.5cm or so that's typical for yakiniku. We like this quite a lot - the thicker slice means you can get a far better char on the edges while still maintaining a juicy, fatty, medium/medium-rare inside.


The tongue was also really good. We like the beefy flavour of yakiniku'ed beef tongue, but if it's not prepared properly it can be really tough. No such problems with this particular tongue!


Oh, we also ordered an obligatory Yasai Mori (assorted vegetables, $13), which turned out to be just so-so. If you want to keep a balanced diet, you'd probably be better off ordering something else like salad, or kimchi, or specific vegetables to throw onto the grill.


After adding on a couple of $5 soft drinks, a bowl of $3 rice, and taxes and service charge, the final bill came to $120.06 (for two people). So perhaps not so wallet friendly after all after adding on all the more premium extras. Nevertheless it's still a pretty good value, in our opinion, and totally worth a return visit.

Aburiya is at 79 Boat Quay (it's closer to Clarke Quay rather than Raffles Place). Reservations recommended: For our Friday night visit without reservations we had to wait for about 10 minutes for a table. Non-halal.

Uya: Live Unagi (River Eel) Specialty Restaurant in Wheelock Place, Singapore!

👍 Fresh, live, charcoal grilled eels; Manageable queue (for now).
👎 A little pricey.

Ever since we had terrific Unagi Don (grilled eel on rice) at Hitsumabushi Bincho in Ginza, we've been hankering for something similar back home in SG. Man Man Unagi, of course, is a prime candidate, but the never-ending queue is a high barrier to entry (for us).

So we were really happy to hear about a new(ish) Unagi specialty restaurant in town: Uya 四代目菊川 (Yondaime i.e. 4th generation Kikukawa) in Wheelock Place, and headed over to try it out!


Uya serves Nagoya-style Unagi, which is charcoal-grilled entirely, resulting in a crispier (but also slightly dryer) eel filet. It also keeps its eels live in the kitchen: No frozen / pre-cooked / pre-slaughtered nonsense here.


Unfortunately for us there was a short queue on a Friday night - but as it was just a five minute wait (or so) it's perfectly manageable.


We both opted for the Hitsumabushi Unagi Don (s$35 medium, but you can top up to s$48 for the entire fillet). "Hitsumabushi" doesn't specifically refer to eel - it's literally merely a combination of "Hitsu" (the wooden rice bowl) and "Mabushi" (To cover up rice) - but nowadays popularly refers to a particular style of eating a single bowl of Unagi Don (or Kaisen Don) in three different styles.


First - A closer look at the Unagi (apologies for the poor quality as we didn't have our cameras with us). As mentioned, the Nagoya style results in a crispier skin, but a somewhat less juicy/moist flesh, as compared to the Tokyo/Kanto style (which is steamed first before charcoal-grilling).


With the Hitsumabushi style of eating, you have your eel rice three (or four) ways:

1. On its own, without adding anything.
2. With some condiments - normally spring onion, wasabi, and dried seaweed.
3. With some soup - In this case a clear, refreshing dashi broth.
4. Whichever way you want.


Verdict: Absolutely delicious, although around s$43.50/pax after taxes and service isn't exactly cheap. Futhermore, adults of even slightly-above-average appetites might find the Medium-sized bowl to be somewhat insufficient, and therefore need to top up to the Large size (should be around s$58/pax). If that price tag is OK for you, though, what you do get for your money is delicious eel, expertly grilled, with just the right amount of sauce that has the perfect sweet-sticky-slightly salty balance. Oh, and (almost) no queue.

Uya is in the Wheelock Place mall (connected via underpass to Ion Orchard / Orchard MRT). Reservations not accepted.