Phin's beerhaus and grille is an unassuming, open concept eating place set on the 4th floor of Tampines mall. First looks did not impress and honestly, i've passed by this place so many times but never had the urge to try it till today. An offshoot of its bigger upmarket cousin, Phin's steakhouse, how does this lone restaurant fare? Read on.
The first thing i need to say about this restaurant is the service. We were served by a waiter jovial and professional waiter who required nothing to jote down our orders while being able to tell us exactly what they had and did not have for the day. He was also kind enough to introduce a different cut of meat which turned out rather well in my opinion. If only waiters in other establishments could be as good as him, i'd gladly pay service charges. (La Noce is another place where the service staff is simply excellent.)
Australian Grain Fed Tenderloin ($28.90) - As recommended by the waiter, i took the Australian grain fed tenderloin which was a time limited offer. According to him, the meat is superior, better marbled and contains less fat as compared to the normal offerings. I don't presume myself an expert on this matter, but i must say the meat was pretty good. Done medium rare, slightly charred on the edges with a small lump of butter sizzling atop, this reminds me of the good days when Jack's place was still making good food. That said, the meat was juicy and the butter added much to the already succulent and tasty steak. Pity about the portion size which i felt was rather small (even though it took me 15 minutes to finish.)
Soup of the Day, Garlic Bread and Salad ($19.90 set meal) - My gf's set meal, which means i got to try everything a little again, no prizes for guessing if my girth is increasing. The salad was fresh, sweet and crunchy while the garlic bread fragrant and went well with the accompanying creamy mushroom soup. A good starter.
Seafood Pesto Carbonara - This came as a surprise. The serving was quite generous with 2 huge scallops, 1 pan fried dory fillet and half slipper lobster set atop a bed of fettucinne cooked with pesto carbonara and mushrooms. The serving alone is worth commending and this is further accented by the fact that it tasted pretty good. It was quite spicy and tasted simple at the same time, allowing for an appetizing feeling without being overwhelming. The ingredients used were also equally fresh and everything tasted juicy and sweet. Nicely done.
Brownie Surprise ($8.90) - The brownie surprise really did come as a surprise because i saw more ice cream on the dish then brownies which were actually cut into small pieces and served as an accompaniment rather then the main draw. The ice cream was creamy and and smooth. The flavors served were cookies and cream, mocha and one which i can't quite make out. The brownie was rather dry but the melting ice cream made up for that oversight.
Dessert of the day (Mango Pudding with sugar icing) - The final part to the set meal was this mango pudding. Light, refreshing and sweet, this was a good ending for the meal.
The final bill came up to $67.90 for 2 people, its not cheap but the service and food quality made up for it.
I'm really quite surprised with how good this place is. I went in with very little expectations and was pleasantly surprised with the service and quality of food given its unassuming and rather small outlet. The lack of customers was also a plus for me since i dislike jostling with people when i dine, and that is difficult in a place like Tampines mall. Nonetheless, i'd recommend a try for people in the vicinity. Try it once to see if you like the place. (Though i'll say it first, the place definitely needs a cosmetic makeover and location change. *winks*)
Phin’s steakhouse isn’t the usual steakhouse you will expect with classy environment, expensive decor, pretty plates. Situated at Liang Seah place (behind Bugis Parco Junction), its on a street with small eatery and restaurants around. The place itself does not have air-con, decor are average, but they serve good steaks at good price.
Steaks in the hand of less-skillful chefs will turn out to be catastrophe, but not at Phin’s. Although i am not a great fan of red meat, but Phin’s steak won me over. The irresistable succulent nz air flown steaks are serve on signature hot plate with baked potato and seasonal vegetables.
Diners can choose from Sirlon, Ribeye, Tenderloin, with different sizes like ladies cut, gentlemen cut, humongous cut (with ladies cut cheapest & humongous cut most expensive). In addition, the choice of sauces on the steak is also accord to each delight, with the usual sauce like pepper, mushroom, to some unique sauce like garlic, sambal, honey mustard, and wild mushroom.
Although Phin’s a steakhouse, but it also offer other western food like chicken fillet, fish & chips, lamb, seafood. There is the combo set for 2 person, i saw a particular set which interest me, there is a combo of chicken, fish, lamb and steak serving for two. But maz and i decided on ordering two sirlon steak (gentlemen cut) at $14.90 each. Not feeling too adventurous, i had the safe yet good pepper sauce, while maz tried the wild mushroom.
For starters. we had Escargot baked in cheese and wine ($9.90), coming in servings of half a dozen. There is another escargot with garlic ($7.90), but we decided to try the more expensive one. Hmm.. this is the second time i had escargot and the feeling is exactly as the first time. Not very snail-like, rather it taste quite like the shell-type food? O well
Sirlon steak with pepper sauce (medium raw). The steak was good, meat was succulent and tender. It came with healthy servings of sides like vege, corn and a whole potato. Boy o boy, just eating the potato makes me full ( :
Sirlon steak with wild mushroom sauce (medium raw). N’uff say, only difference was the sauce, quality is the same. The wild mushroom sauce is quite unique as we didn’t expect it to be in this colour. 4.5 out of 5
Maz had new zealand natural mango ice-cream ($2.90) for desserts, i was too full so i skipped desserts. By and large, Phin’s is a good place for good and affordable steak. Well, being a steakhouse, its steak can’t be that bad right? Not too sure about the other dishes beside steak, but i saw the other diners having the combo and it looks good. Service-wise i suppose it is quite good, the waitress are friendly and re-filled our iced water very fast. I always felt that Bugis junction does not have much to eat, now knowing Liang Seah place is just behind, rest assured the next time you go Bugis. Total bill comes up to $49.20 for two person.
You are always welcome to visit Ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
The time: 7pm. The diners: Me, Wee hong, Hong yi & friends. The place: Fisherman’s Wharf. The food: Fish & Chips
Well well, i had great expectations for Fisherman’s wharf, having heard rave reviews on its fish & chips, we were left slightly disappointed when we left the place. Fisherman wharf is directly opposite the new Central Mall. From Central u can see the signboard of fisherman wharf because the current construction of the overhead bridge is blocking the view of the restaurant. The place do not have air-con, its free seating and pls self-service by going to the counter to order.
The thing with fisherman wharf is that all the fish are priced at different price, but most of them looks the same. Try comparing all the fish we ordered and see whether you can spot which is which. All the fish comes with generous servings of chips or fries, but i would prefer for some salad, vege or coleslaw. On a note, 2 of us had fries, while the other 3 had chips. In the end, only 2 of us enjoy the side dish, so you know what to order huh? ( :
Silver Cod Fillet ( $14.00) with fries.
North. Atlantic Cod Loin ($16.00) with fries. Its the most ex fish at Fisherman Wharf, but the tastes and the looks quite similar to silver cod fillet.
Garoupa Fillet ($12.50) with chips. Snow Fish ($15.00) with chips. Comment was not very nice, try something else.
Snow Fish ($15.00) with chips. Comment was not very nice, try something else.
Lemon Sole Fillet ($14.00) with chips. Very similar to silver cod fillet and north atlantic cod, but the taste is a bit different. The fish crumbed very easily, making it difficult to eat.
I am not lying, all the fishes look about the same, with the generous helping of chips, fries ana tartar sauce. Seriously if they didn’t tell us which is which, we wont know the fishes. I read that someone compared Greenwood Bistro to Fisherman Wharf, in my personal opinion, there is totally no way to compare. Greenwood bistro fish albeit being more expensive at the range of $17 to $20 , but it offers a lot more different quality fish, different style of cooking the fish, and a healthy servings of chips and vege. Furthermore, the ambience at Greenwood and Fisherman Wharf is different. Greenwood is a restaurant, while Fisherman’s is more like Long John Silver - fast food outlet. Mayb its because my expectation is too high before i went, therefore i am more disapointed.
But our conclusion is, go for the set lunch at $9.50 which comes with fish & chips, and drink. If not, for dinner just order the normal cream dory fillet at $6.50. No offend to any Fisherman’s Wharf lovers out there, this is just my personal opinion.
You are always welcome to visit Ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
Went with cousin to try some authentic french food. Its a 5 min walk from Farrer Park mrt station. Located just by the main road, no air-con people, so its not your normal posh restaurant where you have to wear formal clothes there, t-shirt and jeans will do. Although its a weekday, but after 7pm, the restaurant was almost full, and they do not have my rule number one, no reservations, so you just have to reach there early i guess.
We took a while before deciding what to eat. There is the set meal going at $14.80, with a starter, Main course, and dessert. But for this set meal, there is only three types of main course available, dory filet, chicken leg, and pork chop. Not fancy by neither three main course, we decided not to order this set meal.
We had the exec steak set meal ($22.80) which comes with a starter soup, Steak as Main course, and Dark chocolate cake as dessert. Ok, for the steak, done medium raw with potato as side. Steak was tender, i do not eat beef often, so according to my cousin it was quite good, not the best but good enough. 4.5 out of 5
Instead of having the starter soup, we “upgraded” it to Escargots!! Snails if you put it in laid-man terms. Lol. Top up $5 to get half a dozen snails, it cost $8 if you order it as a starter. Hmm.. Escargots was special? Since we never had it before, nothing to compare against, but having tried it for the first time, its quite good, i mean not snail-like as you think. It was cook with garlic, so the garlic cover any snail-smell there is. Not bad, if you never tried before, do try. 4 out of 5
The other main course we had was Pork cordon bleu loin ($12.80). The tender meat had mushroom sauce spray on it and with cheese & ham inside the pork, the bite was simply delicious. Must have been one of the best pork cordon bleu i ever had. Also come with side dish of potato. At just $12.80, its really a steal, but they do not have this in their set meal which was a pity. I feel this is a must-try dish at The French Stall. 5 out of 5
Total bill comes up to $47.30 for two person. There’s the service charge, gst, and cess to factor in. The lady boss was quite friendly, had a talk with her while paying the bill. And she told me that they are hiring waiter or waitress. So if anyone out there want a job, this is the job for you to taste french food everyday. Overall, The French Stall is a good place to go, simply for the fact that there isn’t that many french restaurants around at a decent price. Food is good, price is reasonable, so what are you waiting for?
You are always welcome to visit Ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
" Ahh.. the French, the language, the romance, and of course the food "
Modern Decor, Value for money and delicious set lunch, what more do you want? As usual rule no one, i made a reservation in advance, so no need to wait, the waitress promptly brought us to our cosy seat. The seats here are what i called good seats as compared to Jap Dining Sun. The waitress was polite, and also reminded us to watch the small stairs. At 12.30, it was close to full house. Menu was not as extensive as Waruku or even Jap Dining Sun, but the set lunch menu are really value for money. More than enough to order.
Chicken Teriyaki & California roll set ($14.80), all the lunch set meal here comes with pickled vege, soup and tea/coffee. The chicken teriyaki place on hot plate was simply good. The california roll is really yummy, not those type you have at Sake sushi. Really nothing to grumble about, mayb more california roll? haha perfect score 5 out of 5
Sukiyaki & Tomato salad ($17.50) which was beef, vege, egg in hot pot, something like a mini steamboat. Beef was quite good, but very few piece only. Well, cant really expect them to give so much beef like chicken. 4 out of 5
Overall, nothing to complain about, If you haven been to Sun with Moon, make yr move fast man. I suspect Sun with Moon will become my fav restaurant soon, and i will be visiting them a few times one month at least. lol. Anyway, after paying the bill which comes to $37.65 for two person, they gave me dining coupons for their newly open branch at Central. 15% off food, and 2 free drinks which can be beer, house red/white wine, or soft drink. Confirm guarantee plus chop will use it to try the food at Central soon. I highly recommend you to go to Sun with Moon for its value for money set lunch, mayb not so often for dinner (no set meals more ex), and i think Sun with Moon is better than its sister restaurant Japanese Dining Sun. So Sun with Moon Central next week anyone? Haha
You are always welcome to visit Ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
Popped by Vivocity to settle some stuff at Standard Chartered so decided to try my luck at Hong Kong Kim Gary, one of the places that I've been meaning to try, but never had the chance to because of the long queues. Well today I was in luck and I got a seat of my choice without any difficulty. Probably because its only 1215pm?
A friendly waitress showed me to my seat right at the end of the restaurant, which offered an unobstructed view of Sentosa through floor to ceiling windows (well there was this staircase...). As with many other Hong Kong Cafes, the ordering system is somewhat similar. You tick your order on an order menu and pass it to the waitress. I had the set menu B($7.50) of Fried Egg and Minced Beef Rice with a cream soup and Yuan Yang (coffee mixed with tea for an additional 30 cents) as well as an additional order of French Toast.
The soup came served in a cup which I had some trouble adjusting to because I simply can't get used to drinking soup right out of a cup without a spoon. The soup was rather bland and diluted, which didn't really bode well for the upcoming dishes.
Fried Egg and Minced Beef Rice - I had a minor shock when I saw this dish. In my mind I was wondering if they had made a mistake because I couldn't see the beef. However, upon closer inspection, I realised that the beef was minced up and scattered together with the thin layer of tomato sauce, which looked rather pathetic. Imagine my surprise when it actually tasted quite good. The tomato sauce was quite thick and mildly sweet, with the minced beef adding a wee bit of bite to the sauce. The only bummer was that there was no evident beef taste and that portions could have been bigger. As for the fried egg, how bad can a sunny side up get?
I like my French Toasts quite a bit and Kim Gary's rendition was not too bad, but certainly not as good as the one at Hong Kong Cafe. The toast itself was a little on the wet side and the exterior wasn't as crispy as I would have liked it to be. However, the sticking point was the peanut butter filling which I felt was totally unnecessary given that French Toasts don't come with peanut butter. Granted, the peanut butter was smooth, but it masked the "eggy" taste of the French Toast.
Lunch cost $11.30, which is comparatively cheaper and more value for money than the other Hong Kong Cafes that I've tried. The Yuan Yang was decent and the service was not too shabby. Overall, an above average dining experience and I personally feel that the dishes do show more promise than the other Hong Kong Cafes around. I will probably be back again, but not with the long queues.
Had heard about Ding Xian Lou from some of the club members and decided to drop by with my gf for dinner. Located right next to the main entrance of Golden Mile Tower at Beach Road, its claim to fame is its pricing - $4.80 for every dish and that includes prawns, crabs and fish!
The outfit didn't look quite like a restaurant yet it didn't quite suit the cafe tag either. Well it came with a few tanks which had prawns and fishes swimming in what looked like rather murky water. Oh and waitresses too.
Boiled Live Prawn - You must be thinking, $4.80 for prawns is a steal and I'm rather inclined to agree with you. However, for that price, you get 5 average sized prawns which are fresh, but I did get quite turned off by the sight of the live ones swimming around in the filthy tank.
Thai Style Crispy Chicken - This was none other than your common lemon chicken with a few slices of mango, salad and chilli atop. So much for the name I guess. This was pretty alright, but a little less flour coating on the chicken would have been nice.
Fried Kailan - I almost returned this dish to them. I'm not kidding. The vegetables were dark green, which indicated staleness and had holes in the leaves. Maybe I was just being paranoid, but I bit off all the stems and consumed only the leaves in fear of biting into a half asleep worm hidden within. In all honesty, I wouldn't even pay $2 for this dish, much less $4.80 .
Braised Beancurd in Claypot - This dish came across as rather normal and small (I counted 4 slices of beancurd). Only grouse I had was that the beancurd tasted rather flat and didn't have much bite.
The bill came up to about $25 for 2 pax. Sure it isn't an expensive sum to pay, but the quality of food leaves much to be desired. The prawns were probably the only exception, but then again, portions are rather pathetic. In case you are wondering if you could get by by ordering 1 dish by person, the answer is no. Only after consuming our 4 dishes and 2 bowls of rice did my gf and I feel marginally satisfied. That pretty much sums up how big the portions are. Oh and service is rather bad which really doesn't justify the 10% service charge. Inattentive, forgetful, hasty tones and the list goes on. Do give it a thought first before you jump on the bandwagon and try this place out.
Don't be mistaken. This Teo Heng is the one where you can sing at. Not the one selling the karaoke equipment, although they are under the same company. This KTV has been around for ages, way before K-Box ever stepped in. Even my mom has been to this KTV.
Directions to Teo Heng, Turn right when you get out of the lift and keep right. It's quite secluded (ulu) but once you get there you'll find it perpetually filled with people.
The equipment here can act up at times. They have both normal and cordless microphones. Sometimes the microphones may sound funny and sometimes it takes some time for the receiver to get your song requests. But it's not because their things are old, but more like they are well-used. Most of the other places have technical problems from time to time too isn't it?
But the advantages of singing at Teo Heng greatly outweigh the disadvantages.
1) The Prices. It starts for $8/hr for a small room (3-4 people) to $12 for a large room (10 people) during off peak periods. If you sing all the way from 2-6 there are special packages. If you're singing during peak periods it's $14 for a small room. It's cheap!
2) Teo Heng has the newest songs too. Don't be mistaken by the way it looks. They have all the newest songs too. AND all the oldies. AND songs which you have never heard of in your life.
3) Drinks are at $1 per can. And price for drinks have not increased since 6 years ago.
4) You can bring outside food in. You can bring whatever food and drink you want in. They don't care as long as you don't make a big mess.
5) Parking at Katong Shopping Centre is relatively easy and after KTV you can always head up for cheap bowling... (but it's not so good to bowl there...)
K-Box or Teo Heng? Give me Teo Heng any time. :) ** I wanted to give it 4 stars but I do think that the furnishings need to be update. My companion commented that it is a little sleazy but it's really a family KTV :)
I was at Vivocity and a sudden thought of having some desserts so decided to pop by Bakerzin to give it a try. It has been a long time since I stepped into one and I used to like their desserts and cakes a lot.
So I was standing outside waiting to be seated. Can see that the place is not really packed and most of the waitresses are jz walking around. I am quite big sized and not easily to be missed but then I was standing there for at least a good 5 mins before anyone come up to show me to my seat. The waitress behind the cake counter saw me waiting, yet did not inform her other colleagues to come and show me to my seat. Disappointing in the service so far. In fact I was telling my partner, I will count to 10 and if no one come up to us, we will jz walk away. Surprising at 10, someone turned up and showed us to our seats. Haa…. Still disappointed!
So seem like we can choose our seats cos not crowded. Got the sofa seats and they got this quite beautiful and interesting plastic chair as well. Nice. Given the menus and since we in the mood for dessert, we skipped all the mains and jz checked out the desserts.
The ordering part was easy and they also sort of set up the table according to what we have ordered. Like mentioned in the last post, they did not serve ice water. Bad move.
We ordered:
• Ice lemon tea: @ $4.80. Nothing to say except it is freaking expensive for a small glass of ice lemon tea. Could get more at Carl’s Jr at the same price. Haa…. Cheapo me.
• Vanilla Brulee: $5. I am a very big fan of cream brulee. When they served it up, me and my partner jaws dropped. Y? Cos it is freaking small. Haa…. Well size aside, it is actually quite good. I am very impressed. The top is covered by a layer of melted sugar, the custard is not too sweet, and has a eggy and milky taste which I liked. It is a good combination of the both.
• Profiteroles: $8.80. I actually used to eat this every time I go to Bakerzin. I will recommend to eat this with their cheese ice cream. At first, when I know they got cheese ice cream, I was like “Eeee…” However after tasting it, I fell in love with it. Hee… This time round it disappoints me as the ice cream is not as good as it used to be. The taste of the cheese is a bit too strong for my liking. There is a sour taste to it as well. Disappointing.
Think this will be one of the last times that I will go to Bakerzin for desserts alr. I did not try their cakes but hope that their standard will not drop as well. If not, I will have to go to other places for desserts alr.
I was introduced to this place by my colleague who saw the stall on TV. He had been to this stall and said that the muffins are really good and we had to be there by 11.30am if not there will be along queue at the stall. So all of us started to head there and reached there by 11.30am.
The stall is quite easy to find as you can jz follow the muffin smell and you can walk straight to the stall. Once we were there, we started queuing and soon enough more than 5 people joined the queue. Haa…
The stall is small but it does hold at least 2 ovens and can see trays and trays of different kind of muffins. There are at least 4 people in the stall baking, stacking and serving the crowd. While waiting for you turn, you can jz stand there and smell the muffins and decide what flavors to buy. That is the difficult part. What to buy?
The muffins and big in size and have a lot of ingredients inside. One is enough for a breakfast, tea break or dessert. Eat alone is good enough, if not together with a cup of tea or coffee will be best.
My personal favourite are Banana Walnut, Chocolate Chips and Blueberry. All the muffins are moist inside but got a crispy cover and this makes the muffin soft inside but hard on the outside. A good way to eat the muffins is to put it in the toaster and reheat for a few mins before eating. It is simply jz bring out the smell and the taste of the muffin to its best, fresh out of oven kind although it is tasty even though it is not reheated. Every trip that I goes there I sure would buy at least 10 muffins and above.
They also sell other things like:
• Fruit flans
• Fruity Mousse
• Classic Mousse
• Brownies
• Classic Cheesecakes
• French Pastires
• Crumbles
I have tasted their fruit flans and their crumbles. It also good and I always buy a slice to eat on the spot. Their crumbles have a very thick pastry but full of fillings inside, can see the apples or thick slices of mango inside.
Their prices are also very reasonable, muffins from $1.10 to $1.30 and cakes / flans from $24 and above. The staff there also very friendly, patient to wait for you to make your choices as well. They are also happy to advice you on what is good to eat as well.
They also accept phone booking as well.
Shunfu: Tue and Thurs only between 4 to 8pm (Min order 25 pcs)
Tanjong pagar: All days after 4pm (Min order 25 pcs)
Tanjong Pagar
Blk 1 #01-18 Tanjong Pagar Plaza S (082001)
HP: 92762110
Daily: 8.30am – 4.30pm
Close: Sun
Writing this review makes me wanna to eat them now. Haa.... Pls make sure you got the right stall as there are other stalls selling muffins as well in the same market.
1=SGD 0.0587
Phin's beerhaus and grille is an unassuming, open concept eating place set on the 4th floor of Tampines mall. First looks did not impress and honestly, i've passed by this place so many times but never had the urge to try it till today. An offshoot of its bigger upmarket cousin, Phin's steakhouse, how does this lone restaurant fare? Read on.
The first thing i need to say about this restaurant is the service. We were served by a waiter jovial and professional waiter who required nothing to jote down our orders while being able to tell us exactly what they had and did not have for the day. He was also kind enough to introduce a different cut of meat which turned out rather well in my opinion. If only waiters in other establishments could be as good as him, i'd gladly pay service charges. (La Noce is another place where the service staff is simply excellent.)
Australian Grain Fed Tenderloin ($28.90) - As recommended by the waiter, i took the Australian grain fed tenderloin which was a time limited offer. According to him, the meat is superior, better marbled and contains less fat as compared to the normal offerings. I don't presume myself an expert on this matter, but i must say the meat was pretty good. Done medium rare, slightly charred on the edges with a small lump of butter sizzling atop, this reminds me of the good days when Jack's place was still making good food. That said, the meat was juicy and the butter added much to the already succulent and tasty steak. Pity about the portion size which i felt was rather small (even though it took me 15 minutes to finish.)
Soup of the Day, Garlic Bread and Salad ($19.90 set meal) - My gf's set meal, which means i got to try everything a little again, no prizes for guessing if my girth is increasing. The salad was fresh, sweet and crunchy while the garlic bread fragrant and went well with the accompanying creamy mushroom soup. A good starter.
Seafood Pesto Carbonara - This came as a surprise. The serving was quite generous with 2 huge scallops, 1 pan fried dory fillet and half slipper lobster set atop a bed of fettucinne cooked with pesto carbonara and mushrooms. The serving alone is worth commending and this is further accented by the fact that it tasted pretty good. It was quite spicy and tasted simple at the same time, allowing for an appetizing feeling without being overwhelming. The ingredients used were also equally fresh and everything tasted juicy and sweet. Nicely done.
Brownie Surprise ($8.90) - The brownie surprise really did come as a surprise because i saw more ice cream on the dish then brownies which were actually cut into small pieces and served as an accompaniment rather then the main draw. The ice cream was creamy and and smooth. The flavors served were cookies and cream, mocha and one which i can't quite make out. The brownie was rather dry but the melting ice cream made up for that oversight.
Dessert of the day (Mango Pudding with sugar icing) - The final part to the set meal was this mango pudding. Light, refreshing and sweet, this was a good ending for the meal.
The final bill came up to $67.90 for 2 people, its not cheap but the service and food quality made up for it.
I'm really quite surprised with how good this place is. I went in with very little expectations and was pleasantly surprised with the service and quality of food given its unassuming and rather small outlet. The lack of customers was also a plus for me since i dislike jostling with people when i dine, and that is difficult in a place like Tampines mall. Nonetheless, i'd recommend a try for people in the vicinity. Try it once to see if you like the place. (Though i'll say it first, the place definitely needs a cosmetic makeover and location change. *winks*)
Rating given:
Phin’s steakhouse isn’t the usual steakhouse you will expect with classy environment, expensive decor, pretty plates. Situated at Liang Seah place (behind Bugis Parco Junction), its on a street with small eatery and restaurants around. The place itself does not have air-con, decor are average, but they serve good steaks at good price.
Steaks in the hand of less-skillful chefs will turn out to be catastrophe, but not at Phin’s. Although i am not a great fan of red meat, but Phin’s steak won me over. The irresistable succulent nz air flown steaks are serve on signature hot plate with baked potato and seasonal vegetables.
Diners can choose from Sirlon, Ribeye, Tenderloin, with different sizes like ladies cut, gentlemen cut, humongous cut (with ladies cut cheapest & humongous cut most expensive). In addition, the choice of sauces on the steak is also accord to each delight, with the usual sauce like pepper, mushroom, to some unique sauce like garlic, sambal, honey mustard, and wild mushroom.
Although Phin’s a steakhouse, but it also offer other western food like chicken fillet, fish & chips, lamb, seafood. There is the combo set for 2 person, i saw a particular set which interest me, there is a combo of chicken, fish, lamb and steak serving for two. But maz and i decided on ordering two sirlon steak (gentlemen cut) at $14.90 each. Not feeling too adventurous, i had the safe yet good pepper sauce, while maz tried the wild mushroom.
For starters. we had Escargot baked in cheese and wine ($9.90), coming in servings of half a dozen. There is another escargot with garlic ($7.90), but we decided to try the more expensive one. Hmm.. this is the second time i had escargot and the feeling is exactly as the first time. Not very snail-like, rather it taste quite like the shell-type food? O well
Sirlon steak with pepper sauce (medium raw). The steak was good, meat was succulent and tender. It came with healthy servings of sides like vege, corn and a whole potato. Boy o boy, just eating the potato makes me full ( :
Sirlon steak with wild mushroom sauce (medium raw). N’uff say, only difference was the sauce, quality is the same. The wild mushroom sauce is quite unique as we didn’t expect it to be in this colour. 4.5 out of 5
Maz had new zealand natural mango ice-cream ($2.90) for desserts, i was too full so i skipped desserts. By and large, Phin’s is a good place for good and affordable steak. Well, being a steakhouse, its steak can’t be that bad right? Not too sure about the other dishes beside steak, but i saw the other diners having the combo and it looks good. Service-wise i suppose it is quite good, the waitress are friendly and re-filled our iced water very fast. I always felt that Bugis junction does not have much to eat, now knowing Liang Seah place is just behind, rest assured the next time you go Bugis. Total bill comes up to $49.20 for two person.
You are always welcome to visit Ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
" Phin's - We'll make it Well-Done "
Rating given:
The time: 7pm. The diners: Me, Wee hong, Hong yi & friends. The place: Fisherman’s Wharf. The food: Fish & Chips
Well well, i had great expectations for Fisherman’s wharf, having heard rave reviews on its fish & chips, we were left slightly disappointed when we left the place. Fisherman wharf is directly opposite the new Central Mall. From Central u can see the signboard of fisherman wharf because the current construction of the overhead bridge is blocking the view of the restaurant. The place do not have air-con, its free seating and pls self-service by going to the counter to order.
The thing with fisherman wharf is that all the fish are priced at different price, but most of them looks the same. Try comparing all the fish we ordered and see whether you can spot which is which. All the fish comes with generous servings of chips or fries, but i would prefer for some salad, vege or coleslaw. On a note, 2 of us had fries, while the other 3 had chips. In the end, only 2 of us enjoy the side dish, so you know what to order huh? ( :
Silver Cod Fillet ( $14.00) with fries.
North. Atlantic Cod Loin ($16.00) with fries. Its the most ex fish at Fisherman Wharf, but the tastes and the looks quite similar to silver cod fillet.
Garoupa Fillet ($12.50) with chips.
Snow Fish ($15.00) with chips. Comment was not very nice, try something else.
Snow Fish ($15.00) with chips. Comment was not very nice, try something else.
Lemon Sole Fillet ($14.00) with chips. Very similar to silver cod fillet and north atlantic cod, but the taste is a bit different. The fish crumbed very easily, making it difficult to eat.
I am not lying, all the fishes look about the same, with the generous helping of chips, fries ana tartar sauce. Seriously if they didn’t tell us which is which, we wont know the fishes. I read that someone compared Greenwood Bistro to Fisherman Wharf, in my personal opinion, there is totally no way to compare. Greenwood bistro fish albeit being more expensive at the range of $17 to $20 , but it offers a lot more different quality fish, different style of cooking the fish, and a healthy servings of chips and vege. Furthermore, the ambience at Greenwood and Fisherman Wharf is different. Greenwood is a restaurant, while Fisherman’s is more like Long John Silver - fast food outlet. Mayb its because my expectation is too high before i went, therefore i am more disapointed.
But our conclusion is, go for the set lunch at $9.50 which comes with fish & chips, and drink. If not, for dinner just order the normal cream dory fillet at $6.50. No offend to any Fisherman’s Wharf lovers out there, this is just my personal opinion.
You are always welcome to visit Ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
" Aren't the fishes all the same? "
Rating given:
Went with cousin to try some authentic french food. Its a 5 min walk from Farrer Park mrt station. Located just by the main road, no air-con people, so its not your normal posh restaurant where you have to wear formal clothes there, t-shirt and jeans will do. Although its a weekday, but after 7pm, the restaurant was almost full, and they do not have my rule number one, no reservations, so you just have to reach there early i guess.
We took a while before deciding what to eat. There is the set meal going at $14.80, with a starter, Main course, and dessert. But for this set meal, there is only three types of main course available, dory filet, chicken leg, and pork chop. Not fancy by neither three main course, we decided not to order this set meal.
We had the exec steak set meal ($22.80) which comes with a starter soup, Steak as Main course, and Dark chocolate cake as dessert. Ok, for the steak, done medium raw with potato as side. Steak was tender, i do not eat beef often, so according to my cousin it was quite good, not the best but good enough. 4.5 out of 5
Instead of having the starter soup, we “upgraded” it to Escargots!! Snails if you put it in laid-man terms. Lol. Top up $5 to get half a dozen snails, it cost $8 if you order it as a starter. Hmm.. Escargots was special? Since we never had it before, nothing to compare against, but having tried it for the first time, its quite good, i mean not snail-like as you think. It was cook with garlic, so the garlic cover any snail-smell there is. Not bad, if you never tried before, do try. 4 out of 5
The other main course we had was Pork cordon bleu loin ($12.80). The tender meat had mushroom sauce spray on it and with cheese & ham inside the pork, the bite was simply delicious. Must have been one of the best pork cordon bleu i ever had. Also come with side dish of potato. At just $12.80, its really a steal, but they do not have this in their set meal which was a pity. I feel this is a must-try dish at The French Stall. 5 out of 5
Total bill comes up to $47.30 for two person. There’s the service charge, gst, and cess to factor in. The lady boss was quite friendly, had a talk with her while paying the bill. And she told me that they are hiring waiter or waitress. So if anyone out there want a job, this is the job for you to taste french food everyday. Overall, The French Stall is a good place to go, simply for the fact that there isn’t that many french restaurants around at a decent price. Food is good, price is reasonable, so what are you waiting for?
You are always welcome to visit Ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
" Ahh.. the French, the language, the romance, and of course the food "
Rating given:
Modern Decor, Value for money and delicious set lunch, what more do you want? As usual rule no one, i made a reservation in advance, so no need to wait, the waitress promptly brought us to our cosy seat. The seats here are what i called good seats as compared to Jap Dining Sun. The waitress was polite, and also reminded us to watch the small stairs. At 12.30, it was close to full house. Menu was not as extensive as Waruku or even Jap Dining Sun, but the set lunch menu are really value for money. More than enough to order.
Chicken Teriyaki & California roll set ($14.80), all the lunch set meal here comes with pickled vege, soup and tea/coffee. The chicken teriyaki place on hot plate was simply good. The california roll is really yummy, not those type you have at Sake sushi. Really nothing to grumble about, mayb more california roll? haha perfect score 5 out of 5
Sukiyaki & Tomato salad ($17.50) which was beef, vege, egg in hot pot, something like a mini steamboat. Beef was quite good, but very few piece only. Well, cant really expect them to give so much beef like chicken. 4 out of 5
Overall, nothing to complain about, If you haven been to Sun with Moon, make yr move fast man. I suspect Sun with Moon will become my fav restaurant soon, and i will be visiting them a few times one month at least. lol. Anyway, after paying the bill which comes to $37.65 for two person, they gave me dining coupons for their newly open branch at Central. 15% off food, and 2 free drinks which can be beer, house red/white wine, or soft drink. Confirm guarantee plus chop will use it to try the food at Central soon. I highly recommend you to go to Sun with Moon for its value for money set lunch, mayb not so often for dinner (no set meals more ex), and i think Sun with Moon is better than its sister restaurant Japanese Dining Sun. So Sun with Moon Central next week anyone? Haha
You are always welcome to visit Ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
" Perfect Sun "
Rating given:
Popped by Vivocity to settle some stuff at Standard Chartered so decided to try my luck at Hong Kong Kim Gary, one of the places that I've been meaning to try, but never had the chance to because of the long queues. Well today I was in luck and I got a seat of my choice without any difficulty. Probably because its only 1215pm?
A friendly waitress showed me to my seat right at the end of the restaurant, which offered an unobstructed view of Sentosa through floor to ceiling windows (well there was this staircase...). As with many other Hong Kong Cafes, the ordering system is somewhat similar. You tick your order on an order menu and pass it to the waitress. I had the set menu B($7.50) of Fried Egg and Minced Beef Rice with a cream soup and Yuan Yang (coffee mixed with tea for an additional 30 cents) as well as an additional order of French Toast.
The soup came served in a cup which I had some trouble adjusting to because I simply can't get used to drinking soup right out of a cup without a spoon. The soup was rather bland and diluted, which didn't really bode well for the upcoming dishes.
Fried Egg and Minced Beef Rice - I had a minor shock when I saw this dish. In my mind I was wondering if they had made a mistake because I couldn't see the beef. However, upon closer inspection, I realised that the beef was minced up and scattered together with the thin layer of tomato sauce, which looked rather pathetic. Imagine my surprise when it actually tasted quite good. The tomato sauce was quite thick and mildly sweet, with the minced beef adding a wee bit of bite to the sauce. The only bummer was that there was no evident beef taste and that portions could have been bigger. As for the fried egg, how bad can a sunny side up get?
I like my French Toasts quite a bit and Kim Gary's rendition was not too bad, but certainly not as good as the one at Hong Kong Cafe. The toast itself was a little on the wet side and the exterior wasn't as crispy as I would have liked it to be. However, the sticking point was the peanut butter filling which I felt was totally unnecessary given that French Toasts don't come with peanut butter. Granted, the peanut butter was smooth, but it masked the "eggy" taste of the French Toast.
Lunch cost $11.30, which is comparatively cheaper and more value for money than the other Hong Kong Cafes that I've tried. The Yuan Yang was decent and the service was not too shabby. Overall, an above average dining experience and I personally feel that the dishes do show more promise than the other Hong Kong Cafes around. I will probably be back again, but not with the long queues.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
Had heard about Ding Xian Lou from some of the club members and decided to drop by with my gf for dinner. Located right next to the main entrance of Golden Mile Tower at Beach Road, its claim to fame is its pricing - $4.80 for every dish and that includes prawns, crabs and fish!
The outfit didn't look quite like a restaurant yet it didn't quite suit the cafe tag either. Well it came with a few tanks which had prawns and fishes swimming in what looked like rather murky water. Oh and waitresses too.
Boiled Live Prawn - You must be thinking, $4.80 for prawns is a steal and I'm rather inclined to agree with you. However, for that price, you get 5 average sized prawns which are fresh, but I did get quite turned off by the sight of the live ones swimming around in the filthy tank.
Thai Style Crispy Chicken - This was none other than your common lemon chicken with a few slices of mango, salad and chilli atop. So much for the name I guess. This was pretty alright, but a little less flour coating on the chicken would have been nice.
Fried Kailan - I almost returned this dish to them. I'm not kidding. The vegetables were dark green, which indicated staleness and had holes in the leaves. Maybe I was just being paranoid, but I bit off all the stems and consumed only the leaves in fear of biting into a half asleep worm hidden within. In all honesty, I wouldn't even pay $2 for this dish, much less $4.80 .
Braised Beancurd in Claypot - This dish came across as rather normal and small (I counted 4 slices of beancurd). Only grouse I had was that the beancurd tasted rather flat and didn't have much bite.
The bill came up to about $25 for 2 pax. Sure it isn't an expensive sum to pay, but the quality of food leaves much to be desired. The prawns were probably the only exception, but then again, portions are rather pathetic. In case you are wondering if you could get by by ordering 1 dish by person, the answer is no. Only after consuming our 4 dishes and 2 bowls of rice did my gf and I feel marginally satisfied. That pretty much sums up how big the portions are. Oh and service is rather bad which really doesn't justify the 10% service charge. Inattentive, forgetful, hasty tones and the list goes on. Do give it a thought first before you jump on the bandwagon and try this place out.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
Don't be mistaken. This Teo Heng is the one where you can sing at. Not the one selling the karaoke equipment, although they are under the same company. This KTV has been around for ages, way before K-Box ever stepped in. Even my mom has been to this KTV.
Directions to Teo Heng, Turn right when you get out of the lift and keep right. It's quite secluded (ulu) but once you get there you'll find it perpetually filled with people.
The equipment here can act up at times. They have both normal and cordless microphones. Sometimes the microphones may sound funny and sometimes it takes some time for the receiver to get your song requests. But it's not because their things are old, but more like they are well-used. Most of the other places have technical problems from time to time too isn't it?
But the advantages of singing at Teo Heng greatly outweigh the disadvantages.
1) The Prices. It starts for $8/hr for a small room (3-4 people) to $12 for a large room (10 people) during off peak periods. If you sing all the way from 2-6 there are special packages. If you're singing during peak periods it's $14 for a small room. It's cheap!
2) Teo Heng has the newest songs too. Don't be mistaken by the way it looks. They have all the newest songs too. AND all the oldies. AND songs which you have never heard of in your life.
3) Drinks are at $1 per can. And price for drinks have not increased since 6 years ago.
4) You can bring outside food in. You can bring whatever food and drink you want in. They don't care as long as you don't make a big mess.
5) Parking at Katong Shopping Centre is relatively easy and after KTV you can always head up for cheap bowling... (but it's not so good to bowl there...)
K-Box or Teo Heng? Give me Teo Heng any time. :)
** I wanted to give it 4 stars but I do think that the furnishings need to be update. My companion commented that it is a little sleazy but it's really a family KTV :)
Rating given:
I was at Vivocity and a sudden thought of having some desserts so decided to pop by Bakerzin to give it a try. It has been a long time since I stepped into one and I used to like their desserts and cakes a lot.
So I was standing outside waiting to be seated. Can see that the place is not really packed and most of the waitresses are jz walking around. I am quite big sized and not easily to be missed but then I was standing there for at least a good 5 mins before anyone come up to show me to my seat. The waitress behind the cake counter saw me waiting, yet did not inform her other colleagues to come and show me to my seat. Disappointing in the service so far. In fact I was telling my partner, I will count to 10 and if no one come up to us, we will jz walk away. Surprising at 10, someone turned up and showed us to our seats. Haa…. Still disappointed!
So seem like we can choose our seats cos not crowded. Got the sofa seats and they got this quite beautiful and interesting plastic chair as well. Nice. Given the menus and since we in the mood for dessert, we skipped all the mains and jz checked out the desserts.
The ordering part was easy and they also sort of set up the table according to what we have ordered. Like mentioned in the last post, they did not serve ice water. Bad move.
We ordered:
• Ice lemon tea: @ $4.80. Nothing to say except it is freaking expensive for a small glass of ice lemon tea. Could get more at Carl’s Jr at the same price. Haa…. Cheapo me.
• Vanilla Brulee: $5. I am a very big fan of cream brulee. When they served it up, me and my partner jaws dropped. Y? Cos it is freaking small. Haa…. Well size aside, it is actually quite good. I am very impressed. The top is covered by a layer of melted sugar, the custard is not too sweet, and has a eggy and milky taste which I liked. It is a good combination of the both.
• Profiteroles: $8.80. I actually used to eat this every time I go to Bakerzin. I will recommend to eat this with their cheese ice cream. At first, when I know they got cheese ice cream, I was like “Eeee…” However after tasting it, I fell in love with it. Hee… This time round it disappoints me as the ice cream is not as good as it used to be. The taste of the cheese is a bit too strong for my liking. There is a sour taste to it as well. Disappointing.
Think this will be one of the last times that I will go to Bakerzin for desserts alr. I did not try their cakes but hope that their standard will not drop as well. If not, I will have to go to other places for desserts alr.
Rating given:
I was introduced to this place by my colleague who saw the stall on TV. He had been to this stall and said that the muffins are really good and we had to be there by 11.30am if not there will be along queue at the stall. So all of us started to head there and reached there by 11.30am.
The stall is quite easy to find as you can jz follow the muffin smell and you can walk straight to the stall. Once we were there, we started queuing and soon enough more than 5 people joined the queue. Haa…
The stall is small but it does hold at least 2 ovens and can see trays and trays of different kind of muffins. There are at least 4 people in the stall baking, stacking and serving the crowd. While waiting for you turn, you can jz stand there and smell the muffins and decide what flavors to buy. That is the difficult part. What to buy?
The muffins flavors are:
• Chocolate Chips
• Banana Walnut
• Orange Peel
• Rasins
• Coconut
• Carrot Walnut
• Pumpkin
• Cheese
• Blueberries
• Cranberries
• Redberries
The muffins and big in size and have a lot of ingredients inside. One is enough for a breakfast, tea break or dessert. Eat alone is good enough, if not together with a cup of tea or coffee will be best.
My personal favourite are Banana Walnut, Chocolate Chips and Blueberry. All the muffins are moist inside but got a crispy cover and this makes the muffin soft inside but hard on the outside. A good way to eat the muffins is to put it in the toaster and reheat for a few mins before eating. It is simply jz bring out the smell and the taste of the muffin to its best, fresh out of oven kind although it is tasty even though it is not reheated. Every trip that I goes there I sure would buy at least 10 muffins and above.
They also sell other things like:
• Fruit flans
• Fruity Mousse
• Classic Mousse
• Brownies
• Classic Cheesecakes
• French Pastires
• Crumbles
I have tasted their fruit flans and their crumbles. It also good and I always buy a slice to eat on the spot. Their crumbles have a very thick pastry but full of fillings inside, can see the apples or thick slices of mango inside.
Their prices are also very reasonable, muffins from $1.10 to $1.30 and cakes / flans from $24 and above. The staff there also very friendly, patient to wait for you to make your choices as well. They are also happy to advice you on what is good to eat as well.
They also accept phone booking as well.
Shunfu: Tue and Thurs only between 4 to 8pm (Min order 25 pcs)
Tanjong pagar: All days after 4pm (Min order 25 pcs)
Below are their stall details
Shunfu
Blk 320 #02-12 Shunfu Road (Shunfu Mart) S(570320)
HP: 93830413
Weekdays: 9.30am – 2.30pm
Weekends: 10am – 2.30pm
Close: Mon and Wed
Tanjong Pagar
Blk 1 #01-18 Tanjong Pagar Plaza S (082001)
HP: 92762110
Daily: 8.30am – 4.30pm
Close: Sun
Writing this review makes me wanna to eat them now. Haa.... Pls make sure you got the right stall as there are other stalls selling muffins as well in the same market.
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