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Beauty & Wellness
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1=SGD 0.0587
Today marks the second time that I am doing a review on Astons Specialities, albeit a rather short one. The first review can be found here. This time however, the location is different. That's right, Astons has a new outlet in the Serangoon Gardens estate. Unlike the original outlet, the new outlet isn't a stand alone unit by itself. Instead, it is housed inside a coffeeshop just next to HSBC and Borsch Steak House. Not really visible from the main road if you ask me, unless you happen to be walking towards the Starbucks/Cafe Cartel area.
On to the food. I had an order of Sirloin Steak medium rare with sides of fries and baked beans. My dad had the Sirloin as well, medium well though and my mum had the Char Grilled Chicken. Both my dad's and my steak turned out overcooked. Mine came almost medium well whereas my dad's one came well done. However, the meat was still a little juicy and sweet in my case, which was a relief in some ways. My mum's chicken was just average.
In my conversation with the cook/owner later on, he explained that the stall was only 3 days old and they weren't familiar with the equipment yet, hence the overcooking. He even offered to change our steaks for us and gave us a small discount on the food, which I felt was a nice gesture on his part.
Total damage was $25. Not cheap, but not expensive either. I'm sure once they get the hang of the equipment, the food will get better and the crowds will come. I'll definitely be back.
See all my pictures here
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This is THE zhi char stall that my family love going. We've been there many many times. So often that my father will just help himself to the chili (lots and lots of this! cos its sooo devine!), rice and whatever that's available at the counter. The workers also don't know what to say to him lah. Haha!
When asked to find a place for dinner, my parents of cos recommended Jin Wei. So the entire family gathered there for our reunion dinner.
Some of the must try dishes...
The Thai-style aka Assam Fish Head
Cereal Prawn
and a special Tofu MUST TRY!! (can't remember the name, but this dish will not be served on special nights like CNY. Cos its hard to produce and everyone will sure want to order this dish. )
The Thai-style aka Assam Fish Head
The assam curry is cooked to the right sour-ness and spiciness. My family can just drink this on its on! The fish is fresh and meat is soft and tender. Don't mixed this up with the claypot curry fish head. Be sure to order the Assam fish head that's served on a flat plate on heat.
Cereal Prawn
Fresh prawns fried and blended with finely chopped cereals. Crispy and fragrance. The prawns are sweet and juicy even thou its fried. Love love love this dish!
Fried Tofu aka Golden Tofu or something like that.
As mentioned, this is the DIE DIE MUST TRY dish. It's one of their specialties and HOT favorite. Whenever I go, I insist on ordering this tofu. It's crispy, soft, fragrance, yummy, delicious and simply great lah! Just go and try if you have the chance to lah!
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Went to decoder cafe over the weekend for Pingsters gathering. Initially I was reluctant to go on my own as I have no idea where Balmoral Plaza was. There wasn't any direct way of getting there from my house. But still, not wanting to miss the fun with fellow bloggers, I spent 30mins searching online on ways to getting there. Finally found the fastest way... Take bus to Sengkang station... take NEL to Little India.. take 170, 48, or 960 from bus stop at Exit B (or was it A?)... alight at the 5th stop infront of Balmoral Plaza. It's not that difficult to get there after all!
I was greeted by the hugeee collection of games at the entrance of the cafe. Behind it were two computers set up for customers to use for free. (Can do live blogging from there! hee...) The place is small and cosy. There's 3 sets of bigger tables and chairs and 2/3 tables for groups of 2-4. Tables and chairs were of nice height and comfortable enough for long hours of play.
The menu was thematically designed to fit into the gaming environment. They cleverly made it in a way that they can expand or change the menu whenever they have to. And in my opinion, they probably have to soon...
Feeling famished, I ordered my favorite mushroom and cream pasta, and topped it up with $3.50 for the soup and a drink. When the soup was served, I knew what I was going to expect for my pasta. The soup was a tad too diluted. When I saw my pasta, the cream that came with it was diluted too. Too plain for me. The only thing I enjoyed was the canned green tea from Heaven and Earth.
However, food aside, I still love this place! For its friendly, attentive and helpful staff. They are very patient when teaching you the games and demonstrating how its played.
The next time I go, I'll probably stick to their finger food and cakes. Wedges and chicken bites look good. (More stars next time if they improve on their menu.)
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This was where I spent my Valentine's day this year. Met up with my girlfriend for dinner as my bf had class that night. We arranged to meet at Marina Square and only decided where to eat when she reached the place. She went to couple others but were rejected as they were fully booked for the night.
As we've both never been to Pasta de Waraku, and I wanted to try it long ago ever since I saw their display outside, we decided to try it, since it wasn't fully booked and my friend managed to get a table immediately.
The lady serving us was very friendly and nice. As it was our first time, we had many questions, and she patiently explained to us and answered our questions... with a smile. :)
Finally we settled on our choice and were ready to order. My friend had a Chicken & Mushroom with Japanese style curry @ $16.80 and I ordered the Octopus and Squid pasta with their special, supposed to be healthy, Wafu sauce @ $14.80 (minus the mayo).
After tasting both pasta, I concluded that the Chicken & Mushroom (No. 38 on the menu) is better. I like the curry taste (non-spicy). And its a unique way of eating pasta. My order was disappointing. I had to add tons of chili flakes and cheese to flavor it. Perhaps I shouldn't have selected the healthier choice.
Might think twice the next time I'm around one. Sketches serves better pasta.
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Korean food appeals to me in many ways when done right. For starters, they have an inexhaustible side dish tradition that i wish every cuisine should follow. Secondly, their main items contain more greens then meat, perfect for the health conscious and finally, the food remains on the edge of spicy and sweet. Making it an appetising and healthy experience...when done right. So where else would we have this except for one opened and run by none other then a Korean boss? Ju Shin Jung is one such place i visited one lazy weekday night and here's how i think it fared.
The interior deserves a write up simply because its huge. I didn't expect it that way but when i entered the place, i had the same feeling Neo had in the movie 'The Matrix' when he looked at the buildings he had to jump. "Woah!" Its not that the place is lavish or anything, its just really spacious and really big. Even so, there were private function rooms available should you so require. There are about 4 to 5 tables in a row and each is serviced by one attendant. My observation is that most attendants are Chinese Nationals and apart from the usual hard sell attendant, the little lady servicing our table was very good at her job. Introducing the dishes and teaching us how best to enjoy the meal. The only complaint was the aforementioned order taker who definitely wasn't listening when we spoke and pushed the more expensive items for us to order, otherwise, service is generally excellent.
Yep, all these side dishes are totally and utterly free! It comes when you order 2 meats for your meal which is exactly what we did. Do not let anyone tell you that having 1 meat and side dishes are not enough for 2 people. They are just trying to coax you into buying more food....which is exactly what we did. For the dishes, there was lettuce with mayonnaise, kimchi, tofu, steamed eggs, more preserved vegetables and a whole lot of greens i can't quite name. And most of it was good. As told by our attendant, everything was air flown and hand picked by the boss and i have to say, it definitely shows here. We over ordered but i did not regret it one bit and thats saying alot.
Pork Ribs ($22)/Chicken ($20) - I'll just comment on both meats together. Eating them is a joy. Fresh, tender and sweet with a dash of spice, its just really easy to stomach. The trick to eating them is to ensure you use the greens provided above to wrap the meat before eating. The meat are also both barbecued right in front of you which means its kept hot and ready to eat when you are ready to eat. No complaints here, just good meat and good vegetables together for a winning combination. If i had to be picky, i'd say the meat can get overcooked sometimes and there serving isn't exactly big. Still, it did stuff 2 stomachs to the brim.
Bibimbap ($13) - Bibimbap beef. Yep, no visit would be complete without it. Actually, we tried to cancel the dish after seeing the side dishes but was told it was already made and couldn't be refunded. Despite the huge bowl it came in, after mixing, it only filled 2 small bowls. Upon tasting, i was pleasantly surprised yet again. The rice itself is interestingly 'full' tasting. You can taste the sweet and spicy sauce on each big grain of rice and the mixture of meat, egg, carrots, mushrooms, beansprouts and vegetables balances everything nicely. I could go for seconds of this anytime.
Korean Ginger Tea and watermelon - Complimentary dessert. You get a choice of watermelon juice or korean ginger tea. We got both. The ginger tea is the same one i remembered when i had Korean cuisine in Shanghai. Its exceedingly sweet but i was told that it had 'cooling' capabilities after our rather 'heaty' meal. Nevertheless, its not something i like at the moment but might be an acquired taste.
An over ordered yet very satisfying meal cost me only $67.09. I was pleasantly surprised actually because everything seemed so much more expensive on the menu.
With the exception of one lady i didn't quite like as she was trying to sucker us into ordering lots of items. Everything else in the restaurant was pretty well done. Good service, good food and good price, I don't see a reason not to return. Give it a try, judge for yourself. (Note: As the service staff are mostly Chinese Nationals, please take note that the preferred language is actually mandarin instead of English. I tried conversing in English but my message didn't quite get through, thus i switched to mandarin which yielded much better results.)
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I started to have interest in this place when I read a review for this place in the papers. I made a point that I will visit this place soon enough. Soon enough, I got the chance when I was in Raffles City looking for a place for dinner. Not to mention that I visited this place twice in a week. Haha….
I was expecting to see a long queue as someone had posted a long queue photo on STOMP a few days ago. Wahahaha…….. Surprise! Surprise! There was no queue at all. Maybe we were early, about 6.30pm on a Tuesday, or we were just plain lucky. Hee…. However by the time we left the place around 7.15pm, the queue is there and it went all the way to the escalator! It was the same on a second visit, on a Sunday, there was no queue as well. Since then I just think that I am plain lucky. Wahaha…… So lesson learnt, to beat the queue, arrive before 7pm.
Since it was my first time there, the waitress at the entrance, explaining how the restaurant works. This place works like Marche. Each of the customers is given a card. This card will record what food or dish that you have ordered. Before leaving the place, the card will be given to the cashier then pay for the food. You will be also given a reserved table tag that you can place it on your table, so that other people know that the table is being reserved, no need to use a packet of tissue paper any more.
However, you can find your own seats. Good and bad about this point, cos you can seat wherever you like, but there will be some people who seem selfish, 2 people would seat at a table where the table is meant for 6 people. Sigh…. Meantime looking for a table is the easy thing, if not the staff there can help out. It would be better if they could have designated seats at the door instead. Hee…. There are both cushion sofa seats and normal chairs as well for you to choose from.
The interior of the place is huge and the decoration is quite simple as well with a bit of fusion going on, same as their food as well. The walkways are wide enough for a crowd but their queuing system could be better. The stalls are quite well allocated as well; means are the same type of food is grouped together. This means starters all at one location, mains at one location then desserts are another location etc.
Now to the food, they offer a variety of Japanese and fusion food. From sashimi, sushi, BBQ skewers, Japanese steamboat (nabe) to rosti and burgers. They have it all.
Omelette @ $5.80: There are different fillings for this Japanese style omelette, from plain, cheese and mushroom to crab meat. I have tasted their mushroom and cheese omelette and I loved it! Their omelette is unique in a shape of rectangle and it is made fresh when ordered. You can see the chef patiently preparing it. It is done layered with the fillings inside. It is soft and fluffy. The taste is very good as well. It is a must try worth every cent for it!
Assorted Tempera @ $10.80: Assorted tempera which includes two prawns, fish, golden mushroom, egg plant and mushroom. This one also prepared when you ordered. The batter is thin and crispy, not overwhelming or oily. The only things that disappoint me are the size of everything, quite small, even the prawns. I did not know golden mushroom can be used for tempera but it does not taste good as it became very dry after deep frying.
Garlic Fried Rice @ $5.80: This one is a disappointment as the fried rice is pre-fried and garlic is added to it when you ordered. Nothing to shout out for this fried rice. Not worth the money!
Shabu Shabu @ $8.80: This one is just soup in a steamboat. The soup tastes like plain water but there are a lot of different vegetables and a few slices of meat. in the soup. They are all put inside the pot and cooked over hot fire when ordered. For this, the most important thing is the soup base, and it failed terrible. Totally not worth the money.
Chicken and Egg Rice Set @ $6.80: This one is they used cooked chucks of chicken put in a pan with some soy sauce, then put over hot fire. After a while, add some egg on top, cook for a little more time, then place the whole thing on top of some rice, added a few pieces of seaweed. Wala! Done. Another disappointment, very normal dish that I could get in any other food court at a cheaper price. The chicken is tasteless, some like rubber. Not worth the money.
Assorted Sushi: The sushi came with a very nice presentation, all placed on top of a wooden board. However the sushi is a disappointment, the rice is not packed as a whole, and it will crumple when picked up with chopstick, the rice is not sticky enough. Although, the piece of fish on top of the rice is a fairly large piece but then rice fails the test.
Rosti: This is a western food right? However they are serving it? That is what I thought in the first place. I was a bit apprehending to order this but then the dish surprised me. It is good, in fact very good. The rosti portion is not that big but it came hot and crispy! So crispy on the outer layer but soft on the inside, not dry at all. Combined with sour cream, it is simply wonderful. This is also a must try!
Green tea ice-cream and red beans fillings crepe @ $6.80: This crepe is not the usual thin crepe, this one came quite thick and tasted like pancake instead. The ice cream is normal green tea ice cream but the red beans are those whole red beans which I like. It is an average dessert for me nothing to wow about.
The service is quite slow as the food are only prepared when you ordered, so be prepared to wait for your food. The place can get quite noisy especially when you seat next to big groups. The servers are quite on the ball to remove empty plates from the tables.
Be prepared to queue when you get in and be prepared to queue when you are going out to pay for you bill as well. They got four cashiers but only two were functions when I was there on two different occasions.
The overall experience is quite ok for me. The food does not really attract me that much to go back again. I dun really think I will go back unless my friends want to go and try it out. ON the average I think each person will cost around $20 to $40.
Oh yah! They got two neo prints machines in the middle of the restaurant. Something special. Looks fun when you can eat and take pictures with your food at the same time. Good idea! Wahahaha….. I think I will do that next time!
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Tao's is named after the ceramic pottery and utensils the restaurant uses to serve its food. The use of such utensils serve to keep the food warm and tasty for a longer time after it is served. Formed in 2003 by Mr Huang Yen Kun after a spur of inspiration from being on the shorter end of the stick which negated his chances of having a 7 course meal in more expensive establishments, this was his answer to good food for the masses at an affordable price.
This is it, the menu is all you are going to get and you get to pick one item from each category that you fancy. Even so, it makes for a generous selection which will probably satisfy many including food aficionados.
The interior is well lighted in a bright and cheery way with flowers and exotic decorations adorning its front walls. Polaroid pictures of stars who visited the restaurant were also found on the picture above. Staff were all courteous and very service oriented, even humorous. A point to note is that the man featured on the television commercials of the restaurant can still be found serving right now. That says something about the place i believe.
Complimentary Toasted Bread ($19.80 set lunch), Bacon and Mushroom Gratin - The bread and gratin came together and i have to say, both were delicious together. The bread was lightly toasted and warm, remaining slightly fluffy yet firm. The gratin of bacon and mushrooms blended well with cheese to achieve a full yet non overwhelming taste. What can i say? I almost couldn't resist ordering seconds for it.
Ham and Potato Salad/ Farm Boy Splendor - For our second appetiser, my gf had the ham and potato salad while i ordered the farm boy splendor. I found the ham and potato a little too bland for my liking and had nothing too special for me to rave about. In its defense, the potato was done pretty well, soft and firm. The farm buy splendor came is sizable chicken chunks sprinkled with crushed roasted nuts, carrots, lettuce and sweet syrup. It tasted good albeit a little dry when it came to the meat.
Cream Of Mushroom/ Fish Soup - Next came the soup, whereby mine was the boring cream of mushroom which turned out much better then expected with it being creamy yet filled with mushroom bits. My gf had the more interesting fish soup which was served in the teapot to our surprise and tasted pretty interesting. Neither salty nor having an overwhelming fishy taste. There was also a few ingredients inside to whet your appetite like the scallop shown above.
Ice Grass Jelly Mint Tea/ Orange Juice - Having been here previously, the one thing that stuck in my mind was the iced tea i had here. Mine was the mint tea which was refreshing and tasty as i remember it, having it throughout or at the end of the meal simply clears up the feeling of oil and makes you want to eat a little more. My gf had the orange juice which came with some apple pieces and orange pieces inside. Pretty good but i found it too sour for my liking.
Baby Lobster Pasta in White Wine Sauce - The main course of my gf is the baby lobster white wine sauce pasta. The base is of the creamy variety but turned out a little too salty which made eating it somewhat less appealing. It did come with 2 shrimps and a generous helping of pasta. The pasta itself was springy and chewy which is a plus. The presentation of this dish is the first bad presentation i noticed in the entire meal.
Tao's Oven Roasted Steak - A signature dish, the steak came as i ordered, medium rare and done to perfection. The meat was soft and chewy which went well with the peppery gravy making this one of the better steaks i had. Not the best but one of the better ones. The only complaint i have is the small portion size for this one. I want some more!
Home Made Chocolate Mousse Cake - In a word, weird. The cake was relatively hard and the chocolate did not have much taste to it. The mousse layer was too small and it was hard to make out where the mousse started and the where the cake ended. Not something i'll have again.
Creme Brulee - Made from vanilla extract (this can be concluded from the lack of spots on the creme brulee), Tao's rendition falls a little short as the creme brulee had too much of an eggish aftertaste which reminds me of egg tarts and the sugar coagulation was too hard which is evidence of over burning. Decent, just not great.
Some hits, some misses and lots of heart. The meal came up to $46.60 for 2 people. Not too much considering the variety we had and the great service rendered.
I remember the first time i saw the advertisement on television years ago about a restaurant serving 7 course meals at a fixed price. I dismissed the business as a gimmick and that good food could never come from such places. I was terribly wrong and misjudged the situation badly. Now, i heartily recommend this place for the uninitiated as the service is great, the food is good and the ambiance is homely despite the horrible location. I'll definitely be back and so should you.
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Japanese and Korean cuisine together under one roof! Probably the first thought that popped into the minds of the entrepreneurs who decided to open this restaurant. Question is, does it actually manage to provide the same quality of food for both cuisines and do them justice? Or does the food not live up to expectations? Thats my job to find out and your job to read on.
It was obvious that little has been done for the interiors in terms of ambiance and decor. Wooden chairs and tables seemed straight out of a food court or park and a television that is so old, the images have noise in them. Not that i don't like the presence of the television, just that even coffeeshops have huge LCD televisions, a restaurant can't simply be happy with a sub par one such as that. Waiting time is generally long for the initial but when it does arrive, everything is fast and furious.
Tamago Sushi ($2.90) - Presentation-wise, this is normal but wait till you see the size of the sushi. Its bigger than most sushi's i've seen in other Japanese food places. It comes at a price of course, $1.45 per sushi isn't exactly cheap. The good part is that the rice is nicely done, sweet, sour and a tinge of spice along with a long Tamago (egg roll) atop which was actually tasty. If only the price could be lowered a little more.
Spring Roll ($2.90) - Served warm and crispy, this is like any other good spring roll you can find elsewhere. The serving size was incredibly small however. Not likely to order again at this point.
Chicken Bibim Bab Bulgogi ($8.90) - Spicy, sweet and fragrant pretty much summarizes this dish. I like the fact that it is very spicy as opposed to other similar offerings outside but i have to say, you can get a similar quality dish at a food court. Minus the spicy taste maybe. To sum it up, its an average rendition of a famous dish with no discerning factors.
Beef Babimbab Bulgogi ($9.90) - The beef rendition is basically the same minus the spiciness and adding more of the sweetness. As per the above, its possible to get the same quality from a food court maybe without it being as tasty or as fragrant as this version. I did like the sizzling rice and wok hei that resulted from the hot stone plate but somehow, i think the environment just didn't make me feel too special while i was eating it.
Chawan Mushi ($3.90) - One of the more expensive chawan mushi's i've had to try. The serving wasn't exactly big as well but the quality does make up for it. It is basically melt in your mouth light with a generous helping of fake shark's fin, naruto, shrimp and mushrooms. Thats all good except the price i suppose.
A rather simple meal cost me $31.35 which is a little too much to pay for the quantity, environment and quality.
I honestly did not find the food too bad but i have to say it wasn't close to fantastic as well. Price wise, many items are overcharged and the restaurant could do with a make over and some further training for the staff to hopefully be a little faster. They need to get some really special dishes or special recipes with a better environment before i can justify paying for it at that price.
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Well, always one true to my words, i said i’ll be back at Miss Clarity during my first visit. And here i am again. Nothing much has changed since my last visit, the kiddy decor, the colourful environment, the cute menu. Most importantly, the service has remained true to the Miss Clarity spirit, the food remains as good as well, with the price remaining the same.
As usual, we choose a main and add on $3 for an additional salad/soup, drink (barley/lime), and a dessert of the day.
Chicken Cordon Bleu ($8.80)
Deep fried breaded chicken breast stuffed with ham & cheese, served with tartar sauce and potato/vege as side dish. Chicken Cordon Bleu was ordered on the last visit as well, but my brother wanted to try so here goes. Steady and reliable. And did i mention the price?
Fish & Chips ($7.50)
Crispy breaded fish fillet with fries & clarity’s homemade coleslaw, served with tartar sauce. The fish & chips was decent, given its served in a cafe, the price is reasonable for the quality provided. The fillet layer’s bread crust was nice, and added a different dimension to the usual fish fillet served.
Total Bill was $22.30 for 2 person which i emphasis again is pretty reasonable for the amount of food served. What i really like about Miss Clarity is the fact that they provide good service, yet do not charge service charge for it. In addition, they even absorb the 7% GST. That will save you in the pocket to the tune of 17% for your meal. A jug of iced water with lemon slices are also given to each table even if you had ordered drinks.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
” I refuse to pay service charge and GST when there is no service provided “
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Made our way one rainy evening to Sunset Grill & Pub, an eatery/drinking hole equally known for its buffalo wings and very inaccessible location. Notoriously hidden in the inner realms of Seletar airbase, Sunset is a pain in the ass to find (pardon my language), even with the help of a map provided by the place. Just so that you know, Sunset doesn't appear on any streetdirectory the last I checked. Even if you manage to find the carpark, you still need to walk a short distance before you can actually see the joint itself. Talk about private dining.
Caesar Salad - The caesar salad was actually very normal tasting with slices of boiled egg, bacon bits and croutons. The vegetables were fresh but I found it terribly overpriced at $12.50.
Deep Fried Mushrooms - First the good. The breaded mushrooms were crispy on the outside with exploding juices in every bite. Now the bad. The batter was too thick and absorbed too much of the oil used in deep frying the mushrooms, so much so that it had an oily residue taste.
Buffalo Wings - Feeling intimidated by the level of spiciness the wings came in, we decided to stick to the safest bet - the mildest level 1. Even then, it was quite spicy for me (I don't really take chilli by the way), not to mention huge and juicy as well. However, because of its sourish nature, its really an acquired taste.
Hamburger Steak - The meat was too dry but at least the raw beef taste wasn't overpowering. The other gripe I had was that the meat was almost well done, which explains the dryness. Definitely not something I would order again.
Although no service charge or GST was imposed, $60 for the above dishes is really on the expensive side. Sure, the novelty is there and the prospect of watching planes take off is exciting, but for the quality of food and price, I'll be hard pressed to return. Oh and if you do decide to sit in the al fresco area, please watch out for the mosquitoes.
See all my pictures here
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