KOAL- Light to Night Grill by Les Amis

Joining the numerous grills sprouting over our tiny island is KOAL, the latest addition to Les Amis Group’s array of award-winning restaurants. What sets KOAL slightly apart is that it playfully marries Asian (Japanese, Korean and Chinese) and Western flavours and grilling techniques, to offer diners a light to night dining experience. 

Our night at KOAL started with a smorgasbord of starters and sharing plates. Jr enjoyed the Chunky Salmon with Coriander and Green Chili Dressing ($12), which was like a spicy and tangy South East Asian ceviche. 

I'm a carb monster and i love a good dinner roll. KOAL’s Bread Roll with Bacon and Grilled Spring Onions, Sour Cream and Chive Butter ($8) was a fragrant and fluffy one though i thought it could be salted further. 

My vote goes to the Crispy Pork Riblets ($16) with a smattering of peanut and sesame. The meat had a nice crispy Mala Honey glaze over it. I enjoyed picking up a piece and gnawing off a juicy bite off the bone. I would probably skip the Scallion Salad ($6) in the future. This was more like a condiment for me though i guess it helps to cut through the greasiness of the meats with its spicy sesame soy dressing.

Studio M x Janice Wong Chocolate Temptation Staycation

Given a choice, i'll always choose to travel rather than go on a staycation. When travelling, the highlight is your new surroundings and novel experiences. On staycations in Singapore, the highlight is mainly just your room (provided you find a nice place). Exhibitions, plays, food, malls and shopping could be done on a regular basis and there's no need to spend the extra buck doing that from a hotel room. Well unless there's something special experience provided at your place of accommodation. 

This is exactly what Studio M has in mind to keep guests entertained. They have collaborated with Chef Janice Wong to present staycationers with a sensory experience where you will make your own chocolate bar and enjoy the fine chocolates made from Thai cocoa beans.

During my Chocolate Temptation Staycation, i was guided through the process of making chocolate from bean to bar in one of the decorated loft in the hotel. While I wasn't able to go through the entire process of chocolate making in 1 hour, it was sufficient to keep me occupied for a bit. For your customized bar of chocolate, you could choose from milk or dark chocolate and also tweak the sweetness to your liking. 

The focus of the process was conching, where the cocoa nibs, cocoa butter, sugar and milk powder (if making milk chocolate) are ground into a smooth paste. Expect some arm work to ensure that the conching is done smoothly at the start but once the paste is less clumpy, it could be left to the machine to do its job for the next 24-48 hours. The cream mixture would then be sent to Janice Wong's chocolate store for tempering and made into a chocolate block, which would be delivered to you after your stay. 

Zing by Xi Yan- Conscious Dining in the Heartlands

Xi Yan Culinary Group has recently launched a new concept Zing by Xi Yan, a conscious-dining concept which collaborates with The Social Kitchen to provide employment for disadvantaged communities. This casual concept caters to everyone in the family as they do not only serve Xi Yan's contemporary Chinese cuisine but also salads, grain bowls, steaks and pastas, and even croffles!

I must admit that i was skeptical when browsing through the menu which seemed schizophrenic. But after tasting the dishes, i can see the charm and appeal of having such a varied menu. Most importantly, i enjoyed every dish i tried and that says something.

We started with Yum Som O Kung Salad ($15) which is a refreshing mix of pomelo, prawns, and sakura ebi. You wouldn't be faulted for thinking it's a Thai salad as fish sauce was definitely at play here, along with the perk-me-up calamansi and yuzu. We hear that this sauce based is also used on one of the fish dishes. 

Do not miss The Squid Game ($14), which is as popular as the Netflix series. Octopus tentacles are used here actually and we loved the light tempura batter which is tossed in chilli, celery and parsley and lemon and a bit of peppercorns for that light numbing sensation. This was perfect with Xi Yan's blend of shrimp sambal, which they also bottle and retail.

French Fold, Tanjong Pagar

At French Fold by Merci Mercel, you can have authentic French crepes and galettes all day, every day and as early as 8am at their Telok Ayer outlet. Being an early riser and gym bunny, i greatly appreciate cafes and restaurants that open early and i love how i could still enjoy a wide selection of savory buckwheat and sweet wheat flour pancakes (more than half of their full menu) at French Fold early in the day.

For breakfast, you could dine on small pastries, egg sandwiches, Eggs Benedict, other than galettes and crepes (of course). Come lunch and dinner, a fuller selection of crepes and galettes are available, together with appetizers, salads, cold cuts, and burgers too. 

For a savory start, we went with the crowd favorite, the No. 04. This has practically all the perfect breakfast toppings of savory Chiffonade of ham, organic egg sunny side up, over sautéed mushrooms, and  Comté cheese ($17). We enjoyed the thin crispiness of the galette, which goes well with the running yolk. 

The crepe comes topped with ribbons of ham, tender sauteed mushrooms, Comté, and an organic sunny-side-up egg. The galettes are also much bigger than their sweet crepes so it was perfect for sharing between me and my gf. 

We then went with the No.18 ($10), a chewy wheat flour crepe topped with artisanal Manuka honey, roasted buckwheat seeds, and Hojicha sea salt gelato from Birds of Paradise($10). The ice cream and roasted buckwheat definitely gave this crepe a more savory twist, which we weren't expecting, since we wanted something sweeter. On hindsight, we should have chosen the traditional Classic Butter ($9) but add on our choice of ice cream. 

French Fold is perfect for catching up with your girlfriend over breakfast, or if you could convince your date to have galettes for dinner (i know Jr wouldn't be that excited about it). We found the Telok Ayer outlet to be cozy and chic and very welcoming and it's definitely going to be my regular post-gym refueling stop from now. 

French Fold has also opened a second outlet in Palais Renaissance on Orchard Road.

French Fold

204 Telok Ayer Street

SINGAPORE 068640

Daily: 8am - 10.30pm

#01-02, Palais Renaissance

390 Orchard Road, Singapore 238871

Daily: 11am - 10.30pm