According to the television program, Makan Places Lost and Found, the famous Hong Kee Beef Noodles, which used to be at the old Cuppage Centre, has relocated to the ground floor of Amoy Food Centre. I love beef noodles and I make it a point to eat this dish whenever possible. And so there I was, literally running towards Amoy Food Centre during my lunch hour, to try and beat the lunch crowd.
I opted for the $4 version of beef slices and beef balls. Imagine my disappointment when I saw the miserable amount of beef slices that came with it. 4 beef balls were given, but they were your average sized beef balls that you could buy from the supermarket. Taste wise, the beef balls tasted like the supermarket ones except that they were very much tastier. Texture wise was slightly rougher and more chewy. The beef slices were a little chewy as well, but lacked the strong beef taste that I like. The soup was noticeably bland, just like the beef slices. Maybe its just the Hainanese way of cooking, I'm not sure. If you like bland stuff, then maybe this is the one for you. As for me, I'll stick to the cheaper and better (in my opinion) Teochew Beef Kway Teow located on the same level.
Had breakfast with my parents at Toa Payoh on a late Sunday morning. Read somewhere that Fong Kee's Duck Rice at Lorong 1 was pretty good so decided to give it a try. Fong Kee is situated in a small coffeeshop just right under a block of flats and across from the spanking new market and food centre. We ordered the Roast Duck, Roasted Pork and Shui Jiao(Dumpling) Soup for 3 pax.
The Roast Duck had a slightly crispy skin which is quite rare in most places that I've tried (with the exception of restaurants). The gravy was plentiful and Seaseme Seeds were sprinkled all over. Honestly, the gravy didn't add much flavour to the duck. I found the duck slightly above average in terms of taste, but a minus point would be the minimal meat. I like my ducks to be meaty with a crispy skin and not just a crispy skin with not much meat.
The Roasted Pork was a little too salty and pretty fat, which was quite a turn off. The Shui Jiao Soup was average and the Shui Jiao itself tasted slightly above average with its nice filling of diced shrimps, prawns and other stuff.
The meal for 3 cost $13.90. Not exactly cheap for Duck Rice, especially for one which fails to wow and with average sized portions. But it certainly is above average and should you be around, you are most welcome to try it out. Look out for some other stalls which serve excellent food in this old neighbourhood.
Passed by 933 Roast Duck and saw many photographs of celebrities gracing the walls of this small eating house with tables spilling all over the sidewalks and decided to try it out since my gf and I were both hungry. We ordered 2 plates of Roasted Duck Rice and a bowl of Bak Kut Teh to share.
For a stall that has received many good reviews and is purportedly one of the best roasted duck rice stalls in Singapore, it certainly didn't meet my gf's or my expectations. The duck was merely average. No crispy skin, no flavourful meat. Just plain old simple duck meat and it came with a lot of bones to boot, even though I had ordered duck breast meat. The secret to the duck rice lies in the chilli I believe. Concentrated and packing a punch, it is good enough for my gf to like it. The Bak Kut in the Bak Kut Teh was a little too soft in my opinion, probably a result of cooking too long. However, I found the soup very much to my liking. It was clear with lots of pepper in it (Teochew style). Flavourful yet peppery! But I would have liked some more pepper though.
Total for the meal was $13.40, which included 2 glasses of barley. Relatively reasonable if you ask me.
Had the good fortune to be treated once again by my nice boss when it was Secretaries Day. I'm not a secretary but i tagged along and shamelessly got myself a free meal. Ahhh....its the little things in life that make life beautiful doesn't it? Thanks boss!
Started in 1997, Siam kitchen is committed to bringing authentic Thai cuisine to Singapore without compromising the taste and quality of the transition. After 11 years, has their food been palatable for the majority of Singaporeans or are they going down the slippery slope marking the end?
Crackers - As with most meals, an appetizer begins the day and this time, its a bowl of crackers. Vegetable crackers if i'm not mistaken. Light, crispy and fragrant, it managed to set the mood for the meal to come. In fact, it was good enough for us to get it refilled at least once but maybe we're just cracker people.
Salad, Fish cake and Chicken Wings - Whilst waiting for the rest of the team to arrive, we went ahead to get ourselves a few ala carte items which you see above. Surprisingly, the best items turned out to be the salad of which i've forgotten the actual name. Either way, the salad was drenched in the usual sourish and sweet sauce that thai food is known for and the cold "cucumber?" and other items made for a refreshing and interesting taste. The wings were hot and tender while the fish cake was rather lackluster.
Buffet Lunch Set with free flow ice lemon tea($15.90 1.99) - The buffet spread came with a multitude of items which you will get to have at one go. These include, thai spicy squid salad, lemongrass chicken wings, prawn balls, tom yum prawn soup, thai fish cake, green curry chicken, chicken satay, fish fillet in yellow curry, sweet and sour prawn, beef massaman in dry curry, minced chicken in chili and basil, tofu in oyster sauce, baby kailan with garlic and mushroom, fried kangkong and pineapple rice. In all respects, that is a pretty big variety and everything is done ala carte. The catch is that they'll serve everything once and after that, you'll get to re order whatever else you wish to have seconds of. The tom yum is more sourish then spicy while the green curry had an overdose of coconut milk which isn't to my taste nor waistline. The only item good enough to mention was the chicken wing and thats at a discounted size from the actual ones that could be obtained from the ala carte menu. Still, the other items weren't all bad per se, just not up to the standard i would like. And anyway, its a buffet so this is more or less expected.
The above items were had by my colleagues who opted for the ala carte menu instead of the buffet. All of the guo tiao items received positive feedback which more or less confirms that the ala carte served much better food. The red ruby however, had too much coconut milk and was exceedingly salty, yep, salty is the word. The mango and glutinous rice also turned up too salty but was balanced by the mango and the ice cream in the end. Maybe thats how the authentic items tasted like in Thailand?
In terms of value for money, the buffet is generous and definitely filling enough although quality is compromised somewhat. The desserts and a few other items really felt like there was excess salt added which was quite disconcerting. Otherwise, the service was pretty good and no additional rules were enforced when the buffet customers and the ala carte customers sat together which i took to be a good sign. It wasn't terrible and the ala carte items definitely got better reviews.
If i am not wrong, this particular Branch has closed down to make way for some Orchard development. There was a closing down sale prior to that too. So there goes a all-in-one bookstore along Orchard area.
After reading lots of great reviews on Komachi over at hardwarezone forums (yeah, salon reviews on an IT forum), I decided to give it a try. Guess I was in a crazy mood, as I usually don't get expensive haircuts. I also wanted to see what magic they could do to my hair for the high price they charge. Usually it's $65, but for first timers, there is a 20% discount which means I have to pay only $52. Still expensive!
My stylist was Mr. Maeda San. The service standard is excellent. The long hair wash and head massage was exactly what I needed to relax my mind. The shampoo used was some kind of milk shampoo, which smells absolutely heavenly! I was tempted to buy a bottle home. Fortunately, they are not pushy with their products, unlike many other salons.
As for the haircut, given my short hair length, it's needless to say that there is nothing magical he could do about it. It turns out to be rather normal, what I could get with my usual $18 haircut.
Conversing with the stylists can be tricky, as all of them are Japanese. Most of the time, I have difficulty making out anything other than "ne".
They are currently in the process of moving from Liat Towers to Liang Court. So this entry might need updating when they eventually move over, which I believe will be in June.
Had a chance to gather around for a meal with the Yebbers on a fine Saturday to commemorate a rather interesting event which i will not go into specifics. Either way, the meal is free and i've always wanted to dine in Laguna Country Club for no apparent reason other then its a country club. So here we are and this is what we had. As i didn't pay for this meal, i'll only give my take on the food quality and service.
Laguna country club hosts a variety of golf tournaments throughout the year, including big name events like the Singapore Masters and the Women's Open nary a year ago. The location is scenic with lush green pastures and an air of luxury that extends beyond the greens and into the eating places housed within. Pine Valley is a relaxed, open and well air conditioned place for the inhabitants and club members and also a good place to reside for a nice chat as its sparsely populated even during the lunch hours.
Shark's Fin Soup with Fish Maw, Chicken and Mushrooms - Shark's fin soup is one of those dishes that i associate with wedding dinners and extremely wealthy individuals. This will likely fall into the latter category. The soup itself is quite starchy and has a really generous helping of ingredients, shark's fin and fish maw. Taken on its own, there's a sweet taste that emanates from the healthy does of crab and mushrooms in the mix but otherwise, tastes bland as most shark's fin soup tastes. Vinegar and pepper definitely ups the taste and texture department in this case.
Peking Duck - The beauty of the Peking Duck dish is undeniable. Order a whole duck and you'll get to eat it in a variety of ways for the skin and the meat. The only things standing between you and the dish is the knowledge of whether the duck skin is marinated and roasted well. In this case, the skin is quite fatty and crispy enough to warrant a try. The marinate feels non existant and the normal pancake is too dry. The egg version salvaged the situation though. The meat was cooked in black pepper and turned out surprisingly good. It was moist, succulent and sweet. It also helped that the portion size was rather big.
Wasabi Mayonnaise Prawns - Wasabi Mayonnaise prawns, a signature dish of the Tung Lok group, this version turned out too dry for me. The batter and frying process seemed to have been overdone which left the prawns tasting hard and dry instead of crunchy and juicy. No matter, the wasabi mayonnaise was mixed well and provided a small kick in the right direction since it was rather mild and easily acceptable.
Steamed Batang - This fish was huge. Simple steamed fish can be good as long as the fish itself was fresh and the process of cooking was not overdone. Sad to say however, the fish was overcooked and thus caused the meat to loss some of its sweetness which could have made it better. For what its worth, what is good is that the meat is plentiful, fresh and went well with the salty and sourish stock accompanying the dish.
Dried Chili Fried Prawns - Somehow, i don't think the restaurant handles prawns well. This dish was decent but the taste resides only within the portion of the shell. This means that once deshelled, which is a necessary procedure unless you are lazy like me, the prawn itself is rather bland. Otherwise, the spicy and fragrant dried chili is something spice lovers will easily take to.
Beancurd with Spinach - Finally, some greens. The spinach turned out too old and had the "greenish" taste which accompanies greens not cleaned properly. Although a tad salty, the spinach with all its flaws, ultimately tasted better then the beancurd atop it, which came across as being totally tasteless.
Fried Ee Fu Noodles - By the time this dish appeared, we'd pretty much been stuffed like a duck awaiting slaughter. So the taste buds have deteriorated to the point i couldn't taste much. Nonetheless, the noodles were fragrant and had some bacon bits strewn around it. It was also springy and soft enough to be bitten off which is always a good sign.
Almonds, Sea Coconut, Pine Apple and Longan Cocktail - The dessert is rather simple but definitely gets the job done. I like the almond which was very soft and strong (i'm biased because i love almond). Everything else was just detail though. The other good thing was that the sweetness was just right, thus it didn't overwhelm.
First of all, thank you for the meal boss, i probably couldn't afford having such a huge sumptuous meal all on my lonesome. The view was good, location is quiet, food is decent and the portions were huge. I'd say the place was pretty good but i still don't know how much it cost so thats an open topic. Based on the food alone, i would probably like to have the shark's fin again, Peking duck however, is still better at Hai Tien lo.
Following my virgin taste testing session that took place at Persimmon, HFB was honoured to be invited to another launch at TETSU ("哲"), which has just opened its doors at Tanglin Mall.
Japanese cuisine aficionados will rejoice a first of its kind authentic Kushi-style Tempura along with Tonkatsu menu, prepared “LIVE” before their eyes. Seated at specially designed counter bars that are in close proximity to the chef who deftly prepares their Tempura and Tonkatsu, diners get to enjoy a visual feast right before their eyes.
Diners can have a choice from a wide array of freshest seafood, meats and vegetables prepared either Kushi-age style (Skewered with Breaded Batter) or Kushi-tem style (Skewered with Tempura Batter).
In order to recreate the most authentic Japanese dining experience, TETSU has partnered up with one of the most established restaurant groups in Japan with 48 restaurants and employing over 1400 people.
The Hana Group, renowned for their authentic Japanese cuisine and has been advising TETSU in all aspects of their restaurant.
The night was kick-started with an appetiser off the menu, the Cold Tofu with Century Egg and Ebi Roe. It was surprisingly a good dish to start off with as the combination of the heavy century egg and soft tofu attempts to tickle your palate along with the salty exploding sensation of the ebi roe when one bites into it.
The Edamame ($4.00) like others are nothing to shout about, but something that stood out was the aestheticism of the dish, which is visually evident in all the subsequent dishes – it is only then that I found out that TETSU prides itself on offering the most authentic Japanese dining experience, taking it down even to the smallest of details.
The layout of the Kaiseki sets and even the art of serving up these gourmet sets are specially formulated in Japan, to ensure that diners can get the full “LIVE” experience, at the best value. In addition, much of the restaurant’s tableware are all specially flown in from Japan.
Moreover, the good thing about the Kushi-age Soft Shell Crab ($3.00 per serving) is that it does not come oil soaked, although I would prefer it to be slightly meatier.
One might also be intrigued to know that in TETSU, one also get a choice of three dips for their deep-fried food – Tonkutsu sauce, Japanese Mayo and Curry Salt.
Onsentamago To Tofu Salad, or Half-boiled (Hot Spring-styled) Egg & Tofu Salad ($13.50) is another dish that is dedicatedly prepared by the chef – using their bare hands to measure the temperature of the water cooking the eggs, and the eggs only taken out of the cooking water when the water is too hot for their hands to handle.
The only non-authentic dish that we tried that night was probably their Salmon Carpaccio with French Dressing ($18.00). Although the salmon was very fresh and comes with a very nice bite, I feel that the dressing was slightly too sour for me – let’s just say that I prefer sashimi the way it is.
Highly recommended was their Rosu Katsu (A set served with Salad, Pickles, Rice, Miso Soup and Dessert cost $24.50). Similar to Tonkichi, one is also given a bowl of Roasted Sesame Seeds to grind and add to the Tonkutsu sauce.
The sampling of their second deep-fried dish convinced me that their cooking and preparation technique is indeed accomplished. Although I pride Tampopo’s Black Pork Katsu to be the best in taste of texture due to its marbling fats, TETSU’s version comes a close second - one do not really sample the oily aftertaste in the batter.
It was then I was told that TETSU’s chefs have undergone intensive training in the chain’s headquarters in Japan. The attention paid to the preparation of Tempura and Tonkatsu is meticulous – TETSU chefs strictly ensure that all preparation techniques, from marination, to the type of batter and oil, to the time of frying, adhere to their timeless traditional Japanese recipes.
The Roll Sushi ($18.00 for 6 pieces) was another item that was painstaking prepared in many process. One would probably mistook it for a salmon roll sushi if one weren’t told that the filling also consists of scallop and tuna, as the saltiness of the cooked salmon seeks to over-whelmed it. However having said that, it was still a pretty enjoyable sushi roll due to the crunchy batter and the aromatic Sesame Seeds and pairing of Ebi Roe.
The Kushi-style cuisine is very popular in Japan because the skewer-style makes it easy for customers eat and enjoy their sake, shoju or wine at the same time.
However to be honest, by the time the Kaiseki Set Course B ($45.00) consisting of 4 Assorted Appetisers, Stick Vegetables, Kani-Suki (Paper Pot Crab Sukiyaki), Kushi-age or Kushi-Tem, Udon and Dessert arrived, I was pretty much filled up and my palate started to fail me. So I shall let the pictures speak for themselves.
However, one thing I remembered clearly was the very unique Japan-imported Udon that gives one a very chewy bite – one has to try it to truly understand what I mean.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Pris and TETSU for their generous hospitality.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Hubby and I was looking for food at vivocity. Yes, Vivocity again! lols. I had craving for Korean food again. Yes, again! So we decide to check out the food court at lvl 3.
It's very difficult to look for a place to sit there! We've been there many times, but never ate there just because it's too difficult to look for table. Think they have too little seats or something. :(
I found a seat somewhere and hubby went to order from the Korean stall. Hubby felt that the food's pretty okay, but I didn't think much of the beef. It's actually spicy and the kimchi is very spicy!
Hubby likes the soup because it's not salty. I think it's not too bad.
Total amount spent on food for both of us SGD13.00. So, it's not that expensive. :)
I didn't bring out my camera, had to use my phone's camera to take photo. Think my phone's dying. The photos are getting blurrier and blurrier. :P
It was pretty late when hubby and I decide to meet after work on 24 May 2008. Yes, I work on Saturdays. :(
Anyway, I don't know why, but I was feeling a bit hungry, so hubby decide we should try out Hog's Breath Cafe.
We ordered and shared..
Buffalo Wings S$8.50
New York Grill S$25.00
Coke S$3.80
Total including GST & Service Charge SGD43.90
I like the place. The food is nice! The staffs seems rather young but they are quite helpful.
We will definitely be back there again. My favourite? The fries! Yum yumm.. :)
PS: The bottle in the last photo, is actually pepper! Cute eh? :)
1=SGD 0.0587
According to the television program, Makan Places Lost and Found, the famous Hong Kee Beef Noodles, which used to be at the old Cuppage Centre, has relocated to the ground floor of Amoy Food Centre. I love beef noodles and I make it a point to eat this dish whenever possible. And so there I was, literally running towards Amoy Food Centre during my lunch hour, to try and beat the lunch crowd.
I opted for the $4 version of beef slices and beef balls. Imagine my disappointment when I saw the miserable amount of beef slices that came with it. 4 beef balls were given, but they were your average sized beef balls that you could buy from the supermarket. Taste wise, the beef balls tasted like the supermarket ones except that they were very much tastier. Texture wise was slightly rougher and more chewy. The beef slices were a little chewy as well, but lacked the strong beef taste that I like. The soup was noticeably bland, just like the beef slices. Maybe its just the Hainanese way of cooking, I'm not sure. If you like bland stuff, then maybe this is the one for you. As for me, I'll stick to the cheaper and better (in my opinion) Teochew Beef Kway Teow located on the same level.
Rating given:
Had breakfast with my parents at Toa Payoh on a late Sunday morning. Read somewhere that Fong Kee's Duck Rice at Lorong 1 was pretty good so decided to give it a try. Fong Kee is situated in a small coffeeshop just right under a block of flats and across from the spanking new market and food centre. We ordered the Roast Duck, Roasted Pork and Shui Jiao(Dumpling) Soup for 3 pax.
The Roast Duck had a slightly crispy skin which is quite rare in most places that I've tried (with the exception of restaurants). The gravy was plentiful and Seaseme Seeds were sprinkled all over. Honestly, the gravy didn't add much flavour to the duck. I found the duck slightly above average in terms of taste, but a minus point would be the minimal meat. I like my ducks to be meaty with a crispy skin and not just a crispy skin with not much meat.
The Roasted Pork was a little too salty and pretty fat, which was quite a turn off. The Shui Jiao Soup was average and the Shui Jiao itself tasted slightly above average with its nice filling of diced shrimps, prawns and other stuff.
The meal for 3 cost $13.90. Not exactly cheap for Duck Rice, especially for one which fails to wow and with average sized portions. But it certainly is above average and should you be around, you are most welcome to try it out. Look out for some other stalls which serve excellent food in this old neighbourhood.
Rating given:
Passed by 933 Roast Duck and saw many photographs of celebrities gracing the walls of this small eating house with tables spilling all over the sidewalks and decided to try it out since my gf and I were both hungry. We ordered 2 plates of Roasted Duck Rice and a bowl of Bak Kut Teh to share.
For a stall that has received many good reviews and is purportedly one of the best roasted duck rice stalls in Singapore, it certainly didn't meet my gf's or my expectations. The duck was merely average. No crispy skin, no flavourful meat. Just plain old simple duck meat and it came with a lot of bones to boot, even though I had ordered duck breast meat. The secret to the duck rice lies in the chilli I believe. Concentrated and packing a punch, it is good enough for my gf to like it. The Bak Kut in the Bak Kut Teh was a little too soft in my opinion, probably a result of cooking too long. However, I found the soup very much to my liking. It was clear with lots of pepper in it (Teochew style). Flavourful yet peppery! But I would have liked some more pepper though.
Total for the meal was $13.40, which included 2 glasses of barley. Relatively reasonable if you ask me.
Rating given:
Had the good fortune to be treated once again by my nice boss when it was Secretaries Day. I'm not a secretary but i tagged along and shamelessly got myself a free meal. Ahhh....its the little things in life that make life beautiful doesn't it? Thanks boss!
Started in 1997, Siam kitchen is committed to bringing authentic Thai cuisine to Singapore without compromising the taste and quality of the transition. After 11 years, has their food been palatable for the majority of Singaporeans or are they going down the slippery slope marking the end?
Crackers - As with most meals, an appetizer begins the day and this time, its a bowl of crackers. Vegetable crackers if i'm not mistaken. Light, crispy and fragrant, it managed to set the mood for the meal to come. In fact, it was good enough for us to get it refilled at least once but maybe we're just cracker people.
Salad, Fish cake and Chicken Wings - Whilst waiting for the rest of the team to arrive, we went ahead to get ourselves a few ala carte items which you see above. Surprisingly, the best items turned out to be the salad of which i've forgotten the actual name. Either way, the salad was drenched in the usual sourish and sweet sauce that thai food is known for and the cold "cucumber?" and other items made for a refreshing and interesting taste. The wings were hot and tender while the fish cake was rather lackluster.
Buffet Lunch Set with free flow ice lemon tea($15.90 1.99) - The buffet spread came with a multitude of items which you will get to have at one go. These include, thai spicy squid salad, lemongrass chicken wings, prawn balls, tom yum prawn soup, thai fish cake, green curry chicken, chicken satay, fish fillet in yellow curry, sweet and sour prawn, beef massaman in dry curry, minced chicken in chili and basil, tofu in oyster sauce, baby kailan with garlic and mushroom, fried kangkong and pineapple rice.
In all respects, that is a pretty big variety and everything is done ala carte. The catch is that they'll serve everything once and after that, you'll get to re order whatever else you wish to have seconds of. The tom yum is more sourish then spicy while the green curry had an overdose of coconut milk which isn't to my taste nor waistline. The only item good enough to mention was the chicken wing and thats at a discounted size from the actual ones that could be obtained from the ala carte menu. Still, the other items weren't all bad per se, just not up to the standard i would like. And anyway, its a buffet so this is more or less expected.
The above items were had by my colleagues who opted for the ala carte menu instead of the buffet. All of the guo tiao items received positive feedback which more or less confirms that the ala carte served much better food. The red ruby however, had too much coconut milk and was exceedingly salty, yep, salty is the word. The mango and glutinous rice also turned up too salty but was balanced by the mango and the ice cream in the end. Maybe thats how the authentic items tasted like in Thailand?
In terms of value for money, the buffet is generous and definitely filling enough although quality is compromised somewhat. The desserts and a few other items really felt like there was excess salt added which was quite disconcerting. Otherwise, the service was pretty good and no additional rules were enforced when the buffet customers and the ala carte customers sat together which i took to be a good sign. It wasn't terrible and the ala carte items definitely got better reviews.
Rating given:
If i am not wrong, this particular Branch has closed down to make way for some Orchard development. There was a closing down sale prior to that too. So there goes a all-in-one bookstore along Orchard area.
Rating given:
After reading lots of great reviews on Komachi over at hardwarezone forums (yeah, salon reviews on an IT forum), I decided to give it a try. Guess I was in a crazy mood, as I usually don't get expensive haircuts. I also wanted to see what magic they could do to my hair for the high price they charge. Usually it's $65, but for first timers, there is a 20% discount which means I have to pay only $52. Still expensive!
My stylist was Mr. Maeda San. The service standard is excellent. The long hair wash and head massage was exactly what I needed to relax my mind. The shampoo used was some kind of milk shampoo, which smells absolutely heavenly! I was tempted to buy a bottle home. Fortunately, they are not pushy with their products, unlike many other salons.
As for the haircut, given my short hair length, it's needless to say that there is nothing magical he could do about it. It turns out to be rather normal, what I could get with my usual $18 haircut.
Conversing with the stylists can be tricky, as all of them are Japanese. Most of the time, I have difficulty making out anything other than "ne".
They are currently in the process of moving from Liat Towers to Liang Court. So this entry might need updating when they eventually move over, which I believe will be in June.
Rating given:
Had a chance to gather around for a meal with the Yebbers on a fine Saturday to commemorate a rather interesting event which i will not go into specifics. Either way, the meal is free and i've always wanted to dine in Laguna Country Club for no apparent reason other then its a country club. So here we are and this is what we had. As i didn't pay for this meal, i'll only give my take on the food quality and service.
Laguna country club hosts a variety of golf tournaments throughout the year, including big name events like the Singapore Masters and the Women's Open nary a year ago. The location is scenic with lush green pastures and an air of luxury that extends beyond the greens and into the eating places housed within. Pine Valley is a relaxed, open and well air conditioned place for the inhabitants and club members and also a good place to reside for a nice chat as its sparsely populated even during the lunch hours.
Shark's Fin Soup with Fish Maw, Chicken and Mushrooms - Shark's fin soup is one of those dishes that i associate with wedding dinners and extremely wealthy individuals. This will likely fall into the latter category. The soup itself is quite starchy and has a really generous helping of ingredients, shark's fin and fish maw. Taken on its own, there's a sweet taste that emanates from the healthy does of crab and mushrooms in the mix but otherwise, tastes bland as most shark's fin soup tastes. Vinegar and pepper definitely ups the taste and texture department in this case.
Peking Duck - The beauty of the Peking Duck dish is undeniable. Order a whole duck and you'll get to eat it in a variety of ways for the skin and the meat. The only things standing between you and the dish is the knowledge of whether the duck skin is marinated and roasted well. In this case, the skin is quite fatty and crispy enough to warrant a try. The marinate feels non existant and the normal pancake is too dry. The egg version salvaged the situation though. The meat was cooked in black pepper and turned out surprisingly good. It was moist, succulent and sweet. It also helped that the portion size was rather big.
Wasabi Mayonnaise Prawns - Wasabi Mayonnaise prawns, a signature dish of the Tung Lok group, this version turned out too dry for me. The batter and frying process seemed to have been overdone which left the prawns tasting hard and dry instead of crunchy and juicy. No matter, the wasabi mayonnaise was mixed well and provided a small kick in the right direction since it was rather mild and easily acceptable.
Steamed Batang - This fish was huge. Simple steamed fish can be good as long as the fish itself was fresh and the process of cooking was not overdone. Sad to say however, the fish was overcooked and thus caused the meat to loss some of its sweetness which could have made it better. For what its worth, what is good is that the meat is plentiful, fresh and went well with the salty and sourish stock accompanying the dish.
Dried Chili Fried Prawns - Somehow, i don't think the restaurant handles prawns well. This dish was decent but the taste resides only within the portion of the shell. This means that once deshelled, which is a necessary procedure unless you are lazy like me, the prawn itself is rather bland. Otherwise, the spicy and fragrant dried chili is something spice lovers will easily take to.
Beancurd with Spinach - Finally, some greens. The spinach turned out too old and had the "greenish" taste which accompanies greens not cleaned properly. Although a tad salty, the spinach with all its flaws, ultimately tasted better then the beancurd atop it, which came across as being totally tasteless.
Fried Ee Fu Noodles - By the time this dish appeared, we'd pretty much been stuffed like a duck awaiting slaughter. So the taste buds have deteriorated to the point i couldn't taste much. Nonetheless, the noodles were fragrant and had some bacon bits strewn around it. It was also springy and soft enough to be bitten off which is always a good sign.
Almonds, Sea Coconut, Pine Apple and Longan Cocktail - The dessert is rather simple but definitely gets the job done. I like the almond which was very soft and strong (i'm biased because i love almond). Everything else was just detail though. The other good thing was that the sweetness was just right, thus it didn't overwhelm.
First of all, thank you for the meal boss, i probably couldn't afford having such a huge sumptuous meal all on my lonesome. The view was good, location is quiet, food is decent and the portions were huge. I'd say the place was pretty good but i still don't know how much it cost so thats an open topic. Based on the food alone, i would probably like to have the shark's fin again, Peking duck however, is still better at Hai Tien lo.
Rating given:
Following my virgin taste testing session that took place at Persimmon, HFB was honoured to be invited to another launch at TETSU ("哲"), which has just opened its doors at Tanglin Mall.
Japanese cuisine aficionados will rejoice a first of its kind authentic Kushi-style Tempura along with Tonkatsu menu, prepared “LIVE” before their eyes. Seated at specially designed counter bars that are in close proximity to the chef who deftly prepares their Tempura and Tonkatsu, diners get to enjoy a visual feast right before their eyes.
Diners can have a choice from a wide array of freshest seafood, meats and vegetables prepared either Kushi-age style (Skewered with Breaded Batter) or Kushi-tem style (Skewered with Tempura Batter).
In order to recreate the most authentic Japanese dining experience, TETSU has partnered up with one of the most established restaurant groups in Japan with 48 restaurants and employing over 1400 people.
The Hana Group, renowned for their authentic Japanese cuisine and has been advising TETSU in all aspects of their restaurant.
The night was kick-started with an appetiser off the menu, the Cold Tofu with Century Egg and Ebi Roe. It was surprisingly a good dish to start off with as the combination of the heavy century egg and soft tofu attempts to tickle your palate along with the salty exploding sensation of the ebi roe when one bites into it.
The Edamame ($4.00) like others are nothing to shout about, but something that stood out was the aestheticism of the dish, which is visually evident in all the subsequent dishes – it is only then that I found out that TETSU prides itself on offering the most authentic Japanese dining experience, taking it down even to the smallest of details.
The layout of the Kaiseki sets and even the art of serving up these gourmet sets are specially formulated in Japan, to ensure that diners can get the full “LIVE” experience, at the best value. In addition, much of the restaurant’s tableware are all specially flown in from Japan.
Moreover, the good thing about the Kushi-age Soft Shell Crab ($3.00 per serving) is that it does not come oil soaked, although I would prefer it to be slightly meatier.
One might also be intrigued to know that in TETSU, one also get a choice of three dips for their deep-fried food – Tonkutsu sauce, Japanese Mayo and Curry Salt.
Onsentamago To Tofu Salad, or Half-boiled (Hot Spring-styled) Egg & Tofu Salad ($13.50) is another dish that is dedicatedly prepared by the chef – using their bare hands to measure the temperature of the water cooking the eggs, and the eggs only taken out of the cooking water when the water is too hot for their hands to handle.
The only non-authentic dish that we tried that night was probably their Salmon Carpaccio with French Dressing ($18.00). Although the salmon was very fresh and comes with a very nice bite, I feel that the dressing was slightly too sour for me – let’s just say that I prefer sashimi the way it is.
Highly recommended was their Rosu Katsu (A set served with Salad, Pickles, Rice, Miso Soup and Dessert cost $24.50). Similar to Tonkichi, one is also given a bowl of Roasted Sesame Seeds to grind and add to the Tonkutsu sauce.
The sampling of their second deep-fried dish convinced me that their cooking and preparation technique is indeed accomplished. Although I pride Tampopo’s Black Pork Katsu to be the best in taste of texture due to its marbling fats, TETSU’s version comes a close second - one do not really sample the oily aftertaste in the batter.
It was then I was told that TETSU’s chefs have undergone intensive training in the chain’s headquarters in Japan. The attention paid to the preparation of Tempura and Tonkatsu is meticulous – TETSU chefs strictly ensure that all preparation techniques, from marination, to the type of batter and oil, to the time of frying, adhere to their timeless traditional Japanese recipes.
The Roll Sushi ($18.00 for 6 pieces) was another item that was painstaking prepared in many process. One would probably mistook it for a salmon roll sushi if one weren’t told that the filling also consists of scallop and tuna, as the saltiness of the cooked salmon seeks to over-whelmed it. However having said that, it was still a pretty enjoyable sushi roll due to the crunchy batter and the aromatic Sesame Seeds and pairing of Ebi Roe.
The Kushi-style cuisine is very popular in Japan because the skewer-style makes it easy for customers eat and enjoy their sake, shoju or wine at the same time.
However to be honest, by the time the Kaiseki Set Course B ($45.00) consisting of 4 Assorted Appetisers, Stick Vegetables, Kani-Suki (Paper Pot Crab Sukiyaki), Kushi-age or Kushi-Tem, Udon and Dessert arrived, I was pretty much filled up and my palate started to fail me. So I shall let the pictures speak for themselves.
However, one thing I remembered clearly was the very unique Japan-imported Udon that gives one a very chewy bite – one has to try it to truly understand what I mean.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Pris and TETSU for their generous hospitality.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
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Last Sunday, 25 May 2008.
Hubby and I was looking for food at vivocity. Yes, Vivocity again! lols. I had craving for Korean food again. Yes, again! So we decide to check out the food court at lvl 3.
It's very difficult to look for a place to sit there! We've been there many times, but never ate there just because it's too difficult to look for table. Think they have too little seats or something. :(
I found a seat somewhere and hubby went to order from the Korean stall. Hubby felt that the food's pretty okay, but I didn't think much of the beef. It's actually spicy and the kimchi is very spicy!
Hubby likes the soup because it's not salty. I think it's not too bad.
Total amount spent on food for both of us SGD13.00. So, it's not that expensive. :)
I didn't bring out my camera, had to use my phone's camera to take photo. Think my phone's dying. The photos are getting blurrier and blurrier. :P
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It was pretty late when hubby and I decide to meet after work on 24 May 2008. Yes, I work on Saturdays. :(
Anyway, I don't know why, but I was feeling a bit hungry, so hubby decide we should try out Hog's Breath Cafe.
We ordered and shared..
Buffalo Wings S$8.50
New York Grill S$25.00
Coke S$3.80
Total including GST & Service Charge SGD43.90
I like the place. The food is nice! The staffs seems rather young but they are quite helpful.
We will definitely be back there again. My favourite? The fries! Yum yumm.. :)
PS: The bottle in the last photo, is actually pepper! Cute eh? :)
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