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Food & Beverage
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It was a mad rush trying to find a nice restaurant back in December for Christmas Eve dinner since most places were already packed. Rather than having traditional Christmas food like turkey, log-cake and ham, we decided to go for some exotic Vietnamese food instead.
Located at Orchard Central’s Sky Garden, NUOC is a relatively new Vietnamese restaurant in the Singapore food scene. It’s positioned as a semi-fine dining Vietnamese restaurant, and naturally prices are slightly steeper.
I always have problems when it comes to ordering. It was a hard decision trying to choose from the deep-fried and the Fresh Vietnamese Spring roll ($18 for 4 rolls), so we went for the easy way out and ordered both.
Fresh prawns, sliced pork, lettuce, Vietnamese herbs & vermicelli rolled with traditional Vietnamese rice paper. That’s what inside the spring roll. Or rather, that’s what the menu says. And there’s mint inside too. The mint was somewhat like the final touch to enhance the freshness of the rolls. Crisp, and sharp, every bite was delightful – unless you don’t like mint.
Which is better? The Fresh Spring roll or the Deep-fried Vietnamese Spring Roll ($12 for 8 pieces)? I’m a sucker for deep-fried food. As much as I know that deep-fried food is unhealthy, but it always makes the food taste so much better.
We also ordered the Egg plant ($12) and Stir-fried lemon grass and ginger chicken ($16). The former was mashy, and it kinds of resembled fish rather than egg plant, while the latter was mediocre.
When it comes to soup, I only like hot soup. Somehow I never like cold soup, I mean, soup should always be hot, otherwise it’s not soup right? At least, that’s my definition of soup. Even when it’s hot soup, I only like home-cooked Chinese soup. Which is why, you seldom see me ordering soup in restaurants. I’m not against soup, but I’d rather spend the money having another appetizer, or even better – an extra dessert. The intriguing name of Fresh Prawn in young coconut ($20 for 6 pieces) caught our attention, and the soup base was probably prepared for hours; it was rich, and intense and sweet.
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NUOC is a very new restaurant, and they are still sorting out all the teething problems. When we went in December, the signature Vietnamese Pho (I remembered it as fur) was not even offered on the menu, I mean how can a Vietnamese restaurant not serve Pho right? Hopefully they should be serving Pho by now. Anyway, the view is gorgeous, if you want Vietnamese food in a nice ambience and do not mind paying more, NUOC might just be the place.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
Had lunch at The Dining Room at Raffles Town Club, which shares the same name as a Chinese restaurant in the upclass Crockford Towers at Resort World Sentosa, though the former has been in existence long before RWS made its foray Singapore. On a side note, Sheraton Towers Hotel has a restaurant named The Dining Room as well. Is the name generic or what?
Hidden in one corner of the club (the whole clubhouse is quite a maze actually), The Dining Room features a modernly styled interior with touches of classic European grandeur, giving rise to an understated luxurious yet cozy setting.
Lobster Risotto - Though this came as an appetiser (very small portions), the risotto was al dente, with a nice overall smooth and creamy feel to it. I could make out a whiff of truffle oil as well. Lobster portions were minimal of course and I thought that there was a mild overdose of salt. But other than that, it was a good starter.
Pan Fried Goose Liver - Nicely pan fried with little charred bits, the foie gras was smooth but not exactly what I would term as silky. And check out the copious amounts of oil in this tiny piece of liver. I'm not sure the 2 sticks of asparagus did any good in making this dish "healthier" so to speak.
Prime Rib of Beef - Deviating a little from my request, my prime rib was done medium well instead of medium rare and didn't carry much natural sweetness. On the upside, it was nicely grilled with a dash of salt for seasoning. Overall still quite decent.
Tiramisu - I certainly wasn't expecting a lychee in my tiramisu but I'm not complaining as I have a certain penchant for lychees, rambutans and the likes. I like the generous serving of mascarpone cheese but that's just about it. The sponge was a little hard but not dry, reminding me more of moist brownie, which isn't too bad if you can get past the psychological expectations part. If you like coffee, you will definitely appreciate the apparent coffee taste.
We had a leisurely and filling lunch in the comfort of an empty restaurant. Food in general hovered around the average to slightly above average level, which didn't quite justify the price tag ($173 for 4 pax) in my humble opinion. Still, brownie points for excellent service and professionalism. And it beats both the Japanese and Chinese restaurant at the club.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
It was meant to be a Chinese New Year dim sum gathering with a couple of my makan kakis at Taste Paradise Ion. Unfortunately, only the ala carte menu was available because it was still within the CNY period. Which was fine with me, considering that I had a great meal at Taste Paradise Mosque Street 2 years back.
It must be posh interior fatigue that I was suffering from because the dim lighted luxurious interior with huge paintings of past Chinese emperors certainly didn't impress me much. But I must say it's definitely nicer than alot of the Chinese restaurants out there.
Crispy Silver Bait - We got off to a great start with the crispy silver bait, as recommended by our waitress. The silver fish was crisp and sweet with a touch of sour. Portion size was quite small so get more to share if you have a big group.
XO Carrot Cake - What used to wow me back then turned out to be sheer disappointment this time round. It was overly soft and I couldn't make out any savoury aftertaste. The only thing I could make out was the spice from the chilli, if you consider that a taste. I reckon your local hawker centre could do a much better job at a less than half the price for the same portion size.
Roasted Pork - This dish of roasted pork takes edibility to a new low and I'm not kidding. Each tiny cube was literally one layer skin, one layer lean meat and two layers of fats. Sure, the skin was crisp but the pork taste was just too overwhelming (they probably didn't blanch it long enough) and they tried to mask it by seasoning it with more salt. Someone commented it was akin to literally biting into a raw pig and I can't help but agree. Gross.
Peking Duck - At least the peking duck didn't suffer the same fate as the roast pork. It was decently crisp but overall could have been better. The crepes were a little too thick and could have done with less sweet sauce. Oh and the crackers that came alongside were just plain bland.
We opted to have the meat fried with rice and it was average at best. Rather tasteless and a tad too moist with an evident fowl smell. Poor duck.
Yuan Yang Prawn Ball - Finally a dish that presented a glimmer of hope - the yuan yang prawn ball, comprising of one wasabi prawn and one laksa prawn, served up in a martini glass. While both were big and crunchy, I personally favoured the wasabi prawn over the latter as the laksa seasoning did seem a little bland and lacklustre as compared to the more provocative wasabi.
Garoupa in Two Ways - This was apparently the special for the day and it honestly didn't look or taste as great as what our waitress had described to us. Presentation wise, it looked haphazard at best with the steamed garoupa and asparagus occupying the centre and flanked by fried pieces of garoupa. Generally speaking, the fish meat was fresh but sticky (too much corn flour!) and not very sweet. I couldn't quite make out the delicateness of the fish.
Tofu with Crab Roe - Another bordering on average dish. I appreciated the generous serving of crab meat shreds in the gravy but could have done with a little more flavour. ie. crab taste. Same goes for the tofu as well, which was barely in existence. One interesting/weird thing about the gravy was that it had a sourish overtone that didn't sit too well with either of us.
The bill dealt a $360 blow to the 7 of us. Food quality was average but service was decent. I cannot fathom how an excellent dinner at Taste Paradise Mosque Street could culminate in such a poor showing at the Ion outlet. Looks like I'll be placing my trust elsewhere in future.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
And my pursuit of a great burger continues, with a visit to Fat Boys, which has recently been voted by "users" as the best burger joint in a popular local food website. I am skeptical about the validity of the data but no harm giving Fat Boys a try anyways, seeing that it's about a 15 min drive from my place and prices seem reasonable enough.
The place is casual and laid back, with bench seats and high bar tables accommodating about 20-30 pax or so. If it's only you and your partner, sharing a table during meal periods might be the norm rather than the exception. The menu is rather simple and the main focus is on the burgers where you can choose from existing options or have your burger customised.
DIY Burger - This burger was customised to include a chicken patty topped with sauteed mushrooms, drizzled with their homemade BBQ sauce on a white sesame bun. First looks, the huge patty oozed appetising with evident grill streaks running the breadth of the patty. Now came the bummer(s). The patty was made up from minced chicken and wasn't the whole piece of meat I was expecting. That meant a loss in texture and taste. The mushrooms were a little dry while the bun was merely average. And to be honest, the BBQ sauce tasted, well, like bottled BBQ sauce.
Fat Bastard - Apparently one of the respresentative dish of Fat Boys, the Fat Bastard was a mean double beef patty with an egg sandwiched between and topped with bacon strips. Greedy me opted for extra sauteed mushrooms with that and the end result was a humongous burger that threatened to burst my belly. That would have been an ideal scenario if the burger had been good. Unfortunately, the converse was true. The beef patty was overcooked but was surprisingly "juicy", which led to the conclusion that it was frozen patty. Also, the texture was very fine, probably machine chopped. Most disappointing!
After a 15% discount, the bill stood at about $23 ($27 before discount). In absolute terms, that price isn't too expensive but factor in quality and there seems to be some disparity. In short, inexpensive but average burgers at best. Service was decent though, if that's any consolation.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Right on the heels of a romantic dinner at Forlino, I had another amazing Italian feast – the following day. The original plan was to have a simple lunch somewhere else.
“Why don’t we go to Valentino?” I asked jokingly.
Apparently, my lunch date took it very seriously. To cut the story short, we ended up at Valentino’s after calling to confirm a table. Stepping inside Ristorante Da Valentino, it feels like we are in our charming Italian neighbours’ house for dinner.
Most squid ink pasta, or at least the ones that I’ve tried, had the quirky and murky flavor. This one tasted like squid ink. It tasted like fresh ink extracted on the spot.
Like the one that I’ve at Forlino the night before, the Fettucine al Granchio ($23.9) here was also infused with squid ink. Huge chunks of crab meat with the fettucine, tossed with the creamy tomato sauce – it was absolutely wicked!
Now we have a problem. I want every slurp of the pasta. No, I do not want to share.
Option A: Finish everything and re-order before my partner returns from the washroom. Option B: Try to convince her that the mushroom risotto is better than the squid ink pasta. I could see no Option C, even though I was secretly praying that she’d not like the pasta.
Unfortunately not. In case you are wondering, we wiped the plate clean. I’d die for the squid ink pasta, or less dramatically, save up and come here every week – just for this.
I want Risotto. My dear Seafood linguine, it doesn’t mean I don’t like you anymore. It just means right now, I’m craving for risotto more.
Mushroom risotto has a very important place in my heart. I don’t always order it, but when I do – it has to be good. Maybe subconsciously, we wanted more of the squid ink pasta, or maybe we had small appetite that day. Either way, just a word of caution: see the plate of Porcini Mushroom Risotto ($23.9) up there? It might not look like a lot, but trust me, both of us couldn’t finish it.
Sweetie, it’s desserts, and Perla’s Pastry Boutique is calling!
Right beside the restaurant, there is Perla’s patisserie by Valentino’s sister. There’s no dine-in area for the patisserie, but the desserts are available if you are dining in the restaurant. It was an agonizing choice between the tiramisu, panna cotta, frutti bosco and their signature chantilly cake. But the sight of the gorgeous mixed berries were simply irresistible.
There’s a wise saying that goes like this: never trust a beautiful woman, and if I can add on to it, never trust the beautiful berries to taste sweet. Call me shallow, but I actually fall for it. Oh well, what to do, I’m superficial. Anyway I believe there’s blackberries, raspberries and strawberries in the Frutti Bosco ($8.80).
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A romantic dinner for two is not necessary just about fantastic view or fanciful cuisine. Lovely, lovely place. Valentino is my definition of a romantic restaurant, it is all about us having good food in a cozy ambiance. Here’s a restaurant for Valentine’s day, reservations are definitely a must for dinner.
I’m going to bring all my friends to Ristorante Da Valentino for their homely, authentic Italian food. Rifle range road is directly opposite King’s Albert Park & Bukit Timah Plaza. Pick up your phone, and dial the eight digit numbers. Get on with it.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
What used to be the famous Sin Leong Restaurant is now renamed as Roland Restaurant and apparently its original owner and the god father of current owner Roland Lim, Chef Sin Leong, was one of the "four heavenly kings" in the culinary world who created yusheng as we know it today. And to add to that history, Roland's family was the "founder" of chilli crab as well as the esteemd Palm Beach Seafood Restaurant, which was sold off in the 80's when the family moved to New Zealand for 15 years.
The restaurant is located at the most unlikely of places, on the top floor of a multi story carpark next to Parkway Parade Shopping Centre - reminiscent of another old time restaurant, Red Star, whose owner was also one of the four "heavenly kings". Roland's interior, however, is more modernised and even boasts a water wall feature at the entrance.
Asparagus with Japanese Mushrooms - An excellent first dish augured well for our dinner. The asparagus were crunchy without being undercooked and in the midst of the mushrooms were generous bits of dried shrimp (虾米) that imparted a distinct unami taste. Most delightful! Look out for chopped chilli in the mix though, because it can get quite spicy.
USA Duck - Purportedly one of the signature dishes of Roland, the USA duck was nothing but a let down. Dry and bland meat led to the conclusion/belief that the duck was frozen. Sure, the skin was a little crisp but that's probably the only positive. And the sauce, which tasted a little like plum sauce - sweet with a little sourish contrast, certainly didn't make things any better.
Prawns with Salted Egg - The prawns were a pretty sight - sizeable and coated with tons of egg frills. But when it came down to what mattered most, the taste test, they faltered. For starters, the prawns were huge and crunchy but not sweet (we couldn't make out any taste of prawn actually). Add to the fact that anything coated with too much soft and paste like egg yolk is a sure recipe for nausea, this dish left us feeling queasy after a few bites.
Owing to Chinese New Year, I am presuming the prices have been marked up (the menu stated CNY menu). Nonetheless, $83 for dinner for 3 pax isn't exactly reasonable, considering that it was still a week before CNY when we patronised. Food quality was average at best, saved only by the asparagus. Some people might argue that Roland is best known for their chilli crab, but with such average dishes, I find it hard to justify a return trip for their crabs, or anything else for that matter.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Remember the times when you were a kid, and blew soap bubbles into the air, making you go ‘aww..’ inside, I have the same feeling when it comes to ice cream too. In this world, not many things can give you that type of feeling and I believe, ice cream is one of them.
You do not need an excuse to eat ice cream.
Whenever I feel happy, I will indulge in ice cream as it makes me even happier. And besides having a patissier to cheer me up when I’m feeling down, ice cream practically does the same thing as it always chase the blues away.
How good can a good ice cream be?
I mean ice cream, being ice cream, is already perfect. How do the ice cream places in Singapore reinvent and continue the trend for something that is already done to death and found everywhere? Well, they either come up with all sorts of fanciful flavors, throw in some exotic toppings, hire pretty girls, let you mix-and-match your own ingredients, reinvent ice cream in the form of sundaes, or this case, milkshakes. Yes, milkshakes.
Ice cream, can never be bad. Even an exceptional ordinary ice cream will taste good when you are craving for it. Unike the other ice cream parlours in Singapore that scramble to compete on the varieties of flavor, the folks behind Once Upon A Milk Shake (OUAM) are a smart bunch; they keep things simple to just a couple of flavor, and package everything nicely.
What’s there not to like when it a) has a catchy name, b) sports a clean and yet bold color in white & purple, c) gives you choices of either ice cream, milkshake, or both, d) comes up with whimsical names like Agent Strawberry and Nutty Peanut Butler.
On the two occasions that I went there, I had the Chocolate Truffle Castle, Sir Cookies & Cream, Vainillapot, and Nutty Peanut Butler. The Chocolate truffle ice cream was awfully good. Thick and chocolaty, there’s no way any chocolate lover can resist this. But it was not my favorite pick, don’t get me wrong, I like chocolate, but I never really fancy chocolate ice cream; chocolate on its own, is already divine.
The Cookies & Cream milkshake, is oh-so-good. There are some renditions of the cookies and cream that are too dense and heavy, while there are others that are too light and hardly have any cookie texture. I like the lush vanilla base that has rich Oreo cookies bits, and at the same time, it’s also not cloyingly sweet. All in one cookie – this is a keeper.
Recently I’m hooked on Vanilla ice cream. Since there’s a huge supply of Ben & Jerry ice cream in my fridge, I’ve been having vanilla ice cream almost every day for the past week. Vanilla, is perhaps the simplest flavor there is, and yet the hardest to attain perfection. I think it’s the nature of vanilla, the subtle, yet sweetly-flavored, distinct elegant taste that appeals to me. Vanilla milkshake, anyone?
Peanut butter can perhaps, be mentioned in the same legendary status like Nutella. Peanut butter, I’m sure, was invented for the sole purpose of satisfying the wildest desire of the human species. Oh yes, there is the lovely strawberry jam, those are great, but it pales in comparison when you put it side by side with peanut butter. The richness of the thick and creamy peanut butter milkshake simply makes anything ordinary, taste delicious. It’s so addictive that you will eat it straight from the jar.
Which makes it a pity when my friend claimed that she had tasted better Peanut butter milkshake elsewhere before. Perhaps the one here, is still not the one to beat.
The milkshakes are available in 2 sizes (mini @ $3.30 and regular @ $5.50). The mini ones are really tiny, but I’d go for mini and try different flavors. Best ice cream and milkshake in Singapore? Maybe, maybe not. But does it really matter?
Among all the ice cream parlours in Singapore, Once Upon A Milkshake (OUAM) is all about gimmicks, but I love it! You know what? It’s like a guy knowing that the girl is lying to him, and yet, is willing to be deceived. I know I’m superficial. Whatever, I’m a sucker for all things pretty.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
Apparently one of the owners of Ministry of Steak had a disagreement with his partners and left to open his own steak house in town. Lured by the prospect of having good and inexpensive steak for lunch, I popped by the eatery one afternoon with my colleague.
Occupying a slightly spruced up shop lot on the ground level of Victoria Hotel which used to house a Chinese eatery that sold mixed rice for lunch, the eatery focuses mainly on steak, with the obligatory pork, chicken and fish dishes to cater to non beef eaters. One thing to note is that prices are seemingly steeper then Ministry of Steak, but if my memory serves me well, there seems to be slightly more variety.
Cream of Mushroom - This came complimentary while I waited for my steak to be recooked. I didn't think too much of it as the soup seemed a little too starchy/coagulated for my liking but at least the mushroom bits were plentiful.
Chicken & Sausage Combo - The chicken was nicely grilled with charred bits providing a nice burnt taste and texture while the grilled sausages were pretty decent - a little juicy but a overly oily. I took issue with the mushroom sauce though, which came across as rather limp and failed to provide the extra oomph I was looking for.
Cowboy Sirloin - The sirloin had 2 variations - one for the guys and one for the ladies, with 2 different weights and price points. I had requested for steak to be done medium rare but it came out rare instead. The official explanation was that the meat had been sitting in the freezer truck and should have been thawed first before putting it on the grill. Nonetheless, it was sent back to get the doneness right. Unfortunately, meat when recooked, becomes a little dry and rubbery and loses flavour, which was the case with my steak. Fortunately, the boss practiced excellent service recovery and apologized, presenting me a complimentary soup (above) as well as a "voucher" for a complimentary steak on my next visit, with the promise that he would personally grill my steak.
Overall I thought that the lunch was a little lacklustre, probably due to the disappointment from my steak. However, I am heartened by the good service rendered by the boss and with a complimentary steak in hand, I would be hard pressed to find a reason not to give them one more chance. Let's just hope things get better.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
One of the things that I like about the Singapore Dining scene is the vibrancy, there are new restaurants opening all the time. Some open with a big fanfare, while others prefer having a soft opening to fine-tune and tweak their menu before they are plot on the to-dine-at restaurant radar.
And when a new restaurant is being helm by chef Sufian Bin Zain’ who helped his previous restaurant Iggy’s being listed as one of the world’s top 100 restaurants, it’s not surprising that everyone will rush to the new establishment. I am not one of those that like to chase after new restaurants, that’s one of the reasons that it took me until now to drop by L’Entrepot Bistrot.
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I hardly blog about restaurants in Clarke Quay, there’s nothing wrong with the area; in fact it is a well-known places for tourists to dine at, when visiting Singapore. And that’s precisely the problem. Awesome riverside view, gorgeous restaurants interiors, but I’d imagine it comes with hefty bills and the made-for-tourist stamp too.
For restaurants, set lunches are one of the ways to attract more customers and increase sales. In times like this, not everyone can still afford to splurge on extravagant lunches, and that’s when you have value set lunches. Given that a normal meal and a drink in a food court will probably cost you six dollars upwards, an affordable lunch for $15 nett in a nice restaurant with everything plated nicely, is very tempting.
Besides the perfect excuse to indulge in a good lunch, it’s an opportunity to check out the restaurant and see if it’s worth coming back for dinner. On normal occasions, L’Entrepot Bistrot’s normal 2 course lunch is $25 , while the 3 course menu will set you back by $30 , but there’s a current promotion for all the Clarke Quay restaurants where a 2 course set lunch is $15 nett.
The promotional menu is almost identical to the normal lunch menu, with a few exceptions. One of those is the escargot which we wanted to get, but since it wasn’t available for the promotion, we went for the French Onion Soup, served with Emmenthal Cheese. It was a good decision, the onion soup is the classic example of the rustic French Bistro food.
On this visit, I chose the Vongole, which came with clams amidst the leeks, onions tomato and spaghetti. There was a subtle white wine taste in the spaghetti sauce. The generosity of clams were admirable, but the presence of leeks drove me to verge of irritation; I ain’t no fan of leek.
I’m not one who will always order fish for main courses while it comes to dining outside. I like fish, but it pales in comparison when you can have steak, chicken, or duck – meat in general. But still, I love fish, it sounds fickle but I am only human, you know. So I was glad when my Evangeline ordered the Pan Fried Seabass, with mashed potatoes. It may sound very ordinary, but the seabass was actually pretty good. It sounds like a layer of crispy pan-fried skin with the fillet nicely settled underneath.
It was a toss between Creme Brulee and Profiteroles when it came to desserts, but as Tampopo deli is nearby, we went for the former. Now, there will be vanilla beans inside, I’m sure. And true enough, there were tiny speckles of them in the custard, and the surface was caramelized beautifully.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
We were wondering around Suntec City on a weekday evening, surprised by how empty most restaurants were. A certain craving for pork led us to Tonkichi, owned and operated by the Pokka group, which also has the Domani and Rive Gauche brand under its fold. And to think I only associated Pokka with their namesake line of drinks!
Tonkichi is one of the many restaurants that surround the fountain of wealth at the basement of Suntec City. Occupying a reasonably large space, the restaurant's decor is simple and definitely catered to the masses.
Kuro Cheese Katsu - My initial plan was to order the Kurobuta Hire Katsu but they were out of it so I had to settle for the Kuro Cheese Katsu, which turned out to be a mistake. Sure, the katsu was nicely breaded and deep fried without coming across as overly oily, but being minced up meant that the texture was left wanting. To me, mincing beef kurobuta up is akin to mincing wagyu beef up to make patties - a total waste. Not even the very elastic cheese could save this dish.
Prawn & Hire - On the contrary, I thought that this "normal" pork (and prawn) dish fared a great deal better than its more illustrious cousin. The pork was tender, juicy and nicely breaded without the oily residue. Personally I preferred the prawns though, which were relatively large and bursting with natural sweetness that there was no need for any tartar sauce to give it taste.
I see promise in Tonkichi's food. And at about $50 for 2 pax , it would be a great place to have a nice tonkatsu dinner without bursting your wallet. Service was good and I'll be sure not to order any minced pork tonkatsu or the likes.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given: