Ed, the corkage at Piccolo is minimal… I can’t remember exactly how much, but that by definition means it wasn’t anything outrageous. The glasses are a tad on the plain side. Standard longish stemmed glasses with just enough curvature to entertain some restrained swirling… no Reidel in sight… but probably passable. Ha-Lu would do better to scrap the dessert entirely, and agree the sake is a nice touch, though possibly required in a Japanese restaurant. Full points for not letting post beach funkiness put you off a good breakfast :)

Great mini reviews.
Have been wondering about piccolo. As a wine tragic, I’ve got to ask – what the corkage like and what are the wine glasses like? I’ve an aversion to places with crappy goblets and thick cluncky glasses. . .

I liked Ha-Lu as well, but as you say the deserts are lacking, and also the wine list is unimaginative, though its a nice touch that they have sake.

I had a breakfast snack at Il Lido with the little one, and we left a nice trail of beach sand and drips. . .

Looking on the bright side of life, I’d say dining at Basil Leaves is like a trip to an asian food court, with the added benefits of table service, a liquor licence and an ancestor shrine.

The fact that our dishes started arriving at our table about twenty-seven seconds after we ordered made me slightly concerned, but I agree that the company made up for any deficiencies (apart from when you and Brad traded lewd gestures and sat there giggling like school boys).