Heard that a friend loved the thai food here so decided to pop by this tiny eatery in the Kovan heartlands. The chef is Thai or so we heard so had high hopes for the quality.
A few tables indoors and outdoors, all tightly packed together leaving just enough space for the staff to walk through. I reckon the max seating capacity would be about 50-60pax. For 4 hungry people, we decided to order abit more as we saw the portions wasn't really big.
Green curry prawn ($6) - I usually don't like anything coconut milk including green curry, but this is really good! Very enticing blend of fresh oconut milk and spices, and just nicely spicy for me. They could have been more generous with the prawns though. Goes really well with the rice.
Belachan Kang Kong ($5) - Not your usual sambal kang kong, was a lot less spicy but means it is also a lot less oily too :D I'd rather it this way than spicy and terribly oily.
Deep fried pork with garlic ($6) - I don't eat pork when I'm outside but made an exception for the birthday girl. Surprisingly enough, I liked it. Lean strips of pork deep fried topped with fried garlic pieces. The garlic wasn't too overwhelming, coz some places tend to over-fry theirs and ended up too bitter for my liking.
Fried chicken with cashew nuts ($6) - this is like your kong pao chicken minus the spicyness. Nice and fresh as well, and I like it that they cut the chicken into more easily eaten thinner pieces than chunks.
Thai fishcake ($5) - came with a thai garlic chilli sauce. 4 pieces in total, and very good. Just enough scent of the spices without being overwhelming.
Thai ice tea ($3) - This is the only 'dish' I was disappointed at. It basically tastes like teh-coloured chin chow (grass jelly). Not enough milk in it too. I think Tuk Tuk do theirs better.
Thai rice ($1) - Normal white rice but just needed to let you guys know that they charge $1 per for a normal portion.
No ambience to speak of, and groups of people waiting for seats started forming around 730pm or so. Service was okay but I gave higher ratings than usual because we didnt see any grouchy faces altho they were extremely busy.
Its definitely value for money for good thai food. I'll be back :D
Of all the places to eat in T3, my friends chose this. So fine, okay...wasn't feeling very fast food-ish but since I haven't tried it before either, I thought I'll give it a shot.
For $6.90, I got the chicken strips meal which was 3 pieces of chicken strips, a small pack of cajun fries, 1 of their famous biscuits, and regular size ice tea (they didnt have coke light...bah).
The chicken strips came looking very small and pale, like those cooked-but-not-really-cooked-properly kind of colour. Not too oily to their credit but taste wise was rather bland, even the batter wasn't as crunchy as expected.
The cajun fries was bad. Limp cold fries seasoned with something which made it look like cajun but definitely has no taste in it.
Their infamous biscuit...I kind of like it. Slightly crispy and saltish crust on the outside but soft on the inside, abit like the cheese bun from Provence like of texture. Some people may find it bland though. And it sticks to your teeth so be prepared.
Their main dish, the chicken, and fries which is an essetially component of fast food, failed miserably. Should have busted my calorie count on Carls Junior instead. If I have to return next time, i'd probably grab 2 biscuits 1 drink.
My 1st meal at St Regis with 8 other foodies :D A good start to the evening was realizing that they had given us a semi-private corner with a large table and cushy Cheena seats. Located on level 1U, the entrance I find is a little too hidden, so much so you'd probably not notice it unless you've been there before.
The place was surprisingly empty for a Friday evening, but then it means we have the attention of the wait staff and not too many clink-clangs of china ware distracting us from the food and conversation.
10 dishes for 9 people was a feat I've not experienced before, but well, that's probably just sufficient to satisfy 9 foodies. The dishes were served really fast, leaving us no time for a breather between taking photos and eating, so I'd try to remember what all of them tastes like. Here goes:
Peking Duck ($60) - What we call 'instant duck' as it appeared like 10 mins after we placed our order. At least they carved it in front of us. The bun that came with it tasted a little dough-y but I believed they make it in-house, which I rather have instead of those standard buns I usually see. For me personally, the sauce was too little but other than that it was quite good.
2nd Serving of the duck meat ($27) - we can have it either fried with rice, noodle, or minced served in lettuce. We chose the last option, which came nicely flavoured in crispy lettuce. Nothing to complain about.
San Bei (3 cups) Chicken ($20) - I like claypot anything, so this was a winner for me. Came with a few leaves of basil and very aromatic pieces of tender chicken :D
Shi Chuan (loosely translated as "long lost") Chicken ($28) - Sorely disappointed at how normal this tasted despite the name, which hinted of a long lost recipe which should have been spectacular, no? Just another baked chicken for me.
Dou Bei ($26) - supposedly a better breed of dou miao, but erm honestly tasted like normal dou miao.
Mango Prawns ($36) - Deep fried prawns encasing the meat and mango strips. While the dish was quite nice, I couldn't quite get used to the combination. Plus the mango was sour.
Scallops with shrimp mousse ($32) - We were all wondering what's shrimp mousse when we saw the menu. Turned out to be something like prawn paste on top of pan fried scallops. I quite liked it, but tasted like fishcake according to LIC haha~
Cereal Cod Fillet ($28) - One of the better dish. A different take on your cereal prawns. Very nicely deep fried chunks of very fresh fish coated with cereal. Hmmm~~
Garlic pork ribs ($28) - I don't usually take pork outside but this was quite good too. Simple, tender pieces of pork deep fried with fried garlic.
French Beans ($20) - A common dish but very easy to flop at it too. Luckily they did well, with crunchy beans and very savoury minced meat . Not too oily too, which is a big plus for me.
Herbal Jelly, Mango Pamelo, Almond Tea, Honey Dew Melon ($6 each) - These were what we ordered for desserts, and mine was almond tea. Too watery for my liking and the price. Avoid.
Char Siew Pastry ($3.60) - Came highly recommended and the chef had to make it especially for us because it is usually available during lunch time, haha. The pastry was very freshly-buttered, and nice lean filling. But a little too ex for me for 1 piece though.
Chinese Tea ($5 per pax) - normal Chinese Tea but I have to include this just so to inform that its priced per pax.
Service was very good, and I think it was one of the captains who served us throughout the evening. Courtesy of the 25% discount we got, it came up to $40 per person which I find very reasonable for the variety we got to try. Plus they have this cute way of displaying their individual sauces and cashew nuts for a snack.
But still am not sure if I'd return because it is quite expensive without the discount. But it was a good experience for me :D
As i'm preparing and writing this post, i'm struggling deep inside on whether i should post this or not. Reason being, this is one of my absolute favorites of all time and the fact that already too many people know of this gem of a restaurant. I'll make a statement here: "This is the best Japanese food i've had in Singapore thus far." Not that i've tried alot of the higher end restaurants but given the price and the quality, nowhere in Singapore comes close yet. You do have to get over a few things you may find weird though.
I'll start off with some things to note so that you at least know what to expect:
1: Do NOT put your finished plates on the sushi counter
2: If you order the hotpots, do NOT put your hand near the serving plate when he serves.
3: Your experience will depend solely on the food and not on the service and that the only way it can be.
4: Always order in numbers and prepare your order BEFORE coming into the restaurant.
5: A $2 charge is mandatory for each seat and comes with a drink. There's no service charge or gst.
6: There's no pork or lard here.
7: Be prepared to wait 1 hour at least if you miss the first seating. The restaurant seats only 16 people and if you miss it, you'll just have to queue outside till someone finishes their meal.
8: Do NOT offend the chef.
This is it, the place to look for. Wasabi tei is run by only 2 people, the chef and (if i'm not mistaken) his wife or assistant. She's in charge of serving drinks and taking orders while the chef takes care of everything else. Both of them have quite a temper but otherwise, i think their just nice people making a living.
Amuse Boche - Apart from the drink, your $2 per seat also comes with the appetiser. It looks less appealing then it really is. To describe its taste, its sweet, slightly salty and light. In other words, its an excellent appetiser in my opinion. Not sure if thats beancurd or meat but no matter, its still good.
Chawanmushi ($5) - A picture speaks a thousand words and this chawamushi should tell you how it tastes like quite simply. Its nothing short of superb. The generous helpings of enoki mushrooms, prawn, sharks fin and chicken meat is obvious since its filled to the brim with it. Its also made fresh when its ordered which thus give the chawanmushi its excellent melt in your mouth sensation. Unlike other renditions, this is extremely light and smooth. To date, this dish is unmatched anywhere else in Singapore.
Salmon Sashimi ($9) - I hope this picture tells you that the salmon sashimi comes in a huge portion because it definitely did. 6 thick slices of salmon thats easily 2 servings in similar restaurants for a reasonable price of $9. It also helps that the sashimi is wonderfully fresh and sweet with the natural fat of the fish giving it a nice smooth texture as well. At this price, the quality is just unbelievable. Trust me, this is worth more then all the red plates or whatever plates the sashimi comes in elsewhere.
Mixed Sashimi Rice ($20) - Another shockingly huge portion of sliced fish. My gf ordered this because she's a huge fan of sashimi and honestly, i've never felt it worth my money to eat this until now and thats saying a lot. Salmon, toro, kenpachi, tuna and fish roe rounds up the sashimi selection and each comes in thick slices and generously proportioned. Sashimi is the ultimate test of freshness offered by a japanese restaurant and over here, i would say i've found the winner. What else can i say about the freshness and generousity of the portions at the price? Its just really really good.
Cod Fish Hotpot ($15) - I found this on the menu and was geniunely surprised at this being offered at $15. After all, cod is an extremely expensive fish. However, i'm glad to report that this is also worth every cent. The fish is very smooth and tender while the hotpot is filled with assorted vegetables, mushrooms and vermicelli. It also helps that it is served with rice and a nice concoction of home made chili sauce which goes really well with the fish. In fact, i'd say it enhances the fresh taste of the fish and makes it even better. A worthwhile item as well.
On this visit, my total damage amounted to $52 and i have to say, this is more value for money then any japanese restaurant i've ever been to.
The fabled and legendary chawanmushi - On my second, third and forth visit, the chawanmushi is still something we'll order and never get sick off. There's nothing more to say about it, its just that good. If you've only eaten at say...Sakae or Sushi Tei, this version will change your opinion of chawanmushi for good.
Crab Sushi ($6) - One thing to note about the chef is that he seems to do sushi rolls last after preparing everything else. So if you're here and only ordered sushi, you're gonna need to wait for some time. The sushi we ordered had crab meat, avacado, cucumbers and fish roe and like the rest of the offerings, this was good. However, it wasn't great and the waiting time involved makes me feel that the other items are much better investments.
Sashimi Moriwase ($25) - Sashimi addiction? Yeah, i'd say that's pretty much the case here. For $25, you get generous portions and thick slices of sashimi with the same wonderful freshness and sweetness i've mentioned earlier. At this portion size and quality, i'd say this is easily $40 or more in other restaurants but over here, its a luxury i wouldn't miss to order. The added scallop this time around is excellent to say the least. Its sweetness and texture is something you need to try to understand. I ordered this on subsequent visits as well and i have to say, it never disappoints. Have this and thank me later. It also helps that the chef prepares this as one of his first items to serve so you'll get it pretty quickly.
Unagi Rice ($13) - Look at the unagi and believe it. This is only $13 and the portion he is giving is simply huge. For the same price, you'd probably get only one piece elsewhere but over here, 2 huge portions of savoury, made on-the-spot freshly grilled unagi at an unbelievably reasonable price. It helps that the unagi is also of the melt-in-your-mouth texture with an excellent and balanced sauce which is neither too sweet nor too salty. My order was a little charred at some places but even then, i found this very tasty. I'm pretty much sold for this dish and i simply love it much like everything else i've tried here.
Total bill was a little more this time at $58 for 2 but still more value for money then anything else thus far.
Minus the little gripes about the small space and the sometimes black face of the couple. This place is a treasure little found elsewhere in Singapore. The food is nothing short of excellent and the value for money it provides is second to none. Thus far in my food endevours, nothing matches this place for quality and value quite this much. The only places close to it will be Sage for the quality of its fusion food but the cost is definitely much higher. Wasabi tei is a place i would return to again and again and again and to be honest, i did return with my gf at least another 3 times with more still on the cards. Definitely a winner. Do note its not open on Sundays and public holidays though. You'll probably see me there again real soon as well. Cheers and a special Thank You! to the chef and his assistant for bringing such reasonably priced and good japanese food into Singapore.
Food here was surprisingly similar to Crystal Jade's La Mian Xiao Long Bao. Went for my brother's birthday, and we decided to try 2 kinds of la mian with several dishes with the 4 of us. The onion oil la mian didn't taste like there was any onion in it, just salty. My mum's seafood fried la mian was better (according to them).
Our salt fried french beans turned out to be deep fried instead of stir fry, which I feel they should mention in the menu! The wasabi prawns was okay, but a little expensive with 5 pieces for $18. Their supposedly stuffed chicken wing with diced abalone and glutinous rice didn't awe us either, plus we couldn't find the abalone!
Overall, I'd thought the food would be better. Ambience was nice though, with the plushy black sofa seats to sink in. If you are like me, who was dying to try it after spotting the very cool decor, you can try your luck at the other dishes I suppose. Maybe it was just my choice of dishes huh.
And if you are intending to surprise a birthday boy / girl with an after-meal cake, please make it explicit to the staff that it is supposed to be a surprise, as the over zealous supervisor demonstrated by bringing my cake out on his own and then asking the whole table if he should starting placing the candles already.
Had lunch there with my colleagues today as we needed a quiet place for lunch. The first time few weeks back we wanted to go there, but a less-than-enthusiatic wait staff curtly told us:"we don't have set lunches. If you want set lunches, you can go next door", which was Jerry's BBQ and Grill.
Today the service was much better, although they still don't have set lunches. For a place with such a reputation, I actually find it quite unforgiving for them to serve cold run-of-the-mill plain crusty bread.
The main courses we had were so-so, with the spinach pasta and baked seafood pasta in tomato sauce tasting only so-so. The vongole was better as it was cooked just al dente with fresh clams. But alas, the mushroom risotto I had was just plain bland. Perhaps they meant to showcase the taste of the mushrooms, but the mushrooms needed to be r-e-a-l-l-y outstanding for that to happen. Sadly, they were not. Bland rice bland mushrooms with parsley = bland bland lunch. My colleague kept topping hers with salt just to liven up her tastebuds abit. Didn't stay for any dessert or coffee / tea in the end.
I went away disappointed, because I thought the food would match its reputation. Or maybe I was expecting too much huh. Probably won't be going back anytime soon.
Read about Aerin's and decided to pop by to have a taste. And it was the right choice after all!
Was feeling greedy and oredered two starters, two mains, and 1 dessert for the two of us. The spinach salad was probably one of the best in town: tangy balsamic dressing over a generous heap of baby spinach with pine nuts as crunchy twist. I normally do not take bacon, but eveything tastes so good together that I actually did not mind the bits. The pumpkin soup was good stuff, especially when you are hungry: a swirl of warm gooey orangey comfort food.
For mains, my boyfriend's ribeye steak was done just right (i took a bite okay) with the sides of wedges and asparagus as its highlights while my spaghetti prawns was acutally just okay, but kudos to the fresh prawns and sun dried tomatos that added a nice contrast to the pasta.
Our dessert was the star of the dinner: the apple and rhubarb pie. It was superb! Apples, rhubarbs (don't ask me what is is...I don't know~~), and raisins cooked to perfection encrusted in a fresh-from-the-oven, soft, and buttery pastry shell. I always steer away from puff pastry as they are typically too oily and left out too long, resulting in a bad aftertaste. I prefer apple pie with short crust pastry too usually. But Aerin's is really very good!
Was stuffed, so didn't manage to try their coffee. But this is a place I'd definitely patronize again, even if its just to have dessert. With the nice natural lighting from the glass roofing above, it makes for a nice 'alfresco' feeling too :)
Decided to have my birthday dinner at Mezza9 since I've not been there for a while. I still like their ambience and service, which was still good since my last visit.
For 4 of us, we ordered the Vietnamese paper springrolls and the yakitori for starters; then crispy noodle lobster, a meat platter for 2, and grilled prawns for mains. The springrolls was good, but yakitori was disappointing, the standard has dropped tremendously since I last had it.
For the mains, the noodle was HUGE... it could have fed 3 of my mum. Presentation was good,but I have to say the taste was nothing to scream about, and possibly correct to say that it was not worth the price. For $73, think you might be better off trying their other starters. Grilled prawns was fresh but normal, which was the case with most of the meats in the platter. One thing worth mentioning though was their sausage which came with the platter..it was absolutely amazing, probably the best sausage I have had so far :)
We were too full to have their dessert platter which was quite a pity. Some may find it pricey at $16 per person (and min. of 2 pax per order, which will cost u $32 for the platter). But I believe it will be much worth it than the mains. An excellent cure for dessert fanatics.
If you let the staff know you are celebrating your birthday, they'll kindly present you with a complimentary slice, brought to your table by staff singing their very own (and rather strange) version of "Happy Birthday".
Overall, I do think that the quality of food does not really justify the price tag. Probably will be better off coming here for desserts than food.
Decided to avoid the dinner queues and poped into Breeks on Fri (14 Dec)...bad choice. Was a fan of their original restaurant at the old Marina Square (the ala carte one, not their buffet restaurant), but was severly disappointed.
My friend ordered the chicken pattie and cookies cream milkshake, while I ordered the seafood marinara. Both main courses were bad, with the chicken pattie rather petite and tasteless, and the pasta quite ghastly. Dont know how they managed to make a tomato-based pasta horrible in taste, but perhaps something to do with the less-than-fresh seafood used. The milkshake was run-of-the-mill (if they had made THIS horrible, I have nothing to say)
The best part of the meal was the criss-cut fries we ordered as a side. Not excellent as it was served warm (should have been hot) and slightly soggy (should be crunchy), it was, in comparison to the rest we ate, the 'star' of the meal.
Cafe itself is very noisy, I can't even get my words across to my friend without shouting.
Do not go there. Money will be better spent anywhere.
Went to try Mount Emily after hearing so much about the laksa pesto. It is actually quite hard to reach the place when you don't have your own transport, but take it as exercise before food if you want.
Between my friend and I, we decided to share the crabcake appetiser, the laksa pesto, and the tiramisu. The crabcake was quite good actually, warm and tasted the real crab meat in it. So was the tiramisu which is served properly chilled and with coco dusitng on top.
The disappointment was the laksa pesto.Had expected it to live up to its hype, but it didn't. Just tasted like very dry plain pasta with a tinge of laksa.
Nonethless. the ambience is quite good for couples. Small seating so call to reserve ahead.
1=SGD 0.0587
Good Thai Food~
Heard that a friend loved the thai food here so decided to pop by this tiny eatery in the Kovan heartlands. The chef is Thai or so we heard so had high hopes for the quality.
A few tables indoors and outdoors, all tightly packed together leaving just enough space for the staff to walk through. I reckon the max seating capacity would be about 50-60pax. For 4 hungry people, we decided to order abit more as we saw the portions wasn't really big.
Green curry prawn ($6) - I usually don't like anything coconut milk including green curry, but this is really good! Very enticing blend of fresh oconut milk and spices, and just nicely spicy for me. They could have been more generous with the prawns though. Goes really well with the rice.
Belachan Kang Kong ($5) - Not your usual sambal kang kong, was a lot less spicy but means it is also a lot less oily too :D I'd rather it this way than spicy and terribly oily.
Deep fried pork with garlic ($6) - I don't eat pork when I'm outside but made an exception for the birthday girl. Surprisingly enough, I liked it. Lean strips of pork deep fried topped with fried garlic pieces. The garlic wasn't too overwhelming, coz some places tend to over-fry theirs and ended up too bitter for my liking.
Fried chicken with cashew nuts ($6) - this is like your kong pao chicken minus the spicyness. Nice and fresh as well, and I like it that they cut the chicken into more easily eaten thinner pieces than chunks.
Thai fishcake ($5) - came with a thai garlic chilli sauce. 4 pieces in total, and very good. Just enough scent of the spices without being overwhelming.
Thai ice tea ($3) - This is the only 'dish' I was disappointed at. It basically tastes like teh-coloured chin chow (grass jelly). Not enough milk in it too. I think Tuk Tuk do theirs better.
Thai rice ($1) - Normal white rice but just needed to let you guys know that they charge $1 per for a normal portion.
No ambience to speak of, and groups of people waiting for seats started forming around 730pm or so. Service was okay but I gave higher ratings than usual because we didnt see any grouchy faces altho they were extremely busy.
Its definitely value for money for good thai food. I'll be back :D
Rating given:
Disappointing...
Of all the places to eat in T3, my friends chose this. So fine, okay...wasn't feeling very fast food-ish but since I haven't tried it before either, I thought I'll give it a shot.
For $6.90, I got the chicken strips meal which was 3 pieces of chicken strips, a small pack of cajun fries, 1 of their famous biscuits, and regular size ice tea (they didnt have coke light...bah).
The chicken strips came looking very small and pale, like those cooked-but-not-really-cooked-properly kind of colour. Not too oily to their credit but taste wise was rather bland, even the batter wasn't as crunchy as expected.
The cajun fries was bad. Limp cold fries seasoned with something which made it look like cajun but definitely has no taste in it.
Their infamous biscuit...I kind of like it. Slightly crispy and saltish crust on the outside but soft on the inside, abit like the cheese bun from Provence like of texture. Some people may find it bland though. And it sticks to your teeth so be prepared.
Their main dish, the chicken, and fries which is an essetially component of fast food, failed miserably. Should have busted my calorie count on Carls Junior instead. If I have to return next time, i'd probably grab 2 biscuits 1 drink.
I wonder what's the hype about it?
Rating given:
My 1st meal at St Regis with 8 other foodies :D A good start to the evening was realizing that they had given us a semi-private corner with a large table and cushy Cheena seats. Located on level 1U, the entrance I find is a little too hidden, so much so you'd probably not notice it unless you've been there before.
The place was surprisingly empty for a Friday evening, but then it means we have the attention of the wait staff and not too many clink-clangs of china ware distracting us from the food and conversation.
10 dishes for 9 people was a feat I've not experienced before, but well, that's probably just sufficient to satisfy 9 foodies. The dishes were served really fast, leaving us no time for a breather between taking photos and eating, so I'd try to remember what all of them tastes like. Here goes:
Peking Duck ($60) - What we call 'instant duck' as it appeared like 10 mins after we placed our order. At least they carved it in front of us. The bun that came with it tasted a little dough-y but I believed they make it in-house, which I rather have instead of those standard buns I usually see. For me personally, the sauce was too little but other than that it was quite good.
2nd Serving of the duck meat ($27) - we can have it either fried with rice, noodle, or minced served in lettuce. We chose the last option, which came nicely flavoured in crispy lettuce. Nothing to complain about.
San Bei (3 cups) Chicken ($20) - I like claypot anything, so this was a winner for me. Came with a few leaves of basil and very aromatic pieces of tender chicken :D
Shi Chuan (loosely translated as "long lost") Chicken ($28) - Sorely disappointed at how normal this tasted despite the name, which hinted of a long lost recipe which should have been spectacular, no? Just another baked chicken for me.
Dou Bei ($26) - supposedly a better breed of dou miao, but erm honestly tasted like normal dou miao.
Mango Prawns ($36) - Deep fried prawns encasing the meat and mango strips. While the dish was quite nice, I couldn't quite get used to the combination. Plus the mango was sour.
Scallops with shrimp mousse ($32) - We were all wondering what's shrimp mousse when we saw the menu. Turned out to be something like prawn paste on top of pan fried scallops. I quite liked it, but tasted like fishcake according to LIC haha~
Cereal Cod Fillet ($28) - One of the better dish. A different take on your cereal prawns. Very nicely deep fried chunks of very fresh fish coated with cereal. Hmmm~~
Garlic pork ribs ($28) - I don't usually take pork outside but this was quite good too. Simple, tender pieces of pork deep fried with fried garlic.
French Beans ($20) - A common dish but very easy to flop at it too. Luckily they did well, with crunchy beans and very savoury minced meat . Not too oily too, which is a big plus for me.
Herbal Jelly, Mango Pamelo, Almond Tea, Honey Dew Melon ($6 each) - These were what we ordered for desserts, and mine was almond tea. Too watery for my liking and the price. Avoid.
Char Siew Pastry ($3.60) - Came highly recommended and the chef had to make it especially for us because it is usually available during lunch time, haha. The pastry was very freshly-buttered, and nice lean filling. But a little too ex for me for 1 piece though.
Chinese Tea ($5 per pax) - normal Chinese Tea but I have to include this just so to inform that its priced per pax.
Service was very good, and I think it was one of the captains who served us throughout the evening. Courtesy of the 25% discount we got, it came up to $40 per person which I find very reasonable for the variety we got to try. Plus they have this cute way of displaying their individual sauces and cashew nuts for a snack.
But still am not sure if I'd return because it is quite expensive without the discount. But it was a good experience for me :D
Rating given:
As i'm preparing and writing this post, i'm struggling deep inside on whether i should post this or not. Reason being, this is one of my absolute favorites of all time and the fact that already too many people know of this gem of a restaurant. I'll make a statement here: "This is the best Japanese food i've had in Singapore thus far." Not that i've tried alot of the higher end restaurants but given the price and the quality, nowhere in Singapore comes close yet. You do have to get over a few things you may find weird though.
I'll start off with some things to note so that you at least know what to expect:
1: Do NOT put your finished plates on the sushi counter
2: If you order the hotpots, do NOT put your hand near the serving plate when he serves.
3: Your experience will depend solely on the food and not on the service and that the only way it can be.
4: Always order in numbers and prepare your order BEFORE coming into the restaurant.
5: A $2 charge is mandatory for each seat and comes with a drink. There's no service charge or gst.
6: There's no pork or lard here.
7: Be prepared to wait 1 hour at least if you miss the first seating. The restaurant seats only 16 people and if you miss it, you'll just have to queue outside till someone finishes their meal.
8: Do NOT offend the chef.
This is it, the place to look for. Wasabi tei is run by only 2 people, the chef and (if i'm not mistaken) his wife or assistant. She's in charge of serving drinks and taking orders while the chef takes care of everything else. Both of them have quite a temper but otherwise, i think their just nice people making a living.
Amuse Boche - Apart from the drink, your $2 per seat also comes with the appetiser. It looks less appealing then it really is. To describe its taste, its sweet, slightly salty and light. In other words, its an excellent appetiser in my opinion. Not sure if thats beancurd or meat but no matter, its still good.
Chawanmushi ($5) - A picture speaks a thousand words and this chawamushi should tell you how it tastes like quite simply. Its nothing short of superb. The generous helpings of enoki mushrooms, prawn, sharks fin and chicken meat is obvious since its filled to the brim with it. Its also made fresh when its ordered which thus give the chawanmushi its excellent melt in your mouth sensation. Unlike other renditions, this is extremely light and smooth. To date, this dish is unmatched anywhere else in Singapore.
Salmon Sashimi ($9) - I hope this picture tells you that the salmon sashimi comes in a huge portion because it definitely did. 6 thick slices of salmon thats easily 2 servings in similar restaurants for a reasonable price of $9. It also helps that the sashimi is wonderfully fresh and sweet with the natural fat of the fish giving it a nice smooth texture as well. At this price, the quality is just unbelievable. Trust me, this is worth more then all the red plates or whatever plates the sashimi comes in elsewhere.
Mixed Sashimi Rice ($20) - Another shockingly huge portion of sliced fish. My gf ordered this because she's a huge fan of sashimi and honestly, i've never felt it worth my money to eat this until now and thats saying a lot. Salmon, toro, kenpachi, tuna and fish roe rounds up the sashimi selection and each comes in thick slices and generously proportioned. Sashimi is the ultimate test of freshness offered by a japanese restaurant and over here, i would say i've found the winner. What else can i say about the freshness and generousity of the portions at the price? Its just really really good.
Cod Fish Hotpot ($15) - I found this on the menu and was geniunely surprised at this being offered at $15. After all, cod is an extremely expensive fish. However, i'm glad to report that this is also worth every cent. The fish is very smooth and tender while the hotpot is filled with assorted vegetables, mushrooms and vermicelli. It also helps that it is served with rice and a nice concoction of home made chili sauce which goes really well with the fish. In fact, i'd say it enhances the fresh taste of the fish and makes it even better. A worthwhile item as well.
On this visit, my total damage amounted to $52 and i have to say, this is more value for money then any japanese restaurant i've ever been to.
The fabled and legendary chawanmushi - On my second, third and forth visit, the chawanmushi is still something we'll order and never get sick off. There's nothing more to say about it, its just that good. If you've only eaten at say...Sakae or Sushi Tei, this version will change your opinion of chawanmushi for good.
Crab Sushi ($6) - One thing to note about the chef is that he seems to do sushi rolls last after preparing everything else. So if you're here and only ordered sushi, you're gonna need to wait for some time. The sushi we ordered had crab meat, avacado, cucumbers and fish roe and like the rest of the offerings, this was good. However, it wasn't great and the waiting time involved makes me feel that the other items are much better investments.
Sashimi Moriwase ($25) - Sashimi addiction? Yeah, i'd say that's pretty much the case here. For $25, you get generous portions and thick slices of sashimi with the same wonderful freshness and sweetness i've mentioned earlier. At this portion size and quality, i'd say this is easily $40 or more in other restaurants but over here, its a luxury i wouldn't miss to order. The added scallop this time around is excellent to say the least. Its sweetness and texture is something you need to try to understand. I ordered this on subsequent visits as well and i have to say, it never disappoints. Have this and thank me later. It also helps that the chef prepares this as one of his first items to serve so you'll get it pretty quickly.
Unagi Rice ($13) - Look at the unagi and believe it. This is only $13 and the portion he is giving is simply huge. For the same price, you'd probably get only one piece elsewhere but over here, 2 huge portions of savoury, made on-the-spot freshly grilled unagi at an unbelievably reasonable price. It helps that the unagi is also of the melt-in-your-mouth texture with an excellent and balanced sauce which is neither too sweet nor too salty. My order was a little charred at some places but even then, i found this very tasty. I'm pretty much sold for this dish and i simply love it much like everything else i've tried here.
Total bill was a little more this time at $58 for 2 but still more value for money then anything else thus far.
Minus the little gripes about the small space and the sometimes black face of the couple. This place is a treasure little found elsewhere in Singapore. The food is nothing short of excellent and the value for money it provides is second to none. Thus far in my food endevours, nothing matches this place for quality and value quite this much. The only places close to it will be Sage for the quality of its fusion food but the cost is definitely much higher. Wasabi tei is a place i would return to again and again and again and to be honest, i did return with my gf at least another 3 times with more still on the cards. Definitely a winner. Do note its not open on Sundays and public holidays though. You'll probably see me there again real soon as well. Cheers and a special Thank You! to the chef and his assistant for bringing such reasonably priced and good japanese food into Singapore.
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Bosses = Hei She Hui!
Food here was surprisingly similar to Crystal Jade's La Mian Xiao Long Bao. Went for my brother's birthday, and we decided to try 2 kinds of la mian with several dishes with the 4 of us. The onion oil la mian didn't taste like there was any onion in it, just salty. My mum's seafood fried la mian was better (according to them).
Our salt fried french beans turned out to be deep fried instead of stir fry, which I feel they should mention in the menu! The wasabi prawns was okay, but a little expensive with 5 pieces for $18. Their supposedly stuffed chicken wing with diced abalone and glutinous rice didn't awe us either, plus we couldn't find the abalone!
Overall, I'd thought the food would be better. Ambience was nice though, with the plushy black sofa seats to sink in. If you are like me, who was dying to try it after spotting the very cool decor, you can try your luck at the other dishes I suppose. Maybe it was just my choice of dishes huh.
And if you are intending to surprise a birthday boy / girl with an after-meal cake, please make it explicit to the staff that it is supposed to be a surprise, as the over zealous supervisor demonstrated by bringing my cake out on his own and then asking the whole table if he should starting placing the candles already.
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Quiet lunch place..but food so-so
Had lunch there with my colleagues today as we needed a quiet place for lunch. The first time few weeks back we wanted to go there, but a less-than-enthusiatic wait staff curtly told us:"we don't have set lunches. If you want set lunches, you can go next door", which was Jerry's BBQ and Grill.
Today the service was much better, although they still don't have set lunches. For a place with such a reputation, I actually find it quite unforgiving for them to serve cold run-of-the-mill plain crusty bread.
The main courses we had were so-so, with the spinach pasta and baked seafood pasta in tomato sauce tasting only so-so. The vongole was better as it was cooked just al dente with fresh clams. But alas, the mushroom risotto I had was just plain bland. Perhaps they meant to showcase the taste of the mushrooms, but the mushrooms needed to be r-e-a-l-l-y outstanding for that to happen. Sadly, they were not. Bland rice bland mushrooms with parsley = bland bland lunch. My colleague kept topping hers with salt just to liven up her tastebuds abit. Didn't stay for any dessert or coffee / tea in the end.
I went away disappointed, because I thought the food would match its reputation. Or maybe I was expecting too much huh. Probably won't be going back anytime soon.
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Attention Apple Pie Lovers!!
Read about Aerin's and decided to pop by to have a taste. And it was the right choice after all!
Was feeling greedy and oredered two starters, two mains, and 1 dessert for the two of us. The spinach salad was probably one of the best in town: tangy balsamic dressing over a generous heap of baby spinach with pine nuts as crunchy twist. I normally do not take bacon, but eveything tastes so good together that I actually did not mind the bits. The pumpkin soup was good stuff, especially when you are hungry: a swirl of warm gooey orangey comfort food.
For mains, my boyfriend's ribeye steak was done just right (i took a bite okay) with the sides of wedges and asparagus as its highlights while my spaghetti prawns was acutally just okay, but kudos to the fresh prawns and sun dried tomatos that added a nice contrast to the pasta.
Our dessert was the star of the dinner: the apple and rhubarb pie. It was superb! Apples, rhubarbs (don't ask me what is is...I don't know~~), and raisins cooked to perfection encrusted in a fresh-from-the-oven, soft, and buttery pastry shell. I always steer away from puff pastry as they are typically too oily and left out too long, resulting in a bad aftertaste. I prefer apple pie with short crust pastry too usually. But Aerin's is really very good!
Was stuffed, so didn't manage to try their coffee. But this is a place I'd definitely patronize again, even if its just to have dessert. With the nice natural lighting from the glass roofing above, it makes for a nice 'alfresco' feeling too :)
Go try!
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Dinner @ Mezza9
Decided to have my birthday dinner at Mezza9 since I've not been there for a while. I still like their ambience and service, which was still good since my last visit.
For 4 of us, we ordered the Vietnamese paper springrolls and the yakitori for starters; then crispy noodle lobster, a meat platter for 2, and grilled prawns for mains. The springrolls was good, but yakitori was disappointing, the standard has dropped tremendously since I last had it.
For the mains, the noodle was HUGE... it could have fed 3 of my mum. Presentation was good,but I have to say the taste was nothing to scream about, and possibly correct to say that it was not worth the price. For $73, think you might be better off trying their other starters. Grilled prawns was fresh but normal, which was the case with most of the meats in the platter. One thing worth mentioning though was their sausage which came with the platter..it was absolutely amazing, probably the best sausage I have had so far :)
We were too full to have their dessert platter which was quite a pity. Some may find it pricey at $16 per person (and min. of 2 pax per order, which will cost u $32 for the platter). But I believe it will be much worth it than the mains. An excellent cure for dessert fanatics.
If you let the staff know you are celebrating your birthday, they'll kindly present you with a complimentary slice, brought to your table by staff singing their very own (and rather strange) version of "Happy Birthday".
Overall, I do think that the quality of food does not really justify the price tag. Probably will be better off coming here for desserts than food.
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Bad food :(
Decided to avoid the dinner queues and poped into Breeks on Fri (14 Dec)...bad choice. Was a fan of their original restaurant at the old Marina Square (the ala carte one, not their buffet restaurant), but was severly disappointed.
My friend ordered the chicken pattie and cookies cream milkshake, while I ordered the seafood marinara. Both main courses were bad, with the chicken pattie rather petite and tasteless, and the pasta quite ghastly. Dont know how they managed to make a tomato-based pasta horrible in taste, but perhaps something to do with the less-than-fresh seafood used. The milkshake was run-of-the-mill (if they had made THIS horrible, I have nothing to say)
The best part of the meal was the criss-cut fries we ordered as a side. Not excellent as it was served warm (should have been hot) and slightly soggy (should be crunchy), it was, in comparison to the rest we ate, the 'star' of the meal.
Cafe itself is very noisy, I can't even get my words across to my friend without shouting.
Do not go there. Money will be better spent anywhere.
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Nice place for a date
Went to try Mount Emily after hearing so much about the laksa pesto. It is actually quite hard to reach the place when you don't have your own transport, but take it as exercise before food if you want.
Between my friend and I, we decided to share the crabcake appetiser, the laksa pesto, and the tiramisu. The crabcake was quite good actually, warm and tasted the real crab meat in it. So was the tiramisu which is served properly chilled and with coco dusitng on top.
The disappointment was the laksa pesto.Had expected it to live up to its hype, but it didn't. Just tasted like very dry plain pasta with a tinge of laksa.
Nonethless. the ambience is quite good for couples. Small seating so call to reserve ahead.
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