It was quite some time ago that i had a go trying out Vientai and the results were less then spectacular.
The food was lacklustre due to a lack of identity.
I had the Vietnam hor fun which came with some fried crisps and beef balls in a dark transparent soup base. It wasn't totally bad since the soup itself was rather thick with taste reminiscent of prawn soup. But its the feeling after the noodles were finished that you feel rather disappointed. After all, paying $10 for a bowl of prawn soup hor fun isn't exactly a value for money event.
The other item we had was something akin to phad thai. Slightly spicy and rank with peanut taste. The prawns were pretty good as is the rice noodles itself. But its still the aftertaste of receiving the bill that really ticks it off.
In the end, if this was a normal coffee shop set up and price. I would have recommended it to no end. But as it stands now, i'd have to say no thanks.
I usually go there for facial threading - this place is really good. They are very quick and professional when it comes to threading.
The end result? My eyebrows are nicely shaped and complement my eye shape. Best of all, they give you a disposable wet towel straight from the fridge after threading to reduce the redness and relieve the pain.
Recently, I decided to try their eyelash perming service. I've got to admit I was sorely disappointed by it - the girl doesn't seem to know what to do to hold my eyelashes in place before applying the perm lotion!
I have very Asian eyes - small, slitty, mono-lidded with poker-straight lashes and she had to try to re-clamp it with an oversized eyelash-curler-looking device. She even tried forcing and I almost got a bruised eye!
After the entire ordeal, my eyelashes were only permed slightly at the very tip. Quite a waste of my time (45 mins!) and money I must say.
I only recommend you try their threading - its good, fast and cheap. The rest? Well you're definitely better off heading to a good beauty salon for that.
This restaurant is attached to the Party World KTV at Shenton way. Though been to the KTV for many times, this is the first time We went to this restaurant for dinner. Went with a group of girlfriends for Hen's Party.
There were very few customers there. Inclusive of us, there were only 3 tables of customers.
If you want cheap food in big portions, this is the right place to come to. Food types are a mixture of Western food (e.g steak, fish, chicken cutlet), Chinese (e.g Stir Fried Vege, Tzu2 Cha4) and Malay (e.g Fish head curry). Purchase the set meal to get also, salad, soup, drink and dessert. Soup and dessert are free flow. The set I ordered was steak and it only cost me approx $14 .
Wanted the steak to be well done and it came as well done, with the meat not too tough and enough of the "beefy" taste that I would like my steak to have. Salad was fresh though it seems a bit strange to have Watercress soup with steak. Taste of the soup I've heard, was great. So great that my friend had 3 helpings of it.
The place look a bit sleazy since it was attached with the KTV but nevertheless, a great place to have a quiet dinner with friends (unless you're down on your luck and met people having a Hen's Party there) at budget cost.
Went to this restaurant for the first time due to a friend's craving for its “梦幻黑猪”... we went in quite late as it was after a performance at about 930pm and the last order was at 10pm. The restaurant was still quite crowded then. We were urshered to an almost empty area.
Space usage was quite poor as the place was quite cramped. 5 mins from sitting down, we changed places as the aircon was leaking water. No black face from the waitor though no smiles too.
We were not rushed into making up our mind even though its only like 20 mins left to closing the till. I ordered this Hakodate Shio Ramen and was extremely satisfied by it. The shio soup base was unique, not too heavy nor too light. Blended well with the saltish meat. However, the meat will be too salty to be tasted alone though those who love heavier taste would love it.
Also ordered the Edamame which came hot and covered with shio. Tasted wonderful though the salt proved to be too much when we came to the bottom of the bowl.
My husband ordered Beef Curry Rice. Contrary to other places' curry, we could taste beef in the curry itself. Meaning they either used beef stock as one of the ingredients or cooked the beef in the curry. I would like to order that the next time I'm there.
Overall, we were quite satisfied with our meal there. But it could be because we were all famished from having no dinner and a tiring performance and rehearsals. Should definitely visit there again as there are more to be tried out.
Went in search of Hokkien food one weekend evening and ended up at Quan Xian Yuan, which came highly recommended to me for its quality food and reasonable prices. Apparently it is so popular that when we tried making reservations for 630pm in the afternoon itself, it was full and the only option was to rush down at 530pm and finish our meal by 630pm. And so we did.
The place isn't located at somewhere you would term as accessible - an inconspicuous restaurant occupying 2 rather dilapidated units along Jalan Besar Road. The interior is dated as well, looking more like a scene out from a sixties movie set then a modern Chinese restaurant.
Prawn Roll - The prawn roll aka ha zhor had too much batter for my liking. It looked a little like goreng pisang (deep fried banana fritters) to me and that's definitely not a good thing. I couldn't quite make out the subtle presence of the prawns, if any and honestly, it was filled with more flour then anything.
Broccoli with Scallops - You can't really go wrong with broccoli and scallops and thankfully this one wasn't the exception. Apart from the scallops being a little too soft, I thought that this dish was still quite decent, but nothing to shout about of course.
Kong Ba Pao (扣肉包) - The answer to all weight loss programs, diets and they key to having a short life - that's what popping a serving of kong ba in your mouth does for you. I would have gladly thrown any health concerns out of the window if the kong ba had been good. Sadly, that wasn't the case. The meat was overly fatty to the point of being gross and the gravy was seriously bland. A little sugar might have made it more palatable.
Hokkien Mee - If the taste of alkaline was my thing, then this dish would have been a delicacy. Otherwise, it was terrible. Bland save for the strong hint of alkaline from the noodles, coupled with not so fresh prawns and a watery gravy that was more for the colour then taste, the noodles were limp and soggy. Not exactly my idea of a signature dish.
To be fair to the restaurant, the food isn't expensive (save for the scallops dish). As a matter of fact, it's considered quite cheap, standing at $48 for the 3 of us. But something really needs to be done about the quality of food. We tried the signature dishes and they turned out so bad. I really can't imagine how the "normal" dishes will turn out. Makes me wonder about the crowds.
Where can you find a quirky indie café, great comfort food at value-for-money price, relaxing corner to chill-out with your friends and at the same time give back to the society? The answer is Food for Thought, a social enterprise café that endeavours to generate profits to support and serve the community we live in.
Conveniently located opposite National Library, the café has been helmed by our own local boy, David Heng, who graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney, and used to work in Le St Julien, under the tutorage of Chef de Cuisine Julien Bompard.
Watermelon Mint & Lychee Sage Freeze ($4.00 each) was the initial order of the evening. HFB can’t think of any good reasons why one wouldn’t love these drinks. Simply revitalising!
Our appetiser falls under the “Premium Salad” category of Honey Mustard Smoked Duck Salad ($12.90). HFB simply dig the smoked duck. The thin layer of fats gave it a nice marbling chew and the meat is tender and succulent. The dish is also well complemented with orange slices. Can I also add that the serving is pretty generous?
What’s best to pair with a premium salad? It’s none other than a “Premium Sandwich” of Cuban Ham & Pork Steak ($10.90) – made of Grilled Gamon Ham, Hand-shred Slow-roasted Tender Pork Shoulder, topped with a sliced of Grilled Pineapple. Sandwiched within home-baked Foccacia Bread, drizzled with creamy mustard dressing and homemade barbecue sauce, this is definitely one of the better sandwiches that HFB has polished off. My only nitpick is that the mixture of over zealous dressing and sauce, coupled with the meat’s natural juices, cause the bread to turn soggy a little.
What’s a meal without its dessert? The Butterscotch Peach Crumble ($7.90) is created with bubbling homemade butterscotch sauce, filled with Peaches, Raisins and Roasted Almond Slices. Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, HFB thought that the combination was a little too generous for it’s own good. Being a hot dessert, the ice cream tends to melt quickly into a mess. Perhaps a better option is to serve the ice cream on the side.
The Vanilla Caramel Crème Brulee was nothing extraordinary to say the least – the custard was smooth with a hint of caramel goodness all right, but the caramelised crust was disappointingly too thick for HFB. However, using fine icing sugar should eliminate the problem.
Absinthe - a green alcoholic spirit which was more commonly known as the green fairy because of its purported hallucinogenic effects. It also happens to be the name of upmarket French restaurant jointly owned by the folks from OSO, restaurant manager Philippe Pau and chef Francois Mermilliod of Flutes at the Fort fame.
Sitting pretty at the end of a row of shophouses along Bukit Pasoh Road and playing immediate neighbour to OSO, Absinthe's green signboard, which is a nod to the greenish colour of the alcohol, greets you from a distance. The swanky interior boasts low ceilings and parquet flooring coupled with ambient ceiling lighting for a relaxing dining experience.
Complimentary Bread - When the first round of complimentary bread hit us, it was actually quite good. Crusty on the outside while retaining its softness and fluffiness on the inside. The second serving was akin to eating stones so I promptly gave up after a few mouthfuls.
Chilled Ravioli of Lobster with Lime Sabayon, Pink Guava Julienne and Shiso - Very interesting to say the least. This wasn't your typical ravioli. The skin was reminiscent of har gao and there were crunchy strands of guava nestled below it on a bed of fresh Boston lobster. The presence of fish roe gave it a nice salty taste while the lime sabayon was savoury with a hint of tartness. Very nice.
Pan-Fried Foie Gras with Warm Blinis and Wild Hibiscus Flower Compote - I thought that the foie gras was excellent. On par with what I had at Sage, if not better by a notch or two. Very well pan fried to a crisp on the outside yet melt in the mouth quivery on the inside with a hint of saltiness. The hibiscus flower compote provided a nice sourish dimension to the foie gras.
Hokkaido Scallop With Sea Urchin Emulsion and Small Herb Salad - Scallops never fail to entice me and Absinthe's rendition came with sea urchin emulsion, which was a first for me. The scallops were done tataki style, well seared on the outside but soft and relatively rare on the inside, which is a refreshing change from the usual seared scallops. I could make out a hint of fishiness amongst the predominantly salty emulsion. Overall another excellent dish.
Pork Belly - The pork belly was a special of the day and I requested this as my main instead of the lamb/fish option for my degustation and I am glad I did. The skin was very crispy, the fats were sinfully melt in your mouth and the meat fibrous with a generous dose of salt. And being pork belly, the ratio of fats to meat is a lot higher then other parts of the pig. Definitely not for the health conscious or faint hearted.
Crème Brûlée, Absinthe Sorbet - Apparently some of the ice parfaits didn't make it past the QC test that evening so I had a choice of crème brûlée instead. I wasn't too impressed by it though. The caramel layer was a little too overtorched, resulting in a rather burnt layer. On the upside, it was milky smooth with raisins in it. What I thought was interesting was the absinthe sorbet, which I had mistaken as lime sorbet at first sight. The sorbet had a very weak absinthe dosage, coming across more like liqurious with its herbal overtones.
The degustation cost $98++ but because I requested to change my main to the pork belly, it cost me another $6++, bringing the total to $122.41 nett. Sure it isn't cheap, but the excellent quality of food and service more then makes up for it. I will definitely be back, but this time I'm aiming the private dining room for 4pax within the wine cellar.
Please note that this is actually a food delivery service!
A third party delivery service that delivers food from food outlets that don’t! I chanced upon this website when I was surfing the web for food delivery. Have tried using their service 3 times now and while I’m happy with the fact that they deliver food on behalf of restaurants they don’t, I think their service does have room for improvement.
The first time I called them, it was on a weekday night at around 7pm. Food came about 45 min later. I had no qualms about that since it also happened to be around a festive season then.
The second time I called, it was about 6pm on a Sunday evening. I called at least 7 times and never once did I get anyone on the line even though the phone was ringing. The calls would ring till the line gets cut off automatically. Another 3 times, I couldn’t even get the call through at all! I gave up calling. There was no way I was going to get dinner on time.
The third time I called, it was one week after the previous time. I thought I’d try again since they really are the only ones who can deliver Thai Express to my place… This time someone answered the call almost immediately. I asked the call operator if deliveries could be ordered for in advance and delivered a few hours later. She said the food will be delivered between 7pm and 7.30pm. Satisfied with that timing, I called back again later with my order. 5 dishes from Thai Express turned out to be $53. Exclusive of all additional charges it would have been $40.50 only (!).
Apparently charges are met out in such a way:
Original bill $1 charge for orders under $40 / $3 for orders over $40 7% GST delivery charge depending on area 10% service charge.
I live in the east and delivery charges were $5 for me. And there is also a minimum order of $25.
I ordered my food at 5pm or so, thinking it would come at 7 – 7.30pm and thought that would have been a good timing, but the food was delivered at 6.30pm! It was way too early and by the time it was dinner time, the food turned cold already…
Not too happy with their delivery time but I guess delivery can never be at a time of your request... If not for the fact that they’re the only one doing such delivery, I doubt I’ll order from them again.
A very packed place on a Saturday afternoon...so we opted for outdoors as it meant a shorter wait :D
Service was smiley and cheery and brunch menu simple. Ordered stuff to share between the 2 of us (I forgot to take pics of the menu so don't quite remember the exact ingredients....):
Big Nihon ($18) - Expected bigger portion actually. Soba, edamame, greens, peppers, tomato, sesame, and salmon pieces. Nice Jap combo and fresh salmon but I thought the dressing would have been better if it was more tangy.
Crab Cake ($26) - Huge tart that came with a side of greens. Was quite alot of crab meat but I felt the tart was a tad too thick.
I also had some lime soda thingy which was very refreshing for the alfresco seating. A good spot for a leisure afternoon but remember to call ahead for an indoor spot because sweating tai tais are hardly glam.
Was quite excited to learn that they have an outlet at Liang Court after hearing and reading so much about the outlet at Robertson Quay. I came with family and the 7 of us were quite happy to be given a seat at a corner of the restaurant. Note that the place is tucked inside Mediya; you have to go in to find it.
I had to try the ramen with its infamous pork bone stock of course:
Vegetable tonkatsu ramen ($14) - Huge bowl of vegetables on top of a mountain of ramen immersed in milky stock. Very good stock I thought, it did taste like it was cooked for hours with no 'porky' taste at all. Although for some strange reason the other guys felt Ajisen was better. Huh??
Deep fried shrimp ($10) - I can't remember the exact name on the menu but this was extremely addictive crunchy little stuff. Just the right amount of salt gave it a added kick. Its like really really fresh prawn "crackers". Very good.
Salmon Sashimi ($11) - Very fresh and surprisingly thick slices of the fish. Very refreshing for the palette.
Chicken Cheese roll ($12) - Didn't try this but it looked nothing like the picture.
Deep fried black pork - Disappointingly dry and uninspiring. Its rival located in the same building is so much better.
Service was okay, nothing excellent. It was nice to be able to walk the dinner off in Mediya though. I'll come back for the stock and prawn crackers! I was surprised that the bill came up to so high to be honest but well, at least I know what not to try next time.
1=SGD 0.0587
It was quite some time ago that i had a go trying out Vientai and the results were less then spectacular.
The food was lacklustre due to a lack of identity.
I had the Vietnam hor fun which came with some fried crisps and beef balls in a dark transparent soup base. It wasn't totally bad since the soup itself was rather thick with taste reminiscent of prawn soup. But its the feeling after the noodles were finished that you feel rather disappointed. After all, paying $10 for a bowl of prawn soup hor fun isn't exactly a value for money event.
The other item we had was something akin to phad thai. Slightly spicy and rank with peanut taste. The prawns were pretty good as is the rice noodles itself. But its still the aftertaste of receiving the bill that really ticks it off.
In the end, if this was a normal coffee shop set up and price. I would have recommended it to no end. But as it stands now, i'd have to say no thanks.
Rating given:
I usually go there for facial threading - this place is really good. They are very quick and professional when it comes to threading.
The end result? My eyebrows are nicely shaped and complement my eye shape. Best of all, they give you a disposable wet towel straight from the fridge after threading to reduce the redness and relieve the pain.
Recently, I decided to try their eyelash perming service. I've got to admit I was sorely disappointed by it - the girl doesn't seem to know what to do to hold my eyelashes in place before applying the perm lotion!
I have very Asian eyes - small, slitty, mono-lidded with poker-straight lashes and she had to try to re-clamp it with an oversized eyelash-curler-looking device. She even tried forcing and I almost got a bruised eye!
After the entire ordeal, my eyelashes were only permed slightly at the very tip. Quite a waste of my time (45 mins!) and money I must say.
I only recommend you try their threading - its good, fast and cheap. The rest? Well you're definitely better off heading to a good beauty salon for that.
Rating given:
This restaurant is attached to the Party World KTV at Shenton way. Though been to the KTV for many times, this is the first time We went to this restaurant for dinner. Went with a group of girlfriends for Hen's Party.
There were very few customers there. Inclusive of us, there were only 3 tables of customers.
If you want cheap food in big portions, this is the right place to come to. Food types are a mixture of Western food (e.g steak, fish, chicken cutlet), Chinese (e.g Stir Fried Vege, Tzu2 Cha4) and Malay (e.g Fish head curry). Purchase the set meal to get also, salad, soup, drink and dessert. Soup and dessert are free flow. The set I ordered was steak and it only cost me approx $14 .
Wanted the steak to be well done and it came as well done, with the meat not too tough and enough of the "beefy" taste that I would like my steak to have. Salad was fresh though it seems a bit strange to have Watercress soup with steak. Taste of the soup I've heard, was great. So great that my friend had 3 helpings of it.
The place look a bit sleazy since it was attached with the KTV but nevertheless, a great place to have a quiet dinner with friends (unless you're down on your luck and met people having a Hen's Party there) at budget cost.
Rating given:
Went to this restaurant for the first time due to a friend's craving for its “梦幻黑猪”... we went in quite late as it was after a performance at about 930pm and the last order was at 10pm. The restaurant was still quite crowded then. We were urshered to an almost empty area.
Space usage was quite poor as the place was quite cramped. 5 mins from sitting down, we changed places as the aircon was leaking water. No black face from the waitor though no smiles too.
We were not rushed into making up our mind even though its only like 20 mins left to closing the till. I ordered this Hakodate Shio Ramen and was extremely satisfied by it. The shio soup base was unique, not too heavy nor too light. Blended well with the saltish meat. However, the meat will be too salty to be tasted alone though those who love heavier taste would love it.
Also ordered the Edamame which came hot and covered with shio. Tasted wonderful though the salt proved to be too much when we came to the bottom of the bowl.
My husband ordered Beef Curry Rice. Contrary to other places' curry, we could taste beef in the curry itself. Meaning they either used beef stock as one of the ingredients or cooked the beef in the curry. I would like to order that the next time I'm there.
Overall, we were quite satisfied with our meal there. But it could be because we were all famished from having no dinner and a tiring performance and rehearsals. Should definitely visit there again as there are more to be tried out.
Rating given:
Went in search of Hokkien food one weekend evening and ended up at Quan Xian Yuan, which came highly recommended to me for its quality food and reasonable prices. Apparently it is so popular that when we tried making reservations for 630pm in the afternoon itself, it was full and the only option was to rush down at 530pm and finish our meal by 630pm. And so we did.
The place isn't located at somewhere you would term as accessible - an inconspicuous restaurant occupying 2 rather dilapidated units along Jalan Besar Road. The interior is dated as well, looking more like a scene out from a sixties movie set then a modern Chinese restaurant.
Prawn Roll - The prawn roll aka ha zhor had too much batter for my liking. It looked a little like goreng pisang (deep fried banana fritters) to me and that's definitely not a good thing. I couldn't quite make out the subtle presence of the prawns, if any and honestly, it was filled with more flour then anything.
Broccoli with Scallops - You can't really go wrong with broccoli and scallops and thankfully this one wasn't the exception. Apart from the scallops being a little too soft, I thought that this dish was still quite decent, but nothing to shout about of course.
Kong Ba Pao (扣肉包) - The answer to all weight loss programs, diets and they key to having a short life - that's what popping a serving of kong ba in your mouth does for you. I would have gladly thrown any health concerns out of the window if the kong ba had been good. Sadly, that wasn't the case. The meat was overly fatty to the point of being gross and the gravy was seriously bland. A little sugar might have made it more palatable.
Hokkien Mee - If the taste of alkaline was my thing, then this dish would have been a delicacy. Otherwise, it was terrible. Bland save for the strong hint of alkaline from the noodles, coupled with not so fresh prawns and a watery gravy that was more for the colour then taste, the noodles were limp and soggy. Not exactly my idea of a signature dish.
To be fair to the restaurant, the food isn't expensive (save for the scallops dish). As a matter of fact, it's considered quite cheap, standing at $48 for the 3 of us. But something really needs to be done about the quality of food. We tried the signature dishes and they turned out so bad. I really can't imagine how the "normal" dishes will turn out. Makes me wonder about the crowds.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Where can you find a quirky indie café, great comfort food at value-for-money price, relaxing corner to chill-out with your friends and at the same time give back to the society? The answer is Food for Thought, a social enterprise café that endeavours to generate profits to support and serve the community we live in.
Conveniently located opposite National Library, the café has been helmed by our own local boy, David Heng, who graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney, and used to work in Le St Julien, under the tutorage of Chef de Cuisine Julien Bompard.
Watermelon Mint & Lychee Sage Freeze ($4.00 each) was the initial order of the evening. HFB can’t think of any good reasons why one wouldn’t love these drinks. Simply revitalising!
Our appetiser falls under the “Premium Salad” category of Honey Mustard Smoked Duck Salad ($12.90). HFB simply dig the smoked duck. The thin layer of fats gave it a nice marbling chew and the meat is tender and succulent. The dish is also well complemented with orange slices. Can I also add that the serving is pretty generous?
What’s best to pair with a premium salad? It’s none other than a “Premium Sandwich” of Cuban Ham & Pork Steak ($10.90) – made of Grilled Gamon Ham, Hand-shred Slow-roasted Tender Pork Shoulder, topped with a sliced of Grilled Pineapple. Sandwiched within home-baked Foccacia Bread, drizzled with creamy mustard dressing and homemade barbecue sauce, this is definitely one of the better sandwiches that HFB has polished off. My only nitpick is that the mixture of over zealous dressing and sauce, coupled with the meat’s natural juices, cause the bread to turn soggy a little.
What’s a meal without its dessert? The Butterscotch Peach Crumble ($7.90) is created with bubbling homemade butterscotch sauce, filled with Peaches, Raisins and Roasted Almond Slices. Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, HFB thought that the combination was a little too generous for it’s own good. Being a hot dessert, the ice cream tends to melt quickly into a mess. Perhaps a better option is to serve the ice cream on the side.
The Vanilla Caramel Crème Brulee was nothing extraordinary to say the least – the custard was smooth with a hint of caramel goodness all right, but the caramelised crust was disappointingly too thick for HFB. However, using fine icing sugar should eliminate the problem.
You can view all the photos here.
Rating given:
Absinthe - a green alcoholic spirit which was more commonly known as the green fairy because of its purported hallucinogenic effects. It also happens to be the name of upmarket French restaurant jointly owned by the folks from OSO, restaurant manager Philippe Pau and chef Francois Mermilliod of Flutes at the Fort fame.
Sitting pretty at the end of a row of shophouses along Bukit Pasoh Road and playing immediate neighbour to OSO, Absinthe's green signboard, which is a nod to the greenish colour of the alcohol, greets you from a distance. The swanky interior boasts low ceilings and parquet flooring coupled with ambient ceiling lighting for a relaxing dining experience.
Complimentary Bread - When the first round of complimentary bread hit us, it was actually quite good. Crusty on the outside while retaining its softness and fluffiness on the inside. The second serving was akin to eating stones so I promptly gave up after a few mouthfuls.
Chilled Ravioli of Lobster with Lime Sabayon, Pink Guava Julienne and Shiso - Very interesting to say the least. This wasn't your typical ravioli. The skin was reminiscent of har gao and there were crunchy strands of guava nestled below it on a bed of fresh Boston lobster. The presence of fish roe gave it a nice salty taste while the lime sabayon was savoury with a hint of tartness. Very nice.
Pan-Fried Foie Gras with Warm Blinis and Wild Hibiscus Flower Compote - I thought that the foie gras was excellent. On par with what I had at Sage, if not better by a notch or two. Very well pan fried to a crisp on the outside yet melt in the mouth quivery on the inside with a hint of saltiness. The hibiscus flower compote provided a nice sourish dimension to the foie gras.
Hokkaido Scallop With Sea Urchin Emulsion and Small Herb Salad - Scallops never fail to entice me and Absinthe's rendition came with sea urchin emulsion, which was a first for me. The scallops were done tataki style, well seared on the outside but soft and relatively rare on the inside, which is a refreshing change from the usual seared scallops. I could make out a hint of fishiness amongst the predominantly salty emulsion. Overall another excellent dish.
Pork Belly - The pork belly was a special of the day and I requested this as my main instead of the lamb/fish option for my degustation and I am glad I did. The skin was very crispy, the fats were sinfully melt in your mouth and the meat fibrous with a generous dose of salt. And being pork belly, the ratio of fats to meat is a lot higher then other parts of the pig. Definitely not for the health conscious or faint hearted.
Crème Brûlée, Absinthe Sorbet - Apparently some of the ice parfaits didn't make it past the QC test that evening so I had a choice of crème brûlée instead. I wasn't too impressed by it though. The caramel layer was a little too overtorched, resulting in a rather burnt layer. On the upside, it was milky smooth with raisins in it. What I thought was interesting was the absinthe sorbet, which I had mistaken as lime sorbet at first sight. The sorbet had a very weak absinthe dosage, coming across more like liqurious with its herbal overtones.
The degustation cost $98++ but because I requested to change my main to the pork belly, it cost me another $6++, bringing the total to $122.41 nett. Sure it isn't cheap, but the excellent quality of food and service more then makes up for it. I will definitely be back, but this time I'm aiming the private dining room for 4pax within the wine cellar.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Please note that this is actually a food delivery service!
A third party delivery service that delivers food from food outlets that don’t! I chanced upon this website when I was surfing the web for food delivery. Have tried using their service 3 times now and while I’m happy with the fact that they deliver food on behalf of restaurants they don’t, I think their service does have room for improvement.
The first time I called them, it was on a weekday night at around 7pm. Food came about 45 min later. I had no qualms about that since it also happened to be around a festive season then.
The second time I called, it was about 6pm on a Sunday evening. I called at least 7 times and never once did I get anyone on the line even though the phone was ringing. The calls would ring till the line gets cut off automatically. Another 3 times, I couldn’t even get the call through at all! I gave up calling. There was no way I was going to get dinner on time.
The third time I called, it was one week after the previous time. I thought I’d try again since they really are the only ones who can deliver Thai Express to my place… This time someone answered the call almost immediately. I asked the call operator if deliveries could be ordered for in advance and delivered a few hours later. She said the food will be delivered between 7pm and 7.30pm. Satisfied with that timing, I called back again later with my order. 5 dishes from Thai Express turned out to be $53. Exclusive of all additional charges it would have been $40.50 only (!).
Apparently charges are met out in such a way:
Original bill $1 charge for orders under $40 / $3 for orders over $40 7% GST delivery charge depending on area 10% service charge.
I live in the east and delivery charges were $5 for me. And there is also a minimum order of $25.
I ordered my food at 5pm or so, thinking it would come at 7 – 7.30pm and thought that would have been a good timing, but the food was delivered at 6.30pm! It was way too early and by the time it was dinner time, the food turned cold already…
Not too happy with their delivery time but I guess delivery can never be at a time of your request... If not for the fact that they’re the only one doing such delivery, I doubt I’ll order from them again.
Rating given:
Leisure spot for tai tai~
A very packed place on a Saturday afternoon...so we opted for outdoors as it meant a shorter wait :D
Service was smiley and cheery and brunch menu simple. Ordered stuff to share between the 2 of us (I forgot to take pics of the menu so don't quite remember the exact ingredients....):
Big Nihon ($18) - Expected bigger portion actually. Soba, edamame, greens, peppers, tomato, sesame, and salmon pieces. Nice Jap combo and fresh salmon but I thought the dressing would have been better if it was more tangy.
Crab Cake ($26) - Huge tart that came with a side of greens. Was quite alot of crab meat but I felt the tart was a tad too thick.
I also had some lime soda thingy which was very refreshing for the alfresco seating. A good spot for a leisure afternoon but remember to call ahead for an indoor spot because sweating tai tais are hardly glam.
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Good ramen stock~
Was quite excited to learn that they have an outlet at Liang Court after hearing and reading so much about the outlet at Robertson Quay. I came with family and the 7 of us were quite happy to be given a seat at a corner of the restaurant. Note that the place is tucked inside Mediya; you have to go in to find it.
I had to try the ramen with its infamous pork bone stock of course:
Vegetable tonkatsu ramen ($14) - Huge bowl of vegetables on top of a mountain of ramen immersed in milky stock. Very good stock I thought, it did taste like it was cooked for hours with no 'porky' taste at all. Although for some strange reason the other guys felt Ajisen was better. Huh??
Deep fried shrimp ($10) - I can't remember the exact name on the menu but this was extremely addictive crunchy little stuff. Just the right amount of salt gave it a added kick. Its like really really fresh prawn "crackers". Very good.
Salmon Sashimi ($11) - Very fresh and surprisingly thick slices of the fish. Very refreshing for the palette.
Chicken Cheese roll ($12) - Didn't try this but it looked nothing like the picture.
Deep fried black pork - Disappointingly dry and uninspiring. Its rival located in the same building is so much better.
Service was okay, nothing excellent. It was nice to be able to walk the dinner off in Mediya though. I'll come back for the stock and prawn crackers! I was surprised that the bill came up to so high to be honest but well, at least I know what not to try next time.
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