Blue Urban Oasis @ Century Square

06 JAN 2009 - [INVITED SESSION]

Blue Urban Oasis is located at the east side of Singapore, in Tampines (within walking distant from Tampines MRTstation). To me, this place is an oasis of sorts for ‘easterners’ to relax nearer to home without having the need to mingle in the city/central area after a long day work.

We were lucky enough to be invited for a food tasting session organised by HGW and were hosted by the very cool, calm and collected Sydney-educated boss: Eugene. He promised us that he will stuff us silly and that he did. In total, we dine through a total of 8 mains, a snack, 2 desserts and various cocktails.

Going through their extensive beer & drink list – cocktails, mocktails, shooters, alcoholic coffees & drinks will take some time… As I was in need of a caffeine fix, I started the night with one of their alcoholic coffee - a sweet creamy Kahlua Frappe and it was excellent! Basically, strong enough to give me a jump-start without being over-powering. Wifey started off with a mango puree fruit punch thingy and it was quite nice too. Apparently, the signature drinks here are the 4 seasons… I got the chance to try Spring…

A touch of Spring...

The creation is nicely presented and I believe the concoction is a rich & creamy Baileys-based mixture dusted with both white and milk chocolate shavings.  Unique, strong, sweet, and nice… but maybe because I like Baileys… Wifey didn’t like it as much. She got a sip of Winter (a cool refreshing cocktail in blue, with a hint of lychee and grapeful) which she said was as refreshing as it looked.

The mains were gradually served.

Spaghetti with Spicy Tomato & Chicken Sauce

The first dish to kick off the night of feasting was a Spaghetti with Spicy Tomato & Chicken Sauce. To be frank, I didn’t quite like it for two reasons: The Spaghetti felt a little over-done, and the spicy tomato sauce was a tad off to my likings.

Beer Battered Fish & Chips

Next up, good O’ classic Beer-Battered Fish and Chips. Perfectly fried to a nice golden brown, the batter was light and not overly greasy. The fish within was delicious and fresh with no hint of ‘fishiness’. I thought this Fish and Chips was really nice and I won’t mind travelling all the way from the West for another round! 

Crispy Duck Leg Confit

Crispy Duck Leg Confit was served next… It did not leave a great impression for me, but Wifey thought it was a pretty well-done dish. The thigh meat was tender, and went well with the dark stock sauce. I have to say tho, their mashed potato, soaked with the dark confit sauce was really nice!!

Spicy Buffalo Wings (L5)

As the night progress, the conversation within the group touched on a great many things including some super spicy Buffalo Wings served elsewhere… This lead to Eugene sending out the spiciest Blue Urban Oasis Buffalo Wings (L5) for us to try and “POW-ed” went my tongue!! It was indeed spicy, but still bearable by my standards, though my tongue went into a ½ buzz ½ numb mode. Wifey thought it was a little too salty… I really wonder how she caught the saltiness over the spiciness? hehehe…

Pan-seared Dory with Citrus Yuzu Sauce

After the searing buffalo wings came the Pan-seared Dory with Citrus Yuzu Sauce… Initially, I really can’t taste the Dory or the citrus sauce (obviously the buffalo wings’ fault). The mashed potato helped greatly to somewhat revive my taste buds, and I manage to taste the Dory after some time… Now, I am not exactly what you would call a ‘fishy’ type of guy, but I enjoyed this pan-seared fish dish very much. The subtle sauce added depth to the Dory natural taste and left a nice, unique, after-taste. Did I mention the mashed potato was really nice too?!

The next four mains came in quick succession…

Mexican Chicken Schnitzel

Wow! This joint served one mean Mexican… Chicken Schnitzel that is! Presentation wise, it was totally appealing and was an instant favorite. With the cheese melting over the hot Schnitzel, the moist and tender chicken within took up the absolute heavenly Mexican sauce that was mixed into the gooey cheesy melt. Simply wonderful!

Pan-Seared Teriyaki Chicken

The second Spaghetti of the night was their Pan-Seared Teriyaki Chicken. Now this was a much better pasta for various reasons… The spaghetti was al dente and I simply loved the sprinkle of garlic pesto thingy. The teriyaki chicken was nice and juicy as well… A little too much Teriyaki sauce perhaps, but I was fine with it. However, both wifey and I thought that presenting this dish with the Teriyaki Chicken pan-seared sliced or cubed instead as a whole thigh portion may result is even tastier meat? Just a thought…

Seafood Tom Yum Cream Pasta

The third pasta was a Seafood Pasta with Tom Yum Cream… Presentation wise, it was the best amongst the three pasta dishes. Yet, I cannot really comment much on this Pasta for I am not a Tom Yum person and wifey cannot handle fusion food. Others thought it was pretty decent.

Mary Had a Little Lamb

By the time Mary served that little lamb, I was at the brink of passing out from the feast. But who am I to give up such pretty looking rack of lamb!! The feast must go on!! First bite, the fatty bits… Ooooheavenly!! Then the meaty part… Hmm… ok… perhaps a little too tough… Generally, the taste of the lamb rack was good, just that the meat was a tad tough. Served with their excellent mashed potato (ok ok I know you probably had enough of me saying their mashed potato was good), the mash tasted even better taken together with Mary’s little lamb gravy!

And finally, the two desserts:

Bailey's Chocolate Mousse

The guys were probably KO’ed by this stage in time… well… at least I was, and I didn’t really give the dessert a fair go. Presentation wise, the Bailey’s Chocolate Mousse was the winner, but wifey didn’t quite liked it.

Chocolate Brownie

However, the Chocolate Brownie was the outright dessert winner by wifey’s book! It was warm, fresh and soft with just enough nutty bits and everything went down well with the chocolate fudge.

The night of feasting concluded on that chocolate brownie. I really wanted another non-creamy drink to wash everything down, but I don’t think I had any space left!! It was a great night with great company. Thanks again to HGW for inviting us to this food tasting session and Eugene for the well-thought out menu.

 

My Final Rating: 7/10

Address:
2 Tampines Central 5, #01-16/17/18 Century Square, Singapore