Singapore Arts, Beauty and Inspirations Male Blogger

I was lucky enough to get hold of a pair of Singapore Coffee Festival 2017 tickets for the trade preview on Thursday and decided to head over to Marina Bay Cruise Centre to explore. It is basically a festival to showcase Singapore’s speciality coffee, local kopi as well as the cafe lifestyle.

I arrived about 7pm and there wasn't much crowd since the people attended that day were probably bloggers or from the media. The aroma of coffee filled the air and I was trigger-happy, busy snapping photos, but of course not forgetting to appreciate the booths that were beautifully set up to attract and welcome visitors. Be prepared to get your bags spot checked on both level 1 and level 2 before entering!

Each ticket holder will be entitled to a card with 2 stickers that could be used to redeem 2 cups of sample beverage. I ended up using both stickers on chocolate drinks since I am rather sensitive to caffeine and definitely would not be able to sleep the entire night. I loved the chocolate drink series from Grounded Pleasure so much that I ended up buying a packet of French Mint Drinking Chocolate (S$16.00) that reminded me of Christmas! I also tried the cream muffins (S$3.00 each) from Hattendo and they did not disappoint. The bread-like texture with a caramelised biscuit-like top was filled with lovely cream. Unfortunately only the kaya cream was left since both the chocolate and matcha were sold out. 

With over 100 exhibitors from the coffee and café industry, scheduled activities such as educational talks, workshops as well as music, it would be a great way to spend one's weekend.

The event is happening from 4 - 6 August 2017. Do check out their webpage here! 

Residing within the parameters of Boss Hotel, along the Rochor River of Lavender, Tocha Bistro is a fairly new place to chill and dine. Its bar well stocked with a huge selection of alcohol, particularly whiskies due to its owner's love for it. Crazy Hour is from 5pm to 6pm daily, where beer buckets go as low as S$25++ for half a dozen!

Since cocktails are available, I might as well start off with Sex, I mean the cocktail named Sex On The Beach (S$15.00) which was a fruity subtle-sweet concoction of cranberry juice, orange juice, peach and vodka. My friend's neon blue Singapore Sling (S$18.00) was rather refreshing and I kind of enjoyed sipping it.

Homemade Mushroom Soup was first served, brimming with chunky bits of diced button mushrooms. Enjoying every mouthful of soup, alternating between the perfectly crisp garlic bread. Both the Baked Scallops (S$8.80) as well as the Smoked Duck Roll (S$6.80) do make excellent accompaniment to alcohol. 

Kam's Roast would be the first Michelin Star restaurant I have patronised and I probably could no longer proclaim myself as a hardcore foodie for a delayed review. I seldom select Chinese food as my option when I dine out as I have the tendency to select other cuisines instead. Kam's Roast was perhaps a game changer since I actually craved for some of its dishes once every now and then.

My dinner started off with a couple of braised dishes such as the Marinated Chinese

Mushroom ($5.80), Marinated Duck's Wings ($8.80) and Marinated Tofu ($4.80). I definitely love the marinated tofu so much due to its smooth silken texture.

I tried both the Marinated Duck and Roast Duck which were contrasting in taste and for you to define which you would prefer. My preference was obviously the roasted duck since I prefer roasted food as compare to 'lor' (gravy).

My favourite dish was the Toro Char Siew! The meat itself was tender and it probably comprised of more than 50% fats that readily melts in my mouth. Not for the faint hearted.

Last but not least, I ended off my meal with a hearty bowl of Red Bean Soup with Aged Orange Peel ($5.80) for dessert that night. The dessert wasn't too sweet, contained loads of easily mashed red beans with a hint of orange peel. The orange peel did enhanced the soup making it less 'ni'. 

Having Chinese food in a restaurant, especially a Michelin star-ed one could be an option for me in future.  

I probably have not heard of the term shoe tree before, not until I came across this E-commence platform called SHOETREE Singapore. My curiosity was seriously pounding me hard to google the word sheo tree, finding out if such a term do exist.

In fact I need not google Shoetree at all since the webpage not only serves as an E-commence platform, but also provide loads of other information in regards to leather shoes/products. Interesting articles such such as "How To Care For Leather Shoes And Make Them Last A Lifetime", "Things To Look Out For When Buying Leather" and "Shoe Tree Guide" definitely do provide useful insights to end consumers.

Recently, I got my hands on the varnished Japanese Oakwood Shep Horn as shown below. Probably my main reason for wanting this 40cm long tool would be the convenience of sliding my feet into my pair of leather sheos without the need to squat down or retying my laces.

By using the sheo horn, it would also prevent crease marks made on the sheos by repeatly forcing of feets into them. 

Another thing I love about this Shoe Horn would be the aesthetically beautiful natural Japanese Oakwood it is made from, coated with a thin layer of varnish that protects it from absorbing water or getting mouldy. Unlike plastic and metal shoe horns, you do not have to worry about snapping, bending or rusting over time.

Shoetree Singapore provide FREE delievery service within Singapore and all Sheotree project accessories are automatically registered for a 6 month warrenty.

Do check out their webpage here!

Niku Katsumata 肉勝又 is a hole in the wall restaurant along Duxton Road that carries a range of A4 Wagyu Beef. They recently launched one of the best value-for-money A4 Wagyu Beef Set(S$38) that comprises of 5 dishes.

The meal started off with 2 slices of Japanese Pork Prosciutto, followed by Homemade Kimchi and Marinated Sprouts. Chinese Cabbage Salad Topped with Umami Seaweed might looked rather mundane but it was rather refreshing and the Umami Seaweed proved itself worthy with its dry-plum-like texture and savoury notes.

A platter of 5 different parts of Premium A4 Wagyu Beef was served next, each individually barbecued over the smoke-less crystal glass by the chef himself. Thighs were my top pick since they literally melted in my mouth without much chewing effort. Do seek advice on which cut would taste their best in either their homemade ponzu sauce or salt!

Last but not least from the set would be the A4 Beef Curry that contained minced beef. It was definitely highly addictive despite its appearance. How could curry look appealing in the first place?

Besides the A4 Wagyu Beef Set, I got to try 2 other dishes as well. The Chef’s Special Appetiser (S$19) consisting of 3 spoonful of foodgasms. My favourite was the Uni (sea urchin) wrapped with A4 wagyu beef sashimi, gently brushed with shoyu. It was a total meltdown as I felt that both premium components fused easily together. The other two were Foie Gras & Caviar drizzled with truffle oil and marinated ikura.

The other dish was Tataki Wagyu (S$20) which was equally instagrammable since slices of medium rare looking wagyu were neatly piled against the rice in a circular fashion. Simply top up S$5 to enjoy premium ingredients such as uni, foie gras, ikura or caviar. (Basically all 4 ingredients for S$20 or you could even select 2 portions of eg. uni for S$10!)

Address: 47 Duxton Rd, Singapore 089511

Opening Hours: 5.30pm - 11pm

Contact: 91627502

Webpage: http://www.niku-katsumata.com/