Heard about this little hideout in Bukit Timah quite some time ago and finally paid it a visit to verify if its beef burger lives up to the recommendations i've heard about it. It's rather along the west end of Singapore so i had to drive around and got lost a couple of times before i found it but i'm truly glad i did.
The location is nothing to shout about, after all, it resides in a corner coffeeshop location and shares the space with an Indian food stall and a bar calling itself Bar Bar Black Sheep. Not that i'm complaining because the place is excellent. Wooden chairs and al fresco tables gave me an impression that i wasn't in Singapore anymore but rather some hang out place in Australia or USA. The Caucasian friends or expatriats who pack the place certainly aided in giving me this impression but i definitely liked the vibe of this place. Simple yet classy.
Hoegarden and Lime Juice - The drinks here are reasonably priced to be sure. Order it direct from Bar Bar Black Sheep or any of the girls going around to take orders and you'll be served your drink in a short span of time. I ordered 1 pint of ice cold Hoegarden and thank the lord, it was an actual pint at discount prices which was as advertised, ice cold too. I couldn't pin the exact cost but its anywhere between $6-9 for a pint and if you compare it to similar joints, you'll see its actually a great deal
Fish and Chips ($8-10) - My gf ordered fish and chips as we were soon served with a huge, 3 piece fish and chips with generous portions of fries. It helps that everything was fried to a nice golden brown and served hot. The fish and chips, though having tender and sweet flesh, had a rather thick batter which didn't sit well with us. Strip away the batter though, and this works pretty well.
Beef Burger ($12-14) - The star of the day, the beef burger has a patty handmade by the restaurant in the day. The meat was finely pounded and padded together for a slightly crumbly yet firm texture. The beef taste is moderate but strong enough for me while the caremelized onions, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes added more bite to the burger. Did i mention the burger was about the size of a BK whooper? I'm definitely coming back for more of this.
Total bill probably set us back by less then $30 for this meal and i find it money well spent.
Ambiance: 8/10 Service: 8/10 Food: 7/10 Value for money: 8/10 Overall Score: 8/10
Last word: I like this place. Its got a rustic and earthly charm to it. And the real draw is how our Caucasian friends or expatriats who frequent this place really gives me the impression i'm not in Singapore. The way this illusion takes away my troubles is quite simply, priceless. Throw in good beer on tap for cheap and a beef burger to give Astons a run for their money and this place has my vote as my favorite ulu bar of the year.
Located in an obscure corner of Suntec City is a restaurant i've been patronizing at least 5 to 6 times throughout the years. In fact, its one of the first Cantonese Ala Carte buffets i was introduced to. Helmed by Hong Kong Master Chef Mok Kit Keung, the restaurant uses it as a selling point to promise authentic Cantonese cuisine at everyday prices.
All you can eat buffets are usually average and when you throw in ala carte, it would mean a reasonable amount of time is spent waiting. That's pretty much true about this place as well, but there are gems to be found in its menu. You just need to know what it is to order it, as early and as often as possible to get the most out of it.
With each set, you get the usual one order only items and in this case, it'll be the live prawns and the shark's fin. Both of which were pretty good imho. The prawns were all sweet and crunchy and fresh while the shark's fin was too starchy for my tastes but was redeemed by its balanced flavors and abundance of shark's fin.
Items you must order while you are here will be:
Roasted Pork Belly - a classic in any chinese restaurant, the pork belly is rather fatty here. Its also very juicy, comes in big pieces and has a nice charred taste on the skin. Complement it with some mustard and its one of the first things to have on my list.
Wasabi mayonnaise prawn - their rendition had a rather thick layer of batter which was thankfully light. The mayonnaise and wasabi combination was balanced enough to give you a kick but not enough to deter you from eating it and the best part was there huge prawns they used for this dish. Second must order dish, repeat orders recommended.
Steamed/ fried fish (any fish) - This is the final item i think everyone needs to order as many as possible of if you're trying to ensure you eat your due. My recommendation would be about 3-4 orders of different fish with different methods of cooking. Why so? Simply because its the best item to have here. Regardless of which cooking method you order, you get a whole fish. That's right, an entire fish for each order and it is almost always fresh, sweet and perfectly light so you can have as many of it as you want. Order this without hesitation.
Dim sum items (any) - Its a cantonese restaurant, so naturally, you should order its dim sum pastries and shrimp dumplings and such to go with your meal. For the record, their dim sum is average but worth a try.
The bill for 4 this day turned up at $140.05 for a reasonably satisfying and fun gathering of friends.
Ambiance: 5.5/10 Service: 6/10 Food: 7/10 Value for money: 8/10 Overall score: 7/10 (not an average)
Last word: As far as buffets go, this is still one of the places i'd visit for a reasonably affordable meal with passable food. Service is something they could improve since its either the horribly high handed superior or the temporary staff who can't be bothered and none are satisfactory. Otherwise, i'll be back with more friends just to attack the fish.
April's monthly dinner was decided at Mietta's, which literally translates to Sweet Little One. Owned by Angelo Sanelli, who was one half of the business partnership of the popular Michelangelo's and helmed by the former executive chef of Zambuca, Dennis Sim, Mietta opened with little fanfare just a few months ago.
Located towards the end of Arab Street, just opposite Golden Landmark Hotel, Mietta takes up 3 units of shop space in this predominantly Muslim neighbourhood, which is why no pork is served as a form of respect (though alcohol is still sold). The interior is rather homely and cozy with ambient lighting and tables spaced decently far apart for a nice quiet dinner.
Complimentary Bread - This was the exact same bread I had at Zambuca. I enjoyed it back then but this time round it failed to wow me, probably because it was left sitting in the cold for quite a substantial period of time. My fault though. I was late.
Blueberry Gnocchi, Served with Braised Venison in a Red Wine, Bitter Chocolate Jus - I had this at Zambuca the last time as well and Chef Dennis graciously agreed to do this dish just for us that evening. The gnocchi was interesting and soft but I thought that the venison wasn't flavourful enough, which was attributed by Chef Dennis as not having enough time to allow the venison to rest and absorb the jus. The jus itself was a tad bitter from the chocolate but the blueberries didn't seem to feature or contribute much to the taste.
Squid Ink Ravioli - According to the chef, the ravioli is made in house and daily servings are limited. We therefore jumped at the chance to try it out. In all honesty, I didn't think too much of it. The ravioli skin was thin but the filling of scallop and prawn mousse tasted too smooth and bland. The saffron and dill jus was of the light variant and overall this dish lacked flavours.
Penne Vodka - I opted to have prawns to go with my penne and it was a great decision in my humble opinion. The crystal prawns were huge, fresh and sweet. I counted 5 large prawns with my penne which I thought was pretty generous. The penne itself was al dente without the tomato sauce being too overwhelming but there was no taste of vodka. I know its evaporated but whats the point of using vodka if there is not going to be any vodka taste? Nevertheless, I enjoyed this dish quite a bit.
Cinnamon Panna Cotta with Girottine Cherry - The panna cotta was a disaster honestly. The pudding was way too firm and had a gingery taste that I personally didn't like. Needless to say, I took 1 mouthful and left the rest to stand.
Strawberry Ice Cream - What made this ice cream stand out was that it was for diabetics. And it was ordered on purpose, as a comparison to the normal ones that we usually eat. And honestly, I thought it was good. The texture was more like frozen yogurt and it was still sweet probably from the frutose.
Tiramisu - Comparisons were inevitable between Mietta's rendition of this classic Italian dessert and that of Zanotti's, as both offerings fell into the generously covered with mascarpone category. Though good, Mietta's mascarpone cheese was a little too bland in comparison while the sponge was a little too wet. But interestingly, chocolate chips were added for a nice bitter twist.
The 9 of us chalked up a bill of about $665, which bordered on the expensive range. Food is a case of hits and misses and I understand that stuff like the lamb rack is good so take your chances. Service staff were very friendly and humourous and definitely one of the highlights of the restaurant.
Chancing upon this place when some friends and I realised that Blu Jazz(which is next door) was full, The Coffee Nations is a nice and quiet place to chillout with friends.
The service is pretty good with staff that try their best to make you feel comfortable during your visit. Located away from the Bugis crowd and without the noise of loud bands playing, it's menu pricing is also very good. Expect to spend anywhere between 5 and 15 bucks(depends on what you get of course).
Oh, and did I already say that the service staff is friendly? Do check em out the next you're looking to have a coffee gathering with friends.
Seragoon gardens is a place i've worked at for about 2 years and i'm ashamed to say, i've never tried anything here apart from the fish bee hoon from the hawker centre, Pow Sing chicken rice, Jumbo restaurant and Mcdonald's. So now that i'm revisiting the place as an outsider, its quite interesting that there's so many places i've yet to try. Ristorante De Parma happens to be one of them and i had to pay it a visit after a friend gave me a nice discount voucher to play around with.
Located along the same stretch of shophouses as Icecube and Frolic, this unassuming and quiet restaurant is located all the way to the far end of that stretch. Its difficult to miss with its soft ambient music and overall soft demenour. Classy table setting and warm lighting embrace the patrons who venture forth while unintrusive service makes the meal pleasant and relaxing.
Complimentary Bread (Foccacia) - The focaccia is served first to quench the hunger of waiting for the fresh pizza to be served. I suppose its a 1 piece per person serving since there were only 3 pieces. We were, however, delighted when a second serving was provided when the first was exhausted. Taste wise, the upside is that the bread is fluffy and warm while the downside was how dry the bread really is. The olive oil and vinegar combination helped somewhat, but not enough.
Lemon tea ($5.80) - At the time, i didn't notice the cost of this but now as i'm writing this. 2 lemon teas cost us $11.80 ???? Overpriced most definitely covers what i feel about this order. Its normal home brewed lemon tea with sugar syrup and no, its not justified in terms of cost no matter how it tastes.
Pizza Margherita ($16.90) - Tomatoes, mozeralla cheese, basil and dough. Simplicity can sometimes be the best option, even when it comes to food. The crust is paper thin and charred at some areas but otherwise fragrant and light. The toppings blend perfectly to provide a moist and juicy layer of bliss. Very enjoyable even though its one of the most economical items on the menu.
Deparma's Smoked Salmon Pizza ($28.90) - Introduced by FZ as one of the must try pizzas in this outfit, i have to say, i'm not too impressed. Suffice to say, ordering an item not on the menu is an interesting change, the price of this is once again, like the lemon tea, bordering on ridiculous. The paper thin pizza is still a wonderful idea but the salmon has an obvious fishy smell about it that really detracts from the experience. Although i like the combination of peppers, raw salmon and what i suspect to be mayonnaise, the pizza was cold when served and didn't appeal to me much further.
Tiramisu ($12.90) - Thankfully, the meal ended with a bang with this lovely dessert. I'd go so far as to say its one of the best tiramisu's i've had in Singapore. A balanced mix of mascarpone cheese and sponge without the overarching wetness of alcohol even though it lingers in each bite. Nicely done.
The bill came up to a whooping $91.52 before discount from the voucher. Which reduces it to about $60 . Judging from the sheer amount and variety of food, its still a rather steep price to pay.
Ambiance: 7.5/10 Service: 6.5/10 Food: 7.5/10 Value for money: 6/10 Overall score: 6.5/10 (7/10 for Margherita and Tiramisu)
Last word: The food is great when it works. And honestly, shrug off the salmon pizza, pop in another hot pizza and i'll be singing praises of this place as my favorite Italian restaurant. Still, factor the price and its around the same league as Spizza in my books. Although it does much better then Spizza in many respects. As of now, i still prefer to frequent il piccolo simply because, being financially challenged is the order of the day nowadays.
Headed here for dinner with a big group, so the chatter amongst us shattered whatever romantic feel this place has. Nice soft lightings with amply spaced out tables and attentive service was a good start to the evening.
Because we had to wait for the chairperson who was 45mins late, we had 2 rounds of their gorgeous bread. Fresh, warm, fluffy carb pillows~ Delish either on its own or with the balsamic vinegar set on the table.
So many starters and so many mains amongst us and so many I didn't try but here's what I did try:
Calamari fritti lightly dusted with with a 50/50 mix of plain and rice flour ($14) - Disappointing. Didn't know why the underside of the rings were soggy, but whatever they hope to achieve with the 50/50 mix didnt work at all.
Penne vodka with sauteed fresh prawns, translucent onions, sliced chilli, finished in a creamy rose vodka sauce ($26) - Perfectly al dente with fresh crunchy prawns in what tasted more like tomato sauce instead. I could taste no vodka at all :I It was a pretty big portion too :D
Desserts that were shared amongst us:
Tiramisu ($12) - one of the rare good ones left I think. Came a little de-constructed with chocolate chips on the side but high marks from me nonetheless!
Chocolate Delice ($14) - cold set chocolate caramel ganache on a muesli macadamia cookie dough topped with wild cherry sorbet - We all liked the sorbet but felt the ganache was way too je lat. I think the soury sorbet was supposed to cut the richness but erm, didn't work.
Orange, orange, and more orange ($14) - shot glass of blood orange jelly sided with crepes with grand marnier and orange zest, mandarin sorbet with candied orange peel - came highly recommended by the Executive Chef. Quite a refreshing change but its wasn't 'wow' for me.
Cinnamon panna cotta with girottine cherry garnished with ginger cream ($12) - We all wondered if it was meant to be hard but didnt find an answer. Tasted like your usual fare.
I have to say service was excellent. Plus, the staff were all very friendly and humorous to boot. Good choice for a date actually but erm just avoid nights with big groups like us haha~
Picked this for a family dinner coz we wanted Chinese. They have a very attractive ala carte buffet dinner for either $34 per pax and $39 , with the former inclusive of one portion of Peking Duck and Sharks Fin, and the latter Peking Duck and Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. The choice was $34 in the end.
You can pick your dishes from quite a comprehensive selection of combination platter, seafood, vegetables, meat, noodles / rice, and desserts. Here's what we ordered:
Peking Duck - Very dry egg crepes with more duck meat than skin.
Sharks Fin Soup - Clear chicken soup with a pinch of fakey fins.
Corn and chicken soup - campbell-ish thickened with starch
Meat platter - Not good
Spinach with 3 treasures (egg) - very bland although healthy
Cereal prawns - surprisingly not bad but prawns seemed abit tempura than deep fried.
Chilli crab, white pepper crab, and steamed with chinese wine - came in mini-size crabs with each flavour. One of the better dishes of the evening.
Braised abalone - fakey abalone with chinese lettuce in light soya sauce.
Kung Pao chicken - mediocre
Steamed fish - Fresh but normal otherwise
Salmon sashimi - strange selection in a chinese buffet but quite refreshing for the palette.
Only the prawns and crabs were worthy of mention. Tung Lok really really really needs to buck up. Even the rather nice interior couldn't help lift up this review.
A quiet Saturday evening for an early dinner here~
Heard so much about Oriole, especially the fact that nothing on their menu is over $15. Actually, it is true. Just that they have 'specials' that are written on their glass panes instead, including pastas and other mains. Adds quite a nice feel to the whole place actually.
It actually feels a little like a place for drinks than dinner, with the small seating and warm lightings used. The very prominent bar right smack in the middle of the place helps too (you can adjourn to the bar seats after dinner for cool drinks :D).
The menu is a simple one pager, with the drinks on the other side of it. Reminds me of that of PS Cafe actually. Small selection of mains and more starters in fact.
Mushroom-on-toast ($10.50) - open face thick toast with poached egg. Came in a surprisingly big portion with many many nicely sauteed brown button mushrooms atop a huge square of toasted bread. A wobbly poached egg tops this all off. The combination tasted great! There's something I find very comforting about egg bread :D
Fish & Chips ($15) - lightly battered snapper loin with home-made chips. I had just a small bite of these but it tasted not too bad too. Home-made chips have that 'raw' taste which frozen ones just can't match up to.
My english breakfast came in a small presser which was pleasantly refillable. The other mocha milkshake we ordered tasted more ice-blended than milkshake actually.
The place seemed a little overstaffed with the small patronage, which is always better than being under-staffed I guess. A good alternative to the noisy crowd at Cineleisure. A small bird actually warned me it sucks but hey, maybe I ordered the right things :D
Yoguru, Yo guru or maybe just a fun wordplay between yogurt and guru. Analyze and break the word however you want, the fact is, I've found a new addiction and thankfully, it is a rather healthy one (taken in moderation of course).
(**A little note on the pictures above, as this blogger is not used to being questioned when taking photographs, the rare event that the owner actually required explaination of my actions kinda took me aback and thus, resulted in less quality photos due to nervousness. In future, if you see a guy taking photos and ordering food from your outlet, please, leave him be for better photographic results. )
Located in the revamped and renovated Kallang Leisure park, Yoguru is a spot of purplish red in a predominantly white mall. Scrounging some information from the net yielded that this little gem has been operating for a year or more by now and has garnered a strong following of dessert lovers. Positioned as a "true yogurt" experience. Yoguru's main selling points are its fresh ingredients and yogurt made fresh on site in their outlet. It is said that this is the only way, the probiotic cultures may survive to actually provide the health benefits yogurt is supposed to impart. Equally intrigueing is the fact that yogurt is non fat and contains calcium and minerals which are of benefit to the body. Sounds a little too good to be true isn't it? The good news is, the yogurt is definitely smoother and better then anything i've tasted. I chose the original flavored yogurt with 2 toppings, mango and strawberry. The fruit toppings are indeed fresh and comes with all natural flavor, which means they were either sour or sweet depending on your luck. The yogurt itself is the star. On first glance, it reminds me of vanilla ice cream but it doesn't melt as quickly so it can be enjoyed slowly. Taste wise, its slightly sour with a firm texture when compared to other yogurts and ice cream. Its also refreshingly light and appetising even to the last scoop. Even for someone who has had a rather filling lunch, having this will not make you feel overloaded, which is rather surprising for me.
Overall score: 8/10
Last word: For the record, i don't like yogurt. Never liked the sourish taste and jelly like texture which i always get from supermarket and restaurant yogurts. This, however, has me convinced and converted. I like it because its low fat, healthy and most of all, because its light and tasty. Which is exactly what desserts should be. For the uninitiated, please do drop by for at least a try. If this outlet is too far out of the way, there's a new outlet opening in Raffles City Mall for more yogurt goodness. Lets just hope franchising doesn't kill the quality like so many other franchises.
That was Friday night and we almost couldn't get any place up at the Ben & Jerry's.. but when we stepped into Oosh.. it was almost empty..
We were so disappointed and pissed because of the service. They didn't show any appreciation and offended us as the guests. They treated us like we couldn't afford to pay..
1. When we arrived, they showed us the way and let us sit then one of the waitress said that no shorts are allowed, so she asked us to go to another part of place with very rude manners. After that, we thought it was just not a good day for that waitress, but it turned out all the waitress were very arrogant, ignorant , smile-less, and suddenly you feel unwelcome..
2 We wanted to have one jug of drinks, they said they couldn't serve it because we had to order at least a bottle. We didn't understand, but the waitress also didn't bother to explain. Then we finally ordered 4 glasses of green tea to start our nights. But it happened that the bill came (around 5 min after) and the waitress asked "Can I hold any of your credit card first?".. I almost cannot believe this, were they scared that we couldn't afford to pay? Really felt humiliated and unappreciated. Then I said "We can pay by cash, can't we?" Then the waitress said "Will you order any of alcohol?".. I directly said "No, we just pay NOW!"
Upon that manners, we really didn't want to stay any longer in that place, and better move to any another bars near there than we have to spent another minutes, being seen like we couldn't afford 4 glasses of greentea..
We just instantly paid the bill and stepped out without any other intention to recommend or to come back.. When we stepped out the place, none of the waitress say thank you or goodnight..
I think they should put two or more banners (with proper lights) at the gate stating that they only accept particular ppl and dress code, alcohol only for the order and have minimum price for the bill. I really wish that I didn't go there and more, I will never ever come back anymore..
1=SGD 0.0587
Heard about this little hideout in Bukit Timah quite some time ago and finally paid it a visit to verify if its beef burger lives up to the recommendations i've heard about it. It's rather along the west end of Singapore so i had to drive around and got lost a couple of times before i found it but i'm truly glad i did.
The location is nothing to shout about, after all, it resides in a corner coffeeshop location and shares the space with an Indian food stall and a bar calling itself Bar Bar Black Sheep. Not that i'm complaining because the place is excellent. Wooden chairs and al fresco tables gave me an impression that i wasn't in Singapore anymore but rather some hang out place in Australia or USA. The Caucasian friends or expatriats who pack the place certainly aided in giving me this impression but i definitely liked the vibe of this place. Simple yet classy.
Hoegarden and Lime Juice - The drinks here are reasonably priced to be sure. Order it direct from Bar Bar Black Sheep or any of the girls going around to take orders and you'll be served your drink in a short span of time. I ordered 1 pint of ice cold Hoegarden and thank the lord, it was an actual pint at discount prices which was as advertised, ice cold too. I couldn't pin the exact cost but its anywhere between $6-9 for a pint and if you compare it to similar joints, you'll see its actually a great deal
Fish and Chips ($8-10) - My gf ordered fish and chips as we were soon served with a huge, 3 piece fish and chips with generous portions of fries. It helps that everything was fried to a nice golden brown and served hot. The fish and chips, though having tender and sweet flesh, had a rather thick batter which didn't sit well with us. Strip away the batter though, and this works pretty well.
Beef Burger ($12-14) - The star of the day, the beef burger has a patty handmade by the restaurant in the day. The meat was finely pounded and padded together for a slightly crumbly yet firm texture. The beef taste is moderate but strong enough for me while the caremelized onions, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes added more bite to the burger. Did i mention the burger was about the size of a BK whooper? I'm definitely coming back for more of this.
Total bill probably set us back by less then $30 for this meal and i find it money well spent.
Ambiance: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Food: 7/10
Value for money: 8/10
Overall Score: 8/10
Last word:
I like this place. Its got a rustic and earthly charm to it. And the real draw is how our Caucasian friends or expatriats who frequent this place really gives me the impression i'm not in Singapore. The way this illusion takes away my troubles is quite simply, priceless. Throw in good beer on tap for cheap and a beef burger to give Astons a run for their money and this place has my vote as my favorite ulu bar of the year.
Rating given:
Located in an obscure corner of Suntec City is a restaurant i've been patronizing at least 5 to 6 times throughout the years. In fact, its one of the first Cantonese Ala Carte buffets i was introduced to. Helmed by Hong Kong Master Chef Mok Kit Keung, the restaurant uses it as a selling point to promise authentic Cantonese cuisine at everyday prices.
All you can eat buffets are usually average and when you throw in ala carte, it would mean a reasonable amount of time is spent waiting. That's pretty much true about this place as well, but there are gems to be found in its menu. You just need to know what it is to order it, as early and as often as possible to get the most out of it.
With each set, you get the usual one order only items and in this case, it'll be the live prawns and the shark's fin. Both of which were pretty good imho. The prawns were all sweet and crunchy and fresh while the shark's fin was too starchy for my tastes but was redeemed by its balanced flavors and abundance of shark's fin.
Items you must order while you are here will be:
Roasted Pork Belly - a classic in any chinese restaurant, the pork belly is rather fatty here. Its also very juicy, comes in big pieces and has a nice charred taste on the skin. Complement it with some mustard and its one of the first things to have on my list.
Wasabi mayonnaise prawn - their rendition had a rather thick layer of batter which was thankfully light. The mayonnaise and wasabi combination was balanced enough to give you a kick but not enough to deter you from eating it and the best part was there huge prawns they used for this dish. Second must order dish, repeat orders recommended.
Steamed/ fried fish (any fish) - This is the final item i think everyone needs to order as many as possible of if you're trying to ensure you eat your due. My recommendation would be about 3-4 orders of different fish with different methods of cooking. Why so? Simply because its the best item to have here. Regardless of which cooking method you order, you get a whole fish. That's right, an entire fish for each order and it is almost always fresh, sweet and perfectly light so you can have as many of it as you want. Order this without hesitation.
Dim sum items (any) - Its a cantonese restaurant, so naturally, you should order its dim sum pastries and shrimp dumplings and such to go with your meal. For the record, their dim sum is average but worth a try.
The bill for 4 this day turned up at $140.05 for a reasonably satisfying and fun gathering of friends.
Ambiance: 5.5/10
Service: 6/10
Food: 7/10
Value for money: 8/10
Overall score: 7/10 (not an average)
Last word:
As far as buffets go, this is still one of the places i'd visit for a reasonably affordable meal with passable food. Service is something they could improve since its either the horribly high handed superior or the temporary staff who can't be bothered and none are satisfactory. Otherwise, i'll be back with more friends just to attack the fish.
Rating given:
April's monthly dinner was decided at Mietta's, which literally translates to Sweet Little One. Owned by Angelo Sanelli, who was one half of the business partnership of the popular Michelangelo's and helmed by the former executive chef of Zambuca, Dennis Sim, Mietta opened with little fanfare just a few months ago.
Located towards the end of Arab Street, just opposite Golden Landmark Hotel, Mietta takes up 3 units of shop space in this predominantly Muslim neighbourhood, which is why no pork is served as a form of respect (though alcohol is still sold). The interior is rather homely and cozy with ambient lighting and tables spaced decently far apart for a nice quiet dinner.
Complimentary Bread - This was the exact same bread I had at Zambuca. I enjoyed it back then but this time round it failed to wow me, probably because it was left sitting in the cold for quite a substantial period of time. My fault though. I was late.
Blueberry Gnocchi, Served with Braised Venison in a Red Wine, Bitter Chocolate Jus - I had this at Zambuca the last time as well and Chef Dennis graciously agreed to do this dish just for us that evening. The gnocchi was interesting and soft but I thought that the venison wasn't flavourful enough, which was attributed by Chef Dennis as not having enough time to allow the venison to rest and absorb the jus. The jus itself was a tad bitter from the chocolate but the blueberries didn't seem to feature or contribute much to the taste.
Squid Ink Ravioli - According to the chef, the ravioli is made in house and daily servings are limited. We therefore jumped at the chance to try it out. In all honesty, I didn't think too much of it. The ravioli skin was thin but the filling of scallop and prawn mousse tasted too smooth and bland. The saffron and dill jus was of the light variant and overall this dish lacked flavours.
Penne Vodka - I opted to have prawns to go with my penne and it was a great decision in my humble opinion. The crystal prawns were huge, fresh and sweet. I counted 5 large prawns with my penne which I thought was pretty generous. The penne itself was al dente without the tomato sauce being too overwhelming but there was no taste of vodka. I know its evaporated but whats the point of using vodka if there is not going to be any vodka taste? Nevertheless, I enjoyed this dish quite a bit.
Cinnamon Panna Cotta with Girottine Cherry - The panna cotta was a disaster honestly. The pudding was way too firm and had a gingery taste that I personally didn't like. Needless to say, I took 1 mouthful and left the rest to stand.
Strawberry Ice Cream - What made this ice cream stand out was that it was for diabetics. And it was ordered on purpose, as a comparison to the normal ones that we usually eat. And honestly, I thought it was good. The texture was more like frozen yogurt and it was still sweet probably from the frutose.
Tiramisu - Comparisons were inevitable between Mietta's rendition of this classic Italian dessert and that of Zanotti's, as both offerings fell into the generously covered with mascarpone category. Though good, Mietta's mascarpone cheese was a little too bland in comparison while the sponge was a little too wet. But interestingly, chocolate chips were added for a nice bitter twist.
The 9 of us chalked up a bill of about $665, which bordered on the expensive range. Food is a case of hits and misses and I understand that stuff like the lamb rack is good so take your chances. Service staff were very friendly and humourous and definitely one of the highlights of the restaurant.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Chancing upon this place when some friends and I realised that Blu Jazz(which is next door) was full, The Coffee Nations is a nice and quiet place to chillout with friends.
The service is pretty good with staff that try their best to make you feel comfortable during your visit. Located away from the Bugis crowd and without the noise of loud bands playing, it's menu pricing is also very good. Expect to spend anywhere between 5 and 15 bucks(depends on what you get of course).
Oh, and did I already say that the service staff is friendly? Do check em out the next you're looking to have a coffee gathering with friends.
Rating given:
Seragoon gardens is a place i've worked at for about 2 years and i'm ashamed to say, i've never tried anything here apart from the fish bee hoon from the hawker centre, Pow Sing chicken rice, Jumbo restaurant and Mcdonald's. So now that i'm revisiting the place as an outsider, its quite interesting that there's so many places i've yet to try. Ristorante De Parma happens to be one of them and i had to pay it a visit after a friend gave me a nice discount voucher to play around with.
Located along the same stretch of shophouses as Icecube and Frolic, this unassuming and quiet restaurant is located all the way to the far end of that stretch. Its difficult to miss with its soft ambient music and overall soft demenour. Classy table setting and warm lighting embrace the patrons who venture forth while unintrusive service makes the meal pleasant and relaxing.
Complimentary Bread (Foccacia) - The focaccia is served first to quench the hunger of waiting for the fresh pizza to be served. I suppose its a 1 piece per person serving since there were only 3 pieces. We were, however, delighted when a second serving was provided when the first was exhausted. Taste wise, the upside is that the bread is fluffy and warm while the downside was how dry the bread really is. The olive oil and vinegar combination helped somewhat, but not enough.
Lemon tea ($5.80) - At the time, i didn't notice the cost of this but now as i'm writing this. 2 lemon teas cost us $11.80 ???? Overpriced most definitely covers what i feel about this order. Its normal home brewed lemon tea with sugar syrup and no, its not justified in terms of cost no matter how it tastes.
Pizza Margherita ($16.90) - Tomatoes, mozeralla cheese, basil and dough. Simplicity can sometimes be the best option, even when it comes to food. The crust is paper thin and charred at some areas but otherwise fragrant and light. The toppings blend perfectly to provide a moist and juicy layer of bliss. Very enjoyable even though its one of the most economical items on the menu.
Deparma's Smoked Salmon Pizza ($28.90) - Introduced by FZ as one of the must try pizzas in this outfit, i have to say, i'm not too impressed.
Suffice to say, ordering an item not on the menu is an interesting change, the price of this is once again, like the lemon tea, bordering on ridiculous. The paper thin pizza is still a wonderful idea but the salmon has an obvious fishy smell about it that really detracts from the experience. Although i like the combination of peppers, raw salmon and what i suspect to be mayonnaise, the pizza was cold when served and didn't appeal to me much further.
Tiramisu ($12.90) - Thankfully, the meal ended with a bang with this lovely dessert. I'd go so far as to say its one of the best tiramisu's i've had in Singapore. A balanced mix of mascarpone cheese and sponge without the overarching wetness of alcohol even though it lingers in each bite. Nicely done.
The bill came up to a whooping $91.52 before discount from the voucher. Which reduces it to about $60 . Judging from the sheer amount and variety of food, its still a rather steep price to pay.
Ambiance: 7.5/10
Service: 6.5/10
Food: 7.5/10
Value for money: 6/10
Overall score: 6.5/10 (7/10 for Margherita and Tiramisu)
Last word:
The food is great when it works. And honestly, shrug off the salmon pizza, pop in another hot pizza and i'll be singing praises of this place as my favorite Italian restaurant. Still, factor the price and its around the same league as Spizza in my books. Although it does much better then Spizza in many respects. As of now, i still prefer to frequent il piccolo simply because, being financially challenged is the order of the day nowadays.
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Good comfy italian place~
Headed here for dinner with a big group, so the chatter amongst us shattered whatever romantic feel this place has. Nice soft lightings with amply spaced out tables and attentive service was a good start to the evening.
Because we had to wait for the chairperson who was 45mins late, we had 2 rounds of their gorgeous bread. Fresh, warm, fluffy carb pillows~ Delish either on its own or with the balsamic vinegar set on the table.
So many starters and so many mains amongst us and so many I didn't try but here's what I did try:
Calamari fritti lightly dusted with with a 50/50 mix of plain and rice flour ($14) - Disappointing. Didn't know why the underside of the rings were soggy, but whatever they hope to achieve with the 50/50 mix didnt work at all.
Penne vodka with sauteed fresh prawns, translucent onions, sliced chilli, finished in a creamy rose vodka sauce ($26) - Perfectly al dente with fresh crunchy prawns in what tasted more like tomato sauce instead. I could taste no vodka at all :I It was a pretty big portion too :D
Desserts that were shared amongst us:
Tiramisu ($12) - one of the rare good ones left I think. Came a little de-constructed with chocolate chips on the side but high marks from me nonetheless!
Chocolate Delice ($14) - cold set chocolate caramel ganache on a muesli macadamia cookie dough topped with wild cherry sorbet - We all liked the sorbet but felt the ganache was way too je lat. I think the soury sorbet was supposed to cut the richness but erm, didn't work.
Orange, orange, and more orange ($14) - shot glass of blood orange jelly sided with crepes with grand marnier and orange zest, mandarin sorbet with candied orange peel - came highly recommended by the Executive Chef. Quite a refreshing change but its wasn't 'wow' for me.
Cinnamon panna cotta with girottine cherry garnished with ginger cream ($12) - We all wondered if it was meant to be hard but didnt find an answer. Tasted like your usual fare.
I have to say service was excellent. Plus, the staff were all very friendly and humorous to boot. Good choice for a date actually but erm just avoid nights with big groups like us haha~
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Tung Lok is getting from bad to worse.
Picked this for a family dinner coz we wanted Chinese. They have a very attractive ala carte buffet dinner for either $34 per pax and $39 , with the former inclusive of one portion of Peking Duck and Sharks Fin, and the latter Peking Duck and Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. The choice was $34 in the end.
You can pick your dishes from quite a comprehensive selection of combination platter, seafood, vegetables, meat, noodles / rice, and desserts. Here's what we ordered:
Peking Duck - Very dry egg crepes with more duck meat than skin.
Sharks Fin Soup - Clear chicken soup with a pinch of fakey fins.
Corn and chicken soup - campbell-ish thickened with starch
Meat platter - Not good
Spinach with 3 treasures (egg) - very bland although healthy
Cereal prawns - surprisingly not bad but prawns seemed abit tempura than deep fried.
Chilli crab, white pepper crab, and steamed with chinese wine - came in mini-size crabs with each flavour. One of the better dishes of the evening.
Braised abalone - fakey abalone with chinese lettuce in light soya sauce.
Kung Pao chicken - mediocre
Steamed fish - Fresh but normal otherwise
Salmon sashimi - strange selection in a chinese buffet but quite refreshing for the palette.
Only the prawns and crabs were worthy of mention. Tung Lok really really really needs to buck up. Even the rather nice interior couldn't help lift up this review.
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A quiet Saturday evening for an early dinner here~
Heard so much about Oriole, especially the fact that nothing on their menu is over $15. Actually, it is true. Just that they have 'specials' that are written on their glass panes instead, including pastas and other mains. Adds quite a nice feel to the whole place actually.
It actually feels a little like a place for drinks than dinner, with the small seating and warm lightings used. The very prominent bar right smack in the middle of the place helps too (you can adjourn to the bar seats after dinner for cool drinks :D).
The menu is a simple one pager, with the drinks on the other side of it. Reminds me of that of PS Cafe actually. Small selection of mains and more starters in fact.
Mushroom-on-toast ($10.50) - open face thick toast with poached egg. Came in a surprisingly big portion with many many nicely sauteed brown button mushrooms atop a huge square of toasted bread. A wobbly poached egg tops this all off. The combination tasted great! There's something I find very comforting about egg bread :D
Fish & Chips ($15) - lightly battered snapper loin with home-made chips. I had just a small bite of these but it tasted not too bad too. Home-made chips have that 'raw' taste which frozen ones just can't match up to.
My english breakfast came in a small presser which was pleasantly refillable. The other mocha milkshake we ordered tasted more ice-blended than milkshake actually.
The place seemed a little overstaffed with the small patronage, which is always better than being under-staffed I guess. A good alternative to the noisy crowd at Cineleisure. A small bird actually warned me it sucks but hey, maybe I ordered the right things :D
Oh, and go early to get the plushy booth seats.
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Yoguru, Yo guru or maybe just a fun wordplay between yogurt and guru. Analyze and break the word however you want, the fact is, I've found a new addiction and thankfully, it is a rather healthy one (taken in moderation of course).
(**A little note on the pictures above, as this blogger is not used to being questioned when taking photographs, the rare event that the owner actually required explaination of my actions kinda took me aback and thus, resulted in less quality photos due to nervousness. In future, if you see a guy taking photos and ordering food from your outlet, please, leave him be for better photographic results. )
Located in the revamped and renovated Kallang Leisure park, Yoguru is a spot of purplish red in a predominantly white mall. Scrounging some information from the net yielded that this little gem has been operating for a year or more by now and has garnered a strong following of dessert lovers.
Positioned as a "true yogurt" experience. Yoguru's main selling points are its fresh ingredients and yogurt made fresh on site in their outlet. It is said that this is the only way, the probiotic cultures may survive to actually provide the health benefits yogurt is supposed to impart. Equally intrigueing is the fact that yogurt is non fat and contains calcium and minerals which are of benefit to the body. Sounds a little too good to be true isn't it?
The good news is, the yogurt is definitely smoother and better then anything i've tasted. I chose the original flavored yogurt with 2 toppings, mango and strawberry. The fruit toppings are indeed fresh and comes with all natural flavor, which means they were either sour or sweet depending on your luck. The yogurt itself is the star.
On first glance, it reminds me of vanilla ice cream but it doesn't melt as quickly so it can be enjoyed slowly. Taste wise, its slightly sour with a firm texture when compared to other yogurts and ice cream. Its also refreshingly light and appetising even to the last scoop. Even for someone who has had a rather filling lunch, having this will not make you feel overloaded, which is rather surprising for me.
Overall score: 8/10
Last word:
For the record, i don't like yogurt. Never liked the sourish taste and jelly like texture which i always get from supermarket and restaurant yogurts. This, however, has me convinced and converted. I like it because its low fat, healthy and most of all, because its light and tasty. Which is exactly what desserts should be. For the uninitiated, please do drop by for at least a try. If this outlet is too far out of the way, there's a new outlet opening in Raffles City Mall for more yogurt goodness. Lets just hope franchising doesn't kill the quality like so many other franchises.
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That was Friday night and we almost couldn't get any place up at the Ben & Jerry's.. but when we stepped into Oosh.. it was almost empty..
We were so disappointed and pissed because of the service. They didn't show any appreciation and offended us as the guests. They treated us like we couldn't afford to pay..
1. When we arrived, they showed us the way and let us sit then one of the waitress said that no shorts are allowed, so she asked us to go to another part of place with very rude manners. After that, we thought it was just not a good day for that waitress, but it turned out all the waitress were very arrogant, ignorant , smile-less, and suddenly you feel unwelcome..
2 We wanted to have one jug of drinks, they said they couldn't serve it because we had to order at least a bottle. We didn't understand, but the waitress also didn't bother to explain. Then we finally ordered 4 glasses of green tea to start our nights. But it happened that the bill came (around 5 min after) and the waitress asked "Can I hold any of your credit card first?".. I almost cannot believe this, were they scared that we couldn't afford to pay? Really felt humiliated and unappreciated. Then I said "We can pay by cash, can't we?" Then the waitress said "Will you order any of alcohol?".. I directly said "No, we just pay NOW!"
Upon that manners, we really didn't want to stay any longer in that place, and better move to any another bars near there than we have to spent another minutes, being seen like we couldn't afford 4 glasses of greentea..
We just instantly paid the bill and stepped out without any other intention to recommend or to come back.. When we stepped out the place, none of the waitress say thank you or goodnight..
I think they should put two or more banners (with proper lights) at the gate stating that they only accept particular ppl and dress code, alcohol only for the order and have minimum price for the bill. I really wish that I didn't go there and more, I will never ever come back anymore..
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