BYO wines to Yummy Recipes

I found an eatery recently which accomodates 'BYO wines'.

Its a big place; and it being located on the ground floor of a building catering to light industries comes as a curious surprise. The size allows Yummy Recipes to offer 180 seatings at any one time comfortably. But what surprises one more than the size or its location is the decor within. Enter into this place and you get an idea of what a reasonably well doing inn from early 20th century China would have been like. The design and decorative pieces within certainly bring you back in time.

The address:


Yummy Recipes
47 Kallang Pudding road.
#01-08, Crescent@Kallang,
S(349318)
Tel: 63431818

The sitting layout have been separated into 2 sections. One end caters to small groups of 2-4 people and the other caters for larger groups of 8-10 per table. There's 'sliding walls' in between each large table which can be moved to create private enclaves of varying sizes. Be it a big family gathering requiring one table or a company dinner needing a few tables, this eatery can certainly accomodate your needs.

It welcomes wine drinkers who want to 'BYO wines' as well. They have wine glasswares for sparkling, white and red wines. These are generic restaurant type glasses (so if you are particular about glassware for your cabernets and pinots, it will be advisable to bring along varietal specific glasses. I know folks who happily do that for wine dinners they organize with friends; its more than alright). This eatery also carries a couple of decanters at hand and is more than happy to provide ice buckets for your whites and bubblies.

Its mainly Cantonese cuisine over here. Place closes at 11pm. However, if you want to sip for longer hours, you can request to shift to seats placed outside the restaurant.

If you are the sort who loves to pair wines with chinese cuisine, this would be a place to check out. Call Ms Katherine over there and she will assist you with your 'BYO wine' needs.

(Note: Its always wise to call a restaurant about its current BYO policy (before going down with your wines) as things in life have a tendency to change).

BYO wines to New Ubin Seafood

Residing in Bishan, Ang Mo Kio or Thomson and looking for an eatery to do ‘BYO wine’ dinners? I recently came to know of New Ubin Seafood which accomodates BYO wines at no corkage charge. Its located at Blk 27, Sin Ming Road, #01-174, Sin Ming Industrial Estate, S(575680) Tel: 64669558; two bus stops away from Marymount MRT station.

I had the opportunity to do two ‘BYO wine’ dinner sessions recently at this place. Maurice learnt about its pro-BYO wine policy and was good enough to organize the dinners.

Both times I visited this place (one on a Friday and the latest visit on a Saturday) it was operating at full capacity. I think it’s advisable to make reservations (just in case) before swinging by for dinner here. I suspect this place is fairly known within the wine drinking community as well. During both dinners I noticed wine bottles on quite a few tables and diners sipping away wine with food :)

To look upon this place as a seafood eatery is certainly limiting its scope; it certainly offers a good range of meat dishes as well to excite one's taste buds. There’s 2 air-conditioned rooms; one a private room with 2 tables which can accommodate 20 diners, and a bigger room which holds slightly more than 5 tables. There’s also non-air con seating inside the restaurant as well as along the corridor. It’s an eatery which provides a laid back, casual setting for an informal and relaxed dining experience.

Standard sized wine glasses which can be used for both white and red wines are provided by this establishment. To my pleasant surprise they readily offered champagne glasses as well when I brought out sparkling wines to chill :) Insulated cooler boxes which can easily hold 6 bottles are provided to diners to chill whites, sparkling and rose wines. I think this eatery provides a reasonable service to wine enthusiasts (and at no corkage charge at that). If you are into pairing wine with local cuisine, there’s sufficient dishes on the menu as well to keep you coming for more sessions.

Some of the dishes we tried at this place can be viewed at the following link: New Ubin Seafood photo album. Dishes which made me smile and prompts me for a third visit are the fried small shrimps, salted egg sotong pieces, deep fried pork knuckle and the rib-eye with caramelized onion platter.

Do go visit this place with your wines :)

Note to readers: I usually like to advise readers to give the eatery a call to check on their latest BYO policy before bringing your wines over. You should do so with this place as well, though I am fairly certain they are in no hurry to change their present policy any time too soon.


... morgun pathi
 

BYO wines to Xiao Liu Zhi eatery at Toa Payoh

A Chinese eatery which allows ‘BYO wine’ and does not charge any corkage.

This relatively new eatery commenced operation 2 months ago. It's called Xiao Liu Zhi and is located at PH BRO Driving Range, 590 Toa Payoh East, Singapore 319134 (Tel: 62551512; next to First Toa Payoh Secondary School).

I visited this place last night for a BYO wine dinner session with a group of friends. It’s managed by a Mr Tong Fu, who according to my fellow diners, is an ex-actor. Operating hours for lunch is between 11am to 2pm. Dinner is between 4.30pm and 11pm. The menu shows a good spread of meat, seafood and vegetable dishes; something to look forward to if you like to practice food and wine pairing with local cuisine.

If you are curious about the dishes served here, I've uploaded some more photos at this link, Xiao Liu Zhi dinner.

This eatery provides standard sized wine glasses which can be used for both white and red wine. They also provide ice buckets upon request for your whites, rose and bubblies. If you however prefer bordeaux or burgundy wine glasses, then you have to bring along your own glasses (something my fellow wine companions tend to do most times).

Food and wine pairing curiosities

Three dishes I particularly enjoyed during dinner were the pork ribs done with coffee, the braised duck and the braised pork belly pieces. Yes, I realize this is a 'seafood-oriented' eatery, but I have this guiltless affinity towards meat dishes :) The pork ribs with coffee influence paired well with the 2003 Amarone, the braised pork belly pieces with the 2008 SGM from Turkey Flat (Barossa) and the braised duck with the 2004 Faustino V (a reserva from Rioja).

We had 4 whites at the table; a pinot gris from NZ, a muscadet from Loire, a frizzante style white made from pinot blanc and chardonnay blend from Venice, and a moscato from Lombardy. The clam dish (thankfully not hot with chilli-bits as I get in a few other eateries) paired well with Loire's muscadet as well as Lombardy's frizzante white blend. I must say the frizzante white stood well as a 'refreshing palate cleanser' when paired with most of the seafood dishes; the slight 'fizziness' it brings to the palate helps to refresh one's taste buds.

Two issues to be mindful when pairing food with this light bodied frizzante is that the food's body weight does not overwhelm that of this wine's body; and likewise the flavour intensity of the food does not overpower the gentle flavours of this wine (this can be a challenge with the sauces we tend to add with local fare). But if you not overly concerned about such details and just want a fizzy, chilled white to cleanse your palate and wash that food down the throat, this wine provides more an ideal sip :p

The deep fried crispy prawns went well with the moscato from Lombardy (not too showy in its sweetness with good acid balance). The sweetness in the body of these prawns and the wine complemented each other, while the acidity in the wine helped to clear the palate of the oil from the deep frying process. I preferred the steamed fish head with NZ's pinot gris; no clashes here, the almost neutral flavour from the steamed fish collagen paired with the flavours of the pinot gris.

Check this eatery out if you are looking for a place in Toa Payoh to bring your wines to.

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 :)

Food and wine pairing session at Big Eater

It was a late afternoon food and wine pairing session among a few wine enthusiasts who found ourselves free during that time of the day :p

Since French wines of older vintages were the preferred sip for discovery among the few who gathered, most of the wines came from the cool crypt of AA French Wine located at 24 Jalan Pari Burong (a wine retail outlet which specializes in back vintages of French wines).

The place for dinner was at Big Eater, a restaurant conveniently located at the end of the row of shophouses in Jln Pari Burong itself. Apart from the good food served here, one other reason I prefer this eating house is its policy of waiving corkage for BYO wines.

The wines at the table were:

1. Champagne Gruet Brut Selection NV, France

2. 1986 Domaine P. Dubreuil-Fontaine Corton Perrieres Pernand Vergelesses, Burgundy

3. 1986 Joseph Drouhin Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, Cotes de Nuits, Burgundy

4. 1996 Chateau Angelus, St Emilion, Bordeaux

5. (and we threw in a Napa white) 2005 Robert Mondavi Chardonnay Napa Valley.

The dishes for pairing were:

. stir-fried lala clams with dried shrimps and red chili bits

. crispy prawn rolls

. sauteed asparagus and scallop dish

. steamed cod fish

. steamed lobster

. hotplate deer meat.

stir-fried lala clams

crispy prawn rolls

 The non-vintage Gruet with its fine bubbles, crisp acidity and well structured body stood well when paired with most dishes at the table. Though the lala clams tasted ‘hot’ (due to the red chilli bits used in the dish), the Gruet champagne managed to lift and refresh one’s palate. The Gruet with its refreshing acidity likewise paired well with the fried crispy outer layer of the prawn rolls dish, and showed well with the steamed cod fish and lobster dishes.

steamed cod fish

steamed lobster

The Napa chardonnay displayed a medium plus body filled with fruits (pineapple, pear and citrus flavours showed) and a fair amount of oak to give the body structure and balance. It did not do too well when paired with the lala clams (the red chilli affected the chardonnay). However the chardonnay’s body weight and flavours paired well with the other dishes like the prawn rolls, sautéed asparagus and scallop, steamed cod fish and steamed lobster.

asparagus and scallop

hotplate deer meat

The 3 reds were paired with the hotplate deer dish. The 1986 Domaine P. Dubreuil-Fontaine was slightly past its plateau, subdued in body and flavours, and it did not hold up against the deer meat. (It tasted weak if one goes back to the wine after trying some deer meat).

The 1986 Joseph Drouhin revealed aromas and flavours of earth and spice, was slightly austere in palate, medium bodied, had refined tannins, good acidity and structure, and it paired well with the deer meat.

However if one tries the meat together with the hot, peppery sauce found in the hotplate, the flavours of this dish increases in strength, and renders a challenge to the Drouhin red. Here the 1996 Ch Angelus with its aromas of leather, earth and pepper, and flavours of earth, dried herbs, leather and a medium body backed by coarse tannins seem to make a 'robust' pairing.

Its interesting to see how a wine in palate gets affected when food is introduced. At times a wine can pair well with a dish, other times it gets humbled by the strong flavours and overwhelming body found in a dish.

At the end of the day, what’s important is to seek the match which your palate enjoys and go with it :)

BYO wines to Bistro 103 (One Zero Three) in Pasir Panjang Road

BYO wines for western cuisine to Bistro 103 located at:

103 Pasir Panjang road

Singapore 118531

Tel: 64766373

You will find this eatery located at the end of a row of shophouses at the junction of Jalan Pelepah and Pasir Panjang road. The frontage is nondescript, you can almost walk past it (I did) :p Inside however, you get a feel of being in a quiet osteria away from the day's hustle and bustle. Its a place where you can relax and wind down with a good hearty meal.

This eatery is managed by chef-owner Flix and his wife, Karen. Both have spent some time in Le Cordon Bleu, Adelaide Academy of Hospitality. Together with Karen's brother Eric, they have been operating this bistro for 4 years now.

I must confess here, I am not a food critic :) so I'll just attest to my tummy finding the portions served hearty and the food tasty :)

This eatery carries its own range of wines (mostly from Australia) for consumers. However, it also allows diners to bring along their own wines at a reasonable corkage fee of $5++ per bottle. One need not worry about wine glasses or ice buckets over here as they are well stocked with these.

Some uniques wines

If you are the type of wine enthusiast who like to explore, discover and try unique wines (rather than stick to known culprits), then you have another good reason to drop by this place. It carries and serves the following wines usually not found in other establishments:

2009 Jamabro Rough Cut Diamond Viognier Moscato (a 100% viognier made in a slightly spritzy moscato style). Have you ever tasted one made with viognier yet?

Dutschke Sun-dried Liquer Shiraz NV. Think 'italian passito and port wine making coming together' :p Raisins from shiraz varietal crushed and then fortified with neutral spirit during the initial fermentation process to make this wine.

The following fortified wines from Barossa Valley made by Mark Mader using the traditional Solera process normally reserved for making sherry: 

Gumpara Liquer Frontignac (18% alcohol)

Gumpara Liquer Semillon (18% alcohol)

Gumpara Liquer Tawny Grenache (19% alcohol)

You can order most of these curious ones by the glass too. Do go check the place out :p

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 :)

BYO wines to Xiang Ba Lao at Allenby House

A rather distracting month so far. So much so that I delayed writing an entry till now. But then I think its alright to live life first when the opportunity shows itself and keep reflections for the quieter, hot nights when sleep plays hide and seek :)

The beginning of this month presented itself with a birthday dinner of a long time friend. A few of us visited Xiang Ba Lao, an eatery located at 298 Jalan Besar, #01-01, Allenby House, Singapore 208959, Tel: 62947986 for a wine dinner. You can alight at Lavender mrt station and take a short walk to this eatery. This place is presently managed by Ms Katherine Choo, who mentioned that they commenced operation the later part of year 2010.

The good news for wine drinkers is that this eatery allows you to BYO wines and it does not charge any corkage fee. This waiver applies seven days a week.

The place is air-conditioned, has 2 private rooms and a main hall which holds 10 tables. The 2 private rooms are spacious and have side cabinets, which makes it convenient to hold your wines, decanters and ice buckets.

Ice buckets are provided if your wine requires chilling. The wine glasses provided by this establishment are more appropriate for white wines though. So if you are particular about glassware for the evening, then I suggest that you bring along your own red and sparkling wine glasses (and decanters too if your wines need aerating). (We brought along glasses and decanters, and I must say the wines benefited from the extra effort on our part.)

The menu has a good range of dishes which should satisfy the needs of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian diners. Folks keen to explore food and wine pairings will find themselves with sufficient dishes to experiment with for the evening. I particularly enjoyed having roast duck with wine over here :) After all, what's dinner without some meat? :p

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 :)

BYO wines to Le Le Pot at Seng Poh road

Care to BYO wine to a steamboat eatery?

A few days ago, after a wine session, some of us descended upon a steamboat eatery:

Le Le Pot

58 Seng Poh Road #01-23

Singapore 160058

Tel: 62229442

www.lelepot.com

(near Tiong Bahru Market)

The friendly proprietor Mr Yan Bin was around and we got to chatting with him about doing a wine and steamboat session at his place. (He is also the co-owner of Bonifacio restaurant here in Singapore). He's open to the idea of making wednesdays a BYO wine day (without any corkage fee being charged) for wine enthusiasts out there :)

The eatery will provide ice buckets for your whites and bubblies (wine types which should go well with the dishes available). You have to however bring your own wine glasses (a reasonable trade-off I think since there is no corkage involved).

On wednesdays the eatery offers a ala carte hotpot buffet at $19.80 nett for adults. This gives you the opportunity to try different dishes with the wines you bring along. Check the place out if you are a wine collector who like to bring along your own wines for dinner :)

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 :)

BYO wines to Stewhaus at Cactus Road

Meat is the operative word here :) Do you fancy dishes like beef stew, oxtail stew, pork knuckle and sausages? And for those who still have room for more, how about other dishes like soups, steaks, pastas and pizzas? Then Stewhaus is the place for you. Its located slightly up north at Seletar Gardens, 6 Cactus Road, Singapore 809580 (Tel: 65557845).

The good new for wine enthusiasts is that it accomodates BYO wines and its corkage free. The staff also provide ice buckets, white and red wine glasses upon request. They however have only one decanter, so if your wine needs a little breathing, then I recommend that you aerate your wine earlier and pour it back into the bottle before leaving home. Alternatively, you can bring along your own decanter like my friends do.

 

Just note that its closed on mondays. Check the place out if you crave for some meat and wine :)

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 :)

BYO wines to Meii Sushi at Tanjong Pagar

Care for some japanese cuisine with BYO wines? You can do this at:

Meii Sushi

Blk 7, Tanjong Pagar

#01-108, Singapore 080007

Tel: 62203466

Lunch: 12pm-2pm. Dinner 6pm-9.15pm. Closed on sundays and only open for dinner on public hoildays.

I was having lunch there yesterday and I took the opportunity to check on its BYO wine policy. A relatively new outlet serving dishes like sushi, sashimi and other Japanese cuisine, they allow BYO wines at a corkage fee of $20 per table. As long as you book a table (which seats 4 persons) you can bring any number of bottles for your dining pleasure for a corkage charge of $20 per table. (If I remember correctly, they have 3 to 4 tables in the dining area to the right of the main entrance.)

They don't provide glassware, so you have to bring along your own wine glasses. However they do provide ice buckets for your whites and bubblies. If four of you go for dining with 4 bottles, that works out to $5 corkage for each bottle.

The quality of the food is good, the price reasonable and its well worth paying a corkage fee for a food and wine pairing experience here.

You may want to experiment with bubblies and whites which carry a light to medium body, dry or slightly off-dry (like late harvest reislings), some good refreshing acidity and hopefully a palate not too big in flavours. Such wines should do well with the light flavours, and the oily and smooth texture of the sushi and sashimi dishes served here; ... and being a 'minimalist' when it comes to the soy sauce and wasabi may help during the food and wine pairing experience too :)

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 :)

BYO wines to Big Eater at Jln Pari Burong

Last weekend a few of us went to AA French Wine Pte Ltd to purchase and taste some back vintage bordeaux and burgundy wines. Its almost always good to taste back vintages of wines from these french regions as a bit of aging goes a long way to soften tannins, create a better balance between the wines' components and show secondary aroma and flavour profiles in these wines.

As evening drew near and hunger pangs became insistent, we chose to have dinner at a restaurant at the end of the row. This place is called:

Big Eater

34 Jalan Pari Burong (upper changi road)

singapore 488700

Tel: 62457268

There's 2 good news with regards to this place for a wine enthusiast. The first one is that it permits BYO wines without any corkage charge. Ice buckets are also provided for whites, though I would suggest you bring along your own wine glasses.

The second good news is its location. It is located amidst a quiet neighbourhood beside simpang bedok; a place easily accessible by those residing in bedok, tampines and simei neighbourhood areas. There's no need for these residents to lug their wines and glassware to a place in town.

It certainly looks popular as the restaurant was operating at near full capacity during the early evening hours on a saturday. It has indoor and outdoor seating areas, and offers a wide range of chinese cuisine. We tried the hokkien noodles with black sauce, crystal hor fun, sambal kangkong, salted egg with bitter gourd, beancurd skin with shrimp roll and dong bo rou (fatty pork in sauce) served there. I must say the cuisine offers lots of wine pairing opportunities for any wine enthusiast keen on pairing wine with local cuisine.

Do go visit if you are around the corner. 

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 :)

BYO wines to Hooked on Heads in Singapore (at reasonable corkage fee)

I was having dinner at Hooked on Heads, a restaurant at Tower 2, #01-01/02, Sin Ming Plaza, Sin Ming Road, Singapore (Tel: 64554948) a few days ago. Seeing that they have wines listed on their drinks menu, I enquired if the establishment allowed BYO wines.

To my pleasant surprise they allowed BYO wines. The corkage fee for the 1st bottle brought along is $10; and the corkage fee for the 2nd bottle is waived. Its a pretty reasonable corkage rate I think if you bring along 2 bottles (if you average it out, it works out to $5 per bottle).

Ice buckets will be provided if you need to chill your wines too. I checked out the wine glasses and they seem more appropriate for white wines rather than serious reds. I would suggest you bring along your own glasses for reds if you are particular about wine glasses.

I was equally impressed at their a la carte buffet spread. They have at least 60 dishes on offer at $20+ per person; but a minimum of 4 persons are required to qualify for buffet orders. The cuisine range from chinese, malay, nonya, thai and western dishes. The spread includes seafood, meat, vegetables, egg, tofu, rice, noodles and desserts. Their signature and not-to-be-missed dish is curry fish head.

This place will be ideal for wine enthusiasts who prefer to pair wines with Asian cuisine. Dine in a group and you can try small portions of each dish with different styles of wine. Go check the place out if you are around the vicinity :)


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 :)

Corkage waived: BYO wines to Bonifacio restaurant on wednesdays

I like food outlets offering customers the option to bring their own wine; especially those which waive corkage fee .. (yes, which wine enthusiast wouldn't).


One such outlet is Bonifacio Restaurant at 35 Kreta Ayer Road, Singapore (Tel: 62226676). It is conveniently located within a short walking distance from Outram mrt station. It serves a wide range of pinoy cuisine from vegetables to seafood, meat and dessert dishes.

On wednesdays, customers are allowed to 'BYO wines' with corkage waived. The restaurant also offers diners decent sized wine glasses for their use. I usually go in a group consisting of 6 to 10 wine folks. This way we can order a wide variety of dishes and try pairing these with sparklies, whites, reds and sweet wines we bring along. Food pairing gets all the more interesting with the addition of spices and asian flavours.

Being a meat lover myself, I particularly enjoy the crispy deep-fried pork knuckle and lamb-shank dishes during my visits there. Do check the place out if you are around the corner.

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 :)

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 :)

Corkage free monday through wednesday for the 1st bottle at Table 66

Its always nice to find food establishments with a corkage free policy. Early this month I had lunch at a recently opened place called Table 66, located at 66 Tras Street (Singapore), a few minutes walk from Tanjong Pagar mrt station. Corkage is waived for the 1st bottle you bring along from Mondays through Wednesdays.

The décor is primarily minimalist, with a soothing green prevailing the dining area. It offered a quiet, uncluttered place where one can unwind and dine peacefully. They had appropriate wine glasses, ice buckets to chill wine and service staff proficient in handling a wine bottle.

Apart from an ala carte menu, they also offered set meal options for lunch and dinner. I opted for their set lunch which I must say came reasonably priced. For main course I settled for a lamb shank, while my lunch date opted for salmon. No regrets with our choices; we did not find the food wanting or lacking, they tasted good. I brought along an Alsatian red and Austrian white to accompany the lunch. Certainly intend to revisit this place in the coming month.

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 :)