dolos

“Wanna check out my new restaurant?” My friend Caleb mentioned this latest project of his a few months ago and asked me to come along for a dinner tasting when it’s finally open and ready in early June. The restaurant, called Dolos (representing the concrete blocks placed on the coast for protection), took up the space at a street corner PMQ, and as the name vaguely suggests, served a seafood-themed menu in a casual setting with Chef Sean leading a lean kitchen team. 

Champagne and Dimsum

The Champagne-Dimsum gig at Ho Lee Fook seems like a deal too good to be true - one Sunday every month Chef ArChan and her dimsum specialist sous Winson introduced a brunch menu full of dimsum items and other dishes with unlimited refills, plus one bottle of champagne per person from their wine list. Yes, that's one full-sized 750ml bottle that each could pop open and share at the table. 

Two Years Later

Chef Leonard reminded me that we haven't been back to his restaurant Cultivate since their opening week - well, guilty as charged. We enjoyed our dinner last time but somehow we just procrastinated on making a return visit. Until a few weeks ago. 

New Chef and a Makeover

Year 2021 saw a few exciting restaurant openings and a few having a makeover - whether that be renovation/relocation or change in culinary direction. For Ho Lee Fook, it's a little of both, with the restaurant saw the departure of Chef Jowett in the summer (who was there since Day One) PLUS the month-long renovation at its original spot. 

Late Dinner at Neighborhood

Let’s just say more often than not our dinners at Neighborhood ended up being eventful ones, whether that be the sheer amount of food served by Chef/Owner David or something else. And this time it’s a little bit of both when we came as a big group on one Friday evening in September. 

Another Neighborhood Feast

Made it back to Neighborhood for the first time this year in late June with a slightly bigger group. Chef David was there, and the restaurant was packed even during the early seating which started when most normal people were in office. 

Cultivate

Going to a new restaurant on its first week of soft opening was not something I would normally do, but we went to check out Cultivate a few weeks ago when chef Leonard told us there’s two seats available on a Wednesday, two days after they opened its door. There are every reason to be confident – I was impressed by his creative dishes from a few times I ate at his residence-turned-private-kitchen – and expected him to replicate the same level of success with the same team over at this proper dining space up in Soho, with the long open kitchen and counter that can seat around 20. 

Burmese Brunch

We wanted something different to eat during our Lunar New Year holiday so we decided to give Club Rangoon a try with their weekend brunch menu. Being always on a look out for nice new restaurants in town, I have been planning to check this place out for a while and what we have seen on the news recently did put Myanmar (or Burma) in front of my mind – hence our visit during the long weekend. 

Three Meals in One Night (At Least It Felt That Way)

It remained somewhat a mystery why we ended up having twice as much food as we ordered when we visited Neighborhood recently, before the further COVID restriction kicked in early December. Restaurant was as popular as ever despite the circumstances, filled to the (reduced) capacity on the Monday evening we visited. 

Sans the Neon Light

“Cuz I heard you didn’t like the neon lights so we turned it off for you”… of course Chef May was joking when she said that at my recent visit to Happy Paradise, reopened at its original site a couple of weeks ago after a “brief” hiatus. Well it’s been a while since I last visited – no, not just because of the lights – but glad to see the place is back to business with a full house on a Monday night, sans the funky lighting and loud music that was almost like a signature at this restaurant at the fringe of Soho but I am not so much a fan of. It’s much toned down, but still kept its cool, I reckon. 

The Four Hour Farewell

Okay, I am going to try not to sound like this is an eulogy like many people have done. The other day we had lunch at Belon at Soho, for what possibly was the last time with Chef Dan Calvert still at the helm. All tables at his restaurant were snapped up soon after the news broke that he’s leaving for Japan at the end of the month – and we were just lucky to get a booking for lunch on one Sunday. 

Happy Birthday, Belon!

Chef Dan was reminding everyone on his Instagram post that Belon was celebrating its 4th anniversary in mid-February, and so happened that was the very day we were planning to visit the restaurant for dinner. Of course this is totally out of coincidence - if there's any specific reason to visit on that day it's the cheap skate side of us wanting to celebrate Valentine's Day the night before to avoid the crowd and any special V-day menu that we may get stuck with.

Dinner That Almost Didn't Happen

We managed to make it to Neighborhood for dinner against all odds a few weeks ago. We came close to calling it off at the last minute because of the deteriorating traffic situation in the city that day but at the end we actually arrived ahead of the planned booking time because most of us were allowed to leave office early.

Twelve Courses and No Chicken

We were excited that Chef Dan managed to get us a table to eat at his restaurant Belon on a Friday evening despite we planned this rather late. It’s been a few months since we last ate there – if we didn’t count the times we dropped by for a quick round of drinks or desserts – and we have always enjoyed the meals at the restaurant with well executed bistro-style dishes and the lively vibe inside this cozy space in Soho.

The Re-invented Tate

I cannot believe it's only my first time sitting down at Chef Vicky Lau's restaurant at its current venue for her full tasting menu when I visited a couple of weeks ago (previously I was there for one of those "four-hands" meal thing - and that's late last year already). I am always impressed by Chef Vicky's spot-on techniques and aesthetic presentation in her beautifully designed dining room up on Hollywood Road, and I think over the years, she has begun to develop a consistent theme of taking on ingredients more common in Asian cuisine with her interpretation to create something unique.

Not the Usual British Bar Fare

The other night I was at Gough’s on Gough to check out the new bar menu that they are introducing, in addition to their regular a la carte menu. The entrance area on the street level was remodeled slightly to fit in a small bar counter with trays of seafood on display, which formed part of this new menu featuring a few seasonal dishes and some simple British bar bites.

Dinner Near the War Zone

With random passersby being beaten by batons and tear gas firing aimlessly at protestors just a couple blocks away from where we sat and ate, we were not in particular joyful mood to enjoy a nice dinner at this new restaurant near Soho. But we got on with our original plan – figured one still had to eat no matter what circumstances, right?

New Place in Soho

Just when you think there's no more new spots for restaurant in Soho area, another one showed up, and this time is at a new building at the foot of Soho hidden next to the escalator. The first tenant is Kinship on the third level, open for business about a month ago.

Another Sunday; Another Brunch

Our friends at church organized yet another brunch outing after Sunday service recently, this time to Gough’s on Gough on a weekend when our friend F was working in the FOH of the restaurant. I was at the restaurant when Chef Cary Docherty just came on board about 6 months ago and loved my dinner there, and as I keep hearing good things about his cooking and the restaurant’s new menu, I thought it would be great to check out their signature Sunday brunch, featuring some British classics.

(Good) as Usual

We thought Sunday brunch at Belon was a perfect way to introduce some of our friends to our favorite restaurant in town, plus it’s something we have never done before so it’s a good opportunity for us to check out this menu as well. Sunday is the only day of the week that the restaurant opens for business in the afternoon, and I do like the different vibe of the place – more chilled and laidback as opposed to the rustic, lively atmosphere often seen at their always- busy nights. And I did like the natural sunlight beaming through the wooden windows facing out to the street.