It is a wonderful day that started with a cinnamon loaf and sticky bun from Simply Bread. After the necessary chores were completed and once Chubbs has napped and fed, we left for Dozo at Valley Point (I weaseled the surprised out of Fuzzy beforehand). I made previous reservation there, but we didn't go in the end, because the timing with Chubbs wasn't right. It was so sweet of Fuzzy to remember this place! I was amazed.
It is a modern Japanese restaurant with no a la carte menu; we chose the 6-course set lunch. We were given a private room, probably because they knew we were bringing a baby and the place was not packed on a Monday afternoon. As we settled down, a pretty vase holding sticks of fried somen with different flavours was brougt in, for us to pick at while perusing the choices for each course. The somen was accompanied by some mango "shooters" (basically mango juice with crushed ice). Chubbs was more interested in this than we were.
I laid Chubbs' lunch out before our food arrived; he eyed his different courses, unimpressed.
Our amuse bouche equivalant was foie gras on toast, some cured salmon, and a seared scallop (I stole Fuzzy's because his looked better :/). They were tasty little bites.
I was caught trying to feed Chubbs while still chewing my own food. Unglam! But he would rather watch the cars below zoom by, than eat his butternut squash :/
Next came our starters; Fuzzy's was Hirakata mushrooms done two ways (sauteed and encased in a potato ball and deep-fried), and I picked gratinated escargot.
The escargot was done very well, not overcooked, albeit a tad too salty; pity there wasn't any bread served with it to mop the cheese and oils up. The mushrooms were fragrant and had an interesting crunchy texture.
Then it was the soup course. Mushroom soup with black truffle for me, and crab bisque for my hubby. We enjoyed this course thoroughly. Both soups were the right consistency, with rich, bold flavours. Good to the last drop!
Fuzzy's main course was exciting. It was beef tenderloin grilled over a hot stone, while sitting on a pu-ye leaf. It was marinated just right, and surprisingly very tender when grilled to medium-well. I stole quite a few pieces :/
My main course was the sushi platter. I wanted to see what novel sushi flavours the chef could come up with, but it was quite disappointing. I got nothing extraordinary, just the usual fare, and the portion was too small. The only piece that stood out was topped with the roe and belly of an unidentifiable fish. It was sweet, crunchy, scrumptious!
Warm chocolate lava cake with ice-cream was available for dessert. Of course we had to choose that! Together with mocha creme brulee.
The chocolate cake was a success; with oozy, molten chocolate inside. The only let-down was the poor quality ice-cream they served with it. The green tea-infused creme brulee was smooth, creamy, not too sweet, with an adequate tea flavour. The coffee served was perfect with the sweets and a nice end to the meal.
Chubbs stayed in his high-chair the entire meal, which lasted about 90-min. He was happy looking out the window at the cars and the rain pelting down. My darling son surprises me everyday!
All the dishes tasted wonderful; and the tea they served with the meal was delicious. I asked what blend it was, and the waiter revealed that it's green tea infused with berries. Downside is that it isn't a large quantity of food. So if you have a hearty appetite (like us), please factor in time to have a a second lunch elsewhere. Fuzzy and I were hankering for the giant butter and sugar brioche from Choupinette, but they were closed! Boo hoo!
Chubbs fell asleep on the car ride home, and we took the time to pack our swimming bags for another excursion to Sentosa Cove.
It was a rainy day, and the water in the pool was cooler than what Chubbs is used to. When we first put him in, his lower lip started quivering. We wanted to take him out immediately, but everytime we lifted him out of the water, he literally KICKED up a fuss. He wanted to continue playing, so we decided to leave him in for a few more minutes and to see how it'll go. Once Chubbs started paddling, he warmed up and was comfortable again. He splashed a lot more than the previous time, and was taken aback on numerous occasions by the taste of the chrlorinated water and the sting when the water got into his eyes. It didn't put him off though; he kicked and played on, fearlessly chasing after his pool toys. Half an hour later, we took him out of the pool and bundled him up in all the towels we had.
I loved today. Felt like Fuzzy, baby and I were on vacation; just perfect. Thank you, Love. It was relaxing, yummy and fun! I can't wait to bring Chubbs swimming again; it's really growing on him.
