Salt Tapas & Bar by Luke Mangan

I was pretty excited when I read Luke Mangan was going to open another restaurant but focusing on more casual and tapas-ish style at Raffles City.

We may be the few who went there after around few weeks it opened and ambience definitely casual compared to its sister at ION. 

Go via the exit door next to Timberland at Raffles City. where you could find a stand alone brick restaurant.

It was quiet and we were seated in the corner table next to glass panel. One thing I noticed was how small the square table we were seated, and this was for 4 pax seating? 
My worry became reality when they started to serve the dishes, we needed to manouver the plates on our own. I always said the restaurant should have factored in the size of their plates and tables that could accommodate it.

Waiting staff were friendly but I felt some of them showing off some sort of attitude, not a negative one but more to as if 'I am a cool person' show off kinda thing.

The menu being kept concise and turned out, it was served as sharing portion, not an individual serving for sure.

Dishes were above average casual tapas-ish restaurant for sure, it was nothing fancy pansy but the way it prepared was special. In my opinion, their truffle fries was by far best than other we tried. 

It may be more ideal for night hangout especially sitting on the outdoor, facing the main road. 

I would surely return for night hangout with group of gals or friends for gathering...



Napkin with paper hold ring



These light bulbs definitely the highlight of the room



View from the entrance, I was a bit put off by the display on bar table



Our  Place Mat cum Menu



Best Truffle ever!



Saw the amazing photo of this dish, the real one of course was different, but it was delicious nonetheless. Taco of tempura prawn, pineapple salsa, chipotle aioli



Crispy soft shell prawns with chili and garlic aioli, it was delicious and never had anything like this before



Roasted Garlic Flat Bread, this was heavenly ! 



Roasted pumpkin with dukkah, spanish blue cheese, pear and walnut. Our friend saluted this dish as he never eaten cooked pumpkin before and this one was a great start!



Confit pork belly, shoulder, sweet potato puree, sauce vierge

Feeling a bit adventurous, ordered the Ortiz anchovies served in the tin with garlic toast. The anchovies were wayyyy too saltish



Salt Tapas & Bar

#01-22A, Raffles City Shopping Centre
252, North Bridge Road

Singapore 179103

Tel: +65 6837 0995

http://salttapas.com/

Opening hours for Mon to Thu from 11.30 am to 10 pm / Drinks till 11.30 pm
Opening hour for Fri and Sat from 11.30 am to 10.30 pm / Drinks till 11.30 pm
Opening hour for Sun and PH from 11.30 am to 9.30 pm / Drinks till 10 pm

Dolly's @ Selfridges

When you were in Selfridges London, chances were your feet were already killing you from browsing through their floors and not to mention, earlier trip along Oxford Road itself,  as that was what happened to me. Then, I found Dolly's, located at the Basement area, opposite Anthropologie and Eva Solo counters. 

It such a charming little cafe for your cakes and tea break, you definitely won't miss it, as it was in black and white decor, with waiting staff dress in black dress and white apron and the supervisor dress in oh so chic all black (trademark of Selfridges staff) , and perhaps the Queue when it hits the Tea Time hour.

Was it me or did the English teas really taste better in London, as thats what I felt while having a sip at Dolly.

Cake selection was great, high quality cakes and variety of selections in oh so tempting appearance.

Service was fantastic, friendly, courteous and prompt, even though it was such a crowded cafe most of the time.

Definitely my go to cafe to have a rest at Selfridges or at Oxford Road, totally worth it!

The Menu, dressed in drapers fashion, so cute!

The tea selections

The prep counter and see what a charming uniform they wear!

My Lemon Tart Cake, really lemony taste! Firm pastry and softness of the lemon tart

Simple, dainty and oh so pretty set up...Luved my English Breakfast tea! Enough to give my tired legs a rest and energy to go through another round of browsing...

Dolly's Cafe (Selfridges)

Selfridges, Lower Ground Floor, 400 Oxford Street, London, W1A 1AB
Tel: +44-800-123-400

http://style.selfridges.com/store/london/

Opening hour is subject to change, please check the website

Itsu @ Paternoster Row

We accidentally encountered Itsu at Paternoster Row when we visited St Paul, I was attracted to the interior design with bright pink when passed it on the way to St Paul, so decided to have our lunch here on the way back to the Tube.

We were so pleasantly surprised to see all the lunch boxes on display, clearly Itsu is the believer in eating healthy and light. It was all stated on the lunch box, down to the calories.

Such a good concept of take away or lunching in after you made your purchase. The counter staff were cheerful and friendly, and offering any snacks to go along...I saw the gourmet popcorn and was instantly attracted.

If you like healthy, tasty and light food, Itsu definitely a place to go if you are in London. Next time, we would love to visit their restaurants. A must try!!

Such a simple Japanese name

Simple, casual but attractive to the eyes

Table partition from entrance

Quite a spacious dining area

Special Salmon Salad...The green herb salad was amazing...such a great combination..

Miso marinated salmon, cooked rare, japanese rice and itsu seasoning, muki and green beans, fresh salad with fresh herb dressing

Was craving for salmon that day and bought this Super Salmon-3 ways

The sea salt popcorn..you would not believe how crunchy it was until you bought one...

What a gourmet popcorn and worth every cent!

Itsu
4-6 Paternoster Row
London
Tel: +44 20 72489343

http://www.itsu.com/

Opens from Mon to Fri from 11 am to 9 pm
Nearest Tube station is St Paul's

Bincho @ SOHO

Was browsing around for dinner that very closed to our West End theatre, found Bincho to be ideal place, especially it may be an early dinner and from a too full lunch that day.

Bincho has yakitori as its staple and the dishes were designed for sharing on the table.

Certainly an authentic Japanese yakitori, with Japanese chef on the helm, some Japanese waiting staff with good English, the very Japanese interior decor.

The decor with dimmed lighting, dark wood table and partitions, sake bottles on display. We thought we could sat next to the grill area, which near the entrance door but we were seated at the back area, even though, they were nobody seating on the front area..(a minus point here). And we did make a reservation 2 weeks ahead of this visit..

Waiting staff were courteous and the one serving us was a young Japanese lady, she may not be the same standard as waiting staff you met in Japan but still a courteous and friendly one. 

It would be a good place to share with group of friends so you could order variety of dishes to try on!

It was simple but grilled to perfection, simply delicious!

Highly recommend Bincho if you are happen to be in SOHO area or before your West End show. But not sure on how they managed their tables for those who put reservation.

The Menu

Sake bottles on display

No Reservation Tabs on the table and nobody came even after we finished our meal...quite a minus point here..

Opposite our table

Yaki Onigiri, grilled rice cake with toasted seaweed..delicious

Our selected yakitoris

The simple grilled salmon

BINCHO

16 Old Compton Street

London

Tel: +44-207-287-9111

http://www.bincho.co.uk/about-bincho-soho

Opens from Mon to Sat from 12 pm to 3 pm / 5 pm to 12 am

Opens Sunday from 1.30 pm to 10.30 pm

Jamie Oliver's @ Covent Garden

When we planned our London trip, one thing for sure came to my mind, must try Jamie's restaurant or Gordon Ramsay's restaurant. But since Gordon tends to French cuisine and Jamie tends to Italian, I decided to try Jamie's this time as it has more broader range.

Came to Covent Garden outlet before our West End musical performance for late lunch, the place was still packed. They do not accept reservation but perhaps since it was late lunch, we still got seats available.

The menu came in A3 size and plenty of options to choose, and not too mention Special Menu of the Day which was displayed on the blackboard.

Waiting staff was excellent, cool attitude (not pretentious but those that you felt like want to hang out with), our waiting staff explain what was in the special menu of the day, from informing us that it was hand made spaghetti and home made soup based for the pasta.

We were seated at the corner of the room, the wall shelves above my seat along the wall was adorned with Jamie's cookbooks and some gifts which you could buy as token from Jamie's Italian Restaurant. If you know someone who is a fan of Jamie and likes to cook, buying the apron would be an ideal gift.

I chose the special menu of the day and even though, it has no meat/vegetarian style, it was sooooo tasty; the spaghetti was springy, the pasta stock really mixed well with the pasta and tomato, eggplant, etc.

Restroom is located on basement where it seems where the bar area, kitchen, wine cellar are located too. Another thumbs up for the restroom area, so retro classic but you feel the modern hint too.

Luv to return here for next trip to London, perhaps trying out other branches.

It's a casual great place for having good healthy Italian food in London. A Must-Try if you are in London!!!





See the 'J' here?

Special menu of the day, luv it that they have smaller portion, so ideal for late lunch

A bit scared.....

My Special of the day spaghetti...delicious...



The prawn pasta, even eating just the spaghetti was enough, it was that tasty



The orange cheese cake, never met cheese cake with orange on top, a bitter one though and it was served in a rustic looking tin plate



If you wanna get a gift from the restaurant

Fans of Jamie would be happy to see this collection

Going down to restroom, staff going up and down to deliver the dishes from kitchen area downstair too...so tough!

Such a cute sign door

Can' t resisted taking photo of these wash basins, so pretty

Cute wall light

Jamie's Italian, Covent Garden

11 Upper St Martin's Lane

London

Tel: +44-20-3326-6390

http://www.jamieoliver.com/italian/covent-garden

Opening Hours:

Mon to Sat from 12 noon to 11.30 pm

Sunday from 12 noon to 10.30 pm