Was presented the opportunity to sample the Chinese New Year buffet spread at Straits Cafe at Hotel Rendezvous, courtesy of the hotel's marketing department, specifically Christina, the marketing manager.
Straits Cafe's interior is typical of any hotel cafe that does, with its informal decor coupled with simple furnishing and the usual glass counters that display the food and the chefs that put the food together. Straits Cafe goes a step further by offering LCD televisions in certain areas of the restaurant, something which I believe a lot of hotel cafes/restaurants don't offer (Or am I just too outdated?).
Salmon Yu Sheng - The ubiquitous Yu Sheng and my umpteenth one this year, Straits Cafe offers this dish as a DIY at the counter, which means none of the routine rehearsed recitation by the wait staff. I'm no big fan of yusheng so I shall reserve my comments on this one.
Peng Cai - According to the manager, the Peng Cai requires a minimum preparation time of about 6 hours and consists of 15 different items in it - Shark's fin, abalone, dried scallops, prawns, duck web etc. As impressive as the list of ingredients may sound, I honestly didn't quite take to it as everything tasted very soft and mashed up. The flavours weren't immersed or intense enough and everything tasted more or less the same.
Variety The buffet spread had about 30 items (just a rough estimate) which ranged from sushi and soba to seafood, cut meats, local dishes like laksa and desserts. Not exactly extensive if you ask me.
Food Quality Food quality was generally average but there were a few glimmers of hope. In particular the laksa and durian pengat were worth a mention, to me at least. The laksa had a smooth creamy coconut milk base that harboured a tinge of sourish aftertaste which I thought was quite nice, but thats coming from someone who eats laksa probably once in 10 years? The durian pengat came across as smooth without being overly sweet and carried a nice hint of bitterness. However, I would have preferred it to be thicker and more concentrated.
Service Service was generally quite good but as this was an invited session, I'm not sure if it would be representative of the service level in general.
To conclude, I would like to thank Hotel Rendezvous once again for generously extending their hospitality to yours truly.
Jostled with the crowds at Jurong Point's newly opened extension to have a go Lai Lai Casual Dining - a seemingly popular beef noodles cum pseudo Taiwanese eatery. There was a steady stream of people queuing up to get a seat in the eatery so we naturally assumed that this place was of a certain acceptable standard.
The bulk of the seating at this eatery is open concept, which means that people from the upper levels of the mall can view you from the top and tables are squeezed uncomfortably close to each other to maxmize revenue. And honestly, the cow on the menu looked like it had just been hit by mad cow disease.
Fried Beancurd - This dish was very run off the mill. Crisp on the outside but not soft on the inside, the beancurd was overly deep fried which resulted in a harder then usual exterior.
Pepper Salt Chicken - This dish was another disappointment. I mean, how bad can chicken taste like right? Wrong! The chicken had more flour then meat and came across as tough, bland and oily. Can someone tell me where the salt and pepper went?
Taiwan Beef Noodle - Lai Lai's purported signature/star dish and I have to admit that it was the best amongst all the other terrible dishes. Not that it was anywhere near what I had expected initially when I was still in the queue. The noodles were of the flatter variant and carried a bit of bite but the soup wasn't flavourful enough. The beef pieces, which amounted to about 4 - 5, came across as a tad too tough.
Taiwan Vermicelli - The only time I ate Taiwan vermicelli aka mee sua was when I was still a kid and my grandmother would cook it for me during my Chinese birthday. Though its been a long time since I last ate mee sua, I don't remember it tasting as awful as Lai Lai's rendition. The soup was very starchy and not to mention bland. Ingredients were minimal as well and half of bowl of the vermicelli remained, for obvious reasons.
On hindsight, the queues were probably formed due to the herd mentality of Singaporeans and definitely not for the food quality. Our dinner cost the 2 of us $30, which isn't expensive for a dinner, but definitely expensive for such quality of food. Never again!
A day, twenty four hours, one thousand & forty minutes,
& eighty six thousand & four hundred seconds.
Breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea, dinner & supper.
That’s how much we eat, and for the last meal of the year,
Something sweet.
A typical New York Cheesecake ($6.80), with a twist at the bottom. Instead of the usual digestive biscuit crumb base, this one had oatmeal mixed with digestive biscuit, resulting in a softer base. While it scored brownie points for creativity, I still preferred the original version. The cheesecake was the very rich and cheesy type, nothing like the light & airy type.
Something not-so-sweet. Strawberry yoghurt mousse ($7). Topped with pretty strawberries. I ain’t a big fan of yoghurt, but this hit the right spot with the perfect balance between the berries and mousse. The best part of a shooter dessert was digging into it. And sharing of course.
Now, my favourite. I left the Hazelnut Praline Royale ($6.80) for the last, since i knew me being me, i’ll definitely not like the other two desserts if I’ve started with this. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, and i only have you in my eyes. The praline base was definitely one of the thickest I’ve before. The richness of the chocolatey cake did not overwhelm in the first bite, but the cake was surely too much for one to finish alone. In short, think ferrero rocher cake.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
I was very much enticed by the 50% discount that Bistro Senso was offering on its ala carte menu during the Singapore Flyer downtime so made a purposeful trip down just to give it a shot. It definitely helped that I had a great experience at Senso Ristorante at club street quite a few years back.
The interior is comfortably cafe-ish and decked out in predominantly red and black shades with towering floor to ceilings windows that allow a view of the Marina Barrage, among other things. There is also a al fresco option but being a hot afternoon, the air conditioned indoors definitely seemed a lot more appealing.
Caprese Di Mozzarella Di Bufala - For starters, we had the mozzarella salad, which was decent but nothing to shout about. The cheese was a little too bland but thankfully, still relatively smooth. If it wasn't the salt from the salad which "spiced" things up a little, I honestly don't think we could have finished this dish.
Calamari - The calamari batter was a tad too thick for my liking but the squid had a nice springy texture and didn't come across as overly salty. It didn't seem very oily as well which is a plus point I guess.
Calzone - The calzone aka "folded pizza" surprised me with its humongous serving size. It was easily double the size of any calzone that I've ever tried (not that I've tried a lot though). (Un)fortunately, most of it was just hot air (literally!). When I made a hole in the pizza, the dough sort of deflated and the whole thing was hollow, save for a bed of cheese coupled with a few slices of ham. On the upside, the pastry was nice and chewy, almost like eating roti prata. But the whole pizza could really do with more ingredients.
Lobster and Crab Meat Ravioli - I was rather surprised to see this on the menu as lobster and crab meat are usually quite expensive and this ravioli was only going for $18 (before discount). The ravioli had crab shreds for filling and I couldn't quite make out any lobster at all. However, thrown into the pot were servings of relatively fresh squid, mussel and prawns, all held together by a lightly sourish and tomato base sauce. Not exactly what I was expecting, but for the price, I really can't complain.
Tiramisu - The desserts proved to be anything but good. For an Italian eatery, the tiramisu was sadly pathetic. The sponge was a tad dry even at the base and the mascarpone cheese wasn't dense or moist enough. And where was the alcohol taste?
Creme Brulee - Only for those with a very sweet tooth best describes the creme brulee. It was mind blowingly sweet even for me and definitely not made from vanilla beans. The texture was uncomfortably smooth, soft and almost creamy, very much like paste. The caramel also looked like it hadn't been torched long enough.
A very filling meal for 2 cost us to the tune of $90 ($45 after 50% discount). Though we did manage to get 2 full courses (appetiser, main, dessert) for the price, I doubt I will be back in the absense of the discount simply because the quality of food doesn't quite live up to its pricing. Service was good but how hard is it to serve just 1 table?
There used to be four, but with the latest addition of the Canon to the Arsenal, the power balance was tipped back. The current score stands at Canon 2, Olympus 2, Nikon 1. With the figure at a perfect five, there’s a harder fight especially so when somebody countdown five seconds for the shots.
While just like how the different brands have their own strengths; with Canon producing the crisp sharp shots, Nikon edging out with the vibrant colours display, Olympus providing the balance in between, there isn’t a perfect combination. And of course, there are pros and cons of Choupinette. The small capacity of the restaurant made it a great place for a lazy pig-out, but it also meant that the place was packed to the crowd on a busy weekend.
I like how my Nikon produced the perfect blend of colour, to bring out the best in the settings of the restaurant. And surely, the Canon and Olympus camp would protest against that.
Walking by the array of bread, the three of us were attracted by the Pain au chocolat ($2.90). From the memories, warm melting chocolate filled within the crispy bread. But it was not to be, the bread was cold even though the staff helped us warm it up. Chocolate fillings, or rather, the lack of it was the main downfall.
The same problem goes for the Almond Danish ($2.90), the bread wasn’t warm, while we couldn’t expect freshly baked bread to be coming out just for us, it would be a lot better if only the bread was warm.
The chouchou’s set ($22 ) from the lunch menu had choices of either one of grilled hot sandwich, lasagna or smoked salmon sandwich, together with a drink and dessert. This was La Moussaka. The fanciful name brought home the impact, otherwise you wouldn’t be seeing this dish here. But, it was a very ordinary one, nothing to shoot about.
The generous slices of smoked salmon from the Le Noé’s sandwich ($22 from chouchou’s set) was definitely worth the price. Coming in two huge slabs of bread, it could easily filled up two person.
Choupinette’s interpretation of the Madame and Monsieur was an egg, with the latter coming without. Grilled sandwich with a choice of ham, chicken or eggplants with emmenthal cheese & béchamel sauce. Le Croque-Monsieur ($15). Apparently, our Madame was so engrossed with the sandwich that she couldn’t give her comment.
I always wondered what exactly is a quiche ($6 per slice), well i got my answer today, in not one, but two quiche! The lorraine quiche (top picture) is perhaps the most common quiche there is. While I didn’t exactly fancy the spinach quiche, I still prefer my spinach eaten like a vegetable.
Eggs on toast with smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce served all day long. This is for all the lazy bums out there! The Egg Royal’s ($21 ) ought to be presented with the most-expensive-eggs-you-ever-eaten honour. I kind of wanted to kick myself for not ordering this, the poached eggs were done perfectly, and the looks alone would give much pleasure.
Another dish which you can’t left out of any brunch menu, Eggs Benedict’s ($20 ). Eggs on toast with ham and hollandaise sauce. Well if your stomach isn’t feeling right having smoked salmon for breakfast, eggs with ham are always a safer choice.
It’s kind of heavy eating a burger for breakfast, but hey we are having brunch! For all the carnivores, Le Burger ($18) is just, well a hamburger. The beef patty was slightly overcooked, but it was served with a generous servings of salad, and the fries even came on a separate bowl. But for $18, i thought it was rather on the high side, you can have a gourmet burger at Relish, or maybe a cheaper burger from Hotshots or Smoking frog kitchen might do the job.
On first impression, the Tarte au citron ($5.60) or lemon meringue tart would definitely made a statement with the beautiful burnt and thick layer of meringue. While others took one bite of the tart and refused to touch it any more, i was slowly sampling it since this was my first time trying meringue. The layer of meringue on top was supposed to form a stiff peak but the one here was too thick, and there was also hint of coarse sugar within which was probably due to the improper dissolve of the sugar.
We were contemplating between chocolate or coffee éclair since there was too much desserts with chocolate. But we decided against it since coffee is an acquired taste, and had the Éclair au chocolat ($5). There was a salty after-taste in the éclair which came across as rather weird.
I was eagerly anticipating the Palais Royal ($6.90), for the dark chocolate and crunchy praline. But there wasn’t any crunchy praline to be found. Nonetheless, i still enjoyed the dessert even though some didn’t really like it as they were disappointed by the lack of the crunchy praline.
A very simple custard & raspberry, the Millefeuille framboise ($7). The several layers of puff pastry brought back fond childhood memories of the cake which i had before when i was a kid. It was difficult not to make a mess of it as the cake crumbled easily.
The Tarte aux Pommes ($5.90 a slice, $7.90 for an additional scoop of ice cream) was quintessentially an apple tart with a scoop of normal ice cream. The additional of 2 bucks for the scoop of ice cream was totally not worth the money, but the apple tart was decent. The thin slice of dessert was fulsome with the apple taste.
Vendôme ($6.90) also caught our attention with the three layers of dark, milk and white chocolate. The dessert was more like eating three layers of chocolate mousse, some didn’t like it, but i did.
The macarons ($1.80 each) were a disaster. We had eight of them, four from each chouchou’s set. Choupinette has about 13 flavours of macarons available, we chose chocolate, raspberry, strawberry, peach, passion fruit, orange, pear and hazelnut. Almost all the macarons had chocolate gauche for fillings, i wouldn’t mind small macarons if they were good, but the one here had an artificial taste to it. Something was definitely missing but we couldn’t quite make out what. The very artificial colouring of the macarons didn’t appeal to us too. The shells of the macaron crumbled easily and didn’t have the chewy texture a good macaron should have.
Total bill was $193 for 9 of us. Some paid more for their expensive egg brunch, while some paid less for just bread and desserts. But generally, if you are looking to try their brunch or lunch menu, you will probably looking at 20 per person, and that’s probably excluding desserts. Choupinette has a great base of Caucasians customers, and it isn’t difficult to see why for the cosy and homely decorations of the place. The name of the restaurant, and the French names of the food screams chic. It will probably be better to go on a weekday where there’s less customers if you want to try this place out.
Well, just like how there will never be a perfect DSLR for either Canon, Olympus or Nikon users. Some of you might like Nikon for the design, Canon for its brand, Olympus for its nimbleness, all of us have different preferences. Similarly for Choupinette, while we were disappointed by the desserts, but the eggs on the brunch were exceptional, and you might just like the food there. No matter what, all of us love our DSLR, and the common passion for food. Another dessert enthusiast outing, until the next one!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
A classic Italian gastronomic, Galbiati gourmet deli actually started out as a takeaway place for its gourmet products. I’ve been wanting to give the place a visit ever since a friend highly recommended it, and railmall is so near to my place.
The interior of the deli was very small, with seating of at most 30. The simplistic environment of the place does makes one feels comfortable, a place where you can call your own Italian joint. The food offered are mostly simple food, with a wide array of home-made pastas, appetizer and main courses.
The Salmon asparagus linguine ($18) was based on the recommendation of the serving staff as my friend’s a great fan of the fish. A very light cream base accompanied the linguine, with the salmon stronger in taste. The asparagus seems to act as the neutralising balance between the salmon and the overall light taste of the dish. A fairly good home-made pasta.
I’ve a sneak preview of their pizzas at the counter, and was excited to hear that they’d served it fresh from the oven. The popular Hawaiian pizza ($8) was our choice for the night. Coming in squares of 6, the pizza was value for money. But, there’s no free lunch in this world, i thought that the ingredients were miserable, with one small cube of pineapple and ham. The pizza crust was very hard, and dry for my personal liking. And the tomato spread for the base was insufficient.
One of the unique characteristics of Galbiati deli was they actually encouraged takeaways. Dining in, the Lavender cheesecake ($7) is a dollar more expensive than if you opted to takeaway their desserts. The lavender flower infused a aromatic fragrant into the light cheesecake. The crust base was always a welcoming partner, to provide the crunch.
We always like to save the best for the last, to savour every bite of the Tiramisu ($7) for a lasting moment stored in our memory. Well i didn’t exactly had many tiramisu before, but Galbiati’s one is probably one of the best i’ve before. There wasn’t any deconstruction, nothing fanciful about the famous Italian dessert. Just a solid good one. The mascrapone cheese, with the the coffee-liquer infuse flavour, i was sorely tempted to order another one.
Total bill was $44 for two person. While the dinner didn’t exactly turn out to be as good as what i’ve expected, it’s easy to imagine myself back here for a simple meal. The only problem? The restaurant doesn’t allow photography, so i was taking photos secretly while they were not looking.
And i do enjoyed my rights of taking photos openly, so this may be the reason a revisit will eluded me. One thing’s for sure, i’ll definitely be back to try the other desserts, and the tiramisu of course. But the next time round, i’ll probably takeaway their desserts, and snap shots of it just directly outside their shop!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
The Singapore Flyer is touted as the world’s largest observation wheel, even higher than London Eye. Our nation’s pride. Minor breakdowns before were already ominous signals that a catastrophe will happen one day. Alas, the dreadful thing finally struck. How the mighty has fallen. The management should have already looked into and made backup plans, but it failed anyway. Now, time for us to do some self-reflections and damage-recovery.
While the flyer remains closed for investigations, the ones to suffer the backslash are the restaurants and other tenents. Senso Bistro, is coming up with a 50% promotion off all their a la carte menu from now until the flyer starts operating (date unknown yet).
The natural vibe of the restaurant, with its simple layout and decorations, provided a good place for either a causal lunch, or nice dinner without burning a hole in the pocket.
Not to mention there’s also al fresco dining, which would be ideal for dinner, with the sea breeze and eating under the stars making it a romantic affair.
The waiter kindly asked us whether we’ll like some garlic bread ($4) while waiting, but he failed to mention it’s not free. Naturally when he offered us bread i thought it was complimentary. There’s no free lunch in this world. All right, it’s not so much about the money, we are talking about principle, like shouldn’t they at least inform us the bread wasn’t complimentary? Next time, don’t be shy, ask!
With ten selections to choose from the Pizze menu, we were spoilt for choices. To be on the safe side, we went for the popular Hawaiian ($18 before 50% discount). The paper-thin pizza was huge, with eight slices easily filling up the four of us. The ingredients of pineapple, cooked ham were very generous. The only gripe? I lamented the fact that the pizza did not have enough mozzarella cheese. Still, with the promotion, it’s definitely a steal at just under ten bucks. It made the one I’ve at Galbiati looked pathetic.
Grilled tuna loin coated in fresh herbs. The Tonno ($24 before 50% discount) was a disappointment really. The fish was over-cooked, making the meat too dry and hard. I liked the side vegetables that came with it, lightly stir-fried, the greens were crunchy and fresh.
When asked to choose between the T-bone steak and veal loin, the manager recommended the latter for the delicate taste and tender texture. Veal loin is the meat of calves, and at Bistro Senso, the pan-fried veal loin scaloppine ($24 before discount) can be done in three different methods. Ours were ‘alla Pizzaiola’ with tomato and mozzarella cheese. The whole taste was like having a steak-pizza. A refreshing combination, but the meat was not tender enough, and came across as too tough. And since we had pizza already, now i’m wishing i chose the other method of breaded and golden crispy instead.
And how can we not have any pasta from an Italian bistro? The Ravioli ($18 before 50% discount) was essentially lobster and crab pasta served with assorted seafood ragout in tomato and basil sauce. This was actually my first time having a ravioli pasta. The tomato and basil sauce was flavourful and strong in taste. The prawns and squids were fresh, but to be frank, I didn’t quite enjoy ravioli. I still preferred my pasta to be spaghetti or linguine. Personal taste.
I was eagerly anticipating the desserts, well most people would find tiramisu ($8 before 50% discount) boring and chose some other interesting options. But there was no way I’m going to miss out trying the popular Italian dessert from an Italiano joint. The mascarpone cream was too light, and the espresso taste was not strong.
Another famous Italian dessert, Pannacotta ($8 before 50% discount). The bouncy texture was evident, but i couldn’t figure out what’s in the double cream flan. The raspberry coulis did provided a contrast with the pannacotta.
The last one, Creme brulee ($8 before 50% discount). The oven-baked egg custard of the Italian dessert did taste rather like our Chinese egg tarts. The caramelised sugar on top of the dessert wasn’t burned enough, and lacked the torched burnt taste.
Total bill was $65.91 for 4 person after a 50% discount. Although i wasn’t very impressed with the food, but with the promotional prices, the food is really cheap! The pizzas and pastas are like 9 bucks each, and the main course 12 bucks. The soothing ambience with the inexpensive price means that you should visit Senso Bistro before the Singapore Flyer reopens. Talk about patriotism, and national pride.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Had another bout of craving for Thai food but didn't fancy spending too much due to the economic downturn so dropped by Jai Thai for a simple no frills dinner with my folks. Jai, which means heart in English, is touted as the most value for money Thai restaurant in Singapore.
Located in the rather secluded private estate of Jalan Pemimpin in the Thomson/Sin Ming area, Jai Thai operates out of a rather spacious shophouse but provides very limited parking spaces. The interior is kept simple and unassuming with cheap wooden tables and chairs and Chinese tunes playing in the background. There is of course the obligatory photos of the Thai royal family.
Tom Yum Soup - To be honest, I didn't quite take to the tom yum soup because it wasn't the clear and hard hitting sourish spicy type that I personally prefer. Instead, it had lots of chilli flakes and came across as only mildly sourish and watery. Good for people who don't like their soup too extreme I guess. On the upside, it came with fried fish pieces, squid and prawns which were relatively fresh.
Thai Fish Cake - At $1.50 a piece, the fish cake was decent. Not the best I've tried but very palatable. Just that I found it a wee bit too soft for my liking.
Pineapple Fried Rice - Evenly fried and decent tasting but on the dry side. Miserable bits of chicken and chicken floss donned the top. However at $6 for a 2 pax portion, I guess its still acceptable.
Kai Lan with Oyster Sauce - How bad can kai lan with oyster sauce get? Average tasting but at least the leaves didn't have worm holes in it - something that usually plagues alot of budget eateries. I did find the oyster sauce a little excessive though.
Pandan Chicken - This was probably the best dish of the day. Big chunks of boneless chicken meat well marinated and fragrant to boot. Very worth the price ($5) but watch out for the excessive oil.
Mango Pudding - At $1.50, I honestly didn't expect much. The pudding's texture was more like jelly then pudding and came topped with coconut milk. Edible but not something I would order again.
Mango Sticky Rice - The rice was smooth, sticky and sweet at the same time with the generous mango slices mildy sweet and sour. A drizzle of coconut milk atop completed the picture with the whole dish coming across as sweet, creamy with a light sourish tinge. Quite good I must say.
I would say $30 for a filling dinner for 3 pax is really a steal. Food quality is decent but service needs to buck up a little as the wait staff do seem a little inefficient. For the price, I would definitely be better off eating here then at Thai Express and the likes.
Si bon - the upmarket Japanese restaurant at Sentosa that specialises in kushiage, a form of Japanese cooking that involves coating a variety of ingredients with egg and bread crumbs and deep fried. Helmed by Chef Seiichiro Arakawa, Si bon promises a refined kushiage experience equal to what you would experience in Japan itself.
Hidden in a reclusive recess within the Amara Sanctuary Resort at Sentosa, Si Bon occupies a small restored colonial chapel that once housed a nursery (It happens to be the oldest chapel on Sentosa by the way). Seats are scarce, with the counter seating only 13 diners indoors and the charming al fresco area, complete with a water feature and bamboo garden, allowing for only another 10. The interior of the place exudes olden charm stemming from its soaring pointed ceiling and exposed unevenly laid brick walls - a reference to the building's historic origins.
Appetiser - Personally I thought that the appetisers were great. The miso beans were very savoury and complimented the crunchy and bland radish slices very well. On the other hand, the fish pieces were dipped in a salty yet sweet sauce that made got my appetite going.
Prawn - Served with a dollop of what looked like ketchup (someone please tell me what is it cause I have no idea), the prawns were fresh and crunchy with a light and crisp batter coating that didn't threaten to overwhelm or held any oily residue aftertaste.
Scallop - One of my personal favourites of the meal, the scallop was nothing short of excellent. Huge and bursting with flavour (sweet and salty all at once) while the batter came across as light and crisp. A pity it was only 1 piece.
Eel - I'm not exactly a big fan of eel and this one wasn't exactly outstanding. Served with a dash of wasabi atop, the eel came across as rather tasteless and had to be eaten with soya sauce, which just made it, well, salty. I must comment that the wasabi was rather strong though.
Pork Loin - In my excitement to taste the food, I forgot to take a picture of the pork loin before I started eating so please bear with the shot of my half eaten piece of loin. That said, the loin came served with a piece of mint leaf and had to be eaten with mustard sauce. The pork was succulent and juicy with a somewhat moderate tinge of mint taste from the leaf. Nice and refreshing.
Lotus Root - Interestingly, the lotus root had japanese curry powder and chicken thrown along with it - all nicely wrapped up in a light batter casing. Eaten with black sauce, this dish was crunchy and crispy with hints of curry powder. Not exactly my cup of tea though but something different I must admit.
Egg Plant - I usually baulk at the taste of egg plant, but not this one. Topped with white miso and eaten with no sauce, the egg plant was seriously good. Nice and smooth with a tinge of sweetness from the white miso paste.
Enoki Mushroom - Another most interesting concoction, the enoki mushroom was deep fried together with cream cheese and came served with a slice of parma ham atop and drizzled with lemon juice to jazz things up a little. The cream cheese sang in harmonious symphony with the mushroom, resulting in a smooth, creamy and an ever so light sourish aftertaste. I couldn't quite make out the taste of the parma ham in the equation though.
Wagyu Beef - I personally swear by this and I am nothing short of amazed by how wonderful the wagyu beef turned out. Expect nothing less then the best Australian wagyu beef with its excellent marbling and tenderness, dusted with the lightest batter and deep fried till an even crisp. Very full of flavour I must say. Please note that this was an additional order outside of the set and cost a seemingly exorbitant $18 /stick.
Udon - The udon came as an option on the set menu and although I'm not fan of udon, I have to say that it had me hooked. Full of bite and accompanied by slices of chicken, scallop and a stick of snow crab, the udon came across as nice and light on the palate.
Nigiri Sushi - One of the other options in the set besides udon/soba and steamed sushi, the nigiri sushi required a top up of $20 , which netted me a plate of 5 sushi pieces. I can't say I enjoyed this very much because I'm not exactly big on raw stuff but hey I made it through. Everything was very fresh so no complaints.
Grapefruit Sorbet - This is the first time I'm eating something like this and its somewhat intriguing. The sorbet had grapefruit pulp in it and overall the palate cleanser cum dessert was sweet and sour with a bitter tinge.
$174 for a 2 person lunch is definitely a high price to pay, especially when you are eating satay sticks lookalike. But the quality of food is apparent and the experience, eye opening. Top that with excellent customer service and an out of the country ambience and you have a top notch restaurant that is worth many revisits (provided you have the money of course). From what I understand from the chef, Si bon flies in its ingredients from Japan, except the wagyu, but that is about to change next year when Singapore lifts its restriction on Kobe beef. Till then, I'll be patiently awaiting.
We walked along the narrow street, wondering where was our destination. The road seems so distant, the future so vague. Just like the route we took, there’s much hurdle to be clear. At long last, we arrived, Dim joy.
Culture of all walks of life, our very own roots. Dim Joy offers a perspective much more than just eating dim sum. Its about the art of appreciating dim sum, the approach in understanding our culture. I like the small details they look into, like how they have tiny notes on the teapot to teach people about the correct method of teapot refill, like how they print their own manuals on the chopstick cover to educate about chopstick etiquette. Small little things like these, make a whole lot of differences.
Nestled in a shop house on neil road, the restaurant quaint and tranquil environment made me feel at home upon entering. There wasn’t much people on a weekday lunch, we had the whole lovely place to ourselves. This is just a place where you can seat down and chill for the whole day.
The simplistic approach to the chief, King shrimp har gao ($4). The whole taste was very subtle, the prawns were fresh, but the skin was again, too thick. While it wasn’t fantastic, dim sum just isn’t dim sum without har gao.
There wasn’t much difference with the Barbecued pork & celery in rice rolls ($5) too. It was way too short if i were to compare it with elsewhere. There was also the option of having the rice rolls in claypot, but i dismissed it as gimmick. I wanted a good steamed and savoury rice roll in light sauce.
There were bits of char siew which could passed off as bacon strips. And we were wondering how cool it’ll be if there’s bacon rice rolls. Nonetheless, the taste was again, very subtle and tame if i may just use the word. I didn’t quite enjoy the celery within too.
I was eagerly anticipating the Honey-syrup char siew bun ($3). With such a sweet name, we were like bees attracted to the beauty of the honey pot. The white pillowry bun was soft and fluffy, very good! But the char siew fillings could be better. While its sweet with honey-syrup infused, the fillings were too little, and i’ll preferred it to be more moist, like their char siew sou.
There is also Siew mai ($3.50 for 4), another dim sum staple. Chewy, shrimpy and not too oily. Value for money definitely, and its the only one that comes two by two. The ratio of shrimp to pork outnumbers greatly, with only a small portion of lean pork meat.
I always choose Pan-fried radish cake ($3) over its steamed cousins. I love the slightly charred surface of the carrot cake, but this one wasn’t charred enough. Well unlike most carrot cakes which are very filling, this one wasn’t very starchy, and had a different taste from the ones which i tried before. The jury’s out on this, you need to make your judgement.
Personally, i ain’t a big fan of the beancurd skin roll ($4.50) but my companion wanted to try this, so here we go. Instead of the typical prawn fillings, this one was all about mushrooms. The skin was a bit raw, and taste almost like beancurd, well it’s made from beancurd after all. The wholesome, vegetarian fillings within the beancurd skin roll didn’t work for me. But my companion rather enjoyed her helpings.
Now, my choice. The char siew so ($3.50) bears a great resemblance to our festive pineapple tarts. Golden brown in colour, with the buttery egg-graze taste on the pastry. While it didn’t come in the form of my favourite flaky skin, Dim Joy’s rendition was unique in its own right.
This time, the sweet honey infuse char siew fillings were more generous, and it was very moist within the pastry. But the char siew did lacked certain texture, and given time to improve, it’ll be better.
We were half-decided on ordering the Custard bun ($3) since we heard it wasn’t that good. But we decided to try for ourselves, taste after all is a very subjective thing. The vital factor for a good custard bun, the oozing out of the golden custard fillings. This one did, the molten custards flowed out of the bun, just like the lava erupted from a volcano. The salty egg yolk taste wasn’t strong enough, the bun was soft but, there’s some fine particles which we guessed was course sugar not dissolved properly. I had the best, and the worst before, this one would be good given some minor tweaks.
While i know Lingnan is an area in China, i couldn’t see the link what the place got to do with the Lingnan egg tart ($3.50 for 4). The best part about Dim Joy during weekend was there wasn’t much people around, so everything was made freshly, rather than pre-made. We waited 25 minutes just for the egg tarts to come out freshly baked. The egg fillings were nice and wet, but the pastry lacked the buttery undertone.
Total bill was $42.35 for 2 person. I must say, with 9 dim sum between us, the prices are fairly reasonable given the standards of the dim sum. I’ll definitely make a perennial visit again, and for that, See you there! And just for some background information, Michelle Saram’s the partner behind Dim Joy.
It also helped that Dim Joy served dim sum throughout the day, even during dinner. Most places don’t serve dim sum at night, so it’s a nice place if you are craving for dim sum after the sun set. I heard they are packed during weekend, so avoid the crowd come on the weekdays instead.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
1=SGD 0.0587
Was presented the opportunity to sample the Chinese New Year buffet spread at Straits Cafe at Hotel Rendezvous, courtesy of the hotel's marketing department, specifically Christina, the marketing manager.
Straits Cafe's interior is typical of any hotel cafe that does, with its informal decor coupled with simple furnishing and the usual glass counters that display the food and the chefs that put the food together. Straits Cafe goes a step further by offering LCD televisions in certain areas of the restaurant, something which I believe a lot of hotel cafes/restaurants don't offer (Or am I just too outdated?).
Salmon Yu Sheng - The ubiquitous Yu Sheng and my umpteenth one this year, Straits Cafe offers this dish as a DIY at the counter, which means none of the routine rehearsed recitation by the wait staff. I'm no big fan of yusheng so I shall reserve my comments on this one.
Peng Cai - According to the manager, the Peng Cai requires a minimum preparation time of about 6 hours and consists of 15 different items in it - Shark's fin, abalone, dried scallops, prawns, duck web etc. As impressive as the list of ingredients may sound, I honestly didn't quite take to it as everything tasted very soft and mashed up. The flavours weren't immersed or intense enough and everything tasted more or less the same.
Variety
The buffet spread had about 30 items (just a rough estimate) which ranged from sushi and soba to seafood, cut meats, local dishes like laksa and desserts. Not exactly extensive if you ask me.
Food Quality
Food quality was generally average but there were a few glimmers of hope. In particular the laksa and durian pengat were worth a mention, to me at least. The laksa had a smooth creamy coconut milk base that harboured a tinge of sourish aftertaste which I thought was quite nice, but thats coming from someone who eats laksa probably once in 10 years? The durian pengat came across as smooth without being overly sweet and carried a nice hint of bitterness. However, I would have preferred it to be thicker and more concentrated.
Service
Service was generally quite good but as this was an invited session, I'm not sure if it would be representative of the service level in general.
To conclude, I would like to thank Hotel Rendezvous once again for generously extending their hospitality to yours truly.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Jostled with the crowds at Jurong Point's newly opened extension to have a go Lai Lai Casual Dining - a seemingly popular beef noodles cum pseudo Taiwanese eatery. There was a steady stream of people queuing up to get a seat in the eatery so we naturally assumed that this place was of a certain acceptable standard.
The bulk of the seating at this eatery is open concept, which means that people from the upper levels of the mall can view you from the top and tables are squeezed uncomfortably close to each other to maxmize revenue. And honestly, the cow on the menu looked like it had just been hit by mad cow disease.
Fried Beancurd - This dish was very run off the mill. Crisp on the outside but not soft on the inside, the beancurd was overly deep fried which resulted in a harder then usual exterior.
Pepper Salt Chicken - This dish was another disappointment. I mean, how bad can chicken taste like right? Wrong! The chicken had more flour then meat and came across as tough, bland and oily. Can someone tell me where the salt and pepper went?
Taiwan Beef Noodle - Lai Lai's purported signature/star dish and I have to admit that it was the best amongst all the other terrible dishes. Not that it was anywhere near what I had expected initially when I was still in the queue. The noodles were of the flatter variant and carried a bit of bite but the soup wasn't flavourful enough. The beef pieces, which amounted to about 4 - 5, came across as a tad too tough.
Taiwan Vermicelli - The only time I ate Taiwan vermicelli aka mee sua was when I was still a kid and my grandmother would cook it for me during my Chinese birthday. Though its been a long time since I last ate mee sua, I don't remember it tasting as awful as Lai Lai's rendition. The soup was very starchy and not to mention bland. Ingredients were minimal as well and half of bowl of the vermicelli remained, for obvious reasons.
On hindsight, the queues were probably formed due to the herd mentality of Singaporeans and definitely not for the food quality. Our dinner cost the 2 of us $30, which isn't expensive for a dinner, but definitely expensive for such quality of food. Never again!
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
A year, twelve months, fifty two weeks,
& three hundred and sixty five days.
A day, twenty four hours, one thousand & forty minutes,
& eighty six thousand & four hundred seconds.
Breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea, dinner & supper.
That’s how much we eat, and for the last meal of the year,
Something sweet.
A typical New York Cheesecake ($6.80), with a twist at the bottom. Instead of the usual digestive biscuit crumb base, this one had oatmeal mixed with digestive biscuit, resulting in a softer base. While it scored brownie points for creativity, I still preferred the original version. The cheesecake was the very rich and cheesy type, nothing like the light & airy type.
Something not-so-sweet. Strawberry yoghurt mousse ($7). Topped with pretty strawberries. I ain’t a big fan of yoghurt, but this hit the right spot with the perfect balance between the berries and mousse. The best part of a shooter dessert was digging into it. And sharing of course.
Now, my favourite. I left the Hazelnut Praline Royale ($6.80) for the last, since i knew me being me, i’ll definitely not like the other two desserts if I’ve started with this. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, and i only have you in my eyes. The praline base was definitely one of the thickest I’ve before. The richness of the chocolatey cake did not overwhelm in the first bite, but the cake was surely too much for one to finish alone. In short, think ferrero rocher cake.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
I was very much enticed by the 50% discount that Bistro Senso was offering on its ala carte menu during the Singapore Flyer downtime so made a purposeful trip down just to give it a shot. It definitely helped that I had a great experience at Senso Ristorante at club street quite a few years back.
The interior is comfortably cafe-ish and decked out in predominantly red and black shades with towering floor to ceilings windows that allow a view of the Marina Barrage, among other things. There is also a al fresco option but being a hot afternoon, the air conditioned indoors definitely seemed a lot more appealing.
Caprese Di Mozzarella Di Bufala - For starters, we had the mozzarella salad, which was decent but nothing to shout about. The cheese was a little too bland but thankfully, still relatively smooth. If it wasn't the salt from the salad which "spiced" things up a little, I honestly don't think we could have finished this dish.
Calamari - The calamari batter was a tad too thick for my liking but the squid had a nice springy texture and didn't come across as overly salty. It didn't seem very oily as well which is a plus point I guess.
Calzone - The calzone aka "folded pizza" surprised me with its humongous serving size. It was easily double the size of any calzone that I've ever tried (not that I've tried a lot though). (Un)fortunately, most of it was just hot air (literally!). When I made a hole in the pizza, the dough sort of deflated and the whole thing was hollow, save for a bed of cheese coupled with a few slices of ham. On the upside, the pastry was nice and chewy, almost like eating roti prata. But the whole pizza could really do with more ingredients.
Lobster and Crab Meat Ravioli - I was rather surprised to see this on the menu as lobster and crab meat are usually quite expensive and this ravioli was only going for $18 (before discount). The ravioli had crab shreds for filling and I couldn't quite make out any lobster at all. However, thrown into the pot were servings of relatively fresh squid, mussel and prawns, all held together by a lightly sourish and tomato base sauce. Not exactly what I was expecting, but for the price, I really can't complain.
Tiramisu -
The desserts proved to be anything but good. For an Italian eatery, the tiramisu was sadly pathetic. The sponge was a tad dry even at the base and the mascarpone cheese wasn't dense or moist enough. And where was the alcohol taste?
Creme Brulee -
Only for those with a very sweet tooth best describes the creme brulee. It was mind blowingly sweet even for me and definitely not made from vanilla beans. The texture was uncomfortably smooth, soft and almost creamy, very much like paste. The caramel also looked like it hadn't been torched long enough.
A very filling meal for 2 cost us to the tune of $90 ($45 after 50% discount). Though we did manage to get 2 full courses (appetiser, main, dessert) for the price, I doubt I will be back in the absense of the discount simply because the quality of food doesn't quite live up to its pricing. Service was good but how hard is it to serve just 1 table?
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
There used to be four, but with the latest addition of the Canon to the Arsenal, the power balance was tipped back. The current score stands at Canon 2, Olympus 2, Nikon 1. With the figure at a perfect five, there’s a harder fight especially so when somebody countdown five seconds for the shots.
While just like how the different brands have their own strengths; with Canon producing the crisp sharp shots, Nikon edging out with the vibrant colours display, Olympus providing the balance in between, there isn’t a perfect combination. And of course, there are pros and cons of Choupinette. The small capacity of the restaurant made it a great place for a lazy pig-out, but it also meant that the place was packed to the crowd on a busy weekend.
I like how my Nikon produced the perfect blend of colour, to bring out the best in the settings of the restaurant. And surely, the Canon and Olympus camp would protest against that.
Walking by the array of bread, the three of us were attracted by the Pain au chocolat ($2.90). From the memories, warm melting chocolate filled within the crispy bread. But it was not to be, the bread was cold even though the staff helped us warm it up. Chocolate fillings, or rather, the lack of it was the main downfall.
The same problem goes for the Almond Danish ($2.90), the bread wasn’t warm, while we couldn’t expect freshly baked bread to be coming out just for us, it would be a lot better if only the bread was warm.
The chouchou’s set ($22 ) from the lunch menu had choices of either one of grilled hot sandwich, lasagna or smoked salmon sandwich, together with a drink and dessert. This was La Moussaka. The fanciful name brought home the impact, otherwise you wouldn’t be seeing this dish here. But, it was a very ordinary one, nothing to shoot about.
The generous slices of smoked salmon from the Le Noé’s sandwich ($22 from chouchou’s set) was definitely worth the price. Coming in two huge slabs of bread, it could easily filled up two person.
Choupinette’s interpretation of the Madame and Monsieur was an egg, with the latter coming without. Grilled sandwich with a choice of ham, chicken or eggplants with emmenthal cheese & béchamel sauce. Le Croque-Monsieur ($15). Apparently, our Madame was so engrossed with the sandwich that she couldn’t give her comment.
I always wondered what exactly is a quiche ($6 per slice), well i got my answer today, in not one, but two quiche! The lorraine quiche (top picture) is perhaps the most common quiche there is. While I didn’t exactly fancy the spinach quiche, I still prefer my spinach eaten like a vegetable.
Eggs on toast with smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce served all day long. This is for all the lazy bums out there! The Egg Royal’s ($21 ) ought to be presented with the most-expensive-eggs-you-ever-eaten honour. I kind of wanted to kick myself for not ordering this, the poached eggs were done perfectly, and the looks alone would give much pleasure.
Another dish which you can’t left out of any brunch menu, Eggs Benedict’s ($20 ). Eggs on toast with ham and hollandaise sauce. Well if your stomach isn’t feeling right having smoked salmon for breakfast, eggs with ham are always a safer choice.
It’s kind of heavy eating a burger for breakfast, but hey we are having brunch! For all the carnivores, Le Burger ($18) is just, well a hamburger. The beef patty was slightly overcooked, but it was served with a generous servings of salad, and the fries even came on a separate bowl. But for $18, i thought it was rather on the high side, you can have a gourmet burger at Relish, or maybe a cheaper burger from Hotshots or Smoking frog kitchen might do the job.
On first impression, the Tarte au citron ($5.60) or lemon meringue tart would definitely made a statement with the beautiful burnt and thick layer of meringue. While others took one bite of the tart and refused to touch it any more, i was slowly sampling it since this was my first time trying meringue. The layer of meringue on top was supposed to form a stiff peak but the one here was too thick, and there was also hint of coarse sugar within which was probably due to the improper dissolve of the sugar.
We were contemplating between chocolate or coffee éclair since there was too much desserts with chocolate. But we decided against it since coffee is an acquired taste, and had the Éclair au chocolat ($5). There was a salty after-taste in the éclair which came across as rather weird.
I was eagerly anticipating the Palais Royal ($6.90), for the dark chocolate and crunchy praline. But there wasn’t any crunchy praline to be found. Nonetheless, i still enjoyed the dessert even though some didn’t really like it as they were disappointed by the lack of the crunchy praline.
A very simple custard & raspberry, the Millefeuille framboise ($7). The several layers of puff pastry brought back fond childhood memories of the cake which i had before when i was a kid. It was difficult not to make a mess of it as the cake crumbled easily.
The Tarte aux Pommes ($5.90 a slice, $7.90 for an additional scoop of ice cream) was quintessentially an apple tart with a scoop of normal ice cream. The additional of 2 bucks for the scoop of ice cream was totally not worth the money, but the apple tart was decent. The thin slice of dessert was fulsome with the apple taste.
Vendôme ($6.90) also caught our attention with the three layers of dark, milk and white chocolate. The dessert was more like eating three layers of chocolate mousse, some didn’t like it, but i did.
The macarons ($1.80 each) were a disaster. We had eight of them, four from each chouchou’s set. Choupinette has about 13 flavours of macarons available, we chose chocolate, raspberry, strawberry, peach, passion fruit, orange, pear and hazelnut. Almost all the macarons had chocolate gauche for fillings, i wouldn’t mind small macarons if they were good, but the one here had an artificial taste to it. Something was definitely missing but we couldn’t quite make out what. The very artificial colouring of the macarons didn’t appeal to us too. The shells of the macaron crumbled easily and didn’t have the chewy texture a good macaron should have.
Total bill was $193 for 9 of us. Some paid more for their expensive egg brunch, while some paid less for just bread and desserts. But generally, if you are looking to try their brunch or lunch menu, you will probably looking at 20 per person, and that’s probably excluding desserts. Choupinette has a great base of Caucasians customers, and it isn’t difficult to see why for the cosy and homely decorations of the place. The name of the restaurant, and the French names of the food screams chic. It will probably be better to go on a weekday where there’s less customers if you want to try this place out.
Well, just like how there will never be a perfect DSLR for either Canon, Olympus or Nikon users. Some of you might like Nikon for the design, Canon for its brand, Olympus for its nimbleness, all of us have different preferences. Similarly for Choupinette, while we were disappointed by the desserts, but the eggs on the brunch were exceptional, and you might just like the food there. No matter what, all of us love our DSLR, and the common passion for food. Another dessert enthusiast outing, until the next one!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
A classic Italian gastronomic, Galbiati gourmet deli actually started out as a takeaway place for its gourmet products. I’ve been wanting to give the place a visit ever since a friend highly recommended it, and railmall is so near to my place.
The interior of the deli was very small, with seating of at most 30. The simplistic environment of the place does makes one feels comfortable, a place where you can call your own Italian joint. The food offered are mostly simple food, with a wide array of home-made pastas, appetizer and main courses.
The Salmon asparagus linguine ($18) was based on the recommendation of the serving staff as my friend’s a great fan of the fish. A very light cream base accompanied the linguine, with the salmon stronger in taste. The asparagus seems to act as the neutralising balance between the salmon and the overall light taste of the dish. A fairly good home-made pasta.
I’ve a sneak preview of their pizzas at the counter, and was excited to hear that they’d served it fresh from the oven. The popular Hawaiian pizza ($8) was our choice for the night. Coming in squares of 6, the pizza was value for money. But, there’s no free lunch in this world, i thought that the ingredients were miserable, with one small cube of pineapple and ham. The pizza crust was very hard, and dry for my personal liking. And the tomato spread for the base was insufficient.
One of the unique characteristics of Galbiati deli was they actually encouraged takeaways. Dining in, the Lavender cheesecake ($7) is a dollar more expensive than if you opted to takeaway their desserts. The lavender flower infused a aromatic fragrant into the light cheesecake. The crust base was always a welcoming partner, to provide the crunch.
We always like to save the best for the last, to savour every bite of the Tiramisu ($7) for a lasting moment stored in our memory. Well i didn’t exactly had many tiramisu before, but Galbiati’s one is probably one of the best i’ve before. There wasn’t any deconstruction, nothing fanciful about the famous Italian dessert. Just a solid good one. The mascrapone cheese, with the the coffee-liquer infuse flavour, i was sorely tempted to order another one.
Total bill was $44 for two person. While the dinner didn’t exactly turn out to be as good as what i’ve expected, it’s easy to imagine myself back here for a simple meal. The only problem? The restaurant doesn’t allow photography, so i was taking photos secretly while they were not looking.
And i do enjoyed my rights of taking photos openly, so this may be the reason a revisit will eluded me. One thing’s for sure, i’ll definitely be back to try the other desserts, and the tiramisu of course. But the next time round, i’ll probably takeaway their desserts, and snap shots of it just directly outside their shop!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
The Singapore Flyer is touted as the world’s largest observation wheel, even higher than London Eye. Our nation’s pride. Minor breakdowns before were already ominous signals that a catastrophe will happen one day. Alas, the dreadful thing finally struck. How the mighty has fallen. The management should have already looked into and made backup plans, but it failed anyway. Now, time for us to do some self-reflections and damage-recovery.
While the flyer remains closed for investigations, the ones to suffer the backslash are the restaurants and other tenents. Senso Bistro, is coming up with a 50% promotion off all their a la carte menu from now until the flyer starts operating (date unknown yet).
The natural vibe of the restaurant, with its simple layout and decorations, provided a good place for either a causal lunch, or nice dinner without burning a hole in the pocket.
Not to mention there’s also al fresco dining, which would be ideal for dinner, with the sea breeze and eating under the stars making it a romantic affair.
The waiter kindly asked us whether we’ll like some garlic bread ($4) while waiting, but he failed to mention it’s not free. Naturally when he offered us bread i thought it was complimentary. There’s no free lunch in this world. All right, it’s not so much about the money, we are talking about principle, like shouldn’t they at least inform us the bread wasn’t complimentary? Next time, don’t be shy, ask!
With ten selections to choose from the Pizze menu, we were spoilt for choices. To be on the safe side, we went for the popular Hawaiian ($18 before 50% discount). The paper-thin pizza was huge, with eight slices easily filling up the four of us. The ingredients of pineapple, cooked ham were very generous. The only gripe? I lamented the fact that the pizza did not have enough mozzarella cheese. Still, with the promotion, it’s definitely a steal at just under ten bucks. It made the one I’ve at Galbiati looked pathetic.
Grilled tuna loin coated in fresh herbs. The Tonno ($24 before 50% discount) was a disappointment really. The fish was over-cooked, making the meat too dry and hard. I liked the side vegetables that came with it, lightly stir-fried, the greens were crunchy and fresh.
When asked to choose between the T-bone steak and veal loin, the manager recommended the latter for the delicate taste and tender texture. Veal loin is the meat of calves, and at Bistro Senso, the pan-fried veal loin scaloppine ($24 before discount) can be done in three different methods. Ours were ‘alla Pizzaiola’ with tomato and mozzarella cheese. The whole taste was like having a steak-pizza. A refreshing combination, but the meat was not tender enough, and came across as too tough. And since we had pizza already, now i’m wishing i chose the other method of breaded and golden crispy instead.
And how can we not have any pasta from an Italian bistro? The Ravioli ($18 before 50% discount) was essentially lobster and crab pasta served with assorted seafood ragout in tomato and basil sauce. This was actually my first time having a ravioli pasta. The tomato and basil sauce was flavourful and strong in taste. The prawns and squids were fresh, but to be frank, I didn’t quite enjoy ravioli. I still preferred my pasta to be spaghetti or linguine. Personal taste.
I was eagerly anticipating the desserts, well most people would find tiramisu ($8 before 50% discount) boring and chose some other interesting options. But there was no way I’m going to miss out trying the popular Italian dessert from an Italiano joint. The mascarpone cream was too light, and the espresso taste was not strong.
Another famous Italian dessert, Pannacotta ($8 before 50% discount). The bouncy texture was evident, but i couldn’t figure out what’s in the double cream flan. The raspberry coulis did provided a contrast with the pannacotta.
The last one, Creme brulee ($8 before 50% discount). The oven-baked egg custard of the Italian dessert did taste rather like our Chinese egg tarts. The caramelised sugar on top of the dessert wasn’t burned enough, and lacked the torched burnt taste.
Total bill was $65.91 for 4 person after a 50% discount. Although i wasn’t very impressed with the food, but with the promotional prices, the food is really cheap! The pizzas and pastas are like 9 bucks each, and the main course 12 bucks. The soothing ambience with the inexpensive price means that you should visit Senso Bistro before the Singapore Flyer reopens. Talk about patriotism, and national pride.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
Had another bout of craving for Thai food but didn't fancy spending too much due to the economic downturn so dropped by Jai Thai for a simple no frills dinner with my folks. Jai, which means heart in English, is touted as the most value for money Thai restaurant in Singapore.
Located in the rather secluded private estate of Jalan Pemimpin in the Thomson/Sin Ming area, Jai Thai operates out of a rather spacious shophouse but provides very limited parking spaces. The interior is kept simple and unassuming with cheap wooden tables and chairs and Chinese tunes playing in the background. There is of course the obligatory photos of the Thai royal family.
Tom Yum Soup - To be honest, I didn't quite take to the tom yum soup because it wasn't the clear and hard hitting sourish spicy type that I personally prefer. Instead, it had lots of chilli flakes and came across as only mildly sourish and watery. Good for people who don't like their soup too extreme I guess. On the upside, it came with fried fish pieces, squid and prawns which were relatively fresh.
Thai Fish Cake - At $1.50 a piece, the fish cake was decent. Not the best I've tried but very palatable. Just that I found it a wee bit too soft for my liking.
Pineapple Fried Rice - Evenly fried and decent tasting but on the dry side. Miserable bits of chicken and chicken floss donned the top. However at $6 for a 2 pax portion, I guess its still acceptable.
Kai Lan with Oyster Sauce - How bad can kai lan with oyster sauce get? Average tasting but at least the leaves didn't have worm holes in it - something that usually plagues alot of budget eateries. I did find the oyster sauce a little excessive though.
Pandan Chicken - This was probably the best dish of the day. Big chunks of boneless chicken meat well marinated and fragrant to boot. Very worth the price ($5) but watch out for the excessive oil.
Mango Pudding - At $1.50, I honestly didn't expect much. The pudding's texture was more like jelly then pudding and came topped with coconut milk. Edible but not something I would order again.
Mango Sticky Rice - The rice was smooth, sticky and sweet at the same time with the generous mango slices mildy sweet and sour. A drizzle of coconut milk atop completed the picture with the whole dish coming across as sweet, creamy with a light sourish tinge. Quite good I must say.
I would say $30 for a filling dinner for 3 pax is really a steal. Food quality is decent but service needs to buck up a little as the wait staff do seem a little inefficient. For the price, I would definitely be better off eating here then at Thai Express and the likes.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Si bon - the upmarket Japanese restaurant at Sentosa that specialises in kushiage, a form of Japanese cooking that involves coating a variety of ingredients with egg and bread crumbs and deep fried. Helmed by Chef Seiichiro Arakawa, Si bon promises a refined kushiage experience equal to what you would experience in Japan itself.
Hidden in a reclusive recess within the Amara Sanctuary Resort at Sentosa, Si Bon occupies a small restored colonial chapel that once housed a nursery (It happens to be the oldest chapel on Sentosa by the way). Seats are scarce, with the counter seating only 13 diners indoors and the charming al fresco area, complete with a water feature and bamboo garden, allowing for only another 10. The interior of the place exudes olden charm stemming from its soaring pointed ceiling and exposed unevenly laid brick walls - a reference to the building's historic origins.
Appetiser - Personally I thought that the appetisers were great. The miso beans were very savoury and complimented the crunchy and bland radish slices very well. On the other hand, the fish pieces were dipped in a salty yet sweet sauce that made got my appetite going.
Prawn - Served with a dollop of what looked like ketchup (someone please tell me what is it cause I have no idea), the prawns were fresh and crunchy with a light and crisp batter coating that didn't threaten to overwhelm or held any oily residue aftertaste.
Scallop - One of my personal favourites of the meal, the scallop was nothing short of excellent. Huge and bursting with flavour (sweet and salty all at once) while the batter came across as light and crisp. A pity it was only 1 piece.
Eel - I'm not exactly a big fan of eel and this one wasn't exactly outstanding. Served with a dash of wasabi atop, the eel came across as rather tasteless and had to be eaten with soya sauce, which just made it, well, salty. I must comment that the wasabi was rather strong though.
Pork Loin - In my excitement to taste the food, I forgot to take a picture of the pork loin before I started eating so please bear with the shot of my half eaten piece of loin. That said, the loin came served with a piece of mint leaf and had to be eaten with mustard sauce. The pork was succulent and juicy with a somewhat moderate tinge of mint taste from the leaf. Nice and refreshing.
Lotus Root - Interestingly, the lotus root had japanese curry powder and chicken thrown along with it - all nicely wrapped up in a light batter casing. Eaten with black sauce, this dish was crunchy and crispy with hints of curry powder. Not exactly my cup of tea though but something different I must admit.
Egg Plant - I usually baulk at the taste of egg plant, but not this one. Topped with white miso and eaten with no sauce, the egg plant was seriously good. Nice and smooth with a tinge of sweetness from the white miso paste.
Enoki Mushroom - Another most interesting concoction, the enoki mushroom was deep fried together with cream cheese and came served with a slice of parma ham atop and drizzled with lemon juice to jazz things up a little. The cream cheese sang in harmonious symphony with the mushroom, resulting in a smooth, creamy and an ever so light sourish aftertaste. I couldn't quite make out the taste of the parma ham in the equation though.
Wagyu Beef - I personally swear by this and I am nothing short of amazed by how wonderful the wagyu beef turned out. Expect nothing less then the best Australian wagyu beef with its excellent marbling and tenderness, dusted with the lightest batter and deep fried till an even crisp. Very full of flavour I must say. Please note that this was an additional order outside of the set and cost a seemingly exorbitant $18 /stick.
Udon - The udon came as an option on the set menu and although I'm not fan of udon, I have to say that it had me hooked. Full of bite and accompanied by slices of chicken, scallop and a stick of snow crab, the udon came across as nice and light on the palate.
Nigiri Sushi - One of the other options in the set besides udon/soba and steamed sushi, the nigiri sushi required a top up of $20 , which netted me a plate of 5 sushi pieces. I can't say I enjoyed this very much because I'm not exactly big on raw stuff but hey I made it through. Everything was very fresh so no complaints.
Grapefruit Sorbet - This is the first time I'm eating something like this and its somewhat intriguing. The sorbet had grapefruit pulp in it and overall the palate cleanser cum dessert was sweet and sour with a bitter tinge.
$174 for a 2 person lunch is definitely a high price to pay, especially when you are eating satay sticks lookalike. But the quality of food is apparent and the experience, eye opening. Top that with excellent customer service and an out of the country ambience and you have a top notch restaurant that is worth many revisits (provided you have the money of course). From what I understand from the chef, Si bon flies in its ingredients from Japan, except the wagyu, but that is about to change next year when Singapore lifts its restriction on Kobe beef. Till then, I'll be patiently awaiting.
See all my pictures here.
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We walked along the narrow street, wondering where was our destination. The road seems so distant, the future so vague. Just like the route we took, there’s much hurdle to be clear. At long last, we arrived, Dim joy.
Culture of all walks of life, our very own roots. Dim Joy offers a perspective much more than just eating dim sum. Its about the art of appreciating dim sum, the approach in understanding our culture. I like the small details they look into, like how they have tiny notes on the teapot to teach people about the correct method of teapot refill, like how they print their own manuals on the chopstick cover to educate about chopstick etiquette. Small little things like these, make a whole lot of differences.
Nestled in a shop house on neil road, the restaurant quaint and tranquil environment made me feel at home upon entering. There wasn’t much people on a weekday lunch, we had the whole lovely place to ourselves. This is just a place where you can seat down and chill for the whole day.
The simplistic approach to the chief, King shrimp har gao ($4). The whole taste was very subtle, the prawns were fresh, but the skin was again, too thick. While it wasn’t fantastic, dim sum just isn’t dim sum without har gao.
There wasn’t much difference with the Barbecued pork & celery in rice rolls ($5) too. It was way too short if i were to compare it with elsewhere. There was also the option of having the rice rolls in claypot, but i dismissed it as gimmick. I wanted a good steamed and savoury rice roll in light sauce.
There were bits of char siew which could passed off as bacon strips. And we were wondering how cool it’ll be if there’s bacon rice rolls. Nonetheless, the taste was again, very subtle and tame if i may just use the word. I didn’t quite enjoy the celery within too.
I was eagerly anticipating the Honey-syrup char siew bun ($3). With such a sweet name, we were like bees attracted to the beauty of the honey pot. The white pillowry bun was soft and fluffy, very good! But the char siew fillings could be better. While its sweet with honey-syrup infused, the fillings were too little, and i’ll preferred it to be more moist, like their char siew sou.
There is also Siew mai ($3.50 for 4), another dim sum staple. Chewy, shrimpy and not too oily. Value for money definitely, and its the only one that comes two by two. The ratio of shrimp to pork outnumbers greatly, with only a small portion of lean pork meat.
I always choose Pan-fried radish cake ($3) over its steamed cousins. I love the slightly charred surface of the carrot cake, but this one wasn’t charred enough. Well unlike most carrot cakes which are very filling, this one wasn’t very starchy, and had a different taste from the ones which i tried before. The jury’s out on this, you need to make your judgement.
Personally, i ain’t a big fan of the beancurd skin roll ($4.50) but my companion wanted to try this, so here we go. Instead of the typical prawn fillings, this one was all about mushrooms. The skin was a bit raw, and taste almost like beancurd, well it’s made from beancurd after all. The wholesome, vegetarian fillings within the beancurd skin roll didn’t work for me. But my companion rather enjoyed her helpings.
Now, my choice. The char siew so ($3.50) bears a great resemblance to our festive pineapple tarts. Golden brown in colour, with the buttery egg-graze taste on the pastry. While it didn’t come in the form of my favourite flaky skin, Dim Joy’s rendition was unique in its own right.
This time, the sweet honey infuse char siew fillings were more generous, and it was very moist within the pastry. But the char siew did lacked certain texture, and given time to improve, it’ll be better.
We were half-decided on ordering the Custard bun ($3) since we heard it wasn’t that good. But we decided to try for ourselves, taste after all is a very subjective thing. The vital factor for a good custard bun, the oozing out of the golden custard fillings. This one did, the molten custards flowed out of the bun, just like the lava erupted from a volcano. The salty egg yolk taste wasn’t strong enough, the bun was soft but, there’s some fine particles which we guessed was course sugar not dissolved properly. I had the best, and the worst before, this one would be good given some minor tweaks.
While i know Lingnan is an area in China, i couldn’t see the link what the place got to do with the Lingnan egg tart ($3.50 for 4). The best part about Dim Joy during weekend was there wasn’t much people around, so everything was made freshly, rather than pre-made. We waited 25 minutes just for the egg tarts to come out freshly baked. The egg fillings were nice and wet, but the pastry lacked the buttery undertone.
Total bill was $42.35 for 2 person. I must say, with 9 dim sum between us, the prices are fairly reasonable given the standards of the dim sum. I’ll definitely make a perennial visit again, and for that, See you there! And just for some background information, Michelle Saram’s the partner behind Dim Joy.
It also helped that Dim Joy served dim sum throughout the day, even during dinner. Most places don’t serve dim sum at night, so it’s a nice place if you are craving for dim sum after the sun set. I heard they are packed during weekend, so avoid the crowd come on the weekdays instead.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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