Park Inn Hotel's Three Course French Meal (France, Nancy)

Park Inn Hotel, Bar, Restaurant

We had our dinner, a three course French Meal at Park Inn Hotel's restaurant in Nancy. The hotel by Radisson Nancy is located opposite the train station in central Nancy. The restaurant is know for its traditional French cuisine. It was 830pm and there were no one in the restaurant except for the group of us. 

We were all waiting early waiting for our food as it was late. Service was extremely slow. 

The bread was served first. We polished them off although they were cold and hard. Supposed to be taken together with the soup.

Vegetable (Pumpkin) Soup

It seemed ages before the first course was served. Vegetable (Pumpkin) Soup! The soup was wonderful! Thick, robust and full of flavour. Heart warming dish, a perfect start to the meal.

After the waiter cleared the bowls, we had to wait eagerly (again) for the second course. We waited so long that, I had the time to causally walk back to my room to charge my phone before coming down again. It was nearly a 20 minutes wait from the time our bowls were cleared to the second course being served. 

Pork Loin with Plum, Tomatoes and Potatoes

The second course was the Pork Loin with Plum, Tomatoes and Potatoes which was outstanding. The portion might seems small, but after drinking that bowl of soup it was just nice. The pork loin was well-flavoured and surprisingly tender. The sauce which had a unique plum flavour was so impressive that everyone were trying to use their meat to soak up as much sauce as possible. The slices of potato that were served as a side nearly stole the show as well. They were soft and were coated with a immense buttery fragrant aroma.

Now that the second course was completed, we had to wait for the third (final) course. 

Ice Cream (Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry)

We were shocked when the third meal was served. It was Ice Cream! 3 Scoops per person consisting of Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry. Why were we shocked, well because it was winter during the time of visit, below 0 degrees celsius and it was snowing the day before. My personal favourite was the chocolate ice cream as it was made of thick bitter chocolate.

Overall, I quite like the food I ate although ice cream was served during the last course. The only issue I had was the slow service.

Side track to recommend one of their local tradition product which I quite like after trying: When you are in Nancy, I would recommend that you buy the Bergamots Nancy. The Bergamots is a small citrus fruit which is inedible when it is raw. In the 1850s, a candy maker in Nancy succeeded in creating the Bergamots Nancy Candy by extracting the essence from the Bergamots and mixing it with cooked sugar to form the candy.

Bergamots Nancy (in yellow boxes on the right)

It was a pity we purchase 2 boxes of Bergamots Nancy. The candies were pale yellow in colour and transparent just like a greased marble. The candy had a unique taste; a mysterious sweet flavour. Not overly sweet, just nice.

The shop owner, an elderly man told us that the photo shows a screen grab of the candy being featured in a French Movie called 'Amelie'. Not sure how true this is. If you are in the area and interested in purchasing such a candy, you may refer to the map appended below. (I am not receiving any benefits/commission, thought that its good to share as it was real good and unique.)

Park Inn Hotel's Three Course French Meal (France, Nancy)
Park Inn Hotel, Bar, Restaurant
11 Rue Raymond Poincaré
54000 Nancy, France
Tel: +33 3 83 39 75 75
Website
Location

A: Location of Park Inn Hotel by Radisson Nancy
B: The shop which I bought the Bergamots Nancy from

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Cocotte at Wanderlust Hotel (Little India)

Cocotte a 2 year old French restaurant located at the lobby of Wanderlust Hotel, is located in between Bugis and Little India MRT stations along 2 Dickson Road. I took about 15 minutes to walk over from Bugis MRT station cutting through Rochor Centre. 

Wanderlust Hotel

The restaurant managed by Head Chef Anthony Yeoh was recently named as one of the top 500 restaurants in the 2013 edition of the Miele Guide.

Cocotte had a unique environment. An assortment of chairs with different colours and rustic timbre tables of brown and white colour. It gave a bight cheerful and country style ambience. 

Pastry Counter

Cocotte has recently opened a Pastry Counter and will be serving Brunch everyday. The Pastry Counter will be opened from Monday to Saturday from 12pm to 10pm and on Sunday from 12pm to 3pm. 

Pastry Menu

The Pastry Counter offers a wide variety of choices with its prices displayed clearly next to it.

Our table dining table, I like the brown timbre table. 

Shredded Pork Confit $15

Shredded Pork Confit $15

The Shredded Pork Confit Sandwich - Confited Free Range Australian Pork Shoulder, Wholegrain Mustard Dressing, Fresh Tarragon, Parsley & Cucumber with Toasted Country Baguette. The filling in the sandwich were delicious. However, the downside was that the toasted country baguette was too hard compared to the tender soft fillings. The shredded pork confit deserved a special mentioned. Coming from the pork shoulder, it was tasty, moist and incredibly soft and tender. In addition, the cucumber provided a nice crunch. 

French Onion "Soup" Sandwich $10

French Onion "Soup" Sandwich $10

The French inspired French Onion "Soup" Sandwich blew me away. It consisted of Caramelised Onion Confit, Melted Gruyere Cheese, Thyme Leaves and Toasted Country Baguette. Instead of a soup, you get the dry version which is probably grilled with gruyere cheese on top so that it melts. I believe that gruyere cheese was used not only because it is 'the' cheese which is traditionally used in French Onion Soup but also because of its rich, creamy, slightly smokey and nutty taste. If you are a fan of French Onion Soup, you have got to try this! 

Grilled Boneless Chicken Leg With Fresh Herb & Garlic Butter $12

Grilled Boneless Chicken Leg With Fresh Herb & Garlic Butter $12

The Grilled Boneless Chicken Leg was served with Garlic Roasted Potatoes and French Beans. As the whole the dish was well executed. The boneless chicken leg was grilled perfectly. Crisp cracking chicken skin with juicy tender meat. The partner and I also particularly like the roasted potato. At $12, it is cheaper in price than most of restaurants and I would consider this quite value for money considering the quality! 

Left to right: Chocolate Tart, Pistachio Creme Brulee, Nectarine Tart, Citron Lemon Tart

For desserts, we tried the Chocolate Tart, Pistachio Creme Brulee, Nectarine Tart and Citron Lemon Tart.

The Citron Lemon Tart was their best seller. On the first bite, it had a tangy sour taste that was too strong for my liking. The main reason was because this was made from lemon. However, I started to like it from the second bite downwards  It is a light dessert and is the type that the more you dig into it, the more you will like it. Among the four, this was our favourite. This is best accompanied by a cup of hot tea!

The Chocolate Tart was made of 72% Valrhona - dark chocolate. Chocolate fans will love as it is made of intense thick dark chocolate; not diluted. The bitterness of the chocolate is followed by a slight hint of sweetness. Best to share this!

Overall, I enjoyed the dining ambience at Cocotte. Quiet and cozy, Cocotte is a good place for a chat among friends or for a date. Foodwise, the quality of food was top notch. I am still thinking (craving) of the French Onion "Soup" Sandwich.

Thank you Grace for the invite.

Cocotte at Wanderlust Hotel (Little India)

2 Dickson Road

Singapore 209494

Tel: 6298 1188

Opening Hours: Mon to Thur 12pm - 230pm, 630pm - 1030pm

                         Fri 12pm - 230pm, 630pm - 11pm

                         Sat 1130am - 3pm, 630pm - 11pm

                         Sun 1130am - 3pm

Website

Facebook

Location

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761 Yishun Seafood - Cze Char (2nd Post)

Another visit to 761 Yishun Seafood. 761 Yishun Seafood is a Cze Char stall located in a coffeeshop at  Blk 761 at Yishun Street 72. The eatery has been operating for a very long time; 26 years!

This post covers a consolidation of the dishes I ate over 3 occasions. 

As usual I visited this Cze Char stall during dinner time on all 3 occasions. Be prepared to wait around 10 to 30 minutes during dinner time as almost half the people at this coffee shop orders from this Cze Char stall.  

Hot Plate Beancurd $8

The Hot Plate Beancurd served sizzling hot was outstanding. Generous amount of prawns and beancurds with eggs at the bottom. The sauce that was drizzled over the dish was robust and flavourful accompanied with a spicy after taste. The spiciness was just nice for us (We requested for it to be less spicy). Furthermore, the sauce complemented perfectly with plain rice. 

Bittergourd Omelette $5

The Bittergourd Omelette also did not disappoint. For just $5, I was surprised that such a big serving of omelette was given. The omelette was well fried; big, fluffy and soft with the ideal thickness (not too thin, not too thick). The slices of bittergourd in it were well sliced at the ideal thickness. It was well cooked, did not hard and had no raw taste in it.

Wish that thy could cut down the amount of oil required for this dish. Surprisingly, the Seafood Omelette that  I had at Chong Kei Hoi Sin Yeh Mei Fan Tim 忠記海鮮魚翅飯店 (Macau) is still one of those which was not oily. Ironic as I would have thought HK/China would have had used more oil in their cooking. (no offence to anyone)

Sweet and Sour Pork $8

The Sweet and Sour Pork was average. 

Ginger Onion Diced Chicken $8

Ginger Onion Diced Chicken $8

Ginger Onion Diced Chicken was average. The different flavours of the ingredients were infused into the chicken. However, it did not sees to appeal much to me.

Prawn Paste Chicken (meat) $8

Prawn Paste Chicken (meat) $8

When ordering Prawn Paste Chicken, customers can choose between the wings or meat. In this case, we chose meat. A decent dish. The prawn paste batter was not bad, just that in some parts, the batter was too thick. Another plus will be that it was not oily and inside, it was juicy and tender.

Prawn Paste Chicken (wings) $8

On another occasion, we ordered the Prawn Paste Chicken in the form of chicken wings. It was so delicious! (Likely to be more biased as its chicken wings haha..) Anyway, I prefer this compared to meat. Crispy on the outside and inside it was piping hot, tender and juicy! Shiok. 

Sambal Kang Kong $6

The Sambal Kang Kong was yummy. It was not overly spicy and the kang kong still retained a nice crunchiness. 

Oyster Sauce Spinach $6

Baby Kai Lan with Oyster Sauce $6

The Spinach and Baby Kai Lan were both executed in the same way; with oyster sauce. Both were well fried and still retained the crunchiness. A simple dish that did not disappoint, if they were to cut down the saltiness by just a bit, it would be perfect.

'Jiu Qi' Soup $4

Shared the 'Jiu Qi' Soup among 3 persons. Anyone care to enlighten me on the meaning of 'Jiu Qi'? Is it a vegetable? Anyway this soup was very tasty and not overly salty. Filled with a wide variety of different ingredients such as vegetable, carrots, button mushrooms, straw mushrooms, squid, prawns, fish slices and egg, this is so value for money. Moreover, there was still more than half the amount of soup left after scooping it in the 3 bowls.

The food here may not be mind blowing, but it was surprisingly good and affordable. Good job!

761 Yishun Seafood - Cze Char (2nd Post)

Blk 761 Yishun Street 72

Location

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Chong Kei Hoi Sin Yeh Mei Fan Tim 忠記海鮮魚翅飯店 (Macau)

After visiting the Ruins of St Paul, we headed to Rua da Felicidade to have Shark's Fin Soup. Rua da Felicidade is a street well known for it's Shark's Fin Soup which are reasonably priced.

Ruins of St Paul

However, when we got to Rua da Felicidade, we saw that the shop (only sells Shark's Fin Soup) that we wanted to eat at had a long queue. We were running short of time and wanted to eat lunch too. Hence, we went to the street (Travessa do Aterro Novo) where we came from and decided to try Chong Kei Hoi Sin Yeh Mei Fan Tim. (For its location, refer to the end of the post)

Chong Kei Hoi Sin Yeh Mei Fan Tim

The place was relatively empty except for two other tables which were occupied. Well, one reason could be because we arrived at close to 2pm. We ordered plain rice to go along with the dishes.

Shark's Fin Soup

We had to order Shark's Fin Soup since we were here. Looks very different from what we normally order in Singapore. The Shark's Fin Soup is cooked and served in a claypot.

Serving the Shark's Fin Soup

The waitress then divides the Shark's Fin Soup equally. Firstly, taking the half chicken out on a plate. Secondly, dividing the Shark's Fin equally. Lastly, dividing the soup equally.

Shark's Fin Soup

The Shark's Fin Soup is different from how it is normally cooked in Singapore. At this restaurant, it is cooked with half a chicken in it to add taste to the broth instead of crab meat. Moreover, there is no starch added nor is there any soy sauce added. The soup is watery, white in colour and tasty! Look at the Shark's Fin. Shiok.Unique bowl of Shark's Fin Soup. First time having it like this. You maybe interested to try this too (you have been warned that it is totally different from what you get in Singapore or even Bangkok's Chinatown)

Kung Pao Chicken

The Kung Pao Chicken (Gong Bao Chicken) is a classic SiChuan Cuisine. It was delicious! Fried to perfection, with chilli pepper that provided a spicy twist! I wish that there was more chicken bits given.

Sweet and Sour Pork

The Sweet and Sour Pork was delicious too. The sweetness and sourness was just nice. Moreover, the pork was very crispy and each piece was coated with the sweet and sour sauce.

Seafood Omelette

Seafood Omelette, also known as Fu Rong Egg 芙蓉蛋. Prawns, spring onions, green pepper and bean sprouts in it. Again, I must compliment this restaurant. This seafood omlette was cooked perfectly. It is not oily at all (which is rare for this dish). It is not salty. Fresh ingredients which include prawns, spring onions, green pepper and bean sprouts in it.

Vegetable with Oyster Sauce

Vegetable with Oyster Sauce (Kai Lan) also did not disappoint. I have frequently thought that vegetables need to be cooked with garlic to make it taste nicer. Well, this dish is without garlic. Yet it taste fantastic! In addition, the Kai Lan was very fresh.The leaves were well cooked, stems were crunchy. Moreover, it was not salty. The vegetables in Hong Kong and Macau taste so much nicer than Singapore's. This is an example of an ordinary dish with ordinary ingredients that taste great if you are skillful and put your heart into it.

Oranges

Complimentary oranges given by the lady boss.

I went into this restaurant without too much expectations. And at the end of this meal I was totally won over. All the dishes were delicious, skillfully cooked. Kudos to this restaurant for the excellent service. I can't even recall when is the last time I like all the dishes. There is virtually no post on this restaurant in the internet. This is a hidden gem that deserves air-time online. If you are wondering what to eat in Macau. This is it! Give this restaurant a try and also the portugese egg tart.

Chong Kei Hoi Sin Yeh Mei Fan Tim 忠記海鮮魚翅飯店 (Macau)
8 Travessa Do Aterro Novo
Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro
新馬路新填巷8號
Tel: (853) 2858 0668
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 2am
Location

A is location of Chong Kei Hoi Sin Yeh Mei Fan Tim
The 2 red lines is Rua da Felicidade (where one can get good and cheap Shark's Fin Soup

A is the location of Ruins of St Paul.
B is location of Chong Kei Hoi Sin Yeh Mei Fan Tim
Highlighted in a red box is Margaret’s Café e Nata (Portugese Egg Tarts)

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