genesis's Reviews
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The first page of the menu was the set lunch at $15. Looking at the menu and servings it looks like a good price. The set dinner is $32 nett. Yes they do not charge GST or service charge. So we opted for the set dinner 2. Here is what the set dinner comes with:-
(1) Mango Salad - This was a good starter. The smell and taste of the balsamic vinegar was not too overpowering. It sort of tickled our taste buds and was an appetizing appetizer. There were also sliced papayas and mangos which made the dish both colorful and complete.
(2) Mushroom soup - This is definitely not cambells mushroom soup. It was thick, creamy with visible chunks of mushroom found in the soup itself. One of the thickest mushroom soup I have eaten and definitely one of the tastiest. The texture of the soup is just right and is also not too thick. As you guessed, the bowl was emptied and "cleaned" in no time.
(3) Main course A - Balsamic Chicken - This is a delight to savour. The sauce has the right tinge of sweetness and saltiness, each not overpowering the other. Together with the grilled chicken, the taste is truly complimentary. One just cannot get enough of the sauce. It has a strawberry like taste and yet it is not strawberry. I have never eaten chicken so effortlessly, without thinking that it is chicken. Again maybe it is just me. haha. The potato wedges were also quickly "gobbled" up.
Main course B - Pan fried Dory with Mango sauce - The Dory was nicely fried and was fresh. Together with the mango sauce, it was a nice blend between the slight saltiness of the fish and the sour sweet taste of the mango sauce. When you get a good blend of sweet, sour, saltiness in food, it always taste good. At least for us.
(4) Blueberry cheese cake - Nicely done up with no overpowering cheesy taste in it. There is also a nice crisps layer of biscuit right at the base of the cake, which adds to a changed texture upon savoring the cake.
(5) Fruit punch - to complete the meal
We felt that it was a reasonable price to pay for a 5 course set meal at $32 nett. The ambience and surroundings also are pleasant. Looking at the size of the place, it seems like a suitable venue for a small private function of 60-100 people with the outdoors available also for use. Perhaps a small wedding reception? With the glass windows with ample natural lighting, it is a plus for the photographer, which also is good for the bride. :)
- 1 more comment »
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!No photos of the food? Is this near the pilate place?
18 Jan 2008 at 11:16 pm
Just next to pilates park. yep no photos for food this time. too hungry. haha.
18 Jan 2008 at 11:20 pm
Lol, i wanted to try it! But went to green room instead.
18 Jan 2008 at 11:48 pm
They bay was calm throughout the journey and along the way we were able to stop by a floating seafood farm to pick out life seafood for lunch. This got everyone excited.
Another place to visit in Hanoi is Sapa. It is an overnight train trip from Hanoi to Lao Cai and another 1 hour to the mountainous region of Sapa. The train departs at 9pm and arrives in Lao Cai at 5am. it is quite a site to see hundreds of people half awake pulling their luggage off the train, walking in dense darkness across the train tracks. Sort of reminds you of a scene in a movie in Schindler's list or other WWII movie.
If you do take a train, make sure it is the tourist class train in cabin 2-4 (Livitrans Express). Anything other than that (except the Victorian Express, which is 1st class) is not recommended. Unless you want to experience the WWII feeling. Surprisingly, the train ride was smooth and not as we expected...it was even quieter than the MRT :) That makes it easy to doze off.
Anyway, the sights in Sapa just makes the train ride worthwhile. The weather was cool (3-10 degrees celcius) and the fresh mountain air was refreshing. If you do visit Sapa, perhaps you should spend at least 3-4 days there to explore the hilly ethnic tribes and visit their homes. Most of the guides bring you to the popular destinations. But if you are the off the beaten track type, you can rent a bike and go exploring.
The people are generally friendly. Most of the ethnic tribes from Sapa are from the Black Hmong and the Red Hmong. The younger ones speak clear and fluent English, some French and of course Vietnamese. Many European styled houses and food in Sapa, keeping in mind that this town was founded by the French in the 1800s. The Sapa market was bustling with activity with many items imported from China. Yes the Chinese border is just about 30-40km away from Sapa, making it a transit point to Yunnan. Perhaps we will take that road the next time to Dali. But the road trip will be something to contend with.
Another Market in Sapa is in Bac Ha. Here a different ethnic tribe is dominant, the Flower Hmong. On Sunday mornings, they will dress their best to visit the market where they will buy clothes, household items and food for the week. One word to describe it all - colorful. haha.
Sapa gave us a different view of Vietnam and Hanoi. The city is one thing but to see the ethnic tribes live in sheer simplicity (with rice as their main source of income) makes you feel that life can be simple and enjoyable. With the influx of many foreigners to the area, the simplicity might be lost one day...and it might come sooner...same with the many other places in China. The tourist dollar is a strong influence.
The trip was great and the next time who knows, we might be back on our own with a backpack and a map.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!WAHHHH I really want to go...
25 Jan 2008 at 8:17 am
Upon stepping into the restaurant, one can sense that it has been impeccably renovated with a modern touch. It also has a function room on the 2nd level where you can host events of up to 30-40 people, together with catered food.
While dining here, you tend to forget that you are in the middle of a HDB estate and that next door is a traditional provision shop. The lighting and the whole ambience is just right.
The menu was simple but presentable, not like some others that reminded you of your school days. Food selection was wide, with a variety of courses to choose from. We settled for the J's classic Combo, Chicken Chimichagas, Sizzling Sirloin, Roast Beef Balsamico and the Hainan Chickenn Chop.
J's Classic Combo ($17.90) - This can easily serve 2 persons, with the combination of beef, lamb and chicken. Presentation was impressive and the food tasted just as good. Portions of the meat were done just right and slicing of the beef was effortless.
Chicken Chimichages ($9.90) - Lovers of crispy stuff will like this dish. Imagine bits of spicy and tender chicken cubes wrapped with a layer of fried golden brown batter. All delectably done up. It is sort of a cross between fish and chips and curry puff, if this description is suitable at all. Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable dish to savor again.
Roast Beef Balsamico ($9.90) - Tender and juicy was the first impression. Done and grilled to medium well, the beef feels like it melts in your mouth. Together with the sweet and not so overpowering sauce, it all tasted just right. Recommended dish to try apart from the traditional sirloin steaks.
Hainan Chicken Chop ($8.90) - The juices were well kept within the chicken and as it was sliced up, we could see it dripping out from the chicken. It was perfectly done and not dry like some others. The seasoning was not overpowering and the taste of the chicken was preserved. The chicken was topped with just a fried egg and to me this was appetizing. It shows that you do not need to resort to fanciful means to whet the appetite (perhaps to me). Simple pleasures in life can be enjoyable.
Sizzling Sirloin ($9.90) - As like all the other steaks, this was done medium well and tucking into it was effortless. The meat was juicy and tender and had an aftertaste that lingered in your mouth causing you to want more.
The total bill came up to be about $70 for 6 persons and really makes this an affordable and practical meal. Service is also excellent. Although the restaurant was packed with weekend diners the service staff were attentive to our needs and promptly responded. Interestingly, the bill shows no additional service charges only GST.
The owner of the restaurant Mr Hasni Abdullah was a friendly chap. He explained to us how the restaurant got started and his decision to open one in the heartlands. He also made sure we had our meals served all at once (a basic service etiquette lacking in most restaurants).
Overall a pleasant dining experience and recommended for its food, price and service quality.
- 2 more comments »
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!WAH interesting! And it's near my workplace. Thanks for the recommendation!
01 Jan 2008 at 12:01 pm
I'm hungry!! Looks like this is a MUST try!
01 Jan 2008 at 2:50 pm
Cool, but at bedok its kind of far away from me. i am at batok. lol
10 Jan 2008 at 8:56 pm
Booking was made online and we pre ordered one grilled beef and one pan fried salmom when we made the booking.
Arriving at Mt Faber, we left the valet do the job (at $5) and off we went to the entrace of the cable car tower. There were quite a few people queuing up for sky dining and we were like the 6th couple in line...all bookings must be made before hand. No walk-ins allowed, at least that is what we were told.
We noticed that the sky dining cable cars had a table placed in between the 2 seats. So when it came our turn, we hopped onto one of them as it moved slowly. Then the waiter came by and served us the soup and appetizer for the 1st round. He had to do it quickly as the cable car was moving. So do not expect him to be gentle. Then again he will not "throw" the soup at you. haha.
The first round was an experience indeed. Eating 100m up in the air and watching the sun set what more could we ask for. We had the cream of mushroom soup and it was thick and well blended. It's kinda hard to eat and concentrate on the scenery and at the same time try to balance ourselves as the cable car can be quite shaky at times. There is also this nagging feeling that the glass filled with ice water will topple any time or the bowl of soup would slide off the table. Also since I have a thing with heights, drinking the soup and the salad was quite a challenge. But all said, we finished our soup and waited expectantly for the second course. The cable car went all the way to sentosa, made a u-turn and headed back to Mt Faber.
At Mt faber, the waiter quickly cleared our bowl of soup and served us the second course. ha....I forgot, he served us ice water and house wine and he had to make it fast, otherwise the cable car will move off without it or he might spill it all over the table. It is amazing to see how they manage to juggle all that within 1min I think and off we went with our second (main) course. There were at least 3 persone (I think) serving each cable car. One to clear the dishes, one to pour wine and the other to serve the main course. It happened so fast that we just did not know what happened. So service wise they were efficient and attentive. Before it moved off, the waiter asked if he could get us anything else. We spared him the trouble as we were wondering how he can manage to get us anything else if the cable car was moving off. So we said no thank you.
All I remember about the Beef tenderloin was that it done just right because halfway through the second round on the u-turn back to Mt Faber we started to feel the effects of motion sickness. haha. Never expected that. We joked that we had one more round to go...round 3...kinda like in the boxing ring waiting for the knockout punch. Actually also forgot much of the grilled salmon, execpt that there was some fishly after taste....so much for the meal. :(
The last dish was highly anticipated as it was the dessert. But when it arrived, we did not have the appetite to consume it as the cradling effects of the cable car got into us. Nevertheless we manage (yes...manage...seems like quite hard eh) to finish it.
Yes and not to mention, they served house wine also. Which we could not finish. Again we joked that if we finished the whole glass (coupled with the cradling effect of the cable car), we might just puke out of the cable car into the road or onto the people walking on the ground...funny sight indeed viewed from afar. But nothing like this happened....fortunately.
Overall the experience was good..minus the to and frow movement of the cable car. Food was average. Service was beyond expectation and ambience was good initially. But after going 3 rounds, that means 6 times seeing the same scenery, you kinda get tired of it after a while and just wished the cable car stopped and you can take your meal on more stable ground.
The experience cost us $90 per person. Recommended for a new experience...but not a culinary one.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Haa... I think I rather stay on the ground for a good meal.
13 Dec 2007 at 10:55 pm
We dined at Marche a few times and the experience at Vilage was no difference. We went for our personal favourite... the rosti. Looked and tasted the same. Only later did we realise that about 10 of Vilage's pioneering staff were from Marche. They crossed over together with Marche's former kitchen and operating manager.
Does that explain the similarities in the mascot also?
We had the Baked Cod fish $14.50 and that was all it was on the plate. One piece of baked cod fish. Side dishes were no where in sight. The taste and texture of the fish was nothing to shout about. It was creamy and juicy and tasted like the one we cooked ourselves, except that the fish we cooked was larger in size. :)
Perhaps there is something different in the Vilage with Marche. Most of the portions have shrunked - rosti, pasta, pizza, etc, except the Erdinger Beer. haha.
Our total bill came up to $45 for 2 persons and we were still hungry. Maybe must eat more.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!yup. They look the same to me. Marche and Village. Hm... While I have tried Marche, I haven't tried Vilage yet. Mm... will try it then.
07 Jan 2008 at 11:56 pm
hahaha. vilage seems to be better than the new marche at vivo although both are under the same management. Heard marche not as good as before
10 Jan 2008 at 8:57 pm
Vilage is now defunct but they are not the same mgtmt as VIVO. Same as the one in Suntec but too bad close liao
23 Jan 2008 at 12:32 pm