During my course of work, I came across a place in ulu Lim Chu Kang where there would be a Valentine's Day dinner. So curious me decided to just try it out. Besides the traveling required, both the girlfriend and I were pleasantly surprised by this place called Petals and Leaves at Gardenasia.
For Valentine's Day, a number of partners and sponsors collaborated to make this event at Petals and Leaves possible, notably Eternally Yours by Vernetta Lopez (ironically divorced from Mark Richmond) which did up the decor for the angelic theme for the night. The wait staff even put on cupid wings. The girlfriend and I liked the details of white feathers, curtains and hearts which ushered the patrons to the seat. We also liked the spaciousness between the tables unlike restaurants in more accessible areas where couples have to be crammed so close together, you can hear the other couple's secrets. Plus there was no need to rush as they were open from 7pm till 11pm for that evening. On top of that, we also got to do some "area inspection" of the venue. With plenty of greenery and tranquil quietness, it was our kind of a nice place.
The dinner we had 4 courses with the mains of either fish, chicken or lobster to choose from. We took the fish and chicken with suspicions that the portion of lobster would be minuscule.
The food served is pretty decent, with the only grouse being the temperature which was rather cold, probably due to mass production. The pace at which the courses were served was also quite thoughtful, with the attentive wait staff making their rounds to ensure the plates are cleared.
In between the courses, the girlfriend and I inspected our goodie bags and were quite pleased with sample vials of fragrances, Godiva chocolates, audio CDs, red packets (it was during Chinese New Year) tissue packs, discount vouchers and massage vouchers (which can only be redeemed from Mondays to Thursdays in Horsecity, i.e. somewhat pointless)
The live band was also a wonderful mood setter as they belted out numerous sentimental songs and jazz standards. Unfortunately, the vocalist also had a rather morbid and graphic sense of humor that can can only be better appreciated in a pub lounge setting. Though I must commend her for being able to take in ground requests and singing even without knowing the lyrics to the whole song, letting good showmanship take over.
Overall, it is a lovely little paradise to spend Valentine's Day. Just remember to plan for the transportation and bring along a bit of insect repellent.
Where else can u get a burger where u can choose what u want on it?
My first time at billy bombers was with my ex and we decided to get the plain burger and choose what we wanted to put in it..
First the burger..i choze chicken naturally while my ex got medium rare beef. I loved how the chicken was so tender and juicy..it reminded me of a chicken chop..not those patty ramlee burger like chicken..and it wasnt dry!!
As for the toppings, i the american chilli, onion rings and melted cheese..
The american chilli was well alright..it wasnt too spicy which was what i wanted though. But i really enjoyed the onion rings.they were huge and crunchy and the serving was generous for $1.50..and lastly..the cheese..u know those soup bowls they serve at pizza hut..well it came in that!!n they filled up like 3/4 of the bowl with cheeze!!!how sinful is that..naturally my fries all went into the cheeze..Overall i liked the burger n the fact that i can choose my toppings(not realli a big fan of the normal burgers here)..
My ex'es choices sad to say sucked..he choze jalepeno chilli and a cheese slice for his burger..yeah boring..i just rolled my eyes and warned him to leave my melted cheese alone..
The Loved the concept there..the chairs are all so diner-ey n retro n the whole movies/jukebox concept is cool too..not ur average restaurant..as for service..the uniforms are cute..wouldnt mind workin there and theyre really patient and attentive..no order mess ups here..especially cos i have a thing about not likin mayo or mustard on my burgers..and soft drinks are free flow(thank god) tho it came in a glass so huge i tink id have to run to the loo 1st to capitalise on the free flow...
Dont forget to try their malts and shakes..so far thumbs up for the chocolate n vanilla malt n the cookies n cream milkshake..creamy,thick and oh so fattening but wait..i dont care..
Sure ull leave the place slightly depressed cos u just blew like 20 bucks for a burger and drinks(which are free flow by the way)but cmon..once in a while..no mcdonaldslah...
And they alwez have sum promo where u can get vouchers..so the nxt time ur wallet wnt b crying too much..
Was gleefully happy that the place was half full when i arrived..
love the cool decor n esp the booth seats..altho when i arrived they were all occupied
so we were shown to another couple booth thingy..long table(so can order a lot muahahaha)...
bf n i decided to get the calamari($6.90)(duh), chicken n shrimp combo($17.90) for me...
n philly steak sandwic($11.90) for him..n after debatin over onion rings(5.90) n cheese balls($6.90) we choze onion rings...n we got free nachos..cos i was payin with a dbs/posb card n we had already spent more than 40
onion rings..well theyre onion rings..tasted like those u get in the supermarket n fry urself..
The calamari rocked. The batter wasnt too overwhelming..And the calamari was easy to eat..not the kind u have to cut into a few pieces n chew and chew and chew. It can rival those from fish n co...I loved the dipping sauce it came with..was spicy with a peanut like taste..abit like satay sauce..dipped everything i ate in it. No chilli sauce for today
didnt get to try the bfs sandwic but he seemd to enjoy it. I did however steal his fries. they were crunchy and yummy
my chicken n shrimp..i had no complains..the chicken was done nicely..it was flavourful..n not hard. Well done. And the shrimp..battered nicely too. The shrimp was very crunchy and fresh. I liked it a lot. Reminded me to the LJS shrimp but a lot nicer.
The nachos were alright. They're nachos. Not much to say right nut I liked the cheese dip and the fact that the cheese came in a seperate mini bowl/ plate made the nachos not too soggy
I did try the fried mars bar once and it was good too. A bit on the pricey side though for a mars bar and ice cream but still good and very sinful.
Overall i love NYNY. Good and fast service, Good food that is different(where else can u find a main that consists of chicken, shrimp and even has salad-how balanced is that). And serves up a mean fried mars bar. Next time, I shall try their waffle and their chocolate fondue.
I remember frequently patronising the now defunct Dolphins Restaurant around the Macpherson area when I was still a secondary school student for its value for money set lunches and dinners. Fast forward a decade and the only hint of Dolphins existence is its flagship outlet along Genting Lane.
Oddly located on the 7th floor of an aging industrial building, it is so obscure that you would have to actually know that such a place existed. The interior is homely and reminiscent of steak houses of yesteryear (think Jack's place in the early 90s), made complete with nice booth seats in one corner.
Cream of Mushroom - The soup came with my set lunch and was rather starchy. Beats a watered down version I guess. And I'm pretty sure it came straight out of a can.
Tenderloin with Slipper Lobster - Done up medium rare, the tenderloin was decent but not outstanding. The meat tasted a little flat and could have done with some seasoning. On the up side, the slipper lobster was relatively big and sweet. But as with all lobsters, meat is always limited.
Pasta with Beef - Surprisingly, the pasta was al dente and the addition of capsicum gave this dish a very interesting twist - one that did not sit too well with me however. The beef cubes were plentiful though but lacking in taste and texture.
I guess $47 for 2 for lunch isn't exactly cheap or value for money, but I would say its still decent and definitely a nice quiet place to have a meal. That, plus the nostalgic factor and decent service, is enough for a revisit.
Having watched a few movies there a few times, I must say, I'm quite satisfied with the seats and the range of finger food being offered. I like potato wedges and I think this is the only place where wedges are being offered, although a tad more expensive and less than having them in cafe.
The seats are not too uncomfortable although there are too many commercials running running for around 30 minutes before showing the movie.
It would be better to show the movie after 5 - 6 minutes of commercials since we pay for the movie, not the commercials. Overall, I like the legroom. However, if there were to be someone sitting in front of me, I would have a head outline instead of having the privilege to watch the whole screen.
I have a confession to make, i’ll have to admit New Harbour Cafe wasn’t my first choice for dinner. My initial preference for our gathering was at Tuckshop (also on the same stretch of road at Tanjong Pagar).
Well, the catastrophe occurs like this, i din make any reservation because i wasn’t sure whether my friends wanted to go to Tuckshop, so we just happily set off there. It was a long 15-20 min walk from Outram MRT, please be smart and take the Tanjong Pagar MRT instead. When we finally reach Tuckshop, the whole place was empty, right at 7pm. To our dismay, the waiteress told us the cafe is fully booked at 730pm and there was NO WAY she can make space for us. Ten of us.
Now its my turn to panic, since i was the organiser and i din have a back-up plan because i thought Tuckshop will be available. We walk around (not easy to bring a big group around looking for a dining place), and finally settled on New Harbour Cafe, simply because i have no other alternatives.
At any rate, you might be wondering whether you should continue reading through this entry since i already said New Harbour cafe was because there was no other selection, well you should, don’t write off the place, just yet.
New Harbour Cafe is located at Tanjong Pagar, a whole stretch of road that houses many pubs, & wedding bridal shops. A Cafe & Bar theme concept, New Harbour Cafe was rather empty when we got there, but after we got seated the other diners soon fill up the seats.
One of the minus point of the place was the dim lighting. Definitely not a good place for food bloggers to be, well unless you got superb cameras, which i do not have as you can see from the pictures : (
N.Z Sirloin Steak & Mash ($17.90) My friend had the N.Z Sirloin Steak well done. Gosh, i was thinking can a well done steak even be eaten? To my suprise, the steak isn’t perfectly well done, there are still blood stains within.
Black Pepper Chicken Chop ($11.90) Chicken chop with black pepper sauce, accompanied with sides of mushrooms and mashed potatos
Crackling Roast Pork ($14.90) Roast Pork with crispy crackling served with daily vegetables and mashed potatos. Onion gravy topped with apple sauce. On first look, i though it looks like Roast pork (cos i didn’t see the menu), and to my astonish it really is. Now now, when did you see a cafe serve roast pork as a main before? Mayb i am not yet a experience diner around, but from what i can remember i didn’t see roast pork as main course in all my previous dining experience.
On first bite, the crackling roast pork was crispy, and the apple sauce was a refreshing change to the usual roast pork taste. The apple sauce provided little touches of tangy sweetness with each cut of roast pork. However, this is only good for people with a sweet tooth, or for sharing because the sweetness of the apple sauce does slightly overwhelm your palette. Nevertheless, it is a pleasant experience because the next time i will be able to say i got see Roast Pork as main course before!
Special Chinese New Year Pork Chop ($15.90)
We intially wanted to order Pork Chop with apple sauce, but the waitress highly recommend this instead. Personally i find the pork chop to be all right, but my friend commented that it was too tough.
Harbour Fish & Chips ($12.90) New Harbour Cafe has a column under its menu titled black board & daily special. There is something special everyday, roast leg of lamb on Mon, Madras curry being on tue, and on wed we have oxtail stew, there is the Hainanese pork chop available on thu, and of course our harbour fish & chips on the friday that we patronise the place.
The crispy exterior was complemented with the soft and fresh interior of the fish, with a faint flavouring of spices. The chips in new harbour cafe was cut in huge wedges shape which i must compliment was quite good.
Grilled Dory Fish Fillet ($12.90) We had two of this, and the result was rather pleasing. The Grilled dory fish fillet was fresh, together with a squeeze of the lemon, adds a freshing twist to the fish. The serving was generous as well, with a huge cut of fish fillet which two person can actually share.
Spaghetti Alfredo with ham & mushroom ($11.90) The spaghetti was a nice change with ham & mushroom. Now here, not that my knowledge fails me again, but i don’t remember seeing ham use frequently together with spaghetti? Or am i wrong here? But the usage of ham and mushroom gives me the feeling of pizza rather than spaghetti.
Harbour 1/2 lb beef burger ($12.90) One word for the burger, Humongous! The Harbour 1/2 lb beef burger was huge, large, enormous, and whatever word you can think of. The beef patty was definitely bigger than the one i had at Botak Jones. If you were to compare both beef burger, the one at Botak there is cheese added which gives the burger another flavouring, but harbour’s one allows the taste of the beef patty without any disturbance as there is no other extra ingredient.
The beef patty was made like all good beef patty, juicy and tender. And the serving of the burger certainly fills one up. With the harbour fries, its tough to finish up the meal.
Brownie with ice cream ($5.80) As sweet notes to end off the meal, we had the brownie with ice cream. The brownie alone is $3.80 while an additional scope of ice cream makes it $5.80. We only ordered one dessert because most of us are too full after our main course. The brownie was soft and chocolate-ly.
The total bill (10 person) for 9 mains, 7 drinks and 1 desserts comes up to $158.30, which i must say is rather reasonable. The drinks add up quite a fair bit of damages to the bill, $28 for 7 drinks. Otherwise it will even be cheaper. The one positive thing that i’ll like to highlight will be New Harbour Cafe does not charge any GST & service charge. For a large group of us, no extra charges mean easier calculation of the bill. hahahah!
However, the negative aspects of the place will be they do not serve ice water. which leads to us ordering drinks. And like what i mentioned earlier, their cafe has poor lighting, not suitable for taking photos. Service wise not much, the staff there are all foreign workers.
We saw this while we were about to leave, Makansutra salutes them in recognition of their culinary standards & quality. So they can’t be that bad after all, so give them a visit if you are in the area. Even if you don’t like the food, damages will be reduced as their prices are all in the 10s range.
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 : )
” Nothing beats eating with your mates, nothing! “
My parents had lunch at Boon Tong Kee, half a chicken at $13, and buy back a packet for me @ $3.80.
I'll say the chicken from Boon Tong Kee is quite good, but mayb not good until i will pay $13 for half a chicken. There are better one out there in other neighbour coffee shops really.
Food portion was large, menu described the dishes, and other instructions (e.g rare, medium rare) well. Ordered Chef's salad, Mixed grill and garlic steak. Chef's salad was the best dish that day with extremely fresh vegetables and sliced chicken. Garlic steak was also not bad though the fried garlic was too overwhelming and covered the taste of beef. Service was fast and swift without any encounter of rude service crew. Overall a nice place for a date or dinner night out.
Con:
Peach cooler wasn't exactly a nice drink. We were sort of forced into ordering it by the (auntie) manager. Its quite expensive at about $4 per glass.
Today marks the second time that I am doing a review on Astons Specialities, albeit a rather short one. The first review can be found here. This time however, the location is different. That's right, Astons has a new outlet in the Serangoon Gardens estate. Unlike the original outlet, the new outlet isn't a stand alone unit by itself. Instead, it is housed inside a coffeeshop just next to HSBC and Borsch Steak House. Not really visible from the main road if you ask me, unless you happen to be walking towards the Starbucks/Cafe Cartel area.
On to the food. I had an order of Sirloin Steak medium rare with sides of fries and baked beans. My dad had the Sirloin as well, medium well though and my mum had the Char Grilled Chicken. Both my dad's and my steak turned out overcooked. Mine came almost medium well whereas my dad's one came well done. However, the meat was still a little juicy and sweet in my case, which was a relief in some ways. My mum's chicken was just average.
In my conversation with the cook/owner later on, he explained that the stall was only 3 days old and they weren't familiar with the equipment yet, hence the overcooking. He even offered to change our steaks for us and gave us a small discount on the food, which I felt was a nice gesture on his part.
Total damage was $25. Not cheap, but not expensive either. I'm sure once they get the hang of the equipment, the food will get better and the crowds will come. I'll definitely be back.
Im not a rice person..yes im partly malay but iv never been a big fan of ze grains..mayb cos it makes me full n i cnt try the other yummies at the table but eighteen chefs has totally changed my mind.
Each time i walk past the place i will debate with myself wether i should go anot..liked the decor but was hesitant cos well im not a rice person..but finally went there a few days back..amazinly on a thurs nite it wasnt crowded with students..it was pretty quiet and i had fun checkin out the nice decor
me n my bf decided to get a few things to share...I naturally wanted salad so we got the prawn salad..
the prawns were sooo nice!!!fresh n peeled and went well with the dressing..tink it was vinegar..forgot..but i loved the salad..one of my favs...
next came the snack platter..now im a huge calamari lover and iv been pretty dissapointed with the calamari i had at pizza hut..so it was nice that the calamari here isnt hard..the batter is juz nice..and it just melts in ur mouth..nuggets are well nuggets..same as the fries..but i have to mention the fish nuggets..they were my fav..and the onion rings too...
ok..now to the baked rice..i loved the fact that u can choose what base ud like n the topping..cos im not a fan of tomato..i chose the spicy garlic base n chicken sausage topping..it was delicious. i felt that maybe they should have added more sausages but all in all it was good. Rice was nice and not undercooked or overcooked and there was an abundance of cheese making it taste scrumptious.
but mayb its best to stay away from the pasta..tried the creamy chicken and well..found it quite bland..stick to baked rice...overall i liked the food..very filling and good..food came fast and utensils too..the staff had a smile on their face all the time. Furthermore they do not charge service charge yet they hav very helpful and attentive staff.
1=SGD 0.0587
Additional pictures available here.
During my course of work, I came across a place in ulu Lim Chu Kang where there would be a Valentine's Day dinner. So curious me decided to just try it out. Besides the traveling required, both the girlfriend and I were pleasantly surprised by this place called Petals and Leaves at Gardenasia.
For Valentine's Day, a number of partners and sponsors collaborated to make this event at Petals and Leaves possible, notably Eternally Yours by Vernetta Lopez (ironically divorced from Mark Richmond) which did up the decor for the angelic theme for the night. The wait staff even put on cupid wings. The girlfriend and I liked the details of white feathers, curtains and hearts which ushered the patrons to the seat. We also liked the spaciousness between the tables unlike restaurants in more accessible areas where couples have to be crammed so close together, you can hear the other couple's secrets. Plus there was no need to rush as they were open from 7pm till 11pm for that evening. On top of that, we also got to do some "area inspection" of the venue. With plenty of greenery and tranquil quietness, it was our kind of a nice place.
The dinner we had 4 courses with the mains of either fish, chicken or lobster to choose from. We took the fish and chicken with suspicions that the portion of lobster would be minuscule.
The food served is pretty decent, with the only grouse being the temperature which was rather cold, probably due to mass production. The pace at which the courses were served was also quite thoughtful, with the attentive wait staff making their rounds to ensure the plates are cleared.
In between the courses, the girlfriend and I inspected our goodie bags and were quite pleased with sample vials of fragrances, Godiva chocolates, audio CDs, red packets (it was during Chinese New Year) tissue packs, discount vouchers and massage vouchers (which can only be redeemed from Mondays to Thursdays in Horsecity, i.e. somewhat pointless)
The live band was also a wonderful mood setter as they belted out numerous sentimental songs and jazz standards. Unfortunately, the vocalist also had a rather morbid and graphic sense of humor that can can only be better appreciated in a pub lounge setting. Though I must commend her for being able to take in ground requests and singing even without knowing the lyrics to the whole song, letting good showmanship take over.
Overall, it is a lovely little paradise to spend Valentine's Day. Just remember to plan for the transportation and bring along a bit of insect repellent.
Rating given:
Where else can u get a burger where u can choose what u want on it?
My first time at billy bombers was with my ex and we decided to get the plain burger and choose what we wanted to put in it..
First the burger..i choze chicken naturally while my ex got medium rare beef. I loved how the chicken was so tender and juicy..it reminded me of a chicken chop..not those patty ramlee burger like chicken..and it wasnt dry!!
As for the toppings, i the american chilli, onion rings and melted cheese..
The american chilli was well alright..it wasnt too spicy which was what i wanted though. But i really enjoyed the onion rings.they were huge and crunchy and the serving was generous for $1.50..and lastly..the cheese..u know those soup bowls they serve at pizza hut..well it came in that!!n they filled up like 3/4 of the bowl with cheeze!!!how sinful is that..naturally my fries all went into the cheeze..Overall i liked the burger n the fact that i can choose my toppings(not realli a big fan of the normal burgers here)..
My ex'es choices sad to say sucked..he choze jalepeno chilli and a cheese slice for his burger..yeah boring..i just rolled my eyes and warned him to leave my melted cheese alone..
The Loved the concept there..the chairs are all so diner-ey n retro n the whole movies/jukebox concept is cool too..not ur average restaurant..as for service..the uniforms are cute..wouldnt mind workin there and theyre really patient and attentive..no order mess ups here..especially cos i have a thing about not likin mayo or mustard on my burgers..and soft drinks are free flow(thank god) tho it came in a glass so huge i tink id have to run to the loo 1st to capitalise on the free flow...
Dont forget to try their malts and shakes..so far thumbs up for the chocolate n vanilla malt n the cookies n cream milkshake..creamy,thick and oh so fattening but wait..i dont care..
Sure ull leave the place slightly depressed cos u just blew like 20 bucks for a burger and drinks(which are free flow by the way)but cmon..once in a while..no mcdonaldslah...
And they alwez have sum promo where u can get vouchers..so the nxt time ur wallet wnt b crying too much..
Rating given:
Was gleefully happy that the place was half full when i arrived..
love the cool decor n esp the booth seats..altho when i arrived they were all occupied
so we were shown to another couple booth thingy..long table(so can order a lot muahahaha)...
bf n i decided to get the calamari($6.90)(duh), chicken n shrimp combo($17.90) for me...
n philly steak sandwic($11.90) for him..n after debatin over onion rings(5.90) n cheese balls($6.90) we choze onion rings...n we got free nachos..cos i was payin with a dbs/posb card n we had already spent more than 40
onion rings..well theyre onion rings..tasted like those u get in the supermarket n fry urself..
The calamari rocked. The batter wasnt too overwhelming..And the calamari was easy to eat..not the kind u have to cut into a few pieces n chew and chew and chew. It can rival those from fish n co...I loved the dipping sauce it came with..was spicy with a peanut like taste..abit like satay sauce..dipped everything i ate in it. No chilli sauce for today
didnt get to try the bfs sandwic but he seemd to enjoy it. I did however steal his fries. they were crunchy and yummy
my chicken n shrimp..i had no complains..the chicken was done nicely..it was flavourful..n not hard. Well done. And the shrimp..battered nicely too. The shrimp was very crunchy and fresh. I liked it a lot. Reminded me to the LJS shrimp but a lot nicer.
The nachos were alright. They're nachos. Not much to say right nut I liked the cheese dip and the fact that the cheese came in a seperate mini bowl/ plate made the nachos not too soggy
I did try the fried mars bar once and it was good too. A bit on the pricey side though for a mars bar and ice cream but still good and very sinful.
Overall i love NYNY. Good and fast service, Good food that is different(where else can u find a main that consists of chicken, shrimp and even has salad-how balanced is that). And serves up a mean fried mars bar. Next time, I shall try their waffle and their chocolate fondue.
Rating given:
I remember frequently patronising the now defunct Dolphins Restaurant around the Macpherson area when I was still a secondary school student for its value for money set lunches and dinners. Fast forward a decade and the only hint of Dolphins existence is its flagship outlet along Genting Lane.
Oddly located on the 7th floor of an aging industrial building, it is so obscure that you would have to actually know that such a place existed. The interior is homely and reminiscent of steak houses of yesteryear (think Jack's place in the early 90s), made complete with nice booth seats in one corner.
Cream of Mushroom - The soup came with my set lunch and was rather starchy. Beats a watered down version I guess. And I'm pretty sure it came straight out of a can.
Tenderloin with Slipper Lobster - Done up medium rare, the tenderloin was decent but not outstanding. The meat tasted a little flat and could have done with some seasoning. On the up side, the slipper lobster was relatively big and sweet. But as with all lobsters, meat is always limited.
Pasta with Beef - Surprisingly, the pasta was al dente and the addition of capsicum gave this dish a very interesting twist - one that did not sit too well with me however. The beef cubes were plentiful though but lacking in taste and texture.
I guess $47 for 2 for lunch isn't exactly cheap or value for money, but I would say its still decent and definitely a nice quiet place to have a meal. That, plus the nostalgic factor and decent service, is enough for a revisit.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
Having watched a few movies there a few times, I must say, I'm quite satisfied with the seats and the range of finger food being offered. I like potato wedges and I think this is the only place where wedges are being offered, although a tad more expensive and less than having them in cafe.
The seats are not too uncomfortable although there are too many commercials running running for around 30 minutes before showing the movie.
It would be better to show the movie after 5 - 6 minutes of commercials since we pay for the movie, not the commercials. Overall, I like the legroom. However, if there were to be someone sitting in front of me, I would have a head outline instead of having the privilege to watch the whole screen.
Rating given:
I have a confession to make, i’ll have to admit New Harbour Cafe wasn’t my first choice for dinner. My initial preference for our gathering was at Tuckshop (also on the same stretch of road at Tanjong Pagar).
Well, the catastrophe occurs like this, i din make any reservation because i wasn’t sure whether my friends wanted to go to Tuckshop, so we just happily set off there. It was a long 15-20 min walk from Outram MRT, please be smart and take the Tanjong Pagar MRT instead. When we finally reach Tuckshop, the whole place was empty, right at 7pm. To our dismay, the waiteress told us the cafe is fully booked at 730pm and there was NO WAY she can make space for us. Ten of us.
Now its my turn to panic, since i was the organiser and i din have a back-up plan because i thought Tuckshop will be available. We walk around (not easy to bring a big group around looking for a dining place), and finally settled on New Harbour Cafe, simply because i have no other alternatives.
At any rate, you might be wondering whether you should continue reading through this entry since i already said New Harbour cafe was because there was no other selection, well you should, don’t write off the place, just yet.
New Harbour Cafe is located at Tanjong Pagar, a whole stretch of road that houses many pubs, & wedding bridal shops. A Cafe & Bar theme concept, New Harbour Cafe was rather empty when we got there, but after we got seated the other diners soon fill up the seats.
One of the minus point of the place was the dim lighting. Definitely not a good place for food bloggers to be, well unless you got superb cameras, which i do not have as you can see from the pictures : (
N.Z Sirloin Steak & Mash ($17.90)
My friend had the N.Z Sirloin Steak well done. Gosh, i was thinking can a well done steak even be eaten? To my suprise, the steak isn’t perfectly well done, there are still blood stains within.
Black Pepper Chicken Chop ($11.90)
Chicken chop with black pepper sauce, accompanied with sides of mushrooms and mashed potatos
Crackling Roast Pork ($14.90)
Roast Pork with crispy crackling served with daily vegetables and mashed potatos. Onion gravy topped with apple sauce. On first look, i though it looks like Roast pork (cos i didn’t see the menu), and to my astonish it really is. Now now, when did you see a cafe serve roast pork as a main before? Mayb i am not yet a experience diner around, but from what i can remember i didn’t see roast pork as main course in all my previous dining experience.
On first bite, the crackling roast pork was crispy, and the apple sauce was a refreshing change to the usual roast pork taste. The apple sauce provided little touches of tangy sweetness with each cut of roast pork. However, this is only good for people with a sweet tooth, or for sharing because the sweetness of the apple sauce does slightly overwhelm your palette. Nevertheless, it is a pleasant experience because the next time i will be able to say i got see Roast Pork as main course before!
Special Chinese New Year Pork Chop ($15.90)
We intially wanted to order Pork Chop with apple sauce, but the waitress highly recommend this instead. Personally i find the pork chop to be all right, but my friend commented that it was too tough.
Harbour Fish & Chips ($12.90)
New Harbour Cafe has a column under its menu titled black board & daily special. There is something special everyday, roast leg of lamb on Mon, Madras curry being on tue, and on wed we have oxtail stew, there is the Hainanese pork chop available on thu, and of course our harbour fish & chips on the friday that we patronise the place.
The crispy exterior was complemented with the soft and fresh interior of the fish, with a faint flavouring of spices. The chips in new harbour cafe was cut in huge wedges shape which i must compliment was quite good.
Grilled Dory Fish Fillet ($12.90)
We had two of this, and the result was rather pleasing. The Grilled dory fish fillet was fresh, together with a squeeze of the lemon, adds a freshing twist to the fish. The serving was generous as well, with a huge cut of fish fillet which two person can actually share.
Spaghetti Alfredo with ham & mushroom ($11.90)
The spaghetti was a nice change with ham & mushroom. Now here, not that my knowledge fails me again, but i don’t remember seeing ham use frequently together with spaghetti? Or am i wrong here? But the usage of ham and mushroom gives me the feeling of pizza rather than spaghetti.
Harbour 1/2 lb beef burger ($12.90)
One word for the burger, Humongous! The Harbour 1/2 lb beef burger was huge, large, enormous, and whatever word you can think of. The beef patty was definitely bigger than the one i had at Botak Jones. If you were to compare both beef burger, the one at Botak there is cheese added which gives the burger another flavouring, but harbour’s one allows the taste of the beef patty without any disturbance as there is no other extra ingredient.
The beef patty was made like all good beef patty, juicy and tender. And the serving of the burger certainly fills one up. With the harbour fries, its tough to finish up the meal.
Brownie with ice cream ($5.80)
As sweet notes to end off the meal, we had the brownie with ice cream. The brownie alone is $3.80 while an additional scope of ice cream makes it $5.80. We only ordered one dessert because most of us are too full after our main course. The brownie was soft and chocolate-ly.
The total bill (10 person) for 9 mains, 7 drinks and 1 desserts comes up to $158.30, which i must say is rather reasonable. The drinks add up quite a fair bit of damages to the bill, $28 for 7 drinks. Otherwise it will even be cheaper. The one positive thing that i’ll like to highlight will be New Harbour Cafe does not charge any GST & service charge. For a large group of us, no extra charges mean easier calculation of the bill. hahahah!
However, the negative aspects of the place will be they do not serve ice water. which leads to us ordering drinks. And like what i mentioned earlier, their cafe has poor lighting, not suitable for taking photos. Service wise not much, the staff there are all foreign workers.
We saw this while we were about to leave, Makansutra salutes them in recognition of their culinary standards & quality. So they can’t be that bad after all, so give them a visit if you are in the area. Even if you don’t like the food, damages will be reduced as their prices are all in the 10s range.
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 : )
” Nothing beats eating with your mates, nothing! “
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My parents had lunch at Boon Tong Kee, half a chicken at $13, and buy back a packet for me @ $3.80.
I'll say the chicken from Boon Tong Kee is quite good, but mayb not good until i will pay $13 for half a chicken. There are better one out there in other neighbour coffee shops really.
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Pro:
Food portion was large, menu described the dishes, and other instructions (e.g rare, medium rare) well. Ordered Chef's salad, Mixed grill and garlic steak. Chef's salad was the best dish that day with extremely fresh vegetables and sliced chicken. Garlic steak was also not bad though the fried garlic was too overwhelming and covered the taste of beef. Service was fast and swift without any encounter of rude service crew. Overall a nice place for a date or dinner night out.
Con:
Peach cooler wasn't exactly a nice drink. We were sort of forced into ordering it by the (auntie) manager. Its quite expensive at about $4 per glass.
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Today marks the second time that I am doing a review on Astons Specialities, albeit a rather short one. The first review can be found here. This time however, the location is different. That's right, Astons has a new outlet in the Serangoon Gardens estate. Unlike the original outlet, the new outlet isn't a stand alone unit by itself. Instead, it is housed inside a coffeeshop just next to HSBC and Borsch Steak House. Not really visible from the main road if you ask me, unless you happen to be walking towards the Starbucks/Cafe Cartel area.
On to the food. I had an order of Sirloin Steak medium rare with sides of fries and baked beans. My dad had the Sirloin as well, medium well though and my mum had the Char Grilled Chicken. Both my dad's and my steak turned out overcooked. Mine came almost medium well whereas my dad's one came well done. However, the meat was still a little juicy and sweet in my case, which was a relief in some ways. My mum's chicken was just average.
In my conversation with the cook/owner later on, he explained that the stall was only 3 days old and they weren't familiar with the equipment yet, hence the overcooking. He even offered to change our steaks for us and gave us a small discount on the food, which I felt was a nice gesture on his part.
Total damage was $25. Not cheap, but not expensive either. I'm sure once they get the hang of the equipment, the food will get better and the crowds will come. I'll definitely be back.
See all my pictures here
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Im not a rice person..yes im partly malay but iv never been a big fan of ze grains..mayb cos it makes me full n i cnt try the other yummies at the table but eighteen chefs has totally changed my mind.
Each time i walk past the place i will debate with myself wether i should go anot..liked the decor but was hesitant cos well im not a rice person..but finally went there a few days back..amazinly on a thurs nite it wasnt crowded with students..it was pretty quiet and i had fun checkin out the nice decor
me n my bf decided to get a few things to share...I naturally wanted salad so we got the prawn salad..
the prawns were sooo nice!!!fresh n peeled and went well with the dressing..tink it was vinegar..forgot..but i loved the salad..one of my favs...
next came the snack platter..now im a huge calamari lover and iv been pretty dissapointed with the calamari i had at pizza hut..so it was nice that the calamari here isnt hard..the batter is juz nice..and it just melts in ur mouth..nuggets are well nuggets..same as the fries..but i have to mention the fish nuggets..they were my fav..and the onion rings too...
ok..now to the baked rice..i loved the fact that u can choose what base ud like n the topping..cos im not a fan of tomato..i chose the spicy garlic base n chicken sausage topping..it was delicious. i felt that maybe they should have added more sausages but all in all it was good. Rice was nice and not undercooked or overcooked and there was an abundance of cheese making it taste scrumptious.
but mayb its best to stay away from the pasta..tried the creamy chicken and well..found it quite bland..stick to baked rice...overall i liked the food..very filling and good..food came fast and utensils too..the staff had a smile on their face all the time. Furthermore they do not charge service charge yet they hav very helpful and attentive staff.
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