Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Media invite: East 8 New York Fusion Tapas + Bar

East 8, represents the 8th street of east village in New York, builds a bridge from New York to Singapore with their very own Asian Fusion cuisines. Such as introducing western concepts into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese dishes to create a whole new dimension to one's dining experience. 




I have the pleasure to be invited to East 8, which sits on a cosy little corner of Coleman and Hill Street, right across the Armenian Church in City Hall, for a cocktail and food tasting session.


It was a pleasant surprise to see how thoughtful the people were at East 8. In fact almost all the tables were placed with this customised reserved bottle. So I suggest you make an advance reservation to prevent any disappointment. :) 


Since East 8 is specialised in Asian fusion cuisines, much of their house special cocktails focus on the use of sake to create an unique experience to your palates. Our night started with Sake Sangria (apple juice, fresh lime, lemonade, sake, cointreau) and some chips as we waited for our first appetizer. Judging from the combination of sake sangria you would expect it to be refreshing and indeed it was. Yes, it is definitely a perfect quencher for the hot Singapore weather. 


Fresh Hamachi with sesame, soy dressing & black caviar. Basically slices of raw fish or sashimi 
dressed with a rather chinese soy dressing and topped with black caviar. Every bites of it was so savoury! Hamachi was indeed fresh and the boyfriend was full of praises for it. :) 


Next up we had The Big Apple (apple juice, mint leaves, cucumber, vodka). It was pleasantly simple and refreshing. A cocktail which I would recommend to anyone who is not a risk-taker of anything too special. Hokkaido Scallops Yuzu Miso Dressing & Shiso. On one taste we couldn't tell that we were having scallops as they were sliced so thinly that they resembled fresh raw fish. Nonetheless, it was yet another delicious appetizer which won our hearts. 


Nolita Lychee Saketini (lychee juice, lychee liqour, sake). 


This was one of my favourite cocktails of the night. Love the marriage of the sweetness of lychee with a slight hint of bitterness coming from the alcohol. 


Yellow Cab (pineapple juice, mint leaves, whiskey, gin). This, is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Yes whiskey and gin together. I'll probably dropped dead on the ground if the boyfriend wasn't there to share the load. Haha. 


Central Park (mango juice, yogurt, fresh lemon, soju). Another one of my favourite cocktails, or rather our favourites. It tasted so much lighter as compared to yellow cab. I guess it was a good break from the previous cocktails which may be a little too strong after a while. So thoughtful of the crews ya? ^^ 


Yellowfin Tuna chunks topped with lemon avocado. If I really have to choose, this will be my favourite appetizer. Love the freshness of the tuna (basically everything we had were so fresh) and the lemon avocado sauce totally spikes up the tastebud. 


Can you see from this photo that I was already quite red? Haha. 


Moving on to the mains. First up was this Baked fresh figs wrapped in Parma ham, mascarpone cream dip. 



We were told to eat this by slicing the fig into half and dip it into the mascarpone cream, which we did. But obviously failed with the slicing (the boyfriend sliced it not me. :P). Nonetheless, it was still a yummy one. The pairing of the baked figs and mascarpone cream was so heavenly! 


Soy yuzu beef infused torched sliced argentine tenderloin. Undeniably this has to be one of the signatures of East 8 when almost all the reviews online recommended this. The Argentine beef rib eye was so thinly sliced and wonderfully paired with the sweet and sour soy yuzu. Absolutely delicious that the boyfriend had almost the entire plate to himself. 


K-Town (watermelon soju) was recommended to us to pair with the main. Judging from it's name, you would expect the drink to be especially refreshing and the taste of alcohol wasn't empowering either. 


Marinated Chilan seabass in miso and wine, buttered shimeji mushroom. While the boyfriend's heart goes to the soy yuzu beef infused torched sliced argentine tenderloin, mine belongs to this. 


The meat was so soft and creamy that it literally melted in my mouth! Too good. 


'Spiked' Brooklyn Ice Tea (black tea, passionfruit, hazelnut and vodka). This was pleasantly refreshing with slight hint of alcohol as well. Definitely good for easy drinking.  


Peanut putter jelly (blackcurrant, peanut, frangelico, baileys). The 7th cocktail also the last of the night was unarguably our favourite drink of the night. Using baileys as its base and with the fusion of blackcurrant concentrate and hazelnut liqueur, frangelico, it creates a creamy and milky texture. We felt like it was a dessert drink to us! I'm not even a peanut butter person, but I was able to accept this chocolate and peanut butter combination. So awesome! 


Rich chocolate pot with macerated mixed berries. 


There's always room for dessert and so the crew pampered our stomachs further with this super rich chocolate treat. 



Couldn't thank East 8 enough for the great night and awesome experience! We truly enjoyed every cocktails and food that were served. Most importantly, the people at East 8 were so cheerful and friendly! Special thanks to Tricia for her warm hospitality. :) Would definitely recommend East 8 to anyone who is looking for a quiet and cozy place to chill out. 

10 Coleman St #01-21/22, Grand Park Hotel City Hall, Singapore 179809
T: 6338 8289
M-Th: 12-3pm, 5-11pm
F: 12-3pm, 5pm-12am
Sat: 6pm-12am
closed on Sun

Love, 
Lirong. 

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