Arossa Wine & Grill @ Scotts Square

With Oenotheque by Wine Universe out of the Palate program, I hereby declare that Arossa Wine & Grill is the best restaurant currently on Palate (so far). As a bonus, it is located at Scotts Square - somewhere with much less human traffic, which was a big relief for me. 

Pan Fried Foie Gras with Caramelised Apple, $30

This was pan-fried really well, such that the outsides were very slightly burnt and the insides were still soft and melted in our mouths. The apple was a good accompaniment to neutralise the greasiness of the liver. But the puddle of oil there does add to the guilt. 

Spanish Iberian Pork Loin, $38

The pork was supposedly 100% acorn fed. The little pitcher there contains the sauce for the pork loin, and after pouring it I realised that it seemed more like the juices from the pork itself after grilling. 

This dish was so good that I felt it was worth it even without the 50% discount. The pork loin was particularly aromatic, and it was grilled to perfection such that the exterior had the smoky taste while the interior was slightly pink and juicy. This was easily the best pork loin I have ever had.

Truffle Fries, $12

Compared to the main course, this was disappointing. The fries were a bit too soggy with oil (the waiter explained that it was due to the truffle oil) but yet the truffle taste wasn't strong at all.

I can already predict several more visits to this restaurant.

The Lego Movie

The Lego Movie (Source: Wikipedia)

The Lego Movie is really like this super long advertisement that shamelessly promotes a wide series of its toys, and hoping that some of it will stick. Well, it worked. Wonderfully. I know quite a lot of characters have stuck to me (ironically not the main character Emmett). 

To put it simply, I was basically entertained from the beginning to the end. The animation was impressive, and the whole movie was peppered with lame jokes that I couldn't help laughing at. Voice acting is undeniably extremely important in animated shows, and the voice actors did a great job in displaying the extreme ends of the character spectrum in each person. Emmett was both enthusiastic and reluctant at the same time,  Batman was cool but lame, Bad/Good Cop was both good and bad (duh), and Vitruvius was both wise and senile. 

The character cast was wide and diverse, and came from so many different worlds - Batman, Abraham Lincoln, Gandalf, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C3PO, Superman, Wonder Woman, Shaquille O'Neal, Green Lantern and so on, which makes for a delightful experience as you recognise each one of them in the show. And the plot, while being simple enough for kids to understand, also has an underlying maturity that adults would appreciate.

Their propaganda song actually describes this show perfectly.

"Everything is awesome..."

Spirited Away - The Music of Joe Hisaishi (15 Feb 2014)

Venue: The Star Theatre

Conductor: Joshua Tan

Programme:

Oriental Wind, for orchestra

My Neighbour Totoro, Orchestra Stories

Departures, for violoncello and orchestra

Saka No Ue No Kumo, for orchestra

One Summer's Day (from Spirited Away), for piano and orchestra

Kiki's Delivery Service, for piano, percussion and strings

Summer (from Kikujiro), for piano and orchestra

Water Traveller, for orchestra

At the mention of the name "Joe Hisaishi", it is quite inevitable to think of Studio Ghibli, which he has worked with closely for many of their animation movies. While I have only watched two of their movies - Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle - the major draw for me was Departures, a Japanese drama movie. 

Fortunately, I had bought the tickets once they were available for booking, as my friend got them some time later and only managed to get seats right at the back of the theatre. It was almost a sold-out event at The Star Theatre (at Star Vista); I think there were almost 4,000 people at the concert hall, and many of them were waving lightsticks enthusiastically during the concert.

My Neighbour Totoro was performed in an improvised manner - while they obviously couldn't show the animation on the screen, they did the next best thing - they got a narrator, who even introduced the all the instruments in the orchestra before bringing everyone through the story, with the orchestra playing in the background. Both blended in rather well, and was quite a pleasant experience.

For Departures, I thought the cellist went a bit overboard on the vibrato, and wasn't able to bring out the pensiveness of the piece. But I loved One Summer's Day, and it brought back memories of the movie which I watched more than a decade ago.

I left the concert determined to watch all of Studio Ghibli's movies, even those that I have seen before. 

L'Entrecote, The Steak & Fries Bistro @ Suntec City

A relatively new addition to the Palate program, we came here for lunch on a Sunday. While the other eateries nearby were at least a quarter to half-full, this was almost totally empty.

According to the Palate website, to be eligible for the discount on a weekend lunch, we have to order either burgers or large portion steaks. They have three sizes for the steaks, and they go at 160g, 250g, and 300g. Interestingly the small size steak costs $19.90 while the large one costs $39.90. So doesn't it mean that if I were to order two small steaks, I would be getting 20g more compared to one large steak? 

Steak with Fries (Large), $39.90

This was only half the portion, by the way. When they knew that we were sharing, they thoughtfully divided it into two portions. The steak was done quite all right, but it was too bland. For steaks, you need some salt to bring out the flavour, so I ended up sprinkling some additional salt. The sauce was equally bland and didn't help much.

I am not sure what beef they used, but the beef flavour was a bit lacking. It was a pity, because the doneness of the beef was actually just right.

Burger Month, $15.90

I think they meant Burger of the Month? Anyway, there was nothing special with this burger. Juiciness was okay, flavour a little lacking, fries were quite good.

I guess steaks are one type of food which you really can't scrimp on the cost to get good quality. Although the total bill came up to only $32 after the 50% discount, we left feeling a bit unsatisfied.