Chinese Cuisine goes Luxe at LÈ Restaurant and Asian Tapas Bar

The Lion was curious about the new eateries at the revamped Suntec City so he decided to give his business associates a treat at LÈ Restaurant and Asian Tapas Bar, snapping a few quick shots in the process for his envious and drooling lioness.

Entrance to LÈ Restaurant & Asian Tapas Bar, brainchild of the
Paradise Group.

Ok, so Paradise Group decided to up the hip factor for this huge and swanky dim sum joint. It was so hipster-ish that the Lion and gang almost missed the entrance of LÈ Restaurant. He had a mini quibble with one of his associates when the person insisted that the chic bar lounge was not the entrance to the restaurant. Funny altercation aside, it was finally settled that the "elusive" restaurant was located at the end of a passageway dressed to the nines in low mood lighting that one could access from the plush bar.

Passageway to food paradise.

Too bad it was a business lunch. The ambience
seems perfect for date nights as well.

Passageway spills out to a seductively luxe and cavernous dining area.

If looks are everything to whet the appetite, the restaurant's sensual decor does an admirable job. Let's hope the quality of grub here matches up.

A golden tea pot, I wonder if you can get
a genie out by rubbing it.... 

The service was stellar; the staff was attentive in topping up empty tea cups and was spot-on on menu recommendations. The lions' business associates were suitably impressed. That's a great start.. ... The lion almost over-ordered for the hungry group. Thank goodness for staff who were honest and quick to avert disaster.

Dirty Duck.
This is no bebek betutu from Bali though.

The Dirty Duck is actually crispy braised duck
that is shredded and wrapped in handmade scallion crepe
with condiments. A dish for lazy folks, everything has
been prepared to be popped into the mouth. Less fun,
but decidedly more civilised.

Pork Siew Mai Skewers with Foie Gras. Pure decadence in the mouth.
The best part of this fusion dish is that the caramelised juice of the
foie gras seeps into the siew mai, enriching the flavours.

Wanton in hot chilli oil. A great opening dish as
the spiciness really whets the appetite for more.

Crispy Beancurd Skin Roll with Prawn.
Succulent prawns encased in golden batter fried to a crisp.
Need we say more?

Steamed Rice Roll with prawn filling
did not disappoint with its smooth skin made freshly
on site. The generous filing of crunchy prawns made sure
this tim sum dish was one of the first to be polished off
by the group.

Braised Wa Wa Cabbage in Supreme Broth.
Beautifully executed. Vegetables are usually bland
accompaniments to the main meat dishes at
Chinese restaurants but not this one.

Crispy Crystal Prawn with Wasabi.
Overall a good dish but nothing to shout about.

Stir-fried Angel Hair with assorted seafood in truffle oil.
The al dente pasta was fragrant with the generous scent
of truffle.  This is one must-order dish.

Custard Lava Bun with Vanilla Ice-cream.

Avocado Cream with Chocolate Ice-cream.

Mango Pudding with Vanilla Ice-cream.
Check out the visually entertaining presentation!

After relishing the savoury mains, the desserts seemed rather lacklustre. Presentation was appealing but taste wise... it just wasn't memorable. But if you need something sweet to end off your meal, they will do just fine.

What goes on behind the scenes...

LÈ Restaurant and Asian Tapas Bar is a contemporary restaurant that aims to modernise the Chinese fine dining scene here. Admittedly, there are some hits and misses and the lion felt that overall, prices were rather chi chi aka steep for the food presented. But with a winning ambience and top notch service, it has all the right ingredients for that all-important business luncheon and crucial first date. Besides, LÈ or 乐means "happiness" in Chinese, and with a name like this, the management has to live up to its reputation of ensuring that every guest leaves with a smile in place.

LÈ Restaurant and Asian Tapas Bar

Suntec City Mall

3 Temasek Boulevard

#02-314
Singapore

Retrolicious at Kombi Rocks Diner

After a fulfilling tete-a-tete session, the eight hungry coffee aficionados decided to head for dinner for more fun and sharing. On the recommendation of Mr Husky, the much-admired walking hawker guide, we made our way to the north for what he promised would be a unique but value-for-money meal. Sounds good! With our interest piqued, we finally stepped into Kombi Rocks Diner.

A retro-looking diner housed in a shophouse along Yio Chu Kang Road, Kombi Rocks is the old Koon Kee Restaurant. The establishment is indeed very proud of its heritage with menus extolling the virtues of recipes handed down 3 generations since 1971.

It was a blast to the past! The gang took some time admiring the old memorabilia, vintage collectibles, Beatles posters, bikes and vintage kombis parked at the front.

  
The diner is purportedly well-known for their signature wok-hei horfun and mee goreng on top of other Chinese and Thai fusion dishes. Mr Husky did the ordering and all of us chuckled in amusement when the first dish appeared. It seemed like something out from the first course of a wedding dinner. When the fish maw soup came out next, there was a roar of laughter.

Fish Maw Soup

Stir fried brinjal

Chicken in Red Wine

Gigantic Root Beer Float in old school jar

Overall, it was a good meal with great company. The only disappointment was the much-hyped wok-hei horfun. It wasn't the best that we had and the wok-hei flavour wasn't really pronounced or strong enough.

Couples getting hitched might want to rent one of the cute kombis and vintage beetles here. It would definitely be quite a show-stopper.

Kombi Rocks Diner

66 Yio Chu Kang Road, 

Serangoon, Singapore 545568

Tel: 62881206