[Korean Bistro] Korean-inspired Tapas Menu at SYNC Korean Tapas Bar

Tapas, commonly referred to appetisers or snacks, isn't an unfamiliar offering at western restaurants or bistros or bars.  SYNC is Singapore's first ever Korean tapas bar with a range of Korean-inspired tapas with specially crafted Korean-inspired cocktails.  It's first outlet is located at Westgate Mall and blends food with technology using the latest Samsung gadgets.  The success of the first bistro has led to the launch of the Korean-inspired tapas bar.  Both outlets have their own signature dishes.

 

Located at the cosy little town, Serangoon Gardens, SYNCTapas has newly launched several festive cuisines which is available from 12 Dec 2014 to 2 Jan 2015.



 

(Front entrance of SYNC Tapas Korean Bar)

(Modern and Cosy settings) 

(Simple decorations yet complete with antique chairs) 

The main counter is in the middle of the bar.  Towards the end of the bar, there is a "private" section although it isn't separated by any partitions or doors, which sits up to 8 persons.

Mains and tapas selection are quite affordable and starts from $9.90 onwards.  The Christmas Salad ($9.90) is a refreshing and colourful mix of fruits (pomegranate and orange) and salad leaves.  It is topped with citrus dressing which added to the refreshing finish to the salad.  Pomegranate is a popular fruit in Korean which has, in recent years, been added as an ingredient to some skincare products.

Korean sweet potato has always been one of my favourite root vegetables.  For this festive season, SYNCTapas has introduced that Sweet Potato Croquettes ($10.90).  This dish is prepared by frying Korean sweet potatoes with cheese and chorizo (pork sausage), topped with apple salsa for a festive taste.

Clay Duck Saam (a Korean expression which refers to wrapped food) ($10.90), blends the traditional Korean food with Christmas flavour by serving the duck meat with Korean daikon and perilla leaf.

Turkey is a common dish served during Christmas.  For this Turkey Risotto (an Italian rice dish cooked in broth to a creamy consistency) ($26.90), Korean barley was creatively used in place of rice.  The dish was topped with sautéed mushrooms and cranberries.

Complete the meal with a sweet ending, Chestnut Crunchy Bar ($10.90), which is actually chestnut mousse in a chocolate tart shell, topped with crunchy pearls, orange gel and a piece of sesame-filled fragrant thin cookie.

(cross-section of the Chestnut Crunchy Bar)

While these are the festive selection, the bar also serves regular menu which include popular Korean dishes such as Budae Jjigae (Army Stew), Ddeokbokki (Spicy rice cake), Kimchi Fried Rice etc.  Value lunch set, including an appetiser, main and drinks, at $9.90 is available everyday from 11am to 5pm.  Add-on options are available for side dishes and desserts at $2.50 and $5 respectively.

Immerse yourself in non-stop popular K-jazz and K-pop as you enjoy your lunch, afternoon tea, dinner or even supper.


SYNC Korean Tapas Bar
12 Maju Avenue (Serangoon Garden estate)
Singapore 556690
Tel: 62820612
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/syncbistro

Opening Hours:
11am to 11pm (Mon, Wed, Thu)
11am to 12am (Fri to Sun)
Closed on Tue.

Getting there: 2 minutes walk from Serangoon Garden Circus.  Buses that go there includes 73, 136, 315 and 317.

[Singapore Restaurant] Celebrate Mother's Day at Yum Cha Restaurant (Dim Sum)

In case you aren't aware, Mother's Day falls on 11 May 2014 this year.  This is the time of the year for children to show our appreciation to our beloved mother who has worked tirelessly for her children.  Yum Cha Restaurant has specially created 3 dishes for this coming Mother's Day.  These 3 dishes will be available from 5 to 11 May 2014.  In total, this makes up about 70 dishes you can find in this restaurant ranging from dim sum, barbecue and roast, vegetable, noodle, congee and dessert.



For siew mai lovers, enjoy this Large Prawn Siew Mai with Double Roe.  Colourful and appetising.  Each piece is $3.50.

Do not judge food by it's looks.  For those who are more adventurous or non-meat diners, the Lavender Bun with Coconut Filling is highly recommended for you.  The bun is nicely infused with lavender taste which is made from lavender flower.  Savour it slowly with some warm tea on a relaxing afternoon.  $2.80 for 2 pieces.

Juicy tangerine, fresh strawberries and blueberries with custard cream.  Have some fruits after a heavy meal.  Each Glazed Mini Fruit Tart is $2 each.  The above 3 dishes are the Mother's Day Exclusive Dim Sum and are available from 5 to 11 May 2014.  They are available at all 3 Yum Cha outlets except between 6pm to 11pm at the Serangoon Garden outlet.

The latest Yum Cha outlet at Changi Business Park, UB Bizhub East opened in late 2013.  The restaurant is airy, cosy, modern and high tech.  Place your order via ipad provided at the dining table.  Avoid the hassle of trying to grab the attention of service staff and have control over the speed of placing orders for your food.

The common roast and barbecue items can also be found at Yum Cha.  My recommendation is the Crispy Roasted Pork and the Honey Roast Char Siew first is you do not have the capacity to try all.  The Crispy Roasted Pork is really crispy on the skin and not too much fatty fats.  The Char Siew meat is pretty lean too.

Yum Cha has a rather complete range of dim sum ranging from steamed to fried food.  The yellow-coloured buns are the Custard Buns (aka lava bun, salted egg yolk custard bun or liu sha bao or 流沙奶皇饱).  Depending on individual's taste, the custard buns (3 pieces at $4.50) has a strong custard taste vs the egg yolk taste.  Being a modern restaurant, the Fish Roe Siew Mai (3 pieces at $3.80) and Yum Cha Prawn Dumpling (3 pieces at $4.60) aren't served using push carts at UE Bizhub East outlet but over at the Chinatown outlet, it is still being served using the traditional way ie. using push carts.

For fried dimsum, the savoury Prawn & Mango Fritters (3 pieces at $4) and sweet Crispy Red Bean with Banana (3 pieces for $3.80) are pretty decent.  The roasted sesame seeds on the prawn & mango fritters added to the fragrance of this dim sum.  For non-meat diners, do go for the Crispy Spring Roll (3 pieces for $3.20), which has bean sprouts as one of the ingredients. 

Yum Cha has recently added a new dish and it is available only on weekends.  It is the Pig Trotters in Vinegar.  I am not a fan of pig trotters and this was the first time I tried this.  To my surprise, the flavourful vinegar gravy (sweet, salty, a little sourish and a little spicy) truly enhanced the taste of this dish.

Of course, there are noodles and congee selection on the menu.  There are also options for vegetarians such as Vegetarian Abalone Congee and Super Vegetarian Balls Congee.

A meal can't be complete without sweet endings (read: desserts).  The Lemongrass Jelly with Fruits ($4) is really refreshing.  Alternatively, if you are in the mood for something oriental, go for the Chinese Herbal Jelly ($3.60).  It comes with a cute little pot of honey and you can add according to the sweetness level you like.

So, go on down to Yum Cha and give your mom a good treat on this Mother's Day.

Website: www.yumcha.com.sg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yumchasg?fref=ts


Yum Cha at Changi
6 Changi Business Park Ave. 1
#01-33 UE Bizhub East
Singapore 486017
Tel: 6789 1717
Opening Hours: 10.30am to 3pm, 6pm to 9pm (Weekdays) and 9.30am to 3pm, 6pm to 9pm (Weekends & PH)

For details on Yum Cha Chinatown and Yum Cha Garden, please visit Yum Cha website.

Getting there: Take the MRT to Expo Station.  At the exit (facing Changi City Point), turn left.  Follow the walkway and turn right at the junction and walk towards UE Bizhub East.  The walk takes about 5 mins.

Pow Sing Restaurant

Was supposed to have dinner @ Sushi Tei (Serangoon Garden) but we were told to wait for 30mins for a table. So we decided to find alternatives... preferably with no waiting time...

Decide to try our luck at Pow Sing Restaurant, whose specialty is hainanese chicken rice. We were lucky enough to be offered a seat with zero waiting time... cos the restaurant seemed quite packed. Boy, it was noisy, noisy, noisy! We were seated next to the "chopping counter" and there was continuous chop, chop, chop sound. Why can't they just move the counter to the kitchen? Sigh...

65 Serangoon Garden Way Singapore 555961
Tel : 6286 4813 Fax : 6282 5016
Daily Opening Hours : 11am - 3pm (Lunch) 5pm - 10pm (Dinner)

Though they specialise in hainanese chicken rice, they do serve a variety of dishes including fish, seafood, prawn, vegetables, tauhu etc.

We ordered this nonya chap chye.. which to me, it is quite disappointing. The gravy is not flavourful and the entire dish was rather bland.

Mapo Tauhu was better... at least the minced meat well marinated and the chilli padi brings out the spiciness of this dish. The tauhu was also quite silky smooth.

The chicken dish was the best of all... although we had asked for chicken breast meat, it was quite tender and smooth.

Due to the popularity of the chicken meat, be prepared that this main dish was be the last item to be served on your dining table... so do eat slowly while the dishes are being served. Else, you'd run into risk of asking for a 2nd rice serving to go with the chicken meat.