The Bonding Tool

Whoever said Mondays have to be blue has to rethink again if s/he lives in Singapore and gets to go out with moi 😉

Is Monday mundane?

I was resting at home when my girlfriend Space Donut called. I was in a state of comatose by the weekend’s activities but her rambling got me aroused and I simply told her, “You woke me up so you’d better ask me out!” She said she’s game for it at 8pm and so I had a date 😀

SD (Space Donut) my Elegant Grand Astor Tea companion said she’s on a no carbo diet for now and requested for tapas instead of dinner and drinks would be a bonus. “You’re a food blogger so suggest a place!” she instructed. My meek defense was I’m not a food blogger nor critic. I’m only sharing my dining experience. I’m a returning Singaporean (I think I’m entitled to use this term for at least a year) and after 10 years, I’m as good as a tourist. “Dempsey Hill”, said she. “No, it’s too remote and it’ll be hard for us to get a cab home,” I retorted. By now, my mind was racing in search of a restaurant near both our residences that would provide good food and affordable wines.

Think think think and ding!  “Wine Connection Tapas Bar & Bistro at Robertson Walk” and so the venue was set. By 7.30pm my girlfriend informed me she’s arrived and proceeded to book a table for two. I was still at home finishing my “business” and scrambled to make up my face, got into a cab after a long wait but got there in time.

When I arrived, she had already ordered her bottle of sauvignon blanc (SB). I’m a chardonnay girl (to me, SB tasted like vegetables and a bad one smells like an athelete’s sweat) so I asked for the wine list and scrolling down the menu, I asked the waiter, “How’s the Fat Bastard?” to which he replied, “he’s behaving, ma’me”. The wine came. The server poured the token amount and invited me to test-taste the wine. I told him if the wine is not off, it would be fine. He gave me a big grin in agreement.

Wine Connection Tapas Bar & Bistro at Robertson Walk.

Wine Connection Tapas Bar & Bistro.

Table top of corks.

Space Donut’s Sauvignon Blanc from Deakin Estate – S$30

The Fat Bastard and a happy manager.

The Fat Bastard from Thierry & Guy – S$40
Sweet white. I’m intoxicated.

The Fat Bastard is my new lover!

We did not order the tapas all at one go. In fact, we ordered what we wanted as the night and our appetite grew. The wine and juicy conversation made me hungry. I needed carbs and that’s when I learnt my friend was serious on a temporary no carb diet. There goes my risotto balls 😦 SD took one look at my puppy face and gave in to me, “Okay, you can have the seafood croquettes.” 😀

Foie Gras on Skewers – S$5
Came in a set of two.

Foie Gras Skewer.
Panfried foie gras, crispy duck magret and melted apple.

Spicy Shrimp With Garlic – S$5

There was about 6-7 pieces of shrimps.

Olive Oil and Garlic marinated Shrimps tossed in pan.

Seafood Croquette – S$5

SD confided these were better than the ones she had recently. These were not dry and “hard”.

Cold Cut Platter – S$15

There were 5 types of cold meats, salad and 2 pieces of crusty bread.

The salad had sundried tomatoes, baby gherkin and black pitted olives.

That triangular looking terrine/pate was awesome with the bread.

We weren’t alcoholics, SD and I, but we do enjoy drinking and girlie talks. Our conversational topics can range from children to fashion. She was telling me she has two girlfriends who never have a bad hair day and one of them is me. “Me?” I echoed in surprised. Of course I do, like tonight. The trick to deal with a bad hair day was simply to tie or clip them up. And I would wear a wig even in Singapore’s humid weather if heaven permits.

Monday blues? No way!

Bad hair day? Clip them up.

Girls night out.

The chat made us more hungry and thirsty. By now, we were ready to place our last orders. We had another round of food and shared a bottle of Moscato.

Friendly service at Wine Connection.
We kept the staff busy – only ordering the tapas when we were ready to eat.

Our final order of BBQ Sausage and Salmon Ceviche.

BBQ Sausage – S$5
SD couldn’t wait anymore. While I was taking snapshots of the Salmon Ceviche, she looted one of the Pork Sausages.

I think she may have been starved or went on diet too long. She squawked, “OMG, this is good!”

Salmon Ceviche – S$5

Salmon Ceviche
Lemon and sesame marinated salmon dices on melba-like toast.

I let SD taste my chardonnay and she said she might consider drinking this grape variety next time.
For now, we’d compromise and went for Moscato.

Moscato d’Asti S$30
It’s light, semi-sweet and slightly sparkling (frizzante). The wine is made from Moscato grapes from the vineyards around the town of Asti, Italy.

SD will only show her face when she lost weight.
So she said.
So I mosaic her face.

The wait staff from Wine Connection did not loittered around us but they were nearby enough that any cue for service from us was promptly attended. The wine prices did not make us whine. We got what we wanted, even better than we’d expected – efficient service and great food!

Service that does not choke.

SD and I went home on high notes. You can say I’m infatuated with the Fat Bastard. And I shall come back time and again when I miss him.

Bill for 6 tapas and 3 bottles of wine – S$140 before taxes.

I’ll be back!

WINE CONNECTION – Tapas Bar & Bistro
Address: 11 Unity St, 237995
Phone:6235 5466
Operating Hours:
Monday – Thursday 11:30am–2:00am
Friday and Saturday 11:30am–3:00am

P.S. For those obsessed with ratings, I would give it 4/5 😉

Happy Mondays 🙂