Happened to be on the 4th floor of The Cathay yesterday. And happened to see a familiar sign at the corner. It was Astons Specialties! They've just opened this new outlet on Friday, 4 July 2008.
Am very happy to see that they had keep the price and no service charge policy at this new outlet although its in town. The place is very clean and simple. No fancy decor. Just monochromatic pictures on the walls, and simple and comfy tables and chairs neatly aligned. There is also outdoor sittings which wasn't set-up yet when I was there. (It's only day 2 of their operations!) There's also the familiar chalkboard with the day's special written on it.
Feeling hungry at 4pm, as I didn't eat anything since that morning, I ordered the Prime Ribeye X'tra Cut with fries and pasta salad ($16.50), and a glass of ice lemon tea ($1.80).
The fries was crispy and nice. Just like those I had at Astons Express. I love them! And the pasta salad was fresh and the pasta was cooked just right. The prime ribeye was cooked to the right medium-rare and the meat was tender, chewy and juicy. I cleared the entire plate (which was relatively huge) on my own!
If you're craving for good and reasonably priced steak in town, why not go to The Cathay for Astons Specialties?
After almost a day(btwn 9am and 3pm) fighting over where to eat (it was between Relish & Brown Sugar).
Brown Sugar emerged the winner(mainly cos i really wanted to try the Wagyu Burger. Managed to squeeeze in a reservation @ 630(as long as we are outta there by 9(from the way i eat confirm can).
So by 645, my date and I were seated in the quaint and very cosy restaurant and deciding on what to order. Who am I kidding, I was sold on the Hand chopped Wagyu Burger(with pan fried foie gras duh).
My date had the tenderloin. I was undecided if i wanted mine to be medium or medium rare as recommended cos well blood=urgh for me. But the waitress suggested makin mine med rare and if it was still not good for me, can cook it to a medium.
The complimentary bread was good. Warm and the herbs made it so good i ate it minus the olive oil. Tho i did ask for butter.
This being my first time eatin Wagyu, i tried the patty waryly but i was floating in air after the first bite. Despite being medium rare, it was cooked just rite. not bloody at all and very juicy and yum. Even my date liked it. I completely neglected my foie gras wic i noticed only towards the end of the meal. It was the best burger I had hands down. And i was tellin my date how I wanted to buy another one to takeaway(of coz i was jokinglah). The tenderloin was ok. Im not big on steaks anyway. But he did look like he was havin a hard time cuttin it(get medium rare somemorelah).
We had the chocolate molten cake for dessert. While I liked the ice cream, i found the cake abit too thick and bitter for my taste. But it was oryt. Date liked it.
Service by both the staff was good. Despite full house, we didnt have to struggle to get their attention. And i loved loved loved my burger. Looks like my salmon craze is over.
At least for now
Oh and they have a private dining room wic seats abt 24. Quite good for big groups.
Had a farewell dinner here for my manager. We had ala carte buffet for everyone. The price per pax was quite reasonable considering the variety we could choose from. There were like 18 dishes to choose from, like tomyam seafood soup (my favourite!!), pad Thai, sambal kangkong, pandan chicken, satay, rendang, sweet and sour fish, prawns (forgot the name, look at the photograph), green curry etc.
The dishes tasted average only in my opinion. Not fantastic but not bad.
The tomyam seafood soup was good though. There were sufficient seafoods inside and the soup's sourness and spicyness were just nice.
The service staff were quite efficient.
One good factor about this restaurant was the interior design of it. It was quite artistic and different compared to other common restaurants.
Well overall I'd still rate it as average. May or may not go back depending on my mood. Hehe...
This is a kiosk at Raffles MRT Exchange. Very near my office too. It sells stuff like apple strudels, peach strudels, eclairs of different flavours like strawberry, chocolate, coffee, vanila, double chocolate, bailey coffee, etc and other kinds of pastries which I can't really remember now.
I went to buy durian puffs from them some time ago. This week I bought them again and introduced them to my colleague. My colleague fell in love with it and went to buy more for herself and other colleagues. Other colleagues tried and were then giving good comments on the durian puffs.
They cost $3.50 for 3 pieces in a box. Expensive? To me they are....what do you think?
You will see the size of the puff in the photographs I have attached.
However, the durian filling in the puff is considered alot. Look at the photographs you will see how much inside. The taste is really good too......
My colleagues and I will surely go back to get more :P
Oh by the way, some time ago I also bought the peach strudel. It's very nice as well. Something different for me instead of the usual apple strudel.
Eden Cafe is acknowledged for its delicate florals cuisines to bring a whole new dining experience for the customers’ palate. Owner of the former Helio Cafe at Marina Square, Mr Clement Ng is the brain behind the floral concept at Eden Cafe.
Positioned at Club Street, just beside Ann Siang Hill, Eden Cafe is a quaint flower inspired cafe seated at the F&B robust street with other eminent neighbours like Les Brasseries, Senso Ristorante, Spizza, Seven on Club, Da Paolo II Ristorante, and Indochine restaurant.
There is the make-to-order option for dinner which is very interesting. Contact Mr Clement Ng to custom-made a dinner which is unique for you.
The interior is done in very unsophisticated manner, with soft soothing music as background. The cafe has such a cozy and homely feel that my friend and i can just sit there for the whole day. It is that comfortable, just like home.
Sundried Tomato Omelette ($9.50) Eden’s brunch menu is only available during the weekends and public holiday. It is the draw of the brunch menu which actually brings my visit to Eden. I’m always fascinated by the prospects of eating brunch at some comfy cafe on a laid-back weekend.
The brunch selections here are mostly toast and sandwiches. The omelette is the one which caught my attention. I was rather astonish when the dish came, not that i was expecting a lot, but at almost ten bucks for omelette on a toast, coupled with lots of greens, it do seem a tad expensive.
I understand that many places which offer brunch might be even pricier than this, but still paying ten bucks for the definitely-not-filling brunch do makes ordering lunch seems a more reasonable option.
Nevertheless, the Sundried Tomato omelette is quite good, with a hint of cheese within the egg, and i must commended that not many places actually have such a healthy serving of salads to go along.
Honey Mustard Chicken ($14.90) The main courses at Eden cafe takes longer to serve, with a waiting time of about 20mins. At first sight, the chicken is certainly tiny, with two small pieces of chicken breast, which comes along with again, very generous servings of greens.
The honey mustard flavours the chicken well, although we felt that the use of chicken drumstick can add more zest to the overall dish. At $15, the honey mustard chicken is definitely not filling for folks with big appetite. If only the serving size can be bigger.
Hibiscus Soft Cheesecake ($6.90) Desserts are where Eden really excels at. The Hibiscus soft cheesecake is one of the better cheesecakes i have tasted so far. The cheesy flavor might come a tad too strong for non-cheese lovers, but its still acceptable for me, although towards the end it might be slightly overwhelming if you finish this cake on your own.
Coated with a layer of hibiscus top, and a bright red strawberry on top, the cheesecake is done pleasant to the eye and satisfying to the palates.
Total bill for 2 comes up to $36.70. I still find Eden to be rather expensive given its minuscule serving size, and quintessentially there is nothing that fantastic about the food. The floral concept is unquestionably interesting, with the tranquil ambience of the cafe a positive plus.
But food-wise its done very simple, i guess this is the selling point of Eden’s, which sometimes make you feel that it does not justify the price tag. Nonetheless, Eden’s definitely a great place to chill and sit the whole day, and desserts are excellent which will tempt me into a recurrent visit.
Until the price drop, or with greater serving size, i’ll just come back to Eden’s for their desserts and the nice ambience. And just for information, Eden has a new sister restaurant at the hip Rochester park, Eden Sanctuary.
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!
Im a super big fan of Kooshi I can remember the names of their designs :)
Kooshi's stuff are made in very comfortable materials you will be addicted to their stuff. Furthermore, some of their designs are so so pretty and body flattering. They have good customer service and provide a one to one exchange if you're not satisfied with your purchase.
However, some of their cuttings are pretty big even for the smallest size. And of course, since i can only see the picture of the model in Kooshi's stuff, the actual piece of the item may be slightly different from the pic in terms of colours etc. Also bear in mind the item is on a MODEL, so they always look great on pictures. But its not that bad coz they allow a one time exchange as mentioned.
Another bad point about them is that sometimes when i purchase items from a sale, they gave me the obviously exchanged item from their previous customer. Its not that the item is stained or worn but its obvious to tell coz the tag has been removed and the item may be packed in a different packaging from Kooshi's. And some of their items are sheer (or rather transparent) but you cant really tell it from the pictures coz they're photoshopped. So you'll really have to read its descriptions carefully on what kinda materials are they using.
Averine is the 'skincare cosmetics' that supposedly is not as harmful as other cosmetics can do to your skin, and yet gives you some skincare benefits. Which of course, it sounds like a real good deal to me initially and bought many stuff from them.
Generally their stuff are slightly higher than average. For example, their 2 way cake is about $90 whereas a Chanel one should cost about $80.
Hologram Gloss - $38.80. Pretty moisturising and long staying. Its supposed to be waterproof but later the salesgirl told me when they mean waterproof, it means when you're swimming in the water and didnt rub your lips, it'll still be there. I dont really agree with the waterproof part. It goes off pretty soon when im in the water. They only have 3 colours for their gloss anyway.
Treatment Lip Care - $30. Benefit wise, i think i can settle for a $5 one in the pharmacy, no difference.
Natural Define Eyeliner - $26.50. It glides on easily and smudges easily too. I think it can easily be substituted with a cheaper alternative like Maybelline or Loreal.
Averine Pen Eyeliner - $33.70. The eyeliner is real dark for those who likes a more defined look. However, the applicator of the eyeliner takes sometime to get used to. Not waterproof tho, so beware to hold your tears :)
Two Way Compact Foundation - $90.70. Supposedly comes with moisturising effects, does not clog pores and control shines. Moisturising effect, no, dont feel so. Doesnt clog pores, definitely no. i still have the problem of clogged pores after using it. Control shine, dont think so too. However, its said to not contain harmful ingredients unlike other foundations. But no one will know how true is it except the real experts yah.
Generally Id say some of Averine's products are worth getting in terms of their nice colours etc. But I do not see their 'skincare' effects as mentioned.
I wanted to purchase a cake from Blue Magnolia for my dad's birthday.
So i went to its website, looked through its price list and decided to get a Mango Flan 1kg that cost $28 with a delivery charge of $12 and GST. It shouldnt cost more than $45 with my own calculation.
I emailed Blue Magnolia with my order and to my surprise, this guy Denny wanted to charge $61. When I looked more carefully into the email, all the prices he charged me are different from the website. Furthermore, GST is also charged on the delivery charge (which i dunno if its a norm)
Denny wanted to charge me $44 instead of the $28 for the Mango Flan which . When i asked for the reason, he told me its a typo error that the cake is $38 and also price has increased after the 2 price hikes. $45 is the price for the 2kg cake stated in the site, and he wanted to charge me $44 for the 1kg one.
I accept the price hike reasons but typo error is not an excuse to me. But if i buy his explaination that its a typo error, almost all the prices in the order form are wrong. The prices for most of the 1kg cakes are $28.
I refused to pay $44 for the cake and had to cancel the order one day before my dad's birthday.
I replied to the guy telling him that all the prices are 'wrong' and in order not to mislead other customers, its highly advisable to make the necessary amendments. He told me he'll do it immediately, but its been 2 months, the prices are still not corrected.
So im here to warn the others, to call them up personally for the prices, in order not to be like me to last minute driving around Singapore looking for a cake for my dad.
Was back at Mingles for lunch one weekday afternoon because I wanted to try out their seemingly inexpensive set lunches. It also helped that the place was virtually empty.
Complimentary Bread & Cream of Pumpkin - I didn't think too much of either the complimentary bread or the cream of pumpkin soup. The bread was well, bread that you can get off the shelves at any supermarket. The cream of pumpkin was way too sweet for my liking and I don't know if my tastebuds were playing tricks on me, but the soup actually tasted very strongly of curry powder.
Crispy Salmon with Couscous - I tried a little of this and found it quite decent with the skin pan fried till crispy. There was also a noticeable absence of the overpowering (to me) fishy taste that is common to salmons. I didn't quite fancy the couscous though, but thats just a personal preference.
Crispy Chicken With Yogurt - Served up atop a mound of subtly sweet mashed sweet potato, the crispy chicken was surprisingly quite good with its crisp skin and succulent meat. However the down side to crispy skin is the inordinate amount of oil that comes with it. And I couldn't taste any yogurt at all.
Ice Cream in Waffle Basket - The ice cream tasted rather normal although it was supposed to be from New Zealand. The waffle basket tasted funny though , dry with a kept for too long in the cupboard taste.
2 set lunches set us back by about $48, which puts it in the mid range for set lunch prices. Service is still excellent and the environment is definitely cosy. Will definitely drop by for lunch again.
De Coder’s Cafe is one of the latest board game cafe in town, think along the line of The Mind Cafe, and Settlers Cafe and you pretty much get the picture. Located along Bukit Timah road at Balmoral Plaza, where Waffletown is also situated at.
Like what i mentioned previously, the place is actually quite accessible because its only about ten minutes walk away from Newton MRT. Taking a bus from Orchard road takes a mere ten minutes too.
It is puzzling as to why LIC haven’t been to any board game cafe when Mind, settlers, and De coder’s have open for quite some time, and are available in quite a few locations.
We are here for Claudia’s birthday. The Cafe isn’t very big, in fact its quite a squeeze for about twenty of us. The interior is simple, you can choose to seat at the sofas, or at the tables and chairs which are in red and black theme.
The highlight of De Coder’s cafe is definitely their wide range of board games. And speaking of board games, they aren’t your normal monopoly or you know those usual ones. They have so many different types which we totally haven’t seen before.
Root Beer float ($4.50) The root beer float is really just your normal root beer float. Pour the root beer from a bottle, and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. To charge $4.50 for it is kind of outrageous, but then again, they don’t charge for the games play, so i suppose their source of revenue will be through the drinks and food.
Pasta ($9.80) We ordered quite a few pasta, like Beefy beefy, ocean catch, mushy mushroom. All their pastas does not really suit our tastebud. Period.
Spicy Drumlets ($5) If their main course doesn’t works, what else is there to eat you ask? Finger food, but again, we tried almost all of their finger food, and most of them can’t quite make it as well.
The spicy drumlets is one of the few that is decent, but the consistency isn’t there. The first round we ordered this the drumlets are still okay, but the second time we ordered this one again, the chicken is kind of soggy, and its supposed to be fried and crispy.
Chicken Cubes ($5) The chicken cubes is definitely on the list of finger food that you should not be ordering. Soggy and tasteless. Period.
Cheesy Wedges ($5) They have two types of wedges, the potato wedges and cheesy wedges. We had both, and i guess the two wedges are still all right.
Americaya ($10) American’s all time favourite chicken burger served with wedges and baked beans. They are right, American favourite is chicken burger, but unfortunately, its not the Americaya served here. I literally had a hard time finishing the burger, and its not because i am full.
All in all, i may seem quite harsh on the food in De Coder’s cafe, but really the food isn’t good. Then again, you are there to play board games, and not because of the food, so we shouldn’t be complaining. But i feel that a board game cafe is a great idea, and to serve simple and good food actually isn’t that difficult.
Desserts like cheesecakes and brownies are decent. Fried food is in fact the easiest food to do it simple and nice, but they mess it up. If only they can improve on the standards of their food, i'll foresee myself making perennial visits, otherwise, stay away from most of the food, maybe just the desserts and drinks.
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
Happened to be on the 4th floor of The Cathay yesterday. And happened to see a familiar sign at the corner. It was Astons Specialties! They've just opened this new outlet on Friday, 4 July 2008.
Am very happy to see that they had keep the price and no service charge policy at this new outlet although its in town. The place is very clean and simple. No fancy decor. Just monochromatic pictures on the walls, and simple and comfy tables and chairs neatly aligned. There is also outdoor sittings which wasn't set-up yet when I was there. (It's only day 2 of their operations!) There's also the familiar chalkboard with the day's special written on it.
Feeling hungry at 4pm, as I didn't eat anything since that morning, I ordered the Prime Ribeye X'tra Cut with fries and pasta salad ($16.50), and a glass of ice lemon tea ($1.80).
The fries was crispy and nice. Just like those I had at Astons Express. I love them! And the pasta salad was fresh and the pasta was cooked just right. The prime ribeye was cooked to the right medium-rare and the meat was tender, chewy and juicy. I cleared the entire plate (which was relatively huge) on my own!
If you're craving for good and reasonably priced steak in town, why not go to The Cathay for Astons Specialties?
Rating given:
After almost a day(btwn 9am and 3pm) fighting over where to eat (it was between Relish & Brown Sugar).
Brown Sugar emerged the winner(mainly cos i really wanted to try the Wagyu Burger. Managed to squeeeze in a reservation @ 630(as long as we are outta there by 9(from the way i eat confirm can).
So by 645, my date and I were seated in the quaint and very cosy restaurant and deciding on what to order. Who am I kidding, I was sold on the Hand chopped Wagyu Burger(with pan fried foie gras duh).
My date had the tenderloin. I was undecided if i wanted mine to be medium or medium rare as recommended cos well blood=urgh for me. But the waitress suggested makin mine med rare and if it was still not good for me, can cook it to a medium.
The complimentary bread was good. Warm and the herbs made it so good i ate it minus the olive oil. Tho i did ask for butter.
This being my first time eatin Wagyu, i tried the patty waryly but i was floating in air after the first bite. Despite being medium rare, it was cooked just rite. not bloody at all and very juicy and yum. Even my date liked it. I completely neglected my foie gras wic i noticed only towards the end of the meal. It was the best burger I had hands down. And i was tellin my date how I wanted to buy another one to takeaway(of coz i was jokinglah). The tenderloin was ok. Im not big on steaks anyway. But he did look like he was havin a hard time cuttin it(get medium rare somemorelah).
We had the chocolate molten cake for dessert. While I liked the ice cream, i found the cake abit too thick and bitter for my taste. But it was oryt. Date liked it.
Service by both the staff was good. Despite full house, we didnt have to struggle to get their attention. And i loved loved loved my burger. Looks like my salmon craze is over.
At least for now
Oh and they have a private dining room wic seats abt 24. Quite good for big groups.
Rating given:
Had a farewell dinner here for my manager. We had ala carte buffet for everyone. The price per pax was quite reasonable considering the variety we could choose from. There were like 18 dishes to choose from, like tomyam seafood soup (my favourite!!), pad Thai, sambal kangkong, pandan chicken, satay, rendang, sweet and sour fish, prawns (forgot the name, look at the photograph), green curry etc.
The dishes tasted average only in my opinion. Not fantastic but not bad.
The tomyam seafood soup was good though. There were sufficient seafoods inside and the soup's sourness and spicyness were just nice.
The service staff were quite efficient.
One good factor about this restaurant was the interior design of it. It was quite artistic and different compared to other common restaurants.
Well overall I'd still rate it as average. May or may not go back depending on my mood. Hehe...
Rating given:
This is a kiosk at Raffles MRT Exchange. Very near my office too. It sells stuff like apple strudels, peach strudels, eclairs of different flavours like strawberry, chocolate, coffee, vanila, double chocolate, bailey coffee, etc and other kinds of pastries which I can't really remember now.
I went to buy durian puffs from them some time ago. This week I bought them again and introduced them to my colleague. My colleague fell in love with it and went to buy more for herself and other colleagues. Other colleagues tried and were then giving good comments on the durian puffs.
They cost $3.50 for 3 pieces in a box. Expensive? To me they are....what do you think?
You will see the size of the puff in the photographs I have attached.
However, the durian filling in the puff is considered alot. Look at the photographs you will see how much inside. The taste is really good too......
My colleagues and I will surely go back to get more :P
Oh by the way, some time ago I also bought the peach strudel. It's very nice as well. Something different for me instead of the usual apple strudel.
Rating given:
Eden Cafe is acknowledged for its delicate florals cuisines to bring a whole new dining experience for the customers’ palate. Owner of the former Helio Cafe at Marina Square, Mr Clement Ng is the brain behind the floral concept at Eden Cafe.
Positioned at Club Street, just beside Ann Siang Hill, Eden Cafe is a quaint flower inspired cafe seated at the F&B robust street with other eminent neighbours like Les Brasseries, Senso Ristorante, Spizza, Seven on Club, Da Paolo II Ristorante, and Indochine restaurant.
There is the make-to-order option for dinner which is very interesting. Contact Mr Clement Ng to custom-made a dinner which is unique for you.
The interior is done in very unsophisticated manner, with soft soothing music as background. The cafe has such a cozy and homely feel that my friend and i can just sit there for the whole day. It is that comfortable, just like home.
Sundried Tomato Omelette ($9.50)
Eden’s brunch menu is only available during the weekends and public holiday. It is the draw of the brunch menu which actually brings my visit to Eden. I’m always fascinated by the prospects of eating brunch at some comfy cafe on a laid-back weekend.
The brunch selections here are mostly toast and sandwiches. The omelette is the one which caught my attention. I was rather astonish when the dish came, not that i was expecting a lot, but at almost ten bucks for omelette on a toast, coupled with lots of greens, it do seem a tad expensive.
I understand that many places which offer brunch might be even pricier than this, but still paying ten bucks for the definitely-not-filling brunch do makes ordering lunch seems a more reasonable option.
Nevertheless, the Sundried Tomato omelette is quite good, with a hint of cheese within the egg, and i must commended that not many places actually have such a healthy serving of salads to go along.
Honey Mustard Chicken ($14.90)
The main courses at Eden cafe takes longer to serve, with a waiting time of about 20mins. At first sight, the chicken is certainly tiny, with two small pieces of chicken breast, which comes along with again, very generous servings of greens.
The honey mustard flavours the chicken well, although we felt that the use of chicken drumstick can add more zest to the overall dish. At $15, the honey mustard chicken is definitely not filling for folks with big appetite. If only the serving size can be bigger.
Hibiscus Soft Cheesecake ($6.90)
Desserts are where Eden really excels at. The Hibiscus soft cheesecake is one of the better cheesecakes i have tasted so far. The cheesy flavor might come a tad too strong for non-cheese lovers, but its still acceptable for me, although towards the end it might be slightly overwhelming if you finish this cake on your own.
Coated with a layer of hibiscus top, and a bright red strawberry on top, the cheesecake is done pleasant to the eye and satisfying to the palates.
Total bill for 2 comes up to $36.70. I still find Eden to be rather expensive given its minuscule serving size, and quintessentially there is nothing that fantastic about the food. The floral concept is unquestionably interesting, with the tranquil ambience of the cafe a positive plus.
But food-wise its done very simple, i guess this is the selling point of Eden’s, which sometimes make you feel that it does not justify the price tag. Nonetheless, Eden’s definitely a great place to chill and sit the whole day, and desserts are excellent which will tempt me into a recurrent visit.
Until the price drop, or with greater serving size, i’ll just come back to Eden’s for their desserts and the nice ambience. And just for information, Eden has a new sister restaurant at the hip Rochester park, Eden Sanctuary.
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:
Im a super big fan of Kooshi I can remember the names of their designs :)
Kooshi's stuff are made in very comfortable materials you will be addicted to their stuff. Furthermore, some of their designs are so so pretty and body flattering. They have good customer service and provide a one to one exchange if you're not satisfied with your purchase.
However, some of their cuttings are pretty big even for the smallest size. And of course, since i can only see the picture of the model in Kooshi's stuff, the actual piece of the item may be slightly different from the pic in terms of colours etc. Also bear in mind the item is on a MODEL, so they always look great on pictures. But its not that bad coz they allow a one time exchange as mentioned.
Another bad point about them is that sometimes when i purchase items from a sale, they gave me the obviously exchanged item from their previous customer. Its not that the item is stained or worn but its obvious to tell coz the tag has been removed and the item may be packed in a different packaging from Kooshi's. And some of their items are sheer (or rather transparent) but you cant really tell it from the pictures coz they're photoshopped. So you'll really have to read its descriptions carefully on what kinda materials are they using.
Rating given:
Averine is the 'skincare cosmetics' that supposedly is not as harmful as other cosmetics can do to your skin, and yet gives you some skincare benefits. Which of course, it sounds like a real good deal to me initially and bought many stuff from them.
Generally their stuff are slightly higher than average. For example, their 2 way cake is about $90 whereas a Chanel one should cost about $80.
Hologram Gloss - $38.80. Pretty moisturising and long staying. Its supposed to be waterproof but later the salesgirl told me when they mean waterproof, it means when you're swimming in the water and didnt rub your lips, it'll still be there. I dont really agree with the waterproof part. It goes off pretty soon when im in the water. They only have 3 colours for their gloss anyway.
Treatment Lip Care - $30. Benefit wise, i think i can settle for a $5 one in the pharmacy, no difference.
Natural Define Eyeliner - $26.50. It glides on easily and smudges easily too. I think it can easily be substituted with a cheaper alternative like Maybelline or Loreal.
Averine Pen Eyeliner - $33.70. The eyeliner is real dark for those who likes a more defined look. However, the applicator of the eyeliner takes sometime to get used to. Not waterproof tho, so beware to hold your tears :)
Two Way Compact Foundation - $90.70. Supposedly comes with moisturising effects, does not clog pores and control shines. Moisturising effect, no, dont feel so. Doesnt clog pores, definitely no. i still have the problem of clogged pores after using it. Control shine, dont think so too. However, its said to not contain harmful ingredients unlike other foundations. But no one will know how true is it except the real experts yah.
Generally Id say some of Averine's products are worth getting in terms of their nice colours etc. But I do not see their 'skincare' effects as mentioned.
Rating given:
I wanted to purchase a cake from Blue Magnolia for my dad's birthday.
So i went to its website, looked through its price list and decided to get a Mango Flan 1kg that cost $28 with a delivery charge of $12 and GST. It shouldnt cost more than $45 with my own calculation.
I emailed Blue Magnolia with my order and to my surprise, this guy Denny wanted to charge $61. When I looked more carefully into the email, all the prices he charged me are different from the website. Furthermore, GST is also charged on the delivery charge (which i dunno if its a norm)
Denny wanted to charge me $44 instead of the $28 for the Mango Flan which . When i asked for the reason, he told me its a typo error that the cake is $38 and also price has increased after the 2 price hikes. $45 is the price for the 2kg cake stated in the site, and he wanted to charge me $44 for the 1kg one.
I accept the price hike reasons but typo error is not an excuse to me. But if i buy his explaination that its a typo error, almost all the prices in the order form are wrong. The prices for most of the 1kg cakes are $28.
I refused to pay $44 for the cake and had to cancel the order one day before my dad's birthday.
I replied to the guy telling him that all the prices are 'wrong' and in order not to mislead other customers, its highly advisable to make the necessary amendments. He told me he'll do it immediately, but its been 2 months, the prices are still not corrected.
So im here to warn the others, to call them up personally for the prices, in order not to be like me to last minute driving around Singapore looking for a cake for my dad.
Rating given:
Was back at Mingles for lunch one weekday afternoon because I wanted to try out their seemingly inexpensive set lunches. It also helped that the place was virtually empty.
Complimentary Bread & Cream of Pumpkin - I didn't think too much of either the complimentary bread or the cream of pumpkin soup. The bread was well, bread that you can get off the shelves at any supermarket. The cream of pumpkin was way too sweet for my liking and I don't know if my tastebuds were playing tricks on me, but the soup actually tasted very strongly of curry powder.
Crispy Salmon with Couscous - I tried a little of this and found it quite decent with the skin pan fried till crispy. There was also a noticeable absence of the overpowering (to me) fishy taste that is common to salmons. I didn't quite fancy the couscous though, but thats just a personal preference.
Crispy Chicken With Yogurt - Served up atop a mound of subtly sweet mashed sweet potato, the crispy chicken was surprisingly quite good with its crisp skin and succulent meat. However the down side to crispy skin is the inordinate amount of oil that comes with it. And I couldn't taste any yogurt at all.
Ice Cream in Waffle Basket - The ice cream tasted rather normal although it was supposed to be from New Zealand. The waffle basket tasted funny though , dry with a kept for too long in the cupboard taste.
2 set lunches set us back by about $48, which puts it in the mid range for set lunch prices. Service is still excellent and the environment is definitely cosy. Will definitely drop by for lunch again.
See all my pictures here.
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De Coder’s Cafe is one of the latest board game cafe in town, think along the line of The Mind Cafe, and Settlers Cafe and you pretty much get the picture. Located along Bukit Timah road at Balmoral Plaza, where Waffletown is also situated at.
Like what i mentioned previously, the place is actually quite accessible because its only about ten minutes walk away from Newton MRT. Taking a bus from Orchard road takes a mere ten minutes too.
It is puzzling as to why LIC haven’t been to any board game cafe when Mind, settlers, and De coder’s have open for quite some time, and are available in quite a few locations.
We are here for Claudia’s birthday. The Cafe isn’t very big, in fact its quite a squeeze for about twenty of us. The interior is simple, you can choose to seat at the sofas, or at the tables and chairs which are in red and black theme.
The highlight of De Coder’s cafe is definitely their wide range of board games. And speaking of board games, they aren’t your normal monopoly or you know those usual ones. They have so many different types which we totally haven’t seen before.
Root Beer float ($4.50)
The root beer float is really just your normal root beer float. Pour the root beer from a bottle, and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. To charge $4.50 for it is kind of outrageous, but then again, they don’t charge for the games play, so i suppose their source of revenue will be through the drinks and food.
Pasta ($9.80)
We ordered quite a few pasta, like Beefy beefy, ocean catch, mushy mushroom. All their pastas does not really suit our tastebud. Period.
Spicy Drumlets ($5)
If their main course doesn’t works, what else is there to eat you ask? Finger food, but again, we tried almost all of their finger food, and most of them can’t quite make it as well.
The spicy drumlets is one of the few that is decent, but the consistency isn’t there. The first round we ordered this the drumlets are still okay, but the second time we ordered this one again, the chicken is kind of soggy, and its supposed to be fried and crispy.
Chicken Cubes ($5)
The chicken cubes is definitely on the list of finger food that you should not be ordering. Soggy and tasteless. Period.
Cheesy Wedges ($5)
They have two types of wedges, the potato wedges and cheesy wedges. We had both, and i guess the two wedges are still all right.
Americaya ($10)
American’s all time favourite chicken burger served with wedges and baked beans. They are right, American favourite is chicken burger, but unfortunately, its not the Americaya served here. I literally had a hard time finishing the burger, and its not because i am full.
All in all, i may seem quite harsh on the food in De Coder’s cafe, but really the food isn’t good. Then again, you are there to play board games, and not because of the food, so we shouldn’t be complaining. But i feel that a board game cafe is a great idea, and to serve simple and good food actually isn’t that difficult.
Desserts like cheesecakes and brownies are decent. Fried food is in fact the easiest food to do it simple and nice, but they mess it up. If only they can improve on the standards of their food, i'll foresee myself making perennial visits, otherwise, stay away from most of the food, maybe just the desserts and drinks.
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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