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Food & Beverage
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1=SGD 0.0587
50 cents for water
I am penalizing Secret Recipe for the 50cents charged for bottled water.
Another penalty for not having almost half the items on the cake menu.
But really, the food here is value for money. Good portions at a reasonable price. Definitely try their Irish lamb stew. The lamb shank is slow cooked till tender and rid of the odour. The chicken chop is larger than the usual portions from the western grills at food courts.
Don't leave Secret Recipe without trying their cakes, which they are famous for. Though I was rather disappointed in this branch as it did not have half the items in the cake menu.
"Can I have this?"
"Sorry, that's not available."
"How about this?"
"Sorry, that is also not available."
"Ok. This one?"
"We ran out of that."
"Hmm... What's not available then?"
"We don't have this one, this one, this one, this one, this one and this one."
"Ok, how about this one then?"
"Uh... we ran out of that too..."
Quite unforgettable.
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Fully customizable steaks!
I really like the idea that you can choose your portion, type of cut, choice of sauce and how well-cooked your steak should be.
And the price starts from as low as $9.90, which is quite a steal considering it is a restaurant setting. They didn't forget those who strictly say no to beef either. They have a quite a variety of other meats and seafood.
One honorable mention goes to their oyster mornay, which is a tray of half a dozen oysters baked open shell with a layer of melted cheese.
The staff was rather memorable to say the least. One of them was rather blur as he almost served the opposite table our iced water. Yes, they do serve I iced water! I had to call out to him that the iced water was probably ours. Quite hilarious.
Service wise, it could be faster. But I would have to give them the benefit of doubt as my girlfriend and I had patronized them at their peak hour.
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The dumbest interior design ever!
First of all, the food is going the same way the rest of Sakae is going, it's getting worse day by day. Sashimi is stale and they have also been replacing ikura that is supposed to be in your order with inferior ebikko.
Quality is going downhill, period.
As for the interior design, some idiot decided to raise the floor level in an attempt to give it a more authentic Japanese experience. The idea was for the patrons to dine like they do in Japan, but since Singaporeans are more familiar with sitting than kneeling, they carved out a hollow to for leg room. So patrons sit on the elevated floor with their legs in the cavity. To make things worse, this outlet definitely wanted house more patrons, so they packed everything closer and there is hardly any room between the patron and the table.
With is stupid interior design, the waiters have to kneel at the tables. Authentic Japanese is one thing, but with the waiters and waitresses usually the ah bengs and ah lians or those penniless student types, it seems very mismatched. Not to mention that the kneeling part is just plain uncalled for. The management might as well also get the crew to wear kimonos.
The worst part has to be getting up to leave. With such tight spaces, it is a challenge to get up. Then think of ladies in skirts. Unglamorous is one thing, to zao geng is another. So ladies, if you have to eat there, please wear pants.
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What's in a $20 bowl of wantan mee?
For a start, the noodles are replaced by angel hair pasta which are submerged in a clear, light yet flavourful chicken broth.
To put the "wantan" in the wantan mee, 3 individually wrapped wantan of different fillings complete the masterpiece pleasing to the eyes as well as the palate. One with scallop, one with crab meat, one with... uh, I forgot.
That's a glimpse of Chinese fusion fine dining for you.
Oh yah, I liked the way they used green apples for their interior decor.
Don't confuse Space @ My Humble House with its 'mothership', My Humble House though. Because everything there will cost you much more, something like $80 a dish for entrees.
Rating given:
Like a place for dirty old men
I was only in the place briefly.
With the lights on, the place seemed poorly maintained.
The decor looked more old than vintage.
It was like a B-class nightclub for small-time towkays.
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Value for Money
My recommendations: beef noodle, xiao long bao, drunken chicken, red bean souffle, watercress drink.
The noodles are here are springy and cooked to perfection and they come in large portions with plenty of soup. My lady colleagues usually share a bowl. The staff will even cut the noodles for you if they know you are sharing. At as low as $7 a bowl, I think it's really value for money.
The xiao long bao is consistent in quality. They are always served piping hot and with plenty of soup in it. Be careful when you pick one up as the skin is thin and might tear if you aren't careful. They are sold in small portions so it is easier to share in small groups.
The service is pretty good as the food is served quickly even during peak hours and the staff are quite flexible. Plus, most of them are cantonese-speaking aunties which add to give an authentic feel to the restaurant. Of course, they understand English and Mandarin too. They even print out your orders in Chinese!
Rating given:
Product of Fine Dining with Mediocre Food
This place is nice for Valentine's Day. You get to wine and dine at the balcony with a view of the cityscape with the sunset.
Quality of food, well, it's not bad, neither is it good. Sure, they use high quality ingredients for the mains but everything on the sides are just plain ordinary.
Valentine's Day dinner sets you back by about $200 plus with only a choice of beef (tenderloin) or fish (black cod).
The rest of the year, well, you pay only a fraction of that.
Service is very good though. The waiters are professional and take pride in their work, though a few might forget your request for plain water.
Only top marks for ambience and service, the rest leaves much to be desired.
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Nice Desserts! But avoid the main courses
It's pretty authentic looking and tasting Japanese desserts. I just found the red bean a little too sweet, which is rather 'unauthentic' of Japanese desserts.
The green tea ice-cream is in a good balance, the green tea flavour is rich while the milk only has a light hint. It is very smooth with no powdery after taste like the usual green tea ice-creams.
There is a lack of variety in the ice-cream flavours if you were dining in.
For take aways, try the green tea red bean, lychee and milk tea.
I didn't like the Teriyaki Chicken Bento. The chicken was dry and despite its name, the chicken was steamed. Taste-wise is alright, but the dry chicken was disappointing. The portion was small as well.
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Surprise Find
It is always nice to find a good tze char stall. One that my family recently found was Cheng's Seafood Village in our neighbourhood. The place serves up pretty fresh seafood. The claypot fish-head and fish steamboat are one of the best I have tasted. The claypot sea cucumber also deserves an honourable mention for the generous amounts of ingredients used. And there seems to be something about the yam (or taro) that they use in their dishes that makes it really special. Exceptionally fragrant.
The satay there is also a surprising find. It's run by a Chinese. (There's pork satay here) It's called Nan San Village BBQ Satay. It's cheaper than the other satay stalls elsewhere. Each stick costs 35 cents and it tastes pretty good too. Unfortunately, it doesn't serve authentic ketupats. The peanut sauce even comes with pureed pineapple for a tinge of sweetness and zest, which is yet another rarity for a satay stalls in Singapore.
On top of all the good food, the setting is also a rarity which I particularly enjoy. The environment feels very much like rustic al fresco coffeeshops in JB, except much, much, much safer in terms of security and hygiene. Or if you are more familiar with the local versions, Jalan Kayu. Except here, it is less crowded and serves tze char.
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Superb Beef Noodles
Sometimes, I would brave the hot afternoon sun walking from my office to Raffles Place, just for this bowl of beef noodles.
The beef noodles here is the kind that is worth your money. The ingredients plentiful and the taste is just right. Unlike the usual beef noodles from food courts that spawn from the franchising monster, this place serves up something well-balanced on the palate. I mean I had tasted bad ones from food courts that passed of MSG, salt and water as soup and gravy. Hock Lam here serves up proper soup and gravy that's been made with hours of work. The taste is rich but does not overpower the texture of the ingredients.
Add a glass of lime juice, and you might make yourself very happy for the rest of the day.
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