Fancy a long weekday lunch with abit of fun... This is the place to go. With lunch served at a good price and a huge drink to go along with it, you get to have an hour or two hours of boardgame fun.
They have all sorts of boardgames there, even those I couldn't buy from takashimaya, they have it. Its really great to have so many choices of games to choose from without having to own any of them. Boardgames are like antiques. You get to show them off, have some fun with them at rare occasions when some friends gathers however antiques have a resale price and board games just grow older, dusty and tattered and torn with usage.
Playing boardgames are fun, in a very different way as computer games or sports. You don't need gym clothes or special sport equipment, you don't get to blame on the slow internet connection speed or PC speed or even a miscommunication. Board games make you come together have some real fun with real people watching each others facial expressions and reactions with each move and smelling their sweat and anxieties.
Though food was just the standard kind; fish and chips, chicken cutlet, some local fare and finger food, yet thats not the main thing.... Its a place for friends and family members to gather around, have some human fun while munching on junk without lossing a tooth or breaking a leg.
Its the place for some real fun.... If you haven't tried it.. you must find some time for it. If you already been there, then you must go there again with your friends. No friends? ask me lor..... Real Fun for REAL PEOPLE....
It really is not a very big place... somewhat tucked in between the many other buildings. One might not even thought that a safra club sits in the vacinity until an foreigner friend asked "what is that?". With no facilities like swimming pool, KTV area, restaurants and other game rooms, no wonder its called a town club. Town club are suppose to offer town stuffs.... But being in town has its perks too.. You could hang there while waiting for your friends or just to rest your legs, do somethings that you fancy while your wife or girlfriends shop nearby.
So, me and a safra member friend went to the club... Its just a place for computer games, pool and billard. Not a bad place to hang and prices are subsidised for safra members. Though there are many pool and billard places around, but its pretty great to have one that you have membership with them. Being a friend of a life safra membership holder, it is my responsibility to help him make good use of the membership and its perks.... So check out if your friend holds a safra membership, most ns man are members.... (that means... you at least got a 50% chance to meet a member)
It used to the best hangout place until i spot some cheap skinny uncles trying to show off their skinny *pride and honor* in their itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow translucent swimming trunks; or whichever pale colours they choose. They would just hang by the main pool suntanning and watching the girls tanning and walking by them, in and out of the pool to wet themselves and swerve by them again :( oh goodness........
I've even seen one with a white swimming trunks with just a tiny patch of black in front... oh for goodness sakes, stop thinking that we women and the vain showy kind.... see... man also the same.... With all that just happening by the main pool, the other parts of the pool is great.
My favourite... the lazy river... one could just rent a inflatable ring to sit on all day while the river brings you through obstacles like rainy water, caves, waterfalls and etc. Except that sometimes the calmness might be disturbed by some crazy teens doing crazy stuffs.... but.... we've all been through that stage, i ought to learn to be more understanding and try not to let them disturb my peace and fun....
The wave pool is great too.... Fancy being swept around by pool water that don't taste too salty and no sea weeds entangling your feet. I love best being on my inflated tube swept away by the waves while feeling the icy cool rain falling on my back on a hot sunny afternoon... That is the most wonderous feeling one could have.
Though the place and the facilities are already a little run down, however the place is still pretty clean and acceptably functional. Most importantly it is affordable and has a KFC for my hunger pangs....
California Fitness is somewhat an interesting place for those who love fitness as well as need a place to hang out now and then. For a good price (as compared to the other mega gyms around), cali (california in short), you get to go for various fitness classes, speed down the hill on a bike with hot music and an instructor pumping down your ears with encouragements that guarantees you walking like ducks later...
Cali do have a good range of gym equipment and the bugis outlet i pretty like it as they do have a boxing ring area for those who like to down the bags once in a while. Cardio area is downstairs and upstairs you get to pump up those muscles and have a great view of muscle marys and skinny joes... If you feel bored, this is a great place to hang out. You really get to see some regular people acting differently as you normally would see. Cranging sounds of weights banging against each other, hmphing sound of raising loads and shouts of victory as well as encouraging comments such as " touch your muscle.. Is it so hard....."
This is indeed a great place to hang out... not only to spend sometime with the body you battle with everyday, i think it somewhat is therapeutic to be invisible for a while, minding your own business and doing some workout soaking in an environment of positivity towards life.
All in all, cali is a wonderful place to hang out though the personal trainers and recruiters can be irritating when they hustle you and the steel stairway up to level 2 can be a pain in the @$$. Otherwise, all is pretty nice there...
Arranged to meet up with a friend over dinner at Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine (or ITFCC for short), purportedly the crème de la crème of the Imperial Treasure group of restaurants, which of course explains the choice of location - Marina Bay Sands.
Situated alongside the celebrity restaurants on the second floor of the Marina Bay Sands shopping arcade, ITFCC's decor is reminiscent of its sister restaurant, Imperial Treasure Cantonese - modern classical with lots of glass and sombre colours.
Roasted Pork - We started off with a well known dish from the Imperial Treasure group - roasted pork, which had a good fat to meat ratio with a crisp top. Unfortunately, it wasn't served warm and that marred the experience quite a bit.
Roasted Duck - Roast goose wasn't in the menu so we had to make do with duck instead. Lean crisp skin coupled with succulent and not too gamy flesh made for a good eat. I still prefer goose though.
Sauteed Prawns with Italian White Truffle Oil - My usual order of scallops was out so the wait staff recommended substituting with prawn balls, which on paper, sounded equally enticing. But in reality, the truffle oil just didn't gel that well with the prawns however huge and crunchy they were.
Four Types of Vegetables with Oyster Sauce - Basically the kitchen chooses what four varieties of vegetables you will be getting based on what's available on that particular day. Served up with slightly starchy oyster sauce. Decent.
Yong Chow Fried Rice - Apart from the plentiful prawns and char siew (BBQ pork), I couldn't find any other reasons to like this dish. Lacking in wok hei and tasting flat throughout, the fried rice looked the part but failed to deliver.
Durian Pudding - A sweet and smooth ending to the meal and probably the highlight of the dinner. At least the quality was consistent with what I had at Imperial Treasure Cantonese.
We could barely walk after the meal. Heck, we could barely even finish the meal, all at a cost of about $130 for 2. Going by what we ordered, that's not exactly cheap and I certainly wouldn't consider it value for money for the quality of food. Don't get me wrong, the meal wasn't bad. In fact it was above average but personally I just felt it didn't warrant such a price tag. Especially since Imperial Treasure Cantonese @ Crowne Plaza can produce better food at that price point.
Michelin starred Daniel Boulud recently opened a branch of his award winning DB Bistro Moderne (originally from New York), at the Marina Bay Sands Singapore. This top rated French- American bistro, in the words of Daniel Boulud, aims to provide Singaporeans with a "convivial, delicious and affordable" experience.
The place is reminiscent of a typical Parisian bistro with its "sidewalk" seating and striking red booth seats at the corner. Coupled with dark tones and cream backed chairs, the whole setting presented itself as soothing with a tinge of formalness. And tables are spaced far apart enough to ensure privacy during conversation, but get the booth seats if you can or the "sidewalk" seats if you are somewhat of a voyeur or enjoy being gawked at.
The Original DB Burger - Is it just me or is the size of the patty a little on the large side? Alright, large is a ridiculous understatement. The entire burger looked absolutely lopsided in favour of the beef (no complaints though!) and the buns, nothing more than puny pieces of window dressing. I asked for my patty to be done medium and it honestly looked rare but I attribute that to the sirloin short ribs being braised in red wine. Taste wise, the patty had the makings of a good burger - inherent beefy taste, juicy with bits of fat and a nice mildly uneven texture. It's only pitfall(s)? The absence of any foie gras taste (I see it, but I don't taste it) and the copious amount of salt that went into it. I like salt but trust me, this was salty. Not salty enough to keep me and my continuously refilled glass of iced water from polishing up every last morsel of it though. Ironically, the fries could have done with some salt but I guess the serving of mustard, mayonnaise and ketchup sufficed.
Profiteroles au Cafe - I am quite a fan of this classic French dessert and when I learnt that it was going to be drenched in chocolate syrup, I was sold instantly! And boy oh boy, was it drenched in chocolate. The profiteroles were stuffed with coffee rocky road ice cream, marshmallows, nuts and covered with a thin layer of chocolate. Hot chocolate sauce was then poured slowly over to melt the chocolate and coat the profiteroles were a thick layer of decadent, happiness inducing chocolate syrup. The richness of chocolate coupled with a smooth strong coffee taste - very good. Just don't consume too much as it might prove overwhelming hence the magic number of 3 per serving (I ate 4 and it really got to me).
On my part, I paid about $62 for a belly bursting brunch in a nice environment, great company and great service. My burger was decent, just too salty but the profiteroles were sinfully good. I'm not sure the burger warrants the hefty price tag of $38 though, seeing that I can probably get similar quality at Mortons and Spruce at a lower price or a significantly higher value ratio at Smokinn Frogz. However, if you are of the opinion that $38 is small change, you are more than welcome to indulge in it and for something more luxurious, there is the black truffle variant, which costs a cool $88 and is available only during dinner.
Amici, which means friends in Italian, has been around for quite a while but we've never really gotten down to trying it even though there have been quite a number of favourable reviews circulating around on the internet. That changed when we popped by the Holland Village area to buy some baking supplies and decided to give Amici a shot.
Finding the place takes some navigation skills as the place around it seems to be under construction which makes it hard to see the place until you actually walk near it. There is a small al fresco area but I wouldn't recommend that especially if you go in the afternoon and with all the construction going on. The seemingly narrow air conditioned interior lets loose a cosy vibe but watch out for the too close for comfort table spacing and the unforgiving air circulation system which will have you smelling of food within minutes.
Complimentary Bread - We got off to a nice start with the warm and crusty complimentary bread that had pockets of what seemed like cranberries. Mildly sweet and comforting.
Carbonara - The carbonara wasn't al dente but on the upside, it didn't come across as too rich which toned down the nausea inducing factor. The plentiful bacon pieces were a plus as well.
Squid Ink Pasta - Apparently a specialty at Amici, the squid ink pasta was the drenched in squid ink variant, not the made from squid ink kind, of which the latter I personally prefer. I could make out a noticeable tartness in the pasta ( I assume they probably tossed the pasta in tomato sauce first before dunking it in squid ink) which did make it more appetising. What caught my attention was the delectable pieces of cod fish that were crisp on the outside and exuded a natural sweetness from within. There was also a generous serving of squid rings which served to up the chewy factor.
Tiramisu - The desserts were certainly the stars of the evening and it started with tiramisu, which had a great sponge to mascarpone ratio. The sponge wasn't overly soaked in coffee but where's the alcohol?! Still very good though and if there's any reason I'll return to Amici, this would be it!
Cappuccino Cake - I'm no big fan of coffee but this dessert surprised me. 5 layers of sponge compacted with a thin layer of wafer in between - firm in texture with a sweet hint of coffee. The ice cream that came alongside didn't gel with me though, seeing that it was literally milk solidified and came across as overpowering.
Through the use of a voucher, we had the cheaper main course free, which brought our bill to a more manageable $56 for a 2 pax lunch. Reasonable I may say, but I'll probably only be back for the desserts. Service was decent but then again, the place wasn't packed so it's probably not a good gauge.
Went there for dinner during our stay at MBS. The buffet and last order for the ala carte ends at 1030pm. We didn't go for the buffet since it's already 930pm.
The reception staff was polite, no fake accent and ask for our room number and my husband's first name and led us to a nicely and clean table. Not sure whether this is true, but we got the same waitress serving our everything during the dinner. My husband's was also addressed by his first name during the dinner. Which means the waitress got to remember which table belongs to which guest. Not sure whether this only apply to guests staying at the hotel though. Polite-ness every where, questions of our well being and how we liked our food. There wasn't a need to request for refill of iced water as our glasses were refilled quite promptly.
Price, well, quite expected for MBS, $19 - $25 for main courses such as chicken rice, nasi goreng or laksa. $49 for stirloin steak. We ordered a Stirloin Steak, Lime Cheesecake and a coke and it came up to a whopping $79~ Luckily, the food quality is also quite standard... Steak succulent and to the mark when we requested for "medium well", a bit over marinated but still acceptable. Love the sorbet ice cream that came with the cheese cake. But the cake itself was too thick though. Not bad for an anniversary dinner but cannot visit too often, otherwise it will burn a hole in the pocket.
Chanced upon this online shop that sells various tops, dresses and bottoms. But it seems to have more tops and dresses than bottoms. Although I seldom find an item that I really like and bother to go to the trouble to purchase it (including the transferring of money, waiting for the item to be sent to my house etc. Yes I find online shopping very troublesome!), I find that Loef sells rather decent items. If I were in a shop, I would probably have tried on most of them and bought more than what I already have gotten!
I have been rather skeptical about shopping online, mostly because I can't try the clothes. So I usually limit my purchases to dresses and flair clothing to avoid fitting problems. I'm also rather concerned about the quality of the product, especially since I had a couple of bad experience over the past 3 years which contributed to my skepticism towards online shopping! What made me less worried about shopping at Loef was the fact that their items would often sell out in a matter of days after posting, which led me to infer that they have regulars who constantly go to their shop and trust their products.
What I don't like about the shop: There is additional mailing cost on top of the price stated. I guess it is common, but I tend to prefer other blogshops that have the mailing cost already included in the price.
What I like: There's honestly all to like about this shop in terms of service and quality. As for preference, it is hard to say as each individual has different taste. But if you find that their clothes is to your liking, you could consider visiting this shop more! Why? 1. Consistent. They consistently update their items twice a week - sometime midweek and end of the week. So you always have something new to look forward to! 2. Good service. I remember purchasing an item from them which was not the color reflected on their website. I was rather disappointed and wrote in to them, and was really pleased with the way they handled my "problem". They offered to refund me for the item and pay for my mailing fees. Since I already washed the dress and couldn't send it back to them to re-sell, they offered me a discount on my dress which they could send to me in credit form for my next purchase, or direct cash transfer to my bank account. This problem was settled in a matter of 3 exchange of emails! I think this is good customer service and there's much to learn from them! Also, I later realized that they included a note on their website to inform other customers of the difference between the color of the dress on the picture and the actual color. Goes to show that they are concerned about putting up accurate information and immediately made changes upon receiving feedback! 3. Quality. While I have not shopped a lot online, I was particularly pleased with the quality of the material used. There's no need to worry about the dress expanding after wash or loosing its color. 4. On time. I have made 3 purchases at this shop within a period of 1 month. As I usually make my purchase on Friday or over the weekend, they can only mail it to me on Monday and I am always very glad when I receive my package on Wednesday - showing that there is no delay in mailing the items!
All in all, I have been very pleased with the quality of the items and the service and will definitely introduce friends to this site! :)
Had dinner at Ootoya, a casual Japanese restaurant chain with outlets in Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, HK, Indonesia and more recently, Singapore. I've seen the outlets in Tokyo, but it never really occurred to me to try them out, especially with no dearth of excellent food options there.
With its discreet and minimalistic frontage, Ootoya could well be mistaken for an upclass Japanese restaurant. But walk in and be greeted by a casual, almost cafe like amostphere complete with shouts of Japanese greeting and a long U shape table (a little like a teppanyaki table except that this one doesn't have a chef standing in front of you preparing food) and small "semi private" rooms for those who have a bigger group (which we were lucky to get).
Charcoal Grilled Pork with Special Sauce ($16) - To be honest, how exciting can grilled pork get? But I was quite taken aback by how well Ootoya grilled its generous pieces of hog - Relatively tender with grilled lines to show for it and a flittering taste of charcoal smokiness. Coupled with plump, mildly sticky rice grains, it made for a wonderful combination.
Banana Parfait ($8) - I am rather skeptical about Japanese desserts as they always seem to prefer form (aesthetics) over substance (might be a misconception). Ootoya's Banana Parfait sought to realign that misconception with a surprisingly good and sweet ending to my meal. The parfait didn't come across as too gelatin and sat on a bed of azuki beans which hinted of coffee. 2 small slices of banana and sponge completed the picture.
Overall I spent about $28 for a wonderful dinner inclusive of free flow green tea. Well worth the money in my humble opinion and definitely worth a revisit.
1=SGD 0.0587
Fancy a long weekday lunch with abit of fun... This is the place to go. With lunch served at a good price and a huge drink to go along with it, you get to have an hour or two hours of boardgame fun.
They have all sorts of boardgames there, even those I couldn't buy from takashimaya, they have it. Its really great to have so many choices of games to choose from without having to own any of them. Boardgames are like antiques. You get to show them off, have some fun with them at rare occasions when some friends gathers however antiques have a resale price and board games just grow older, dusty and tattered and torn with usage.
Playing boardgames are fun, in a very different way as computer games or sports. You don't need gym clothes or special sport equipment, you don't get to blame on the slow internet connection speed or PC speed or even a miscommunication. Board games make you come together have some real fun with real people watching each others facial expressions and reactions with each move and smelling their sweat and anxieties.
Though food was just the standard kind; fish and chips, chicken cutlet, some local fare and finger food, yet thats not the main thing.... Its a place for friends and family members to gather around, have some human fun while munching on junk without lossing a tooth or breaking a leg.
Its the place for some real fun.... If you haven't tried it.. you must find some time for it. If you already been there, then you must go there again with your friends. No friends? ask me lor..... Real Fun for REAL PEOPLE....
Rating given:
It really is not a very big place... somewhat tucked in between the many other buildings. One might not even thought that a safra club sits in the vacinity until an foreigner friend asked "what is that?". With no facilities like swimming pool, KTV area, restaurants and other game rooms, no wonder its called a town club. Town club are suppose to offer town stuffs.... But being in town has its perks too.. You could hang there while waiting for your friends or just to rest your legs, do somethings that you fancy while your wife or girlfriends shop nearby.
So, me and a safra member friend went to the club... Its just a place for computer games, pool and billard. Not a bad place to hang and prices are subsidised for safra members. Though there are many pool and billard places around, but its pretty great to have one that you have membership with them. Being a friend of a life safra membership holder, it is my responsibility to help him make good use of the membership and its perks.... So check out if your friend holds a safra membership, most ns man are members.... (that means... you at least got a 50% chance to meet a member)
Rating given:
It used to the best hangout place until i spot some cheap skinny uncles trying to show off their skinny *pride and honor* in their itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow translucent swimming trunks; or whichever pale colours they choose. They would just hang by the main pool suntanning and watching the girls tanning and walking by them, in and out of the pool to wet themselves and swerve by them again :( oh goodness........
I've even seen one with a white swimming trunks with just a tiny patch of black in front... oh for goodness sakes, stop thinking that we women and the vain showy kind.... see... man also the same.... With all that just happening by the main pool, the other parts of the pool is great.
My favourite... the lazy river... one could just rent a inflatable ring to sit on all day while the river brings you through obstacles like rainy water, caves, waterfalls and etc. Except that sometimes the calmness might be disturbed by some crazy teens doing crazy stuffs.... but.... we've all been through that stage, i ought to learn to be more understanding and try not to let them disturb my peace and fun....
The wave pool is great too.... Fancy being swept around by pool water that don't taste too salty and no sea weeds entangling your feet. I love best being on my inflated tube swept away by the waves while feeling the icy cool rain falling on my back on a hot sunny afternoon... That is the most wonderous feeling one could have.
Though the place and the facilities are already a little run down, however the place is still pretty clean and acceptably functional. Most importantly it is affordable and has a KFC for my hunger pangs....
Rating given:
California Fitness is somewhat an interesting place for those who love fitness as well as need a place to hang out now and then. For a good price (as compared to the other mega gyms around), cali (california in short), you get to go for various fitness classes, speed down the hill on a bike with hot music and an instructor pumping down your ears with encouragements that guarantees you walking like ducks later...
Cali do have a good range of gym equipment and the bugis outlet i pretty like it as they do have a boxing ring area for those who like to down the bags once in a while. Cardio area is downstairs and upstairs you get to pump up those muscles and have a great view of muscle marys and skinny joes... If you feel bored, this is a great place to hang out. You really get to see some regular people acting differently as you normally would see. Cranging sounds of weights banging against each other, hmphing sound of raising loads and shouts of victory as well as encouraging comments such as " touch your muscle.. Is it so hard....."
This is indeed a great place to hang out... not only to spend sometime with the body you battle with everyday, i think it somewhat is therapeutic to be invisible for a while, minding your own business and doing some workout soaking in an environment of positivity towards life.
All in all, cali is a wonderful place to hang out though the personal trainers and recruiters can be irritating when they hustle you and the steel stairway up to level 2 can be a pain in the @$$. Otherwise, all is pretty nice there...
Rating given:
Arranged to meet up with a friend over dinner at Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine (or ITFCC for short), purportedly the crème de la crème of the Imperial Treasure group of restaurants, which of course explains the choice of location - Marina Bay Sands.
Situated alongside the celebrity restaurants on the second floor of the Marina Bay Sands shopping arcade, ITFCC's decor is reminiscent of its sister restaurant, Imperial Treasure Cantonese - modern classical with lots of glass and sombre colours.
Roasted Pork - We started off with a well known dish from the Imperial Treasure group - roasted pork, which had a good fat to meat ratio with a crisp top. Unfortunately, it wasn't served warm and that marred the experience quite a bit.
Roasted Duck - Roast goose wasn't in the menu so we had to make do with duck instead. Lean crisp skin coupled with succulent and not too gamy flesh made for a good eat. I still prefer goose though.
Sauteed Prawns with Italian White Truffle Oil - My usual order of scallops was out so the wait staff recommended substituting with prawn balls, which on paper, sounded equally enticing. But in reality, the truffle oil just didn't gel that well with the prawns however huge and crunchy they were.
Four Types of Vegetables with Oyster Sauce - Basically the kitchen chooses what four varieties of vegetables you will be getting based on what's available on that particular day. Served up with slightly starchy oyster sauce. Decent.
Yong Chow Fried Rice - Apart from the plentiful prawns and char siew (BBQ pork), I couldn't find any other reasons to like this dish. Lacking in wok hei and tasting flat throughout, the fried rice looked the part but failed to deliver.
Durian Pudding - A sweet and smooth ending to the meal and probably the highlight of the dinner. At least the quality was consistent with what I had at Imperial Treasure Cantonese.
We could barely walk after the meal. Heck, we could barely even finish the meal, all at a cost of about $130 for 2. Going by what we ordered, that's not exactly cheap and I certainly wouldn't consider it value for money for the quality of food. Don't get me wrong, the meal wasn't bad. In fact it was above average but personally I just felt it didn't warrant such a price tag. Especially since Imperial Treasure Cantonese @ Crowne Plaza can produce better food at that price point.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Michelin starred Daniel Boulud recently opened a branch of his award winning DB Bistro Moderne (originally from New York), at the Marina Bay Sands Singapore. This top rated French- American bistro, in the words of Daniel Boulud, aims to provide Singaporeans with a "convivial, delicious and affordable" experience.
The place is reminiscent of a typical Parisian bistro with its "sidewalk" seating and striking red booth seats at the corner. Coupled with dark tones and cream backed chairs, the whole setting presented itself as soothing with a tinge of formalness. And tables are spaced far apart enough to ensure privacy during conversation, but get the booth seats if you can or the "sidewalk" seats if you are somewhat of a voyeur or enjoy being gawked at.
The Original DB Burger -
Is it just me or is the size of the patty a little on the large side? Alright, large is a ridiculous understatement. The entire burger looked absolutely lopsided in favour of the beef (no complaints though!) and the buns, nothing more than puny pieces of window dressing. I asked for my patty to be done medium and it honestly looked rare but I attribute that to the sirloin short ribs being braised in red wine. Taste wise, the patty had the makings of a good burger - inherent beefy taste, juicy with bits of fat and a nice mildly uneven texture. It's only pitfall(s)? The absence of any foie gras taste (I see it, but I don't taste it) and the copious amount of salt that went into it. I like salt but trust me, this was salty. Not salty enough to keep me and my continuously refilled glass of iced water from polishing up every last morsel of it though. Ironically, the fries could have done with some salt but I guess the serving of mustard, mayonnaise and ketchup sufficed.
Profiteroles au Cafe - I am quite a fan of this classic French dessert and when I learnt that it was going to be drenched in chocolate syrup, I was sold instantly! And boy oh boy, was it drenched in chocolate. The profiteroles were stuffed with coffee rocky road ice cream, marshmallows, nuts and covered with a thin layer of chocolate. Hot chocolate sauce was then poured slowly over to melt the chocolate and coat the profiteroles were a thick layer of decadent, happiness inducing chocolate syrup. The richness of chocolate coupled with a smooth strong coffee taste - very good. Just don't consume too much as it might prove overwhelming hence the magic number of 3 per serving (I ate 4 and it really got to me).
On my part, I paid about $62 for a belly bursting brunch in a nice environment, great company and great service. My burger was decent, just too salty but the profiteroles were sinfully good. I'm not sure the burger warrants the hefty price tag of $38 though, seeing that I can probably get similar quality at Mortons and Spruce at a lower price or a significantly higher value ratio at Smokinn Frogz. However, if you are of the opinion that $38 is small change, you are more than welcome to indulge in it and for something more luxurious, there is the black truffle variant, which costs a cool $88 and is available only during dinner.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Amici, which means friends in Italian, has been around for quite a while but we've never really gotten down to trying it even though there have been quite a number of favourable reviews circulating around on the internet. That changed when we popped by the Holland Village area to buy some baking supplies and decided to give Amici a shot.
Finding the place takes some navigation skills as the place around it seems to be under construction which makes it hard to see the place until you actually walk near it. There is a small al fresco area but I wouldn't recommend that especially if you go in the afternoon and with all the construction going on. The seemingly narrow air conditioned interior lets loose a cosy vibe but watch out for the too close for comfort table spacing and the unforgiving air circulation system which will have you smelling of food within minutes.
Complimentary Bread - We got off to a nice start with the warm and crusty complimentary bread that had pockets of what seemed like cranberries. Mildly sweet and comforting.
Carbonara - The carbonara wasn't al dente but on the upside, it didn't come across as too rich which toned down the nausea inducing factor. The plentiful bacon pieces were a plus as well.
Squid Ink Pasta - Apparently a specialty at Amici, the squid ink pasta was the drenched in squid ink variant, not the made from squid ink kind, of which the latter I personally prefer. I could make out a noticeable tartness in the pasta ( I assume they probably tossed the pasta in tomato sauce first before dunking it in squid ink) which did make it more appetising. What caught my attention was the delectable pieces of cod fish that were crisp on the outside and exuded a natural sweetness from within. There was also a generous serving of squid rings which served to up the chewy factor.
Tiramisu - The desserts were certainly the stars of the evening and it started with tiramisu, which had a great sponge to mascarpone ratio. The sponge wasn't overly soaked in coffee but where's the alcohol?! Still very good though and if there's any reason I'll return to Amici, this would be it!
Cappuccino Cake - I'm no big fan of coffee but this dessert surprised me. 5 layers of sponge compacted with a thin layer of wafer in between - firm in texture with a sweet hint of coffee. The ice cream that came alongside didn't gel with me though, seeing that it was literally milk solidified and came across as overpowering.
Through the use of a voucher, we had the cheaper main course free, which brought our bill to a more manageable $56 for a 2 pax lunch. Reasonable I may say, but I'll probably only be back for the desserts. Service was decent but then again, the place wasn't packed so it's probably not a good gauge.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Went there for dinner during our stay at MBS. The buffet and last order for the ala carte ends at 1030pm. We didn't go for the buffet since it's already 930pm.
The reception staff was polite, no fake accent and ask for our room number and my husband's first name and led us to a nicely and clean table. Not sure whether this is true, but we got the same waitress serving our everything during the dinner. My husband's was also addressed by his first name during the dinner. Which means the waitress got to remember which table belongs to which guest. Not sure whether this only apply to guests staying at the hotel though. Polite-ness every where, questions of our well being and how we liked our food. There wasn't a need to request for refill of iced water as our glasses were refilled quite promptly.
Price, well, quite expected for MBS, $19 - $25 for main courses such as chicken rice, nasi goreng or laksa. $49 for stirloin steak. We ordered a Stirloin Steak, Lime Cheesecake and a coke and it came up to a whopping $79~ Luckily, the food quality is also quite standard... Steak succulent and to the mark when we requested for "medium well", a bit over marinated but still acceptable. Love the sorbet ice cream that came with the cheese cake. But the cake itself was too thick though. Not bad for an anniversary dinner but cannot visit too often, otherwise it will burn a hole in the pocket.
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Chanced upon this online shop that sells various tops, dresses and bottoms. But it seems to have more tops and dresses than bottoms. Although I seldom find an item that I really like and bother to go to the trouble to purchase it (including the transferring of money, waiting for the item to be sent to my house etc. Yes I find online shopping very troublesome!), I find that Loef sells rather decent items. If I were in a shop, I would probably have tried on most of them and bought more than what I already have gotten!
I have been rather skeptical about shopping online, mostly because I can't try the clothes. So I usually limit my purchases to dresses and flair clothing to avoid fitting problems. I'm also rather concerned about the quality of the product, especially since I had a couple of bad experience over the past 3 years which contributed to my skepticism towards online shopping! What made me less worried about shopping at Loef was the fact that their items would often sell out in a matter of days after posting, which led me to infer that they have regulars who constantly go to their shop and trust their products.
What I don't like about the shop:
There is additional mailing cost on top of the price stated. I guess it is common, but I tend to prefer other blogshops that have the mailing cost already included in the price.
What I like:
There's honestly all to like about this shop in terms of service and quality. As for preference, it is hard to say as each individual has different taste. But if you find that their clothes is to your liking, you could consider visiting this shop more! Why?
1. Consistent. They consistently update their items twice a week - sometime midweek and end of the week. So you always have something new to look forward to!
2. Good service. I remember purchasing an item from them which was not the color reflected on their website. I was rather disappointed and wrote in to them, and was really pleased with the way they handled my "problem". They offered to refund me for the item and pay for my mailing fees. Since I already washed the dress and couldn't send it back to them to re-sell, they offered me a discount on my dress which they could send to me in credit form for my next purchase, or direct cash transfer to my bank account. This problem was settled in a matter of 3 exchange of emails! I think this is good customer service and there's much to learn from them! Also, I later realized that they included a note on their website to inform other customers of the difference between the color of the dress on the picture and the actual color. Goes to show that they are concerned about putting up accurate information and immediately made changes upon receiving feedback!
3. Quality. While I have not shopped a lot online, I was particularly pleased with the quality of the material used. There's no need to worry about the dress expanding after wash or loosing its color.
4. On time. I have made 3 purchases at this shop within a period of 1 month. As I usually make my purchase on Friday or over the weekend, they can only mail it to me on Monday and I am always very glad when I receive my package on Wednesday - showing that there is no delay in mailing the items!
All in all, I have been very pleased with the quality of the items and the service and will definitely introduce friends to this site! :)
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Had dinner at Ootoya, a casual Japanese restaurant chain with outlets in Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, HK, Indonesia and more recently, Singapore. I've seen the outlets in Tokyo, but it never really occurred to me to try them out, especially with no dearth of excellent food options there.
With its discreet and minimalistic frontage, Ootoya could well be mistaken for an upclass Japanese restaurant. But walk in and be greeted by a casual, almost cafe like amostphere complete with shouts of Japanese greeting and a long U shape table (a little like a teppanyaki table except that this one doesn't have a chef standing in front of you preparing food) and small "semi private" rooms for those who have a bigger group (which we were lucky to get).
Charcoal Grilled Pork with Special Sauce ($16) - To be honest, how exciting can grilled pork get? But I was quite taken aback by how well Ootoya grilled its generous pieces of hog - Relatively tender with grilled lines to show for it and a flittering taste of charcoal smokiness. Coupled with plump, mildly sticky rice grains, it made for a wonderful combination.
Banana Parfait ($8) - I am rather skeptical about Japanese desserts as they always seem to prefer form (aesthetics) over substance (might be a misconception). Ootoya's Banana Parfait sought to realign that misconception with a surprisingly good and sweet ending to my meal. The parfait didn't come across as too gelatin and sat on a bed of azuki beans which hinted of coffee. 2 small slices of banana and sponge completed the picture.
Overall I spent about $28 for a wonderful dinner inclusive of free flow green tea. Well worth the money in my humble opinion and definitely worth a revisit.
See all my pictures here.
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