Sweet Indulgence is a quaint little place found in the CBD maze. It was a challenge for a few of us that night but everyone managed to turn up in the end.
Due to the way the restaurant is built (lengthwise) our table had to be long and the area inside was pretty crammed. People sitting inside daren't move about too much for the fear of being too troublesome.
But the decor of the place was quite nice. I was initially worried it would be a little warm for some but it wasn't. The lighting was a little dim for photo-taking but we still managed. I like the bar counter and the little piano at the side. The boss even invited people to play on the piano in exchange for a glass of wine.
Food Served:Complimentary bread I was hungry when I had this so I'm probably not a very good judge. It had a slight taste of herbs to it but that was all. It wasn't warm nor soft enough. But it's reasonable I guess.
Salad A very simple salad. period.
Cream of Broccoli Most of the others said it was salty but my brother and I felt it was fine. Odd isn't it. We actually finished everything and were quite pleased with it. Maybe it's because we're broccoli lovers. The odd thing about this soup was that it was served AFTER the main course.
Garlic Prawns Thank goodness for the prawns. 4 bowls of prawns were plonked on the table to be shared by the people surrounding iit. Ours were shared by 5. The prawns came the same time as the salad and saved the day. They were fresh and had just enough bite. They were also in a flavourful dressing/sauce which I found to be quite special.
Poached Salmon with White Sauce & Herbs, served with Pasta and Seasonal Vegetables Firstly, I have to say that every plate of salmon was different. Ours was without the fishy taste/smell though my neighbour's had. We thought it could be due to the fact that ours was slightly smaller. The pasta was slightly overcooked and tasteless.
Oven Baked Chicken Thigh Steak with Crisp Skin served with Chef Sauce & Potato Mash infused with Vanilla and Cream I only liked the potato mash really. The chicken wasn't fantastic. I refused to eat the skin as it was quite soggy not crisp and the meat inside though marinated, wasn't very tasty.
Strawberry Cheesecake I didn't even know what it was when I was eating it. We were arguing about what it was. Some said it was Strawberry shortcake whilst others said it was just a cake. I didn't like it at all and didn't finish mine. It had a very odd smell to it, which I wasn't accustomed to.
Warm Choco Lava Indulgence We had to share this among the 5 of us as a complimentary dessert. Although I liked the taste of the chocolate oozing out and the taste of the crust but I can't help but dislike the texture of the crust. I don't like the whole thing to crumble into bits the moment one takes a stab at it.
Each of us paid $33 that night. We were full but weren't overly so. I guess it's reasonable as it includes a drink but I had certainly expected more. Not worth a planned visit but if you're nearby I guess it's alright.
I was thinking that they were very unprepared for a mini-crowd like us and maybe they would do better if there were less people? I was just thinking. Ah well.
An afternoon tea date with the girlfriends brought me to Zhou's Kitchen at Far East Square. I don't quite know what possessed us to be so brave to as to travel all the way to the CBD area with a newborn baby, but we did. Not to mention we weren't sure where it was and was initially mistakened that it was the one situated above the food court.
After some walking, we caught sight of the lime green bamboos and found ourselves on the doorstep of the restaurant that weekday afternoon. Even at 2pm, the place was still bustling with activity and we were glad we made reservations.
The decor of the place was quite modern with an oriental touch to it. Quite pleasing to the eye really and the lighting was comfortable without being too dim for photo-taking.
Once settled, we took a look at the menu and were a little disappointed that the list was quite short. There wasn't much variety though they seemed to have most of the items we want... except one - the conventional chee cheong fun.
Food ordered: BBQ Pork Buns - Char Siew Bao ($3.20 for 3) The highlight of our meal. We had two servings of this. I liked the fluffiness of the outside and the filling wasn't too sweet. It was just right and it didn't have much fatty meat. My companions enjoyed this one too. But sadly that was all....
Steamed Pork Dumplings ($3.50 for 3) I'm not really a fan of pork dumplings so I guess I shouldn't comment on this. But I really found the skin a little too thick and dry for me. The filling was average and it wasn't juicy enough inside.
Steamed Shrimp Dumplings - Har Gao ($4.20 for 3) Same problem here. The skin was a tad too thick and dry. I wonder if it was because we were there close to the end of lunch time. But it really shouldn't be that way. The prawn inside was ok. It wasn't very fresh but it wasn't "stale" either.
Fried Rice Roll in XO Sauce - Fried Chee Cheong Fun ($4.20) They didn't have steamed chee cheong fun. Not even a single kind. This is the only one they have and apparently it's their signature dish. Well, we thought it tasted like Char Kway Tiao. It was quite oily and didn't have much liquor taste in case you're wondering. We were quite sad we can't have our regular rice rolls really.
Banana Roll with Shrimp ($3.80) We didn't order this but it appeared and we ate absent-mindedly. The taste of the banana was quite strong and it went pretty well with the shrimp I guess though I found it a little weird at first.
Fried Carrot Cake ($3.20) It was pretty oily and wasn't very smooth. I've had much smoother ones and 3 pieces for this price is a tad expensive.
Beancurd Roll with Shrimp- Fu Pi Juan ($3.50) I found that the skin wasn't crisp enough for my liking.
Mango Pomelo Cream ($4) A small serving at this price, I'd expected much more. But the taste of the mango was lacking and finding pomelo is like a mini treasure hunt in this bowl. It was served cold but but quite chilled enough. I would have preferred it if it were sweeter.
Hashima Jelly ($6) My companions had this and I didn't try it. They said it was average though...
Inclusive of tea, towels, pickles, service charge and GST, it cost 3 of us $53.80. The service is alright with them topping up the tea often and they took extra care with the baby around (except one absent minded lady) However I don't think this is worth another visit.... unless I'm in the area and there isn't much of anything else.
Being a dessert (chocolate) fan, no one could stop me from Melvados once I knew they were famous for their brownies. Totally psyched, I travelled all the way to the other end of Singapore for a lazy Sunday afternoon tea with a friend.
Situated in King's Arcade, I couldn't help but notice that the exterior is a little run-down looking. But I guess what was more important to me was the inside since it was a really hot day and I needed a good dose of cool air....
..which I didn't get... for the first time I actually asked my companion if he felt hot. I'm usually the one who doesn't complain about the temperature of the place but this one is an exception. There's a first to everything right? We were sitting pretty far from the window so we weren't subjected to the heat from outside. So it really must be the lack of air-conditioning.
That aside, I found the decor alright. Just a little sparse though. They could have more seats to make the place look more full. But as my companion pointed out, two more tables (like I suggested) could make it look crammed. But I guess they could switch to smaller tables. Nonetheless the tables and chairs didn't quite match though the sofas looked nice. I say look cos there were very few and we didn't get a chance to sit on them.
After much pondering, we ordered:
Mixed Platter Your usual mix of fried calamari, fries, onion rings and seafood cakes. I didn't like any of it. The fries were the thin sort which is pretty much oil and little potato. The onion rings lacked onion flavour. The calamari are the sort straight from the freezer and the seafood cakes were just weird. The batter used wasn't tasty and honestly I was quite sick of it after the first two pieces. And yes they seemed to have used the same batter (or at least similiar) for all 3 items, except the fries.
Black & White Kisses This is the recommended brownie on the menu. It's a brownie topped with dark and white chocolate Hershey's kisses. This brownie was the more moist one of the two we had but it's still not rich enough in my opinion. It was still a little crumbly (like a cake) and I prefer brownies which are more on the sticky side. There is a good bit of flavour though.
Sizzling Brownies Sensation This is the brownie above, served on a hot plate with your choice of ice-cream. We had expected something more and certainly didn't expect to be served the same brownie. Also the hot plate was just heated up in the microwave and cooled down pretty fast after it arrived. I guess that's just as well since the ice cream was melting at super speed, resulting in a brownish puddle around the brownie after a while. Just a novelty but nothing to rave about really.
Chocolate Madness This was your regular brownie, just much drier. My little mistake.
We paid $25 in total I think and although it wasn't very much but I didn't find it worth my while after all. Service was alright and the staff wasn't exceptionally alert despite the fact that there were so few tables occupied.
What is the most terrible thing that can happen to a food blogger?
Encountered bad service at a restaurant?
No, thats part of the dining experience.
Taste lousy and not up-to-the-mark food?
Nah, thats also part of the dining experience.
Entering the restaurant and the waitress told you the place is full?
Blame it on yourself who did not make any reservations.
The worst thing, that can ever, ever happen to a food blogger . . .
Is having no camera to take shots of the delicacy displayed upon you.
Thunder never strikes at the same spot, indeed. The last time to The French Stall, LIC forgotten to bring his camera along, and that was an awful feeling. LIC didn’t expect to encounter the same problem, this time LIC did bring the camera, only to arrive happily at the entrance of the restaurant and found out that there was no battery inside!?!
Tsk tsk! LIC shouldn’t taken out the battery to charge and forgot to put it back. A dreadful mistake which must be avoid at all cost next time.
Beware! Warning! The following photos may look awful, terrible, shocking, ghastly, and lousy to you. If you cannot take any of the experience, please DO NOT click on “Read the rest of this entry“
The fatal spot where LIC wanted to take a pot-shot of the entrance and to his horror, discovered that the absence of the battery!
Alas, this post on Kuishin-bo will be short due to obvious reasons, LIC was actually working on Absolute Haven but due to time constraint, this post shall appear before your eyes first. Too many post pending for LIC to write, even OT can’t really help : )
The only “slightly more decent” photo, sushi selections The sushi are all right i guess, nothing to shout about. Quite a wide selections to choose from though.
Prawn Tempura The tempura section is most probably one of the place where i consume more, with the exception of desserts (which LIC can’t live without!) The prawn tempura is your normal fried prawn with tempura-flour, it works for me although i pretty much suspect its only decent in the eyes of Japanese food experts (LIC self-proclaimed he isn’t a avid Jap food eater)
Kaminabe paper steamboat Like what i mention during my visit to Waraku, Kaminabe sounds like a foul-word, it still brings back memories from the last visit, hence the mention. Paper pot, the vegetables, are all there to absorb the otherwise oily chicken and soup. Thinking back now, Beef should have been a better option for Kaminabe.
Desserts - Fruit Tarts Fruit tarts are LIC favorite! I can pop ten easily into my mouth. The tarts here are pretty standard i guess, but still give them to me!
There are also some miniature cakes around, chocolate ones, mini oreo cheesecakes (really tiny), mini doughnuts in different flavors, quite a variety available.
The chocolate fondue craze might have die down already, but that does not means they are not good. Its just that people forgets easily, before long another new craze will appear and the common folks will start to go after the new hype. Think donut, bubble-tea, luo-han fish, chocolate fondue, well just to name a few.
Total Bill for 2 person during weekday lunch comes up to $46.61 after tax and service charge. Weekday lunch is $24.80 for adult, and if you Op for the 60 minutes express lunch, it is $19.80 , which we did. I guess the 60 minutes strategy is more to attract office working people, but we took it since we are really full after an hour anyway.
Actually the difference in price is only 5 bucks, if you go for the normal price, you got the luxury to enjoy the buffet from 1130am-3pm, which big-appetite eaters should go for. Otherwise if you are working near Suntec, or like us where you can finish the meal in an hour, the discount of $5 although not much, is still rather substantial.
To be honest, the one hour buffet is rather rushed, and if you are the type that refuse to rush while tasting your food, it is not advisable to take it. But if you know what you are looking for, well just attack those areas and your effort will be paid off for the $19.80.
Kuishi-bo proclaimed itself to be the Authenthic Japanese Buffet Restaurant, which i highly doubted it. Authentic hardly feeds into what they are offering. Nevertheless i believe one sentence should sums it all for Kuishi-bo. Quantity, not quality!
Taste is subjective, if you are not looking for very excellent food, i say the ones at Kuishi-bo are quite decent, and definitely value-for-money since its only $19.80. But if you are into Japanese food, i’m afraid the visit will disappoint you greatly. Nonetheless, comparing Kuishi-bo to Sakura International Buffet, and Sakae Sushi Buffet, i still say Kuishi-bo slightly edged out both the latter.
Many acquaintance mentioned that Kuishi-bo’s standard has vastly dropped from last time, a pale shadow of what it used to be. Well, sometimes you have to experience it for yourself to conclude. I did, which is the reason for my visit to Kuishi-bo. Thus, Yay or Nah, make a trip down.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
Social Media Breakfast Singapore
March 29, 2008 (Saturday)
9 am — 12:30pm
Frujch @ SMU (Basement 1, School of Information Systems)
50 Stamford Road
The whole event was super fun, we mingled around talking with each other, a total of 40 people turned up for SMB! All righty, first we have to use the big sticker to write our name and blog address, or whatever website of stuff you want to let others know.
Anyway being a foodie, or rather I’ll coined myself as Gourmet Analyst, it is my moral obligation to present to you the food for the breakfast!
The “main course” for the breakfast. Sandwiches! There are not type of sandwich, one of which is ham, and the other being tuna. There are also the mini Choclate cakes
There were also orange juice to go along with the ’snacks’, and if you wanted any hot drink, you could always get it from the counter at Frujch (have to pay separately of course!)
See you all at the next SMB!
Btw, the 5 star rating is thumbs up for the Social Media Breakfast Event, not the food : )
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
Social Media Breakfast
” Where everything comes from online to offline “
I think everyone knows this lone building standing in the field next to the huge balloon in Bugis area. It has a pretty famous alfresco steamboat joint too.
I had the chance to go to this budget hotel when my friend from the US stayed there. Despite the exterior looking a little run-down, the inside was fine.
The walls of the small lobby were adorned with old photographs and old newspaper clippings about the hotel. The room my friend is staying in costs SGD60 a night. It is a little small but still comfortable with its double bed. However for that price he had to use the common bath which he found to be rather clean. (He's an expert when it comes to budget accomodation.)
In fact, he had so much confidence in the place, he told us that he wanted to switch to the SGD18 per night room where he would have to share with 3 other people. They had two bunk beds there and it's still very clean.
What he was most impressed with was the good condition of the lockers and the hot and cold showers in all the bathrooms. The service was also friendly and we had a good chat with the staff whilst we were visiting.
With the good location and reasonable prices, I really find this hostel worthwhile. Moreover, it wasn't sleazy and felt very safe to live there.
Yebber’s gathering at Hotpot was during the last day of Chinese New Year, which was like two months ago? I’m very sorry for this very late post, didn’t have the time to blog, and i’m eating way faster than the rate i’m blogging. Thus the delay, anyway i finally make time for this post because i wanna get it up before i make my next post on Yebber’s 1st Anniversary Party @ Mint Museum. Do watch out for that next post!
I didn’t have much photos to show, mainly because i was hoping to get some photos from the rest using their powerful DSLR, but in the end i decided to take some quick shots, and didn’t really get much nice shots.
Fried Garlic Chicken I like this one! It taste quite like “rojak”, except it got chicken instead of “you tiao”!
Sweet Sour Fish The Sweet Sour Fish here is not bad too. Being a huge fan of sweet sour food, think sweet sour pork, fish, chicken, i’m always on a lookout for good sweet sour food.
Chili Squid The Chili Squid is really spicy! Hot hot hot!
Yu Sheng At the end, we had Yu Sheng, it was fun having yu sheng with the yebbers!
One person at Hotpot Culture cost $19.80 (i think), with one person having mini-pot which entitles unlimited serving on the steamboat and cook food selection. And oh ya, they also have free-flow ice cream, and guess what? Chocolate Fondue!! Yeah, thats quite generous right? We had fruits to go along with the fondue, sweet! But one thing i didn’t like was one person can only have one free-drink, and after that you need to pay $2 for free-flow of drinks.
I’m not sure whether i’ll be back at Hotpot Culture again, partly because i’m not really a steamboat person, and also i’ll like to try more of other place. So your call, if you think they are worth a try, you can always find them at; Marina Square #02-138D Centre Stage
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
Chinese Cuisine with a Difference is Taste Paradise's tagline. Curious about how different this might be, 5 of us dropped by for a cosy dinner last Friday.
It was pretty easy to locate the place, however, parking wasn't that easy. In front of the restaurant there're some parallel parking spots but as you would guess too few for every one. Trying to look for parking in the area isn't too easy as they are all one-way streets. So do plan where you want to park before you go. Hong Lim or Chinatown Point would be two good places.
The restaurant is tastefully decorated with a long passage right up front. It's mainly in reds and blacks and the lighting is a little dim but still bright enough for me to see what I'm eating. Good enough for me.
We were greeted politely at the door and led to our seats in one of the rooms. After some observation, we noticed that one of the walls was actually made of panels which could be removed to make the room bigger for functions.
I couldn't bear to analyse the menu like my companions did for it didn't have any pictures were just filled with words. There were curly Chinese characters and English descriptions but it was still pretty difficult to read. So the rest of us just let two of them decide.
One little interesting thing was that there were 3 prices for the same bowl of Shark's Fin - $38, $58 and $68. $38 was the regular serving, $58 had more shark's fin in it and $68 was fin of high quality.... the staff patiently explained to us when we asked.
Food ordered:
Carrot Cake which I forgot to take the description of. But this was delicious. I LOVED IT! The serving was enough for 2 and slightly more. It wasn't too oily. the texture was very smooth and very tasty! YUMS!
Pan-seared Foie gras, wasabi mayonnaise prawn and sliced Beijing duck with condiments - $18 per personOur starter for the day was this great combination! The foie gras was crisp on the outside and pretty smooth on the inside. It was quite sizeable, any bigger and I would be worried about my heart. The wasabi prawn was alright. The wasabi taste wasn't too strong which is good and it was quite a big one. It was served on top of a watermelon which was suppose to compliment the taste of the prawn. But I couldn't be bothered to eat it. I liked the Beijing Duck slice. It was pre-prepared with the skin and sauce and wasn't too sweet. Just right.
Double boiled superior shark's fin with dried conpoy in traditional Beijing broth accompanied with bacon onion roll - $38 per personThe presentation of this dish was impressive! It was served in a grey bowl, the sort people used to mash belachan in, with the bacon wrap on top. It was bubbling when it came and bubbled for a long time whilst we drank it. There was plenty of fin and the broth was not too starchy like at some places. But it did smell of vinegar though I didn't find it too sourish. The bacon onion roll was a nice touch though I did find it a little troublesome to eat.
Braised homemade Beancurd with shredded scallop and Japanese Mushroom - $16 This was the one dish which I found a little disappointing. The skin of the beancurd was a little too tough and hard to tear. The taste was ok and the texture of the inside was smooth. The sauce it came with wasn't too salty as I have tasted in other places and the scallop was a nice accompaniment. Just the skin bothered me.
Szechuan Style roasted Chicken with homemade crispy crumbs - Half $16By the time we got to this dish I was pretty full but I still picked up a few pieces to munch. My companions were commenting about it being spicy but I found it barely so. It was quite tasty and the meat didn't taste as dry as it looked. I liked the texture of the meat but I'm the sort who likes chicken breast meat so if you aren't like me... well.
Stirfried Spinach with garlic - price unknownToo full to have any of this. But it looked just like your regular vege to me.
Mashed Taro with almond cream served in fresh coconut - $6.50I wanted to order this but I was in a mood for something cooler but I was happy to get a taste of it. It was served in a tiny REAL coconut! SO COOL! I was more fascinated with the coconut bowl than anything else. I think the Orh Nee tasted very nice. It wasn't too sweet, not overly flavoured. It had a hint of almond (or maybe I didn't scoop so much almond) which gave it a nice twist.
Chilled Mango Puree with Sago and Pomelo served with coconut ice cream - $4.50This was my dessert of the day!! I was worried about the coconut ice cream as I'm not a fan of coconut actually. But everything's worth trying right? So try I did and I enjoyed this dessert very much. Served cold and sweet (just right).
Chilled Pumpkin Puree served with coconut ice cream (Chef's Special) - $4.50Sadly I didn't get a taste of this.... but no complaints. She seemed to enjoy it...
Chilled Aloe Vera in refreshing calamansi juice - $4.50 Neither did I try this...
We got the 3 chilled desserts free, they were on the house which was a nice surprise.
The service was very good throughout the meal. Our tea was constantly topped up and Desmond, the assistant manager was jovial and sincere when serving us. When the 2 servings of the shark's fin were late, he took the initiative to inform us, which I think is a show of good service.
Each of us paid $93.50 for our share of food. It does seem quite a lot doesn't it? But I guess with foie gras and shark's fin on the list, I find it pretty acceptable. Minus those two, it would be more reasonable.
I chanced upon this place a while ago but visited it on a Monday when it was closed *just my dumb luck* Anyway then I caught it on Sunday Plus and decided that I should definitely try it. So I dragged my friend along that lazy rainy Sunday.
I loved the interior. No doubt it can only seat 15 and it's a little cramped but I love the peranakan style stuff and they actually sell peranakan clothing behind too! There were little knick knacks all over but I didn't take a look at the prices...
Food ordered:
Pan Fried Radish Cake & Yam Cake - $4.80 (4 slices) Let me explain this one. On its menu, Radish cake and Yam cake are listed separately at $3.80 for 3 slices. But as there are only two of us, the lady offered to let us try both, giving us 2 slices of each at $4.80 which I agreed. I liked the radish cake more than the yam cake but both are smooth enough for me. I enjoyed them but I did find the portion too small for the price.
Grandma Rayna’s Roast Chicken - $10.80 YUMMY! I normally will not order roast chicken but this time I didn't have to cut it up myself so I was happily gobbling away at the chicken bits. The meat was well marinated and juicy. The potato that came with it reminded me of my pri sch canteen food though. I loved this dish (the chicken) but it was really expensive as there was little meat.
Gingko Silky Bean - $3 One word - Regret. I was turned off after two scoops but I still finished it... cos it isn't cheap. :P
Waffle with Ice Cream - $6.60 The waffle looked a little burnt at the sides and there was a slight sourish taste but it didn't bother me much. The ice cream is probably the sort you could get at supermarkets at half price.
We spent $25.20 for the two of us. but the food was basically a one-person's share. There wasn't much choice in desserts. The place is a nice place for people to chit chat (like we saw three other groups doing) but not quite a dessert place. But I would go back for the radish cake and chicken, just when my pocket feels heavier. :P
I attended the Party held at the Mint on Friday and I loved it. I love the place, with all the quirky toys. It never fails to amaze me, this place.
Richard, the curator, was also very nice to help us out although it was past the time for him to knock off. He even offered to take us up to the balcony to see another area they have for a gathering. It was open air and I can see the makings of a BBQ there!
Anyways back to the party, lots of people were there, Yebbers and Pingsters and other bloggers... We were suitably entertained, though I have to agree with some that we needed a mic or a gong to get people's attention at least. :) The bingo game sure got lots of people's attention!!!
Also the prizes were great though I din win any. But I'm sure many appreciated the prizes. :)
The food also also pretty good though I'd prefer to have seats when I eat but it was alright too. I was too excited to eat wor. Nonetheless the people made sure we had all we need for the party to go on and I think that's one of the most important things when choosing a venue - having the support from the venue staff. :)
1=SGD 0.0587
Sweet Indulgence is a quaint little place found in the CBD maze. It was a challenge for a few of us that night but everyone managed to turn up in the end.
Due to the way the restaurant is built (lengthwise) our table had to be long and the area inside was pretty crammed. People sitting inside daren't move about too much for the fear of being too troublesome.
But the decor of the place was quite nice. I was initially worried it would be a little warm for some but it wasn't. The lighting was a little dim for photo-taking but we still managed. I like the bar counter and the little piano at the side. The boss even invited people to play on the piano in exchange for a glass of wine.
Food Served:Complimentary bread
I was hungry when I had this so I'm probably not a very good judge. It had a slight taste of herbs to it but that was all. It wasn't warm nor soft enough. But it's reasonable I guess.
Salad
A very simple salad. period.
Cream of Broccoli
Most of the others said it was salty but my brother and I felt it was fine. Odd isn't it. We actually finished everything and were quite pleased with it. Maybe it's because we're broccoli lovers. The odd thing about this soup was that it was served AFTER the main course.
Garlic Prawns
Thank goodness for the prawns. 4 bowls of prawns were plonked on the table to be shared by the people surrounding iit. Ours were shared by 5. The prawns came the same time as the salad and saved the day. They were fresh and had just enough bite. They were also in a flavourful dressing/sauce which I found to be quite special.
Poached Salmon with White Sauce & Herbs, served with Pasta and Seasonal Vegetables
Firstly, I have to say that every plate of salmon was different. Ours was without the fishy taste/smell though my neighbour's had. We thought it could be due to the fact that ours was slightly smaller. The pasta was slightly overcooked and tasteless.
Oven Baked Chicken Thigh Steak with Crisp Skin served with Chef Sauce & Potato Mash infused with Vanilla and Cream
I only liked the potato mash really. The chicken wasn't fantastic. I refused to eat the skin as it was quite soggy not crisp and the meat inside though marinated, wasn't very tasty.
Strawberry Cheesecake
I didn't even know what it was when I was eating it. We were arguing about what it was. Some said it was Strawberry shortcake whilst others said it was just a cake. I didn't like it at all and didn't finish mine. It had a very odd smell to it, which I wasn't accustomed to.
Warm Choco Lava Indulgence
We had to share this among the 5 of us as a complimentary dessert. Although I liked the taste of the chocolate oozing out and the taste of the crust but I can't help but dislike the texture of the crust. I don't like the whole thing to crumble into bits the moment one takes a stab at it.
Each of us paid $33 that night. We were full but weren't overly so. I guess it's reasonable as it includes a drink but I had certainly expected more. Not worth a planned visit but if you're nearby I guess it's alright.
I was thinking that they were very unprepared for a mini-crowd like us and maybe they would do better if there were less people? I was just thinking. Ah well.
Rating given:
An afternoon tea date with the girlfriends brought me to Zhou's Kitchen at Far East Square. I don't quite know what possessed us to be so brave to as to travel all the way to the CBD area with a newborn baby, but we did. Not to mention we weren't sure where it was and was initially mistakened that it was the one situated above the food court.
After some walking, we caught sight of the lime green bamboos and found ourselves on the doorstep of the restaurant that weekday afternoon. Even at 2pm, the place was still bustling with activity and we were glad we made reservations.
The decor of the place was quite modern with an oriental touch to it. Quite pleasing to the eye really and the lighting was comfortable without being too dim for photo-taking.
Once settled, we took a look at the menu and were a little disappointed that the list was quite short. There wasn't much variety though they seemed to have most of the items we want... except one - the conventional chee cheong fun.
Food ordered:
BBQ Pork Buns - Char Siew Bao ($3.20 for 3)
The highlight of our meal. We had two servings of this. I liked the fluffiness of the outside and the filling wasn't too sweet. It was just right and it didn't have much fatty meat. My companions enjoyed this one too. But sadly that was all....
Steamed Pork Dumplings ($3.50 for 3)
I'm not really a fan of pork dumplings so I guess I shouldn't comment on this. But I really found the skin a little too thick and dry for me. The filling was average and it wasn't juicy enough inside.
Steamed Shrimp Dumplings - Har Gao ($4.20 for 3)
Same problem here. The skin was a tad too thick and dry. I wonder if it was because we were there close to the end of lunch time. But it really shouldn't be that way. The prawn inside was ok. It wasn't very fresh but it wasn't "stale" either.
Fried Rice Roll in XO Sauce - Fried Chee Cheong Fun ($4.20)
They didn't have steamed chee cheong fun. Not even a single kind. This is the only one they have and apparently it's their signature dish. Well, we thought it tasted like Char Kway Tiao. It was quite oily and didn't have much liquor taste in case you're wondering. We were quite sad we can't have our regular rice rolls really.
Banana Roll with Shrimp ($3.80)
We didn't order this but it appeared and we ate absent-mindedly. The taste of the banana was quite strong and it went pretty well with the shrimp I guess though I found it a little weird at first.
Fried Carrot Cake ($3.20)
It was pretty oily and wasn't very smooth. I've had much smoother ones and 3 pieces for this price is a tad expensive.
Beancurd Roll with Shrimp- Fu Pi Juan ($3.50)
I found that the skin wasn't crisp enough for my liking.
Mango Pomelo Cream ($4)
A small serving at this price, I'd expected much more. But the taste of the mango was lacking and finding pomelo is like a mini treasure hunt in this bowl. It was served cold but but quite chilled enough. I would have preferred it if it were sweeter.
Hashima Jelly ($6)
My companions had this and I didn't try it. They said it was average though...
Inclusive of tea, towels, pickles, service charge and GST, it cost 3 of us $53.80. The service is alright with them topping up the tea often and they took extra care with the baby around (except one absent minded lady) However I don't think this is worth another visit.... unless I'm in the area and there isn't much of anything else.
Rating given:
Being a dessert (chocolate) fan, no one could stop me from Melvados once I knew they were famous for their brownies. Totally psyched, I travelled all the way to the other end of Singapore for a lazy Sunday afternoon tea with a friend.
Situated in King's Arcade, I couldn't help but notice that the exterior is a little run-down looking. But I guess what was more important to me was the inside since it was a really hot day and I needed a good dose of cool air....
..which I didn't get... for the first time I actually asked my companion if he felt hot. I'm usually the one who doesn't complain about the temperature of the place but this one is an exception. There's a first to everything right? We were sitting pretty far from the window so we weren't subjected to the heat from outside. So it really must be the lack of air-conditioning.
That aside, I found the decor alright. Just a little sparse though. They could have more seats to make the place look more full. But as my companion pointed out, two more tables (like I suggested) could make it look crammed. But I guess they could switch to smaller tables. Nonetheless the tables and chairs didn't quite match though the sofas looked nice. I say look cos there were very few and we didn't get a chance to sit on them.
After much pondering, we ordered:
Mixed Platter
Your usual mix of fried calamari, fries, onion rings and seafood cakes. I didn't like any of it. The fries were the thin sort which is pretty much oil and little potato. The onion rings lacked onion flavour. The calamari are the sort straight from the freezer and the seafood cakes were just weird. The batter used wasn't tasty and honestly I was quite sick of it after the first two pieces. And yes they seemed to have used the same batter (or at least similiar) for all 3 items, except the fries.
Black & White Kisses
This is the recommended brownie on the menu. It's a brownie topped with dark and white chocolate Hershey's kisses. This brownie was the more moist one of the two we had but it's still not rich enough in my opinion. It was still a little crumbly (like a cake) and I prefer brownies which are more on the sticky side. There is a good bit of flavour though.
Sizzling Brownies Sensation
This is the brownie above, served on a hot plate with your choice of ice-cream. We had expected something more and certainly didn't expect to be served the same brownie. Also the hot plate was just heated up in the microwave and cooled down pretty fast after it arrived. I guess that's just as well since the ice cream was melting at super speed, resulting in a brownish puddle around the brownie after a while. Just a novelty but nothing to rave about really.
Chocolate Madness
This was your regular brownie, just much drier. My little mistake.
We paid $25 in total I think and although it wasn't very much but I didn't find it worth my while after all. Service was alright and the staff wasn't exceptionally alert despite the fact that there were so few tables occupied.
I don't think I would be back.
Rating given:
What is the most terrible thing that can happen to a food blogger?
Encountered bad service at a restaurant?
No, thats part of the dining experience.
Taste lousy and not up-to-the-mark food?
Nah, thats also part of the dining experience.
Entering the restaurant and the waitress told you the place is full?
Blame it on yourself who did not make any reservations.
The worst thing, that can ever, ever happen to a food blogger . . .
Is having no camera to take shots of the delicacy displayed upon you.
Thunder never strikes at the same spot, indeed. The last time to The French Stall, LIC forgotten to bring his camera along, and that was an awful feeling. LIC didn’t expect to encounter the same problem, this time LIC did bring the camera, only to arrive happily at the entrance of the restaurant and found out that there was no battery inside!?!
Tsk tsk! LIC shouldn’t taken out the battery to charge and forgot to put it back. A dreadful mistake which must be avoid at all cost next time.
Beware! Warning! The following photos may look awful, terrible, shocking, ghastly, and lousy to you. If you cannot take any of the experience, please DO NOT click on “Read the rest of this entry“
The fatal spot where LIC wanted to take a pot-shot of the entrance and to his horror, discovered that the absence of the battery!
Alas, this post on Kuishin-bo will be short due to obvious reasons, LIC was actually working on Absolute Haven but due to time constraint, this post shall appear before your eyes first. Too many post pending for LIC to write, even OT can’t really help : )
The only “slightly more decent” photo, sushi selections
The sushi are all right i guess, nothing to shout about. Quite a wide selections to choose from though.
Prawn Tempura
The tempura section is most probably one of the place where i consume more, with the exception of desserts (which LIC can’t live without!) The prawn tempura is your normal fried prawn with tempura-flour, it works for me although i pretty much suspect its only decent in the eyes of Japanese food experts (LIC self-proclaimed he isn’t a avid Jap food eater)
Kaminabe paper steamboat
Like what i mention during my visit to Waraku, Kaminabe sounds like a foul-word, it still brings back memories from the last visit, hence the mention. Paper pot, the vegetables, are all there to absorb the otherwise oily chicken and soup. Thinking back now, Beef should have been a better option for Kaminabe.
Desserts - Fruit Tarts
Fruit tarts are LIC favorite! I can pop ten easily into my mouth. The tarts here are pretty standard i guess, but still give them to me!
There are also some miniature cakes around, chocolate ones, mini oreo cheesecakes (really tiny), mini doughnuts in different flavors, quite a variety available.
The chocolate fondue craze might have die down already, but that does not means they are not good. Its just that people forgets easily, before long another new craze will appear and the common folks will start to go after the new hype. Think donut, bubble-tea, luo-han fish, chocolate fondue, well just to name a few.
Total Bill for 2 person during weekday lunch comes up to $46.61 after tax and service charge. Weekday lunch is $24.80 for adult, and if you Op for the 60 minutes express lunch, it is $19.80 , which we did. I guess the 60 minutes strategy is more to attract office working people, but we took it since we are really full after an hour anyway.
Actually the difference in price is only 5 bucks, if you go for the normal price, you got the luxury to enjoy the buffet from 1130am-3pm, which big-appetite eaters should go for. Otherwise if you are working near Suntec, or like us where you can finish the meal in an hour, the discount of $5 although not much, is still rather substantial.
To be honest, the one hour buffet is rather rushed, and if you are the type that refuse to rush while tasting your food, it is not advisable to take it. But if you know what you are looking for, well just attack those areas and your effort will be paid off for the $19.80.
Kuishi-bo proclaimed itself to be the Authenthic Japanese Buffet Restaurant, which i highly doubted it. Authentic hardly feeds into what they are offering. Nevertheless i believe one sentence should sums it all for Kuishi-bo. Quantity, not quality!
Taste is subjective, if you are not looking for very excellent food, i say the ones at Kuishi-bo are quite decent, and definitely value-for-money since its only $19.80. But if you are into Japanese food, i’m afraid the visit will disappoint you greatly. Nonetheless, comparing Kuishi-bo to Sakura International Buffet, and Sakae Sushi Buffet, i still say Kuishi-bo slightly edged out both the latter.
Many acquaintance mentioned that Kuishi-bo’s standard has vastly dropped from last time, a pale shadow of what it used to be. Well, sometimes you have to experience it for yourself to conclude. I did, which is the reason for my visit to Kuishi-bo. Thus, Yay or Nah, make a trip down.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
" Quantity, not quality! "
Rating given:
Social Media Breakfast Singapore
March 29, 2008 (Saturday)
9 am — 12:30pm
Frujch @ SMU (Basement 1, School of Information Systems)
50 Stamford Road
The whole event was super fun, we mingled around talking with each other, a total of 40 people turned up for SMB! All righty, first we have to use the big sticker to write our name and blog address, or whatever website of stuff you want to let others know.
Anyway being a foodie, or rather I’ll coined myself as Gourmet Analyst, it is my moral obligation to present to you the food for the breakfast!
The “main course” for the breakfast. Sandwiches! There are not type of sandwich, one of which is ham, and the other being tuna. There are also the mini Choclate cakes
There were also orange juice to go along with the ’snacks’, and if you wanted any hot drink, you could always get it from the counter at Frujch (have to pay separately of course!)
See you all at the next SMB!
Btw, the 5 star rating is thumbs up for the Social Media Breakfast Event, not the food : )
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
Social Media Breakfast
” Where everything comes from online to offline “
Rating given:
I think everyone knows this lone building standing in the field next to the huge balloon in Bugis area. It has a pretty famous alfresco steamboat joint too.
I had the chance to go to this budget hotel when my friend from the US stayed there. Despite the exterior looking a little run-down, the inside was fine.
The walls of the small lobby were adorned with old photographs and old newspaper clippings about the hotel. The room my friend is staying in costs SGD60 a night. It is a little small but still comfortable with its double bed. However for that price he had to use the common bath which he found to be rather clean. (He's an expert when it comes to budget accomodation.)
In fact, he had so much confidence in the place, he told us that he wanted to switch to the SGD18 per night room where he would have to share with 3 other people. They had two bunk beds there and it's still very clean.
What he was most impressed with was the good condition of the lockers and the hot and cold showers in all the bathrooms. The service was also friendly and we had a good chat with the staff whilst we were visiting.
With the good location and reasonable prices, I really find this hostel worthwhile. Moreover, it wasn't sleazy and felt very safe to live there.
Rating given:
Yebber’s gathering at Hotpot was during the last day of Chinese New Year, which was like two months ago? I’m very sorry for this very late post, didn’t have the time to blog, and i’m eating way faster than the rate i’m blogging. Thus the delay, anyway i finally make time for this post because i wanna get it up before i make my next post on Yebber’s 1st Anniversary Party @ Mint Museum. Do watch out for that next post!
I didn’t have much photos to show, mainly because i was hoping to get some photos from the rest using their powerful DSLR, but in the end i decided to take some quick shots, and didn’t really get much nice shots.
Fried Garlic Chicken
I like this one! It taste quite like “rojak”, except it got chicken instead of “you tiao”!
Sweet Sour Fish
The Sweet Sour Fish here is not bad too. Being a huge fan of sweet sour food, think sweet sour pork, fish, chicken, i’m always on a lookout for good sweet sour food.
Chili Squid
The Chili Squid is really spicy! Hot hot hot!
Yu Sheng
At the end, we had Yu Sheng, it was fun having yu sheng with the yebbers!
One person at Hotpot Culture cost $19.80 (i think), with one person having mini-pot which entitles unlimited serving on the steamboat and cook food selection. And oh ya, they also have free-flow ice cream, and guess what? Chocolate Fondue!! Yeah, thats quite generous right? We had fruits to go along with the fondue, sweet! But one thing i didn’t like was one person can only have one free-drink, and after that you need to pay $2 for free-flow of drinks.
I’m not sure whether i’ll be back at Hotpot Culture again, partly because i’m not really a steamboat person, and also i’ll like to try more of other place. So your call, if you think they are worth a try, you can always find them at; Marina Square #02-138D Centre Stage
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
” Hotpot, one pot many cultures “
Rating given:
Chinese Cuisine with a Difference is Taste Paradise's tagline. Curious about how different this might be, 5 of us dropped by for a cosy dinner last Friday.
It was pretty easy to locate the place, however, parking wasn't that easy. In front of the restaurant there're some parallel parking spots but as you would guess too few for every one. Trying to look for parking in the area isn't too easy as they are all one-way streets. So do plan where you want to park before you go. Hong Lim or Chinatown Point would be two good places.
The restaurant is tastefully decorated with a long passage right up front. It's mainly in reds and blacks and the lighting is a little dim but still bright enough for me to see what I'm eating. Good enough for me.
We were greeted politely at the door and led to our seats in one of the rooms. After some observation, we noticed that one of the walls was actually made of panels which could be removed to make the room bigger for functions.
I couldn't bear to analyse the menu like my companions did for it didn't have any pictures were just filled with words. There were curly Chinese characters and English descriptions but it was still pretty difficult to read. So the rest of us just let two of them decide.
One little interesting thing was that there were 3 prices for the same bowl of Shark's Fin - $38, $58 and $68. $38 was the regular serving, $58 had more shark's fin in it and $68 was fin of high quality.... the staff patiently explained to us when we asked.
Food ordered:
Carrot Cake
which I forgot to take the description of. But this was delicious. I LOVED IT! The serving was enough for 2 and slightly more. It wasn't too oily. the texture was very smooth and very tasty! YUMS!
Pan-seared Foie gras, wasabi mayonnaise prawn and sliced Beijing duck with condiments - $18 per personOur starter for the day was this great combination! The foie gras was crisp on the outside and pretty smooth on the inside. It was quite sizeable, any bigger and I would be worried about my heart. The wasabi prawn was alright. The wasabi taste wasn't too strong which is good and it was quite a big one. It was served on top of a watermelon which was suppose to compliment the taste of the prawn. But I couldn't be bothered to eat it. I liked the Beijing Duck slice. It was pre-prepared with the skin and sauce and wasn't too sweet. Just right.
Double boiled superior shark's fin with dried conpoy in traditional Beijing broth accompanied with bacon onion roll - $38 per personThe presentation of this dish was impressive! It was served in a grey bowl, the sort people used to mash belachan in, with the bacon wrap on top. It was bubbling when it came and bubbled for a long time whilst we drank it. There was plenty of fin and the broth was not too starchy like at some places. But it did smell of vinegar though I didn't find it too sourish. The bacon onion roll was a nice touch though I did find it a little troublesome to eat.
Braised homemade Beancurd with shredded scallop and Japanese Mushroom - $16
This was the one dish which I found a little disappointing. The skin of the beancurd was a little too tough and hard to tear. The taste was ok and the texture of the inside was smooth. The sauce it came with wasn't too salty as I have tasted in other places and the scallop was a nice accompaniment. Just the skin bothered me.
Szechuan Style roasted Chicken with homemade crispy crumbs - Half $16By the time we got to this dish I was pretty full but I still picked up a few pieces to munch. My companions were commenting about it being spicy but I found it barely so. It was quite tasty and the meat didn't taste as dry as it looked. I liked the texture of the meat but I'm the sort who likes chicken breast meat so if you aren't like me... well.
Stirfried Spinach with garlic - price unknownToo full to have any of this. But it looked just like your regular vege to me.
Mashed Taro with almond cream served in fresh coconut - $6.50I wanted to order this but I was in a mood for something cooler but I was happy to get a taste of it. It was served in a tiny REAL coconut! SO COOL! I was more fascinated with the coconut bowl than anything else. I think the Orh Nee tasted very nice. It wasn't too sweet, not overly flavoured. It had a hint of almond (or maybe I didn't scoop so much almond) which gave it a nice twist.
Chilled Mango Puree with Sago and Pomelo served with coconut ice cream - $4.50This was my dessert of the day!! I was worried about the coconut ice cream as I'm not a fan of coconut actually. But everything's worth trying right? So try I did and I enjoyed this dessert very much. Served cold and sweet (just right).
Chilled Pumpkin Puree served with coconut ice cream (Chef's Special) - $4.50Sadly I didn't get a taste of this.... but no complaints. She seemed to enjoy it...
Chilled Aloe Vera in refreshing calamansi juice - $4.50
Neither did I try this...
We got the 3 chilled desserts free, they were on the house which was a nice surprise.
The service was very good throughout the meal. Our tea was constantly topped up and Desmond, the assistant manager was jovial and sincere when serving us. When the 2 servings of the shark's fin were late, he took the initiative to inform us, which I think is a show of good service.
Each of us paid $93.50 for our share of food. It does seem quite a lot doesn't it? But I guess with foie gras and shark's fin on the list, I find it pretty acceptable. Minus those two, it would be more reasonable.
For more pictures go to my blog .
Rating given:
I chanced upon this place a while ago but visited it on a Monday when it was closed *just my dumb luck* Anyway then I caught it on Sunday Plus and decided that I should definitely try it. So I dragged my friend along that lazy rainy Sunday.
I loved the interior. No doubt it can only seat 15 and it's a little cramped but I love the peranakan style stuff and they actually sell peranakan clothing behind too! There were little knick knacks all over but I didn't take a look at the prices...
Food ordered:
Pan Fried Radish Cake & Yam Cake - $4.80 (4 slices)
Let me explain this one. On its menu, Radish cake and Yam cake are listed separately at $3.80 for 3 slices. But as there are only two of us, the lady offered to let us try both, giving us 2 slices of each at $4.80 which I agreed. I liked the radish cake more than the yam cake but both are smooth enough for me. I enjoyed them but I did find the portion too small for the price.
Grandma Rayna’s Roast Chicken - $10.80
YUMMY! I normally will not order roast chicken but this time I didn't have to cut it up myself so I was happily gobbling away at the chicken bits. The meat was well marinated and juicy. The potato that came with it reminded me of my pri sch canteen food though. I loved this dish (the chicken) but it was really expensive as there was little meat.
Gingko Silky Bean - $3
One word - Regret. I was turned off after two scoops but I still finished it... cos it isn't cheap. :P
Waffle with Ice Cream - $6.60
The waffle looked a little burnt at the sides and there was a slight sourish taste but it didn't bother me much. The ice cream is probably the sort you could get at supermarkets at half price.
We spent $25.20 for the two of us. but the food was basically a one-person's share. There wasn't much choice in desserts. The place is a nice place for people to chit chat (like we saw three other groups doing) but not quite a dessert place. But I would go back for the radish cake and chicken, just when my pocket feels heavier. :P
Rating given:
I LOVE YEBBER! heh heh
Happy Birthday to Yebber! Whoohoo!
I attended the Party held at the Mint on Friday and I loved it. I love the place, with all the quirky toys. It never fails to amaze me, this place.
Richard, the curator, was also very nice to help us out although it was past the time for him to knock off. He even offered to take us up to the balcony to see another area they have for a gathering. It was open air and I can see the makings of a BBQ there!
Anyways back to the party, lots of people were there, Yebbers and Pingsters and other bloggers... We were suitably entertained, though I have to agree with some that we needed a mic or a gong to get people's attention at least. :) The bingo game sure got lots of people's attention!!!
Also the prizes were great though I din win any. But I'm sure many appreciated the prizes. :)
The food also also pretty good though I'd prefer to have seats when I eat but it was alright too. I was too excited to eat wor. Nonetheless the people made sure we had all we need for the party to go on and I think that's one of the most important things when choosing a venue - having the support from the venue staff. :)
Looking forward to the next one!!!
Rating given: