Thanks to the food hunters! We managed to have our Christmas dinner at this hidden place. I think I've heard about it before but never really thought of trying it. But no regret after I tried it.
When we arrived, the place was empty with only one table filled. But as the night comes, the place gets very packed with hungry families and friends.
The choice of food is pretty decent, and they're fresh. Agree that the beef was fantastic! We should have ordered more of it! Love the mini custard bao which needs exactly 2mins in the boiling steamboat to cook/ heat it.
Their choice of cooked food though little, but they are of good quality too imo. Love the lemongrass chicken, fried chicken wing, sotong you tiao and cucumbers!
The service staff were helpful too. When the table couldn't put that huge number of plates we ordered, they helped us "throw" all the food into our steamboats too.
And do you know who owns this place? Its Terrence Cao the TCS actor.
Nice place for gatherings and hungry souls.
*No photos caused everyone was hungry and too lazy to take out our cameras! LOL!
For this years Christmas Eve celebration, i managed to go out with a couple of friends who has been asking forever to have an outing. And i'm glad i went for it. First of all, thanks to all the people who came that night, it was great fun and lets do it again soon.
So it was that this restaurant was decided upon for the gathering. I was skeptical at first but these were quickly dispelled when i had my first bite. The restaurant itself was located right next to Tao's to the left. There's another steamboat place on the right called Ju Ju Steamboat restaurant so make sure you don't get confused.
The meal we had was the buffet menu at 27 .
The selection is decent to say the least, there's the usual cooked food menu and the non cooked food menu and a variety of soup bases to choose. Our choice were the winter melon and the herbal chicken soup base. Both were pretty good but the winter melon tasted much better. The herbal chicken soup was rather bland tasting.
The selection of items included the usual prawns, chicken, beef, pork, eggs and veg.
The beef is of paticular mention since it tastes really fresh and good. If not for the buzzing flies, the beef was something to really eat much off.
The interesting items were the char siew pau, custard buns and the har gao(shrimp dumplings), which required you to boil them before eating. The pork dumplings were interesting as its the first time i had BBQ pork dumplings that need to be boiled. Even more surprising is that it actually tastes pretty good. Along with the custurd bun and the shrimp dumplings as well.
The chili cockles are worth a mention too. Spicy and sweet. One can easily eat this whole bowl straight off.
Overall, i'd say the meal was rather good in general. Service can be slow when the crowd sets in and the plates can really pile up quite quickly. However, the quantity of items served and the hit items make up for it.
And when good company is around, food just tastes better.
Cheers and happy new year people.
Experiences can be a funny thing. It changes your outlook on life and brings different priorities to light which you might never have noticed otherwise.
For this year end, the teambuilding event my boss decided upon is one which is pretty interesting, a place to learn to cook and after that, eat as well. Whats not to like?
Palate sensations is an interesting concept cooking school which has some big name chefs doing the teaching and guiding processes.
Our chef for the day is Ms Lynette Foo who does the teaching for Western/Australian cuisine. And our meal consists of our own, handmade pasta, and choclate souffle (aka molten chocolate cake)
The entire experience of making the dough involved everything right from the mixing of the dough to the choice of pasta to make. Suffice to say, it was interesting from start to end.
The chocolate souffle was most interesting to me since i love desserts and eat this every chance i get. To my horror, it was so easy to do and uses reasonably cheap ingredients that i'm just shocked how much i'm charged for it outside. Easily 8 to 9 times more then what its worth.
The coordinator or chef is amiable and facilitating. The food we made were reasonably tasty and good. And the environment is very condusive and comfortable.
The one night course and 3 course meal took 4 hours and cost upwards of $68 per head for 7 people. Interesting? Yes!
Expensive? Very much so. Fun? Yes! Try again? Let me do a rain check on my wallet before i answer that. Well, no. Its too expensive and out of the way to do again for me but its an experience everyone should try once at least.
Bedok food center is the one place that i will go if i have a craving for satay(plenty of stalls to choose from), nasi ayam penyet(found one with fantastic super crispy and delish nasi ayam penyet), western(fried chicken chop with fries, baked beans n coleslaw/egg for just $4.50), pizza/pasta that is below the $12 mark and char kway teow/ oyster omelette/ carrot cake(which is HALAL) and delish mutton soup(my gdad loves it)...abit out of the way cos u will have to take a bus there. It is technically on the oposite of Simpang bedok. I like how the stalls are arranged in a circle and seating area is in the middle so one can roam around freely to look for their desired food.
They even have a few desert places too, like a stall which sells ching teng(hot/cold) and this stall-GoGo beans, It sells soya products such as drinks/ice blended concoctions made from soya milk(14 types in all)..some examples are mocha ice blended or oreo.
14 kinds of beancurd, very intresting cos u can add sea coconut, white fungus, rice balls, fruits and other yummy ingredients to it(again 14 kinds in all) and theres also around 8 kind of grass jelly desserts. So you'll be pretty spoilt for choice there.
After having dinner with my family, I decided to try out their bean curd with rice balls @ $1.80. I chose a mixture of peanut, red bean n sesame and waited arnd 5 mins for them to prepare the rice balls. Its not wow supernice but i like the consistency of the beancurd. not super light but it was smooth and well ironicly soothing to me. still warm after the 20 min journey home it nicely filled my tummy. I liked the peanut rice balls over the other 2 ans was happy i got 2 big pieces. Overall it wasnt too overly sweet(even though i asked for more syrup n less beancurd) and it was a nice warm comforting dessert at on a monday night.
My first time using the Women's Weekly Voucher. Called up to make reservations for both me n bf cos i wanted to check out the porrige buffet and was surprised to know that at nite its an international buffet. My fren upon hearing abt the 1 for 1 wanted to tag along too so me not knowing if he can use my voucher too called up to enquire abt it.(it was already my 3rd time calling since i called before that to ask for a window seat). The staff who i spoke to, Melvyn was very patient and explained that my fren would need a voucher too but we could dine together. Great, so my fren got another mag and we headed down there for dinner. The whole parking was slightly confusing at first but we managed to find the place b4 noticing that the indian restaurant at the 1st level also has a buffet at just 12.00.
We were ushered to our table by Melvyn and he was very friendly, informing us that the buffet was open and enquiring if we wanted drinks. I of course askd for my lemon sliceless 7-up(which he remembered ;) )..
First walked around to check out the spread. Quite ok actually. 4-5 cold dishes such as papaya salad, smoked salmon, crab salad, my green salads which are super fresh, baby corns. Cooked food selection consisted of Black pepper beef, oxtail, baked mussels with cheese, Thai fish fillet(whic i liked), fried chicken cutlet with what looked and tasted like laksa sauce, this stir fried seafood dish which i also liked. There was also clam chowder soup wich i enjoyed very much. it was not too watery and had quite a generous amounts of clams. It was a good hot dish to warm my tummy.
The bread selection was little. just 2 kinds but both were crunchy on the outside n soft inside..so it passed my mark(i just hate biscuity breads unless its popeyes biscuit). The stations that were manned were the Sashimi station ( had salmon, tuna, swordfish, seabass, octopus and egg(tamago)). i always get just the salmon, swordfish n tamago but this time i tried my luck and for the tuna too. Thank god it was good. The last time i had tuna(wich cost a bomb btw at a restaurant the tuna was terrible. felt like phukin after eatin it). this one was surprisingly nice. bf just stuck to his swordfish. I think the sashimi really made this worth it. It was really really good and the chef was super generous with the amount he gave us.
They also had sushi too but i didnt try it. Oh and theres also steamed fish which i liked. I didnt try the hokkien noodle though. and tried the spagetti(aglio olio). it was oryt. friends liked the bolognaise. Ok i admit i didnt really check out the porrige. Noticed a few dishes to go along with the porrige like braised duck, salted egg and salted fish and tried a bit but well okla im not a porrige person unless u count the malay chicken porrige. Bf said it was oookay.
Dessert options not bad, a few cakes, tartlets, nonya kuih, chendol(which was more like ice with the condiments at the bottom. it was in those sundae glasses which is abit to eat the chendol in. I liked one of the cakes. light and not too overly chocolaty. And theres a few choices of ice cream too, probably kings but i liked the yam n sweetcorn so yay..plus the chocolate sauce and rice made it yummier..didnt get the coffee and tea though..too full already.
Both my bf n my fren were constantly teasing me n my frenz gf cos we found our waiter(no guesses who) cute(looks a bit like a korean actor type) and attentive without being intrusive. It was a nice dining experience cos of the company and the service given to us(come on no1 wants a hostile waiter rite and it helps if theyre cute too...lucky thing i didnt bang into any pillars or trip over my shoes)..
Now since my photobucket is no longer a complete mess I can write my reviews. CG highlighted Pyramisa to me and I found it to be a really interesting place to dine @. The whole Egyptian theme and with belly dancing performances. I expected a dinner here to be very eventful which it definitely was('',)
6 of us arrived promptly @ 730 and we went snap happy what with the unique decor and the hieroglyphics on the walls, nice lighting and the curtains hanging from the wall. We even spotted the belly dancers practicing in the bar area.
Feeling hungry we ordered the
Mix Hot & Cold Platter - $24
*Hummus* - Chick Pea Puree served with Pita Bread
*Batata Salatis* - Potato Salad with Cumin and Black Olive
*Laben* - Greek Hung Yogurt with Sliced Cucumber and Mint Leaves
the three dips were okay but i found them a bit light
*Sambousek* - Pastry Puff with Feta Cheese Stuffing
Delicious. Eat it hot and the cheese is so yummy. crust is crispy and light
*Merguez* - Lamb Sausage serves with Harissa
*Chix Wings* - Chicken Wings Marinated with Harrisa and Arabic Spices
Or so we thought. It came with two items that did not look @ all like a sausage or chicken wings. We enquired the wait staff abt it and aparantly they ran out of the Merguez so it was substituted with
*Fattayer Sabanikh* - Spinach Samosa
An okay dish. Nothing fantastic or out of the ordinary
and
*Falafel* - Deep Fried Chick Pea
the chicken wings or should i say wing came rite after that.
We then decided to order two sets of chicken wings for the group of us
The chicken wings were goood. Adequately spiced and deep fried. It came with the harissa mayo which is intresting. CG tried it first and had a weird reaction to the taste(her facial expression said it all) but i found it refresing, slightly like a peppery mayonaise.
Oh and i also ordered the
*Fatouches* $8 - Fresh Chopped Salad with Black Pitted Olove and Pita Crouton
Very refresing and i loved the pita croutons
On to mains, the bulk of us ordered the
*Dijaj Mashi* $25 (House Signature Dish)
Pine Nut Pilaf Rice Wrapped with Oven Baked Chicken
I had this and it was yummy!!!!the chicken was spiced just nice, tender and delish!!the pine nut pilaf rice was light, went well with their tomato like sauce. It was a good dish which I enjoyed
Some ordered the
*Meshawi* $36
Mix of Grilled Lamb, Chicken Cubes, Beef and Prawn
I tried CG's lamb i think, and omg the fats was soooo good.(im gonna die unhealthy i know). It came with this chilli thingy which was sooo good.
When we saw the beautiful plate of
*Kreidess Bi Cosbara* $36
Grilled King Prawn with Cilantro on Harrisa Bed Pita
that Gaz's wife ordered, our greed overtook us and 4 of us ordered one to share and that was ohlala fantastic, the prawns were juicy and oh so well spicy. think they used that harissa thingy to marinade it in. and it was served with pita bread which i liked too.
You'd think we'd be too full for desserts right..Wrong. We just had to try out the
*Baklawa* $8
Arabic Pastry filled with Nuts and Honey served with vanilla Ice Cream
Remembering the Baklawa my dad would bring back from Australia and Egypt it was not the same. This seems more like pastry with the roughly chopped nuts and honey mixed and topped with pastry again when usually the honey would be absorbed by the pastry and it would be kind of moist yet crispy and sweet. This isnt as sweet as i expected and not as crispy too. And the ice cream was very much like a drink that u put inside the fridge to make "ice cream". It tasted different from vanilla ice cream. had a slite taste of spice in it. Interesting but not wow
CG ordered the
*Uma Ali* $9.50
Mother of Ali's Baked Bread Pudding
now this was good. It was gooey and sweet yet had a cereal like texture. Abit like baby food but nicer. Sounds weird but I really did like this dessert.
Arnd 10-ish i think, a lady(belly dancer) performed for us. It was a very entertaining 15 minutes and soon after that another belly dancer performed. If im not wrong she is Yelena from Columbia as I did get a chance to look @ the Poster they put up at the door promoting 4 foreign Belly Dancers from Russia, Japan, Vietnam and Columbia. Maybe they perform on different days. I found the dance quite cool and the young lady was pleasing to the eyes as well(my colleague was so disapointed he didnt tag along after seeing the pictures I took)
Am not sure if I will return as I found the servings for appetizers quite small for such a price but I do admit their mains and the Uma Ali made up for it. Maybe I might come again at another time.
But as for now the search for other exotic places to dine @ continues.
For food I will travel(provided there is transport home for me).
So when I was invited for a food tasting @ this venue I was abit "errr" since it was all the way in Holland V but after checking out the website, I forgot all about the dreadfully long trip home and was looking forward to the dinner.
Mykii actualli is a fusion of 2 words "Mykonos" and "sky". Kinda to hint at the whole concept of just relaxing and chilling out. It aims to allow one to just drift away from their hectic lifestyle n just take some time to be calm n relaxed.
Just standing outside and lookin at the restaurant, I loved how they used white and blue for their colours. It really does remind me of those travel shows I so often watch that show true white houses with beautiful cane/ wood furniture and accents with bold colours. The blue is a nice and calming touch, I loved their sky blue sofa seats and how the seating arrangements are well spaced out. Lighting was not too harsh and even the counter area looked well organized, pleasing to the eye and having the mini desserts on display helps too.
Looked through the drinks menu, i wanted to try one of their Granadas. The one that caught my eye was the
*Lemony Crush* - Lemon juice with mint leaves.
Now I usually steer clear from lemon juice cos I hate the overly tangy taste of lemons but today I just wanted to try it out.
The tangy taste was there but it was subtle with a hint of sweetness. The mint leaved also added more oomph to it as it was zesty, and very refreshing. I sipped it up together with the small bits of crushed ice which i love chewing on.
From glancing at the menu, u can tell that their cuisine is fusion inspired and ok i admit that was wuite worrying as usually fusion food is an aquired taste and is hard to pull off so my fingers were crossed. The appetizers all looked so well appetizing(duh) and good thing theres a lot of us so we all picked one each so that we can try
*Pissaladiere*
Mykii's Signature wild child that brings an open-faced provencale tart perfectly dressed with a healthy wholesome selection of roasted capsicums, anchovies, olives and onion jam.
*Tamarind Glazed Chicken with Glass Noodle, Green Papaya & Asian Herbs*
An all-time favorite Thai dish is revitalised with Mykii's new classic interpretation.
*Mezze Platter*
Created with Middle Eastern and European influences in mind. 3 dips served with lavosh and grissini
*Papaya & Avocado Salad*
A light, refreshing mix salad of papaya and avocado dressed with zesty dressing of lemongrass and lime.
*Caesar Salad With Fritto Mistro*
Classic caesar salad paired with Italian-styled breaded seafood served in a thin pastry.
The Caesar salad came with a pastry bowl thingy which was supposed to be broken and mixed with the salad but after I broke it apart it looked not as pretty. But well taste wise. The breaded calamari and prawns were kinda normal and the pastry reminds me of a thicker and crispier po-piah skin. But not bad too.
For the Pissaladiere. The pastry was slighty soft due to all the ingredients on top but still retains it slight cruchiness. The onion jam was a nice touch and it gave it a taste that was very *zing* I thought it was not bad
The papaya and avocado salad was just what it was, papaya, avocado and greens but the dressing of lemongrass and lime really gave it a kick. I loved how refresing it was yet again it was subtle.
The Tamarind glazed chicken was tender, the tamarind taste wasnt too prominent to me but i liked the green papaya and glass noodles. Really whet my appetite.
The mezze platter came with Salmon, Garlic and White beetroot dips. I liked the Salmona and Garlic dips a lot but like Combat Wombat, It would be nice to get softer breads though.
For the mains, I was torn between the Prawn Casserole In Spicy Tomato With Kaffir Leaf Pilaf and the Deep Fried Goby Fish With Sticky Plum & Ginger Sauce and went with the latter as I was in a fish mood.
The dish looked very intresting. There was about 4 pieces of fish stacked on each other and on top of it was the Sauce and some greens(beansprouts included). Now the fish was battered but the batter wasnt too thick and oily thank god but it was a wee bit tasteless. However with the plum and ginger sauce. It was yummy. The plum was very prominent over the ginger aspect though. Mayb a slightly abit more seasoning should be added to the fish. But it was a nice dish.
I did pinch a bit of the Seafood Linguine with Laksa Pesto and OMG it was fantastic. Iv tried a another version and didnt enjoy it that much but this version rocked. The flavours really stood out and I really felt like I was eating laksa. I especially liked the tau kwa(isit tau kwa or tau pok). It really absorbed the laksa sauce and When I bit into it, all the juices came out and oh yumm.
Even before the mains were served I was already looking forward to desserts. Had my eyes on the
*Nutella Squares With Salted Caramel*
But before that came, I did pick out a few of the mini desserts. There were plenty of varieties like Tiramisu, Noisiette, New York Chezcake, Walnut Tart with caramel, choices of Macroons. The macroons (namely the salted caramel one) was good. Nice and dense and ok it was just good. Wasnt too wowed by the mini cakes but i Loved the Walnut Tart. The tart was crumbly and you could taste the butteryness of it. The filling balanced it out as it was adequately sweet with chunks of walnut. And who could forget the sinful caramel. Yum.
But when my Nutella came, the nut went nuts. It was warm and soft and the Nutella was oh so good. I mean cmon, Iv got a whole bottle of nutella I can easily just eat like that so why order this. But this really is wow. The warmed brownie like base, the salted caramel and then the Nutella on top. Its something that every chocolate or Nutella lover has to try.
I got to pinch the
*Gula Melaka Creme Brulee With Pineapple*
*Granny Smith & Aloe Vera Crumble*
The 1st of of the two was disapointing. Couldnt really taste the Gula Melaka but its intresting how they incorporated the Pineapple into the dish. Found it a bit too pudding like though. Kinda expected a more smooth texture. The Granny Smith and Aloe Vera Crumble was powerr though. Another Mykii signature dish, this was fantastic, especially loved the ice cream. We did enquire frm the service staff if the ice cream was inhouse to which he replied "yes". followed by "we scooped it from the ice cream tub". Lols. cant blame the poor boy. He looked like he was fresh out of Secondary School.
Speaking of, service was good. Not only to us but to other customers as well. I noticed how each customer was given sufficient attention and how water was constantly topped up and they enquired abt our meals(not one waiter but each waiter) and if we wanted to order other drinks once our drinks finished. Our plates were cleared only after we were done and cutlery was changed too. For a relatively young and I reckon fresh out of school for some of them staff, they were very professional and very commendable.
Finally, I tried some of CG's Rose beer which tasted a bit like a fruit drink. It was not bad though. Im not really a beer drinker but i did like it.
All in all it was a nice dinner. Good food, a belated Birthday Celebration, conversation with friends(old n new). I would definitely be back. Though this time it'll be harder to choose as I'll probably want to order most of the appetizers ;)
Was scouring the Suntec area for a quick dinner fix one late evening and chanced upon Imperial Treasure Jing Chuan Hu Yang. Having had a good experience at its cousin, Imperial Jade Teochew Cuisine some time back, we decided to give this place a shot.
Located within the ring of food outlets that surround the Fountain of Wealth, Imperial Treasure Jing Chuan Hu Yang serves up dishes from 4 different regions in China - Beijing, Sichuan, Shanghai and Yangzhou. The restaurant's interior is very similar to what you would find in a typical Crystal Jade restaurant that seem to be springing up just about everywhere. Hey, even the menu looks similar.
Yang Chow Fried Rice - I used to stuff myself silly with yang chow fried rice from the Chinese takeaway just down the street from my apartment, which was operated by this old Chinese lady, when I was studying overseas. Reason being, it was simply wonderful and I just couldn't get enough of it. Imperial Treasure's rendition looked the part, smelt the part but missed the mark. First and foremost, the all important char siew was replaced by chicken cubes - a sign of cost cutting? Secondly, the rice lacked the wok hei taste and came across as a tad too oily. To top it up, the whole dish tasted rather bland. Definitely not a dish I would order in a hurry again.
Spinach with Garlic - Nothing special about this dish, just your normal average stir fried spinach with a healthy dose of garlic.
Steamed Beancurd with Ham & Prawns - For $12, I thought that this dish was overpriced with its less then generous servings of ham and prawns. There was quite alot of beancurd though, which was soft and slithery - very much like 豆腐花. The gravy didn't contain too much starch but came across as rather bland. For something already so bland like tofu, the gravy should have been more robust in my humble opinion.
Glutinous Ball with Sweet Wine - To be honest, this is the first time I'm eating something like that and I'm not sure its exactly my cup of tea. Mixed in with the tiny glutinous balls were grains of rice which made the whole dessert rather interesting for the first few mouthfuls. After that the strong taste of the rice wine kicked in, overwhelming me completely and I had to raise the white flag.
Souffle Egg White Ball - Its been quite a while since I last had this dessert so I was kind of looking forward to it. Imperial Treasure's offering had banana slices and red bean filling in it with a spongy like texture hinting of egg white. Nice but excessively oily. Every bite brought forth a secretion of oil from the skin. Definitely not for the health conscious.
To be fair, the food was quite decent and I am inclined to think that standards hover around that of Crystal Jade's lower tier restaurants like La Mian XLB, Kitchen and the likes. Prices are about the same as well (2 of us spent about $48 for dinner), which probably puts it in direct competition with the above mentioned CJ restaurants. Given a choice, I guess it all boils down to convenience.
Christmas is just around the corner and i was fortunate enough to be invited for a food tasting session at Jia Wei restaurant for their Christmas set menu. Jia wei, literally means a taste from home and is championed by acclaimed chef Lee Tuck Seng, who has forty years of culinary experience under his belt and is no stranger to multiple culinary awards. Special thanks to Keane and Grand Mecure for this wonderful experience.
The interior is a portrait of soft lighting and simple chinese furniture with thankfully rounded tables and surprisingly comfortable chairs. Minimalistic but comfortable, the rounded tables make conversation easy and brings people together much better then the normal rectangular ones found elsewhere. To me, thats a plus.
Roasted Walnut with sesame - This is worth a mention because its made in house, is very fragrant, crispy and pleasing to eat.
The dim sum appetiser reminded me of similar offerings in taste paradise and the hai tien lo trio albeit of a totally different category. The siew mai is rather big and came with a suitably decadent decor of gold foil. It doesn't add to the taste but it sure is nice to look at. The pork taste is rather strong in this but otherwise, it was a nice and regular offering. The second item is a prawn and scallop dumpling which is generally well received by all at the table. I found the crunchy prawn sweet and fresh while the scallop complimented and enhanced the taste further. Definitely something to try. Next up is the prawn and mango roll which had too much mango for my liking since it covered the taste of the prawn and finally, the last item is the deep fried prawn dumpling. Bascially, its good but rather oily. Not a bad start and this gave me high hopes on the restaurants dim sum lunch offers.
Christmas is just around the corner and i was fortunate enough to be invited for a food tasting session at Jia Wei restaurant for their Christmas set menu. Jia wei, literally means a taste from home and is championed by acclaimed chef Lee Tuck Seng, who has forty years of culinary experience under his belt and is no stranger to multiple culinary awards. Special thanks to Keane and Grand Mecure for this wonderful experience.
The interior is a portrait of soft lighting and simple chinese furniture with thankfully rounded tables and surprisingly comfortable chairs. Minimalistic but comfortable, the rounded tables make conversation easy and brings people together much better then the normal rectangular ones found elsewhere. To me, thats a plus.
Roasted Walnut with sesame - This is worth a mention because its made in house, is very fragrant, crispy and pleasing to eat.
The dim sum appetiser reminded me of similar offerings in taste paradise and the hai tien lo trio albeit of a totally different category. The siew mai is rather big and came with a suitably decadent decor of gold foil. It doesn't add to the taste but it sure is nice to look at. The pork taste is rather strong in this but otherwise, it was a nice and regular offering. The second item is a prawn and scallop dumpling which is generally well received by all at the table. I found the crunchy prawn sweet and fresh while the scallop complimented and enhanced the taste further. Definitely something to try. Next up is the prawn and mango roll which had too much mango for my liking since it covered the taste of the prawn and finally, the last item is the deep fried prawn dumpling. Bascially, its good but rather oily. Not a bad start and this gave me high hopes on the restaurants dim sum lunch offers.
Turkey Ham Salad with fresh fruit and wasabi mayonaise - Being a christmas set dinner, our course began proper with a turkey ham salad. The meat itself was rather dry but is nicely counteracted by the tasteful wasabi mayonnaise and the sweet fruits it came with.Rather surprising was how well the entire concoction complimented each ingredient used for a pleasing and appetising effect.
Jia Wei Superior Sharks Fin - Slowly becoming a norm and a trend, the sharks fin is served in a hot stone pot to help keep the broth warm. Definitely one of the better items that day, the sharks fin is generous in big pieces and comes complete with crab roe, beansprouts and crab meat. The broth is thick and more starchy then regular sharks fin. In fact, it was good enough to have without pepper nor vinegar, this is a gauge of how good the sharks fin is . Our host also shared that executives nearby will come for the sharks fin for lunch and leave. So yeah, it was pretty good.
Pan Fried Fillet of Pork Spare Rib with Special Sauce - My friends had this so i only had the luxury of a short taste, to be honest, it was way too sweet for my liking and the special sauce tasted just like honey to me. Not bad, but not something i'd order enthusiastically.
Grilled Special Rack of Lamb with Chinese Wine - I wasn't given much of a choice since the menu was decided for me but i ain't complaining. Compared to the pork, i find this done pretty darn well. Medium rare and done with perfection, with a nice hint of chinese wine in the sauce. The meat was tender without the overwhelming lamb taste. In other words, this was a clear winner of a choice for the set menu.
Braised Bai Ling Mushroom with Broccoli - Finally, something lighter to wash the palate. The broccoli is crunchy and tasty while the mushrooms took a lesser stage while still maintaining a nice soft and spongy presence. I liked the generous quantities of dried scallop within but it was quite salty as a whole.
Homemade Noodles with Prawn and Conpoy - The final main dish for the day, the homemade noodles were soft and springy but failed to absorb much of the sauce. The prawn, though huge, was hit or miss in terms of quality since it was not springy nor sweet on one side but salvaged on the other half. Overall, this was the one dish that didn't impress.
Chilled Lemon Jelly with Lime Sorbet - Personally, i liked this dessert quite a bit. Even though the lime sorbet is terribly sour, it came with dried fruits and enough lemon jelly to compliment the overall taste.Simply have the entire combination altogether and you'll have a more pleasant experience. I especially like the way it cleans the palate after such a heavy meal.
In terms of costs, this meal would set you back by $98 per head.
All in all, the meal was pleasant and our host, Keane filled us in quite abit on the history of the hotel. The food is above average on some and average on others but the overall experience is a good one. If you're looking for a place to spend Christmas away from the crowds, in a nice quiet Chinese setting with loved ones, this is not a bad place to visit. Do note the steep prices however.
1=SGD 0.0587
Thanks to the food hunters! We managed to have our Christmas dinner at this hidden place. I think I've heard about it before but never really thought of trying it. But no regret after I tried it.
When we arrived, the place was empty with only one table filled. But as the night comes, the place gets very packed with hungry families and friends.
The choice of food is pretty decent, and they're fresh. Agree that the beef was fantastic! We should have ordered more of it! Love the mini custard bao which needs exactly 2mins in the boiling steamboat to cook/ heat it.
Their choice of cooked food though little, but they are of good quality too imo. Love the lemongrass chicken, fried chicken wing, sotong you tiao and cucumbers!
The service staff were helpful too. When the table couldn't put that huge number of plates we ordered, they helped us "throw" all the food into our steamboats too.
And do you know who owns this place? Its Terrence Cao the TCS actor.
Nice place for gatherings and hungry souls.
*No photos caused everyone was hungry and too lazy to take out our cameras! LOL!
Rating given:
For this years Christmas Eve celebration, i managed to go out with a couple of friends who has been asking forever to have an outing. And i'm glad i went for it. First of all, thanks to all the people who came that night, it was great fun and lets do it again soon.
So it was that this restaurant was decided upon for the gathering. I was skeptical at first but these were quickly dispelled when i had my first bite. The restaurant itself was located right next to Tao's to the left. There's another steamboat place on the right called Ju Ju Steamboat restaurant so make sure you don't get confused.
The meal we had was the buffet menu at 27 .
The selection is decent to say the least, there's the usual cooked food menu and the non cooked food menu and a variety of soup bases to choose. Our choice were the winter melon and the herbal chicken soup base. Both were pretty good but the winter melon tasted much better. The herbal chicken soup was rather bland tasting.
The selection of items included the usual prawns, chicken, beef, pork, eggs and veg.
The beef is of paticular mention since it tastes really fresh and good. If not for the buzzing flies, the beef was something to really eat much off.
The interesting items were the char siew pau, custard buns and the har gao(shrimp dumplings), which required you to boil them before eating. The pork dumplings were interesting as its the first time i had BBQ pork dumplings that need to be boiled. Even more surprising is that it actually tastes pretty good. Along with the custurd bun and the shrimp dumplings as well.
The chili cockles are worth a mention too. Spicy and sweet. One can easily eat this whole bowl straight off.
Overall, i'd say the meal was rather good in general. Service can be slow when the crowd sets in and the plates can really pile up quite quickly. However, the quantity of items served and the hit items make up for it.
And when good company is around, food just tastes better.
Cheers and happy new year people.
Rating given:
Experiences can be a funny thing. It changes your outlook on life and brings different priorities to light which you might never have noticed otherwise.
For this year end, the teambuilding event my boss decided upon is one which is pretty interesting, a place to learn to cook and after that, eat as well. Whats not to like?
Palate sensations is an interesting concept cooking school which has some big name chefs doing the teaching and guiding processes.
Our chef for the day is Ms Lynette Foo who does the teaching for Western/Australian cuisine. And our meal consists of our own, handmade pasta, and choclate souffle (aka molten chocolate cake)
The entire experience of making the dough involved everything right from the mixing of the dough to the choice of pasta to make. Suffice to say, it was interesting from start to end.
The chocolate souffle was most interesting to me since i love desserts and eat this every chance i get. To my horror, it was so easy to do and uses reasonably cheap ingredients that i'm just shocked how much i'm charged for it outside. Easily 8 to 9 times more then what its worth.
The coordinator or chef is amiable and facilitating. The food we made were reasonably tasty and good. And the environment is very condusive and comfortable.
The one night course and 3 course meal took 4 hours and cost upwards of $68 per head for 7 people. Interesting? Yes!
Expensive? Very much so. Fun? Yes! Try again? Let me do a rain check on my wallet before i answer that. Well, no. Its too expensive and out of the way to do again for me but its an experience everyone should try once at least.
Rating given:
Bedok food center is the one place that i will go if i have a craving for satay(plenty of stalls to choose from), nasi ayam penyet(found one with fantastic super crispy and delish nasi ayam penyet), western(fried chicken chop with fries, baked beans n coleslaw/egg for just $4.50), pizza/pasta that is below the $12 mark and char kway teow/ oyster omelette/ carrot cake(which is HALAL) and delish mutton soup(my gdad loves it)...abit out of the way cos u will have to take a bus there. It is technically on the oposite of Simpang bedok. I like how the stalls are arranged in a circle and seating area is in the middle so one can roam around freely to look for their desired food.
They even have a few desert places too, like a stall which sells ching teng(hot/cold) and this stall-GoGo beans, It sells soya products such as drinks/ice blended concoctions made from soya milk(14 types in all)..some examples are mocha ice blended or oreo.
14 kinds of beancurd, very intresting cos u can add sea coconut, white fungus, rice balls, fruits and other yummy ingredients to it(again 14 kinds in all) and theres also around 8 kind of grass jelly desserts. So you'll be pretty spoilt for choice there.
After having dinner with my family, I decided to try out their bean curd with rice balls @ $1.80. I chose a mixture of peanut, red bean n sesame and waited arnd 5 mins for them to prepare the rice balls. Its not wow supernice but i like the consistency of the beancurd. not super light but it was smooth and well ironicly soothing to me. still warm after the 20 min journey home it nicely filled my tummy. I liked the peanut rice balls over the other 2 ans was happy i got 2 big pieces. Overall it wasnt too overly sweet(even though i asked for more syrup n less beancurd) and it was a nice warm comforting dessert at on a monday night.
Rating given:
My first time using the Women's Weekly Voucher. Called up to make reservations for both me n bf cos i wanted to check out the porrige buffet and was surprised to know that at nite its an international buffet. My fren upon hearing abt the 1 for 1 wanted to tag along too so me not knowing if he can use my voucher too called up to enquire abt it.(it was already my 3rd time calling since i called before that to ask for a window seat). The staff who i spoke to, Melvyn was very patient and explained that my fren would need a voucher too but we could dine together. Great, so my fren got another mag and we headed down there for dinner. The whole parking was slightly confusing at first but we managed to find the place b4 noticing that the indian restaurant at the 1st level also has a buffet at just 12.00.
We were ushered to our table by Melvyn and he was very friendly, informing us that the buffet was open and enquiring if we wanted drinks. I of course askd for my lemon sliceless 7-up(which he remembered ;) )..
First walked around to check out the spread. Quite ok actually. 4-5 cold dishes such as papaya salad, smoked salmon, crab salad, my green salads which are super fresh, baby corns. Cooked food selection consisted of Black pepper beef, oxtail, baked mussels with cheese, Thai fish fillet(whic i liked), fried chicken cutlet with what looked and tasted like laksa sauce, this stir fried seafood dish which i also liked. There was also clam chowder soup wich i enjoyed very much. it was not too watery and had quite a generous amounts of clams. It was a good hot dish to warm my tummy.
The bread selection was little. just 2 kinds but both were crunchy on the outside n soft inside..so it passed my mark(i just hate biscuity breads unless its popeyes biscuit). The stations that were manned were the Sashimi station ( had salmon, tuna, swordfish, seabass, octopus and egg(tamago)). i always get just the salmon, swordfish n tamago but this time i tried my luck and for the tuna too. Thank god it was good. The last time i had tuna(wich cost a bomb btw at a restaurant the tuna was terrible. felt like phukin after eatin it). this one was surprisingly nice. bf just stuck to his swordfish. I think the sashimi really made this worth it. It was really really good and the chef was super generous with the amount he gave us.
They also had sushi too but i didnt try it. Oh and theres also steamed fish which i liked. I didnt try the hokkien noodle though. and tried the spagetti(aglio olio). it was oryt. friends liked the bolognaise. Ok i admit i didnt really check out the porrige. Noticed a few dishes to go along with the porrige like braised duck, salted egg and salted fish and tried a bit but well okla im not a porrige person unless u count the malay chicken porrige. Bf said it was oookay.
Dessert options not bad, a few cakes, tartlets, nonya kuih, chendol(which was more like ice with the condiments at the bottom. it was in those sundae glasses which is abit to eat the chendol in. I liked one of the cakes. light and not too overly chocolaty. And theres a few choices of ice cream too, probably kings but i liked the yam n sweetcorn so yay..plus the chocolate sauce and rice made it yummier..didnt get the coffee and tea though..too full already.
Both my bf n my fren were constantly teasing me n my frenz gf cos we found our waiter(no guesses who) cute(looks a bit like a korean actor type) and attentive without being intrusive. It was a nice dining experience cos of the company and the service given to us(come on no1 wants a hostile waiter rite and it helps if theyre cute too...lucky thing i didnt bang into any pillars or trip over my shoes)..
Rating given:
Now since my photobucket is no longer a complete mess I can write my reviews. CG highlighted Pyramisa to me and I found it to be a really interesting place to dine @. The whole Egyptian theme and with belly dancing performances. I expected a dinner here to be very eventful which it definitely was('',)
6 of us arrived promptly @ 730 and we went snap happy what with the unique decor and the hieroglyphics on the walls, nice lighting and the curtains hanging from the wall. We even spotted the belly dancers practicing in the bar area.
Feeling hungry we ordered the
Mix Hot & Cold Platter - $24
*Hummus* - Chick Pea Puree served with Pita Bread
*Batata Salatis* - Potato Salad with Cumin and Black Olive
*Laben* - Greek Hung Yogurt with Sliced Cucumber and Mint Leaves
the three dips were okay but i found them a bit light
*Sambousek* - Pastry Puff with Feta Cheese Stuffing
Delicious. Eat it hot and the cheese is so yummy. crust is crispy and light
*Merguez* - Lamb Sausage serves with Harissa
*Chix Wings* - Chicken Wings Marinated with Harrisa and Arabic Spices
Or so we thought. It came with two items that did not look @ all like a sausage or chicken wings. We enquired the wait staff abt it and aparantly they ran out of the Merguez so it was substituted with
*Fattayer Sabanikh* - Spinach Samosa
An okay dish. Nothing fantastic or out of the ordinary
and
*Falafel* - Deep Fried Chick Pea
the chicken wings or should i say wing came rite after that.
We then decided to order two sets of chicken wings for the group of us
The chicken wings were goood. Adequately spiced and deep fried. It came with the harissa mayo which is intresting. CG tried it first and had a weird reaction to the taste(her facial expression said it all) but i found it refresing, slightly like a peppery mayonaise.
Oh and i also ordered the
*Fatouches* $8 - Fresh Chopped Salad with Black Pitted Olove and Pita Crouton
Very refresing and i loved the pita croutons
On to mains, the bulk of us ordered the
*Dijaj Mashi* $25 (House Signature Dish)
Pine Nut Pilaf Rice Wrapped with Oven Baked Chicken
I had this and it was yummy!!!!the chicken was spiced just nice, tender and delish!!the pine nut pilaf rice was light, went well with their tomato like sauce. It was a good dish which I enjoyed
Some ordered the
*Meshawi* $36
Mix of Grilled Lamb, Chicken Cubes, Beef and Prawn
I tried CG's lamb i think, and omg the fats was soooo good.(im gonna die unhealthy i know). It came with this chilli thingy which was sooo good.
When we saw the beautiful plate of
*Kreidess Bi Cosbara* $36
Grilled King Prawn with Cilantro on Harrisa Bed Pita
that Gaz's wife ordered, our greed overtook us and 4 of us ordered one to share and that was ohlala fantastic, the prawns were juicy and oh so well spicy. think they used that harissa thingy to marinade it in. and it was served with pita bread which i liked too.
You'd think we'd be too full for desserts right..Wrong. We just had to try out the
*Baklawa* $8
Arabic Pastry filled with Nuts and Honey served with vanilla Ice Cream
Remembering the Baklawa my dad would bring back from Australia and Egypt it was not the same. This seems more like pastry with the roughly chopped nuts and honey mixed and topped with pastry again when usually the honey would be absorbed by the pastry and it would be kind of moist yet crispy and sweet. This isnt as sweet as i expected and not as crispy too. And the ice cream was very much like a drink that u put inside the fridge to make "ice cream". It tasted different from vanilla ice cream. had a slite taste of spice in it. Interesting but not wow
CG ordered the
*Uma Ali* $9.50
Mother of Ali's Baked Bread Pudding
now this was good. It was gooey and sweet yet had a cereal like texture. Abit like baby food but nicer. Sounds weird but I really did like this dessert.
Arnd 10-ish i think, a lady(belly dancer) performed for us. It was a very entertaining 15 minutes and soon after that another belly dancer performed. If im not wrong she is Yelena from Columbia as I did get a chance to look @ the Poster they put up at the door promoting 4 foreign Belly Dancers from Russia, Japan, Vietnam and Columbia. Maybe they perform on different days. I found the dance quite cool and the young lady was pleasing to the eyes as well(my colleague was so disapointed he didnt tag along after seeing the pictures I took)
Am not sure if I will return as I found the servings for appetizers quite small for such a price but I do admit their mains and the Uma Ali made up for it. Maybe I might come again at another time.
But as for now the search for other exotic places to dine @ continues.
Rating given:
For food I will travel(provided there is transport home for me).
So when I was invited for a food tasting @ this venue I was abit "errr" since it was all the way in Holland V but after checking out the website, I forgot all about the dreadfully long trip home and was looking forward to the dinner.
Mykii actualli is a fusion of 2 words "Mykonos" and "sky". Kinda to hint at the whole concept of just relaxing and chilling out. It aims to allow one to just drift away from their hectic lifestyle n just take some time to be calm n relaxed.
Just standing outside and lookin at the restaurant, I loved how they used white and blue for their colours. It really does remind me of those travel shows I so often watch that show true white houses with beautiful cane/ wood furniture and accents with bold colours. The blue is a nice and calming touch, I loved their sky blue sofa seats and how the seating arrangements are well spaced out. Lighting was not too harsh and even the counter area looked well organized, pleasing to the eye and having the mini desserts on display helps too.
Looked through the drinks menu, i wanted to try one of their Granadas. The one that caught my eye was the
*Lemony Crush* - Lemon juice with mint leaves.
Now I usually steer clear from lemon juice cos I hate the overly tangy taste of lemons but today I just wanted to try it out.
The tangy taste was there but it was subtle with a hint of sweetness. The mint leaved also added more oomph to it as it was zesty, and very refreshing. I sipped it up together with the small bits of crushed ice which i love chewing on.
From glancing at the menu, u can tell that their cuisine is fusion inspired and ok i admit that was wuite worrying as usually fusion food is an aquired taste and is hard to pull off so my fingers were crossed. The appetizers all looked so well appetizing(duh) and good thing theres a lot of us so we all picked one each so that we can try
*Pissaladiere*
Mykii's Signature wild child that brings an open-faced provencale tart perfectly dressed with a healthy wholesome selection of roasted capsicums, anchovies, olives and onion jam.
*Tamarind Glazed Chicken with Glass Noodle, Green Papaya & Asian Herbs*
An all-time favorite Thai dish is revitalised with Mykii's new classic interpretation.
*Mezze Platter*
Created with Middle Eastern and European influences in mind. 3 dips served with lavosh and grissini
*Papaya & Avocado Salad*
A light, refreshing mix salad of papaya and avocado dressed with zesty dressing of lemongrass and lime.
*Caesar Salad With Fritto Mistro*
Classic caesar salad paired with Italian-styled breaded seafood served in a thin pastry.
The Caesar salad came with a pastry bowl thingy which was supposed to be broken and mixed with the salad but after I broke it apart it looked not as pretty. But well taste wise. The breaded calamari and prawns were kinda normal and the pastry reminds me of a thicker and crispier po-piah skin. But not bad too.
For the Pissaladiere. The pastry was slighty soft due to all the ingredients on top but still retains it slight cruchiness. The onion jam was a nice touch and it gave it a taste that was very *zing* I thought it was not bad
The papaya and avocado salad was just what it was, papaya, avocado and greens but the dressing of lemongrass and lime really gave it a kick. I loved how refresing it was yet again it was subtle.
The Tamarind glazed chicken was tender, the tamarind taste wasnt too prominent to me but i liked the green papaya and glass noodles. Really whet my appetite.
The mezze platter came with Salmon, Garlic and White beetroot dips. I liked the Salmona and Garlic dips a lot but like Combat Wombat, It would be nice to get softer breads though.
For the mains, I was torn between the Prawn Casserole In Spicy Tomato With Kaffir Leaf Pilaf and the Deep Fried Goby Fish With Sticky Plum & Ginger Sauce and went with the latter as I was in a fish mood.
The dish looked very intresting. There was about 4 pieces of fish stacked on each other and on top of it was the Sauce and some greens(beansprouts included). Now the fish was battered but the batter wasnt too thick and oily thank god but it was a wee bit tasteless. However with the plum and ginger sauce. It was yummy. The plum was very prominent over the ginger aspect though. Mayb a slightly abit more seasoning should be added to the fish. But it was a nice dish.
I did pinch a bit of the Seafood Linguine with Laksa Pesto and OMG it was fantastic. Iv tried a another version and didnt enjoy it that much but this version rocked. The flavours really stood out and I really felt like I was eating laksa. I especially liked the tau kwa(isit tau kwa or tau pok). It really absorbed the laksa sauce and When I bit into it, all the juices came out and oh yumm.
Even before the mains were served I was already looking forward to desserts. Had my eyes on the
*Nutella Squares With Salted Caramel*
But before that came, I did pick out a few of the mini desserts. There were plenty of varieties like Tiramisu, Noisiette, New York Chezcake, Walnut Tart with caramel, choices of Macroons. The macroons (namely the salted caramel one) was good. Nice and dense and ok it was just good. Wasnt too wowed by the mini cakes but i Loved the Walnut Tart. The tart was crumbly and you could taste the butteryness of it. The filling balanced it out as it was adequately sweet with chunks of walnut. And who could forget the sinful caramel. Yum.
But when my Nutella came, the nut went nuts. It was warm and soft and the Nutella was oh so good. I mean cmon, Iv got a whole bottle of nutella I can easily just eat like that so why order this. But this really is wow. The warmed brownie like base, the salted caramel and then the Nutella on top. Its something that every chocolate or Nutella lover has to try.
I got to pinch the
*Gula Melaka Creme Brulee With Pineapple*
*Granny Smith & Aloe Vera Crumble*
The 1st of of the two was disapointing. Couldnt really taste the Gula Melaka but its intresting how they incorporated the Pineapple into the dish. Found it a bit too pudding like though. Kinda expected a more smooth texture. The Granny Smith and Aloe Vera Crumble was powerr though. Another Mykii signature dish, this was fantastic, especially loved the ice cream. We did enquire frm the service staff if the ice cream was inhouse to which he replied "yes". followed by "we scooped it from the ice cream tub". Lols. cant blame the poor boy. He looked like he was fresh out of Secondary School.
Speaking of, service was good. Not only to us but to other customers as well. I noticed how each customer was given sufficient attention and how water was constantly topped up and they enquired abt our meals(not one waiter but each waiter) and if we wanted to order other drinks once our drinks finished. Our plates were cleared only after we were done and cutlery was changed too. For a relatively young and I reckon fresh out of school for some of them staff, they were very professional and very commendable.
Finally, I tried some of CG's Rose beer which tasted a bit like a fruit drink. It was not bad though. Im not really a beer drinker but i did like it.
All in all it was a nice dinner. Good food, a belated Birthday Celebration, conversation with friends(old n new). I would definitely be back. Though this time it'll be harder to choose as I'll probably want to order most of the appetizers ;)
Rating given:
Was scouring the Suntec area for a quick dinner fix one late evening and chanced upon Imperial Treasure Jing Chuan Hu Yang. Having had a good experience at its cousin, Imperial Jade Teochew Cuisine some time back, we decided to give this place a shot.
Located within the ring of food outlets that surround the Fountain of Wealth, Imperial Treasure Jing Chuan Hu Yang serves up dishes from 4 different regions in China - Beijing, Sichuan, Shanghai and Yangzhou. The restaurant's interior is very similar to what you would find in a typical Crystal Jade restaurant that seem to be springing up just about everywhere. Hey, even the menu looks similar.
Yang Chow Fried Rice - I used to stuff myself silly with yang chow fried rice from the Chinese takeaway just down the street from my apartment, which was operated by this old Chinese lady, when I was studying overseas. Reason being, it was simply wonderful and I just couldn't get enough of it. Imperial Treasure's rendition looked the part, smelt the part but missed the mark. First and foremost, the all important char siew was replaced by chicken cubes - a sign of cost cutting? Secondly, the rice lacked the wok hei taste and came across as a tad too oily. To top it up, the whole dish tasted rather bland. Definitely not a dish I would order in a hurry again.
Spinach with Garlic - Nothing special about this dish, just your normal average stir fried spinach with a healthy dose of garlic.
Steamed Beancurd with Ham & Prawns - For $12, I thought that this dish was overpriced with its less then generous servings of ham and prawns. There was quite alot of beancurd though, which was soft and slithery - very much like 豆腐花. The gravy didn't contain too much starch but came across as rather bland. For something already so bland like tofu, the gravy should have been more robust in my humble opinion.
Glutinous Ball with Sweet Wine - To be honest, this is the first time I'm eating something like that and I'm not sure its exactly my cup of tea. Mixed in with the tiny glutinous balls were grains of rice which made the whole dessert rather interesting for the first few mouthfuls. After that the strong taste of the rice wine kicked in, overwhelming me completely and I had to raise the white flag.
Souffle Egg White Ball -
Its been quite a while since I last had this dessert so I was kind of looking forward to it. Imperial Treasure's offering had banana slices and red bean filling in it with a spongy like texture hinting of egg white. Nice but excessively oily. Every bite brought forth a secretion of oil from the skin. Definitely not for the health conscious.
To be fair, the food was quite decent and I am inclined to think that standards hover around that of Crystal Jade's lower tier restaurants like La Mian XLB, Kitchen and the likes. Prices are about the same as well (2 of us spent about $48 for dinner), which probably puts it in direct competition with the above mentioned CJ restaurants. Given a choice, I guess it all boils down to convenience.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Christmas is just around the corner and i was fortunate enough to be invited for a food tasting session at Jia Wei restaurant for their Christmas set menu. Jia wei, literally means a taste from home and is championed by acclaimed chef Lee Tuck Seng, who has forty years of culinary experience under his belt and is no stranger to multiple culinary awards. Special thanks to Keane and Grand Mecure for this wonderful experience.
The interior is a portrait of soft lighting and simple chinese furniture with thankfully rounded tables and surprisingly comfortable chairs. Minimalistic but comfortable, the rounded tables make conversation easy and brings people together much better then the normal rectangular ones found elsewhere. To me, thats a plus.
Roasted Walnut with sesame - This is worth a mention because its made in house, is very fragrant, crispy and pleasing to eat.
The dim sum appetiser reminded me of similar offerings in taste paradise and the hai tien lo trio albeit of a totally different category. The siew mai is rather big and came with a suitably decadent decor of gold foil. It doesn't add to the taste but it sure is nice to look at. The pork taste is rather strong in this but otherwise, it was a nice and regular offering. The second item is a prawn and scallop dumpling which is generally well received by all at the table. I found the crunchy prawn sweet and fresh while the scallop complimented and enhanced the taste further. Definitely something to try. Next up is the prawn and mango roll which had too much mango for my liking since it covered the taste of the prawn and finally, the last item is the deep fried prawn dumpling. Bascially, its good but rather oily. Not a bad start and this gave me high hopes on the restaurants dim sum lunch offers.
Rating given:
Christmas is just around the corner and i was fortunate enough to be invited for a food tasting session at Jia Wei restaurant for their Christmas set menu. Jia wei, literally means a taste from home and is championed by acclaimed chef Lee Tuck Seng, who has forty years of culinary experience under his belt and is no stranger to multiple culinary awards. Special thanks to Keane and Grand Mecure for this wonderful experience.
The interior is a portrait of soft lighting and simple chinese furniture with thankfully rounded tables and surprisingly comfortable chairs. Minimalistic but comfortable, the rounded tables make conversation easy and brings people together much better then the normal rectangular ones found elsewhere. To me, thats a plus.
Roasted Walnut with sesame - This is worth a mention because its made in house, is very fragrant, crispy and pleasing to eat.
The dim sum appetiser reminded me of similar offerings in taste paradise and the hai tien lo trio albeit of a totally different category. The siew mai is rather big and came with a suitably decadent decor of gold foil. It doesn't add to the taste but it sure is nice to look at. The pork taste is rather strong in this but otherwise, it was a nice and regular offering. The second item is a prawn and scallop dumpling which is generally well received by all at the table. I found the crunchy prawn sweet and fresh while the scallop complimented and enhanced the taste further. Definitely something to try. Next up is the prawn and mango roll which had too much mango for my liking since it covered the taste of the prawn and finally, the last item is the deep fried prawn dumpling. Bascially, its good but rather oily. Not a bad start and this gave me high hopes on the restaurants dim sum lunch offers.
Turkey Ham Salad with fresh fruit and wasabi mayonaise - Being a christmas set dinner, our course began proper with a turkey ham salad. The meat itself was rather dry but is nicely counteracted by the tasteful wasabi mayonnaise and the sweet fruits it came with.Rather surprising was how well the entire concoction complimented each ingredient used for a pleasing and appetising effect.
Jia Wei Superior Sharks Fin - Slowly becoming a norm and a trend, the sharks fin is served in a hot stone pot to help keep the broth warm. Definitely one of the better items that day, the sharks fin is generous in big pieces and comes complete with crab roe, beansprouts and crab meat. The broth is thick and more starchy then regular sharks fin. In fact, it was good enough to have without pepper nor vinegar, this is a gauge of how good the sharks fin is . Our host also shared that executives nearby will come for the sharks fin for lunch and leave. So yeah, it was pretty good.
Pan Fried Fillet of Pork Spare Rib with Special Sauce - My friends had this so i only had the luxury of a short taste, to be honest, it was way too sweet for my liking and the special sauce tasted just like honey to me. Not bad, but not something i'd order enthusiastically.
Grilled Special Rack of Lamb with Chinese Wine - I wasn't given much of a choice since the menu was decided for me but i ain't complaining. Compared to the pork, i find this done pretty darn well. Medium rare and done with perfection, with a nice hint of chinese wine in the sauce. The meat was tender without the overwhelming lamb taste. In other words, this was a clear winner of a choice for the set menu.
Braised Bai Ling Mushroom with Broccoli - Finally, something lighter to wash the palate. The broccoli is crunchy and tasty while the mushrooms took a lesser stage while still maintaining a nice soft and spongy presence. I liked the generous quantities of dried scallop within but it was quite salty as a whole.
Homemade Noodles with Prawn and Conpoy - The final main dish for the day, the homemade noodles were soft and springy but failed to absorb much of the sauce. The prawn, though huge, was hit or miss in terms of quality since it was not springy nor sweet on one side but salvaged on the other half. Overall, this was the one dish that didn't impress.
Chilled Lemon Jelly with Lime Sorbet - Personally, i liked this dessert quite a bit. Even though the lime sorbet is terribly sour, it came with dried fruits and enough lemon jelly to compliment the overall taste.Simply have the entire combination altogether and you'll have a more pleasant experience. I especially like the way it cleans the palate after such a heavy meal.
In terms of costs, this meal would set you back by $98 per head.
All in all, the meal was pleasant and our host, Keane filled us in quite abit on the history of the hotel. The food is above average on some and average on others but the overall experience is a good one. If you're looking for a place to spend Christmas away from the crowds, in a nice quiet Chinese setting with loved ones, this is not a bad place to visit. Do note the steep prices however.
Rating given: