Another weekend, another Sunday brunch. But its the first time I'm having Chinese ala carte buffet for brunch and expectations were relatively high as Jing @ One Fullerton is under the same management as Majestic Restaurant, which has won top accolades for its Chinese food.
Ambience
Typical modern Chinese restaurant but what sets it apart is the huge glass windows that allow plenty of sunlight in as well as views of the partially constructed IR just across the river. The booth seats look comfortable for a party of 3 or 4 but unfortunately we were relegated to the center tables. There is the problem of weak air conditioning too.
Variety
You get about 20 odd different types of dim sum , a tiny self service buffet station with duck, fruits and minimal desserts and the standard 4-5 items each of seafood, meat, vegetables, rice, noodles and the likes. There are certain restrictions on certain items. Ie. you get to choose 1 serving of either Chilli Crab or Soon Hock and soups are limited to 2 servings per table. If you are keen on the more premium items like boston lobster or shark's fin soup, be prepared to top up at least $10++ to $18++ more per pax for 1 portion. Drinks are chargable and the only things that are free flow are the Chinese tea and sky juice.
Quality
The quality is merely average in my humble opinion. Nothing quite stands out but nothing really sucked terribly either. If I had to choose, the best dish would probably be the crispy duck from the carving station. All in all, the dishes were palatable but honestly, don't expect too much. Think Crystal Jade La Mian XLB standard.
Service
Average service from wait staff that didn't seem very keen on serving. When I called to make a reservation, the lady on the other end of the phone wasn't particularly friendly either. No big boo boos but could be a lot better.
Value for money
At $36++/pax ($42.40 nett), I honestly thought that it was a little over the top. Food quality was generally average, the spread not exactly the most extensive and service, forgettable. I fail to see how Jing could have made a name for itself with such standards.
I would have never imagine this; I froze at the mention of it, the sacred foie gras. And hold on a second, what were they saying, I thought I heard something like Juicy dumpling with foie gras. Wasn’t this supposed to be XLB, now where did the foie gras came into the picture?
Believe it or not, they actually contain the French delicacy within our XLB, well maybe just a morsel of it since there wasn’t any trace of the foie gras.
Fresh, is one of the word which has been over-used to describe food. How else would you use to depict the prawn within the crisp vermicelli, well maybe I would say juicy, succulent, and I ran out of vocabulary. Oh well. Deep-fried filo dough.
It was wet, a little moist inside, so I stuck my finger in, and poked it in a little further. I took a bite, beneath the crispy exterior, was duck shreds. Deep-fried yam croquette with minced duck.
I was caught by surprise when they told me this was called the Deep-fried scallops with sugar cane. I was happily biting it off the sugar cane (read: I use it), thinking it was very prawny, and there they were, telling me it was deep-fried scallop!
Naturally I was amused, how could scallop taste like prawn? Ignoring that, the slightly-sweet-slightly-sour sauce was most excellent - it was refreshing. And the sugar cane added some brownie points to the whole artistic value.
May I introduced to you, ladies and gentleman, the scarce Harm Soei Gok, or Deep-friend traditional chicken dumpling. Honestly, I did not know about its existence before this, since many places didn’t served it due to the complexity and effort needed to produce it.
The whole, Shark’s fin within the soup, it was so big! With an equally flavourful stock, all of us agreed that the Double-boiled dumpling with Shark’s fin was a delight, well maybe not for the sharks lovers.
I liked this. I’m a char siew sou man. And I was disappointed when there was no sight of it on the menu. And then the baked fluffy skin pie with chicken and mango came. Having the same (or almost) crispy, buttery pastry skin, the interior of the usual char siew was replaced by chicken and mango instead. And the marriage of chicken and mango was a good one, those two totally complimented each other well.
How can one reinvent a dish already done to death and found everywhere? Well, they either provide premium stuffing or reinvent the skin used to wrap the stuffing. For the steamed pork dumpling, they did neither but it was still a cut above the rest. The prawn was sweet and there wasn’t an overly-porky after-taste.
My, my. It was interesting to note, a mini version of claypot rice appearing in a restaurant. Call it a classic, the Mini pot rice with chicken was nothing mini in taste; the tasty Chinese sausages, the succulent mushrooms, and the tender chicken chunks. I had it a taste without any sauce initially, then I added some of the superior sauce that came along with it, and it did wonders - it literally enhanced the taste of the whole mini pot.
There was three different types of steamed rice roll served, but I just showed one photo since all rice rolls looked the same less the fillings. It was the standard-trio, scallops, char siew and prawn. And needless to say, most Chinese restaurants definitely uses fresh ingredients, so it was really down to the rice roll to determine the winner.
And I must say, Man Fu Yuan had silky smooth rice roll, and most importantly, they were not overly-thick.
I never liked beef balls, or for that matter, any type of meat balls. Just the sight of it made me full, I took a bite of the beef balls with bamboo pith, and unexpectedly, it wasn’t as heavy as I thought it would be. And there’s tripes at the bottom of the beef balls too.
It is a fine line between tradition and new, and I feel Man Fu Yuan balanced it very well. There are the traditional dim sum available for the purist who want their fix regularly, and not neglecting those who craved for innovation and excitement in their dining experience, the chefs played around with some other ingredients that are not commonly used in Chinese cuisine.
This marks the end of the dim sum marathon, and I must say I’ve enjoyed myself very much together with the rest; chatting and enjoying the good food. My appreciation to Sharon, the PR manager for hosting us, and Cuisine & Wine Asia for the invitation.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Having taken the different cab models; Hyundai Sonata and Toyota Crown, I like the one with enough leg room so as not to make me feel claustrophobic.
I find that the taxi drivers here have a good life since they are able to choose passengers when not waiting in the taxi stand. During a particular time slot, they would choose passengers going their way when they change shift. Other times, they would reject those who are going to the more rural parts of Singapore that won't have any passengers going out from those areas.
Usually the drivers I have met are quiet and would drive the route that I prefer after being informed. The drivers who chatted are the ones who needed some perking up, it's dangerous to doze off while driving and I don't mind talking to them since it concerns my safety too!
There was only this one incident whereby this driver didn't know where the place was but insisted that I took his cab, the fare would have earned him a handsome sum, of course. When we were in the area, I was berated for not finding out where the place was and had to call my colleagues to find out the exact location.
Each individual has his/her own personality and only this driver didn't have what it takes to be a responsible driver. The other drivers often call their friends for help. Not berate the passengers for not knowing the location. I wouldn't have minded if it was a polite request.
Decided to try this since we had been to Cafe Cartel and Swensons too many times. I ordered Hokkaido Corn Ramen; it was quite alright.
The green tea lacked taste. I was practically drinking lightly flavoured water and no one refilled it for us. When asked if the iced lemon tea was homemade or canned, the waitress couldn't even understand simple English.
The fried tofu was served with soy sauce and by the time I decided to eat it, the skin was practically starchy and inedible. The fried chicken wing didn't taste that fresh since it felt like it had been fried the second time just to warm it up.
While I liked the range of ramen; I felt that something more could be done about understanding what the customers are asking and serving better side dishes.
Was in the mood for a leisurely and luxurious Sunday brunch to whittle my time away and what better place to have it then at the opulent St Regis? Having a sizable discount definitely helped steer my decision though.
Ambience
Les Saveurs spots high ceilings with huge glass windows running to the ground, which gives a soaring and almost carefree feeling. Victorian style chandeliers add a sophisticated touch of class and so do the matching chairs and carpet. In short, a great place to relax and enjoy your food. There is a 3 man band just outside the restaurant that will belt out different tunes throughout the brunch to add to the experience.
Variety
The brunch comprises 3 components - The eye catching dessert table and the appetisers table, your choice of a main course from the menu and last but not least, daily chef's specials that are "hawked" from table to table. The daily specials make up quite a substantial portion of the brunch and can range from fried rice to cod fish to foie gras or even shooters. The appetisers table has quite a decent amount of food like foie gras, salmon & tuna sashimi, oysters, air dried wagyu beef and the likes. There is even a small counter where rows of beautifully baked buns, muffins, croissants etc tempt even the most staunch carbo abstainers. And may I add that the dessert counter was so aesthetically and exquisitely presented that I had the urge to start on desserts first before anything else.
Quality
For the most part, food quality was consistently good and no expense was spared in ensuring that. Everything is made bite sized so that you are able to try a wider variety. I particularly liked the macarons, which were almost on par with Pierre Herme's signature macarons that I had the privilege of trying sometime back. Overall, I thought that the food quality far surpassed my expectations and can put quite a few buffets in some reputable hotels to shame.
Service
Professional and seemingly eager but tended to be overwhelmed at times, especially with the restaurant running at full capacity.
Value for money
At $128 for the non champagne aka fruit juice/tea option, it is probably one of the priciest brunches in the market right now but food quality is evident. If you opt for the moet and chandon option, it will cost you $158 while premium champagne like Krug will set you back by a princely $338 /pax. Final words, if you have the cash to blow and 3 hours to spare, Les Saveurs might just be the place for you.
If you're looking for some cheap CDs or cheap clothes or very chinese stuffs, you can come to CK Departmental stores! There are 2 outlets in outram area, one is on the chinatown side and another is in pearl centre side in this building opposite the OG which i could not recall what building is that.
Both outlets sells nearly the same things however the outlet at the Chinatown side apparently has got more stuffs.. If you like cheap DVDs or anything else for your viewing and listening leisure, yesss... this is the place to hang out.... The clothes are not very fashionable or of a good make however they are pretty value for money for a leisure casual wear especially for children as they outgrow their clothes in the matter of minutes..
If you want to find some very chinese food stuffs, they also do carry some very chinese food stuffs direct from China.... however, its always good to read the ingredient labels and hope you do not find Melamine there.... Heh Heh!
The toiletries I find them not as cheap as the distributors on top of the foodcentre next to the OG.... and don't expect any good service from the staffs.. they usually give you the FACE... so please pick your stuffs carefully and prepare for RUGBY if you're going there on a weekend.. Expect alot of aunties with sweaty armpits and big boobs out to squash you.......
This is indeed another of my favourite hangout... I mean don't you just love walking the departmental stores.. They display an array of goods especially chosen to suit your needs from your head to your toes all the way into your tummy and your bed where you spend 1/3 of your life snuggling in...
I always love the comprehensive list of items Tangs have and each items comes in different shades of colours with so many designs, brands, materials and sizes to choose from. I particularly love to walk the bag section... Which is the first section you enter.. there you can see the helpful staffs waiting to serve you.. I mean.. its difficult to find helpful staffs in departmental stores... They are always hiding somewhere talking or resting.. I mean its tough standing all day but isn't it the goal of the job to serve your customers till they happily leave the store?
Anyway, back to the Bags... They carry a good number of brands and while walking the colourful bag section you could see the brightly lit skin care and perfume section. Here you can find all sorts of international brands in which you could lavishly try the scents till you find one of your delight. Walking on you can find the man's sections with assortments of leather belts, ties and shoes with various Macho Designs as well as young and colourful young Punks dressing as well as travel bags of all sizes to suit all your travel needs. The watch section i particularly enjoy browsing through the different brands and shiny glass cases.
Upstairs you can find kitchen appliances, accessories as well as bedding needs... I particular like the fact that theres a mini honey corner where you can buy all sorts of products to please your HONEY as well as a mini chinese medicated tea shop to soothe the heatiness...
Also check out the Lifestyle section where they display these crystal clear audio CDs of old fashioned songs... Wo de bu dao ni de ai qing......
Also.. It pays to be a member as they do have closed door sales and on top of the sales items, you do get rebates up to 12% on all your purchase. Best of it all... Even if you redeem your tangs dollars you could still get rebate on the balance you paid.. Its a great place to go with savings out of my imagination...
The beautiful, each piece: Oh-so-dainty, Oh-so-refine. Almost like art, delicately crafted.
O’ my dear, I love you so. Never in my heart, I stopped thinking of you. Miss sushi, and Miss tapas: both seemed to be more popular than you, but I will always put you in the first place.
It was big, no, huge! This was, one of the many, different renditions of har gau we would see today. Essentially a har gau without the skin; the crab meat dumpling. It was prawny, with a nice bite - but crabby (no pun intended) it was not, well who cares?
Rather than an-overly-thick-skin, give me a dumpling without skin.
The well-admired Steamed Prawn Dumplings had an injection of carrot purée which only served to beautify the appearance of the har gau skin.
“We protested! We protested!”
The purist camp did a demonstration on the streets, crying for the restoration of the conventional har gau which they were so used to. But for the ladies; the boost in vitamin A. What was missing however, was the carrot taste.
The novelty. The inclusion of preserved vegetables was a brilliant stroke of art; the saltiness enhanced the flavour of the pork, which brought us to the question: why didn’t anybody thought of this before? Steamed pork dumpling with preserved vegetables, siew mai.
Now this was a not-so-simple bun that was bound to turn heads. Served piping hot, the bun seemed quite insignificant until you took a bite at it. Immediately, you would realize that you just had something very special. The bun itself was soft, fluffy and light as a feather while the fillings were so, so sweet and juicy. The Steamed kurobuta char siew pork fluffy bao, was the winner for the day.
The humble har gau did an open-faced sandwich; with shark’s fin on top. Luxury, it was, wealth, it symbolized, and prestige, it presented. Sorry sharky! Steamed shark’s fin dumplings with dried scallops and shrimp.
The tinge of pink, at the top of the tri-top; pretty and so pretty. Another piece of art we seen, at the gallery of Cherry Garden. However, the Scallop and spinach crystal dumpling did came across as slightly dry.
Truffled Essence Crystal Dumplings stuffed with Assorted Fresh Mushrooms. This, was a beauty; the translucent skin, the jelly texture, the array of mushrooms, almost perfect - but it was too large!
Prawn was the main lead, and mango was the second lead. There was the accompany of the green, hot wasabi! Netted rice crispy turnover. I held you, in my arms, into the late wee wee hour: without the wasabi! My dear, the netted rice crispy turnover.
And there was the famous XLB. The voluptuous folds, the goodness of the soup stock, everything, gushing out.
Like a peacock spreading his feathers, the netted rice crispy did a peacock effect: it caught everybody’s attention. Oh my, so beautiful, was this meant to be eaten?
And oh wait, there’s something hiding below the feathers; the netted rice crispy I meant. Ah, that’s the pan-fried chives and chicken dumplings!
Unfortunately, I was not a big fan of chives - I would leave the taste of the dumpling to your own imagination. This was, a piece of art! Why don’t we turn it upside down?
This was the umpteenth time we had a make-over of the har gau, they called it, Steamed Chinese spinach dumplings. The spinach, provided the lovely lines, just like how a painting adorned the wall. The egg yolk, provided the oomph, so, so good.
This, was a poisonous pear, for snow white. The wicked witch threw in some pumpkin, a pinch of jicama, stirred stirred, mixed mixed, and finally, some vegetarian ham.
Poof! With a wave of her wand, the deep-fried potato “pear” appeared. Crispy texture checked, mesmerizing appearance checked, vegetarian (snow white is on a diet) checked. Sticky innards (to stick the mouth together) checked. Everything was present, and OH, where’s the poison?
And we took a plunge, into the deep, deep blue sea. From the land to the sea, the Symphony of live pacific grouper prepared in three different ways. The first: we have a soup, grouper fish broth with ginger, onion and Silken tofu.
Steamed grouper crystal fish dumpling. Was this a dim sum, or was this a fish? It was both, with a twist. Brilliant it was, bravo we shouted. Grouper fish meat inside a dumpling of the fish skin. It was beautiful, too beautiful to eat.
It was not all smooth-sailing, nothing was. As much as I loved the creativity, there was a snag. The use of fish skin, for the translucent was great for the eyes, but not for the mouth. It was chewy, and slightly fishy: non fish lovers, would say, no no!
Prawn and pork, were absent. I give you fish, fish for dim sum. The very first, I believed. Let there be more, say fish siew mai? This, surely, would be a great day for all the fish lovers.
One price, one fish, for the value of three. Worthy, indeed. Sautéed grouper fillet with asparagus, no parts of the fish were wasted, from the meat, to the skin.
I have always wanted to go to Cherry Garden. And I’m glad I finally did. It was a feast, for the visual senses. The dim sum, so delicately craft piece by piece, was an art, for all to enjoyed. Creativity was certainly in the air, the adventurous use of different ingredients, the details to attention for the tiniest things, the emphasize of making it look as good as it tasted. I’m sold. Praises, have to be reserved for the savvy and charismatic executive Chinese chef, Mr Hiew Gun Khong.
Cherry Garden has the weekend dim sum ala carte buffet at $45 per head, which has a selections of 20 over dim sum, and other Chinese food as well. My appreciation to Kelly, the PR relations manager for hosting us, and Cuisine & Wine Asia for the invitation.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Fancy some place in town with all the dishes on the menu priced at $15 or less? Apparently Oriole, a newly opened cafe/restaurant in town, offers such a value proposition. The name Oriole is interesting because it is also the name of a bird.
Located at Pan Pacific Serviced Suites in Somerset Road, Oriole is owned by the same owner of Aerin's, Bedrock Grill & Bar (next door to Oriole) and Whitebait & Kale and boasts Singapore's number 1 and number 3 baristas, which makes their coffee a must try! The interior of the place is rather cafeish with dim lighting and floor to ceilings windows. Currently the area surrounding Oriole is undergoing construction so there isn't much of a view to speak of.
Coffee Crust Cod Fish ($25.50++)- This was a daily special so the $15/dish cap didn't apply, which was rather regrettable really. The fish was smooth but a wee bit fishy and lacked sweetness. There was the problem of the missing coffee taste as well.
Prawn Spaghetti ($15++) - The pasta was tossed in olive oil and came across as a little too soft. I counted 5 crystal prawns to that were crunchy albeit a little small. But at least the whole dish was still palatable, though probably not something that I would order again.
Honey Crumble Affogato ($7++) - This dessert came with a shot of espresso and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which unfortunately had ice chips in it. I didn't quite take to the honeycomb crunch as bits of it got stuck onto my teeth. Overall this dessert was nothing too fancy or fantastic in my humble opinion.
Chocolate Fudge Cake ($5.50++) - Apparently one of Oriole's popular desserts, the chocolate fudge cake was quite decent in my humble opinion. Warm with pockets of molten chocolate within, it came across as rich and decadent - a sure fire recipe for nausea in the likely event of over consumption. Pity about the lack of ice cream though.
The total bill came up to $62.40 for 2 mains and 2 desserts, which would put Oriole in the Swensens, NYDC etc price range. Food quality is average but the lack of crowds in the middle of Orchard road is definitely a plus. Service was decent to boot.
This place is more like being called the Pets Safari however the anchor outlet of Pet Lovers Centre. Here, you can find everything you need for every kind of your pet. Be it the cute little puppy, meowie cat, small hamsters or even pet goldfish... They have everything to suit everybody's needs.
The cages come in many trendy designs and colours as well as sizes for adult german sheperds down to the smallest hamster carrier, not forgetting the handy sling tank.. Now you can bring your fishes for pet walks :).....
All sorts of food, treats and vitamin supplements are available for your pet... Fully Edible Toy Houses made from organic and dye free materials for the comfort of your small hamsters.... I mean they really do have a wide range of everything. Take rabbit food for example, they have various kinds of pallets and hays for their staple food and treats including the carrot lookalike vitamin supplied toy carrot that could last you for at least a week. On top of that your pet rabbit's teeth will be nice and trimmed after playing with that toy...
If your dog's is having a bad hair and is feeling depressed because of that, you could bring him to the grooming centre in this outlet and your babe will appear looking cool with a nice hairstyle and confident to attract new friends.
If you don't have a pet.. You could buy one here... They have small animals such as hamsters of various species, rabbits so fat you can cuddle them, guinea pigs so fluffy you can't wait to bring one home. If you prefer something bigger.. Check out the puppies on sale.. They are so adorable, I just can't stand the doggie eyes they give me.. You can ask the friendly staff to let you carry them for a while.. Bond for awhile before you decide if you want to buy them.. However.. Its important never to buy on IMPULSE... Taking care of a pet is a pretty time consuming activity... Unlike buying a car or the Wii when you can ignore them when you have no time or don't feel like it.. Getting a pet is commiting yourself to taking care of them :)
You could join Pet Lovers Centre's membership to get a 10 to 15% discount on everything except live animals... Sometimes they do have some other member perks which can be useful... I love this shop as the staff are so friendly and helpful to attend to my every need. Most importantly, the 'bad hair day' guinea pigs are only going for $80 for one and i'm definitely looking for a girlfriend for my darling 'CASH!'
However I am sad about one thing.. There's no place at vivo for the pets to wander about.... I've been to many countries and even in countries like taiwan, they allow their pets in the mall.. as long as you could handcarry them or put them in a pram.. they are fine... Even in malls like our PARAGON / KLCC kind.. people bring their full grown overweight golden retriever for lunch at the food court with them... Its something I hope we could get there soon....
Meanwhile, enjoy your walk in pets safari which by the way is next to the DaiSo... It could be really educational for your children too...
1=SGD 0.0587
Another weekend, another Sunday brunch. But its the first time I'm having Chinese ala carte buffet for brunch and expectations were relatively high as Jing @ One Fullerton is under the same management as Majestic Restaurant, which has won top accolades for its Chinese food.
Ambience
Typical modern Chinese restaurant but what sets it apart is the huge glass windows that allow plenty of sunlight in as well as views of the partially constructed IR just across the river. The booth seats look comfortable for a party of 3 or 4 but unfortunately we were relegated to the center tables. There is the problem of weak air conditioning too.
Variety
You get about 20 odd different types of dim sum , a tiny self service buffet station with duck, fruits and minimal desserts and the standard 4-5 items each of seafood, meat, vegetables, rice, noodles and the likes. There are certain restrictions on certain items. Ie. you get to choose 1 serving of either Chilli Crab or Soon Hock and soups are limited to 2 servings per table. If you are keen on the more premium items like boston lobster or shark's fin soup, be prepared to top up at least $10++ to $18++ more per pax for 1 portion. Drinks are chargable and the only things that are free flow are the Chinese tea and sky juice.
Quality
The quality is merely average in my humble opinion. Nothing quite stands out but nothing really sucked terribly either. If I had to choose, the best dish would probably be the crispy duck from the carving station. All in all, the dishes were palatable but honestly, don't expect too much. Think Crystal Jade La Mian XLB standard.
Service
Average service from wait staff that didn't seem very keen on serving. When I called to make a reservation, the lady on the other end of the phone wasn't particularly friendly either. No big boo boos but could be a lot better.
Value for money
At $36++/pax ($42.40 nett), I honestly thought that it was a little over the top. Food quality was generally average, the spread not exactly the most extensive and service, forgettable. I fail to see how Jing could have made a name for itself with such standards.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
I would have never imagine this; I froze at the mention of it, the sacred foie gras. And hold on a second, what were they saying, I thought I heard something like Juicy dumpling with foie gras. Wasn’t this supposed to be XLB, now where did the foie gras came into the picture?
Believe it or not, they actually contain the French delicacy within our XLB, well maybe just a morsel of it since there wasn’t any trace of the foie gras.
Fresh, is one of the word which has been over-used to describe food. How else would you use to depict the prawn within the crisp vermicelli, well maybe I would say juicy, succulent, and I ran out of vocabulary. Oh well. Deep-fried filo dough.
It was wet, a little moist inside, so I stuck my finger in, and poked it in a little further. I took a bite, beneath the crispy exterior, was duck shreds. Deep-fried yam croquette with minced duck.
I was caught by surprise when they told me this was called the Deep-fried scallops with sugar cane. I was happily biting it off the sugar cane (read: I use it), thinking it was very prawny, and there they were, telling me it was deep-fried scallop!
Naturally I was amused, how could scallop taste like prawn? Ignoring that, the slightly-sweet-slightly-sour sauce was most excellent - it was refreshing. And the sugar cane added some brownie points to the whole artistic value.
May I introduced to you, ladies and gentleman, the scarce Harm Soei Gok, or Deep-friend traditional chicken dumpling. Honestly, I did not know about its existence before this, since many places didn’t served it due to the complexity and effort needed to produce it.
The whole, Shark’s fin within the soup, it was so big! With an equally flavourful stock, all of us agreed that the Double-boiled dumpling with Shark’s fin was a delight, well maybe not for the sharks lovers.
I liked this. I’m a char siew sou man. And I was disappointed when there was no sight of it on the menu. And then the baked fluffy skin pie with chicken and mango came. Having the same (or almost) crispy, buttery pastry skin, the interior of the usual char siew was replaced by chicken and mango instead. And the marriage of chicken and mango was a good one, those two totally complimented each other well.
How can one reinvent a dish already done to death and found everywhere? Well, they either provide premium stuffing or reinvent the skin used to wrap the stuffing. For the steamed pork dumpling, they did neither but it was still a cut above the rest. The prawn was sweet and there wasn’t an overly-porky after-taste.
My, my. It was interesting to note, a mini version of claypot rice appearing in a restaurant. Call it a classic, the Mini pot rice with chicken was nothing mini in taste; the tasty Chinese sausages, the succulent mushrooms, and the tender chicken chunks. I had it a taste without any sauce initially, then I added some of the superior sauce that came along with it, and it did wonders - it literally enhanced the taste of the whole mini pot.
There was three different types of steamed rice roll served, but I just showed one photo since all rice rolls looked the same less the fillings. It was the standard-trio, scallops, char siew and prawn. And needless to say, most Chinese restaurants definitely uses fresh ingredients, so it was really down to the rice roll to determine the winner.
And I must say, Man Fu Yuan had silky smooth rice roll, and most importantly, they were not overly-thick.
I never liked beef balls, or for that matter, any type of meat balls. Just the sight of it made me full, I took a bite of the beef balls with bamboo pith, and unexpectedly, it wasn’t as heavy as I thought it would be. And there’s tripes at the bottom of the beef balls too.
It is a fine line between tradition and new, and I feel Man Fu Yuan balanced it very well. There are the traditional dim sum available for the purist who want their fix regularly, and not neglecting those who craved for innovation and excitement in their dining experience, the chefs played around with some other ingredients that are not commonly used in Chinese cuisine.
This marks the end of the dim sum marathon, and I must say I’ve enjoyed myself very much together with the rest; chatting and enjoying the good food. My appreciation to Sharon, the PR manager for hosting us, and Cuisine & Wine Asia for the invitation.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
Having taken the different cab models; Hyundai Sonata and Toyota Crown, I like the one with enough leg room so as not to make me feel claustrophobic.
I find that the taxi drivers here have a good life since they are able to choose passengers when not waiting in the taxi stand. During a particular time slot, they would choose passengers going their way when they change shift. Other times, they would reject those who are going to the more rural parts of Singapore that won't have any passengers going out from those areas.
Usually the drivers I have met are quiet and would drive the route that I prefer after being informed. The drivers who chatted are the ones who needed some perking up, it's dangerous to doze off while driving and I don't mind talking to them since it concerns my safety too!
There was only this one incident whereby this driver didn't know where the place was but insisted that I took his cab, the fare would have earned him a handsome sum, of course. When we were in the area, I was berated for not finding out where the place was and had to call my colleagues to find out the exact location.
Each individual has his/her own personality and only this driver didn't have what it takes to be a responsible driver. The other drivers often call their friends for help. Not berate the passengers for not knowing the location. I wouldn't have minded if it was a polite request.
Rating given:
Decided to try this since we had been to Cafe Cartel and Swensons too many times. I ordered Hokkaido Corn Ramen; it was quite alright.
The green tea lacked taste. I was practically drinking lightly flavoured water and no one refilled it for us. When asked if the iced lemon tea was homemade or canned, the waitress couldn't even understand simple English.
The fried tofu was served with soy sauce and by the time I decided to eat it, the skin was practically starchy and inedible. The fried chicken wing didn't taste that fresh since it felt like it had been fried the second time just to warm it up.
While I liked the range of ramen; I felt that something more could be done about understanding what the customers are asking and serving better side dishes.
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Was in the mood for a leisurely and luxurious Sunday brunch to whittle my time away and what better place to have it then at the opulent St Regis? Having a sizable discount definitely helped steer my decision though.
Ambience
Les Saveurs spots high ceilings with huge glass windows running to the ground, which gives a soaring and almost carefree feeling. Victorian style chandeliers add a sophisticated touch of class and so do the matching chairs and carpet. In short, a great place to relax and enjoy your food. There is a 3 man band just outside the restaurant that will belt out different tunes throughout the brunch to add to the experience.
Variety
The brunch comprises 3 components - The eye catching dessert table and the appetisers table, your choice of a main course from the menu and last but not least, daily chef's specials that are "hawked" from table to table. The daily specials make up quite a substantial portion of the brunch and can range from fried rice to cod fish to foie gras or even shooters. The appetisers table has quite a decent amount of food like foie gras, salmon & tuna sashimi, oysters, air dried wagyu beef and the likes. There is even a small counter where rows of beautifully baked buns, muffins, croissants etc tempt even the most staunch carbo abstainers. And may I add that the dessert counter was so aesthetically and exquisitely presented that I had the urge to start on desserts first before anything else.
Quality
For the most part, food quality was consistently good and no expense was spared in ensuring that. Everything is made bite sized so that you are able to try a wider variety. I particularly liked the macarons, which were almost on par with Pierre Herme's signature macarons that I had the privilege of trying sometime back. Overall, I thought that the food quality far surpassed my expectations and can put quite a few buffets in some reputable hotels to shame.
Service
Professional and seemingly eager but tended to be overwhelmed at times, especially with the restaurant running at full capacity.
Value for money
At $128 for the non champagne aka fruit juice/tea option, it is probably one of the priciest brunches in the market right now but food quality is evident. If you opt for the moet and chandon option, it will cost you $158 while premium champagne like Krug will set you back by a princely $338 /pax. Final words, if you have the cash to blow and 3 hours to spare, Les Saveurs might just be the place for you.
See all my pictures here.
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If you're looking for some cheap CDs or cheap clothes or very chinese stuffs, you can come to CK Departmental stores! There are 2 outlets in outram area, one is on the chinatown side and another is in pearl centre side in this building opposite the OG which i could not recall what building is that.
Both outlets sells nearly the same things however the outlet at the Chinatown side apparently has got more stuffs.. If you like cheap DVDs or anything else for your viewing and listening leisure, yesss... this is the place to hang out.... The clothes are not very fashionable or of a good make however they are pretty value for money for a leisure casual wear especially for children as they outgrow their clothes in the matter of minutes..
If you want to find some very chinese food stuffs, they also do carry some very chinese food stuffs direct from China.... however, its always good to read the ingredient labels and hope you do not find Melamine there.... Heh Heh!
The toiletries I find them not as cheap as the distributors on top of the foodcentre next to the OG.... and don't expect any good service from the staffs.. they usually give you the FACE... so please pick your stuffs carefully and prepare for RUGBY if you're going there on a weekend.. Expect alot of aunties with sweaty armpits and big boobs out to squash you.......
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This is indeed another of my favourite hangout... I mean don't you just love walking the departmental stores.. They display an array of goods especially chosen to suit your needs from your head to your toes all the way into your tummy and your bed where you spend 1/3 of your life snuggling in...
I always love the comprehensive list of items Tangs have and each items comes in different shades of colours with so many designs, brands, materials and sizes to choose from. I particularly love to walk the bag section... Which is the first section you enter.. there you can see the helpful staffs waiting to serve you.. I mean.. its difficult to find helpful staffs in departmental stores... They are always hiding somewhere talking or resting.. I mean its tough standing all day but isn't it the goal of the job to serve your customers till they happily leave the store?
Anyway, back to the Bags... They carry a good number of brands and while walking the colourful bag section you could see the brightly lit skin care and perfume section. Here you can find all sorts of international brands in which you could lavishly try the scents till you find one of your delight. Walking on you can find the man's sections with assortments of leather belts, ties and shoes with various Macho Designs as well as young and colourful young Punks dressing as well as travel bags of all sizes to suit all your travel needs. The watch section i particularly enjoy browsing through the different brands and shiny glass cases.
Upstairs you can find kitchen appliances, accessories as well as bedding needs... I particular like the fact that theres a mini honey corner where you can buy all sorts of products to please your HONEY as well as a mini chinese medicated tea shop to soothe the heatiness...
Also check out the Lifestyle section where they display these crystal clear audio CDs of old fashioned songs... Wo de bu dao ni de ai qing......
Also.. It pays to be a member as they do have closed door sales and on top of the sales items, you do get rebates up to 12% on all your purchase. Best of it all... Even if you redeem your tangs dollars you could still get rebate on the balance you paid.. Its a great place to go with savings out of my imagination...
See you there at Tangs today SHOPPER BABEs!!!
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The beautiful, each piece: Oh-so-dainty, Oh-so-refine. Almost like art, delicately crafted.
O’ my dear, I love you so. Never in my heart, I stopped thinking of you. Miss sushi, and Miss tapas: both seemed to be more popular than you, but I will always put you in the first place.
It was big, no, huge! This was, one of the many, different renditions of har gau we would see today. Essentially a har gau without the skin; the crab meat dumpling. It was prawny, with a nice bite - but crabby (no pun intended) it was not, well who cares?
Rather than an-overly-thick-skin, give me a dumpling without skin.
The well-admired Steamed Prawn Dumplings had an injection of carrot purée which only served to beautify the appearance of the har gau skin.
“We protested! We protested!”
The purist camp did a demonstration on the streets, crying for the restoration of the conventional har gau which they were so used to. But for the ladies; the boost in vitamin A. What was missing however, was the carrot taste.
The novelty. The inclusion of preserved vegetables was a brilliant stroke of art; the saltiness enhanced the flavour of the pork, which brought us to the question: why didn’t anybody thought of this before? Steamed pork dumpling with preserved vegetables, siew mai.
Now this was a not-so-simple bun that was bound to turn heads. Served piping hot, the bun seemed quite insignificant until you took a bite at it. Immediately, you would realize that you just had something very special. The bun itself was soft, fluffy and light as a feather while the fillings were so, so sweet and juicy. The Steamed kurobuta char siew pork fluffy bao, was the winner for the day.
The humble har gau did an open-faced sandwich; with shark’s fin on top. Luxury, it was, wealth, it symbolized, and prestige, it presented. Sorry sharky! Steamed shark’s fin dumplings with dried scallops and shrimp.
The tinge of pink, at the top of the tri-top; pretty and so pretty. Another piece of art we seen, at the gallery of Cherry Garden. However, the Scallop and spinach crystal dumpling did came across as slightly dry.
Truffled Essence Crystal Dumplings stuffed with Assorted Fresh Mushrooms. This, was a beauty; the translucent skin, the jelly texture, the array of mushrooms, almost perfect - but it was too large!
Prawn was the main lead, and mango was the second lead. There was the accompany of the green, hot wasabi! Netted rice crispy turnover. I held you, in my arms, into the late wee wee hour: without the wasabi! My dear, the netted rice crispy turnover.
And there was the famous XLB. The voluptuous folds, the goodness of the soup stock, everything, gushing out.
Like a peacock spreading his feathers, the netted rice crispy did a peacock effect: it caught everybody’s attention. Oh my, so beautiful, was this meant to be eaten?
And oh wait, there’s something hiding below the feathers; the netted rice crispy I meant. Ah, that’s the pan-fried chives and chicken dumplings!
Unfortunately, I was not a big fan of chives - I would leave the taste of the dumpling to your own imagination. This was, a piece of art! Why don’t we turn it upside down?
This was the umpteenth time we had a make-over of the har gau, they called it, Steamed Chinese spinach dumplings. The spinach, provided the lovely lines, just like how a painting adorned the wall. The egg yolk, provided the oomph, so, so good.
This, was a poisonous pear, for snow white. The wicked witch threw in some pumpkin, a pinch of jicama, stirred stirred, mixed mixed, and finally, some vegetarian ham.
Poof! With a wave of her wand, the deep-fried potato “pear” appeared. Crispy texture checked, mesmerizing appearance checked, vegetarian (snow white is on a diet) checked. Sticky innards (to stick the mouth together) checked. Everything was present, and OH, where’s the poison?
And we took a plunge, into the deep, deep blue sea. From the land to the sea, the Symphony of live pacific grouper prepared in three different ways. The first: we have a soup, grouper fish broth with ginger, onion and Silken tofu.
Steamed grouper crystal fish dumpling. Was this a dim sum, or was this a fish? It was both, with a twist. Brilliant it was, bravo we shouted. Grouper fish meat inside a dumpling of the fish skin. It was beautiful, too beautiful to eat.
It was not all smooth-sailing, nothing was. As much as I loved the creativity, there was a snag. The use of fish skin, for the translucent was great for the eyes, but not for the mouth. It was chewy, and slightly fishy: non fish lovers, would say, no no!
Prawn and pork, were absent. I give you fish, fish for dim sum. The very first, I believed. Let there be more, say fish siew mai? This, surely, would be a great day for all the fish lovers.
One price, one fish, for the value of three. Worthy, indeed. Sautéed grouper fillet with asparagus, no parts of the fish were wasted, from the meat, to the skin.
I have always wanted to go to Cherry Garden. And I’m glad I finally did. It was a feast, for the visual senses. The dim sum, so delicately craft piece by piece, was an art, for all to enjoyed. Creativity was certainly in the air, the adventurous use of different ingredients, the details to attention for the tiniest things, the emphasize of making it look as good as it tasted. I’m sold. Praises, have to be reserved for the savvy and charismatic executive Chinese chef, Mr Hiew Gun Khong.
Cherry Garden has the weekend dim sum ala carte buffet at $45 per head, which has a selections of 20 over dim sum, and other Chinese food as well. My appreciation to Kelly, the PR relations manager for hosting us, and Cuisine & Wine Asia for the invitation.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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Fancy some place in town with all the dishes on the menu priced at $15 or less? Apparently Oriole, a newly opened cafe/restaurant in town, offers such a value proposition. The name Oriole is interesting because it is also the name of a bird.
Located at Pan Pacific Serviced Suites in Somerset Road, Oriole is owned by the same owner of Aerin's, Bedrock Grill & Bar (next door to Oriole) and Whitebait & Kale and boasts Singapore's number 1 and number 3 baristas, which makes their coffee a must try! The interior of the place is rather cafeish with dim lighting and floor to ceilings windows. Currently the area surrounding Oriole is undergoing construction so there isn't much of a view to speak of.
Coffee Crust Cod Fish ($25.50++)- This was a daily special so the $15/dish cap didn't apply, which was rather regrettable really. The fish was smooth but a wee bit fishy and lacked sweetness. There was the problem of the missing coffee taste as well.
Prawn Spaghetti ($15++) - The pasta was tossed in olive oil and came across as a little too soft. I counted 5 crystal prawns to that were crunchy albeit a little small. But at least the whole dish was still palatable, though probably not something that I would order again.
Honey Crumble Affogato ($7++) - This dessert came with a shot of espresso and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which unfortunately had ice chips in it. I didn't quite take to the honeycomb crunch as bits of it got stuck onto my teeth. Overall this dessert was nothing too fancy or fantastic in my humble opinion.
Chocolate Fudge Cake ($5.50++) - Apparently one of Oriole's popular desserts, the chocolate fudge cake was quite decent in my humble opinion. Warm with pockets of molten chocolate within, it came across as rich and decadent - a sure fire recipe for nausea in the likely event of over consumption. Pity about the lack of ice cream though.
The total bill came up to $62.40 for 2 mains and 2 desserts, which would put Oriole in the Swensens, NYDC etc price range. Food quality is average but the lack of crowds in the middle of Orchard road is definitely a plus. Service was decent to boot.
See all my pictures here.
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This place is more like being called the Pets Safari however the anchor outlet of Pet Lovers Centre. Here, you can find everything you need for every kind of your pet. Be it the cute little puppy, meowie cat, small hamsters or even pet goldfish... They have everything to suit everybody's needs.
The cages come in many trendy designs and colours as well as sizes for adult german sheperds down to the smallest hamster carrier, not forgetting the handy sling tank.. Now you can bring your fishes for pet walks :).....
All sorts of food, treats and vitamin supplements are available for your pet... Fully Edible Toy Houses made from organic and dye free materials for the comfort of your small hamsters.... I mean they really do have a wide range of everything. Take rabbit food for example, they have various kinds of pallets and hays for their staple food and treats including the carrot lookalike vitamin supplied toy carrot that could last you for at least a week. On top of that your pet rabbit's teeth will be nice and trimmed after playing with that toy...
If your dog's is having a bad hair and is feeling depressed because of that, you could bring him to the grooming centre in this outlet and your babe will appear looking cool with a nice hairstyle and confident to attract new friends.
If you don't have a pet.. You could buy one here... They have small animals such as hamsters of various species, rabbits so fat you can cuddle them, guinea pigs so fluffy you can't wait to bring one home. If you prefer something bigger.. Check out the puppies on sale.. They are so adorable, I just can't stand the doggie eyes they give me.. You can ask the friendly staff to let you carry them for a while.. Bond for awhile before you decide if you want to buy them.. However.. Its important never to buy on IMPULSE... Taking care of a pet is a pretty time consuming activity... Unlike buying a car or the Wii when you can ignore them when you have no time or don't feel like it.. Getting a pet is commiting yourself to taking care of them :)
You could join Pet Lovers Centre's membership to get a 10 to 15% discount on everything except live animals... Sometimes they do have some other member perks which can be useful... I love this shop as the staff are so friendly and helpful to attend to my every need. Most importantly, the 'bad hair day' guinea pigs are only going for $80 for one and i'm definitely looking for a girlfriend for my darling 'CASH!'
However I am sad about one thing.. There's no place at vivo for the pets to wander about.... I've been to many countries and even in countries like taiwan, they allow their pets in the mall.. as long as you could handcarry them or put them in a pram.. they are fine... Even in malls like our PARAGON / KLCC kind.. people bring their full grown overweight golden retriever for lunch at the food court with them... Its something I hope we could get there soon....
Meanwhile, enjoy your walk in pets safari which by the way is next to the DaiSo... It could be really educational for your children too...
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