I was at esplanade to watch a play and had an hour to kill. On my friend's recommendation, we decided to stop by the Cookie Museum to purchase some cookies.
We were attended to by one of the staff - she patiently allowed us to try about 10 flavours of cookies, before we decided to get a tin each.
Some of the more unique flavours include nasi lemak cookies (really tastes like nasi lemak - taste the peanuts, then ikan billis and lastly this lingering coconut aftertaste). Apparently they have a limited edition Laksa Cookie, which they do once a year but you'll have to order way in advance. The cookies can be broadly classified into two kinds - the crispy kind and the buttery kind. Crispy kind includes the likes of Nasi Lemak, and buttery kind is like rose.
The tin that I brought back was the rose cookie - according to the staff, the cookie museum doesn't use any artificial flavouring. The rose taste and smell of the cookies are really strong, and since I like anything rose, this is my favourite. There were also rose petals embedded inside the cookie. The cookies are also low in sugar, great for those people who are watching their sugar intake.
However, there's always a price to pay for all these premium branded cookies - a tin of rose petal cookes will set you back $32 , and prices go up to about $45 for gold leaf cookies.
I'm sorry to hear that Catherine had such bad service from them. The server was really patient and helpful, and at the end of our cookie tasting session, she even got us a glass of fruit tea. No prizes for guessing that all these hidden costs are already factored into the tin of cookies that I got.
Nakasei Sushi Restaurant is located inside Holiday Inn Hotel (behind Cuppage). It's a very cosy and private restaurant - 3 of us were ushered into a private room the moment we got there - there's a sushi bar (where the regulars usually sit) too.
The menu is nearly all in Japanese, and it's pretty daunting since it'll just read one or two words - most of the time I didn't really know what they meant. But of course, we asked our friendly waitress (who was always on hand for a refill of tea) for help and advice on the food.
According to her, Nakasei is famous for it's sushi, and she advised me strongly to get the sushi. No regrets on that part.
I also had the White Asparagus ($25), which was a seasonal special in May. What worried me initially was that the menu had hardly any pricing - the seasonal menu didn't have any pricing at all! I was so stressed while ordering =_=" Of course, the asparagus didn't dissappoint - it came in a mordern Japanese sauce which had a hint of sesame and vinegar.
Of course, with the price you'll be paying ($40 for sashimi in picture, $40 for sushi in picture, and $50 for the chirashi don) you can only expect freshness. I suppose my taste buds can't appreciate anything above $50 (for sushi) since the back of my mind will be preoccupied with calculating the bill...
And, you'll be getting freshly grated wasabi. It's the only wasabi I'll eat - doesn't go up your nose and has a milder taste.
If you're willing to spend the money, and I suppose for some reason don't want to try all the other big and expensive and well known Japanese restaurants (I haven't...), then this is the palce for you.
Some things are better in the east - due to the ulu-ness (not really inaccessable but it's far for me) I kept delaying my trip there, but when I finally did go there, I realised what I had been missing out.
Horlicks and kinderbueno combination is my fave - I think I shall make my trip worth it next time and get 2 kinderbuenos mixed into my tub :D
Other flavours and mixes i've tried are Milo ice cream with loaker and kaya ice cream with caramello biscuits
Do note that the texture of the ice cream tends to change after freezing (at least for my 2 tubs - horlicks and kinderbueno, kaya and caramello biscuits). It's best eaten freshly mixed. And, like all other ice cream places - tubs are more worth it so bring your friends and share!
What I like about the place is that the service is very good and consistently good- hard to find such service these days. They are really patient (how to decide between all those yummy flavours??), knowledgable (about which of the many mixes goes well with what ice cream), and best of all, take the initiative to serve customers better. For example, when I ordered 2 take away tubs, and another tub to share and have there, they immediately offered to place my takeaway tubs into the freezer, and they were very efficient in retrieving it when I was leaving.
Best of all, the parking's free and readily available!
Hope they can set up a branch nearer the west - I'll confirm patronise them more.
Tubs cost $9.50, and $2 for the first mix in, and $1 for the next mix in.
My friends wanted to try cafe oliv, so we braved the terrible weekend parking and went there to sample the menu. I'm glad to say that it didn't dissappoint.
We tried the dinner set (top up $6 for any main course or from the set dinner menu). I was actually torn between two choices - the dinner set (because i wanted the soup and the dessert, and the drink) but I wanted to try the salmon linguine with pink sauce (because i really like pink sauce). I was pleasantly suprised to find that I could top up 6 bucks to any main course to make it a set. Being flexible scores highly for me :)
The soup was chicken (though the server said it was mushroom) and came prettily presented on a wavy dish. Not the best soup i've had but edible.
My salmon linguine with pink sauce was not bad either - $12.90 by itself, or $18.90 with the set. The liguine was al dente, salmon done just right. The sauce was pretty average, I suppose pink sauce goes better with crustaceans.
The lamb shank was really value for money - ($23.90 for the set) and it was a huge chunk of tender, juicy meat which fell off the bone easily.
Dessert - tried the Brownie with ice cream, which was a good portion - unlike those stingy little half portion dessert, this one was a good size and was topped with a satisfyingly big scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Creme Brulee dessert came in the warm version. Not bad either.
Our other friends also tried the Quesadilla and starters (chicken wings, calamari rings and deep fried whole mushrooms). Everyone was suprised at the large portions. Not that anyone was complaining...
Overall, nice cosy dinner place with value for money.
Attended a wedding tasting lunch at Hilton courtesy of my friend who will be tying the knot later this year.
Well not much can be said about the interior because it was held in one of the function rooms which are named after countries, with this particular one being Singapore.
Complimentary Bread - It was a unanimous decision. The bread was good. Served up warm, it exuded a mild fragrance together with a nice crackling sound when I broke off a piece to savour. The soft yet fluffy dough complemented with a thin layer of salted butter was enough to make us request for seconds. And for the record, I had 5 buns, which is definitely a first for me in such situations.
Gazpacho - I'm honestly not a fan of tomato soup, even more so chilled tomato soup, so I didn't quite take to it. And neither did anyone else around the table. But I personally felt that it could have been stronger on the taste as it did seem a little runny to me.
Madras Long Grain Rice with Raisin and Almond - The good thing about long grain rice is that the grains stay seperate and fluffy after cooking, which was the case in this dish. When eaten with the almond slices and raisins, it made for a nice and light (healthy as well!) rice dish. A pity there weren't enough almonds or raisins to go around so there was quite a bit of rice leftover.
Roasted Stuffed Duck on Sauteed Sweet Cabbage with Mustad Cream - Ironically, the star of this dish wasn't the duck but the cabbage, which was sauteed to the right softness and flavourful. The duck on the other hand, wasn't exactly duck per se. According to the chef, a mixture of minced chicken, walnut and spinach were used to make the stuffing which was then rolled with a layer of fatty duck skin with some duck meat attached. The result? A highly chewy duck skin which was almost impossible to cut through, probably due to the amount of fats under the skin. The stuffing was still decent though but the skin really spoilt the whole dish.
Sea Bream with Roots Vegetables in Saffron Cream - The aesthetics of this dish proved to be the sole consolation for this dish, which is sad really. Huge portions aside, the fish meat was seriously tough and I was left wondering if it was really fish because the texture said otherwise. The saffron cream sauce was also a tad weak and it didn't help that the fish itself was rather bland.
Smoked Chicken Breast with Fresh Poached Prawn & Spicy Mango Salsa - I'm sorry but wheres the spice? The diced mangoes were sinfully sweet and had nary a taste of spice. As for the chicken breast, it had but an ever so faint trace of smokiness, which I would definitely have missed if I had eaten it with the mangoes. A longer smoking time would definitely be appreciated.
Hilton's Famous Cheesecake - Hilton has every right to be proud of its cheesecake because its really in a class of its own. Lightly moist and extremely cheesy, this classic American cheesecake is good enough to make me throw any diet plans out of the window. If you prefer the lighter chiffon variant, I would suggest you steer clear of Hilton's offering and head down to Cheesecake Cafe instead.
A good start and a good ending. Hilton just needs to fill up the hollow center. Thanks for the invite!
Went to House/Camp at Dempsey with my friends on a Wednesday Night.
We wanted to have main courses so we were seated in the House (restaurant area). By the time we sat down and started looking at the menu, it was around 8.55pm. We asked the waiter (who wasn't even fluent in English - had to ask hime a few times...) for the 1-for-1 drinks (from 5pm to 9pm), and he wasn't sure if we could have it at the restaurant area, (according to the first waiter, it was only valid at the pub area). So after a few mins, before he came back, we checked with another waitress. She wasn't too clear on it either. The first waiter came back and informed us that we can't have the 1-for-1 drinks at the restaurant area, even though every table in the dining area had a broucher advertising the 1-for-1 drinks. When we finally caught hold of the manager, the manager very unhelpfully said "TOO BAD it's past 9 and the offer is over" (the too bad was in his own words!!!) Of course it'll be past nine if we had to go through 3 people just to check if we could have the drinks with our dinner!!!!!
'Best' of all, they gave us the drinks menu at the restaurant area. If you can't have drinks at the restaurant, then what's the point of giving us the menu? Ridiculous!
So after that, we went to bar area (Camp) - where my friend ordered a $22 'Mint berry gin freeze' which supposedly, and I say supposedly, has 'bombay sapphire gin, fresh berries, mint, pressed lemon, and berry liquor. As far as all of us could taste, there was hardly even a drop of alcohol inside. And all for $22 bucks too! In any other bar, for $22, you'll be expecting at least something which tastes alcoholic, but the drink tasted more like a mocktail. (AND the person drinking this drink was actually scared that it'll be too strong since we were all driving).
On top of that, their drinks menu is sadly very very very limited to a few house speciality cocktails and wines. They have lots of other hard liquors, but then they only come in shots ($10 per shot). When we asked if they could do a simple mix for us (specifically an Amaretto Sour) we were told that the bartender wasn't allowed to mix anything other than those drinks on very limited menu.
I will definitely not go back to house, camp or barracks!!! Definitely NO. On my previous 2 visits, I found the food mediocre and the service passable. But not for this time. I will never recommend anyone to go to House or Camp.
My mum has never tried pedicure before, hence I decided to bring her for a pedicure session on Mother's day. I've passed by Scratch many times and always wanted to try their service. Called them few days before mother's day and managed to get an appointment set for Mum and myself in the evening of Mother's day.
The salon is very big and spacious. Brightly lighted by the natural light coming from outside. The place is kept clean and to the minimum. And the furnitures used are from Ikea. Another thing that's close to my heart.
The lady who attended to me is very outspoken and friendly. She's the supervisor of the place. If I'm not wrong, her name is Claire. She's very detail during the pedicure process. And she'll share tips on keeping our feet nice and healthy. The entire process was enjoyable and filled with giggles and laughter. She sure knows how to make her customers happy. And the final outcome of my feet was smooth and the nail coating on my toes were perfectly flawless! It looks like a new coat even after more than 2 weeks!
As it was Mum's first time doing a pedicure after more than 40yrs. And with her daily standing and soaking of feet in water, her feet has always been hard, peeling and dry. She has got very bad cracks on her leg too. After the pedicure and a spa wrap (in white chocolate!!), her feet is as smooth as baby's feet! She loved it so much, she couldn't stop feeling and touching her own feet after the session!
We were both very satisfied with their service and has signed up for their 6-sessions of pedicure. Looking forward to going back again soon.
This is one place we frequent when we dine at Ang Mo Kio. This outlet of Ramen Ten has been around for many years, and they've been constant with their food standard and service all these while.
Everytime I go, I'll order the same dish, the same drink and almost 90% of the time, I'll be sitting at the same table too! Ha!
My favorite from the menu is the Super Spicy Ramen that's served with minced chicken and lots of chili padi! When I'm hungry, I'll add $2 to get the big bowl (extra noodles). I'm a fan of spicy food and this one gives me the kick everytime I eat it! And to cool off the spiciness, I'll drink their homemade barley (cold).
Nice place with reasonable pricing and friendly service staff. Of course, I'll be going back again whenever I've got cravings for spicy ramen! :)
"Old Mother Hen" is one place that veteran food connoiseurs adore. When I first arrived at this place, I was quite taken aback. The shop was even more "old-school" and dingy than I expected and it felt like I had entered another country/decade. However, super-friendly owner Jimmy immediately makes you feel welcome with his cheery exuberance. He gently helped us select their signature dishes and made recommendations for the freshest fish.
First of the dishes to arrive was this huge platter of KL-style dark Hokkien noodles (S$12, medium portion). Oh yes, we requested for extra crispy pork lard. The truly dark gravy was a fairly close rendition of the Malaysian version. We felt this was slightly better than the one served at Big Eater Seafood. The pork lard here is less crispy though but some may prefer it that way. It also didn't have any strong porky taste that may turn others off.
Next up was our "adventure" dish. Fallopian tubes or 生肠 (of the piggy variety) stir-fried (signature style, S$12, medium portion) in a sweetly spicy sauce with dried shrimp, chilies, onions and spring onions. Southernoise had actually tried this before (this is his second visit) and he highly recommended it to us. It was indeed good. Delightfully crunchy, the springy texture provides that coveted mouthfeel that the Chinese prize. The chopped tubes themselves are quite mild-tasting, so they make a great base for carrying sauces. I've actually eaten this piggy part before but it was just called intestines when I had it. Probably a euphemism. Most people would likely recoil in horror at the mere suggestion of this body part being eaten. But I say, it makes full and very good use of the pig that died!
Onto something more regular. Tofu. Their signature homemade tofu (S$16, medium portion) is an excellent dish. The crisp, deep-fried skin gives way to silky soft insides. Savoury mince topping with dried shrimp, pork lard pieces and spring onions complete the delicious profile.
The fish was indeed very fresh today. Jimmy recommended the red grouper head (S$28 for 700g) instead of the patin fish, as our group is not too used to fish heads. The sauce is intensely flavourful, and I can only describe it as a very garlicky sambal that isn't very spicy-hot. Oh, the small, yellow, oblong slices scattered all over the fish we discovered were not pineapple but more fried pork lard!!!
Kailan presented two ways (S$12, medium portion) - the leaves are sliced fine and deep-fried until they resemble nori (dried seaweed) and then topped with pork floss. The bottom half is steamed with a garlic sauce sauce. It's too bad the kailan itself was a bit "old" and therefore too fibrous to be enjoyable.
Another one of their famous dishes - Claypot chicken rice (S$12) that's been lauded as better than Geylang Claypot's further down the road. This is cooked to order on the charcoal and gas stoves at the front of the shop. Yes, the claypot yields a beautiful crust of crispy rice at the bottom, and has decent portions of chicken, chinese sausage, salted egg yolks and salted fish well-mixed in the rice. But perhaps because we were already quite full at this juncture, we felt the flavour was just so-so. Honestly, I prefer my own homecooked version (which you can try making too)!
The 十全 or "Complete Ten (herbal ingredients) Old Mother Hen Herbal Soup is a must-try since it's even in the name of the shop. As we aren't an adventurous lot with herbal soups, we took a small portion (S$6). This black concoction looks scary but is probably the most palatable 十全 herbal soup I've tasted. It's more sweet than bitter, with plenty of meaty umami in the opaque broth. The chicken itself was stewed til soft, and meat falling off the bone.
We actually saw Jimmy trot across the road to buy a watermelon earlier during the meal. Lo and behold, when we finished eating, he presented us a whimsically carved platter of fruits, compliments of the house. This again, is an oft-forgotten, old-school gesture of appreciation whenever a table chalks up an adequately sizeable bill.
All in all, not a bad meal for six costing just S$105 (about S$17.50 each) including drinks (no alcohol, of course). Like most cze-char places, there's no service charge or GST.
This shop is also just next to the coffeeshop housing the Geylang Hakka Lei Cha Fan (Thunder Rice Tea)! Old Mother Hen opens til quite late (1.30am) but fortunately they are located on the foodie side of Geylang, not the "entertainment" side.
Hanabi Restaurant, situated at Bukit Timah Road King's Arcade. We went to this place on Sat for dinner. Read on Yebber's review that there will be a lot of people there so we decided to reserve a table for 3.
When we sat down, the waiter came over and ask us what drinks we want to order when we haven't even open our menu. Turned out its our fault as the buffet comes with complimentary hot or cold Ocha. So we ordered our drinks and sat to look through the menu.
Service was fast and polite. So fast that the moment some one saw my husband took up the menu, he came over and ask us whether we need to order. Not that this was bad. Service crew polite, food served fast and empty plates cleared fast.
Sashimi - I don't eat raw food as I find biting into raw meat very "恐怖“. But even to people like me, the Sashimi looks absolutely fresh and portions given were generously large. My friends who ate this said the meat were succulent and fresh but they ought to put the pieces on cooler or ice to keep the taste there. 2nd portion of the Sashimi ordered were not as nice though. Freshness was still there just that the cuts were not that good. Fish scales can be found.
Tempura - Not that great though served piping hot. We ordered Yasai Tempura and I felt that the vegetables were cooked too throughly and lost their texture. Unagi tempura was not bad with the tempura coating crispy and the Unagi itself soft and sweet. Grilled items - Definitely pre-cooked and re-warmed. Items came out warm and some were cold. Looks dry and uninviting. Grilled items were not too good which can be understood as grilled items take longer to cook. To serve fast, they must be pre-cooked.
Others - We definitely loved the Chiizu Chawanmushi. Though except for a piece of mushroom, there were no other ingredients inside, it was surprising that cheese and eggs blended well together. Not to mention the chewy pieces of cheese at the bottom of the cup.
We also ordered Goma ice-cream (Black Sesame) and Yuzu ice-cream (Jap Lemon?) and Chocolate ice-cream. Both Goma and Yuzu taste heavenly. Especially the Yuzu which is a sorbet ice-cream. Different from other sorbet ice-cream was that it wasn't too watery hence doesn't melt too fast. Pieces of fruits inside the ice-cream and its thick texture makes this item absolutely worthed its price of $4 (per scope)
Total bill for the buffet was $124. Definitely worthed the price.
1=SGD 0.0587
I was at esplanade to watch a play and had an hour to kill. On my friend's recommendation, we decided to stop by the Cookie Museum to purchase some cookies.
We were attended to by one of the staff - she patiently allowed us to try about 10 flavours of cookies, before we decided to get a tin each.
Some of the more unique flavours include nasi lemak cookies (really tastes like nasi lemak - taste the peanuts, then ikan billis and lastly this lingering coconut aftertaste). Apparently they have a limited edition Laksa Cookie, which they do once a year but you'll have to order way in advance. The cookies can be broadly classified into two kinds - the crispy kind and the buttery kind. Crispy kind includes the likes of Nasi Lemak, and buttery kind is like rose.
The tin that I brought back was the rose cookie - according to the staff, the cookie museum doesn't use any artificial flavouring. The rose taste and smell of the cookies are really strong, and since I like anything rose, this is my favourite. There were also rose petals embedded inside the cookie. The cookies are also low in sugar, great for those people who are watching their sugar intake.
However, there's always a price to pay for all these premium branded cookies - a tin of rose petal cookes will set you back $32 , and prices go up to about $45 for gold leaf cookies.
I'm sorry to hear that Catherine had such bad service from them. The server was really patient and helpful, and at the end of our cookie tasting session, she even got us a glass of fruit tea. No prizes for guessing that all these hidden costs are already factored into the tin of cookies that I got.
Rating given:
Nakasei Sushi Restaurant is located inside Holiday Inn Hotel (behind Cuppage). It's a very cosy and private restaurant - 3 of us were ushered into a private room the moment we got there - there's a sushi bar (where the regulars usually sit) too.
The menu is nearly all in Japanese, and it's pretty daunting since it'll just read one or two words - most of the time I didn't really know what they meant. But of course, we asked our friendly waitress (who was always on hand for a refill of tea) for help and advice on the food.
According to her, Nakasei is famous for it's sushi, and she advised me strongly to get the sushi. No regrets on that part.
I also had the White Asparagus ($25), which was a seasonal special in May. What worried me initially was that the menu had hardly any pricing - the seasonal menu didn't have any pricing at all! I was so stressed while ordering =_=" Of course, the asparagus didn't dissappoint - it came in a mordern Japanese sauce which had a hint of sesame and vinegar.
Of course, with the price you'll be paying ($40 for sashimi in picture, $40 for sushi in picture, and $50 for the chirashi don) you can only expect freshness. I suppose my taste buds can't appreciate anything above $50 (for sushi) since the back of my mind will be preoccupied with calculating the bill...
And, you'll be getting freshly grated wasabi. It's the only wasabi I'll eat - doesn't go up your nose and has a milder taste.
If you're willing to spend the money, and I suppose for some reason don't want to try all the other big and expensive and well known Japanese restaurants (I haven't...), then this is the palce for you.
Rating given:
Some things are better in the east - due to the ulu-ness (not really inaccessable but it's far for me) I kept delaying my trip there, but when I finally did go there, I realised what I had been missing out.
Horlicks and kinderbueno combination is my fave - I think I shall make my trip worth it next time and get 2 kinderbuenos mixed into my tub :D
Other flavours and mixes i've tried are Milo ice cream with loaker and kaya ice cream with caramello biscuits
Do note that the texture of the ice cream tends to change after freezing (at least for my 2 tubs - horlicks and kinderbueno, kaya and caramello biscuits). It's best eaten freshly mixed. And, like all other ice cream places - tubs are more worth it so bring your friends and share!
What I like about the place is that the service is very good and consistently good- hard to find such service these days. They are really patient (how to decide between all those yummy flavours??), knowledgable (about which of the many mixes goes well with what ice cream), and best of all, take the initiative to serve customers better. For example, when I ordered 2 take away tubs, and another tub to share and have there, they immediately offered to place my takeaway tubs into the freezer, and they were very efficient in retrieving it when I was leaving.
Best of all, the parking's free and readily available!
Hope they can set up a branch nearer the west - I'll confirm patronise them more.
Tubs cost $9.50, and $2 for the first mix in, and $1 for the next mix in.
Rating given:
My friends wanted to try cafe oliv, so we braved the terrible weekend parking and went there to sample the menu. I'm glad to say that it didn't dissappoint.
We tried the dinner set (top up $6 for any main course or from the set dinner menu). I was actually torn between two choices - the dinner set (because i wanted the soup and the dessert, and the drink) but I wanted to try the salmon linguine with pink sauce (because i really like pink sauce). I was pleasantly suprised to find that I could top up 6 bucks to any main course to make it a set. Being flexible scores highly for me :)
The soup was chicken (though the server said it was mushroom) and came prettily presented on a wavy dish. Not the best soup i've had but edible.
My salmon linguine with pink sauce was not bad either - $12.90 by itself, or $18.90 with the set. The liguine was al dente, salmon done just right. The sauce was pretty average, I suppose pink sauce goes better with crustaceans.
The lamb shank was really value for money - ($23.90 for the set) and it was a huge chunk of tender, juicy meat which fell off the bone easily.
Dessert - tried the Brownie with ice cream, which was a good portion - unlike those stingy little half portion dessert, this one was a good size and was topped with a satisfyingly big scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Creme Brulee dessert came in the warm version. Not bad either.
Our other friends also tried the Quesadilla and starters (chicken wings, calamari rings and deep fried whole mushrooms). Everyone was suprised at the large portions. Not that anyone was complaining...
Overall, nice cosy dinner place with value for money.
Rating given:
Attended a wedding tasting lunch at Hilton courtesy of my friend who will be tying the knot later this year.
Well not much can be said about the interior because it was held in one of the function rooms which are named after countries, with this particular one being Singapore.
Complimentary Bread - It was a unanimous decision. The bread was good. Served up warm, it exuded a mild fragrance together with a nice crackling sound when I broke off a piece to savour. The soft yet fluffy dough complemented with a thin layer of salted butter was enough to make us request for seconds. And for the record, I had 5 buns, which is definitely a first for me in such situations.
Gazpacho - I'm honestly not a fan of tomato soup, even more so chilled tomato soup, so I didn't quite take to it. And neither did anyone else around the table. But I personally felt that it could have been stronger on the taste as it did seem a little runny to me.
Madras Long Grain Rice with Raisin and Almond -
The good thing about long grain rice is that the grains stay seperate and fluffy after cooking, which was the case in this dish. When eaten with the almond slices and raisins, it made for a nice and light (healthy as well!) rice dish. A pity there weren't enough almonds or raisins to go around so there was quite a bit of rice leftover.
Roasted Stuffed Duck on Sauteed Sweet Cabbage with Mustad Cream - Ironically, the star of this dish wasn't the duck but the cabbage, which was sauteed to the right softness and flavourful. The duck on the other hand, wasn't exactly duck per se. According to the chef, a mixture of minced chicken, walnut and spinach were used to make the stuffing which was then rolled with a layer of fatty duck skin with some duck meat attached. The result? A highly chewy duck skin which was almost impossible to cut through, probably due to the amount of fats under the skin. The stuffing was still decent though but the skin really spoilt the whole dish.
Sea Bream with Roots Vegetables in Saffron Cream - The aesthetics of this dish proved to be the sole consolation for this dish, which is sad really. Huge portions aside, the fish meat was seriously tough and I was left wondering if it was really fish because the texture said otherwise. The saffron cream sauce was also a tad weak and it didn't help that the fish itself was rather bland.
Smoked Chicken Breast with Fresh Poached Prawn & Spicy Mango Salsa - I'm sorry but wheres the spice? The diced mangoes were sinfully sweet and had nary a taste of spice. As for the chicken breast, it had but an ever so faint trace of smokiness, which I would definitely have missed if I had eaten it with the mangoes. A longer smoking time would definitely be appreciated.
Hilton's Famous Cheesecake - Hilton has every right to be proud of its cheesecake because its really in a class of its own. Lightly moist and extremely cheesy, this classic American cheesecake is good enough to make me throw any diet plans out of the window. If you prefer the lighter chiffon variant, I would suggest you steer clear of Hilton's offering and head down to Cheesecake Cafe instead.
A good start and a good ending. Hilton just needs to fill up the hollow center. Thanks for the invite!
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Went to House/Camp at Dempsey with my friends on a Wednesday Night.
We wanted to have main courses so we were seated in the House (restaurant area). By the time we sat down and started looking at the menu, it was around 8.55pm. We asked the waiter (who wasn't even fluent in English - had to ask hime a few times...) for the 1-for-1 drinks (from 5pm to 9pm), and he wasn't sure if we could have it at the restaurant area, (according to the first waiter, it was only valid at the pub area). So after a few mins, before he came back, we checked with another waitress. She wasn't too clear on it either. The first waiter came back and informed us that we can't have the 1-for-1 drinks at the restaurant area, even though every table in the dining area had a broucher advertising the 1-for-1 drinks. When we finally caught hold of the manager, the manager very unhelpfully said "TOO BAD it's past 9 and the offer is over" (the too bad was in his own words!!!) Of course it'll be past nine if we had to go through 3 people just to check if we could have the drinks with our dinner!!!!!
'Best' of all, they gave us the drinks menu at the restaurant area. If you can't have drinks at the restaurant, then what's the point of giving us the menu? Ridiculous!
So after that, we went to bar area (Camp) - where my friend ordered a $22 'Mint berry gin freeze' which supposedly, and I say supposedly, has 'bombay sapphire gin, fresh berries, mint, pressed lemon, and berry liquor. As far as all of us could taste, there was hardly even a drop of alcohol inside. And all for $22 bucks too! In any other bar, for $22, you'll be expecting at least something which tastes alcoholic, but the drink tasted more like a mocktail. (AND the person drinking this drink was actually scared that it'll be too strong since we were all driving).
On top of that, their drinks menu is sadly very very very limited to a few house speciality cocktails and wines. They have lots of other hard liquors, but then they only come in shots ($10 per shot). When we asked if they could do a simple mix for us (specifically an Amaretto Sour) we were told that the bartender wasn't allowed to mix anything other than those drinks on very limited menu.
I will definitely not go back to house, camp or barracks!!! Definitely NO. On my previous 2 visits, I found the food mediocre and the service passable. But not for this time. I will never recommend anyone to go to House or Camp.
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Friendly staff, great service, lasting colors!
My mum has never tried pedicure before, hence I decided to bring her for a pedicure session on Mother's day. I've passed by Scratch many times and always wanted to try their service. Called them few days before mother's day and managed to get an appointment set for Mum and myself in the evening of Mother's day.
The salon is very big and spacious. Brightly lighted by the natural light coming from outside. The place is kept clean and to the minimum. And the furnitures used are from Ikea. Another thing that's close to my heart.
The lady who attended to me is very outspoken and friendly. She's the supervisor of the place. If I'm not wrong, her name is Claire. She's very detail during the pedicure process. And she'll share tips on keeping our feet nice and healthy. The entire process was enjoyable and filled with giggles and laughter. She sure knows how to make her customers happy. And the final outcome of my feet was smooth and the nail coating on my toes were perfectly flawless! It looks like a new coat even after more than 2 weeks!
As it was Mum's first time doing a pedicure after more than 40yrs. And with her daily standing and soaking of feet in water, her feet has always been hard, peeling and dry. She has got very bad cracks on her leg too. After the pedicure and a spa wrap (in white chocolate!!), her feet is as smooth as baby's feet! She loved it so much, she couldn't stop feeling and touching her own feet after the session!
We were both very satisfied with their service and has signed up for their 6-sessions of pedicure. Looking forward to going back again soon.
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This is one place we frequent when we dine at Ang Mo Kio. This outlet of Ramen Ten has been around for many years, and they've been constant with their food standard and service all these while.
Everytime I go, I'll order the same dish, the same drink and almost 90% of the time, I'll be sitting at the same table too! Ha!
My favorite from the menu is the Super Spicy Ramen that's served with minced chicken and lots of chili padi! When I'm hungry, I'll add $2 to get the big bowl (extra noodles). I'm a fan of spicy food and this one gives me the kick everytime I eat it! And to cool off the spiciness, I'll drink their homemade barley (cold).
Nice place with reasonable pricing and friendly service staff. Of course, I'll be going back again whenever I've got cravings for spicy ramen! :)
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"Old Mother Hen" is one place that veteran food connoiseurs adore. When I first arrived at this place, I was quite taken aback. The shop was even more "old-school" and dingy than I expected and it felt like I had entered another country/decade. However, super-friendly owner Jimmy immediately makes you feel welcome with his cheery exuberance. He gently helped us select their signature dishes and made recommendations for the freshest fish.
First of the dishes to arrive was this huge platter of KL-style dark Hokkien noodles (S$12, medium portion). Oh yes, we requested for extra crispy pork lard. The truly dark gravy was a fairly close rendition of the Malaysian version. We felt this was slightly better than the one served at Big Eater Seafood. The pork lard here is less crispy though but some may prefer it that way. It also didn't have any strong porky taste that may turn others off.
Next up was our "adventure" dish. Fallopian tubes or 生肠 (of the piggy variety) stir-fried (signature style, S$12, medium portion) in a sweetly spicy sauce with dried shrimp, chilies, onions and spring onions. Southernoise had actually tried this before (this is his second visit) and he highly recommended it to us. It was indeed good. Delightfully crunchy, the springy texture provides that coveted mouthfeel that the Chinese prize. The chopped tubes themselves are quite mild-tasting, so they make a great base for carrying sauces. I've actually eaten this piggy part before but it was just called intestines when I had it. Probably a euphemism. Most people would likely recoil in horror at the mere suggestion of this body part being eaten. But I say, it makes full and very good use of the pig that died!
Onto something more regular. Tofu. Their signature homemade tofu (S$16, medium portion) is an excellent dish. The crisp, deep-fried skin gives way to silky soft insides. Savoury mince topping with dried shrimp, pork lard pieces and spring onions complete the delicious profile.
The fish was indeed very fresh today. Jimmy recommended the red grouper head (S$28 for 700g) instead of the patin fish, as our group is not too used to fish heads. The sauce is intensely flavourful, and I can only describe it as a very garlicky sambal that isn't very spicy-hot. Oh, the small, yellow, oblong slices scattered all over the fish we discovered were not pineapple but more fried pork lard!!!
Kailan presented two ways (S$12, medium portion) - the leaves are sliced fine and deep-fried until they resemble nori (dried seaweed) and then topped with pork floss. The bottom half is steamed with a garlic sauce sauce. It's too bad the kailan itself was a bit "old" and therefore too fibrous to be enjoyable.
Another one of their famous dishes - Claypot chicken rice (S$12) that's been lauded as better than Geylang Claypot's further down the road. This is cooked to order on the charcoal and gas stoves at the front of the shop. Yes, the claypot yields a beautiful crust of crispy rice at the bottom, and has decent portions of chicken, chinese sausage, salted egg yolks and salted fish well-mixed in the rice. But perhaps because we were already quite full at this juncture, we felt the flavour was just so-so. Honestly, I prefer my own homecooked version (which you can try making too)!
The 十全 or "Complete Ten (herbal ingredients) Old Mother Hen Herbal Soup is a must-try since it's even in the name of the shop. As we aren't an adventurous lot with herbal soups, we took a small portion (S$6). This black concoction looks scary but is probably the most palatable 十全 herbal soup I've tasted. It's more sweet than bitter, with plenty of meaty umami in the opaque broth. The chicken itself was stewed til soft, and meat falling off the bone.
We actually saw Jimmy trot across the road to buy a watermelon earlier during the meal. Lo and behold, when we finished eating, he presented us a whimsically carved platter of fruits, compliments of the house. This again, is an oft-forgotten, old-school gesture of appreciation whenever a table chalks up an adequately sizeable bill.
All in all, not a bad meal for six costing just S$105 (about S$17.50 each) including drinks (no alcohol, of course). Like most cze-char places, there's no service charge or GST.
This shop is also just next to the coffeeshop housing the Geylang Hakka Lei Cha Fan (Thunder Rice Tea)! Old Mother Hen opens til quite late (1.30am) but fortunately they are located on the foodie side of Geylang, not the "entertainment" side.
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Hanabi Restaurant, situated at Bukit Timah Road King's Arcade. We went to this place on Sat for dinner. Read on Yebber's review that there will be a lot of people there so we decided to reserve a table for 3.
When we sat down, the waiter came over and ask us what drinks we want to order when we haven't even open our menu. Turned out its our fault as the buffet comes with complimentary hot or cold Ocha. So we ordered our drinks and sat to look through the menu.
Service was fast and polite. So fast that the moment some one saw my husband took up the menu, he came over and ask us whether we need to order. Not that this was bad. Service crew polite, food served fast and empty plates cleared fast.
Sashimi - I don't eat raw food as I find biting into raw meat very "恐怖“. But even to people like me, the Sashimi looks absolutely fresh and portions given were generously large. My friends who ate this said the meat were succulent and fresh but they ought to put the pieces on cooler or ice to keep the taste there. 2nd portion of the Sashimi ordered were not as nice though. Freshness was still there just that the cuts were not that good. Fish scales can be found.
Tempura - Not that great though served piping hot. We ordered Yasai Tempura and I felt that the vegetables were cooked too throughly and lost their texture. Unagi tempura was not bad with the tempura coating crispy and the Unagi itself soft and sweet.
Grilled items - Definitely pre-cooked and re-warmed. Items came out warm and some were cold. Looks dry and uninviting. Grilled items were not too good which can be understood as grilled items take longer to cook. To serve fast, they must be pre-cooked.
Others - We definitely loved the Chiizu Chawanmushi. Though except for a piece of mushroom, there were no other ingredients inside, it was surprising that cheese and eggs blended well together. Not to mention the chewy pieces of cheese at the bottom of the cup.
We also ordered Goma ice-cream (Black Sesame) and Yuzu ice-cream (Jap Lemon?) and Chocolate ice-cream. Both Goma and Yuzu taste heavenly. Especially the Yuzu which is a sorbet ice-cream. Different from other sorbet ice-cream was that it wasn't too watery hence doesn't melt too fast. Pieces of fruits inside the ice-cream and its thick texture makes this item absolutely worthed its price of $4 (per scope)
Total bill for the buffet was $124. Definitely worthed the price.
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