Food Picks: New dishes at Lolla, lobster and crab buffet at Carousel, 102 Sichuan dishes at Si Chuan Dou Hua, shrimp broth for Beauty In The Pot at Star Vista

Lolla has debuted some new dishes and the best way to sample them at one sitting is to opt for the tasting menu.

Five courses will set you back $95 a person and seven courses $125. The two extra courses include a starter of sea urchin pudding which, while not new, is a signature of the restaurant. Comprising two pieces of sea urchin on a small piece of pudding made with squid ink, egg and cream, it is delicious and definitely worth stumping out for.

What is new is a crab tortellini served in a creamy sauce with cubes of nashi pear and sprigs of chervil. The flavour combination is a bit unexpected but the bits of fruit do pair well with the sweet crabmeat packed firmly in pasta parcels.

Other dishes I like include a courgette flower stuffed with mackerel and prawn in a tomato broth. The seafood paste is somewhat like yong tow foo stuffing.

And I love the dessert of apple tartin, which comes well caramelised and accompanied by a scoop of amazing wood-smoked ice cream.

WHERE: Lolla, 22 Ann Siang Hill

MRT: Telok Ayer/Chinatown

OPEN: Noon to 2.30pm, 6 to 11pm daily. Sunday brunch from 10.30am to 3pm

TEL: 6423-1228

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CAROUSEL

If you are a fan of shellfish, do check out the Lobsters & Crabs dinner buffet on Monday nights at Carousel.

Practically two-thirds of the spread feature some kind of shellfish. The chilled seafood section is the most impressive, with boiled Maine lobsters, baby lobsters, slipper lobsters, Alaskan king crab legs, spanner crabs, brown crabs, mud crabs and blue swimming crabs, as well as clams and mussels. There is a good selection of freshly shucked oysters too.

From the hot food section, you find dishes such as braised lobster Hokkien mee, salted egg stir-fried slipper lobster with curry leaves and seafood paella.

There is chilli crab too, of course, but the standout dish for me is the deep-fried soft-shell crab with sour pomelo dip. The crabs are so crispy that the legs snap like crackers, a nicecontrast to the meaty and sweet bodies.

WHERE: Carousel, Royal Plaza on Scotts Singapore, 25 Scotts Road

MRT: Orchard

WHEN: Till Aug 19, Mondays only from 6.30 to 9.30pm

PRICE: $80 for adults and $46 for children

TEL: 6219-3780

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SI CHUAN DOU HUA

The annual 100 Sichuan Delights a la carte buffet promotion is back at Si Chuan Dou Hua, except this year there are 102 dishes to choose from - a slight drop from the 105 dishes last year. Of these, some 20 dishes are new.

Those who assume that Sichuan cooking is all about spicy and numbing flavours will be surprised to find that only six dishes are classified under "ma la".

The rest fall under 25 other flavour profiles such as "garlic and chilli sauce" and "sweet and salty", which range from mildly spicy to sweet.

Examples are sliced fish maw in sesame sauce, braised fish in spicy bean paste, stir-fried chicken in ginger sauce, braised pork knuckle in honey sauce and stir-fried sea cucumber with pork liver.

You can order as much of any dish as you want, but it's quite impossible to try all 102. When I went for the promotion last year with three friends, we managed only about 40 dishes. That was partly because we had multiple orders of favourite dishes such as diced chicken with dried chilli and boiled sliced beef in Sichuan pepper sauce.

WHERE: Si Chuan Dou Hua, Parkroyal on Beach Road, 7500 Beach Road

MRT: Bugis/Nicoll Highway

WHEN: Till Sept 30, 11.30am to 2.30pm, 6.30 to 10.30pm daily

PRICE: $60 for adults, $30 for children (minimum of four diners)

TEL: 6505-5722

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BEAUTY IN THE POT

For the opening of Beauty In The Pot's new outlet at The Star Vista, the hotpot restaurant is collaborating with Le Shrimp Ramen next door by offering a shrimp broth option just for this month. Both eateries are operated by the Paradise Group.

The shrimp broth is based on the recipe for the ramen, but made lighter and sweeter with the addition of fresh clams. It goes very well with seafood items such as fish and prawn paste as well as pork and fried beancurd skin, but less well with beef.

You can also get a twin pot, by pairing the shrimp broth with other options such as the restaurant's signature beauty collagen broth or spicy nourishing soup. That way, you can enjoy some beef too.

WHERE: Beauty In The Pot, The Star Vista 02-24, 1 Vista Exchange Green

MRT: Buona Vista

WHEN: Shrimp broth available only till July 31, 11,30am to 3pm, 6pm to 3am daily

PRICE: Shrimp broth costs $28 for a single pot, $15 for twin pot. Add $8 for a twin pot for the other broths. Ingredients are priced separately.

TEL: 6262-1692