Having a farwell for 1 of my colleagues. We decided to buy a cake. Not sure what type of chocolate cake to buy, just go by the feeling and I decide to give a try of the cake we have never try before.
1 Belgium Chocolate Divine($30.00/600g)
Decadent Belgium chocolate and crunchy chocolate wafer within layers of rich chocolate mousse
On the top it has some fruits slice for decorations. The cake is coated with sweet chocolate fudge. A layer of chocolate mousse follow by a layer of soft sponge cake with some crpisy wafer and at the bottom there is another layer of chocolate mousse and cprisy wafer. We could taste of the rum but actually there isn't any rum inside. Not sure what they have added. But, I can say the cake is soft and nice.
Lucky, I have chosen the right cake. It worth trying.
Located near Thomson Plaza. Went there recently though I don't like to eat seafood but I still went as this place also provided "zi2 cha4".
The food tasted good although the variety is limited. We order baby Kai Lan (S$8), sweet sour fish ($10) and Gong1 Bao2 Chicken ($10). Prices are ok as even though we ordered small portions the amount of each dishes are still large (compared to other restaurants) The sweet and sour fish is very well cooked and the baby kai lan fresh and not too oily. Too spicy for the Gong Bao though.
We also ordered Chillied (or some will say Curry) Sri Lanka crabs at 2.8Kg. Heard that the buttered crabs are also nice. The Chilli is quite sweet but also very spicy though the spiciness is just right if you take it with the Fried Bread.
Tried some of the meat of the crabs. Quite nice, chewy and sweet. The crab is very very meaty those who likes to eat crab meat will love it ba.
We also ordered Yam paste with ginko nuts. ($12) The yam paste is not very well done as you still can feel the yam bits but I like it that way as it makes the yam dessert more chewy. The ginko are bitter though as the center stem wasn't removed.
4 of us spent a total of $167.00 the bulk of it went to the crabs which cost about $110.00
Never had a good impression about the TLG for their overpriced chinese fare. However, give them to me free and i'll probably fall head over heels for a bite. Zhou's kitchen happen to be one of those places where i got lucky and had the good fortune to eat for free due to work commitments. As everything is free, do note i may be more skewed to say their good then not.
The event was one that my company booked the whole restaurant for. This branch is near the road and has 2 stories. Seating capacity more or less maxes out at around 50-70 people but we invited 300-400 so it was quite a squeeze. The service staff were friendly and accomodating which made our jobs easier but even then, they weren't able to cope with the huge numbers.
In terms of food, what i had was a buffet spread of dim sum which pretty much sums it up.
In detail, i had the normal steamed shrimp dumplings which were generous in the dosage of crunchy shrimp which i liked. I also had the fried shrimp dumplings which were essentially the same but fried to a nice golden brown.
Beef slices were rather dry and not to my liking. The salad prawn with mixed fruits were rather delightful as well. Crunchy shrimp simply doesn't grow old for me.
BBQ pork pastry was rather average with the meat being overly hard and sweet. The pastry itself also lacked the aromatic fragrance which i like.
The steamed custard bun was rather disappointing since it tastes like those 50 cent per piece ones you can find in the hawker centers.
I also had a little fried rice and fried bee hoon to go with everything and the rice stood out with its salted fish rendition. The bee hoon was too oily for me.
To end it, i had mini egg tarts which had crispy and flaky pastry with less sweet egg fillings which was welcome.
All in all, it wasn't too bad so why 3 stars? For one, i still don't think its worth the price of admission and 2, i just don't have as good an impression of the group as before.
Tried out this after hearing from a friend. There are not many flavours when I went. I chose the orange chocolate, kiwi, taiwan, pepper chicken, curry chicken and the normal chocolate.
I would say in order for flavours like orange chocolate and kiwi to taste good, the taste of eggs have to be reduced. So those who love the taste of eggs may not like these flavours.
I would say they are rather well baked with generous amount of filling. Egg filings are well made and the flavours blended well. Curry chicken flavour was also well liked as its the filings of curry puff but in the shape of egg tarts. You can see the potato, onions and chicken inside.
I will buy again but not regularly as they are most likely fattening. They will serve well as gifts though, packed nicely in boxes.
Have been patronizing this little stall for many years when i was working there during my national service. In the beginning, it was just due to convenience that i ate there, after all, a $1 curry puff is hardly expensive by today's standards and the fact that it was bursting with ingredients is a huge plus.
If you are the kind used to Old Chang Kee or just run of the mill curry puffs, this is something to try.
To put it in perspective, Old Chang Kee feels processed while this, which is made on the spot and sold, has a more down to earth taste with the added incentive of it being fresh.
For one, i like the potatos they used because its more crunchy then OCK. The chicken is also in bigger chunks as well but its irregular since its made by hand. Either way, the discerning factor is the more spicy curry and chilli used which really differentiates it from the others.
Good clean fun for the stomach and something to easily enjoy on the go. This is one curry puff to try. After all, the owner made millions from it so more or less you know its good.
My first visit to Seoul Garden Bugis after it shifted to the new unit.
Ambience The whole restaurant was filled with smoke. There was this strong bbq smell and my eyes were stinged to tears.
Service Our table lacked of the soup ladle and spoons. Hard to get the servers' attention. Dirty plates were cleared promptly, which was important to me as i have this peeve of using dirty plates at buffet :P
Food We chose yom yam soup base. Soup was bland.
Standard seoul garden spread at the meat section. I wasnt much a carnivore hence i ate more on vegetables, fishballs and stuffs. Cooked food was surprisingly nice. Do try the 'ngoh hiam fish', 'chicken wing' and 'curry samosa'.
Summary Head home right after dinner. You will stink.
Hai Xiang is the flagship Chinese restaurant of Park Royal on Kitchener Road (formerly known as New Park Hotel) and offers an ala carte Cantonese cuisine and dim sum buffet for both lunch and dinner. Although I have a personal disdain for buffets, the one for one buffet voucher in my possession proved too alluring.
Hai Xiang is situated on the second floor of the hotel, which is right smack in the middle of a really terrible traffic network. The restaurant's interior comes across as classy with a modern Chinese touch through its use of wood, concealed lighting and heavy carpets.
Deep Fried Soon Hock - The Soon Hock was crispy on the outside but the fish, though fresh, was rather bland and not even soy sauce could save it. Most disappointing.
Vegetables with Abalone and Mushroom - You only get one shot at this dish and the abalone turned really small and of inferior quality. But really, you get what you pay for so no complaints.
Baked Oysters in Cheese & Mustard - This dish gave me the bumps. Plain gross if you ask me. Cheese and mustard is a bad combination in my humble opinion and coupled with a soft and mushy piece of oyster, its a recipe for disaster.
Black Pepper Beef - I personally thought that the beef cubes suffered from an overdose of tenderizer. The meat was overly tender but on the upside, at least it was sweet.
Homemade Beancurd - Soft but not exactly silky on the inside (very much like supermarket grade), the beancurd had a mild savoury taste which would render it one of the better dishes that evening. I appreciated the generous handful of enoki mushrooms that came immersed in the gravy as well.
Broccoli with Crab Meat - This dish was decent but the crab meat sauce came across as rather bland. I would have expected it to be savoury.
Spring Chicken - First looks, the spring chicken appeared appetizing with its golden brown crispy looking skin. Taste wise, it was a totally different matter altogether. The meat wasn't exactly juicy and everything seemed rather bland. More salt would have been great. And it certainly didn't help that the chicken was a tad too oily.
Prawns with Salad Dressing - A perennial favourite of mine and often spotted in cold dishes, the relatively fresh prawns were thinly sliced and served atop cubes of honey dew and rock melon. As normal as it gets. To be fair though, I've never tried any that have remotely gotten close to blowing me away.
Claypot Rice with Chicken - An order for the claypot rice has to be made 30 mins in advance but from the looks of it, it probably took 15 mins max. The rice didn't stick to the bottom of the claypot and was drenched in black sauce, hence the lack of wok hei. I did like the chicken pieces though, which were tender with a moderate hint of rice wine.
Fried Pig Intestines - Another personal favourite, especially when I order kway chup, the intestines were very crispy on the exterior. However, there was an overwhelming raw taste which tasted outright gross. Add the taste of cinnamon and star anise to that and you get an awful combination. The accompanying pineapple slices did quite a good job in covering up the taste though.
Roast Duck & Soy Chicken - I almost laughed when I saw the dish. It had 4 pieces of duck and 4 slices of chicken - 2 per pax. The chicken was served warm but was very tasteless whereas the duck had more bone then meat. Gives a literal meaning to picking inbetween the bones doesn't it?
Scallops with Black Bean Sauce - The scallops were small but relatively crunchy while the vegetables were normal.
Steamed Prawns - There seems to be a prevalent trend in the food here. Everything is fresh but just not sweet. Ditto for the prawns as well.
Red Bean Paste Pancake - Choice of dessert was limited so I stuck to this dish, which sorely disappointed with its ridiculously thick skin. I felt like I was chomping down on fried flour. The red bean filling was decent though, but then again, how bad can red bean filling get?
With the 1 for 1 voucher, the total bill for 2 came up to a very reasonable $42. However, take that 50% discount away and the buffet loses its draw. To be honest, the food is average at best and portions are really tiny. Going for seconds might prove a little difficult as waiting time can stretch quite a bit and its rather difficult to get the attention of the service staff, who seem to be shorthanded.
I never bored with Ngee Ann City, I love shopping at Takashimaya. They normally will have sales/fair at basement 2 and taka talk hall basement 1.
Of coz, lvl 4, Sanrio section is my favourite and must go every time Im there. I love browsing around Kinikuniya and can stay there for hours.
I realise also alot of shops in Ngee Ann City are more organised and fully stocked. I went to Giordano to get a pair of shorts, several shops i went to are out of stock or no size. Here a few times, i managed to get what i want and also the shop is more tidy then the rest.
They have alot of varieties of food at the basement too. I can shop half a day there, even whole day when there are sales going on.
A normal public holiday as my mum is not cooking dinner so my family decided to order pelican pizza.
We order 2 order pizza as it is 1 for 1.
1 Hawaiian & 1 Double Cheese ($21.90)
Hawaiian pizza has lots of turkey ham, pineapples, cheeses and tomato at the base. The base is thin, pineapples is sweet and juicy. It very nice.
Double cheese has Pelican Blended Cheese with tomato at the base. The whole pizza is full of cheese. It really cheesy, nice and it melt in your mouth.
I love to eat pizza, as I have tired a few places pizza but their base were too thick which made me feel too full but for Pelican pizza their thin base is good, you can easily have it for 3 to 4 pieces per person.
After shopping around, before going back home. My mum and I went to White sand Bengawan Solo to brought cake home.
After decide what cake to buy. In the end we choose a chocolate cake as we feel chocolate cake shouldn't gone wrong.
1 Chocolate Gateau ($18.80/500g)
On the top it has some chocolate slice and nuts for decorations. The cake is coated with chocolate fudge, there is few pieces of chocolate slice at the side of the cake. Inside of the cake there layer of fresh cream, chocolate sponge cake, follow by some walnuts with cream and another layer of chocolate sponge cake and some walnuts with cream and last layer of sponge cake at the bottom.
The sponge cake is too dry and too thick. It has a strong taste of butter. Sorry to said that I don't like the sponge cake and the nuts were not crunchy. I think they may need to improve their cakes.
1=SGD 0.0587
Having a farwell for 1 of my colleagues. We decided to buy a cake. Not sure what type of chocolate cake to buy, just go by the feeling and I decide to give a try of the cake we have never try before.
1 Belgium Chocolate Divine($30.00/600g)
Decadent Belgium chocolate and crunchy chocolate wafer within layers of rich chocolate mousse
On the top it has some fruits slice for decorations. The cake is coated with sweet chocolate fudge. A layer of chocolate mousse follow by a layer of soft sponge cake with some crpisy wafer and at the bottom there is another layer of chocolate mousse and cprisy wafer. We could taste of the rum but actually there isn't any rum inside. Not sure what they have added. But, I can say the cake is soft and nice.
Lucky, I have chosen the right cake. It worth trying.
Total bill: $27.00(10% discount)
Rating given:
Located near Thomson Plaza. Went there recently though I don't like to eat seafood but I still went as this place also provided "zi2 cha4".
The food tasted good although the variety is limited. We order baby Kai Lan (S$8), sweet sour fish ($10) and Gong1 Bao2 Chicken ($10). Prices are ok as even though we ordered small portions the amount of each dishes are still large (compared to other restaurants) The sweet and sour fish is very well cooked and the baby kai lan fresh and not too oily. Too spicy for the Gong Bao though.
We also ordered Chillied (or some will say Curry) Sri Lanka crabs at 2.8Kg. Heard that the buttered crabs are also nice. The Chilli is quite sweet but also very spicy though the spiciness is just right if you take it with the Fried Bread.
Tried some of the meat of the crabs. Quite nice, chewy and sweet. The crab is very very meaty those who likes to eat crab meat will love it ba.
We also ordered Yam paste with ginko nuts. ($12) The yam paste is not very well done as you still can feel the yam bits but I like it that way as it makes the yam dessert more chewy. The ginko are bitter though as the center stem wasn't removed.
4 of us spent a total of $167.00 the bulk of it went to the crabs which cost about $110.00
Rating given:
Never had a good impression about the TLG for their overpriced chinese fare. However, give them to me free and i'll probably fall head over heels for a bite. Zhou's kitchen happen to be one of those places where i got lucky and had the good fortune to eat for free due to work commitments. As everything is free, do note i may be more skewed to say their good then not.
The event was one that my company booked the whole restaurant for. This branch is near the road and has 2 stories. Seating capacity more or less maxes out at around 50-70 people but we invited 300-400 so it was quite a squeeze. The service staff were friendly and accomodating which made our jobs easier but even then, they weren't able to cope with the huge numbers.
In terms of food, what i had was a buffet spread of dim sum which pretty much sums it up.
In detail, i had the normal steamed shrimp dumplings which were generous in the dosage of crunchy shrimp which i liked. I also had the fried shrimp dumplings which were essentially the same but fried to a nice golden brown.
Beef slices were rather dry and not to my liking. The salad prawn with mixed fruits were rather delightful as well. Crunchy shrimp simply doesn't grow old for me.
BBQ pork pastry was rather average with the meat being overly hard and sweet. The pastry itself also lacked the aromatic fragrance which i like.
The steamed custard bun was rather disappointing since it tastes like those 50 cent per piece ones you can find in the hawker centers.
I also had a little fried rice and fried bee hoon to go with everything and the rice stood out with its salted fish rendition. The bee hoon was too oily for me.
To end it, i had mini egg tarts which had crispy and flaky pastry with less sweet egg fillings which was welcome.
All in all, it wasn't too bad so why 3 stars? For one, i still don't think its worth the price of admission and 2, i just don't have as good an impression of the group as before.
Rating given:
Tried out this after hearing from a friend. There are not many flavours when I went. I chose the orange chocolate, kiwi, taiwan, pepper chicken, curry chicken and the normal chocolate.
I would say in order for flavours like orange chocolate and kiwi to taste good, the taste of eggs have to be reduced. So those who love the taste of eggs may not like these flavours.
I would say they are rather well baked with generous amount of filling. Egg filings are well made and the flavours blended well. Curry chicken flavour was also well liked as its the filings of curry puff but in the shape of egg tarts. You can see the potato, onions and chicken inside.
I will buy again but not regularly as they are most likely fattening. They will serve well as gifts though, packed nicely in boxes.
Rating given:
Have been patronizing this little stall for many years when i was working there during my national service. In the beginning, it was just due to convenience that i ate there, after all, a $1 curry puff is hardly expensive by today's standards and the fact that it was bursting with ingredients is a huge plus.
If you are the kind used to Old Chang Kee or just run of the mill curry puffs, this is something to try.
To put it in perspective, Old Chang Kee feels processed while this, which is made on the spot and sold, has a more down to earth taste with the added incentive of it being fresh.
For one, i like the potatos they used because its more crunchy then OCK. The chicken is also in bigger chunks as well but its irregular since its made by hand. Either way, the discerning factor is the more spicy curry and chilli used which really differentiates it from the others.
Good clean fun for the stomach and something to easily enjoy on the go. This is one curry puff to try. After all, the owner made millions from it so more or less you know its good.
Rating given:
My first visit to Seoul Garden Bugis after it shifted to the new unit.
Ambience
The whole restaurant was filled with smoke. There was this strong bbq smell and my eyes were stinged to tears.
Service
Our table lacked of the soup ladle and spoons. Hard to get the servers' attention. Dirty plates were cleared promptly, which was important to me as i have this peeve of using dirty plates at buffet :P
Food
We chose yom yam soup base. Soup was bland.
Standard seoul garden spread at the meat section. I wasnt much a carnivore hence i ate more on vegetables, fishballs and stuffs. Cooked food was surprisingly nice. Do try the 'ngoh hiam fish', 'chicken wing' and 'curry samosa'.
Summary
Head home right after dinner. You will stink.
Rating given:
Hai Xiang is the flagship Chinese restaurant of Park Royal on Kitchener Road (formerly known as New Park Hotel) and offers an ala carte Cantonese cuisine and dim sum buffet for both lunch and dinner. Although I have a personal disdain for buffets, the one for one buffet voucher in my possession proved too alluring.
Hai Xiang is situated on the second floor of the hotel, which is right smack in the middle of a really terrible traffic network. The restaurant's interior comes across as classy with a modern Chinese touch through its use of wood, concealed lighting and heavy carpets.
Deep Fried Soon Hock - The Soon Hock was crispy on the outside but the fish, though fresh, was rather bland and not even soy sauce could save it. Most disappointing.
Vegetables with Abalone and Mushroom - You only get one shot at this dish and the abalone turned really small and of inferior quality. But really, you get what you pay for so no complaints.
Baked Oysters in Cheese & Mustard - This dish gave me the bumps. Plain gross if you ask me. Cheese and mustard is a bad combination in my humble opinion and coupled with a soft and mushy piece of oyster, its a recipe for disaster.
Black Pepper Beef - I personally thought that the beef cubes suffered from an overdose of tenderizer. The meat was overly tender but on the upside, at least it was sweet.
Homemade Beancurd - Soft but not exactly silky on the inside (very much like supermarket grade), the beancurd had a mild savoury taste which would render it one of the better dishes that evening. I appreciated the generous handful of enoki mushrooms that came immersed in the gravy as well.
Broccoli with Crab Meat - This dish was decent but the crab meat sauce came across as rather bland. I would have expected it to be savoury.
Spring Chicken - First looks, the spring chicken appeared appetizing with its golden brown crispy looking skin. Taste wise, it was a totally different matter altogether. The meat wasn't exactly juicy and everything seemed rather bland. More salt would have been great. And it certainly didn't help that the chicken was a tad too oily.
Prawns with Salad Dressing - A perennial favourite of mine and often spotted in cold dishes, the relatively fresh prawns were thinly sliced and served atop cubes of honey dew and rock melon. As normal as it gets. To be fair though, I've never tried any that have remotely gotten close to blowing me away.
Claypot Rice with Chicken - An order for the claypot rice has to be made 30 mins in advance but from the looks of it, it probably took 15 mins max. The rice didn't stick to the bottom of the claypot and was drenched in black sauce, hence the lack of wok hei. I did like the chicken pieces though, which were tender with a moderate hint of rice wine.
Fried Pig Intestines - Another personal favourite, especially when I order kway chup, the intestines were very crispy on the exterior. However, there was an overwhelming raw taste which tasted outright gross. Add the taste of cinnamon and star anise to that and you get an awful combination. The accompanying pineapple slices did quite a good job in covering up the taste though.
Roast Duck & Soy Chicken - I almost laughed when I saw the dish. It had 4 pieces of duck and 4 slices of chicken - 2 per pax. The chicken was served warm but was very tasteless whereas the duck had more bone then meat. Gives a literal meaning to picking inbetween the bones doesn't it?
Scallops with Black Bean Sauce - The scallops were small but relatively crunchy while the vegetables were normal.
Steamed Prawns - There seems to be a prevalent trend in the food here. Everything is fresh but just not sweet. Ditto for the prawns as well.
Red Bean Paste Pancake - Choice of dessert was limited so I stuck to this dish, which sorely disappointed with its ridiculously thick skin. I felt like I was chomping down on fried flour. The red bean filling was decent though, but then again, how bad can red bean filling get?
With the 1 for 1 voucher, the total bill for 2 came up to a very reasonable $42. However, take that 50% discount away and the buffet loses its draw. To be honest, the food is average at best and portions are really tiny. Going for seconds might prove a little difficult as waiting time can stretch quite a bit and its rather difficult to get the attention of the service staff, who seem to be shorthanded.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
I never bored with Ngee Ann City, I love shopping at Takashimaya. They normally will have sales/fair at basement 2 and taka talk hall basement 1.
Of coz, lvl 4, Sanrio section is my favourite and must go every time Im there. I love browsing around Kinikuniya and can stay there for hours.
I realise also alot of shops in Ngee Ann City are more organised and fully stocked. I went to Giordano to get a pair of shorts, several shops i went to are out of stock or no size. Here a few times, i managed to get what i want and also the shop is more tidy then the rest.
They have alot of varieties of food at the basement too. I can shop half a day there, even whole day when there are sales going on.
Rating given:
A normal public holiday as my mum is not cooking dinner so my family decided to order pelican pizza.
We order 2 order pizza as it is 1 for 1.
1 Hawaiian & 1 Double Cheese ($21.90)
Hawaiian pizza has lots of turkey ham, pineapples, cheeses and tomato at the base. The base is thin, pineapples is sweet and juicy. It very nice.
Double cheese has Pelican Blended Cheese with tomato at the base. The whole pizza is full of cheese. It really cheesy, nice and it melt in your mouth.
I love to eat pizza, as I have tired a few places pizza but their base were too thick which made me feel too full but for Pelican pizza their thin base is good, you can easily have it for 3 to 4 pieces per person.
There is no GST and it free delivery.
Rating given:
After shopping around, before going back home. My mum and I went to White sand Bengawan Solo to brought cake home.
After decide what cake to buy. In the end we choose a chocolate cake as we feel chocolate cake shouldn't gone wrong.
1 Chocolate Gateau ($18.80/500g)
On the top it has some chocolate slice and nuts for decorations. The cake is coated with chocolate fudge, there is few pieces of chocolate slice at the side of the cake. Inside of the cake there layer of fresh cream, chocolate sponge cake, follow by some walnuts with cream and another layer of chocolate sponge cake and some walnuts with cream and last layer of sponge cake at the bottom.
The sponge cake is too dry and too thick. It has a strong taste of butter. Sorry to said that I don't like the sponge cake and the nuts were not crunchy. I think they may need to improve their cakes.
Rating given: