Well of course that can't be my review, so let me elaborate more.
Firstly, I would say they have excellent service! They have 2 really friendly salesperson, especially one very outspoken lady, Margaret. She may not be the person with the best fashion sense, but she's good enough to suggest what are more suitable clothes for yourself. She is a salesperson after all, and so of course she has to push her products. But I like the way she does it, in a manner that's not too much that scares people away.
Secondly, this place has really uniquely designed clothes (and for women of all age groups!). I did hear that all these were self-designed. Local products I guess. But it's nothing inferior at all. Wonderfully designed, with tops, bottoms and skirts. For people who look for exquisite sequences, they have it. Wear sequences in a fashionable way! They've got skirts too, with or without sequences. Unique designs, not something I'd say is very common. They've got pants too. What I really like about these pants are that they are (ok, really easy to wear. No zips nothing. Just wear it!) made of really soft material that suits people with different body shape. Big hips small butt whatever it is, you will suit this pants for sure. The cottony feel is soft on your skin and falls down nicely. It's pretty heavy material, but that is why it covers little "flaws" in your body (women will understand this.. ;) )!
Thirdly, the price! I'd say it's not too expensive, with almost everything ranging from 20 to 60, but most of their items are in the 30 range. A good buy I'd say.
For people looking for a different trend, a diversion away from that princess-like dresses or long-tops with leggings etc, this place would be good. It could be said to be like wearing traditional clothes in a fashionable way. I love it!
It's a long weekend... It's a good time to meet up with friends... On saturday, I met my friends! We had buffet at Marriott....
Personally... Comparing Marriott and Riz... I prefer the buffet at Riz....
Price Riz buffet = $65 (after all the service charge and GST with 15% discount)
Marriott = $57 ( after all the service charge and GST with 15% discount)
Music/Noise At Marriott, there is so much people talking... By the way, Marriott is almost full house... I hate the crowd...
Whereas at Riz, there's a live band which played Cannon in D (upon our request)!
Ambience It's obvious right? Riz is so romantic... Whereas Marriott is more like a coffeeshop... =X
Food I prefer the food esp the dessert at Riz.. The dessert table of Marriott is also good... However there were too many people and the food is juz so- so.... I still prefer Riz
Company At both place, the company was the same! Hence, it's a tie... Ha~ha~
In the past one year, I have been to this restaurant for about 6-7 times. I must say that the food there was tasty and the variety aplenty. On all my visits there, I went for the ala carte dinner buffet. In total, there are more than 40 different dishes to choose from. These include fresh sashimi ( Hamachi, Salmon, Octopus and Tuna), Tempura, Ramen, Nigiri Sushi, Teppanyaki and many more. You can visit the website to take a look at the various dishes available.
There is also a sashimi counter and if you do not mind, you can sit at the counter seats as this will ensure that you will get to eat your sashimi promptly. This is because there business there is always brisk and therefore sometimes, your food may be slightly delayed. This is sometime that I have learnt in my last visit there. But rest assured that your food will still arrive tasty and hot
What I like best is the value for money here. The pricing of the buffet is approximately $52 for two, as there is always a 1-for-1 offer for the buffet for credit cards (such as DBS and OUB). In addition, there may also be like 20% discount on the total bill for using an AMEX card if you do not have the above-mentioned credit cards. Of course, all these deals may differ from time to time and thus it would be good to check with the restaurant before making a trip down.
As such, it would be most worthwhile to go with your friends and family for a hearty meal at this restaurant and enjoy the food. You will definitely love it and will go back for more in future.
The Opera cake ($3.50) caught my attention. I walked into the café without realizing it’s a hotel lounge.
Today it’s Friday! I don’t have to work tomorrow and I don’t have to rush. I think I need time of my own… So I walked in to the café after my facial at Body Contours.
I ordered a Opera Cake ($3.50) and a cup of Cold Cappuccino ($9). The waiter informed me that they are having a tea time special…. With any hot beverages, a slice of cake free! Hence I changed my drink from cold cappuccino to hot cappuccino. The price of the drinks is the same…
The sofa seat is nice… However, if you are looking for quiet time on your own, this is not a place for you… It’s rather noisy even on a mid-afternoon…There are a lot of hotel guests… Most of them are drinking and chatting loudly…
I pluck in my earpiece and busy blogging… OhYah… There’s no wireless here…
If you ordered Beer, there will be free flow of chips… It’s rather a good place to chill out with friends…. =)
I went there twice and they never fail me… They deserve to be a 6 star hotel and I’m willing to pay the price!
First time was on a weekday dinner ($48 per pax ) with my friends… The ambience was very good… Good for couples and there is a live band! The food was delicious… Slipper Lobster was the star that night.. Most of the dish consist of Slipper Lobster…
I even asked the band to play Cannon in D live! After this wonderful experience, I decided to bring my mummy here for her 52nd birthday!
Mummy birthday falls on a Saturday… Hence I make a reservation… The theme for Saturday was International Seafood Buffet. ($65 per pax ). The food is very nice… There were lots of different types of seafood… From drunken prawns to cold prawns to crab soup (similar to shark fins soup) to flower crab to sashimi to lobster! Wonderful spread!
I missed Cannon in D live… Hence, once again I asked the band to play it… Since its mummy birthday, I also requested to play a Happy Birthday Song for mummy… You guess what?
When the band started to play the Happy Birthday Song, the waitress came out with a birthday cake for Mummy! Mummy was very surprised and elated. She said it’s a long time she has a cake and someone sang her a happy birthday song…
Every year, for mummy birthday, she will request not to buy birthday cake for her cos seriously speaking, she doesn’t like to eat cake… So normally we will go out for dinner only…
Back to the Birthday Cake, it was FOC! As mummy and I were rather full, we packed the cake home instead! Mummy really enjoyed herself… =)
Thumbs up for Riz!
Anyway… Juz for info… 15% off at Riz if you are paying by UOB credit Card!
I went there twice and I simply love this jap resturant!
The first time, I reached around 12:30 pm and I waited for 75 minutes before getting a seat. It's rather a small restuarant. There's only 12 seats in the resturant. YES! only 12 seats... and no reservation allowed...
I got smarter the second time, I reached around 1:15pm and I only waited for 10 minutes! So my advise is, either u reach before 12 pm cos they open at 12 pm.. or u reached after 1 pm but before 1:20 pm... if not after 2:30pm... but the resturant close at 3 pm...
So business hours is from 12 pm to 3 pm and 6pm to 9 pm...
No nice decor...
No nice service charge (no service charges)...
No friendly chef ( the chef is superb fierce)...
No beautiful waitress to see (only the fierce chef plus his wife who is also quite firece)
BUT
The price is cheap...
The food is nice...
There is no GST...
There is no service charge...
They charge $2 for a drink and towel (inclusive of whatever charges)
Anyway... The food...
I love the fresh sea urchin... $15 for a portion... It is so fresh and sweet... It's a MUST order for me... Their bento set for most food (soba, unagi, chicken beef) cost about $15...
Today I order a Unagi and a beef bento... plus of course the fresh sea urchin... Total bill is $49... Very worth it for such authetic japanese food... Not to mention, the serving are all very huge... Oh Yah... I love the starter too... Pork with seaweed in some special sweet sauce....
I remember visiting the now defunct Haw Par Villa when I was still a kid in primary school. At that time, Haw Par Villa had opened with much fanfare and I remember paying an exorbitant amount (in the $20 range I believe) just to gain entry. Those days are long gone and all that is left of the sprawling theme park are the forgotten statues and a recently opened Chinese restaurant called Made In China which is managed by the Singapore Explorer group, the very group that manages Pier Eleven. Now who in the right mind would open a restaurant in the middle of a deserted theme park that is not really accessible without a vehicle? Parking is a breeze because you can literally park anywhere you want along the slope that leads up to the restaurant. It all depends on how much you are willing to walk. As I stepped into the restaurant compound, everything seemed so surreal. The building and its surroundings seemed to have come out straight from some ancient martial arts flick that I used to watch. The interior of the restaurant brought me back to reality though. Sparsely furnished, this is one place that believes in spacing out its tables for the comfort of its guests and I appreciate it.
The Peking duck was both good and bad. The skin was crackling crispy and had minimal fats under it. This is probably the crispiest Peking duck skin that I've ever eaten. Such a delightful skin was only let down by the rather lacklustre skin which was thin but tasteless. The meat on the other hand, was a total letdown. A tad dry and not as tender as I had expected. There was also a discernible, albeit faint, fowl taste.
For the price ($25) , the shark's fin and fish maw soup was good. First looks, it actually reminded me of curry because of the yellowish soup base. The soup was rather intense in flavour and came across as thick and starchy while the fins and fish maw were aplenty and pretty decent. According to the waitress, the soup base is boiled for 42 hours using old chicken, old duck (literal translation) and some other stuff that are supposed to be beneficial to the body.
The Fried Golden Butter Prawns came looking rather messy and not the least bit like prawns, more like chunks of fried stuff. The batter was lightly salted and crispy with a lingering buttery aftertaste while the prawns were fresh but none too succulent. I did find this dish a little disappointing because the butter batter came across as bland, unlike the egg yolk variations I've eaten before which were decidedly more savoury. But then again, its quite decent.
Pan Grilled Miso Marinated Beef Tenderloin - Honestly, I didn't think too much of this dish. It looked like it had been drenched in oil and the black pepper taste was overwhelming, so much so that I couldn't really make out if it was beef or pork. The doneness of the beef didn't help either.
Desserts weren't fantastic but decent nevertheless. The crust of the Red Bean Paste Pancake was a little too thick for my liking and the red bean filling seemed a little runny and low on the sugar content. The Yam Paste in Coconut fared better. It's actually Orh Nee served in a coconut. The yam was very smooth, not too coagulated and mildy sweet. Only bone I had was that too much coconut milk was added and it didn't gel very well with the yam paste. The Black Glutinous Rice with Ice Cream derived its sweetness from the scoop of vanilla ice cream in its midst but was average tasting.
I'll be lying if I said that I could walk up straight after such a hearty meal because I simply couldn't, try as hard as I might. And it didn't exactly cost me a bomb either. Standing just shy of $120 for 2 pax, it's certainly not cheap but definitely a notch or two down the price scale relative to restaurants that serve up a similar quality of food.
Flutes at the Fort - a modern Australian restaurant housed within an old refurbished colonial bungalow and set against the historical backdrop of Fort Canning Park. Amidst the lush greenery and idyllic setting, one would hardly expect to find anything but birds and trees here, much less a restaurant, a swanky one at that.
Getting there can be quite a hassle as the route to the restaurant is quite complicated unless you drive and park at the complimentary valet carpark. But even then, you will have to make your way up a flight of stairs just to get there. But its all worth it. The old bungalow is beautifully restored with modern finishes yet retaining its rustic charm. Ambient lighting is practised and the windows overlook Fort Canning's lovely foliage. There is an option of sitting indoors in the cosy air conditioned area or outdoors at the veranda, with the latter being ideal for cool evenings.
The complimentary sourdough bread was quite good - served warm with the crust lightly crackling and the interior soft and fluffy. Definitely a welcome dish to temporarily stem our hunger pangs. Just don't get carried away and stuff yourself with it or else you are not going to be able to enjoy your other food (aka the ones that cost money).
Carpaccio of Hokkaido Scallops - The only thing that I found interesting about this dish was the breadstick which was served alongside. It was extremely brittle and came coated with a layer of seaweed, giving it a nice salty taste. The thinly sliced scallops, which were supposed to be the main draw, were a little too soft and tasteless for me. Not that my other friends disagreed also.
Double Baked Alaskan King Crab Soufflé - "Where's the king crab?" was my initial reaction to this dish. Clearly that was top of my list when I ordered this dish. After a few prods and scoops, the elusive king crab was still nowhere to be found. Not that this dish tasted bad anyway (It was cheesy with a slight hint of crab). In fact, it was so good that I had the urge to order another serving, but at $25 a pop, it was a no brainer really.
My main course, the Braised Kurobuta Pork Belly. Just to reiterate that Kurobuta Pork is akin to Kobe beef in the pork hierarchy, therefore making it highly prized and expensive. The Kurobuta pork belly was nothing short of excellent, with the fats literally melt in your mouth tender and the meat fibrous yet retaining a certain firmness. Did I mention anything about the skin being crackling crispy as well? The accompanying Sauteed Portobello mushrooms were juicy and soaked up the wonderful Star Aniseed Jus, making for a wonderful and flavourful side. Please be warned that this dish is definitely not for the health conscious.
The warm Pur - Caraibe Chocolate Fondant was slightly different from the usual renditions offered by other places. There was no molten chocolate in the centre to ooze out when I broke open the shell. Instead, molten chocolate was generously poured over the entire cake and allowed to cool, resulting in a gleaming black chocolate coated cake. Taste wise, I couldn't have asked for more. The cake was moist and spongy and I could detect teeny weeny pockets of chocolate within the cake that would burst forth as I bit into it.
The Fresh Peach and Vanilla Creme Brulee kinda lowered the standards a little. Granted that the pudding was smooth and not too sweet, but the layer of charred sugar atop was way too thick. Thick enough to get stuck in your teeth and irritate the hell out of you with every bite. The accompanying Chempedak and Mint ice cream was good though, mildly sweet with a tinge of the familiar chempedak flavour. Best of all, the ice cream is placed atop a base of slightly burnt Gula Melaka and coconut shavings which only serve to enhance the taste.
Excellent food, excellent ambience, excellent company. I'm a happy man (Not so happy after I got the bill amounting to almost $520 for 7 pax). I personally feel that the price isn't too steep for the quality of food you get here and especially the fantastic ambience. Service is great to boot. On a side note, thanks to all who turned up for the dinner!
What a pleasant surprise, when I discovered the good food and excellent service at Hog's Breathe Cafe yesterday. It was my birthday, so the good stuffs were definitely welcomed!
I had their Atlantic Salmon with fries and salad. The portion is huge and it's very nice! I tried their Chicken Tender too, which is just as good.
The prices are fairly reasonable for their portion. At the end of the meal we were really really full!
White SignBoard with a RED FLOWER.. Thats Missha.... I like Missha! They have cheap and nice funky nail colours in flowered bottles that retails for only $2.90. I can say i'm flower CRAZE. I have almost every colour they retail. I love to mix them and paint mine toes multi coloured...
They also carry a good range of other skin care and beauty products. Mostly korean and there are pretty value for money. They have products that are targetted for certain skin types such as combination, dry or oily. I like korean products because they are usually nicely packed and suitable for asian skin.
Their cosmetics are interesting also. They have the usual blusher which i love because the colour suits my skin tone so well and its smell NICE, Eye shadow with a good variety of colours and mix and match customisation to your individual taste. The other thing i like is the pencil liquid eyeshadow. They call them eyetips. Its so cute and easy to use.
I love the concept and the products they carry. Most importantly, the retail assistants are always cool CHICKs with almost perfect makeovers....
1=SGD 0.0587
I just have one word: EXCELLENT!
Well of course that can't be my review, so let me elaborate more.
Firstly, I would say they have excellent service! They have 2 really friendly salesperson, especially one very outspoken lady, Margaret. She may not be the person with the best fashion sense, but she's good enough to suggest what are more suitable clothes for yourself. She is a salesperson after all, and so of course she has to push her products. But I like the way she does it, in a manner that's not too much that scares people away.
Secondly, this place has really uniquely designed clothes (and for women of all age groups!). I did hear that all these were self-designed. Local products I guess. But it's nothing inferior at all. Wonderfully designed, with tops, bottoms and skirts. For people who look for exquisite sequences, they have it. Wear sequences in a fashionable way! They've got skirts too, with or without sequences. Unique designs, not something I'd say is very common. They've got pants too. What I really like about these pants are that they are (ok, really easy to wear. No zips nothing. Just wear it!) made of really soft material that suits people with different body shape. Big hips small butt whatever it is, you will suit this pants for sure. The cottony feel is soft on your skin and falls down nicely. It's pretty heavy material, but that is why it covers little "flaws" in your body (women will understand this.. ;) )!
Thirdly, the price! I'd say it's not too expensive, with almost everything ranging from 20 to 60, but most of their items are in the 30 range. A good buy I'd say.
For people looking for a different trend, a diversion away from that princess-like dresses or long-tops with leggings etc, this place would be good. It could be said to be like wearing traditional clothes in a fashionable way. I love it!
Rating given:
It's a long weekend... It's a good time to meet up with friends... On saturday, I met my friends! We had buffet at Marriott....
Personally... Comparing Marriott and Riz... I prefer the buffet at Riz....
Price
Riz buffet = $65 (after all the service charge and GST with 15% discount)
Marriott = $57 ( after all the service charge and GST with 15% discount)
Music/Noise
At Marriott, there is so much people talking... By the way, Marriott is almost full house... I hate the crowd...
Whereas at Riz, there's a live band which played Cannon in D (upon our request)!
Ambience
It's obvious right? Riz is so romantic... Whereas Marriott is more like a coffeeshop... =X
Food
I prefer the food esp the dessert at Riz.. The dessert table of Marriott is also good... However there were too many people and the food is juz so- so.... I still prefer Riz
Company
At both place, the company was the same! Hence, it's a tie... Ha~ha~
Rating given:
In the past one year, I have been to this restaurant for about 6-7 times. I must say that the food there was tasty and the variety aplenty. On all my visits there, I went for the ala carte dinner buffet. In total, there are more than 40 different dishes to choose from. These include fresh sashimi ( Hamachi, Salmon, Octopus and Tuna), Tempura, Ramen, Nigiri Sushi, Teppanyaki and many more. You can visit the website to take a look at the various dishes available.
There is also a sashimi counter and if you do not mind, you can sit at the counter seats as this will ensure that you will get to eat your sashimi promptly. This is because there business there is always brisk and therefore sometimes, your food may be slightly delayed. This is sometime that I have learnt in my last visit there. But rest assured that your food will still arrive tasty and hot
What I like best is the value for money here. The pricing of the buffet is approximately $52 for two, as there is always a 1-for-1 offer for the buffet for credit cards (such as DBS and OUB). In addition, there may also be like 20% discount on the total bill for using an AMEX card if you do not have the above-mentioned credit cards. Of course, all these deals may differ from time to time and thus it would be good to check with the restaurant before making a trip down.
As such, it would be most worthwhile to go with your friends and family for a hearty meal at this restaurant and enjoy the food. You will definitely love it and will go back for more in future.
Rating given:
The Opera cake ($3.50) caught my attention. I walked into the café without realizing it’s a hotel lounge.
Today it’s Friday! I don’t have to work tomorrow and I don’t have to rush. I think I need time of my own… So I walked in to the café after my facial at Body Contours.
I ordered a Opera Cake ($3.50) and a cup of Cold Cappuccino ($9). The waiter informed me that they are having a tea time special…. With any hot beverages, a slice of cake free! Hence I changed my drink from cold cappuccino to hot cappuccino. The price of the drinks is the same…
The sofa seat is nice… However, if you are looking for quiet time on your own, this is not a place for you… It’s rather noisy even on a mid-afternoon…There are a lot of hotel guests… Most of them are drinking and chatting loudly…
I pluck in my earpiece and busy blogging… OhYah… There’s no wireless here…
If you ordered Beer, there will be free flow of chips… It’s rather a good place to chill out with friends…. =)
Rating given:
I went there twice and they never fail me… They deserve to be a 6 star hotel and I’m willing to pay the price!
First time was on a weekday dinner ($48 per pax ) with my friends… The ambience was very good… Good for couples and there is a live band! The food was delicious… Slipper Lobster was the star that night.. Most of the dish consist of Slipper Lobster…
I even asked the band to play Cannon in D live! After this wonderful experience, I decided to bring my mummy here for her 52nd birthday!
Mummy birthday falls on a Saturday… Hence I make a reservation… The theme for Saturday was International Seafood Buffet. ($65 per pax ). The food is very nice… There were lots of different types of seafood… From drunken prawns to cold prawns to crab soup (similar to shark fins soup) to flower crab to sashimi to lobster! Wonderful spread!
I missed Cannon in D live… Hence, once again I asked the band to play it… Since its mummy birthday, I also requested to play a Happy Birthday Song for mummy… You guess what?
When the band started to play the Happy Birthday Song, the waitress came out with a birthday cake for Mummy! Mummy was very surprised and elated. She said it’s a long time she has a cake and someone sang her a happy birthday song…
Every year, for mummy birthday, she will request not to buy birthday cake for her cos seriously speaking, she doesn’t like to eat cake… So normally we will go out for dinner only…
Back to the Birthday Cake, it was FOC! As mummy and I were rather full, we packed the cake home instead! Mummy really enjoyed herself… =)
Thumbs up for Riz!
Anyway… Juz for info… 15% off at Riz if you are paying by UOB credit Card!
Rating given:
I went there twice and I simply love this jap resturant!
The first time, I reached around 12:30 pm and I waited for 75 minutes before getting a seat. It's rather a small restuarant. There's only 12 seats in the resturant. YES! only 12 seats... and no reservation allowed...
I got smarter the second time, I reached around 1:15pm and I only waited for 10 minutes! So my advise is, either u reach before 12 pm cos they open at 12 pm.. or u reached after 1 pm but before 1:20 pm... if not after 2:30pm... but the resturant close at 3 pm...
So business hours is from 12 pm to 3 pm and 6pm to 9 pm...
No nice decor...
No nice service charge (no service charges)...
No friendly chef ( the chef is superb fierce)...
No beautiful waitress to see (only the fierce chef plus his wife who is also quite firece)
BUT
The price is cheap...
The food is nice...
There is no GST...
There is no service charge...
They charge $2 for a drink and towel (inclusive of whatever charges)
Anyway... The food...
I love the fresh sea urchin... $15 for a portion... It is so fresh and sweet... It's a MUST order for me... Their bento set for most food (soba, unagi, chicken beef) cost about $15...
Today I order a Unagi and a beef bento... plus of course the fresh sea urchin... Total bill is $49... Very worth it for such authetic japanese food... Not to mention, the serving are all very huge... Oh Yah... I love the starter too... Pork with seaweed in some special sweet sauce....
Rating given:
I remember visiting the now defunct Haw Par Villa when I was still a kid in primary school. At that time, Haw Par Villa had opened with much fanfare and I remember paying an exorbitant amount (in the $20 range I believe) just to gain entry. Those days are long gone and all that is left of the sprawling theme park are the forgotten statues and a recently opened Chinese restaurant called Made In China which is managed by the Singapore Explorer group, the very group that manages Pier Eleven. Now who in the right mind would open a restaurant in the middle of a deserted theme park that is not really accessible without a vehicle?
Parking is a breeze because you can literally park anywhere you want along the slope that leads up to the restaurant. It all depends on how much you are willing to walk. As I stepped into the restaurant compound, everything seemed so surreal. The building and its surroundings seemed to have come out straight from some ancient martial arts flick that I used to watch. The interior of the restaurant brought me back to reality though. Sparsely furnished, this is one place that believes in spacing out its tables for the comfort of its guests and I appreciate it.
The Peking duck was both good and bad. The skin was crackling crispy and had minimal fats under it. This is probably the crispiest Peking duck skin that I've ever eaten. Such a delightful skin was only let down by the rather lacklustre skin which was thin but tasteless. The meat on the other hand, was a total letdown. A tad dry and not as tender as I had expected. There was also a discernible, albeit faint, fowl taste.
For the price ($25) , the shark's fin and fish maw soup was good. First looks, it actually reminded me of curry because of the yellowish soup base. The soup was rather intense in flavour and came across as thick and starchy while the fins and fish maw were aplenty and pretty decent. According to the waitress, the soup base is boiled for 42 hours using old chicken, old duck (literal translation) and some other stuff that are supposed to be beneficial to the body.
The Fried Golden Butter Prawns came looking rather messy and not the least bit like prawns, more like chunks of fried stuff. The batter was lightly salted and crispy with a lingering buttery aftertaste while the prawns were fresh but none too succulent. I did find this dish a little disappointing because the butter batter came across as bland, unlike the egg yolk variations I've eaten before which were decidedly more savoury. But then again, its quite decent.
Pan Grilled Miso Marinated Beef Tenderloin - Honestly, I didn't think too much of this dish. It looked like it had been drenched in oil and the black pepper taste was overwhelming, so much so that I couldn't really make out if it was beef or pork. The doneness of the beef didn't help either.
Desserts weren't fantastic but decent nevertheless. The crust of the Red Bean Paste Pancake was a little too thick for my liking and the red bean filling seemed a little runny and low on the sugar content. The Yam Paste in Coconut fared better. It's actually Orh Nee served in a coconut. The yam was very smooth, not too coagulated and mildy sweet. Only bone I had was that too much coconut milk was added and it didn't gel very well with the yam paste. The Black Glutinous Rice with Ice Cream derived its sweetness from the scoop of vanilla ice cream in its midst but was average tasting.
I'll be lying if I said that I could walk up straight after such a hearty meal because I simply couldn't, try as hard as I might. And it didn't exactly cost me a bomb either. Standing just shy of $120 for 2 pax, it's certainly not cheap but definitely a notch or two down the price scale relative to restaurants that serve up a similar quality of food.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
Flutes at the Fort - a modern Australian restaurant housed within an old refurbished colonial bungalow and set against the historical backdrop of Fort Canning Park. Amidst the lush greenery and idyllic setting, one would hardly expect to find anything but birds and trees here, much less a restaurant, a swanky one at that.
Getting there can be quite a hassle as the route to the restaurant is quite complicated unless you drive and park at the complimentary valet carpark. But even then, you will have to make your way up a flight of stairs just to get there. But its all worth it. The old bungalow is beautifully restored with modern finishes yet retaining its rustic charm. Ambient lighting is practised and the windows overlook Fort Canning's lovely foliage. There is an option of sitting indoors in the cosy air conditioned area or outdoors at the veranda, with the latter being ideal for cool evenings.
The complimentary sourdough bread was quite good - served warm with the crust lightly crackling and the interior soft and fluffy. Definitely a welcome dish to temporarily stem our hunger pangs. Just don't get carried away and stuff yourself with it or else you are not going to be able to enjoy your other food (aka the ones that cost money).
Carpaccio of Hokkaido Scallops - The only thing that I found interesting about this dish was the breadstick which was served alongside. It was extremely brittle and came coated with a layer of seaweed, giving it a nice salty taste. The thinly sliced scallops, which were supposed to be the main draw, were a little too soft and tasteless for me. Not that my other friends disagreed also.
Double Baked Alaskan King Crab Soufflé - "Where's the king crab?" was my initial reaction to this dish. Clearly that was top of my list when I ordered this dish. After a few prods and scoops, the elusive king crab was still nowhere to be found. Not that this dish tasted bad anyway (It was cheesy with a slight hint of crab). In fact, it was so good that I had the urge to order another serving, but at $25 a pop, it was a no brainer really.
My main course, the Braised Kurobuta Pork Belly. Just to reiterate that Kurobuta Pork is akin to Kobe beef in the pork hierarchy, therefore making it highly prized and expensive. The Kurobuta pork belly was nothing short of excellent, with the fats literally melt in your mouth tender and the meat fibrous yet retaining a certain firmness. Did I mention anything about the skin being crackling crispy as well? The accompanying Sauteed Portobello mushrooms were juicy and soaked up the wonderful Star Aniseed Jus, making for a wonderful and flavourful side. Please be warned that this dish is definitely not for the health conscious.
The warm Pur - Caraibe Chocolate Fondant was slightly different from the usual renditions offered by other places. There was no molten chocolate in the centre to ooze out when I broke open the shell. Instead, molten chocolate was generously poured over the entire cake and allowed to cool, resulting in a gleaming black chocolate coated cake. Taste wise, I couldn't have asked for more. The cake was moist and spongy and I could detect teeny weeny pockets of chocolate within the cake that would burst forth as I bit into it.
The Fresh Peach and Vanilla Creme Brulee kinda lowered the standards a little. Granted that the pudding was smooth and not too sweet, but the layer of charred sugar atop was way too thick. Thick enough to get stuck in your teeth and irritate the hell out of you with every bite. The accompanying Chempedak and Mint ice cream was good though, mildly sweet with a tinge of the familiar chempedak flavour. Best of all, the ice cream is placed atop a base of slightly burnt Gula Melaka and coconut shavings which only serve to enhance the taste.
Excellent food, excellent ambience, excellent company. I'm a happy man (Not so happy after I got the bill amounting to almost $520 for 7 pax). I personally feel that the price isn't too steep for the quality of food you get here and especially the fantastic ambience. Service is great to boot. On a side note, thanks to all who turned up for the dinner!
See all my photos here
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What a pleasant surprise, when I discovered the good food and excellent service at Hog's Breathe Cafe yesterday. It was my birthday, so the good stuffs were definitely welcomed!
I had their Atlantic Salmon with fries and salad. The portion is huge and it's very nice! I tried their Chicken Tender too, which is just as good.
The prices are fairly reasonable for their portion. At the end of the meal we were really really full!
Definitely must re-visit. :)
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White SignBoard with a RED FLOWER.. Thats Missha.... I like Missha! They have cheap and nice funky nail colours in flowered bottles that retails for only $2.90. I can say i'm flower CRAZE. I have almost every colour they retail. I love to mix them and paint mine toes multi coloured...
They also carry a good range of other skin care and beauty products. Mostly korean and there are pretty value for money. They have products that are targetted for certain skin types such as combination, dry or oily. I like korean products because they are usually nicely packed and suitable for asian skin.
Their cosmetics are interesting also. They have the usual blusher which i love because the colour suits my skin tone so well and its smell NICE, Eye shadow with a good variety of colours and mix and match customisation to your individual taste. The other thing i like is the pencil liquid eyeshadow. They call them eyetips. Its so cute and easy to use.
I love the concept and the products they carry. Most importantly, the retail assistants are always cool CHICKs with almost perfect makeovers....
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