Pasta de Waraku is tucked away in the corner of Marina Square.. but it's certainly not quiet. We arrived at 6pm, thinking of grabbing an early dinner without making reservations. There were only two of us so we confidently thought that we would be able to get in with ease since the Restaurant was empty. But we were asked to wait for almost 10 minutes whilst they tried to figure if they were fully booked. So MAKE RESERVATIONS... but finish reading this review first.
The overall decor was casual and modern. It's quite comfortable with suitable lighting but it's definitely more for families and casual friends. Not quite a place you would bring a date you want to impress.
We ordered: Wafu Unatama Pasta (Eel with Egg on Pasta) Dry Curry Pilaf (Jap Style Curry Fried Rice with Pork Bacon) Ichigo Sundae Shirafama Redbean Sundae
In appearance, the pasta was not impressive. You could hardly find any eel anywhere and it was covered with egg. In taste, it was worse. It was very dry and the pieces of eel all flaked into pieces. They were so soft that it became difficult to taste it. I could hardly bring myself to eat the egg, which was tasteless. The only consolation was that it was a sizeable serving, but in this case I'm not sure it is a good point.
The rice was not much better. In appearance it looked even worse... The serving was small and it looked like a mash of yellow bits with little of anything else. It tasted salty, with a tiny taste of the Jap style curry. You could count the bits of meat with your fingers.
I regretted ordering the two desserts. They tasted exactly the same and looked nothing like the pictures in the menu. Not to mention both were already swimming in liquid when they arrived.
We paid $52 for both of us, which I find expensive for such mediocre food. The only thing I was happy with was the service. They were quick to respond and always smiling.
TCC @ The Atrium.The environment is cosy,with nice red comfy chairs. But because of the area,u will find a lot of students studying there.
We had :-
Beef Mozza Tofu…
It's excellent for a person who likes tofu. There is a layer of cheese on top of the tofu. In between the tofu, it's layered with minced beef. Every spoon we took, there was beef. Of course,a dish like this would have to served hot and it took a little more time for this dish to come. The meat was tasty and not too salty.
Charlotte Chocolate Cake Its just another cake. A simple chocolate cake. Plenty of sponge and little of anything else.I wouldn’t recommend it. We realized later on that we were the only ones that had the cake in the café.
Pepper Mint Tea I ordered a pot and regretted it. It was hardly fragrant and fell well below my expectations.
We paid $24 for the above with my pot of peppermint tea. I think they specialised in coffee, not so in tea.
The service was excellent. Remembering that I had warm water instead of the normal cold water although the place was crowded. The servers had a good memory.
Café Oliv is a small café just beside the Famous 328 Laksa shop. The interior is very simple with normal white tables and orange plastic chairs. A casual setting suitable for the regular office lunchers or for families.
Chef Kevin Heng, together with buddy Patrick Ang, followed their dreams of having a place to call their own by starting Café Oliv together. Knowing that he has 12 years of culinary experience in places like the Rasa Sentosa and the Emerald Group, we were all ready to savour good food.
We ordered the following : - Duck breast salad A good salad I must say. There were small slices of grilled duck meat on top of the vinegeratte salad. The duck meat was lean and very well marinated which brings out the taste of the fresh vegetables.
Beef stew with Rice It was a LARGE serving of stew,in comparison to rice. The stew was good and very rich. We had to order an extra serving of bread to dip into the stew. It had a slightly sweet but savoury taste.
Chargrilled tenderloin with roasted potates The presentation surprised me, especially in a small café like this. Very beautifully presented, but a little disappointing in taste. The medium tenderloin was a little undercooked.When I was eating it,my white plate looked quite bloody. I think there should be more sauce on the sides as the carrots and string beans were very bland. The roasted potates were perfect though,a very good combo with the tenderloin.
Over all,I think it was worth it. We paid $47 for both of us (with drinks and extra bread,of course).I was really impressed with the presentation of the food and the service.I had a glass of hot water.The server had changed a new glass of hot water for me every time (not topping it up).
For those who have lived in Siglap long enough you would know that this is the old family-run cake shop next to old Siglap Market (which is now NTUC). It boasts of award winning cakes, namely their Chocolate Truffle Cake and Tiramisu.
They closed at their original location months ago, to reopen as a cafe in the basement of Siglap Centre. It now has a small seating area for 6-7 patrons and is tastefully designed with a chic modern look.
I bought a 500g Chocolate Truffle Cake off the shelf for $20. The price has increased and I'm not surprised. However the quality has dropped. The cake does not have that strong chocolate taste it used to have. It's now a lot of cake and less chocolate. It's still fine just not award winning anymore.
I also bought a few chocolate chip cookies and regretted it. The cookies are just flat pieces of plain sugar. It took me, a junk foodie, a long time to finish it. And they weren't cheap at $2.50 each.
This particular outlet is situated in the bustling Parkway Parade. It's relatively new, since it opened a few months after the major revamp. It's in the basement right next to the food court. Not a cosy ambience with all the noise and bright lights from the surroundings. It has a very casual atmosphere though, which makes it good for family outings and friends.
We ordered the following...
Black Olive Fried Rice with Chickens and Cashew Nuts The rice was fragrant and was tasty on its own. However for a one-dish meal it didn't have enough ingredients. There were only a few measly pieces of chicken. The rice was not cooked with the cashew nuts as the nuts was served on the side. It certainly didn't justify its price of $9... It was also really oily, leaving oil marks all over the plate when I was done.
Pineapple Fried Rice with Seafood The picture on their website/menu and the one we saw were worlds apart. There wasn't any pineapple in the dish, so it's highly likely they used powder mixtures which can be bought cheap from supermarkets. There was only 1 prawn and 2 sotongs in the whole thing... which kinda made treasure hunting for them a challenge.
The service was not as good as I had expected. We were the only ones there at first on a weekday afternoon. Later on another table became occupied. Yet they took pretty long 20min to serve us and 10min to bring us the bill. Slow service despite few patrons is a bad thing. No smiles could be seen anywhere too.
The only thing that interested me was the ala carte buffet which had quite a variety of dishes. We watched the neighbouring table order and it came in nice small dishes which made ordering a variety easy. But judging from the quality we had, I seriously doubt we would be back for more.
Glasil is a relatively new store managed by a lady who makes the items herself. I had the honour of watching her in action whilst I was in the store.
The display of the store is amazing. She has bracelets and earrings all over. But most of the items are quite simple and not very complicated. The materials are less common but not the design itself. The finished products are priced about $5 to $100 for those with precious stones.
The materials she sells for DIY are in small quantities and there isn't much variety. She has mainly glass and czech crystal stuff so they are all quite pricey. Even plastic items are not cheap either. It's for the casual maker making for herself really. As for findings and wires there's also very little to choose from.
At the back of the store she sells some bags which are quite interesting. The material may not be good but they are quite cheap.
The owner herself is quite knowledgeable about the materials she sells but her staff isn't. They had to consult her many times on what the material is and where are certain items placed.
Sobasei is a simple Japanese Restaurant with a open dining area and 3-4 private rooms. It's suitable for families, as its ambience is more casual and not as cosy as one would prefer.
The menu is in Japanese with (accurate) English translations as this place is frequented by many Japanese expats in the area.
I was there just last night with my two companions. I had tempura Soba... I wanted to try other stuff but... daren't eat anything new due to a recent allergy. Anyway the Ebi tempura was made with really fresh prawns which is pretty rare. The warm soba was served just right.
We had Sashimi too which was very fresh.
My companions had sets which had miso soup, rice and noodles, main dish, two appetizers, one side dish. Each set about $20-$25.
We arrived at the place really late about 9 and last order was at 9.30pm. They still served us with smiles and took our orders patiently. Even when we added to our order at about 10 they didn't flinch. We had plenty of little freebies thrown in like the peas, some small side-dishes.This isn't because we're the last customers of the day as it also happened the two other times I was there.
Quality food in good-sized servings and great service. It deserves 5 stars but... the location and the ambience... made me take one away. Quality food in good servings.
I'm pretty sure everyone knows Killiney Kopitiam. They have a few outlets around Singapore and most people would have been to one or the other.
Anyway this particular one in Siglap is always busy. They are never empty and I wonder why.
Coffee at Killiney's ain't different from the 70 cents one you find at your regular coffeeshop. not to mention it's more expensive here. In fact, it's more diluted if they're really busy. It's a little wierd since they supposedly make each cup as they are ordered.
They also have local foodfare like Mee siam and Nasi Lemak. Taste-wise is pretty average. Nothing special, thus it doesn't quite justify that $1 or $2 more....
I like the toast though, but again it's nothing extraordinary.
Nonetheless this small outlet is always bustling. Only try if you really have no other place to go for breakfast.
Ice Cream Chefs ... located along East Coast Road... How could I not visit this place?! It's a quaint little joint located near where Jackie's Bowl used to be.
Initially I'd thought the ice cream would be made on the spot ... haha the bimbo I am...
The ice cream is displayed like normal. There are many flavours to choose from including special ones like Chocolate and Hershey's, Nutella Delight, Mrs Smith, etc. The ice cream is made from real ingredients... not just flavouring. There's real durian meat in the Durian Decadence flavour.
And The really special thing they'd do for you is CUSTOMISE your ice-cream. You can add Loacker's wafers, Oreos... into your ice-cream!! You can even mix flavours...
One large pint will cost $9.50. Two pints was nice for 3 people who loved ice cream.
I think it's worth a try. The quality is pretty good and it's great fun! The ambience is very casual with music from the radio in the background. You can choose to sit inside or outside... total seating area for about 20 people .
Cotton On is a reputable Australian brand that sells plenty of basics at low prices! It had a super long queue in its store on a sleepy Monday afternoon, so you can take my word for it.
Plenty of basics and a good number of printed Tees to go too. They have all styles : spaghetti tops, tanks, short sleeves, dresses, bermudas, shorts, etc. ANd don't be mistaken, they have stuff for guys too.
You know what I love most about them? Their tops are LONG. Absolutely perfect for low waist/ hipster jeans. And they have plenty of promotions like 2 for $20 tops, and even $10 dresses and $5 slippers!
And every style comes in a good number of colours to suit everyone.
I was telling myself to save money... but I went in bought myself two tops for $20, another for $12 and a dress for $20 !! And no regrets really. I love all of them. :)
I'll definitely be back and hope you'll be there too!
Pasta de Waraku is tucked away in the corner of Marina Square.. but it's certainly not quiet. We arrived at 6pm, thinking of grabbing an early dinner without making reservations. There were only two of us so we confidently thought that we would be able to get in with ease since the Restaurant was empty. But we were asked to wait for almost 10 minutes whilst they tried to figure if they were fully booked. So MAKE RESERVATIONS... but finish reading this review first.
The overall decor was casual and modern. It's quite comfortable with suitable lighting but it's definitely more for families and casual friends. Not quite a place you would bring a date you want to impress.
We ordered:
Wafu Unatama Pasta (Eel with Egg on Pasta)
Dry Curry Pilaf (Jap Style Curry Fried Rice with Pork Bacon)
Ichigo Sundae
Shirafama Redbean Sundae
In appearance, the pasta was not impressive. You could hardly find any eel anywhere and it was covered with egg. In taste, it was worse. It was very dry and the pieces of eel all flaked into pieces. They were so soft that it became difficult to taste it. I could hardly bring myself to eat the egg, which was tasteless. The only consolation was that it was a sizeable serving, but in this case I'm not sure it is a good point.
The rice was not much better. In appearance it looked even worse... The serving was small and it looked like a mash of yellow bits with little of anything else. It tasted salty, with a tiny taste of the Jap style curry. You could count the bits of meat with your fingers.
I regretted ordering the two desserts. They tasted exactly the same and looked nothing like the pictures in the menu. Not to mention both were already swimming in liquid when they arrived.
We paid $52 for both of us, which I find expensive for such mediocre food. The only thing I was happy with was the service. They were quick to respond and always smiling.
I'm never going back again.
Rating given:
TCC @ The Atrium.The environment is cosy,with nice red comfy chairs. But because of the area,u will find a lot of students studying there.
We had :-
Beef Mozza Tofu…
It's excellent for a person who likes tofu. There is a layer of cheese on top of the tofu. In between the tofu, it's layered with minced beef. Every spoon we took, there was beef. Of course,a dish like this would have to served hot and it took a little more time for this dish to come. The meat was tasty and not too salty.
Charlotte Chocolate Cake
Its just another cake. A simple chocolate cake. Plenty of sponge and little of anything else.I wouldn’t recommend it. We realized later on that we were the only ones that had the cake in the café.
Pepper Mint Tea
I ordered a pot and regretted it. It was hardly fragrant and fell well below my expectations.
We paid $24 for the above with my pot of peppermint tea. I think they specialised in coffee, not so in tea.
The service was excellent. Remembering that I had warm water instead of the normal cold water although the place was crowded. The servers had a good memory.
Rating given:
Café Oliv is a small café just beside the Famous 328 Laksa shop. The interior is very simple with normal white tables and orange plastic chairs. A casual setting suitable for the regular office lunchers or for families.
Chef Kevin Heng, together with buddy Patrick Ang, followed their dreams of having a place to call their own by starting Café Oliv together. Knowing that he has 12 years of culinary experience in places like the Rasa Sentosa and the Emerald Group, we were all ready to savour good food.
We ordered the following : -
Duck breast salad
A good salad I must say. There were small slices of grilled duck meat on top of the vinegeratte salad. The duck meat was lean and very well marinated which brings out the taste of the fresh vegetables.
Beef stew with Rice
It was a LARGE serving of stew,in comparison to rice. The stew was good and very rich. We had to order an extra serving of bread to dip into the stew. It had a slightly sweet but savoury taste.
Chargrilled tenderloin with roasted potates
The presentation surprised me, especially in a small café like this. Very beautifully presented, but a little disappointing in taste. The medium tenderloin was a little undercooked.When I was eating it,my white plate looked quite bloody. I think there should be more sauce on the sides as the carrots and string beans were very bland. The roasted potates were perfect though,a very good combo with the tenderloin.
Over all,I think it was worth it. We paid $47 for both of us (with drinks and extra bread,of course).I was really impressed with the presentation of the food and the service.I had a glass of hot water.The server had changed a new glass of hot water for me every time (not topping it up).
I will be back for more.
Rating given:
For those who have lived in Siglap long enough you would know that this is the old family-run cake shop next to old Siglap Market (which is now NTUC). It boasts of award winning cakes, namely their Chocolate Truffle Cake and Tiramisu.
They closed at their original location months ago, to reopen as a cafe in the basement of Siglap Centre. It now has a small seating area for 6-7 patrons and is tastefully designed with a chic modern look.
I bought a 500g Chocolate Truffle Cake off the shelf for $20. The price has increased and I'm not surprised. However the quality has dropped. The cake does not have that strong chocolate taste it used to have. It's now a lot of cake and less chocolate. It's still fine just not award winning anymore.
I also bought a few chocolate chip cookies and regretted it. The cookies are just flat pieces of plain sugar. It took me, a junk foodie, a long time to finish it. And they weren't cheap at $2.50 each.
Rating given:
This particular outlet is situated in the bustling Parkway Parade. It's relatively new, since it opened a few months after the major revamp. It's in the basement right next to the food court. Not a cosy ambience with all the noise and bright lights from the surroundings. It has a very casual atmosphere though, which makes it good for family outings and friends.
We ordered the following...
Black Olive Fried Rice with Chickens and Cashew Nuts
The rice was fragrant and was tasty on its own. However for a one-dish meal it didn't have enough ingredients. There were only a few measly pieces of chicken. The rice was not cooked with the cashew nuts as the nuts was served on the side. It certainly didn't justify its price of $9... It was also really oily, leaving oil marks all over the plate when I was done.
Pineapple Fried Rice with Seafood
The picture on their website/menu and the one we saw were worlds apart. There wasn't any pineapple in the dish, so it's highly likely they used powder mixtures which can be bought cheap from supermarkets. There was only 1 prawn and 2 sotongs in the whole thing... which kinda made treasure hunting for them a challenge.
The service was not as good as I had expected. We were the only ones there at first on a weekday afternoon. Later on another table became occupied. Yet they took pretty long 20min to serve us and 10min to bring us the bill. Slow service despite few patrons is a bad thing. No smiles could be seen anywhere too.
The only thing that interested me was the ala carte buffet which had quite a variety of dishes. We watched the neighbouring table order and it came in nice small dishes which made ordering a variety easy. But judging from the quality we had, I seriously doubt we would be back for more.
Rating given:
Glasil is a relatively new store managed by a lady who makes the items herself. I had the honour of watching her in action whilst I was in the store.
The display of the store is amazing. She has bracelets and earrings all over. But most of the items are quite simple and not very complicated. The materials are less common but not the design itself. The finished products are priced about $5 to $100 for those with precious stones.
The materials she sells for DIY are in small quantities and there isn't much variety. She has mainly glass and czech crystal stuff so they are all quite pricey. Even plastic items are not cheap either. It's for the casual maker making for herself really. As for findings and wires there's also very little to choose from.
At the back of the store she sells some bags which are quite interesting. The material may not be good but they are quite cheap.
The owner herself is quite knowledgeable about the materials she sells but her staff isn't. They had to consult her many times on what the material is and where are certain items placed.
Rating given:
Sobasei is a simple Japanese Restaurant with a open dining area and 3-4 private rooms. It's suitable for families, as its ambience is more casual and not as cosy as one would prefer.
The menu is in Japanese with (accurate) English translations as this place is frequented by many Japanese expats in the area.
I was there just last night with my two companions. I had tempura Soba... I wanted to try other stuff but... daren't eat anything new due to a recent allergy. Anyway the Ebi tempura was made with really fresh prawns which is pretty rare. The warm soba was served just right.
We had Sashimi too which was very fresh.
My companions had sets which had miso soup, rice and noodles, main dish, two appetizers, one side dish. Each set about $20-$25.
We arrived at the place really late about 9 and last order was at 9.30pm. They still served us with smiles and took our orders patiently. Even when we added to our order at about 10 they didn't flinch. We had plenty of little freebies thrown in like the peas, some small side-dishes.This isn't because we're the last customers of the day as it also happened the two other times I was there.
Quality food in good-sized servings and great service. It deserves 5 stars but... the location and the ambience... made me take one away.
Quality food in good servings.
Rating given:
I'm pretty sure everyone knows Killiney Kopitiam. They have a few outlets around Singapore and most people would have been to one or the other.
Anyway this particular one in Siglap is always busy. They are never empty and I wonder why.
Coffee at Killiney's ain't different from the 70 cents one you find at your regular coffeeshop. not to mention it's more expensive here. In fact, it's more diluted if they're really busy. It's a little wierd since they supposedly make each cup as they are ordered.
They also have local foodfare like Mee siam and Nasi Lemak. Taste-wise is pretty average. Nothing special, thus it doesn't quite justify that $1 or $2 more....
I like the toast though, but again it's nothing extraordinary.
Nonetheless this small outlet is always bustling. Only try if you really have no other place to go for breakfast.
Rating given:
Ice Cream Chefs ... located along East Coast Road... How could I not visit this place?! It's a quaint little joint located near where Jackie's Bowl used to be.
Initially I'd thought the ice cream would be made on the spot ... haha the bimbo I am...
The ice cream is displayed like normal. There are many flavours to choose from including special ones like Chocolate and Hershey's, Nutella Delight, Mrs Smith, etc. The ice cream is made from real ingredients... not just flavouring. There's real durian meat in the Durian Decadence flavour.
And The really special thing they'd do for you is CUSTOMISE your ice-cream. You can add Loacker's wafers, Oreos... into your ice-cream!! You can even mix flavours...
One large pint will cost $9.50. Two pints was nice for 3 people who loved ice cream.
I think it's worth a try. The quality is pretty good and it's great fun! The ambience is very casual with music from the radio in the background. You can choose to sit inside or outside... total seating area for about 20 people .
Will definitely be back!
Rating given:
Cotton On is a reputable Australian brand that sells plenty of basics at low prices! It had a super long queue in its store on a sleepy Monday afternoon, so you can take my word for it.
Plenty of basics and a good number of printed Tees to go too. They have all styles : spaghetti tops, tanks, short sleeves, dresses, bermudas, shorts, etc. ANd don't be mistaken, they have stuff for guys too.
You know what I love most about them? Their tops are LONG. Absolutely perfect for low waist/ hipster jeans. And they have plenty of promotions like 2 for $20 tops, and even $10 dresses and $5 slippers!
And every style comes in a good number of colours to suit everyone.
I was telling myself to save money... but I went in bought myself two tops for $20, another for $12 and a dress for $20 !! And no regrets really. I love all of them. :)
I'll definitely be back and hope you'll be there too!
Rating given: