My parents had lunch at Boon Tong Kee, half a chicken at $13, and buy back a packet for me @ $3.80.
I'll say the chicken from Boon Tong Kee is quite good, but mayb not good until i will pay $13 for half a chicken. There are better one out there in other neighbour coffee shops really.
Today marks the second time that I am doing a review on Astons Specialities, albeit a rather short one. The first review can be found here. This time however, the location is different. That's right, Astons has a new outlet in the Serangoon Gardens estate. Unlike the original outlet, the new outlet isn't a stand alone unit by itself. Instead, it is housed inside a coffeeshop just next to HSBC and Borsch Steak House. Not really visible from the main road if you ask me, unless you happen to be walking towards the Starbucks/Cafe Cartel area.
On to the food. I had an order of Sirloin Steak medium rare with sides of fries and baked beans. My dad had the Sirloin as well, medium well though and my mum had the Char Grilled Chicken. Both my dad's and my steak turned out overcooked. Mine came almost medium well whereas my dad's one came well done. However, the meat was still a little juicy and sweet in my case, which was a relief in some ways. My mum's chicken was just average.
In my conversation with the cook/owner later on, he explained that the stall was only 3 days old and they weren't familiar with the equipment yet, hence the overcooking. He even offered to change our steaks for us and gave us a small discount on the food, which I felt was a nice gesture on his part.
Total damage was $25. Not cheap, but not expensive either. I'm sure once they get the hang of the equipment, the food will get better and the crowds will come. I'll definitely be back.
This is THE zhi char stall that my family love going. We've been there many many times. So often that my father will just help himself to the chili (lots and lots of this! cos its sooo devine!), rice and whatever that's available at the counter. The workers also don't know what to say to him lah. Haha!
When asked to find a place for dinner, my parents of cos recommended Jin Wei. So the entire family gathered there for our reunion dinner.
Some of the must try dishes... The Thai-style aka Assam Fish Head Cereal Prawn and a special Tofu MUST TRY!! (can't remember the name, but this dish will not be served on special nights like CNY. Cos its hard to produce and everyone will sure want to order this dish. )
The Thai-style aka Assam Fish Head The assam curry is cooked to the right sour-ness and spiciness. My family can just drink this on its on! The fish is fresh and meat is soft and tender. Don't mixed this up with the claypot curry fish head. Be sure to order the Assam fish head that's served on a flat plate on heat.
Cereal Prawn Fresh prawns fried and blended with finely chopped cereals. Crispy and fragrance. The prawns are sweet and juicy even thou its fried. Love love love this dish!
Fried Tofu aka Golden Tofu or something like that. As mentioned, this is the DIE DIE MUST TRY dish. It's one of their specialties and HOT favorite. Whenever I go, I insist on ordering this tofu. It's crispy, soft, fragrance, yummy, delicious and simply great lah! Just go and try if you have the chance to lah!
Went to decoder cafe over the weekend for Pingsters gathering. Initially I was reluctant to go on my own as I have no idea where Balmoral Plaza was. There wasn't any direct way of getting there from my house. But still, not wanting to miss the fun with fellow bloggers, I spent 30mins searching online on ways to getting there. Finally found the fastest way... Take bus to Sengkang station... take NEL to Little India.. take 170, 48, or 960 from bus stop at Exit B (or was it A?)... alight at the 5th stop infront of Balmoral Plaza. It's not that difficult to get there after all!
I was greeted by the hugeee collection of games at the entrance of the cafe. Behind it were two computers set up for customers to use for free. (Can do live blogging from there! hee...) The place is small and cosy. There's 3 sets of bigger tables and chairs and 2/3 tables for groups of 2-4. Tables and chairs were of nice height and comfortable enough for long hours of play.
The menu was thematically designed to fit into the gaming environment. They cleverly made it in a way that they can expand or change the menu whenever they have to. And in my opinion, they probably have to soon...
Feeling famished, I ordered my favorite mushroom and cream pasta, and topped it up with $3.50 for the soup and a drink. When the soup was served, I knew what I was going to expect for my pasta. The soup was a tad too diluted. When I saw my pasta, the cream that came with it was diluted too. Too plain for me. The only thing I enjoyed was the canned green tea from Heaven and Earth.
However, food aside, I still love this place! For its friendly, attentive and helpful staff. They are very patient when teaching you the games and demonstrating how its played.
The next time I go, I'll probably stick to their finger food and cakes. Wedges and chicken bites look good. (More stars next time if they improve on their menu.)
This was where I spent my Valentine's day this year. Met up with my girlfriend for dinner as my bf had class that night. We arranged to meet at Marina Square and only decided where to eat when she reached the place. She went to couple others but were rejected as they were fully booked for the night.
As we've both never been to Pasta de Waraku, and I wanted to try it long ago ever since I saw their display outside, we decided to try it, since it wasn't fully booked and my friend managed to get a table immediately.
The lady serving us was very friendly and nice. As it was our first time, we had many questions, and she patiently explained to us and answered our questions... with a smile. :)
Finally we settled on our choice and were ready to order. My friend had a Chicken & Mushroom with Japanese style curry @ $16.80 and I ordered the Octopus and Squid pasta with their special, supposed to be healthy, Wafu sauce @ $14.80 (minus the mayo).
After tasting both pasta, I concluded that the Chicken & Mushroom (No. 38 on the menu) is better. I like the curry taste (non-spicy). And its a unique way of eating pasta. My order was disappointing. I had to add tons of chili flakes and cheese to flavor it. Perhaps I shouldn't have selected the healthier choice.
Might think twice the next time I'm around one. Sketches serves better pasta.
I started to have interest in this place when I read a review for this place in the papers. I made a point that I will visit this place soon enough. Soon enough, I got the chance when I was in Raffles City looking for a place for dinner. Not to mention that I visited this place twice in a week. Haha….
I was expecting to see a long queue as someone had posted a long queue photo on STOMP a few days ago. Wahahaha…….. Surprise! Surprise! There was no queue at all. Maybe we were early, about 6.30pm on a Tuesday, or we were just plain lucky. Hee…. However by the time we left the place around 7.15pm, the queue is there and it went all the way to the escalator! It was the same on a second visit, on a Sunday, there was no queue as well. Since then I just think that I am plain lucky. Wahaha…… So lesson learnt, to beat the queue, arrive before 7pm.
Since it was my first time there, the waitress at the entrance, explaining how the restaurant works. This place works like Marche. Each of the customers is given a card. This card will record what food or dish that you have ordered. Before leaving the place, the card will be given to the cashier then pay for the food. You will be also given a reserved table tag that you can place it on your table, so that other people know that the table is being reserved, no need to use a packet of tissue paper any more.
However, you can find your own seats. Good and bad about this point, cos you can seat wherever you like, but there will be some people who seem selfish, 2 people would seat at a table where the table is meant for 6 people. Sigh…. Meantime looking for a table is the easy thing, if not the staff there can help out. It would be better if they could have designated seats at the door instead. Hee…. There are both cushion sofa seats and normal chairs as well for you to choose from.
The interior of the place is huge and the decoration is quite simple as well with a bit of fusion going on, same as their food as well. The walkways are wide enough for a crowd but their queuing system could be better. The stalls are quite well allocated as well; means are the same type of food is grouped together. This means starters all at one location, mains at one location then desserts are another location etc.
Now to the food, they offer a variety of Japanese and fusion food. From sashimi, sushi, BBQ skewers, Japanese steamboat (nabe) to rosti and burgers. They have it all.
Omelette @ $5.80: There are different fillings for this Japanese style omelette, from plain, cheese and mushroom to crab meat. I have tasted their mushroom and cheese omelette and I loved it! Their omelette is unique in a shape of rectangle and it is made fresh when ordered. You can see the chef patiently preparing it. It is done layered with the fillings inside. It is soft and fluffy. The taste is very good as well. It is a must try worth every cent for it!
Assorted Tempera @ $10.80: Assorted tempera which includes two prawns, fish, golden mushroom, egg plant and mushroom. This one also prepared when you ordered. The batter is thin and crispy, not overwhelming or oily. The only things that disappoint me are the size of everything, quite small, even the prawns. I did not know golden mushroom can be used for tempera but it does not taste good as it became very dry after deep frying.
Garlic Fried Rice @ $5.80: This one is a disappointment as the fried rice is pre-fried and garlic is added to it when you ordered. Nothing to shout out for this fried rice. Not worth the money!
Shabu Shabu @ $8.80: This one is just soup in a steamboat. The soup tastes like plain water but there are a lot of different vegetables and a few slices of meat. in the soup. They are all put inside the pot and cooked over hot fire when ordered. For this, the most important thing is the soup base, and it failed terrible. Totally not worth the money.
Chicken and Egg Rice Set @ $6.80: This one is they used cooked chucks of chicken put in a pan with some soy sauce, then put over hot fire. After a while, add some egg on top, cook for a little more time, then place the whole thing on top of some rice, added a few pieces of seaweed. Wala! Done. Another disappointment, very normal dish that I could get in any other food court at a cheaper price. The chicken is tasteless, some like rubber. Not worth the money.
Assorted Sushi: The sushi came with a very nice presentation, all placed on top of a wooden board. However the sushi is a disappointment, the rice is not packed as a whole, and it will crumple when picked up with chopstick, the rice is not sticky enough. Although, the piece of fish on top of the rice is a fairly large piece but then rice fails the test.
Rosti: This is a western food right? However they are serving it? That is what I thought in the first place. I was a bit apprehending to order this but then the dish surprised me. It is good, in fact very good. The rosti portion is not that big but it came hot and crispy! So crispy on the outer layer but soft on the inside, not dry at all. Combined with sour cream, it is simply wonderful. This is also a must try!
Green tea ice-cream and red beans fillings crepe @ $6.80: This crepe is not the usual thin crepe, this one came quite thick and tasted like pancake instead. The ice cream is normal green tea ice cream but the red beans are those whole red beans which I like. It is an average dessert for me nothing to wow about.
The service is quite slow as the food are only prepared when you ordered, so be prepared to wait for your food. The place can get quite noisy especially when you seat next to big groups. The servers are quite on the ball to remove empty plates from the tables.
Be prepared to queue when you get in and be prepared to queue when you are going out to pay for you bill as well. They got four cashiers but only two were functions when I was there on two different occasions.
The overall experience is quite ok for me. The food does not really attract me that much to go back again. I dun really think I will go back unless my friends want to go and try it out. ON the average I think each person will cost around $20 to $40.
Oh yah! They got two neo prints machines in the middle of the restaurant. Something special. Looks fun when you can eat and take pictures with your food at the same time. Good idea! Wahahaha….. I think I will do that next time!
Well, always one true to my words, i said i’ll be back at Miss Clarity during my first visit. And here i am again. Nothing much has changed since my last visit, the kiddy decor, the colourful environment, the cute menu. Most importantly, the service has remained true to the Miss Clarity spirit, the food remains as good as well, with the price remaining the same.
As usual, we choose a main and add on $3 for an additional salad/soup, drink (barley/lime), and a dessert of the day.
Chicken Cordon Bleu ($8.80)
Deep fried breaded chicken breast stuffed with ham & cheese, served with tartar sauce and potato/vege as side dish. Chicken Cordon Bleu was ordered on the last visit as well, but my brother wanted to try so here goes. Steady and reliable. And did i mention the price?
Fish & Chips ($7.50)
Crispy breaded fish fillet with fries & clarity’s homemade coleslaw, served with tartar sauce. The fish & chips was decent, given its served in a cafe, the price is reasonable for the quality provided. The fillet layer’s bread crust was nice, and added a different dimension to the usual fish fillet served.
Total Bill was $22.30 for 2 person which i emphasis again is pretty reasonable for the amount of food served. What i really like about Miss Clarity is the fact that they provide good service, yet do not charge service charge for it. In addition, they even absorb the 7% GST. That will save you in the pocket to the tune of 17% for your meal. A jug of iced water with lemon slices are also given to each table even if you had ordered drinks.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
” I refuse to pay service charge and GST when there is no service provided “
Made our way one rainy evening to Sunset Grill & Pub, an eatery/drinking hole equally known for its buffalo wings and very inaccessible location. Notoriously hidden in the inner realms of Seletar airbase, Sunset is a pain in the ass to find (pardon my language), even with the help of a map provided by the place. Just so that you know, Sunset doesn't appear on any streetdirectory the last I checked. Even if you manage to find the carpark, you still need to walk a short distance before you can actually see the joint itself. Talk about private dining.
Caesar Salad - The caesar salad was actually very normal tasting with slices of boiled egg, bacon bits and croutons. The vegetables were fresh but I found it terribly overpriced at $12.50.
Deep Fried Mushrooms - First the good. The breaded mushrooms were crispy on the outside with exploding juices in every bite. Now the bad. The batter was too thick and absorbed too much of the oil used in deep frying the mushrooms, so much so that it had an oily residue taste.
Buffalo Wings - Feeling intimidated by the level of spiciness the wings came in, we decided to stick to the safest bet - the mildest level 1. Even then, it was quite spicy for me (I don't really take chilli by the way), not to mention huge and juicy as well. However, because of its sourish nature, its really an acquired taste.
Hamburger Steak - The meat was too dry but at least the raw beef taste wasn't overpowering. The other gripe I had was that the meat was almost well done, which explains the dryness. Definitely not something I would order again.
Although no service charge or GST was imposed, $60 for the above dishes is really on the expensive side. Sure, the novelty is there and the prospect of watching planes take off is exciting, but for the quality of food and price, I'll be hard pressed to return. Oh and if you do decide to sit in the al fresco area, please watch out for the mosquitoes.
Absolute Haven, I did not know that this place is a restaurant until I saw someone reviewed this place. Since Yebber having this 15% discount, my partner and I decided to go and give ourselves a little treat! Hee…… The place is actually quite well hidden, if not for the large signboard. Once we step through the gates, it seems like we are transported to another place peaceful and quiet.
There are outdoor seats and indoor seats. Once at the door, the waiter showed us in to our table. The place is big which means can cater to a big group of people and the gap between each table is quite big as well, so that each couple or group can have their own space and privacy as well. They also have a couple of sofa seats far back which I think is more for those who is coming in for a drink and desserts only. When we were there at around 6.30pm, there is only two other couples in the restaurant. So we can simply choose our own seats. The crowds started to came in after 7 pm and the place does get pretty packed.
The decoration is clean and simple, using very basic colors. One thing, they used mahjong table as “table cloth” on the table. Hmm….. As we were seating indoors and there was not a big crowd, the air-con got a bit too cold for us. Hee… We were almost freezing by the end of dinner already. There is a little tea light candle in the middle of the table creating a romantic scene and with slow jazz music playing in the background as well, soft enough to be heard yet will not stop you from having a decent conversation.
While waiting for us to decide our food, the waiter served us drinking water. This place instead of putting lemon slices in their water, they actually put strawberries in it. This actually gives a very strong strawberry fragrance to the water, making the water taste sweet also. A plus point. Think I am going to try it at home as well.
We ordered the following dishes.
Asparagus Roll with Bacon Dressing @ $8.50 – This dish is a good way to start off the night. It is pan fried but not oily. The asparagus is crunchy and not soft at all. The bacon is salty on its own so when combined with asparagus, it adds flavor to it. The bacon is pan fried to a little crispy yet able to chew. With a unique sauce on its side, it just increases the taste of the whole dish. This is a must try.
Chef’s Special: "Rocket" Soup (Dunno if I got it correct) @ $3.90 – When we ordered this, we were feeling a bit adventurous as we got no idea what is "rocket". When they served the soup, it looks greenish. However, it is the special taste of "rocket" that won us over. They mashed the "rocket" into the soup, so we are able to have little chew bits in the soup. First taste does taste a bit of bitterness because of the "rocket", and it was brought down to a minimum. This soup needs some time to get used to it. However once used it, it is a bowl of good soup.
Prawn Bites @ $9.50 – This is something extra, that we want to try. It is just simply deep fried prawns. The batter is not too thick, and was fried to golden brown, crispy. The prawns used are of medium size. It comes with a special dip as well. Average for me on this dish.
Stella Artois Battered Fish & Chips @ $16 – This is what my partner decided to have. It came with two big pieces of fish, deep fried and coated with the beer batter and a large serving of fries. The fish is fresh and tender. The batter does not really smell much of beer but the taste of the beer is there with a hint of bitterness. It is one of the better ones I have tasted. The portion is big as well.
Tenderloin Steak @ $28 – I have this as my main dish. It came with a piece if thick meat in the middle of the plate. I cut through the meat and happy to see that it was medium rare as I had ordered. As I cut it open the juices of the meat with some blood flowed out, the middle part of the meat is still raw and pinkish while the outer part of the meat is cooked, thus locking in the juices of the meat. The meat is a little on the salty side but it is fine with me. To me this is a very good main dish that I will order when I go back for next visit.
Victorian Crème Brulee @ $8 – I am a huge fan of crème brulee, so I must ordered this when I saw it in the menu. The one that they served is not disappointing at all. As usual, there is a layer of thin crispy of sugar on top, it is the crème brulee inside that surprises me. It is thick and creamy with eggy taste. I loved this dessert! It is a must order!
Crepes Haven @ $12 – This one is recommended by the server. When she served it, in front of you, she poured some alcohol and lighted up in front of you. Can see a small beautiful blue fire going on for a while before it extinguishes itself. However, the crepes do taste a bit sourish with the berries and the alcohol. Not really to my liking.
The food is actually quite good and the food presentation was quite good as well. The plates that they used are quite unique. It does make the food more appetizing as well. The bill comes up to $88 after a 15% discount (All thks to Yebber. Hee….).
All the above food is served hot straight out from the kitchen. The service is good as well. There was one waiter serving 3 couples that that time but yet my water was never empty. He is very prompt and polite as well. The manager or the boss also quite friendly giving us recommendations of what to try out since it is our first time there. She also has a little chit chat with us to check on our views on the food and to see if there is anything to improve on. Overall, I fell in love with this place and definitely will be back again.
Was there over the weekend and was excited to see them selling mini steamboat! And only at $13.80 each! So we went in to try. When we set down, we somehow concluded that the steamboat idea might have came to mind when they saw they neighbor selling hotpots. (But this is just our presumption lah)
The mini steamboat comes with Tom Yam Soup and a plate of fresh ingredients such as prawns, slice fish, sotong (squid), mushrooms, and tang hoon.
The tom yam soup is spicy and sour. Taste was not bad. Drinking tom yam while its boiling hot is super shiok! This mini steamboat is good for 2 to share. As we were not hungry, and just needed something to fill out tummy, this pot of tom yam was good enough.
My parents had lunch at Boon Tong Kee, half a chicken at $13, and buy back a packet for me @ $3.80.
I'll say the chicken from Boon Tong Kee is quite good, but mayb not good until i will pay $13 for half a chicken. There are better one out there in other neighbour coffee shops really.
Rating given:
Today marks the second time that I am doing a review on Astons Specialities, albeit a rather short one. The first review can be found here. This time however, the location is different. That's right, Astons has a new outlet in the Serangoon Gardens estate. Unlike the original outlet, the new outlet isn't a stand alone unit by itself. Instead, it is housed inside a coffeeshop just next to HSBC and Borsch Steak House. Not really visible from the main road if you ask me, unless you happen to be walking towards the Starbucks/Cafe Cartel area.
On to the food. I had an order of Sirloin Steak medium rare with sides of fries and baked beans. My dad had the Sirloin as well, medium well though and my mum had the Char Grilled Chicken. Both my dad's and my steak turned out overcooked. Mine came almost medium well whereas my dad's one came well done. However, the meat was still a little juicy and sweet in my case, which was a relief in some ways. My mum's chicken was just average.
In my conversation with the cook/owner later on, he explained that the stall was only 3 days old and they weren't familiar with the equipment yet, hence the overcooking. He even offered to change our steaks for us and gave us a small discount on the food, which I felt was a nice gesture on his part.
Total damage was $25. Not cheap, but not expensive either. I'm sure once they get the hang of the equipment, the food will get better and the crowds will come. I'll definitely be back.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
This is THE zhi char stall that my family love going. We've been there many many times. So often that my father will just help himself to the chili (lots and lots of this! cos its sooo devine!), rice and whatever that's available at the counter. The workers also don't know what to say to him lah. Haha!
When asked to find a place for dinner, my parents of cos recommended Jin Wei. So the entire family gathered there for our reunion dinner.
Some of the must try dishes...
The Thai-style aka Assam Fish Head
Cereal Prawn
and a special Tofu MUST TRY!! (can't remember the name, but this dish will not be served on special nights like CNY. Cos its hard to produce and everyone will sure want to order this dish. )
The Thai-style aka Assam Fish Head
The assam curry is cooked to the right sour-ness and spiciness. My family can just drink this on its on! The fish is fresh and meat is soft and tender. Don't mixed this up with the claypot curry fish head. Be sure to order the Assam fish head that's served on a flat plate on heat.
Cereal Prawn
Fresh prawns fried and blended with finely chopped cereals. Crispy and fragrance. The prawns are sweet and juicy even thou its fried. Love love love this dish!
Fried Tofu aka Golden Tofu or something like that.
As mentioned, this is the DIE DIE MUST TRY dish. It's one of their specialties and HOT favorite. Whenever I go, I insist on ordering this tofu. It's crispy, soft, fragrance, yummy, delicious and simply great lah! Just go and try if you have the chance to lah!
Rating given:
Went to decoder cafe over the weekend for Pingsters gathering. Initially I was reluctant to go on my own as I have no idea where Balmoral Plaza was. There wasn't any direct way of getting there from my house. But still, not wanting to miss the fun with fellow bloggers, I spent 30mins searching online on ways to getting there. Finally found the fastest way... Take bus to Sengkang station... take NEL to Little India.. take 170, 48, or 960 from bus stop at Exit B (or was it A?)... alight at the 5th stop infront of Balmoral Plaza. It's not that difficult to get there after all!
I was greeted by the hugeee collection of games at the entrance of the cafe. Behind it were two computers set up for customers to use for free. (Can do live blogging from there! hee...) The place is small and cosy. There's 3 sets of bigger tables and chairs and 2/3 tables for groups of 2-4. Tables and chairs were of nice height and comfortable enough for long hours of play.
The menu was thematically designed to fit into the gaming environment. They cleverly made it in a way that they can expand or change the menu whenever they have to. And in my opinion, they probably have to soon...
Feeling famished, I ordered my favorite mushroom and cream pasta, and topped it up with $3.50 for the soup and a drink. When the soup was served, I knew what I was going to expect for my pasta. The soup was a tad too diluted. When I saw my pasta, the cream that came with it was diluted too. Too plain for me. The only thing I enjoyed was the canned green tea from Heaven and Earth.
However, food aside, I still love this place! For its friendly, attentive and helpful staff. They are very patient when teaching you the games and demonstrating how its played.
The next time I go, I'll probably stick to their finger food and cakes. Wedges and chicken bites look good. (More stars next time if they improve on their menu.)
Rating given:
This was where I spent my Valentine's day this year. Met up with my girlfriend for dinner as my bf had class that night. We arranged to meet at Marina Square and only decided where to eat when she reached the place. She went to couple others but were rejected as they were fully booked for the night.
As we've both never been to Pasta de Waraku, and I wanted to try it long ago ever since I saw their display outside, we decided to try it, since it wasn't fully booked and my friend managed to get a table immediately.
The lady serving us was very friendly and nice. As it was our first time, we had many questions, and she patiently explained to us and answered our questions... with a smile. :)
Finally we settled on our choice and were ready to order. My friend had a Chicken & Mushroom with Japanese style curry @ $16.80 and I ordered the Octopus and Squid pasta with their special, supposed to be healthy, Wafu sauce @ $14.80 (minus the mayo).
After tasting both pasta, I concluded that the Chicken & Mushroom (No. 38 on the menu) is better. I like the curry taste (non-spicy). And its a unique way of eating pasta. My order was disappointing. I had to add tons of chili flakes and cheese to flavor it. Perhaps I shouldn't have selected the healthier choice.
Might think twice the next time I'm around one. Sketches serves better pasta.
Rating given:
I started to have interest in this place when I read a review for this place in the papers. I made a point that I will visit this place soon enough. Soon enough, I got the chance when I was in Raffles City looking for a place for dinner. Not to mention that I visited this place twice in a week. Haha….
I was expecting to see a long queue as someone had posted a long queue photo on STOMP a few days ago. Wahahaha…….. Surprise! Surprise! There was no queue at all. Maybe we were early, about 6.30pm on a Tuesday, or we were just plain lucky. Hee…. However by the time we left the place around 7.15pm, the queue is there and it went all the way to the escalator! It was the same on a second visit, on a Sunday, there was no queue as well. Since then I just think that I am plain lucky. Wahaha…… So lesson learnt, to beat the queue, arrive before 7pm.
Since it was my first time there, the waitress at the entrance, explaining how the restaurant works. This place works like Marche. Each of the customers is given a card. This card will record what food or dish that you have ordered. Before leaving the place, the card will be given to the cashier then pay for the food. You will be also given a reserved table tag that you can place it on your table, so that other people know that the table is being reserved, no need to use a packet of tissue paper any more.
However, you can find your own seats. Good and bad about this point, cos you can seat wherever you like, but there will be some people who seem selfish, 2 people would seat at a table where the table is meant for 6 people. Sigh…. Meantime looking for a table is the easy thing, if not the staff there can help out. It would be better if they could have designated seats at the door instead. Hee…. There are both cushion sofa seats and normal chairs as well for you to choose from.
The interior of the place is huge and the decoration is quite simple as well with a bit of fusion going on, same as their food as well. The walkways are wide enough for a crowd but their queuing system could be better. The stalls are quite well allocated as well; means are the same type of food is grouped together. This means starters all at one location, mains at one location then desserts are another location etc.
Now to the food, they offer a variety of Japanese and fusion food. From sashimi, sushi, BBQ skewers, Japanese steamboat (nabe) to rosti and burgers. They have it all.
Omelette @ $5.80: There are different fillings for this Japanese style omelette, from plain, cheese and mushroom to crab meat. I have tasted their mushroom and cheese omelette and I loved it! Their omelette is unique in a shape of rectangle and it is made fresh when ordered. You can see the chef patiently preparing it. It is done layered with the fillings inside. It is soft and fluffy. The taste is very good as well. It is a must try worth every cent for it!
Assorted Tempera @ $10.80: Assorted tempera which includes two prawns, fish, golden mushroom, egg plant and mushroom. This one also prepared when you ordered. The batter is thin and crispy, not overwhelming or oily. The only things that disappoint me are the size of everything, quite small, even the prawns. I did not know golden mushroom can be used for tempera but it does not taste good as it became very dry after deep frying.
Garlic Fried Rice @ $5.80: This one is a disappointment as the fried rice is pre-fried and garlic is added to it when you ordered. Nothing to shout out for this fried rice. Not worth the money!
Shabu Shabu @ $8.80: This one is just soup in a steamboat. The soup tastes like plain water but there are a lot of different vegetables and a few slices of meat. in the soup. They are all put inside the pot and cooked over hot fire when ordered. For this, the most important thing is the soup base, and it failed terrible. Totally not worth the money.
Chicken and Egg Rice Set @ $6.80: This one is they used cooked chucks of chicken put in a pan with some soy sauce, then put over hot fire. After a while, add some egg on top, cook for a little more time, then place the whole thing on top of some rice, added a few pieces of seaweed. Wala! Done. Another disappointment, very normal dish that I could get in any other food court at a cheaper price. The chicken is tasteless, some like rubber. Not worth the money.
Assorted Sushi: The sushi came with a very nice presentation, all placed on top of a wooden board. However the sushi is a disappointment, the rice is not packed as a whole, and it will crumple when picked up with chopstick, the rice is not sticky enough. Although, the piece of fish on top of the rice is a fairly large piece but then rice fails the test.
Rosti: This is a western food right? However they are serving it? That is what I thought in the first place. I was a bit apprehending to order this but then the dish surprised me. It is good, in fact very good. The rosti portion is not that big but it came hot and crispy! So crispy on the outer layer but soft on the inside, not dry at all. Combined with sour cream, it is simply wonderful. This is also a must try!
Green tea ice-cream and red beans fillings crepe @ $6.80: This crepe is not the usual thin crepe, this one came quite thick and tasted like pancake instead. The ice cream is normal green tea ice cream but the red beans are those whole red beans which I like. It is an average dessert for me nothing to wow about.
The service is quite slow as the food are only prepared when you ordered, so be prepared to wait for your food. The place can get quite noisy especially when you seat next to big groups. The servers are quite on the ball to remove empty plates from the tables.
Be prepared to queue when you get in and be prepared to queue when you are going out to pay for you bill as well. They got four cashiers but only two were functions when I was there on two different occasions.
The overall experience is quite ok for me. The food does not really attract me that much to go back again. I dun really think I will go back unless my friends want to go and try it out. ON the average I think each person will cost around $20 to $40.
Oh yah! They got two neo prints machines in the middle of the restaurant. Something special. Looks fun when you can eat and take pictures with your food at the same time. Good idea! Wahahaha….. I think I will do that next time!
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Well, always one true to my words, i said i’ll be back at Miss Clarity during my first visit. And here i am again. Nothing much has changed since my last visit, the kiddy decor, the colourful environment, the cute menu. Most importantly, the service has remained true to the Miss Clarity spirit, the food remains as good as well, with the price remaining the same.
As usual, we choose a main and add on $3 for an additional salad/soup, drink (barley/lime), and a dessert of the day.
Chicken Cordon Bleu ($8.80)
Deep fried breaded chicken breast stuffed with ham & cheese, served with tartar sauce and potato/vege as side dish. Chicken Cordon Bleu was ordered on the last visit as well, but my brother wanted to try so here goes. Steady and reliable. And did i mention the price?
Fish & Chips ($7.50)
Crispy breaded fish fillet with fries & clarity’s homemade coleslaw, served with tartar sauce. The fish & chips was decent, given its served in a cafe, the price is reasonable for the quality provided. The fillet layer’s bread crust was nice, and added a different dimension to the usual fish fillet served.
Total Bill was $22.30 for 2 person which i emphasis again is pretty reasonable for the amount of food served. What i really like about Miss Clarity is the fact that they provide good service, yet do not charge service charge for it. In addition, they even absorb the 7% GST. That will save you in the pocket to the tune of 17% for your meal. A jug of iced water with lemon slices are also given to each table even if you had ordered drinks.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
” I refuse to pay service charge and GST when there is no service provided “
Rating given:
Made our way one rainy evening to Sunset Grill & Pub, an eatery/drinking hole equally known for its buffalo wings and very inaccessible location. Notoriously hidden in the inner realms of Seletar airbase, Sunset is a pain in the ass to find (pardon my language), even with the help of a map provided by the place. Just so that you know, Sunset doesn't appear on any streetdirectory the last I checked. Even if you manage to find the carpark, you still need to walk a short distance before you can actually see the joint itself. Talk about private dining.
Caesar Salad - The caesar salad was actually very normal tasting with slices of boiled egg, bacon bits and croutons. The vegetables were fresh but I found it terribly overpriced at $12.50.
Deep Fried Mushrooms - First the good. The breaded mushrooms were crispy on the outside with exploding juices in every bite. Now the bad. The batter was too thick and absorbed too much of the oil used in deep frying the mushrooms, so much so that it had an oily residue taste.
Buffalo Wings - Feeling intimidated by the level of spiciness the wings came in, we decided to stick to the safest bet - the mildest level 1. Even then, it was quite spicy for me (I don't really take chilli by the way), not to mention huge and juicy as well. However, because of its sourish nature, its really an acquired taste.
Hamburger Steak - The meat was too dry but at least the raw beef taste wasn't overpowering. The other gripe I had was that the meat was almost well done, which explains the dryness. Definitely not something I would order again.
Although no service charge or GST was imposed, $60 for the above dishes is really on the expensive side. Sure, the novelty is there and the prospect of watching planes take off is exciting, but for the quality of food and price, I'll be hard pressed to return. Oh and if you do decide to sit in the al fresco area, please watch out for the mosquitoes.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
Absolute Haven, I did not know that this place is a restaurant until I saw someone reviewed this place. Since Yebber having this 15% discount, my partner and I decided to go and give ourselves a little treat! Hee…… The place is actually quite well hidden, if not for the large signboard. Once we step through the gates, it seems like we are transported to another place peaceful and quiet.
There are outdoor seats and indoor seats. Once at the door, the waiter showed us in to our table. The place is big which means can cater to a big group of people and the gap between each table is quite big as well, so that each couple or group can have their own space and privacy as well. They also have a couple of sofa seats far back which I think is more for those who is coming in for a drink and desserts only. When we were there at around 6.30pm, there is only two other couples in the restaurant. So we can simply choose our own seats. The crowds started to came in after 7 pm and the place does get pretty packed.
The decoration is clean and simple, using very basic colors. One thing, they used mahjong table as “table cloth” on the table. Hmm….. As we were seating indoors and there was not a big crowd, the air-con got a bit too cold for us. Hee… We were almost freezing by the end of dinner already. There is a little tea light candle in the middle of the table creating a romantic scene and with slow jazz music playing in the background as well, soft enough to be heard yet will not stop you from having a decent conversation.
While waiting for us to decide our food, the waiter served us drinking water. This place instead of putting lemon slices in their water, they actually put strawberries in it. This actually gives a very strong strawberry fragrance to the water, making the water taste sweet also. A plus point. Think I am going to try it at home as well.
We ordered the following dishes.
Asparagus Roll with Bacon Dressing @ $8.50 – This dish is a good way to start off the night. It is pan fried but not oily. The asparagus is crunchy and not soft at all. The bacon is salty on its own so when combined with asparagus, it adds flavor to it. The bacon is pan fried to a little crispy yet able to chew. With a unique sauce on its side, it just increases the taste of the whole dish. This is a must try.
Chef’s Special: "Rocket" Soup (Dunno if I got it correct) @ $3.90 – When we ordered this, we were feeling a bit adventurous as we got no idea what is "rocket". When they served the soup, it looks greenish. However, it is the special taste of "rocket" that won us over. They mashed the "rocket" into the soup, so we are able to have little chew bits in the soup. First taste does taste a bit of bitterness because of the "rocket", and it was brought down to a minimum. This soup needs some time to get used to it. However once used it, it is a bowl of good soup.
Prawn Bites @ $9.50 – This is something extra, that we want to try. It is just simply deep fried prawns. The batter is not too thick, and was fried to golden brown, crispy. The prawns used are of medium size. It comes with a special dip as well. Average for me on this dish.
Stella Artois Battered Fish & Chips @ $16 – This is what my partner decided to have. It came with two big pieces of fish, deep fried and coated with the beer batter and a large serving of fries. The fish is fresh and tender. The batter does not really smell much of beer but the taste of the beer is there with a hint of bitterness. It is one of the better ones I have tasted. The portion is big as well.
Tenderloin Steak @ $28 – I have this as my main dish. It came with a piece if thick meat in the middle of the plate. I cut through the meat and happy to see that it was medium rare as I had ordered. As I cut it open the juices of the meat with some blood flowed out, the middle part of the meat is still raw and pinkish while the outer part of the meat is cooked, thus locking in the juices of the meat. The meat is a little on the salty side but it is fine with me. To me this is a very good main dish that I will order when I go back for next visit.
Victorian Crème Brulee @ $8 – I am a huge fan of crème brulee, so I must ordered this when I saw it in the menu. The one that they served is not disappointing at all. As usual, there is a layer of thin crispy of sugar on top, it is the crème brulee inside that surprises me. It is thick and creamy with eggy taste. I loved this dessert! It is a must order!
Crepes Haven @ $12 – This one is recommended by the server. When she served it, in front of you, she poured some alcohol and lighted up in front of you. Can see a small beautiful blue fire going on for a while before it extinguishes itself. However, the crepes do taste a bit sourish with the berries and the alcohol. Not really to my liking.
The food is actually quite good and the food presentation was quite good as well. The plates that they used are quite unique. It does make the food more appetizing as well. The bill comes up to $88 after a 15% discount (All thks to Yebber. Hee….).
All the above food is served hot straight out from the kitchen. The service is good as well. There was one waiter serving 3 couples that that time but yet my water was never empty. He is very prompt and polite as well. The manager or the boss also quite friendly giving us recommendations of what to try out since it is our first time there. She also has a little chit chat with us to check on our views on the food and to see if there is anything to improve on. Overall, I fell in love with this place and definitely will be back again.
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Was there over the weekend and was excited to see them selling mini steamboat! And only at $13.80 each! So we went in to try. When we set down, we somehow concluded that the steamboat idea might have came to mind when they saw they neighbor selling hotpots. (But this is just our presumption lah)
The mini steamboat comes with Tom Yam Soup and a plate of fresh ingredients such as prawns, slice fish, sotong (squid), mushrooms, and tang hoon.
The tom yam soup is spicy and sour. Taste was not bad. Drinking tom yam while its boiling hot is super shiok! This mini steamboat is good for 2 to share. As we were not hungry, and just needed something to fill out tummy, this pot of tom yam was good enough.
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