Red Dot (again) for some moolicious dinner.

Went back to Red Dot again (well technically it was July 2009, and this is a outdated draft), this time with B1 in tow. Red Dot is nice at night. I preferred to sit indoors with the lights on, instead of sitting al fresco and eating a fly or two with only the faint flickering glow from the BBQ. The lighting is pretty shit still, cos the lights were still pretty dim (therefore the inconsistent lighting in the photos, sorry since this used to be a draft, I don't have the originals to photoshop anymore), but least I will be able to spot a flying ant or housefly basking my gravy.

We ordered capasante salad (S$15, feeding 2), grilled marbled steak and wagyu steak (S$27 each), molten chocolate cake (S$15, also feeding 2). The marbled tasted better than the wagyu. It had a melt-in-the-mouth yet smoky quality. B1 had some bizarre AIDS-preventing(???) beer called Monster Green, I think...the beer is cheap, chilled and not bad. Fantastic for chillout. The molten chocolate cake was rather dry and crisp(??) *haha* on the outside, but with lovely chocolate sauce in the middle of the cake.

I was delighted with the excellent service this time. Friendly, yet not overly fawning. Not like the other time, where I could see the waitress roll her eyes while we were ordering (think we were changing orders midway then).

Dempsey again??? Food Review of White Rabbit

We were greeted by a young nubile hostess who led us to our table. Next to the service counter. Despite my placing a reservation beforehand.

I was rather annoyed, especially since any private conversation was interrupted by the staff busing around us. They were friendly yet professional, and handled us with a suitable amount of deference without seeming patronising.

"Would Madam prefer Sparkling or Still water?" Doesn't matter. Just give me a lot of it. I needed massive amounts of H2O. Why?

The Shallot Tartin starter? Terribly sweet, it became overwhelming with every bite. The goat cheese was a bad companion for it. Couldn't smell more strongly of goat than if ole Billy came and pissed on my plate. Why put two strong tasting products together on the same plate? No contrast in texture. I finished the dish with much difficulty, casting aside the cheese.

[original pic source: yum.sg. The White Rabbit is fortunate I did not have my camera with me today.]

After my dining misadventure at PS Cafe last Sunday, I decided to play safe and chose the braised seabass with Matsutake broth over the other fish dish which had "apple gelee". No more dessert on the main for me.

First taste. Salt.

Too much. Perhaps because I prefer delicate flavors and freshness over flavored foods, (esp at the obstensibly atas-looking establishments) but the broth tasted as if they siphoned the Dead Sea. The portion? I thought the PS cafe portion was reasonable. This one was unreasonable.

A few pretty carrot slices, some sticks of radish, two miserable slices of sea bass (which was SALTED before fried lightly. Why??), and two even thinner slices of matsutake mushrooms soaking up the Dead Sea that was in my bowl.

The F's dishes were lesser disasters. His main, a medium steak was dressed with lightly fried foie gras (which melted decadently in our mouths), and some shreds of black truffle.

I was extremely grateful to the waitress who took pity on my distress and poured me two massive glasses of water (FOC, hahah), which I hastily gulped down, like a man trapped in a desert hoovering that single refreshing sip of water. At the end of the meal, the hostess came over and asked us politely what we thought of the meal. I refused to say a thing, since our indelicate inhaling of the food (so that we can get over the misery) should speak volumes enough already.

Even now, my tongue is stinging.

Total Bill
Panna 75 -------------- S$10 (branded "still" water from S. Pellegrino)
Shallot Tartin --------- S$17
Escargot Ravioli ------ S$19
Braised SeaBass ------ S$29
Tournedos Rossini --- S$45
Dark Rum ------------- S$12

Plus tax, coming to S$155.35.

Would I go back there? Maybe for the excellent service from attentive staff (perhaps an advantage of practically sitting at the service counter) and ambience, which women are suckers for (I looked around, the clientele are mostly women). But the food doesn't justify the prices.

Updated!!!
Also read NeverTrustAScrawnyFoodie's White Rabbit review.

Sights @ Dempsey 4 - PS Cafe

At the end of the Dempsey Hill expedition, we ended up eating at PS Cafe on the strength of She Bakes & She Cooks's effusive entry on the place. She didn't do so badly on her Jones the Grocer recommendation (we went last Christmas eve breakfast) but damn, she really screwed up on this one, though I realise that she went there for sunday brunch on both occasions.

We all gapped when we saw the menus, and when we literally, saw the writing (S$47 for some steak, I think) on the wall *lol*. Our mains ranged conservatively from S$22 to S$28. We looked around the place and noted the relative affluent looks of the other diners. Speaking of which, we were thinking that the combined income of all of our five families would not even reach that of the very rich-looking family sitting across from us. How do we know they are rich, you ask? Well, normally the aunties and ah Mas we are familiar with speak mandarin or dialect. These speak bloody Queen's English.

We were put off by the high prices, so we chose to share only one Truffle fries (unlike our usual greedy won). Turned out luckily we did so, because a mountain of crisp fries drenched in Truffle oil and Parmesan bits came to the table. Still, we finished it with no trouble, as well as...

Moussaka (eh....forgot to taste)

Potage (3.5 stars out of 5, hearty)

Fish Foil Basket (4 star out of 5, I would have ordered this, but for the prawns)

Unimaginative but filling Penne (3 stars out of 5, looks like stir-fry)

My Imaginative, but non-filling and terrible Coconut crusted fish (2.8 stars out of 5, couldn't find the coconut, unless they meant that deepfried oily splatter on top of the stack. And the Sweet Potato Vanilla Mash... should dessert be on the same plate?)

Sights @ Dempsey 3 - Red Dot

Sights @ Dempsey 2 - White Rabbit

Sights @ Dempsey 1 - Hacienda

Twiddle dee dee, how many birdie do you see?