I love this outlet of Tully's Coffee, though I am not so much of a coffee drinker, i love the service, the environment, the atmosphere, the smell of fresh roasted beans in the air, the bustle, the sitting in the middle of nowhere and most of all the super duper yummy cookies....
The cookies i must say is better then many I have eaten and it sure goes well with a good hot cuppa something.... Make sure you get them to warm up the cookie for you.. I especially love the chocolate chip flavoured cookie... When its warm, its soft and chewy and the gooey chocolate just simply melts off your finger..... Super yummy but simply messy..... Good thing, you can have as many paper napkins as you wish... Feeling too sweet.. have a cuppa sky juice..... these days... we don't get many coffee places serving free flow ice water.. i mean... whats the Fuss?? Its only tap water.... most of it.. you get for free... it simply drops of the sky.....
While i was there enjoying my lazy saturday RELAX ONE CORNER afternoon, I overhead a conversation... which I think is good information to share here... Let me tell you how friendly Singaporeans are.........
I spot the GM of the franchise talking to a complete stranger but introduced by one of his normal staff as a regular to this joint.. and I was trully impressed by his passion in what he manages.....
There was this and that.. I was evesdropping.. so i kinda missed out some information.. but apparently... the goal of Tully's Coffee is to stick to the aroma, taste and preparation methods of Settle style where they originated from. Most importantly i think is that their beans are all hand roasted... and that does make a difference because, the hand roasted beans unlike the machine roasted ones have got residual oil in them in which when pressed.... emits this HEAVEN ON EARTH kinda Aroma... on top of that.. their coffee machine is a super luxurious hand made and hand assembled one which is supposedly produces better coffee then the regular machines....
I love the free WIFI... Yar you heard me.. its free.. no registration or log in or being kicked from one website to another... and they also have power points everywhere for you to charge your laptops, phones, ipads, whatever you want.. Free Flow... Free of charge....
I've brought my heavy addicted coffee drinking friend to the outlet.... and according to him.. always try the coffee of the day..... apparently... he is very happy what the brew in his cup.. and boy... their cups are huge.... don't believe me....? go for the large....
Was staying in nearby Conrad for the weekend but didn't fancy anything too elaborate for dinner so settled for a quick meal at Space @ My Humble House at the Esplanade.
Playing neighbour to it's more illustrious sibling, My Humble House (which by the way didn't quite impress me on my previous visit), Space has a nice modern, minimalistic vibe to it - definitely not some place you would expect to find local favourites like chicken rice, hokkien mee and the likes. But at a premium of course.
Mama Leong's Chicken Rice - Apparently this humble dish was named after Sam Leong's mum. And I thought it was good - tender, moist and seeping with flavour. You have the option of ordering an entire chicken ($32), half a chicken ($18) and single portion @ $12. Rice is an additional $1/head and though fragrant and seemingly prudent with the oil, lacked the fluffiness that I would have liked.
Fried Radish Cake with Freshly-peeled Crabmeat, Whole Prawns, Juicy Scallops and Egg - I loved the extravagance of this dish - huge prawns and scallops coupled with copious amount of egg. However it lacked the slightly charred taste and came across as bland. Somehow everything just didn't seem to meld together. The radish cake wasn't exactly smooth and silky either.
A quick meal of local dishes cost us to the tune of $48 (inclusive of a small cup of watermleon juice @ $6). The chicken rice was good but the radish cake only made it to average based on the merit of the prawns and scallops; without which, it would have languished at the bottom half of the scale. Service was decent but hardly a selling point.
I am so much reminded of this place by its MASCOT.. the huge chicken in a singlet and shorts... Though cute looking, it is a pretty hedious mascot.. judging by the fact that they serve mostly chicken....
I pretty like the promotions they offer as well as the variety of set lunches. Sitting by the glass restaurant, everybody could practically see whatever you are doing inside.. which means.. no shaking of legs, no digging of nose, no licking your fingers and cleaning them on the table cloth....
Food is pretty yummy.... I especially love the FRIED CHICKEN in OLIVE oil... I thought it made eating fried chicken less sinful, now that instead of palm oil, olive oil was used. Every mains serve with 2 choice of side dishes.. choose from the ever favourite potato sides to healthy vege sides... in anyway, they are sure to make you fat.... as the calories are all in the dressings.....
But i guess, business is tough at the outlet as they face various competitions from the many other restaurants located here... As such, they are no more here.... If you really crave for that crunchy, yummy, succulent chicken set lunch in that oh so affordable price and the all the time understaffed no hue you service..... please head on to the outlet at Central Mall @ ClarkeQuay....
I hope that chicken Mascot is still around coz it looks super cute...... it makes eating much more fun......
We were at Robertson Quay on a Saturday afternoon and we were hungry. Brasserie Wolf beckoned with its crowd free premises so we settled for it.
It was a warm day and the sufficiently cooled interior provided a nice respite from the heat and away from the al fresco crowds that littered the establishment next door. The setting is decidedly modern with splashes of retro, depending on which area you sit at.
Traditional French Onion Soup - I liked the richness of the soup but did find it a tad too sweet. The gruyere cheese and toast was great though, with its gooey-ness and mildly charred undertones. Great way to warm up the belly! And if you noticed, the serving bowl is in the shape of a heart. Perfect for those romantic dinners eh?
Traditional Nicoise Salad - The aesthetics were pleasing and the greens were fresh and crunchy. But I didn't quite take to this dish due to my personal opinion that the grilled tuna was overly fishy. I did like the texture though.
Pork Belly - "Extremely fatty" was the first thought that popped into my mind when I had a glimpse of the pork belly. Never mind that it was tender or that the sauce gave it a unique oriental feel (tasted like it had hoisin sauce in it). I just couldn't bring myself to stomach (and savour) that proportionally imbalanced piece of pork, not with the skin mildly crispy and sticking to my teeth with every bite.
USDA Prime Sirloin - The sirloin was more well done than medium well and thus the meat came out a little too dry and tough for my liking. But I did like the natural bovine flavours and the pinch of salt seasoning. What I particularly liked about this dish was the shoestring (irony!) fries and the dip. Free of any rancid oil taste and dipped in creamy goodness with nuances of spring onion - tasty!
Steamed Toffee and Date Pudding - I fell in love with this dessert at Marmalade Pantry @ Palais some years back. And seeing that Brasserie Wolf served this dessert as well, I decided to take my chances. It wasn't half as good as the one as I had at Marmalade but it was decent. The pudding was much less compact and had a spongy, cake like texture. Topped with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, the whole combination wasn't overly sweet but sans the toffee sauce, it was reminiscent of steamed cupcakes (发糕). Well, the taste at least.
With the palate discount of 50%, 2 of us forked out close to $70 for a filling but not entirely gratifying lunch. Food quality hovered a notch above average but service was decent. Coupled with the lack of crowds, I might just be enticed to pop by again for a quiet meal if I happen to be in the vicinity.
This outlet of Swensen's cafe is where I hang out with my friend during my student days.... I really love the old location which is a lone building just facing the MRT Station Plateform. I could remember the days of tucking into the EARTHQUAKE while watching the people waiting for the train on the plateform, sweat on their brows, thirsty and fanning themselves on a hot day. The view was fabulous.... many couples love to sit near the ceiling to floor window panes enjoying the sun while feeling the coolness of the air-conditioning and do the lovey dovey thingee hoping nobody will see them, HELLO its the MRT PLATEFORM opposite... I love it! at that time, Swensen's had their own hut, own escalator and even restroom.. How cool is that!!! Now.. they have shifted to the basement of the new annex of Jurong Point which I feel is too open, too noisy and dangerous..... because I always wonder.... what would drop on my head when i seat outside.. The so called outdoor seat is right smack in the middle of 3 levels of emptyness. Yes you still get the natural sunlight and the cool airconditioning and also the sneeze of somebody upstairs coupled by some dirt off some kid's shoes while they scrap their feet on the safety barracade above.
So much for my vivid imaginations, you can always opt to seat inside which is gloomy and not appealing. Well the food is as good... but the Ice-Cream is the obvious best.. Ice-cream is what they are good at. Always check out the Sundae menu, the signature BANANA SPLIT, my favourites are the GOLD RUSH-coffee and chocolate ice cream with chocolate fudge whip cream and everything nice. The Sticky Chewy Chocolate is one of the POTENT ones.... So chocolately.. even charley from the Chocolate Factory cannot handle.... My ALL TIME FAVOURITE... THE ever good, ever yummy, ever fattening, ever satisfying COLT TOWER.... I love it because i think it has a good balance of everything I like. Chocolate ice-cream with vanilla ice-cream... and layers of chcolate fudge, caramel, whip cream, fresh banana, almonds and many good memories......
The Banana Crumble and the Apple Crumple are also superbly yummy... Imagine this... the smell of slightly burnt butterscotch sauce coupled with the sizzling sound of the skillet with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream melting away atop your crispy crumble.... All the extra calories is WORTH IT......
One must not forget to order some french fries with your ice-cream.... On top of that special discount you get on your fries.. I personally find that its the best combination.... Savoury and Sweet........ Simply Perfect!!!!
I myself had just had a late lunch at Fig & Olive at the Vivocity branch yesterday. I guess the 1 for 1 main courses are pretty worth it. The portion was good and they have a good variety of chicken, fish and pasta to choose from. I would agree that the service was not much, but i guess they made up for it by their very reasonably priced promotions.
We had a Maghribi Chicken w Olive Rice
which is Herbs grilled chicken with Mediterranean style sauce served with olive rice and fresh greens ($16.10) and a Chicken Pesto Carbonara which is a
Herb grilled chicken topped with tomato sauce and melted cheese, potato cilantro and served with choice pasta carbonara ($16.10). Both dishes are yummy. The Maghribi Chicken has got an exotic spanish sauce and I simply love the herbed infused taste to it, coupled with a colourful heap of vegetables which is tantalizing to me. The olive rice in comparison is not so yummy, i perfer it a little softer with more olives as it does appear to be too dry and hard.
The chicken pesto carbonara is great too, melted cheese and tomato sauce goes well with the grilled chicken and i would say a great dish to share with children as it is not too spicy yet has got everything a kid loves.
Service I should say could be better and was better last time. Perhaps there is a change in management, however i kinda feel that the service industry in Singapore is somewhat underperformed... I won't use the word deteriorated because it was not really good before. Rather our culture has been transformed. Service standards has been improving vastly globally and people's expectations for service has been soaring, time for yourself is limited, stress is high, patience is like a thinly spread butter on an already dried up toast, money is like 'Now you see it Now its GONE!'
So sometimes when we meet some bad services or bad food or bad attitude, we just remind ourselves.... of the many hungry children in Africa and start planning in your mind how you are going to review this restaurant......
UBeau is a nail, face, body salon located in LiangSeah Street just a few steps away from 7/11, a place where great food and bustling wedding gown shops resides.
Huge signboards and serene looking spa pictures grace the pillars at the ground floor near the entrance and while i walk up the narrow stairway, i expect to see a small little haven tucked away in the bustling city life.
When i entered the small glass door, all I could see are nail artists busy buffling away and a few great looking ladies waiting by the small sitting area. For a weekday afternoon, I thought that was good business. As I sat there like nobody's child waiting... suddenly one of the nail artist looked up and asked me... are you who and who... I said.. no... I'm here for BRAZILIAN WAXING.. she said Oooh.... You have her number, please call her....
I was pretty puzzled.... since it is 15 minutes pass my appointment time, isn't she suppose to be here waiting for me already? So I was given a number to call and I was told by the aesthetician that she is on her way up... Another 15 mins crawled by... When she finally arrived, there is no signs of apology or even the slightest embarassment for being late and she just proceeded to explain to me the different prices for the different kinds of waxing available and I opted to pay a little extra for the 3D Wax.. which is suppose to be less painful. While I rejected her much convincing sales pitch on IPL brazilian, I could see disappointment in her eyes, however she proceeded to lead me to the room.
On the other side of the salon, there are 3 rooms and another table, apparently there is another lady sitting at the table offering massage services and an outsourced maintainance guy repairing light bulbs. As the rooms are just half partitioned, I started to feel a little worried as if he is on the ladder, he could basically see everything going on inside. I was let passed into one of the partitioned rooms and Liz the aesthetician just told me to undress my bottom and get on the massage table. I got on the lightly cushioned massage table with a piece of brown paper beneath it and covered myself with the towel provided. I thought to myself, I've been to worse NO FRILLS waxing, so this is still not too bad. However I never thought anything could be worse then my past experiences.
She then started to do the waxing and IT IS SUPER PAINFUL... For a seasoned brazilian waxer.. I would say it hurts way too much. Every blow is like tears shooting out of your eyes..
Firstly, no numbing or antiseptic lotion was applied, all you get is a little powder and your bare skin.
Second, the wax patches applied is too huge, this will cut down time but takes off much of your skin as well. IT HURTS.
Third, in delicate areas she just applied in huge patches left and right stuck together and proceeded to rip them off.
Fourth.. Expect no soothing words.. matter of fact halfway through she picked up her mobile phone and started TALKING WITH HER FRIEND.... Oh GOODNESS......
Five.. Don't expect it to be too clean because after the entire gruesome experience she will not help you remove the stray hairs or any other stuffs stucked there.
Its a mere.. I've finished.... get dressed and come out and pay for it....
On top of that... she asked me if I wanted to buy a package and the price is ridiculous. I could get better service and attitude plus more skillful aesthetician for a cheaper package.
This is unbelievable.... I only can speak for the brazilian waxing.. however i think that the nail parlour part is quite okay as i see alot of happy customers and friendly nail artist. They are most likely under the same company however individually managed.... So please try the other services.. just watch out if you want some waxing done... OUCH!!!!
Taking advantage of a free Saturday evening, we decided to have dinner at Pierside - a rather well established eatery under the Marmalade group of restaurants.
Just across the shore from the towering Marina Bay Sands, Pierside Kitchen occupies a corner of One Fullerton, playing neighbour to Chinese restaurant, Jing. There is an option of alfresco dining or a rather dim air conditioned interior. We opted for the former as the weather held out fine but it was the view that proved to be the deal clincher.
Complimentary Bread - Served piping hot, the complimentary bread was small but simple. And the butter melted effortlessly, which made for a nice stop gap measure against hunger pangs.
Hokkaido Corn Chowder - Smooth and creamy with a light hint of corn and a dash of pepper to accentuate the flavour, the chowder had bits of sweet corn in it to give it that nice crunchy texture. Pretty decent if you ask me.
Pan Roasted Foie Gras - It's been a while since I've had decent foie gras and Pierside didn't disappoint. While I wouldn't go as far as saying that it was great, the foie gras was respectable by many measures. A little crisp on the outside with a relatively smooth and quivery inside sans the overpowering gamy taste. Best eaten with the accompanying prune.
Crispy Duck Confit with Celeriac Puree - Crisp skin coupled with pinkish, chewy meat - no complaints really. But somehow the duck confit came up short in taste, coming across as a little pedestrian. Still a decent eat nonetheless.
300 Day Grain Fed Braised Beef Cheeks - I personally didn't quite take to the risotto that came alongside the beef cheeks, finding it a little too soft for my liking. The beef cheeks however, were reasonably tender and flavourful, with the only issue lying in the small portion size. The obligatory greens came in the form of a single stalk of asparagus chopped into half and topped with pepper and salt. Overall a decent eat.
Salted Caramel and Peanut Butter Mousse - What I liked about this dessert was the fact that it tasted like one of my favourite snacks, Reese's peanut butter cups! The mousse had a very strong taste of peanut butter (not so much salted caramel) and sat on a crunchy hazelnut base. Accompanying it was a nice dollop of vanilla bean ice cream and a few slices of caramalised bananas. Only recommended for those who really like peanut butter.
Banana Creme Brulee - The banana creme brulee looked different from your regular creme brulee in a bowl/cup. It was rectangular and flat, with the less than quivery custard sandwiched between 2 layers of perfectly torched caramel. Adding weight to the dish were banana slices that were a little charred along the edges and a scoop of mascarpone ice cream. All in all a rather nice dessert!
With dinner for 2 hitting about $190, I wouldn't say it's anywhere near cheap or reasonable. And I am not sure the quality and quantity of food justifies the pricing. For me, it's probably going to be a one time off meal at Pierside.
Enticed by the AMEX 1 for 1 set menu at Tung Lok and the prospect of catching up, a couple of us met up for dinner at The Central's Signatures (TLS for short) outlet for dinner one evening. I've actually never been a fan of Tung Lok as I've yet to experience really good food at any of their outlets, including their much touted Humble House.
Located on the 2nd floor of The Central and immaculately done up to exude an air of oriental poshness, Tung Lok Signatures stands out from the crowd of eateries that crowd the area. Tables are spaced at a relatively comfortable distance and full length windows allow a great view of Clarke Quay and the Singapore river.
Flame Traditional-style Boiled Shark’s Fin Soup with Chicken - Gimmicky flames aside (due to the lighting of wax at the side of the bowl), I thought that the broth was excellent - flavourful yet light on the palate. Fin portions were reasonably substantial with bits of chicken to balance out the texture.
Pan-fried French Foie Gras with Crispy Beancurd Skin served on Pancake - Playing on the concept of Peking Duck, TLS's take on the pan fried foie gras involved serving the foie gras (with a layer of peking duck sauce on top) together with a crackling piece of beancurd skin and wrapped over using a rectangular piece of thick crepe. I honestly thought that it was an interesting concept but I did find the foie gras way too gamy for my liking. And that honestly killed this dish for me.
Steamed Soon Hock Belly with Minced Ginger - The soon hock was fresh but a little lacking in natural sweetness. One other gripe too. Being the belly, it had tons of bones which made it a pain to consume.
Crispy Kurobuta Pork Cartilage in Chili Sauce served with Deep-fried Bun - This dish seemed promisingly at the onset but didn't quite dazzle. The pork cartilage was coated with flour, deep fried and drenched in chilli sauce that was similar to chilli crab gravy, just a lot less spicy. The meat was tender but somehow I couldn't get past my psychological barrier to stomach the gelatinous cartilage. I liked the deep fried bun though.
Braised Japanese Handmade Noodles with Lobster Meat and Vegetable - Alongside the shark's fin soup, this was probably the best dish of the evening. Springy and robust noodles with minimal portions of lobster meat and a nice, savoury gravy. And of course, the obligatory 2 stalks of vegetables.
Chilled Grapefruit Shaven Ice topped with Ice-cream served in Pomelo - I was hoping for a sweet ending to my meal. But what I got was a cold, bitter dessert, which pretty much sums up how we felt at the end of the meal. But to be fair to the grapefruit, I'm just not a fan.
With the AMEX 1 for 1 promotion, 6 of us clocked in at almost $352 for dinner. Service was good but food left much to be desired. Even with the promotion, I'm not sure I would want to fork out almost $60 a head for food of such quality and portions. And with this meal, I have officially closed the chapter on Tung Lok, never to return.
Went to this hotel for Christmas, a retro-themed boutique hotel which is quite fun to visit once in a while for Staycation.
The lobby and lounge is striking with Fushia Pink as the primary colour, the only problem we had was, we were unsure where the queue at the counter was.
Can be quite inaccessible for tourists who are unsure of the bus system. Though the hotel provides shuttle bus, we are not sure of where to board it and had to rely on cabs to and fro places.
Rooms were cleanly and retro-ly decorated (even in the bathrooms!). Smaller than a normal hotel room but extremely clean and well kept. With Star Chinese Movie channel, a basket of complimentary soft drinks and tidbits. Best, with free Wifi.
1=SGD 0.0587
I love this outlet of Tully's Coffee, though I am not so much of a coffee drinker, i love the service, the environment, the atmosphere, the smell of fresh roasted beans in the air, the bustle, the sitting in the middle of nowhere and most of all the super duper yummy cookies....
The cookies i must say is better then many I have eaten and it sure goes well with a good hot cuppa something.... Make sure you get them to warm up the cookie for you.. I especially love the chocolate chip flavoured cookie... When its warm, its soft and chewy and the gooey chocolate just simply melts off your finger..... Super yummy but simply messy..... Good thing, you can have as many paper napkins as you wish... Feeling too sweet.. have a cuppa sky juice..... these days... we don't get many coffee places serving free flow ice water.. i mean... whats the Fuss?? Its only tap water.... most of it.. you get for free... it simply drops of the sky.....
While i was there enjoying my lazy saturday RELAX ONE CORNER afternoon, I overhead a conversation... which I think is good information to share here... Let me tell you how friendly Singaporeans are.........
I spot the GM of the franchise talking to a complete stranger but introduced by one of his normal staff as a regular to this joint.. and I was trully impressed by his passion in what he manages.....
There was this and that.. I was evesdropping.. so i kinda missed out some information.. but apparently... the goal of Tully's Coffee is to stick to the aroma, taste and preparation methods of Settle style where they originated from. Most importantly i think is that their beans are all hand roasted... and that does make a difference because, the hand roasted beans unlike the machine roasted ones have got residual oil in them in which when pressed.... emits this HEAVEN ON EARTH kinda Aroma... on top of that.. their coffee machine is a super luxurious hand made and hand assembled one which is supposedly produces better coffee then the regular machines....
I love the free WIFI... Yar you heard me.. its free.. no registration or log in or being kicked from one website to another... and they also have power points everywhere for you to charge your laptops, phones, ipads, whatever you want.. Free Flow... Free of charge....
I've brought my heavy addicted coffee drinking friend to the outlet.... and according to him.. always try the coffee of the day..... apparently... he is very happy what the brew in his cup.. and boy... their cups are huge.... don't believe me....? go for the large....
Rating given:
Was staying in nearby Conrad for the weekend but didn't fancy anything too elaborate for dinner so settled for a quick meal at Space @ My Humble House at the Esplanade.
Playing neighbour to it's more illustrious sibling, My Humble House (which by the way didn't quite impress me on my previous visit), Space has a nice modern, minimalistic vibe to it - definitely not some place you would expect to find local favourites like chicken rice, hokkien mee and the likes. But at a premium of course.
Mama Leong's Chicken Rice - Apparently this humble dish was named after Sam Leong's mum. And I thought it was good - tender, moist and seeping with flavour. You have the option of ordering an entire chicken ($32), half a chicken ($18) and single portion @ $12. Rice is an additional $1/head and though fragrant and seemingly prudent with the oil, lacked the fluffiness that I would have liked.
Fried Radish Cake with Freshly-peeled Crabmeat, Whole Prawns, Juicy Scallops and Egg - I loved the extravagance of this dish - huge prawns and scallops coupled with copious amount of egg. However it lacked the slightly charred taste and came across as bland. Somehow everything just didn't seem to meld together. The radish cake wasn't exactly smooth and silky either.
A quick meal of local dishes cost us to the tune of $48 (inclusive of a small cup of watermleon juice @ $6). The chicken rice was good but the radish cake only made it to average based on the merit of the prawns and scallops; without which, it would have languished at the bottom half of the scale. Service was decent but hardly a selling point.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
I am so much reminded of this place by its MASCOT.. the huge chicken in a singlet and shorts... Though cute looking, it is a pretty hedious mascot.. judging by the fact that they serve mostly chicken....
I pretty like the promotions they offer as well as the variety of set lunches. Sitting by the glass restaurant, everybody could practically see whatever you are doing inside.. which means.. no shaking of legs, no digging of nose, no licking your fingers and cleaning them on the table cloth....
Food is pretty yummy.... I especially love the FRIED CHICKEN in OLIVE oil... I thought it made eating fried chicken less sinful, now that instead of palm oil, olive oil was used. Every mains serve with 2 choice of side dishes.. choose from the ever favourite potato sides to healthy vege sides... in anyway, they are sure to make you fat.... as the calories are all in the dressings.....
But i guess, business is tough at the outlet as they face various competitions from the many other restaurants located here... As such, they are no more here.... If you really crave for that crunchy, yummy, succulent chicken set lunch in that oh so affordable price and the all the time understaffed no hue you service..... please head on to the outlet at Central Mall @ ClarkeQuay....
I hope that chicken Mascot is still around coz it looks super cute...... it makes eating much more fun......
Rating given:
We were at Robertson Quay on a Saturday afternoon and we were hungry. Brasserie Wolf beckoned with its crowd free premises so we settled for it.
It was a warm day and the sufficiently cooled interior provided a nice respite from the heat and away from the al fresco crowds that littered the establishment next door. The setting is decidedly modern with splashes of retro, depending on which area you sit at.
Traditional French Onion Soup - I liked the richness of the soup but did find it a tad too sweet. The gruyere cheese and toast was great though, with its gooey-ness and mildly charred undertones. Great way to warm up the belly! And if you noticed, the serving bowl is in the shape of a heart. Perfect for those romantic dinners eh?
Traditional Nicoise Salad - The aesthetics were pleasing and the greens were fresh and crunchy. But I didn't quite take to this dish due to my personal opinion that the grilled tuna was overly fishy. I did like the texture though.
Pork Belly - "Extremely fatty" was the first thought that popped into my mind when I had a glimpse of the pork belly. Never mind that it was tender or that the sauce gave it a unique oriental feel (tasted like it had hoisin sauce in it). I just couldn't bring myself to stomach (and savour) that proportionally imbalanced piece of pork, not with the skin mildly crispy and sticking to my teeth with every bite.
USDA Prime Sirloin - The sirloin was more well done than medium well and thus the meat came out a little too dry and tough for my liking. But I did like the natural bovine flavours and the pinch of salt seasoning. What I particularly liked about this dish was the shoestring (irony!) fries and the dip. Free of any rancid oil taste and dipped in creamy goodness with nuances of spring onion - tasty!
Steamed Toffee and Date Pudding - I fell in love with this dessert at Marmalade Pantry @ Palais some years back. And seeing that Brasserie Wolf served this dessert as well, I decided to take my chances. It wasn't half as good as the one as I had at Marmalade but it was decent. The pudding was much less compact and had a spongy, cake like texture. Topped with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, the whole combination wasn't overly sweet but sans the toffee sauce, it was reminiscent of steamed cupcakes (发糕). Well, the taste at least.
With the palate discount of 50%, 2 of us forked out close to $70 for a filling but not entirely gratifying lunch. Food quality hovered a notch above average but service was decent. Coupled with the lack of crowds, I might just be enticed to pop by again for a quiet meal if I happen to be in the vicinity.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
This outlet of Swensen's cafe is where I hang out with my friend during my student days.... I really love the old location which is a lone building just facing the MRT Station Plateform. I could remember the days of tucking into the EARTHQUAKE while watching the people waiting for the train on the plateform, sweat on their brows, thirsty and fanning themselves on a hot day. The view was fabulous.... many couples love to sit near the ceiling to floor window panes enjoying the sun while feeling the coolness of the air-conditioning and do the lovey dovey thingee hoping nobody will see them, HELLO its the MRT PLATEFORM opposite... I love it! at that time, Swensen's had their own hut, own escalator and even restroom.. How cool is that!!! Now.. they have shifted to the basement of the new annex of Jurong Point which I feel is too open, too noisy and dangerous..... because I always wonder.... what would drop on my head when i seat outside.. The so called outdoor seat is right smack in the middle of 3 levels of emptyness. Yes you still get the natural sunlight and the cool airconditioning and also the sneeze of somebody upstairs coupled by some dirt off some kid's shoes while they scrap their feet on the safety barracade above.
So much for my vivid imaginations, you can always opt to seat inside which is gloomy and not appealing. Well the food is as good... but the Ice-Cream is the obvious best.. Ice-cream is what they are good at. Always check out the Sundae menu, the signature BANANA SPLIT, my favourites are the GOLD RUSH-coffee and chocolate ice cream with chocolate fudge whip cream and everything nice. The Sticky Chewy Chocolate is one of the POTENT ones.... So chocolately.. even charley from the Chocolate Factory cannot handle.... My ALL TIME FAVOURITE... THE ever good, ever yummy, ever fattening, ever satisfying COLT TOWER.... I love it because i think it has a good balance of everything I like. Chocolate ice-cream with vanilla ice-cream... and layers of chcolate fudge, caramel, whip cream, fresh banana, almonds and many good memories......
The Banana Crumble and the Apple Crumple are also superbly yummy... Imagine this... the smell of slightly burnt butterscotch sauce coupled with the sizzling sound of the skillet with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream melting away atop your crispy crumble.... All the extra calories is WORTH IT......
One must not forget to order some french fries with your ice-cream.... On top of that special discount you get on your fries.. I personally find that its the best combination.... Savoury and Sweet........ Simply Perfect!!!!
Rating given:
I myself had just had a late lunch at Fig & Olive at the Vivocity branch yesterday. I guess the 1 for 1 main courses are pretty worth it. The portion was good and they have a good variety of chicken, fish and pasta to choose from. I would agree that the service was not much, but i guess they made up for it by their very reasonably priced promotions.
We had a Maghribi Chicken w Olive Rice
which is Herbs grilled chicken with Mediterranean style sauce served with olive rice and fresh greens ($16.10) and a Chicken Pesto Carbonara which is a
Herb grilled chicken topped with tomato sauce and melted cheese, potato cilantro and served with choice pasta carbonara ($16.10). Both dishes are yummy. The Maghribi Chicken has got an exotic spanish sauce and I simply love the herbed infused taste to it, coupled with a colourful heap of vegetables which is tantalizing to me. The olive rice in comparison is not so yummy, i perfer it a little softer with more olives as it does appear to be too dry and hard.
The chicken pesto carbonara is great too, melted cheese and tomato sauce goes well with the grilled chicken and i would say a great dish to share with children as it is not too spicy yet has got everything a kid loves.
Service I should say could be better and was better last time. Perhaps there is a change in management, however i kinda feel that the service industry in Singapore is somewhat underperformed... I won't use the word deteriorated because it was not really good before. Rather our culture has been transformed. Service standards has been improving vastly globally and people's expectations for service has been soaring, time for yourself is limited, stress is high, patience is like a thinly spread butter on an already dried up toast, money is like 'Now you see it Now its GONE!'
So sometimes when we meet some bad services or bad food or bad attitude, we just remind ourselves.... of the many hungry children in Africa and start planning in your mind how you are going to review this restaurant......
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UBeau is a nail, face, body salon located in LiangSeah Street just a few steps away from 7/11, a place where great food and bustling wedding gown shops resides.
Huge signboards and serene looking spa pictures grace the pillars at the ground floor near the entrance and while i walk up the narrow stairway, i expect to see a small little haven tucked away in the bustling city life.
When i entered the small glass door, all I could see are nail artists busy buffling away and a few great looking ladies waiting by the small sitting area. For a weekday afternoon, I thought that was good business. As I sat there like nobody's child waiting... suddenly one of the nail artist looked up and asked me... are you who and who... I said.. no... I'm here for BRAZILIAN WAXING.. she said Oooh.... You have her number, please call her....
I was pretty puzzled.... since it is 15 minutes pass my appointment time, isn't she suppose to be here waiting for me already? So I was given a number to call and I was told by the aesthetician that she is on her way up... Another 15 mins crawled by... When she finally arrived, there is no signs of apology or even the slightest embarassment for being late and she just proceeded to explain to me the different prices for the different kinds of waxing available and I opted to pay a little extra for the 3D Wax.. which is suppose to be less painful. While I rejected her much convincing sales pitch on IPL brazilian, I could see disappointment in her eyes, however she proceeded to lead me to the room.
On the other side of the salon, there are 3 rooms and another table, apparently there is another lady sitting at the table offering massage services and an outsourced maintainance guy repairing light bulbs. As the rooms are just half partitioned, I started to feel a little worried as if he is on the ladder, he could basically see everything going on inside. I was let passed into one of the partitioned rooms and Liz the aesthetician just told me to undress my bottom and get on the massage table. I got on the lightly cushioned massage table with a piece of brown paper beneath it and covered myself with the towel provided. I thought to myself, I've been to worse NO FRILLS waxing, so this is still not too bad. However I never thought anything could be worse then my past experiences.
She then started to do the waxing and IT IS SUPER PAINFUL... For a seasoned brazilian waxer.. I would say it hurts way too much. Every blow is like tears shooting out of your eyes..
Firstly, no numbing or antiseptic lotion was applied, all you get is a little powder and your bare skin.
Second, the wax patches applied is too huge, this will cut down time but takes off much of your skin as well. IT HURTS.
Third, in delicate areas she just applied in huge patches left and right stuck together and proceeded to rip them off.
Fourth.. Expect no soothing words.. matter of fact halfway through she picked up her mobile phone and started TALKING WITH HER FRIEND.... Oh GOODNESS......
Five.. Don't expect it to be too clean because after the entire gruesome experience she will not help you remove the stray hairs or any other stuffs stucked there.
Its a mere.. I've finished.... get dressed and come out and pay for it....
On top of that... she asked me if I wanted to buy a package and the price is ridiculous. I could get better service and attitude plus more skillful aesthetician for a cheaper package.
This is unbelievable.... I only can speak for the brazilian waxing.. however i think that the nail parlour part is quite okay as i see alot of happy customers and friendly nail artist. They are most likely under the same company however individually managed.... So please try the other services.. just watch out if you want some waxing done... OUCH!!!!
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Taking advantage of a free Saturday evening, we decided to have dinner at Pierside - a rather well established eatery under the Marmalade group of restaurants.
Just across the shore from the towering Marina Bay Sands, Pierside Kitchen occupies a corner of One Fullerton, playing neighbour to Chinese restaurant, Jing. There is an option of alfresco dining or a rather dim air conditioned interior. We opted for the former as the weather held out fine but it was the view that proved to be the deal clincher.
Complimentary Bread - Served piping hot, the complimentary bread was small but simple. And the butter melted effortlessly, which made for a nice stop gap measure against hunger pangs.
Hokkaido Corn Chowder - Smooth and creamy with a light hint of corn and a dash of pepper to accentuate the flavour, the chowder had bits of sweet corn in it to give it that nice crunchy texture. Pretty decent if you ask me.
Pan Roasted Foie Gras - It's been a while since I've had decent foie gras and Pierside didn't disappoint. While I wouldn't go as far as saying that it was great, the foie gras was respectable by many measures. A little crisp on the outside with a relatively smooth and quivery inside sans the overpowering gamy taste. Best eaten with the accompanying prune.
Crispy Duck Confit with Celeriac Puree - Crisp skin coupled with pinkish, chewy meat - no complaints really. But somehow the duck confit came up short in taste, coming across as a little pedestrian. Still a decent eat nonetheless.
300 Day Grain Fed Braised Beef Cheeks - I personally didn't quite take to the risotto that came alongside the beef cheeks, finding it a little too soft for my liking. The beef cheeks however, were reasonably tender and flavourful, with the only issue lying in the small portion size. The obligatory greens came in the form of a single stalk of asparagus chopped into half and topped with pepper and salt. Overall a decent eat.
Salted Caramel and Peanut Butter Mousse - What I liked about this dessert was the fact that it tasted like one of my favourite snacks, Reese's peanut butter cups! The mousse had a very strong taste of peanut butter (not so much salted caramel) and sat on a crunchy hazelnut base. Accompanying it was a nice dollop of vanilla bean ice cream and a few slices of caramalised bananas. Only recommended for those who really like peanut butter.
Banana Creme Brulee - The banana creme brulee looked different from your regular creme brulee in a bowl/cup. It was rectangular and flat, with the less than quivery custard sandwiched between 2 layers of perfectly torched caramel. Adding weight to the dish were banana slices that were a little charred along the edges and a scoop of mascarpone ice cream. All in all a rather nice dessert!
With dinner for 2 hitting about $190, I wouldn't say it's anywhere near cheap or reasonable. And I am not sure the quality and quantity of food justifies the pricing. For me, it's probably going to be a one time off meal at Pierside.
See all my pictures here.
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Enticed by the AMEX 1 for 1 set menu at Tung Lok and the prospect of catching up, a couple of us met up for dinner at The Central's Signatures (TLS for short) outlet for dinner one evening. I've actually never been a fan of Tung Lok as I've yet to experience really good food at any of their outlets, including their much touted Humble House.
Located on the 2nd floor of The Central and immaculately done up to exude an air of oriental poshness, Tung Lok Signatures stands out from the crowd of eateries that crowd the area. Tables are spaced at a relatively comfortable distance and full length windows allow a great view of Clarke Quay and the Singapore river.
Flame Traditional-style Boiled Shark’s Fin Soup with Chicken - Gimmicky flames aside (due to the lighting of wax at the side of the bowl), I thought that the broth was excellent - flavourful yet light on the palate. Fin portions were reasonably substantial with bits of chicken to balance out the texture.
Pan-fried French Foie Gras with Crispy Beancurd Skin served on Pancake - Playing on the concept of Peking Duck, TLS's take on the pan fried foie gras involved serving the foie gras (with a layer of peking duck sauce on top) together with a crackling piece of beancurd skin and wrapped over using a rectangular piece of thick crepe. I honestly thought that it was an interesting concept but I did find the foie gras way too gamy for my liking. And that honestly killed this dish for me.
Steamed Soon Hock Belly with Minced Ginger - The soon hock was fresh but a little lacking in natural sweetness. One other gripe too. Being the belly, it had tons of bones which made it a pain to consume.
Crispy Kurobuta Pork Cartilage in Chili Sauce served with Deep-fried Bun - This dish seemed promisingly at the onset but didn't quite dazzle. The pork cartilage was coated with flour, deep fried and drenched in chilli sauce that was similar to chilli crab gravy, just a lot less spicy. The meat was tender but somehow I couldn't get past my psychological barrier to stomach the gelatinous cartilage. I liked the deep fried bun though.
Braised Japanese Handmade Noodles with Lobster Meat and Vegetable - Alongside the shark's fin soup, this was probably the best dish of the evening. Springy and robust noodles with minimal portions of lobster meat and a nice, savoury gravy. And of course, the obligatory 2 stalks of vegetables.
Chilled Grapefruit Shaven Ice topped with Ice-cream served in Pomelo - I was hoping for a sweet ending to my meal. But what I got was a cold, bitter dessert, which pretty much sums up how we felt at the end of the meal. But to be fair to the grapefruit, I'm just not a fan.
With the AMEX 1 for 1 promotion, 6 of us clocked in at almost $352 for dinner. Service was good but food left much to be desired. Even with the promotion, I'm not sure I would want to fork out almost $60 a head for food of such quality and portions. And with this meal, I have officially closed the chapter on Tung Lok, never to return.
See all my pictures here.
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Went to this hotel for Christmas, a retro-themed boutique hotel which is quite fun to visit once in a while for Staycation.
The lobby and lounge is striking with Fushia Pink as the primary colour, the only problem we had was, we were unsure where the queue at the counter was.
Can be quite inaccessible for tourists who are unsure of the bus system. Though the hotel provides shuttle bus, we are not sure of where to board it and had to rely on cabs to and fro places.
Rooms were cleanly and retro-ly decorated (even in the bathrooms!). Smaller than a normal hotel room but extremely clean and well kept. With Star Chinese Movie channel, a basket of complimentary soft drinks and tidbits. Best, with free Wifi.
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