Thursday, February 4, 2010

A new wine retail outlet: Wine Cottage

Found this relatively new wine retail outlet yesterday called Wine Cottage. Its located at Wilkie Edge, Wilkie Road, #01-15 (Tel: 68359126); across Peace Centre. Its been operating for around 3 months now. Normal hours are from 12.30pm to 10pm; and the place is closed on Sunday.

Place is run by a Ms Sheau Ling; a friendly and hospitable lady. This outlet carries a range of old and new world wines and they also carry a variety of unique bottled beers (drank two but forgot the place of origin). An item I found interesting and bought to consume was a half-bottle rose ($16) made from black muscat. it was in a floral, grapey easy drinking style suitable for a afternoon glass or two. Another bottle was a cremant de bourgogne ($50) which was refreshing with a citrusy and green apple background, and engulfed by acidity. Though short in depth and finish, it made a good complement to the grilled, black sauced pork ribs I was having it with later that night.

The outlet makes a quiet place to drop by in an afternoon or evening for a beer or a bottle of wine with a friend or two before one heads home. Alternatively, its located conveniently for one to drop by to pick a bottle or two before heading home for dinner. In fact some customers were doing just that when I was there.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

BYO wines to Sin Hoi Sai eating house

Found another place which has a corkage free BYO wine policy. It’s a Chinese seafood place called Sin Hoi Sai Eating House, #01-59, 55 Tiong Bahru Road (Tel: 62230810). Its coffee-shop style, laid-back, non-aircon ambience here and the great thing is it’s opened till early morning. So it becomes an ideal option if you crave for a late, late, late dinner.

They do provide wine glasses but for those particular on shapes and sizes, I’ll recommend you to bring along glassware you prefer. They have large tanks from which you can choose your crabs, shells and clamps; makes a lovely visual treat. The menu is sufficiently comprehensive and you can indulge in an array of dishes.

I tried the chilli crab, fried mee goring and clams; all tastefully done though the prices ain’t exactly the cheapest in town. I must say the portions are large and it is advisable to go as a group if you intend to try a few dishes.

I would recommend off-dry sparkling wines like moscato d’asti (Villa M can be easily bought at Denise wine outlets) or slightly off-dry white wine like traminer-reisling blends (Rosemount Estate from Australia makes this blend which can be easily bought from supermarkets). These will go well with chilli and/or spicy based dishes. Another white wine option would be a spatlese or auslese level Rieslings from Germany.

Alternatively bring along a Lambrusco, cremant or sparkling rose; but given a choice, I would lean towards an off-dry style most time. Happy dining!

Note to readers: It’s always good to give the establishment a ring and reconfirm its BYO policy before heading down; things in life have an impulse to change :)