Had been hearing excellent things about Goodwood Park Hotel's English high tea buffet so made it a point to try it out one weekend afternoon. Apparently the buffet is highly sought after so reservations in advance are recommended.
Ambience
Not much to speak of as L'Espresso is actually a lobby lounge that's located just next to the deli where crowds form to buy its signature durian desserts. But on the upside, it offers a view of the charming pool through full length glass windows and there's the pianist too, if you are lucky. Did I mention that Goodwood Park itself exudes a certain colonial charm that is priceless?
Variety
The variety was quite an eyeful. Scones, sandwiches, tarts and other sweets formed the bulk of the food. I didn't do an exact count but you are probably looking at about 20 odd different items. Would have liked some savoury stuff but overall thought the spread was good for an English high tea. You get 2 pots of tea with your buffet as well.
Quality
I must say that I'm quite impressed with the overall quality of the buffet. Everything was daintily and intricately presented, very much like what you would find in more upscale high tea sessions which serve their items on a 3 tier stand. Make a beeline for the scones, which I personally like quite a fair bit, especially with a huge dollop of jam. You might want to skip the foie gras pate sandwiches though as I honestly thought that pate was just gross. But that's just me.
Service
Professional but a little stiff. They did seem a little short handed as well but to give the place credit, our plates were cleared promptly.
Value for money
At 33 (about $39 after tax) per pax, I am most inclined to recommend this place to anyone in search of a nice place to chill out with friends for a couple of hours on a weekend or public holiday with great finger food and desserts to boot. This is honestly one of the very few buffets that I can actually revisit. In short, I loved it.
The first of the many to come, Wan Hao Chinese restaurant at Marriott hotel.
Now what can I say? I totally love roast pork belly! The dish is often an indicator of the standard of a Chinese restaurant; Wan Hao’s rendition was nicely done - crispy top with a thin-and-nice layer of fats. “One cube definitely wasn’t enough”, I protested! But hey, there’s still thirty more dish to go!
Although I couldn’t exactly tasted which seven spices were use, but the combination was seductive to the palate, the Seven spices sea perch fillet.
And just before you are thinking Chinese restaurants are boring and served the usual-you-know-what food, the Hokkigai and salmon sashimi would certainly prove you wrong! Just look at the thickly-and-generous slices of the fresh sashimi. It-is-to-die-for.
For the tasting at Wan Hao, only Catherine of Camemberu fame and myself was present among the five of us. And she absolutely loved the Jelly fish with cucumber. Tangy and Q, it was a refreshing appetiser.
Like the no-smoking campaign slogon which asked you to say ‘No‘ to cigarettes, I could never say no to roast duck. My interpretation of a good roast duck: crispy skin with a layer of fats and tasty duck meat. This one had it all, and say it with me, Oomph-la-la!
Vermicelli with pork fillet. There wasn’t anything spectacular but this is just one, good, comfort food, which stood out among the delicacies we tried.
In my humble opinion, Wan Hao has the best Ha Gau among the four places that we tried. All of them used top-quality fresh prawns, but what made the one here stood out was the the skin; some places would do it too thick, and some too thin - it was done perfectly here. Bravo!
I actually preferred the spring roll filled with smoked duck meat to the roasted duck. The smoked duck meat lived up to its name - the very smoky taste within the crispy spring roll.
While some people found that the addition of fish roe to the top only served as an adornment; I thought that it’s fine so long the tiny orange eggs wasn’t in excessive to overwhelm the taste of the siew mai.
I ain’t a big fan of asparagus - the word alone put me off; but I had to try this translucent pretty-looking asparagus dumpling, which tasted decent.
The sea perch fillet with garlic appeared squeaky-fresh; it seemed to be flipping on my plate! The golden mushrooms and tofu were integrated with the sea perch, and I love it!
I knew it was close. I could smell it. The strong alcohol scent. You can smell it from far away. The drunken prawns were as suspected, very strong in liqueur taste; the prawns were big and fresh. I must emphasized, the quality and freshness of the ingredients at Wan Hao was really what set them aside.
The mere presence of duck shreds greatly enhanced the flavour of the congee. And not to mention there’s sliced fish maw, squid too! All the natural goodness in the bowl of Congee.
It was sensational. Tender, let me tell you, the whole experience: the chewing and swallowing, we couldn’t speak. There was a lump stuck in my throat; I just allowed myself to quietly finished the meat, and inside I was secretly hoping there was more of this. I was struck in awe of the flavour and texture of the meat, this was certainly my most memorable and favourite dish of the meal. And I couldn’t bear to speak of its name, Kurabuta pork, all the way from Americaaa!
The meal was a late boomer. Just when I thought that the few dishes in front were all good, it got better and better. Or maybe they were saving the best for the last, either way, the Chilli prawns with crispy buns had the “made in Singapore” brand stamped all over it. Spicy, fresh, with the mini mantao bun to dip in to the sauce, it was a superb interpretation of prawns done in our local favourite Chilli crab. A Singapore classic.
I could not, believe how tender the meat actually was. It literally melted in my mouth - I know this phase sounded exaggerating and often over-used, but trust me, it’s true for the Beef tenderloin with black peppercorns. Oh my! I would gladly go back another time just for the kurobuta pork, chilli prawns, and the beef tenderloin alone.
All right, back to the basics. Not many places can do a mean version of the Ee-fu noodles. All of us agreed that this one was just right in terms of the oilyness and bite. Not too oily, not too dry, just exactly how we liked it.
For the first time, I was actually sorry to see the desserts coming - for it signalled the end of the wonderful meal. But Wan Hao dessert did not disappoint as well, the first to arrive, the Lemongrass jelly with lime sherbet was equally pleasing in aesthetic senses. Very refreshing, and a fine finish for us.
There was a big fan of the mango pudding among us, and he was right! I took a nibble without adding in any milk for the original taste; even eaten alone the smooth and creamy texture of the aroma mango was evident.
If you know me, you must know that I’m an anti-durian person. For the sake of sharing with everybody, I popped one durian mochi inside - the mochi was very sticky, the smell of the fabled durian king of the fruits wasn’t very apparent until I took a bite of it, and that’s when I say, Shit!
I love egg tarts, and I always questioned the fact why Chinese restaurants always do their egg tarts in mini sizes. And like the manager of Wan Hao put it, the small bite was just right, anything bigger it would be too much. Crisp golden brown pastry with equally good egg fillings.
* * *
I must admit, I’m impressed with Wan Hao Chinese restaurant. The freshness in the quality ingredients, with the management’s emphasis on this, plus the service of the staff, were all top-notch. I’m not talking about their good service because it was a tasting session, after we finished our meal, we went down to their bakery; the staff was very knowledgeable about their bakes and was very professional.
The 31 items which we tried for this tasting session was half of their weekend brunch buffet which had 70 items, priced at $55 per head. For the sheer quality and variety, the sum is fair, will I be back? Definitely, See you there!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Keong Saik Road. A road synonymous with red lanterns and ladies of the night in the past. Now all that are left are old Chinese shophouses which have been restored to their former character with a number being made into boutique hotels - an up and coming trend in the hotel industry. One such boutique hotel is Hotel 1929, which sits smack in the middle of Keong Saik Road. Our restaurant of review today happens to be housed under it, right next to the main entrance. It was fortunate that I had made a reservation, as it got quite packed soon after. Reservations also got us a nice corner table for 5. Ambience wise, it was really cozy with soft lighting and limited seating. The placement of mirrors at strategic locations also made the place look bigger. However, it was a little cramp in reality and noisy as well due to the incessant chatter.
We were really spoilt for choice with regard to the menu. Everything just seemed great and we actually relied on the friendly waitress's recommendations for our order. We had appetizers of Pan Seared Scallops with Parma Ham, Orange and Tarragon Vinaigrette, Tuna Tempura with Goma Wakame, Mustard Dressing and Pan Seared Foie Gras with Caramelized Apple and Clove Port and Raspberry Glaze. Mains included Pan Seared Chilean Seabass with Mushroom and Smoked Bacon Ragout, Truffle-Yuzu Butter Sauce, 2 sets of Char Grilled Angus Beef Ribeye with Fava Beans, Braised Stockyard Beef Cheek with Merlot, Seasonal Vegetables and Slow Roasted Rack of Lamb with Tamarind Reduction. Apple Tart Tartin with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, Flavoured Panna Cotta with Chilled Mango Soup, Warm Banana Tart with Homemade Lavender Ice Cream and Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream rounded up our dinner.
A small serving of complimentary bread(refillable) started us off on the right track. The bread was warm and fluffy with a tinge of cheesy aftertaste and went very well with the accompanying butter. Appetizers followed suit soon after.
The Pan Seared Scallops with Parma Ham, Orange and Tarragon Vinaigrette came with huge scallops wrapped with Parma ham. And I mean really HUGE. For one, I've never seen such a huge scallop in my life. Serious. A pity about the taste though. It lacked the sweetness in good scallops and was way too soft in the middle portion. Scallops are supposed to be crunchy, not soft! The accompanying veggies were plain normal, which makes you wonder about the fancy name. On to the next appetizer, the Tuna Tempura with Goma Wakame, Mustard Dressing. I had a good experience with something similar at Sage so I kind of upped my expectations a little. I personally found the tempura batter a little too overwhelming. It masked the taste of the middle raw Tuna a little too much. I could only detect a slight tinge of the Tuna after chewing for some time. Although I appreciate the apparent lack of fishiness, but it kinda defeats the purpose of eating Tuna if there is hardly any Tuna taste. The Pan Seared Foie Gras with Caramelized Apple and Clove Port and Raspberry Glaze probably takes the cake in the appetizer segment. Soft and quivery, it literally melts in your mouth with no distinct and overpowering aftertaste. The caramelized apples added quite a twist to the dish by infusing a certain sweetness into the Foie Gras.
Mains were a mixture of average and above average, with none even closing in on spectacular. The Pan Seared Chilean Seabass with Mushroom and Smoked Bacon Ragout was one of the above average dish. Sweet flesh with a slightly crispy exterior and buttery texture made for a pleasant dish. However, too much butter makes you queasy after a while and that was what my friend experienced.
Getting a steak done right requires a lot of skill. The Char Grilled Angus Beef Ribeye with Fava Beans fell flat in this aspect. Prepared with just salt and pepper, it was supposed to showcase the quality of the cut and the skill of the chef. Neither happened. The taste of the meat was rather flat with no full bodied texture, which is very important for good steaks for that extra oomph. Ok its not as bad I as make it out to be. Its still decent and can probably give a few steakhouses a run for their money. The dubious honour of "worst dish of the day" went to the Braised Stockyard Beef Cheek with Merlot, Seasonal Vegetables. Someone please tell me why this dish is worth the $40 I paid for it because I honestly can't think of any. The beef cheek was so soft that it because gross after a while. Taste wise was merely average with no evident presence of Merlot.
Oh and before I forget, the Slow Roasted Rack of Lamb with Tamarind Reduction was one of the highlights of the mains. It didn't reek strongly of lamb, so that was a relieve for me for I simply abhor the lamb aftertaste. The side of mashed sweet potato was an interesting variation of the more common mashed potato. Smooth, sweet and starchy. Nice! On a sidenote, I am not a lamb person, so I may not be the best person to give you an opinion on this dish.
We had ordered our desserts together with the appetizers and mains as many of them required quite a bit of lead time (About 20-30mins). With such a long advance period, we were expecting some really stupendous and out of this world desserts. That was when reality hit us real bad. In all honesty, none of the desserts were exceptional. The Apple Tart Tartin with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream was probably the best dessert. Creatively shaped into a pie like structure, the apples were not too sweet, but the base was a let down with its soft pastry. The Flavoured Panna Cotta with Chilled Mango Soup was supposed to be a dish where east meets west. Sadly, the west never quite made it. The mango soup, which was essentially mango with sago and pomelo pudding, overpowered the taste of the Panna Cotta. Total whitewash.
I have always wondered how lavender ice cream would taste like and I found out yesterday. It was plain weird and really tasted like lavender scented shampoo or soap, not that I've tried either. Its just that the smell and the taste are the same! So imagine the countless images of shampoo and soap running through my mind while I was eating the Warm Banana Tart with Homemade Lavender Ice Cream. Maybe lavender ice cream just isn't my cup of tea. The banana tart was alright though. It tasted like pastry with banana.
Doesn't Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream sound really good? Imagine breaking into the crust of the chocolate cake and warm chocolate oozing out. Sure the chocolate did ooze out, but the taste was just not up to expectations. The cake tasted too floury, if there's such a word. Too much flour if there isn't. The oozing chocolate was pathetic as compared to the one I had at Morton's of Chicago. The only credit I can think of is the vanilla bean ice cream, which was smooth with a fine texture.
Dinner for 5 cost about $320/-. Terribly expensive if you ask me. Maybe I just have higher expectations about the quality of food than what was given. But wouldn't most people be the same considering the premium price tag? Price aside, I personally found the food at Ember very decent, but not decent enough to warrant another visit with the relatively high prices. Credit goes to the service crew though, who really go the extra mile to make you feel welcomed.
Attended the annual food bloggers lunch at Gunthers, the eponymous modern fine dining French restaurant helmed by Chef Gunther Hubrechsen, who trained under Chef Alain Passard at the 3 Michelin star L’Arpège in Paris and had a 5 year stint with Les Amis. Opened in August 2007, Gunthers has consistently garnered rave reviews from various media for its refreshing twist to classical French food.
The whole place isn't big actually, even more so the private dining room, which was slated to accomodate 24 of us. And because it was a long table, there wasn't much room to manoeuvre around which made it quite cramp (for me at least). Decor came across as simple and minimalist with dark wall tones and carefully placed spotlights - not so much the romantic ambience, but more for business.
Amuse Bouche - I didn't quite take to the amuse bouche, which was a slice of tomato drizzled with a vanilla bean foam served with fava beans and a slice of ciabatta. The foam and vanilla beans seemed more for decoration then anything else and the tomato taste overwhelmed.
Cold Angel Hair Pasta, Oscietra Caviar - One of Gunther's signature dishes, this was quite tasty but I would have preferred my pasta to be more al dente. The chopped chives and truffle oil gave it a smooth savoury taste coupled with a fragrant truffle aroma while the chilliness of the pasta contributed a nice refreshing sensation. Apparently this dish goes for $60 in the ala carte menu, but portions are definitely much much bigger.
Poached White Asparagus, Bouchot Mussels - White asparagus is essentially asparagus that comes from the process of etiolation, which is the deprivation of light. No chlorophyll can be produced without sunlight hence there is no green colouring in the plant. As such, it is slightly milder in flavour and a little more tender then normal green asparagus. I thought that Gunther's rendition of this vegetable was a little lacking. The single stalk of asparagus was poached until it became overly soft and mashy. The accompanying sauce was excellent though, with a hint of cinammon that went very well with the tiny morsels of seafood.
Grilled Cote de Boeuf, Japanese sweet-corn, sauce Bordelaise - The beef was done to a perfect medium rare with a nice slightly charred exterior that hinted strongly of salt. There was one small fault though. The red wine/vinegar reduction seemed a little too rushed, resulting in a lightly sour note as you chew on the meat. I liked the grilled sweet corn that came alongside. It provided a sweet refreshing punctuation in between intakes of beef.
Roasted Black Pig from Spain (Pata Negra) - The pork was a substitute for the Grilled Cote de Boeuf in case anyone didn't take beef. But that's not to say that this dish was lacklustre in comparison. On the contrary, this was one quality piece of meat from the Black Iberian Pig, which is known for its ability to accumulate fat under its skin and between the muscular fibres. Read. Exorbitant prices. Execution wise, I thought that the pork was evenly roasted to produce a tender yet succulent piece of meat that literally left me wanting for more. The only complaint I had was that the meat was overly salty.
Fine Apple Tart a la Dragées, Havana Rum Raisin Ice Cream - Apparently Gunther's signature dessert, the apple tart's crust reminded me of the crust found in the Chinese red bean paste pancake, save for the toppings of nuts on top. The stuffing of apple chunks weren't too soft but lacked the sourish aftertaste in my humble opinion. The rum and raisin ice cream was interesting but somehow I don't remember rum and raisin tasting anything like this, or am I just a die hard alcoholic?
As this was a special arrangement by Gunther's for this particular event, we were fortunate to have been able to try out so many dishes for $45 nett/pax. I would like to end off with a thank you to the organisers for the invite. Cheers.
I believe this blogstore has been around for a long time, judging from the number of collections they have to date! (133 collections to date!)
Tracyeinny has a very professional and clean cut layout. I cannot stress enough the importance of having a neat layout. Many times, blogstores fail in this aspect. Over here, there are even instructions on how to navigate the blogstore better. Thumbs up for that foresight!
The homepage only displays the latest announcements and the latest collection. In this way, online shoppers won't get confused. Also, the page will not take too long to load! Many other blogshops display too many entries in the landing page and it gets VERY frustrating waiting for everything to finish loading.
Tracyeinny's service is also of a good standard. E-mails are replied rather promptly (at least once a day) and once the item has been mailed, they inform customers.
Over here, they have a wide range of clothes. Just by scrolling down the latest collection, I can already spot the many different types of clothes that caters to people who have different tastes in fashion! Its always important to cater to as many people as possible, especially since their target age group consists of rather fickle people when it comes to style and fashion!
All in all, I feel very satisfied with my purchase from Tracyeinny and I recommend everyone to check them out. The prices are reasonable too! Definitely worth the money.
Diandin Leluk, the well known budget Thai restaurant at Golden Mile and owner of the Tuk Tuk Thai Kitchen chain, recently opened up a new upmarket branch around my area so thought it would be good to give it a shot.
Taking over the space vacated by a chicken rice stall just next to Sushi Tei, Diandin boasts two levels of seating in a brightly lighted comfortable looking interior with heavy wooden chairs and tables. Nice place for casual family dinners or gatherings.
Pork Beancurd Soup - I quite fancied this soup as it came across as light yet tasty from the addition of tong cai. There were balls of prawn paste peppered with bits of meat and steamed egg tofu in it. Very traditional Teochew styled soup.
Pandan Chicken - This was one of the better pandan chickens that I've eaten as it wasn't too oily or cloyingly sweet. The meat was tender and fibrous and of quite a sizeable chunk.
Stir Fried Broccoli with Scallops - A very simple dish and decently executed one at that. The broccoli wasn't overcooked while the thin silvers of scallop didn't carry the fishy aftertaste. However, I thought that the gravy was a little too bland for my liking. But on the upside, at least it wasn't too starchy.
Pineapple Fried Rice - A most mundane rendition of this Thai favourite. There were lots of meat floss, a few slices of shrimp, dried sausages and raisins but lacked the pineapple twang as well as the fragrance. Decent but I've definitely had better.
Phad Thai - The phad thai was of the dryer variant which I personally prefer and the noodles had a nice springy texture. It didn't come across as overly sweet as well and you had a choice of drowning the noodles in grounded peanuts, which I did. Pity about the small portions.
Durian Glutinous Rice - This dessert looked different from others that I've eaten elsewhere. The rice was seperated from the durian (which was real durian meat, not puree) and looked a total mess. Aesthetics aside, the durian was sweet while the glutinous rice wasn't overwhelmed by coconut milk. I did think that the rice was a little undercooked though because it came across as a little hard.
If 7atenine was the best meal I had so far, then Au Petit Salut would be its equal.
I was the passerby in your colourful life, we never seem to meet, until now. Our encounter is but an absence and a providence: now that we’ve met, I hold you dear. The place of eternal memories; Au Petit Salut.
Lush, lush, lush and green. It seems so near, yet so far. Right in the middle, but not in the middle; I had to admit - I was wrong. Overrated, you are not, there’s just something special about you. I wished we’ve met earlier, but like they say, it’s better to be late than never.
It was all we need to get started with, a piece of bread, and a stick of butter. We threw envious glares at the seemingly-softer white-looking bread at the table adjacent to us; it was just, human nature.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do - and in a French restaurant, eat snails as the French does. This was my second time eating the slimy-looking creature, and as much as I thought it looked similar to cockle; I love the strong butter and garlic smell. Half dozen baked Burgundy snails with tomato and garlic butter, way to go!
I’m-a-carnivore! And the only appetiser on the menu which seemed to satisfy the meat-eater in me was the Pork terrine and mesclun salad, shallots, gherkins and capers vinaigrette. I took a bite, chew-chew-swallow-swallow, and I took another bite. A piece of pork with really extraordinary subtlety and texture. And my dear, this was where the meal just began.
Words are powerful stuff, they can make you happy, sad, angry or nervous. In this case, I was excited by the mere-presence of the word, beef cheeks.
What part, you asked again?
Beef cheeks. Pardon me, but I have never eaten somebody’s cheek before.
Red wine braised beef cheeks, carrots, mushrooms and parsley potatoes. I realised I couldn’t really tell the difference between the different parts of the cow, but did it really mattered? The braised beef cheeks were tenderly-done, and there was the potatoes which were a-part-of-it.
I had to agree that braised beef tasted better than lamb shank, or maybe I haven’t tried one that is worthy, yet.
If the beef cheek were tenderly-done, then the Pan seared onglet beef was done exactly the way I love it! And just exactly what was Onglet, I know it’s a prime cut of beef, but past that I’m beyond caring. Don’t talk to me about the different grade, the marbling of the meat, there ain’t no need to discuss the cooking technique, I-just-liked-this!
With a tinge of pink, the medium-rare meat was per-fect! And I love the confit shallots which spreaded over the top of the beef, like the sky covered over the land. The presence of the French fries were puzzling, I decided I was going to ignore its guest appearance on the plate and focused on the beef instead.
The lemon tart was fabulous - how can something so simple. be so, absolutely wonderful. The texture of the lemon curd was done just right, and paired with the subtle ice cream with a hint of lavender-honey, I’m a happy boy.
I had a quickie with the Crème brulée; I took the first taste, stunned for a moment, and took my second. This continued until I finished the whole dessert. Beneath the nicely-touched caramelised sugar, was the smoothest yet firm, custard, infused with vanilla beans.
Total bill was $70 for two set lunches. I, had an awesome time! Which left me with this question, why didn’t I go there earlier! Au petit Salut has one of the most reasonable set lunches at $30 , comparing with most of the restaurants which are doing theirs at $38 , I thought it is a steal. Of course, there are certainly better restaurants out there, but I love the place as a whole. See you there!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
I have walked pass this restaurant several times, but often rather settle for the Crystal Jade Palace Restaurant as I never really thought my taste buds catered to the Korean flavour.
This time round, upon looking at the menu, I thought perhaps there could be something that suits my taste. No harm trying a new place, so my dinner partner and I left our names down for 2 at this restaurant.
There wasn’t really a queue at about 6.20pm and we were told that we had to wait 15 – 20 min for a table. I was rather surprised as it was still early and there was only one couple before me. Nonetheless, we waited.
20 min later, we were told the same thing again. Being a hungry customer who has been told to wait 20 min earlier on, this irritated me. Later, I realized that the wait was due to the fact that majority of the tables were “reserved” for groups who were coming in at 6.45pm or 7pm.
Another thing I noticed was a display at the “rostrum” at the entrance informing diners that members will be seated before non-members. While I understand the idea of giving priority and privileges to members of the restaurant, when I saw the queue and compared it to the number of seats available in the restaurant, I thought it was the most ridiculous thing to do.
Finally, we got a table, only because someone who reserved it didn’t turn up. The table was aligned for company of 8 in a room that, if necessary, could be partitioned for a private function. It was extremely weird because we had another couple join us not long later, and it felt like any privacy or peace was invaded by them due to the close proximity of our tables. The whole restaurant wasn’t very spacious either, only enough space for a single line of people to walk.
Waiting time and space aside, the food and service was not too bad. We ordered a plate of BBQ beef (choice of barbequing it yourself or get the kitchen to do it), spicy seafood noodles, seafood pancake and the Korean mixed rice (I think it’s called Bibimbap). Apart from the food we ordered, there are also small plates of complimentary appetizers such as Kimchi, egg, bean sprout and some others which I couldn’t really identify. Though not a Korean food fan, I thought the Kimchi was not too bad in that it didn’t taste sour or like it had gone bad.
We chose to barbeque the beef ourselves. The restaurant serves a rather generous portion of very tasty and evenly-marinated beef. The beef is cut into thin slices and cooks relatively fast thus allowing us to cook as and when we please, and eat it while it’s hot. The beef is also very tender. It was absolutely delicious!
I thought the seafood pancake was quite good too. It looks like omelette with squid and spring onions but I doubt it’s egg. It comes with a sauce that looks like soya sauce and enhances the flavour of the pancake.
The seafood noodles was not as spicy as I hoped for it to be. It looked like tomyum soup but not as tasty. I was told it tasted like the usual Korean instant noodles.
All in all, we spent almost $90 for 2 pax. We ordered too much and didn’t finish the rice and noodles. I would like ordering 1 bowl of noodle or rice/ 2 bowls of plain rice instead would have been more than sufficient. That would have lowered our cost by about $18.
On the whole, quite a positive experience. I left thinking Korean food could be quite good after all. Will definitely go back there to try the soup and have more BBQ meat!
After the shocking mother's day lunch at Si Chuan Dou Hua the previous year, it was decided to head somewhere more low key and down to earth this year. May I just make it known that I still think occasions like mothers day/fathers day etc are just ploys by unscrupulous merchants to jack up their prices and serve you substandard food. But here we were, at Wo Peng, for a mother's day dinner. Apparently the chef, Hong Kong born Julian Tam, used to preside over the kitchen at Furama Palace at Furama Hotel and left to work in Guangzhou for a couple of months before returning to Singapore to open up his own restaurant.
The place is easy to miss, occupying just 2 units along Macpherson Road, where parking is a nightmare. The restaurant itself isn't big, probably squeezing in 50 pax or so and everything is kept no frills, from the tables and chairs to the ornaments that decorate the walls.
Shark's Fin Soup - If you are a fan of adding vinegar with your shark's fin soup, the staff at Wo Peng will advise you not to because according to them, the soup is naturally flavoured by herbs and don't require any addition of vinegar. I must conceed that they are absolutely right. The soup had cordyceps, ginseng and other unidentifiable (by me) herbs that made it light yet tasty with a mild herbal connotation. The fins weren't exactly of superior quality but acceptable nonetheless.
Smoked Duck - I simply love this dish. It has got to be one of the best duck dishes I've eaten since the start of 2009. The skin was crisp while the meat was smoked to a reddish hue and came across as very smooth and tender. There wasn't an overly generous salt content as well and tasted a little like ham. Nice!
Stir Fried Red Garoupa with Sweet Pea - This dish was rather normal though the fish was rather fresh and served up with dried mustard greens (梅菜), which gave it a salty tinge. I did like the sweet peas though, which were sweet (duh!), crunchy and not overly cooked.
Steamed Garoupa - This was actually a continuation of the the first fish dish, where the fish head was chopped up and steamed with pork slices, black fungus and red dates. Personally I preferred to the former as the whole dish was actually more savoury. But being only fish head, the meat was limited.
Peng Cai - This dish is usually sold and eaten only during the Chinese New Year period. But here at Wo Peng, its available throughout the year but only with an advance order of course. There were the usual suspects - dried oyster, prawns, mushrooms, broccoli, goose web, scallops, dried abalone, sea cucumber and surprisingly, radish, which is said to be found only in authentic HK peng cais. Although I am no fan of peng cai, I thought that this one was quite well done as the whole thing was stewed long enough for the flavours to permeate through to the various ingredients. And may I add that portions were huge for 5 people. 6-7 would have been a more manageable number.
Fried Noodles - The noodles were a thicker variant of mee suah and came across as soft but not too soggy. It was tasty and came loaded with lots of seafood but it got really nauseating after a while and I gave up after my 2nd bowl. This is the first time I'm feeling so overwhelmed by the amount of seafood thus far.
Roast Chicken - Finally a white meat dish and I thought that it was actually quite good. The meat was tender while retaining its flavours and moisture. The skin was a nice homogeneous golden brown but a pity it wasn't crisp.
Hasma - Also known as the poor men's bird nest, the Hasma came with dried longans and dates and tasted like hot cheng ting. To be honest, I am absolutely terrified of this dessert as it is made from dried fallopian tubes of frogs and somehow, ingesting an organ that plays a pivotal role in reproduction doesn't exactly settle well with me.
A satisfying, if not button bursting dinner cost the 5 of us to the tune of $350, which works out to be roughly $70 a head. Reasonable if you ask me, especially for the quality and quantity of food. Moreover, ingredients like shark's fin, abalone, sea cucumber etc don't come cheap. Service was great and even more commendable in the absence of any service charge.
Tucked in the corner of Serene Centre lies La Petite Cuisine, an eatery that serves simple French fare with a delicate touch. For a no-frills, tiny establishment estimated not more than 20 tables (they have since expanded outside just next to the pavement), their menu is pretty extensive.
Although one needs to make their way to the cashier to place their orders, the good news is they do not charge GST. Also do not expect fanciful plateware and cutlery set as the complimentary bread came serve in plastic plate. Bread was warm but otherwise nothing extraordinary.
The Ravioli of Prawns Foie Gras in Light Lemon Crème ($14.00) was pretty interesting – the ingredients within the ravioli was generous, and the sauce was nice, but despondently, one could see the foie gras but not taste it – the prawns simply overwhelmed the former. In fact, it tasted more like prawn dumplings served French style.
The Foie Gras Panfried with Orange Confit Served with Salad ($17.00) was of decent portion. At such a size, HFB thought it was pretty good value for money. Nicely panfried on the surface, yet quiver when cut, it was done pleasingly. The orange sauce that came along with it goes really well also. Love it!
You must definitely give the Confit de Canard with Gratin ($15.00) a try if you pay them a visit. The duck skin is slow-cooked to a perfect crisp, and fully flavoured. The mash that came with it was smooth and delightful too. This dish was way better than the lousy version served at The French Stall along Serangoon Road.
The dessert though was very disappointing – HFB could understand the 20 minutes wait for a hot dessert, but the Tarte Tatin, or Apple Tarte ($6.50) was just unpleasant in many ways. Serving was measly, and the whole puff pastry stacked above two slices of apple arrangement just failed miserably. HFB end up eating the puff pastry separately from the apples, which was still slightly unyielding for consumption.
He reckon one would be better off having ice cream at Island Creamery next door!
1=SGD 0.0587
Had been hearing excellent things about Goodwood Park Hotel's English high tea buffet so made it a point to try it out one weekend afternoon. Apparently the buffet is highly sought after so reservations in advance are recommended.
Ambience
Not much to speak of as L'Espresso is actually a lobby lounge that's located just next to the deli where crowds form to buy its signature durian desserts. But on the upside, it offers a view of the charming pool through full length glass windows and there's the pianist too, if you are lucky. Did I mention that Goodwood Park itself exudes a certain colonial charm that is priceless?
Variety
The variety was quite an eyeful. Scones, sandwiches, tarts and other sweets formed the bulk of the food. I didn't do an exact count but you are probably looking at about 20 odd different items. Would have liked some savoury stuff but overall thought the spread was good for an English high tea. You get 2 pots of tea with your buffet as well.
Quality
I must say that I'm quite impressed with the overall quality of the buffet. Everything was daintily and intricately presented, very much like what you would find in more upscale high tea sessions which serve their items on a 3 tier stand. Make a beeline for the scones, which I personally like quite a fair bit, especially with a huge dollop of jam. You might want to skip the foie gras pate sandwiches though as I honestly thought that pate was just gross. But that's just me.
Service
Professional but a little stiff. They did seem a little short handed as well but to give the place credit, our plates were cleared promptly.
Value for money
At 33 (about $39 after tax) per pax, I am most inclined to recommend this place to anyone in search of a nice place to chill out with friends for a couple of hours on a weekend or public holiday with great finger food and desserts to boot. This is honestly one of the very few buffets that I can actually revisit. In short, I loved it.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
The first of the many to come, Wan Hao Chinese restaurant at Marriott hotel.
Now what can I say? I totally love roast pork belly! The dish is often an indicator of the standard of a Chinese restaurant; Wan Hao’s rendition was nicely done - crispy top with a thin-and-nice layer of fats. “One cube definitely wasn’t enough”, I protested! But hey, there’s still thirty more dish to go!
Although I couldn’t exactly tasted which seven spices were use, but the combination was seductive to the palate, the Seven spices sea perch fillet.
And just before you are thinking Chinese restaurants are boring and served the usual-you-know-what food, the Hokkigai and salmon sashimi would certainly prove you wrong! Just look at the thickly-and-generous slices of the fresh sashimi. It-is-to-die-for.
For the tasting at Wan Hao, only Catherine of Camemberu fame and myself was present among the five of us. And she absolutely loved the Jelly fish with cucumber. Tangy and Q, it was a refreshing appetiser.
Like the no-smoking campaign slogon which asked you to say ‘No‘ to cigarettes, I could never say no to roast duck. My interpretation of a good roast duck: crispy skin with a layer of fats and tasty duck meat. This one had it all, and say it with me, Oomph-la-la!
Vermicelli with pork fillet. There wasn’t anything spectacular but this is just one, good, comfort food, which stood out among the delicacies we tried.
In my humble opinion, Wan Hao has the best Ha Gau among the four places that we tried. All of them used top-quality fresh prawns, but what made the one here stood out was the the skin; some places would do it too thick, and some too thin - it was done perfectly here. Bravo!
I actually preferred the spring roll filled with smoked duck meat to the roasted duck. The smoked duck meat lived up to its name - the very smoky taste within the crispy spring roll.
While some people found that the addition of fish roe to the top only served as an adornment; I thought that it’s fine so long the tiny orange eggs wasn’t in excessive to overwhelm the taste of the siew mai.
I ain’t a big fan of asparagus - the word alone put me off; but I had to try this translucent pretty-looking asparagus dumpling, which tasted decent.
The sea perch fillet with garlic appeared squeaky-fresh; it seemed to be flipping on my plate! The golden mushrooms and tofu were integrated with the sea perch, and I love it!
I knew it was close. I could smell it. The strong alcohol scent. You can smell it from far away. The drunken prawns were as suspected, very strong in liqueur taste; the prawns were big and fresh. I must emphasized, the quality and freshness of the ingredients at Wan Hao was really what set them aside.
The mere presence of duck shreds greatly enhanced the flavour of the congee. And not to mention there’s sliced fish maw, squid too! All the natural goodness in the bowl of Congee.
It was sensational. Tender, let me tell you, the whole experience: the chewing and swallowing, we couldn’t speak. There was a lump stuck in my throat; I just allowed myself to quietly finished the meat, and inside I was secretly hoping there was more of this. I was struck in awe of the flavour and texture of the meat, this was certainly my most memorable and favourite dish of the meal. And I couldn’t bear to speak of its name, Kurabuta pork, all the way from Americaaa!
The meal was a late boomer. Just when I thought that the few dishes in front were all good, it got better and better. Or maybe they were saving the best for the last, either way, the Chilli prawns with crispy buns had the “made in Singapore” brand stamped all over it. Spicy, fresh, with the mini mantao bun to dip in to the sauce, it was a superb interpretation of prawns done in our local favourite Chilli crab. A Singapore classic.
I could not, believe how tender the meat actually was. It literally melted in my mouth - I know this phase sounded exaggerating and often over-used, but trust me, it’s true for the Beef tenderloin with black peppercorns. Oh my! I would gladly go back another time just for the kurobuta pork, chilli prawns, and the beef tenderloin alone.
All right, back to the basics. Not many places can do a mean version of the Ee-fu noodles. All of us agreed that this one was just right in terms of the oilyness and bite. Not too oily, not too dry, just exactly how we liked it.
For the first time, I was actually sorry to see the desserts coming - for it signalled the end of the wonderful meal. But Wan Hao dessert did not disappoint as well, the first to arrive, the Lemongrass jelly with lime sherbet was equally pleasing in aesthetic senses. Very refreshing, and a fine finish for us.
There was a big fan of the mango pudding among us, and he was right! I took a nibble without adding in any milk for the original taste; even eaten alone the smooth and creamy texture of the aroma mango was evident.
If you know me, you must know that I’m an anti-durian person. For the sake of sharing with everybody, I popped one durian mochi inside - the mochi was very sticky, the smell of the fabled durian king of the fruits wasn’t very apparent until I took a bite of it, and that’s when I say, Shit!
I love egg tarts, and I always questioned the fact why Chinese restaurants always do their egg tarts in mini sizes. And like the manager of Wan Hao put it, the small bite was just right, anything bigger it would be too much. Crisp golden brown pastry with equally good egg fillings.
* * *
I must admit, I’m impressed with Wan Hao Chinese restaurant. The freshness in the quality ingredients, with the management’s emphasis on this, plus the service of the staff, were all top-notch. I’m not talking about their good service because it was a tasting session, after we finished our meal, we went down to their bakery; the staff was very knowledgeable about their bakes and was very professional.
The 31 items which we tried for this tasting session was half of their weekend brunch buffet which had 70 items, priced at $55 per head. For the sheer quality and variety, the sum is fair, will I be back? Definitely, See you there!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
Keong Saik Road. A road synonymous with red lanterns and ladies of the night in the past. Now all that are left are old Chinese shophouses which have been restored to their former character with a number being made into boutique hotels - an up and coming trend in the hotel industry. One such boutique hotel is Hotel 1929, which sits smack in the middle of Keong Saik Road. Our restaurant of review today happens to be housed under it, right next to the main entrance. It was fortunate that I had made a reservation, as it got quite packed soon after. Reservations also got us a nice corner table for 5. Ambience wise, it was really cozy with soft lighting and limited seating. The placement of mirrors at strategic locations also made the place look bigger. However, it was a little cramp in reality and noisy as well due to the incessant chatter.
We were really spoilt for choice with regard to the menu. Everything just seemed great and we actually relied on the friendly waitress's recommendations for our order. We had appetizers of Pan Seared Scallops with Parma Ham, Orange and Tarragon Vinaigrette, Tuna Tempura with Goma Wakame, Mustard Dressing and Pan Seared Foie Gras with Caramelized Apple and Clove Port and Raspberry Glaze. Mains included Pan Seared Chilean Seabass with Mushroom and Smoked Bacon Ragout, Truffle-Yuzu Butter Sauce, 2 sets of Char Grilled Angus Beef Ribeye with Fava Beans, Braised Stockyard Beef Cheek with Merlot, Seasonal Vegetables and Slow Roasted Rack of Lamb with Tamarind Reduction. Apple Tart Tartin with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, Flavoured Panna Cotta with Chilled Mango Soup, Warm Banana Tart with Homemade Lavender Ice Cream and Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream rounded up our dinner.
A small serving of complimentary bread(refillable) started us off on the right track. The bread was warm and fluffy with a tinge of cheesy aftertaste and went very well with the accompanying butter. Appetizers followed suit soon after.
The Pan Seared Scallops with Parma Ham, Orange and Tarragon Vinaigrette came with huge scallops wrapped with Parma ham. And I mean really HUGE. For one, I've never seen such a huge scallop in my life. Serious. A pity about the taste though. It lacked the sweetness in good scallops and was way too soft in the middle portion. Scallops are supposed to be crunchy, not soft! The accompanying veggies were plain normal, which makes you wonder about the fancy name. On to the next appetizer, the Tuna Tempura with Goma Wakame, Mustard Dressing. I had a good experience with something similar at Sage so I kind of upped my expectations a little. I personally found the tempura batter a little too overwhelming. It masked the taste of the middle raw Tuna a little too much. I could only detect a slight tinge of the Tuna after chewing for some time. Although I appreciate the apparent lack of fishiness, but it kinda defeats the purpose of eating Tuna if there is hardly any Tuna taste. The Pan Seared Foie Gras with Caramelized Apple and Clove Port and Raspberry Glaze probably takes the cake in the appetizer segment. Soft and quivery, it literally melts in your mouth with no distinct and overpowering aftertaste. The caramelized apples added quite a twist to the dish by infusing a certain sweetness into the Foie Gras.
Mains were a mixture of average and above average, with none even closing in on spectacular. The Pan Seared Chilean Seabass with Mushroom and Smoked Bacon Ragout was one of the above average dish. Sweet flesh with a slightly crispy exterior and buttery texture made for a pleasant dish. However, too much butter makes you queasy after a while and that was what my friend experienced.
Getting a steak done right requires a lot of skill. The Char Grilled Angus Beef Ribeye with Fava Beans fell flat in this aspect. Prepared with just salt and pepper, it was supposed to showcase the quality of the cut and the skill of the chef. Neither happened. The taste of the meat was rather flat with no full bodied texture, which is very important for good steaks for that extra oomph. Ok its not as bad I as make it out to be. Its still decent and can probably give a few steakhouses a run for their money. The dubious honour of "worst dish of the day" went to the Braised Stockyard Beef Cheek with Merlot, Seasonal Vegetables. Someone please tell me why this dish is worth the $40 I paid for it because I honestly can't think of any. The beef cheek was so soft that it because gross after a while. Taste wise was merely average with no evident presence of Merlot.
Oh and before I forget, the Slow Roasted Rack of Lamb with Tamarind Reduction was one of the highlights of the mains. It didn't reek strongly of lamb, so that was a relieve for me for I simply abhor the lamb aftertaste. The side of mashed sweet potato was an interesting variation of the more common mashed potato. Smooth, sweet and starchy. Nice! On a sidenote, I am not a lamb person, so I may not be the best person to give you an opinion on this dish.
We had ordered our desserts together with the appetizers and mains as many of them required quite a bit of lead time (About 20-30mins). With such a long advance period, we were expecting some really stupendous and out of this world desserts. That was when reality hit us real bad. In all honesty, none of the desserts were exceptional.
The Apple Tart Tartin with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream was probably the best dessert. Creatively shaped into a pie like structure, the apples were not too sweet, but the base was a let down with its soft pastry. The Flavoured Panna Cotta with Chilled Mango Soup was supposed to be a dish where east meets west. Sadly, the west never quite made it. The mango soup, which was essentially mango with sago and pomelo pudding, overpowered the taste of the Panna Cotta. Total whitewash.
I have always wondered how lavender ice cream would taste like and I found out yesterday. It was plain weird and really tasted like lavender scented shampoo or soap, not that I've tried either. Its just that the smell and the taste are the same! So imagine the countless images of shampoo and soap running through my mind while I was eating the Warm Banana Tart with Homemade Lavender Ice Cream. Maybe lavender ice cream just isn't my cup of tea. The banana tart was alright though. It tasted like pastry with banana.
Doesn't Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream sound really good? Imagine breaking into the crust of the chocolate cake and warm chocolate oozing out. Sure the chocolate did ooze out, but the taste was just not up to expectations. The cake tasted too floury, if there's such a word. Too much flour if there isn't. The oozing chocolate was pathetic as compared to the one I had at Morton's of Chicago. The only credit I can think of is the vanilla bean ice cream, which was smooth with a fine texture.
Dinner for 5 cost about $320/-. Terribly expensive if you ask me. Maybe I just have higher expectations about the quality of food than what was given. But wouldn't most people be the same considering the premium price tag? Price aside, I personally found the food at Ember very decent, but not decent enough to warrant another visit with the relatively high prices. Credit goes to the service crew though, who really go the extra mile to make you feel welcomed.
See my pictures here
Rating given:
Attended the annual food bloggers lunch at Gunthers, the eponymous modern fine dining French restaurant helmed by Chef Gunther Hubrechsen, who trained under Chef Alain Passard at the 3 Michelin star L’Arpège in Paris and had a 5 year stint with Les Amis. Opened in August 2007, Gunthers has consistently garnered rave reviews from various media for its refreshing twist to classical French food.
The whole place isn't big actually, even more so the private dining room, which was slated to accomodate 24 of us. And because it was a long table, there wasn't much room to manoeuvre around which made it quite cramp (for me at least). Decor came across as simple and minimalist with dark wall tones and carefully placed spotlights - not so much the romantic ambience, but more for business.
Amuse Bouche - I didn't quite take to the amuse bouche, which was a slice of tomato drizzled with a vanilla bean foam served with fava beans and a slice of ciabatta. The foam and vanilla beans seemed more for decoration then anything else and the tomato taste overwhelmed.
Cold Angel Hair Pasta, Oscietra Caviar - One of Gunther's signature dishes, this was quite tasty but I would have preferred my pasta to be more al dente. The chopped chives and truffle oil gave it a smooth savoury taste coupled with a fragrant truffle aroma while the chilliness of the pasta contributed a nice refreshing sensation. Apparently this dish goes for $60 in the ala carte menu, but portions are definitely much much bigger.
Poached White Asparagus, Bouchot Mussels - White asparagus is essentially asparagus that comes from the process of etiolation, which is the deprivation of light. No chlorophyll can be produced without sunlight hence there is no green colouring in the plant. As such, it is slightly milder in flavour and a little more tender then normal green asparagus. I thought that Gunther's rendition of this vegetable was a little lacking. The single stalk of asparagus was poached until it became overly soft and mashy. The accompanying sauce was excellent though, with a hint of cinammon that went very well with the tiny morsels of seafood.
Grilled Cote de Boeuf, Japanese sweet-corn, sauce Bordelaise - The beef was done to a perfect medium rare with a nice slightly charred exterior that hinted strongly of salt. There was one small fault though. The red wine/vinegar reduction seemed a little too rushed, resulting in a lightly sour note as you chew on the meat. I liked the grilled sweet corn that came alongside. It provided a sweet refreshing punctuation in between intakes of beef.
Roasted Black Pig from Spain (Pata Negra) -
The pork was a substitute for the Grilled Cote de Boeuf in case anyone didn't take beef. But that's not to say that this dish was lacklustre in comparison. On the contrary, this was one quality piece of meat from the Black Iberian Pig, which is known for its ability to accumulate fat under its skin and between the muscular fibres. Read. Exorbitant prices. Execution wise, I thought that the pork was evenly roasted to produce a tender yet succulent piece of meat that literally left me wanting for more. The only complaint I had was that the meat was overly salty.
Fine Apple Tart a la Dragées, Havana Rum Raisin Ice Cream - Apparently Gunther's signature dessert, the apple tart's crust reminded me of the crust found in the Chinese red bean paste pancake, save for the toppings of nuts on top. The stuffing of apple chunks weren't too soft but lacked the sourish aftertaste in my humble opinion. The rum and raisin ice cream was interesting but somehow I don't remember rum and raisin tasting anything like this, or am I just a die hard alcoholic?
As this was a special arrangement by Gunther's for this particular event, we were fortunate to have been able to try out so many dishes for $45 nett/pax. I would like to end off with a thank you to the organisers for the invite. Cheers.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
I believe this blogstore has been around for a long time, judging from the number of collections they have to date! (133 collections to date!)
Tracyeinny has a very professional and clean cut layout. I cannot stress enough the importance of having a neat layout. Many times, blogstores fail in this aspect. Over here, there are even instructions on how to navigate the blogstore better. Thumbs up for that foresight!
The homepage only displays the latest announcements and the latest collection. In this way, online shoppers won't get confused. Also, the page will not take too long to load! Many other blogshops display too many entries in the landing page and it gets VERY frustrating waiting for everything to finish loading.
Tracyeinny's service is also of a good standard. E-mails are replied rather promptly (at least once a day) and once the item has been mailed, they inform customers.
Over here, they have a wide range of clothes. Just by scrolling down the latest collection, I can already spot the many different types of clothes that caters to people who have different tastes in fashion! Its always important to cater to as many people as possible, especially since their target age group consists of rather fickle people when it comes to style and fashion!
All in all, I feel very satisfied with my purchase from Tracyeinny and I recommend everyone to check them out. The prices are reasonable too! Definitely worth the money.
Rating given:
Diandin Leluk, the well known budget Thai restaurant at Golden Mile and owner of the Tuk Tuk Thai Kitchen chain, recently opened up a new upmarket branch around my area so thought it would be good to give it a shot.
Taking over the space vacated by a chicken rice stall just next to Sushi Tei, Diandin boasts two levels of seating in a brightly lighted comfortable looking interior with heavy wooden chairs and tables. Nice place for casual family dinners or gatherings.
Pork Beancurd Soup - I quite fancied this soup as it came across as light yet tasty from the addition of tong cai. There were balls of prawn paste peppered with bits of meat and steamed egg tofu in it. Very traditional Teochew styled soup.
Pandan Chicken -
This was one of the better pandan chickens that I've eaten as it wasn't too oily or cloyingly sweet. The meat was tender and fibrous and of quite a sizeable chunk.
Stir Fried Broccoli with Scallops - A very simple dish and decently executed one at that. The broccoli wasn't overcooked while the thin silvers of scallop didn't carry the fishy aftertaste. However, I thought that the gravy was a little too bland for my liking. But on the upside, at least it wasn't too starchy.
Pineapple Fried Rice - A most mundane rendition of this Thai favourite. There were lots of meat floss, a few slices of shrimp, dried sausages and raisins but lacked the pineapple twang as well as the fragrance. Decent but I've definitely had better.
Phad Thai - The phad thai was of the dryer variant which I personally prefer and the noodles had a nice springy texture. It didn't come across as overly sweet as well and you had a choice of drowning the noodles in grounded peanuts, which I did. Pity about the small portions.
Durian Glutinous Rice - This dessert looked different from others that I've eaten elsewhere. The rice was seperated from the durian (which was real durian meat, not puree) and looked a total mess. Aesthetics aside, the durian was sweet while the glutinous rice wasn't overwhelmed by coconut milk. I did think that the rice was a little undercooked though because it came across as a little hard.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
If 7atenine was the best meal I had so far, then Au Petit Salut would be its equal.
I was the passerby in your colourful life, we never seem to meet, until now. Our encounter is but an absence and a providence: now that we’ve met, I hold you dear. The place of eternal memories; Au Petit Salut.
Lush, lush, lush and green. It seems so near, yet so far. Right in the middle, but not in the middle; I had to admit - I was wrong. Overrated, you are not, there’s just something special about you. I wished we’ve met earlier, but like they say, it’s better to be late than never.
It was all we need to get started with, a piece of bread, and a stick of butter. We threw envious glares at the seemingly-softer white-looking bread at the table adjacent to us; it was just, human nature.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do - and in a French restaurant, eat snails as the French does. This was my second time eating the slimy-looking creature, and as much as I thought it looked similar to cockle; I love the strong butter and garlic smell. Half dozen baked Burgundy snails with tomato and garlic butter, way to go!
I’m-a-carnivore! And the only appetiser on the menu which seemed to satisfy the meat-eater in me was the Pork terrine and mesclun salad, shallots, gherkins and capers vinaigrette. I took a bite, chew-chew-swallow-swallow, and I took another bite. A piece of pork with really extraordinary subtlety and texture. And my dear, this was where the meal just began.
Words are powerful stuff, they can make you happy, sad, angry or nervous. In this case, I was excited by the mere-presence of the word, beef cheeks.
What part, you asked again?
Beef cheeks. Pardon me, but I have never eaten somebody’s cheek before.
Red wine braised beef cheeks, carrots, mushrooms and parsley potatoes. I realised I couldn’t really tell the difference between the different parts of the cow, but did it really mattered? The braised beef cheeks were tenderly-done, and there was the potatoes which were a-part-of-it.
I had to agree that braised beef tasted better than lamb shank, or maybe I haven’t tried one that is worthy, yet.
If the beef cheek were tenderly-done, then the Pan seared onglet beef was done exactly the way I love it! And just exactly what was Onglet, I know it’s a prime cut of beef, but past that I’m beyond caring. Don’t talk to me about the different grade, the marbling of the meat, there ain’t no need to discuss the cooking technique, I-just-liked-this!
With a tinge of pink, the medium-rare meat was per-fect! And I love the confit shallots which spreaded over the top of the beef, like the sky covered over the land. The presence of the French fries were puzzling, I decided I was going to ignore its guest appearance on the plate and focused on the beef instead.
The lemon tart was fabulous - how can something so simple. be so, absolutely wonderful. The texture of the lemon curd was done just right, and paired with the subtle ice cream with a hint of lavender-honey, I’m a happy boy.
I had a quickie with the Crème brulée; I took the first taste, stunned for a moment, and took my second. This continued until I finished the whole dessert. Beneath the nicely-touched caramelised sugar, was the smoothest yet firm, custard, infused with vanilla beans.
Total bill was $70 for two set lunches. I, had an awesome time! Which left me with this question, why didn’t I go there earlier! Au petit Salut has one of the most reasonable set lunches at $30 , comparing with most of the restaurants which are doing theirs at $38 , I thought it is a steal. Of course, there are certainly better restaurants out there, but I love the place as a whole. See you there!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
I have walked pass this restaurant several times, but often rather settle for the Crystal Jade Palace Restaurant as I never really thought my taste buds catered to the Korean flavour.
This time round, upon looking at the menu, I thought perhaps there could be something that suits my taste. No harm trying a new place, so my dinner partner and I left our names down for 2 at this restaurant.
There wasn’t really a queue at about 6.20pm and we were told that we had to wait 15 – 20 min for a table. I was rather surprised as it was still early and there was only one couple before me. Nonetheless, we waited.
20 min later, we were told the same thing again. Being a hungry customer who has been told to wait 20 min earlier on, this irritated me. Later, I realized that the wait was due to the fact that majority of the tables were “reserved” for groups who were coming in at 6.45pm or 7pm.
Another thing I noticed was a display at the “rostrum” at the entrance informing diners that members will be seated before non-members. While I understand the idea of giving priority and privileges to members of the restaurant, when I saw the queue and compared it to the number of seats available in the restaurant, I thought it was the most ridiculous thing to do.
Finally, we got a table, only because someone who reserved it didn’t turn up. The table was aligned for company of 8 in a room that, if necessary, could be partitioned for a private function. It was extremely weird because we had another couple join us not long later, and it felt like any privacy or peace was invaded by them due to the close proximity of our tables. The whole restaurant wasn’t very spacious either, only enough space for a single line of people to walk.
Waiting time and space aside, the food and service was not too bad. We ordered a plate of BBQ beef (choice of barbequing it yourself or get the kitchen to do it), spicy seafood noodles, seafood pancake and the Korean mixed rice (I think it’s called Bibimbap). Apart from the food we ordered, there are also small plates of complimentary appetizers such as Kimchi, egg, bean sprout and some others which I couldn’t really identify. Though not a Korean food fan, I thought the Kimchi was not too bad in that it didn’t taste sour or like it had gone bad.
We chose to barbeque the beef ourselves. The restaurant serves a rather generous portion of very tasty and evenly-marinated beef. The beef is cut into thin slices and cooks relatively fast thus allowing us to cook as and when we please, and eat it while it’s hot. The beef is also very tender. It was absolutely delicious!
I thought the seafood pancake was quite good too. It looks like omelette with squid and spring onions but I doubt it’s egg. It comes with a sauce that looks like soya sauce and enhances the flavour of the pancake.
The seafood noodles was not as spicy as I hoped for it to be. It looked like tomyum soup but not as tasty. I was told it tasted like the usual Korean instant noodles.
All in all, we spent almost $90 for 2 pax. We ordered too much and didn’t finish the rice and noodles. I would like ordering 1 bowl of noodle or rice/ 2 bowls of plain rice instead would have been more than sufficient. That would have lowered our cost by about $18.
On the whole, quite a positive experience. I left thinking Korean food could be quite good after all. Will definitely go back there to try the soup and have more BBQ meat!
Rating given:
After the shocking mother's day lunch at Si Chuan Dou Hua the previous year, it was decided to head somewhere more low key and down to earth this year. May I just make it known that I still think occasions like mothers day/fathers day etc are just ploys by unscrupulous merchants to jack up their prices and serve you substandard food. But here we were, at Wo Peng, for a mother's day dinner. Apparently the chef, Hong Kong born Julian Tam, used to preside over the kitchen at Furama Palace at Furama Hotel and left to work in Guangzhou for a couple of months before returning to Singapore to open up his own restaurant.
The place is easy to miss, occupying just 2 units along Macpherson Road, where parking is a nightmare. The restaurant itself isn't big, probably squeezing in 50 pax or so and everything is kept no frills, from the tables and chairs to the ornaments that decorate the walls.
Shark's Fin Soup - If you are a fan of adding vinegar with your shark's fin soup, the staff at Wo Peng will advise you not to because according to them, the soup is naturally flavoured by herbs and don't require any addition of vinegar. I must conceed that they are absolutely right. The soup had cordyceps, ginseng and other unidentifiable (by me) herbs that made it light yet tasty with a mild herbal connotation. The fins weren't exactly of superior quality but acceptable nonetheless.
Smoked Duck - I simply love this dish. It has got to be one of the best duck dishes I've eaten since the start of 2009. The skin was crisp while the meat was smoked to a reddish hue and came across as very smooth and tender. There wasn't an overly generous salt content as well and tasted a little like ham. Nice!
Stir Fried Red Garoupa with Sweet Pea - This dish was rather normal though the fish was rather fresh and served up with dried mustard greens (梅菜), which gave it a salty tinge. I did like the sweet peas though, which were sweet (duh!), crunchy and not overly cooked.
Steamed Garoupa - This was actually a continuation of the the first fish dish, where the fish head was chopped up and steamed with pork slices, black fungus and red dates. Personally I preferred to the former as the whole dish was actually more savoury. But being only fish head, the meat was limited.
Peng Cai - This dish is usually sold and eaten only during the Chinese New Year period. But here at Wo Peng, its available throughout the year but only with an advance order of course. There were the usual suspects - dried oyster, prawns, mushrooms, broccoli, goose web, scallops, dried abalone, sea cucumber and surprisingly, radish, which is said to be found only in authentic HK peng cais. Although I am no fan of peng cai, I thought that this one was quite well done as the whole thing was stewed long enough for the flavours to permeate through to the various ingredients. And may I add that portions were huge for 5 people. 6-7 would have been a more manageable number.
Fried Noodles - The noodles were a thicker variant of mee suah and came across as soft but not too soggy. It was tasty and came loaded with lots of seafood but it got really nauseating after a while and I gave up after my 2nd bowl. This is the first time I'm feeling so overwhelmed by the amount of seafood thus far.
Roast Chicken - Finally a white meat dish and I thought that it was actually quite good. The meat was tender while retaining its flavours and moisture. The skin was a nice homogeneous golden brown but a pity it wasn't crisp.
Hasma - Also known as the poor men's bird nest, the Hasma came with dried longans and dates and tasted like hot cheng ting. To be honest, I am absolutely terrified of this dessert as it is made from dried fallopian tubes of frogs and somehow, ingesting an organ that plays a pivotal role in reproduction doesn't exactly settle well with me.
A satisfying, if not button bursting dinner cost the 5 of us to the tune of $350, which works out to be roughly $70 a head. Reasonable if you ask me, especially for the quality and quantity of food. Moreover, ingredients like shark's fin, abalone, sea cucumber etc don't come cheap. Service was great and even more commendable in the absence of any service charge.
See all my pictures here.
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Tucked in the corner of Serene Centre lies La Petite Cuisine, an eatery that serves simple French fare with a delicate touch. For a no-frills, tiny establishment estimated not more than 20 tables (they have since expanded outside just next to the pavement), their menu is pretty extensive.
Although one needs to make their way to the cashier to place their orders, the good news is they do not charge GST. Also do not expect fanciful plateware and cutlery set as the complimentary bread came serve in plastic plate. Bread was warm but otherwise nothing extraordinary.
The Ravioli of Prawns Foie Gras in Light Lemon Crème ($14.00) was pretty interesting – the ingredients within the ravioli was generous, and the sauce was nice, but despondently, one could see the foie gras but not taste it – the prawns simply overwhelmed the former. In fact, it tasted more like prawn dumplings served French style.
The Foie Gras Panfried with Orange Confit Served with Salad ($17.00) was of decent portion. At such a size, HFB thought it was pretty good value for money. Nicely panfried on the surface, yet quiver when cut, it was done pleasingly. The orange sauce that came along with it goes really well also. Love it!
You must definitely give the Confit de Canard with Gratin ($15.00) a try if you pay them a visit. The duck skin is slow-cooked to a perfect crisp, and fully flavoured. The mash that came with it was smooth and delightful too. This dish was way better than the lousy version served at The French Stall along Serangoon Road.
The dessert though was very disappointing – HFB could understand the 20 minutes wait for a hot dessert, but the Tarte Tatin, or Apple Tarte ($6.50) was just unpleasant in many ways. Serving was measly, and the whole puff pastry stacked above two slices of apple arrangement just failed miserably. HFB end up eating the puff pastry separately from the apples, which was still slightly unyielding for consumption.
He reckon one would be better off having ice cream at Island Creamery next door!
You can view all the photos here.
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