Opened by lifestyle and entrepreneur guru Michel Lu, Superfamous is located right smack in the heart of the CBD. Fully realised as a chic and trendy eating place, the restaurant is open to the elements in an al fresco setting before transforming into a bar in the evening. Even during the heat of the afternoon, the restaurant is generally cooling and suitable for patronizing even then. Lets go to the food to see how it fares then.
Apple and Orange Juice - Authentic juice best describes these 2 juices. In that i mean that they were both sour and depending on your tolerance to sour stuff, can either be a blessing or a curse. For me, i have a low tolerance to them and thus, it was a rather difficult experience to finish them. In all fairness though, they tasted very true to form.
Blue Swimmer Crab Caesar Salad ($13) - Crab meat, deep fried bread, salad, cheese flakes, boiled eggs and bacon bits. This simple looking salad was made very nicely indeed. The crab meat was fresh and sweet while the salad itself was crunchy to a fault. I particularly liked the boiled egg for no other reason then i love boiled eggs in a salad and the cheese lent a light salty taste to the dish. A great start to a meal.
Wild Mushroom Soup With Truffle Oil ($8) - The mushroom bits can be easily seen and the soup seems to be a grinded home made version of the mushroom soup which reminds me of the rendition at Eden Cafe. Taste wise, it was also quite similar with the mushroom bits providing texture to the soup and the truffle oil softening it somewhat. A little pepper did wonders for the soup as well. Worth a try.
Linguine with Seared Tiger Prawns in Tomato Chili Sauce ($16) -Spicy, tangy and a little sweet. The linguine was done al dente with the tiger prawns arranged at the top with the sauce and tomatoes. The prawns were reasonably big and crunchy but could have done with more. As i don't take much spicy stuff, i left this to my colleague to enjoy. What i gather was that it was not spicy enough but was good.
SuperFamous Wagyu Burger With Caramelized Onions, Fries and Salad ($23) - This original burger came looking delicious and the taste test revealed that it is delicious. Wagyu beef is mashed well with chunky bits to add variety to the texture while the caramelized onions gave the burger an overall sweet finish. The beef was also juicy and it was evident in each bite that the meat was fresh. The only gripe is that i couldn't tell if it was Wagyu or normal beef since it was mashed up.
SuperFamous Foie Gras Wagyu Burger ($32) - This was what i came to try. The foie gras wagyu beef burger. I have a tendency to go for artery clogging and heart stopping menu items and thus this was the choice of the day. Sadly, although the beef was nicely mashed as the SuperFamous burger, the foie gras did not manage to bring a different experience to the meal. The foie gras came at a respectable size with cheese meltings with it. It was also done nicely and taken on its own, it could have sufficed but when paired with the burger, it just feels like something is still missing. Maybe i held too high an expectation for this burger because otherwise, its pretty darn good. The wedges are the same for both, well done, not too oily and piping hot.
Sticky Date Pudding With Honey, Fig and Butterscotch Ice Cream ($8.50) - Recommended by the nice waitress of the restaurant, the sticky date pudding is a must try. Needless to say, this is the star of the day. Looking like glutinous rice, the warm sticky date is sweet and packs a punch in its aroma. Taken on its own, it would have overwhelmed but when paired with the honey fig and butterscotch ice cream, the taste was incredible. The waitress said that no visit is complete till you've had this as dessert and i totally agree. Try this!
Royal Chocolate Mousse With Crunchy Feulletine Base ($8.50) - The chocolate mousse on the other hand was rather lackluster as it was bitter and lacked any other taste. I did enjoy the crunchy base but it still doesn't warrant a second order.
Peppermint Green Tea (complimentary) - Finally, after all the rich food i've had, the waitress once again recommended the peppermint green tea to aid digestion and i'm so grateful she did. Its fabulous. The tea is absolutely fragrant and cooling which is wonderful for the current weather and for washing done all the oil from the burgers before. If any drink should be ordered here, this is it.
Given the food, good service and some wonderful items. This place is somewhere i could return to and recommend to my friends. I'd return for the dessert and tea any day and as for the burgers, i wouldn't mind clogging myself again but first of all, its time to shed what i've gained from this visit. Do give it a try if you are in the vicinity.
This Kway Chup stall on the second floor of Amoy Food Centre claiming to serve authentic Teochew Kway Chup (not that I actually know how thats supposed to taste like though) piqued my interest greatly and so I got down to giving it a shot.
$6.60 bought me a platter of Pig's Tongue, Pig's Intestine, Hard Boiled Egg, Tau Pok and Fishcake for 2 pax inclusive of 2 bowls of the Kway. I personally found the ingredients too soft from simmering in the huge pot of gravy for too long. The only highlight was the Kway and the accompanying gravy. The Kway had more bite and wasn't as soggy as the normal ones you get outside. The gravy had a slightly burnt taste with a rather sharp tinge of Cinnamon. Something different and worth a try for the novelty factor. Unfortunately, not even the superior Kway and unique gravy is enough to warrant another try.
Had a craving for Pig's Organ Soup so ordered a bowl to share from Soon Huat's Pig Organ Soup, which has a loyal following of customers, including myself.
$3 gets your a bowl of soup with a reasonable amount of ingredients thrown in. The ingredients in it are pretty normal, but what I like about this dish is the soup. It is slightly sourish and salty due to the salted vegetables and it is so good that it keeps me going back for more. Add a dash of pepper and you get a really great soup. Do try it!
In the same coffeeshop that houses the famous Eng Seng Black Pepper Crabs lies a small nondescript corner stall that sells Wanton Mee. My colleague had raved about it so thought I would pop by to try it during lunch.
For $3, I got a huge bowl of kway teow with 4 relatively huge deep fried wantons and 3 boiled wantons. Each fried wanton had a generous serving of meat in it and was very crispy. The steamed wantons were rather normal though. However, count in the fact that you get a generous serving of char siew as well and this dish is really bang for the buck. Do try it if you happen to be in the area during lunch.
According to the television program, Makan Places Lost and Found, the famous Hong Kee Beef Noodles, which used to be at the old Cuppage Centre, has relocated to the ground floor of Amoy Food Centre. I love beef noodles and I make it a point to eat this dish whenever possible. And so there I was, literally running towards Amoy Food Centre during my lunch hour, to try and beat the lunch crowd.
I opted for the $4 version of beef slices and beef balls. Imagine my disappointment when I saw the miserable amount of beef slices that came with it. 4 beef balls were given, but they were your average sized beef balls that you could buy from the supermarket. Taste wise, the beef balls tasted like the supermarket ones except that they were very much tastier. Texture wise was slightly rougher and more chewy. The beef slices were a little chewy as well, but lacked the strong beef taste that I like. The soup was noticeably bland, just like the beef slices. Maybe its just the Hainanese way of cooking, I'm not sure. If you like bland stuff, then maybe this is the one for you. As for me, I'll stick to the cheaper and better (in my opinion) Teochew Beef Kway Teow located on the same level.
Had breakfast with my parents at Toa Payoh on a late Sunday morning. Read somewhere that Fong Kee's Duck Rice at Lorong 1 was pretty good so decided to give it a try. Fong Kee is situated in a small coffeeshop just right under a block of flats and across from the spanking new market and food centre. We ordered the Roast Duck, Roasted Pork and Shui Jiao(Dumpling) Soup for 3 pax.
The Roast Duck had a slightly crispy skin which is quite rare in most places that I've tried (with the exception of restaurants). The gravy was plentiful and Seaseme Seeds were sprinkled all over. Honestly, the gravy didn't add much flavour to the duck. I found the duck slightly above average in terms of taste, but a minus point would be the minimal meat. I like my ducks to be meaty with a crispy skin and not just a crispy skin with not much meat.
The Roasted Pork was a little too salty and pretty fat, which was quite a turn off. The Shui Jiao Soup was average and the Shui Jiao itself tasted slightly above average with its nice filling of diced shrimps, prawns and other stuff.
The meal for 3 cost $13.90. Not exactly cheap for Duck Rice, especially for one which fails to wow and with average sized portions. But it certainly is above average and should you be around, you are most welcome to try it out. Look out for some other stalls which serve excellent food in this old neighbourhood.
Passed by 933 Roast Duck and saw many photographs of celebrities gracing the walls of this small eating house with tables spilling all over the sidewalks and decided to try it out since my gf and I were both hungry. We ordered 2 plates of Roasted Duck Rice and a bowl of Bak Kut Teh to share.
For a stall that has received many good reviews and is purportedly one of the best roasted duck rice stalls in Singapore, it certainly didn't meet my gf's or my expectations. The duck was merely average. No crispy skin, no flavourful meat. Just plain old simple duck meat and it came with a lot of bones to boot, even though I had ordered duck breast meat. The secret to the duck rice lies in the chilli I believe. Concentrated and packing a punch, it is good enough for my gf to like it. The Bak Kut in the Bak Kut Teh was a little too soft in my opinion, probably a result of cooking too long. However, I found the soup very much to my liking. It was clear with lots of pepper in it (Teochew style). Flavourful yet peppery! But I would have liked some more pepper though.
Total for the meal was $13.40, which included 2 glasses of barley. Relatively reasonable if you ask me.
Had the good fortune to be treated once again by my nice boss when it was Secretaries Day. I'm not a secretary but i tagged along and shamelessly got myself a free meal. Ahhh....its the little things in life that make life beautiful doesn't it? Thanks boss!
Started in 1997, Siam kitchen is committed to bringing authentic Thai cuisine to Singapore without compromising the taste and quality of the transition. After 11 years, has their food been palatable for the majority of Singaporeans or are they going down the slippery slope marking the end?
Crackers - As with most meals, an appetizer begins the day and this time, its a bowl of crackers. Vegetable crackers if i'm not mistaken. Light, crispy and fragrant, it managed to set the mood for the meal to come. In fact, it was good enough for us to get it refilled at least once but maybe we're just cracker people.
Salad, Fish cake and Chicken Wings - Whilst waiting for the rest of the team to arrive, we went ahead to get ourselves a few ala carte items which you see above. Surprisingly, the best items turned out to be the salad of which i've forgotten the actual name. Either way, the salad was drenched in the usual sourish and sweet sauce that thai food is known for and the cold "cucumber?" and other items made for a refreshing and interesting taste. The wings were hot and tender while the fish cake was rather lackluster.
Buffet Lunch Set with free flow ice lemon tea($15.90 1.99) - The buffet spread came with a multitude of items which you will get to have at one go. These include, thai spicy squid salad, lemongrass chicken wings, prawn balls, tom yum prawn soup, thai fish cake, green curry chicken, chicken satay, fish fillet in yellow curry, sweet and sour prawn, beef massaman in dry curry, minced chicken in chili and basil, tofu in oyster sauce, baby kailan with garlic and mushroom, fried kangkong and pineapple rice. In all respects, that is a pretty big variety and everything is done ala carte. The catch is that they'll serve everything once and after that, you'll get to re order whatever else you wish to have seconds of. The tom yum is more sourish then spicy while the green curry had an overdose of coconut milk which isn't to my taste nor waistline. The only item good enough to mention was the chicken wing and thats at a discounted size from the actual ones that could be obtained from the ala carte menu. Still, the other items weren't all bad per se, just not up to the standard i would like. And anyway, its a buffet so this is more or less expected.
The above items were had by my colleagues who opted for the ala carte menu instead of the buffet. All of the guo tiao items received positive feedback which more or less confirms that the ala carte served much better food. The red ruby however, had too much coconut milk and was exceedingly salty, yep, salty is the word. The mango and glutinous rice also turned up too salty but was balanced by the mango and the ice cream in the end. Maybe thats how the authentic items tasted like in Thailand?
In terms of value for money, the buffet is generous and definitely filling enough although quality is compromised somewhat. The desserts and a few other items really felt like there was excess salt added which was quite disconcerting. Otherwise, the service was pretty good and no additional rules were enforced when the buffet customers and the ala carte customers sat together which i took to be a good sign. It wasn't terrible and the ala carte items definitely got better reviews.
After reading lots of great reviews on Komachi over at hardwarezone forums (yeah, salon reviews on an IT forum), I decided to give it a try. Guess I was in a crazy mood, as I usually don't get expensive haircuts. I also wanted to see what magic they could do to my hair for the high price they charge. Usually it's $65, but for first timers, there is a 20% discount which means I have to pay only $52. Still expensive!
My stylist was Mr. Maeda San. The service standard is excellent. The long hair wash and head massage was exactly what I needed to relax my mind. The shampoo used was some kind of milk shampoo, which smells absolutely heavenly! I was tempted to buy a bottle home. Fortunately, they are not pushy with their products, unlike many other salons.
As for the haircut, given my short hair length, it's needless to say that there is nothing magical he could do about it. It turns out to be rather normal, what I could get with my usual $18 haircut.
Conversing with the stylists can be tricky, as all of them are Japanese. Most of the time, I have difficulty making out anything other than "ne".
They are currently in the process of moving from Liat Towers to Liang Court. So this entry might need updating when they eventually move over, which I believe will be in June.
Had a chance to gather around for a meal with the Yebbers on a fine Saturday to commemorate a rather interesting event which i will not go into specifics. Either way, the meal is free and i've always wanted to dine in Laguna Country Club for no apparent reason other then its a country club. So here we are and this is what we had. As i didn't pay for this meal, i'll only give my take on the food quality and service.
Laguna country club hosts a variety of golf tournaments throughout the year, including big name events like the Singapore Masters and the Women's Open nary a year ago. The location is scenic with lush green pastures and an air of luxury that extends beyond the greens and into the eating places housed within. Pine Valley is a relaxed, open and well air conditioned place for the inhabitants and club members and also a good place to reside for a nice chat as its sparsely populated even during the lunch hours.
Shark's Fin Soup with Fish Maw, Chicken and Mushrooms - Shark's fin soup is one of those dishes that i associate with wedding dinners and extremely wealthy individuals. This will likely fall into the latter category. The soup itself is quite starchy and has a really generous helping of ingredients, shark's fin and fish maw. Taken on its own, there's a sweet taste that emanates from the healthy does of crab and mushrooms in the mix but otherwise, tastes bland as most shark's fin soup tastes. Vinegar and pepper definitely ups the taste and texture department in this case.
Peking Duck - The beauty of the Peking Duck dish is undeniable. Order a whole duck and you'll get to eat it in a variety of ways for the skin and the meat. The only things standing between you and the dish is the knowledge of whether the duck skin is marinated and roasted well. In this case, the skin is quite fatty and crispy enough to warrant a try. The marinate feels non existant and the normal pancake is too dry. The egg version salvaged the situation though. The meat was cooked in black pepper and turned out surprisingly good. It was moist, succulent and sweet. It also helped that the portion size was rather big.
Wasabi Mayonnaise Prawns - Wasabi Mayonnaise prawns, a signature dish of the Tung Lok group, this version turned out too dry for me. The batter and frying process seemed to have been overdone which left the prawns tasting hard and dry instead of crunchy and juicy. No matter, the wasabi mayonnaise was mixed well and provided a small kick in the right direction since it was rather mild and easily acceptable.
Steamed Batang - This fish was huge. Simple steamed fish can be good as long as the fish itself was fresh and the process of cooking was not overdone. Sad to say however, the fish was overcooked and thus caused the meat to loss some of its sweetness which could have made it better. For what its worth, what is good is that the meat is plentiful, fresh and went well with the salty and sourish stock accompanying the dish.
Dried Chili Fried Prawns - Somehow, i don't think the restaurant handles prawns well. This dish was decent but the taste resides only within the portion of the shell. This means that once deshelled, which is a necessary procedure unless you are lazy like me, the prawn itself is rather bland. Otherwise, the spicy and fragrant dried chili is something spice lovers will easily take to.
Beancurd with Spinach - Finally, some greens. The spinach turned out too old and had the "greenish" taste which accompanies greens not cleaned properly. Although a tad salty, the spinach with all its flaws, ultimately tasted better then the beancurd atop it, which came across as being totally tasteless.
Fried Ee Fu Noodles - By the time this dish appeared, we'd pretty much been stuffed like a duck awaiting slaughter. So the taste buds have deteriorated to the point i couldn't taste much. Nonetheless, the noodles were fragrant and had some bacon bits strewn around it. It was also springy and soft enough to be bitten off which is always a good sign.
Almonds, Sea Coconut, Pine Apple and Longan Cocktail - The dessert is rather simple but definitely gets the job done. I like the almond which was very soft and strong (i'm biased because i love almond). Everything else was just detail though. The other good thing was that the sweetness was just right, thus it didn't overwhelm.
First of all, thank you for the meal boss, i probably couldn't afford having such a huge sumptuous meal all on my lonesome. The view was good, location is quiet, food is decent and the portions were huge. I'd say the place was pretty good but i still don't know how much it cost so thats an open topic. Based on the food alone, i would probably like to have the shark's fin again, Peking duck however, is still better at Hai Tien lo.
1=SGD 0.0587
Opened by lifestyle and entrepreneur guru Michel Lu, Superfamous is located right smack in the heart of the CBD. Fully realised as a chic and trendy eating place, the restaurant is open to the elements in an al fresco setting before transforming into a bar in the evening. Even during the heat of the afternoon, the restaurant is generally cooling and suitable for patronizing even then. Lets go to the food to see how it fares then.
Apple and Orange Juice - Authentic juice best describes these 2 juices. In that i mean that they were both sour and depending on your tolerance to sour stuff, can either be a blessing or a curse. For me, i have a low tolerance to them and thus, it was a rather difficult experience to finish them. In all fairness though, they tasted very true to form.
Blue Swimmer Crab Caesar Salad ($13) - Crab meat, deep fried bread, salad, cheese flakes, boiled eggs and bacon bits. This simple looking salad was made very nicely indeed. The crab meat was fresh and sweet while the salad itself was crunchy to a fault. I particularly liked the boiled egg for no other reason then i love boiled eggs in a salad and the cheese lent a light salty taste to the dish. A great start to a meal.
Wild Mushroom Soup With Truffle Oil ($8) - The mushroom bits can be easily seen and the soup seems to be a grinded home made version of the mushroom soup which reminds me of the rendition at Eden Cafe. Taste wise, it was also quite similar with the mushroom bits providing texture to the soup and the truffle oil softening it somewhat. A little pepper did wonders for the soup as well. Worth a try.
Linguine with Seared Tiger Prawns in Tomato Chili Sauce ($16) -Spicy, tangy and a little sweet. The linguine was done al dente with the tiger prawns arranged at the top with the sauce and tomatoes. The prawns were reasonably big and crunchy but could have done with more. As i don't take much spicy stuff, i left this to my colleague to enjoy. What i gather was that it was not spicy enough but was good.
SuperFamous Wagyu Burger With Caramelized Onions, Fries and Salad ($23) - This original burger came looking delicious and the taste test revealed that it is delicious. Wagyu beef is mashed well with chunky bits to add variety to the texture while the caramelized onions gave the burger an overall sweet finish. The beef was also juicy and it was evident in each bite that the meat was fresh. The only gripe is that i couldn't tell if it was Wagyu or normal beef since it was mashed up.
SuperFamous Foie Gras Wagyu Burger ($32) - This was what i came to try. The foie gras wagyu beef burger. I have a tendency to go for artery clogging and heart stopping menu items and thus this was the choice of the day. Sadly, although the beef was nicely mashed as the SuperFamous burger, the foie gras did not manage to bring a different experience to the meal. The foie gras came at a respectable size with cheese meltings with it. It was also done nicely and taken on its own, it could have sufficed but when paired with the burger, it just feels like something is still missing. Maybe i held too high an expectation for this burger because otherwise, its pretty darn good. The wedges are the same for both, well done, not too oily and piping hot.
Sticky Date Pudding With Honey, Fig and Butterscotch Ice Cream ($8.50) - Recommended by the nice waitress of the restaurant, the sticky date pudding is a must try. Needless to say, this is the star of the day. Looking like glutinous rice, the warm sticky date is sweet and packs a punch in its aroma. Taken on its own, it would have overwhelmed but when paired with the honey fig and butterscotch ice cream, the taste was incredible. The waitress said that no visit is complete till you've had this as dessert and i totally agree. Try this!
Royal Chocolate Mousse With Crunchy Feulletine Base ($8.50) - The chocolate mousse on the other hand was rather lackluster as it was bitter and lacked any other taste. I did enjoy the crunchy base but it still doesn't warrant a second order.
Peppermint Green Tea (complimentary) - Finally, after all the rich food i've had, the waitress once again recommended the peppermint green tea to aid digestion and i'm so grateful she did. Its fabulous. The tea is absolutely fragrant and cooling which is wonderful for the current weather and for washing done all the oil from the burgers before. If any drink should be ordered here, this is it.
Given the food, good service and some wonderful items. This place is somewhere i could return to and recommend to my friends. I'd return for the dessert and tea any day and as for the burgers, i wouldn't mind clogging myself again but first of all, its time to shed what i've gained from this visit. Do give it a try if you are in the vicinity.
Rating given:
This Kway Chup stall on the second floor of Amoy Food Centre claiming to serve authentic Teochew Kway Chup (not that I actually know how thats supposed to taste like though) piqued my interest greatly and so I got down to giving it a shot.
$6.60 bought me a platter of Pig's Tongue, Pig's Intestine, Hard Boiled Egg, Tau Pok and Fishcake for 2 pax inclusive of 2 bowls of the Kway. I personally found the ingredients too soft from simmering in the huge pot of gravy for too long. The only highlight was the Kway and the accompanying gravy. The Kway had more bite and wasn't as soggy as the normal ones you get outside. The gravy had a slightly burnt taste with a rather sharp tinge of Cinnamon. Something different and worth a try for the novelty factor. Unfortunately, not even the superior Kway and unique gravy is enough to warrant another try.
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Had a craving for Pig's Organ Soup so ordered a bowl to share from Soon Huat's Pig Organ Soup, which has a loyal following of customers, including myself.
$3 gets your a bowl of soup with a reasonable amount of ingredients thrown in. The ingredients in it are pretty normal, but what I like about this dish is the soup. It is slightly sourish and salty due to the salted vegetables and it is so good that it keeps me going back for more. Add a dash of pepper and you get a really great soup. Do try it!
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In the same coffeeshop that houses the famous Eng Seng Black Pepper Crabs lies a small nondescript corner stall that sells Wanton Mee. My colleague had raved about it so thought I would pop by to try it during lunch.
For $3, I got a huge bowl of kway teow with 4 relatively huge deep fried wantons and 3 boiled wantons. Each fried wanton had a generous serving of meat in it and was very crispy. The steamed wantons were rather normal though. However, count in the fact that you get a generous serving of char siew as well and this dish is really bang for the buck. Do try it if you happen to be in the area during lunch.
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According to the television program, Makan Places Lost and Found, the famous Hong Kee Beef Noodles, which used to be at the old Cuppage Centre, has relocated to the ground floor of Amoy Food Centre. I love beef noodles and I make it a point to eat this dish whenever possible. And so there I was, literally running towards Amoy Food Centre during my lunch hour, to try and beat the lunch crowd.
I opted for the $4 version of beef slices and beef balls. Imagine my disappointment when I saw the miserable amount of beef slices that came with it. 4 beef balls were given, but they were your average sized beef balls that you could buy from the supermarket. Taste wise, the beef balls tasted like the supermarket ones except that they were very much tastier. Texture wise was slightly rougher and more chewy. The beef slices were a little chewy as well, but lacked the strong beef taste that I like. The soup was noticeably bland, just like the beef slices. Maybe its just the Hainanese way of cooking, I'm not sure. If you like bland stuff, then maybe this is the one for you. As for me, I'll stick to the cheaper and better (in my opinion) Teochew Beef Kway Teow located on the same level.
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Had breakfast with my parents at Toa Payoh on a late Sunday morning. Read somewhere that Fong Kee's Duck Rice at Lorong 1 was pretty good so decided to give it a try. Fong Kee is situated in a small coffeeshop just right under a block of flats and across from the spanking new market and food centre. We ordered the Roast Duck, Roasted Pork and Shui Jiao(Dumpling) Soup for 3 pax.
The Roast Duck had a slightly crispy skin which is quite rare in most places that I've tried (with the exception of restaurants). The gravy was plentiful and Seaseme Seeds were sprinkled all over. Honestly, the gravy didn't add much flavour to the duck. I found the duck slightly above average in terms of taste, but a minus point would be the minimal meat. I like my ducks to be meaty with a crispy skin and not just a crispy skin with not much meat.
The Roasted Pork was a little too salty and pretty fat, which was quite a turn off. The Shui Jiao Soup was average and the Shui Jiao itself tasted slightly above average with its nice filling of diced shrimps, prawns and other stuff.
The meal for 3 cost $13.90. Not exactly cheap for Duck Rice, especially for one which fails to wow and with average sized portions. But it certainly is above average and should you be around, you are most welcome to try it out. Look out for some other stalls which serve excellent food in this old neighbourhood.
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Passed by 933 Roast Duck and saw many photographs of celebrities gracing the walls of this small eating house with tables spilling all over the sidewalks and decided to try it out since my gf and I were both hungry. We ordered 2 plates of Roasted Duck Rice and a bowl of Bak Kut Teh to share.
For a stall that has received many good reviews and is purportedly one of the best roasted duck rice stalls in Singapore, it certainly didn't meet my gf's or my expectations. The duck was merely average. No crispy skin, no flavourful meat. Just plain old simple duck meat and it came with a lot of bones to boot, even though I had ordered duck breast meat. The secret to the duck rice lies in the chilli I believe. Concentrated and packing a punch, it is good enough for my gf to like it. The Bak Kut in the Bak Kut Teh was a little too soft in my opinion, probably a result of cooking too long. However, I found the soup very much to my liking. It was clear with lots of pepper in it (Teochew style). Flavourful yet peppery! But I would have liked some more pepper though.
Total for the meal was $13.40, which included 2 glasses of barley. Relatively reasonable if you ask me.
Rating given:
Had the good fortune to be treated once again by my nice boss when it was Secretaries Day. I'm not a secretary but i tagged along and shamelessly got myself a free meal. Ahhh....its the little things in life that make life beautiful doesn't it? Thanks boss!
Started in 1997, Siam kitchen is committed to bringing authentic Thai cuisine to Singapore without compromising the taste and quality of the transition. After 11 years, has their food been palatable for the majority of Singaporeans or are they going down the slippery slope marking the end?
Crackers - As with most meals, an appetizer begins the day and this time, its a bowl of crackers. Vegetable crackers if i'm not mistaken. Light, crispy and fragrant, it managed to set the mood for the meal to come. In fact, it was good enough for us to get it refilled at least once but maybe we're just cracker people.
Salad, Fish cake and Chicken Wings - Whilst waiting for the rest of the team to arrive, we went ahead to get ourselves a few ala carte items which you see above. Surprisingly, the best items turned out to be the salad of which i've forgotten the actual name. Either way, the salad was drenched in the usual sourish and sweet sauce that thai food is known for and the cold "cucumber?" and other items made for a refreshing and interesting taste. The wings were hot and tender while the fish cake was rather lackluster.
Buffet Lunch Set with free flow ice lemon tea($15.90 1.99) - The buffet spread came with a multitude of items which you will get to have at one go. These include, thai spicy squid salad, lemongrass chicken wings, prawn balls, tom yum prawn soup, thai fish cake, green curry chicken, chicken satay, fish fillet in yellow curry, sweet and sour prawn, beef massaman in dry curry, minced chicken in chili and basil, tofu in oyster sauce, baby kailan with garlic and mushroom, fried kangkong and pineapple rice.
In all respects, that is a pretty big variety and everything is done ala carte. The catch is that they'll serve everything once and after that, you'll get to re order whatever else you wish to have seconds of. The tom yum is more sourish then spicy while the green curry had an overdose of coconut milk which isn't to my taste nor waistline. The only item good enough to mention was the chicken wing and thats at a discounted size from the actual ones that could be obtained from the ala carte menu. Still, the other items weren't all bad per se, just not up to the standard i would like. And anyway, its a buffet so this is more or less expected.
The above items were had by my colleagues who opted for the ala carte menu instead of the buffet. All of the guo tiao items received positive feedback which more or less confirms that the ala carte served much better food. The red ruby however, had too much coconut milk and was exceedingly salty, yep, salty is the word. The mango and glutinous rice also turned up too salty but was balanced by the mango and the ice cream in the end. Maybe thats how the authentic items tasted like in Thailand?
In terms of value for money, the buffet is generous and definitely filling enough although quality is compromised somewhat. The desserts and a few other items really felt like there was excess salt added which was quite disconcerting. Otherwise, the service was pretty good and no additional rules were enforced when the buffet customers and the ala carte customers sat together which i took to be a good sign. It wasn't terrible and the ala carte items definitely got better reviews.
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After reading lots of great reviews on Komachi over at hardwarezone forums (yeah, salon reviews on an IT forum), I decided to give it a try. Guess I was in a crazy mood, as I usually don't get expensive haircuts. I also wanted to see what magic they could do to my hair for the high price they charge. Usually it's $65, but for first timers, there is a 20% discount which means I have to pay only $52. Still expensive!
My stylist was Mr. Maeda San. The service standard is excellent. The long hair wash and head massage was exactly what I needed to relax my mind. The shampoo used was some kind of milk shampoo, which smells absolutely heavenly! I was tempted to buy a bottle home. Fortunately, they are not pushy with their products, unlike many other salons.
As for the haircut, given my short hair length, it's needless to say that there is nothing magical he could do about it. It turns out to be rather normal, what I could get with my usual $18 haircut.
Conversing with the stylists can be tricky, as all of them are Japanese. Most of the time, I have difficulty making out anything other than "ne".
They are currently in the process of moving from Liat Towers to Liang Court. So this entry might need updating when they eventually move over, which I believe will be in June.
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Had a chance to gather around for a meal with the Yebbers on a fine Saturday to commemorate a rather interesting event which i will not go into specifics. Either way, the meal is free and i've always wanted to dine in Laguna Country Club for no apparent reason other then its a country club. So here we are and this is what we had. As i didn't pay for this meal, i'll only give my take on the food quality and service.
Laguna country club hosts a variety of golf tournaments throughout the year, including big name events like the Singapore Masters and the Women's Open nary a year ago. The location is scenic with lush green pastures and an air of luxury that extends beyond the greens and into the eating places housed within. Pine Valley is a relaxed, open and well air conditioned place for the inhabitants and club members and also a good place to reside for a nice chat as its sparsely populated even during the lunch hours.
Shark's Fin Soup with Fish Maw, Chicken and Mushrooms - Shark's fin soup is one of those dishes that i associate with wedding dinners and extremely wealthy individuals. This will likely fall into the latter category. The soup itself is quite starchy and has a really generous helping of ingredients, shark's fin and fish maw. Taken on its own, there's a sweet taste that emanates from the healthy does of crab and mushrooms in the mix but otherwise, tastes bland as most shark's fin soup tastes. Vinegar and pepper definitely ups the taste and texture department in this case.
Peking Duck - The beauty of the Peking Duck dish is undeniable. Order a whole duck and you'll get to eat it in a variety of ways for the skin and the meat. The only things standing between you and the dish is the knowledge of whether the duck skin is marinated and roasted well. In this case, the skin is quite fatty and crispy enough to warrant a try. The marinate feels non existant and the normal pancake is too dry. The egg version salvaged the situation though. The meat was cooked in black pepper and turned out surprisingly good. It was moist, succulent and sweet. It also helped that the portion size was rather big.
Wasabi Mayonnaise Prawns - Wasabi Mayonnaise prawns, a signature dish of the Tung Lok group, this version turned out too dry for me. The batter and frying process seemed to have been overdone which left the prawns tasting hard and dry instead of crunchy and juicy. No matter, the wasabi mayonnaise was mixed well and provided a small kick in the right direction since it was rather mild and easily acceptable.
Steamed Batang - This fish was huge. Simple steamed fish can be good as long as the fish itself was fresh and the process of cooking was not overdone. Sad to say however, the fish was overcooked and thus caused the meat to loss some of its sweetness which could have made it better. For what its worth, what is good is that the meat is plentiful, fresh and went well with the salty and sourish stock accompanying the dish.
Dried Chili Fried Prawns - Somehow, i don't think the restaurant handles prawns well. This dish was decent but the taste resides only within the portion of the shell. This means that once deshelled, which is a necessary procedure unless you are lazy like me, the prawn itself is rather bland. Otherwise, the spicy and fragrant dried chili is something spice lovers will easily take to.
Beancurd with Spinach - Finally, some greens. The spinach turned out too old and had the "greenish" taste which accompanies greens not cleaned properly. Although a tad salty, the spinach with all its flaws, ultimately tasted better then the beancurd atop it, which came across as being totally tasteless.
Fried Ee Fu Noodles - By the time this dish appeared, we'd pretty much been stuffed like a duck awaiting slaughter. So the taste buds have deteriorated to the point i couldn't taste much. Nonetheless, the noodles were fragrant and had some bacon bits strewn around it. It was also springy and soft enough to be bitten off which is always a good sign.
Almonds, Sea Coconut, Pine Apple and Longan Cocktail - The dessert is rather simple but definitely gets the job done. I like the almond which was very soft and strong (i'm biased because i love almond). Everything else was just detail though. The other good thing was that the sweetness was just right, thus it didn't overwhelm.
First of all, thank you for the meal boss, i probably couldn't afford having such a huge sumptuous meal all on my lonesome. The view was good, location is quiet, food is decent and the portions were huge. I'd say the place was pretty good but i still don't know how much it cost so thats an open topic. Based on the food alone, i would probably like to have the shark's fin again, Peking duck however, is still better at Hai Tien lo.
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