Culina Enoteca

Valentine's Day came and swept by on Saturday 14 Feb 09! Both of us have been busy since the New Year started and hardly found time to relax & haunt for good food. After springcleaning and preparing for Chinese New Year on 27 Jan 09, it was a whirl-wind, back to work... Busy busy busy.

But we have to make time to celebrate this special day - Valentine's Day. My sweet valentine, Ted brought me to Dempsey Hill to avoid the crowds. How very thoughtful! We started out earlier than usual as we did not make any reservations. But he's got a plan in mind already. Lots of couples were walking around Dempsey in the early evening with flowers and balloons in hands... oh what a lovely sight!

Soaking in the romantic atmosphere, we settled for Culina Quality Food & Beverage @ Enoteca knowing the good food wont fail us! A Valentine's Dinner menu (@ S$50++ per person) with various choices was offered. Menu looks good enough for us.

The place was a little small but cosy for us. We did not mind the seats inside the store (air-con) which gave us a good view of what's happening outside... and inside.

We created the menu of the day ourselves and it was:

For TED

Starter: Grilled Scampi

Main: Mulloway Fillet Set

And Dessert: Chocolate Indulgence

For STRAWBERRY

Starter: Scallops Carpaccio

Main: Veal Medaillon Set

And Dessert: Chocolate Indulgence

We noticed the place was awarded with a plaque for being "Women's Weekly Gold Plate" for Most Interesting Dining Restaurant! The food was indeed quality as they claimed. The seafood we had as starters were very fresh indeed. It would have gone very well with wine but we did not to go for it that evening. The main was was a decent portion with a special mention on the Mulloway fish fillet - with its freshest which appears to have came just from the sea or rather, straight from the store!! The veal medallion was tender and it was cooked using Vanilla Essence hence its sweet taste. Its difficult to find veal of this quality - of its real flavour, if you know what I mean! Freshest is really the key here and we enjoyed the great food a lot while chatting away... the nice chef also offer a complimentary dessert for us - something like fruit jelly but i found it too sour for my taste.

The final moment came. It was the dessert - a lovely sea of chocolate mousse which melted right in my mouth! YUM! Culina Enoteca is a quality food and beverage place if you do not mind dining at a grocer itself. Its definitely a great experience! Whats most important is that I believe if you are looking for freshest, grocers are the best place to go cos the chef could just pick up any item they intend to cook right inside the store! Would definitely go there again ... and you gotta try it too!

Culina Enoteca is at Blk 8 Dempsey Hill, Dempsey Road, #01-13, Singapore 249679 Tel: 64747338. There are a few outlets in Singapore. Check them out!

Ma maison restaurant

Gong xi fa cai! Chinese Lunar New Year was celebrated on 7 February 2008 and we had 2 days of holiday ushering the new year of the rat. Was busy visiting relatives I havent met for a while. Hope you had a wonderful time reuniting with friends and relatives at home too and may everyone have a happy, healthy and prosperous new year of the Rat!!

just before Chinese New Year, Teddy and me had gone New Year shopping at the new Central shopping centre located just beside the Clarke Quay MRT. Visited the Ma Maison Restaurant and had to recommend the fantastic dining there! The restaurant appear to be a Japanese chain. It appears to have a restaurant at Nagoya and few other places in Japan too. Some of its staff in the restaurant are also Japanese. The atmosphere inside the restaurant is just like its name - "my home". Warm and comfortable. The lighting was rather dim but I suppose this is to make the place more warm and cosy.



We decided to start off with an appetizer - scallop carpaccio. The dish was simply heavenly! Served cold, the scallops and lettuce greens were so fresh, they just melt away. The dressing compliments the fresh ingredients so well and it really starts your stomach off well as an appetizer with its taste not too sour nor too sweet. You yearn for more as the fresh after taste lingers in your mouth as you finish your mouthful...

After that, we ordered the main special - which was the "Tonkatsu rice set". It is served with miso soup, rice and desert. The set was beyond my expectations! Look at how the dressing and sauces are served, in interesting containers... The tonkatsu sauce was served in a little urn while the salad dressing was in a container. There was also a bottle of sea salt which you have to grind yourself. Really interesting.


The tonkatsu was served on top a strainer so that the oil will be kept away. Really thoughtful.

Last was our desert. An unforgettable one! It looked dark green with little black dots on it. I asked what this was. Green tea goma (seasame) ice-cream. Surprisingly, contrary to its ugly looks, it tastes simply wonderful!! I wish there was more of such ice-cream. Wonder if I can get my hands on this from the Japanese supermarkets. Its really simply lovely! You got to try it out.

Overall, I rate the restaurant very good. The dining experience was good and the food was great too! Ma Maison Restaurant is located at #03-96, Central (just beside Clarke Quay MRT), Singapore.