CoCoICHIBANYA Curry House @ 313 Somerset

Located at the Basement of  313@Somerset which is just opposite Cold Storage entrance there is this Japanese curry rice restaurant known as CoCoICHIBANYA Curry House. With over 30 years of experience and more than 1,250 outlets in countries such as Japan, Korea, USA, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand I am sure it will spice up some sparks in our local food trend.

Last week while doing some Christmas shopping around Orchard area, we decided to drop by CoCoICHIBANYA Curry House to have our lunch since I have heard some good reviews on their curry rice.

With 2 Adults and a kid we decided to order two rice dishes plus a mini salad to share among ourselves. Here we have Pork Cutlet Curry With Cheese as mum prefer pork rather than chicken or seafood.

And one good point in CoCoICHIBANYA Curry House, customers get to style their own dish(s) according to individual preference. To begin:-

Step 1: Select the Curry (Main Rice Dish)

Step 2: Select the Quantity of Rice

• 150g (- S$1.00 off)
• 250g (Standard serving)
• 350g ( + S$1.50)
• 450g (+ S$3.00)
• 550g (+ S$4.50) 

Step 3: Spice Adjustment

• Mild (For Children)
• Level 0 (Standard)
• Level 1 (Medium Hot)
• Level 2 (Hot)
• Level 3 (Extra Hot)
• Level 4 (Super Hot)
• Level 5 (Crazy Hot)

Step 4: Select Toppings
Tuna, Corn, Boiled Egg (+ S$1.00)
Cheese, Eggplant, Kimchee, Bacon, Spinach, Tomato, Clam (+ S$2.00)

Since my boy is having parts of his share from this Pork Cutlet Curry With Cheese, we decide to get the "Mild" Curry which is a non-spicy vegetable curry together with a boiled-egg as extra toppings. Although we order the standard(250g) portion but the serving size was just nice even for two sharing.

Overall we find the pork cutlet a bit tough which is toward chewy side but the pipping hot curry and melted cheese makes a perfect pair for this dish. And we also love the crispy crumbed crust which makes the other half of the cutlet.

Price: S$14.00 for standard serving

Before I ordered this, I have read a few good reviews on this "MUST TRY" Creamed Mushroom Omelette Curry. With the fragrant long grains rice wrapped in the soft and perfectly cooked omelette sitting in the pool of pipping hot Curry Sauce(level 1), I am sure no one could resists the temptation of this dish.

For your information these Japanese Curry is sort of peppery hot compared to our local sweating hot curry, and most importantly these curry do not contain any coconut milk.

Price: S$13.00 for standard serving

To go with the meal, we also order a Mini Salad (S$2.00) which comes with some salad greens, sweet corns and cherry tomato together with some thousand island sauce.

So if you want to try some decent Japanese Curry with and custom your preference on your own dish, perhaps you would like to drop by CoCoICHIBANYA Curry House and pick up your choice. Average spending per person including bervage would be around S$20.00.

CoCo ICHIBANYA

313 Orchard Road
#B3-25/27 313 @ Somerset
Telephone: +65 6636 7280

Opening Hours:
10am – 10pm (Mon–Fri), 10am – 11pm (Sat–Sun and PH)

Asia's Dining Destination Package - Behind-the-scenes Kitchen Tour at Waku Ghin, Guy Savoy And Santi

Continue from my previous post on the Asia's Dining Destination (ADD) package, here I am sharing with you one of their main highlight which is the "behind-the-scenes" kitchen tour at the renowned Waku Ghin, Guy Savoy and Santi. These are 3 of the celebrity chef restaurants which serves Japanese, Spanish and French style of fine dining cuisines and desserts.

And apart from the celebrity chef kitchens tour, our group also have a bonus chance on getting to know more about the hotel main kitchen (Heart-of-house tour) which is located at the basement area.

HEART-OF-HOUSE KITCHEN TOUR

On Day 2, after our breakfast we were lead by the Executive Chef of Marina Bay Sands, Chef Christopher to brief us on the work areas and main functions of the hotel kitchen. As photographing is restricted in the main kitchen areas due to security purpose there aren't many photos about this 45 minutes trip.

But during the trip we get to see how food are being prepared in different sections of the kitchen such as in-house bakery to prepare all the daily breads and pastries for most of the hotel cafes and restaurants. Personal lockers and laundry cabinets for those with uniforms as well as shoe shine service provided by their Public Area Department for all Team Members at S$2.00 each.

Guess what we found! A 7-11 store located at the Heart-of-House area in order for the team members to get their snacks or drinks during break-time or at their convenient. And for your information they do have a staff canteen where team members could have their 2 meals per day complimentary by the hotel too.

WAKU GHIN

After lunch, we proceed to the highlight of the day where we are able to have a close-up inside view of the celebrity chef restaurants and their kitchen. First stop we arrived at Waku Ghin which showcases the brilliance of Chef Tetsuya Wakuda in his only establishment outside of his world famous Sydney restaurant. All the work stations were surprisingly clean and sparking in their main kitchen and we also get a chance to see a cooking demonstration by one of their chef at their private dining area. During the cooking demo, the skillful chef prepared some quick and easy braised lobster which taste so juicy, flavorsome and succulent when bite.

The restaurant's dining concept is based on multi-faceted use of space, where diners can move from room to room, luxuriating over the dining experience.  They have Four unique rooms which offers private enclosures for small parties to experience the art of skilled chefs preparing food for each group personally. After meal, diners may move on to the drawing room to relax over desserts and coffee while admiring the view of the Singapore skyline.

The restaurant has two seatings per night at 6.00pm and 8.30pm. For more information you could call +65 6688 8507 or refer to their website HERE.

GUY SAVOY

Next stop, we headed over to Guy Savoy which serves French style of fine dining cuisines and desserts. Selecting only the finest ingredients to prepare and serve with an uncompromising awareness is what makes a dining experience truly exceptional at Guy Savoy.  Here, guests can dine in its modernist dining room or choose to have a pre-dinner aperitif at the champagne bar. They even have a degustation bar menu which is available in the afternoon allowing guests to enjoy wines from every part of France and paired with a tasting portion of the famous Guy Savoy cuisine.

During the kitchen tour, we also get the chance to try their signature"Artichoke and Black Truffle Soup" which serves with toasted mushroom brioche and black truffle butter. Although this is my first time having Artichoke Soup but it's intense flavour and texture definitely has left a deep impression in my memories.  For dessert we get to try the floating island cube serves with earl grey tea chocolate and macrons. I would review more on Guy Savoy "Bites and Bubbles" menu in another post soon.

Guy Savoy is available for bar dining at 3.00pm - 10.45pm while dinner starts from 6.00pm - 10.45pm. As reservations are required, you may call +65 6688 8513 or check up more details at their website HERE. 

SANTI

Our 3rd stop is at SANTI where it combines Mediterranean culture with the authentic taste of the Catalan region in Spain. The cuisine is both basic and sophisticated using seasonal ingredients and meticulous attention to the preparation of the food.

Out of the three restaurants, I prefer the layout and decoration of Santi with cool grey stones and soft white linen which gives me a "at home" kind of cozy feeling upon entering the dining area. During the kitchen tour we are able to see how the savory and pastry chefs are dealing with their dishes plus get to know more on their ingredients used and storage.

To end the kitchen tour we also get to try their signature "Iberic Ham with Tomato Bread Toast" sever with traditional “Gazpazho Andaluz”. Indeed this is a great starter for pre-dinner dish and the Iberic Ham taste great with the tomato bread combi which brings up it unique flavour. (There will a review on SANTI, Tapas menu in the upcoming post soon). 

SANTI is available daily for dinner from 7.00pm - 10.30pm and the tapas bar and lounge is opened from 6.30pm - 11.00pm. For reservations, you can call +65 6688 8501 or check up their website HERE.

SOUVENIR

At the end of the trip we are also given a Souvenir Bag each which contains a complimentary recipe each from the renowned restaurants mentioned above together with Marina Bay Sands Apron and Chef Hat too.

Lastly for more photos of this behind-the-scenes kitchen tour, you could refer to Cuisine Paradise Facebook HERE.

Christmas At IKEA

We are already stepping into December 2011 which bring us less than 23 days to Christmas. So if you are looking for some ideas to decorate your home perhaps you could stop by any of the IKEA outlets(Alexandra or Tampines) just like what we did. I am sure you could definitely grab something which you might need for this coming festive seasons ranging from home furniture, decorations, food and etc.

IKEA RESTAURANT AND CAFE

I saw their Christmas Platter Combo during my last visit to IKEA, Tampines a few week back on their behind-scene tour event. So early this week I bought my boy to IKEA in order to try out their Christmas Platter but sad to say they have run out of the "Pancakes and Swedish sparkling drink". On top of it they replaced the two items with spice muffins and apple juice.

The Christmas Platter consists of Turkey Breast, Turkey Ham and Chicken Cheese Sausage together with some fries and balanced broccoli. Their turkey ham was good and I love the cheese sausage too, but if it comes with some serving sauce the taste will be even better. This whole combo platter set cost S$13.90 or you could just get the Christmas Platter at S$9.00

Although this is my boy 1st time trying IKEA's Kid's Meal, Chicken Nuggets, he actually comments that it taste better than those served in his usual fastfood outlet. And also for the month of November till 24 December 2011, IKEA will also donates €1.00(S$1.75) whenever we purchased any kid's chicken nuggets meal to the UNICEF in order to help more children to have quality education.

To end the meal, we tried their Christmas Log Cake and Almond Cake with chocolate and butterscotch. The Christmas Log Cake comes with either Cappuccino or Latte at S$3.50 per set whereas the Almond Cake is price at S$3.50 per slice. I love the luxury and caramel taste of the almond cake with hint of nuts in it and it goes well with my cup of Cappuccino. 

TABLEWARE AND COOKSHOP

The Tableware and Cookshop area located at Level 3 of IKEA, Tampine has a wide varieties of Christmas design items ranging from plates to cups and bakewares too.

HOME DECORATION

You could also find some REAL Christmas Tree and plants at the Home Decoration area together with some wall ornaments and etc. I am sure there is something that suits your home for this year Christmas.

CHECK OUT

Near the check out area, you could see a lot of new designed soft toys that caters for this coming Christmas Season. Perhaps you could grab one or two of these lovely soft toys as Christmas Present for your love ones or kids and at the same time the IKEA foundation will actually donates €1.00(S$1.75) to help educate kids from UNICEF (The United Nations Children's Fund) too.

IKEA SOFT ICE CREAM

Before going back, we stop by the Swedish Food Market to exchange our token from the Kid's Meal(all kid's meal comes with a free ice cream cone). To get the ice-cream you have to place the cone on the slot in the ice-cream machine before inserting the token. Next press the start button on the machine and within less than a minute you would get your yummy soft serve ice-cream.

For more photos on this photo, you could click on the album via Cuisine Paradise Facebook HERE.