Caught one of the Chinese variety shows, HDB Tai Tai, recommending Bermuda Triangle, a bistro selling western food in the heartlands. First time I went there, it was full and I didn't really fancy waiting an hour just to have my dinner. I got lucky the second time though and there were a few tables left when I arrived with my gf at about 630pm.
Tucked away in a sleepy neighbourhood of Ang Mo Kio just below a block of HDBs, Bermuda Triangle is barely visible even from the main road, which is rather ironical as the flats are just next to the road. I guess that says alot about its visibility. Inside its rather small and crampish interior, mini flags of different countries adorn the place and theres a pool table to boot. Overall a very nice and cosy environment, the kind where you would go for a nice after dinner drink and just relax. Now whats missing is a fireplace if you ask me.
Cream of Mushroom Soup - I like the cream of mushroom soup solely for the fact that it was served in a bread bowl and nothing else. The soup was tasteless and a little on the runny side. It was quite bad actually and we had to resort to adding salt in to make it more palatable. To give it credit, it tasted like it was homemade and not straight of out of the can kind. The bread, though warm and slightly crisp, was just your regular round baguette which you can buy off the shelves at any bakery.
Jimi Hendrix Chicken Steak - I honestly do not see the association between Jimi Hendrix the singer and a piece of teriyaki chicken. Nevertheless, aesthetics wise, it was a mess with the chicken overly dark and not the least bit appetising. Soft and moist, the chicken was rather rather charred and devoid of the teriyaki taste, which is surprisingly really, given that its supposed to be teriyaki chicken. To top it off, the accompanying fries were limp and soggy. Jimi Hendrix was a success. The chicken was a failure.
Toad in the Hole - Traditional Oven Baked Yorkshire Sausage Pudding Served with Onion Gravy - A most interesting name and one of the dishes recommended by the variety show. I had seen beautiful images on television and I had expected something similar or at least something not too far from the original image. Imagine my shock when I saw this dish. The sausages were badly charred at the ends and the whole dish looked like a kid's cooking class gone wrong. The pudding itself tasted rather bland save for an eggy taste. I haven't eaten too many Yorkshire puddings in my life to comment on what a good pudding should be like but if its going to turn out like this, I'm swearing off Yorkshire pudding for good. Okay I exaggerate. Its not as bad as it seems. Still palatable but not something I'll wanna eat again if given a choice. I did like the onion gravy though, which tasted very similar to mashed potato gravy.
What did I say about never trusting commercial reviews? Now I got myself burnt once again. Sure, $28 for 2 pax isn't expensive, but its $28 too much. The place is cosy and service is excellent, but I'll think twice before eating there again.
Had an impromptu dinner last night with a few of my makan khakis at Morton's Steakhouse. The choice was initially IL-Lido, but they didn't have tables until 9pm so we settled for Mortons. (Actually Mortons didn't have a table till 9 as well, but it was in town, so that made it easier for everyone)We were punctual for our reservation and was promptly shown to our table. Even at 9pm, the place was still packed to the brim and rather noisy due to the incessant chatter from the customers. Ironically, the noise made the entire atmosphere pretty exciting and relaxing at the same time. Conversation wasn't difficult as the decibel level was within a reasonable range. That being our first visit to Mortons, we were given a thorough introduction to the variety of mains, sides and desserts as well as the cuts of meat available by a very friendly waitress who tended to us that evening. After some recommendations, we ordered the Double Cut Fillet Mignon, Porterhouse Steak, sides of Hashbrown Potato, Sautéed Wild Mushrooms, Steamed Fresh Broccoli, with the Morton's Famous Hot Chocolate Cake and the Upside Down Apple Pie as desserts.
Breads are always a bad way to start off your meals as they fill you up really fast, but I couldn't help stuffing myself with the complementary Onion Bread that was served. Served with smooth butter, it was really quite good. However, we ate it after it had turned cold as we were busy taking photos, so my guess would be that it would taste much better if it had been taken fresh from the oven.
The star of the mains was undoubtedly the Double Cut Fillet Mignon. Perfectly done medium rare and emanating unadulterated sweetness with every bite, chewing on it was sheer ecstasy. The outside of the steak was slightly charred, giving it a nice and subtle grilled taste. Everyone liked it, no questions about it. It was a little small though. We estimated it to be about 16-18 oz only. By the way, just for general information, the fillet mignon is one of the best cuts, if not THE best cut and its also the leanest.
The Porterhouse was one side Rib Eye and the other Fillet Mignon. I had some grouses with this one. The steak was a little underdone. Medium rare turned out almost rare, which was a little too much for me to bear as there was this metallic taste. The Fillet Mignon side of the steak was also a little underdone, but tasted really good, as with the Double Cut Fillet Mignon that we had ordered. This Porterhouse was a giant, weighing in at 24 oz. (There's the double Porterhouse as well, at 48 oz)Nice big steak. Pity about the cooking though.
The sides were a gargantuan affair. Each side was simply huge. I mean they are supposed to be sides, yet they look like mains! Nevertheless, we polished every bit of them. The Hashbrown Potato tasted and looked just like Rossi which is(was) sold at Marche. I had expected it to look like those hashbrowns in MacDonalds, so surprise surprise. Top the hashbrown with sour cream and freshly grilled bacon bits and you are ready to go. A little charred and crispy on the inside, soft on the inside. The Steamed Broccoli looked nothing out of the ordinary, yet it was nicely steamed with a tinge of buttery slickness. The Sautéed Wild Mushrooms were pan fried I believe and was quite tasty. However, I did find it a little too soft for my liking.
What's a meal without desserts? The desserts didn't disappoint one bit. The Upside Down Apple Pie was made from top grade apples and tasted a little sourish. Complementing and balancing the sourish taste was a scoop of smooth homemade ice cream.(Vanilla I presume)
Morton's signature Hot Chocolate Cake was simply my favourite. Hot Godiva chocolate encapsulated within layers of soft and dense sponge cake with a slightly hardened exterior. Slicing the cake allows the hot and thick chocolate to slowly ooze out. Extremely sweet and sinful. No wonder many ladies are said to have taken a liking to it.
All in all, an extremely hearty meal. Good food and good companionship - one of the simple pleasures of life. Grand total was about $315 for 3 pax. Definitely expensive, but well worth the money paid. Service was excellent with our waitress being friendly and chatty. Ambience wise, it isn't really a romantic restaurant, but it does have private rooms which look nice and exclusive. I highly recommend checking this place out. On a side note, Oriental Hotel has a very pretty interior. Seeing is believing :)
It's been maybe a year since I've been to Billy Bombers. I remember trying their burgers there. Quite a couple in fact. A few of us were there and we ordered different ones to try and share. The impression I had of the place was a good one and I thought that I'd be back one day ( that "one day" came only a year later..)
This time we order two main courses to share, out of which one was their promotion 4-meal-set-course. It's actually just a drink, soup, dessert and a main course. Nothing as special as they made it sound like.
The service there was ok I must say. Maybe because it wasn't their busiest time yet, and so we were always attended to immediately. Also, our food was served almost immediately, it was good because I was starving!
My soup came first. It was ok, but nothing different from the Cream of Chicken you get at most places. The "exciting" ones were the main course. We had a sirloin steak and half a grilled honey chicken with BBQ sauce.
The steak was horrible. I wanted my steak to be done medium. It came out with part of it well done like it was over-cooked. It was really tough and more than a quarter of the steak was just fats and there was effectively very little meat left considering it was a small piece to begin with. It was served with 2 side dishes - creamy spinach and potato salad. They both had a weird smell/ taste. Probably the same cream or sonemething used? And the spinach just looked horrible - cream with soggy spinach. It spoils your appetite.
As for the chicken, it wasn't exactly well done. The taste was fine, but it wasn't well done because you can still see red parts on the chicken. It's common you'd say, but it's not what I'd expect from a place like Billy Bombers.
When I left the place after dinner, I didn't feel full at all. Even though they've got nice interior decoration and acceptable service, the food that I had today wasn't worth what I paid. I don't think I'll frequent the place in future..
There are 2 faces to Geylang - the notorious red light district thronged by "social escorts" and the food haven where tiny shops and restaurants line every nook and cranny, serving up good food. Shatin Kitchen obviously falls into the latter category and is helmed by chef Tonny Chan.
Newspaper articles adorn the walls of this unpretentious air conditioned eatery located right at the beginning of Geylang road. Decor is simplistic and reminiscent of a typical Chinese restaurant without the frills.
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon - In case you are wondering, no, chef Tonny didn't name this dish after Lee Ang's Oscar winning movie. It is so named because of the ingredients in the dish - egg white, lobster and scallops as well as the way it is presented - in a basket made from deep fried wanton skin. This dish won chef Tonny an award in a cooking competition some years back and was featured in the recent 100 best dishes article published by the Straits Times. With the accolades aside, it was down to the taste test. Honestly, it was disappointing. Yes, I could taste the texture of the scallops and the egg white but where was the lobster? And if eaten alone without the wanton skin, it proved to be a tad too salty for my liking. Eaten with the skin, it was really nothing nothing to shout about, coming across as average and not something I would pay $6 a portion for.
Kailan - The vegetables were tasty but rather limp, probably due to overcooking and the gravy was a tad too starchy for my liking.
Five Spices Fried Pork Chop - Sorry about the literal translation but theres no English name for this dish in the menu. The pork chop was undoubtedly the best dish of the evening, with the meat tender yet lightly sweet and chewy. It actually tasted like very tender char siew, albeit of a different colour. Couldn't quite make out the five spices though.
Deep Fried Cod Fish - I liked the fact that the cod fish came with nice small tomatoes alongside to spruce up the entire dish. What I didn't like was that the fish meat was bland and soft, nothing like the firm yet smooth meat good cod fish should have. The accompanying sauce was rather bland as well, tasting like a watered down version of oyster sauce.
Red Bean Paste Pancake - I've always been biased towards red bean paste pancakes but this one was a little let down. Though fragrant, the flour was too thick which made it rather chewy overall. On a positive note, the red bean filling was generous and not too sweet.
The 3 of us chalked up a bill of about $81, which is rather expensive given that the quality of food was merely slightly above average and portions are lacking in size. On a side note, I'm suitably impressed with the level of service at Shatin Kitchen, something lacking in alot of small Chinese eateries nowadays. However, all the hype surrounding this eatery is totally uncalled for in my humble opinion and I highly doubt that I'll be back.
After reading all the above great reviews for UNO, I decided to try it out. Not quite sure where Blk 51 is, we ended up driving a big round around Toa Payoh central. But when we saw the bright orange lightbox sign welcoming us at the carpark entrance, we knew great steak is just nearby.
Going back to TPY brought back many wonderful memories to me, I used to stay at TPY. Looking at the blocks around me, I felt as if I was brought back 15 years. The old and retro looking blocks with the elderly ah gong and ah ma sitting near the door looking out to whatever that comes into their sight. Feel so much like I was back to my childhood days.
UNO beef house was not packed yet when we arrived. We ordered the Black Pepper Rib Eye ($9) and Fish and Chips ($5). Both came in less than 10 mins. And both looks equally delicious.
Had a medium-rare steak and it was cooked just right. It's pretty cheap considering that the size of the steak was pretty big. But I had a better one the day before. (IMO)
The one that I thought was fantastic is the Fish & Chips. When eaten hot, its very crispy outside and soft inside. The batter used is different from the usual fish & chips you find at the usual hawkers. It was so good I had to pack one home for Mum to try. But due to jam, the fish was cold when mum had it. Not too nice anymore. But still, I'll sure go back for more of their fish & chips.
Go by 7pm for dinner else you might need to wait a little while longer after that when the crowd starts forming.
Cosmopolitan club street has a new entrant - Eden Cafe, which opened its doors to a soft launch only last Wednesday. New as the cafe may be, the man at the helm, Clement Ronald, is certainly no stranger to the culinary scene, having appeared in many television and magazines write ups in the past year due to his unique blend of cooking which involves plants, dubbed "floral cooking". He used to preside over the kitchen at Helios Cafe at Marina Square, but unfortunately that space is available only for private functions now.
Occupying a small unit just opposite liberty insurance, Eden Cafe threatens to be overshadowed by its more illustrious neighbours like Senso, Indochine, Spizza, Jerry's, just to name a few. The interior is tiny (I'm guessing about 20pax) and simplistic, opting for a more laid back setting with soft music in the background.
Jumbo prawns wrapped in Bacon - Prawns wrapped in bacons are always nice. Ideally the saltiness from the not too fatty bacon should complement the raw sweetness of the prawns. However it didn't happen in this case. The prawns were smaller than I had expected and the bacon wasn't grilled throughly enough, resulting in a softer than I would have liked texture. But overall still a rather decent dish, especially with the freshness of the tomato salsa salad by the side.
Saffron Cream Sauce Salmon - I don't usually like salmon because they have this raw fishy taste which I detest. Not this one however. The salmon's meat was firm minus the fishy overtones and together with the buttery and flavourful home concocted gravy, made for a light yet pleasing dish. However I could detect some inconsistencies in the dish, with some parts of the salmon being a lot saltier than others. The whole portabello mushroom that came with it was good for lapping up the tasty gravy, just that it was a little too soft for my liking.
Red Wine Beef - I would have liked this dish quite a bit if it wasn't that raw. The meat slab was thick which probably explains the rawness in some areas. The red wine sauce had a nice sweet red wine taste (naturally!) without being too overpowering. There was garlic in it, but I couldn't quite make it out. The mashed potatos were great with the sauce by the way.
We had one other main, the Rosemary Chicken, which I unfortunately do not have a shot of because I stupidly deleted it by accident and data recovery doesn't seem to work. Well I have asked around and hopefully someone has it so that I can post it up if they are willing to send it to me. That aside, as the name suggests, the chicken was cooked with rosemary and lavender, which gave it a rather fruity/leafy slant. The chicken was rather tender and moist but certain parts could get quite strong on the rosemary taste, especially the outer layer, which I personally couldn't quite take
Crème Brûlée - According to Clement, the Crème Brûlées are made from real vanilla beans, not vanilla essence or extract like most other places. The little black dots within are proof of that. Clement personally handled the melting of the sugar atop and I must complement his technique as the layer of sugar was thin and evenly coagulated. The pudding was soft and wobbly and didn't come across as too sweet. Definitely one of the better Crème Brûlées that I've tasted.
Brandy Chocolate - Now this is one sinful dessert with rich and unadulterated chocolate. Nothing fancy, just pure milk chocolate with brandy. However I couldn't quite make out the brandy which was a bummer really. Definitely not for the health conscious!
Tiramisu - The Tiramisu was covered by a layer of rich chocolate, very different from others I've eaten. But that doesn't not necessarily mean that its better. I could barely taste the cake in it and overall it was very dense with quite a strong rum taste in certain areas. My guess is that the mixing wasn't done thoroughly enough.
Hibiscus Cheese Phyllo - Undoubtedly the star of the desserts (at least for me), the Hibiscus Cheese Phyllo (or filo if you so wish) came looking very much like an egg omelette. The filling looked like yam ice cream instead of cheese, which was really quite interesting. Texture and taste wise, it reminded me of a partially melted cheese flavoured ice cream with a slight fruity connotation. A delectable dish but one not one I would recommend to consume too much of as the cheese taste can be a little overwhelming after a while.
Total bill for 8 pax with drinks cost about $337, which is definitely not expensive given the quality and amount of food. Dinner is unhurried and pleasant with great service from Clement himself as well as the other wait staff. There is this little herb garden in which Clement grows his own flora for use in his dishes. Do ask to see it if you happen to dine at Eden's. How about an encore folks? Seedless grape chicken? ;)
Since I dun own a car, public transport to me is very important. Ever since they keep increasing their fare every year, my expectation for them is also getting higher and higher.
Since around my work place, I have to take SBS bus to work every weekeday. I ahve to say that I am quite happy with the bus conditions. However they can work on the bus frequencies, like the bus supposed to come in every 5 mins during peak hours but then one bus decided to come earlier, and the bus will be pretty empty. Then the next bus that came on time, will be damned packed as the waiting time for the bus is longer.
I do find sometimes the bus a bit dirty as well but then if everyone of us take good care of it, I think the bus will be cleaner and no need to wait for the cleaners to clean the buses.
I am quite happy with the IRIS service as now I will always use it to find out how long does it take the next bus to arrive to the bus stop. I does cut down my waiting time as well. However the sms service only limited to Singtel users oly so I cannot use it.
Only 1 request, stop asking to increase fare every year and buck up on the frequency and condition of the buses.
I have been a Hubber for sometime now and I am happy to say that I made the right choice to sign up with them.
MaxOnline for me is really good and cheap. They had been giving us more bandwidth from time to time as well. I seldom had any problem with connection.
I hooked it up to a wireless router so that I can use my laptop anywhere in my flat and it proved to be good. I mainly use it for work and school wise and dun really play online games with it. So to me the speed is really more then enough.
Being a Hubber I got 10% discount some more. So I really find it a good deal!
Mention Italian restaurants and Senso, Garibaldi, IL Lido etc come to mind almost immediately. These are a few the big players in the Italian dining scene and most people would have probably heard of some, if not all of them. However, these restaurants only form one half of the spectrum - the fine dining portion. The other half, which is the casual dining portion, is made up of restaurants relatively unknown to most people (I happen to fall into this category). Here's where Romano Ristorante comes into the picture. Branded as a casual Italian restaurant (the first I've seen), Romano is wedged between a row of shops in the sleepy estate of Thomson Hills.
The casual branding is obvious the moment you step into the restaurant. The place looks more like a pizza house with its wide walkways, rough granite floors and homely atmosphere. To complete the picture, the solitary waitress is dressed up in a polo t shirt and a pair of jeans. Pets are allowed as well!
The Bruschetta was a little different from the usual ones that I've come across. Interestingly, the base was garlic bread and the diced tomatoes were loaded on top after the garlic bread had been toasted. Surprisingly, the bread was really well made, soft and fluffy on the inside yet retaining a little crisp on the outside. Very unlike normal garlic bread which tends to be hard along the edges. In case you are wondering if the combination of garlic and tomatoes go well, let me assure you that it does. The garlic taste was rather faint and not the least bit overwhelming, complementing the sweetness of the tomatoes. Only gripe I have about the Bruschetta was that the tomatoes didn't really look very fresh and wasn't as juicy as I had expected.
The calamari was coated with too much batter, rendering it a little too greasy from all the deep frying. The squid was chewy but the batter made me sick after a few mouthfuls. Luckily, the watered down tomato puree was nice and tangy without coming across as too strong, providing the sole consolation for this dish.
I was a little disappointed by the Chicken Milanese to say the very least. Coming as a recommendation on the menu sort of raised my expectations a little higher. With all its seemingly wonderful preparation methods and ingredients, it tasted nothing more than a slab of chicken breast meat wrapped up in egg. Aesthetics wise, it portrayed a very messy image when I first set my eyes on it, with its myriad of not too well pleasing colours. Very palatable, but not something I'll order again.
An above average dish, but could have been better. The Fettuince was a wee bit too cooked (about four fifths instead of the three quarters rule of thumb) but the cream sauce was thick and tasty without being too rich. The chicken slices were nicely seasoned and grilled but was a tad too salty.
I don't really fancy Tiramisu and Romano's rendition wasn't about to change my preference though I must comment that it was one of the better ones that I've tried. I personally liked it for its fluffiness and lightness on the palate. The cream to sponge ratio was quite balanced out which made eating it rather enjoyable.
I'm sure the humble Oreo Cheesecake was never a staple Italian dessert but more of an addition to suit local tastebuds. After all, not many people can say no to an Oreo Cheesecake. Romano's offering was a little sticky yet not coming across as too cheesy. Pity about the soft Oreo wafer base though, which resulted in a loss of overall texture and form.
Plenty of decent and comforting grub for 2 pax, all for just $61, which is very worth it in my opinion. Throw in the fact that the environment is laid back, service is warm and there is no dress code and I'm a regular. Having said that, they need to work on some of their dishes though, maybe tweak their recipes a little?
You must think that I'm sick or something to enjoy and love a painful experience. But that's how I felt when I went for my first free treatment with compliment from my friend. She has been with them for many years, and I must say her face is very well maintained and never needed a speck of make-up. Simple and clean. And now I know why.
My first step at the entrance of the place and I was totally amazed but how big the place is. It looks posh and stylish. Using black as their main color, it brings out the modernest of the place. Angel Sky is a one-stop place for all woman who loves to be pampered. There's a movie room, a gym, a spa, a relax corner with many music CDs for our entertainment, an oxygen bar, reading corner, full shower facilities and so much more. (There's 2 levels but I haven't explored what's the the basement yet.) You can spend an entire day recharging and relaxing.
There were many rooms in the big place and each room can fit in 4 ladies. Great for a girls day out with girlfriends. I also saw smaller rooms for those who prefer to be in private.
My first trial session was by Kathy. She was very nice and friendly. She tells me where I need to pay attention to and taught me what I can do on my own to improve my super bad skin condition now. She wasn't at any one time trying to hard sell their services to me during the whole facial experience. I tried their Diamond-Lite treatment today. It helped lift my face, cleans off my dirt and oil from the face and removes the finer zits. This is done using this suction machine with a tip casted with small diamonds. She did my right side first to show me the difference before and after the treatment, and I did see a great difference. After the treatment, she started picking on my pimples, which was the painful part. I had tears in my eyes and when she did it to the huge one just next to my left eye, I almost cried out. But hey! No pain no gain ya. Have to take the pain if one wants to be pretty. (Pain or not also depends on the level of tolerance for individual. For me, I have the lowest tolerance of pain. So this part might not be that painful as I've described lah!) After the picking, Kathy trimmed my eyebrow and then put on a cold mask and a second layer of oxygen mask. It refreshed my entire face and it was nice.
I must say this is the better free trial facial I had. So good that I was already considering signing up with them when I was resting with the masks on my face. And guess what, with all the additional free sessions and services thrown in, I signed up as a VIP on the spot! Kinda crazy but I just couldn't resists the 30% discount for first timers and the extras thrown in.
I highly recommend Angel Sky to all of you out there. (Not just for the ladies, but for the guys too!)
If you want to give Angel Sky a try yourself, let me know and I'll get a free trial for you too. (Limited invitations only. While invites last.) So drop me a message soon yio.
1=SGD 0.0587
Caught one of the Chinese variety shows, HDB Tai Tai, recommending Bermuda Triangle, a bistro selling western food in the heartlands. First time I went there, it was full and I didn't really fancy waiting an hour just to have my dinner. I got lucky the second time though and there were a few tables left when I arrived with my gf at about 630pm.
Tucked away in a sleepy neighbourhood of Ang Mo Kio just below a block of HDBs, Bermuda Triangle is barely visible even from the main road, which is rather ironical as the flats are just next to the road. I guess that says alot about its visibility. Inside its rather small and crampish interior, mini flags of different countries adorn the place and theres a pool table to boot. Overall a very nice and cosy environment, the kind where you would go for a nice after dinner drink and just relax. Now whats missing is a fireplace if you ask me.
Cream of Mushroom Soup - I like the cream of mushroom soup solely for the fact that it was served in a bread bowl and nothing else. The soup was tasteless and a little on the runny side. It was quite bad actually and we had to resort to adding salt in to make it more palatable. To give it credit, it tasted like it was homemade and not straight of out of the can kind. The bread, though warm and slightly crisp, was just your regular round baguette which you can buy off the shelves at any bakery.
Jimi Hendrix Chicken Steak - I honestly do not see the association between Jimi Hendrix the singer and a piece of teriyaki chicken. Nevertheless, aesthetics wise, it was a mess with the chicken overly dark and not the least bit appetising. Soft and moist, the chicken was rather rather charred and devoid of the teriyaki taste, which is surprisingly really, given that its supposed to be teriyaki chicken. To top it off, the accompanying fries were limp and soggy. Jimi Hendrix was a success. The chicken was a failure.
Toad in the Hole - Traditional Oven Baked Yorkshire Sausage Pudding Served with Onion Gravy - A most interesting name and one of the dishes recommended by the variety show. I had seen beautiful images on television and I had expected something similar or at least something not too far from the original image. Imagine my shock when I saw this dish. The sausages were badly charred at the ends and the whole dish looked like a kid's cooking class gone wrong. The pudding itself tasted rather bland save for an eggy taste. I haven't eaten too many Yorkshire puddings in my life to comment on what a good pudding should be like but if its going to turn out like this, I'm swearing off Yorkshire pudding for good. Okay I exaggerate. Its not as bad as it seems. Still palatable but not something I'll wanna eat again if given a choice. I did like the onion gravy though, which tasted very similar to mashed potato gravy.
What did I say about never trusting commercial reviews? Now I got myself burnt once again. Sure, $28 for 2 pax isn't expensive, but its $28 too much. The place is cosy and service is excellent, but I'll think twice before eating there again.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
Had an impromptu dinner last night with a few of my makan khakis at Morton's Steakhouse. The choice was initially IL-Lido, but they didn't have tables until 9pm so we settled for Mortons. (Actually Mortons didn't have a table till 9 as well, but it was in town, so that made it easier for everyone)We were punctual for our reservation and was promptly shown to our table. Even at 9pm, the place was still packed to the brim and rather noisy due to the incessant chatter from the customers. Ironically, the noise made the entire atmosphere pretty exciting and relaxing at the same time. Conversation wasn't difficult as the decibel level was within a reasonable range. That being our first visit to Mortons, we were given a thorough introduction to the variety of mains, sides and desserts as well as the cuts of meat available by a very friendly waitress who tended to us that evening. After some recommendations, we ordered the Double Cut Fillet Mignon, Porterhouse Steak, sides of Hashbrown Potato, Sautéed Wild Mushrooms, Steamed Fresh Broccoli, with the Morton's Famous Hot Chocolate Cake and the Upside Down Apple Pie as desserts.
Breads are always a bad way to start off your meals as they fill you up really fast, but I couldn't help stuffing myself with the complementary Onion Bread that was served. Served with smooth butter, it was really quite good. However, we ate it after it had turned cold as we were busy taking photos, so my guess would be that it would taste much better if it had been taken fresh from the oven.
The star of the mains was undoubtedly the Double Cut Fillet Mignon. Perfectly done medium rare and emanating unadulterated sweetness with every bite, chewing on it was sheer ecstasy. The outside of the steak was slightly charred, giving it a nice and subtle grilled taste. Everyone liked it, no questions about it. It was a little small though. We estimated it to be about 16-18 oz only. By the way, just for general information, the fillet mignon is one of the best cuts, if not THE best cut and its also the leanest.
The Porterhouse was one side Rib Eye and the other Fillet Mignon. I had some grouses with this one. The steak was a little underdone. Medium rare turned out almost rare, which was a little too much for me to bear as there was this metallic taste. The Fillet Mignon side of the steak was also a little underdone, but tasted really good, as with the Double Cut Fillet Mignon that we had ordered. This Porterhouse was a giant, weighing in at 24 oz. (There's the double Porterhouse as well, at 48 oz)Nice big steak. Pity about the cooking though.
The sides were a gargantuan affair. Each side was simply huge. I mean they are supposed to be sides, yet they look like mains! Nevertheless, we polished every bit of them. The Hashbrown Potato tasted and looked just like Rossi which is(was) sold at Marche. I had expected it to look like those hashbrowns in MacDonalds, so surprise surprise. Top the hashbrown with sour cream and freshly grilled bacon bits and you are ready to go. A little charred and crispy on the inside, soft on the inside. The Steamed Broccoli looked nothing out of the ordinary, yet it was nicely steamed with a tinge of buttery slickness. The Sautéed Wild Mushrooms were pan fried I believe and was quite tasty. However, I did find it a little too soft for my liking.
What's a meal without desserts? The desserts didn't disappoint one bit. The Upside Down Apple Pie was made from top grade apples and tasted a little sourish. Complementing and balancing the sourish taste was a scoop of smooth homemade ice cream.(Vanilla I presume)
Morton's signature Hot Chocolate Cake was simply my favourite. Hot Godiva chocolate encapsulated within layers of soft and dense sponge cake with a slightly hardened exterior. Slicing the cake allows the hot and thick chocolate to slowly ooze out. Extremely sweet and sinful. No wonder many ladies are said to have taken a liking to it.
All in all, an extremely hearty meal. Good food and good companionship - one of the simple pleasures of life. Grand total was about $315 for 3 pax. Definitely expensive, but well worth the money paid. Service was excellent with our waitress being friendly and chatty. Ambience wise, it isn't really a romantic restaurant, but it does have private rooms which look nice and exclusive. I highly recommend checking this place out. On a side note, Oriental Hotel has a very pretty interior. Seeing is believing :)
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
It's been maybe a year since I've been to Billy Bombers. I remember trying their burgers there. Quite a couple in fact. A few of us were there and we ordered different ones to try and share. The impression I had of the place was a good one and I thought that I'd be back one day ( that "one day" came only a year later..)
This time we order two main courses to share, out of which one was their promotion 4-meal-set-course. It's actually just a drink, soup, dessert and a main course. Nothing as special as they made it sound like.
The service there was ok I must say. Maybe because it wasn't their busiest time yet, and so we were always attended to immediately. Also, our food was served almost immediately, it was good because I was starving!
My soup came first. It was ok, but nothing different from the Cream of Chicken you get at most places. The "exciting" ones were the main course. We had a sirloin steak and half a grilled honey chicken with BBQ sauce.
The steak was horrible. I wanted my steak to be done medium. It came out with part of it well done like it was over-cooked. It was really tough and more than a quarter of the steak was just fats and there was effectively very little meat left considering it was a small piece to begin with. It was served with 2 side dishes - creamy spinach and potato salad. They both had a weird smell/ taste. Probably the same cream or sonemething used? And the spinach just looked horrible - cream with soggy spinach. It spoils your appetite.
As for the chicken, it wasn't exactly well done. The taste was fine, but it wasn't well done because you can still see red parts on the chicken. It's common you'd say, but it's not what I'd expect from a place like Billy Bombers.
When I left the place after dinner, I didn't feel full at all. Even though they've got nice interior decoration and acceptable service, the food that I had today wasn't worth what I paid. I don't think I'll frequent the place in future..
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There are 2 faces to Geylang - the notorious red light district thronged by "social escorts" and the food haven where tiny shops and restaurants line every nook and cranny, serving up good food. Shatin Kitchen obviously falls into the latter category and is helmed by chef Tonny Chan.
Newspaper articles adorn the walls of this unpretentious air conditioned eatery located right at the beginning of Geylang road. Decor is simplistic and reminiscent of a typical Chinese restaurant without the frills.
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon - In case you are wondering, no, chef Tonny didn't name this dish after Lee Ang's Oscar winning movie. It is so named because of the ingredients in the dish - egg white, lobster and scallops as well as the way it is presented - in a basket made from deep fried wanton skin. This dish won chef Tonny an award in a cooking competition some years back and was featured in the recent 100 best dishes article published by the Straits Times. With the accolades aside, it was down to the taste test. Honestly, it was disappointing. Yes, I could taste the texture of the scallops and the egg white but where was the lobster? And if eaten alone without the wanton skin, it proved to be a tad too salty for my liking. Eaten with the skin, it was really nothing nothing to shout about, coming across as average and not something I would pay $6 a portion for.
Kailan - The vegetables were tasty but rather limp, probably due to overcooking and the gravy was a tad too starchy for my liking.
Five Spices Fried Pork Chop - Sorry about the literal translation but theres no English name for this dish in the menu. The pork chop was undoubtedly the best dish of the evening, with the meat tender yet lightly sweet and chewy. It actually tasted like very tender char siew, albeit of a different colour. Couldn't quite make out the five spices though.
Deep Fried Cod Fish - I liked the fact that the cod fish came with nice small tomatoes alongside to spruce up the entire dish. What I didn't like was that the fish meat was bland and soft, nothing like the firm yet smooth meat good cod fish should have. The accompanying sauce was rather bland as well, tasting like a watered down version of oyster sauce.
Red Bean Paste Pancake - I've always been biased towards red bean paste pancakes but this one was a little let down. Though fragrant, the flour was too thick which made it rather chewy overall. On a positive note, the red bean filling was generous and not too sweet.
The 3 of us chalked up a bill of about $81, which is rather expensive given that the quality of food was merely slightly above average and portions are lacking in size. On a side note, I'm suitably impressed with the level of service at Shatin Kitchen, something lacking in alot of small Chinese eateries nowadays. However, all the hype surrounding this eatery is totally uncalled for in my humble opinion and I highly doubt that I'll be back.
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After reading all the above great reviews for UNO, I decided to try it out. Not quite sure where Blk 51 is, we ended up driving a big round around Toa Payoh central. But when we saw the bright orange lightbox sign welcoming us at the carpark entrance, we knew great steak is just nearby.
Going back to TPY brought back many wonderful memories to me, I used to stay at TPY. Looking at the blocks around me, I felt as if I was brought back 15 years. The old and retro looking blocks with the elderly ah gong and ah ma sitting near the door looking out to whatever that comes into their sight. Feel so much like I was back to my childhood days.
UNO beef house was not packed yet when we arrived. We ordered the Black Pepper Rib Eye ($9) and Fish and Chips ($5). Both came in less than 10 mins. And both looks equally delicious.
Had a medium-rare steak and it was cooked just right. It's pretty cheap considering that the size of the steak was pretty big. But I had a better one the day before. (IMO)
The one that I thought was fantastic is the Fish & Chips. When eaten hot, its very crispy outside and soft inside. The batter used is different from the usual fish & chips you find at the usual hawkers. It was so good I had to pack one home for Mum to try. But due to jam, the fish was cold when mum had it. Not too nice anymore. But still, I'll sure go back for more of their fish & chips.
Go by 7pm for dinner else you might need to wait a little while longer after that when the crowd starts forming.
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Cosmopolitan club street has a new entrant - Eden Cafe, which opened its doors to a soft launch only last Wednesday. New as the cafe may be, the man at the helm, Clement Ronald, is certainly no stranger to the culinary scene, having appeared in many television and magazines write ups in the past year due to his unique blend of cooking which involves plants, dubbed "floral cooking". He used to preside over the kitchen at Helios Cafe at Marina Square, but unfortunately that space is available only for private functions now.
Occupying a small unit just opposite liberty insurance, Eden Cafe threatens to be overshadowed by its more illustrious neighbours like Senso, Indochine, Spizza, Jerry's, just to name a few. The interior is tiny (I'm guessing about 20pax) and simplistic, opting for a more laid back setting with soft music in the background.
Jumbo prawns wrapped in Bacon - Prawns wrapped in bacons are always nice. Ideally the saltiness from the not too fatty bacon should complement the raw sweetness of the prawns. However it didn't happen in this case. The prawns were smaller than I had expected and the bacon wasn't grilled throughly enough, resulting in a softer than I would have liked texture. But overall still a rather decent dish, especially with the freshness of the tomato salsa salad by the side.
Saffron Cream Sauce Salmon - I don't usually like salmon because they have this raw fishy taste which I detest. Not this one however. The salmon's meat was firm minus the fishy overtones and together with the buttery and flavourful home concocted gravy, made for a light yet pleasing dish. However I could detect some inconsistencies in the dish, with some parts of the salmon being a lot saltier than others. The whole portabello mushroom that came with it was good for lapping up the tasty gravy, just that it was a little too soft for my liking.
Red Wine Beef - I would have liked this dish quite a bit if it wasn't that raw. The meat slab was thick which probably explains the rawness in some areas. The red wine sauce had a nice sweet red wine taste (naturally!) without being too overpowering. There was garlic in it, but I couldn't quite make it out. The mashed potatos were great with the sauce by the way.
We had one other main, the Rosemary Chicken, which I unfortunately do not have a shot of because I stupidly deleted it by accident and data recovery doesn't seem to work. Well I have asked around and hopefully someone has it so that I can post it up if they are willing to send it to me. That aside, as the name suggests, the chicken was cooked with rosemary and lavender, which gave it a rather fruity/leafy slant. The chicken was rather tender and moist but certain parts could get quite strong on the rosemary taste, especially the outer layer, which I personally couldn't quite take
Crème Brûlée - According to Clement, the Crème Brûlées are made from real vanilla beans, not vanilla essence or extract like most other places. The little black dots within are proof of that. Clement personally handled the melting of the sugar atop and I must complement his technique as the layer of sugar was thin and evenly coagulated. The pudding was soft and wobbly and didn't come across as too sweet. Definitely one of the better Crème Brûlées that I've tasted.
Brandy Chocolate -
Now this is one sinful dessert with rich and unadulterated chocolate. Nothing fancy, just pure milk chocolate with brandy. However I couldn't quite make out the brandy which was a bummer really. Definitely not for the health conscious!
Tiramisu - The Tiramisu was covered by a layer of rich chocolate, very different from others I've eaten. But that doesn't not necessarily mean that its better. I could barely taste the cake in it and overall it was very dense with quite a strong rum taste in certain areas. My guess is that the mixing wasn't done thoroughly enough.
Hibiscus Cheese Phyllo - Undoubtedly the star of the desserts (at least for me), the Hibiscus Cheese Phyllo (or filo if you so wish) came looking very much like an egg omelette. The filling looked like yam ice cream instead of cheese, which was really quite interesting. Texture and taste wise, it reminded me of a partially melted cheese flavoured ice cream with a slight fruity connotation. A delectable dish but one not one I would recommend to consume too much of as the cheese taste can be a little overwhelming after a while.
Total bill for 8 pax with drinks cost about $337, which is definitely not expensive given the quality and amount of food. Dinner is unhurried and pleasant with great service from Clement himself as well as the other wait staff. There is this little herb garden in which Clement grows his own flora for use in his dishes. Do ask to see it if you happen to dine at Eden's. How about an encore folks? Seedless grape chicken? ;)
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Since I dun own a car, public transport to me is very important. Ever since they keep increasing their fare every year, my expectation for them is also getting higher and higher.
Since around my work place, I have to take SBS bus to work every weekeday. I ahve to say that I am quite happy with the bus conditions. However they can work on the bus frequencies, like the bus supposed to come in every 5 mins during peak hours but then one bus decided to come earlier, and the bus will be pretty empty. Then the next bus that came on time, will be damned packed as the waiting time for the bus is longer.
I do find sometimes the bus a bit dirty as well but then if everyone of us take good care of it, I think the bus will be cleaner and no need to wait for the cleaners to clean the buses.
I am quite happy with the IRIS service as now I will always use it to find out how long does it take the next bus to arrive to the bus stop. I does cut down my waiting time as well. However the sms service only limited to Singtel users oly so I cannot use it.
Only 1 request, stop asking to increase fare every year and buck up on the frequency and condition of the buses.
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I have been a Hubber for sometime now and I am happy to say that I made the right choice to sign up with them.
MaxOnline for me is really good and cheap. They had been giving us more bandwidth from time to time as well. I seldom had any problem with connection.
I hooked it up to a wireless router so that I can use my laptop anywhere in my flat and it proved to be good. I mainly use it for work and school wise and dun really play online games with it. So to me the speed is really more then enough.
Being a Hubber I got 10% discount some more. So I really find it a good deal!
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Mention Italian restaurants and Senso, Garibaldi, IL Lido etc come to mind almost immediately. These are a few the big players in the Italian dining scene and most people would have probably heard of some, if not all of them. However, these restaurants only form one half of the spectrum - the fine dining portion. The other half, which is the casual dining portion, is made up of restaurants relatively unknown to most people (I happen to fall into this category). Here's where Romano Ristorante comes into the picture. Branded as a casual Italian restaurant (the first I've seen), Romano is wedged between a row of shops in the sleepy estate of Thomson Hills.
The casual branding is obvious the moment you step into the restaurant. The place looks more like a pizza house with its wide walkways, rough granite floors and homely atmosphere. To complete the picture, the solitary waitress is dressed up in a polo t shirt and a pair of jeans. Pets are allowed as well!
The Bruschetta was a little different from the usual ones that I've come across. Interestingly, the base was garlic bread and the diced tomatoes were loaded on top after the garlic bread had been toasted. Surprisingly, the bread was really well made, soft and fluffy on the inside yet retaining a little crisp on the outside. Very unlike normal garlic bread which tends to be hard along the edges. In case you are wondering if the combination of garlic and tomatoes go well, let me assure you that it does. The garlic taste was rather faint and not the least bit overwhelming, complementing the sweetness of the tomatoes. Only gripe I have about the Bruschetta was that the tomatoes didn't really look very fresh and wasn't as juicy as I had expected.
The calamari was coated with too much batter, rendering it a little too greasy from all the deep frying. The squid was chewy but the batter made me sick after a few mouthfuls. Luckily, the watered down tomato puree was nice and tangy without coming across as too strong, providing the sole consolation for this dish.
I was a little disappointed by the Chicken Milanese to say the very least. Coming as a recommendation on the menu sort of raised my expectations a little higher. With all its seemingly wonderful preparation methods and ingredients, it tasted nothing more than a slab of chicken breast meat wrapped up in egg. Aesthetics wise, it portrayed a very messy image when I first set my eyes on it, with its myriad of not too well pleasing colours. Very palatable, but not something I'll order again.
An above average dish, but could have been better. The Fettuince was a wee bit too cooked (about four fifths instead of the three quarters rule of thumb) but the cream sauce was thick and tasty without being too rich. The chicken slices were nicely seasoned and grilled but was a tad too salty.
I don't really fancy Tiramisu and Romano's rendition wasn't about to change my preference though I must comment that it was one of the better ones that I've tried. I personally liked it for its fluffiness and lightness on the palate. The cream to sponge ratio was quite balanced out which made eating it rather enjoyable.
I'm sure the humble Oreo Cheesecake was never a staple Italian dessert but more of an addition to suit local tastebuds. After all, not many people can say no to an Oreo Cheesecake. Romano's offering was a little sticky yet not coming across as too cheesy. Pity about the soft Oreo wafer base though, which resulted in a loss of overall texture and form.
Plenty of decent and comforting grub for 2 pax, all for just $61, which is very worth it in my opinion. Throw in the fact that the environment is laid back, service is warm and there is no dress code and I'm a regular. Having said that, they need to work on some of their dishes though, maybe tweak their recipes a little?
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Nice painful experience, and I'm lovin' it!
You must think that I'm sick or something to enjoy and love a painful experience. But that's how I felt when I went for my first free treatment with compliment from my friend. She has been with them for many years, and I must say her face is very well maintained and never needed a speck of make-up. Simple and clean. And now I know why.
My first step at the entrance of the place and I was totally amazed but how big the place is. It looks posh and stylish. Using black as their main color, it brings out the modernest of the place. Angel Sky is a one-stop place for all woman who loves to be pampered. There's a movie room, a gym, a spa, a relax corner with many music CDs for our entertainment, an oxygen bar, reading corner, full shower facilities and so much more. (There's 2 levels but I haven't explored what's the the basement yet.) You can spend an entire day recharging and relaxing.
There were many rooms in the big place and each room can fit in 4 ladies. Great for a girls day out with girlfriends. I also saw smaller rooms for those who prefer to be in private.
My first trial session was by Kathy. She was very nice and friendly. She tells me where I need to pay attention to and taught me what I can do on my own to improve my super bad skin condition now. She wasn't at any one time trying to hard sell their services to me during the whole facial experience. I tried their Diamond-Lite treatment today. It helped lift my face, cleans off my dirt and oil from the face and removes the finer zits. This is done using this suction machine with a tip casted with small diamonds. She did my right side first to show me the difference before and after the treatment, and I did see a great difference. After the treatment, she started picking on my pimples, which was the painful part. I had tears in my eyes and when she did it to the huge one just next to my left eye, I almost cried out. But hey! No pain no gain ya. Have to take the pain if one wants to be pretty.
(Pain or not also depends on the level of tolerance for individual. For me, I have the lowest tolerance of pain. So this part might not be that painful as I've described lah!)
After the picking, Kathy trimmed my eyebrow and then put on a cold mask and a second layer of oxygen mask. It refreshed my entire face and it was nice.
I must say this is the better free trial facial I had. So good that I was already considering signing up with them when I was resting with the masks on my face. And guess what, with all the additional free sessions and services thrown in, I signed up as a VIP on the spot! Kinda crazy but I just couldn't resists the 30% discount for first timers and the extras thrown in.
I highly recommend Angel Sky to all of you out there. (Not just for the ladies, but for the guys too!)
If you want to give Angel Sky a try yourself, let me know and I'll get a free trial for you too. (Limited invitations only. While invites last.) So drop me a message soon yio.
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