Friday, April 27, 2012

Heart Of House

I decided on Heart Of House for dinner after learning about their extensive selection of beers and ciders. Knowing how X has been craving for an alcoholic drink every meal has made this an easy decision for me. Haha. Parking was quite difficult to find as there isn't a carpark attached to this eatery. The nearest places that you can park at are the multistorey carparks nearby or by the roadside which is quite a distance away.

When we reached the eatery, we were not greeted with friendly service sadly. The waitress came out, and upon acknowledging that we wanted a table for two, she just walked in and left us outside without asking us to follow her or holding the door for us.. Okay, so we sat down and took a while to look through their menu as they have quite a wide range of food and alcoholic drinks. When we were finally ready to place our orders, another waitress came along with a really "black" face. All this while, nobody smiled at us.

Well, okay.. So after that, I began taking pictures of the place and this male figure, whom I assume is the boss, was very friendly and struck up a conversation with me. He was pretty nice and told me about some of the vintage collectibles in the eatery.

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Okay, so anyway, look at this. Kids eat free on Sundays! In addition, I saw that they've written on their chalkboard that if a kid gets an A in an examination, he or she can bring along his or her exam paper and get a free meal on the house or something. Pretty cool! Shows their support for children.

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Cute metal cans on every table. It contains wet tissue

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Milo tin lights

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Pretty retro

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TV that broadcasts live soccer games. Great for guys night out.

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Weighing scale

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Rekorderlig Pear Cider - $13
THIS WAS SO GOOOOOD. I was never a fan of alcohol and had my reservations about having an alcoholic drink but I was so glad I chose this! It was sweet and a little gassy. Somewhat like a soda. The alcohol content is 4.5% but I couldnt even taste a single bit of any alcohol! Haha this is perfect for people who don't like alcohol/beer. I've been craving for it everyday ever since haha

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Belgium Lindemans Pecheresse -$12
Peach flavour, 250ml, alcohol content: 2.5%
This had a stronger taste of beer and wasn't as sweet as the pear cider.

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Vintage plate.

We waited a really long time for our orders but they never came. We finally asked a waitress to check on our orders and they found out that our orders had been left out.

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Calamari, served with homemade tartar sauce - $5
These were too salty.
And the portion.. was pretty small.

Because the food took too long to arrive, X ordered another drink. What an alcoholic haha
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Rekorderlig Strawberry Lime - $13
X said this was really good too!

The ciders have to be drank with ice definitely. They would be too sweet if they were just chilled. 

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Chicken Parmigano -$18
Breaded chicken topped with back bacon, salsa and mixed cheese.
Comes with fries and fruit cocktail.

The chicken parmigano was an interesting mix of flavours. It was a little sweet and a little sour but it was definitely too salty. But I felt that it was quite good! It was like chicken covered in pizza toppings.

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Bbq St Louis Pork Ribs -$18
comes with corn on cob and fries.
The corn was too raw. The ribs were pretty average but the meat was quite tender.

The best part of the meal was definitely the ciders. The food were pretty average but were too salty.
The table next to us had pizzas and the otah pizza looks and smells quite good! As for the service.. I think that they have some brushing up to do. The place is pretty chill, and the music is quite old school too. They play classics like Love Me and My Heart Will Go On. Also, there's no GST and service charge.

We''ll definitely be back for the ciders!

4 Kim Tian Road

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Love, K

K's rating of HOH : 6/10

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Parco Caffe

Parco Caffe is a relatively new restaurant under the same team that manages Spruce and Alkaff Mansion. So we had pretty high expectations of the place, especially when we adore Spruce. Spruce's ahi tuna tartare is one of the best things in this world. Haha.

So here we were, one weekday evening, at Raeburn Park. Parco Caffe is situated in an office building. Parking is readily available in the carpark or you can park by the side of the road and walk into the place too.


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Outdoor seating

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Entrance

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This is just, beautiful

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c

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This corner is really cute!

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Bar

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Assortment of bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Complimentary starter.
The bread were warmed to the right temperature and they were really soft. They were fragrant and great on their own without the dip. Pretty good I must say!

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White wine for X.

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Iced cafe latte for me
The latte was good. It had a natural sweetness that does not require the addition of sugar.

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Ossobuco -$30
Slow braised veal ossobuco with saffron risotto

This dish was a mixture of strong spices and flavours. The bone marrow was soft and nice and the veal was pretty tender too. However, the taste was too overwhelming. If you're not a fan of strong flavours or spices, I suggest that you opt for something else!

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Lemon Honey Kurobuta Rib -$28
Japanese pork rib tossed in lemon honey sauce served with asparagus.

The first bite I had of the rib was pretty divine. It was really tender and sweet. It made me happy right away! However I can't say the same for the second piece of rib as it was overcooked. The meat was too tough and it was difficult to not only cut but bite into the meat. Also, the portion may be pretty small for some. 

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It was a pleasant evening at Parco Caffe. The restaurant is pretty and service was good. I called to make a reservation earlier on in the day and the person on the other line asked if it was for any special occasion and what kind of ambience do I prefer. It's nice that they take their customers' preferences into account! We''ll be back to try their weekend brunch sometime!

10 Raeburn Park, #01-28
Daily: 11.30am – 11pm

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Love, K

K's rating of Parco Caffe : 7.5/10