Went there for lunch on Saturday, not a bad place~~
It was my friend who suggested the place, and I had to agree that its is indeed a nice spot for a leisure lunch or even Sunday brunch. Dotted with tais tais and leisure ladies, and occasional families, with attentive and well informed service staff who makes you feel at ease.
My friend ordered the lamb shank. Not being a red meat lover I chose their pasta of the day: pasta with smoked salmon and crayfish. The lamb supposedly is good. The pasta taste wise was not bad, although I wished the smoked salmon was strips instead of chopped up and tossed in. The crayfish...er...came in mini-size. The many mini crayfishes covered the pasta, looked really nice, but had really puny pieces of flesh...not enough taste-wise for me.
Had a bottle of wine too. I think it was their 2004 housepour, not too bad actually. Kudos on the ambience though. Tables were really close to each other but you don't feel closed in. Nice~~
Must have spent about $100 for lunch, including the wine. An indulgence for a weekend, but will be back to try their other stuff.
I was very much enticed by the 50% discount that Bistro Senso was offering on its ala carte menu during the Singapore Flyer downtime so made a purposeful trip down just to give it a shot. It definitely helped that I had a great experience at Senso Ristorante at club street quite a few years back.
The interior is comfortably cafe-ish and decked out in predominantly red and black shades with towering floor to ceilings windows that allow a view of the Marina Barrage, among other things. There is also a al fresco option but being a hot afternoon, the air conditioned indoors definitely seemed a lot more appealing.
Caprese Di Mozzarella Di Bufala - For starters, we had the mozzarella salad, which was decent but nothing to shout about. The cheese was a little too bland but thankfully, still relatively smooth. If it wasn't the salt from the salad which "spiced" things up a little, I honestly don't think we could have finished this dish.
Calamari - The calamari batter was a tad too thick for my liking but the squid had a nice springy texture and didn't come across as overly salty. It didn't seem very oily as well which is a plus point I guess.
Calzone - The calzone aka "folded pizza" surprised me with its humongous serving size. It was easily double the size of any calzone that I've ever tried (not that I've tried a lot though). (Un)fortunately, most of it was just hot air (literally!). When I made a hole in the pizza, the dough sort of deflated and the whole thing was hollow, save for a bed of cheese coupled with a few slices of ham. On the upside, the pastry was nice and chewy, almost like eating roti prata. But the whole pizza could really do with more ingredients.
Lobster and Crab Meat Ravioli - I was rather surprised to see this on the menu as lobster and crab meat are usually quite expensive and this ravioli was only going for $18 (before discount). The ravioli had crab shreds for filling and I couldn't quite make out any lobster at all. However, thrown into the pot were servings of relatively fresh squid, mussel and prawns, all held together by a lightly sourish and tomato base sauce. Not exactly what I was expecting, but for the price, I really can't complain.
Tiramisu - The desserts proved to be anything but good. For an Italian eatery, the tiramisu was sadly pathetic. The sponge was a tad dry even at the base and the mascarpone cheese wasn't dense or moist enough. And where was the alcohol taste?
Creme Brulee - Only for those with a very sweet tooth best describes the creme brulee. It was mind blowingly sweet even for me and definitely not made from vanilla beans. The texture was uncomfortably smooth, soft and almost creamy, very much like paste. The caramel also looked like it hadn't been torched long enough.
A very filling meal for 2 cost us to the tune of $90 ($45 after 50% discount). Though we did manage to get 2 full courses (appetiser, main, dessert) for the price, I doubt I will be back in the absense of the discount simply because the quality of food doesn't quite live up to its pricing. Service was good but how hard is it to serve just 1 table?
Ate there for dinner as I was hankering after italian food in the vicinity recently, and have always wanted to try Zambuca anyway.
The restaurant itself was extremely quiet, with ourselves being the 2nd occupied table when we arrived at 7pm on a Friday. We ordered 2 safe dishes, the vongole and carbonara, and they were unexpectedly good! It may be one of the best vongole I've tried so far, and portions were BIG, I barely managed to finish it.
Bread came warm and fluffy but nothing extraordinary. Service was attentive but we almost felt like we were being 'watched' due to the rather empty atmosphere. More guests starting turning only around 8pm or so.
Didnt manage to try their tiramisu, but I will, next time. Price wise, I don't think it is considered expensive with main courses hovering around $20 so I'd definitely come back again.
Needed a nice place to catch up with a girlfriend and decided to go for its 101 Tea selection.
2 seatings: 12pm - 2:30pm and 3:30-6pm, so pick your time and make reservation, coz the place fills up with tittering tais tais quite fast.
Kudos to excellent tea selection, and it actually balances the buffet spread quite well. I had 3 whole pots by myself :) Food wise, nothing really outstanding, although they do try to fit in a bit of everything. Sushi, sashimi, mee rebus, scones, pumpkin soup, salmon pastry, popiah, salads, bread, curry, dim sum, naans, potato skins, slamom cakes, and a reasonable spread of desserts & fruits. Nice tiramisu though.
Service was quite faultless: polite, warm, and efficient. But then again, its Shang, so it is expected. Very good for catching up with girlfriends as the lazy ambience and nicely spaced out couches ensure privacy for your gossip!
Looks like we have consensus (almost) about this place.
Picked this place for early dinner after strolling around in Vivo, and the menu looked interesting enough. Bad choice.
We ordered the belgium mussels in wine, which is supposed to be their speciality, but its anything but. I expected fresh plump mussels soaked simmered in flavourful stock but nope, I got smallish shellfish which tasted like it was plonked into the pot last minute as they were just ultra bland. No hint of white wine. At all.
And yup, the seaweed was there!! Ugh.
We also had the carbonara and onion rings, which were really medicore at most. Don't really rememeber the service because of the food.
Better off at foodcourt really. DONT come here. I was extremly dissatisfied and had to adjourn elsewhere for 2nd round.
Had dinner at TCC and decided to adjourn to Prive Bakery for desserts and coffee, since we're already there.
Nothing special on the dessert counter, so ordered their chocolate geautx (or something like that). For $5 a pop, it was normal at most, nothing fantastic.
The other reason I wanted to go there was because they serve Illy coffee, and I noticed that they do not have Americano on the menu, so I asked the service staff and they said they can do one. When my coffee came, it tasted more like a Long Black so I asked to reconfirm and they said yes, its Americano. I had to ask them to re-do it and it was good the 2nd time round. With Illy coffee, the quality shouldn't be compromised, and $3.80 a cup is a rather good price I feel.
Ambience wise, its actually quite nice. Maybe it was rather cooling when I went, but I enjoyed the view and the occasional breeze at my alfresco table. Nice place to for a relaxing chat with friends~
Service seems to be the common issue with this place, and I think they need to really iron out the way they run because my friend's fruit punch took 45mins to arrive, and that is after 2 reminders. Then, food and drinks other people ordered kept being served to us by slightly confused staff.
My friend highly recommended this place for Dinner, and with such an interesting name, I expected a lot more.
Hidden along Middle Road, it was a little tricky for me to find. Menu wise, it was terriby boring. Really run-0f-the-mill stuff like calamari and bruschetta etc for appetizers, pastas, salmon or tenderloin etc for mains, and mainly a cake counter for desserts.
We ordered the calamari, a pasta, and the roasted chicken, and tiramisu for desserts. Everything was just okay; nothing much to shout about. Service was nothing to complain about though.
Ambience feels a little towards fine dining, although the tables are set very close to each other. But quality of food was more cafe than restaurant.
Not worth the trip and money overall. Maybe it was too hyped up thus the disappointment :(
Went there with a girlfriend for dinner coz we decided we want to try a new place.
We were not really hungry so opted for 2 starters and a udon to share: the cubed tuna with miso dressing, crabstick and chicken salad, and their "Special" udon. The cubed tuna was good, although I took a while to get used to the strong miso taste. Salad was really just so-so. The udon was quite tasty in a light broth and some simple vegs; their udon is more flat (a little like La Mian), unlike the thick fat ones we are more used to.
Portions can be bigger for the prices. The bill came up to $60 even after we had a $10 discount.
Many people were seated at the teppanyaki counter though, including many Japanese itself, so I assume the food is quite good. Was also surprised that it was almost half filled despite it being a Tues evening. Service was efficient and friendly, although they did break a tea cup while serving us.
Probably will not be going there again anytime soon, but its a choice to consider for a special occassion.
Had a lunch meeting there last week. A group of us 6 ladies ordered: 1. Cesar Salad 2. Warm Spinach Salad 3. Esmirada's Famous Garlic Bread 4. Suckling Pig 5. Tiramisu 6. Melting Moments
The 2 salads were really just standard fare, nothing memorable. And I think their garlic bread is famous for their presentation: it's a whole baguette in this tall bread stand, spread with garlic and too much butter if you ask me; could be better. Modesto's across the road might be a better choice for garlic bread.
The suckling pig is an item not on their menu, you have to pre-order it at least 2 days in advance. My boss said she had it once and it was so good she had to have it again, so I went expecting a wow. But sadly, it fell short. Unlike the Chinese way, they roast the pig(let) whole without any marinate and served it already chopped up into pieces. We asked for sauces and was told it doesn't come with any. I got tired of eating it after 2 pieces because it was too dry and bland for my liking.
Desserts fared better. Their tiramisu was once named the best tiramisu in Singapore, and I think they kept to the standard pretty much. Good considering the countless bad tiramisus I've tried. The melting moments came overcooked though..didn't come with a liquid chocolate centre as we were told.
I caught a glimsp of the bill when it came, and it was about $350, which i feel was too pricey. For this price, the pig could have been better.
Service was rather faultess though: efficient and attentive coupled with cheery attitude. Had to ask them to turn down the volume of the music though, as it got too loud for our lunch meeting.
Still a very quiet lunch place despite being in orchard road, we were the 5th occupied table. Perhaps their 2-course / 3-course set lunches ($22 / $30 per set) would be better?
Was loitering in the East Coast area for lunch one day and decided to walk in as it looked quite inviting and a good rest from the intense heat outside.
My 2 colleagues and I had all had their set lunch, rather good for value at $10.90 per set: soup, main, coffee/tea. Soup of the day was mushroom, and it was surprisingly good; presentation of the soup was a nice surprise too.
My linguini with chicken was overcooked, sadly. My friend ordered the penne, which was much better. I later learnt that when in doubt, always order penne because it is harder to over-cook pasta; a practice which I will adopt next time.
Coffee was so so for a simple cafe, nothing fantastic but not too bad as well.
Think as with all other eateries in the area, parking is a pain, that's why lunch times are quiet. Take a bus here actually. Good value for money as we cant really demand much from $10.90.
1=SGD 0.0587
Nice spot for a leisure lunch
Went there for lunch on Saturday, not a bad place~~
It was my friend who suggested the place, and I had to agree that its is indeed a nice spot for a leisure lunch or even Sunday brunch. Dotted with tais tais and leisure ladies, and occasional families, with attentive and well informed service staff who makes you feel at ease.
My friend ordered the lamb shank. Not being a red meat lover I chose their pasta of the day: pasta with smoked salmon and crayfish. The lamb supposedly is good. The pasta taste wise was not bad, although I wished the smoked salmon was strips instead of chopped up and tossed in. The crayfish...er...came in mini-size. The many mini crayfishes covered the pasta, looked really nice, but had really puny pieces of flesh...not enough taste-wise for me.
Had a bottle of wine too. I think it was their 2004 housepour, not too bad actually. Kudos on the ambience though. Tables were really close to each other but you don't feel closed in. Nice~~
Must have spent about $100 for lunch, including the wine. An indulgence for a weekend, but will be back to try their other stuff.
Rating given:
I was very much enticed by the 50% discount that Bistro Senso was offering on its ala carte menu during the Singapore Flyer downtime so made a purposeful trip down just to give it a shot. It definitely helped that I had a great experience at Senso Ristorante at club street quite a few years back.
The interior is comfortably cafe-ish and decked out in predominantly red and black shades with towering floor to ceilings windows that allow a view of the Marina Barrage, among other things. There is also a al fresco option but being a hot afternoon, the air conditioned indoors definitely seemed a lot more appealing.
Caprese Di Mozzarella Di Bufala - For starters, we had the mozzarella salad, which was decent but nothing to shout about. The cheese was a little too bland but thankfully, still relatively smooth. If it wasn't the salt from the salad which "spiced" things up a little, I honestly don't think we could have finished this dish.
Calamari - The calamari batter was a tad too thick for my liking but the squid had a nice springy texture and didn't come across as overly salty. It didn't seem very oily as well which is a plus point I guess.
Calzone - The calzone aka "folded pizza" surprised me with its humongous serving size. It was easily double the size of any calzone that I've ever tried (not that I've tried a lot though). (Un)fortunately, most of it was just hot air (literally!). When I made a hole in the pizza, the dough sort of deflated and the whole thing was hollow, save for a bed of cheese coupled with a few slices of ham. On the upside, the pastry was nice and chewy, almost like eating roti prata. But the whole pizza could really do with more ingredients.
Lobster and Crab Meat Ravioli - I was rather surprised to see this on the menu as lobster and crab meat are usually quite expensive and this ravioli was only going for $18 (before discount). The ravioli had crab shreds for filling and I couldn't quite make out any lobster at all. However, thrown into the pot were servings of relatively fresh squid, mussel and prawns, all held together by a lightly sourish and tomato base sauce. Not exactly what I was expecting, but for the price, I really can't complain.
Tiramisu -
The desserts proved to be anything but good. For an Italian eatery, the tiramisu was sadly pathetic. The sponge was a tad dry even at the base and the mascarpone cheese wasn't dense or moist enough. And where was the alcohol taste?
Creme Brulee -
Only for those with a very sweet tooth best describes the creme brulee. It was mind blowingly sweet even for me and definitely not made from vanilla beans. The texture was uncomfortably smooth, soft and almost creamy, very much like paste. The caramel also looked like it hadn't been torched long enough.
A very filling meal for 2 cost us to the tune of $90 ($45 after 50% discount). Though we did manage to get 2 full courses (appetiser, main, dessert) for the price, I doubt I will be back in the absense of the discount simply because the quality of food doesn't quite live up to its pricing. Service was good but how hard is it to serve just 1 table?
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Unexpectedly good
Ate there for dinner as I was hankering after italian food in the vicinity recently, and have always wanted to try Zambuca anyway.
The restaurant itself was extremely quiet, with ourselves being the 2nd occupied table when we arrived at 7pm on a Friday. We ordered 2 safe dishes, the vongole and carbonara, and they were unexpectedly good! It may be one of the best vongole I've tried so far, and portions were BIG, I barely managed to finish it.
Bread came warm and fluffy but nothing extraordinary. Service was attentive but we almost felt like we were being 'watched' due to the rather empty atmosphere. More guests starting turning only around 8pm or so.
Didnt manage to try their tiramisu, but I will, next time. Price wise, I don't think it is considered expensive with main courses hovering around $20 so I'd definitely come back again.
Rating given:
Go with your girlfriends~
Needed a nice place to catch up with a girlfriend and decided to go for its 101 Tea selection.
2 seatings: 12pm - 2:30pm and 3:30-6pm, so pick your time and make reservation, coz the place fills up with tittering tais tais quite fast.
Kudos to excellent tea selection, and it actually balances the buffet spread quite well. I had 3 whole pots by myself :) Food wise, nothing really outstanding, although they do try to fit in a bit of everything. Sushi, sashimi, mee rebus, scones, pumpkin soup, salmon pastry, popiah, salads, bread, curry, dim sum, naans, potato skins, slamom cakes, and a reasonable spread of desserts & fruits. Nice tiramisu though.
Service was quite faultless: polite, warm, and efficient. But then again, its Shang, so it is expected. Very good for catching up with girlfriends as the lazy ambience and nicely spaced out couches ensure privacy for your gossip!
A excellent choice for a luxurious afternoon~
Rating given:
Bad food :(
Looks like we have consensus (almost) about this place.
Picked this place for early dinner after strolling around in Vivo, and the menu looked interesting enough. Bad choice.
We ordered the belgium mussels in wine, which is supposed to be their speciality, but its anything but. I expected fresh plump mussels soaked simmered in flavourful stock but nope, I got smallish shellfish which tasted like it was plonked into the pot last minute as they were just ultra bland. No hint of white wine. At all.
And yup, the seaweed was there!! Ugh.
We also had the carbonara and onion rings, which were really medicore at most. Don't really rememeber the service because of the food.
Better off at foodcourt really. DONT come here. I was extremly dissatisfied and had to adjourn elsewhere for 2nd round.
Rating given:
Nice spot~~
Had dinner at TCC and decided to adjourn to Prive Bakery for desserts and coffee, since we're already there.
Nothing special on the dessert counter, so ordered their chocolate geautx (or something like that). For $5 a pop, it was normal at most, nothing fantastic.
The other reason I wanted to go there was because they serve Illy coffee, and I noticed that they do not have Americano on the menu, so I asked the service staff and they said they can do one. When my coffee came, it tasted more like a Long Black so I asked to reconfirm and they said yes, its Americano. I had to ask them to re-do it and it was good the 2nd time round. With Illy coffee, the quality shouldn't be compromised, and $3.80 a cup is a rather good price I feel.
Ambience wise, its actually quite nice. Maybe it was rather cooling when I went, but I enjoyed the view and the occasional breeze at my alfresco table. Nice place to for a relaxing chat with friends~
Service seems to be the common issue with this place, and I think they need to really iron out the way they run because my friend's fruit punch took 45mins to arrive, and that is after 2 reminders. Then, food and drinks other people ordered kept being served to us by slightly confused staff.
I would go back though, for my Illy coffee again~
Rating given:
Disappointed
My friend highly recommended this place for Dinner, and with such an interesting name, I expected a lot more.
Hidden along Middle Road, it was a little tricky for me to find. Menu wise, it was terriby boring. Really run-0f-the-mill stuff like calamari and bruschetta etc for appetizers, pastas, salmon or tenderloin etc for mains, and mainly a cake counter for desserts.
We ordered the calamari, a pasta, and the roasted chicken, and tiramisu for desserts. Everything was just okay; nothing much to shout about. Service was nothing to complain about though.
Ambience feels a little towards fine dining, although the tables are set very close to each other. But quality of food was more cafe than restaurant.
Not worth the trip and money overall. Maybe it was too hyped up thus the disappointment :(
Rating given:
Nice ambience but pricey~
Went there with a girlfriend for dinner coz we decided we want to try a new place.
We were not really hungry so opted for 2 starters and a udon to share: the cubed tuna with miso dressing, crabstick and chicken salad, and their "Special" udon. The cubed tuna was good, although I took a while to get used to the strong miso taste. Salad was really just so-so. The udon was quite tasty in a light broth and some simple vegs; their udon is more flat (a little like La Mian), unlike the thick fat ones we are more used to.
Portions can be bigger for the prices. The bill came up to $60 even after we had a $10 discount.
Many people were seated at the teppanyaki counter though, including many Japanese itself, so I assume the food is quite good. Was also surprised that it was almost half filled despite it being a Tues evening. Service was efficient and friendly, although they did break a tea cup while serving us.
Probably will not be going there again anytime soon, but its a choice to consider for a special occassion.
Rating given:
Tiramisu is still good~
Had a lunch meeting there last week. A group of us 6 ladies ordered:
1. Cesar Salad
2. Warm Spinach Salad
3. Esmirada's Famous Garlic Bread
4. Suckling Pig
5. Tiramisu
6. Melting Moments
The 2 salads were really just standard fare, nothing memorable. And I think their garlic bread is famous for their presentation: it's a whole baguette in this tall bread stand, spread with garlic and too much butter if you ask me; could be better. Modesto's across the road might be a better choice for garlic bread.
The suckling pig is an item not on their menu, you have to pre-order it at least 2 days in advance. My boss said she had it once and it was so good she had to have it again, so I went expecting a wow. But sadly, it fell short. Unlike the Chinese way, they roast the pig(let) whole without any marinate and served it already chopped up into pieces. We asked for sauces and was told it doesn't come with any. I got tired of eating it after 2 pieces because it was too dry and bland for my liking.
Desserts fared better. Their tiramisu was once named the best tiramisu in Singapore, and I think they kept to the standard pretty much. Good considering the countless bad tiramisus I've tried. The melting moments came overcooked though..didn't come with a liquid chocolate centre as we were told.
I caught a glimsp of the bill when it came, and it was about $350, which i feel was too pricey. For this price, the pig could have been better.
Service was rather faultess though: efficient and attentive coupled with cheery attitude. Had to ask them to turn down the volume of the music though, as it got too loud for our lunch meeting.
Still a very quiet lunch place despite being in orchard road, we were the 5th occupied table. Perhaps their 2-course / 3-course set lunches ($22 / $30 per set) would be better?
Rating given:
Okay set lunch~~
Was loitering in the East Coast area for lunch one day and decided to walk in as it looked quite inviting and a good rest from the intense heat outside.
My 2 colleagues and I had all had their set lunch, rather good for value at $10.90 per set: soup, main, coffee/tea. Soup of the day was mushroom, and it was surprisingly good; presentation of the soup was a nice surprise too.
My linguini with chicken was overcooked, sadly. My friend ordered the penne, which was much better. I later learnt that when in doubt, always order penne because it is harder to over-cook pasta; a practice which I will adopt next time.
Coffee was so so for a simple cafe, nothing fantastic but not too bad as well.
Think as with all other eateries in the area, parking is a pain, that's why lunch times are quiet. Take a bus here actually. Good value for money as we cant really demand much from $10.90.
Rating given: