Located at the quiet end of a row of shophouses (that also houses Ice3 and Frolick) along Kensington Park Road, Ristorante De Parma has the expressions, "simple and minimalistic" engraved all over, coupled with warm lighting that eludes a sense of smoothing comfort for a slow relaxing dinner. However, as weather was cooling that night, we opted for one of the two outdoor tables.
Complimentary bread served with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinaigrette although came warm was nothing extraordinary.
Le Zuppe, or soups was Minestrone alla Genovese ($6.90), the classic Italian vegetable soup. There are different variations of minestrone soup – divided into different villages or towns, each customise to regional or seasonal ingredients. And in the traditions of Genoa province, it is distinguished by the generous use of herbs in its preparation, and specifically the addition of Pesto. HFB really loved this soup! A delightful surprise from the usual minestrone that is watered down and tomato-based, their version was intense in flavours from the herbs, yet light on the palate.
A must for all mushroom lovers, the Fungo di Portobello ($14.90), was a huge grilled Portobello mushroom dish garnished with bell peppers, sun dried tomatoes & olives, drizzled with their own house dressing. Every bite of the thick mushroom produced a juice-gushing moment. However, HFB just wasn’t used to the fact that the accompaniments, especially the bell peppers came contrasting cold (although HFB was assured by the staff that that’s the way they served it) and was also pretty disappointed that a rotten leaf of purple lettuce was left unchecked and dished out to us.
Listed as a new item in the menu, the Foie Gras de Canard ($27.90) was pan-fried and topped with Caviar & accompanied North East Atlantic Langoustine & Smoked Salmon. HFB clearly wasn’t impressed with this dish – the duck liver was too dry for his liking, and the langoustine and smoke salmon didn’t add any value to this dish – harshly speaking, it was akin to 3 separate items put scrappily together that didn’t gel at all.
One of their house favourite, the Prosciutto Di Parma con Rucola Pizza ($26.90), is topped with Parma ham sourced directly from Italy and HFB’s personal favourite – Rocket Salad! Also special request to add shaved Parmesan Cheese as topping was addressed. HFB ranked their version a close second to Da Paolo’s Pizza Bar purely due to the fact that it’s more costly.
What really hit the umami spot were the desserts that night. The Chocolate Fondant ($12.90) oozed yummy molten chocolate when one breaks the exterior crust, and the paired vanilla ice-cream definitely aid to its cause. Slightly expensive considering the serving portion but definitely worth it if you consider Morton’s charges theirs at $25.00.
One should definitely not leave Ristorante De Parma without giving their signatured Tiramisu ($12.90) a try. Aesthetically well presented with what HFB considered a sizeable portion, it was definitely one of the finest tiramisu HFB had tried. Everything from the sponge, to the Mascarpone cheese and alcohol level was so well balanced that HFB wouldn’t mind dropping by just for it after dinner.
Special mention to the service staffs that HFB reckon was pretty well trained and polite.
Just had my dinner at this outlet of Bishamon this evening. Basically this food outlet serves a few varieties of Jap food such as Ramen and Don Buri. But what I liked was the set meals that they offered, which included a mini portion of either ramen or don buri, one side dish, two pieces of either California or futo maki or sake sushi(with $1 top up) and green tea or soft drinks(with $1 top up as well). Therefore, if one chooses the basic set with no changes, the nett price is just $12.90, which is relatively a good deal and similar to that of Ajisen Ramen thou the portions may tend to lose out a bit.
Overall, I still think that its quite worth and the taste ain't too bad either. So do give it a try if you happen to pass by.
Garibaldi, located along Purvis Street, is part of The Garibaldi Group of Restaurants helmed by award-winning Chef de Cuisine Roberto Galetti and his team. An Italian dinning place that provides a fine exemplar of contemporary, stylish and elegant dining experience all rolled into one, it came no surprise that the tantalising menu emphasises authentic Italian gastronomy primed with the best ingredients imported directly from Italy.
Stepped past the seemingly discreet sliding door and one will be ushered to an elegant bar that offers a great selection of wines by the glass and excellent cocktails – HFB can imagined this to be a perfect after-work to-be-seen setting for chic finance executives and lawyers to mingle at and network.
Make a left turn, and one will find the sombre interior of the small dining area coerce on you – call me unsophisticated but HFB certainly didn’t take to the air-of-pretentious atmosphere of the restaurant.
Also, having a row of smartly dress yet clueless service staff standing at the side of the passageway greeting and staring at HFB while he is seated with his peers add on to his already discomfort.
Kudos to the Complimentary Bread & Balsamic Vinaigrette, which was one of the better renditions that HFB had tried – certainly no one will complain if one goes for a second serving.
For the Antipasti e Insalate, HFB plumped for the Capesante Al Taleggio, or Grilled US Scallops with Porcini Mushroom and Truffled Taleggio Fondue ($25.00). Being a big fan of porcini mushroom, the sautéed nutty flavoured shrooms along with the intense creamy truffled Taleggio cheese was divine. However, HFB felt let down by the textured scallops that were slightly dry for his liking – he thought Sage, The Restaurant did a better job with their Seared Hokkaido Scallops with Normandy Sauce.
What’s an Italian dinner without pasta – the Linguine Al Granchio, or Linguine with Crab Meat and Vodka Sauce ($30.00) was commendable – nice aromatic vodka-infused tomato-cream sauce integrated with the flavours of the sea from the crab meat was simply blissful. However, the serving portion was definitely pathetic and HFB could easily wolfed down another plate with ease.
Dessert was Fondente Al Cioccolato, or simply Molten Lava Chocolate Cake with Hazelnut Gelato and Raspberry Coulis ($18.00) – it didn’t wow me but definitely not the worse I have eaten. However, accolades must be given to the hazelnut gelato that everyone around the table seemed to enjoy it.
Overall, 4 of us choked a total of $428.00 including a bottle of wine and taxes. HFB felt that the pricey wine was a total rip-off and service although professional, lacked cordiality.
Was in the vicinity of Joo Chiat so decided to pop down to this kid on the block after reading rather favourable reviews of it by some food bloggers. It also helped that I was financially strapped and had to eat on a tight budget.
Located right at the junction of Joo Chiat Road and Koon Seng Road, Tai Shek Hei has only been in operations for about 2 months or so and the decor is typical of a Chinese type eatery. According to the writeup in the menu, Tai Shek Hei specialises in bamboo noodles, which are purportedly unique in the sense that the dough used in making the noodles are beaten with a long thick bamboo pole that promises a springy product without the lye (alkaline) taste.
Speciality Tobiko Dumpling - I had a go at the bamboo noodles, topped with their speciality tobiko (flying fish roe) dumplings. The noodles were thing and springy with lots of bite while the dumplings were quite good with the skin not too thick and the prawns crunchy with a little help from the roe. The soup base was supposedly made from boiling sole fish, prawn shells, dried scallops etc but though rather tasty, it didn't exactly wow me.
Cai Xin - A very normal dish and something you can find at any random cze char stall. $6 is still reasonable I guess.
Roast Combination - We opted for the Soy Chicken and Roast Duck combination which was surprisingly quite good. The meat was tender yet moist and had a nice chewy sensation to it. The amount of fats beneath the skin was also minimal, which is good for health conscious folks. I would have liked the skin to be a little crispier though.
To be honest, I think the food was quite decent and it wasn't exactly expensive either, standing at about $28 for 2 pax. Its a pity about the location and the lack of crowds though.
After a very pleasurable and gratifying dinner at Aburiya some time back, HFB was looking forward to his next Yakiniku meal (焼き肉 or 焼肉), or Japanese BBQ-styled of cooking bite-sized meat over flame of wood charcoals carbonised by dry distillation (Sumibi (炭火) or gas/electric grill. So off he went to sample Yakiniku Daidomon’s Buffet Dinner (Adult: $63.00 child: $28.00 ) that is only available at their Keypoint outlet along Beach Road.
With slightly more than 100 items to choose from, HFB was absolutely spoiled for choice. So being the Kiasu Singaporean that he is, HFB did his share of research and zeroed in on a few items. For appetisers, it was kick-started with the much raved about Yukke Sushi, or Marinated Beef with Egg Yolk, and it was rightly so – nicely seasoned with spices and sauces such as sesame oil and soy sauce, a raw egg yolk was cracked on top, giving it a smooth velvety taste. The beef was thickly sliced thus granting the person consuming, a nice bite.
The trio of Tuna (Maguro), Salmon (Shake) and Sea Bream (Tai) Sashimi though were disappointing. Although served chilled, it just didn’t tickle HFB's fancy and tasted flat and uninspiring.
The Gyu Tataki, or Marinated & Lightly Grilled Raw Beef was also lacklustre; so much so that HFB thinks the one he had in Bangkok was better.
Surprisingly, the Teiru, or Oxtail Soup that looks boring when served tasted yummy. The gelatinous meat from the oxtail was simply amazing and my only nitpick was there was only one piece floating in the soup.
Once done, the real show begun, and the raw food was set in place. Salmon was thick but filling, thus HFB advise one to go slow and concentrate on other dishes instead.
The Hotate, or Scallop is a MUST try - served whole and juicy, two servings were ordered that evening.
The Kaki Butter, or Oyster with Butter was another orgasmic experience for HFB. Fresh and meaty, cooked it just right and a sweet juicy feasting experience await.
The Ebi, or Prawn was of medium size – nothing fanciful.
The Buta Karubi, or Pork Belly came nicely streaked in fats and tasted wonderful when grilled.
Vegetables were a much welcome break from the meat and the Mushrooms were delightful.
Very high in fat content, it is no wonder the Tan, or Beef Tongue is considered a prized item in Japanese BBQ. Slightly chewy for a bite, however HFB didn’t really fancy it much that night.
The Karubi, or Beef Belly Tender was better appreciated. Slightly marbled – allowed the fats to cook slowly, and what one gets in return is a nice juicy piece of meat.
However, if one think that’s the finest, one would be thrilled to know that the Honetsuki Karubi, or Belly Tender with Rib is one notch better. It tasted so scrumptious that no words can simply describe it and if HFB is to come back to this restaurant, this dish would probably be the reason!
Overall, HFB thinks this is one of those places he will visit if he craves for meat and feel like pampering himself with a treat.
You can view all the photos and other reviews here.
This is one of the latest fast food outlet at Compass Point. When it first opened, the crowd was overflowing. The queue is super long and there'll never be any tables available. Everyone is curious when new things arrived. But after the initial fanfare, things just seem to slow down. And now I know the reason why!
Like the rest of the curious customers, I gave Curry San a go. Although the smell of Japanese Curry filling the outlet was overpowering, we thought it should probably be worth while to give it a try.
Ordered Curry Chicken Katsu - $6.80 (which was recommended as their best seller) and Ebiko Cream Fried Shrimp - $7.90. When the food came, both of us lost our appetite. If we had not pay for the food, we'll probably kick a big fuss and walk away.
Curry Chicken Katsu came burned. The fried chicken was tough and tasteless. The rice was overcooked and was too mushy. The curry was no way near tasty too. Very sad! Even the two little girls (around 4-5 yrs old) sitting next to us commented that its not nice!
When I thought mine was bad, the Ebiko Cream Fried Shrimp was worst! Diluted cream sauce with plain looking pasta, few seeds of sesame and sad looking fried shrimp. I could see the total disappointment in his eyes. One word to describe this dish - tasteless.
I wonder if the boss themselves are tasting what they're serving. Too much improvements need to be made. Unless there's a new crowd forming again at Curry San (because of great improvement to the menu), I'll not be stepping into it anymore.
Momoteapots has been around for a bit and has quite a large following. I chanced upon it a couple of months ago and have been drooling over their pretty clothes.
What I like about this blogshop is how they maintain being polite. Even when they talked about fraud in their site, they didn't sound unnecessarily angry and explained their reasons for requesting for receipts from customers. They even apologised for the inconvenience caused, which is great!
The prices are very reasonable. Not only that... the photographs they take are good and they try to show the clothing in all angles which is what I love most. Somehow some other shops when trying to make the clothes look nice, they forget to show you what the back looks like. But Momoteapots always shows the best they can which I think it really commendable.
They have a wide range of clothing, needless to say I'm not a fan of ALL their clothes because they have to cater to different tastes but I do like quite a number of stuff they have. They mostly have dresses (which are easier to buy online anyway) and sometimes bags and belts.
They even maintain a facebook account to keep in touch with their customers!
My only grievance is that I wish they would update more often!!!! But then I would spend money much more often toooo haha :)
Was there for my haircut on Saturday and HFB is pretty impressed with the salon. Located above Body Shop, NEXT is ritzy and glamorously furnish in everything black, including the black leather sofa chair that they will ushered you to for your haircut. Unlike those stiff chairs that usual salon provides, HFB was able to sit comfortably while being attended to.
Soon enough it's time for one's hair wash before the cut and HFB think its the longest he ever had for a wash head massage (25mins to be exact). Although HFB have to admit it's not the best he had tried (KRplus offers better head message amidst a shorter one), it was still enjoyable nonetheless.
Jack, was my hair stylist that day (dolled in his professional yet trendy black outfit of course) - and I am surprised that he is pretty skillful for someone his age. I leave NEXT a happy man satisfied with both my $37.45 haircut and wash/massage. You can be rest assured that I will be making my appointment with them for my NEXT haircut (lame!).
The Silk Road or 丝绸之路 was an important cultural and trade route that linked China and the Far East to the West in ancient times. This was the very route that legendary explorer Marco Polo took from North and South China back to Venice during the 13th century. Banking on the success of this historic route, the Silk Road group of restaurants was born, with Silk Road of the Sea at Sentosa being the latest addition to the family.
Nestled on the ground floor in a standalone building along Palawan beach, Silk Road shares the premises with Braise, a modern European restaurant that occupies the second floor. This cosy Chinese restaurant offers both air conditioned indoor dining and al fresco if you wish to experience the sea breeze and the sand that tags along with it. The interior is done up simply with white washed walls and pillars but more importantly, comes with floor to ceiling windows to allow an unobstructed view of the beach (provided no one blocks your view by sitting in front of you in the al fresco area).
Pumpkin Soup - An off the menu item as well as a signature dish of Silk Road, the pumpkin soup cost a hefty $18. Portions were big and the soup was probably just sufficient for 1 person. However I must give it credit for its rather interesting presentation - served in a pumpkin with its insides carved out. The soup came across as mildy sweet with a relatively strong hint of the raw ocean, which can be quite unsettling at times. I also thought that for the price, there would be a more generous serving of scallops, prawns, squid and seaweed in it.
Chef's Homemade Signature Beancurd - Besides the gravy being a wee bit too salty, I couldn't find any fault with the beancurd, which was a little crisp on the outside yet smooth and silky on the inside. Personally, I liked the layer of spinach atop which accentuated the savoury aftertaste. Polishing off this dish would have child's play to me.
Sichuan Smoked Duck with Camphor & Tea Leaves - My experiences with smoked duck in Singapore are limited to only Szechuan Court and Peach Blossoms, both of which doesn't exactly serve up good smoked duck I must say. Although Silk Road's rendition was better then both places, it still didn't impress me much. The duck meat was reddish (a little too reddish at some parts though) but not overly dry and carried a floating hint of smokiness. There was the problem of the missing tea taste though.
Stir Fried Asparagus - How bad can stir fried asparagus get? This dish was normal with the asparagus cooked just right, not too soft nor hard. And thats about it.
Supreme Fried Rice with Seafood - I thought that the rice was evenly fried, as evident by the homogeneous colour but lacked the quintessential wok hei taste. Fortunately, the rice still came across as relatively tasty with a reasonably generous amount of ingredients.
Dinner is a most relaxing environment coupled with a nice view of the beach cost the two of us about $98. Expensive? Definitely. However, if you take a look at the individual pricing of items, its more or less Crystal Jade prices except for the pumpkin soup, which is really over the hill IMHO. Take that away and suddenly, the total bill does seem a tad more reasonable. However, having said that, I don't see myself returning, especially with an upfront $7 ($6 entry $1 parking) charge.
Mentioned the word “Steak” and Morton’s The Steakhouse will probably come to mind as the pinnacle in classic steakhouse experience.
Located at a hidden corner on the 4th floor of Mandarin Oriental, entering into the restaurant immediately transport one from a simple boring main façade to a voguish interior of dim lighting and sounds of fine tableware clanks.
Being HFB’s virgin trip to Morton’s, Tina, our maître d' for the evening, rattled off what seem like a scripted introduction of the various cuts of steaks, as well as seafood, that the restaurants serve as mains before the start of the dinner.
Following that, the dinner commenced with the much raved about Onion Loaf that HFB was looking forward. A colossal loaf of a bread, that was probably the best complimentary bread that HFB have eaten – served crisp on the exterior and fluffy on the inside, the whiff of the onion exude from the bread when one yank opened, yet it remained subtle on the palate without too overwhelming. It is so good that it goes with butter as well as on its own. And if one is too tempted to finished it, HFB’s advice to you is – DON’T – as Morton’s is also renowned for their generous serving portion.
Two appetisers were chosen that night – the first being ½ dozen of Pacific Oysters on the Half Shell ($36.00). Served the way HFB expected it to be – on a bed of ice that is, the oysters were fresh but not the most meaty. Thus for $6 a pop, HFB doesn’t found it to be value-worthy.
The latter was that of the Lobster Bisque Soup ($30.00) that was big enough portion for 2 – but HFB found the single small piece of lobster meat swimming within laughably wretched. While the soup reeked of essence, it was VERY salty towards the end of it, such that HFB have trouble finishing it.
The mains in Morton’s don’t come with any sides thus a serving of Creamed Spinach, for two, costs an eye-popping $22.00. Serving portion was a gargantuan affair, but what HFB like was how lightly salted and smooth it was to consume. However, too much of the cream and the “jelakness”, or fullness starts to set in.
The Sautéed Mushrooms ($15.00) were satisfactory. Done al dente and comes with a nice bite, it was salted to taste.
The celebrated dish that evening would have to be the Aged Australian Filet Mignon ($79.00). Nicely char-grilled on the outside, the lean cut was perfectly executed to medium-rare, exuding sweetness on this tender piece of meat.
It was definitely the best piece of steak HFB had tasted so far, and rated higher than the Grade 9 Wagyu Ribeye at Astons, as HFB prefers his steak to be “beefy” – something that is lacking in a piece of well-marbled wagyu.
Regrettably, the Morton’s Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake ($25.00) failed to live up to the tag that evening. Urged on to “die, die” sample the chocolate cake by all my peers who had dined at Morton’s before, it came slightly over-baked and was dry and bitter on the outside.
Portioning the cake also did not reveal an oozing molten chocolate that HFB was highly anticipating. The only saving grace was the scoop of In-house Vanilla Ice-cream that tasted very good.
Overall, service was generally good and accommodating, but dinner for two costs $316.60, inclusive of 2 glasses of house-pour wines and taxes, which is very expensive and (steak aside) not value-for-money. Excellent mood created by the furnishing and lighting was also ruined with mindless chatters from various tables as well as the consistence singing of birthday songs (10 times over a 2.5 hours period) – absolutely not recommended for a romantic dinner for two.
You can view all the photos and other reviews here.
1=SGD 0.0587
Located at the quiet end of a row of shophouses (that also houses Ice3 and Frolick) along Kensington Park Road, Ristorante De Parma has the expressions, "simple and minimalistic" engraved all over, coupled with warm lighting that eludes a sense of smoothing comfort for a slow relaxing dinner. However, as weather was cooling that night, we opted for one of the two outdoor tables.
Complimentary bread served with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinaigrette although came warm was nothing extraordinary.
Le Zuppe, or soups was Minestrone alla Genovese ($6.90), the classic Italian vegetable soup. There are different variations of minestrone soup – divided into different villages or towns, each customise to regional or seasonal ingredients. And in the traditions of Genoa province, it is distinguished by the generous use of herbs in its preparation, and specifically the addition of Pesto. HFB really loved this soup! A delightful surprise from the usual minestrone that is watered down and tomato-based, their version was intense in flavours from the herbs, yet light on the palate.
A must for all mushroom lovers, the Fungo di Portobello ($14.90), was a huge grilled Portobello mushroom dish garnished with bell peppers, sun dried tomatoes & olives, drizzled with their own house dressing. Every bite of the thick mushroom produced a juice-gushing moment. However, HFB just wasn’t used to the fact that the accompaniments, especially the bell peppers came contrasting cold (although HFB was assured by the staff that that’s the way they served it) and was also pretty disappointed that a rotten leaf of purple lettuce was left unchecked and dished out to us.
Listed as a new item in the menu, the Foie Gras de Canard ($27.90) was pan-fried and topped with Caviar & accompanied North East Atlantic Langoustine & Smoked Salmon. HFB clearly wasn’t impressed with this dish – the duck liver was too dry for his liking, and the langoustine and smoke salmon didn’t add any value to this dish – harshly speaking, it was akin to 3 separate items put scrappily together that didn’t gel at all.
One of their house favourite, the Prosciutto Di Parma con Rucola Pizza ($26.90), is topped with Parma ham sourced directly from Italy and HFB’s personal favourite – Rocket Salad! Also special request to add shaved Parmesan Cheese as topping was addressed. HFB ranked their version a close second to Da Paolo’s Pizza Bar purely due to the fact that it’s more costly.
What really hit the umami spot were the desserts that night. The Chocolate Fondant ($12.90) oozed yummy molten chocolate when one breaks the exterior crust, and the paired vanilla ice-cream definitely aid to its cause. Slightly expensive considering the serving portion but definitely worth it if you consider Morton’s charges theirs at $25.00.
One should definitely not leave Ristorante De Parma without giving their signatured Tiramisu ($12.90) a try. Aesthetically well presented with what HFB considered a sizeable portion, it was definitely one of the finest tiramisu HFB had tried. Everything from the sponge, to the Mascarpone cheese and alcohol level was so well balanced that HFB wouldn’t mind dropping by just for it after dinner.
Special mention to the service staffs that HFB reckon was pretty well trained and polite.
You can view all the photos here.
Rating given:
Just had my dinner at this outlet of Bishamon this evening. Basically this food outlet serves a few varieties of Jap food such as Ramen and Don Buri. But what I liked was the set meals that they offered, which included a mini portion of either ramen or don buri, one side dish, two pieces of either California or futo maki or sake sushi(with $1 top up) and green tea or soft drinks(with $1 top up as well). Therefore, if one chooses the basic set with no changes, the nett price is just $12.90, which is relatively a good deal and similar to that of Ajisen Ramen thou the portions may tend to lose out a bit.
Overall, I still think that its quite worth and the taste ain't too bad either. So do give it a try if you happen to pass by.
Rating given:
Garibaldi, located along Purvis Street, is part of The Garibaldi Group of Restaurants helmed by award-winning Chef de Cuisine Roberto Galetti and his team. An Italian dinning place that provides a fine exemplar of contemporary, stylish and elegant dining experience all rolled into one, it came no surprise that the tantalising menu emphasises authentic Italian gastronomy primed with the best ingredients imported directly from Italy.
Stepped past the seemingly discreet sliding door and one will be ushered to an elegant bar that offers a great selection of wines by the glass and excellent cocktails – HFB can imagined this to be a perfect after-work to-be-seen setting for chic finance executives and lawyers to mingle at and network.
Make a left turn, and one will find the sombre interior of the small dining area coerce on you – call me unsophisticated but HFB certainly didn’t take to the air-of-pretentious atmosphere of the restaurant.
Also, having a row of smartly dress yet clueless service staff standing at the side of the passageway greeting and staring at HFB while he is seated with his peers add on to his already discomfort.
Kudos to the Complimentary Bread & Balsamic Vinaigrette, which was one of the better renditions that HFB had tried – certainly no one will complain if one goes for a second serving.
For the Antipasti e Insalate, HFB plumped for the Capesante Al Taleggio, or Grilled US Scallops with Porcini Mushroom and Truffled Taleggio Fondue ($25.00). Being a big fan of porcini mushroom, the sautéed nutty flavoured shrooms along with the intense creamy truffled Taleggio cheese was divine. However, HFB felt let down by the textured scallops that were slightly dry for his liking – he thought Sage, The Restaurant did a better job with their Seared Hokkaido Scallops with Normandy Sauce.
What’s an Italian dinner without pasta – the Linguine Al Granchio, or Linguine with Crab Meat and Vodka Sauce ($30.00) was commendable – nice aromatic vodka-infused tomato-cream sauce integrated with the flavours of the sea from the crab meat was simply blissful. However, the serving portion was definitely pathetic and HFB could easily wolfed down another plate with ease.
Dessert was Fondente Al Cioccolato, or simply Molten Lava Chocolate Cake with Hazelnut Gelato and Raspberry Coulis ($18.00) – it didn’t wow me but definitely not the worse I have eaten. However, accolades must be given to the hazelnut gelato that everyone around the table seemed to enjoy it.
Overall, 4 of us choked a total of $428.00 including a bottle of wine and taxes. HFB felt that the pricey wine was a total rip-off and service although professional, lacked cordiality.
You can view all the photos here.
Rating given:
Was in the vicinity of Joo Chiat so decided to pop down to this kid on the block after reading rather favourable reviews of it by some food bloggers. It also helped that I was financially strapped and had to eat on a tight budget.
Located right at the junction of Joo Chiat Road and Koon Seng Road, Tai Shek Hei has only been in operations for about 2 months or so and the decor is typical of a Chinese type eatery. According to the writeup in the menu, Tai Shek Hei specialises in bamboo noodles, which are purportedly unique in the sense that the dough used in making the noodles are beaten with a long thick bamboo pole that promises a springy product without the lye (alkaline) taste.
Speciality Tobiko Dumpling - I had a go at the bamboo noodles, topped with their speciality tobiko (flying fish roe) dumplings. The noodles were thing and springy with lots of bite while the dumplings were quite good with the skin not too thick and the prawns crunchy with a little help from the roe. The soup base was supposedly made from boiling sole fish, prawn shells, dried scallops etc but though rather tasty, it didn't exactly wow me.
Cai Xin - A very normal dish and something you can find at any random cze char stall. $6 is still reasonable I guess.
Roast Combination - We opted for the Soy Chicken and Roast Duck combination which was surprisingly quite good. The meat was tender yet moist and had a nice chewy sensation to it. The amount of fats beneath the skin was also minimal, which is good for health conscious folks. I would have liked the skin to be a little crispier though.
To be honest, I think the food was quite decent and it wasn't exactly expensive either, standing at about $28 for 2 pax. Its a pity about the location and the lack of crowds though.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
After a very pleasurable and gratifying dinner at Aburiya some time back, HFB was looking forward to his next Yakiniku meal (焼き肉 or 焼肉), or Japanese BBQ-styled of cooking bite-sized meat over flame of wood charcoals carbonised by dry distillation (Sumibi (炭火) or gas/electric grill. So off he went to sample Yakiniku Daidomon’s Buffet Dinner (Adult: $63.00 child: $28.00 ) that is only available at their Keypoint outlet along Beach Road.
With slightly more than 100 items to choose from, HFB was absolutely spoiled for choice. So being the Kiasu Singaporean that he is, HFB did his share of research and zeroed in on a few items. For appetisers, it was kick-started with the much raved about Yukke Sushi, or Marinated Beef with Egg Yolk, and it was rightly so – nicely seasoned with spices and sauces such as sesame oil and soy sauce, a raw egg yolk was cracked on top, giving it a smooth velvety taste. The beef was thickly sliced thus granting the person consuming, a nice bite.
The trio of Tuna (Maguro), Salmon (Shake) and Sea Bream (Tai) Sashimi though were disappointing. Although served chilled, it just didn’t tickle HFB's fancy and tasted flat and uninspiring.
The Gyu Tataki, or Marinated & Lightly Grilled Raw Beef was also lacklustre; so much so that HFB thinks the one he had in Bangkok was better.
Surprisingly, the Teiru, or Oxtail Soup that looks boring when served tasted yummy. The gelatinous meat from the oxtail was simply amazing and my only nitpick was there was only one piece floating in the soup.
Once done, the real show begun, and the raw food was set in place. Salmon was thick but filling, thus HFB advise one to go slow and concentrate on other dishes instead.
The Hotate, or Scallop is a MUST try - served whole and juicy, two servings were ordered that evening.
The Kaki Butter, or Oyster with Butter was another orgasmic experience for HFB. Fresh and meaty, cooked it just right and a sweet juicy feasting experience await.
The Ebi, or Prawn was of medium size – nothing fanciful.
The Buta Karubi, or Pork Belly came nicely streaked in fats and tasted wonderful when grilled.
Vegetables were a much welcome break from the meat and the Mushrooms were delightful.
Very high in fat content, it is no wonder the Tan, or Beef Tongue is considered a prized item in Japanese BBQ. Slightly chewy for a bite, however HFB didn’t really fancy it much that night.
The Karubi, or Beef Belly Tender was better appreciated. Slightly marbled – allowed the fats to cook slowly, and what one gets in return is a nice juicy piece of meat.
However, if one think that’s the finest, one would be thrilled to know that the Honetsuki Karubi, or Belly Tender with Rib is one notch better. It tasted so scrumptious that no words can simply describe it and if HFB is to come back to this restaurant, this dish would probably be the reason!
Overall, HFB thinks this is one of those places he will visit if he craves for meat and feel like pampering himself with a treat.
You can view all the photos and other reviews here.
Rating given:
Once and never going to return
This is one of the latest fast food outlet at Compass Point. When it first opened, the crowd was overflowing. The queue is super long and there'll never be any tables available. Everyone is curious when new things arrived. But after the initial fanfare, things just seem to slow down. And now I know the reason why!
Like the rest of the curious customers, I gave Curry San a go. Although the smell of Japanese Curry filling the outlet was overpowering, we thought it should probably be worth while to give it a try.
Ordered Curry Chicken Katsu - $6.80 (which was recommended as their best seller) and Ebiko Cream Fried Shrimp - $7.90. When the food came, both of us lost our appetite. If we had not pay for the food, we'll probably kick a big fuss and walk away.
Curry Chicken Katsu came burned. The fried chicken was tough and tasteless. The rice was overcooked and was too mushy. The curry was no way near tasty too. Very sad! Even the two little girls (around 4-5 yrs old) sitting next to us commented that its not nice!
When I thought mine was bad, the Ebiko Cream Fried Shrimp was worst! Diluted cream sauce with plain looking pasta, few seeds of sesame and sad looking fried shrimp. I could see the total disappointment in his eyes. One word to describe this dish - tasteless.
I wonder if the boss themselves are tasting what they're serving. Too much improvements need to be made. Unless there's a new crowd forming again at Curry San (because of great improvement to the menu), I'll not be stepping into it anymore.
Rating given:
Momoteapots has been around for a bit and has quite a large following. I chanced upon it a couple of months ago and have been drooling over their pretty clothes.
What I like about this blogshop is how they maintain being polite. Even when they talked about fraud in their site, they didn't sound unnecessarily angry and explained their reasons for requesting for receipts from customers. They even apologised for the inconvenience caused, which is great!
The prices are very reasonable. Not only that... the photographs they take are good and they try to show the clothing in all angles which is what I love most. Somehow some other shops when trying to make the clothes look nice, they forget to show you what the back looks like. But Momoteapots always shows the best they can which I think it really commendable.
They have a wide range of clothing, needless to say I'm not a fan of ALL their clothes because they have to cater to different tastes but I do like quite a number of stuff they have. They mostly have dresses (which are easier to buy online anyway) and sometimes bags and belts.
They even maintain a facebook account to keep in touch with their customers!
My only grievance is that I wish they would update more often!!!! But then I would spend money much more often toooo haha :)
Rating given:
Was there for my haircut on Saturday and HFB is pretty impressed with the salon. Located above Body Shop, NEXT is ritzy and glamorously furnish in everything black, including the black leather sofa chair that they will ushered you to for your haircut. Unlike those stiff chairs that usual salon provides, HFB was able to sit comfortably while being attended to.
Soon enough it's time for one's hair wash before the cut and HFB think its the longest he ever had for a wash head massage (25mins to be exact). Although HFB have to admit it's not the best he had tried (KRplus offers better head message amidst a shorter one), it was still enjoyable nonetheless.
Jack, was my hair stylist that day (dolled in his professional yet trendy black outfit of course) - and I am surprised that he is pretty skillful for someone his age. I leave NEXT a happy man satisfied with both my $37.45 haircut and wash/massage. You can be rest assured that I will be making my appointment with them for my NEXT haircut (lame!).
Rating given:
The Silk Road or 丝绸之路 was an important cultural and trade route that linked China and the Far East to the West in ancient times. This was the very route that legendary explorer Marco Polo took from North and South China back to Venice during the 13th century. Banking on the success of this historic route, the Silk Road group of restaurants was born, with Silk Road of the Sea at Sentosa being the latest addition to the family.
Nestled on the ground floor in a standalone building along Palawan beach, Silk Road shares the premises with Braise, a modern European restaurant that occupies the second floor. This cosy Chinese restaurant offers both air conditioned indoor dining and al fresco if you wish to experience the sea breeze and the sand that tags along with it. The interior is done up simply with white washed walls and pillars but more importantly, comes with floor to ceiling windows to allow an unobstructed view of the beach (provided no one blocks your view by sitting in front of you in the al fresco area).
Pumpkin Soup - An off the menu item as well as a signature dish of Silk Road, the pumpkin soup cost a hefty $18. Portions were big and the soup was probably just sufficient for 1 person. However I must give it credit for its rather interesting presentation - served in a pumpkin with its insides carved out. The soup came across as mildy sweet with a relatively strong hint of the raw ocean, which can be quite unsettling at times. I also thought that for the price, there would be a more generous serving of scallops, prawns, squid and seaweed in it.
Chef's Homemade Signature Beancurd - Besides the gravy being a wee bit too salty, I couldn't find any fault with the beancurd, which was a little crisp on the outside yet smooth and silky on the inside. Personally, I liked the layer of spinach atop which accentuated the savoury aftertaste. Polishing off this dish would have child's play to me.
Sichuan Smoked Duck with Camphor & Tea Leaves - My experiences with smoked duck in Singapore are limited to only Szechuan Court and Peach Blossoms, both of which doesn't exactly serve up good smoked duck I must say. Although Silk Road's rendition was better then both places, it still didn't impress me much. The duck meat was reddish (a little too reddish at some parts though) but not overly dry and carried a floating hint of smokiness. There was the problem of the missing tea taste though.
Stir Fried Asparagus - How bad can stir fried asparagus get? This dish was normal with the asparagus cooked just right, not too soft nor hard. And thats about it.
Supreme Fried Rice with Seafood - I thought that the rice was evenly fried, as evident by the homogeneous colour but lacked the quintessential wok hei taste. Fortunately, the rice still came across as relatively tasty with a reasonably generous amount of ingredients.
Dinner is a most relaxing environment coupled with a nice view of the beach cost the two of us about $98. Expensive? Definitely. However, if you take a look at the individual pricing of items, its more or less Crystal Jade prices except for the pumpkin soup, which is really over the hill IMHO. Take that away and suddenly, the total bill does seem a tad more reasonable. However, having said that, I don't see myself returning, especially with an upfront $7 ($6 entry $1 parking) charge.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Mentioned the word “Steak” and Morton’s The Steakhouse will probably come to mind as the pinnacle in classic steakhouse experience.
Located at a hidden corner on the 4th floor of Mandarin Oriental, entering into the restaurant immediately transport one from a simple boring main façade to a voguish interior of dim lighting and sounds of fine tableware clanks.
Being HFB’s virgin trip to Morton’s, Tina, our maître d' for the evening, rattled off what seem like a scripted introduction of the various cuts of steaks, as well as seafood, that the restaurants serve as mains before the start of the dinner.
Following that, the dinner commenced with the much raved about Onion Loaf that HFB was looking forward. A colossal loaf of a bread, that was probably the best complimentary bread that HFB have eaten – served crisp on the exterior and fluffy on the inside, the whiff of the onion exude from the bread when one yank opened, yet it remained subtle on the palate without too overwhelming. It is so good that it goes with butter as well as on its own. And if one is too tempted to finished it, HFB’s advice to you is – DON’T – as Morton’s is also renowned for their generous serving portion.
Two appetisers were chosen that night – the first being ½ dozen of Pacific Oysters on the Half Shell ($36.00). Served the way HFB expected it to be – on a bed of ice that is, the oysters were fresh but not the most meaty. Thus for $6 a pop, HFB doesn’t found it to be value-worthy.
The latter was that of the Lobster Bisque Soup ($30.00) that was big enough portion for 2 – but HFB found the single small piece of lobster meat swimming within laughably wretched. While the soup reeked of essence, it was VERY salty towards the end of it, such that HFB have trouble finishing it.
The mains in Morton’s don’t come with any sides thus a serving of Creamed Spinach, for two, costs an eye-popping $22.00. Serving portion was a gargantuan affair, but what HFB like was how lightly salted and smooth it was to consume. However, too much of the cream and the “jelakness”, or fullness starts to set in.
The Sautéed Mushrooms ($15.00) were satisfactory. Done al dente and comes with a nice bite, it was salted to taste.
The celebrated dish that evening would have to be the Aged Australian Filet Mignon ($79.00). Nicely char-grilled on the outside, the lean cut was perfectly executed to medium-rare, exuding sweetness on this tender piece of meat.
It was definitely the best piece of steak HFB had tasted so far, and rated higher than the Grade 9 Wagyu Ribeye at Astons, as HFB prefers his steak to be “beefy” – something that is lacking in a piece of well-marbled wagyu.
Regrettably, the Morton’s Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake ($25.00) failed to live up to the tag that evening. Urged on to “die, die” sample the chocolate cake by all my peers who had dined at Morton’s before, it came slightly over-baked and was dry and bitter on the outside.
Portioning the cake also did not reveal an oozing molten chocolate that HFB was highly anticipating. The only saving grace was the scoop of In-house Vanilla Ice-cream that tasted very good.
Overall, service was generally good and accommodating, but dinner for two costs $316.60, inclusive of 2 glasses of house-pour wines and taxes, which is very expensive and (steak aside) not value-for-money. Excellent mood created by the furnishing and lighting was also ruined with mindless chatters from various tables as well as the consistence singing of birthday songs (10 times over a 2.5 hours period) – absolutely not recommended for a romantic dinner for two.
You can view all the photos and other reviews here.
Rating given: