There are different types of restaurants, those that started out small and humble, and then go on to become popular among the connoisseur, and eventually moving on to up-market, and also there are restaurants who started on a bang, but decided to go the other way round, New York New York, of course belongs to the latter.
New York New York (NYNY), started well, with the maiden restaurant at the ever-busy Citylink, which by far a good location, witnessing the everyday crowd moving from City hall to Marina Square, Suntec area.
My initial impression of New York New York was good, even though people told me that their food was average, but i still proceed on to my first visit there. But slowly and surely, NYNY started to venture into the heartlands, with new restaurants at Lot 1, Amk Hub, Heartland mall and downtown east.
Not that NYNY is a very classy restaurant in the first place, but i still find the overall feel to be above average. But it seems that the move into the heartlands is reaping dividends for NYNY, with most of the restaurants being filled up easily every day, especially so during the weekends where the whole family comes out to dine.
New York New York (NYNY), with its big white & green signage, and the trademark light green comfy furnitures, stands out from far. NYNY used the copy-and-paste method for their interior decor to good effects. The particular branch is at Lot 1, taking over the place of the former tenant, Pizza Hut.
By and large the location is a good place as its on the ground floor, and just beside the entrance near the taxi stand. This makes me wonder why Pizza Hut chose to vacant it in the first place.
Caribbean Breeze ($5.90) Frozen pink guava and pineapple juice, which came across as rather sour to us.
Lime lemonade soda ($5.90) Real traditional American lemonade, good and reliable.
Spaghetti Bolognese ($12.90) The spaghetti bolognese with giant meatballs. The pasta is done “al dente” firm yet not too hard. The meatball was really gigantic, well i’m not really a meatball person but my brother seemed to enjoy this simple pasta.
Tagliatelle mushroom alfredo with crispy fish ($12.90) Fish and creamy pasta instead of chips. The pasta was average, i preferred tomato to cream base, and the fish was average nothing spectacular.
Smoked salmon velvet ($9.90) Smoked salmon, tuna mayo, marinated tomatoes, grilled vegetables and sauteed onions made up the Smoked salmon velvet. I felt vegetables in sandwich would be better off being fresh than grilled.
Tagliatelle aglio with fresh seafood ($12.90) Simple and delicious. Extra virgin olive oil with lots of garlic and chili combined perfectly with mixed seafood. I never liked aglio because i found it too dry, and too spicy. But then again, its personal preference.
Juicy beef tenders ($13.90) Under the cloud of the creamy mashed potatos, the beef chunks with gravy was too salty for our liking. We struggled to finish the dish.
Hawaiian pizza ($13.90) The hawaiian pizza came in the thin form with the typical hawaiian toppings like pineapple and ham. 8 slices to share around the table. However, i lamented the fact that the pizza wasn’t cheesy enough.
Total bill was $103.81 for a table of 6, which worked out to an average of around $17 per person. Prices are still within the reasonable range for a mid-tier restaurant. The menu is comprehensive with lots of choices like salad, pasta, pizza, main course, and desserts. Food at NYNY is average at best, judging from the lines of people queuing up for a table at NYNY, I believe we will see more of NYNY opening in other heartland shopping centre.
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!
It’s a shame that Dim sum isn’t getting the recognition as its Sushi counterparts. The Japanese sushi is also like what Dim sum is to the Chinese cuisine, just that it comes in the form of vinegared rice topped with ingredients like fish, various meats and vegetables.
With the entrée of more Spanish restaurants in the local dining scene, more people knows about tapas, and degustion has always been a firm word on the menu of the French restaurants here. How about dim sum? I think that most youngsters nowadays are not really into dim sum, since it’s often seen as a more traditional meal. Youngsters want to break out of the tradition, they want something hip and cool, and dim sum is not that. Which is cooler, saying you had dim sum, or tapas at the latest Spanish restaurant and a 6 course degustion dinner?
Dim sum is akin a piece of artwork crafted by the chef, so exquisite and refine. No offence to the Sushi-fanatic, but give me dim sum over sliced raw fish anytime.
Every hotel will have their own flagship restaurants in the different cuisines, and at Carlton hotel, Wah Lok is the Cantonese representative. Our latest dim sum adventure brings us here, together with hautestuff and ladies, we had a great time over our dim sum lunch.
Wah Lok is located on the second level within the Carlton hotel, the high ceiling of the restaurant makes the interior looks very spacious. The decor is typical of most Chinese restaurants, with a very comfy and homely feel. There are two different dining halls and can easily fill up on a normal day, which shows the popularity of the restaurant.
Char siew sou ($3.80 for 3) The Baked BBQ pork pastry or more affectionately known as char siew sou, has always been one of the dim sum that i will order first. Wah lok’s version of the char siew sou did not disappoint, within the buttery surface of the pastry were juicy and sweet char siew fillings.
The rendition at Wah lok may not be as refine as the one i had at Yan Ting, nevertheless it’s still better than most char siew sou that i had before, and all of us were tempted to order second helpings.
Baked BBQ pork buns ($3 for 2) We asked the captain for recommendations, and he promptly suggested that we have Wah Lok’s signature, char siew bao. We were rather surprised when the char siew bao came, as it’s not the normal steamed buns which has white pillowry exterior. Instead, the baked counterpart is browned and glazed, more like bo luo bao.
The juicy and sweet char siew was enveloped within the baked pastry. Although we just had the char siew sou which is a different variety made with puff pastry, the pork buns were gone in an instant.
Baked egg tarts ($3.20 for 3) The petite baked egg tarts had smooth and eggy fillings within the puff pastry. The miniature size of the egg tart was the only problem as we only had one each.
Steamed prawn dumplings ($5.40) The steamed prawn dumplings, or “Har Gao” at Wah Lok had fresh, succulent prawns contained by the thinly light skin. Solid and reliable prawn dumplings.
Steamed pork dumplings ($4.60) The steamed pork dumplings or “siew mai” is another dim sum which i would not fail to order. The siew mai was well-balanced, not too porky.
Fried XO carrot cake ($10) The fried xo carrot cake was off-the-menu, which we requested for instead of the steamed carrot cake. However this was a mistake as the carrot cake was bland and too soft for my liking. We couldn’t taste much of the supposedly “oomph” xo sauce. At $10, we would be better off ordering two other basket of dim sum.
Steamed chicken claw with chili ($3) I am never a fan of chicken claw, but the three ladies certainly enjoyed it, munching the chicken feet and spiting out the small bones.
Deep fried beancurd ($5.6) We wanted one more dim sum after our first round, and the waiter recommended this. The deep fried beancurd skin with prawns was excellent. Normally, the beancurd skin would be more than the prawn, but in this instance, the succulent prawn fillings threatened to overshadow the beancurd skin.
Fried mango ice cream ($6) We ended off our dim sum lunch with a very non-chinese dessert. Fried ice cream was a craze a few years back, and i remember there’s even a store at the Tiong Bahru market which used to sell fried ice cream. But not anymore, where can you still find fried ice cream nowadays?
The crispy exterior had a strong hint of coconut taste, while the interior was icy cold ice cream, simply magic, how did they do that?
Total bill was $63.75 for 4 person, which worked out to be around $16 per person. We didn’t really ordered a lot, so the price might seem deceptive, nevertheless, the dim sum at Wah Lok is still priced reasonably given their quality. The portions are quite petite, but it will do for our ladies. I foresee i’ll be coming back to Wah Lok quite often in the near future to try out the rest of the dim sum.
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!
I've always thought of Ikea as the place for furniture and home accesories but was pleasantly surprised one fine weekday when i was dragged along with the team for a meal there.
The IKEA foodcourt or restaurant is a novel concept where most of the process involves the customer choosing and creating their own menu as they go.
For example, collecting salads, cakes, coffee and sandwiches etc. But the place is known for its extremely big and juicy chicken wings and their meatballs with spagghetti which i managed to try a little of.
The meatballs were really something different with its strong taste of spices and considerably bigger then normal size. The spagheti costs about $8 and comes with 5 meatballs but trust me, its never enough. Something to look out for.
The coffee dispenser is free flow so take all you want with the cup you are "issued". But don't expect to be able to take away the drinks however.
Overall, an interesting experience at an interesting concept store.
Swenson's is a property pretty much everyone would have heard about. Began since 1948 over in San Francisco, Swenson's has since grown to encompass the Middle East, Asia and USA. Their outlets can be found easily in shopping malls and other outlets alike. For a place that began as a humble ice cream shop, it now boasts a menu all its own. Has time been kind on this franchise though?
What i had that day: Strawberry Sundae Chicken Soup Prawn And Fruit Salad Chicken in a Jacket Omelette With Salad and Fries French Fries Pesto Salmon Saute Rodeo Wings Clam Chowder Ribeye Steak Cookies and Cream Ice Cream with Chipsmore Cookie
Of all the items above, the ones i did try are the soup, which was pasty and starchy and also quite salty. The prawn and fruit salad was pretty good albeit bland as it was only the taste of lettuce with prawns with little or no olive oil and vinegaritte. The good thing about it was that the prawns were crunchy. The fries turned out to be the best item for this visit IMHO. Hot, slightly thick and not oily. It went well with the tartar sauce and chilli/tomato mixture as usual. The rodeo wings came across as overfried and had too much flour thrown into the mix. The rodeo aka spicy chili sauce felt tagged on and not the authentic smoked rodeo wings it should be. My main course was the ribeye steak which i ordered medium rare but came well done. There was also an abundance of the fatty layer which meant a huge part of the meat could not be consumed. The meat tasted tough and lacked any form of beefy taste which i would have expected. The cookies and cream ice cream was another disappointment in it being close to tasteless. At least it was sweet though.
I'm quite disappointed frankly but at the very least, it did not deteriorate to the point of Jack's Place which i've completely sworn off. Also, i have to thank my 2 colleagues for giving me a treat for this as otherwise, i may not have had the chance to try it again. The way it stands now, its a safe bet to say that improvements are definitely needed but its still not beyond redemption.
Its more or less a quest for reasonably priced good japanese food in Singapore that drives my urge to consistently try weird Japanese restaurants. This is no exception. Located in the ulu and often unknown Elias mall, this restaurant is part of a community center which made me believe it had to be a simple, no frills eating place. Lets see if thats true.
Simple wooden chairs, spaciously placed amidst tables in a single line. The interior is nothing to shout about. In fact, its extremely simple. There wasn't any background music either. In a very real sense, i'm saying that the place is boring with nothing to occupy you as you wait for your meal.
Bento set with Salmon Sashimi, Chawanmushi, Grilled Saba Fish and Chicken Katsu ($15.90) - My gf ordered this set because it came with the usual salmon sashimi which is one of her favorite items. For $15, this wasn't too bad to be honest. 4 pieces of salmon, 1 piece of grilled Saba fish, fried chicken and chawanmushi along with rice. Seems like a good deal to me. The salmon was moderately fresh and sweet but rather small. The katsu was pretty good since it was served hot and juicy. The saba fish had too many bones to be easily enjoyed while the chawanmushi (steamed egg) was rather chunky and lacked taste.
Bento Set with Assorted Tempura, vegetable soup, chawanmushi and teriyaki beef ($15.90) - My order was pretty decent as well, i liked the assorted tempura which came across as fragrant but oily. The beef was tender and sweet but portion size was small, the vegetable soup was a little too bland but the overall package wasn't too bad.
Total Bill came up to $34.98 including service charge. Its nice to note that the tea is free and refillable.
For a place hidden in the middle of nowhere and selling Japanese food, this was rather decent. Although its more towards foodcourt decent as opposed to boutique Japanese food decent, its still somewhere i could probably visit again. There's a sushi buffet offered here as well which is probably worth a try.
Bobo had the chance to be invited for food tasting at Village Wok. Initially this bimbo was afraid that she would have problems finding the place, with it being in CBD and all. But it was really easy to locate. It's quite near the Food Centre just slightly off the main road.
Upon entering the place, Bobo was slightly surprised. The signboard and the decor of the place itself wasn't like other Chinese restaurants. It's not like pretentiously posh but very very simple.. like a family business sorts. It was later when the lady boss (a pretty one) explained, that Bobo understood that this place is more of a B2B sort of business, selling its famous sauces to other eateries.
It was empty that day... CBD, on Sundays, is a ghost town as every one knows. So they had all the space to ourselves and the freedom to make noise. Fantastic! haha.
Popiah DIY $20 /set Completely healthy with stewed vegetables in prawn stock and condiments. Honestly Bobo thinks it is a little expensive considering it's just vegetables and stuff. BUT try preparing all these things at home then you would know what a hassle it is. It's not only good and healthy to eat, it's like an activity for family and friends to do. The good thing about DIY is that you can put whatever you want in it and leave whatever you want out. Yummy!
Chilled Crab with Special Vinegrette Sauce @ $30 /crab Bobo doesn't really like crab. Simply because it's troublesome. But the nice thing about this one was that they cut it up properly, so that it's easy to eat! They didn't need to use the hammer or weird tools to pry the meat out to eat. That aside, the flesh was sweet and fresh, tasty even without the sauce. They were told that the crabs were from Sri Lanka.
The Phoenix Soars @ $21 Yin-Yang boneless Village Wok Chicken Bobo loved this one. She liked its tasty flesh and there was plenty of breast meat for her to pick. Yummy.
Village Wok Celebration Parade @ $22 A combination of VW award dishes, VW Mustard Roast Crispy Pork and Village BBQ Pork Firstly, Bobo has to admit that she's not the sort who go for such meat. But she did try the Char Siew which was ok. The presentation of this dish is pretty special in that it looked like the chinese word "fortune". Cool eh.
Fried Brinjal with Crispy Squid in BXO Sauce @ $15 Bobo likes Brinjal! Initially she thought that this dish was carrot cake because it reminded her of the one at Taste Paradise. But it's brinjal much to her surprise. It was quite tasty but a little bit too sweet though.
Steamed Pating Fish with Preserved Vegetable @ $44 Preserved Vegetable... that's Chai Por, the thingy you have on chwee kueh? Bobo loves chai por. This particular version is not as salty as what people normally have which makes it seem healthier. But Bobo (being unhealthy) do likes salty chai por. The fish was normal she thinks.
Black Pepper Ham Leg @ $23 Voted The Travelling Gourmet’s favorite dish Bobo had a very small bit of this. As above, she's not a fan of pork so she shouldn't comment on this, having not tasted enough versions.
Smiling Fortune Noodle @ $8 Tangy noodles harmonized with delectable fresh prawn essence, topped with prawns. The serving given to them was slightly smaller that day as they already had plenty to eat. Each person had a pot to themselves. It was served nice and hot with a little tealight below. Bobo liked the soup base a lot and the noodles were served at the right time, so they weren't mushy. But she doesn't remember eating many prawns. One maybe. or was it two?
VW Desserts - Sampler size
Black Glutinous Rice with Coconut Ice-cream @ $4.80
Lemongrass ice-cream
Kaya with bread Bobo liked the Black Glutinous Rice with Coconut ice cream the best. The other ice cream had a nice tinge of lemongrass in the aftertaste. But otherwise it was normal. Bobo isn't quite a fan of Kaya but she enjoyed it all the same. It wasn't the ultra sweet sort you get from the supermarket.
The prices might seem a bit high but it IS a chinese restaurant after all and such prices are pretty common for this kind of food served there.
We had the chance to taste many of their sauces which was really nice. Bobo wanted to buy the salted fish one home but she forgot. SIGGHHH.
Fisherios Fish N Chips is one of the many new-comers in the busy basement of Bugis Junction, which has seen the arrival of many food & beverage entrées after the demolition of the food court. Personally, i welcome this move and the management of Parco Bugis Junction is indeed moving in the right direction by providing a good mix of food.
I reckon it will take quite a while before conquering all the stores at the basement level, any takers want to volunteer to explore the area? Anyway, my friend and i decided on Fisherios because i saw it previously at Ngee Ann city basement, and also heard some rather positive comments online about it’s fish & chips.
The seating arrangement did remind me about the one at Bratwurst, simple furniture in a small enclosed area. The similarity between the food basement of Bugis Junction, Plaza Singapura, and Ngee Ann city is very apparent to all.
Fish fillet beer battered ($7.90) For all the different type of fish, you can have it done in three different ways, breaded, grilled, and in our case, the beer battered method. Price varies of course, with beer battered being the more expensive option. Choose from fish, salmon or snapper fillet.
Service was prompted and quick, but my first reaction when the dish came, what’s with the wrapping paper? Was the wrapping paper there to absorb the oil, or was it there so as to make it some sort of “fast food” type (pun intended). In any case, if they wanted to absorb the oil from the fish & chips, I’ll preferred it to be done before serving, so that customers won’t actually see all the oil stains on the paper.
The difference between wrapping it in the paper, and laying it out nicely on the plate. The presentation of the fish was poles apart. I found the beer battered fish to be quite strong, au contraire my friend thought that the beer flavor was acceptable.
In conclusion, the fish wasn’t really worth the price tag of $7.90, and with the small servings of the fries, we could easily got better fish and chips elsewhere. But i guess if you want a quick meal and don’t really mind the quality of fish, it is decent enough, which reminds me of Fisherman’s Wharf
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!
Rong Guang BBQ seafood has two outlets where you can enjoy your fix on barbecue seafood, one at Ulu Pandan road near Sunset way, and the other at Alexandre Village. Dinner was at the latter, and they are the only stall selling barbecue seafood in the whole food centre.
Alexandre Village like most food centres are divided into three parts, the right, centre and the left. When you got almost all the tables on one side of the food centre eating from a particular stall, you need not guess the popularity of it. BBQ seafood in hawker centres are always a common sight, especially in well-known ones like Chomp chomp, and Newton market, they always draw in the crowd, we just love our sambal chili don’t we!
BBQ stingray ($8) The obvious choice when ordering BBQ seafood, people just love their BBQ stingray, it almost seems like when you mentioned BBQ seafood, stingray will immediately spring to your mind. The sambal chili packs a whole punch, plus the accompanying sauce which is sourish, goes every well together with the hot spicy chili.
We regretted ordering the small portion at $8, with the medium and big is $10 and $13 respectively. My brother finish the stingray in double-quick time and i only managed to get two bites. And i craved for BBQ stingray now.
Sambal potato leaves ($6) I know people usually order sambal kangkong which is an extremly popular dish, and so do we. But this time we decided to have a change and ordered sambal potato leaves instead. I’m not exactly sure about the name of the vegetable, but potato leaves is the direct translation from Chinese.
The belachan, strong fried prawn sauce is hot and spicy, i’m not really a chili person, but i can’t help eating more of it while sweating profusely at the same time.
Fried rice ($3) Surprisingly, the fried rice was actually quite good. I wasn’t expecting much and just thought that its normal fried rice when i happened to see another table ordering it, so i thought we would have fried rice instead of plain rice. The fried rice was very fragrant, i felt that it wasn’t the ingredients that made it good, but more of the skill in cooking the fried rice in the wok.
Total bill was $18.19 for 2 person, the pricing is similar to most zi-char stalls, and is definitely good for your pocket. The BBQ seafood is excellent even though i only try one of them, but i guess most of them are the same since the sambal chili is the key, and the rest will only depends on the freshness of the seafood.
I’ll certainly go back to Rong Guang again for my BBQ seafood cravings, and the one at Ulu Pandan is so near to my place. Look out for the next post on it!
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!
Rong Guang BBQ seafood has two outlets where you can enjoy your fix on barbecue seafood, one at Ulu Pandan road near Sunset way, and the other at Alexandre Village. Dinner was at the latter, and they are the only stall selling barbecue seafood in the whole food centre.
Alexandre Village like most food centres are divided into three parts, the right, centre and the left. When you got almost all the tables on one side of the food centre eating from a particular stall, you need not guess the popularity of it. BBQ seafood in hawker centres are always a common sight, especially in well-known ones like Chomp chomp, and Newton market, they always draw in the crowd, we just love our sambal chili don’t we!
BBQ stingray ($8) The obvious choice when ordering BBQ seafood, people just love their BBQ stingray, it almost seems like when you mentioned BBQ seafood, stingray will immediately spring to your mind. The sambal chili packs a whole punch, plus the accompanying sauce which is sourish, goes every well together with the hot spicy chili.
We regretted ordering the small portion at $8, with the medium and big is $10 and $13 respectively. My brother finish the stingray in double-quick time and i only managed to get two bites. And i craved for BBQ stingray now.
Sambal potato leaves ($6) I know people usually order sambal kangkong which is an extremly popular dish, and so do we. But this time we decided to have a change and ordered sambal potato leaves instead. I’m not exactly sure about the name of the vegetable, but potato leaves is the direct translation from Chinese.
The belachan, strong fried prawn sauce is hot and spicy, i’m not really a chili person, but i can’t help eating more of it while sweating profusely at the same time.
Fried rice ($3) Surprisingly, the fried rice was actually quite good. I wasn’t expecting much and just thought that its normal fried rice when i happened to see another table ordering it, so i thought we would have fried rice instead of plain rice. The fried rice was very fragrant, i felt that it wasn’t the ingredients that made it good, but more of the skill in cooking the fried rice in the wok.
Total bill was $18.19 for 2 person, the pricing is similar to most zi-char stalls, and is definitely good for your pocket. The BBQ seafood is excellent even though i only try one of them, but i guess most of them are the same since the sambal chili is the key, and the rest will only depends on the freshness of the seafood.
I’ll certainly go back to Rong Guang again for my BBQ seafood cravings, and the one at Ulu Pandan is so near to my place. Look out for the next post on it!
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!
Met up with my gf and her family one lazy day for a meal at a restaurant in Pasir Ris Downtown East. Having passed by this place many times but have never gotten the urge or the reason to actually pop in to try it. Apparently, there are 4 branches for this brand already but it seems a rather muted popularity which has to date not gathered much attention.
The interior is the usual with round tables, a narrow walkway and a barely functioning air con. The good thing is that there weren't many people there when we were there which was a great plus for me. Service was those rendered by nice chinese nationals which more or less sets the tone for the meal.
6 Chicken Wings ($9) - The food was served shortly after ordering and the first to appear is this half a dozen of chicken wings and they were pretty good. It was well marinated for a slightly sweet taste throughout while the skin was thoroughly crispy and well done. It wasn't overfried as well which meant it stayed juicy and tender for a quick bite.
Pork Sparerib ($12) - The sweet and sour pork ribs were equally well done with the pork rib being crispy and fragrant while maintaining a wonderfully sweet taste with its outer covering.
Sambal Kang Kong ($10) - The sambal kangkong had an interesting sweet taste which i can't differentiate if it came from the msg or due to their prowess in cooking the greens. It wasn't too spicy which made it easy for me to stomach as well.
Seafood Hot Pot With Mixed Vegetables ($13) - The Seafood hot pot turned out rather well also being nicely starchy with a generous amount of seafood thrown in and some beacurd to go along. Its standard chinese fare though.
Steamed Fish ($16) - The steamed fish would be the item to bring the day down it seems. It was oily, less then fresh and simply tasted muddy. Not something anyone in their right mind would order again it seems.
Total bill for this meal came up to $76.80 for 6 people. The most unworthy item of the bill is the charge of $10.80 for ice lemon tea which is simply ridiculous.
Finally, i'd say it really wasn't as bad as i thought. The place was decent, service fast and the food is served piping hot. Some were actually rather pleasing although most that were good was fried. Still, its quite a decent place for a zhi ca meal. Not that i'll be returning however.
1=SGD 0.0587
There are different types of restaurants, those that started out small and humble, and then go on to become popular among the connoisseur, and eventually moving on to up-market, and also there are restaurants who started on a bang, but decided to go the other way round, New York New York, of course belongs to the latter.
New York New York (NYNY), started well, with the maiden restaurant at the ever-busy Citylink, which by far a good location, witnessing the everyday crowd moving from City hall to Marina Square, Suntec area.
My initial impression of New York New York was good, even though people told me that their food was average, but i still proceed on to my first visit there. But slowly and surely, NYNY started to venture into the heartlands, with new restaurants at Lot 1, Amk Hub, Heartland mall and downtown east.
Not that NYNY is a very classy restaurant in the first place, but i still find the overall feel to be above average. But it seems that the move into the heartlands is reaping dividends for NYNY, with most of the restaurants being filled up easily every day, especially so during the weekends where the whole family comes out to dine.
New York New York (NYNY), with its big white & green signage, and the trademark light green comfy furnitures, stands out from far. NYNY used the copy-and-paste method for their interior decor to good effects. The particular branch is at Lot 1, taking over the place of the former tenant, Pizza Hut.
By and large the location is a good place as its on the ground floor, and just beside the entrance near the taxi stand. This makes me wonder why Pizza Hut chose to vacant it in the first place.
Caribbean Breeze ($5.90)
Frozen pink guava and pineapple juice, which came across as rather sour to us.
Lime lemonade soda ($5.90)
Real traditional American lemonade, good and reliable.
Spaghetti Bolognese ($12.90)
The spaghetti bolognese with giant meatballs. The pasta is done “al dente” firm yet not too hard. The meatball was really gigantic, well i’m not really a meatball person but my brother seemed to enjoy this simple pasta.
Tagliatelle mushroom alfredo with crispy fish ($12.90)
Fish and creamy pasta instead of chips. The pasta was average, i preferred tomato to cream base, and the fish was average nothing spectacular.
Smoked salmon velvet ($9.90)
Smoked salmon, tuna mayo, marinated tomatoes, grilled vegetables and sauteed onions made up the Smoked salmon velvet. I felt vegetables in sandwich would be better off being fresh than grilled.
Tagliatelle aglio with fresh seafood ($12.90)
Simple and delicious. Extra virgin olive oil with lots of garlic and chili combined perfectly with mixed seafood. I never liked aglio because i found it too dry, and too spicy. But then again, its personal preference.
Juicy beef tenders ($13.90)
Under the cloud of the creamy mashed potatos, the beef chunks with gravy was too salty for our liking. We struggled to finish the dish.
Hawaiian pizza ($13.90)
The hawaiian pizza came in the thin form with the typical hawaiian toppings like pineapple and ham. 8 slices to share around the table. However, i lamented the fact that the pizza wasn’t cheesy enough.
Total bill was $103.81 for a table of 6, which worked out to an average of around $17 per person. Prices are still within the reasonable range for a mid-tier restaurant. The menu is comprehensive with lots of choices like salad, pasta, pizza, main course, and desserts. Food at NYNY is average at best, judging from the lines of people queuing up for a table at NYNY, I believe we will see more of NYNY opening in other heartland shopping centre.
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:
It’s a shame that Dim sum isn’t getting the recognition as its Sushi counterparts. The Japanese sushi is also like what Dim sum is to the Chinese cuisine, just that it comes in the form of vinegared rice topped with ingredients like fish, various meats and vegetables.
With the entrée of more Spanish restaurants in the local dining scene, more people knows about tapas, and degustion has always been a firm word on the menu of the French restaurants here. How about dim sum? I think that most youngsters nowadays are not really into dim sum, since it’s often seen as a more traditional meal. Youngsters want to break out of the tradition, they want something hip and cool, and dim sum is not that. Which is cooler, saying you had dim sum, or tapas at the latest Spanish restaurant and a 6 course degustion dinner?
Dim sum is akin a piece of artwork crafted by the chef, so exquisite and refine. No offence to the Sushi-fanatic, but give me dim sum over sliced raw fish anytime.
Every hotel will have their own flagship restaurants in the different cuisines, and at Carlton hotel, Wah Lok is the Cantonese representative. Our latest dim sum adventure brings us here, together with hautestuff and ladies, we had a great time over our dim sum lunch.
Wah Lok is located on the second level within the Carlton hotel, the high ceiling of the restaurant makes the interior looks very spacious. The decor is typical of most Chinese restaurants, with a very comfy and homely feel. There are two different dining halls and can easily fill up on a normal day, which shows the popularity of the restaurant.
Char siew sou ($3.80 for 3)
The Baked BBQ pork pastry or more affectionately known as char siew sou, has always been one of the dim sum that i will order first. Wah lok’s version of the char siew sou did not disappoint, within the buttery surface of the pastry were juicy and sweet char siew fillings.
The rendition at Wah lok may not be as refine as the one i had at Yan Ting, nevertheless it’s still better than most char siew sou that i had before, and all of us were tempted to order second helpings.
Baked BBQ pork buns ($3 for 2)
We asked the captain for recommendations, and he promptly suggested that we have Wah Lok’s signature, char siew bao. We were rather surprised when the char siew bao came, as it’s not the normal steamed buns which has white pillowry exterior. Instead, the baked counterpart is browned and glazed, more like bo luo bao.
The juicy and sweet char siew was enveloped within the baked pastry. Although we just had the char siew sou which is a different variety made with puff pastry, the pork buns were gone in an instant.
Baked egg tarts ($3.20 for 3)
The petite baked egg tarts had smooth and eggy fillings within the puff pastry. The miniature size of the egg tart was the only problem as we only had one each.
Steamed prawn dumplings ($5.40)
The steamed prawn dumplings, or “Har Gao” at Wah Lok had fresh, succulent prawns contained by the thinly light skin. Solid and reliable prawn dumplings.
Steamed pork dumplings ($4.60)
The steamed pork dumplings or “siew mai” is another dim sum which i would not fail to order. The siew mai was well-balanced, not too porky.
Fried XO carrot cake ($10)
The fried xo carrot cake was off-the-menu, which we requested for instead of the steamed carrot cake. However this was a mistake as the carrot cake was bland and too soft for my liking. We couldn’t taste much of the supposedly “oomph” xo sauce. At $10, we would be better off ordering two other basket of dim sum.
Steamed chicken claw with chili ($3)
I am never a fan of chicken claw, but the three ladies certainly enjoyed it, munching the chicken feet and spiting out the small bones.
Deep fried beancurd ($5.6)
We wanted one more dim sum after our first round, and the waiter recommended this. The deep fried beancurd skin with prawns was excellent. Normally, the beancurd skin would be more than the prawn, but in this instance, the succulent prawn fillings threatened to overshadow the beancurd skin.
Fried mango ice cream ($6)
We ended off our dim sum lunch with a very non-chinese dessert. Fried ice cream was a craze a few years back, and i remember there’s even a store at the Tiong Bahru market which used to sell fried ice cream. But not anymore, where can you still find fried ice cream nowadays?
The crispy exterior had a strong hint of coconut taste, while the interior was icy cold ice cream, simply magic, how did they do that?
Total bill was $63.75 for 4 person, which worked out to be around $16 per person. We didn’t really ordered a lot, so the price might seem deceptive, nevertheless, the dim sum at Wah Lok is still priced reasonably given their quality. The portions are quite petite, but it will do for our ladies. I foresee i’ll be coming back to Wah Lok quite often in the near future to try out the rest of the dim sum.
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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I've always thought of Ikea as the place for furniture and home accesories but was pleasantly surprised one fine weekday when i was dragged along with the team for a meal there.
The IKEA foodcourt or restaurant is a novel concept where most of the process involves the customer choosing and creating their own menu as they go.
For example, collecting salads, cakes, coffee and sandwiches etc. But the place is known for its extremely big and juicy chicken wings and their meatballs with spagghetti which i managed to try a little of.
The meatballs were really something different with its strong taste of spices and considerably bigger then normal size. The spagheti costs about $8 and comes with 5 meatballs but trust me, its never enough. Something to look out for.
The coffee dispenser is free flow so take all you want with the cup you are "issued". But don't expect to be able to take away the drinks however.
Overall, an interesting experience at an interesting concept store.
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Swenson's is a property pretty much everyone would have heard about. Began since 1948 over in San Francisco, Swenson's has since grown to encompass the Middle East, Asia and USA. Their outlets can be found easily in shopping malls and other outlets alike. For a place that began as a humble ice cream shop, it now boasts a menu all its own. Has time been kind on this franchise though?
What i had that day:
Strawberry Sundae
Chicken Soup
Prawn And Fruit Salad
Chicken in a Jacket
Omelette With Salad and Fries
French Fries
Pesto Salmon Saute
Rodeo Wings
Clam Chowder
Ribeye Steak
Cookies and Cream Ice Cream with Chipsmore Cookie
Of all the items above, the ones i did try are the soup, which was pasty and starchy and also quite salty.
The prawn and fruit salad was pretty good albeit bland as it was only the taste of lettuce with prawns with little or no olive oil and vinegaritte. The good thing about it was that the prawns were crunchy.
The fries turned out to be the best item for this visit IMHO. Hot, slightly thick and not oily. It went well with the tartar sauce and chilli/tomato mixture as usual.
The rodeo wings came across as overfried and had too much flour thrown into the mix. The rodeo aka spicy chili sauce felt tagged on and not the authentic smoked rodeo wings it should be.
My main course was the ribeye steak which i ordered medium rare but came well done. There was also an abundance of the fatty layer which meant a huge part of the meat could not be consumed. The meat tasted tough and lacked any form of beefy taste which i would have expected.
The cookies and cream ice cream was another disappointment in it being close to tasteless. At least it was sweet though.
I'm quite disappointed frankly but at the very least, it did not deteriorate to the point of Jack's Place which i've completely sworn off. Also, i have to thank my 2 colleagues for giving me a treat for this as otherwise, i may not have had the chance to try it again. The way it stands now, its a safe bet to say that improvements are definitely needed but its still not beyond redemption.
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Its more or less a quest for reasonably priced good japanese food in Singapore that drives my urge to consistently try weird Japanese restaurants. This is no exception. Located in the ulu and often unknown Elias mall, this restaurant is part of a community center which made me believe it had to be a simple, no frills eating place. Lets see if thats true.
Simple wooden chairs, spaciously placed amidst tables in a single line. The interior is nothing to shout about. In fact, its extremely simple. There wasn't any background music either. In a very real sense, i'm saying that the place is boring with nothing to occupy you as you wait for your meal.
Bento set with Salmon Sashimi, Chawanmushi, Grilled Saba Fish and Chicken Katsu ($15.90) - My gf ordered this set because it came with the usual salmon sashimi which is one of her favorite items. For $15, this wasn't too bad to be honest. 4 pieces of salmon, 1 piece of grilled Saba fish, fried chicken and chawanmushi along with rice. Seems like a good deal to me. The salmon was moderately fresh and sweet but rather small. The katsu was pretty good since it was served hot and juicy. The saba fish had too many bones to be easily enjoyed while the chawanmushi (steamed egg) was rather chunky and lacked taste.
Bento Set with Assorted Tempura, vegetable soup, chawanmushi and teriyaki beef ($15.90) - My order was pretty decent as well, i liked the assorted tempura which came across as fragrant but oily. The beef was tender and sweet but portion size was small, the vegetable soup was a little too bland but the overall package wasn't too bad.
Total Bill came up to $34.98 including service charge. Its nice to note that the tea is free and refillable.
For a place hidden in the middle of nowhere and selling Japanese food, this was rather decent. Although its more towards foodcourt decent as opposed to boutique Japanese food decent, its still somewhere i could probably visit again. There's a sushi buffet offered here as well which is probably worth a try.
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Bobo had the chance to be invited for food tasting at Village Wok. Initially this bimbo was afraid that she would have problems finding the place, with it being in CBD and all. But it was really easy to locate. It's quite near the Food Centre just slightly off the main road.
Upon entering the place, Bobo was slightly surprised. The signboard and the decor of the place itself wasn't like other Chinese restaurants. It's not like pretentiously posh but very very simple.. like a family business sorts. It was later when the lady boss (a pretty one) explained, that Bobo understood that this place is more of a B2B sort of business, selling its famous sauces to other eateries.
It was empty that day... CBD, on Sundays, is a ghost town as every one knows. So they had all the space to ourselves and the freedom to make noise. Fantastic! haha.
Popiah DIY $20 /set
Completely healthy with stewed vegetables in prawn stock and condiments.
Honestly Bobo thinks it is a little expensive considering it's just vegetables and stuff. BUT try preparing all these things at home then you would know what a hassle it is. It's not only good and healthy to eat, it's like an activity for family and friends to do. The good thing about DIY is that you can put whatever you want in it and leave whatever you want out. Yummy!
Chilled Crab with Special Vinegrette Sauce @ $30 /crab
Bobo doesn't really like crab. Simply because it's troublesome. But the nice thing about this one was that they cut it up properly, so that it's easy to eat! They didn't need to use the hammer or weird tools to pry the meat out to eat. That aside, the flesh was sweet and fresh, tasty even without the sauce. They were told that the crabs were from Sri Lanka.
The Phoenix Soars @ $21
Yin-Yang boneless Village Wok Chicken
Bobo loved this one. She liked its tasty flesh and there was plenty of breast meat for her to pick. Yummy.
Village Wok Celebration Parade @ $22
A combination of VW award dishes, VW Mustard Roast Crispy Pork and Village BBQ Pork
Firstly, Bobo has to admit that she's not the sort who go for such meat. But she did try the Char Siew which was ok. The presentation of this dish is pretty special in that it looked like the chinese word "fortune". Cool eh.
Fried Brinjal with Crispy Squid in BXO Sauce @ $15
Bobo likes Brinjal! Initially she thought that this dish was carrot cake because it reminded her of the one at Taste Paradise. But it's brinjal much to her surprise. It was quite tasty but a little bit too sweet though.
Steamed Pating Fish with Preserved Vegetable @ $44
Preserved Vegetable... that's Chai Por, the thingy you have on chwee kueh? Bobo loves chai por. This particular version is not as salty as what people normally have which makes it seem healthier. But Bobo (being unhealthy) do likes salty chai por. The fish was normal she thinks.
Black Pepper Ham Leg @ $23
Voted The Travelling Gourmet’s favorite dish
Bobo had a very small bit of this. As above, she's not a fan of pork so she shouldn't comment on this, having not tasted enough versions.
Smiling Fortune Noodle @ $8
Tangy noodles harmonized with delectable fresh prawn essence, topped with prawns.
The serving given to them was slightly smaller that day as they already had plenty to eat. Each person had a pot to themselves. It was served nice and hot with a little tealight below. Bobo liked the soup base a lot and the noodles were served at the right time, so they weren't mushy. But she doesn't remember eating many prawns. One maybe. or was it two?
VW Desserts - Sampler size
Black Glutinous Rice with Coconut Ice-cream @ $4.80
Lemongrass ice-cream
Kaya with bread
Bobo liked the Black Glutinous Rice with Coconut ice cream the best. The other ice cream had a nice tinge of lemongrass in the aftertaste. But otherwise it was normal. Bobo isn't quite a fan of Kaya but she enjoyed it all the same. It wasn't the ultra sweet sort you get from the supermarket.
The prices might seem a bit high but it IS a chinese restaurant after all and such prices are pretty common for this kind of food served there.
We had the chance to taste many of their sauces which was really nice. Bobo wanted to buy the salted fish one home but she forgot. SIGGHHH.
For more pictures, click here
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Fisherios Fish N Chips is one of the many new-comers in the busy basement of Bugis Junction, which has seen the arrival of many food & beverage entrées after the demolition of the food court. Personally, i welcome this move and the management of Parco Bugis Junction is indeed moving in the right direction by providing a good mix of food.
I reckon it will take quite a while before conquering all the stores at the basement level, any takers want to volunteer to explore the area? Anyway, my friend and i decided on Fisherios because i saw it previously at Ngee Ann city basement, and also heard some rather positive comments online about it’s fish & chips.
The seating arrangement did remind me about the one at Bratwurst, simple furniture in a small enclosed area. The similarity between the food basement of Bugis Junction, Plaza Singapura, and Ngee Ann city is very apparent to all.
Fish fillet beer battered ($7.90)
For all the different type of fish, you can have it done in three different ways, breaded, grilled, and in our case, the beer battered method. Price varies of course, with beer battered being the more expensive option. Choose from fish, salmon or snapper fillet.
Service was prompted and quick, but my first reaction when the dish came, what’s with the wrapping paper? Was the wrapping paper there to absorb the oil, or was it there so as to make it some sort of “fast food” type (pun intended). In any case, if they wanted to absorb the oil from the fish & chips, I’ll preferred it to be done before serving, so that customers won’t actually see all the oil stains on the paper.
The difference between wrapping it in the paper, and laying it out nicely on the plate. The presentation of the fish was poles apart. I found the beer battered fish to be quite strong, au contraire my friend thought that the beer flavor was acceptable.
In conclusion, the fish wasn’t really worth the price tag of $7.90, and with the small servings of the fries, we could easily got better fish and chips elsewhere. But i guess if you want a quick meal and don’t really mind the quality of fish, it is decent enough, which reminds me of Fisherman’s Wharf
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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Rong Guang BBQ seafood has two outlets where you can enjoy your fix on barbecue seafood, one at Ulu Pandan road near Sunset way, and the other at Alexandre Village. Dinner was at the latter, and they are the only stall selling barbecue seafood in the whole food centre.
Alexandre Village like most food centres are divided into three parts, the right, centre and the left. When you got almost all the tables on one side of the food centre eating from a particular stall, you need not guess the popularity of it. BBQ seafood in hawker centres are always a common sight, especially in well-known ones like Chomp chomp, and Newton market, they always draw in the crowd, we just love our sambal chili don’t we!
BBQ stingray ($8)
The obvious choice when ordering BBQ seafood, people just love their BBQ stingray, it almost seems like when you mentioned BBQ seafood, stingray will immediately spring to your mind. The sambal chili packs a whole punch, plus the accompanying sauce which is sourish, goes every well together with the hot spicy chili.
We regretted ordering the small portion at $8, with the medium and big is $10 and $13 respectively. My brother finish the stingray in double-quick time and i only managed to get two bites. And i craved for BBQ stingray now.
Sambal potato leaves ($6)
I know people usually order sambal kangkong which is an extremly popular dish, and so do we. But this time we decided to have a change and ordered sambal potato leaves instead. I’m not exactly sure about the name of the vegetable, but potato leaves is the direct translation from Chinese.
The belachan, strong fried prawn sauce is hot and spicy, i’m not really a chili person, but i can’t help eating more of it while sweating profusely at the same time.
Fried rice ($3)
Surprisingly, the fried rice was actually quite good. I wasn’t expecting much and just thought that its normal fried rice when i happened to see another table ordering it, so i thought we would have fried rice instead of plain rice. The fried rice was very fragrant, i felt that it wasn’t the ingredients that made it good, but more of the skill in cooking the fried rice in the wok.
Total bill was $18.19 for 2 person, the pricing is similar to most zi-char stalls, and is definitely good for your pocket. The BBQ seafood is excellent even though i only try one of them, but i guess most of them are the same since the sambal chili is the key, and the rest will only depends on the freshness of the seafood.
I’ll certainly go back to Rong Guang again for my BBQ seafood cravings, and the one at Ulu Pandan is so near to my place. Look out for the next post on it!
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:
Rong Guang BBQ seafood has two outlets where you can enjoy your fix on barbecue seafood, one at Ulu Pandan road near Sunset way, and the other at Alexandre Village. Dinner was at the latter, and they are the only stall selling barbecue seafood in the whole food centre.
Alexandre Village like most food centres are divided into three parts, the right, centre and the left. When you got almost all the tables on one side of the food centre eating from a particular stall, you need not guess the popularity of it. BBQ seafood in hawker centres are always a common sight, especially in well-known ones like Chomp chomp, and Newton market, they always draw in the crowd, we just love our sambal chili don’t we!
BBQ stingray ($8)
The obvious choice when ordering BBQ seafood, people just love their BBQ stingray, it almost seems like when you mentioned BBQ seafood, stingray will immediately spring to your mind. The sambal chili packs a whole punch, plus the accompanying sauce which is sourish, goes every well together with the hot spicy chili.
We regretted ordering the small portion at $8, with the medium and big is $10 and $13 respectively. My brother finish the stingray in double-quick time and i only managed to get two bites. And i craved for BBQ stingray now.
Sambal potato leaves ($6)
I know people usually order sambal kangkong which is an extremly popular dish, and so do we. But this time we decided to have a change and ordered sambal potato leaves instead. I’m not exactly sure about the name of the vegetable, but potato leaves is the direct translation from Chinese.
The belachan, strong fried prawn sauce is hot and spicy, i’m not really a chili person, but i can’t help eating more of it while sweating profusely at the same time.
Fried rice ($3)
Surprisingly, the fried rice was actually quite good. I wasn’t expecting much and just thought that its normal fried rice when i happened to see another table ordering it, so i thought we would have fried rice instead of plain rice. The fried rice was very fragrant, i felt that it wasn’t the ingredients that made it good, but more of the skill in cooking the fried rice in the wok.
Total bill was $18.19 for 2 person, the pricing is similar to most zi-char stalls, and is definitely good for your pocket. The BBQ seafood is excellent even though i only try one of them, but i guess most of them are the same since the sambal chili is the key, and the rest will only depends on the freshness of the seafood.
I’ll certainly go back to Rong Guang again for my BBQ seafood cravings, and the one at Ulu Pandan is so near to my place. Look out for the next post on it!
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:
Met up with my gf and her family one lazy day for a meal at a restaurant in Pasir Ris Downtown East. Having passed by this place many times but have never gotten the urge or the reason to actually pop in to try it. Apparently, there are 4 branches for this brand already but it seems a rather muted popularity which has to date not gathered much attention.
The interior is the usual with round tables, a narrow walkway and a barely functioning air con. The good thing is that there weren't many people there when we were there which was a great plus for me. Service was those rendered by nice chinese nationals which more or less sets the tone for the meal.
6 Chicken Wings ($9) - The food was served shortly after ordering and the first to appear is this half a dozen of chicken wings and they were pretty good. It was well marinated for a slightly sweet taste throughout while the skin was thoroughly crispy and well done. It wasn't overfried as well which meant it stayed juicy and tender for a quick bite.
Pork Sparerib ($12) - The sweet and sour pork ribs were equally well done with the pork rib being crispy and fragrant while maintaining a wonderfully sweet taste with its outer covering.
Sambal Kang Kong ($10) - The sambal kangkong had an interesting sweet taste which i can't differentiate if it came from the msg or due to their prowess in cooking the greens. It wasn't too spicy which made it easy for me to stomach as well.
Seafood Hot Pot With Mixed Vegetables ($13) - The Seafood hot pot turned out rather well also being nicely starchy with a generous amount of seafood thrown in and some beacurd to go along. Its standard chinese fare though.
Steamed Fish ($16) - The steamed fish would be the item to bring the day down it seems. It was oily, less then fresh and simply tasted muddy. Not something anyone in their right mind would order again it seems.
Total bill for this meal came up to $76.80 for 6 people. The most unworthy item of the bill is the charge of $10.80 for ice lemon tea which is simply ridiculous.
Finally, i'd say it really wasn't as bad as i thought. The place was decent, service fast and the food is served piping hot. Some were actually rather pleasing although most that were good was fried. Still, its quite a decent place for a zhi ca meal. Not that i'll be returning however.
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