Had a chance to gather around for a meal with the Yebbers on a fine Saturday to commemorate a rather interesting event which i will not go into specifics. Either way, the meal is free and i've always wanted to dine in Laguna Country Club for no apparent reason other then its a country club. So here we are and this is what we had. As i didn't pay for this meal, i'll only give my take on the food quality and service.
Laguna country club hosts a variety of golf tournaments throughout the year, including big name events like the Singapore Masters and the Women's Open nary a year ago. The location is scenic with lush green pastures and an air of luxury that extends beyond the greens and into the eating places housed within. Pine Valley is a relaxed, open and well air conditioned place for the inhabitants and club members and also a good place to reside for a nice chat as its sparsely populated even during the lunch hours.
Shark's Fin Soup with Fish Maw, Chicken and Mushrooms - Shark's fin soup is one of those dishes that i associate with wedding dinners and extremely wealthy individuals. This will likely fall into the latter category. The soup itself is quite starchy and has a really generous helping of ingredients, shark's fin and fish maw. Taken on its own, there's a sweet taste that emanates from the healthy does of crab and mushrooms in the mix but otherwise, tastes bland as most shark's fin soup tastes. Vinegar and pepper definitely ups the taste and texture department in this case.
Peking Duck - The beauty of the Peking Duck dish is undeniable. Order a whole duck and you'll get to eat it in a variety of ways for the skin and the meat. The only things standing between you and the dish is the knowledge of whether the duck skin is marinated and roasted well. In this case, the skin is quite fatty and crispy enough to warrant a try. The marinate feels non existant and the normal pancake is too dry. The egg version salvaged the situation though. The meat was cooked in black pepper and turned out surprisingly good. It was moist, succulent and sweet. It also helped that the portion size was rather big.
Wasabi Mayonnaise Prawns - Wasabi Mayonnaise prawns, a signature dish of the Tung Lok group, this version turned out too dry for me. The batter and frying process seemed to have been overdone which left the prawns tasting hard and dry instead of crunchy and juicy. No matter, the wasabi mayonnaise was mixed well and provided a small kick in the right direction since it was rather mild and easily acceptable.
Steamed Batang - This fish was huge. Simple steamed fish can be good as long as the fish itself was fresh and the process of cooking was not overdone. Sad to say however, the fish was overcooked and thus caused the meat to loss some of its sweetness which could have made it better. For what its worth, what is good is that the meat is plentiful, fresh and went well with the salty and sourish stock accompanying the dish.
Dried Chili Fried Prawns - Somehow, i don't think the restaurant handles prawns well. This dish was decent but the taste resides only within the portion of the shell. This means that once deshelled, which is a necessary procedure unless you are lazy like me, the prawn itself is rather bland. Otherwise, the spicy and fragrant dried chili is something spice lovers will easily take to.
Beancurd with Spinach - Finally, some greens. The spinach turned out too old and had the "greenish" taste which accompanies greens not cleaned properly. Although a tad salty, the spinach with all its flaws, ultimately tasted better then the beancurd atop it, which came across as being totally tasteless.
Fried Ee Fu Noodles - By the time this dish appeared, we'd pretty much been stuffed like a duck awaiting slaughter. So the taste buds have deteriorated to the point i couldn't taste much. Nonetheless, the noodles were fragrant and had some bacon bits strewn around it. It was also springy and soft enough to be bitten off which is always a good sign.
Almonds, Sea Coconut, Pine Apple and Longan Cocktail - The dessert is rather simple but definitely gets the job done. I like the almond which was very soft and strong (i'm biased because i love almond). Everything else was just detail though. The other good thing was that the sweetness was just right, thus it didn't overwhelm.
First of all, thank you for the meal boss, i probably couldn't afford having such a huge sumptuous meal all on my lonesome. The view was good, location is quiet, food is decent and the portions were huge. I'd say the place was pretty good but i still don't know how much it cost so thats an open topic. Based on the food alone, i would probably like to have the shark's fin again, Peking duck however, is still better at Hai Tien lo.
Following my virgin taste testing session that took place at Persimmon, HFB was honoured to be invited to another launch at TETSU ("哲"), which has just opened its doors at Tanglin Mall.
Japanese cuisine aficionados will rejoice a first of its kind authentic Kushi-style Tempura along with Tonkatsu menu, prepared “LIVE” before their eyes. Seated at specially designed counter bars that are in close proximity to the chef who deftly prepares their Tempura and Tonkatsu, diners get to enjoy a visual feast right before their eyes.
Diners can have a choice from a wide array of freshest seafood, meats and vegetables prepared either Kushi-age style (Skewered with Breaded Batter) or Kushi-tem style (Skewered with Tempura Batter).
In order to recreate the most authentic Japanese dining experience, TETSU has partnered up with one of the most established restaurant groups in Japan with 48 restaurants and employing over 1400 people.
The Hana Group, renowned for their authentic Japanese cuisine and has been advising TETSU in all aspects of their restaurant.
The night was kick-started with an appetiser off the menu, the Cold Tofu with Century Egg and Ebi Roe. It was surprisingly a good dish to start off with as the combination of the heavy century egg and soft tofu attempts to tickle your palate along with the salty exploding sensation of the ebi roe when one bites into it.
The Edamame ($4.00) like others are nothing to shout about, but something that stood out was the aestheticism of the dish, which is visually evident in all the subsequent dishes – it is only then that I found out that TETSU prides itself on offering the most authentic Japanese dining experience, taking it down even to the smallest of details.
The layout of the Kaiseki sets and even the art of serving up these gourmet sets are specially formulated in Japan, to ensure that diners can get the full “LIVE” experience, at the best value. In addition, much of the restaurant’s tableware are all specially flown in from Japan.
Moreover, the good thing about the Kushi-age Soft Shell Crab ($3.00 per serving) is that it does not come oil soaked, although I would prefer it to be slightly meatier.
One might also be intrigued to know that in TETSU, one also get a choice of three dips for their deep-fried food – Tonkutsu sauce, Japanese Mayo and Curry Salt.
Onsentamago To Tofu Salad, or Half-boiled (Hot Spring-styled) Egg & Tofu Salad ($13.50) is another dish that is dedicatedly prepared by the chef – using their bare hands to measure the temperature of the water cooking the eggs, and the eggs only taken out of the cooking water when the water is too hot for their hands to handle.
The only non-authentic dish that we tried that night was probably their Salmon Carpaccio with French Dressing ($18.00). Although the salmon was very fresh and comes with a very nice bite, I feel that the dressing was slightly too sour for me – let’s just say that I prefer sashimi the way it is.
Highly recommended was their Rosu Katsu (A set served with Salad, Pickles, Rice, Miso Soup and Dessert cost $24.50). Similar to Tonkichi, one is also given a bowl of Roasted Sesame Seeds to grind and add to the Tonkutsu sauce.
The sampling of their second deep-fried dish convinced me that their cooking and preparation technique is indeed accomplished. Although I pride Tampopo’s Black Pork Katsu to be the best in taste of texture due to its marbling fats, TETSU’s version comes a close second - one do not really sample the oily aftertaste in the batter.
It was then I was told that TETSU’s chefs have undergone intensive training in the chain’s headquarters in Japan. The attention paid to the preparation of Tempura and Tonkatsu is meticulous – TETSU chefs strictly ensure that all preparation techniques, from marination, to the type of batter and oil, to the time of frying, adhere to their timeless traditional Japanese recipes.
The Roll Sushi ($18.00 for 6 pieces) was another item that was painstaking prepared in many process. One would probably mistook it for a salmon roll sushi if one weren’t told that the filling also consists of scallop and tuna, as the saltiness of the cooked salmon seeks to over-whelmed it. However having said that, it was still a pretty enjoyable sushi roll due to the crunchy batter and the aromatic Sesame Seeds and pairing of Ebi Roe.
The Kushi-style cuisine is very popular in Japan because the skewer-style makes it easy for customers eat and enjoy their sake, shoju or wine at the same time.
However to be honest, by the time the Kaiseki Set Course B ($45.00) consisting of 4 Assorted Appetisers, Stick Vegetables, Kani-Suki (Paper Pot Crab Sukiyaki), Kushi-age or Kushi-Tem, Udon and Dessert arrived, I was pretty much filled up and my palate started to fail me. So I shall let the pictures speak for themselves.
However, one thing I remembered clearly was the very unique Japan-imported Udon that gives one a very chewy bite – one has to try it to truly understand what I mean.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Pris and TETSU for their generous hospitality.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Hubby and I was looking for food at vivocity. Yes, Vivocity again! lols. I had craving for Korean food again. Yes, again! So we decide to check out the food court at lvl 3.
It's very difficult to look for a place to sit there! We've been there many times, but never ate there just because it's too difficult to look for table. Think they have too little seats or something. :(
I found a seat somewhere and hubby went to order from the Korean stall. Hubby felt that the food's pretty okay, but I didn't think much of the beef. It's actually spicy and the kimchi is very spicy!
Hubby likes the soup because it's not salty. I think it's not too bad.
Total amount spent on food for both of us SGD13.00. So, it's not that expensive. :)
I didn't bring out my camera, had to use my phone's camera to take photo. Think my phone's dying. The photos are getting blurrier and blurrier. :P
It was pretty late when hubby and I decide to meet after work on 24 May 2008. Yes, I work on Saturdays. :(
Anyway, I don't know why, but I was feeling a bit hungry, so hubby decide we should try out Hog's Breath Cafe.
We ordered and shared..
Buffalo Wings S$8.50
New York Grill S$25.00
Coke S$3.80
Total including GST & Service Charge SGD43.90
I like the place. The food is nice! The staffs seems rather young but they are quite helpful.
We will definitely be back there again. My favourite? The fries! Yum yumm.. :)
PS: The bottle in the last photo, is actually pepper! Cute eh? :)
Met up with ShaXiaoMei and JS last last Sunday Night (18 May 2008).
Met up at cine to have dinner. We waited for JS until very hungry. I had craving for Korean food but no nice Korean food nearby (the Heeren one close le. *sad sad*) then I was sooo hungry that I guess any nice food also can lah. We end up choosing this place call Shokudo. They serve Japanese Pasta and Pizza. No one in our group tried the Pizza though..
Because of some glitch in their network or something, somehow everyone's orders didn't get the kitchen. So, we had to wait somemore for our order!!! faints...
hahas.. Hubby's food came first..
First photo is his Pasta. Looks better in life lah, because I'm a lazy and lousy photographer, anyhow snap snap snap.. so look like plastic right? hees..
Second photo is Sha Xiao Mei and my Ice Lemon Tea.. :)
The ILT not sweet one.. need to add the syrup then nice.
Third photo is the Yummylishes seaweed wages! I love love love love it. :)
Fourth photo is my beef duno what Pasta! hees.. I like it simple simple de..
Fifth photo is Chocolate ice-cream wafer. Four of us share 1 desert! Don't know if it's because we share or what.. it's very very yummy. :)
一人一半 感情不散 一人一素故 感情才會久
Just like that, we spent about 2 hours at Shokudo.
Price wise abit expensive loh. but they got student pasta. :)
Pitting itself against the likes of Borders and Popular book store. Kino emerged and created its own niche by positioning itself as a place where you can practically find everything you require in the shop.
Spanning almost an entire section of Ngee Ann City, Kino has a selection that rivals and even supersedes most Singapore bookstores. Its collection ranges from fiction, non fiction, magazines, Japanese books, travelling books, cooking, photography, children's books, self improvement, religious, philosophy, business etc etc. In simple terms, basically, theres a huge selection and it just keeps getting bigger.
The reason i patronize the place is because of the ease in locating a few select books which are elusive elsewhere. For example, the Sandman comics, Alastair Reynold novels, Philosophy arguments and traveling books. Its "ease" that is the key word here. Because "price" is definitely a little on the high side.
No matter, the place is comfortable for book junkies like myself to spend entire days just standing around, reading and buying that elusive title for pleasure. A good place for a good read.
Buses buses buses. Where in the world would we be without them? They ferry us to work and ferry us home. Comes at a pretty regular timing and gets the job done. Now, there are even more reasons to take the bus since the price of oil is increasing like the end of the world is coming and the gov is helping out by imposing more fines on an already crowded road so that buses now have the power of the right of way during peak hours. So we should all switch to using buses and ditch our cars......or should we?
Now, i'll take my stand and say my answer is no. I'll be basing my idea on the bus service 27 that goes from Hougang to Changi Airport and back.
Reasons are as follows:
1: Buses do not come at regular intervals. We've heard this countless times and the morning working adult population who needs to get to work at a certain time have definitely felt this. Regardless of the implementations of rules and fines, buses simply still come late. Of course, we've seen the compaign they ran about "unseen reasons" behind the lateness but honestly, poor planning is as much a factor. 27 is not a new service, in fact, its been ongoing for 8 years at least and still no improvement is seen. Buses are still packed and still late.
2: Buses with huge traffic do not get upgrade to double decks. Same problem, bad planning. 27 has a big enough traffic to at least warrant a double deck bus for its services. This kills 2 birds with one stone since it'll allow people to board faster with its bigger capacity and thus will not delay the bus journey. However, till now, it is still not done. The reasoning continues to elude me as to why there's no upgrade.
3: Space is simply not sufficient and squeezing with a whole bunch of people simply isn't a great feeling. Especially since i'm paying close to $2 to go on a journey to work, at least i expect a little space to breathe and hopefully sit down. Somehow, paying to be packed like sardines does not entice me one bit.
4: With company comes inconsiderate people and to keep it short, they irritate the hell out of me.
In its defense, i do not blame the bus drivers although sometimes, i do need to. (Try being 30 minutes late for an important meeting because the driver insists on driving 30km/h on an EMPTY road and you'll get the idea). Otherwise, they are not to blame. The planning department is the problem. They need to wake up and smell the thorns. We're all a part of the system, make life better for us all eh?
K box buffets are generally a hit or miss thing since first of all, the company specializes in nothing but offering rooms for the general public to scream their lungs out. And secondly, all casual outlets i've been to thus far have only offered fried items for their meals. So what do you get from the buffet anyway?
Quite a bit actually, the one i've been to serves a variety of salads, fish balls, sotong balls, squid, pasta, fried chicken wings, chawan mushi, soba, cakes, pastries and a myriad of items for the customer who selects the option for buffet and a room. All in all, choices number between the figure of 20-30 items for the choosing.
Food quality is sketchy at best since none of the items stood out enough to be remembered and none of the food was bad enough to warrant a complaint.
However, i'd still prefered if they had a package for free flow of drinks since thats exactly what clients really need for their 4 hour long screaming session. Removing the throat killing plate of nuts and replacing it with cooling items would be a good idea too.
Last word, if i had to pay for the meal at K box. I wouldn't visit again. Thats pretty much what you need to know.
Taking a ride on Singapore Airlines is akin to being treated at a posh restaurant. Expensive and sometimes good.
Rides on the planes vary greatly in comfort, entertainment and space when you factor in the choices and different kinds of seating arrangements which you are provided with. Add to the fact that they also provide online check in services and a world famous service standard and there's just a lot of expectations for the Airlines to fulfil.
Personally, i've taken many rides on the airlines due to good fortune and thus far, i'd say there are still areas for improvement at this point.
Service itself is across the board good with the ability and flexibility for the customer to choose and request for even the most mundane things like special food choices and seating arrangements.
The plane itself however, differs greatly on which flight you catch on the way back. First class seats and service ranks up there with the best and if you are fortunate enough to be allowed the side seat in the captains room, the view isn't really magnificent unless during the take offs and the landing sessions. Captains i've met thus far are very chatty individuals however.
For first class/business class seats, the amount of leg room and comfort is generous and the seats padding is also thicker and softer for maximum comfort. For the economy class seats, taking the Boeing series as a gauge, they can range from being extremely cramped to being mildly accomodating depending on your luck. Personally, i'd go for the isle seats along the center and hope that the flight puts me on a Boeing 747 for reasonable comfort.
Flights by SIA are also smoother by far to its competitors whereby i've had a really bad experience of hitting an air pocket and having the stewards and stewardesses flung to the ceiling with some injuries.
All in all, flying with SIA have been pleasant but the seats can do with a little more space for economy. Otherwise, i'd still say its a good way to fly.
Heard many good things about Santouka or らーめん 山頭火 since its opening at Central a couple of months back so popped by for dinner one weekend. Santouka originates from Hokkaido and has a chain of about 50 stores in Japan. Their shio (salted) ramen has been praised by many as one of the best around.
Hidden in an obscure corner of Central just behind Grains, Santouka occupies a small dining area which overlooks Clarke Quay and the river. Sitting capacity probably peaks at about 30 pax so queues are a common sight. Just for the record, I had to wait for a good 25 mins for a table at 745pm on a Saturday evening.
Char Siew Rice Shio - This came as a set consisting of char siew rice, char siew ramen (shio) and an egg. Honestly, the ramen looked like instant noodles to me but thankfully, it tasted a whole lot better - springy and light. The milky pork base broth was rather rich and intense in flavour and had a very distinctive pork taste. Not that its really a good thing though because it made me nauseous after a while. The char siew slices were a little too soft for my liking and it didn't help that they were salty.
The char siew rice was average, but at least the rice helped to neutralise the saltiness of the char siew. As for the egg, I've never eaten such stuff before but I didn't quite take to it as the texture of the egg white was a little jelly like, which turned me off.
Toro Niku Shio Ramen - Toro Niku is precious cheek meat from a pig and is said to have the right amount of fat and tenderness. I agree to a certain extent. Right amount of fat, yes. Tenderness, a little too tender if you ask me. And it was plain salty which made me uneasy after a while. It definitely didn't help that the broth was rich. Salty and milky equals a recipe for nausea, for me at least. As with the char siew shio ramen, the ramen itself was springy and light.
Tokusen Toroniku - This was a side order of the beef cheek, which did seem like a mistake after all. A little too tender and salty, just like the ones that came with the Toro Niku Shio Ramen. And $8 for 6 slices of meat isn't exactly value for money honestly.
Dinner for 2 came up to a nice round figure of $50 and we walked out feeling nauseous. That's too much milky and salty stuff for you. In all fairness, the ramen was actually very decent but I still prefer Tampopo's rendition, if anything, for the pork. For me, once is enough. I really don't fancy queuing up for 30 mins just to have a go at Santouka again.
1=SGD 0.0587
Had a chance to gather around for a meal with the Yebbers on a fine Saturday to commemorate a rather interesting event which i will not go into specifics. Either way, the meal is free and i've always wanted to dine in Laguna Country Club for no apparent reason other then its a country club. So here we are and this is what we had. As i didn't pay for this meal, i'll only give my take on the food quality and service.
Laguna country club hosts a variety of golf tournaments throughout the year, including big name events like the Singapore Masters and the Women's Open nary a year ago. The location is scenic with lush green pastures and an air of luxury that extends beyond the greens and into the eating places housed within. Pine Valley is a relaxed, open and well air conditioned place for the inhabitants and club members and also a good place to reside for a nice chat as its sparsely populated even during the lunch hours.
Shark's Fin Soup with Fish Maw, Chicken and Mushrooms - Shark's fin soup is one of those dishes that i associate with wedding dinners and extremely wealthy individuals. This will likely fall into the latter category. The soup itself is quite starchy and has a really generous helping of ingredients, shark's fin and fish maw. Taken on its own, there's a sweet taste that emanates from the healthy does of crab and mushrooms in the mix but otherwise, tastes bland as most shark's fin soup tastes. Vinegar and pepper definitely ups the taste and texture department in this case.
Peking Duck - The beauty of the Peking Duck dish is undeniable. Order a whole duck and you'll get to eat it in a variety of ways for the skin and the meat. The only things standing between you and the dish is the knowledge of whether the duck skin is marinated and roasted well. In this case, the skin is quite fatty and crispy enough to warrant a try. The marinate feels non existant and the normal pancake is too dry. The egg version salvaged the situation though. The meat was cooked in black pepper and turned out surprisingly good. It was moist, succulent and sweet. It also helped that the portion size was rather big.
Wasabi Mayonnaise Prawns - Wasabi Mayonnaise prawns, a signature dish of the Tung Lok group, this version turned out too dry for me. The batter and frying process seemed to have been overdone which left the prawns tasting hard and dry instead of crunchy and juicy. No matter, the wasabi mayonnaise was mixed well and provided a small kick in the right direction since it was rather mild and easily acceptable.
Steamed Batang - This fish was huge. Simple steamed fish can be good as long as the fish itself was fresh and the process of cooking was not overdone. Sad to say however, the fish was overcooked and thus caused the meat to loss some of its sweetness which could have made it better. For what its worth, what is good is that the meat is plentiful, fresh and went well with the salty and sourish stock accompanying the dish.
Dried Chili Fried Prawns - Somehow, i don't think the restaurant handles prawns well. This dish was decent but the taste resides only within the portion of the shell. This means that once deshelled, which is a necessary procedure unless you are lazy like me, the prawn itself is rather bland. Otherwise, the spicy and fragrant dried chili is something spice lovers will easily take to.
Beancurd with Spinach - Finally, some greens. The spinach turned out too old and had the "greenish" taste which accompanies greens not cleaned properly. Although a tad salty, the spinach with all its flaws, ultimately tasted better then the beancurd atop it, which came across as being totally tasteless.
Fried Ee Fu Noodles - By the time this dish appeared, we'd pretty much been stuffed like a duck awaiting slaughter. So the taste buds have deteriorated to the point i couldn't taste much. Nonetheless, the noodles were fragrant and had some bacon bits strewn around it. It was also springy and soft enough to be bitten off which is always a good sign.
Almonds, Sea Coconut, Pine Apple and Longan Cocktail - The dessert is rather simple but definitely gets the job done. I like the almond which was very soft and strong (i'm biased because i love almond). Everything else was just detail though. The other good thing was that the sweetness was just right, thus it didn't overwhelm.
First of all, thank you for the meal boss, i probably couldn't afford having such a huge sumptuous meal all on my lonesome. The view was good, location is quiet, food is decent and the portions were huge. I'd say the place was pretty good but i still don't know how much it cost so thats an open topic. Based on the food alone, i would probably like to have the shark's fin again, Peking duck however, is still better at Hai Tien lo.
Rating given:
Following my virgin taste testing session that took place at Persimmon, HFB was honoured to be invited to another launch at TETSU ("哲"), which has just opened its doors at Tanglin Mall.
Japanese cuisine aficionados will rejoice a first of its kind authentic Kushi-style Tempura along with Tonkatsu menu, prepared “LIVE” before their eyes. Seated at specially designed counter bars that are in close proximity to the chef who deftly prepares their Tempura and Tonkatsu, diners get to enjoy a visual feast right before their eyes.
Diners can have a choice from a wide array of freshest seafood, meats and vegetables prepared either Kushi-age style (Skewered with Breaded Batter) or Kushi-tem style (Skewered with Tempura Batter).
In order to recreate the most authentic Japanese dining experience, TETSU has partnered up with one of the most established restaurant groups in Japan with 48 restaurants and employing over 1400 people.
The Hana Group, renowned for their authentic Japanese cuisine and has been advising TETSU in all aspects of their restaurant.
The night was kick-started with an appetiser off the menu, the Cold Tofu with Century Egg and Ebi Roe. It was surprisingly a good dish to start off with as the combination of the heavy century egg and soft tofu attempts to tickle your palate along with the salty exploding sensation of the ebi roe when one bites into it.
The Edamame ($4.00) like others are nothing to shout about, but something that stood out was the aestheticism of the dish, which is visually evident in all the subsequent dishes – it is only then that I found out that TETSU prides itself on offering the most authentic Japanese dining experience, taking it down even to the smallest of details.
The layout of the Kaiseki sets and even the art of serving up these gourmet sets are specially formulated in Japan, to ensure that diners can get the full “LIVE” experience, at the best value. In addition, much of the restaurant’s tableware are all specially flown in from Japan.
Moreover, the good thing about the Kushi-age Soft Shell Crab ($3.00 per serving) is that it does not come oil soaked, although I would prefer it to be slightly meatier.
One might also be intrigued to know that in TETSU, one also get a choice of three dips for their deep-fried food – Tonkutsu sauce, Japanese Mayo and Curry Salt.
Onsentamago To Tofu Salad, or Half-boiled (Hot Spring-styled) Egg & Tofu Salad ($13.50) is another dish that is dedicatedly prepared by the chef – using their bare hands to measure the temperature of the water cooking the eggs, and the eggs only taken out of the cooking water when the water is too hot for their hands to handle.
The only non-authentic dish that we tried that night was probably their Salmon Carpaccio with French Dressing ($18.00). Although the salmon was very fresh and comes with a very nice bite, I feel that the dressing was slightly too sour for me – let’s just say that I prefer sashimi the way it is.
Highly recommended was their Rosu Katsu (A set served with Salad, Pickles, Rice, Miso Soup and Dessert cost $24.50). Similar to Tonkichi, one is also given a bowl of Roasted Sesame Seeds to grind and add to the Tonkutsu sauce.
The sampling of their second deep-fried dish convinced me that their cooking and preparation technique is indeed accomplished. Although I pride Tampopo’s Black Pork Katsu to be the best in taste of texture due to its marbling fats, TETSU’s version comes a close second - one do not really sample the oily aftertaste in the batter.
It was then I was told that TETSU’s chefs have undergone intensive training in the chain’s headquarters in Japan. The attention paid to the preparation of Tempura and Tonkatsu is meticulous – TETSU chefs strictly ensure that all preparation techniques, from marination, to the type of batter and oil, to the time of frying, adhere to their timeless traditional Japanese recipes.
The Roll Sushi ($18.00 for 6 pieces) was another item that was painstaking prepared in many process. One would probably mistook it for a salmon roll sushi if one weren’t told that the filling also consists of scallop and tuna, as the saltiness of the cooked salmon seeks to over-whelmed it. However having said that, it was still a pretty enjoyable sushi roll due to the crunchy batter and the aromatic Sesame Seeds and pairing of Ebi Roe.
The Kushi-style cuisine is very popular in Japan because the skewer-style makes it easy for customers eat and enjoy their sake, shoju or wine at the same time.
However to be honest, by the time the Kaiseki Set Course B ($45.00) consisting of 4 Assorted Appetisers, Stick Vegetables, Kani-Suki (Paper Pot Crab Sukiyaki), Kushi-age or Kushi-Tem, Udon and Dessert arrived, I was pretty much filled up and my palate started to fail me. So I shall let the pictures speak for themselves.
However, one thing I remembered clearly was the very unique Japan-imported Udon that gives one a very chewy bite – one has to try it to truly understand what I mean.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Pris and TETSU for their generous hospitality.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Rating given:
Last Sunday, 25 May 2008.
Hubby and I was looking for food at vivocity. Yes, Vivocity again! lols. I had craving for Korean food again. Yes, again! So we decide to check out the food court at lvl 3.
It's very difficult to look for a place to sit there! We've been there many times, but never ate there just because it's too difficult to look for table. Think they have too little seats or something. :(
I found a seat somewhere and hubby went to order from the Korean stall. Hubby felt that the food's pretty okay, but I didn't think much of the beef. It's actually spicy and the kimchi is very spicy!
Hubby likes the soup because it's not salty. I think it's not too bad.
Total amount spent on food for both of us SGD13.00. So, it's not that expensive. :)
I didn't bring out my camera, had to use my phone's camera to take photo. Think my phone's dying. The photos are getting blurrier and blurrier. :P
Rating given:
It was pretty late when hubby and I decide to meet after work on 24 May 2008. Yes, I work on Saturdays. :(
Anyway, I don't know why, but I was feeling a bit hungry, so hubby decide we should try out Hog's Breath Cafe.
We ordered and shared..
Buffalo Wings S$8.50
New York Grill S$25.00
Coke S$3.80
Total including GST & Service Charge SGD43.90
I like the place. The food is nice! The staffs seems rather young but they are quite helpful.
We will definitely be back there again. My favourite? The fries! Yum yumm.. :)
PS: The bottle in the last photo, is actually pepper! Cute eh? :)
Rating given:
Met up with ShaXiaoMei and JS last last Sunday Night (18 May 2008).
Met up at cine to have dinner. We waited for JS until very hungry. I had craving for Korean food but no nice Korean food nearby (the Heeren one close le. *sad sad*) then I was sooo hungry that I guess any nice food also can lah. We end up choosing this place call Shokudo. They serve Japanese Pasta and Pizza. No one in our group tried the Pizza though..
Because of some glitch in their network or something, somehow everyone's orders didn't get the kitchen. So, we had to wait somemore for our order!!! faints...
hahas.. Hubby's food came first..
First photo is his Pasta. Looks better in life lah, because I'm a lazy and lousy photographer, anyhow snap snap snap.. so look like plastic right? hees..
Second photo is Sha Xiao Mei and my Ice Lemon Tea.. :)
The ILT not sweet one.. need to add the syrup then nice.
Third photo is the Yummylishes seaweed wages! I love love love love it. :)
Fourth photo is my beef duno what Pasta! hees.. I like it simple simple de..
Fifth photo is Chocolate ice-cream wafer. Four of us share 1 desert! Don't know if it's because we share or what.. it's very very yummy. :)
一人一半 感情不散 一人一素故 感情才會久
Just like that, we spent about 2 hours at Shokudo.
Price wise abit expensive loh. but they got student pasta. :)
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Kinokuniya is an interesting bookshop of sorts.
Pitting itself against the likes of Borders and Popular book store. Kino emerged and created its own niche by positioning itself as a place where you can practically find everything you require in the shop.
Spanning almost an entire section of Ngee Ann City, Kino has a selection that rivals and even supersedes most Singapore bookstores. Its collection ranges from fiction, non fiction, magazines, Japanese books, travelling books, cooking, photography, children's books, self improvement, religious, philosophy, business etc etc. In simple terms, basically, theres a huge selection and it just keeps getting bigger.
The reason i patronize the place is because of the ease in locating a few select books which are elusive elsewhere. For example, the Sandman comics, Alastair Reynold novels, Philosophy arguments and traveling books. Its "ease" that is the key word here. Because "price" is definitely a little on the high side.
No matter, the place is comfortable for book junkies like myself to spend entire days just standing around, reading and buying that elusive title for pleasure. A good place for a good read.
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Buses buses buses. Where in the world would we be without them?
They ferry us to work and ferry us home. Comes at a pretty regular timing and gets the job done. Now, there are even more reasons to take the bus since the price of oil is increasing like the end of the world is coming and the gov is helping out by imposing more fines on an already crowded road so that buses now have the power of the right of way during peak hours. So we should all switch to using buses and ditch our cars......or should we?
Now, i'll take my stand and say my answer is no. I'll be basing my idea on the bus service 27 that goes from Hougang to Changi Airport and back.
Reasons are as follows:
1: Buses do not come at regular intervals.
We've heard this countless times and the morning working adult population who needs to get to work at a certain time have definitely felt this. Regardless of the implementations of rules and fines, buses simply still come late. Of course, we've seen the compaign they ran about "unseen reasons" behind the lateness but honestly, poor planning is as much a factor. 27 is not a new service, in fact, its been ongoing for 8 years at least and still no improvement is seen. Buses are still packed and still late.
2: Buses with huge traffic do not get upgrade to double decks.
Same problem, bad planning. 27 has a big enough traffic to at least warrant a double deck bus for its services. This kills 2 birds with one stone since it'll allow people to board faster with its bigger capacity and thus will not delay the bus journey. However, till now, it is still not done. The reasoning continues to elude me as to why there's no upgrade.
3: Space is simply not sufficient and squeezing with a whole bunch of people simply isn't a great feeling. Especially since i'm paying close to $2 to go on a journey to work, at least i expect a little space to breathe and hopefully sit down. Somehow, paying to be packed like sardines does not entice me one bit.
4: With company comes inconsiderate people and to keep it short, they irritate the hell out of me.
In its defense, i do not blame the bus drivers although sometimes, i do need to. (Try being 30 minutes late for an important meeting because the driver insists on driving 30km/h on an EMPTY road and you'll get the idea). Otherwise, they are not to blame. The planning department is the problem. They need to wake up and smell the thorns. We're all a part of the system, make life better for us all eh?
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K box buffets are generally a hit or miss thing since first of all, the company specializes in nothing but offering rooms for the general public to scream their lungs out. And secondly, all casual outlets i've been to thus far have only offered fried items for their meals. So what do you get from the buffet anyway?
Quite a bit actually, the one i've been to serves a variety of salads, fish balls, sotong balls, squid, pasta, fried chicken wings, chawan mushi, soba, cakes, pastries and a myriad of items for the customer who selects the option for buffet and a room. All in all, choices number between the figure of 20-30 items for the choosing.
Food quality is sketchy at best since none of the items stood out enough to be remembered and none of the food was bad enough to warrant a complaint.
However, i'd still prefered if they had a package for free flow of drinks since thats exactly what clients really need for their 4 hour long screaming session. Removing the throat killing plate of nuts and replacing it with cooling items would be a good idea too.
Last word, if i had to pay for the meal at K box. I wouldn't visit again. Thats pretty much what you need to know.
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Taking a ride on Singapore Airlines is akin to being treated at a posh restaurant. Expensive and sometimes good.
Rides on the planes vary greatly in comfort, entertainment and space when you factor in the choices and different kinds of seating arrangements which you are provided with. Add to the fact that they also provide online check in services and a world famous service standard and there's just a lot of expectations for the Airlines to fulfil.
Personally, i've taken many rides on the airlines due to good fortune and thus far, i'd say there are still areas for improvement at this point.
Service itself is across the board good with the ability and flexibility for the customer to choose and request for even the most mundane things like special food choices and seating arrangements.
The plane itself however, differs greatly on which flight you catch on the way back. First class seats and service ranks up there with the best and if you are fortunate enough to be allowed the side seat in the captains room, the view isn't really magnificent unless during the take offs and the landing sessions. Captains i've met thus far are very chatty individuals however.
For first class/business class seats, the amount of leg room and comfort is generous and the seats padding is also thicker and softer for maximum comfort. For the economy class seats, taking the Boeing series as a gauge, they can range from being extremely cramped to being mildly accomodating depending on your luck. Personally, i'd go for the isle seats along the center and hope that the flight puts me on a Boeing 747 for reasonable comfort.
Flights by SIA are also smoother by far to its competitors whereby i've had a really bad experience of hitting an air pocket and having the stewards and stewardesses flung to the ceiling with some injuries.
All in all, flying with SIA have been pleasant but the seats can do with a little more space for economy. Otherwise, i'd still say its a good way to fly.
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Heard many good things about Santouka or らーめん 山頭火 since its opening at Central a couple of months back so popped by for dinner one weekend. Santouka originates from Hokkaido and has a chain of about 50 stores in Japan. Their shio (salted) ramen has been praised by many as one of the best around.
Hidden in an obscure corner of Central just behind Grains, Santouka occupies a small dining area which overlooks Clarke Quay and the river. Sitting capacity probably peaks at about 30 pax so queues are a common sight. Just for the record, I had to wait for a good 25 mins for a table at 745pm on a Saturday evening.
Char Siew Rice Shio - This came as a set consisting of char siew rice, char siew ramen (shio) and an egg. Honestly, the ramen looked like instant noodles to me but thankfully, it tasted a whole lot better - springy and light. The milky pork base broth was rather rich and intense in flavour and had a very distinctive pork taste. Not that its really a good thing though because it made me nauseous after a while. The char siew slices were a little too soft for my liking and it didn't help that they were salty.
The char siew rice was average, but at least the rice helped to neutralise the saltiness of the char siew. As for the egg, I've never eaten such stuff before but I didn't quite take to it as the texture of the egg white was a little jelly like, which turned me off.
Toro Niku Shio Ramen - Toro Niku is precious cheek meat from a pig and is said to have the right amount of fat and tenderness. I agree to a certain extent. Right amount of fat, yes. Tenderness, a little too tender if you ask me. And it was plain salty which made me uneasy after a while. It definitely didn't help that the broth was rich. Salty and milky equals a recipe for nausea, for me at least. As with the char siew shio ramen, the ramen itself was springy and light.
Tokusen Toroniku - This was a side order of the beef cheek, which did seem like a mistake after all. A little too tender and salty, just like the ones that came with the Toro Niku Shio Ramen. And $8 for 6 slices of meat isn't exactly value for money honestly.
Dinner for 2 came up to a nice round figure of $50 and we walked out feeling nauseous. That's too much milky and salty stuff for you. In all fairness, the ramen was actually very decent but I still prefer Tampopo's rendition, if anything, for the pork. For me, once is enough. I really don't fancy queuing up for 30 mins just to have a go at Santouka again.
See all my pictures here.
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