Met up with Kelvin and Mr Sotong Bao again for dinner along with my gf. Our initial location was supposed to be at either a porridge buffet in Ang Mo Kio or a HDB Tai Tai recommendation called Bermuda Triangle around the area. However, they were not viable options as they were packed and so we traveled around searching for food till we found this place.
Cosy, quiet and small are the words you would use to describe the restaurant. Also to note was that the place was packed when we arrived. A good sign? Not in terms of service thats for sure, we had to wait about 10-15 minutes before our order was taken and table cleared.
Cheese and Tomato Bruschetta ($6.50) - Toasted bread with tomato and cheese. This has got to be a cruel joke since there's practically nothing worth merit on this item and its a complete waste of money. Next!
Haloumi Cheese ($6.50) - Deep fried cheese with tomato pizzaiola sauce. Personally, i've never had this before and after this, i probably will not order it again. Cheese was tasteless and forgettable.
Fish And Chips ($9.50) - The biggest of the lot in terms of main course servings. The owner was kind enough to point out that this is a dish for kids and seldom ordered for adults. The fillet was crispy and batter thin but the meat wasn't fresh and was generally tasteless. A point to note though is that, for a kids meal, the serving was a whole lot more then any of the other adult items we ordered. Maybe kids have it better?
Beef Stew ($19.50) - It came smelling fragrant but won't win any prizes for presentation. Beef was tender and quite sweet tasting but its more like a non spicy rendition of beef rendang. Not too bad but portion was small and definately not worth the money.
Grilled Chicken in Mushroom Sauce ($15) - My gf had this thinking it would be a healthy and light dish but it came swimming in olive oil. From the outset, it was oily and that signed the death warrant for this dish. The grilled chicken was oily AND tasteless. Bad move.
Tiramisu - Madam Q's signature dessert. Tiramisu seems to be a favorite order such that almost any eatery will have it simply to round out their menu. This rendition was at least decent in that it was sweet and the cake was evident though i do not detect much rum. The best item of the day but thats not saying alot since everything else bordered on failing.
$85.80 for a mediocre meal is just one meal too many for me.
Disappointment. For all the good service and nice ambiance going for it. All this places lacks is good food.
Waraku (Katong) is one place which I keep walking past many times, peer in but never walk in. Finally I managed to drag my colleague there with me one lazy weekday afternoon. There weren't any customers then since it was technically tea time so we had all the attention.
The servers were very polite and were very smiley. The ambience was pretty casual but it was really cramp with all the tables close to each other. A little claustrophobic, so luckily it wasn't crowded. But it's a full house at dinner time so you might want to make reservations if you intend to go then.
We ordered:- Horenso and Bacon Cream MMmmM It smelt so good when it came in its HUGE bowl. I was really apprehensive about the cream because I'm never a fan of cream based sauces... but I tried it anyway. It wasn't as thick as it looked yet it had a lot of flavour. It was served on Noodles and with rice on the side. Lots of ingredients to go ard. I'd say this is good value for $12.90...
Katsu Curry Don I regret ordering this the moment I ordered. Not because it looked horrible but because the other things looked so interesting and I chose such a safe option! So Dumb. A safe option it might be... it wasn't good enough. The curry is one of the salty-est I've tasted. And there was SO MUCH sauce but no rice. And 3 pieces of chicken. How does it add up?! So I ended up eating only half of it... the rest was just too salty to take.
Amazingly I would be going back. We paid about $28-$30 for the two of us...Which is not really value for money but the rest of the things on the menu really enticed me and I think it deserves another try. :)
But service did falter when they had more people... we got our bill really slow.... :P
Royal China at Raffle Arcade. Interestingly, the 1st Royal China Resturant is in London. I found it amazing that they have food that suit Asians. The ambience of the restaurant is great. The decor is beautiful and even the setting of the table matches the rest of the restaurant. Its not noisy compared to a typical Yum cha resturant
We had : -
Cha Siew Buns Good..The fillings are just right and very savoury.There weren't any fatty bits and I liked it very much. Royal China Speciality Cheong Fun It is the combination of Cha Siew, prawns and scallop. Texture of the cheong fun is good. Not the typical kind where it just crumbles easily once pick it up. It is very Q~.
Glutinous Rice Very fresh fillings with bits of prawns mushrooms etc.the rice was soft but not that sticky nor dry. Just right.
Scallop dumplings Recommended. The skin is thin but didn't break easily. There scallop inside was fresh.
XiaoLong Bao (shanghai dumplings) I didn't find anything nice about this dish. It was just normal. There wasn't much soup inside and the filling wasn't as savoury as I had hoped.
Steamed Beancurd The filling on top was a bit too overpowering for my liking. Too much for so little beancurd that it destroyed the balance. Not really what I expected.
Deep Fried Beancurd rolls One of the dishes I enjoyed most. It was crisp and not oily like what I taste in other restaurants.
Mango Rolls A combination of Mango and prawns is pretty unique, I must say. It's worth a try as the taste is quite soothing.
Cha Siew Sou (roasted pork puff) I loved it. The crust outside was baked just right.Not overly baked. I like the sweet filling of the cha siew.
Custard bun Not recommended.I had better custard buns.The fillings tasted a bit weird for my liking.
Chicken porridge I LOVED THIS DISH! Although it's a really common dish but it was excellent. The texture is perfect and the slices of chicken are big enough. It wasn't too bland nor too salty. Just right.
Century egg porridge Similiar texture with century egg.
Fried Turnip cake It's just another normal dish. It is not crisp enough.
Ou Ni (Yam paste) I'm a yam paste fan, but this is not up to my standard. No doubt, the yam paste is made from fresh yam. The paste was a bit too dry and lumpy. It was not soft enough.One thing I m quite surprised with was that the paste came with Almond sauce instead. Quite a interesting combination. I love almond paste also.I would order it again only because of the combination.
Herbal jelly with mango (GuiLing Gao w mango ) Very nice presentation. The Guiling Gao was very concentrated. The bitterness of the herbal jelly contrasted with the sweetness of the mango puree.It goes well.
Mango Sago Plum (You Zi Piao Xiang) It tasted pretty much like what is served in other places.
The bill came out to $95,which I find reasonable for 4 people. The service is excellent. The aunties were very nice and kept our Tea had been topped up constantly. The plates were changed constantly.
I would definitely go back. Reservations are needed though.
Having heard quite a few good things about this place from friends and fellow bloggers, i was looking forward to my visit for this 'almost guaranteed' winner of a restaurant that has been touted as being reasonably priced and packing in the taste department. And as i was in the vicinity with Lord Thingy, i coerced him into giving me a treat at the place. =) Thanks again for the treat Thingy!!
Chef's Recommendation Hot Plate Xiao Long Bao ($4.80) - Our first item came out looking like a disappointment and it tasted like one too. Unlike the menu which touted it as a chef's recommendation, the picture showed the egg having other tasty ingredients like chili, vegetables and assorted minced meat but ours came looking nothing like the menu. The egg was tasteless apart from the hint of garlic used to fry it. The xiao long bao also did not fare too well as it came across as soggier then usual and broke too easily. The meat also didn't taste too fresh while the gravy within was too salty. Thingy didn't like it much too.
Beef Brisket La Mian ($7) - Another recommendation, this time by the waitress and sadly, another lacklustre item. The soup was practically tasteless which really brought the walls crashing down. Brisket was soft and tender albeit as tasteless as the broth. The la mian was the only redemption as it was springy to the taste. Overall a disappointment.
Golden Pastry ($5.50) - Another recommendation from the waitress (must take note never to trust waitresses), this is a salty pastry which is basically dough flattened and pan fried till its crispy and 'golden' in color with sesame seeds sprinkled over it. To me, all i tasted was flour, salted flour. Case closed.
Fried Rice ($10.50) - Now this item i've heard much about, the fried rice comes with generous amounts of chicken meat, prawns and ham scattered over rice thats fried with eggs and minimal butter. And yet, even this dish didn't pull through as it was a tad too salty and just didn't pack the flavors i've heard so much about. Thingy commented that the main branch served better fried rice then this place.
This unsatisfying, overcrowded and disappointing meal cost only a paltry $35.31 but thats a dollar too many in this case.
As i'm writing this, i can't help but wonder why they have such good reviews by my friends. Maybe i was there at the wrong time but this is simply not acceptable. Unless i'm getting another treat, i'm never forking a cent if this is the best they offer.
I visited Cafe Cartel twice. It seems that their service level varies according to the time. My 1st time was rather smooth, I got my orders and ice water without much prompting.
The 2nd time, it was nearly full and we sat next to a group of students. The servers were busy and there was no ice water for 15 minutes. While the food is not that bad, we were rather disappointed that we had to ask for a refill for the ice water.
While there were many tables, the arrangement of the tables and chairs are too close to each other, one has to practically squeeze or suck in the stomach in order to get to the table where there is a free flow of bread. If there is no way to get past between the chairs, one will have to walk around other tables to get to the free flow.
Their cheesecake is good. However, since it was late, I couldn't get the cheesecake I wanted. So, if you love cheesecakes, ask them for the availability.
-----
Update: 12 Jul 2008 The table given was simply too small to squeeze into. They seriously need to change the way the sofa seats are placed in front of the tables.
We asked for warm water. The waiter got us warm water and placed the jug on the table. He said "Help yourselves" and left.
The service charge should be waived as they don't do anything much except to bring the utensils and food to the tables. The iced water had to be refilled by ourselves too.
I had always been a big fan of cathay cinemas for a lot of reasons!
I was there over the weekend for Lust Caution and it was showing at The Grand Cathay. My fav cinema of all, other than GV Max. So size matters ok! Hee....
First to start off there area lot of counters (two on ground floor and 6 on 5th floor) to buy tickets and the service is good and prompt.
Another thing I like about cathay is their popcorn. They have very tasty popcorn! Me jz loving it!
The seats are very plush and comfortable and The Grand Cathay being their biggest cinema. Of cos the leg space is bigger than the normal ones. Being the show start they will ahve a little ceremony to open the curtain to reveal the large screen. Haa...
The screen to the soundsystem is flawless. I totally enjoyed my every show there. I will always make it a point to see if there is any show showing at The Grand Cathay since paying the same amount of $$ for the tickets. Haa....
I had walked past this new restaurant a few times while I was there. the first time I was about to walk in for dinner, they were closing alr. So too bad. This time whiel walking aimlessly in Orchard, thinking wat to eat, suddenly thought of it and decided to give t a try. Hee....
So the place was pretty packed when we were there. We were in the queue, waiting to be ushered to our seats while browsing the menu. The next thing I know the couple behind me was ushered in. Hmm.... I think the waitress should have asked us first since we are in the queue.
There are 4 tables, each able to seat 10 people. The decoration is simple but the plates and sauces plates that they are using are very nice, with plum flower prints. Very classy touch!
The menu is pretty simple. All in set meals of cos there are ala carte as well. We ordered a seafood set and a beef set. Since there are other customer seating at the table, the chef already started cooking their food, from the looks of it, it loks promising!
The seafood set comes with 3 prawns, 2 scallops, fore gais, duck meat, assorted mushroom, rice and miso soup.
The beef set comes with beef, chawmisu (the steam egg thing), assorted mushroom, rice and miso soup. Still got something that we did not managed to taste out what it is. Hee.... Oh yes, still got the garlic rice as well.
Overall, the food is good. The chef did not do anything amazing. no stunts while cooking. The food is cooked in rotation, mean the food does not come in at the same time.
I was amazed how the chawmisu (the steam egg thing) is being cooked. Using an onion layer as the bowl, the egg contents are placed inside and "steamed" on the hot plate. It is great!
A lot of garlic is used during the cooking and it does makes everything taste good. Of cos, for those who dun like garlic too bad.
Overall, it is a good place for some teppanyaki food. It will be fun if can get 10 ppl to seat together. It will be a lot of fun.
Sorry no pics for this post as got stangers seating at the same time. Hee.... Too pai seh to take pics.
Sunday afternoons are known for being wonderful lazy times where i can just sit back, relax and forget having ever been in the Singapore workforce. So it is with this mindset that i met up 2 of my friends for lunch on this simple Sunday afternoon. After a little persuasion, i was brought to this obscure and small corner in Bugis for our little get together.
Getting past the rather obscure and weird location of being in a rather secluded corner of Bugis Junction, the restaurant held a certain laid-back and relaxed charm thats difficult to describe. With the noon sun shining in, the quiet and dimly lit surroundings still had soft lighting on, floral tablecloths adorned the simple wooden tables and antique items peppered the walls. All this creates a relaxed atmosphere which allows patrons like myself to take my own sweet time making orders and idle chit chat with my lunch partners for the day.
Cream Of Mushroom Soup With Salad (Set Lunch $23.50) - A simple rendition of the notorious mushroom soup that almost every restaurant seems to serve. This version had a strong mushroom taste and was lightly salted giving it an even finish when you taste it. My gf seemed to like it quite a bit but there were no mushrooms bits to be found and honestly, after a few more spoonfuls, it resembles campbell's but with more salt.
Hamburger Steak, Egg Wrapped Tomato Rice and Spaghetti Vongole - Presentation-wise, this was an easy winner. 200gm beef patty served with sunny side up, Japanese tomato rice wrapped in scrambled eggs and vongole. 3 radically different items from different origins on the same plate, creative! First up, i liked the tomato rice, possibly because i've never outgrown my love for ketchup and because the rice was Japanese rice, meaning it just tastes better. Not too sticky but full in texture and taste. Scrambled eggs with tomato ketchup and rice could have been a meal on its own for me. The hamburger steak was a new item or rather a new name for an old item in this case. It looked small when it came but start eating it and you'll find that it seems to grow with every bite. The beef was well marinated but salty, as was the accompanying sauce, add the 2 together and it becomes too salty for my liking. Could do well without the sauce. The vongole i had last, so its actually cold when i had it. Still, i liked it because its not oily but otherwise, its very normal. To summarize, this dish as a whole was nice but take any individual on its own and you may be disappointed.
Tonkatsu Set ($19.50) - My gf seems to be attracted to katsu for some reason as this is the second time she's ordered it in a Japanese restaurant. For me though, this is the first time i've ever seen so many ingredients in a miso soup. I was literally shocked when i saw the hidden vegetables in the thick broth. Also the first time i've seen miso with tofu or seaweed for that matter. I had a taste and it was very thick, full bodied and again, salty. Good nonetheless. The katsu was tasty, lightly breaded, has minimal oil residue and firm, juicy meat greets your taste buds. It also helps that the serving was pretty generous. The sauces you see are all for the katsu but i found it better off without the overly salty sauce provided.
Sirloin Steak ($19.50) - My friend ordered this for her lunch and i have to say the serving was small. The steak was served well done and had charred edges which wasn't really my idea of steak. The doneness also means the meat is tough and hard. Surprisingly, it still tastes reasonably decent this way so i'm wondering how it would be like given a medium rare doneness instead of being well done. Still, the portion size is a big no no for big eaters like myself.
The unique key used during payment which has to be brought to the cashier. Interesting concept. If only we could take the keys as souvenirs. =P
Complimentary Ice Cream - My gf had the black sesame ice cream which had a unique taste to it but not something i'd like to have on my own. And our lunch set came with a vanilla ice cream with smatterings of chocolate fudge which really isn't very special.
A very filling lunch for 4 people came up to $101.22 .
Nice place, decent but salty food and affordable price. I may be back because my sister's friend works there and can get us a decent discount the next time we visit. *winks* But otherwise, i would love to tell them to hold the salt instead of filling their items with it.
Pasta de Waraku is tucked away in the corner of Marina Square.. but it's certainly not quiet. We arrived at 6pm, thinking of grabbing an early dinner without making reservations. There were only two of us so we confidently thought that we would be able to get in with ease since the Restaurant was empty. But we were asked to wait for almost 10 minutes whilst they tried to figure if they were fully booked. So MAKE RESERVATIONS... but finish reading this review first.
The overall decor was casual and modern. It's quite comfortable with suitable lighting but it's definitely more for families and casual friends. Not quite a place you would bring a date you want to impress.
We ordered: Wafu Unatama Pasta (Eel with Egg on Pasta) Dry Curry Pilaf (Jap Style Curry Fried Rice with Pork Bacon) Ichigo Sundae Shirafama Redbean Sundae
In appearance, the pasta was not impressive. You could hardly find any eel anywhere and it was covered with egg. In taste, it was worse. It was very dry and the pieces of eel all flaked into pieces. They were so soft that it became difficult to taste it. I could hardly bring myself to eat the egg, which was tasteless. The only consolation was that it was a sizeable serving, but in this case I'm not sure it is a good point.
The rice was not much better. In appearance it looked even worse... The serving was small and it looked like a mash of yellow bits with little of anything else. It tasted salty, with a tiny taste of the Jap style curry. You could count the bits of meat with your fingers.
I regretted ordering the two desserts. They tasted exactly the same and looked nothing like the pictures in the menu. Not to mention both were already swimming in liquid when they arrived.
We paid $52 for both of us, which I find expensive for such mediocre food. The only thing I was happy with was the service. They were quick to respond and always smiling.
Japanese food, characterized by fresh ingredients, healthy cooking methods and poignant displays have held a special place in my heart ever since they were introduced into my life. And for one of my small food outings, we chose Waraku as a starting destination for future endeavors to come (also because Alvin had a staff discount of 10% at this place and i'm getting to eat for free. =P)
Agedashi Tofu ($6.80) - The tofu came after about 15-20 minutes from the time we ordered so i expected quite alot from it. The skin was crispy and hot while the sauce was cooler as was the tofu interior. Still, it doesn't quite impress me because it came alot later then necessary.
Ste.Nelge Organic Red Wine ($38) - Old habits die hard i suppose. Ordered this on a whim as i needed a quick wine fix and the fact that i've never had organic red wine before and was wondering about the difference. Well, the fact that i don't really like Sakae played a part too. This wine was easy on the taste palates with less body and minimal spices. Its sweet and very pleasant to drink with a wonderful fruity aftertaste. Perfect for red meats which we had.
Gyu Yanagawa Wazen ($16) - All i can say is, this at $16 is a steal. It comes with an reasonable serving of fresh beef slowly simmered till its cooked with a fresh egg on the side if you decide to put it into the pot. The stock used is sweet and resembled teriyaki sauce but is awesome when paired with the beef. You are also given a bowl of hot soba or udon and sesame rice to go with your beef. A small bowl of potato salad rounds off the package. The soba was decent but the beef stock is the star of this dish. Try it.
Tonkatsu Wazen ($15.50) - Pork cutlet fried to a golden brown in thin batter and bread crumbs. I liked the fact that the cutlet was not as oily as the process sounded and there were many juices still locked in the meat. There was also a lack of fatty layer in the meat which makes it easier to stomach. The udon i did not get to try however.
Kaminabe Wazen ($19.80) - Nicely arranged and served with rice, assorted tempura, salmon sashimi and a paper steamboat holding yet sweet tasting and fresh beef. The soup in this case is more towards those of tradional chinese medicinal chicken soup, only much sweeter and very tasty.
Houba Wazen ($19.80) - Similar to the set above except for the barbeque like set up for the beef and what i would describe as marinate thats tastes a little like Rendang. Still, the beef was fresh and sweet although i did not quite like the sauce.
The final bill came up to $122.77 after 10% discount for a satisfying and fun japanese meal.
Nice, cosy atmosphere and relaxed conversation plus decent and reasonably priced food with good service to boot. This is one place i will be back for seconds and maybe even thirds. However, do note that i only found my order Gyu Yanagawa Wazen very worthwhile due to the portion, price and taste. For the other set meals, some were good but would have fared better at a lower price. Either way, still coming back though.
1=SGD 0.0587
Met up with Kelvin and Mr Sotong Bao again for dinner along with my gf. Our initial location was supposed to be at either a porridge buffet in Ang Mo Kio or a HDB Tai Tai recommendation called Bermuda Triangle around the area. However, they were not viable options as they were packed and so we traveled around searching for food till we found this place.
Cosy, quiet and small are the words you would use to describe the restaurant. Also to note was that the place was packed when we arrived. A good sign? Not in terms of service thats for sure, we had to wait about 10-15 minutes before our order was taken and table cleared.
Cheese and Tomato Bruschetta ($6.50) - Toasted bread with tomato and cheese. This has got to be a cruel joke since there's practically nothing worth merit on this item and its a complete waste of money. Next!
Haloumi Cheese ($6.50) - Deep fried cheese with tomato pizzaiola sauce. Personally, i've never had this before and after this, i probably will not order it again. Cheese was tasteless and forgettable.
Fish And Chips ($9.50) - The biggest of the lot in terms of main course servings. The owner was kind enough to point out that this is a dish for kids and seldom ordered for adults. The fillet was crispy and batter thin but the meat wasn't fresh and was generally tasteless. A point to note though is that, for a kids meal, the serving was a whole lot more then any of the other adult items we ordered. Maybe kids have it better?
Beef Stew ($19.50) - It came smelling fragrant but won't win any prizes for presentation. Beef was tender and quite sweet tasting but its more like a non spicy rendition of beef rendang. Not too bad but portion was small and definately not worth the money.
Grilled Chicken in Mushroom Sauce ($15) - My gf had this thinking it would be a healthy and light dish but it came swimming in olive oil. From the outset, it was oily and that signed the death warrant for this dish. The grilled chicken was oily AND tasteless. Bad move.
Tiramisu - Madam Q's signature dessert. Tiramisu seems to be a favorite order such that almost any eatery will have it simply to round out their menu. This rendition was at least decent in that it was sweet and the cake was evident though i do not detect much rum. The best item of the day but thats not saying alot since everything else bordered on failing.
$85.80 for a mediocre meal is just one meal too many for me.
Disappointment. For all the good service and nice ambiance going for it. All this places lacks is good food.
Rating given:
Waraku (Katong) is one place which I keep walking past many times, peer in but never walk in. Finally I managed to drag my colleague there with me one lazy weekday afternoon. There weren't any customers then since it was technically tea time so we had all the attention.
The servers were very polite and were very smiley. The ambience was pretty casual but it was really cramp with all the tables close to each other. A little claustrophobic, so luckily it wasn't crowded. But it's a full house at dinner time so you might want to make reservations if you intend to go then.
We ordered:-
Horenso and Bacon Cream
MMmmM It smelt so good when it came in its HUGE bowl. I was really apprehensive about the cream because I'm never a fan of cream based sauces... but I tried it anyway. It wasn't as thick as it looked yet it had a lot of flavour. It was served on Noodles and with rice on the side. Lots of ingredients to go ard. I'd say this is good value for $12.90...
Katsu Curry Don
I regret ordering this the moment I ordered. Not because it looked horrible but because the other things looked so interesting and I chose such a safe option! So Dumb. A safe option it might be... it wasn't good enough. The curry is one of the salty-est I've tasted. And there was SO MUCH sauce but no rice. And 3 pieces of chicken. How does it add up?! So I ended up eating only half of it... the rest was just too salty to take.
Amazingly I would be going back. We paid about $28-$30 for the two of us...Which is not really value for money but the rest of the things on the menu really enticed me and I think it deserves another try. :)
But service did falter when they had more people... we got our bill really slow.... :P
Rating given:
Royal China at Raffle Arcade. Interestingly, the 1st Royal China Resturant is in London. I found it amazing that they have food that suit Asians.
The ambience of the restaurant is great. The decor is beautiful and even the setting of the table matches the rest of the restaurant. Its not noisy compared to a typical Yum cha resturant
We had : -
Cha Siew Buns
Good..The fillings are just right and very savoury.There weren't any fatty bits and I liked it very much.
Royal China Speciality Cheong Fun
It is the combination of Cha Siew, prawns and scallop. Texture of the cheong fun is good. Not the typical kind where it just crumbles easily once pick it up. It is very Q~.
Glutinous Rice
Very fresh fillings with bits of prawns mushrooms etc.the rice was soft but not that sticky nor dry. Just right.
Scallop dumplings
Recommended. The skin is thin but didn't break easily. There scallop inside was fresh.
XiaoLong Bao (shanghai dumplings)
I didn't find anything nice about this dish. It was just normal. There wasn't much soup inside and the filling wasn't as savoury as I had hoped.
Steamed Beancurd
The filling on top was a bit too overpowering for my liking. Too much for so little beancurd that it destroyed the balance. Not really what I expected.
Deep Fried Beancurd rolls
One of the dishes I enjoyed most. It was crisp and not oily like what I taste in other restaurants.
Mango Rolls
A combination of Mango and prawns is pretty unique, I must say. It's worth a try as the taste is quite soothing.
Cha Siew Sou (roasted pork puff)
I loved it. The crust outside was baked just right.Not overly baked. I like the sweet filling of the cha siew.
Custard bun
Not recommended.I had better custard buns.The fillings tasted a bit weird for my liking.
Chicken porridge
I LOVED THIS DISH! Although it's a really common dish but it was excellent. The texture is perfect and the slices of chicken are big enough. It wasn't too bland nor too salty. Just right.
Century egg porridge
Similiar texture with century egg.
Fried Turnip cake
It's just another normal dish. It is not crisp enough.
Ou Ni (Yam paste)
I'm a yam paste fan, but this is not up to my standard. No doubt, the yam paste is made from fresh yam. The paste was a bit too dry and lumpy. It was not soft enough.One thing I m quite surprised with was that the paste came with Almond sauce instead. Quite a interesting combination. I love almond paste also.I would order it again only because of the combination.
Herbal jelly with mango (GuiLing Gao w mango )
Very nice presentation. The Guiling Gao was very concentrated. The bitterness of the herbal jelly contrasted with the sweetness of the mango puree.It goes well.
Mango Sago Plum (You Zi Piao Xiang)
It tasted pretty much like what is served in other places.
The bill came out to $95,which I find reasonable for 4 people.
The service is excellent. The aunties were very nice and kept our Tea had been topped up constantly. The plates were changed constantly.
I would definitely go back. Reservations are needed though.
Rating given:
Having heard quite a few good things about this place from friends and fellow bloggers, i was looking forward to my visit for this 'almost guaranteed' winner of a restaurant that has been touted as being reasonably priced and packing in the taste department. And as i was in the vicinity with Lord Thingy, i coerced him into giving me a treat at the place. =) Thanks again for the treat Thingy!!
Chef's Recommendation Hot Plate Xiao Long Bao ($4.80) - Our first item came out looking like a disappointment and it tasted like one too. Unlike the menu which touted it as a chef's recommendation, the picture showed the egg having other tasty ingredients like chili, vegetables and assorted minced meat but ours came looking nothing like the menu. The egg was tasteless apart from the hint of garlic used to fry it. The xiao long bao also did not fare too well as it came across as soggier then usual and broke too easily. The meat also didn't taste too fresh while the gravy within was too salty. Thingy didn't like it much too.
Beef Brisket La Mian ($7) - Another recommendation, this time by the waitress and sadly, another lacklustre item. The soup was practically tasteless which really brought the walls crashing down. Brisket was soft and tender albeit as tasteless as the broth. The la mian was the only redemption as it was springy to the taste. Overall a disappointment.
Golden Pastry ($5.50) - Another recommendation from the waitress (must take note never to trust waitresses), this is a salty pastry which is basically dough flattened and pan fried till its crispy and 'golden' in color with sesame seeds sprinkled over it. To me, all i tasted was flour, salted flour. Case closed.
Fried Rice ($10.50) - Now this item i've heard much about, the fried rice comes with generous amounts of chicken meat, prawns and ham scattered over rice thats fried with eggs and minimal butter. And yet, even this dish didn't pull through as it was a tad too salty and just didn't pack the flavors i've heard so much about. Thingy commented that the main branch served better fried rice then this place.
This unsatisfying, overcrowded and disappointing meal cost only a paltry $35.31 but thats a dollar too many in this case.
As i'm writing this, i can't help but wonder why they have such good reviews by my friends. Maybe i was there at the wrong time but this is simply not acceptable. Unless i'm getting another treat, i'm never forking a cent if this is the best they offer.
Rating given:
I visited Cafe Cartel twice. It seems that their service level varies according to the time. My 1st time was rather smooth, I got my orders and ice water without much prompting.
The 2nd time, it was nearly full and we sat next to a group of students. The servers were busy and there was no ice water for 15 minutes. While the food is not that bad, we were rather disappointed that we had to ask for a refill for the ice water.
While there were many tables, the arrangement of the tables and chairs are too close to each other, one has to practically squeeze or suck in the stomach in order to get to the table where there is a free flow of bread. If there is no way to get past between the chairs, one will have to walk around other tables to get to the free flow.
Their cheesecake is good. However, since it was late, I couldn't get the cheesecake I wanted. So, if you love cheesecakes, ask them for the availability.
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Update: 12 Jul 2008
The table given was simply too small to squeeze into. They seriously need to change the way the sofa seats are placed in front of the tables.
We asked for warm water. The waiter got us warm water and placed the jug on the table. He said "Help yourselves" and left.
The service charge should be waived as they don't do anything much except to bring the utensils and food to the tables. The iced water had to be refilled by ourselves too.
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I had always been a big fan of cathay cinemas for a lot of reasons!
I was there over the weekend for Lust Caution and it was showing at The Grand Cathay. My fav cinema of all, other than GV Max. So size matters ok! Hee....
First to start off there area lot of counters (two on ground floor and 6 on 5th floor) to buy tickets and the service is good and prompt.
Another thing I like about cathay is their popcorn. They have very tasty popcorn! Me jz loving it!
The seats are very plush and comfortable and The Grand Cathay being their biggest cinema. Of cos the leg space is bigger than the normal ones. Being the show start they will ahve a little ceremony to open the curtain to reveal the large screen. Haa...
The screen to the soundsystem is flawless. I totally enjoyed my every show there. I will always make it a point to see if there is any show showing at The Grand Cathay since paying the same amount of $$ for the tickets. Haa....
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I had walked past this new restaurant a few times while I was there. the first time I was about to walk in for dinner, they were closing alr. So too bad. This time whiel walking aimlessly in Orchard, thinking wat to eat, suddenly thought of it and decided to give t a try. Hee....
So the place was pretty packed when we were there. We were in the queue, waiting to be ushered to our seats while browsing the menu. The next thing I know the couple behind me was ushered in. Hmm.... I think the waitress should have asked us first since we are in the queue.
There are 4 tables, each able to seat 10 people. The decoration is simple but the plates and sauces plates that they are using are very nice, with plum flower prints. Very classy touch!
The menu is pretty simple. All in set meals of cos there are ala carte as well. We ordered a seafood set and a beef set. Since there are other customer seating at the table, the chef already started cooking their food, from the looks of it, it loks promising!
The seafood set comes with 3 prawns, 2 scallops, fore gais, duck meat, assorted mushroom, rice and miso soup.
The beef set comes with beef, chawmisu (the steam egg thing), assorted mushroom, rice and miso soup. Still got something that we did not managed to taste out what it is. Hee.... Oh yes, still got the garlic rice as well.
Overall, the food is good. The chef did not do anything amazing. no stunts while cooking. The food is cooked in rotation, mean the food does not come in at the same time.
I was amazed how the chawmisu (the steam egg thing) is being cooked. Using an onion layer as the bowl, the egg contents are placed inside and "steamed" on the hot plate. It is great!
A lot of garlic is used during the cooking and it does makes everything taste good. Of cos, for those who dun like garlic too bad.
Overall, it is a good place for some teppanyaki food. It will be fun if can get 10 ppl to seat together. It will be a lot of fun.
Sorry no pics for this post as got stangers seating at the same time. Hee.... Too pai seh to take pics.
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Sunday afternoons are known for being wonderful lazy times where i can just sit back, relax and forget having ever been in the Singapore workforce. So it is with this mindset that i met up 2 of my friends for lunch on this simple Sunday afternoon. After a little persuasion, i was brought to this obscure and small corner in Bugis for our little get together.
Getting past the rather obscure and weird location of being in a rather secluded corner of Bugis Junction, the restaurant held a certain laid-back and relaxed charm thats difficult to describe. With the noon sun shining in, the quiet and dimly lit surroundings still had soft lighting on, floral tablecloths adorned the simple wooden tables and antique items peppered the walls. All this creates a relaxed atmosphere which allows patrons like myself to take my own sweet time making orders and idle chit chat with my lunch partners for the day.
Cream Of Mushroom Soup With Salad (Set Lunch $23.50) - A simple rendition of the notorious mushroom soup that almost every restaurant seems to serve. This version had a strong mushroom taste and was lightly salted giving it an even finish when you taste it. My gf seemed to like it quite a bit but there were no mushrooms bits to be found and honestly, after a few more spoonfuls, it resembles campbell's but with more salt.
Hamburger Steak, Egg Wrapped Tomato Rice and Spaghetti Vongole - Presentation-wise, this was an easy winner. 200gm beef patty served with sunny side up, Japanese tomato rice wrapped in scrambled eggs and vongole. 3 radically different items from different origins on the same plate, creative! First up, i liked the tomato rice, possibly because i've never outgrown my love for ketchup and because the rice was Japanese rice, meaning it just tastes better. Not too sticky but full in texture and taste. Scrambled eggs with tomato ketchup and rice could have been a meal on its own for me. The hamburger steak was a new item or rather a new name for an old item in this case. It looked small when it came but start eating it and you'll find that it seems to grow with every bite. The beef was well marinated but salty, as was the accompanying sauce, add the 2 together and it becomes too salty for my liking. Could do well without the sauce. The vongole i had last, so its actually cold when i had it. Still, i liked it because its not oily but otherwise, its very normal. To summarize, this dish as a whole was nice but take any individual on its own and you may be disappointed.
Tonkatsu Set ($19.50) - My gf seems to be attracted to katsu for some reason as this is the second time she's ordered it in a Japanese restaurant. For me though, this is the first time i've ever seen so many ingredients in a miso soup. I was literally shocked when i saw the hidden vegetables in the thick broth. Also the first time i've seen miso with tofu or seaweed for that matter. I had a taste and it was very thick, full bodied and again, salty. Good nonetheless. The katsu was tasty, lightly breaded, has minimal oil residue and firm, juicy meat greets your taste buds. It also helps that the serving was pretty generous. The sauces you see are all for the katsu but i found it better off without the overly salty sauce provided.
Sirloin Steak ($19.50) - My friend ordered this for her lunch and i have to say the serving was small. The steak was served well done and had charred edges which wasn't really my idea of steak. The doneness also means the meat is tough and hard. Surprisingly, it still tastes reasonably decent this way so i'm wondering how it would be like given a medium rare doneness instead of being well done. Still, the portion size is a big no no for big eaters like myself.
The unique key used during payment which has to be brought to the cashier. Interesting concept. If only we could take the keys as souvenirs. =P
Complimentary Ice Cream - My gf had the black sesame ice cream which had a unique taste to it but not something i'd like to have on my own. And our lunch set came with a vanilla ice cream with smatterings of chocolate fudge which really isn't very special.
A very filling lunch for 4 people came up to $101.22 .
Nice place, decent but salty food and affordable price. I may be back because my sister's friend works there and can get us a decent discount the next time we visit. *winks* But otherwise, i would love to tell them to hold the salt instead of filling their items with it.
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Pasta de Waraku is tucked away in the corner of Marina Square.. but it's certainly not quiet. We arrived at 6pm, thinking of grabbing an early dinner without making reservations. There were only two of us so we confidently thought that we would be able to get in with ease since the Restaurant was empty. But we were asked to wait for almost 10 minutes whilst they tried to figure if they were fully booked. So MAKE RESERVATIONS... but finish reading this review first.
The overall decor was casual and modern. It's quite comfortable with suitable lighting but it's definitely more for families and casual friends. Not quite a place you would bring a date you want to impress.
We ordered:
Wafu Unatama Pasta (Eel with Egg on Pasta)
Dry Curry Pilaf (Jap Style Curry Fried Rice with Pork Bacon)
Ichigo Sundae
Shirafama Redbean Sundae
In appearance, the pasta was not impressive. You could hardly find any eel anywhere and it was covered with egg. In taste, it was worse. It was very dry and the pieces of eel all flaked into pieces. They were so soft that it became difficult to taste it. I could hardly bring myself to eat the egg, which was tasteless. The only consolation was that it was a sizeable serving, but in this case I'm not sure it is a good point.
The rice was not much better. In appearance it looked even worse... The serving was small and it looked like a mash of yellow bits with little of anything else. It tasted salty, with a tiny taste of the Jap style curry. You could count the bits of meat with your fingers.
I regretted ordering the two desserts. They tasted exactly the same and looked nothing like the pictures in the menu. Not to mention both were already swimming in liquid when they arrived.
We paid $52 for both of us, which I find expensive for such mediocre food. The only thing I was happy with was the service. They were quick to respond and always smiling.
I'm never going back again.
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Japanese food, characterized by fresh ingredients, healthy cooking methods and poignant displays have held a special place in my heart ever since they were introduced into my life. And for one of my small food outings, we chose Waraku as a starting destination for future endeavors to come (also because Alvin had a staff discount of 10% at this place and i'm getting to eat for free. =P)
Agedashi Tofu ($6.80) - The tofu came after about 15-20 minutes from the time we ordered so i expected quite alot from it. The skin was crispy and hot while the sauce was cooler as was the tofu interior. Still, it doesn't quite impress me because it came alot later then necessary.
Ste.Nelge Organic Red Wine ($38) - Old habits die hard i suppose. Ordered this on a whim as i needed a quick wine fix and the fact that i've never had organic red wine before and was wondering about the difference. Well, the fact that i don't really like Sakae played a part too. This wine was easy on the taste palates with less body and minimal spices. Its sweet and very pleasant to drink with a wonderful fruity aftertaste. Perfect for red meats which we had.
Gyu Yanagawa Wazen ($16) - All i can say is, this at $16 is a steal. It comes with an reasonable serving of fresh beef slowly simmered till its cooked with a fresh egg on the side if you decide to put it into the pot. The stock used is sweet and resembled teriyaki sauce but is awesome when paired with the beef. You are also given a bowl of hot soba or udon and sesame rice to go with your beef. A small bowl of potato salad rounds off the package. The soba was decent but the beef stock is the star of this dish. Try it.
Tonkatsu Wazen ($15.50) - Pork cutlet fried to a golden brown in thin batter and bread crumbs. I liked the fact that the cutlet was not as oily as the process sounded and there were many juices still locked in the meat. There was also a lack of fatty layer in the meat which makes it easier to stomach. The udon i did not get to try however.
Kaminabe Wazen ($19.80) - Nicely arranged and served with rice, assorted tempura, salmon sashimi and a paper steamboat holding yet sweet tasting and fresh beef. The soup in this case is more towards those of tradional chinese medicinal chicken soup, only much sweeter and very tasty.
Houba Wazen ($19.80) - Similar to the set above except for the barbeque like set up for the beef and what i would describe as marinate thats tastes a little like Rendang. Still, the beef was fresh and sweet although i did not quite like the sauce.
The final bill came up to $122.77 after 10% discount for a satisfying and fun japanese meal.
Nice, cosy atmosphere and relaxed conversation plus decent and reasonably priced food with good service to boot. This is one place i will be back for seconds and maybe even thirds. However, do note that i only found my order Gyu Yanagawa Wazen very worthwhile due to the portion, price and taste. For the other set meals, some were good but would have fared better at a lower price. Either way, still coming back though.
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