Was scouring the Suntec area for a quick dinner fix one late evening and chanced upon Imperial Treasure Jing Chuan Hu Yang. Having had a good experience at its cousin, Imperial Jade Teochew Cuisine some time back, we decided to give this place a shot.
Located within the ring of food outlets that surround the Fountain of Wealth, Imperial Treasure Jing Chuan Hu Yang serves up dishes from 4 different regions in China - Beijing, Sichuan, Shanghai and Yangzhou. The restaurant's interior is very similar to what you would find in a typical Crystal Jade restaurant that seem to be springing up just about everywhere. Hey, even the menu looks similar.
Yang Chow Fried Rice - I used to stuff myself silly with yang chow fried rice from the Chinese takeaway just down the street from my apartment, which was operated by this old Chinese lady, when I was studying overseas. Reason being, it was simply wonderful and I just couldn't get enough of it. Imperial Treasure's rendition looked the part, smelt the part but missed the mark. First and foremost, the all important char siew was replaced by chicken cubes - a sign of cost cutting? Secondly, the rice lacked the wok hei taste and came across as a tad too oily. To top it up, the whole dish tasted rather bland. Definitely not a dish I would order in a hurry again.
Spinach with Garlic - Nothing special about this dish, just your normal average stir fried spinach with a healthy dose of garlic.
Steamed Beancurd with Ham & Prawns - For $12, I thought that this dish was overpriced with its less then generous servings of ham and prawns. There was quite alot of beancurd though, which was soft and slithery - very much like 豆腐花. The gravy didn't contain too much starch but came across as rather bland. For something already so bland like tofu, the gravy should have been more robust in my humble opinion.
Glutinous Ball with Sweet Wine - To be honest, this is the first time I'm eating something like that and I'm not sure its exactly my cup of tea. Mixed in with the tiny glutinous balls were grains of rice which made the whole dessert rather interesting for the first few mouthfuls. After that the strong taste of the rice wine kicked in, overwhelming me completely and I had to raise the white flag.
Souffle Egg White Ball - Its been quite a while since I last had this dessert so I was kind of looking forward to it. Imperial Treasure's offering had banana slices and red bean filling in it with a spongy like texture hinting of egg white. Nice but excessively oily. Every bite brought forth a secretion of oil from the skin. Definitely not for the health conscious.
To be fair, the food was quite decent and I am inclined to think that standards hover around that of Crystal Jade's lower tier restaurants like La Mian XLB, Kitchen and the likes. Prices are about the same as well (2 of us spent about $48 for dinner), which probably puts it in direct competition with the above mentioned CJ restaurants. Given a choice, I guess it all boils down to convenience.
The service at this Clementi K box is the best among the all !!!
i guess soon or later their sales target would definitely go up if not because of the remote place they located at.
we went for the k lunch package and the staff at the counter was very friendly to tell us the details of the package although i am not a first timer but i truely enjoy the services given by the staff..
unlike other staff which standard phase was ,.. how many people without even asking what package you want !
Their food served i also think is the BEST !
look at the photo and you will know....
i would also like to recommend the staff who brings us to the room....throughout the walk to the room ,,,, he is like talking non-stop ....haha so hilarious .
I went to top one once , together with my friends.
Nice environment although in the first we had quite a few difficulties to locate the place.
is was nearby the Apple Strudel shop too... ^ ^ which i recongnized.
Well, top one ktv was quite a good ktv i can say , however, the room was a bit too small as compare to K box and party world.
just 4 of us and the room did not has any comfort space left, so you can imagine we just sit down there sing and cannot do any other thing like jumping ( when we get high , LOL)
like the friendly service by the staff ^^ perhaps it was due to there is only one outlet hence the management system is easy to handle. well that was only my opinion
other than that the food was a bit pricey , but not for the drink even though it seem that they used syrup for the drinks !
Christmas is just around the corner and i was fortunate enough to be invited for a food tasting session at Jia Wei restaurant for their Christmas set menu. Jia wei, literally means a taste from home and is championed by acclaimed chef Lee Tuck Seng, who has forty years of culinary experience under his belt and is no stranger to multiple culinary awards. Special thanks to Keane and Grand Mecure for this wonderful experience.
The interior is a portrait of soft lighting and simple chinese furniture with thankfully rounded tables and surprisingly comfortable chairs. Minimalistic but comfortable, the rounded tables make conversation easy and brings people together much better then the normal rectangular ones found elsewhere. To me, thats a plus.
Roasted Walnut with sesame - This is worth a mention because its made in house, is very fragrant, crispy and pleasing to eat.
The dim sum appetiser reminded me of similar offerings in taste paradise and the hai tien lo trio albeit of a totally different category. The siew mai is rather big and came with a suitably decadent decor of gold foil. It doesn't add to the taste but it sure is nice to look at. The pork taste is rather strong in this but otherwise, it was a nice and regular offering. The second item is a prawn and scallop dumpling which is generally well received by all at the table. I found the crunchy prawn sweet and fresh while the scallop complimented and enhanced the taste further. Definitely something to try. Next up is the prawn and mango roll which had too much mango for my liking since it covered the taste of the prawn and finally, the last item is the deep fried prawn dumpling. Bascially, its good but rather oily. Not a bad start and this gave me high hopes on the restaurants dim sum lunch offers.
Christmas is just around the corner and i was fortunate enough to be invited for a food tasting session at Jia Wei restaurant for their Christmas set menu. Jia wei, literally means a taste from home and is championed by acclaimed chef Lee Tuck Seng, who has forty years of culinary experience under his belt and is no stranger to multiple culinary awards. Special thanks to Keane and Grand Mecure for this wonderful experience.
The interior is a portrait of soft lighting and simple chinese furniture with thankfully rounded tables and surprisingly comfortable chairs. Minimalistic but comfortable, the rounded tables make conversation easy and brings people together much better then the normal rectangular ones found elsewhere. To me, thats a plus.
Roasted Walnut with sesame - This is worth a mention because its made in house, is very fragrant, crispy and pleasing to eat.
The dim sum appetiser reminded me of similar offerings in taste paradise and the hai tien lo trio albeit of a totally different category. The siew mai is rather big and came with a suitably decadent decor of gold foil. It doesn't add to the taste but it sure is nice to look at. The pork taste is rather strong in this but otherwise, it was a nice and regular offering. The second item is a prawn and scallop dumpling which is generally well received by all at the table. I found the crunchy prawn sweet and fresh while the scallop complimented and enhanced the taste further. Definitely something to try. Next up is the prawn and mango roll which had too much mango for my liking since it covered the taste of the prawn and finally, the last item is the deep fried prawn dumpling. Bascially, its good but rather oily. Not a bad start and this gave me high hopes on the restaurants dim sum lunch offers.
Turkey Ham Salad with fresh fruit and wasabi mayonaise - Being a christmas set dinner, our course began proper with a turkey ham salad. The meat itself was rather dry but is nicely counteracted by the tasteful wasabi mayonnaise and the sweet fruits it came with.Rather surprising was how well the entire concoction complimented each ingredient used for a pleasing and appetising effect.
Jia Wei Superior Sharks Fin - Slowly becoming a norm and a trend, the sharks fin is served in a hot stone pot to help keep the broth warm. Definitely one of the better items that day, the sharks fin is generous in big pieces and comes complete with crab roe, beansprouts and crab meat. The broth is thick and more starchy then regular sharks fin. In fact, it was good enough to have without pepper nor vinegar, this is a gauge of how good the sharks fin is . Our host also shared that executives nearby will come for the sharks fin for lunch and leave. So yeah, it was pretty good.
Pan Fried Fillet of Pork Spare Rib with Special Sauce - My friends had this so i only had the luxury of a short taste, to be honest, it was way too sweet for my liking and the special sauce tasted just like honey to me. Not bad, but not something i'd order enthusiastically.
Grilled Special Rack of Lamb with Chinese Wine - I wasn't given much of a choice since the menu was decided for me but i ain't complaining. Compared to the pork, i find this done pretty darn well. Medium rare and done with perfection, with a nice hint of chinese wine in the sauce. The meat was tender without the overwhelming lamb taste. In other words, this was a clear winner of a choice for the set menu.
Braised Bai Ling Mushroom with Broccoli - Finally, something lighter to wash the palate. The broccoli is crunchy and tasty while the mushrooms took a lesser stage while still maintaining a nice soft and spongy presence. I liked the generous quantities of dried scallop within but it was quite salty as a whole.
Homemade Noodles with Prawn and Conpoy - The final main dish for the day, the homemade noodles were soft and springy but failed to absorb much of the sauce. The prawn, though huge, was hit or miss in terms of quality since it was not springy nor sweet on one side but salvaged on the other half. Overall, this was the one dish that didn't impress.
Chilled Lemon Jelly with Lime Sorbet - Personally, i liked this dessert quite a bit. Even though the lime sorbet is terribly sour, it came with dried fruits and enough lemon jelly to compliment the overall taste.Simply have the entire combination altogether and you'll have a more pleasant experience. I especially like the way it cleans the palate after such a heavy meal.
In terms of costs, this meal would set you back by $98 per head.
All in all, the meal was pleasant and our host, Keane filled us in quite abit on the history of the hotel. The food is above average on some and average on others but the overall experience is a good one. If you're looking for a place to spend Christmas away from the crowds, in a nice quiet Chinese setting with loved ones, this is not a bad place to visit. Do note the steep prices however.
Went to buy starbucks' drinks as it got the promotion!!! :D ( look at the picture and you'll know what i am talking about )
i chose toffee nut latte ( a hot drink ) - christmas drink too !
while my sis chose raspberry blended
and my mum chose hot chocolate ( their signature drink )
For ranking i'll put,
1- hot chocolate
2- raspberry blended
3- toffee nut latte
Hot chocolate taste really nice !!!
while raspberry blended also not bad...however for my sister she said few slips at a time is ok , when drinks a lot at one go , she will feel sick about the drink .
For my, i guess i don't like toffee with latte that why i ranked it number 3 and i did not finish up the drink .
During one of the day , my father was planning to drive us to one of the AMK hawker centre to eat the famous teochew porridge and we came accross this Pine Garden Bakery shop.
Seeing so many news articles, i decided to buy the cakes and tried !
i bought-
lychee ( $2.40 )
orange chocolate & ( $2.40)
Peanut ($1.20)
then peach cake , this is a baked cake ( $2.50 )
OVerall , i only like the Peanut cake and orange choc cake as the rest of the cakes taste nice because of the strong flavoring essense they use.
Especially the peach cake, after hours , the peach essense taste is still lingering in my mouth ! which made me loss of appetite .
i have also bought a red bean bread - $1.20
is taste deliciously for the first mouth but after few mouths ...it is getting a bit too much , perhap is because they put too much butter on top of the bread
LAstly is the kueh,
i asked the Auntie what is the kueh about as it look special to me , the aunt told me is a kind of traditional kueh.
i tried it and taste like kaya kueh ! no comment for this except after i have tried it , it did not meet my expectation.
Situated along a stretch of bungalows and shophouses rests an Australian themed restaurant designed to ensnare young buckaroos like myself who are hopelessly in love with the country and food while endlessly hoping to get the same fare in Singapore. Mad Jacks is part of a chain of restaurants under the same name which have been around for a couple of years. The question one begs to answer is normal. Does it do justice to the country and food it supposedly represents? Answers in a short while.
The interior is simple with a serving counter not unlike fast food chains while the tables and chairs are simple wooden decors. Walls are simple and drab with interesting signs filled with humor.The are no service charges which explains the lack of service i guess, gst is still a must however.
Coke and mushroom soup - Coke is well....coke so there's nothing much i can add on about that. The mushroom soup is pretty terrible really. No doubt there are mushroom bits inside but the cream and soup is so salty, it makes the sea taste bland. I'm exaggerating of course, but truly, the soup is not something anyone can finish easily.
Fish and Chips ($11.90) - My gf had the fish and chips and well, i'd say it was more or less hawker standard with a thick batter, sub par fish and generally oily exterior. Nowhere near the sweetness, freshness and crispiness of the actual offerings in Australia.
Blue Mountain Beef Burger ($9.90) - On the menu, it was billed as one of the biggest burgers in this side of town. Well, to be honest, i can think of quite a few burgers bigger then this, take for example Aston's I Eat Superburger which is a little more expensive, but a hell of a lot more tasty. The fries are worse then Burger King's while the 3 patties that make up the burger seriously needs a new recipe. Reason being, the beef is practically indisguishable, it could be chicken or lamb for all i know. The meat is soggy and overly mashed and lacked any taste whatsoever. The bottom line? Never order this again.
The final bill turned up at $23.30. A little too much for a fare less then ordinary.
To be fair, its not a terrible place. The food is in dire need of some help and new recipes however. I honestly don't see how else this can bring back repeat customers without a new recipe. On the flipside, i never tried their desserts, which looked great but looks can be deceiving. Sad to say, i won't be back to try it until i know the food has improved. Australian food is leaps and bounds better then this, so be sure not to judge this as what you'll get down under. Its a world of difference.
Had the opportunity to partake in a food tasting session at Jia Wei (家 味), which literally means taste of home, courtesy of the folks from Grand Mercure's marketing department. Opened in December 2007 and occupying the premises of the former Thai inspired Beads Restaurant, Jia Wei is helmed by Chef Lee Tuck Seng, who has over fourty years of culinary experience with several culinary awards under his belt.
There is the option of taking the escalator or lift up to the second floor, where Jia Wei is situated. The restaurant's interior is reminiscent of a classical, not too elaborate Chinese restaurant with its round tables, parquet flooring, low ceilings and Chinese ornamental displays.
Dim Sum Appetiser - This dish wasn't on the Christmas menu that we were supposed to sample but no complaints about the extra food though.
Personally I thought that the Siew Mai had too much fat meat in it which resulted in a rather strong pork taste that fell wayside of the fine and exquisite ones I've had at Royal China and the likes. On the other hand, I appreciated the prawn and scallop dumpling which saw fresh and crunchy prawns enveloped in a translucent green skin and topped with a slice of savoury scallop. In the middle of the scale was the prawn and mango roll which carried a faint (too faint in fact) sourish tinge from the mango coupled with the fresh prawns. Its relatively thick skin discounted the experience quite a bit for me. As for the deep fried prawn wanton, it was comfort food. Fresh prawns wrapped in crackling wanton skin. Overall, a rather oily dish to kick start the dinner.
Turkey and Ham Fresh Fruit Salad - No Christmas meal would be complete without turkey so the menu started off with a turkey appetiser, which is quite a surprise really, especially when you seldom see turkey in a Chinese restaurant's menu. Honestly, I found this dish rather lacklustre as compared to the one I had just a week ago at Braise. I know the preparation methods are different but comparisons are naturally inevitable. Jia Wei's offering was a little too dry and a tad too salty for my liking. However, I must complement the idea of pairing the turkey up with wasabi sauce and fruits, creating a myriad of flavours - saltiness from the turkey, sweetness from the fruits and a touch of 呛.
Jia Wei Superior Shark's Fin Soup in Hot Stone Pot - This is the second restaurant that I'm having shark's fin served in a hot stone pot, with the first being Taste Paradise. The purpose of serving soup in a stone pot is to keep the soup hot/warm for a much longer period of time, so as to maximize drinking pleasure. This soup was a tad starchy, almost creamy smooth in texture yet light on the flavours. The fins were of quite a size and came bundled with crab meat, beansprouts and the likes.
Pan Fried Fillet of Pork Spare Rib with Special Sauce & Grilled Special Rack of Lamb with Chinese Wine - The lamb was on the original menu but most of us opted to swap it with the spare rib. Fortunately for me, I had the luxury of trying both (with some friendly persuasion of course). My piece of pork rib was 50% meat, 50% fats, which was a turn off really. I spent more time trying to slice away the fats then enjoying my piece of meat. However my dining companions seemed to have gotten much leaner cuts so I was probably just unlucky. And the special sauce didn't exactly wow me. It was just sweet, probably from some infusion of honey. Surprisingly, the lamb was quite good - tender sans the overwhelming lamb taste that I personally have a disdain for. If only we knew.
Braised Bai Ling Mushroom with Broccoli - If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that the main focal point for this dish was the broccoli because of the small serving of bai ling mushroom. That aside, this was a very simple dish which offered no surprises. I liked the copious amounts of dried scallops though - salty and adding flavour to a rather ordinary dish.
Homemade Noodles with Prawn and Conpoy - Honestly, this dish just didn't do it for me. The noodles tasted like a thicker version of kway teow and carried some bite but it failed to absorb the essense of the gravy, which by the way, was rather bland. I would have prefered a more robust sauce especially when the prawn, though crunchy and meaty, failed to carry much sweetness in its flesh. Overall a rather average rendition in my humble opinion.
Chilled Lemon Jelly - I have a low tolerance for extremely sour stuff hence the dessert wasn't exactly my cup of tea. Not that the jelly was sour. On the contrary, it was pleasingly sweet and wobbly of course. It was the lime sorbet that had me cringing with every mouth. What was interesting was the addition of diced apricots and raisins - the first I've seen in such a dessert. Still, a no go for me.
The above Christmas set dinner cost each pax to the tune of $98 , inclusive of a glass of red or white wine. There is a 30% discount if you opt for the set from Monday to Thursday. I would like take this opportunity to thank Grand Mercure, especially Keane, for this invitation.
1=SGD 0.0587
Was scouring the Suntec area for a quick dinner fix one late evening and chanced upon Imperial Treasure Jing Chuan Hu Yang. Having had a good experience at its cousin, Imperial Jade Teochew Cuisine some time back, we decided to give this place a shot.
Located within the ring of food outlets that surround the Fountain of Wealth, Imperial Treasure Jing Chuan Hu Yang serves up dishes from 4 different regions in China - Beijing, Sichuan, Shanghai and Yangzhou. The restaurant's interior is very similar to what you would find in a typical Crystal Jade restaurant that seem to be springing up just about everywhere. Hey, even the menu looks similar.
Yang Chow Fried Rice - I used to stuff myself silly with yang chow fried rice from the Chinese takeaway just down the street from my apartment, which was operated by this old Chinese lady, when I was studying overseas. Reason being, it was simply wonderful and I just couldn't get enough of it. Imperial Treasure's rendition looked the part, smelt the part but missed the mark. First and foremost, the all important char siew was replaced by chicken cubes - a sign of cost cutting? Secondly, the rice lacked the wok hei taste and came across as a tad too oily. To top it up, the whole dish tasted rather bland. Definitely not a dish I would order in a hurry again.
Spinach with Garlic - Nothing special about this dish, just your normal average stir fried spinach with a healthy dose of garlic.
Steamed Beancurd with Ham & Prawns - For $12, I thought that this dish was overpriced with its less then generous servings of ham and prawns. There was quite alot of beancurd though, which was soft and slithery - very much like 豆腐花. The gravy didn't contain too much starch but came across as rather bland. For something already so bland like tofu, the gravy should have been more robust in my humble opinion.
Glutinous Ball with Sweet Wine - To be honest, this is the first time I'm eating something like that and I'm not sure its exactly my cup of tea. Mixed in with the tiny glutinous balls were grains of rice which made the whole dessert rather interesting for the first few mouthfuls. After that the strong taste of the rice wine kicked in, overwhelming me completely and I had to raise the white flag.
Souffle Egg White Ball -
Its been quite a while since I last had this dessert so I was kind of looking forward to it. Imperial Treasure's offering had banana slices and red bean filling in it with a spongy like texture hinting of egg white. Nice but excessively oily. Every bite brought forth a secretion of oil from the skin. Definitely not for the health conscious.
To be fair, the food was quite decent and I am inclined to think that standards hover around that of Crystal Jade's lower tier restaurants like La Mian XLB, Kitchen and the likes. Prices are about the same as well (2 of us spent about $48 for dinner), which probably puts it in direct competition with the above mentioned CJ restaurants. Given a choice, I guess it all boils down to convenience.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
The service at this Clementi K box is the best among the all !!!
i guess soon or later their sales target would definitely go up if not because of the remote place they located at.
we went for the k lunch package and the staff at the counter was very friendly to tell us the details of the package although i am not a first timer but i truely enjoy the services given by the staff..
unlike other staff which standard phase was ,.. how many people without even asking what package you want !
Their food served i also think is the BEST !
look at the photo and you will know....
i would also like to recommend the staff who brings us to the room....throughout the walk to the room ,,,, he is like talking non-stop ....haha so hilarious .
YOu'll understand once you patron the k box ...:D
ok i will let pictures do the talking now !
Rating given:
I went to top one once , together with my friends.
Nice environment although in the first we had quite a few difficulties to locate the place.
is was nearby the Apple Strudel shop too... ^ ^ which i recongnized.
Well, top one ktv was quite a good ktv i can say , however, the room was a bit too small as compare to K box and party world.
just 4 of us and the room did not has any comfort space left, so you can imagine we just sit down there sing and cannot do any other thing like jumping ( when we get high , LOL)
like the friendly service by the staff ^^ perhaps it was due to there is only one outlet hence the management system is easy to handle. well that was only my opinion
other than that the food was a bit pricey , but not for the drink even though it seem that they used syrup for the drinks !
Rating given:
Christmas is just around the corner and i was fortunate enough to be invited for a food tasting session at Jia Wei restaurant for their Christmas set menu. Jia wei, literally means a taste from home and is championed by acclaimed chef Lee Tuck Seng, who has forty years of culinary experience under his belt and is no stranger to multiple culinary awards. Special thanks to Keane and Grand Mecure for this wonderful experience.
The interior is a portrait of soft lighting and simple chinese furniture with thankfully rounded tables and surprisingly comfortable chairs. Minimalistic but comfortable, the rounded tables make conversation easy and brings people together much better then the normal rectangular ones found elsewhere. To me, thats a plus.
Roasted Walnut with sesame - This is worth a mention because its made in house, is very fragrant, crispy and pleasing to eat.
The dim sum appetiser reminded me of similar offerings in taste paradise and the hai tien lo trio albeit of a totally different category. The siew mai is rather big and came with a suitably decadent decor of gold foil. It doesn't add to the taste but it sure is nice to look at. The pork taste is rather strong in this but otherwise, it was a nice and regular offering. The second item is a prawn and scallop dumpling which is generally well received by all at the table. I found the crunchy prawn sweet and fresh while the scallop complimented and enhanced the taste further. Definitely something to try. Next up is the prawn and mango roll which had too much mango for my liking since it covered the taste of the prawn and finally, the last item is the deep fried prawn dumpling. Bascially, its good but rather oily. Not a bad start and this gave me high hopes on the restaurants dim sum lunch offers.
Rating given:
Christmas is just around the corner and i was fortunate enough to be invited for a food tasting session at Jia Wei restaurant for their Christmas set menu. Jia wei, literally means a taste from home and is championed by acclaimed chef Lee Tuck Seng, who has forty years of culinary experience under his belt and is no stranger to multiple culinary awards. Special thanks to Keane and Grand Mecure for this wonderful experience.
The interior is a portrait of soft lighting and simple chinese furniture with thankfully rounded tables and surprisingly comfortable chairs. Minimalistic but comfortable, the rounded tables make conversation easy and brings people together much better then the normal rectangular ones found elsewhere. To me, thats a plus.
Roasted Walnut with sesame - This is worth a mention because its made in house, is very fragrant, crispy and pleasing to eat.
The dim sum appetiser reminded me of similar offerings in taste paradise and the hai tien lo trio albeit of a totally different category. The siew mai is rather big and came with a suitably decadent decor of gold foil. It doesn't add to the taste but it sure is nice to look at. The pork taste is rather strong in this but otherwise, it was a nice and regular offering. The second item is a prawn and scallop dumpling which is generally well received by all at the table. I found the crunchy prawn sweet and fresh while the scallop complimented and enhanced the taste further. Definitely something to try. Next up is the prawn and mango roll which had too much mango for my liking since it covered the taste of the prawn and finally, the last item is the deep fried prawn dumpling. Bascially, its good but rather oily. Not a bad start and this gave me high hopes on the restaurants dim sum lunch offers.
Turkey Ham Salad with fresh fruit and wasabi mayonaise - Being a christmas set dinner, our course began proper with a turkey ham salad. The meat itself was rather dry but is nicely counteracted by the tasteful wasabi mayonnaise and the sweet fruits it came with.Rather surprising was how well the entire concoction complimented each ingredient used for a pleasing and appetising effect.
Jia Wei Superior Sharks Fin - Slowly becoming a norm and a trend, the sharks fin is served in a hot stone pot to help keep the broth warm. Definitely one of the better items that day, the sharks fin is generous in big pieces and comes complete with crab roe, beansprouts and crab meat. The broth is thick and more starchy then regular sharks fin. In fact, it was good enough to have without pepper nor vinegar, this is a gauge of how good the sharks fin is . Our host also shared that executives nearby will come for the sharks fin for lunch and leave. So yeah, it was pretty good.
Pan Fried Fillet of Pork Spare Rib with Special Sauce - My friends had this so i only had the luxury of a short taste, to be honest, it was way too sweet for my liking and the special sauce tasted just like honey to me. Not bad, but not something i'd order enthusiastically.
Grilled Special Rack of Lamb with Chinese Wine - I wasn't given much of a choice since the menu was decided for me but i ain't complaining. Compared to the pork, i find this done pretty darn well. Medium rare and done with perfection, with a nice hint of chinese wine in the sauce. The meat was tender without the overwhelming lamb taste. In other words, this was a clear winner of a choice for the set menu.
Braised Bai Ling Mushroom with Broccoli - Finally, something lighter to wash the palate. The broccoli is crunchy and tasty while the mushrooms took a lesser stage while still maintaining a nice soft and spongy presence. I liked the generous quantities of dried scallop within but it was quite salty as a whole.
Homemade Noodles with Prawn and Conpoy - The final main dish for the day, the homemade noodles were soft and springy but failed to absorb much of the sauce. The prawn, though huge, was hit or miss in terms of quality since it was not springy nor sweet on one side but salvaged on the other half. Overall, this was the one dish that didn't impress.
Chilled Lemon Jelly with Lime Sorbet - Personally, i liked this dessert quite a bit. Even though the lime sorbet is terribly sour, it came with dried fruits and enough lemon jelly to compliment the overall taste.Simply have the entire combination altogether and you'll have a more pleasant experience. I especially like the way it cleans the palate after such a heavy meal.
In terms of costs, this meal would set you back by $98 per head.
All in all, the meal was pleasant and our host, Keane filled us in quite abit on the history of the hotel. The food is above average on some and average on others but the overall experience is a good one. If you're looking for a place to spend Christmas away from the crowds, in a nice quiet Chinese setting with loved ones, this is not a bad place to visit. Do note the steep prices however.
Rating given:
Went to buy starbucks' drinks as it got the promotion!!! :D ( look at the picture and you'll know what i am talking about )
i chose toffee nut latte ( a hot drink ) - christmas drink too !
while my sis chose raspberry blended
and my mum chose hot chocolate ( their signature drink )
For ranking i'll put,
1- hot chocolate
2- raspberry blended
3- toffee nut latte
Hot chocolate taste really nice !!!
while raspberry blended also not bad...however for my sister she said few slips at a time is ok , when drinks a lot at one go , she will feel sick about the drink .
For my, i guess i don't like toffee with latte that why i ranked it number 3 and i did not finish up the drink .
Rating given:
During one of the day , my father was planning to drive us to one of the AMK hawker centre to eat the famous teochew porridge and we came accross this Pine Garden Bakery shop.
Seeing so many news articles, i decided to buy the cakes and tried !
i bought-
lychee ( $2.40 )
orange chocolate & ( $2.40)
Peanut ($1.20)
then peach cake , this is a baked cake ( $2.50 )
OVerall , i only like the Peanut cake and orange choc cake as the rest of the cakes taste nice because of the strong flavoring essense they use.
Especially the peach cake, after hours , the peach essense taste is still lingering in my mouth ! which made me loss of appetite .
i have also bought a red bean bread - $1.20
is taste deliciously for the first mouth but after few mouths ...it is getting a bit too much , perhap is because they put too much butter on top of the bread
LAstly is the kueh,
i asked the Auntie what is the kueh about as it look special to me , the aunt told me is a kind of traditional kueh.
i tried it and taste like kaya kueh ! no comment for this except after i have tried it , it did not meet my expectation.
Rating given:
My cousin treat us to Tiffany Cafe for the Buffet !!!
we went there at about 6.30pm and we were the first bagde of customers !!! haha ...so you can guess that all the food were freshly served.
the first food i took is the chocolate foundue. ^^
then small deco desserts which are very cute and look tasty.
then mini cakes which have -
orea cheesecake,
chocolate cake,
log cake , ...
mousse cakes- chococate , strawberry , sago version of mousse cake
you will know if you watch the channel 8 show on thursday - Buffet Buffet
I started out with desserts first as i am a dessert-craver !! haha
next ,,, i tried the meats which are teriyaki chicken , fish, squid ,salmon, prawn and ....many more
BEST is teriyaki chicken as it is cook on spot by the chef ! :D
i am also very satisfied with the freshness of the meats
E.g are the salmon and the prawn ! ^^
juicy and chewy !
Tiffany cafe also provided many types of salad which made me in dilemma. What to choose !!?
IT also have shark fin , onion soup , and bread?
for the heavier type of meal ....there are
fried rice , spagetti and noodle ( to prepare on your own ; DIY)
Overall, for variety wise ....although it look to me that they are trying to make it FUSION.
like providing a combination of food from Japan, western and chinese countries
but i thing they had failed.
The reason is because...there are only 1 type of rice, 1 type of spagetti and one type of noodle !
moreover the spagetti is with Beef ( so people who does not consume beef is only left with rice and noodle )
the variety of meats are a lot . However, for Japanese style they only have 2 - salmon and octopus
And having bread for dinner buffet look weird! Nobody even bother to take one piece of bread !
For desserts session -
love the mousse and pudding but not the CAKES !!!
cakes , to be frank is very NORMAL ! and the flavour of cinnamon is too strong ( is not a cinnamon cake )
i guess they have strict budget for cakes and cookies .
because the cookies is very hard to eat !
the fruits for fondue are not fresh too
anyway, i guess i will not go to Tiffany cafe for Buffet anymore
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Situated along a stretch of bungalows and shophouses rests an Australian themed restaurant designed to ensnare young buckaroos like myself who are hopelessly in love with the country and food while endlessly hoping to get the same fare in Singapore. Mad Jacks is part of a chain of restaurants under the same name which have been around for a couple of years. The question one begs to answer is normal. Does it do justice to the country and food it supposedly represents? Answers in a short while.
The interior is simple with a serving counter not unlike fast food chains while the tables and chairs are simple wooden decors. Walls are simple and drab with interesting signs filled with humor.The are no service charges which explains the lack of service i guess, gst is still a must however.
Coke and mushroom soup - Coke is well....coke so there's nothing much i can add on about that. The mushroom soup is pretty terrible really. No doubt there are mushroom bits inside but the cream and soup is so salty, it makes the sea taste bland. I'm exaggerating of course, but truly, the soup is not something anyone can finish easily.
Fish and Chips ($11.90) - My gf had the fish and chips and well, i'd say it was more or less hawker standard with a thick batter, sub par fish and generally oily exterior. Nowhere near the sweetness, freshness and crispiness of the actual offerings in Australia.
Blue Mountain Beef Burger ($9.90) - On the menu, it was billed as one of the biggest burgers in this side of town. Well, to be honest, i can think of quite a few burgers bigger then this, take for example Aston's I Eat Superburger which is a little more expensive, but a hell of a lot more tasty. The fries are worse then Burger King's while the 3 patties that make up the burger seriously needs a new recipe. Reason being, the beef is practically indisguishable, it could be chicken or lamb for all i know. The meat is soggy and overly mashed and lacked any taste whatsoever. The bottom line? Never order this again.
The final bill turned up at $23.30. A little too much for a fare less then ordinary.
To be fair, its not a terrible place. The food is in dire need of some help and new recipes however. I honestly don't see how else this can bring back repeat customers without a new recipe. On the flipside, i never tried their desserts, which looked great but looks can be deceiving. Sad to say, i won't be back to try it until i know the food has improved. Australian food is leaps and bounds better then this, so be sure not to judge this as what you'll get down under. Its a world of difference.
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Had the opportunity to partake in a food tasting session at Jia Wei (家 味), which literally means taste of home, courtesy of the folks from Grand Mercure's marketing department. Opened in December 2007 and occupying the premises of the former Thai inspired Beads Restaurant, Jia Wei is helmed by Chef Lee Tuck Seng, who has over fourty years of culinary experience with several culinary awards under his belt.
There is the option of taking the escalator or lift up to the second floor, where Jia Wei is situated. The restaurant's interior is reminiscent of a classical, not too elaborate Chinese restaurant with its round tables, parquet flooring, low ceilings and Chinese ornamental displays.
Dim Sum Appetiser - This dish wasn't on the Christmas menu that we were supposed to sample but no complaints about the extra food though.
Personally I thought that the Siew Mai had too much fat meat in it which resulted in a rather strong pork taste that fell wayside of the fine and exquisite ones I've had at Royal China and the likes. On the other hand, I appreciated the prawn and scallop dumpling which saw fresh and crunchy prawns enveloped in a translucent green skin and topped with a slice of savoury scallop. In the middle of the scale was the prawn and mango roll which carried a faint (too faint in fact) sourish tinge from the mango coupled with the fresh prawns. Its relatively thick skin discounted the experience quite a bit for me. As for the deep fried prawn wanton, it was comfort food. Fresh prawns wrapped in crackling wanton skin. Overall, a rather oily dish to kick start the dinner.
Turkey and Ham Fresh Fruit Salad - No Christmas meal would be complete without turkey so the menu started off with a turkey appetiser, which is quite a surprise really, especially when you seldom see turkey in a Chinese restaurant's menu. Honestly, I found this dish rather lacklustre as compared to the one I had just a week ago at Braise. I know the preparation methods are different but comparisons are naturally inevitable. Jia Wei's offering was a little too dry and a tad too salty for my liking. However, I must complement the idea of pairing the turkey up with wasabi sauce and fruits, creating a myriad of flavours - saltiness from the turkey, sweetness from the fruits and a touch of 呛.
Jia Wei Superior Shark's Fin Soup in Hot Stone Pot - This is the second restaurant that I'm having shark's fin served in a hot stone pot, with the first being Taste Paradise. The purpose of serving soup in a stone pot is to keep the soup hot/warm for a much longer period of time, so as to maximize drinking pleasure. This soup was a tad starchy, almost creamy smooth in texture yet light on the flavours. The fins were of quite a size and came bundled with crab meat, beansprouts and the likes.
Pan Fried Fillet of Pork Spare Rib with Special Sauce & Grilled Special Rack of Lamb with Chinese Wine - The lamb was on the original menu but most of us opted to swap it with the spare rib. Fortunately for me, I had the luxury of trying both (with some friendly persuasion of course). My piece of pork rib was 50% meat, 50% fats, which was a turn off really. I spent more time trying to slice away the fats then enjoying my piece of meat. However my dining companions seemed to have gotten much leaner cuts so I was probably just unlucky. And the special sauce didn't exactly wow me. It was just sweet, probably from some infusion of honey.
Surprisingly, the lamb was quite good - tender sans the overwhelming lamb taste that I personally have a disdain for. If only we knew.
Braised Bai Ling Mushroom with Broccoli - If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that the main focal point for this dish was the broccoli because of the small serving of bai ling mushroom. That aside, this was a very simple dish which offered no surprises. I liked the copious amounts of dried scallops though - salty and adding flavour to a rather ordinary dish.
Homemade Noodles with Prawn and Conpoy - Honestly, this dish just didn't do it for me. The noodles tasted like a thicker version of kway teow and carried some bite but it failed to absorb the essense of the gravy, which by the way, was rather bland. I would have prefered a more robust sauce especially when the prawn, though crunchy and meaty, failed to carry much sweetness in its flesh. Overall a rather average rendition in my humble opinion.
Chilled Lemon Jelly - I have a low tolerance for extremely sour stuff hence the dessert wasn't exactly my cup of tea. Not that the jelly was sour. On the contrary, it was pleasingly sweet and wobbly of course. It was the lime sorbet that had me cringing with every mouth. What was interesting was the addition of diced apricots and raisins - the first I've seen in such a dessert. Still, a no go for me.
The above Christmas set dinner cost each pax to the tune of $98 , inclusive of a glass of red or white wine. There is a 30% discount if you opt for the set from Monday to Thursday. I would like take this opportunity to thank Grand Mercure, especially Keane, for this invitation.
See all my pictures here.
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