I've watched a few movies at this cinema a few times and I love the legroom as it's not too small so that I can't squeeze to let other patrons passing through.
During my recent screening there, the lights weren't dimmed but abruptly switched off as if someone forgot to install a dimming effect for them. While that isn't the major fault, it felt awkward.
For the seats, they are rather comfortable while the armrest couldn't be kept in between the seats when being pushed up. The sound effects were good.
After reading the recent reviews of sushi my craving for some brought me to this new branch at AMK today.
To me, sushi are all about the same. The element that separates the good and the average ones is the freshness and the rice grain used for the sushi. And Suki Sushi is just an average and at times below average kind of sushi.
But for the price of 99cents, who cares if the rice used is top notch or not. As long as the salmon and tako is fresh and edible, I'm good.
Decor of the place is simple and Jap like. If I didn't see wrongly, all the seats are around the belt. This is good cos everyone will be able to help themselves to the cheap sushi on the belt. The kitchen is right in the center of the belt and there's a little table on the same level as the belt, slightly above the dining table. This is where they'll place the food you ordered through the waiters. Great idea as this allow the waiters to concentrate on taking orders and clearing the plastic covers from the table. Serving is done by the kitchen helpers.
Am giving it a 4/5 cos of the value for money color plates at 99cents. Will surely go back for more. Maybe a Yebber Suki Sushi outing one day? Haha!
On my sisters 19th birthday, the choice of cake was decided as the all time favorite oreo cheesecake. Having a plethora of choices, we settled upon a quick and easy fix of getting one from Jack's place which was a bus ride away.
Oreo Cheesecake 0.5kg ($18 before gst) - The cake looks decent but not exactly aesthetically pleasing. The top layer consists of a thin layer of dark chocolate which melts too readily and the middle cream cheese portion came across as being too soft for my liking. I also found the cheese filling sour and lacking the sweetness present in other renditions of Oreo cheesecakes. As mentioned earlier, it seems to melt or turn soft a little too quickly which really takes away from the experience. The oreo crust base is about the only thing that is reasonably passable for this cake. Overall, a disappointment and a prime example of a good cake gone bad. I hope the rest of their offerings aren't that meager because i actually have fond memories of their cake offerings.Maybe its because it used to be made in house but now, they added a Halal cert and a new pastry arm which doesn't quite do the brand justice. The same goes for their food offerings as well. Such a pity.
My friend recommended us to this place since we have no idea where to eat.
This cafe is well hidden and it is in between two small cafes as well. The cafe is small, very small. The tables are spilled out onto the walkway as well. There was a small queue going on. Seem like the place is really popular!
We were shown to our table fast. Simple table and chair, nothing fanciful about. The menu is simple with no pics. The got set meals which consist of Soup, Main (Pasta), Dessert and Drink. Set dinner cost $15.20 nett.
The mains mainly consist of pasta dishes, about 20 to choose form but no pics. In the end I ordered Teriyaki Chicken Meatball Pasta. It was ok, do quite like the meatball though.
The soup, drink as normal and the dessert nothing to wow about.
The service is a bit slow as I think only 1 manager and 2 waiters doing the serving, cleaning and ushering at the same time. Everything have to wait, even to top out water. When we asked for our desserts, only 2 came out and waited for the 3rd one, then to realised that they actually forgotten about it.
I start to wonder y so many ppl started to queue up as the food is passable, and to say that the place is quite ulu as well.
Well in the end I concluded that it is cheap and the portions are quite big. There is no service charge or GST which can be quite a big draw as well.
Along this stretch of road there is a number of Zhong Qing steamboat places, considered quite cheap as well and always attracted a crowd. This place charges each person $13.80. Cash payment only.
So my friend decided to make our dinner there and make a reservation. The place is divided into 2 floors, 1st floor no air con and 2nd floor air con and for bigger groups as well.
They have an interesting concept there. Once they show you to the table, they will ask you what soup base you want and you can start to collect you plates, spoons, food etc. In the end, with everything ready, then we found out that there are no chopsticks. After checking with them, we found out that we need to pay at the counter in exchange for dispoable chopsticks. Haa.... Interesting right?
They have a wide variety of food and quite a lot as well, from vege to seafood to meat etc. Their seafood are quite fresh too, from crabs to all the shells. The meat came thinly sliced which I like it for steamboat.
Their soup base are ok, I think it is the type that used maggi cubes to get the flavour.
For drinks, this places charges separately. Heard from my friend, there is another one along the stretch that one price person include drinks as well.
Service one still ok. One incident happen as we are sitting next to a small little staircase, the waitress was carrying a pot of hot soup going to a table and fell flat on the staircase, the hot soup did get to us, however the staff there did not even check if we are ok a not. So much for customer service then.
Ask me if I am going back again? Hmm... I think I will give the rest of the places along the same stretch a try before deciding.
The newest blog advertising site. Works to link bloggers and advertisers set up by Paddy Tan who is also the founder of Bak2U, an anti-theft software. Fixed fee of $3 per advertisement.
Pro> Fast and friendly customer service. Usually reply to emails within the day. Stress that bloggers would not be penalised if they reject the ads.
Allows blogger to choose to accept the advertisements as some layout may not allow the advertisements to be put up. If possible and advertisers allow, there will be different sizes of advertisements available for choosing.
Recently goes into per post advertisements which should be more popular among bloggers.
Con> $3 for a month of banner advertisement is rather little. This means that there is limited advertisements matching as there is only this much space for putting banners.
Joined in the fun for the 1st Eat Out by Yebbers at Eden. It was fun to see the people behind the usernames. Hee.... Fun and friendly people. It is also one of the time that I actually ate from 8 plus to midnight, so it ended as a dinner/supper session. Haa...
The resturant was along Club street, well have to look out for the signage if not will miss the place.
The place is small but cosy, with simple decoration.
The boss, Clement is very friendly going ard making small talks with people at the same time making sure that the food are ready to be served on time.
Now to the food:
Starters:
Tomato based seafood soup: It is a thick tomato based seafood. The seadfood inside was fresh as well. I enjoyed it.
Endives with Mushroom and bacon canapes: I stongly recommend this starter. It was great! The mushroom was grilled (or pan fried) to prefection, and yet able to retain its juices within. Together with the bacon canapes, they formed a prefect match! Simply wonderful!
Main:
Rosemerry rose petal garlic lamb / beef: Hmm... did not managed to taste the rose petal, but the beef that I have was tender.
Lemon garlic Mahi Mahi: I believed that this dish was changed to snow fish. Even thought there is a hint of lemon and garlic taste but then it did not managed to fully cover the fishy smell. Overall a pleasant dish.
Seedless grape chicken: This one came in a pastry form where we have to break open the hard pastry for it. It was like digging for treasure. Hee... Once opened, can smell the faint smell of the grape. The only sad thing about this dish is the chicken is a bit too dry for my liking. If not, this will be a wonderful dish as well.
Balsemic Strawberry Beef: This dish is another winner! I loved it. The taste of the strawberry went into the beef which was a prefect match as well. The beef was tender and juicy! The strawberry a bit on the sour side. Hee....
Black sesame mushroom pasta: Once they placed this dish in front of me, I could smell the cheese. With is handmade pasta (I believed), it is unique but too unique for my taste.
Desserts:
Wine tea floral fruit jello: Got two of it, one is made with extra from hibicus and the other I forgot alr. Hee.... Both are good! Not really too sweet and taste really well!
Balsume mosse cake: Light on taste, with a hint of cheese in it.
Got 2 more desserts, which I forgot their names, one is another cheesecake.
Overall, the whole meal is fine, but maybe my expectations are a bit too high from reading the reviews above or manybe they are too busy trying to get all the dishes out on time that it might affect the quailty of the food that day.
However, I will be back to try their other dishes especially their desserts that Clement had recommended.
Thks to the organisers for this party and Clement for the great host, explaining every dish to us.
Aston's specialties, yet another "coffeeshop gourmet" outlet which seems to be all the rage these days. Aston's specializes in steak and has appeared on television programs such as "Pai Pai Zhan, Ca Ca Kan" (Queue and check it out!) recently. The outlet i reviewed is its less glorious outlet at Seragoon Gardens but let it be known that location does not dictate the quality of food. Good food always speaks for itself.
Found in an obscure location along the crossing towards Coffee bean, Friends and Cafe Cartel from the bus stop, this is one of the last places i would imagine a gourmet eating place can be found, and worse, i worked here for 2 years and never tried it till now. The shame oh the shame!
Mushroom Soup ($2.20) - After waiting for about half an hour to get my orders taken and another 15 minutes for the soup to be brought to me, grumpy would be a kind way to describe my feelings at that point. However, the soup managed to ease my nerves a little. Creamy and slightly starchy, the soup tasted full bodied, thick and was surprisingly packed with mushroom bits albeit a little salty. The bread was pleasantly toasted, warm and soft unlike offerings elsewhere.
Grilled Dory Fish with Herbal Sauce ($5.50) - The fish came a few minutes after the soup and was steaming hot. Sides were simple affairs of boiled seasonal vegetables and a potato salad. The seasonal vegetables were broccoli and carrots which were simply boiled. Potato salad was of the crunchy variety however and was nicely mixed with sauce for a strong, pleasant and raw appetizer. The dory fish was slightly charred on the ends but otherwise moist and sweet on the inside. They must have marinated it pretty well because the pepper and herb taste was thoroughly in the meat. I also liked the herb scented sauce on used as a dressing which really brings out the flavor. Point to note was that the fish somehow managed to stay warm throughout our meal which is a big plus.
Aston's Prime Ribeye Steak ($11.90) - A baked potato and caeser's salad accompanied my ribeye steak which is of a pretty generous portion, probably 200-150 grams of meat. The baked potato looked uninviting but tasted good due to it being burning hot and served with a huge dollop of melting salted butter on top. The caeser salad, consisting of lettuce, carrots, radish, blueberries and tomatoes was fresh, crunchy and sweet along with a small dressing of thousand island sauce. The beef was served as i ordered, medium rare and smoking. I could easily taste the beef juices in each succulent, juicy bite. Mushroom dressing was used to further enhance the taste which i honestly can't complain. Apart from the fatty meat along the sides which is usual for this cut of meat, i believe everything else checks out pretty well for this place. Nicely done.
$20 for a simple, fumes induced yet satisfying dinner is what i call value for money.
Finally! A commercial review that deserves merit is few and far between. Though the queues are long and bound to get longer after its recent television outing, you'll be hard pressed to find better value for money for steaks of this caliber. Heartily recommended for a try to judge yourselves. Watch the queues and fumes though.
Was at the eat-out session with many other Yebbers! Eden Cafe's a really nice place to go to I must say, just that it seems to be quite inconvenient to get there if you don't drive, and if you drive it's also inconvenient to get a parking lot!
When you step into Eden, you'll probably feel rather comfortable in the place due to the rather homely interior and soft lightings. Also, feel welcomed by the friendly owner, Clement, who ensures that your experience there be as good as it can be.
As there were up to 7 dishes (excluding the desserts) and on the whole I thought that all the dishes were unique and creative in terms of taste and appearance.
Personally, I really liked the Rosemary Rosepetal Garlic Beef and Balsamic Strawberry Beef. Of course, I'm the sort that really likes beef, however these dishes were cooked in a different style which you probably won't taste elsewhere, especially the Strawberry Beef. It's literally cooked with the strawberries and you can taste the sweetness of it in every bite of the juicy beef. Also, the beef is very well cooked and tender despite the fact that thin slices of beef tend to cook faster.
On top of that, there's the Seedless Grape Chicken in a rock-hard bread. Of course the bread's not meant for you to eat because, like I said, it's rock-hard! You can try.. but it's not that advisable. (I've tried.. haha) But the taste of the chicken was wonderful as it integrated the sweet taste of the grape, just that it would have been better if the chicken wasn't so dry.
Then there was also the Black Sesame Mushroom Pasta. The pasta is made by the owner himself. I like the texture of the pasta, however as the owner says, this is a dish that you either like it or not at all. For me, I didn't like it actually. The sesame flavour does not appeal to me; I actually found it hard to accept the fusion of oriental and italian flavours.
Lastly, it was the dessert. My favourite was the Wine Tea Floral Fruit Jellos! It wasn't too sweet and had a tinge of alcohol and fruit taste. A pity it was so tiny! I could have ten at a shot! Haha.. But Clement was so generous as to give us an additional 2 other items for dessert as he was worried we weren't full! How nice of him! :)
Well basically, this session at Eden was a great experience me. I'm not an adventurous person when it comes to food and so I was actually quite skeptical of what's coming up. However, it was interesting to learn that food can be done in so many different ways, even with flowers (even the flowers can be so interesting in itself)! I would like to go back again, but I will probably be ordering the same things. But for adventurous people, this place is a must-try!
As requested, an extremely overdue post on Botak Jones. Personally, i have been there at least 5 times over the past 1.5 years and each time with a different group or by myself. So this is more or less a collective experience post. (PS: pardon the horrible pictures. The food looks much better when you are there.)
Located in a humble coffee shop setting in the middle of nowhere in Ang Mo Kio, i was apprehensive at first during my first visit. This however, gave way to appreciation as the prices were definitely lower then its restaurant counterparts. Along the same vein as Aston's and Blackboard, Botak Jones was probably one of the pioneers in this field (correct me if i'm wrong please). Now, after four years, Botak Jones boasts a total of 6 outlets and a strong following of loyal customers with new ones born everyday. Be warned that if you arrive late for the meal, be prepared to wait at least 30 minutes for your food.
The Double Botak ($9.50) - Botak burger, 2 150 gram beef patties set atop a lightly toasted bun with tomatoes onions and lettuce. The burger comes without cheese or any such toppings unless ordered, toppings are priced between $1 to $3.50 on top of charge for the burger. I recommend the cheddar cheese topping for a more wholesome taste. As you can see, the burger i ordered did not come with cheese because i conveniently forgot. The patties are as i remember it, moist and medium well done on the inside which oozes a pleasantly strong beefy taste. The patties were smaller then i remembered however, and it was a little drier then my previous visits for some reason, the lack of cheese also took away a significant portion of enjoyment. The fries were thick and came with chilli powder sprinkled over it.
Cajun Chicken ($7.50) - Having never ordered anything apart from Botak Burger, i was pleasantly surprised with the Cajun Chicken my dad ordered. Chicken breast thats tender, a novel concept and well executed. The chicken was tender, juicy, easily cut and full of flavor from the mozeralla cheese and the spicy cajun sauce. Thats my impression from the one piece i had, my dad enjoyed it and said it was good. Enough said.
Fish And Chips ($6.50) - The humble fish and chips or breaded fried fish, available everywhere and at low prices, how does their rendition fair? Supposedly made from pacific dory fish and breaded on the day itself, they tout it as being freshly made daily. The reality of it is that it still tastes generic albeit a much better one then those available in other hawker centers or coffee shops. This one beats Blackboard's rendition hands down. The fish was thick and sweet with a thin layer of batter, still, would be better if they gave even bigger servings.
"Damn good food at a damn good price!" is their tag line. From my visits, i got to realize that prices have been increasing and the food quality, though decent, have been sliding. The beef is where its at for me, but as prices increase ($1 for cheddar cheese?), the previous good value it offered is slowly offset as it now rivals restaurant prices when toppings are considered. Add the unpleasantness of its long wait times and somehow, the feeling of satisfaction it previously offered somehow ebbs away. Still, for its theme of American burgers, its currently still the better of the lot. Still, its more edging towards "Decent American burgers at semi decent prices" as opposed to what its tag line suggests.
1=SGD 0.0587
I've watched a few movies at this cinema a few times and I love the legroom as it's not too small so that I can't squeeze to let other patrons passing through.
During my recent screening there, the lights weren't dimmed but abruptly switched off as if someone forgot to install a dimming effect for them. While that isn't the major fault, it felt awkward.
For the seats, they are rather comfortable while the armrest couldn't be kept in between the seats when being pushed up. The sound effects were good.
Overall, this was a good place to watch movies.
Rating given:
After reading the recent reviews of sushi my craving for some brought me to this new branch at AMK today.
To me, sushi are all about the same. The element that separates the good and the average ones is the freshness and the rice grain used for the sushi. And Suki Sushi is just an average and at times below average kind of sushi.
But for the price of 99cents, who cares if the rice used is top notch or not. As long as the salmon and tako is fresh and edible, I'm good.
Decor of the place is simple and Jap like. If I didn't see wrongly, all the seats are around the belt. This is good cos everyone will be able to help themselves to the cheap sushi on the belt. The kitchen is right in the center of the belt and there's a little table on the same level as the belt, slightly above the dining table. This is where they'll place the food you ordered through the waiters. Great idea as this allow the waiters to concentrate on taking orders and clearing the plastic covers from the table. Serving is done by the kitchen helpers.
Am giving it a 4/5 cos of the value for money color plates at 99cents. Will surely go back for more. Maybe a Yebber Suki Sushi outing one day? Haha!
Rating given:
On my sisters 19th birthday, the choice of cake was decided as the all time favorite oreo cheesecake. Having a plethora of choices, we settled upon a quick and easy fix of getting one from Jack's place which was a bus ride away.
Oreo Cheesecake 0.5kg ($18 before gst) - The cake looks decent but not exactly aesthetically pleasing. The top layer consists of a thin layer of dark chocolate which melts too readily and the middle cream cheese portion came across as being too soft for my liking. I also found the cheese filling sour and lacking the sweetness present in other renditions of Oreo cheesecakes. As mentioned earlier, it seems to melt or turn soft a little too quickly which really takes away from the experience. The oreo crust base is about the only thing that is reasonably passable for this cake. Overall, a disappointment and a prime example of a good cake gone bad.
I hope the rest of their offerings aren't that meager because i actually have fond memories of their cake offerings.Maybe its because it used to be made in house but now, they added a Halal cert and a new pastry arm which doesn't quite do the brand justice. The same goes for their food offerings as well. Such a pity.
Rating given:
My friend recommended us to this place since we have no idea where to eat.
This cafe is well hidden and it is in between two small cafes as well. The cafe is small, very small. The tables are spilled out onto the walkway as well. There was a small queue going on. Seem like the place is really popular!
We were shown to our table fast. Simple table and chair, nothing fanciful about. The menu is simple with no pics. The got set meals which consist of Soup, Main (Pasta), Dessert and Drink. Set dinner cost $15.20 nett.
The mains mainly consist of pasta dishes, about 20 to choose form but no pics. In the end I ordered Teriyaki Chicken Meatball Pasta. It was ok, do quite like the meatball though.
The soup, drink as normal and the dessert nothing to wow about.
The service is a bit slow as I think only 1 manager and 2 waiters doing the serving, cleaning and ushering at the same time. Everything have to wait, even to top out water. When we asked for our desserts, only 2 came out and waited for the 3rd one, then to realised that they actually forgotten about it.
I start to wonder y so many ppl started to queue up as the food is passable, and to say that the place is quite ulu as well.
Well in the end I concluded that it is cheap and the portions are quite big. There is no service charge or GST which can be quite a big draw as well.
Rating given:
Along this stretch of road there is a number of Zhong Qing steamboat places, considered quite cheap as well and always attracted a crowd. This place charges each person $13.80. Cash payment only.
So my friend decided to make our dinner there and make a reservation. The place is divided into 2 floors, 1st floor no air con and 2nd floor air con and for bigger groups as well.
They have an interesting concept there. Once they show you to the table, they will ask you what soup base you want and you can start to collect you plates, spoons, food etc. In the end, with everything ready, then we found out that there are no chopsticks. After checking with them, we found out that we need to pay at the counter in exchange for dispoable chopsticks. Haa.... Interesting right?
They have a wide variety of food and quite a lot as well, from vege to seafood to meat etc. Their seafood are quite fresh too, from crabs to all the shells. The meat came thinly sliced which I like it for steamboat.
Their soup base are ok, I think it is the type that used maggi cubes to get the flavour.
For drinks, this places charges separately. Heard from my friend, there is another one along the stretch that one price person include drinks as well.
Service one still ok. One incident happen as we are sitting next to a small little staircase, the waitress was carrying a pot of hot soup going to a table and fell flat on the staircase, the hot soup did get to us, however the staff there did not even check if we are ok a not. So much for customer service then.
Ask me if I am going back again? Hmm... I think I will give the rest of the places along the same stretch a try before deciding.
Rating given:
The newest blog advertising site. Works to link bloggers and advertisers set up by Paddy Tan who is also the founder of Bak2U, an anti-theft software. Fixed fee of $3 per advertisement.
Pro>
Fast and friendly customer service. Usually reply to emails within the day. Stress that bloggers would not be penalised if they reject the ads.
Allows blogger to choose to accept the advertisements as some layout may not allow the advertisements to be put up. If possible and advertisers allow, there will be different sizes of advertisements available for choosing.
Recently goes into per post advertisements which should be more popular among bloggers.
Con>
$3 for a month of banner advertisement is rather little. This means that there is limited advertisements matching as there is only this much space for putting banners.
Rating given:
Joined in the fun for the 1st Eat Out by Yebbers at Eden. It was fun to see the people behind the usernames. Hee.... Fun and friendly people. It is also one of the time that I actually ate from 8 plus to midnight, so it ended as a dinner/supper session. Haa...
The resturant was along Club street, well have to look out for the signage if not will miss the place.
The place is small but cosy, with simple decoration.
The boss, Clement is very friendly going ard making small talks with people at the same time making sure that the food are ready to be served on time.
Now to the food:
Starters:
Tomato based seafood soup: It is a thick tomato based seafood. The seadfood inside was fresh as well. I enjoyed it.
Endives with Mushroom and bacon canapes: I stongly recommend this starter. It was great! The mushroom was grilled (or pan fried) to prefection, and yet able to retain its juices within. Together with the bacon canapes, they formed a prefect match! Simply wonderful!
Main:
Rosemerry rose petal garlic lamb / beef: Hmm... did not managed to taste the rose petal, but the beef that I have was tender.
Lemon garlic Mahi Mahi: I believed that this dish was changed to snow fish. Even thought there is a hint of lemon and garlic taste but then it did not managed to fully cover the fishy smell. Overall a pleasant dish.
Seedless grape chicken: This one came in a pastry form where we have to break open the hard pastry for it. It was like digging for treasure. Hee... Once opened, can smell the faint smell of the grape. The only sad thing about this dish is the chicken is a bit too dry for my liking. If not, this will be a wonderful dish as well.
Balsemic Strawberry Beef: This dish is another winner! I loved it. The taste of the strawberry went into the beef which was a prefect match as well. The beef was tender and juicy! The strawberry a bit on the sour side. Hee....
Black sesame mushroom pasta: Once they placed this dish in front of me, I could smell the cheese. With is handmade pasta (I believed), it is unique but too unique for my taste.
Desserts:
Wine tea floral fruit jello: Got two of it, one is made with extra from hibicus and the other I forgot alr. Hee.... Both are good! Not really too sweet and taste really well!
Balsume mosse cake: Light on taste, with a hint of cheese in it.
Got 2 more desserts, which I forgot their names, one is another cheesecake.
Overall, the whole meal is fine, but maybe my expectations are a bit too high from reading the reviews above or manybe they are too busy trying to get all the dishes out on time that it might affect the quailty of the food that day.
However, I will be back to try their other dishes especially their desserts that Clement had recommended.
Thks to the organisers for this party and Clement for the great host, explaining every dish to us.
Rating given:
Aston's specialties, yet another "coffeeshop gourmet" outlet which seems to be all the rage these days. Aston's specializes in steak and has appeared on television programs such as "Pai Pai Zhan, Ca Ca Kan" (Queue and check it out!) recently. The outlet i reviewed is its less glorious outlet at Seragoon Gardens but let it be known that location does not dictate the quality of food. Good food always speaks for itself.
Found in an obscure location along the crossing towards Coffee bean, Friends and Cafe Cartel from the bus stop, this is one of the last places i would imagine a gourmet eating place can be found, and worse, i worked here for 2 years and never tried it till now. The shame oh the shame!
Mushroom Soup ($2.20) - After waiting for about half an hour to get my orders taken and another 15 minutes for the soup to be brought to me, grumpy would be a kind way to describe my feelings at that point. However, the soup managed to ease my nerves a little. Creamy and slightly starchy, the soup tasted full bodied, thick and was surprisingly packed with mushroom bits albeit a little salty. The bread was pleasantly toasted, warm and soft unlike offerings elsewhere.
Grilled Dory Fish with Herbal Sauce ($5.50) - The fish came a few minutes after the soup and was steaming hot. Sides were simple affairs of boiled seasonal vegetables and a potato salad. The seasonal vegetables were broccoli and carrots which were simply boiled. Potato salad was of the crunchy variety however and was nicely mixed with sauce for a strong, pleasant and raw appetizer. The dory fish was slightly charred on the ends but otherwise moist and sweet on the inside. They must have marinated it pretty well because the pepper and herb taste was thoroughly in the meat. I also liked the herb scented sauce on used as a dressing which really brings out the flavor. Point to note was that the fish somehow managed to stay warm throughout our meal which is a big plus.
Aston's Prime Ribeye Steak ($11.90) - A baked potato and caeser's salad accompanied my ribeye steak which is of a pretty generous portion, probably 200-150 grams of meat. The baked potato looked uninviting but tasted good due to it being burning hot and served with a huge dollop of melting salted butter on top. The caeser salad, consisting of lettuce, carrots, radish, blueberries and tomatoes was fresh, crunchy and sweet along with a small dressing of thousand island sauce. The beef was served as i ordered, medium rare and smoking. I could easily taste the beef juices in each succulent, juicy bite. Mushroom dressing was used to further enhance the taste which i honestly can't complain. Apart from the fatty meat along the sides which is usual for this cut of meat, i believe everything else checks out pretty well for this place. Nicely done.
$20 for a simple, fumes induced yet satisfying dinner is what i call value for money.
Finally! A commercial review that deserves merit is few and far between. Though the queues are long and bound to get longer after its recent television outing, you'll be hard pressed to find better value for money for steaks of this caliber. Heartily recommended for a try to judge yourselves. Watch the queues and fumes though.
Rating given:
Was at the eat-out session with many other Yebbers! Eden Cafe's a really nice place to go to I must say, just that it seems to be quite inconvenient to get there if you don't drive, and if you drive it's also inconvenient to get a parking lot!
When you step into Eden, you'll probably feel rather comfortable in the place due to the rather homely interior and soft lightings. Also, feel welcomed by the friendly owner, Clement, who ensures that your experience there be as good as it can be.
As there were up to 7 dishes (excluding the desserts) and on the whole I thought that all the dishes were unique and creative in terms of taste and appearance.
Personally, I really liked the Rosemary Rosepetal Garlic Beef and Balsamic Strawberry Beef. Of course, I'm the sort that really likes beef, however these dishes were cooked in a different style which you probably won't taste elsewhere, especially the Strawberry Beef. It's literally cooked with the strawberries and you can taste the sweetness of it in every bite of the juicy beef. Also, the beef is very well cooked and tender despite the fact that thin slices of beef tend to cook faster.
On top of that, there's the Seedless Grape Chicken in a rock-hard bread. Of course the bread's not meant for you to eat because, like I said, it's rock-hard! You can try.. but it's not that advisable. (I've tried.. haha) But the taste of the chicken was wonderful as it integrated the sweet taste of the grape, just that it would have been better if the chicken wasn't so dry.
Then there was also the Black Sesame Mushroom Pasta. The pasta is made by the owner himself. I like the texture of the pasta, however as the owner says, this is a dish that you either like it or not at all. For me, I didn't like it actually. The sesame flavour does not appeal to me; I actually found it hard to accept the fusion of oriental and italian flavours.
Lastly, it was the dessert. My favourite was the Wine Tea Floral Fruit Jellos! It wasn't too sweet and had a tinge of alcohol and fruit taste. A pity it was so tiny! I could have ten at a shot! Haha.. But Clement was so generous as to give us an additional 2 other items for dessert as he was worried we weren't full! How nice of him! :)
Well basically, this session at Eden was a great experience me. I'm not an adventurous person when it comes to food and so I was actually quite skeptical of what's coming up. However, it was interesting to learn that food can be done in so many different ways, even with flowers (even the flowers can be so interesting in itself)! I would like to go back again, but I will probably be ordering the same things. But for adventurous people, this place is a must-try!
Rating given:
As requested, an extremely overdue post on Botak Jones. Personally, i have been there at least 5 times over the past 1.5 years and each time with a different group or by myself. So this is more or less a collective experience post. (PS: pardon the horrible pictures. The food looks much better when you are there.)
Located in a humble coffee shop setting in the middle of nowhere in Ang Mo Kio, i was apprehensive at first during my first visit. This however, gave way to appreciation as the prices were definitely lower then its restaurant counterparts. Along the same vein as Aston's and Blackboard, Botak Jones was probably one of the pioneers in this field (correct me if i'm wrong please). Now, after four years, Botak Jones boasts a total of 6 outlets and a strong following of loyal customers with new ones born everyday. Be warned that if you arrive late for the meal, be prepared to wait at least 30 minutes for your food.
The Double Botak ($9.50) - Botak burger, 2 150 gram beef patties set atop a lightly toasted bun with tomatoes onions and lettuce. The burger comes without cheese or any such toppings unless ordered, toppings are priced between $1 to $3.50 on top of charge for the burger. I recommend the cheddar cheese topping for a more wholesome taste. As you can see, the burger i ordered did not come with cheese because i conveniently forgot. The patties are as i remember it, moist and medium well done on the inside which oozes a pleasantly strong beefy taste. The patties were smaller then i remembered however, and it was a little drier then my previous visits for some reason, the lack of cheese also took away a significant portion of enjoyment. The fries were thick and came with chilli powder sprinkled over it.
Cajun Chicken ($7.50) - Having never ordered anything apart from Botak Burger, i was pleasantly surprised with the Cajun Chicken my dad ordered. Chicken breast thats tender, a novel concept and well executed. The chicken was tender, juicy, easily cut and full of flavor from the mozeralla cheese and the spicy cajun sauce. Thats my impression from the one piece i had, my dad enjoyed it and said it was good. Enough said.
Fish And Chips ($6.50) - The humble fish and chips or breaded fried fish, available everywhere and at low prices, how does their rendition fair? Supposedly made from pacific dory fish and breaded on the day itself, they tout it as being freshly made daily. The reality of it is that it still tastes generic albeit a much better one then those available in other hawker centers or coffee shops. This one beats Blackboard's rendition hands down. The fish was thick and sweet with a thin layer of batter, still, would be better if they gave even bigger servings.
"Damn good food at a damn good price!" is their tag line. From my visits, i got to realize that prices have been increasing and the food quality, though decent, have been sliding. The beef is where its at for me, but as prices increase ($1 for cheddar cheese?), the previous good value it offered is slowly offset as it now rivals restaurant prices when toppings are considered. Add the unpleasantness of its long wait times and somehow, the feeling of satisfaction it previously offered somehow ebbs away. Still, for its theme of American burgers, its currently still the better of the lot. Still, its more edging towards "Decent American burgers at semi decent prices" as opposed to what its tag line suggests.
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