Some of you may still remember a few year back this was the Trans-Island Bus Services (TIBS) that managed these buses. These are the yellow or red/white buses you see on the roads.
The bus drivers (by the way, only SBS terms their drivers 'Captains') are by large, rude and reckless. They tend not to care about the safety of their passengers. They like to move off fast and drive at high speed. So it also leads to a tendency to 2, 3 buses coming together at the same time. As recent as today, this driver took lane 3 of a 3 lane road and did a turn to the right. It was such a risky move and could cause mishap and confusion among road users.
Another thing people often criticise SMRT buses for are the seats. It can cause skin irritation as germs and bacteria could cumulate in the furry seats. If you're not convinced, try hitting the seat and see the particles floating out.
I really look towards their proposed move of revamping their fleet of buses, much needed really. Things such as changing the furry seats, changing the floorboard and stuffs. Come mid-may, they are going to introduce some new buses! The Mercedes-Benz Euro V bus series. I'm riding in a Mercedes soon!! Haha.
But seriously, they really need to take a good look at the level of service and consideration that the drivers offer to the passengers. There needs to be a review to ensure a pleasant trip for all to enjoy. Public transport is something we will consume for most part of our life, and we as consumers do deserve better service and treatment on our part, right?
SBS Transit is currently one of the duopoly in the commercial bus industry, together with SMRT buses. My review here is a general one as there are good and bad experiences in my whole life.
I feel that using this 2 bus company in comparison, the waiting frequency for SBS tends to be longer. Many a times, it is frustrating to wait for very long for the bus to come. The worst I've experienced is 1 hour. I mean, in this modern time, can our society still tolerate such absurd frequency? If they know certain buses or routes are busy at times, then they should deploy more buses to make the consumer's money worth.
I prefer the newer buses, which are better maintained or simply the case of being 'new'. The first few batches of Superbus "double-decker air-conditioned" are really dirty now, apparent with the darken seats and rubbishes and even, bugs seen at the corner and the end of the bus. I also don't like double-deck buses because they tend to be slower, which worsen my cause especially when I'm rushing for time. For bigger capacity buses, I prefer the bendy buses by SMRT, whose concept works the same and operates faster too.
Lastly mention the service level of the bus captains. There are those bad ones here and there but generally, they have been very knowledgeable due to their experience in this line and do try their best to help passengers out in doubt. SMRT drivers are more rude and do not really care about the safety of passengers, while SBS drivers do take note especially of the elderly to take their seat before embarking.
The Sentosa Express replaces the old monorail system which used to operate within Sentosa. It is a fully air-conditioned monorail system which ply between Vivocity and Beach Station, via Imbiah Station and the future Integrated Resort Station.
For a period of time, I had to take the monorail almost everyday as I had a short stint of study in there. I felt that the frequency is pretty quick. The staffs are very friendly but I question some of their willingness to wave at every single train which arrives at each station. But other than that, I applaud their promptness in ensuring safety on the platform; especially when guest stands too close or lean on the platform gantry.
It took them quite some time (in fact, half a year) to realise that opening the door at the station which is slated to be the next Integrated Resort is redundant. Only in recent times the management took note and programmed the route to bypass the station.
Overall, this was a great move as times are moving and the old monorail system is totally out of context (it served a singular direction back then, such an irony!). And getting to Sentosa has been made much easier with direct access from Vivocity, and providing an additional alternative to enter Sentosa.
I did a walk-in for some eye-brow trimming, I took the shaving option as it was cheap. The ambiance is relaxing and all I had to do was to lie down on the bed while the lady did her stuff.
After the trimming, I noticed that my left eyebrow was slightly higher in arch than the right. Perhaps, I have used that left eyebrow to arch too much and thus, the result.
I have rather high eyebrows and while the shape was nice, I didn't fancy the uneven heights of the eyebrows. The good thing is that they are not hard selling and during the trimming session, the lady suggested that I should go for eyebrow embroidery. I have yet to take up her suggestion.
Last Wednesday, I had the honour of being invited by Helena Lim, co-owner of Persimmon (as well as Epicurious at Robertson Quay) to partake in the taste testing session.
Located in the quaint neighbourhood of Tiong Bahru, one of the oldest housing estates in Singapore, Persimmon can be found within the premises of The Link Hotel, the largest boutique style hotel in Singapore.
The name “Persimmon” was chosen as suggested by Sharon, the other co-owner, because it is a often misunderstood and curious type of fruit, something that aligns with the type of cuisine they served in Persimmon – Fusion – European dishes with a hint of Singapore flair.
Entering into the restaurant is reminiscent of stepping into a swanky Kopi-tiam (or coffee-shop) – the décor of checker-tiled floors, white tabletop and wooden chair offers one a sense of nostalgia, in an Atas (or high class) way of course!
My dining partner and me ordered the Apple Infusion ($10) drink to share, consisting of Red apple, Lemon Grass, and Ginger, to start off the night. It was a refreshing fruit juice with a twist, if I may put it that way – as the lemongrass, a herb often used in Asian cooking, along with ginger, another Asian spice, tantalised the taste buds with their aromatic oil leaving one with a sweet spicy taste. I have to underscore that this drink was not part of the taste test and was in fact on the house as I found out later.
The first item up for tasting was the Amuse Bouche: Mushroom with Shao-Hsing Soup. Served in a shot glass, the soup was concentrated and full of mushroom flavour.
Great if you ask me, and it would be well received in other restaurants – but unfortunately not here in Persimmon, as the Asian element of Shao-Hsing flavour is evidently missing in the soup, a hint of it would definitely topped the cake.
The starter was a Salad of Pan-Seared Scallop, Glass Noodles, Cherry Apple & Starfruit Drizzled with Citrus Vinaigrette. This was one dish that the owner kept emphasising that it is in the process of being fine-tuned i.e. a show in weakness that they weren’t very confident about this dish, and I have to agree that they have every reason to be so. For once, I couldn’t see how the pairing would work, as I foresee people would be eating the scallop separately from the rest of the salad instead of with it. Also, the generous drizzling of the citrus vinaigrette, consisting of orange juice and olive oil, on my plate was way too sour for me to consume – it was the only dish that was left half eaten that evening. Perhaps the missing ingredient – shredded crab meat – which Helena apologise profusely that the chef had forgotten to add, was suppose to balance out the sourness in this dish, but I would never find out.
What was Kway Teow that was used in an earlier tasting session two weeks ago, that my fellow foodie attended, was replaced with Fettucine this time round. The Wagyu Beef "Char" Fettucine With Truffle Oil and Honshimeiji Mushrooom was an interesting rendition of our famous local delight. To be honest, I like this dish pretty much as the pasta was done al dente and I have to highlight that the truffle oil really makes a HUGE difference to this dish (I manage to steal a bite before it was added). Although the beef was tender, I would prefer it to be a slice bigger and thicker. It was too small a piece for my taste buds to discern it as Wagyu beef. The Poached Egg lacked seasoning and tasted of olive oil instead, which kinda makes it hard to stomach. However, with slight twitching, I believe this dish will do well in the long run.
Giant Prawn Chinchalok Thermidor was undoubtedly the crowd’s favourite that evening. Most who are usually turn off by the Chinchalok from the bottle were delighted to find out that the combination between that and the cheese on a giant prawn works wonder! What you get is a very savoury, lip-smacking tasty prawn that although a tad salty too consume on its own, but would made an excellent pairing to a bowl of rice (wild rice or brown rice would give it the fusion branding).
A shot of Orange and Pink Guava Sorbet refreshed our taste bud before we embarked on our final item of the day, and although a smidgen too sweet, I like the pairing very much as the flavours harmonises perfectly with one another.
The Ice Kachang “Eight Treasure” Sundae is another interesting twirl to our famous local dessert. Using Coconut Ice Cream instead of the usual coconut milk, this replica produces a surprise with every spoonful – as every dip give one a different ingredient of White Fungus, Wolfberry, Date, Kidney Bean among many others but most interesting, Dried Persimmon Strip was used to give it a pleasant final touch.
In conclusion, although I am not a big fan of fusion fare, if given time for fine-tuning in most of the dishes, I might just be back for the quiet and nice ambience presented that evening as well as the attentive service of this place.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Helena and Sharon for their generous hospitality.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Wednesday is for the ladies, party all night long!
Thursday we have people queuing up to buy Toto
Friday its one more day to the weekends
Saturday its finally weekends!
Sunday 4D 4D & 4D
So what do we have on Tuesday? Make a guess?!?
Yep, Tuesdays are Waffles Day!
For every Tuesday, its waffles day at Gelare, where you get to enjoy 50% discount on their waffles (actually for their plain waffles only, the rest less than 50%).
But who bothers! Its waffles day, and personally i do think its quite a good sales tactic. I mean even though i have never try Gelare before, but i heard of their promotions before. It works.
A friend and i went down to Gelare @ Plaza Singapura, 3pm and the place’s almost full house. For every tuesday, plain Waffle with syrup & cream is half price at $3.90, and the single scoop ice cream waffle is $6.90 (original price being $9.90)
There’s this promotion which they are having for their main course. But after seeing that their pastas are actually those frozen ready-packed one, which they heat up in the microwave, no thanks!
I was tempted to try their cheesecakes which at $5 a slice seems reasonable. Anyone try before mind letting me know whether it’s good?
Waffle with single scoop Tiramisu ice cream ($6.90) Just stick to what Geláre is good at, waffles. There was a choice whether you want to add on 20 cents to change the waffle to chocolate chip waffles, but we sticked with the normal ones.
The choice of toppings will be either chocolate sauce or maple syrup, and the option for having cream or no cream.
I liked my Ti-ra-mi-su ice cream waffles. But its actually quite soft, i’m not sure whether good waffles are meant to be soft, but i have a penchant for crispier waffles, like the one i had at Haato’s
Waffle with single scoop Pistachio gelare ($6.90) The Pistachio gelare here wasn’t to my friend’s liking. Pistachio is a kind of nut just in case you have no idea, like me. My friend like the soft waffles though, i guess everybody has different preference.
And we concluded that the waffles will taste much nicer without the whipped cream, and the chocolate sauce only hinder the taste of the ice cream.
Total Bill for 2 waffles is $13.80, on tuesday the waffles single scoop ice cream at $6.90 are considered reasonable i guess, but even the normal price ten bucks for it, i won’t touch it.
Haato’s waffle with single scoop ice cream is at $6, everyday. I guess thats the place to fulfill my waffles cravings until a better place comes about.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or biasness. Feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
Brown Sugar - A tiny little cafe/bistro that opened up in November 2006 and the brainchild of a former fund manager turned chef, Yuan Oeij. Following in the footsteps of yet another local restaurateur, lawyer turned chef Willin Low of Wild Rocket fame, Oeij was a part time chef for hire before deciding to give up his job to open a restaurant.
Nestled in a nook just off River Valley Road within the StarDus clubhouse premises, Brown Sugar is a small cafe that can probably seat about 30 pax. Its limited capacity means that reservations are highly recommended especially for dinners on Fridays and Saturdays. The decor is kept simple yet cosy through the use of ambient lighting.
Complimentary Bread - The bread was served warm and interestingly, had a slightly spicy aftertaste. Though crisp, I found it a tad too dry for my liking, which is where the olive oil comes into play.
Deconstructed Apple Salad - The salad consisted of apple slices, rocket leaves, walnuts and not to forget, cheese, which was cleverly hidden from view between the layers of apple slices. I personally liked this harmonious combination of flavours with the sweetness of the apple complimenting the contrasting flavours of the cheese and the rocket leaves. But its small and its $13.
Linguine of Organic Mushrooms in Cream Sauce with Sliced Parma Ham - According to the wait staff, the organic mushrooms in this dish are sourced from a local farm which ensures its freshness. True enough, the mushrooms were fresh and plentiful. However, the linguine was a tad too overcooked and the parma ham, though nice, did seem a little too thickly sliced. On the upside, the cream sauce wasn't overwhelming hence you can easily stuff more down without feeling nauseous.
Hand Chopped Wagyu Burger, Truffled Mushroom Sauce, Salad and Fries - As mentioned in my entry on Iggy's sometime back, its a total waste of good beef if you chop wagyu up and make it into a beef patty. Brown Sugar's rendition wasn't just about to change my view on that. The beef, though evidently hand chopped from the unevenness of the patty, didn't taste much different from other beef patties that I've eaten. It could have been normal beef and I honestly wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Sure, the meat was more tender with more fats but lacked the beefy taste and the texture seemed more more like minced pork than beef. It definitely didn't help that the patty was done medium well instead of medium rare as per my request. All in all a very decent burger but not exactly one to bowl me over. Oh and the fries were a tad dry and overcooked.
Tarte Tatin of Pears with Honey & Fig Ice Cream - A rather interesting dessert if I may say. The pastry was flaky but did seem a little too hard from the hardened caramel glaze. The pears were firm and not too sweet, providing a nice crunch to the flimsy looking pastry.When paired with the honey and fig ice cream, it was truly enjoyable. Order this before hand because there is a wait time of 15 minutes.
Molten 100% Valrhona Chocolate Cake, Raspberry Coulis, Vanilla Ice Cream - I think I'm just a sucker for chocolate cakes, especially ones with the word molten chocolate attached to them. Brown Sugar's offering had a rather soft crust which I personally dislike, but the decadent molten chocolate more than made up for it. The vanilla ice cream was made from vanilla beans, not extract, as evident by the black dots on the ice cream. Together with the chocolate cake, it made for a nice and not too sweet ending. Please note that this dessert has a wait time of 15 minutes as well.
An appetiser, 2 mains and 2 desserts cost something to the tune of $98 which does seem a little high for a cafe hidden in a small government building. Quality of food is of a reasonably high standard and service is quite good. Add the nice homely environment to the mix and Brown Sugar is worth a revisit. For those who wish to experience Brown Sugar for less, there is the set lunch option, at $23 for 2 courses and $27 for 3 courses.
Bought like 2 times from this blogshop, the owner is a friendly and enthusiastic person who is good to interact and trade with. Service and answers to inquiries are fast, polite and accurate. Sending of the parcel is fast though the packaging can still be improved.
Shop has got some unique and beautiful pieces by and by though updates are quite slow and most of the pieces of clothings are normal. Selling tops, shorts, one or 2 dresses and some bags. It will be better if the variety, number of items selling increased. Photos are provided although the size and resolution of the photos can be better.
Sitting down, the place looks quite clean and well-organized. Menu is clear and well designed. The system of ordering food is similar to Pasta Mania, you have to go to the counter to order the food.
While we were looking at the menu, the waitress came over on her own initiative and explain to us that there are some items of the menu that were not available. Polite, friendly, fast and have initiative. Thats good service attitude! ;D So we were not very concern about items being not available.
We chose our food and Dar went to order. Negative point was, no Nets payment available, we had to pay by cash. Thats alright since we do have cash on hand however, signs should be put up at the tables regarding this as some people don't like to bring a lot of cash with them.
While waiting, we were distracted by the chinese restaurant besides Spaghetti Too as the chef there was making something using dough and he was preparing the dough, making a lot of noises in the process.
Dar's Beef Pie came first with the drinks. Too much butter used on the outer crust, hence the taste was overpowering. The pie was more suitable for people who likes strong taste. For me, the beef was way way too salty....
Next came the Garlic Bread with Cheese and this will be what I highly recommend to people. Bread crust being baked to absolute crispiness while the center portion was soft. Cheese added to the chewiness at just the right amount. Not too cheesy or salty. Best eaten hot however, as the texture changes when left cold.
Next came the main courses, Dar and I ordered the Sirloin Steak promotion meal at S$7.90 including a drink. After the delicious garlic bread, we had high expectation of the upcoming meals. However, we were quite disappointed. Although the beef was cooked at medium well done and very tender to eat, the taste of the beef was covered with the sauce. Sauce was too much and too salty. Vegetables were average though a bit overcooked while the mashed potato was not smooth enough. On the whole, the dish can be said to be a bit above average. I will give around 7/10 as taste can be quite subjective depending on the person eating.
Grilled Salmon hot plate Spaghetti. Dish was below average with the salmon being not fresh enough and Spaghetti overcooked. As Claire put it : "I can only taste tomatoes in it with one clump of spaghetti..."
Ordered some desserts as well. Brownie, ordered by Dar, was too sweet and had to be eaten together with the ice-cream to taste nice. Portion was real big comparative to its price of S$2.50.
Claire ordered the Apple Cobbler . Like the brownie, it tasted good when eaten together with the ice-cream, otherwise, its just a sweet dessert. Perhaps thats why they were served with the ice-cream placed on top? It would be better if the Apple Cobbler was packed more tightly as it was practically crumbling apart while we ate it.
Best dessert of the day and highly recommended by me will be the Italian Chocolate cake. Warmed and served with ice-cream by the side, the texture was thick and I expected it to be too sweet. However, as I put it into my mouth, the cake was chewy, full of "chocoty" flavor and not too sweet. Tasted great with or without ice-cream.
Altogether, we ordered 2 Sirloin Steak promo meals, 1 Salmon Spaghetti Promo meal, 2 portions Garlic bread, 1 Beef pie, 2 extra drinks and 3 desserts and we spent $39.80! No doubt the main courses were not that great but they were above average. Side dishes, desserts as well as the service quality were of satisfactory level. Hence conclusion, Value for Money!
Saturday, we met up with my parents-in-law for a dinner at Foster's at Holland Village. After dinner while strolling to go home, we came across the newly opened Swensen's Gelato Parlor. Having some vouchers gotten when we went to eat at Swensen's, we decided to get some ice-cream for the Wii session on Sunday.
Deco at the Parlor looks like the typical ice-cream specialty shops like Gelare, Andersen's and Scoopz. When we went in, the manager explained to us their system for take aways.
Take aways come in tubs of 500ml (2 flavors @ $9.30) and 1000ml (3 flavors @$16.30). We decided to get a tub 500ml and a tub 1000ml while my parents-in-law got themselves small cups of ice-cream (free since we have got vouchers but the original price was $3.30).
Service quality of the Parlor was very good, polite, friendly and not stingy on the portion of ice-cream even for the free cups my parents received. I will give 9/10 for them. Insulating job for the ice-cream tubs were well done too, using foiled paper bags and scotch tapes to secure the tubs.
Altogether, we bought Mango, Hazelnut, Passionfruit, Super Lemon and Soursop flavors and I must say, the selection available was quite limited. Other flavors we did not buy were Green tea, Blueberry, Durian, Raspberry and Pistachio. 2 other flavors I forgot.
The ice-cream flavors on the average, were on the sweet side with little fruits in them, tasted a little thin. Flavor weren't as full as I'll like them. Scoopz still remained as my favorite brand of ice-cream. Better flavors of the 5 we bought were Mango and Soursop but mostly because both fruits produce fuller flavor though I don't like the bitter after taste of the Mango. It will be better if variety of flavors increased.
1=SGD 0.0587
Some of you may still remember a few year back this was the Trans-Island Bus Services (TIBS) that managed these buses. These are the yellow or red/white buses you see on the roads.
The bus drivers (by the way, only SBS terms their drivers 'Captains') are by large, rude and reckless. They tend not to care about the safety of their passengers. They like to move off fast and drive at high speed. So it also leads to a tendency to 2, 3 buses coming together at the same time. As recent as today, this driver took lane 3 of a 3 lane road and did a turn to the right. It was such a risky move and could cause mishap and confusion among road users.
Another thing people often criticise SMRT buses for are the seats. It can cause skin irritation as germs and bacteria could cumulate in the furry seats. If you're not convinced, try hitting the seat and see the particles floating out.
I really look towards their proposed move of revamping their fleet of buses, much needed really. Things such as changing the furry seats, changing the floorboard and stuffs. Come mid-may, they are going to introduce some new buses! The Mercedes-Benz Euro V bus series. I'm riding in a Mercedes soon!! Haha.
But seriously, they really need to take a good look at the level of service and consideration that the drivers offer to the passengers. There needs to be a review to ensure a pleasant trip for all to enjoy. Public transport is something we will consume for most part of our life, and we as consumers do deserve better service and treatment on our part, right?
Rating given:
SBS Transit is currently one of the duopoly in the commercial bus industry, together with SMRT buses. My review here is a general one as there are good and bad experiences in my whole life.
I feel that using this 2 bus company in comparison, the waiting frequency for SBS tends to be longer. Many a times, it is frustrating to wait for very long for the bus to come. The worst I've experienced is 1 hour. I mean, in this modern time, can our society still tolerate such absurd frequency? If they know certain buses or routes are busy at times, then they should deploy more buses to make the consumer's money worth.
I prefer the newer buses, which are better maintained or simply the case of being 'new'. The first few batches of Superbus "double-decker air-conditioned" are really dirty now, apparent with the darken seats and rubbishes and even, bugs seen at the corner and the end of the bus. I also don't like double-deck buses because they tend to be slower, which worsen my cause especially when I'm rushing for time. For bigger capacity buses, I prefer the bendy buses by SMRT, whose concept works the same and operates faster too.
Lastly mention the service level of the bus captains. There are those bad ones here and there but generally, they have been very knowledgeable due to their experience in this line and do try their best to help passengers out in doubt. SMRT drivers are more rude and do not really care about the safety of passengers, while SBS drivers do take note especially of the elderly to take their seat before embarking.
Rating given:
The Sentosa Express replaces the old monorail system which used to operate within Sentosa. It is a fully air-conditioned monorail system which ply between Vivocity and Beach Station, via Imbiah Station and the future Integrated Resort Station.
For a period of time, I had to take the monorail almost everyday as I had a short stint of study in there. I felt that the frequency is pretty quick. The staffs are very friendly but I question some of their willingness to wave at every single train which arrives at each station. But other than that, I applaud their promptness in ensuring safety on the platform; especially when guest stands too close or lean on the platform gantry.
It took them quite some time (in fact, half a year) to realise that opening the door at the station which is slated to be the next Integrated Resort is redundant. Only in recent times the management took note and programmed the route to bypass the station.
Overall, this was a great move as times are moving and the old monorail system is totally out of context (it served a singular direction back then, such an irony!). And getting to Sentosa has been made much easier with direct access from Vivocity, and providing an additional alternative to enter Sentosa.
Rating given:
I did a walk-in for some eye-brow trimming, I took the shaving option as it was cheap. The ambiance is relaxing and all I had to do was to lie down on the bed while the lady did her stuff.
After the trimming, I noticed that my left eyebrow was slightly higher in arch than the right. Perhaps, I have used that left eyebrow to arch too much and thus, the result.
I have rather high eyebrows and while the shape was nice, I didn't fancy the uneven heights of the eyebrows. The good thing is that they are not hard selling and during the trimming session, the lady suggested that I should go for eyebrow embroidery. I have yet to take up her suggestion.
Rating given:
Last Wednesday, I had the honour of being invited by Helena Lim, co-owner of Persimmon (as well as Epicurious at Robertson Quay) to partake in the taste testing session.
Located in the quaint neighbourhood of Tiong Bahru, one of the oldest housing estates in Singapore, Persimmon can be found within the premises of The Link Hotel, the largest boutique style hotel in Singapore.
The name “Persimmon” was chosen as suggested by Sharon, the other co-owner, because it is a often misunderstood and curious type of fruit, something that aligns with the type of cuisine they served in Persimmon – Fusion – European dishes with a hint of Singapore flair.
Entering into the restaurant is reminiscent of stepping into a swanky Kopi-tiam (or coffee-shop) – the décor of checker-tiled floors, white tabletop and wooden chair offers one a sense of nostalgia, in an Atas (or high class) way of course!
My dining partner and me ordered the Apple Infusion ($10) drink to share, consisting of Red apple, Lemon Grass, and Ginger, to start off the night. It was a refreshing fruit juice with a twist, if I may put it that way – as the lemongrass, a herb often used in Asian cooking, along with ginger, another Asian spice, tantalised the taste buds with their aromatic oil leaving one with a sweet spicy taste. I have to underscore that this drink was not part of the taste test and was in fact on the house as I found out later.
The first item up for tasting was the Amuse Bouche: Mushroom with Shao-Hsing Soup. Served in a shot glass, the soup was concentrated and full of mushroom flavour.
Great if you ask me, and it would be well received in other restaurants – but unfortunately not here in Persimmon, as the Asian element of Shao-Hsing flavour is evidently missing in the soup, a hint of it would definitely topped the cake.
The starter was a Salad of Pan-Seared Scallop, Glass Noodles, Cherry Apple & Starfruit Drizzled with Citrus Vinaigrette. This was one dish that the owner kept emphasising that it is in the process of being fine-tuned i.e. a show in weakness that they weren’t very confident about this dish, and I have to agree that they have every reason to be so. For once, I couldn’t see how the pairing would work, as I foresee people would be eating the scallop separately from the rest of the salad instead of with it. Also, the generous drizzling of the citrus vinaigrette, consisting of orange juice and olive oil, on my plate was way too sour for me to consume – it was the only dish that was left half eaten that evening. Perhaps the missing ingredient – shredded crab meat – which Helena apologise profusely that the chef had forgotten to add, was suppose to balance out the sourness in this dish, but I would never find out.
What was Kway Teow that was used in an earlier tasting session two weeks ago, that my fellow foodie attended, was replaced with Fettucine this time round. The Wagyu Beef "Char" Fettucine With Truffle Oil and Honshimeiji Mushrooom was an interesting rendition of our famous local delight. To be honest, I like this dish pretty much as the pasta was done al dente and I have to highlight that the truffle oil really makes a HUGE difference to this dish (I manage to steal a bite before it was added). Although the beef was tender, I would prefer it to be a slice bigger and thicker. It was too small a piece for my taste buds to discern it as Wagyu beef. The Poached Egg lacked seasoning and tasted of olive oil instead, which kinda makes it hard to stomach. However, with slight twitching, I believe this dish will do well in the long run.
Giant Prawn Chinchalok Thermidor was undoubtedly the crowd’s favourite that evening. Most who are usually turn off by the Chinchalok from the bottle were delighted to find out that the combination between that and the cheese on a giant prawn works wonder! What you get is a very savoury, lip-smacking tasty prawn that although a tad salty too consume on its own, but would made an excellent pairing to a bowl of rice (wild rice or brown rice would give it the fusion branding).
A shot of Orange and Pink Guava Sorbet refreshed our taste bud before we embarked on our final item of the day, and although a smidgen too sweet, I like the pairing very much as the flavours harmonises perfectly with one another.
The Ice Kachang “Eight Treasure” Sundae is another interesting twirl to our famous local dessert. Using Coconut Ice Cream instead of the usual coconut milk, this replica produces a surprise with every spoonful – as every dip give one a different ingredient of White Fungus, Wolfberry, Date, Kidney Bean among many others but most interesting, Dried Persimmon Strip was used to give it a pleasant final touch.
In conclusion, although I am not a big fan of fusion fare, if given time for fine-tuning in most of the dishes, I might just be back for the quiet and nice ambience presented that evening as well as the attentive service of this place.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Helena and Sharon for their generous hospitality.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Rating given:
Monday everyone have the standard Mondays blue
Wednesday is for the ladies, party all night long!
Thursday we have people queuing up to buy Toto
Friday its one more day to the weekends
Saturday its finally weekends!
Sunday 4D 4D & 4D
So what do we have on Tuesday? Make a guess?!?
Yep, Tuesdays are Waffles Day!
For every Tuesday, its waffles day at Gelare, where you get to enjoy 50% discount on their waffles (actually for their plain waffles only, the rest less than 50%).
But who bothers! Its waffles day, and personally i do think its quite a good sales tactic. I mean even though i have never try Gelare before, but i heard of their promotions before. It works.
A friend and i went down to Gelare @ Plaza Singapura, 3pm and the place’s almost full house. For every tuesday, plain Waffle with syrup & cream is half price at $3.90, and the single scoop ice cream waffle is $6.90 (original price being $9.90)
There’s this promotion which they are having for their main course. But after seeing that their pastas are actually those frozen ready-packed one, which they heat up in the microwave, no thanks!
I was tempted to try their cheesecakes which at $5 a slice seems reasonable. Anyone try before mind letting me know whether it’s good?
Waffle with single scoop Tiramisu ice cream ($6.90)
Just stick to what Geláre is good at, waffles. There was a choice whether you want to add on 20 cents to change the waffle to chocolate chip waffles, but we sticked with the normal ones.
The choice of toppings will be either chocolate sauce or maple syrup, and the option for having cream or no cream.
I liked my Ti-ra-mi-su ice cream waffles. But its actually quite soft, i’m not sure whether good waffles are meant to be soft, but i have a penchant for crispier waffles, like the one i had at Haato’s
Waffle with single scoop Pistachio gelare ($6.90)
The Pistachio gelare here wasn’t to my friend’s liking. Pistachio is a kind of nut just in case you have no idea, like me. My friend like the soft waffles though, i guess everybody has different preference.
And we concluded that the waffles will taste much nicer without the whipped cream, and the chocolate sauce only hinder the taste of the ice cream.
Total Bill for 2 waffles is $13.80, on tuesday the waffles single scoop ice cream at $6.90 are considered reasonable i guess, but even the normal price ten bucks for it, i won’t touch it.
Haato’s waffle with single scoop ice cream is at $6, everyday. I guess thats the place to fulfill my waffles cravings until a better place comes about.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or biasness. Feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
” Only on Tuedays, Waffles day! “
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Brown Sugar - A tiny little cafe/bistro that opened up in November 2006 and the brainchild of a former fund manager turned chef, Yuan Oeij. Following in the footsteps of yet another local restaurateur, lawyer turned chef Willin Low of Wild Rocket fame, Oeij was a part time chef for hire before deciding to give up his job to open a restaurant.
Nestled in a nook just off River Valley Road within the StarDus clubhouse premises, Brown Sugar is a small cafe that can probably seat about 30 pax. Its limited capacity means that reservations are highly recommended especially for dinners on Fridays and Saturdays. The decor is kept simple yet cosy through the use of ambient lighting.
Complimentary Bread - The bread was served warm and interestingly, had a slightly spicy aftertaste. Though crisp, I found it a tad too dry for my liking, which is where the olive oil comes into play.
Deconstructed Apple Salad - The salad consisted of apple slices, rocket leaves, walnuts and not to forget, cheese, which was cleverly hidden from view between the layers of apple slices. I personally liked this harmonious combination of flavours with the sweetness of the apple complimenting the contrasting flavours of the cheese and the rocket leaves. But its small and its $13.
Linguine of Organic Mushrooms in Cream Sauce with Sliced Parma Ham - According to the wait staff, the organic mushrooms in this dish are sourced from a local farm which ensures its freshness. True enough, the mushrooms were fresh and plentiful. However, the linguine was a tad too overcooked and the parma ham, though nice, did seem a little too thickly sliced. On the upside, the cream sauce wasn't overwhelming hence you can easily stuff more down without feeling nauseous.
Hand Chopped Wagyu Burger, Truffled Mushroom Sauce, Salad and Fries - As mentioned in my entry on Iggy's sometime back, its a total waste of good beef if you chop wagyu up and make it into a beef patty. Brown Sugar's rendition wasn't just about to change my view on that. The beef, though evidently hand chopped from the unevenness of the patty, didn't taste much different from other beef patties that I've eaten. It could have been normal beef and I honestly wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Sure, the meat was more tender with more fats but lacked the beefy taste and the texture seemed more more like minced pork than beef. It definitely didn't help that the patty was done medium well instead of medium rare as per my request. All in all a very decent burger but not exactly one to bowl me over. Oh and the fries were a tad dry and overcooked.
Tarte Tatin of Pears with Honey & Fig Ice Cream - A rather interesting dessert if I may say. The pastry was flaky but did seem a little too hard from the hardened caramel glaze. The pears were firm and not too sweet, providing a nice crunch to the flimsy looking pastry.When paired with the honey and fig ice cream, it was truly enjoyable. Order this before hand because there is a wait time of 15 minutes.
Molten 100% Valrhona Chocolate Cake, Raspberry Coulis, Vanilla Ice Cream - I think I'm just a sucker for chocolate cakes, especially ones with the word molten chocolate attached to them. Brown Sugar's offering had a rather soft crust which I personally dislike, but the decadent molten chocolate more than made up for it. The vanilla ice cream was made from vanilla beans, not extract, as evident by the black dots on the ice cream. Together with the chocolate cake, it made for a nice and not too sweet ending. Please note that this dessert has a wait time of 15 minutes as well.
An appetiser, 2 mains and 2 desserts cost something to the tune of $98 which does seem a little high for a cafe hidden in a small government building. Quality of food is of a reasonably high standard and service is quite good. Add the nice homely environment to the mix and Brown Sugar is worth a revisit. For those who wish to experience Brown Sugar for less, there is the set lunch option, at $23 for 2 courses and $27 for 3 courses.
See all my pictures here.
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Bought like 2 times from this blogshop, the owner is a friendly and enthusiastic person who is good to interact and trade with.
Service and answers to inquiries are fast, polite and accurate. Sending of the parcel is fast though the packaging can still be improved.
Shop has got some unique and beautiful pieces by and by though updates are quite slow and most of the pieces of clothings are normal. Selling tops, shorts, one or 2 dresses and some bags. It will be better if the variety, number of items selling increased. Photos are provided although the size and resolution of the photos can be better.
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Sitting down, the place looks quite clean and well-organized. Menu is clear and well designed. The system of ordering food is similar to Pasta Mania, you have to go to the counter to order the food.
While we were looking at the menu, the waitress came over on her own initiative and explain to us that there are some items of the menu that were not available. Polite, friendly, fast and have initiative. Thats good service attitude! ;D So we were not very concern about items being not available.
We chose our food and Dar went to order. Negative point was, no Nets payment available, we had to pay by cash. Thats alright since we do have cash on hand however, signs should be put up at the tables regarding this as some people don't like to bring a lot of cash with them.
While waiting, we were distracted by the chinese restaurant besides Spaghetti Too as the chef there was making something using dough and he was preparing the dough, making a lot of noises in the process.
Dar's Beef Pie came first with the drinks. Too much butter used on the outer crust, hence the taste was overpowering. The pie was more suitable for people who likes strong taste. For me, the beef was way way too salty....
Next came the Garlic Bread with Cheese and this will be what I highly recommend to people. Bread crust being baked to absolute crispiness while the center portion was soft. Cheese added to the chewiness at just the right amount. Not too cheesy or salty. Best eaten hot however, as the texture changes when left cold.
Next came the main courses, Dar and I ordered the Sirloin Steak promotion meal at S$7.90 including a drink. After the delicious garlic bread, we had high expectation of the upcoming meals. However, we were quite disappointed. Although the beef was cooked at medium well done and very tender to eat, the taste of the beef was covered with the sauce. Sauce was too much and too salty. Vegetables were average though a bit overcooked while the mashed potato was not smooth enough. On the whole, the dish can be said to be a bit above average. I will give around 7/10 as taste can be quite subjective depending on the person eating.
Grilled Salmon hot plate Spaghetti. Dish was below average with the salmon being not fresh enough and Spaghetti overcooked. As Claire put it : "I can only taste tomatoes in it with one clump of spaghetti..."
Ordered some desserts as well. Brownie, ordered by Dar, was too sweet and had to be eaten together with the ice-cream to taste nice. Portion was real big comparative to its price of S$2.50.
Claire ordered the Apple Cobbler . Like the brownie, it tasted good when eaten together with the ice-cream, otherwise, its just a sweet dessert. Perhaps thats why they were served with the ice-cream placed on top? It would be better if the Apple Cobbler was packed more tightly as it was practically crumbling apart while we ate it.
Best dessert of the day and highly recommended by me will be the Italian Chocolate cake. Warmed and served with ice-cream by the side, the texture was thick and I expected it to be too sweet. However, as I put it into my mouth, the cake was chewy, full of "chocoty" flavor and not too sweet. Tasted great with or without ice-cream.
Altogether, we ordered 2 Sirloin Steak promo meals, 1 Salmon Spaghetti Promo meal, 2 portions Garlic bread, 1 Beef pie, 2 extra drinks and 3 desserts and we spent $39.80! No doubt the main courses were not that great but they were above average. Side dishes, desserts as well as the service quality were of satisfactory level. Hence conclusion, Value for Money!
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Saturday, we met up with my parents-in-law for a dinner at Foster's at Holland Village. After dinner while strolling to go home, we came across the newly opened Swensen's Gelato Parlor. Having some vouchers gotten when we went to eat at Swensen's, we decided to get some ice-cream for the Wii session on Sunday.
Deco at the Parlor looks like the typical ice-cream specialty shops like Gelare, Andersen's and Scoopz. When we went in, the manager explained to us their system for take aways.
Take aways come in tubs of 500ml (2 flavors @ $9.30) and 1000ml (3 flavors @$16.30). We decided to get a tub 500ml and a tub 1000ml while my parents-in-law got themselves small cups of ice-cream (free since we have got vouchers but the original price was $3.30).
Service quality of the Parlor was very good, polite, friendly and not stingy on the portion of ice-cream even for the free cups my parents received. I will give 9/10 for them. Insulating job for the ice-cream tubs were well done too, using foiled paper bags and scotch tapes to secure the tubs.
Altogether, we bought Mango, Hazelnut, Passionfruit, Super Lemon and Soursop flavors and I must say, the selection available was quite limited. Other flavors we did not buy were Green tea, Blueberry, Durian, Raspberry and Pistachio. 2 other flavors I forgot.
The ice-cream flavors on the average, were on the sweet side with little fruits in them, tasted a little thin. Flavor weren't as full as I'll like them. Scoopz still remained as my favorite brand of ice-cream. Better flavors of the 5 we bought were Mango and Soursop but mostly because both fruits produce fuller flavor though I don't like the bitter after taste of the Mango.
It will be better if variety of flavors increased.
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