In my bid to bade a warm farewell to this 2 decades old iconic landmark of the Oasis (which happens to be closing soon), I visited on a warm weekday evening ladened with much nostalgia from my good old childhood days.
Nothing much has changed since I can last remember, save for some minor refurbishments and facelifts here and there. The interior is still as warm as ever, even with air conditioning.
Beancurd with Shrimp - The shrimps didn't taste particularly fresh while the tofu was small and tasteless. Add overly salty gravy to the equation and you get a below average dish for the price ($7).
Preserved Vegetable Omelette - The egg was overly fried as evident from the charred bits along the edges but the preserved vegetables weren't too salty, which was something I personally liked.
Bean Sprouts - Nicely fried with bits of salted fish in it to give it taste. However it did seem a little too oily and salty.
Stewed Pork - The stewed pork aka Mei Cai Kou Rou, was an off menu item and tasted decent at best. It didn't help that the meat was a tad too dry as well. Did I mention that it was expensive ($10) as well for the tiny serving?
I honestly don't know what to make of this place. The food is average and prices are astronomical. 1 meal here can buy me at least 2 equally if not more satisfying meals at the teochew porridge stall near my house. The only reason I can think of why people still patronise this place is nostalgia. After all, this place has been around for decades.
A new magazine up in the market! I think it's about the 4th issue now, or maybe a couple more. Can't remember. I heard about this magazine only from someone else. Guess they didn't really do much publicity. Nonetheless, after browsing through it, I was rather impressed. This is by far the most extensive shopping magazine, and I mean SHOPPING man. The girls will love it! It has pictures of clothes/ bags/ accessories etc. Everything a girl needs. What I really like about it also is that it doesn't contain those long and (sometimes) boring life-story articles and stuff. I mean, hey, it's a SHOPPING magazine!
However, I must say that everything in this magazine is pretty expensive. Even those special deals you get from each issue of the magazine are not exactly that worth the money. I guess it's a magazine targetted at single working women who has a higher propensity to indulge on these things and pamper themselves. I'm a student myself and I think this magazine doesn't quite suit me. The most I can do with it would be to just look. Quite sad you know..
But whatever right! It's a darn cool shopping mag and I want it! So during the Yebber fashion fusion last year, I made my order for a year-long subscription! Excited, I thought I'd be getting my next issue in my mailbox soon! As you can see, it's 30th January now. One more day to the end of the month. But I do not have my magazine yet. So what am I supposed to do with those special deals that I'm interested in using when the magazines come?
From what I heard from people at Project Smitten, they have their own delivery system. Well, from what I see now, I guess I can only say that it is not an efficient one...
Have you ever go into a Italiano restaurant, and all of a sudden feel ordering ALL the food available on the menu?
All you look is at the food, without even giving the price tag a glance?
Feeling excited, we might as well tell the waiter to serve EVERY dish they have on the menu!
That’s precisely what happen to us when we went to Al Dente Pronto.
Ahh.. You are confuse now right? Is the food so good that we wanted to order all the dishes? Alas, that’s not quite the raison d’être.
The explication for our extravagant & exaggerated behavior is because … …
We had a 50% discount coupon from OCBC. Yes, you didn’t see wrongly, half price for a la carte items during lunch & dinner, up to a table of 4 persons. Dinner was with the Yebbers. So everything we look at, we can only see half the price, and of course this makes it affordable and worry-free to order whatever we like. So we ordered mostly the more expensive dishes : )
Tomato Basil Bruschetta ($5.0)
We kick start our dinner with the Tomato Basil Bruschettra. Diced Tomato, Garlic, Basil, Oregano and olive oil formulate the starter. We were uncertain whether they gave 8 pieces because there are four of us, or it always come in 8 pieces irregardless of the number of people dining. All the same, we felt the starter could do with more tomato, mayb its because of the rising price in agriculture products in China. Think think. First bite into the Bruschettra was crispy and the garlic taste was done just nice. At $2.50 after discount, it was a real good deal.
Grilled Portobello mushrooms ($12.0)
Our second starter was the Grilled Portobello Mushrooms. Served with rocket salad and diced tomatos. The presentation of the dish was done beautifully, but sadly to sad i felt that at $12 it was definitely not worth the price. Even at half price i won’t order it again.
Char-Grilled Sirloin Steak ($20.0)
Finishing our starter, the waiter note our cue to start our Main course for the night. Our first main was the Char-Grilled Sirloin Steak. We requested for medium-rare, but then when the steak was served it was a tad tougher than what we expected from a medium-rare steak. I guess they sort of make it into medium-well instead. Well, its Italiano and not a steakhouse after all. Nevertheless, i felt that the steak was pretty decent, and at half the price of $10, it was value. Oh yes, we liked the potato that came with it, pretty much reminds us of our childhood.
Pan-Seared Butterfish ($20.0)
Served with potatos, sautèed vegetables and topped with a lemon dill butter glace. Al Dente Pronto actually only have three main course available, the other one being roasted corn fed chicken which we didn’t order. I suppose the raison d’être was because the mains are not really their area of specialty. Al Dente Pronto’s extensive variety of Italian Pizzas and Pastas are where they fare better.
Smoked Chicken Pizza ($17.0)
This is the star of tonight’s show. The Smoked Chicken Pizza might not look very special, but then they are undeniably scrumptious, with large chunks of chicken meat beneath the cheesy cheese. Pizza comes flat, thin and crispy
Arragosta Pasta ($20.0)
Spaghetti with Lobster meat, zucchini and mushrooms, with tomato stew or garlic sauce. We opted for garlic sauce with the belief that garlic can compliment Lobster meat better. And i thought the Arragosta Pasta comes out quite well, mayb except for the fact that it was slightly too dry. I like the lobster meat, which was quite generously furnish on top of the pasta. And i think zucchini (cucumbers) are rather a rare sight in pasta cuisine. Nonetheless, at half price of $10 i think its quite good for money, we are talking about Lobster meat after all.
Tiramisu ($9.0)
To end off the meal, we had Tiramisu as our first dessert. Layers of mascarpone with sponge fingers soaked in coffee and brandy, served with bittersweet chocolate powder The presentation was all right, but the cake was too tough, we had to literally dig inside it to get the tiramisu out.
Macadamia Scented Crème Brulèe ($8.0)
Caramelized custard, infused with Macadamia nut oil served with strawberries on the Macadamia Scented Crème Brulèe.
Total Bill was $122.50 before discount, the amount that we paid for 4 person was $71.20 after discount. The calulations are kind of complicated because the 50% discount does not includes GST and service charge, so they had to count the total price without including them, half the price, and add on the 17% additional charges. Poof! Its comes down to around $18 for per person which i think is reasonably cheap.
All in all, Al Dente Pronto is not really expensive (even without the promotion), the price ranges are mostly in the 10s to 20s. I wont say the food is excellent, in fact some are not. But then i suppose they are still acceptable to me. No you wont go all the way to the forgotton-Great-World-City just for Al Dente Pronto, but i guess if you are in the region you might just want to give it a try. And it certainly helps if you have the OCBC promotion, p.s: it last until end feb.
We had a great night chatting around, there was laughter all over the place, and at times i thought the waiter will just kick us out of the place. It was fun fun & fun! Looking forward to the next Yebber gathering! Cheers!
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 : )
In the past, Korean cuisine wasn't a very widespread or customary dining experience; therefore decent standards didn't come cheap. Singaporeans seem to be more accustomed to Japanese cuisine, judging on the popularity of all the sushi chain outlets. However, since the Korean series "Jewel in the Palace" became a big hit, everything Korean was pushed up the ranks of popularity and Korean eateries started popping out. Even food courts started dishing out basic Korean fare. However, again, my prefixed mentality was that one had to pay big bucks for a meal of palatable standard.
Thus imagine my surprise at this seemingly value-for-money buffet!
Table setting consists of one pair of silver stainless steel chopsticks and one pair wooden chopsticks per person to separate the raw from the cooked. That was all I knew about Korean table etiquette and it was authentic enough for me!
Free-flow of orange and lime drinks which tasted artificially intense, I later learnt was to counter their piquantly seasoned meats. Tea and stale coffee were too available (bad espressos/coffees left in the open to rot ought to be banned!).
Back to food, they had menus from which you could order unlimited servings of spicy or non-spicy prawns, squid, chicken, beef, and pork. Whilst waiting for your order to arrive, there is a small spread of offerings (in metal “reheater things”) to keep you occupied. Salmon was not fresh, but I wasn’t that anal about since it was not a Japanese restaurant.
There were also lettuce leaves to wrap your meats, and pumpkin soup which was slightly watery but nice and not cloyingly sweet. All the mushrooms were tasted foul, no matter which method we cooked it, but perhaps we cooked it wrong?
Not forgetting these little side dishes. Mustard Sally is unfamiliar with the specific names, but there was tofu, salted vegetables, not your run-of-the-mill soybean sprouts, and of course, Kimchi the fermented spicy cabbage meets radish.
.. which I am not a fan of.
Once our order arrives, the waitress places an inverted metal plate onto the fire grill, where we proceed to cook the meats and seafood.
Other than the marinate being slightly salty, it was pretty tangy and enjoyable. The spicy squid was a bit tough, but once again, this could be due to our poor culinary skills.
They also had Bibimbap, Kimchi rice, Jahbchae, pancakes, mackeral, a selection of hot soups and strews, and some others.
Jahbchae, sweet potato flour based noodles with shredded mushroom, carrots and vegetables, proved popular with the sisters and had us ordering seconds.
Bibimbap, rice topped with julienned zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, an egg and other some unidentifiable ingredients, mixed before eating, was also well-liked.
Unfortunately, not the same could be said about Pajeon, a savory seafood pancake with green onions squashed inside… except there was nothing savory about it. Accredited its repulsive mushiness and wetness to its overly thick sides and incorrect cooking time. But even re-cooking it on the hot plate didn’t savage it. The Mustard family also agreed that the Kimchi rice was blend and flavorless.
Sadly, there were no classic Korean style desserts, just your standard fruits, and something rather out of the blue – chocolate éclairs. Éclairs originated from France, so what was it doing masquerading in a Korean buffet? Nevertheless, I popped one into my mouth nonchalantly, anticipating a bad éclair. But the shock kicks in, it was pretty tasty! I helped myself to another plateful. The chocolate on top wasn’t a thin layer of milk solids which was hollow in the center and cracked into pieces without melting; it was thick and smooth. The custard inside was generous and a fantastic sweet treat after all the heavily salted foods we had just consumed.
Overall rating: 2.9 / 5 (Value-for-money)
Staff were attentive to our water refills and changed our hot plate in the middle of the meal cause it got burnt. We did not attempt their spicy soups which is supposedly a Korean speciality. Moever, this sets the brenchmark for me in Korean fare so you'll have to make a trip down to judge for yourself.
BBQ Buffet Dinner $19.90 on Mon - Thu
$29.90 on Fri-Sun, Eve/Public Holidays
Child $9.90
>5 years FOC
Liquid Kitchen's fourth and newest addition to its chain of cafes cum bars cum desert place is located at Serangoon Gardens. It was around 11plus when we reached and it seemed to be doing alright though it was no where near as packed as "Grapevine" on a typical night.
The place had 2 levels and looked pretty clean-cut and bright compared to the rest of the pubs or bars around the area, with comfy cushion seats, a pool table on the 2nd level, and a damn ashtray for smokers. Finally another place besides grapevine which lets smokers have the luxury of smoking without having the constant need to swat pesky bloodthirsty mosquitos off their hairy arms every 10 seconds or so.
The padded menu was a nice touch though the menu itself was almost falling off the cover, and no harm getting bigger tables as well. The tables were small and round, which was fine for couples, but if you want to squash 3 or more people, you have to combine the tables. A choice of different table sizes and seats would be ideal.
Food wise, the variety is good, with choices of cocktails, mocktails, ice-cream cocktails (?), boozes, shooters, etc, as well as simple finger foods and deserts. And the prices are reasonable. The sad thing was, everybloodything was bloody sold out ! Both the soft shell crab and tiramisu was not available. Highly disappointing.
In the end we settled for just our drinks. Sex on the Beach was dully fruity, ideal start for a drinking session. Lychee Martini would appeal to those with a sweet tooth. Alas we had to rush for the last bus so concluded our so-called drinking session.
Besides the lack of food (literally), another complain would be the disappointing customer service. Most of the servers looked rather stuck-up and often clustered among themselves chatting or eating. We also had to wave our hands frantically in the air for a pretty damn long time before anyone paid any heed to us. A smile doesn't cost anything you know.. well except for their jobs if they got fired.
*This review was done before the SMOKING BAN thus smoking indoors may be barred now
First impression from afar... wow! Nice place. Second impression when I saw the namecard... wow! Nice namecard! Third impression when I stepped into the place... interesting furnishing and cutlery!
We adjoined to Tong Shui Cafe behind Great World City before we head home. The menu was a little hard to read. Typical Singapore "Hongkong style cafe" menu. Although the place is call Tong Shui Cafe (Sweet Water Cafe aka Dessert Cafe) There's only 1 page on the dessert drinks and 1 page on desserts... not much choice. We settled for the TSC's Tuttii Frutti Summit $11-something.
It consists of 3 types of pudding mixed with konnyaku jelly. Texture was not bad. The Mango flavored was the best. The other two were strawberry and kiwi. There were accompanying tiny diced fruits of the 3 kind and tiny crunchy pearls (or jelly). Overall this dessert was quite nice. Nothing to "wow" about.
Will go back to try the other stuff one day if I ever pass by one.
Met up with fellow members for dinner. Thanks to LIC for the 50% discount coupon and my OCBC card, we ordered the most expensive of each category to try.
For starters, we had Tomato Basil Bruschetta and Grilled Portobello Mushrooms. Mains we ordered Pan-seared Butterfish, Char-grilled Sirloin Steak, Arragosta Pasta and Smoked Chicken Pizza. Desserts were Macadamia scented Creme Brulee and Tiramisu. Drinks ordered were Ice Rasberry Tea, Ice Peach Tea, Shirley Temple and Lime Juice. All the above totaled to $71.20! (including GST and Service Charge)
I shall keep mine short and sweet. (Partly because my eyes are already half-close now.)
Tomato Basil Brushetta @ $5 Its either the bread was too big, or the tomatoes were too expensive. Serving wise looks sad. Taste was alright. I like the way they infused the garlic into the bread. Crispy and nice. $2.50 after discount. Cheap lah!
Grilled Portobello Mushrooms @ $12 First bite was yummy. After that it just started like any other mushrooms. The rocket on this was too bitter. Unlike those I had at Absolute Haven.
Pan-seared Butterfish @ $20 Too fishy for me. Sauce was tad too saltish.
Char-grilled Sirloin Steak @ $20 There was nothing charred about this steak. Taste was alright. Meat was too tough. Like the potatoes that was served at the side.
Arragosta Pasta @ $20 Pasta was too dry, lobster meat was quite fresh and plentiful. First time I saw what I call cucumbers (zucchini) on pasta.
Smoked Chicken Pizza @ $17 This is perhaps the only thing that I'll order if I ever go back again. The Pizza on photo seems to be plain and boring. But underneath those cheese are chunks of chicken meat. I like the blend of tomatoes and cheese and chicken. Could be better if there were thicker layer of cheese.
Macadamia scented Creme Brulee @ $8 Taste like custard. Ha! Nothing special about this. Couldn't really taste the macadamia thou.
Tiramisu @ $9 Texture was too tough and sponge fingers were over soaked in the coffee and brandy. Don't really like it.
Overall the food was forgettable. I'll not be going back again unless there's 50% discount or someone's treating.
Ema’s Diner located at Greenwood Avenue, is formally known as 8 on Greenwood. Opened by the Halia group at the stretch of restaurants along Greenwood. Greenwood is being spoken at the same breath as Dempsey, Holland Village, Rochester Park as the hidden and hot spot to go.
All these used-to be forgotten little outposts of Singapore have been transformed into mini lifestyle destinations of their own. The location of the restaurant is no longer a issue, so long there is the “hot” and “in” place to go, well-travelled food enthusiants living in all corners of Singapore will be willing to travel to other corners as well.
Maybe not known to all, Greenwood Avenue was created by Les Amis group, one of Singapore dining giant. Out of close to 13 restaurants there, 5 belongs to Les Amis Group;
The Grill at Hillcrest
Sebastien’s Bistrot
Peperoni Pizzeria
Raku Japanese Restaurant
L’estaminet Bar
Anyway, thats for the background information on Greenwood, but Les Amis is really good, first they find a hidden street, this is follow up with opening several separate restaurants with different themes, to complement not to compete with each other. And poof! Greenwood Avenue is born.
Initially we wanted to try out Sebastien’s Bistrot, but it was kind of late when we reached the area, so we went for quick lunch at Ema’s Diner. The first impression of the restaurant was its sort of kiddy? There was those stuff-toys cushion on the seats at one of the tables outside.
The menu was an one-pager, it certaintly did not impress me as it seems unprofessional, like a child-drawn menu. Even though Ema did not offer much variety, but i thought the least they could do was separate out the one-page menu into several page and make it look more appropriate like a menu.
We proceed on to browse through the menu since we had already entered the place, a rough count shows that it was about 25-30 seater restaurant. Not much diners around, mayb it was the timing that we went.
Ema’s Burger ($14.90)
Home-made beef patty, melted cheese, picked vege, bacon & hickory smoked bbq sauce, accompanied by fries. The Ema's Burger was pretty decent i guess. You won’t really go wrong ordering this from the short list of food available.
Braised Lamb Shank ($15.90)
With carrot, turnip, celery & mashed potato. The inquisitive side finally got me into trouble. There are safe options to order, but no, my mind tell me not to, and instead Braised lamb shank is served onto my table. Not really good, i didn’t finish the dish if thats what you want to know.
French fries ($3.50)
We made a mistake of ordering french fries for starters because while ordering Ema’s burger, we missed out that it came with fries, otherwise, the fries were okay, and the servings were quite generous too
Total damage came to $43.78 for two person. Also had one mango ice blend ($5.50). The food there wasn’t that bad i guess, mayb its just a case of ordering the wrong stuff, for the price range i though it is still consider reasonable given the fact that it is located beside much high-end restaurants, and the rent at Greenwood isn’t really what you will mention as cheap.
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 : )
“ It can’t be smooth-sailing all the way, sometimes you will encounter bad dining experience ”
Ahh I remember those days when I was a mere high schooler, one of the latest food fads back then had me forking out $2.50 - $3 a pop, picking out straws big enough to stuff your middle finger in vibrant blues, greens, or purples, jabbing through a plastic sealed "lid" with dynamic force, and sucking up little black pearls.
Considered one of the hottest food craze in the past, bubble tea shops have now reduced down to a handful of survivors consisting of mostly chain stores (e.g. Sweet Talk, each-a-cup) and a few independent operators. Prices have dropped to $1 - $2 per cup. And remember the days when there were the standard Chocolate Milk Tea or Apple Ice Blended? Now there's a fusion of such a wide spectrum of flavors, menus run up to 5 pages. Think Custard Pudding Milk Tea, or Peppermint Oreo Blended, so forth.
But out of all the stores I've tried, the Cup Walker at Heartland Mall has me constantly going back and raving about it to my family and friends. I know commercial chain outlets may differ therefore I have no guarantee for the other outlets, but damn this outlet serves the best Red Milk Tea and Chocolate Milk Tea !
Red Pearl Milk Tea $1.50 (have to double-check price)
Though it's more expensive as compared to other stores, the cup is pretty big, and packs hell a punch! It's just right in terms of thickness, sweetness, milkiness. The pearls are perfectly chewy and taste like they're covered by honey.
4 / 5 (I didn't give a full score cause on some days it's just not up to par)
Sometimes when you buy concoctions such as Chocolate Milk Tea, there is undissolved powder or chocolate bits floating about as the mixing of chocolate syrup with the cold milk tea isn't executed properly. But this store doesn't have this problem! Would highly recommend Chocolate Milk Tea if you're craving for a yummy chocolaty taste.
Botak Jones by now if you haven heard of it before, then are u REALLY living in Singapore? Even if you never go to the place before, but at the very least must have know the existance of this Ang Moh selling western ‘restaurant’ food in our very own local-coffeeshop.
Quality-yet-cheap western meals at coffee shops used to be a thing never heard of, but it all changed after Botak Jones came in and set the record right. After that, we saw a rush in stream of such ‘concepts’, think Crazy Ang Moh, UNO Beef house and a few others which are all owned by Caucasian (our term is Ang Moh), set up on our heartland shores.
Like i mention during my last visit to Botak Jones, critics of Botak Jones will say they are charging too much going for the coffee-shop standards, yet you cannot deny the fact that Botak Jones has been going from strength to strength with the opening of new branches, the current strength stands at 7 outlets in Singapore.
You cant fault the owner Bernie Utchenik for his ingenious of spotting the trend to open his shops in all neighbour area, and there is even two new concepts that he introduces to our local foodie, Brewski Jones & Spaghetti Jones. As the names implies, Brewski Jones is actually a brewery where you drink beer of course, except its not in town, not in Clarke Quay, but in Toa Payoh North and Bedok North. Ahh.. yes, in our very own backyard. I suppose Spaghetti Jones need no further introduction then, Jones selling spaghetti as simple as that. Pastas there are not expensive, for the basic one going for $4.50, to ranges from $7.50 to $8.50.
In any case, Brewski Jones and Spaghetti Jones are not the topic of discussion for today, thats just a sneak preview of what is to come after i gave em’ a visit. Cheers! Today we are back at Botak Jones for my second visit. Having tried Cajun Chicken, Fish & chips, and Rosemary Lamb Chop on the last account, they are therefore not what we are going to sample today, well you don’t go back to a place for a revisit eating the same food unless they are really really good right?
Australia Ribeye Steak 200gm ($14.50)
Enough of the crap already, lets get back to business. Let me present to you the food that we are having, first up is the Australia Ribeye Steak. In an attempt to raise the stakes (a little pun), Botak Jones upgraded to a better quality australian beef, trim off the whole ribeyes, hand marinate and tendrize them, coming in their own brown black pepper gravy.
The steak was medium-well, done chewy with a strong strain of blood still visible. Some people like it medium-rare, but i like mine done not too bloody. As usual, the fries was rather good and spicy. Although the 200gm might look small and on first notion we doubt that it will be filling, but on boy were we proved wrong. The serving was definitely enough for a person. However i still felt that the price was a tad too high, and i probably wont take this one again.
The Botak Burger ($8)
150grams of hand formed beef. All the burgers are suppose to come out medium well, which if done correctly will leave them very juicy. The Botak Burger alone is $5.50, but i got it at a set at $7, den add $1 for cheese on top. There are quite a lot of extra ingredients which you can upgrade your burger with, egg, ham, bacons, cheese etc. Actually if you are going for beef, i feel this is a better option than the Australian Ribeye, well cow for cow, obviously this one lose out, but then at Botak Jones, this is good n’uff.
Total Bill was $22.50 for two mains, kind of expensive going for coffee fare standards, but then again its not really coffee shop food. I suppose it won’t hurts if you go there once in a while, so until i visit the other Ang Moh stores then.
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 : )
” When restaurant and hawker food comes together… “
1=SGD 0.0587
In my bid to bade a warm farewell to this 2 decades old iconic landmark of the Oasis (which happens to be closing soon), I visited on a warm weekday evening ladened with much nostalgia from my good old childhood days.
Nothing much has changed since I can last remember, save for some minor refurbishments and facelifts here and there. The interior is still as warm as ever, even with air conditioning.
Beancurd with Shrimp - The shrimps didn't taste particularly fresh while the tofu was small and tasteless. Add overly salty gravy to the equation and you get a below average dish for the price ($7).
Preserved Vegetable Omelette - The egg was overly fried as evident from the charred bits along the edges but the preserved vegetables weren't too salty, which was something I personally liked.
Bean Sprouts - Nicely fried with bits of salted fish in it to give it taste. However it did seem a little too oily and salty.
Stewed Pork - The stewed pork aka Mei Cai Kou Rou, was an off menu item and tasted decent at best. It didn't help that the meat was a tad too dry as well. Did I mention that it was expensive ($10) as well for the tiny serving?
I honestly don't know what to make of this place. The food is average and prices are astronomical. 1 meal here can buy me at least 2 equally if not more satisfying meals at the teochew porridge stall near my house. The only reason I can think of why people still patronise this place is nostalgia. After all, this place has been around for decades.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
A new magazine up in the market! I think it's about the 4th issue now, or maybe a couple more. Can't remember. I heard about this magazine only from someone else. Guess they didn't really do much publicity. Nonetheless, after browsing through it, I was rather impressed. This is by far the most extensive shopping magazine, and I mean SHOPPING man. The girls will love it! It has pictures of clothes/ bags/ accessories etc. Everything a girl needs. What I really like about it also is that it doesn't contain those long and (sometimes) boring life-story articles and stuff. I mean, hey, it's a SHOPPING magazine!
However, I must say that everything in this magazine is pretty expensive. Even those special deals you get from each issue of the magazine are not exactly that worth the money. I guess it's a magazine targetted at single working women who has a higher propensity to indulge on these things and pamper themselves. I'm a student myself and I think this magazine doesn't quite suit me. The most I can do with it would be to just look. Quite sad you know..
But whatever right! It's a darn cool shopping mag and I want it! So during the Yebber fashion fusion last year, I made my order for a year-long subscription! Excited, I thought I'd be getting my next issue in my mailbox soon! As you can see, it's 30th January now. One more day to the end of the month. But I do not have my magazine yet. So what am I supposed to do with those special deals that I'm interested in using when the magazines come?
From what I heard from people at Project Smitten, they have their own delivery system. Well, from what I see now, I guess I can only say that it is not an efficient one...
Rating given:
Have you ever go into a Italiano restaurant, and all of a sudden feel ordering ALL the food available on the menu?
All you look is at the food, without even giving the price tag a glance?
Feeling excited, we might as well tell the waiter to serve EVERY dish they have on the menu!
That’s precisely what happen to us when we went to Al Dente Pronto.
Ahh.. You are confuse now right? Is the food so good that we wanted to order all the dishes? Alas, that’s not quite the raison d’être.
The explication for our extravagant & exaggerated behavior is because … …
We had a 50% discount coupon from OCBC. Yes, you didn’t see wrongly, half price for a la carte items during lunch & dinner, up to a table of 4 persons. Dinner was with the Yebbers. So everything we look at, we can only see half the price, and of course this makes it affordable and worry-free to order whatever we like. So we ordered mostly the more expensive dishes : )
Tomato Basil Bruschetta ($5.0)
We kick start our dinner with the Tomato Basil Bruschettra. Diced Tomato, Garlic, Basil, Oregano and olive oil formulate the starter. We were uncertain whether they gave 8 pieces because there are four of us, or it always come in 8 pieces irregardless of the number of people dining. All the same, we felt the starter could do with more tomato, mayb its because of the rising price in agriculture products in China. Think think. First bite into the Bruschettra was crispy and the garlic taste was done just nice. At $2.50 after discount, it was a real good deal.
Grilled Portobello mushrooms ($12.0)
Our second starter was the Grilled Portobello Mushrooms. Served with rocket salad and diced tomatos. The presentation of the dish was done beautifully, but sadly to sad i felt that at $12 it was definitely not worth the price. Even at half price i won’t order it again.
Char-Grilled Sirloin Steak ($20.0)
Finishing our starter, the waiter note our cue to start our Main course for the night. Our first main was the Char-Grilled Sirloin Steak. We requested for medium-rare, but then when the steak was served it was a tad tougher than what we expected from a medium-rare steak. I guess they sort of make it into medium-well instead. Well, its Italiano and not a steakhouse after all. Nevertheless, i felt that the steak was pretty decent, and at half the price of $10, it was value. Oh yes, we liked the potato that came with it, pretty much reminds us of our childhood.
Pan-Seared Butterfish ($20.0)
Served with potatos, sautèed vegetables and topped with a lemon dill butter glace. Al Dente Pronto actually only have three main course available, the other one being roasted corn fed chicken which we didn’t order. I suppose the raison d’être was because the mains are not really their area of specialty. Al Dente Pronto’s extensive variety of Italian Pizzas and Pastas are where they fare better.
Smoked Chicken Pizza ($17.0)
This is the star of tonight’s show. The Smoked Chicken Pizza might not look very special, but then they are undeniably scrumptious, with large chunks of chicken meat beneath the cheesy cheese. Pizza comes flat, thin and crispy
Arragosta Pasta ($20.0)
Spaghetti with Lobster meat, zucchini and mushrooms, with tomato stew or garlic sauce. We opted for garlic sauce with the belief that garlic can compliment Lobster meat better. And i thought the Arragosta Pasta comes out quite well, mayb except for the fact that it was slightly too dry. I like the lobster meat, which was quite generously furnish on top of the pasta. And i think zucchini (cucumbers) are rather a rare sight in pasta cuisine. Nonetheless, at half price of $10 i think its quite good for money, we are talking about Lobster meat after all.
Tiramisu ($9.0)
To end off the meal, we had Tiramisu as our first dessert. Layers of mascarpone with sponge fingers soaked in coffee and brandy, served with bittersweet chocolate powder The presentation was all right, but the cake was too tough, we had to literally dig inside it to get the tiramisu out.
Macadamia Scented Crème Brulèe ($8.0)
Caramelized custard, infused with Macadamia nut oil served with strawberries on the Macadamia Scented Crème Brulèe.
Total Bill was $122.50 before discount, the amount that we paid for 4 person was $71.20 after discount. The calulations are kind of complicated because the 50% discount does not includes GST and service charge, so they had to count the total price without including them, half the price, and add on the 17% additional charges. Poof! Its comes down to around $18 for per person which i think is reasonably cheap.
All in all, Al Dente Pronto is not really expensive (even without the promotion), the price ranges are mostly in the 10s to 20s. I wont say the food is excellent, in fact some are not. But then i suppose they are still acceptable to me. No you wont go all the way to the forgotton-Great-World-City just for Al Dente Pronto, but i guess if you are in the region you might just want to give it a try. And it certainly helps if you have the OCBC promotion, p.s: it last until end feb.
We had a great night chatting around, there was laughter all over the place, and at times i thought the waiter will just kick us out of the place. It was fun fun & fun! Looking forward to the next Yebber gathering! Cheers!
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 : )
” Italiano delights, Companion enjoyment ”
Rating given:
In the past, Korean cuisine wasn't a very widespread or customary dining experience; therefore decent standards didn't come cheap. Singaporeans seem to be more accustomed to Japanese cuisine, judging on the popularity of all the sushi chain outlets. However, since the Korean series "Jewel in the Palace" became a big hit, everything Korean was pushed up the ranks of popularity and Korean eateries started popping out. Even food courts started dishing out basic Korean fare. However, again, my prefixed mentality was that one had to pay big bucks for a meal of palatable standard.
Thus imagine my surprise at this seemingly value-for-money buffet!
Table setting consists of one pair of silver stainless steel chopsticks and one pair wooden chopsticks per person to separate the raw from the cooked. That was all I knew about Korean table etiquette and it was authentic enough for me!
Free-flow of orange and lime drinks which tasted artificially intense, I later learnt was to counter their piquantly seasoned meats. Tea and stale coffee were too available (bad espressos/coffees left in the open to rot ought to be banned!).
Back to food, they had menus from which you could order unlimited servings of spicy or non-spicy prawns, squid, chicken, beef, and pork. Whilst waiting for your order to arrive, there is a small spread of offerings (in metal “reheater things”) to keep you occupied. Salmon was not fresh, but I wasn’t that anal about since it was not a Japanese restaurant.
There were also lettuce leaves to wrap your meats, and pumpkin soup which was slightly watery but nice and not cloyingly sweet. All the mushrooms were tasted foul, no matter which method we cooked it, but perhaps we cooked it wrong?
Not forgetting these little side dishes. Mustard Sally is unfamiliar with the specific names, but there was tofu, salted vegetables, not your run-of-the-mill soybean sprouts, and of course, Kimchi the fermented spicy cabbage meets radish.
.. which I am not a fan of.
Once our order arrives, the waitress places an inverted metal plate onto the fire grill, where we proceed to cook the meats and seafood.
Other than the marinate being slightly salty, it was pretty tangy and enjoyable. The spicy squid was a bit tough, but once again, this could be due to our poor culinary skills.
They also had Bibimbap, Kimchi rice, Jahbchae, pancakes, mackeral, a selection of hot soups and strews, and some others.
Jahbchae, sweet potato flour based noodles with shredded mushroom, carrots and vegetables, proved popular with the sisters and had us ordering seconds.
Bibimbap, rice topped with julienned zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, an egg and other some unidentifiable ingredients, mixed before eating, was also well-liked.
Unfortunately, not the same could be said about Pajeon, a savory seafood pancake with green onions squashed inside… except there was nothing savory about it. Accredited its repulsive mushiness and wetness to its overly thick sides and incorrect cooking time. But even re-cooking it on the hot plate didn’t savage it. The Mustard family also agreed that the Kimchi rice was blend and flavorless.
Sadly, there were no classic Korean style desserts, just your standard fruits, and something rather out of the blue – chocolate éclairs. Éclairs originated from France, so what was it doing masquerading in a Korean buffet? Nevertheless, I popped one into my mouth nonchalantly, anticipating a bad éclair. But the shock kicks in, it was pretty tasty! I helped myself to another plateful. The chocolate on top wasn’t a thin layer of milk solids which was hollow in the center and cracked into pieces without melting; it was thick and smooth. The custard inside was generous and a fantastic sweet treat after all the heavily salted foods we had just consumed.
Overall rating: 2.9 / 5 (Value-for-money)
Staff were attentive to our water refills and changed our hot plate in the middle of the meal cause it got burnt. We did not attempt their spicy soups which is supposedly a Korean speciality. Moever, this sets the brenchmark for me in Korean fare so you'll have to make a trip down to judge for yourself.
BBQ Buffet Dinner $19.90 on Mon - Thu
$29.90 on Fri-Sun, Eve/Public Holidays
Child $9.90
>5 years FOC
Nightly:
5.30pm - 9.30pm
Rating given:
Liquid Kitchen's fourth and newest addition to its chain of cafes cum bars cum desert place is located at Serangoon Gardens. It was around 11plus when we reached and it seemed to be doing alright though it was no where near as packed as "Grapevine" on a typical night.
The place had 2 levels and looked pretty clean-cut and bright compared to the rest of the pubs or bars around the area, with comfy cushion seats, a pool table on the 2nd level, and a damn ashtray for smokers. Finally another place besides grapevine which lets smokers have the luxury of smoking without having the constant need to swat pesky bloodthirsty mosquitos off their hairy arms every 10 seconds or so.
The padded menu was a nice touch though the menu itself was almost falling off the cover, and no harm getting bigger tables as well. The tables were small and round, which was fine for couples, but if you want to squash 3 or more people, you have to combine the tables. A choice of different table sizes and seats would be ideal.
Food wise, the variety is good, with choices of cocktails, mocktails, ice-cream cocktails (?), boozes, shooters, etc, as well as simple finger foods and deserts. And the prices are reasonable. The sad thing was, everybloodything was bloody sold out ! Both the soft shell crab and tiramisu was not available. Highly disappointing.
In the end we settled for just our drinks. Sex on the Beach was dully fruity, ideal start for a drinking session. Lychee Martini would appeal to those with a sweet tooth. Alas we had to rush for the last bus so concluded our so-called drinking session.
Besides the lack of food (literally), another complain would be the disappointing customer service. Most of the servers looked rather stuck-up and often clustered among themselves chatting or eating. We also had to wave our hands frantically in the air for a pretty damn long time before anyone paid any heed to us. A smile doesn't cost anything you know.. well except for their jobs if they got fired.
*This review was done before the SMOKING BAN thus smoking indoors may be barred now
Rating given:
First impression from afar... wow! Nice place.
Second impression when I saw the namecard... wow! Nice namecard!
Third impression when I stepped into the place... interesting furnishing and cutlery!
We adjoined to Tong Shui Cafe behind Great World City before we head home. The menu was a little hard to read. Typical Singapore "Hongkong style cafe" menu. Although the place is call Tong Shui Cafe (Sweet Water Cafe aka Dessert Cafe) There's only 1 page on the dessert drinks and 1 page on desserts... not much choice. We settled for the TSC's Tuttii Frutti Summit $11-something.
It consists of 3 types of pudding mixed with konnyaku jelly. Texture was not bad. The Mango flavored was the best. The other two were strawberry and kiwi. There were accompanying tiny diced fruits of the 3 kind and tiny crunchy pearls (or jelly). Overall this dessert was quite nice. Nothing to "wow" about.
Will go back to try the other stuff one day if I ever pass by one.
Rating given:
Nice clean place, with ok service and ok food.
Met up with fellow members for dinner. Thanks to LIC for the 50% discount coupon and my OCBC card, we ordered the most expensive of each category to try.
For starters, we had Tomato Basil Bruschetta and Grilled Portobello Mushrooms. Mains we ordered Pan-seared Butterfish, Char-grilled Sirloin Steak, Arragosta Pasta and Smoked Chicken Pizza. Desserts were Macadamia scented Creme Brulee and Tiramisu. Drinks ordered were Ice Rasberry Tea, Ice Peach Tea, Shirley Temple and Lime Juice.
All the above totaled to $71.20! (including GST and Service Charge)
I shall keep mine short and sweet. (Partly because my eyes are already half-close now.)
Tomato Basil Brushetta @ $5
Its either the bread was too big, or the tomatoes were too expensive. Serving wise looks sad. Taste was alright. I like the way they infused the garlic into the bread. Crispy and nice. $2.50 after discount. Cheap lah!
Grilled Portobello Mushrooms @ $12
First bite was yummy. After that it just started like any other mushrooms. The rocket on this was too bitter. Unlike those I had at Absolute Haven.
Pan-seared Butterfish @ $20
Too fishy for me. Sauce was tad too saltish.
Char-grilled Sirloin Steak @ $20
There was nothing charred about this steak. Taste was alright. Meat was too tough. Like the potatoes that was served at the side.
Arragosta Pasta @ $20
Pasta was too dry, lobster meat was quite fresh and plentiful. First time I saw what I call cucumbers (zucchini) on pasta.
Smoked Chicken Pizza @ $17
This is perhaps the only thing that I'll order if I ever go back again. The Pizza on photo seems to be plain and boring. But underneath those cheese are chunks of chicken meat. I like the blend of tomatoes and cheese and chicken. Could be better if there were thicker layer of cheese.
Macadamia scented Creme Brulee @ $8
Taste like custard. Ha! Nothing special about this. Couldn't really taste the macadamia thou.
Tiramisu @ $9
Texture was too tough and sponge fingers were over soaked in the coffee and brandy. Don't really like it.
Overall the food was forgettable. I'll not be going back again unless there's 50% discount or someone's treating.
Rating given:
Ema’s Diner located at Greenwood Avenue, is formally known as 8 on Greenwood. Opened by the Halia group at the stretch of restaurants along Greenwood. Greenwood is being spoken at the same breath as Dempsey, Holland Village, Rochester Park as the hidden and hot spot to go.
All these used-to be forgotten little outposts of Singapore have been transformed into mini lifestyle destinations of their own. The location of the restaurant is no longer a issue, so long there is the “hot” and “in” place to go, well-travelled food enthusiants living in all corners of Singapore will be willing to travel to other corners as well.
Maybe not known to all, Greenwood Avenue was created by Les Amis group, one of Singapore dining giant. Out of close to 13 restaurants there, 5 belongs to Les Amis Group;
The Grill at Hillcrest
Sebastien’s Bistrot
Peperoni Pizzeria
Raku Japanese Restaurant
L’estaminet Bar
Anyway, thats for the background information on Greenwood, but Les Amis is really good, first they find a hidden street, this is follow up with opening several separate restaurants with different themes, to complement not to compete with each other. And poof! Greenwood Avenue is born.
Initially we wanted to try out Sebastien’s Bistrot, but it was kind of late when we reached the area, so we went for quick lunch at Ema’s Diner. The first impression of the restaurant was its sort of kiddy? There was those stuff-toys cushion on the seats at one of the tables outside.
The menu was an one-pager, it certaintly did not impress me as it seems unprofessional, like a child-drawn menu. Even though Ema did not offer much variety, but i thought the least they could do was separate out the one-page menu into several page and make it look more appropriate like a menu.
We proceed on to browse through the menu since we had already entered the place, a rough count shows that it was about 25-30 seater restaurant. Not much diners around, mayb it was the timing that we went.
Ema’s Burger ($14.90)
Home-made beef patty, melted cheese, picked vege, bacon & hickory smoked bbq sauce, accompanied by fries. The Ema's Burger was pretty decent i guess. You won’t really go wrong ordering this from the short list of food available.
Braised Lamb Shank ($15.90)
With carrot, turnip, celery & mashed potato. The inquisitive side finally got me into trouble. There are safe options to order, but no, my mind tell me not to, and instead Braised lamb shank is served onto my table. Not really good, i didn’t finish the dish if thats what you want to know.
French fries ($3.50)
We made a mistake of ordering french fries for starters because while ordering Ema’s burger, we missed out that it came with fries, otherwise, the fries were okay, and the servings were quite generous too
Total damage came to $43.78 for two person. Also had one mango ice blend ($5.50). The food there wasn’t that bad i guess, mayb its just a case of ordering the wrong stuff, for the price range i though it is still consider reasonable given the fact that it is located beside much high-end restaurants, and the rent at Greenwood isn’t really what you will mention as cheap.
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 : )
“ It can’t be smooth-sailing all the way, sometimes you will encounter bad dining experience ”
Rating given:
Ahh I remember those days when I was a mere high schooler, one of the latest food fads back then had me forking out $2.50 - $3 a pop, picking out straws big enough to stuff your middle finger in vibrant blues, greens, or purples, jabbing through a plastic sealed "lid" with dynamic force, and sucking up little black pearls.
Considered one of the hottest food craze in the past, bubble tea shops have now reduced down to a handful of survivors consisting of mostly chain stores (e.g. Sweet Talk, each-a-cup) and a few independent operators. Prices have dropped to $1 - $2 per cup. And remember the days when there were the standard Chocolate Milk Tea or Apple Ice Blended? Now there's a fusion of such a wide spectrum of flavors, menus run up to 5 pages. Think Custard Pudding Milk Tea, or Peppermint Oreo Blended, so forth.
But out of all the stores I've tried, the Cup Walker at Heartland Mall has me constantly going back and raving about it to my family and friends. I know commercial chain outlets may differ therefore I have no guarantee for the other outlets, but damn this outlet serves the best Red Milk Tea and Chocolate Milk Tea !
Red Pearl Milk Tea $1.50 (have to double-check price)
Though it's more expensive as compared to other stores, the cup is pretty big, and packs hell a punch! It's just right in terms of thickness, sweetness, milkiness. The pearls are perfectly chewy and taste like they're covered by honey.
4 / 5 (I didn't give a full score cause on some days it's just not up to par)
Sometimes when you buy concoctions such as Chocolate Milk Tea, there is undissolved powder or chocolate bits floating about as the mixing of chocolate syrup with the cold milk tea isn't executed properly. But this store doesn't have this problem! Would highly recommend Chocolate Milk Tea if you're craving for a yummy chocolaty taste.
Rating given:
Botak Jones by now if you haven heard of it before, then are u REALLY living in Singapore? Even if you never go to the place before, but at the very least must have know the existance of this Ang Moh selling western ‘restaurant’ food in our very own local-coffeeshop.
Quality-yet-cheap western meals at coffee shops used to be a thing never heard of, but it all changed after Botak Jones came in and set the record right. After that, we saw a rush in stream of such ‘concepts’, think Crazy Ang Moh, UNO Beef house and a few others which are all owned by Caucasian (our term is Ang Moh), set up on our heartland shores.
Like i mention during my last visit to Botak Jones, critics of Botak Jones will say they are charging too much going for the coffee-shop standards, yet you cannot deny the fact that Botak Jones has been going from strength to strength with the opening of new branches, the current strength stands at 7 outlets in Singapore.
You cant fault the owner Bernie Utchenik for his ingenious of spotting the trend to open his shops in all neighbour area, and there is even two new concepts that he introduces to our local foodie, Brewski Jones & Spaghetti Jones. As the names implies, Brewski Jones is actually a brewery where you drink beer of course, except its not in town, not in Clarke Quay, but in Toa Payoh North and Bedok North. Ahh.. yes, in our very own backyard. I suppose Spaghetti Jones need no further introduction then, Jones selling spaghetti as simple as that. Pastas there are not expensive, for the basic one going for $4.50, to ranges from $7.50 to $8.50.
In any case, Brewski Jones and Spaghetti Jones are not the topic of discussion for today, thats just a sneak preview of what is to come after i gave em’ a visit. Cheers! Today we are back at Botak Jones for my second visit. Having tried Cajun Chicken, Fish & chips, and Rosemary Lamb Chop on the last account, they are therefore not what we are going to sample today, well you don’t go back to a place for a revisit eating the same food unless they are really really good right?
Australia Ribeye Steak 200gm ($14.50)
Enough of the crap already, lets get back to business. Let me present to you the food that we are having, first up is the Australia Ribeye Steak. In an attempt to raise the stakes (a little pun), Botak Jones upgraded to a better quality australian beef, trim off the whole ribeyes, hand marinate and tendrize them, coming in their own brown black pepper gravy.
The steak was medium-well, done chewy with a strong strain of blood still visible. Some people like it medium-rare, but i like mine done not too bloody. As usual, the fries was rather good and spicy. Although the 200gm might look small and on first notion we doubt that it will be filling, but on boy were we proved wrong. The serving was definitely enough for a person. However i still felt that the price was a tad too high, and i probably wont take this one again.
The Botak Burger ($8)
150grams of hand formed beef. All the burgers are suppose to come out medium well, which if done correctly will leave them very juicy. The Botak Burger alone is $5.50, but i got it at a set at $7, den add $1 for cheese on top. There are quite a lot of extra ingredients which you can upgrade your burger with, egg, ham, bacons, cheese etc. Actually if you are going for beef, i feel this is a better option than the Australian Ribeye, well cow for cow, obviously this one lose out, but then at Botak Jones, this is good n’uff.
Total Bill was $22.50 for two mains, kind of expensive going for coffee fare standards, but then again its not really coffee shop food. I suppose it won’t hurts if you go there once in a while, so until i visit the other Ang Moh stores then.
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 : )
” When restaurant and hawker food comes together… “
Rating given: