I had always been a big fan of cathay cinemas for a lot of reasons!
I was there over the weekend for Lust Caution and it was showing at The Grand Cathay. My fav cinema of all, other than GV Max. So size matters ok! Hee....
First to start off there area lot of counters (two on ground floor and 6 on 5th floor) to buy tickets and the service is good and prompt.
Another thing I like about cathay is their popcorn. They have very tasty popcorn! Me jz loving it!
The seats are very plush and comfortable and The Grand Cathay being their biggest cinema. Of cos the leg space is bigger than the normal ones. Being the show start they will ahve a little ceremony to open the curtain to reveal the large screen. Haa...
The screen to the soundsystem is flawless. I totally enjoyed my every show there. I will always make it a point to see if there is any show showing at The Grand Cathay since paying the same amount of $$ for the tickets. Haa....
I had walked past this new restaurant a few times while I was there. the first time I was about to walk in for dinner, they were closing alr. So too bad. This time whiel walking aimlessly in Orchard, thinking wat to eat, suddenly thought of it and decided to give t a try. Hee....
So the place was pretty packed when we were there. We were in the queue, waiting to be ushered to our seats while browsing the menu. The next thing I know the couple behind me was ushered in. Hmm.... I think the waitress should have asked us first since we are in the queue.
There are 4 tables, each able to seat 10 people. The decoration is simple but the plates and sauces plates that they are using are very nice, with plum flower prints. Very classy touch!
The menu is pretty simple. All in set meals of cos there are ala carte as well. We ordered a seafood set and a beef set. Since there are other customer seating at the table, the chef already started cooking their food, from the looks of it, it loks promising!
The seafood set comes with 3 prawns, 2 scallops, fore gais, duck meat, assorted mushroom, rice and miso soup.
The beef set comes with beef, chawmisu (the steam egg thing), assorted mushroom, rice and miso soup. Still got something that we did not managed to taste out what it is. Hee.... Oh yes, still got the garlic rice as well.
Overall, the food is good. The chef did not do anything amazing. no stunts while cooking. The food is cooked in rotation, mean the food does not come in at the same time.
I was amazed how the chawmisu (the steam egg thing) is being cooked. Using an onion layer as the bowl, the egg contents are placed inside and "steamed" on the hot plate. It is great!
A lot of garlic is used during the cooking and it does makes everything taste good. Of cos, for those who dun like garlic too bad.
Overall, it is a good place for some teppanyaki food. It will be fun if can get 10 ppl to seat together. It will be a lot of fun.
Sorry no pics for this post as got stangers seating at the same time. Hee.... Too pai seh to take pics.
Sunday afternoons are known for being wonderful lazy times where i can just sit back, relax and forget having ever been in the Singapore workforce. So it is with this mindset that i met up 2 of my friends for lunch on this simple Sunday afternoon. After a little persuasion, i was brought to this obscure and small corner in Bugis for our little get together.
Getting past the rather obscure and weird location of being in a rather secluded corner of Bugis Junction, the restaurant held a certain laid-back and relaxed charm thats difficult to describe. With the noon sun shining in, the quiet and dimly lit surroundings still had soft lighting on, floral tablecloths adorned the simple wooden tables and antique items peppered the walls. All this creates a relaxed atmosphere which allows patrons like myself to take my own sweet time making orders and idle chit chat with my lunch partners for the day.
Cream Of Mushroom Soup With Salad (Set Lunch $23.50) - A simple rendition of the notorious mushroom soup that almost every restaurant seems to serve. This version had a strong mushroom taste and was lightly salted giving it an even finish when you taste it. My gf seemed to like it quite a bit but there were no mushrooms bits to be found and honestly, after a few more spoonfuls, it resembles campbell's but with more salt.
Hamburger Steak, Egg Wrapped Tomato Rice and Spaghetti Vongole - Presentation-wise, this was an easy winner. 200gm beef patty served with sunny side up, Japanese tomato rice wrapped in scrambled eggs and vongole. 3 radically different items from different origins on the same plate, creative! First up, i liked the tomato rice, possibly because i've never outgrown my love for ketchup and because the rice was Japanese rice, meaning it just tastes better. Not too sticky but full in texture and taste. Scrambled eggs with tomato ketchup and rice could have been a meal on its own for me. The hamburger steak was a new item or rather a new name for an old item in this case. It looked small when it came but start eating it and you'll find that it seems to grow with every bite. The beef was well marinated but salty, as was the accompanying sauce, add the 2 together and it becomes too salty for my liking. Could do well without the sauce. The vongole i had last, so its actually cold when i had it. Still, i liked it because its not oily but otherwise, its very normal. To summarize, this dish as a whole was nice but take any individual on its own and you may be disappointed.
Tonkatsu Set ($19.50) - My gf seems to be attracted to katsu for some reason as this is the second time she's ordered it in a Japanese restaurant. For me though, this is the first time i've ever seen so many ingredients in a miso soup. I was literally shocked when i saw the hidden vegetables in the thick broth. Also the first time i've seen miso with tofu or seaweed for that matter. I had a taste and it was very thick, full bodied and again, salty. Good nonetheless. The katsu was tasty, lightly breaded, has minimal oil residue and firm, juicy meat greets your taste buds. It also helps that the serving was pretty generous. The sauces you see are all for the katsu but i found it better off without the overly salty sauce provided.
Sirloin Steak ($19.50) - My friend ordered this for her lunch and i have to say the serving was small. The steak was served well done and had charred edges which wasn't really my idea of steak. The doneness also means the meat is tough and hard. Surprisingly, it still tastes reasonably decent this way so i'm wondering how it would be like given a medium rare doneness instead of being well done. Still, the portion size is a big no no for big eaters like myself.
The unique key used during payment which has to be brought to the cashier. Interesting concept. If only we could take the keys as souvenirs. =P
Complimentary Ice Cream - My gf had the black sesame ice cream which had a unique taste to it but not something i'd like to have on my own. And our lunch set came with a vanilla ice cream with smatterings of chocolate fudge which really isn't very special.
A very filling lunch for 4 people came up to $101.22 .
Nice place, decent but salty food and affordable price. I may be back because my sister's friend works there and can get us a decent discount the next time we visit. *winks* But otherwise, i would love to tell them to hold the salt instead of filling their items with it.
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.
Japanese food, characterized by fresh ingredients, healthy cooking methods and poignant displays have held a special place in my heart ever since they were introduced into my life. And for one of my small food outings, we chose Waraku as a starting destination for future endeavors to come (also because Alvin had a staff discount of 10% at this place and i'm getting to eat for free. =P)
Agedashi Tofu ($6.80) - The tofu came after about 15-20 minutes from the time we ordered so i expected quite alot from it. The skin was crispy and hot while the sauce was cooler as was the tofu interior. Still, it doesn't quite impress me because it came alot later then necessary.
Ste.Nelge Organic Red Wine ($38) - Old habits die hard i suppose. Ordered this on a whim as i needed a quick wine fix and the fact that i've never had organic red wine before and was wondering about the difference. Well, the fact that i don't really like Sakae played a part too. This wine was easy on the taste palates with less body and minimal spices. Its sweet and very pleasant to drink with a wonderful fruity aftertaste. Perfect for red meats which we had.
Gyu Yanagawa Wazen ($16) - All i can say is, this at $16 is a steal. It comes with an reasonable serving of fresh beef slowly simmered till its cooked with a fresh egg on the side if you decide to put it into the pot. The stock used is sweet and resembled teriyaki sauce but is awesome when paired with the beef. You are also given a bowl of hot soba or udon and sesame rice to go with your beef. A small bowl of potato salad rounds off the package. The soba was decent but the beef stock is the star of this dish. Try it.
Tonkatsu Wazen ($15.50) - Pork cutlet fried to a golden brown in thin batter and bread crumbs. I liked the fact that the cutlet was not as oily as the process sounded and there were many juices still locked in the meat. There was also a lack of fatty layer in the meat which makes it easier to stomach. The udon i did not get to try however.
Kaminabe Wazen ($19.80) - Nicely arranged and served with rice, assorted tempura, salmon sashimi and a paper steamboat holding yet sweet tasting and fresh beef. The soup in this case is more towards those of tradional chinese medicinal chicken soup, only much sweeter and very tasty.
Houba Wazen ($19.80) - Similar to the set above except for the barbeque like set up for the beef and what i would describe as marinate thats tastes a little like Rendang. Still, the beef was fresh and sweet although i did not quite like the sauce.
The final bill came up to $122.77 after 10% discount for a satisfying and fun japanese meal.
Nice, cosy atmosphere and relaxed conversation plus decent and reasonably priced food with good service to boot. This is one place i will be back for seconds and maybe even thirds. However, do note that i only found my order Gyu Yanagawa Wazen very worthwhile due to the portion, price and taste. For the other set meals, some were good but would have fared better at a lower price. Either way, still coming back though.
Buffets buffets. Who could resist the temptation of eating as much as you can for a fixed price? I for one, am always intrigued by what is offered at these places. Ellenborough cafe happens to be the one that our dear Moses Lim happened to patronize when we were there. He donned a chef's garb and was patrolling the premises while we dined, for reasons unexplained. The reason i was there was because FatPig invited me and my gf in to share his good fortune of being able to secure a 50% discount with the help of his friend.
As with all buffets, there'll be a few good pickings and a huge load of bad pickings before you realise which items are worth having and which aren't. The crabs were alright but its meat tend to stick to the shell which i detest. Seafood was generally fresh though not exactly tasty. The best items in these had to be the salmon and the otak which were moderately passable.
Sharks Fin Soup - Maybe its just me, but i fished the entire bowl and found at max about 5 strands of what i hope to be shark's fin. The broth was also a bit too salty and thin for my liking.
Durian Pengat - I've heard that you can't have a buffet here without tasting the durian pengat and i must say it has a certain amount of truth in that phrase. Smooth, creamy, sweet and rich are what you would use to describe the pengat served here. I had huge servings of food before having the pengat but still managed to get 2 bowls of it down. Still, there were comments that the standard had dropped for this item. On my note however, it stands as a very good dessert still.
Bill came up to $223.63 before discount. A staggering amount if you ask me. The quality and selection present does not warrant nor justify the price in the least. After discount however, it stands at $22 per head but i'm still not returning for another try though.
Decent selection due to additional items for anniversary event organized by the restaurant but food quality varies. There were some really bad items and some that were pretty good but for the price before discount, there should not be any bad items in the first place. Having heard many things about how good this buffet is from colleagues, it was a quite a disappointment for me unfortunately.
I went over to the restaurant at Holland Village with my colleagues during lunch hour to celebrate one of their birthdays. This outlet consists of 2 floors, with the ground floor having a bar. There's like 13 of us so we took the long table upstairs and it was freaking cold! Yah, it'll be good to bring a jacket along then. Haha
They do have a set lunch menu which provides a good variety of main course ranging from their famous grilled steak to salads. Soup and dessert are also included in the set. Compared to the ala carte menu, it's definitely value for money.
I have ordered grilled sirloin steak wih garlic mushroom sauce. Nice! Like the way they grilled the steak but wished that they would be more generous with the sauce. Another thing I like about their food is their Hog Tail fries. So crispy!
However, the pan-fried dory fish fillet wasn't so satisfying for one of my colleagues. Well, I guess since the place is famous for it's steak, one should really try that.
The meal was completed with a sinful indulge on the dessert - brownie with ice cream. Nice if you are someone with a sweet tooth. But the restaurant was very sweet to prepare a large brownie with ice cream and strawberries and even a lighted candle for our birthday girl.
We were looking for a place for coffee and decided to settle at Breeks. We sat at a corner table and was immediately given the menu. Our order came quite promptly. We didn't ask for ice water which we usually do, and I don't know why we didn't.
Anyway, the manager (i guess) saw that we didn't have any water, other than the coffee we ordered, she automatically served us warm water. Felt this was a nice gesture especially at cafe like Breeks. Some places don't even serve ice water. You've to pay 50cents for a mini bottled distilled water.
Great place to chill and rest. If you've no where to go over the weekends, I strongly recommend heading to Harbourfront. Especially with the $2/entry parking from 10am to 1am on Sat/Sun and PH!
Last evening I went over to the restaurant with my colleague & German boss. The place is nicely done & we took an outdoor seat which was great! It gives you a nice view of the sea and part of Sentosa. Heez...
Ok, coming back to the food, I have ordered the butter Dory fillet with mushroom, and the other 2 main dishes ordered by my colleagues were the braised veal and smoked pork loin. I quite like the main course which I've ordered, nice & thick cut of dory fillet, except that the mushroom sauce was abit too salty. As for the braised veal, it tasted not-too-bad to my German boss. The smoked pork loin was more of a disappointment to my colleague as it turned out to be 4 slices of ham on top of a heap of mashed potato.
However, I think their German beers had compensated for the disappointment in the food for the night. I had both the Paulaner Weissbier & Paulaner Weissbier Dunkel, served chilled in tall, elegant glasses. Personally, I have preference for Paulaner Weissbier as it tastes lighter and less bitter.
On the overall, it's a nice place to have a couple of drinks with your friends!
Monthly dinner was decided to be had at Bonta after much discussion with the group. Apparently, we were getting pretty tired of Chinese cuisine after our failed attempts with Golden Peony and Hua Ting and so Italian was on the cards this time. Opened in April this year, the restaurant has gotten many rave reviews for its food and service and is helmed by chef Luca Pezzera, formerly of Hotel Intercontinental fame.
The exterior housed a nice chill out space in an alfresco setting while the interior was small and cosy complete with soft lighting which they dimmed as time passed and a small wine chamber for those so inclined. Seating capacity was small however, and the maximum the restaurant could hold inside was probably around 40 people.
Complimentary Bread - The complimentary bread was served after much fanfare and bantering with the overly friendly waiter who took our order. Still, this is another one of those great-complimentary-breads-in -posh-places item. Its also one of the best i've had thus far. The bread was served warm in a longish cup and is crispy on the outside while soft and fluffy on the inside. Pockets of cheese and walnuts were also interspersed to enhance the experience. These are available for take away at a whooping $8 a loaf if you are interested.
Foie Gras (Pan fried goose liver $24) - I got to try one small piece of this and i must say it is surprisingly pleasing. I'm not a big fan of foie gras but this was done well. Slightly crispy on the outside and smooth and creamy on the inside. The aftertaste lingers long after you have swallowed it but is overpowering in bigger doses.
Oven Baked Scallops ($22) - I shared this item with a friend to minimize the damage. At $22 for 4 scallops, this came across as being overly expensive. The scallop was sweet and went well with the accompanying sauce to create a pretty good appetizer.
Home Made Angel Hair ($42), Ravioli with Goose Liver ($28)
- The angel hair was springy, soft and sweet making it a decent though not excellent dish. The baby lobster was overly cooked and lacked the fresh sweetness i hoped it would exhibit. I also had a piece of Ravioli and found the taste overpowered by the cream sauce instead of the goose liver present in it.
Black Angus Beef Sirloin ($42) - This dish i did get to try....twice because the first was ordered by my friend, while the other was a wrong order the waiter served to me....twice as well. The first wrong order being Angel Hair and the second being this dish. My main order was actually a Wagyu Beef steak. The beef was served medium rare but lacked the strong beef taste i would love to have. It also came with wierd, greenish tasting porcini mushrooms and foie gras which didn't really cut it for me since my mood was already spoiled by waiting without a main for 20 minutes while my friends finished their own mains before my main arrived with a wrong order again.
The bill came up to $451.96 for 7 people for an unsatisfying dinner and huge service blunders.
Commercial reviews are either overrated or over showcased in my opinion. I don't suppose a restaurant will make bad food for food critics and newspaper reviewers but if they could do it for the writers, at least have the capacity to do it during normal hours as well. The working staff here need retraining and learn to apologize when mistakes are made or at least have the presence of mind to offer a gesture of peace when an error is committed. Still, their snotty attitude and average food offerings brought down this experience very much where i am concerned. Even for my friends, nobody found it in them to order a dessert at the end and thats saying alot. Stay away, stay far far away.
I had always been a big fan of cathay cinemas for a lot of reasons!
I was there over the weekend for Lust Caution and it was showing at The Grand Cathay. My fav cinema of all, other than GV Max. So size matters ok! Hee....
First to start off there area lot of counters (two on ground floor and 6 on 5th floor) to buy tickets and the service is good and prompt.
Another thing I like about cathay is their popcorn. They have very tasty popcorn! Me jz loving it!
The seats are very plush and comfortable and The Grand Cathay being their biggest cinema. Of cos the leg space is bigger than the normal ones. Being the show start they will ahve a little ceremony to open the curtain to reveal the large screen. Haa...
The screen to the soundsystem is flawless. I totally enjoyed my every show there. I will always make it a point to see if there is any show showing at The Grand Cathay since paying the same amount of $$ for the tickets. Haa....
Rating given:
I had walked past this new restaurant a few times while I was there. the first time I was about to walk in for dinner, they were closing alr. So too bad. This time whiel walking aimlessly in Orchard, thinking wat to eat, suddenly thought of it and decided to give t a try. Hee....
So the place was pretty packed when we were there. We were in the queue, waiting to be ushered to our seats while browsing the menu. The next thing I know the couple behind me was ushered in. Hmm.... I think the waitress should have asked us first since we are in the queue.
There are 4 tables, each able to seat 10 people. The decoration is simple but the plates and sauces plates that they are using are very nice, with plum flower prints. Very classy touch!
The menu is pretty simple. All in set meals of cos there are ala carte as well. We ordered a seafood set and a beef set. Since there are other customer seating at the table, the chef already started cooking their food, from the looks of it, it loks promising!
The seafood set comes with 3 prawns, 2 scallops, fore gais, duck meat, assorted mushroom, rice and miso soup.
The beef set comes with beef, chawmisu (the steam egg thing), assorted mushroom, rice and miso soup. Still got something that we did not managed to taste out what it is. Hee.... Oh yes, still got the garlic rice as well.
Overall, the food is good. The chef did not do anything amazing. no stunts while cooking. The food is cooked in rotation, mean the food does not come in at the same time.
I was amazed how the chawmisu (the steam egg thing) is being cooked. Using an onion layer as the bowl, the egg contents are placed inside and "steamed" on the hot plate. It is great!
A lot of garlic is used during the cooking and it does makes everything taste good. Of cos, for those who dun like garlic too bad.
Overall, it is a good place for some teppanyaki food. It will be fun if can get 10 ppl to seat together. It will be a lot of fun.
Sorry no pics for this post as got stangers seating at the same time. Hee.... Too pai seh to take pics.
Rating given:
Sunday afternoons are known for being wonderful lazy times where i can just sit back, relax and forget having ever been in the Singapore workforce. So it is with this mindset that i met up 2 of my friends for lunch on this simple Sunday afternoon. After a little persuasion, i was brought to this obscure and small corner in Bugis for our little get together.
Getting past the rather obscure and weird location of being in a rather secluded corner of Bugis Junction, the restaurant held a certain laid-back and relaxed charm thats difficult to describe. With the noon sun shining in, the quiet and dimly lit surroundings still had soft lighting on, floral tablecloths adorned the simple wooden tables and antique items peppered the walls. All this creates a relaxed atmosphere which allows patrons like myself to take my own sweet time making orders and idle chit chat with my lunch partners for the day.
Cream Of Mushroom Soup With Salad (Set Lunch $23.50) - A simple rendition of the notorious mushroom soup that almost every restaurant seems to serve. This version had a strong mushroom taste and was lightly salted giving it an even finish when you taste it. My gf seemed to like it quite a bit but there were no mushrooms bits to be found and honestly, after a few more spoonfuls, it resembles campbell's but with more salt.
Hamburger Steak, Egg Wrapped Tomato Rice and Spaghetti Vongole - Presentation-wise, this was an easy winner. 200gm beef patty served with sunny side up, Japanese tomato rice wrapped in scrambled eggs and vongole. 3 radically different items from different origins on the same plate, creative! First up, i liked the tomato rice, possibly because i've never outgrown my love for ketchup and because the rice was Japanese rice, meaning it just tastes better. Not too sticky but full in texture and taste. Scrambled eggs with tomato ketchup and rice could have been a meal on its own for me. The hamburger steak was a new item or rather a new name for an old item in this case. It looked small when it came but start eating it and you'll find that it seems to grow with every bite. The beef was well marinated but salty, as was the accompanying sauce, add the 2 together and it becomes too salty for my liking. Could do well without the sauce. The vongole i had last, so its actually cold when i had it. Still, i liked it because its not oily but otherwise, its very normal. To summarize, this dish as a whole was nice but take any individual on its own and you may be disappointed.
Tonkatsu Set ($19.50) - My gf seems to be attracted to katsu for some reason as this is the second time she's ordered it in a Japanese restaurant. For me though, this is the first time i've ever seen so many ingredients in a miso soup. I was literally shocked when i saw the hidden vegetables in the thick broth. Also the first time i've seen miso with tofu or seaweed for that matter. I had a taste and it was very thick, full bodied and again, salty. Good nonetheless. The katsu was tasty, lightly breaded, has minimal oil residue and firm, juicy meat greets your taste buds. It also helps that the serving was pretty generous. The sauces you see are all for the katsu but i found it better off without the overly salty sauce provided.
Sirloin Steak ($19.50) - My friend ordered this for her lunch and i have to say the serving was small. The steak was served well done and had charred edges which wasn't really my idea of steak. The doneness also means the meat is tough and hard. Surprisingly, it still tastes reasonably decent this way so i'm wondering how it would be like given a medium rare doneness instead of being well done. Still, the portion size is a big no no for big eaters like myself.
The unique key used during payment which has to be brought to the cashier. Interesting concept. If only we could take the keys as souvenirs. =P
Complimentary Ice Cream - My gf had the black sesame ice cream which had a unique taste to it but not something i'd like to have on my own. And our lunch set came with a vanilla ice cream with smatterings of chocolate fudge which really isn't very special.
A very filling lunch for 4 people came up to $101.22 .
Nice place, decent but salty food and affordable price. I may be back because my sister's friend works there and can get us a decent discount the next time we visit. *winks* But otherwise, i would love to tell them to hold the salt instead of filling their items with it.
Rating given:
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:
Japanese food, characterized by fresh ingredients, healthy cooking methods and poignant displays have held a special place in my heart ever since they were introduced into my life. And for one of my small food outings, we chose Waraku as a starting destination for future endeavors to come (also because Alvin had a staff discount of 10% at this place and i'm getting to eat for free. =P)
Agedashi Tofu ($6.80) - The tofu came after about 15-20 minutes from the time we ordered so i expected quite alot from it. The skin was crispy and hot while the sauce was cooler as was the tofu interior. Still, it doesn't quite impress me because it came alot later then necessary.
Ste.Nelge Organic Red Wine ($38) - Old habits die hard i suppose. Ordered this on a whim as i needed a quick wine fix and the fact that i've never had organic red wine before and was wondering about the difference. Well, the fact that i don't really like Sakae played a part too. This wine was easy on the taste palates with less body and minimal spices. Its sweet and very pleasant to drink with a wonderful fruity aftertaste. Perfect for red meats which we had.
Gyu Yanagawa Wazen ($16) - All i can say is, this at $16 is a steal. It comes with an reasonable serving of fresh beef slowly simmered till its cooked with a fresh egg on the side if you decide to put it into the pot. The stock used is sweet and resembled teriyaki sauce but is awesome when paired with the beef. You are also given a bowl of hot soba or udon and sesame rice to go with your beef. A small bowl of potato salad rounds off the package. The soba was decent but the beef stock is the star of this dish. Try it.
Tonkatsu Wazen ($15.50) - Pork cutlet fried to a golden brown in thin batter and bread crumbs. I liked the fact that the cutlet was not as oily as the process sounded and there were many juices still locked in the meat. There was also a lack of fatty layer in the meat which makes it easier to stomach. The udon i did not get to try however.
Kaminabe Wazen ($19.80) - Nicely arranged and served with rice, assorted tempura, salmon sashimi and a paper steamboat holding yet sweet tasting and fresh beef. The soup in this case is more towards those of tradional chinese medicinal chicken soup, only much sweeter and very tasty.
Houba Wazen ($19.80) - Similar to the set above except for the barbeque like set up for the beef and what i would describe as marinate thats tastes a little like Rendang. Still, the beef was fresh and sweet although i did not quite like the sauce.
The final bill came up to $122.77 after 10% discount for a satisfying and fun japanese meal.
Nice, cosy atmosphere and relaxed conversation plus decent and reasonably priced food with good service to boot. This is one place i will be back for seconds and maybe even thirds. However, do note that i only found my order Gyu Yanagawa Wazen very worthwhile due to the portion, price and taste. For the other set meals, some were good but would have fared better at a lower price. Either way, still coming back though.
Rating given:
Buffets buffets. Who could resist the temptation of eating as much as you can for a fixed price? I for one, am always intrigued by what is offered at these places. Ellenborough cafe happens to be the one that our dear Moses Lim happened to patronize when we were there. He donned a chef's garb and was patrolling the premises while we dined, for reasons unexplained. The reason i was there was because FatPig invited me and my gf in to share his good fortune of being able to secure a 50% discount with the help of his friend.
As with all buffets, there'll be a few good pickings and a huge load of bad pickings before you realise which items are worth having and which aren't. The crabs were alright but its meat tend to stick to the shell which i detest. Seafood was generally fresh though not exactly tasty. The best items in these had to be the salmon and the otak which were moderately passable.
Sharks Fin Soup - Maybe its just me, but i fished the entire bowl and found at max about 5 strands of what i hope to be shark's fin. The broth was also a bit too salty and thin for my liking.
Durian Pengat - I've heard that you can't have a buffet here without tasting the durian pengat and i must say it has a certain amount of truth in that phrase. Smooth, creamy, sweet and rich are what you would use to describe the pengat served here. I had huge servings of food before having the pengat but still managed to get 2 bowls of it down. Still, there were comments that the standard had dropped for this item. On my note however, it stands as a very good dessert still.
Bill came up to $223.63 before discount. A staggering amount if you ask me. The quality and selection present does not warrant nor justify the price in the least. After discount however, it stands at $22 per head but i'm still not returning for another try though.
Decent selection due to additional items for anniversary event organized by the restaurant but food quality varies. There were some really bad items and some that were pretty good but for the price before discount, there should not be any bad items in the first place. Having heard many things about how good this buffet is from colleagues, it was a quite a disappointment for me unfortunately.
Rating given:
I went over to the restaurant at Holland Village with my colleagues during lunch hour to celebrate one of their birthdays. This outlet consists of 2 floors, with the ground floor having a bar. There's like 13 of us so we took the long table upstairs and it was freaking cold! Yah, it'll be good to bring a jacket along then. Haha
They do have a set lunch menu which provides a good variety of main course ranging from their famous grilled steak to salads. Soup and dessert are also included in the set. Compared to the ala carte menu, it's definitely value for money.
I have ordered grilled sirloin steak wih garlic mushroom sauce. Nice! Like the way they grilled the steak but wished that they would be more generous with the sauce. Another thing I like about their food is their Hog Tail fries. So crispy!
However, the pan-fried dory fish fillet wasn't so satisfying for one of my colleagues. Well, I guess since the place is famous for it's steak, one should really try that.
The meal was completed with a sinful indulge on the dessert - brownie with ice cream. Nice if you are someone with a sweet tooth. But the restaurant was very sweet to prepare a large brownie with ice cream and strawberries and even a lighted candle for our birthday girl.
Nice place for steak!
Rating given:
Great service! Makes one feel at home.
We were looking for a place for coffee and decided to settle at Breeks. We sat at a corner table and was immediately given the menu. Our order came quite promptly. We didn't ask for ice water which we usually do, and I don't know why we didn't.
Anyway, the manager (i guess) saw that we didn't have any water, other than the coffee we ordered, she automatically served us warm water. Felt this was a nice gesture especially at cafe like Breeks. Some places don't even serve ice water. You've to pay 50cents for a mini bottled distilled water.
Great place to chill and rest. If you've no where to go over the weekends, I strongly recommend heading to Harbourfront. Especially with the $2/entry parking from 10am to 1am on Sat/Sun and PH!
Rating given:
Last evening I went over to the restaurant with my colleague & German boss. The place is nicely done & we took an outdoor seat which was great! It gives you a nice view of the sea and part of Sentosa. Heez...
Ok, coming back to the food, I have ordered the butter Dory fillet with mushroom, and the other 2 main dishes ordered by my colleagues were the braised veal and smoked pork loin. I quite like the main course which I've ordered, nice & thick cut of dory fillet, except that the mushroom sauce was abit too salty. As for the braised veal, it tasted not-too-bad to my German boss. The smoked pork loin was more of a disappointment to my colleague as it turned out to be 4 slices of ham on top of a heap of mashed potato.
However, I think their German beers had compensated for the disappointment in the food for the night. I had both the Paulaner Weissbier & Paulaner Weissbier Dunkel, served chilled in tall, elegant glasses. Personally, I have preference for Paulaner Weissbier as it tastes lighter and less bitter.
On the overall, it's a nice place to have a couple of drinks with your friends!
Rating given:
Monthly dinner was decided to be had at Bonta after much discussion with the group. Apparently, we were getting pretty tired of Chinese cuisine after our failed attempts with Golden Peony and Hua Ting and so Italian was on the cards this time. Opened in April this year, the restaurant has gotten many rave reviews for its food and service and is helmed by chef Luca Pezzera, formerly of Hotel Intercontinental fame.
The exterior housed a nice chill out space in an alfresco setting while the interior was small and cosy complete with soft lighting which they dimmed as time passed and a small wine chamber for those so inclined. Seating capacity was small however, and the maximum the restaurant could hold inside was probably around 40 people.
Complimentary Bread - The complimentary bread was served after much fanfare and bantering with the overly friendly waiter who took our order. Still, this is another one of those great-complimentary-breads-in -posh-places item. Its also one of the best i've had thus far. The bread was served warm in a longish cup and is crispy on the outside while soft and fluffy on the inside. Pockets of cheese and walnuts were also interspersed to enhance the experience. These are available for take away at a whooping $8 a loaf if you are interested.
Foie Gras (Pan fried goose liver $24) - I got to try one small piece of this and i must say it is surprisingly pleasing. I'm not a big fan of foie gras but this was done well. Slightly crispy on the outside and smooth and creamy on the inside. The aftertaste lingers long after you have swallowed it but is overpowering in bigger doses.
Oven Baked Scallops ($22) - I shared this item with a friend to minimize the damage. At $22 for 4 scallops, this came across as being overly expensive. The scallop was sweet and went well with the accompanying sauce to create a pretty good appetizer.
Home Made Angel Hair ($42), Ravioli with Goose Liver ($28)
- The angel hair was springy, soft and sweet making it a decent though not excellent dish. The baby lobster was overly cooked and lacked the fresh sweetness i hoped it would exhibit. I also had a piece of Ravioli and found the taste overpowered by the cream sauce instead of the goose liver present in it.
Black Angus Beef Sirloin ($42) - This dish i did get to try....twice because the first was ordered by my friend, while the other was a wrong order the waiter served to me....twice as well. The first wrong order being Angel Hair and the second being this dish. My main order was actually a Wagyu Beef steak. The beef was served medium rare but lacked the strong beef taste i would love to have. It also came with wierd, greenish tasting porcini mushrooms and foie gras which didn't really cut it for me since my mood was already spoiled by waiting without a main for 20 minutes while my friends finished their own mains before my main arrived with a wrong order again.
The bill came up to $451.96 for 7 people for an unsatisfying dinner and huge service blunders.
Commercial reviews are either overrated or over showcased in my opinion. I don't suppose a restaurant will make bad food for food critics and newspaper reviewers but if they could do it for the writers, at least have the capacity to do it during normal hours as well. The working staff here need retraining and learn to apologize when mistakes are made or at least have the presence of mind to offer a gesture of peace when an error is committed. Still, their snotty attitude and average food offerings brought down this experience very much where i am concerned. Even for my friends, nobody found it in them to order a dessert at the end and thats saying alot. Stay away, stay far far away.
Rating given: