Bino

Review: Man Fu Yuan Launches a NEW 2020 Menu – Here’s What to Order

October 17, 2020 by Bino Leave a Comment

The thought of Man Fu Yuan inevitably conjures images of theatrically presented dishes. The great thing here is that it’s not all for show – the food is consistently good and the venue is oftentimes considered as among the best Chinese restaurants in Singapore.

This year marks the second year since Chef Aaron Tan came onboard as the restaurant’s Executive Chinese Chef. I had tried Chef Aaron’s creations in 2019 during his debut year at InterContinental Singapore and loved it so I was quite curious to see what new things he has come up with for 2020.

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Min Jiang at Goodwood Park Hotel Relaunches With a New Look and Menu

October 16, 2020 by Bino Leave a Comment

One of Singapore’s most established Chinese restaurants, Min Jiang has reopened following months of refurbishment in its Goodwood Park Hotel location. The restaurant has been around since 1982, delighting guests with its mix of Cantonese and Sichuan cuisines.

min jiang

The refurbished interiors at Min Jiang showcase the old and the new. You will find antique furniture peppered throughout the place while the color scheme has turned a tad brighter with hues of warm honey, silver-grey and teal in the textile wall panels. I especially love the tropical vibe in the alfresco area – a bit resort-ish and definitely not what one would expect at a Chinese restaurant!

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Hotel Staycation Review: Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa

October 14, 2020 by Bino Leave a Comment

Tucked away in a quiet and lush corner of Sentosa, the tranquil Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa offers a rare respite from the urbanity of a dense city such as Singapore. The resort opened in late-2015, having replaced what was once The Sentosa, a Beaufort resort. Today, the Accor property boasts of 211 rooms and suites, 4 villas and the world’s largest So Spa. I also counted no less than 4 F&B options – the most of any Accor property in Singapore.

One minor annoyance about staying in Sentosa is transport but this property seems to get it right. Having stayed in other hotels in the island previously, I noted how the Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort has what is probably the most frequent complimentary shuttle service schedule – half hour intervals between the hotel and Vivocity starting at 7:30am and ending at 11:30pm (around 2 or 3 hours later than other properties) with no lunch break. There is also a complimentary shuttle service between the hotel and Paragon in Orchard – at two hour intervals starting at 10am and ending at 10:30pm.

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Review: Solo Ristorante’s Saturday Brunch

October 12, 2020 by Bino Leave a Comment

A recent weekend brought me back to Amoy Street, this time to Solo Ristorante. This Italian restaurant has been around since late 2018 but has a new chef onboard – Simone Fraternali – who used to be Head Chef at So Sofitel Singapore. He is now at Solo Ristorante as Chef/Partner. Chef Simone hails from Gradara, a small castle town bordering the Emilia Romagna region.

As Chef Simone spent much of his formative years in Emilia Romagna – he enrolled in a culinary school in Rimini for six years – his newly launched Saturday brunch (S$78++) is an ode to one of Italy’s most renowned culinary regions. The fixed menu comprises of 7 courses from starters down to dessert and is on a free-flow basis.

open kitchen at solo ristorante

Solo Ristorante is located in a charming shophouse in Amoy Street, just next to Avenue 87. The first thing I noticed when I entered Solo Ristorante is the open kitchen. If you sit close enough at the bar you can actually smell all the freshly-cooked dishes from there. The interiors are mostly in dark wood with equally tan and stylish furnishings.

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Review: Ginza Shinto – Sleek Japanese Omakase Venue at Mohamed Sultan

October 9, 2020 by Bino Leave a Comment

Ginza Shinto is a new Japanese omakase restaurant in Mohamed Sultan. Helmed by Chef Ron Newton Leo who has had over 30 years experience in preparing fine Japanese cuisine, this 50-seater luxury dining venue in a charming shophouse in Robertson Quay continues a string of unabated openings this year (despite the current situation).

ginza shinto

The space is evidently upscale the moment you enter. Everything is sleek and minimalist with an undeniable Japanese flair. I especially like the shade of beige used here. The bar counter seats take up quite a bit of space, allowing for large groups or multiple small ones to enjoy Chef Ron’s dishes while hearing his stories and humor. There is also a natural skylight on top of the preparation area, allowing one to dine in natural light especially when one comes for lunch.

Ginza Shinto offers lunch sets that start from S$30++, 5-course omakase at S$150++, 8-course omakase at S$220++ and 9-course omakase at S$300++. Ala carte menu items and sashimi platters are also available. I recently dropped by for a media preview before the Japanese restaurant officially opened.

You can also check out the full Ginza Shinto menu here

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Mandarin Oriental Singapore to Launch 10.10 Sale for Staycations – Prices Start From S$299++

October 5, 2020 by Bino Leave a Comment

Mandarin Oriental Singapore will launch a special “Stay With Us, Dine For Free” staycation package for the upcoming 10.10 event with a sale from 10th to 24th October 2020 for staycations, with rooms starting from S$299++ for weekday stays and S$359++ for weekend stays. Suite packages start from S$401++ for weekdays / S$467++ for weekends.

Aside from the room stay, the packages that will launch on the 10th October will include the following inclusions:

Late check-out until 6pm
Breakfast for two
3-course dinner for two
25% discount at the dining outlets at Mandarin Oriental Singapore

The stays will be sold as vouchers with validity until 30th December 2020. Booking can be made here from 10th to 24th October 2020.

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Grissini Reopens for Phase 2 With New Menu (2020)

October 1, 2020 by Bino Leave a Comment

Grissini, the Italian restaurant at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Singapore, has reopened to the public after closing for a few months following the circuit breaker. For now, the restaurant will be open for lunch on Fridays and for both lunch and dinner on Saturdays and Sundays.

In line with the reopening, Grissini has changed about 80% of its menu to showcase new dishes for the discerning diner. Highlights include pasta prepared a la minute by the culinary team, a condiments cart for your bread, pasta or pizza as well as fresh bread that is made inhouse.

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Food Review: Avenue 87 – Familiar Tastes But With a Twist in Amoy Street

September 24, 2020 by Bino Leave a Comment

Amidst the current climate, a number of new concepts are still making their debut in Singapore. Avenue 87 is one of the new establishments to open in the Telok Ayer – Amoy Street stretch. The restaurant sits in a 2-storey shophouse, taking over the former space of Kimme. This is a part of the CBD that straddles the office crowd and the upscale foodies – with this stretch alone having at least 4 Michelin-starred restaurants.

avenue 87 at 47 amoy street

And so comes 2 friends who happen to be from Hougang in Singapore’s northeast. The two Singaporean chefs, Glen Tay and Alex Phan, were both born in 1987 and had lived in Hougang’s Avenue 8 and Avenue 7 respectively. These similarity in numbers as well as the nod to local cuisine brought about the name Avenue 87.

Both chefs have had extensive experience in the culinary scene. Chef Glen currently works in Ultraviolet, a 3-star Michelin restaurant in Shanghai. Chef Alex, on the other hand, is not new to me. I previously met him at Park Hotel Clark Quay, where he was the Executive Chef and calling the shots at the inhouse restaurant, Porta. When the offer to start the new restaurant was made, the duo spent the lockdowns formulating recipes through video calls, as Chef Glen is based in Shanghai and Chef Alex is in Singapore. Each of the two would buy the same ingredients and recreate their own versions of the recipes and discuss the outcome. Sometimes, certain ingredients would not be available in one of the locations, necessitating a replacement. Sometimes, this also led to unexpected results which ultimately made it to the final menu.

Prices at Avenue 87

The cuisine at Avenue 87 is best described as a nod to familiar tastes but with a contemporary twist. What often occurs when someone tries to bring a modern element to things is that the result becomes too haute and withdrawn from the original meaning. In Avenue 87, they try to preserve a sense of nostalgia to each dish, bringing about an element of comfort. The restaurant has a 4-course dinner menu (S$76++) and 6-course dinner menu (S$98++) that runs through most of the specialties of the house. For business lunches, Avenue 87 also offers set meals during mid-day from S$29++.

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