Just beside the “old-school” Love confectionery at Alexander Village which I just recommended, there’s another one by the name of Chinatown Tai Chong Kok Confectionery, which is also similarly traditional.
Egg cupcake ($1 for 3 small one) I’m a devotee after just one bite of their egg cupcake. Soft, light, and fluffy, the egg cupcakes are really very good. And 3 for one dollar is cheap okay! I can easily finish half a dozen on my own. Gosh, i’m going to get more of them the next time.
Egg cupcake with red bean fillings ($1 for 1 big) There’s also the bigger egg cup cake, which had red bean paste fillings at the bottom. But i was rather disappointed with it because there wasn’t anything special with the red bean paste, and the filling was just a little. I’ll think that three small ones are more than a big one, so take the 3 small one for a dollar instead.
Red bean biscuit Their red bean biscuit was also worth the try, crispy pastry skin with generous fillings of the red bean paste.
Egg tart Initially i was unsure about the egg tart because it didn’t seem to be very nice. But boy I had to take back my words after eating it. The egg custard was those watery kind, smooth and eggy!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
The constant upgrading and renovation of our heartlands, together with the ageing of the older chefs will mean that many delicious food will be soon extinct, and forever gone from us. We have seen many of your favourite childhood hawker stalls, and the old-school bakeries disappearing from our sight.
Love confectionery is located just beside the Alexander Village food centre, opposite of Queensway shopping centre. Having been there for very long, I knew about its presence before, but just didn’t pop in, until now.
Cream puffs ($0.40 each) The cream puffs was merely 40 cents each, yes 40 cents! They came in two flavours, cream and custard. We immediately grabbed half a dozen of this, and looked around to see if there’s other steals, but to our disappointment, most of the their other bakes were sold out already.
The custard puffs were not too bad, i wasn’t too sure whether i’ll like them or not, so i only had two out of the six i got. The eggy taste was evidently present, and you could do yourself no harm since they are only 40 cents each.
The cream puff was good, the pastry skin was soft and fluffy, the only gripe - it wasn’t sinful enough. Of course you can’t compare it with the one at Beard Papa with such a big differential in price, but i did find that the cream used here wasn’t that fantastic, if only it’s made with the superior Japanese cream.
I think i’m asking too much for a cream puff which was 40 cents. Given the price, and the nostalgic of the cream puff, do grabbed a dozen the next time round.
Butter cakes ($0.90 each) They also had two types of butter cakes that day, with the body being the same, peanut and almond separating both. It’s so old-school! The butter cake was very soft, and to say it melt softly with a deft bite wasn’t exaggerating.
Total bill was $4.80 for half a dozen cream puffs and two slices of cakes. They have other type of bakes, but it was either sold out or wasn’t available when i was there that day. I’ll probably get a dozen of those cream puffs the next time i’m in the area. And oh by the way, just to not mislead you, they don’t serve the pastry there, i brought them home to put on nice plates for the photos!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
eemlsaid: sounds really nice... just wondering if the it's open at nite? 24 Oct 2008 at 10:05 am
ladyironchefsaid: hello eeml, i don't think its open at night. Somemore their pastries usually sold out by afternoon, so better go during the day time : ) 24 Oct 2008 at 2:22 pm
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There are so many different types of desserts out there, so what’s your favourite? Chocolate cakes? Gourmet cheesecakes? Everybody has their own preference, i’ll say i love any types of desserts, and will willingly try all of them. The thing that i enjoyed about the pastry is that they ain’t just pretty to look at, they are also delightfully good.
So does that means that you can’t have a good chocolate cake if you want a similarity excellent cheesecake? Fortunately at Obolo, you can have the best of both worlds without any compromise.
From what was then an online patisserie to the boutique patisserie you see today at Joo Chiat, Obolo has gone a long way serving its gourmet cheesecakes and chocolate cakes. The flagship store opened in June 2007, almost a year plus already, provided a retail avenue for Obolo to showcase its repertoire of desserts.
The boutique de pâtisserie had a sleek and clean look, with the clever use of mirrors to create a bigger impression of the place. Nonetheless the small pastry restaurant can hardly sit more than 10, and it’s quite a squeeze in there.
Obolo’s famous for their signature New York cheesecake, which looked stunning with three ginormous strawberries. But we couldn’t possibly missed out on Noisette, and since we favoured chocolate over cheese, we decided to pick the latter. My friend and I decided to opt for an all-out chocolate feast, with all our selections chocolaty to prevent a clash of flavours over the chocolate and cheese.
Noisette ($6.70) Dark chocolate mousse, caramelised toasted hazulnuts, crunchy praline feullitine, chocolate genoise. Noisette was the cake that put Obolo among the Sunday Times top 50 cakes. It got a smooth texture, not overly sweet. The Noisette was rich with chocolate and hazelnut flavours.
I particularly enjoyed the crunchy praline feullitine base, but the layer was too thin! It would definitely be better if there’s another layer in between the mousse.
Le Cassis ($6.70) Dark Chocolate ganache mousse, cassis ivoire mousse, praline feulletine base and moist dark chocolate-almond biscuit layers. Le Cassis certainly looked pleasing to the eyes with its bright colour combination. The sour blackcurrent actually helped to smooth out the sweetness of the cake, which created a nice balance between sweet and sour.
With the cassis (blackcurrent) ivorie mousse on top, and the dark chocolate mousse enveloped in between the two layers of chocolate-almond biscuit, it provided a good blend of different taste. The cassis sour, the dark chocolate slightly bitter-sweet, the chocolate biscuit layer and the praline feulletine base added the crunchy sweet component.
Bittersweet Macaron ($1.80) To continue with the chocolate-feast, we had the bittersweet macarons. Dark chocolate, not too sweet nor too bitter, just nice for the taste bud. It could be a double-edge thing though, in the shoe of those who didn’t fancy bitter chocolates, this would do nicely. But for the dark chocolate purist, the bittersweet macarons could be a tad sweet.
Hazelnut Macaron ($1.80) The hazelnut taste was definitely there, the texture of the hazelnut macarons shells were chewy and the fillings in between was velvety and fulsome. Being a hazelnut fan, I immediately went for this one when i saw the lists of flavours available, with the others being cassis, rose, pistache, mango passion, raspberry, ruby, chocolate passion, vanille, and pabana.
Total bill was $17 for 2 cakes and 2 macarons, which made a nice treat for after-meal desserts. Obolo definitely got prospect with its gourmet cheesecake and range of desserts, which made me wondered why didn’t they set up a branch in town. Obolo’s owner June explained that they are looking into expanding, so we can be looking forward to another branch probably next year.
With around 11 different type of cakes to choose from, Obolo is constantly coming up with new flavours, having said that, you should be able to find one that suits your taste bud. Prices can be considered slightly high given their inaccessible location, and that Canele’s charging similar prices. But i think for the Easterners, Obolo’s definitely a place for your treats of desserts.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Noodles and rice are the staple in our Asian context, while the Caucasians live on their bread, try telling the older generation that there isn’t rice for dinner and you’ll get the answer from their reactions. There are many different kinds of noodles; the Japanese ramen, soba and udon are especially popular. And then there’s the Korean noodles, and of course, our Chinese noodles.
And among our Chinese noodles, there are many types with wheat flour based ones like lamien, vermicelli, and the thick noodles. For their egg base counterparts, there are the thin noodles (you mian), and the mee pok which are commonly found. How about bamboo noodles?
I was given the opportunity for a food tasting session at Tai Shek Hei. The boss John See, and his wife Amy invited me for lunch to try out their speciality, bamboo noodles. Tai Shek Hei had recently just opened a month ago at Joo Chiat road, just directly opposite the Dunman food centre.
So you might ask, what’s so special about bamboo noodles? The tedious process in making the noodles from dough using the bamboo machine specially created by John. I didn’t get the chance to see the noodle-making process that day because they had already made their batch of noodles the previous days. The chef will normally make about 200 servings of noodles each time, and usually every two days they will make new ones to ensure the freshness of the noodles.
My friend and I had a quick tour around the kitchen and John explained the concepts behind Tai Shek Hei to us.The staff are all from China, thus might have difficulty with their English when taking orders.
Tai Shek Hei has got very simple furnishings, with the artwork depicting the joy of the chef in making the noodles, adorning the wall. What i like about the place is its unpretentious feel, coupled with the soothing music, provided an cosy environment which was unlike other typical Chinese restaurants.
Speciality Tobiko dumpling bamboo noodle ($6.80) In Hong Kong, they actually preferred the soup version of the wanton mee to the dry one which is more popular in Singapore. The speciality Tobiko dumpling bamboo noodle was one of the most springy noodles i ever tried before. The noodles were so springy that they literally “bounce” on your tongue.
We also tried the dry version of the bamboo noodles, with equally good results. Although some people might find it expensive, given there’s only four dumplings with the bamboo noodles, but you can’t compare it with the normal wonton mee, for one, the noodle’s really good, and the process in making them was certainly not easy.
The Tobiko dumplings would redefine the dumpling experience. Their dumplings were packed fully with ingredients like shrimp, meat, water chestnut, tobiko (Japanese flying fish roe). One bite of the dumplings was all it need to let the essence of the fillings sinked into your month.
Speciality fried tobiko dumpling ($4 for 4) Besides the dumpling soup, Tai Shek Hei also got the fried version, which i felt that was even better than the soup one. The crispy wonton skin was a delight to bite, you can hear the crunching sound. And just for the information, the wonton skin was also made with their own machine.
The fillings were the same as the soup version, shrimp, meat, water chestnut, tobiko (Japanese flying fish roe).
Chives & egg pancake Personally, I didn’t like chives as i found the taste too strong, but for food tasting sake, i tried one of them. The chives dumpling, or pancake as they called it here, was fried until golden brown, with the green chives inside shining though the translucent skin.
There’s plenty of juice from the chives which came rushing out when we took a bite. I think this one’s good for chives lovers, with the crispy golden brown skin and the juicy chives. But for me, I still can’t accept it.
Honey Gourd ($4) We had a sampling portion of the honey gourd, which was an innovative dish on the menu. Gourd which was bitter in nature, when paired up with the sweet honey, gave a balanced taste of sweet-bitterness.
Fried honey dew Another inspiration of Amy, this was created on the day we went, so we got the opportunity of trying it first-hand. They provided a bowl of ice water, to soak the pipping hot fried honey dew into it, before eating. The idea was to prevent customers from burning their toungue.
And also the contrast of fried hot honey dew when come into contact with the icy water was apparent. But i found that the chili padi which was part of the ingredients overpower the sweet honey dew taste. A creative idea no less, and we shall wait for the chef to refine it.
Roast Combination ($10 for small) Not many restaurants are honest with their customers, but Amy frankly told us that their roast combinations got mixed results. Their roast pork was not up to the grade, and they had since removed it from the menu. Leaving with the roast duck, char siew, and soy-sauce chicken.
The soy-sauce chicken was actually the better one among the trio, with Amy proudly saying that’s the one that can brave the test. My first taste was a tad dry and hard, but thats probably because i got the breast meat. The other parts of the chicken were fine, smooth and silky.
The Char siew was average, although not juicy and tender enough, their rendition’s still passable.
I thought that the roasted duck was all right, nothing fantastic, but i had eaten worse.
Cod ($8 for small) We rounded off our meal with the cod which i thought was reasonable at $8 for a small serving. The fish was fried to crispy golden brown. It’s difficult to judge the freshness of a fish when it’s fried, but I have no complains about the cod since i always like them.
All in all, Tai Shek Hei has got really excellent bamboo noodles, one of the best i’ve tried so far. I think it’s worth a try, even though you might complain it’s too expensive, but hey they are a Chinese restaurant after all. The menu is still in-process, as they are still testing and trying some new dishes, while removing the inferior ones. The items are a case of hits and misses, with the tobiko dumpling noodle, and the chives pancakes worthy mentions.
The PRC staff might not be adapt to communicating in English as yet, but they are busy learning the basic terms to cope with the need. Service is still slow as the new entrants are still coping with the F&B experience, but things are getting better with each day. I’ll like to thank John and Amy for inviting me to try their bamboo noodles, and I’ll go back again for them when i’m in the area next time.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
“Alice is bored of sitting on the riverbank with her sister, who is reading a book. Suddenly she sees a white rabbit run past wearing a coat and carrying a watch, lamenting running late. She follows it down a rabbit hole and falls very slowly down a tunnel lined with curious objects. She lands in a long hallway lined with locked doors..”
Stepping inside Oomphatico’s, you are instantly teleported down the rabbit hole, into the world of Alice in wonderland. With its bold and fun design, incoporating of vibrant and cheerful colours, together with the white-and-elegant furnitures, the European style was stamped all over the interior.
There’s also a nice al fresco area just beside the Trader’s hotel lobby. It marks a change from the normal al fresco area which will be under the mercy of the weather as it’s a sheltered area.
The use of the funky design in Oomphatico’s make it stand out from the rest. The focus is on red, black and white, which is also evident in their menu. Oomphatico’s actually aims to serve healthy and hearty food, using organic ingredients, and they have an all-day breakfast menu to cater to you sleepyheads who can’t wait up early for the most important meal of the day.
Buonito! ($9.50) Berries and vanilla yogurt. An excellent alternative to decadent desserts. The initial flavor was sour with the berries coming into play. But with hard work, there’s result. The vanilla sweetened the sour berries and carved out a balanced taste. The bottle’s definitely adorable, but the Buonito! was priced on the high side, which i rather spend the money on a dessert.
Bella Margarita ($16.50) With a choice of plain, ham or herbed pizza base, Oomphatico’s offered a twist to the 5 pizza selections. Our Bella Margarita’s the classic with Oomphatico’s magic makeover, topped with cream cheese, garlic and pepper. On paper, the pizza might seem ordinary, but it was the plain June and average Joe, the normal ingredients which made the pizza a good pick.
Our ham base, paper-thin pizza was crispy. The combination of the ingredients provided a spark when eaten with the thin pizza. The serving was generous, and you ought to share this around, the two of us couldn’t finish it. Something that’s ordinary might not be bad, that’s why they called it the classic.
The Farmers Club ($14) Chicken, bacon, chedder cheese, avocado, and eggs. In short, everything you need for a hearty and full sandwich. The farmers club got everything of that, with one side two sandwiches coming in the form of bacon and egg, and the other end chicken.
Sandwiches at $14 might seem a tad expensive, but this one’s an exceptional. There’s four sandwiches to share, with giant portion of the chicken bites on two of the sandwich. The chicken bites marginated with pepper, were tasty.
The bacon and eggs on the other side of the two sandwiches, were good and reliable. But the bread’s the one that was laudable. This was not your normal gardenia bread, the slightly toasted bread showed some hints of being toast, yet it wasn’t too hard when bread remained too long in the toaster.
Total Bill was $47.08 for two person. Prices are slightly on the high side, but then again, there’s the novelty of the place, and the big portion of the food to contend with. Two of us couldn’t finish what you see on the table, and i suspected three person sharing two orders might be just nice.
Oomphatico’s ventured to where others didn’t, and provided a new focal point with its innovative menu, the entertaining & cute environment, and better-than-expected food. I heard critics sharpening their knives and complaining about the place, but i say ignore them, for Oomphatico’s definitely packed with the oomph factor!
The restaurant’s an excellent venue for your girl-friends meetups, relaxing high tea, or even a romantic and cute place to bring your partner to, enter the world of Alice, in Wonderland! I dare say i’ll return again, at least until the novelty wears out. Then maybe they will come up with something different to capture my imagination again.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
1=SGD 0.0587
Egg cupcake ($1 for 3 small one)
I’m a devotee after just one bite of their egg cupcake. Soft, light, and fluffy, the egg cupcakes are really very good. And 3 for one dollar is cheap okay! I can easily finish half a dozen on my own. Gosh, i’m going to get more of them the next time.
Egg cupcake with red bean fillings ($1 for 1 big)
There’s also the bigger egg cup cake, which had red bean paste fillings at the bottom. But i was rather disappointed with it because there wasn’t anything special with the red bean paste, and the filling was just a little. I’ll think that three small ones are more than a big one, so take the 3 small one for a dollar instead.
Red bean biscuit
Their red bean biscuit was also worth the try, crispy pastry skin with generous fillings of the red bean paste.
Egg tart
Initially i was unsure about the egg tart because it didn’t seem to be very nice. But boy I had to take back my words after eating it. The egg custard was those watery kind, smooth and eggy!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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Love confectionery is located just beside the Alexander Village food centre, opposite of Queensway shopping centre. Having been there for very long, I knew about its presence before, but just didn’t pop in, until now.
Cream puffs ($0.40 each)
The cream puffs was merely 40 cents each, yes 40 cents! They came in two flavours, cream and custard. We immediately grabbed half a dozen of this, and looked around to see if there’s other steals, but to our disappointment, most of the their other bakes were sold out already.
The custard puffs were not too bad, i wasn’t too sure whether i’ll like them or not, so i only had two out of the six i got. The eggy taste was evidently present, and you could do yourself no harm since they are only 40 cents each.
The cream puff was good, the pastry skin was soft and fluffy, the only gripe - it wasn’t sinful enough. Of course you can’t compare it with the one at Beard Papa with such a big differential in price, but i did find that the cream used here wasn’t that fantastic, if only it’s made with the superior Japanese cream.
I think i’m asking too much for a cream puff which was 40 cents. Given the price, and the nostalgic of the cream puff, do grabbed a dozen the next time round.
Butter cakes ($0.90 each)
They also had two types of butter cakes that day, with the body being the same, peanut and almond separating both. It’s so old-school! The butter cake was very soft, and to say it melt softly with a deft bite wasn’t exaggerating.
Total bill was $4.80 for half a dozen cream puffs and two slices of cakes. They have other type of bakes, but it was either sold out or wasn’t available when i was there that day. I’ll probably get a dozen of those cream puffs the next time i’m in the area. And oh by the way, just to not mislead you, they don’t serve the pastry there, i brought them home to put on nice plates for the photos!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!sounds really nice... just wondering if the it's open at nite?
24 Oct 2008 at 10:05 am
hello eeml, i don't think its open at night. Somemore their pastries usually sold out by afternoon, so better go during the day time : )
24 Oct 2008 at 2:22 pm
So does that means that you can’t have a good chocolate cake if you want a similarity excellent cheesecake? Fortunately at Obolo, you can have the best of both worlds without any compromise.
From what was then an online patisserie to the boutique patisserie you see today at Joo Chiat, Obolo has gone a long way serving its gourmet cheesecakes and chocolate cakes. The flagship store opened in June 2007, almost a year plus already, provided a retail avenue for Obolo to showcase its repertoire of desserts.
The boutique de pâtisserie had a sleek and clean look, with the clever use of mirrors to create a bigger impression of the place. Nonetheless the small pastry restaurant can hardly sit more than 10, and it’s quite a squeeze in there.
Obolo’s famous for their signature New York cheesecake, which looked stunning with three ginormous strawberries. But we couldn’t possibly missed out on Noisette, and since we favoured chocolate over cheese, we decided to pick the latter. My friend and I decided to opt for an all-out chocolate feast, with all our selections chocolaty to prevent a clash of flavours over the chocolate and cheese.
Noisette ($6.70)
Dark chocolate mousse, caramelised toasted hazulnuts, crunchy praline feullitine, chocolate genoise. Noisette was the cake that put Obolo among the Sunday Times top 50 cakes. It got a smooth texture, not overly sweet. The Noisette was rich with chocolate and hazelnut flavours.
I particularly enjoyed the crunchy praline feullitine base, but the layer was too thin! It would definitely be better if there’s another layer in between the mousse.
Le Cassis ($6.70)
Dark Chocolate ganache mousse, cassis ivoire mousse, praline feulletine base and moist dark chocolate-almond biscuit layers. Le Cassis certainly looked pleasing to the eyes with its bright colour combination. The sour blackcurrent actually helped to smooth out the sweetness of the cake, which created a nice balance between sweet and sour.
With the cassis (blackcurrent) ivorie mousse on top, and the dark chocolate mousse enveloped in between the two layers of chocolate-almond biscuit, it provided a good blend of different taste. The cassis sour, the dark chocolate slightly bitter-sweet, the chocolate biscuit layer and the praline feulletine base added the crunchy sweet component.
Bittersweet Macaron ($1.80)
To continue with the chocolate-feast, we had the bittersweet macarons. Dark chocolate, not too sweet nor too bitter, just nice for the taste bud. It could be a double-edge thing though, in the shoe of those who didn’t fancy bitter chocolates, this would do nicely. But for the dark chocolate purist, the bittersweet macarons could be a tad sweet.
Hazelnut Macaron ($1.80)
The hazelnut taste was definitely there, the texture of the hazelnut macarons shells were chewy and the fillings in between was velvety and fulsome. Being a hazelnut fan, I immediately went for this one when i saw the lists of flavours available, with the others being cassis, rose, pistache, mango passion, raspberry, ruby, chocolate passion, vanille, and pabana.
Total bill was $17 for 2 cakes and 2 macarons, which made a nice treat for after-meal desserts. Obolo definitely got prospect with its gourmet cheesecake and range of desserts, which made me wondered why didn’t they set up a branch in town. Obolo’s owner June explained that they are looking into expanding, so we can be looking forward to another branch probably next year.
With around 11 different type of cakes to choose from, Obolo is constantly coming up with new flavours, having said that, you should be able to find one that suits your taste bud. Prices can be considered slightly high given their inaccessible location, and that Canele’s charging similar prices. But i think for the Easterners, Obolo’s definitely a place for your treats of desserts.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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And among our Chinese noodles, there are many types with wheat flour based ones like lamien, vermicelli, and the thick noodles. For their egg base counterparts, there are the thin noodles (you mian), and the mee pok which are commonly found. How about bamboo noodles?
I was given the opportunity for a food tasting session at Tai Shek Hei. The boss John See, and his wife Amy invited me for lunch to try out their speciality, bamboo noodles. Tai Shek Hei had recently just opened a month ago at Joo Chiat road, just directly opposite the Dunman food centre.
So you might ask, what’s so special about bamboo noodles? The tedious process in making the noodles from dough using the bamboo machine specially created by John. I didn’t get the chance to see the noodle-making process that day because they had already made their batch of noodles the previous days. The chef will normally make about 200 servings of noodles each time, and usually every two days they will make new ones to ensure the freshness of the noodles.
My friend and I had a quick tour around the kitchen and John explained the concepts behind Tai Shek Hei to us.The staff are all from China, thus might have difficulty with their English when taking orders.
Tai Shek Hei has got very simple furnishings, with the artwork depicting the joy of the chef in making the noodles, adorning the wall. What i like about the place is its unpretentious feel, coupled with the soothing music, provided an cosy environment which was unlike other typical Chinese restaurants.
Speciality Tobiko dumpling bamboo noodle ($6.80)
In Hong Kong, they actually preferred the soup version of the wanton mee to the dry one which is more popular in Singapore. The speciality Tobiko dumpling bamboo noodle was one of the most springy noodles i ever tried before. The noodles were so springy that they literally “bounce” on your tongue.
We also tried the dry version of the bamboo noodles, with equally good results. Although some people might find it expensive, given there’s only four dumplings with the bamboo noodles, but you can’t compare it with the normal wonton mee, for one, the noodle’s really good, and the process in making them was certainly not easy.
The Tobiko dumplings would redefine the dumpling experience. Their dumplings were packed fully with ingredients like shrimp, meat, water chestnut, tobiko (Japanese flying fish roe). One bite of the dumplings was all it need to let the essence of the fillings sinked into your month.
Speciality fried tobiko dumpling ($4 for 4)
Besides the dumpling soup, Tai Shek Hei also got the fried version, which i felt that was even better than the soup one. The crispy wonton skin was a delight to bite, you can hear the crunching sound. And just for the information, the wonton skin was also made with their own machine.
The fillings were the same as the soup version, shrimp, meat, water chestnut, tobiko (Japanese flying fish roe).
Chives & egg pancake
Personally, I didn’t like chives as i found the taste too strong, but for food tasting sake, i tried one of them. The chives dumpling, or pancake as they called it here, was fried until golden brown, with the green chives inside shining though the translucent skin.
There’s plenty of juice from the chives which came rushing out when we took a bite. I think this one’s good for chives lovers, with the crispy golden brown skin and the juicy chives. But for me, I still can’t accept it.
Honey Gourd ($4)
We had a sampling portion of the honey gourd, which was an innovative dish on the menu. Gourd which was bitter in nature, when paired up with the sweet honey, gave a balanced taste of sweet-bitterness.
Fried honey dew
Another inspiration of Amy, this was created on the day we went, so we got the opportunity of trying it first-hand. They provided a bowl of ice water, to soak the pipping hot fried honey dew into it, before eating. The idea was to prevent customers from burning their toungue.
And also the contrast of fried hot honey dew when come into contact with the icy water was apparent. But i found that the chili padi which was part of the ingredients overpower the sweet honey dew taste. A creative idea no less, and we shall wait for the chef to refine it.
Roast Combination ($10 for small)
Not many restaurants are honest with their customers, but Amy frankly told us that their roast combinations got mixed results. Their roast pork was not up to the grade, and they had since removed it from the menu. Leaving with the roast duck, char siew, and soy-sauce chicken.
The soy-sauce chicken was actually the better one among the trio, with Amy proudly saying that’s the one that can brave the test. My first taste was a tad dry and hard, but thats probably because i got the breast meat. The other parts of the chicken were fine, smooth and silky.
The Char siew was average, although not juicy and tender enough, their rendition’s still passable.
I thought that the roasted duck was all right, nothing fantastic, but i had eaten worse.
Cod ($8 for small)
We rounded off our meal with the cod which i thought was reasonable at $8 for a small serving. The fish was fried to crispy golden brown. It’s difficult to judge the freshness of a fish when it’s fried, but I have no complains about the cod since i always like them.
All in all, Tai Shek Hei has got really excellent bamboo noodles, one of the best i’ve tried so far. I think it’s worth a try, even though you might complain it’s too expensive, but hey they are a Chinese restaurant after all. The menu is still in-process, as they are still testing and trying some new dishes, while removing the inferior ones. The items are a case of hits and misses, with the tobiko dumpling noodle, and the chives pancakes worthy mentions.
The PRC staff might not be adapt to communicating in English as yet, but they are busy learning the basic terms to cope with the need. Service is still slow as the new entrants are still coping with the F&B experience, but things are getting better with each day. I’ll like to thank John and Amy for inviting me to try their bamboo noodles, and I’ll go back again for them when i’m in the area next time.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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Stepping inside Oomphatico’s, you are instantly teleported down the rabbit hole, into the world of Alice in wonderland. With its bold and fun design, incoporating of vibrant and cheerful colours, together with the white-and-elegant furnitures, the European style was stamped all over the interior.
There’s also a nice al fresco area just beside the Trader’s hotel lobby. It marks a change from the normal al fresco area which will be under the mercy of the weather as it’s a sheltered area.
The use of the funky design in Oomphatico’s make it stand out from the rest. The focus is on red, black and white, which is also evident in their menu. Oomphatico’s actually aims to serve healthy and hearty food, using organic ingredients, and they have an all-day breakfast menu to cater to you sleepyheads who can’t wait up early for the most important meal of the day.
Buonito! ($9.50)
Berries and vanilla yogurt. An excellent alternative to decadent desserts. The initial flavor was sour with the berries coming into play. But with hard work, there’s result. The vanilla sweetened the sour berries and carved out a balanced taste. The bottle’s definitely adorable, but the Buonito! was priced on the high side, which i rather spend the money on a dessert.
Bella Margarita ($16.50)
With a choice of plain, ham or herbed pizza base, Oomphatico’s offered a twist to the 5 pizza selections. Our Bella Margarita’s the classic with Oomphatico’s magic makeover, topped with cream cheese, garlic and pepper. On paper, the pizza might seem ordinary, but it was the plain June and average Joe, the normal ingredients which made the pizza a good pick.
Our ham base, paper-thin pizza was crispy. The combination of the ingredients provided a spark when eaten with the thin pizza. The serving was generous, and you ought to share this around, the two of us couldn’t finish it. Something that’s ordinary might not be bad, that’s why they called it the classic.
The Farmers Club ($14)
Chicken, bacon, chedder cheese, avocado, and eggs. In short, everything you need for a hearty and full sandwich. The farmers club got everything of that, with one side two sandwiches coming in the form of bacon and egg, and the other end chicken.
Sandwiches at $14 might seem a tad expensive, but this one’s an exceptional. There’s four sandwiches to share, with giant portion of the chicken bites on two of the sandwich. The chicken bites marginated with pepper, were tasty.
The bacon and eggs on the other side of the two sandwiches, were good and reliable. But the bread’s the one that was laudable. This was not your normal gardenia bread, the slightly toasted bread showed some hints of being toast, yet it wasn’t too hard when bread remained too long in the toaster.
Total Bill was $47.08 for two person. Prices are slightly on the high side, but then again, there’s the novelty of the place, and the big portion of the food to contend with. Two of us couldn’t finish what you see on the table, and i suspected three person sharing two orders might be just nice.
Oomphatico’s ventured to where others didn’t, and provided a new focal point with its innovative menu, the entertaining & cute environment, and better-than-expected food. I heard critics sharpening their knives and complaining about the place, but i say ignore them, for Oomphatico’s definitely packed with the oomph factor!
The restaurant’s an excellent venue for your girl-friends meetups, relaxing high tea, or even a romantic and cute place to bring your partner to, enter the world of Alice, in Wonderland! I dare say i’ll return again, at least until the novelty wears out. Then maybe they will come up with something different to capture my imagination again.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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