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Sport & Recreation
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1=SGD 0.0587
Astons Prime is a recently opened upmarket version of Aston Specialties, catering to the more well heeled with a wider selection of premium meat available and reservations of course.
Located just a stones throw away from the original Astons Specialties, Astons Prime sits along the row of shophouses near the junction of Joo Chiat Road and East Coast Road. The interior is simply furnished and can probably seat up to about 30 people. There are corner booth seats for 2 pax which are a must if you wish to have more privacy. Pity there are only 2 of those seats though and I wasn't fortunate to get one of those even during lunch.
When a place claims to serve up its own homemade garlic spread, my expectations go up a notch because I like my garlic spread a lot, probably more than most people. Sadly, Aston's spread didn't even come close to meeting my expectations. For one, it was rather bland and didn't exactly jell in well with the bread, which incidentally, wasn't tasty nor was it served warm.
Chicken Quesadilla - Interestingly, biting into the Chicken Quesadilla was akin to eating roti prata with bits of chicken and BBQ sauce. The paper thin crust was a little crispy and flaky with a rather miserable filling of chicken. Not that I'm saying that its not good, but for almost 8 dollars, I'd rather order something else.
Fillet Mignon - Notice that the fillet mignon comes in 2 variations, the New Zealand fed and the Australian fed. I'm guessing the Australian one is better because of its superior pricing. But then again, I didn't get to try the New Zealand variant, so I'm really in no position to comment.
My Australian fed fillet mignon was small (they are all 8oz by the way, which is about 250g) but good. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it was excellent as I've definitely tried better but this one was really in a league of its own. Medium rare, succulent and sweet. Only gripe I had was that the meat slab was too thick which resulted in the exterior being a little too charred. I did like the accompanying sauce though, which tasted like it had a little bit of cheese in it.
$70 for 2 pax for lunch is rather expensive honestly, but good steak comes at a price unfortunately. Service is excellent and there is no service charge or GST which kinda sweetens the deal a little. I see potential in this place, but it would be nice to have a larger slab of meat for the same price, please?
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Today marks the beginning of my makan sessions with a group of like minded food enthusiasts from various forums. Our choice of dinner venue was Astons Specialties at East Coast Rd. This joint has been highly recommended by many seasoned foodies and expectations were high as we made our way there at about 2000hrs. There was quite a queue of people waiting to get in and although I had made a reservation on Wednesday, there was no record of my name to be found, which naturally left me furious. Astons admitted that it was error on their part and although we had to wait for about 25mins for a table, credit has to be given to them for trying to get us a table ASAP. One thing I noticed about the place was that it was actually quite small and squeezy. There were barely 10 tables around and air conditioning was poor. They could well do with more powerful air conditioners or an air curtain at the entrance to prevent the cool air from rushing out.
Food wise, I shared the Wagyu beef promotion @ $38.90 for a 200g cut and the Ieat Super Burger with a friend. Both were done medium rare. According to them, the wagyu was supposed to have a marbling score of 5/6, which was pretty decent for the price. The wagyu came with 2 sides (I chose fries and pasta salad) which was pretty uninspiring. The pasta salad was almost tasteless and the fries were thin and had the same seasoning as that of Botak Jones fries. The wagyu was quite good though. Soft, juicy and tender. Every mouthful is greeted with a burst of flavour that slowly seeps down your throat. Not as good as the Kobe Beef I had at Keyaki, but certainly in a league of its own. Pity about the small 200g portion though. The accompanying mushroom (with garlic?) sauce was nice too, but I found it a tad too salty. The Ieat burger scored high salivation marks for its appearance. Toasted bun atop bacon strips, deep fried onions, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, a slab of chopped sirloin and drenched with BBQ sauce. However, the taste was short of expectations. The chopped sirloin was quite tasteless and dry and not to mention a little too soft. The bacon strips were nicely grilled though and that was just about the only consolation I had from the burger. At $12.50 for the burger, I guess it was pretty reasonable.
It cost us about $210 for 8 pax. On my part I paid about $27/- which I feel was reasonable for the quality of food. However Astons didn't quite measure up to my expectations probably because I had hyped myself up to be expecting something out of this world, only to be brought back down to earth. Nevertheless, a good eat, with reasonable pricing. Please note that the wait for food can be quite long especially when its full, which is most of the time in the evenings. A worthy contender to Botak Jones. Having no GST or service charge is definitely a plus!
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I've always had a penchant for brunch - whiling the lazy mornings away in a serene setting coupled with hearty fare and great company. What better way to unwind and enjoy the intricate subtleties of life? And I've found just the place to do so - Wild Rocket. The man at its helm is none other than lawyer turned chef, Willin Low, who has built up a reputation for cooking dishes which are Singaporean at heart but with a twist.
Nestled at the top of a hill (Mount Emily), Wild Rocket is a quaint little eatery/restaurant docked on the first level of Hangout Hotel. The decor is simple, focusing on the simplicities and the giant glass windows complete with semi transparent curtains allow sunlight to peer through, creating a cheery and lively atmosphere sans the heat. An air of serenity and elusiveness lingers in this dreamy and charming little outfit.
Though not billed as a fine dining restaurant, Wild Rocket still serves up complementary bread, which didn't quite impress me honestly. For one, the bread was too porous and came across as a tad too dry and bland. Thankfully, it was served warm.
Ricotta Jackfruit Pancakes with Maple Syrup - No this isn't a picture of left over pancakes. Its what we got for $8.50 - 2 small pancakes and 1 piece of deep fried jackfruit. It was excellent though, soft and fluffy with a tinge of jackfruit taste. Bits of jackfruit were also embedded within for added texture/flavour and the sweetness of the maple syrup was just about right. Now someone please explain to me why do good things always come in small packages?
Laksa Pesto with Spaghetti with Tiger Prawns & Quail Egg - A most interesting dish. As the name suggests, its spaghetti covered with coriander and bits of chilli flakes which is supposed to have a mild laksa taste. And by golly, it certainly does! The pasta was al dente but a tad too dry for my liking. I counted 3 average sized prawns and 3 quail egg halves, which certainly doesn't place this dish in the generous ingredients category. Honestly, this is not something I'll order again cause I don't find it outstanding.
Scrambled Eggs, Fresh Beef Sausages with Toast - A greedy mistake on my part. I had spied the adjourning table ordering this dish and the serving certainly looked generous. Oh boy, how wrong I was. 2 sausages, a small serving of scrambled eggs and a side of toast. The dish was clean in less than 5 mins, but not that it tasted great in case you are assuming. The sausages were rather salty and the meat didn't seem firm. As for the scrambled eggs, it was too salty as well and tasted like too much milk had gone into it.
The Wild Rocket Burger with Sun Dried Tomato Salsa - Notice the usage of the word "The" in the name of this dish. Its obviously Wild Rocket's signature offering and is THE must try burger. Pleasing aesthetics aside, the burger weighed in slightly bigger than Iggy's offering but smaller than those of Carl's Junior. The patty was huge by the way and rather well mashed, chewy and moist yet not overwhelming. Interestingly, the sun dried tomato salsa atop the patty was a tad sweet but complemented the beef almost flawlessly. The accompanying potato cubes were a little too soft and salty (I could make out the salt granules on the potatoes).
Kueh Buloh Tiramisu - Here's another classic example of how much of a mountain tortoise I am. I have no inkling whatsoever as to what in the world is Kueh Buloh. Shame on me. But the Kueh Buloh Tiramisu was quite good if you ask me. Soft with a nice layer of ice cream beneath it. But it kinda loses the Tiramisu flavour and composition though, which is rather ironical.
Dark Lava Chocolate Gateau with Ice Cream - Few molten chocolate cakes can match the truly splendid rendition by Mortons or the value for money offering at Abof. Wild Rocket's version comes close. Well almost. Its decidedly as good as Abof's but significantly more expensive as well (not as expensive as Morton's though). The shell was slightly hard while the spongy interior was soft and moist. Thick oozing, not too sweet chocolate completed the picture. But it was small, even smaller than Abof's.
I had a good and leisurely brunch, no doubt about that. But $95 for 3 pax does seem a little steep especially with the smallish portions. Its a nice place to hang out though and service is good. They will definitely be seeing more of me. On a side note, please let me reiterate that the place is tiny and you are looking at about probably 30 people max so please please please make your reservations.
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Health and wholesome goodness comes naturally at Eden...
Was welcomed by the homely and comfortable cafe with smile and greetings from Clement and his staff. Situated up a little slope of Club Street, Eden Cafe is a place where one would love to enter for a smoothing and chilled glass of wine tea to beat those heat from the blazing sun. The cafe feels so homely, I can stay there for an entire day. Great for those who love a quiet place to chill and relax, away from the bustling madness happening just nearby, with some good tea or wine.
As a seafood lover, especially for calamari, I just had to try their Mussel Calamari Dunker ($12.90) served with crispy wholegrain bread. Although the base seems thick, and together with the wholegrain bread seem like a filling meal. But it was just the right amount of everything that filled my tummy but still left room for more. The calamaris and mussels were so fresh, I could taste their original taste even with the specially created base which was made up of seven different vegetables. Including celery, which I hate! But it was so well blended that I licked the bowl clean. (Ok I didn't literally licked the bowl.)
With room for more, I tried their homemade Rosepetal Brownie ($5.90). Yap! There's real rosepetals in the brownie and also on it! My very first attempt at consuming flowers and it was quite an interesting taste. The rosepetals blended well with the sweetness from the chocolate brownie and vanilla ice-cream. The rose petal reduces the sweetness with its light bitterness. And as the brownies has no additional sugar added, you won't get "sick" of eating it, although the piece was quite huge. Surely going to order this again when I'm back (i.e. after I tried the other sinful goodness at Eden).
The next must try is Eden's fusion tea ($9.00). There's so many choices to choose from. When you can't decide, just tell Clement how you feel that day and let him decide for you! Served in specially designed tea sets, you can see the beautiful colors of the floral tea and the nice golden color of the tea. The teacups are cleverly crafted, with the double layer design, you can hold the teacup without feeling the heat from the tea.
With yummy and healthy food, great atmosphere and friendly service, its no doubt that I'm going to recommend all my friends and family to Eden Cafe.
If you can't decide what to eat, just let Clement decide for you.
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The popular Uno Beef House at Toa Payoh has a new outlet in the western regions of Singapore. Located in a prominent and brightly lit coffee shop along Dover road which runs parallel to the MRT line, it has its fair share of customers as well, but the waiting time here is definitely much shorter than its Toa Payoh counterpart.
I started off with the Cream of Mushroom soup ($2) which definitely came straight out of the can. There were undissolved chunks of coagulated soup at the bottom of the bowl, indicating a less than thorough stirring process. Having said that, I certainly didn't expect them to make their own mushroom soup, not for $2.
My gf had the pork chops ($5) which was quite good. Chewy yet not too dry or tough, with lots of savoury made from scratch gravy to go along. Portions were decent, but definitely not sufficient for a glutton like me.
The purported star of the evening (they are called Uno Beef House for a reason), the tenderloin steak ($10), was served up medium rare as per my request. The meat was very well done, succulent and a little chewy but lacked the sweetness of really good tenderloins. The mushroom sauce was quite decent too, with slices of mushroom and onion in it. I would have liked a more robust sauce though.
Here comes the real star of the evening, the side of a single Potato Ball which was served alongside a small tomato. It had a buttery taste to it and reminded me very much of eating pineapple tarts minus the sweetened pineapple of course. Texture wise was also good, not too mashed up or soft. I wonder if the Potato Balls are available on their own.
In summary, I like this place and will definitely be back to patronise. Its definitely in the league of Astons for steak and considering the amount of hype that Astons has been getting, I rather stick to Uno.
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Have to compliment this guy's friendly and welcoming service. Although I guess he did scare/ gave fright to some of the ladies shopping at Watsons.
Not sure if he's one of the managers but he was wearing a jacket and was well groomed. He went around with basket for shoppers and very politely offered the basket for the shoppers. But I did notice he kinda frightened couple of the ladies who were paying too much attention to the labels on the packaging.
Still a pleasant shock I guess.
My partner commented that they're probably training up for the upcoming F1 race or IR since Singapore is all about providing excellence services for everyone. Hope the service standards will keep improving in Singapore.
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Took the First Class Coach to KL and the best part about it is that it is a 16 seater....so no small kids running up and down the bus and crying or causing any disturbance. The entire journey was pleasant and smooth. Highlights?
10" personal LCD screen Total trip to KL about 4-5 hours, so can watch about 2 movies.
Meals on board One meal (Standard or vegetarian) on board served to your seat by the inflight, oops, or inbus attendant.
Attentive service Inbus attendant, dressed like an air-stewardess or land-stewardess, politely asks if you would like tea, coffee or soft drinks. Even blanket provided if you do decide to take a snooze
Massage Chair Get yourself a back massage while watching a movie. Should not all cinemas have this!!!
One trip ticket cost about $58 to KL. Definitely a must for the business traveller who decides not to take a plane. Several of them were with their notebooks turned on throughout the flight...oops...again...the coach ride.
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Popped by sleepy Serene Centre with my gf for some cheap French food only to find it packed to the brim with a long queue to boot. So we sort of gave up the idea and settled for the only other alternative (besides MacDonalds), Yoshoku Kitchen.
For cavemen like me, Yoshoku simply means western food with a Japanese flair aka fusion, for lack of a better word. This 1 year old eatery sits quietly next to its more illustrious neighbours, Island Creamery and La Petit Cuisine. A cosy darkened interior complete with a floor to ceiling window beckons.
The Hotate Mentai Chizu Yaki, or scallops baked with cod roe sauce, was rather interesting as I've never eaten scallops covered with a thick layer of cheese before. The scallops were quite a size and came buried under mounds of thick gooey cheese buffered by the Thousand Island taste alike cod roe sauce. Honestly, I liked it quite a fair bit (I'm a cheese freak) except for the fact that the cod roe sauce was a little too overwhelming.
How good/bad can Japanese curry rice get? Yoshoku's rendition was averagely decent and unexciting. Curry was neither too watery nor coagulated but normal rice was used instead of Japanese rice, which was expected for the price ($8).
Primed as one of the must tries in this restaurant, the Wafu Bifu Suteki, or beef steak with Japanese sauce, was a tad disappointing given that I had much higher expectations of it. The beef was unevenly cooked, with some parts being almost well done while others tended more towards medium well. That aside, the beef was relatively succulent and chewy but lacked the natural beef taste although I did find it quite well seasoned. The Japanese sauce was nothing more than a milder and sweeter version of the black pepper sauce.
$54 for 2 pax for a decent and filling meal in a serene environment is a little on the high side but still within the reasonable range IMHO. Service is good as well which is definitely a plus. Just don't get your expectations too high.
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A rather small WWII museum but nonetheless unique in its contents. Some of the interesting highlights are the drawings of Mr William Haxworth. Not a painter by profession but his drawings (done in secret) portray the day to day life of POWs interned at Changi and Sime Road.
Just wonder how people can remain in their sanity while being enclosed in camps with horrible conditions. One of the ways the POWs do that is to inject humour in their confinement and peril. Some of the exhibits portray the lighter side of internship in Changi and you just marvel at their ingenuity and positiveness in one of life's darkest moments. How would the modern generation fare if they were to be thrown into the same mire and deep pit that these POWs had to go through. Sometimes the unassuming might just rise to the occasion and prove to be the most courageous of the lot. History has accounts of many people who experienced that.
To think further, these POWs were once colonial masters who spent their time drinking tea and playing cricket in the Posh surroundings of Raffles Hotel and the Singapore Cricket club and had to face the deplorable conditions of Changi the very next minute. Sometimes, infact many times, life can take the turn for the worst and the images injected at the MOFF museum illustrates that to the perfect degree.
Another highlight of the MOFF is the room where the British surrender took place. The room where all hope was lost was rather bleak and small. The table and chairs (not sure if it was the original that Yamashita and Percival sat on) retains its gloomy appearance. Very much the mood exhuberated on that fateful day. Staring for a few minutes into the room, you can feel the atmosphere of being here in 1942 when it all happened.
Interestingly, the Ford factory ceased operations after 1942 and became a factory producing Nissan military vehicles and other vehicles for the occupying forces.
What remains of the Ford factory today is just 1/10 of the original factory. Only the front portion remains, the back is now occupied by a residential condominium. Imagine living on the grounds of the historical building. Sometimes it might bring a chill down your spine.
We reached there at 4:30pm and closing time was 5:30pm. One hour was not enough to read the experiences, listen to the stories and view the well preserved documents. We left the place with a surreal feeling, wondering if all that was done in the past is forgotten by people today. Sadly, most of it is forgotten.
Anyway the staff manning the museum was kind enough to tell us that we could come back another time for free if we wanted to since we had only been able to spend a short time there. How thoughtful!
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Was in the vicinity of Tanglin Shopping centre with my gf so decided to try out Jerry's for dinner. Located just above Bombay Woodlands, Jerry's currently has 3 outlets in Singapore, with the flagship store being the one at Jalan Kayu and branches at Club Street and Tanglin Shopping Centre. Decor wise, the Tanglin outlet was pretty simple with no inherent theme to it. We had 2 servings of the set dinner, with the Southern Chicken and Spaghetti Seafood Alo Alo as mains as well as a small serving of 4 Fried Crispy Wings to share (I had initially wanted to try the Buffalo Wings, but thought the better of it as I had already tried the ones at Buckaroo BBQ & Grill, which is/was owned by Jerry and boasts similar wings). Our set dinner came with a choice of soup - Minestrone or Cream of Mushroom and unlimited servings at the salad bar.
In all honesty, the salad bar was quite pathetic. There was tuna, hard boiled eggs, vegetables and some sauces definitely not what I was expecting. But it came with the set, so no complains. I chose Cream of Mushroom for my soup and I was really disappointed. It wasn't really warm to begin with and the top layer of the soup had hardened and formed a layer, which meant that it had been out in the cold for too long. It didn't taste like canned soup, but it was a little too salty and the taste wasn't rich enough.
Remember the small puny wings you get at KFC or Nasi Lemak stalls? Banish those thoughts and feast your eyes on Jerry's Fried Crispy Wings. They use the exact same Buffalo Wings that made Jerry's famous, except that it is prepared in a different way. The wings are gigantic and tasty to boot! The skin is deep fried until its so crispy that every bite generates a "crunch" sound. Just one grouse though. It could have done with more seasoning or spices. The juices were plentiful, but had no flavours, thus rendering it rather bland. A good eat nevertheless, but a pricey one at that ($8.95 for 4).
My Southern Chicken was quite a size, half a chicken to be exact and topped with mounds of BBQ sauce, served with salad and mashed potatoes. I found the chicken to be well done with the flesh being very tender and easily torn off from the bones. Perfect for lazy people like me. However, the taste of the BBQ sauce was overpowering and I sort of gave up eating halfway. The accompanying mashed potato was just a disaster. I don't know how to begin describing it, but let me just say that KFC has better mashed potatoes.
Either my tastebuds had problems or my gf's Spaghetti Seafood Alo Alo tasted really bland. Even the prawns and scallops had virtually no discernible taste! My gf agrees with me, so I guess its the dish. But the pasta was actually not bad, a little chewy and overall the dish was rather light on the palate. Maybe its meant to be that way, but I would prefer a little more flavour.
Dinner for 2 came to a whooping $70/-. That might not seem like a lot of money, but for the quality of food, it sure is. The food was at best slightly above average and the service didn't go beyond serving our food and clearing the dishes. The drinks are a killer too. A can of coke sets you back by $3.95 . Imagine that! Oh and either the tables are too low or the chairs are too high, as I found it rather uncomfortable having to hunch my back and slouch on the table just to eat my food.
I definitely won't be back, unless its for the wings, which still holds a certain allure. Other than that, I'm better off spending my $70 elsewhere.
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