Here's a new place the girlfriend and I found that's a joy to visit.
My recommendations The girlfriend and I had ordered the lovers' platter for 2 where there were very nice grilled scallops, but I thought it was spoiled by their fried stuff. So I think it is better to order individual main courses.Their side dishes are really good too, especially their potatoes and linguine, only 80 cents each.
Few things that I love about this place. Their method of preparing their fish. Usually steamed, poached or grilled, the fish retains its flavor and is light on the palate. When you have fresh fish, this is the way to go because the freshness is a huge factor for the taste and texture. Of course, these methods are healthier, though it also means it's easier to make room for more food.
Variety of fish The main difference here is a more local variety of fish. Think grouper, sea bass, salmon, pomfret. Yes, I think this is the main reason why this restaurant chose to steam, poach and grill.
Options of side dishes I thought this is a good idea, especially when other seafood restaurants like Manhattan Fish Market and Fish & Co always load tons of rice and fries.You get to to add side dishes at 80 cents and onwards per dish so that you can concentrate on the taste of the main attraction.
Family friendly - Spacious and relaxed There is this empty space right after the entrance that is really good for children to move around in. Another honorable mention goes to the smiley fries, which the girlfriend and I dubbed "smelly flies", thanks to our local accent (Singlish lah). I think they owners didn't want to fill up the place with tables for profit and instead chose to keep it spacious for less staff to serve the customers more effectively. I didn't feel rushed in this place and I like that. The Girlfriend also mentioned that the choice of colors (yellow and blue) was very effective in setting th relaxed mood. Best of all, the customers were all in really relaxed attire - t-shirts, bermudas and sandals. Very cozy.
One thing I can never come to terms with is the fact that Restaurants/Cafes serving Hong Kong cuisine prices instant noodles at a premium. Xin Wang is no exception. It is funny in a way, because instant noodles sold in Hong Kong has an iconic status, but if you sold instant noodles as a Uniquely Singapore dish, it is called a rip-off.
Also, it is pretty disappointing that there is only baked rice, baked rice and more baked rice. Otherwise, it is thick toast, thick toast and more thick toast. And then you get something mildly interesting like, pineapple buns, ordinary bread buns with some pineapple filling, probably similar to that of pineapple tarts sold at about $2 each. Wah. Lao. Eh. It. Is. So. Exciting. Hor? Not. Even. One. Bit.
While Xin Wang does serve up some specialities (some crab dish, I think) it is as I like to say, nothing inspiring.
I have never failed to become the lunchtime envy of my colleagues whenever I bring a Don's pie back to office.
This is for chicken pie lovers who always thought something was missing in the pies you have eaten, DON's pies probably have the answer, be it the large portions, the hard-boiled egg or black peppercorns.
The small pie is a complete meal in itself while a large one feed 4.
As for the hard-boiled egg, I thought it completes the pie.
Contrary to Joanne's blurb on the pies, my colleagues and I love the pies. I for one love the peppery taste of the pies. I think it is something to do with the local obsession with black pepper. Somehow anything and everything with black peppercorns just work, like black pepper crabs, stir-fried black pepper beef and black pepper steak just appeals to Singaporeans. Of course, I have to admit I haven't tried Aussie and British pies to compare. Singapore probably gave the pie a local twist to it to make our own. So for the familiar chicken pie, DON's pies are still the best for me.
They have recently also expanded to selling claypot crab bee hoon. I haven't tried it, but I'm sure I will be soon.
I got a chance to eat the No 1 voted Ramen ~ BLACK PIG SHABU SHABU RAMEN, yesterday @ Tampopo Restaurant.
My sister ordered the ChaSiu Ramen ~ Kyoto Style. While for me, I took the Black Pig Shabu Shabu Ramen, of coz. Same Soup base, juz that mine was more spicy.
The BLACK PORK is OIISHI!!!!! Saw the Fat, but its doesn’t give you the soft soft oily oily taste. Its very thin and tender. Not much ingredient for this though - only pieces of pork and bamboo shoots. However, the ramen is so-so. Like not bery Q-Q type. More like not bery cooked.
We shared the Potato Salad and Agedashi Tofu. Recommended side dish - Potato Salad (coz I din try the rest , no moolah and the serving quite big for two persons leh).
Had another chance, I brought a friend to try the Black Pig Ramen. But I din order the Ramen, I ordered something like the Korean bibimbap. It is OIISHI!!!! I like sauce! Its like the teriyaki sauce, but not so salty. It reminds me of the brown rice that I had at another Jap Restaurant - Teri’s. I like the burnt rice at the bottom (锅巴).
The perfect place to chill out without the crowd up on the "highest" peak in Singapore....actually not so high. But the couch view by the window is good. The floor to ceiling glass window allows you to get a good view of the cable car paths as well as Sentosa and the Singapore Harbour. So just sit back, relax and enjoy the views.
Serve standard drinks and cocktails. One plus point is that this place is frequented by both local and foreign celebrities, so you might just catch a glimpse of them or hear the staffs talking about it...that's if you are in to celebrities. Otherwise the glass atmosphere and cozy surroundings might just be what you can enjoy here.
You might like to make a reservation if you are going in larger groups. Have seen many larger groups of about 5-6 people coming in and going out because of not being able to find a place here.
Parking in Mount Faber can be a problem if you come later in the night. But then you can always use the valet service at $5 if you like. Saves you all the walking and trouble.
Ice cream like you have never had before. This is what we found at Tom's Palette. The perfect place for a stopover after dinner. It used to be Swensens but now, it is Tom's Palette! For some reason, Swensens does not seem to appeal to us, but then again that is another story.
So what is good at Tom's Palette?
The local flavours that you will not find at Swensens and Hagen D. The following is a list of flavours you can find there:-
- Tau Sar Piah!!??
- Chrysanthemum
- Lavender
- Apple Pie
- Oreo Cheese
- Blue Berry Cheese
- Hazelnut
- Logan and Red Dates
- Chocolate
- Coffee
- Real Strawberries
- Horlicks (if you just love it)
- and more to come...perhaps we should just give them some suggestions for new flavours! Why not have kiwi, chicken!!??, guava, and maybe some sorbets!!
If you are confused and not certain which one to try, just request to sample them. Try not to take it too far by sampling all the flavours....but it might just happen! Portions are generous and comes in 3 different servings. If you go by after dinner, perhaps the smallest portion would be the right serving. You get 2 scoops in the serving and that will allow you to savour your favourite flavours! All that at less than $3 per cup...it is reasonably priced.
Staffs are friendly and patient. Perhaps they like to see the look on your face in wondering what in the world does it taste like! But jokes aside they always have a smile even though you cannot decide which flavour you would like.
We specially make the trip there to eat their ice creams and also bring our friends there for a short stopover....to try Singapore ice cream. Highly recommended!!
We ordered the Hong Kong Ice Milk Tea, Xiumai（燒賣）, Cheongfun（腸粉）, Zhupabao(豬扒包）, and Mango Ice.
Verdict: Ambience - Not bad, quite cosy (means a bit tight lah) Food - Lots of variety. Have not tried all. Should be good, except for the Zhupabao, the pork slice is abit thin and tough, bread toast is good; and the Cheongfun is the local sweet sauce style, not the soya sauce style with meat fillings. Price - reasonable. Timsum mostly $2.50
Recommended: MANGO ICE! Big portion. Got Strawberry one too!
Other items on the menu: Luncheon Meat with Egg Noodles - This noodle tasted like home-cooked Instant Noodles. Nothing special. Ice Teh-O is GOOD! Thumb-up! As good as the HK Ice Milk Tea. Ice Honey Green Tea ~ so-so only. Tasted a bit bitter though. Thick French Toast is abit too sweet. They pour honey over it, and added a piece of thinly sliced butter on top to let it melt. It looks like Tau Kua. With the honey, it makes it bery soggy. Curry Chix rice - Bery flavourful curry. I like the hard and crunchy potatoes, while my Dear loves the thick curry sauce, and boneless Chix. Shanghainese Chix Chop rice - A different kind of Chix rice. It used olive fried rice. Guo Tian (Fried Dumplings) - Crispy, Juicy. GOOD!!!! :D Black Pepper Chix Rice - Not bad, but a bit ‘jerlat’. Maybe I wasn’t that hungry when I ate it. The black pepper sauce is not that spicy. Black pepper taste is there though. Prawn Paste Chix - Made from Boneless Chix thighs. A bit of butter taste, and a bit oily. My Dear likes it. Fu Pi Juan (Bean Curd Skin wrap with Prawn meat) - Common. Not say that its really that fantastic. No harm trying though. Bo Chai Yun Tun Mian (Wanton Noodles - Dried) - MUST TRY! Its good! The Wanton is crispy. The sauce is juz nice. The spinach noodles are chewy! The Char Xiu are tender but not that kind that melt in the mouth. :p Ham and Egg Sandwich - If they toast the bread, it will be better. The Ham was fried - OILY sia! Xiu Mai - Good! Not very meaty in the sense that it has prawn, so not all pork.
My Dear recently is working on an Advert project on this “Ah Mei”. I as a KPO Queen, of coz, will follow him to Ah Mei to do research.
Saw “Banquet” ~ definitely its HALAH. Ah Mei is also selling things like Ya Kun - KAYA Toast (which I dun like), but they also sell another local favourite - PRATA.
Got ‘real’ fish in the curry. I mean normally we dun get to eat meat with the Prata curry. This branch will give you see the REAL ingredients in the curry.
I think only at Sun Plaza branch then you can eat MINI PRATA. Novena Square Branch dun have.
They sell nasi brani also. But but… its damn expensive leh. One drum stick will cost you SGD2. So I couldn’t part with my 2 bucks in exchange for the orange-crust fried drum stick.
I think different branches will have their own speciality. Coz some of the items can only be found at certain branch.
I never heard about this Miss Clarity Cafe before. Its at Purvis Street. A friend recommended and we went there to have dinner cum supper after an outing.
They serve western and some local favourites. We were lucky to get a table at that late hour coz the cafe was actually quite pack.
My friends ordered Potato Munchskin & Chix Salad. As for me & My Dear, we ordered set dinner. My Dear who dun like Vegetables, surprised me by finishing the salad!
My main dish was Stew Chix with pasta. Actually that’s not my first choice, coz all priority choices were sold out. Frankly speaking, this dish is so-so. Very home-cooked feel. Which means, my mum can cook too. Very suitable for those who missed home-cooked food. The chicken seems to be cooked with out defrosting it. Tough & dry.
My Dear’s main dish was this fried chix bake rice. Eh… also so-so only.
I wanna mentioned My Frienc’s main dish - Lobster linguine. Why? Coz they use the wrong pasta. Linguine was too soft for this dish. Too much of it will make pple feel ’sick’. If its spaghetti (swop with my pasta) then it might be better.
Haaa… mostly seems to be bad comments about the food. :p But for the price, its reasonable, juz that I am a bit picky. :p
I like the soup, salad and ICE CREAM…. Haaa… not their main dish. Maybe becoz all these are not their ‘direct’ product. :p
My sis brought me to this HongKong Cafe (师奶茶餐厅) at Novena for dinner. I have never try anything there before. I always go to the Xin Wang for Hongkong cafe food. Din like Tong Shui’s food also.
The menu is filled with alot of dishes. My sis wondered if all the items listed are available. I told her that the basic ingredients are there, cooking style different only.
We ordered a couple of things. Hongkong Milk Tea Sliced Fish with Flat Rice Noodles 鱼片三捞河粉 Seafood Buckwheat Noodles 海鲜伊付面 Dim Sum - Har Kaw & Pork Ribs
Verdict - TOTAL DISAPPOINTMENT 1. Sliced Fish with Flat Rice Noodles 鱼片三捞河粉 Bland, tasteless. I add alot of green chilli and red chilli still find it inedible. So not to waste food, I finished only the tastless sliced fish.
2. Steam Pork Ribs Not flavourful too. Oily. No meat. Yes, I know its pork ribs, so you can expect it to be meaty. But i din expect it to be so boney.
At least things that my sis ordered are still edible - the milk tea, the buckwheat noodle and the Har Kaw. Yeah, at least its filled with prawn and not minced pork with a bit of prawn.
1=SGD 0.0587
This is the way fish should be served!
Here's a new place the girlfriend and I found that's a joy to visit.
My recommendations
The girlfriend and I had ordered the lovers' platter for 2 where there were very nice grilled scallops, but I thought it was spoiled by their fried stuff. So I think it is better to order individual main courses.Their side dishes are really good too, especially their potatoes and linguine, only 80 cents each.
Few things that I love about this place.
Their method of preparing their fish.
Usually steamed, poached or grilled, the fish retains its flavor and is light on the palate. When you have fresh fish, this is the way to go because the freshness is a huge factor for the taste and texture. Of course, these methods are healthier, though it also means it's easier to make room for more food.
Variety of fish
The main difference here is a more local variety of fish. Think grouper, sea bass, salmon, pomfret. Yes, I think this is the main reason why this restaurant chose to steam, poach and grill.
Options of side dishes
I thought this is a good idea, especially when other seafood restaurants like Manhattan Fish Market and Fish & Co always load tons of rice and fries.You get to to add side dishes at 80 cents and onwards per dish so that you can concentrate on the taste of the main attraction.
Family friendly - Spacious and relaxed
There is this empty space right after the entrance that is really good for children to move around in. Another honorable mention goes to the smiley fries, which the girlfriend and I dubbed "smelly flies", thanks to our local accent (Singlish lah). I think they owners didn't want to fill up the place with tables for profit and instead chose to keep it spacious for less staff to serve the customers more effectively. I didn't feel rushed in this place and I like that. The Girlfriend also mentioned that the choice of colors (yellow and blue) was very effective in setting th relaxed mood. Best of all, the customers were all in really relaxed attire - t-shirts, bermudas and sandals. Very cozy.
Rating given:
Huh? Instant noodles as a dish?
One thing I can never come to terms with is the fact that Restaurants/Cafes serving Hong Kong cuisine prices instant noodles at a premium. Xin Wang is no exception. It is funny in a way, because instant noodles sold in Hong Kong has an iconic status, but if you sold instant noodles as a Uniquely Singapore dish, it is called a rip-off.
Also, it is pretty disappointing that there is only baked rice, baked rice and more baked rice. Otherwise, it is thick toast, thick toast and more thick toast. And then you get something mildly interesting like, pineapple buns, ordinary bread buns with some pineapple filling, probably similar to that of pineapple tarts sold at about $2 each.
Wah. Lao. Eh. It. Is. So. Exciting. Hor?
Not. Even. One. Bit.
While Xin Wang does serve up some specialities (some crab dish, I think) it is as I like to say, nothing inspiring.
This place is a rip-off, I tell you.
Rating given:
Be the Lunchtime Envy of your colleagues
I have never failed to become the lunchtime envy of my colleagues whenever I bring a Don's pie back to office.
This is for chicken pie lovers who always thought something was missing in the pies you have eaten, DON's pies probably have the answer, be it the large portions, the hard-boiled egg or black peppercorns.
The small pie is a complete meal in itself while a large one feed 4.
As for the hard-boiled egg, I thought it completes the pie.
Contrary to Joanne's blurb on the pies, my colleagues and I love the pies.
I for one love the peppery taste of the pies. I think it is something to do with the local obsession with black pepper. Somehow anything and everything with black peppercorns just work, like black pepper crabs, stir-fried black pepper beef and black pepper steak just appeals to Singaporeans.
Of course, I have to admit I haven't tried Aussie and British pies to compare.
Singapore probably gave the pie a local twist to it to make our own.
So for the familiar chicken pie, DON's pies are still the best for me.
They have recently also expanded to selling claypot crab bee hoon.
I haven't tried it, but I'm sure I will be soon.
Rating given:
I got a chance to eat the No 1 voted Ramen ~ BLACK PIG SHABU SHABU RAMEN, yesterday @ Tampopo Restaurant.
My sister ordered the ChaSiu Ramen ~ Kyoto Style. While for me, I took the Black Pig Shabu Shabu Ramen, of coz. Same Soup base, juz that mine was more spicy.
The BLACK PORK is OIISHI!!!!! Saw the Fat, but its doesn’t give you the soft soft oily oily taste. Its very thin and tender. Not much ingredient for this though - only pieces of pork and bamboo shoots. However, the ramen is so-so. Like not bery Q-Q type. More like not bery cooked.
We shared the Potato Salad and Agedashi Tofu. Recommended side dish - Potato Salad (coz I din try the rest , no moolah and the serving quite big for two persons leh).
Had another chance, I brought a friend to try the Black Pig Ramen. But I din order the Ramen, I ordered something like the Korean bibimbap. It is OIISHI!!!! I like sauce! Its like the teriyaki sauce, but not so salty. It reminds me of the brown rice that I had at another Jap Restaurant - Teri’s. I like the burnt rice at the bottom (锅巴).
Rating given:
The perfect place to chill out without the crowd up on the "highest" peak in Singapore....actually not so high. But the couch view by the window is good. The floor to ceiling glass window allows you to get a good view of the cable car paths as well as Sentosa and the Singapore Harbour. So just sit back, relax and enjoy the views.
Serve standard drinks and cocktails. One plus point is that this place is frequented by both local and foreign celebrities, so you might just catch a glimpse of them or hear the staffs talking about it...that's if you are in to celebrities. Otherwise the glass atmosphere and cozy surroundings might just be what you can enjoy here.
You might like to make a reservation if you are going in larger groups. Have seen many larger groups of about 5-6 people coming in and going out because of not being able to find a place here.
Parking in Mount Faber can be a problem if you come later in the night. But then you can always use the valet service at $5 if you like. Saves you all the walking and trouble.
Rating given:
Ice cream like you have never had before. This is what we found at Tom's Palette. The perfect place for a stopover after dinner. It used to be Swensens but now, it is Tom's Palette! For some reason, Swensens does not seem to appeal to us, but then again that is another story.
So what is good at Tom's Palette?
The local flavours that you will not find at Swensens and Hagen D. The following is a list of flavours you can find there:-
- Tau Sar Piah!!??
- Chrysanthemum
- Lavender
- Apple Pie
- Oreo Cheese
- Blue Berry Cheese
- Hazelnut
- Logan and Red Dates
- Chocolate
- Coffee
- Real Strawberries
- Horlicks (if you just love it)
- and more to come...perhaps we should just give them some suggestions for new flavours! Why not have kiwi, chicken!!??, guava, and maybe some sorbets!!
If you are confused and not certain which one to try, just request to sample them. Try not to take it too far by sampling all the flavours....but it might just happen! Portions are generous and comes in 3 different servings. If you go by after dinner, perhaps the smallest portion would be the right serving. You get 2 scoops in the serving and that will allow you to savour your favourite flavours! All that at less than $3 per cup...it is reasonably priced.
Staffs are friendly and patient. Perhaps they like to see the look on your face in wondering what in the world does it taste like! But jokes aside they always have a smile even though you cannot decide which flavour you would like.
We specially make the trip there to eat their ice creams and also bring our friends there for a short stopover....to try Singapore ice cream. Highly recommended!!
Rating given:
We ordered the Hong Kong Ice Milk Tea, Xiumai（燒賣）, Cheongfun（腸粉）, Zhupabao(豬扒包）, and Mango Ice.
Verdict:
Ambience - Not bad, quite cosy (means a bit tight lah)
Food - Lots of variety. Have not tried all. Should be good, except for the Zhupabao, the pork slice is abit thin and tough, bread toast is good; and the Cheongfun is the local sweet sauce style, not the soya sauce style with meat fillings.
Price - reasonable. Timsum mostly $2.50
Recommended: MANGO ICE! Big portion. Got Strawberry one too!
Other items on the menu:
Luncheon Meat with Egg Noodles - This noodle tasted like home-cooked Instant Noodles. Nothing special.
Ice Teh-O is GOOD! Thumb-up! As good as the HK Ice Milk Tea.
Ice Honey Green Tea ~ so-so only. Tasted a bit bitter though.
Thick French Toast is abit too sweet. They pour honey over it, and added a piece of thinly sliced butter on top to let it melt. It looks like Tau Kua. With the honey, it makes it bery soggy.
Curry Chix rice - Bery flavourful curry. I like the hard and crunchy potatoes, while my Dear loves the thick curry sauce, and boneless Chix.
Shanghainese Chix Chop rice - A different kind of Chix rice. It used olive fried rice.
Guo Tian (Fried Dumplings) - Crispy, Juicy. GOOD!!!! :D
Black Pepper Chix Rice - Not bad, but a bit ‘jerlat’. Maybe I wasn’t that hungry when I ate it. The black pepper sauce is not that spicy. Black pepper taste is there though.
Prawn Paste Chix - Made from Boneless Chix thighs. A bit of butter taste, and a bit oily. My Dear likes it.
Fu Pi Juan (Bean Curd Skin wrap with Prawn meat) - Common. Not say that its really that fantastic. No harm trying though.
Bo Chai Yun Tun Mian (Wanton Noodles - Dried) - MUST TRY! Its good! The Wanton is crispy. The sauce is juz nice. The spinach noodles are chewy! The Char Xiu are tender but not that kind that melt in the mouth. :p
Ham and Egg Sandwich - If they toast the bread, it will be better. The Ham was fried - OILY sia!
Xiu Mai - Good! Not very meaty in the sense that it has prawn, so not all pork.
Rating given:
My Dear recently is working on an Advert project on this “Ah Mei”. I as a KPO Queen, of coz, will follow him to Ah Mei to do research.
Saw “Banquet” ~ definitely its HALAH. Ah Mei is also selling things like Ya Kun - KAYA Toast (which I dun like), but they also sell another local favourite - PRATA.
Got ‘real’ fish in the curry. I mean normally we dun get to eat meat with the Prata curry. This branch will give you see the REAL ingredients in the curry.
I think only at Sun Plaza branch then you can eat MINI PRATA. Novena Square Branch dun have.
They sell nasi brani also. But but… its damn expensive leh. One drum stick will cost you SGD2. So I couldn’t part with my 2 bucks in exchange for the orange-crust fried drum stick.
I think different branches will have their own speciality. Coz some of the items can only be found at certain branch.
Rating given:
I never heard about this Miss Clarity Cafe before. Its at Purvis Street. A friend recommended and we went there to have dinner cum supper after an outing.
They serve western and some local favourites. We were lucky to get a table at that late hour coz the cafe was actually quite pack.
My friends ordered Potato Munchskin & Chix Salad. As for me & My Dear, we ordered set dinner. My Dear who dun like Vegetables, surprised me by finishing the salad!
My main dish was Stew Chix with pasta. Actually that’s not my first choice, coz all priority choices were sold out. Frankly speaking, this dish is so-so. Very home-cooked feel. Which means, my mum can cook too. Very suitable for those who missed home-cooked food. The chicken seems to be cooked with out defrosting it. Tough & dry.
My Dear’s main dish was this fried chix bake rice. Eh… also so-so only.
I wanna mentioned My Frienc’s main dish - Lobster linguine. Why? Coz they use the wrong pasta. Linguine was too soft for this dish. Too much of it will make pple feel ’sick’. If its spaghetti (swop with my pasta) then it might be better.
Haaa… mostly seems to be bad comments about the food. :p But for the price, its reasonable, juz that I am a bit picky. :p
I like the soup, salad and ICE CREAM…. Haaa… not their main dish. Maybe becoz all these are not their ‘direct’ product. :p
Rating given:
My sis brought me to this HongKong Cafe (师奶茶餐厅) at Novena for dinner. I have never try anything there before. I always go to the Xin Wang for Hongkong cafe food. Din like Tong Shui’s food also.
The menu is filled with alot of dishes. My sis wondered if all the items listed are available. I told her that the basic ingredients are there, cooking style different only.
We ordered a couple of things.
Hongkong Milk Tea
Sliced Fish with Flat Rice Noodles 鱼片三捞河粉
Seafood Buckwheat Noodles 海鲜伊付面
Dim Sum - Har Kaw & Pork Ribs
Verdict - TOTAL DISAPPOINTMENT
1. Sliced Fish with Flat Rice Noodles 鱼片三捞河粉
Bland, tasteless. I add alot of green chilli and red chilli still find it inedible.
So not to waste food, I finished only the tastless sliced fish.
2. Steam Pork Ribs
Not flavourful too. Oily. No meat. Yes, I know its pork ribs, so you can expect it to be meaty. But i din expect it to be so boney.
At least things that my sis ordered are still edible - the milk tea, the buckwheat noodle and the Har Kaw. Yeah, at least its filled with prawn and not minced pork with a bit of prawn.
Rating given: