Ever since the previous visit to Waraku, i've been pining for the next outing to reconfirm my impressions of the place. This time, i brought my entire family there for dinner since its my sister's birthday and was hoping for the same treatment of good Japanese cuisine as my first visit. You can view my first impressions here.
Parking space was abundant when we arrived at approximately 6pm but was soon taken up as the dinner crowd came in. The same goes for space within the restaurant as there were plenty of space which was quickly filled up within minutes after we arrived. The place looks decidedly grander since it occupies a themed building all by itself and is finished with wooden furniture for an authentic Japanese feel. However, it was also more cramped then the cuppage branch and somehow did not project an image of being a relaxing venue.
Iced Coffee ($3.80) - I've said it before and i'll say it again. Never order drinks in a restaurant unless you want to order wine or feel as though you have too much money. The coffee was tasteless at best and is a wonderful example of wasting money.
Tonkatsu Set ($15.50) - My father and sister had this set but he said it wasn't anything special. The Japanese curry and sticky rice did not appeal to him as he prefers his curry spicy. The katsu was juicy, lightly battered and tender but otherwise a tad too oily. My sister enjoyed it but said it could have been better.
Yasai Curry Udon ($10.80) - My mother's a vegetarian and so this suited her perfectly. The Udon came in a huge bowl and was filled with mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes and assorted greens to go with the slightly thin udon. I found it quite sour and mildly spicy which makes for an appetizing meal. My mom was quite taken with it as well.
Gyu Yanagawa Wazen with Cold Soba ($16 2) - This is the reason why i returned to this restaurant and this time, the experience is somewhat muted due to the fact that the table was packed with food but they still kept adding our orders when they should have waited. That aside, the beef was as tasty as ever and the stock is still sweet. The cold soba however, was an unworthy introduction as it just doesn't taste authentic enough. I still prefer Cha Soba instead.
Ebi Cheese Curry Udon ($10.80) - My gf took a surprise turn this time around and chose to have udon instead of Katsu. I must say she makes interesting and good choices as the Ebi Cheese curry udon turned out pretty good. The ebi (or prawns/shrimps) were big, crunchy, fresh and sweet which complemented the cheese curry well. The curry was thick and tasted of garlic and cheese with a little sour vinegar taste to add variety. Nicely done but portion could be bigger.
Potato Mentai ($8.80) - This item drew lots of heat on me as nobody seemed to liked it. Everyone felt that the fish eggs (the pink little dots you see) gave the cheese and potatoes a fishy and revolting smell and taste. It is indeed so after the first few bites and the smell lingers long after the dish is finished. Its basically just potatoes heated in a pan with oil, fish eggs and cheese. Not worth the money nor agony involved in finishing it.
Salmon Teriyaki ($8.80) - This was ridiculous when it was served. The serving was terribly small and felt like a rip off from the start. Upon the taste test, it did have the usual teriyaki trappings but i felt the meat was too dry. Overall, my money is better off ordering other stuff.
Soft Shell Crab ($6.80) - I can sum up the soft shell crab in two words: Overly Fried. It was so crunchy i couldn't make out the taste of crab at all. Not something i will try again here, the Ichiban Boshi rendition is a little better since it comes in bigger portions.
Salmon Cheese with Tartar Sauce ($6.80) - Thin, crisp bread batter with 2 slice of salmon and cheese in the middle. Deep fry it and serve with lemon and tartar sauce. This is hardly worth the money to eat given that its such a simple dish. Nonetheless, its tastes like fishy Mcnuggets and wasn't too bad. Just not worth an order.
Agedashi Tofu ($6.80) - I guess you just can't go wrong with tofu. Soft, silky and hot. The tofu was as good as the cuppage branch as well. Portion size is still a problem though as this works out to be close to $1.75 a tofu which is darn expensive.
Renkon Chips ($4.80) - Lotus root in thin slices deep fried in oil. Somehow, deep frying seems like a popular way of cooking these days. Anyway, this was surprisingly nice and light. The chips literally melt and disappear the moment you chew or bite on it, leaving a taste of lotus on your tongue. However, you really can do this on your own at home, so save the money and just get on with it yourself.
Surprisingly, after all those orders and food, the bill only came to $139. I wouldn't call it a fulfilling meal but it got the job done.
Though it goes by the same name and cuisine, the experience i had here was much less pleasurable due in part to the constantly shouting serving staff and the really small table we had. The food was still decent but i did realise that if you are not a beef lover, do stay away as the value drops considerably when you order the non beef items. The only items i found decent this time round was the ebi cheese and the yasai curry udon, obviously my beef dish was still good but everything else was mediocre. The serving staff also needs to learn that when the table is full, stop bringing orders out. I would say the place is still good but i'm not returning to this branch ever again. It was a much better experience at cuppage.
It was my 3rd time dining at Soup Spoon but my 1st at Bugis's outlet. Ordered Peppery Chicken Hotpot and Asian Sweet Corn Chowder and tuna mayo sandwich drink. The chicken hotpot is of course peppery but still acceptable to me. The corn chowder is what i term very "corny", there is simply so much corn in the soup! We couldn't finish the corny soup.. Had the tuna mayo takeaway. But it was as filling as ever! oh.. and their staff were really polite and helpful too! Would definitely go back to try other soups!
Have dined at Pastamania for several times and realised they have increased their prices. From what i normally order, their price increase is about $0.50-$1/dish, even their Combo A,B,C also have increased in price. I guess its costs for ingredients have gone up etc.
My boyfriend and I ordered my usual Creamy Chicken ($7.40) ,Carbonara ($10.30) both with Combo A. ComboA came with drinks,garlic bread and soup. The $3-4 increase is sadly enough to make me cut down my trips to dine there..
I went for the trial massage only because it was a complimentary voucher. After talking to the consultant for quite some time, I felt it was a good deal, with free hydro-bath with each visit and other stuff thrown in.
Since I have the privilege to book the VIP rooms, I have often tried to use it but after 3 months, I started to have difficulties in getting a slot. Weekend slots are often taken up quickly and every time, I was asked if I could go earlier for weekday evening slots such as 5pm. I'm working, so how can I just take leave because of a spa slot? Ridiculous!
I tried 3 times in the 4th month. Failed to get a single slot even 30 days in advance via the consultant. Either the system had problem or she was on time off or on leave. SMS her the details and no confirmation if the slot was confirmed or not available. Truly unreliable communication method.
Calling the desk counter staff can get me either cut off after listening to the music for 15 minutes (I am amazed at my patience). The waiting time for getting them to check for slot availability needs another 15 minutes of listening to the music. Frustrated, I called the consultant and requested (demanded, actually) a confirmation about the slot.
Eventual slot bookings got me losing my patience and feel like demanding a refund of whatever that is left since I failed to be able to book any slots 10 times in a row. The only thing the receptionist can tell me is "Sorry".
I have yet to book another slot because I don't know if I'm free one month in advance on that particular day, at the particular time. As the others say, the best is one week in advance. Booking one week in advance there truly doesn't help because all the VIP rooms are always fully booked.
They have since installed new VIP rooms and I have used one of the new ones. I may book another slot to see if this is happening again.
Cafe de Amigo relocated to Funan in 2006. Chef Foo Wah Ann is the man behind this very nice place. Having heard about him when he was at the renown La Brasserie (Marco Polo Hotel), we thought a visit to this place was a must. The ambience is pretty cosy. There is a live band singing jazzy tunes throughout the night. The crowd there is consists largely of those working in the area.
Food Ordered:
Deep-fried Cheese - 3pc ($16.50) 3 types of cheese melted together and deep fried, served with fresh basil and tomato sauce. I like the cheese which was firm and not oozing out of its shell. Soft Shell Crab ($13.50) The batter was a little too light and it was too oily for my taste. Small serving just enough for one person.
Escargot A la Bourguignon (6 for $16.50) Served in a garlic and butter sauce, I found nothing spectacular about this dish. If anything, the serving was really small. Lobster Bisque ($9.50) "Bisque of Bisques" was its description in the menu. Thus we had to try this. It was flavourful however it's pretty hard to find lobster nor taste any lobster in this dish.
Not the same Potato ($7.50) It is actually supposed to be creamy potato soup but the taste of potato was weak and overpowered by the cheese that was blended into it.
Salad de Amis ($14.50) A huge serving of salad which you'll be able to see anywhere, served with olive oil vinegar dressing. Which I think wasn't enough as it was dry and a little bland.
Chicken chop ($20.50) Grilled boneless chicken drumstick served in black pepper sauce and fries. Sadly you can get a good taste of this dish at hawker centres at a quarter of its price. Although boneless, the chicken had a fair share of fatty bits and it wasn't as succulent as I had expected. The black pepper sauce wasn't thick enough too.
Ox-Tail ($24.50) One of the inhouse specialties. A generous serving of stewed oxtail served with boiled potato and broccoli. My companion commented that it was very tender and juicy. I did think that it was the one of the best dishes on the table that night Duck Breast ($26.50) Also one of the recommended dishes. Roasted duck slices in red wine sauce, served with boiled spinach. The combination seemed a little odd to me at first. But my companion has full of compliments for it so I guess it was really good.
Normandy Apple Pie ($7.50) One of the recommended desserts. It was served with wild honey and vanilla ice-cream. I loved the crumbly crust which was light and tasty. One would find it hard to be sick of this. The inside was not overly sweet. Frezzie Tiramisu ($7.90) It was a regular ice cream cake. Certainly not worth the money.
The presentation of the food was not good. More like they were all haphazardly put together. The service is alright. I don't think I will be back anytime soon...
Christmas Eve was done without a plan or clue with just a car and the chauffeur (hohoho!) and as random places popped into our minds, we would drive our way there. And that led us to Mount Faber just minutes after the countdown to Christmas to view the Christmas lights.
We were in luck that day. As we stepped into the "Enchanted Garden" to enjoy the "snow" (or better known as foam), we were approached to go on a cable car ride for only $8 per person as compared to the normal rate of $16.50 per person.
Hence, we took up the offer and went on the ride. To tell the truth, it was rather nerve-racking at the start as the last cable car ride I took was probably in primary school. Just before the cable car was going to be suspended in the mid-air, I could feel my heart go faster. (I am not afraid of heights, but seriously, it was rather high up and you would feel as though your life is suspended by a rope. Wait, that actually correct.) However, after a while, I got used to the idea of being so high up with the plus factor of the ride being rather comfortable. The Christmas lights below us also made a rather beautiful view for the night.
I would encourage you guys to try out a cable car ride if it has been a long time since you last took them. Don't forget to get someone you can sit with for quite some time as it is a rather long ride!
You wouldn't want to feel the overwhelming urge to toss a person out of the cable car, would you? Hohoho.
I have always enjoyed going to IKEA when I was young. I love being surrounded by furniture and envisioning how my future house will look like. However, I had not been impressed by the distance and the lack of parking slots at Alexandra Road. I remember my exasperation at having to wait so long for a car park slot and how my parents swore to never go again. And we stopped going after a while, when the hassle just wasn't worth it, for quite a long, long time.
Imagine my surprise when another IKEA opened so near my place and since it has been years since I last went, I decided to give it a try again. This time round, I decided to learn from my lesson and go via public transport. Despite it being located at a rather inconvenient location, there are shuttle buses traveling from Pasir Ris, Tampines and Bedok towards there. Furthermore, if one doesn't mind walking a little bit more, there are also public bus stops around there. However, once I arrived there, I realized that the parking there is rather convenient and there are ample parking space. Thumbs up for such an improvement!
I believe that whether one will find the shopping experience fruitful will depend greatly on the shopper's personal preference as the whole concept there is rather unique. You shop on the second level - the showroom that showcases the furniture - with just a pencil and paper, taking down the serial number allocated to your interested product. All information about the product will be given on the tag of it and thus, it saves the hassle of finding an IKEA employee for information. After deciding your purchases, move down to level 1 where the products are packed into boxes, ready for straight purchase-and-go. The smaller furniture such as pillows, lamps and cutlery are also located on the first level.
Another unique practice by IKEA would be the idea of self-assembling and installation. Also, the delivery fee will saved as the products are taken straight home. Nonetheless, such services are provided if necessary.
I have always liked shopping at IKEA as it is a unique experience and with its huge shopping space, furniture are spread out and is easy to view and access. There are no pesky salespersons around that would keep staring at you as you try out the various furnitures. More importantly, almost everything you need can be found under one roof with its quality assured.
Furthermore, Courts and Giant are so nearby and thus it makes it even more convenient while shopping for your home.
P.S. Surprisingly IKEA doesn't sell bolsters, anyone knows why? Perhaps the Swedish doesn't use bolsters?
The sudden craving for japanese food lead me up all the way to the fifth floor of heeren shopping centre. Not that i am complaining, its just that 5 floors of walking and taking escalator is tiring, especially for someone who is extremely hungry. :P Oh well, nevertheless i still hope that all this walking is worth it.
Ordering food was not a very smooth process, i can say. I intended to take some food from the belts but due to the lack of varieties available, i decided to call the staffs. However,i waved my hand high up to for quite sometime, no staff came forward to take my order. Perhaps the location where i sat is rather off the main area, but still, i feel that they should make an effort to take care of every customer needs.
I ordered the following items: Teriyaki chicken set, (this is their discounted lunch set which cost less than 10 bucks -- very worth for japanese food with that price :P) ; Soft shell crab handrolls ; fried potato ; fried toufu ; cold soba ; etc.
I especially loved the soft shell crab handroll that i have eaten in their outlet once. The crisp hot soft shell crab when combined with the rice plus seaweed tastes simply fantastic. However, to my dismay, this time round the soft shell crab is not hot at all.
The same goes to the fried toufu and potato. I was pretty disappointed with the food, as i have waited for approximately 30 mintues and yet the food that were served were COLD!
Overall, i feel that their japanese food is pretty normal and decent, they would have fared better if they ensure that their food is warm. This i feel, will be able to give customer a better impression.
Its been a long time since i had Claypot Rice, somehow, it seems to have disappeared from mainstream cuisine so much so that its difficult to locate a decent place to have this old tradition. I have, however, long heard of a shop that specializes in claypot cuisine somewhere along East Coast Road and that's where we went.
Simple, unassuming and boring would most probably describe the restaurant. The tables were sparsely located using a yellowish color scheme and round tables of different sizes. Clearly a place designed for big gatherings and get-togethers as there were only a handful of tables designed for less then 4 people. The impression was also not helped by the fact that at dinner time, there was only a handful of patrons in the restaurant, a clear sign of decline? Nevertheless, we pressed on.
Pickles ($1) - Complimentary starters or should i say compulsory starters? Either way, the pickles were sour and did their job of whetting my appetite. Paying for it didn't help my impression though.
Handmade Beancurd with Seaweed, Mushrooms and Vegetables ($8) - The bean curb was soft but not smooth on the inside, it didn't help that the only taste it had came from the soy sauce base below which made it extremely salty. The same goes for the tasteless mushrooms and horribly cut vegetables. Its pretty obvious they did not spend alot of time getting this to the table.
Yam Ring ($12) - Yam rings are one of my favourite dishes when its done right and their rendition is the perfect example of a yam ring done seriously wrong. The cashew nuts were a little soggy, prawns were not fresh enough to be sweet nor crunchy and the chicken meat was tasteless. However, mediocre fillings aside, the greatest disappointment of the day is the yam ring itself. Notice the second shot depicting the insides of the yam ring? The was no yam. The ring has obviously been fried so many times that the yam has charred and disappeared, even then, they dared to serve it to the customers. Horrible.
Claypot Rice ($10) - The star of the day, the claypot rice i came for. This was at least decent. Fragrant and soft rice cooked in claypot and stirred in our presence. The chicken was also decidedly tender and sweet which helped ease my unhappiness a little. The best part of the rice is the wok hei present near the bottom of the claypot. Unhealthy yet delectable. This dish is at least worthy of the commercial review it garnered.
The bill came up to $34 for 2 people which is alot more then i was willing to pay for given the horrible quality of the initial offerings.
I would have enjoyed the meal if all i ordered was the claypot rice. In fact, i would say going for the rice alone is worth it but anything else is a serious waste of money. That said, my recommendation is still, not to visit because the money is better spent elsewhere.
This place is jz outside the gym which I am going so it makes a great place for dinner after that. No need to walk that much also Haa...
Since we are there almost near to their closing time, it is peaceful and quiet. A nice relaxing place to have dinner and chit chat at the same time. Seems like others who jz knocked off or jz looking for a quiet place to have dinner also go there.
There are indoor and outdoor seats (under shelter), as it is near to closing time, they had closed the indoor seats, so we only got outdoor seats. Their seats are like those little jap seats with a cushion on it. The seats are a bit low, feels like a little kid seating in those little chairs. Haa....
Since it was after office hours, so there was not much of a crowd. we ordered:
1. Teriyaki Chicken Ramen: The soup is nice and creamy, with the addition of corn and seaweed does make the whole soup taste even better. The noodles are very chewy and tasty as it managed to absorb the soup. Good.
The teriyaki chicken is serves hot on a seperate plate. It is crispy hot, yet tender and juicy inside. The sauce is sweet and fragant and makes the chicken more tasty than ever. I thought it is supposed to be fried but seems like theirs came in the formed of fried chicken cutlet.
2. Takoyaki: This one also came pipping hot but the disappointment is did not taste the octopus as the mince it instead of leaving a chunk in the middle of the ball. It came with lots of mayo and the fish skin flakes which I like it!
3. Mayo Prawn: Came off the fryer and crispy with mayo and black seasme seeds. The prawn seem a little flat or no meat but it is very juicy inside and crispy on the outer as well.
The good thing thing is all dishes came to us very hot and fresh as well.
The cost of the dinner is only $27 including drinks (one orange juice and one ice green tea with lemon) and the service is good and fast as they dun have much customers anyway.
Surprisingly, that they actually shared the place with a thai resturant next door as well. So they served both jap and thai food. They will give you 2 sets of menus. Good way to make customer confused to order more food. Haa.... Think will try their thai food soon. Haa.....
Ever since the previous visit to Waraku, i've been pining for the next outing to reconfirm my impressions of the place. This time, i brought my entire family there for dinner since its my sister's birthday and was hoping for the same treatment of good Japanese cuisine as my first visit. You can view my first impressions here.
Parking space was abundant when we arrived at approximately 6pm but was soon taken up as the dinner crowd came in. The same goes for space within the restaurant as there were plenty of space which was quickly filled up within minutes after we arrived. The place looks decidedly grander since it occupies a themed building all by itself and is finished with wooden furniture for an authentic Japanese feel. However, it was also more cramped then the cuppage branch and somehow did not project an image of being a relaxing venue.
Iced Coffee ($3.80) - I've said it before and i'll say it again. Never order drinks in a restaurant unless you want to order wine or feel as though you have too much money. The coffee was tasteless at best and is a wonderful example of wasting money.
Tonkatsu Set ($15.50) - My father and sister had this set but he said it wasn't anything special. The Japanese curry and sticky rice did not appeal to him as he prefers his curry spicy. The katsu was juicy, lightly battered and tender but otherwise a tad too oily. My sister enjoyed it but said it could have been better.
Yasai Curry Udon ($10.80) - My mother's a vegetarian and so this suited her perfectly. The Udon came in a huge bowl and was filled with mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes and assorted greens to go with the slightly thin udon. I found it quite sour and mildly spicy which makes for an appetizing meal. My mom was quite taken with it as well.
Gyu Yanagawa Wazen with Cold Soba ($16 2) - This is the reason why i returned to this restaurant and this time, the experience is somewhat muted due to the fact that the table was packed with food but they still kept adding our orders when they should have waited. That aside, the beef was as tasty as ever and the stock is still sweet. The cold soba however, was an unworthy introduction as it just doesn't taste authentic enough. I still prefer Cha Soba instead.
Ebi Cheese Curry Udon ($10.80) - My gf took a surprise turn this time around and chose to have udon instead of Katsu. I must say she makes interesting and good choices as the Ebi Cheese curry udon turned out pretty good. The ebi (or prawns/shrimps) were big, crunchy, fresh and sweet which complemented the cheese curry well. The curry was thick and tasted of garlic and cheese with a little sour vinegar taste to add variety. Nicely done but portion could be bigger.
Potato Mentai ($8.80) - This item drew lots of heat on me as nobody seemed to liked it. Everyone felt that the fish eggs (the pink little dots you see) gave the cheese and potatoes a fishy and revolting smell and taste. It is indeed so after the first few bites and the smell lingers long after the dish is finished. Its basically just potatoes heated in a pan with oil, fish eggs and cheese. Not worth the money nor agony involved in finishing it.
Salmon Teriyaki ($8.80) - This was ridiculous when it was served. The serving was terribly small and felt like a rip off from the start. Upon the taste test, it did have the usual teriyaki trappings but i felt the meat was too dry. Overall, my money is better off ordering other stuff.
Soft Shell Crab ($6.80) - I can sum up the soft shell crab in two words: Overly Fried. It was so crunchy i couldn't make out the taste of crab at all. Not something i will try again here, the Ichiban Boshi rendition is a little better since it comes in bigger portions.
Salmon Cheese with Tartar Sauce ($6.80) - Thin, crisp bread batter with 2 slice of salmon and cheese in the middle. Deep fry it and serve with lemon and tartar sauce. This is hardly worth the money to eat given that its such a simple dish. Nonetheless, its tastes like fishy Mcnuggets and wasn't too bad. Just not worth an order.
Agedashi Tofu ($6.80) - I guess you just can't go wrong with tofu. Soft, silky and hot. The tofu was as good as the cuppage branch as well. Portion size is still a problem though as this works out to be close to $1.75 a tofu which is darn expensive.
Renkon Chips ($4.80) - Lotus root in thin slices deep fried in oil. Somehow, deep frying seems like a popular way of cooking these days. Anyway, this was surprisingly nice and light. The chips literally melt and disappear the moment you chew or bite on it, leaving a taste of lotus on your tongue. However, you really can do this on your own at home, so save the money and just get on with it yourself.
Surprisingly, after all those orders and food, the bill only came to $139. I wouldn't call it a fulfilling meal but it got the job done.
Though it goes by the same name and cuisine, the experience i had here was much less pleasurable due in part to the constantly shouting serving staff and the really small table we had. The food was still decent but i did realise that if you are not a beef lover, do stay away as the value drops considerably when you order the non beef items. The only items i found decent this time round was the ebi cheese and the yasai curry udon, obviously my beef dish was still good but everything else was mediocre. The serving staff also needs to learn that when the table is full, stop bringing orders out. I would say the place is still good but i'm not returning to this branch ever again. It was a much better experience at cuppage.
Rating given:
It was my 3rd time dining at Soup Spoon but my 1st at Bugis's outlet. Ordered Peppery Chicken Hotpot and Asian Sweet Corn Chowder and tuna mayo sandwich drink. The chicken hotpot is of course peppery but still acceptable to me. The corn chowder is what i term very "corny", there is simply so much corn in the soup! We couldn't finish the corny soup.. Had the tuna mayo takeaway. But it was as filling as ever! oh.. and their staff were really polite and helpful too! Would definitely go back to try other soups!
Rating given:
Have dined at Pastamania for several times and realised they have increased their prices. From what i normally order, their price increase is about $0.50-$1/dish, even their Combo A,B,C also have increased in price. I guess its costs for ingredients have gone up etc.
My boyfriend and I ordered my usual Creamy Chicken ($7.40) ,Carbonara ($10.30) both with Combo A. ComboA came with drinks,garlic bread and soup. The $3-4 increase is sadly enough to make me cut down my trips to dine there..
Rating given:
I went for the trial massage only because it was a complimentary voucher. After talking to the consultant for quite some time, I felt it was a good deal, with free hydro-bath with each visit and other stuff thrown in.
Since I have the privilege to book the VIP rooms, I have often tried to use it but after 3 months, I started to have difficulties in getting a slot. Weekend slots are often taken up quickly and every time, I was asked if I could go earlier for weekday evening slots such as 5pm. I'm working, so how can I just take leave because of a spa slot? Ridiculous!
I tried 3 times in the 4th month. Failed to get a single slot even 30 days in advance via the consultant. Either the system had problem or she was on time off or on leave. SMS her the details and no confirmation if the slot was confirmed or not available. Truly unreliable communication method.
Calling the desk counter staff can get me either cut off after listening to the music for 15 minutes (I am amazed at my patience). The waiting time for getting them to check for slot availability needs another 15 minutes of listening to the music. Frustrated, I called the consultant and requested (demanded, actually) a confirmation about the slot.
Eventual slot bookings got me losing my patience and feel like demanding a refund of whatever that is left since I failed to be able to book any slots 10 times in a row. The only thing the receptionist can tell me is "Sorry".
I have yet to book another slot because I don't know if I'm free one month in advance on that particular day, at the particular time. As the others say, the best is one week in advance. Booking one week in advance there truly doesn't help because all the VIP rooms are always fully booked.
They have since installed new VIP rooms and I have used one of the new ones. I may book another slot to see if this is happening again.
Rating given:
Cafe de Amigo relocated to Funan in 2006. Chef Foo Wah Ann is the man behind this very nice place. Having heard about him when he was at the renown La Brasserie (Marco Polo Hotel), we thought a visit to this place was a must. The ambience is pretty cosy. There is a live band singing jazzy tunes throughout the night. The crowd there is consists largely of those working in the area.
Food Ordered:
Deep-fried Cheese - 3pc ($16.50)
3 types of cheese melted together and deep fried, served with fresh basil and tomato sauce. I like the cheese which was firm and not oozing out of its shell.
Soft Shell Crab ($13.50)
The batter was a little too light and it was too oily for my taste. Small serving just enough for one person.
Escargot A la Bourguignon (6 for $16.50)
Served in a garlic and butter sauce, I found nothing spectacular about this dish. If anything, the serving was really small.
Lobster Bisque ($9.50)
"Bisque of Bisques" was its description in the menu. Thus we had to try this. It was flavourful however it's pretty hard to find lobster nor taste any lobster in this dish.
Not the same Potato ($7.50)
It is actually supposed to be creamy potato soup but the taste of potato was weak and overpowered by the cheese that was blended into it.
Salad de Amis ($14.50)
A huge serving of salad which you'll be able to see anywhere, served with olive oil vinegar dressing. Which I think wasn't enough as it was dry and a little bland.
Chicken chop ($20.50)
Grilled boneless chicken drumstick served in black pepper sauce and fries. Sadly you can get a good taste of this dish at hawker centres at a quarter of its price. Although boneless, the chicken had a fair share of fatty bits and it wasn't as succulent as I had expected. The black pepper sauce wasn't thick enough too.
Ox-Tail ($24.50)
One of the inhouse specialties. A generous serving of stewed oxtail served with boiled potato and broccoli. My companion commented that it was very tender and juicy. I did think that it was the one of the best dishes on the table that night
Duck Breast ($26.50)
Also one of the recommended dishes. Roasted duck slices in red wine sauce, served with boiled spinach. The combination seemed a little odd to me at first. But my companion has full of compliments for it so I guess it was really good.
Normandy Apple Pie ($7.50)
One of the recommended desserts. It was served with wild honey and vanilla ice-cream. I loved the crumbly crust which was light and tasty. One would find it hard to be sick of this. The inside was not overly sweet.
Frezzie Tiramisu ($7.90)
It was a regular ice cream cake. Certainly not worth the money.
The presentation of the food was not good. More like they were all haphazardly put together. The service is alright. I don't think I will be back anytime soon...
Rating given:
Christmas Eve was done without a plan or clue with just a car and the chauffeur (hohoho!) and as random places popped into our minds, we would drive our way there. And that led us to Mount Faber just minutes after the countdown to Christmas to view the Christmas lights.
We were in luck that day. As we stepped into the "Enchanted Garden" to enjoy the "snow" (or better known as foam), we were approached to go on a cable car ride for only $8 per person as compared to the normal rate of $16.50 per person.
Hence, we took up the offer and went on the ride. To tell the truth, it was rather nerve-racking at the start as the last cable car ride I took was probably in primary school. Just before the cable car was going to be suspended in the mid-air, I could feel my heart go faster. (I am not afraid of heights, but seriously, it was rather high up and you would feel as though your life is suspended by a rope. Wait, that actually correct.) However, after a while, I got used to the idea of being so high up with the plus factor of the ride being rather comfortable. The Christmas lights below us also made a rather beautiful view for the night.
I would encourage you guys to try out a cable car ride if it has been a long time since you last took them. Don't forget to get someone you can sit with for quite some time as it is a rather long ride!
You wouldn't want to feel the overwhelming urge to toss a person out of the cable car, would you? Hohoho.
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I have always enjoyed going to IKEA when I was young. I love being surrounded by furniture and envisioning how my future house will look like. However, I had not been impressed by the distance and the lack of parking slots at Alexandra Road. I remember my exasperation at having to wait so long for a car park slot and how my parents swore to never go again. And we stopped going after a while, when the hassle just wasn't worth it, for quite a long, long time.
Imagine my surprise when another IKEA opened so near my place and since it has been years since I last went, I decided to give it a try again. This time round, I decided to learn from my lesson and go via public transport. Despite it being located at a rather inconvenient location, there are shuttle buses traveling from Pasir Ris, Tampines and Bedok towards there. Furthermore, if one doesn't mind walking a little bit more, there are also public bus stops around there. However, once I arrived there, I realized that the parking there is rather convenient and there are ample parking space. Thumbs up for such an improvement!
I believe that whether one will find the shopping experience fruitful will depend greatly on the shopper's personal preference as the whole concept there is rather unique. You shop on the second level - the showroom that showcases the furniture - with just a pencil and paper, taking down the serial number allocated to your interested product. All information about the product will be given on the tag of it and thus, it saves the hassle of finding an IKEA employee for information. After deciding your purchases, move down to level 1 where the products are packed into boxes, ready for straight purchase-and-go. The smaller furniture such as pillows, lamps and cutlery are also located on the first level.
Another unique practice by IKEA would be the idea of self-assembling and installation. Also, the delivery fee will saved as the products are taken straight home. Nonetheless, such services are provided if necessary.
I have always liked shopping at IKEA as it is a unique experience and with its huge shopping space, furniture are spread out and is easy to view and access. There are no pesky salespersons around that would keep staring at you as you try out the various furnitures. More importantly, almost everything you need can be found under one roof with its quality assured.
Furthermore, Courts and Giant are so nearby and thus it makes it even more convenient while shopping for your home.
P.S. Surprisingly IKEA doesn't sell bolsters, anyone knows why? Perhaps the Swedish doesn't use bolsters?
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The sudden craving for japanese food lead me up all the way to the fifth floor of heeren shopping centre. Not that i am complaining, its just that 5 floors of walking and taking escalator is tiring, especially for someone who is extremely hungry. :P Oh well, nevertheless i still hope that all this walking is worth it.
Ordering food was not a very smooth process, i can say. I intended to take some food from the belts but due to the lack of varieties available, i decided to call the staffs. However,i waved my hand high up to for quite sometime, no staff came forward to take my order. Perhaps the location where i sat is rather off the main area, but still, i feel that they should make an effort to take care of every customer needs.
I ordered the following items: Teriyaki chicken set, (this is their discounted lunch set which cost less than 10 bucks -- very worth for japanese food with that price :P) ; Soft shell crab handrolls ; fried potato ; fried toufu ; cold soba ; etc.
I especially loved the soft shell crab handroll that i have eaten in their outlet once. The crisp hot soft shell crab when combined with the rice plus seaweed tastes simply fantastic. However, to my dismay, this time round the soft shell crab is not hot at all.
The same goes to the fried toufu and potato. I was pretty disappointed with the food, as i have waited for approximately 30 mintues and yet the food that were served were COLD!
Overall, i feel that their japanese food is pretty normal and decent, they would have fared better if they ensure that their food is warm. This i feel, will be able to give customer a better impression.
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Its been a long time since i had Claypot Rice, somehow, it seems to have disappeared from mainstream cuisine so much so that its difficult to locate a decent place to have this old tradition. I have, however, long heard of a shop that specializes in claypot cuisine somewhere along East Coast Road and that's where we went.
Simple, unassuming and boring would most probably describe the restaurant. The tables were sparsely located using a yellowish color scheme and round tables of different sizes. Clearly a place designed for big gatherings and get-togethers as there were only a handful of tables designed for less then 4 people. The impression was also not helped by the fact that at dinner time, there was only a handful of patrons in the restaurant, a clear sign of decline? Nevertheless, we pressed on.
Pickles ($1) - Complimentary starters or should i say compulsory starters? Either way, the pickles were sour and did their job of whetting my appetite. Paying for it didn't help my impression though.
Handmade Beancurd with Seaweed, Mushrooms and Vegetables ($8) - The bean curb was soft but not smooth on the inside, it didn't help that the only taste it had came from the soy sauce base below which made it extremely salty. The same goes for the tasteless mushrooms and horribly cut vegetables. Its pretty obvious they did not spend alot of time getting this to the table.
Yam Ring ($12) - Yam rings are one of my favourite dishes when its done right and their rendition is the perfect example of a yam ring done seriously wrong. The cashew nuts were a little soggy, prawns were not fresh enough to be sweet nor crunchy and the chicken meat was tasteless. However, mediocre fillings aside, the greatest disappointment of the day is the yam ring itself. Notice the second shot depicting the insides of the yam ring? The was no yam. The ring has obviously been fried so many times that the yam has charred and disappeared, even then, they dared to serve it to the customers. Horrible.
Claypot Rice ($10) - The star of the day, the claypot rice i came for. This was at least decent. Fragrant and soft rice cooked in claypot and stirred in our presence. The chicken was also decidedly tender and sweet which helped ease my unhappiness a little. The best part of the rice is the wok hei present near the bottom of the claypot. Unhealthy yet delectable. This dish is at least worthy of the commercial review it garnered.
The bill came up to $34 for 2 people which is alot more then i was willing to pay for given the horrible quality of the initial offerings.
I would have enjoyed the meal if all i ordered was the claypot rice. In fact, i would say going for the rice alone is worth it but anything else is a serious waste of money. That said, my recommendation is still, not to visit because the money is better spent elsewhere.
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This place is jz outside the gym which I am going so it makes a great place for dinner after that. No need to walk that much also Haa...
Since we are there almost near to their closing time, it is peaceful and quiet. A nice relaxing place to have dinner and chit chat at the same time. Seems like others who jz knocked off or jz looking for a quiet place to have dinner also go there.
There are indoor and outdoor seats (under shelter), as it is near to closing time, they had closed the indoor seats, so we only got outdoor seats. Their seats are like those little jap seats with a cushion on it. The seats are a bit low, feels like a little kid seating in those little chairs. Haa....
Since it was after office hours, so there was not much of a crowd. we ordered:
1. Teriyaki Chicken Ramen: The soup is nice and creamy, with the addition of corn and seaweed does make the whole soup taste even better. The noodles are very chewy and tasty as it managed to absorb the soup. Good.
The teriyaki chicken is serves hot on a seperate plate. It is crispy hot, yet tender and juicy inside. The sauce is sweet and fragant and makes the chicken more tasty than ever. I thought it is supposed to be fried but seems like theirs came in the formed of fried chicken cutlet.
2. Takoyaki: This one also came pipping hot but the disappointment is did not taste the octopus as the mince it instead of leaving a chunk in the middle of the ball. It came with lots of mayo and the fish skin flakes which I like it!
3. Mayo Prawn: Came off the fryer and crispy with mayo and black seasme seeds. The prawn seem a little flat or no meat but it is very juicy inside and crispy on the outer as well.
The good thing thing is all dishes came to us very hot and fresh as well.
The cost of the dinner is only $27 including drinks (one orange juice and one ice green tea with lemon) and the service is good and fast as they dun have much customers anyway.
Surprisingly, that they actually shared the place with a thai resturant next door as well. So they served both jap and thai food. They will give you 2 sets of menus. Good way to make customer confused to order more food. Haa.... Think will try their thai food soon. Haa.....
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