I give more stars than the reviews above since I always like going here.
Contrary of the previous reviews, I go to this restaurant often and like it! I think the chicken is very good and tasty. Especially the chili! I think it's very fragrant and tasty. One other type of food I (and my boyfriend.. he likes it a lot too) usually order is the fried tofu. It's so delicious, especially the skin. I bet the skin has some special recipe..
Well yeah sometimes it's not that good though. I guess it's just how lucky we are when we come. We once came and the chicken served to us was nothing but bones! Okay, exaggerated, but there were many bones..
It's suitable for eating with a large group of people since their portion is quite big and pricey. You will see many families eating here.
However I agree that service can be kinda sucky some time. They should stop hiring people with no English command at all. With my poor Mandarin understanding and the waiter/waitress' poor understanding of sign language (hahaha), it's quite a mess. Well sometimes we're lucky though, we can get the staff that speaks English (usually they wear black and gold attire.. Watch out) and get served very well.
I still think it's good though.. Just bought my friends to eat there few days ago and they really like it.
Had lunch at Sweet Salty Spicy Food Market & Thai Canteen (SSS for short), a newly opened modern Thai restaurant in the western regions of Singapore. Set up by Chef Christopher Miller of Poppi and helmed by Chef Richards, who trained under Chef Peter Bowyer from Sailors Thai in Sydney Rocks district fame, SSS aims to fill the gap between Thai fine dining restaurants and Thai chain outlets.
Located along serene Upper Bukit Timah Road, SSS, which is one of the new kids on the block, resides towards the end of a row of shops also known as The Rail Mall. The interior is simply done up with shelves of Thai sauces and condiments on display together with fresh local produce of herbs and vegetables. Hanging fruits at the entrance add to the down to earth market feel of the place.
Hot and Sour Soup with Prawns, Straw Mushrooms and Aromatics - Notice that the name mentioned prawns. However, there was only 1 prawn, albeit of a rather large size. Bone picking aside, the soup was light yet sourish and hits you before you even know it. Its not so much the chilli kind of spicy but the wasabi kind of 呛, which has been known to reduce grown men to tears. Although I'm not one for spicy stuff, I liked this soup quite a bit.
Wagyu Beef Skewer - At $5.50 a skewer and 2 mouthfuls, this is one expensive piece of beef. However I must admit that the beef was excellent. Tender and succulent with a tinge of sourish herbs taste complementing the natural beefy flavours of the meat - all these without being done medium rare.
Sweet Barbeque Pork in Thai Spices with Fresh Vegetables - This dish is very much akin to our local char siew except that it was much drier with an unidentifiable lightly sweet yet salty spice taste. With the meat being dry, it naturally got tougher and more chewy, which isn't necessarily a good thing, especially for people with weak teeth like myself. Still a relatively decent dish overall.
Roast Duck with Flat Rice Noodles in a Fragrant Thai Herb Broth with Bean Sprouts and Fried Garlic - First impression, this dish looked like a typical bowl of duck meat kway teow. Interestingly, the broth reminded me of the gravy used in lor mee, albeit of a much sweeter version. The duck slices were nice and chewy but the rice noodles, though silky and smooth, tended to clump together.
'Pat Thai' Stir Fried Thai Rice Noodles - This has got to be one of the best Pat Thai I've eaten in a long long while. A tad chewy and moist, the Pat Thai was fried with dried shrimps, beansprouts and huge prawns, exuding a nice fragrant aroma when served. Another plus point was that the noodles didn't clump together even when the dish turned cold. Probably the only gripe I had was the sweetness of the dish, which was a little excessive for me personally.
Black Sticky Rice with Caramelised Coconut and Coconut Cream - For those who have eaten enough of such dishes, you would probably know that this is essentially Pulot/Burbur Hitam. And although I dont really fancy it, I must say that this one was quite appetising, not too starchy but could do with a lot less sugar.
Coconut Custard Tart - Served up with a dollop of fresh cream, the tart looked limp and tired, much to my disappointment. However it wasn't half as bad as it looked, tasting pretty much like egg tart with a layer of sweetened coconut. To be fair, it was actually quite nice but it might have been better if served chilled.
Honestly, $50 for the spread and quality isn't expensive. However portions aren't big so hearty eaters might need to order something extra from the ala carte menu. I'm not sure about the portions come dinner time but prices tend towards the higher end during that period. Think $12 for a plate of Pat Thai. SSS isn't the cheapest Thai food place nor the best, but for the prices, its worth it.
We went to this branch as it usually isn't crowded on Fridays. While my friends ordered iced lemon tea, I tried the Mango Fizz. The lemon tea didn't taste good. It tasted like plain water, even the peach tea wasn't good either. As for the Mango Fizz, I like.
I tried the mushroom pasta and the cream sauce was good. I didn't like the mushrooms as they didn't taste that well cooked or overcooked.
The seafood pasta didn't taste that good either. I loved the waffles with ice-cream though. So, I shall be sticking to the waffles and ice-cream while dining there.
I'm a big fan of this cake shop! Even though it's small and kinda hidden in the food court, the cakes are extraordinary and heavenly.
Cakes are kept fresh in their cooling display. They're very attractive! And I just love the packaging. They will give you the cake box and the cake-cutting knife plus the large carrier. It was so easy to bring it back home. The aunties at the stall are also very friendly..
And of courseeeeeee the cake is so heavenly! I bought the cheesecake with oreo base and top, decorated by fresh fruits and white chocolate slices. It was so good! The cake is quite sticky but it's nice! It's not "dry". And the oreo as the base and top is a very deadly combination! A bit sweet, a bit bitter, but nice overall!
This shop stays as my regularly visited shop whenever I need cakes for any occasion.
Playground @ Big splash is the revamped and much hyped about location these days for its semi chic food offering which can be found surrounding the defunct location. The list of restaurants to try there is quite extensive and its important thus, to start somewhere. Having had Sushi Tei close to a year back, i was once again goaded to try it out at its new location.
The exterior of the restaurant is simply a refurbishment of the old big splash building with an additional signboard. The interior consists of a oval kitchen set in the middle of the restaurant with glass panels to allow a full view of the kitchen and sushi making counter. A conveyor belt which taxis the usual sushi plates run through the restaurant as well. Seats are a mesh of wooden and minimal cushioned seats for the customers to choose from while the lighting within is rather dim as opposed to the bright interiors of Genki or Sakae sushi.
Unagi and Tamago Sushi (Yellow plate $6) - Looking at the shot, its obvious that the unagi is huge! I picked this from the conveyor because i was dead hungry and because the portion seemed too good to be true for a sushi plate. Taste wise, the unagi was soft and sweet while the tamago and sushi rice held firm. It wasn't until i learned the actual price of a yellow plate before i regretted as this was $6 which is really expensive by my standards.
Chawan Mushi (2 for $8) - Soft and sweet summarizes this up pretty well. Pieces of chicken meat and shark's fin can be found closer to the bottom but the one thing that irked me was that the dish was not piping hot when served. It was lukewarm at best and that took alot of enjoyment away.
Age Dashi Tofu ($4) - Another dish that should be served hot but made it to our tables only slightly warm. The age dashi tofu has to be the worst of its kind i've had to eat thus far. The skin had a sticky and unbreakable quality to it while the bland tofu inside simply didn't help. Also deserving a mention is how cool the sauce it came with was as well. An overall badly done item.
The above plates were basically tasteless. The tuna sushi had a rather fishy aftertaste that did not agree with me while the tamago and crab meat simple tasted like bland sushi rice. The unagi pieces were extremely thin and came with no sauce whatsoever. Disappointing.
Yakiniku Don ($10) - I had a bite of this dish and the meat was hard and overdone while the rice was once again lukewarm.
Curry Katsudon ($8) - A simple dish which i ordered for filling purposes. The curry was not spicy as Japanese curry itself is never known for being spicy. The chicken pieces were miserly and hard while the curry tasted very much like those that could be bought from NTUC. Somehow, i was hoping for more but that was never satisfied.
Sukiyaki (3 for $36) - The sukiyaki beef came in 4 long slices and the fats were readily apparent on each piece. Some call it marbling but it doesn't sit well with me as i prefer sukiyaki with minimal fat and more meat. The hotpot that came was miso based and is of the sweet variety. Its filled with mushrooms, onions, vermicelli and tofu for good measure but none decreases the sweetness of the broth (this can be good or bad depending on your tastes). Regardless, this is one of the more affordable and value for money items i've found in the place. Still not exceedingly good though.
Cha Soba ($6.50) - Another item i did not get to try but comments were that it was good.
Total damage for 6 people came to $112.39. Averaging less then $20 per person.
Although Japanese food is one of my favorite cuisines and i've tried Sushi Tei in the past. This branch needs work before its worthy of the name. From my friends, i understand that they have eaten at other branches where the standard was much higher and better then the items we've had here. Service was better as well. Either way, i did not enjoy paying at the counter, did not enjoy eating lukewarm and suspiciously "unfresh" food and did not enjoy the air con dripping down on me as i signed the cheque. Maybe this is the new business jitters i've heard so much about regarding new entrants to the field but still, i don't think i'll be coming back to this branch. Take your chances.
Buying the tickets were simple. The route to get to the fly took some navigation, from the second level, you have to pass through some bag checking via a scanner.
After going through, you have to go up another level before finally waiting for the capsule. Board needs to be fast despite the slow moving wheel. I don't know if they would cater for the elderly and the not so able-body people.
The experience in the capsule was both exhilarating and frightening. It is scary for people who have acrophobia. The night view does help to reduce the fear of height.
As the lighting used is neon blue, taking any photographs inside the capsule will make them blue. It's good to be able to view the IR being built in progress. Looking at the roads intersections gives a different feeling when viewed from a height.
Overall, it is a great feeling to be in there and watch part of Singapore full of buildings and water.
Beads and Ends is a blogshop selling handmade jewelries including necklaces and earrings. Materials primarily used are imported from US, including non-tarnish wire and swarovski crystals. Even with this excellent quality, beadsandends' price is very affordable.
The owner is very friendly. Once met her during SMU bazaar. Went to the bazaar to pick up my stuff that I ordered online. So funny.. She politely asked me whether I can come to SMU bazaar instead to pick up so that I can waive my postage charges. Of course I agreed. It's like, my school. Hahahaha.
Neeway, during bazaar she was selling hundreds (or maybe more) cheap earrings. Only $2.50 for each pair! Even though they're cheap, as I said she only uses excellent materials and shows excellent wirework skills. Bought many pairs that time to give to my sisters. Hehe.
One flaw though. I hope the website will be more neatly designed. Some banners put are not in equal sizes and some positions are weird.. Also I wish she will put constant and consistent tags/categories to make searching particular jewelry easier.
However all in all, it's a very good blogshop. Check it out.
Snowlights is a good blogshop! Ade creates beautiful jewelry with excellent workmanship yet with a very affordable price! Bought my earrings under $10 and it looks as good as $20 earrings.
I love her wirework! It's so pretty and intricate.. She's already made many unique-shaped jewelry with interesting wirework. (See her website to see...Hehehe) She throws in many cute little things to adorn the jewelry. Butterflies, leaves, picnic basket, and many more.. Totally unique.
The owner is very friendly and will give personalized service. This is important, you know! I find many online shops with "adding to cart" option seems kinda cold and not engaging.. Oh she also wraps the package nicely and gives instruction to care the jewelry (hand-signed by her.. Personalization!).
And have I mentioned that they're cheap?? For excellent wirework and unique juxtaposition of little bits, the price is really a good value.
Things didn’t get off to a good start when my name was not found on the reservation list. Thankfully it wasn’t a big issue as the crowd have not set in and they managed to find us a table. It so happen that it was Friends “First Ever Barbecue Party” @ Chomps that evening, and we were told that they were only serving Barbecue Platter for mains and only the appetisers and desserts are available from the regular menu.
As we were scrutinising the menu on what is available, one thing we did realise was that the tables were a little too close for comfort. Despite the classy décor and nice lighting to create a lovely ambience, the strident environment that evening marred it - in fact it stayed raucous throughout the whole occasion.
Upon ordering, we were served the bread and butter almost immediately – it didn’t came cold but it wasn’t exactly warm either (I was actually looking forward to it as I clearly remember her mentioning “Enjoy your warm bread!”). Other than being soft, there wasn’t anything else noteworthy to mention about it.
Soon after, the Assorted Salad Platter with Condiments and Dressing came – straight forward dish as well and nothing much to compliment or picked on.
Then came the ½ dozen of Seasonal Oysters ($29.40), and I have flattering remarks for them – they were big, the flesh were plump and it was very fresh, although personally I would prefer them to arrive more chilled – and if they were any cheaper, I could have easily gulp down another dozen.
We waited a little while more before our platter arrived. For a platter for 2 ($49.90), diners have a choice of 3 items from the Hot Items (Roast Potatoes, Corn on the Cob, Grilled Tomatoes, Grilled Pumpkins, Grilled Peppers) and 2 items from the Grilled Items (Rib eye Steak, Lamb Shoulder Chops, Assorted Sausage (veal or course pork), Grilled Chicken, Grilled Fish Fillet). A platter for 3 will set you back another $20 with an additional item from the grilled section. We opted for the potatoes, corn and peppers from the hot items list and rib eye steak and lamb shoulder chops from the grilled items.
The platter didn’t exactly impress me when it was served to be honest. Aesthetics wise, it didn’t look appetising, furthermore the whole plate was drenched with the meat’s natural juices that only signifies that the chef did not rest the meat before it was served. But at least the chef did managed to get his medium rare this time round for the steak.
Special mention also goes to the lamb chops, as it was char grilled nicely on the outside and succulent on the inside – and what’s best was the layer of marbling fats that was ever so flavoursome. We wrapped up the dinner with a similar dessert I had the last time – Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake served with Vanilla Ice Cream ($12.90).
And my mate who was not present at the previous outing gave the same conclusion that the aftertaste of the molten chocolate lava could be better (compared to this one, which she had tried with me).
Overall, this wasn’t as bad an experience as the previous one, but there are definitely rooms for improvement. Also, considering that this was the first time they are running this sort of operations, perhaps I could be more forgiving. Nevertheless, I feel that serving barbecue fare is displacing the original business model, which prides itself as a semi-fine dining place – where you do not need to dig deep into your pockets for good food.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
What is the most terrible thing that can happen to a food blogger?
Encountered bad service at a restaurant?
No, thats part of the dining experience.
Taste lousy and not up-to-the-mark food?
Nah, thats also part of the dining experience.
Entering the restaurant and the waitress told you the place is full?
Blame it on yourself who did not make any reservations.
The worst thing, that can ever, ever happen to a food blogger . . .
Is having no camera to take shots of the delicacy displayed upon you.
Thunder never strikes at the same spot, indeed. The last time to The French Stall, LIC forgotten to bring his camera along, and that was an awful feeling. LIC didn’t expect to encounter the same problem, this time LIC did bring the camera, only to arrive happily at the entrance of the restaurant and found out that there was no battery inside!?!
Tsk tsk! LIC shouldn’t taken out the battery to charge and forgot to put it back. A dreadful mistake which must be avoid at all cost next time.
Beware! Warning! The following photos may look awful, terrible, shocking, ghastly, and lousy to you. If you cannot take any of the experience, please DO NOT click on “Read the rest of this entry“
The fatal spot where LIC wanted to take a pot-shot of the entrance and to his horror, discovered that the absence of the battery!
Alas, this post on Kuishin-bo will be short due to obvious reasons, LIC was actually working on Absolute Haven but due to time constraint, this post shall appear before your eyes first. Too many post pending for LIC to write, even OT can’t really help : )
The only “slightly more decent” photo, sushi selections The sushi are all right i guess, nothing to shout about. Quite a wide selections to choose from though.
Prawn Tempura The tempura section is most probably one of the place where i consume more, with the exception of desserts (which LIC can’t live without!) The prawn tempura is your normal fried prawn with tempura-flour, it works for me although i pretty much suspect its only decent in the eyes of Japanese food experts (LIC self-proclaimed he isn’t a avid Jap food eater)
Kaminabe paper steamboat Like what i mention during my visit to Waraku, Kaminabe sounds like a foul-word, it still brings back memories from the last visit, hence the mention. Paper pot, the vegetables, are all there to absorb the otherwise oily chicken and soup. Thinking back now, Beef should have been a better option for Kaminabe.
Desserts - Fruit Tarts Fruit tarts are LIC favorite! I can pop ten easily into my mouth. The tarts here are pretty standard i guess, but still give them to me!
There are also some miniature cakes around, chocolate ones, mini oreo cheesecakes (really tiny), mini doughnuts in different flavors, quite a variety available.
The chocolate fondue craze might have die down already, but that does not means they are not good. Its just that people forgets easily, before long another new craze will appear and the common folks will start to go after the new hype. Think donut, bubble-tea, luo-han fish, chocolate fondue, well just to name a few.
Total Bill for 2 person during weekday lunch comes up to $46.61 after tax and service charge. Weekday lunch is $24.80 for adult, and if you Op for the 60 minutes express lunch, it is $19.80 , which we did. I guess the 60 minutes strategy is more to attract office working people, but we took it since we are really full after an hour anyway.
Actually the difference in price is only 5 bucks, if you go for the normal price, you got the luxury to enjoy the buffet from 1130am-3pm, which big-appetite eaters should go for. Otherwise if you are working near Suntec, or like us where you can finish the meal in an hour, the discount of $5 although not much, is still rather substantial.
To be honest, the one hour buffet is rather rushed, and if you are the type that refuse to rush while tasting your food, it is not advisable to take it. But if you know what you are looking for, well just attack those areas and your effort will be paid off for the $19.80.
Kuishi-bo proclaimed itself to be the Authenthic Japanese Buffet Restaurant, which i highly doubted it. Authentic hardly feeds into what they are offering. Nevertheless i believe one sentence should sums it all for Kuishi-bo. Quantity, not quality!
Taste is subjective, if you are not looking for very excellent food, i say the ones at Kuishi-bo are quite decent, and definitely value-for-money since its only $19.80. But if you are into Japanese food, i’m afraid the visit will disappoint you greatly. Nonetheless, comparing Kuishi-bo to Sakura International Buffet, and Sakae Sushi Buffet, i still say Kuishi-bo slightly edged out both the latter.
Many acquaintance mentioned that Kuishi-bo’s standard has vastly dropped from last time, a pale shadow of what it used to be. Well, sometimes you have to experience it for yourself to conclude. I did, which is the reason for my visit to Kuishi-bo. Thus, Yay or Nah, make a trip down.
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 : )
1=SGD 0.0587
I give more stars than the reviews above since I always like going here.
Contrary of the previous reviews, I go to this restaurant often and like it! I think the chicken is very good and tasty. Especially the chili! I think it's very fragrant and tasty. One other type of food I (and my boyfriend.. he likes it a lot too) usually order is the fried tofu. It's so delicious, especially the skin. I bet the skin has some special recipe..
Well yeah sometimes it's not that good though. I guess it's just how lucky we are when we come. We once came and the chicken served to us was nothing but bones! Okay, exaggerated, but there were many bones..
It's suitable for eating with a large group of people since their portion is quite big and pricey. You will see many families eating here.
However I agree that service can be kinda sucky some time. They should stop hiring people with no English command at all. With my poor Mandarin understanding and the waiter/waitress' poor understanding of sign language (hahaha), it's quite a mess. Well sometimes we're lucky though, we can get the staff that speaks English (usually they wear black and gold attire.. Watch out) and get served very well.
I still think it's good though.. Just bought my friends to eat there few days ago and they really like it.
Just luck, I guess... Hahaha.
Rating given:
Had lunch at Sweet Salty Spicy Food Market & Thai Canteen (SSS for short), a newly opened modern Thai restaurant in the western regions of Singapore. Set up by Chef Christopher Miller of Poppi and helmed by Chef Richards, who trained under Chef Peter Bowyer from Sailors Thai in Sydney Rocks district fame, SSS aims to fill the gap between Thai fine dining restaurants and Thai chain outlets.
Located along serene Upper Bukit Timah Road, SSS, which is one of the new kids on the block, resides towards the end of a row of shops also known as The Rail Mall. The interior is simply done up with shelves of Thai sauces and condiments on display together with fresh local produce of herbs and vegetables. Hanging fruits at the entrance add to the down to earth market feel of the place.
Hot and Sour Soup with Prawns, Straw Mushrooms and Aromatics - Notice that the name mentioned prawns. However, there was only 1 prawn, albeit of a rather large size. Bone picking aside, the soup was light yet sourish and hits you before you even know it. Its not so much the chilli kind of spicy but the wasabi kind of 呛, which has been known to reduce grown men to tears. Although I'm not one for spicy stuff, I liked this soup quite a bit.
Wagyu Beef Skewer - At $5.50 a skewer and 2 mouthfuls, this is one expensive piece of beef. However I must admit that the beef was excellent. Tender and succulent with a tinge of sourish herbs taste complementing the natural beefy flavours of the meat - all these without being done medium rare.
Sweet Barbeque Pork in Thai Spices with Fresh Vegetables - This dish is very much akin to our local char siew except that it was much drier with an unidentifiable lightly sweet yet salty spice taste. With the meat being dry, it naturally got tougher and more chewy, which isn't necessarily a good thing, especially for people with weak teeth like myself. Still a relatively decent dish overall.
Roast Duck with Flat Rice Noodles in a Fragrant Thai Herb Broth with Bean Sprouts and Fried Garlic - First impression, this dish looked like a typical bowl of duck meat kway teow. Interestingly, the broth reminded me of the gravy used in lor mee, albeit of a much sweeter version. The duck slices were nice and chewy but the rice noodles, though silky and smooth, tended to clump together.
'Pat Thai' Stir Fried Thai Rice Noodles - This has got to be one of the best Pat Thai I've eaten in a long long while. A tad chewy and moist, the Pat Thai was fried with dried shrimps, beansprouts and huge prawns, exuding a nice fragrant aroma when served. Another plus point was that the noodles didn't clump together even when the dish turned cold. Probably the only gripe I had was the sweetness of the dish, which was a little excessive for me personally.
Black Sticky Rice with Caramelised Coconut and Coconut Cream - For those who have eaten enough of such dishes, you would probably know that this is essentially Pulot/Burbur Hitam. And although I dont really fancy it, I must say that this one was quite appetising, not too starchy but could do with a lot less sugar.
Coconut Custard Tart - Served up with a dollop of fresh cream, the tart looked limp and tired, much to my disappointment. However it wasn't half as bad as it looked, tasting pretty much like egg tart with a layer of sweetened coconut. To be fair, it was actually quite nice but it might have been better if served chilled.
Honestly, $50 for the spread and quality isn't expensive. However portions aren't big so hearty eaters might need to order something extra from the ala carte menu. I'm not sure about the portions come dinner time but prices tend towards the higher end during that period. Think $12 for a plate of Pat Thai. SSS isn't the cheapest Thai food place nor the best, but for the prices, its worth it.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
We went to this branch as it usually isn't crowded on Fridays. While my friends ordered iced lemon tea, I tried the Mango Fizz. The lemon tea didn't taste good. It tasted like plain water, even the peach tea wasn't good either. As for the Mango Fizz, I like.
I tried the mushroom pasta and the cream sauce was good. I didn't like the mushrooms as they didn't taste that well cooked or overcooked.
The seafood pasta didn't taste that good either. I loved the waffles with ice-cream though. So, I shall be sticking to the waffles and ice-cream while dining there.
Rating given:
I'm a big fan of this cake shop! Even though it's small and kinda hidden in the food court, the cakes are extraordinary and heavenly.
Cakes are kept fresh in their cooling display. They're very attractive! And I just love the packaging. They will give you the cake box and the cake-cutting knife plus the large carrier. It was so easy to bring it back home. The aunties at the stall are also very friendly..
And of courseeeeeee the cake is so heavenly! I bought the cheesecake with oreo base and top, decorated by fresh fruits and white chocolate slices. It was so good! The cake is quite sticky but it's nice! It's not "dry". And the oreo as the base and top is a very deadly combination! A bit sweet, a bit bitter, but nice overall!
This shop stays as my regularly visited shop whenever I need cakes for any occasion.
Rating given:
Playground @ Big splash is the revamped and much hyped about location these days for its semi chic food offering which can be found surrounding the defunct location. The list of restaurants to try there is quite extensive and its important thus, to start somewhere. Having had Sushi Tei close to a year back, i was once again goaded to try it out at its new location.
The exterior of the restaurant is simply a refurbishment of the old big splash building with an additional signboard. The interior consists of a oval kitchen set in the middle of the restaurant with glass panels to allow a full view of the kitchen and sushi making counter. A conveyor belt which taxis the usual sushi plates run through the restaurant as well. Seats are a mesh of wooden and minimal cushioned seats for the customers to choose from while the lighting within is rather dim as opposed to the bright interiors of Genki or Sakae sushi.
Unagi and Tamago Sushi (Yellow plate $6) - Looking at the shot, its obvious that the unagi is huge! I picked this from the conveyor because i was dead hungry and because the portion seemed too good to be true for a sushi plate. Taste wise, the unagi was soft and sweet while the tamago and sushi rice held firm. It wasn't until i learned the actual price of a yellow plate before i regretted as this was $6 which is really expensive by my standards.
Chawan Mushi (2 for $8) - Soft and sweet summarizes this up pretty well. Pieces of chicken meat and shark's fin can be found closer to the bottom but the one thing that irked me was that the dish was not piping hot when served. It was lukewarm at best and that took alot of enjoyment away.
Age Dashi Tofu ($4) - Another dish that should be served hot but made it to our tables only slightly warm. The age dashi tofu has to be the worst of its kind i've had to eat thus far. The skin had a sticky and unbreakable quality to it while the bland tofu inside simply didn't help. Also deserving a mention is how cool the sauce it came with was as well. An overall badly done item.
The above plates were basically tasteless. The tuna sushi had a rather fishy aftertaste that did not agree with me while the tamago and crab meat simple tasted like bland sushi rice. The unagi pieces were extremely thin and came with no sauce whatsoever. Disappointing.
Yakiniku Don ($10) - I had a bite of this dish and the meat was hard and overdone while the rice was once again lukewarm.
Curry Katsudon ($8) - A simple dish which i ordered for filling purposes. The curry was not spicy as Japanese curry itself is never known for being spicy. The chicken pieces were miserly and hard while the curry tasted very much like those that could be bought from NTUC. Somehow, i was hoping for more but that was never satisfied.
Sukiyaki (3 for $36) - The sukiyaki beef came in 4 long slices and the fats were readily apparent on each piece. Some call it marbling but it doesn't sit well with me as i prefer sukiyaki with minimal fat and more meat. The hotpot that came was miso based and is of the sweet variety. Its filled with mushrooms, onions, vermicelli and tofu for good measure but none decreases the sweetness of the broth (this can be good or bad depending on your tastes). Regardless, this is one of the more affordable and value for money items i've found in the place. Still not exceedingly good though.
Cha Soba ($6.50) - Another item i did not get to try but comments were that it was good.
Total damage for 6 people came to $112.39. Averaging less then $20 per person.
Although Japanese food is one of my favorite cuisines and i've tried Sushi Tei in the past. This branch needs work before its worthy of the name. From my friends, i understand that they have eaten at other branches where the standard was much higher and better then the items we've had here. Service was better as well. Either way, i did not enjoy paying at the counter, did not enjoy eating lukewarm and suspiciously "unfresh" food and did not enjoy the air con dripping down on me as i signed the cheque. Maybe this is the new business jitters i've heard so much about regarding new entrants to the field but still, i don't think i'll be coming back to this branch. Take your chances.
Rating given:
Buying the tickets were simple. The route to get to the fly took some navigation, from the second level, you have to pass through some bag checking via a scanner.
After going through, you have to go up another level before finally waiting for the capsule. Board needs to be fast despite the slow moving wheel. I don't know if they would cater for the elderly and the not so able-body people.
The experience in the capsule was both exhilarating and frightening. It is scary for people who have acrophobia. The night view does help to reduce the fear of height.
As the lighting used is neon blue, taking any photographs inside the capsule will make them blue. It's good to be able to view the IR being built in progress. Looking at the roads intersections gives a different feeling when viewed from a height.
Overall, it is a great feeling to be in there and watch part of Singapore full of buildings and water.
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Beads and Ends is a blogshop selling handmade jewelries including necklaces and earrings. Materials primarily used are imported from US, including non-tarnish wire and swarovski crystals. Even with this excellent quality, beadsandends' price is very affordable.
The owner is very friendly. Once met her during SMU bazaar. Went to the bazaar to pick up my stuff that I ordered online. So funny.. She politely asked me whether I can come to SMU bazaar instead to pick up so that I can waive my postage charges. Of course I agreed. It's like, my school. Hahahaha.
Neeway, during bazaar she was selling hundreds (or maybe more) cheap earrings. Only $2.50 for each pair! Even though they're cheap, as I said she only uses excellent materials and shows excellent wirework skills. Bought many pairs that time to give to my sisters. Hehe.
One flaw though. I hope the website will be more neatly designed. Some banners put are not in equal sizes and some positions are weird.. Also I wish she will put constant and consistent tags/categories to make searching particular jewelry easier.
However all in all, it's a very good blogshop. Check it out.
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Snowlights is a good blogshop! Ade creates beautiful jewelry with excellent workmanship yet with a very affordable price! Bought my earrings under $10 and it looks as good as $20 earrings.
I love her wirework! It's so pretty and intricate.. She's already made many unique-shaped jewelry with interesting wirework. (See her website to see...Hehehe) She throws in many cute little things to adorn the jewelry. Butterflies, leaves, picnic basket, and many more.. Totally unique.
The owner is very friendly and will give personalized service. This is important, you know! I find many online shops with "adding to cart" option seems kinda cold and not engaging.. Oh she also wraps the package nicely and gives instruction to care the jewelry (hand-signed by her.. Personalization!).
And have I mentioned that they're cheap?? For excellent wirework and unique juxtaposition of little bits, the price is really a good value.
Hope she will continue creating!
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I was invited to Friends @ Serangoon Gardens after my not so pleasant dining experience at their Jelita outlet.
Things didn’t get off to a good start when my name was not found on the reservation list. Thankfully it wasn’t a big issue as the crowd have not set in and they managed to find us a table. It so happen that it was Friends “First Ever Barbecue Party” @ Chomps that evening, and we were told that they were only serving Barbecue Platter for mains and only the appetisers and desserts are available from the regular menu.
As we were scrutinising the menu on what is available, one thing we did realise was that the tables were a little too close for comfort. Despite the classy décor and nice lighting to create a lovely ambience, the strident environment that evening marred it - in fact it stayed raucous throughout the whole occasion.
Upon ordering, we were served the bread and butter almost immediately – it didn’t came cold but it wasn’t exactly warm either (I was actually looking forward to it as I clearly remember her mentioning “Enjoy your warm bread!”). Other than being soft, there wasn’t anything else noteworthy to mention about it.
Soon after, the Assorted Salad Platter with Condiments and Dressing came – straight forward dish as well and nothing much to compliment or picked on.
Then came the ½ dozen of Seasonal Oysters ($29.40), and I have flattering remarks for them – they were big, the flesh were plump and it was very fresh, although personally I would prefer them to arrive more chilled – and if they were any cheaper, I could have easily gulp down another dozen.
We waited a little while more before our platter arrived. For a platter for 2 ($49.90), diners have a choice of 3 items from the Hot Items (Roast Potatoes, Corn on the Cob, Grilled Tomatoes, Grilled Pumpkins, Grilled Peppers) and 2 items from the Grilled Items (Rib eye Steak, Lamb Shoulder Chops, Assorted Sausage (veal or course pork), Grilled Chicken, Grilled Fish Fillet). A platter for 3 will set you back another $20 with an additional item from the grilled section. We opted for the potatoes, corn and peppers from the hot items list and rib eye steak and lamb shoulder chops from the grilled items.
The platter didn’t exactly impress me when it was served to be honest. Aesthetics wise, it didn’t look appetising, furthermore the whole plate was drenched with the meat’s natural juices that only signifies that the chef did not rest the meat before it was served. But at least the chef did managed to get his medium rare this time round for the steak.
Special mention also goes to the lamb chops, as it was char grilled nicely on the outside and succulent on the inside – and what’s best was the layer of marbling fats that was ever so flavoursome. We wrapped up the dinner with a similar dessert I had the last time – Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake served with Vanilla Ice Cream ($12.90).
And my mate who was not present at the previous outing gave the same conclusion that the aftertaste of the molten chocolate lava could be better (compared to this one, which she had tried with me).
Overall, this wasn’t as bad an experience as the previous one, but there are definitely rooms for improvement. Also, considering that this was the first time they are running this sort of operations, perhaps I could be more forgiving. Nevertheless, I feel that serving barbecue fare is displacing the original business model, which prides itself as a semi-fine dining place – where you do not need to dig deep into your pockets for good food.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
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What is the most terrible thing that can happen to a food blogger?
Encountered bad service at a restaurant?
No, thats part of the dining experience.
Taste lousy and not up-to-the-mark food?
Nah, thats also part of the dining experience.
Entering the restaurant and the waitress told you the place is full?
Blame it on yourself who did not make any reservations.
The worst thing, that can ever, ever happen to a food blogger . . .
Is having no camera to take shots of the delicacy displayed upon you.
Thunder never strikes at the same spot, indeed. The last time to The French Stall, LIC forgotten to bring his camera along, and that was an awful feeling. LIC didn’t expect to encounter the same problem, this time LIC did bring the camera, only to arrive happily at the entrance of the restaurant and found out that there was no battery inside!?!
Tsk tsk! LIC shouldn’t taken out the battery to charge and forgot to put it back. A dreadful mistake which must be avoid at all cost next time.
Beware! Warning! The following photos may look awful, terrible, shocking, ghastly, and lousy to you. If you cannot take any of the experience, please DO NOT click on “Read the rest of this entry“
The fatal spot where LIC wanted to take a pot-shot of the entrance and to his horror, discovered that the absence of the battery!
Alas, this post on Kuishin-bo will be short due to obvious reasons, LIC was actually working on Absolute Haven but due to time constraint, this post shall appear before your eyes first. Too many post pending for LIC to write, even OT can’t really help : )
The only “slightly more decent” photo, sushi selections
The sushi are all right i guess, nothing to shout about. Quite a wide selections to choose from though.
Prawn Tempura
The tempura section is most probably one of the place where i consume more, with the exception of desserts (which LIC can’t live without!) The prawn tempura is your normal fried prawn with tempura-flour, it works for me although i pretty much suspect its only decent in the eyes of Japanese food experts (LIC self-proclaimed he isn’t a avid Jap food eater)
Kaminabe paper steamboat
Like what i mention during my visit to Waraku, Kaminabe sounds like a foul-word, it still brings back memories from the last visit, hence the mention. Paper pot, the vegetables, are all there to absorb the otherwise oily chicken and soup. Thinking back now, Beef should have been a better option for Kaminabe.
Desserts - Fruit Tarts
Fruit tarts are LIC favorite! I can pop ten easily into my mouth. The tarts here are pretty standard i guess, but still give them to me!
There are also some miniature cakes around, chocolate ones, mini oreo cheesecakes (really tiny), mini doughnuts in different flavors, quite a variety available.
The chocolate fondue craze might have die down already, but that does not means they are not good. Its just that people forgets easily, before long another new craze will appear and the common folks will start to go after the new hype. Think donut, bubble-tea, luo-han fish, chocolate fondue, well just to name a few.
Total Bill for 2 person during weekday lunch comes up to $46.61 after tax and service charge. Weekday lunch is $24.80 for adult, and if you Op for the 60 minutes express lunch, it is $19.80 , which we did. I guess the 60 minutes strategy is more to attract office working people, but we took it since we are really full after an hour anyway.
Actually the difference in price is only 5 bucks, if you go for the normal price, you got the luxury to enjoy the buffet from 1130am-3pm, which big-appetite eaters should go for. Otherwise if you are working near Suntec, or like us where you can finish the meal in an hour, the discount of $5 although not much, is still rather substantial.
To be honest, the one hour buffet is rather rushed, and if you are the type that refuse to rush while tasting your food, it is not advisable to take it. But if you know what you are looking for, well just attack those areas and your effort will be paid off for the $19.80.
Kuishi-bo proclaimed itself to be the Authenthic Japanese Buffet Restaurant, which i highly doubted it. Authentic hardly feeds into what they are offering. Nevertheless i believe one sentence should sums it all for Kuishi-bo. Quantity, not quality!
Taste is subjective, if you are not looking for very excellent food, i say the ones at Kuishi-bo are quite decent, and definitely value-for-money since its only $19.80. But if you are into Japanese food, i’m afraid the visit will disappoint you greatly. Nonetheless, comparing Kuishi-bo to Sakura International Buffet, and Sakae Sushi Buffet, i still say Kuishi-bo slightly edged out both the latter.
Many acquaintance mentioned that Kuishi-bo’s standard has vastly dropped from last time, a pale shadow of what it used to be. Well, sometimes you have to experience it for yourself to conclude. I did, which is the reason for my visit to Kuishi-bo. Thus, Yay or Nah, make a trip down.
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 : )
" Quantity, not quality! "
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