If you love succulent, crispy and generously portioned indian rojak, Habib's is the place to go. With mountain hips of various choices of batter fried yummys to choose from, you will be spoilt.
The portion is big, I mean i never felt so full from eating indian rojak all my life and here they have it all. Love the bean curds, they are so fresh and well prepared. Unlike the unfresh ones, they don't have a smell and is soft on the inside. Love the prawn fritters with so many prawns sticking out. Though some may love the crispy shells, I for one likes my prawn peeled. Here you get to choose both and they also have my favourite, the bean vadai.
Whats important about indian rojak is not just the freshly fried items to choose from but also the sauce you dunk your stuffs in. The one they had is chunky with ingredient and of the right spiciness and sweetness. It is appetizing and I always require more than 2 extra servings as I am the alot on sauce kinda person.
I must admit, the food is yummy and good but its a little pricey. For 5 items I paid about $8-$9. But I guess its worth it as the portion is big. So my advise, if you usually grab a good 5 items, perhaps at Habib's you grab 4, because the portion is larger then normal...
Applause for the yummy food, fast service and loads of cucumber and onions that came as extras on the side.
A quick lunch on a rainy day when you forgot your trusty umbrella turned out to be an interesting afternoon for me listening to the juicy gossips of a coffee shop's staff. This place has always intrigued me with its crowd of strangers sharing a small space while each minding their own business.
The selection of food is pretty good for a small space such as this. You get the always delicious chicken rice, a good mix of staples like fried noodles, bee hoon, fried rice and mee goreng with lots of add ons to have. Fish cakes, jap chicken roll, seafood roll, bean curds, etc. If you would like the standard runny egg and toast, they have that too to order at the drinks counter.
I ordered some fried rice with addons of fish cake and a hash brown. This cost me $3.50 which is more expensive then the other coffee shops around, a cup of hot milo cost me $1.30, wow the whole meal is about $4.80 at the precinct of the MRT Station. Well, its not so expensive judging by the air conditioned environment with glass windows to watch people going by. The food was so so, fried rice too hard and apparently tastless, all you get is salt and cold hard rice, hash brown cold and fish cake limp.. The food seriously is not nice!
I was surprised at the speed of the collection of finished plates and trays and the tables are cleaned promptly and was even more surprised to hear one staff telling a customer to bring her bubble tea cup from next door out when she leaves and she is not supposed to drink that here. There was not a scene but I was shocked because the lady was having her lunch from here and just brought her drink with her. Well, should there be more grace? If she cannot consume her drink here, she could have lunched elsewhere. The girl left shortly without finishing her food, I mean who would not after being embarrassed like that.
Beside me sat a staff and her apparent manager in which she bad mouthed her other colleague and when the manager refuse to agree with her, she actually threatened to quit! I was pretty entertained by the happenings more than anything else. Its a good place to catch a cuppa coffee but not a good place to dine.. AND REMEMBER.. no bubble tea or any drink from anywhere else, Less you get it shove up your face.... BAD LADY STAFF!
Lunch at Wee Nam Kee on a rainy sunday afternoon is one of the best choices we had made so far. Judging by the fact that the whole food court is packed to the brim with long queues at almost every stall, here at Wee Nam Kee, you could even sit at the nostalgia stone chairs and tables while waiting for the friendly staff to prepare your space for you.
Our Crowd of 11 fitted nicely on a large round table they had prepared for us. The restaurant is also pretty packed yet theres still ample space for staff to move around. Noisy like any typical chinese restaurant with orders hurled at each other at the top of their lungs and servers with large plates of yummy food swiveling around. I like the atmosphere as it goes well with the deco and the smell of cooked food. This is the kind of places I grow up with and I comfortable the way it is.... resembling an old chinese restaurant.
Food selection was good though they are famous for their chicken and chicken's spares, they do serve other zi char kinda food like fried omelate, squid, seafood, double boiled soup and much more. We ordered chicken both the normal white (steamed) and Roasted. I love the roasted chicken the best, the skin slightly crispy and meat tender yet not too oily. It goes well with the flavourful chicken rice and I must also mention the chicken soup that comes free was fantastically nice. So we actually need not order any other soup, the free flow soup was enough for us.
The other stuffs like the omelette was yummy, fluffy and has a generous amount of prawn that goes with it. I must say, the kids love this the best and the sambal squid was yummy. We also ordered a spicy kangkong with cutterfish which was of a good portion and tasty.
The overall experience was good with the food priced reasonably well. Portion is good except we would need more rice as the dishes were yummy. The chicken is exceptionally nice, one of the best i've tasted and service well typically chinese, rowdy and unorderly yet it is acceptable because its resembles the old chinese restaurant.
Restaurant week was upon us again and we finally had the opportunity to try out Salt Grill & Sky Bar for lunch during the weekend. Having stayed at Hilton Sydney and dined at Luke Mangan's Glass Brasserie slightly over a year back, we were excited as to how his restaurant would fare in Singapore.
Perched on the 55th floor of the iconic Ion shopping mall along Orchard Road, Salt offers a panoramic view of the surrounding area through floor to ceiling windows that culminate in an arced top that allows natural sunlight to flow in, which makes the place a lot cheerier. I personally like the expanse of space that the restaurant offers, just perfect for that lazy weekend brunch.
Complimentary Bread - The complimentary raisin bread wasn't anything to shout about but it was decent - warm and crusty with a lingering aroma.
Truffle Fries - This was an additional side and boy oh boy, was it sinfully delicious. Hot crispy fries topped with a generous serving of grated Parmesan cheese and doused with truffle oil. What's not to like?
Crab Omelette, Enoki Mushroom and Herb Salad, Miso Mustard Broth - The omelette was stuffed with shreds of crab meat and topped with enoki, fried shallots and parsley whilst sitting prettily in a pool of miso mustard broth. What was nice about this dish was the oriental feel from the shallots and parsley coupled with the salty tinge from the miso broth and of course the creaminess of the omelette.
Pan Fried Gnocchi, Corn, Asparagus, Zucchini, Parmesan, Thyme, Truffle, Verjuice Dressing - This is honestly the first time I'm trying out a seemingly vegetarian gnocchi dish and it was surprisingly tasty. The corn provided a natural sweetness whilst the shaved Parmesan topped it off with a nice cheesy aftertaste and fragrance. Overall a rather light dish and only gripe I had was that the gnocchi did come across as a tad too soft for my liking.
Grass Fed Beef Tenderloin, Mash, Pumpkin, Grains and Seeds, Red Wine Jus - Contrary to what I had requested for, the beef came almost well done instead of medium well. However the meat was still relatively juicy and tender but lacked the beefy goodness that I personally like. Grains and seeds added a nice crunchy texture to the dish with the pumpkin puree providing a touch of sweetness.
Warm Hazelnut Cake, Hazelnut Biscotti, Praline Ice Cream - And finally, the finale - an excellent warm hazelnut cake that looked uncannily like Bengawan Solo's banana cake, just alot crustier and drier with hints of hazelnut. When paired with the toffee sauce, biscuit crumbs and of course a scoop of ice cream, it was comfortingly good and ended the meal on a relatively positive note.
It being Restaurant Week, prices are $40 /pax for lunch with the truffle fries contributing $13 to the bill for a total of almost $110 for 2 pax. Pretty reasonable in my humble opinion but at this price point, I still prefer Ember's food. However Salt has the distinct advantage of ambience and a great view to boot. I will probably return for lunch in the not so near future.
Looking for a nice spot to dine and chit-chat is not easy in this huge spanking new shopping mall. As we are hot on some gossips, we decided to have our dinner at LENAS because of its discreet looking cushy seats especially with privacy corners that looked like confession booths.
The staffs were a happy teenage bunch, full of energy and extremely jolly, well we kinda felt young too. Meanwhile, the menu was served and there were loads to choose from. You have pasta, pizza, sandwiches, rice, hot pots and all sorts of other mains to choose from. On top of the various courses, you also do have a good selection of colourful desserts.
We were actually planning on a light dinner to make sure we fit into the skimpy crowd on Zouk Out 2013 but we couldn't deny the licentious temptations of the sexy desserts and mouth watering mains.
We ended up with a smoked salmon all day pancake which is savoury and smoked salmon fresh yet blended extremely well with the pancakes, syrup, eggs and butter...
We also had a oriental spicy chicken with rice. The chicken was okay and the sauce slightly spicy yet the rice is a nice soft sticky and chewy mess. Really yummy flavored rice.
We needed a sweet finish and we ordered an apple caramel ice cream as well as a Crème brûlée with a scoop of chocolate fudge. The only thing that is not quite pleasant is that we had to pay $0.20 for a glass to ice water. I mean its only water, why do you have to charge for that? I completely don't comprehend the logic. I always feel that these little charges are illustrated as a scrimpling mouse. Restaurant owners... can't you just cost the free ice water into your courses? Charging for ice water just makes you look CHEAP!!!
The price is affordable yet the portion could be larger and menu a good selection, however charging for ice water is a big NO NO....
It can be quite frustrating when you see long queues in front of every food outlet on weekends. It also proves that most people are willing to pamper themselves with their families for a good weekend meal.
We were looking for a decent dinner and have passed by this outlet as their staff ( dressed in olden times uniform ) were busy trying to entice customers to try their new soup of the day which was currently under promotion.
The deco was nicely done to be rustic with wooden stools and tables. But unfortunately, the small hard stools were not comfortable at all because we could not rest our backs after a long day of shopping.
From our table, we could see the famous herbal roast ducks which were hung in the display kitchen. As the place was dimly decorated with lanterns like ancient Chinese inn, we just glanced pictures on the menu and ordered the following :
Roast Duck with Angelica Herbs - The meat was soft and succulent with a mild herbal taste. The skin was crispy with some fats in between the meat. We scooped some sauce to go with the rice and surprisingly, it was the sweetness of the herbs that we enjoyed.
Marmite Superior Chicken Wings - When the dish was presented to us, the meat look dried and hard. But one bite and we realised that the meat could be easily removed. Again, the meat was well marinated but we could not taste any marmite as stated in the menu. It was more like roasted wings in honey.
Dong Po Pork - Better known as braised belly-pork. This was indeed a remarkable dish as friends commented that the top layer of thick fats just melt in their mouths. The second layer of soften meat was also tender. This dish must have been carefully braised to give that melt-in-the-mouth experience.
Imperial Treasures In Yam Basket - Sophiscated name but in simple term, it was just stir fried mixed vegetables in a yam basket. The generous portion of cashew nuts and diced vegetables were rather crunchy and refreshing. The yam basket was deep fried but not oily at all. The chef must have controlled the fire well enough to allow the external to be crispy but still maintain the internal moisture of the yam mixture.
On our monthly gathering of the '38' aunties, we have decided a good buffet could soothe out all the exam fevers. For every stress there will be a dish to compensate the pain we were being put under. The deal is good. $33 per pax for buffet dinner at the chic location.
The restaurant is not difficult to find and the entrance to the hotel is right opposite the pick-up point of Paragon. Carpeted lushly with plush decorations of couches for the small bar area, the restaurant spanning about 1500 Sq Ft is fitted with a open concept kitchen directly located next to the buffet table and dining area of about 200 pax with huge glassed windows for the astounding view of night-time orchard road.
Its a mixture of ala cart buffet and self serve. The first booth i attacked would surely be the salad bar. It has a good array of various salad and their dressing, my favourite, the balsamic vinaigrette. Along with the veg, you can find sushi, smoked salmon, octopus salad and many more yummy stuffs to start of the delightful dinner.
Right next to it, you could custom order a pizza, handmade and baked on the spot. There were 4 flavors to choose from yet the highly recommended one which is a teriyaki pork one is too sweet for our liking. Down the road, you could find Dim Sum also, pick what you like and they will warm it up for you. The dumplings made with fresh crunchy prawns that are so tastily made. Not forgetting the laksa, mee siam and mee rubus, noodle section. The laksa is extremely delicious, not too spicy yet flavourful and yummy.
You could also order a combination plate of pork belly, char siew, duck meat and chicken. The pork belly is extremely yummy, soft yet extremely crispy on the skin. I must say the pork belly is super yummy. The charsiew was the most disappointing, its cold, hard and not flavorful. You could also order some claypot dishes. We had braised beef, tendons and also claypot rice with preserved sausages that was yummy.
The dessert counter was a pretty delight with a good choice of chocolate fudge cakes, strawberry cake, tiramisu, chocolate mousse, tarts and cut fruits of various types to choose from. Not forgetting Ice-cream and premium coffee to wash it all down.
Love the service, always friendly, quick and smiling the staff clears our plates so quickly and I kinda was impressed by this one thing. Thats if we didn't like something because its not yummy like the Char Siew, the staff asked us if we still wanted it and cleared it voluntarily without giving us a guilt treat over wasting. This is precious and extremely professional. I guess being educated with many buffet experiences we are more than willing to finish up all we have taken except if the food was un downable.
Great place to have dinner, excellent service and very good food. Reasonable price too
It is with much trepidation that I have decided to blog about my favourite eatery in town - Imperial Treasure Windows of Hong Kong or ITWHK for short. But it's probably already an open secret, judging by the ever increasing crowd size everytime I drop by for dinner. I'm still delusional though and am crossing my fingers that the crowds don't continue growing.
Nestled on the ground floor of TripleOneSomerset (former PUB building) in between the Imperail Treasure Bakery and the Imperial Treasure Steamboat Restaurant (which isn't that great in my humble opinion), ITWHK offers an open, rather expansive seating area that doesn't feel cluttered or claustrophobic. Think al fresco dining with air conditioning. Really great for a nice quiet dinner on a weekday night (parking is expensive though so watch it). How the place works is this. You order at the counter, take a number tag to your choice of seat and your food will be delivered to you shortly.
奶油猪仔包 - We started off with the 奶油猪仔包, loosely translated as "cream piglet bun" and a perennial favourite of mine whenever I visit Tsui Wah in Hong Kong or Shanghai. This is essentially a toasted bun lathered with butter and condensed milk - sinfully crisp and delicious. Though ITWHK's rendition pales a little in comparison to that of Tsui Wah's, it is definitely worth a try, especially when consumed whilst hot!
Meat Platter - Our meat platter consisted of roast duck, roast pork and BBQ pork. To be honest, they were all very decent. In particular, the BBQ pork stood out - tender meat with bits of chewy fat and a nice, mildly sweet glace. The roast duck had a crisp skin and didn't come across as too gamy whilst the roast pork spotted mildly crackling skin with a good proportion of fats. Only gripe I had was that the duck was a little dry while the roast pork lacked adequate salt and the oomph factor.
滑蛋蝦仁河粉 - I can be quite a sucker for 河粉 so I'm probably biased on this. Rice noodles with a tinge of wok hei drowned in a smooth, not too starchy egg gravy and topped with a generous amount of bean sprouts and reasonably sized, crunchy prawns. Good! There is a slight issue of consistency though as on a subsequent visit, the gravy was a wee bit too starchy for my liking.
Above average food, great environment (to have a peaceful dinner) at wallet friendly prices. What's not to like? Well, maybe the sad reality that the place is going to be more crowded in the near future.
Situated on the nostalgia lane of a peaceful part of geylang leading towards the Aljunied MRT Station, amidst the aroma of Otah Otah and Steamed Dim Sum a most interesting restaurant humbly sits in the silent, serving its vegetarian customers meatless cuisines that is both healthy and refreshing.
Yes Natural Restaurant is one place that charms me with simplicity and serenity. Clean tinted glass door with down to earth interior deco. Simple menu with a whole page dedicated to brown rice dishes and descriptions so vivid, I could totally imagine how the dish could turn out. Yes, I had lunch here and I am sure I will come back for more.
We took not too long to decide what we would have as we were unfamiliar with vegetarian food yet the staff was friendly enough to give us a good introduction of what was yummy, as such we went forward to order and we were served pretty quickly.
We ordered a noodles with almond sauce which is quite a delight as it was pretty tasty and the sauce went well with the well cooked noodles and crunchy Dou Miao.
The korean stone wok brown rice with mushroom, chye sim and pumpkin was not so well done as the rice got a little over done with the hot stone pot, pumpkin not soft enough and dish not tasty enough, though we stirred it once it came to spread the heat evenly. Otherwise I think it could be pretty interesting.
The monkey head mushroom braised with cashew nuts were interesting. It kinda have the texture of Kung Pao Chicken Diced in dried chilli and this interesting mushroom had such a meaty texture, for a while i thought i was having chicken. The dish is well executed and taste strong which went well with the brown rice.
The advocado shake was just advocado with ice and shaked... like it says, i was half expecting milk shake kinda taste but it was not and the portion for this drink is a little small.
Service was prompt and it seemed to me that the staffs were all fair looking with almost flawless skin and that made me wonder.... If I should turn vegetarian... Seriously... that could save alot of SKII, Facials, Diamond Peels, Botok and beauty can truly come from within.
The meal for 2 set us back for about $39 in all, though the seats were not so comfy but the air inside the restaurant was clean and not greasy, pretty comfortable for some serene catchup with friends. Plenty of space but I realised we were all made to seat at one side.... Its a great experience I must agree, Will return with friends for a anti-meat date.
We have a sudden craving for bak kut teh and were driving aimlessly until we saw two groups of workers happily eating at an open space area. When we slowed down, we saw the signboard and one of my colleagues mentioned that this was the original stall at Block 2 coffee shop in front of Eunos mrt. We cannot verify whether this outlet originated from Eunos but decide to give a try since we are here.
We understand that there are different styles being cooked locally but mainly Teochew style ( which is clear and peppery broth ), Klang style ( herbal broth ) Claypot style ( more gravy instead of broth ) and Hokkien style ( broth is more dark brown and slightly spiced ). Although each style has its own taste, the end result is still the same.
When the staff brought the bowls of spare ribs soup, we were trying to taste which style it was from but in the end, we nodded and agreed that which ever style, the robust soup was superb. Clear but not so peppery with a slight herbal taste was what we have concluded.
The pork ribs were cooked just right with the meat so tender that you can easily removed it from the bone. The broth was full of meat flavour that we have requested for refilling more than 3 times.
The braised pork trotter was another well marinated dish. Although slightly fatty, the meat was also tender and the yummy gravy was given the thumbs up. It was because of this thick black gravy that we have ordered another around of rice.
We also ordered the usual side dishes like salted vegetables, braised bean curds and peanuts to go with the extra rice.
We conclude that we will come back again for the sweetness of the broth and the gravy of braised trotters.
1=SGD 0.0587
If you love succulent, crispy and generously portioned indian rojak, Habib's is the place to go. With mountain hips of various choices of batter fried yummys to choose from, you will be spoilt.
The portion is big, I mean i never felt so full from eating indian rojak all my life and here they have it all. Love the bean curds, they are so fresh and well prepared. Unlike the unfresh ones, they don't have a smell and is soft on the inside. Love the prawn fritters with so many prawns sticking out. Though some may love the crispy shells, I for one likes my prawn peeled. Here you get to choose both and they also have my favourite, the bean vadai.
Whats important about indian rojak is not just the freshly fried items to choose from but also the sauce you dunk your stuffs in. The one they had is chunky with ingredient and of the right spiciness and sweetness. It is appetizing and I always require more than 2 extra servings as I am the alot on sauce kinda person.
I must admit, the food is yummy and good but its a little pricey. For 5 items I paid about $8-$9. But I guess its worth it as the portion is big. So my advise, if you usually grab a good 5 items, perhaps at Habib's you grab 4, because the portion is larger then normal...
Applause for the yummy food, fast service and loads of cucumber and onions that came as extras on the side.
Rating given:
A quick lunch on a rainy day when you forgot your trusty umbrella turned out to be an interesting afternoon for me listening to the juicy gossips of a coffee shop's staff. This place has always intrigued me with its crowd of strangers sharing a small space while each minding their own business.
The selection of food is pretty good for a small space such as this. You get the always delicious chicken rice, a good mix of staples like fried noodles, bee hoon, fried rice and mee goreng with lots of add ons to have. Fish cakes, jap chicken roll, seafood roll, bean curds, etc. If you would like the standard runny egg and toast, they have that too to order at the drinks counter.
I ordered some fried rice with addons of fish cake and a hash brown. This cost me $3.50 which is more expensive then the other coffee shops around, a cup of hot milo cost me $1.30, wow the whole meal is about $4.80 at the precinct of the MRT Station. Well, its not so expensive judging by the air conditioned environment with glass windows to watch people going by. The food was so so, fried rice too hard and apparently tastless, all you get is salt and cold hard rice, hash brown cold and fish cake limp.. The food seriously is not nice!
I was surprised at the speed of the collection of finished plates and trays and the tables are cleaned promptly and was even more surprised to hear one staff telling a customer to bring her bubble tea cup from next door out when she leaves and she is not supposed to drink that here. There was not a scene but I was shocked because the lady was having her lunch from here and just brought her drink with her. Well, should there be more grace? If she cannot consume her drink here, she could have lunched elsewhere. The girl left shortly without finishing her food, I mean who would not after being embarrassed like that.
Beside me sat a staff and her apparent manager in which she bad mouthed her other colleague and when the manager refuse to agree with her, she actually threatened to quit! I was pretty entertained by the happenings more than anything else. Its a good place to catch a cuppa coffee but not a good place to dine.. AND REMEMBER.. no bubble tea or any drink from anywhere else, Less you get it shove up your face.... BAD LADY STAFF!
Rating given:
Lunch at Wee Nam Kee on a rainy sunday afternoon is one of the best choices we had made so far. Judging by the fact that the whole food court is packed to the brim with long queues at almost every stall, here at Wee Nam Kee, you could even sit at the nostalgia stone chairs and tables while waiting for the friendly staff to prepare your space for you.
Our Crowd of 11 fitted nicely on a large round table they had prepared for us. The restaurant is also pretty packed yet theres still ample space for staff to move around. Noisy like any typical chinese restaurant with orders hurled at each other at the top of their lungs and servers with large plates of yummy food swiveling around. I like the atmosphere as it goes well with the deco and the smell of cooked food. This is the kind of places I grow up with and I comfortable the way it is.... resembling an old chinese restaurant.
Food selection was good though they are famous for their chicken and chicken's spares, they do serve other zi char kinda food like fried omelate, squid, seafood, double boiled soup and much more. We ordered chicken both the normal white (steamed) and Roasted. I love the roasted chicken the best, the skin slightly crispy and meat tender yet not too oily. It goes well with the flavourful chicken rice and I must also mention the chicken soup that comes free was fantastically nice. So we actually need not order any other soup, the free flow soup was enough for us.
The other stuffs like the omelette was yummy, fluffy and has a generous amount of prawn that goes with it. I must say, the kids love this the best and the sambal squid was yummy. We also ordered a spicy kangkong with cutterfish which was of a good portion and tasty.
The overall experience was good with the food priced reasonably well. Portion is good except we would need more rice as the dishes were yummy. The chicken is exceptionally nice, one of the best i've tasted and service well typically chinese, rowdy and unorderly yet it is acceptable because its resembles the old chinese restaurant.
Rating given:
Restaurant week was upon us again and we finally had the opportunity to try out Salt Grill & Sky Bar for lunch during the weekend. Having stayed at Hilton Sydney and dined at Luke Mangan's Glass Brasserie slightly over a year back, we were excited as to how his restaurant would fare in Singapore.
Perched on the 55th floor of the iconic Ion shopping mall along Orchard Road, Salt offers a panoramic view of the surrounding area through floor to ceiling windows that culminate in an arced top that allows natural sunlight to flow in, which makes the place a lot cheerier. I personally like the expanse of space that the restaurant offers, just perfect for that lazy weekend brunch.
Complimentary Bread - The complimentary raisin bread wasn't anything to shout about but it was decent - warm and crusty with a lingering aroma.
Truffle Fries - This was an additional side and boy oh boy, was it sinfully delicious. Hot crispy fries topped with a generous serving of grated Parmesan cheese and doused with truffle oil. What's not to like?
Crab Omelette, Enoki Mushroom and Herb Salad, Miso Mustard Broth - The omelette was stuffed with shreds of crab meat and topped with enoki, fried shallots and parsley whilst sitting prettily in a pool of miso mustard broth. What was nice about this dish was the oriental feel from the shallots and parsley coupled with the salty tinge from the miso broth and of course the creaminess of the omelette.
Pan Fried Gnocchi, Corn, Asparagus, Zucchini, Parmesan, Thyme, Truffle, Verjuice Dressing - This is honestly the first time I'm trying out a seemingly vegetarian gnocchi dish and it was surprisingly tasty. The corn provided a natural sweetness whilst the shaved Parmesan topped it off with a nice cheesy aftertaste and fragrance. Overall a rather light dish and only gripe I had was that the gnocchi did come across as a tad too soft for my liking.
Grass Fed Beef Tenderloin, Mash, Pumpkin, Grains and Seeds, Red Wine Jus - Contrary to what I had requested for, the beef came almost well done instead of medium well. However the meat was still relatively juicy and tender but lacked the beefy goodness that I personally like. Grains and seeds added a nice crunchy texture to the dish with the pumpkin puree providing a touch of sweetness.
Warm Hazelnut Cake, Hazelnut Biscotti, Praline Ice Cream - And finally, the finale - an excellent warm hazelnut cake that looked uncannily like Bengawan Solo's banana cake, just alot crustier and drier with hints of hazelnut. When paired with the toffee sauce, biscuit crumbs and of course a scoop of ice cream, it was comfortingly good and ended the meal on a relatively positive note.
It being Restaurant Week, prices are $40 /pax for lunch with the truffle fries contributing $13 to the bill for a total of almost $110 for 2 pax. Pretty reasonable in my humble opinion but at this price point, I still prefer Ember's food. However Salt has the distinct advantage of ambience and a great view to boot. I will probably return for lunch in the not so near future.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Looking for a nice spot to dine and chit-chat is not easy in this huge spanking new shopping mall. As we are hot on some gossips, we decided to have our dinner at LENAS because of its discreet looking cushy seats especially with privacy corners that looked like confession booths.
The staffs were a happy teenage bunch, full of energy and extremely jolly, well we kinda felt young too. Meanwhile, the menu was served and there were loads to choose from. You have pasta, pizza, sandwiches, rice, hot pots and all sorts of other mains to choose from. On top of the various courses, you also do have a good selection of colourful desserts.
We were actually planning on a light dinner to make sure we fit into the skimpy crowd on Zouk Out 2013 but we couldn't deny the licentious temptations of the sexy desserts and mouth watering mains.
We ended up with a smoked salmon all day pancake which is savoury and smoked salmon fresh yet blended extremely well with the pancakes, syrup, eggs and butter...
We also had a oriental spicy chicken with rice. The chicken was okay and the sauce slightly spicy yet the rice is a nice soft sticky and chewy mess. Really yummy flavored rice.
We needed a sweet finish and we ordered an apple caramel ice cream as well as a Crème brûlée with a scoop of chocolate fudge. The only thing that is not quite pleasant is that we had to pay $0.20 for a glass to ice water. I mean its only water, why do you have to charge for that? I completely don't comprehend the logic. I always feel that these little charges are illustrated as a scrimpling mouse. Restaurant owners... can't you just cost the free ice water into your courses? Charging for ice water just makes you look CHEAP!!!
The price is affordable yet the portion could be larger and menu a good selection, however charging for ice water is a big NO NO....
Rating given:
It can be quite frustrating when you see long queues in front of every food outlet on weekends. It also proves that most people are willing to pamper themselves with their families for a good weekend meal.
We were looking for a decent dinner and have passed by this outlet as their staff ( dressed in olden times uniform ) were busy trying to entice customers to try their new soup of the day which was currently under promotion.
The deco was nicely done to be rustic with wooden stools and tables. But unfortunately, the small hard stools were not comfortable at all because we could not rest our backs after a long day of shopping.
From our table, we could see the famous herbal roast ducks which were hung in the display kitchen. As the place was dimly decorated with lanterns like ancient Chinese inn, we just glanced pictures on the menu and ordered the following :
Roast Duck with Angelica Herbs - The meat was soft and succulent with a mild herbal taste. The skin was crispy with some fats in between the meat. We scooped some sauce to go with the rice and surprisingly, it was the sweetness of the herbs that we enjoyed.
Marmite Superior Chicken Wings - When the dish was presented to us, the meat look dried and hard. But one bite and we realised that the meat could be easily removed. Again, the meat was well marinated but we could not taste any marmite as stated in the menu. It was more like roasted wings in honey.
Dong Po Pork - Better known as braised belly-pork. This was indeed a remarkable dish as friends commented that the top layer of thick fats just melt in their mouths. The second layer of soften meat was also tender. This dish must have been carefully braised to give that melt-in-the-mouth experience.
Imperial Treasures In Yam Basket - Sophiscated name but in simple term, it was just stir fried mixed vegetables in a yam basket. The generous portion of cashew nuts and diced vegetables were rather crunchy and refreshing. The yam basket was deep fried but not oily at all. The chef must have controlled the fire well enough to allow the external to be crispy but still maintain the internal moisture of the yam mixture.
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On our monthly gathering of the '38' aunties, we have decided a good buffet could soothe out all the exam fevers. For every stress there will be a dish to compensate the pain we were being put under. The deal is good. $33 per pax for buffet dinner at the chic location.
The restaurant is not difficult to find and the entrance to the hotel is right opposite the pick-up point of Paragon. Carpeted lushly with plush decorations of couches for the small bar area, the restaurant spanning about 1500 Sq Ft is fitted with a open concept kitchen directly located next to the buffet table and dining area of about 200 pax with huge glassed windows for the astounding view of night-time orchard road.
Its a mixture of ala cart buffet and self serve. The first booth i attacked would surely be the salad bar. It has a good array of various salad and their dressing, my favourite, the balsamic vinaigrette. Along with the veg, you can find sushi, smoked salmon, octopus salad and many more yummy stuffs to start of the delightful dinner.
Right next to it, you could custom order a pizza, handmade and baked on the spot. There were 4 flavors to choose from yet the highly recommended one which is a teriyaki pork one is too sweet for our liking. Down the road, you could find Dim Sum also, pick what you like and they will warm it up for you. The dumplings made with fresh crunchy prawns that are so tastily made. Not forgetting the laksa, mee siam and mee rubus, noodle section. The laksa is extremely delicious, not too spicy yet flavourful and yummy.
You could also order a combination plate of pork belly, char siew, duck meat and chicken. The pork belly is extremely yummy, soft yet extremely crispy on the skin. I must say the pork belly is super yummy. The charsiew was the most disappointing, its cold, hard and not flavorful. You could also order some claypot dishes. We had braised beef, tendons and also claypot rice with preserved sausages that was yummy.
The dessert counter was a pretty delight with a good choice of chocolate fudge cakes, strawberry cake, tiramisu, chocolate mousse, tarts and cut fruits of various types to choose from. Not forgetting Ice-cream and premium coffee to wash it all down.
Love the service, always friendly, quick and smiling the staff clears our plates so quickly and I kinda was impressed by this one thing. Thats if we didn't like something because its not yummy like the Char Siew, the staff asked us if we still wanted it and cleared it voluntarily without giving us a guilt treat over wasting. This is precious and extremely professional. I guess being educated with many buffet experiences we are more than willing to finish up all we have taken except if the food was un downable.
Great place to have dinner, excellent service and very good food. Reasonable price too
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It is with much trepidation that I have decided to blog about my favourite eatery in town - Imperial Treasure Windows of Hong Kong or ITWHK for short. But it's probably already an open secret, judging by the ever increasing crowd size everytime I drop by for dinner. I'm still delusional though and am crossing my fingers that the crowds don't continue growing.
Nestled on the ground floor of TripleOneSomerset (former PUB building) in between the Imperail Treasure Bakery and the Imperial Treasure Steamboat Restaurant (which isn't that great in my humble opinion), ITWHK offers an open, rather expansive seating area that doesn't feel cluttered or claustrophobic. Think al fresco dining with air conditioning. Really great for a nice quiet dinner on a weekday night (parking is expensive though so watch it). How the place works is this. You order at the counter, take a number tag to your choice of seat and your food will be delivered to you shortly.
奶油猪仔包 - We started off with the 奶油猪仔包, loosely translated as "cream piglet bun" and a perennial favourite of mine whenever I visit Tsui Wah in Hong Kong or Shanghai. This is essentially a toasted bun lathered with butter and condensed milk - sinfully crisp and delicious. Though ITWHK's rendition pales a little in comparison to that of Tsui Wah's, it is definitely worth a try, especially when consumed whilst hot!
Meat Platter - Our meat platter consisted of roast duck, roast pork and BBQ pork. To be honest, they were all very decent. In particular, the BBQ pork stood out - tender meat with bits of chewy fat and a nice, mildly sweet glace. The roast duck had a crisp skin and didn't come across as too gamy whilst the roast pork spotted mildly crackling skin with a good proportion of fats. Only gripe I had was that the duck was a little dry while the roast pork lacked adequate salt and the oomph factor.
滑蛋蝦仁河粉 - I can be quite a sucker for 河粉 so I'm probably biased on this. Rice noodles with a tinge of wok hei drowned in a smooth, not too starchy egg gravy and topped with a generous amount of bean sprouts and reasonably sized, crunchy prawns. Good! There is a slight issue of consistency though as on a subsequent visit, the gravy was a wee bit too starchy for my liking.
Above average food, great environment (to have a peaceful dinner) at wallet friendly prices. What's not to like? Well, maybe the sad reality that the place is going to be more crowded in the near future.
See all my pictures here.
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Situated on the nostalgia lane of a peaceful part of geylang leading towards the Aljunied MRT Station, amidst the aroma of Otah Otah and Steamed Dim Sum a most interesting restaurant humbly sits in the silent, serving its vegetarian customers meatless cuisines that is both healthy and refreshing.
Yes Natural Restaurant is one place that charms me with simplicity and serenity. Clean tinted glass door with down to earth interior deco. Simple menu with a whole page dedicated to brown rice dishes and descriptions so vivid, I could totally imagine how the dish could turn out. Yes, I had lunch here and I am sure I will come back for more.
We took not too long to decide what we would have as we were unfamiliar with vegetarian food yet the staff was friendly enough to give us a good introduction of what was yummy, as such we went forward to order and we were served pretty quickly.
We ordered a noodles with almond sauce which is quite a delight as it was pretty tasty and the sauce went well with the well cooked noodles and crunchy Dou Miao.
The korean stone wok brown rice with mushroom, chye sim and pumpkin was not so well done as the rice got a little over done with the hot stone pot, pumpkin not soft enough and dish not tasty enough, though we stirred it once it came to spread the heat evenly. Otherwise I think it could be pretty interesting.
The monkey head mushroom braised with cashew nuts were interesting. It kinda have the texture of Kung Pao Chicken Diced in dried chilli and this interesting mushroom had such a meaty texture, for a while i thought i was having chicken. The dish is well executed and taste strong which went well with the brown rice.
The advocado shake was just advocado with ice and shaked... like it says, i was half expecting milk shake kinda taste but it was not and the portion for this drink is a little small.
Service was prompt and it seemed to me that the staffs were all fair looking with almost flawless skin and that made me wonder.... If I should turn vegetarian... Seriously... that could save alot of SKII, Facials, Diamond Peels, Botok and beauty can truly come from within.
The meal for 2 set us back for about $39 in all, though the seats were not so comfy but the air inside the restaurant was clean and not greasy, pretty comfortable for some serene catchup with friends. Plenty of space but I realised we were all made to seat at one side.... Its a great experience I must agree, Will return with friends for a anti-meat date.
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We have a sudden craving for bak kut teh and were driving aimlessly until we saw two groups of workers happily eating at an open space area. When we slowed down, we saw the signboard and one of my colleagues mentioned that this was the original stall at Block 2 coffee shop in front of Eunos mrt. We cannot verify whether this outlet originated from Eunos but decide to give a try since we are here.
We understand that there are different styles being cooked locally but mainly Teochew style ( which is clear and peppery broth ), Klang style ( herbal broth ) Claypot style ( more gravy instead of broth ) and Hokkien style ( broth is more dark brown and slightly spiced ). Although each style has its own taste, the end result is still the same.
When the staff brought the bowls of spare ribs soup, we were trying to taste which style it was from but in the end, we nodded and agreed that which ever style, the robust soup was superb. Clear but not so peppery with a slight herbal taste was what we have concluded.
The pork ribs were cooked just right with the meat so tender that you can easily removed it from the bone. The broth was full of meat flavour that we have requested for refilling more than 3 times.
The braised pork trotter was another well marinated dish. Although slightly fatty, the meat was also tender and the yummy gravy was given the thumbs up. It was because of this thick black gravy that we have ordered another around of rice.
We also ordered the usual side dishes like salted vegetables, braised bean curds and peanuts to go with the extra rice.
We conclude that we will come back again for the sweetness of the broth and the gravy of braised trotters.
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