Polar World » alcoholic drinks

Dinner at Esplanade

Polar — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 10:56:37 +0000

Photos were taken with Fujifilm Finepix F31fd.

Bell and I met for dinner at the Esplanade. We went to Al Dente Trattoria which opened at 6pm. We were among the first few customers to the restaurant. I thought we were early but there were actually people earlier than us.

Bell and I started with some cocktails. It was the weekend and we both felt like splurging a little. Bell had the lychee martini ($14) while I had the caipirinha ($14). The caipirinha was pretty nice as it had lime and sugar.

Bell had the Spinaci Risotto con Gamberoni ($28) which looked pretty small at first. We forgot how filling risotto could be and in the end, the amount was just right for Bell.

I had the Angus all Lasagna ($25) which was not too bad either. It also looked rather small but the cheese helped to fill me up. It felt like I was eating spaghetti bolognaise with pasta sheets instead of spaghetti. After eating this dish, I came to the conclusion that when you minced up the meat it is difficult to tell if it is angus beef or just normal beef.

Al Dente Trattoria
8 Raffles Avenue, #01-13 Esplanade Mall
Tel: 63419188

We went to Max Brenner Chocolate Bar for dessert. Or rather I did. Bell just accompanied me as she was still full from dinner. I had a chocolate truffle with fruits. It also came with a small dish of yogurt + caramel. I don’t like the yogurt so I finished it first. The chocolate truffle was smooth, rich and very nice. However, the service was quite slow and not very good either.

Max Brenner Chocolate Bar
8 Raffles Avenue, #01-06/08 Esplanade Mall, Singapore
Tel: 62359556

Brotzeit German Bier Bar & Restaurant

Polar — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 09:48:21 +0000

I blame LSW for this. She was telling me about how much she missed the food and the mango beer we had the other day at Brotzeit German Bier Bar & Restaurant. It got me thinking about how tasty the food and beer were and I kept thinking about eating and drinking them again. So when I was going to meet Bell for dinner, I suggested going to the Brotzeit outlet at 313 Somerset.

The Somerset outlet is located outside 313 Somerset. It is about the same size as the Raffles City outlet but it feels more spacious because part of it is outdoors so there is none of the cramped feeling. The main problem with outdoors sitting is that after a while, the beers are no longer cold. The waitresses are all very nice and dropped by a few times to ask whether the food is to our liking.

Bell does not like beer because of the bitter taste. So I suggested she try the mango and banana beers as they are pretty sweet and not as bitter as normal beers. After trying both, Bell decided that she preferred the mango beer. We had two rounds of the mango and banana beers.

We ordered the sausage platter for two. Bell liked some of the sausages and suggested that next time we could just zoom in on those sausages we like instead of ordering the whole platter.

The waitress recommended the special for the day which is not in the menu. It is pork belly with red cabbage and potato cakes. We finished up everything on this dish. The pork belly is very nice. It is juicy and tender with layers of fat in between the meat. I liked the red cabbage which tasted slightly sweetish and sourish. Bell and I both love the potato cake which tasted like a mix between potato and bread.

Brotzeit German Bier Bar & Restaurant
Discovery Walk at 313@Somerset
313 Orchard Road #01-27
Singapore 238895
Tel: 6834 4038

Brotzeit German Bier Bar & Restaurant

Polar — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 09:44:39 +0000

A few of us went o celebrate Oktoberfest at Brotzeit German Bier Bar & Restaurant. Brotzeit has three outlets in Singapore and we went to the outlet at Raffles City. The entrance was facing outwards so we actually had to get out of Raffles City before we could enter the restaurant.

The Raffles City outlet was very packed so it was a good thing that LSW and I went there early to book a table. It was a smaller outlet than the one at Vivocity. The rest were late due to the F1 race. We had forgotten that the F! was going on. Throughout dinner, we kept hearing the sounds of the race cars but I’m not sure whether it came from the TV or the sounds were so loud that it traveled all the way to the restaurant.

I introduced them to the mango beer and banana beer. When LSW tasted the mango beer, she exclaimed “It does not taste like beer at all!” The sweetness of the mango and banana covered the bitterness of the beer so everybody liked it. Although later on, LSW and BS (KKH’s husband) ordered a glass of beer each because they wanted to drink something that tasted like real beer.

We had a Meeresfrüchtesalat ($20.50) which is a mixed salad with smoked salmon, tuna, prawns, semi-dried tomatoes, olives, grilled zucchini, oranges and sour cream. It was pretty tasty and comes in a huge bowl.

I felt like eating bread so I ordered the Griebenschmalz ($12.50) which is a Bavarian spread made out of crunchy bacon, apples and onions served with a German bread basket. At the first taste, it felt unfamiliar, a little strange, salty and oily. I’m not quite sure whether I like it or not but it tasted better and better as I continued eating it. In the end, all of us liked it and agreed that it was pretty tasty. The saltiness of the spread goes well with the bread.

We had the Würstelplatte ($32.50) which is a sausage platter for two. There were spicy chicken sausages, Nürnberger pork bratwurst, mini pork-beef cheese sausages, weisswurst sausage and garlic sausage with sauerkraut and pickle. When the rest arrived, we ordered another platter of it. BS liked the sauerkraut which wasn’t as sour as other places I’ve eaten at. We were given three types of sauces to go with the sausages. There was something like ketchup, mustard and finally one which I am guessing is mustard seed sauce.

We had so much fun that when we finished dinner, we found a seat at a nearby Burger King so we could continue chatting.

Brotzeit German Bier Bar & Restaurant
252 North Bridge Road
#01-17 Raffles City Shopping Centre
Singapore 179103
Tel: 68831534