Fort by Maison Ikkoku: Spice up your Chinese New Year this year with 12 Course Omakase Dining Experience & Personalized Cocktails

Fort by Maison Ikkoku...

Sick and bored of the old Chinese New Year tradition where you have to sit in a round table and eat steamboat with your family for reunion dinner? Spice up your Rooster year celebration this year with an Omakase dining experience at Fort by Maison Ikkoku, bound to bring phenomenal pleasure to both your eyes and mouth.

 Besides their carefully-curated 12 course Omakase Chinese New Year menu which is only priced at $88++ for dinner, Fort by Maison Ikkoku is also renowned for their minimalistic and personalized cocktails. The cocktails are specially customized to suit your personal preference as well as to pair it with your food to achieve maximum experience. So, just sit back and relax while resident mixologist Matteo Cadeddu whip out a drink for you in no time!

 Away from the hustle and bustle, Fort by Maison Ikkoku is also the ideal place to celebrate Chinese New Year this year if you want to avoid large crowd and spend some quiet time with your loved ones.
A pity I couldn’t fit all the 12 dishes into a collage frame but each dish has an element of surprise which makes the entire dining experience very complete. I thought the portion was also very well planned because I don’t feel too hungry or too full after the meal! It was just right!

Appetiser of the Day
Before the feast begins, they provided a small starter to clean your palette. The lotus was crunchy and flavourful. A good way to start your Omakase dining experience!  



Fatt Choi Lou Hei
What’s Chinese New Year without Lou Hei? But with so many different Lou Hei around Singapore, why the Fatt Choi Lou Hei at Fort by Maison Ikkoku. Besides being very refreshing, the team at Masion Ikkoku also added rum and raisins flavoured beans into their Lou Hei which surprisingly works. My eyes popped immediately after a bite because the flavour was occupying every single space in my mouth. If you are not a fan of alcoholic-related food, you can just remove it away or simply give it to an alcoholic person like me! Besides the rum and raisins flavoured beans, the other ingredients such as the salmon were really fresh. Overall, I thought the Lou Hei was very revitalising!

Swordfish Carpaccio in Asian Touch
I’m not an adventurous person when it comes to eating food that I’m not familiar with. When the swordfish was served to my table, I was, as usual, being sceptical and thinking of ways to avoid eating it. I was glad to try it because I fell in love with the texture of the fish instantly. Besides being smooth and tender, the swordfish turns out to be very sweet. Coupled with the chef’s superb marinating skills, the flavour (especially the sauce) was punk and addictive!

Buddha Jump Over the Wall
Serving in a nice glass cup, the Buddha Jump Over the Wall was rich and flavourful. They were also very generous in the amount of servings they give for an Omakase setting. The broth was definitely very alluring because you can really taste the herbs and spices used to prepare it. 

Smoke Goose Nigiri
Take out your phone or camera because your eyes will be in for a good treat. The server will torched the rosemary placed on top of the tender goose meat, not only to make it more visually appealing but more importantly, enhancing and combining the flavour of the rosemary with the goose meat. The combination was definitely deadly! Can I have more of this please? 



Truffle Tuna Maki Seaweed
Nobody can resist the smell and temptation of truffle, at least for me! The truffle was well incorporated into the Seaweed Tuna Maki. If you give me a full roll of it, I can finish in within a few minutes! This was so delicious!  

Lobster Udon, Kaffir
Thanks to the Lobster Udon, I think I can forget about losing my weight. The broth was legit addictive. It had this tom yum yet sweet flavour which I couldn’t stop myself from finishing very single gravy of it. It was very appetising as well. Together with the smooth udon noodles and sweet lobster meat, this was one of my favourite dish for their Chinese New Year Omakase menu!

Cheese Baked Live Irish Oyster
Hidden under the melted cheese lies a succulent piece of fat and juicy oyster that tasted especially good after the addition of the nitrogen, making it cold on the exterior and hot on the inside. The hot-cold approach definitely enhanced the flavour of the oyster and the melted cheese complements the oyster perfectly!

Otoro Nigiri
The Otoro was definitely fresh and tender. Combined with the nigiri sushi, it has a sophisticated essence, fantastic composition and exquisite marbling! Simple but yet very memorable dish!

Miso Abalone
Never have I imagined in my life that I would ever eat one big piece of abalone all by myself during Chinese New Year. Usually, the abalone at home are cut into smaller pieces and you have to fight over for it. Over here, you are entitled to one yourself. The abalone was so well-marinated that we questioned whether was it taken out from a canned food? We were wrong because it was prepared daily by the chefs! 

Unagi Don
The unagi was well-marinated and firm. Without any saying, Japanese rice are still my favourite rice. 



Homemade Matcha Creme Brulee Tart
The matcha tart is to die for! Seriously! The matcha filling has this tofu texture which literally melts in your mouth. The matcha flavour was also strong but not too overpowering. You don’t have to worry about feeling jelat after a while. The tart was well-baked and crunchy! A perfect dish to end and complete my Omakase experience at Maison Ikkoku!


Rainbow Cocktail // $26


Sake with Black Berry & Yuzu // $25
Lemon Fatal // $26


Earl Grey Martini // $25









Thank you Fort by Maison Ikkoku for inviting me and Jane for the great hospitality! Also, special thanks to Matteo and Nick for mixing the wonderful drinks for us!



Nearest Mrt Station: Dohby Ghout
Location: 5 Cox Terrace Singapore (179620)
What To Order: Chinese New Year Omakase Menu (Dinner: $88++) and 4 Course Chinese New Year Menu ($68++)
Restaurant Rating: 4/5
Food Ratings: 8.5/10

Written by: Yong Wei Kai (Follow me on Instagram @yongweikai and @sgcafehopping)

Street 50 Restaurant & Bar: A Prosperous New Year with 12 Chinese Zodiac-Inspired Buffet

STREET 50 Restaurant & Bar...

Bay Hotel’s STREET 50 Restaurant & Bar has raised the bar once again this Chinese New Year with their carefully-curated and auspicious home-style festive delicacies symbolizing not just one, but all the 12 Chinese zodiac animal signs in their buffets from 27 to 30 January 2016. 

 The extensive buffet spread at STREET 50 will not only leave you speechless, but also deeply ingrained into your memory. So what are you waiting for? Make your reservations now and pave your way to a prosperous new year with STREET 50 this year.




Lobster Yusheng with Bird Nest 

The Yusheng dish is specially created to have the ‘dragonbird’ significance so you can toss to abundance and fortune with the heavenly combination of the luxurious lobster meat and the nourishing goodness of bird nest in the Lobster Yusheng with Bird Nest (龙虾燕窝鱼生). There are 2 serving sizes: Regular $38++ (up to 4 pax) and Large $68++ (8 to 10 Pax).

After a good toss, you may crow with delight with the crowd pleasers which are comprised of the following 12 Chinese zodiac-representative dishes, amongst many others in the hearty buffet spread. Trust me, you will definitely be suffering from a serious food coma.

Zodiac: Dog

Wolfberry Drunken Herbal Chicken 杞醉鸡


The hero cleverly incorporates chicken since it is the Year of the Rooster but the dish represents the Dog as the Chinese word in wolfberry (枸杞) sounds like dog (狗) in Chinese. With Dang Gui or Chinese Angelica Root and Chinese wine, the dish is given a nutritious boost with a generous sprinkling of wolfberries and embellished with ginger and spring onion.

 Zodiac: Pig

Deep Fried Yam with Crabmeat & Pearl Mushroom


Yam and crab meat deep-fried to a golden crisp and paired with plump pearl mushroom (珍珠菇) in Cajun powder, it is both an auspicious and delicious starter.

Zodiac: Snake

Braised Dried Treasures Pot with Sea Cucumber & Snake Gourd

With snake gourd like emerald lending appeal to the dried seafood such as the auspicious fish maw, dried oysters, mushroom, sea cucumber and fa cai in a pot, it is a Chinese New Year dish not to be missed.

Zodiac: Rooster

Rock Salt Baked Chicken Thigh

With dang gui and Chinese wine, this rock sea salt-baked chicken thigh is not only rich in oriental touch but 盐 signifies 缘 or affinity of bringing people together.

Zodiac: Monkey

Monkey Mushroom with Chinese Spinach

A vegetarian dish with a trio of monkey mushroom, bailing mushroom and Chinese mushroom, atop a bed of Chinese spinach, makes it a must-have dish on the first day of lunar new year. 

Zodiac: Goat

Mongolian-Style Grilled Lamb Chop

This meaty grilled lamb chop seasoned with Chinese wine, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves and fennel seeds, will let you eat to your heart’s content.

Zodiac: Rabbit

Teochew-Style Rabbit Fish Fillet with Ham & Mushroom

This steamed rabbit fish, paired with salted vegetables, tomato slices, sour plum, young ginger and red chilli is another must-have dish during the lunar new year.

Zodiac: Tiger

Chilli Tiger Prawns

Coated with Singapore-style chilli crab paste and egg, the tiger prawns’ dish is emblematic of roaring with laughter.

Zodiac: Ox

Stir-Fried Beef with Ginger & Kai Lan

Here’s a main course to a bullish new year, this dish of baby kai lan stir-fried with young ginger slices and spring onion will be a hearty dish for beef and veggie lovers.

Zodiac: Rat

Mee Ta Mak Laksa

Part of the noodle station, this mee ta mak laksa should be the first to dash to, just like the rat which comes first ahead of the other 11 Chinese zodiac signs.

Zodiac: Dragon

Braised Longevity Noodles with Lobster Meat

Part of the noodle station, this mee ta mak laksa should be the first to dash to, just like the rat which comes first ahead of the other 11 Chinese zodiac signs.

Zodiac: Horse

Yam Paste with Water Chestnuts & Ginko Nuts

Last but not least, cap off the sumptuous buffet with this divine dessert that will let sweetness and harmony linger on the whole year round.

Thank you STREET 50 & Bay Hotel for inviting me to try on the prosperous Chinese New Year Buffet.



Nearest Mrt Station: HarbourFront
Location: 50 Telok Blangah Road
What To Order: Chinese New Year Buffet
Restaurant Rating: 3/5
Food Ratings: 7.5/10

Written by: Yong Wei Kai (Follow me on Instagram @yongweikai or @sgcafehopping)
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