Make no mistake, Dessert Boutique of Delectable Blessings! is actually the name of a dessert shop housed along the newly refurbished Market Street Carpark. Just 7 weeks old and located just a few doors down from RoGues, this outfit prides itself on selling healthy desserts. No more oily and excessively sweet or salty desserts. Everything here is freshly made and natural flavours are key to the desserts. I had a few samples, courtesy of a lovely lady, who also happens to be one of the owners of the shop and found them quite delectable. The In All Fairness (trust them to come up with such names), which was essentially Barley, Gingko with Beancurd Skin, was very light and refreshing. This dish is best taken chilled. The Mango Tango!, on the other hand, was a little creamy with Sago, Pomelo and Watermelon. I didn't quite taste the Watermelon, but the Pomelo provided an added zest to the dish. It tasted like your normal day to day Mango Sago, albeit a creamier and less sweet rendition. My favourite was the White Fungus with Chinese Almonds and Papaya, which happened to be the Delectable Experiment of the week. For $3, you get a huge cup of White Fungus swirling in a sweet but light syrup and lots of Chinese Almonds. I could see the pieces of Papayas, but they were too mashed up too have any taste. Experience the chilled syrup trickle down your throat and all memories of a bad lunch quickly dissipates.
Do try it if you happen to be in the area. They do delivery to nearby areas within a 10 minute walk from the shop, but the minimum order is $10. Other than that, the minimum order goes up to $30 and a delivery charge of between $5-$10 is imposed, depending on location. They also serve healthy breakfast items which might be a good alternative to those MacDonalds or Char Kuay Teows. There is a small dining area which can seat up to 6(?) people, but it is rather cramp, so you are better off eating on the go.
Hidden in an obscure corner of the Changi Market is a lesser known western bar cum restaurant. Recommended by Makansutra as "Don't try, regret ah!", i made it my personal agenda to pay the place a visit. Charlie's corner has always been more of a 'watering hole' location to me as they serve an astonishing variety of beer. Pretty close to 80 different beers from around the world can be found here, though not on tap. This time however, i was there for the food.
There's really nothing much to say about the interior nor exterior really, its just a make shift corner with cheap metal chairs and alfresco dining qualities in an Asian way. Thats not to say its without it charm of course, and honestly, after a few beers, it doesn't matter where you are at.
Kilkenny ($10.90), Hoegarden ($9) - My 2 favorite sins. Kilkenny and Hoegarden. Both are bottled and served in their respective glasses but i really do find the price a little too steep. I can get a pint of Hoegarden at $7 and triple the volume shown here. That said, how can you fault a smooth and melt in your mouth Kilkenny and an ice cold sweet Hoegarden? Regardless of the price, its still going to be good.
Charlie's Famous Fish and Chips ($13.90) - Charlie's famous fish and chips is kind of an overstatement if you ask me. First of all, it really doesn't look like much. At first glance, i thought its was breaded fried fish which isn't too far from the truth. The good thing about the fish and chips is that its thick and juicy and has a light sweetness. The crust is also nicely done and well fried for a crumbling crispy finish. However, i still think its overpriced.
Chicken Chop ($12.90) - The chicken chop was a joke really. The meat was quite tender to its merit but tasteless even with the mushroom sauce accompaniment which basically renders it salty. My gf commented that its very average and just not satisfying. And at this price, i could have gotten 2 chicken chops from the market just around the corner.
Spicy Chicken Wings ($7.50) - The spicy chicken wings were served only with the central portion of the wing which is touted and the most tender and meaty portion of a chicken wing. This version came in 6 pieces but i really would have preferred having the entire wing given the price. The thing is, these wings were the best items we had that night (aside from the beer of course). Fried to perfection and still retaining its meat juices inside, the wings were delectable. Add the fact that the sauce is a mix between chili and rodeo sauce and its basically a fragrant juicy and tender experience. Have it piping hot with an ice cold beer for best effect.
This below average meal cost me $54.20 which really shocked my socks off.
Somehow, its either i ordered the wrong items or the Makansutra guy got special treatment. To me, the place is good for lazy gatherings and quiet drink sessions but the food offerings, in terms of main courses, needed much improvement. At this stage, it still feels like a bonafide rip off. And honestly, the drinks were overpriced as well. Its difficult for me to find a reason to return sadly.
In recent years, many food outlets claiming to sell restaurant quality western food at coffeeshop prices have sprung up in the heartlands across Singapore. Think Aston's and Botak Jones. Western Chow is the latest contender to have jumped on the bandwagon.
Opened just barely two weeks ago, Western Chow is hidden at the corner of a secluded coffeeshop just off Lorong Ah Soo. The system of ordering is simple. You make your order at the counter, pay up and you will receive an order number (as shown in the picture above). Take the number and sit anywhere you want and you will be served shortly.
Ribeye Steak ($14) - I had my ribeye medium rare and it came looking a shade of red, indicating its over doneness. That aside, the beef was way too soft, hinting of a possible use of tenderizer or "Peng Seh" as my parents term it. The beef had no bite whatsoever and no natural beef taste, masked by the overpowering black pepper sauce. Its really a sheer waste of such a good cut of beef.
Chicken Chop ($5.80) - As with the ribeye steak, the chicken chop was soft and a didn't really hold up to much chewing. I liked the sauce though, BBQ square with a dash of pepper. Having said that, the sauce alone wasn't enough to salvage the chicken chop. A pity really.
The 3 of us spent $33.80 in total, which was relatively expensive given the below average quality of food. To give them credit, all of the staff were very friendly. I certainly hope they will do something about it before they start losing customers. Oh and if you do ever patronise, please sit along the fringes of the coffeeshop or risk smelling like cooked food when you are done due to the fumes from the Char Kway Teow stall.
Had a craving for Japanese curry so dropped by Curry Favor's newly opened outlet at Novena Square for dinner. Curry Favor, which has its flagship outlet at Stamford House, purportedly dishes out one of the best authentic Japanese curries in Singapore and South East Asia. Quite a statement I must say.
The interior is simply done up with ample distance between tables which allows for limited privacy. Not that it was really necessary as the place was quite dead on a Saturday evening, with only 4 tables occupied.
Rosu Katsu (Pork) Curry - Curry Favor offers the flexibility of ordering half portions for certain dishes, which caters to small eaters or people who tend to opt for a lighter meal. The half portion of Rosu Katsu came with about 5 slices of succulent and not overly deep fried pork chops and a regular serving of rice. With a name like Curry Favor, it is rather obvious that the curry should take centre stage. And this is where it falters, well almost. The curry was light and sweet ( a little too sweet in fact) but didn't posses the wow factor. It lacked the fragrance as well. I would say its very decent but certainly not the best in Singapore or South East Asia.
Filet Pork Stewed Curry - This was a full sized order and honestly, the amount of pork fillets in it didn't justify the price. There seemed to be more potato cubes and carrots than pork fillets. Sure, the fillets were tender and full of bite and the curry thick and lightly sweet. But as with the Rosu Katsu, the curry lacked the oomph factor and fragrance, although I must say I did enjoy the overall dish quite a bit.
A rather filling but hardly satisfying dinner for 2 cost about $35 ($30 with $5 discount). Filling because there's a lot of starch in the dishes, rice, potato and curry. But having said that, food quality is still reasonably above average but prices could drop a notch or two. It does help that service is good as well.
Many would have known by now that I've been suffering from teeth problems for a few weeks now. I had been the patient of a popular dental chain until recently when the last job by them was poorly done and was very painful.
The last job started to give me problems and I asked around for recommendations. My colleague gave me the address of this clinic and I booked an appointment. There are four inhouse dentists so it's quite easy to get an appointment.
I went for my first visit which was pretty normal. A Dr. Chan (I think), a lady dentist, tended to me and she explained that she needed to do a re-filling. She was gentle and professional but certainly didn't waste any time with me. I was out in a jiffy so that she could move on to the next patient. No complaints I guess. But she did mention that the refilling might not help things as the damage might be too bad. So she told me to go back if the pain continues.
True enough, the pain came back fast and more furious. So I called them and managed to get an appointment with Dr. Leonard Tan in a few days.
Dr. Tan is the reason why I'm writing this review really. With the pain I was having I was really afraid when I went into the room as my gums and teeth were really sensitive at that point. But Dr. Tan was really gentle and I felt at ease in the chair. He was really careful when probing the affected area and didn't poke too hard until he was sure I wouldn't scream. (heh) Then he took me over for an X-ray and while waiting for the X-ray results, he patiently explained to me my options if the results were BAD.
He clearly explained what the root canal treatment was and told me exactly how much it cost. He didn't harp on it and told me I have other options like having the problem extracted.
When the results came back and were not conclusive, he advised me to tolerate the pain a bit and told me to do a number of things to see if they spark off unbearable pain which will point to damaged nerves.
What I really liked was how he wasn't money-minded and gave me my options and let me make the choice. He didn't charge me for this consultation and he gave me painkillers for free too. He only charged me $15 for the X-ray. Very reasonable isn't it?
Immensely happy with the service, I think I will make Dr. Tan my regular dentist. My colleague also recommended Dr. Zhou whom she said had plenty of experience.
Situated right beside Awfully Chocolate, coffee lovers have a choice of al fresco seating right at the entrance of Katong Mall, or the simple and quaint indoors which seemed to bring time to a standstill while you are at it.
My kaki had a special order of Iced Mocha Mint Latte that was meant to be hot coffee. The mint flavour was barely delicate, which explains why this combination should only be drunk hot.
The Iced Hazelnut Mocha I had though was absolutely great! In the vein of the rest that I have drank before, the drink came with enough punch of the hazelnut essence, but what sets it apart from the rest was the smooth aftertaste that is gentle to your palate, that was lacking in most.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
On my family's previous dinner trip to My Mum's Place, we had spotted a few stalls beside it which we had meant to try. One such stall was Lau Hock Guan Kee Bak Kut Teh, which I was told, sold decent Bak Kut Teh. As with Tasty Penang just 2 doors down, Lau Hock Guan Kee is rather old school, opting for fans in favour of air conditioners. Read, it can get quite stuffy and warm if you choose to sit inside. Manned by a few old ladies, Lau Hock Guan Kee doesn't offer a menu unless you specifically request for it. The old ladies rattle off whatever's available and are very warm and hospitable, although in a rather loud sense. We had the Fried Baby Kailan with Oyster Sauce, Beancurd with Minced Meat and Bak Kut Teh.
The Fried Baby Kailan with Oyster Sauce was a little too "sweet" for me due to the excessive oyster sauce. The generous serving of fried shallots atop was a bonus and added flavour to the dish. Beancurd with Minced Meat might seem like an easy dish to prepare. Just get good beancurd, throw some minced meat and garnishes in and you are done. Even a novice cook like myself can easily whip up Beancurd with Minced Meat, but doing it well is an art by itself. Lau Hock Guan Kee's version exceeded expectations. What looked like a pathetic excuse for the dish turned out to have soft and silky tofu (similar to the Agedashi Tofu in Japanese eateries) and a tantalising gravy owing to the hearty mix of minced meat, carrots, spring onions, mushrooms and other garnishes. But then again, it would have been better if the cook had gone a little easier on the salt.
I'm sure everyone has eaten quite a bit of Bak Kut Teh in their lives and I'm no exception. The 2 most popular versions of Bak Kut Teh are the Teochew version, which has a clear and peppery soup and the Hokkien version, which has a dark and herbal soup. Lau Hock Guan Kee's rendition belonged to neither group. It's soup was slightly darkish and had seaweed and vegetables in it. It had no Bak Kut taste but tasted strongly of the seaweed. Rather weird, but still very decent in my opinion. The Bak Kut itself was nice though. The meat was tender and we had no difficulty tearing the meat off the bones. If they can do something about the soup, I'm sure this will be a smashing Bak Kut Teh.
Dinner for 3 pax with drinks cost a mere $30/-. For the huge portions (all of our dishes can feed 4 pax), this is definitely a steal. We had actually wanted to try their fish head and Fish Stomach with Bittergourd, but were too stuffed to even harbour such thoughts at the end of our meal. As such, I'll definitely be back to pick up from where we left off.
Absolute Haven pride itself in serving Modern European Cuisine. Barely one years old, the restaurant has attracted numerous food-lovers and had rave reviews about the place. Thus its no wonder LIC must make a visit to Absolute Haven for a dinner.
Located at Prinsep street, the area has seen the entry of many new restaurants and has become a dining spot positioned within walking distance to Orchard. Absolute Haven is probably the crown among the many restaurants there, with the others not really being competitiors to it, but as complements which help to build Prinsep street as a place to dine.
Entering through the gates of Absolute Haven, there is the alfresco dining area where you can chill out with your friends. Otherwise, if you are on a romantic date and do not want to be seen sweating while enjoying your meal, step inside, to the cozy and chic environment of Absolute Haven.
When my friend and i reached the place at 7pm, the place was not full yet, but the crowd starts to come in subsequently. Being brought to our seats, we browse through the menu and placed our orders.
Mushroom Soup ($5.80) A very mushroom mushroom soup, made from portobello mushrooms, shitake mushrooms, and button mushroom. The rendition here is quite similar to the ones I had at Friends @ Jelita, except this one comes up stronger in the "mushroom taste"
Soup of the day ($5.80) We begin our delightful meal with the soup of the day. I'm not really a soup person while dining out so my view may not paint an accurate picture.
Oriental Cod-Fish ($24.0) Steamed cod-fish done in oriental style topped with wolfberries, shitake mushrooms and bacon, served on a bed of asparagus.
This is truly an fusion where East meet West. You will never expect a dish like Oriental steamed cod fish to appear in a modish European restaurant like Absolute Haven.
Wolfberries as a ingredient, are by far rarely found in European restaurant, it further emphasized the oriental-ness of the dish. The use of bacon added flavoring which enhance the taste of the fish.
It does seems slightly weird to have a oriental steamed cod fish as a main course as usually it is more common to find it in Chinese restaurants. Nevertheless we enjoyed the unique experience, there's always a first for everything.But from what we gathered from Phyllis (Absolute's Manager), some customers find it to be too fishy, and the fish will be taken off the new menu which will commerce on 9th April.
Chef's Special Norwergian Salmon ($32) Herb oil confit Norwergian Salmon drizzled with Vanilla cream sauce, walnut & black olive pilaf rice, accompanied with organic butternut pumpkin braised in Earl grey tea.
The food at Absolute Haven are all presented very well, the chef really does put in effort in making the dishes look nice. After all, a good appearance of the food does makes it taste better. Applause to the chefs for their hard work!
Having try quite a few Salmons recently, the version here is slightly different to the ones i had before which are mostly grilled or pan-fried. The herb oil confit salmon is a nice change, and i dutifully finish every bit of it.
The walnut & black olive pilaf rice is good, without a doubt. The organic butternut pumpkin braised in Earl grey tea isn't really to my liking, but i do appreciated the effort put into making this side dish.
Tira Mi Su ($9) A classical Italian dessert served with espresso coffee and liqueur in light mascarpone cheese mousse. The Tira Mi Su here simply melts in my mouth, the liqueur was not too strong which does well for me. The slight hint of cheese in the mousse also provides a variation from the normal Tiramisu.
The thought of the Tira Mi Su dissolving at the tip of my tongue is enough to make me visit Absolute Haven again.
Passion Fruit Panna Cotta ($9) This dessert wasn't on the menu when we visited Absolute Haven on the 22th March. There was another choice, lavender Panna Cotta, which offers a sweet version instead of the slightly more sour flavor of the passion fruit panna cotta. My friend preferred sour to sweet, so we got the Passion Fruit.
Total Bill came up to around $100.15 for two person. I got two Absolute Haven vouchers (entitled to two free soup and main course). But do not let this fact spoils the review. I deliberately left this fact for the end so that my share-readers can read through this review without any hint of biasness. Absolute Haven is excellent, and i'm not saying this because i got a free meal.
We paid $13.30 for this excellent dinner for the Tiramisu, the Panna Cotta was on the house, courtesy of Phyllis. Absolute Haven promise romantic fine-dining at an affordable price, without burning a hole in your pocket, you can bring your dates there for special occasions. Even for normal events, it's a great place to chill out with your family and friends. The price of their mains ranges from $16 to $32, and desserts are valued at $9-$12.
The friendly manager, Phyllis came up and spoke to us about our meal halfway through. She is a real nice person. You could feel her earnest and sincerity while she was talking to us. There are few managers or bosses in the local food & beverage industry that come across to me as genuine as her. Do call her 9766 3798 or even drop her a sms (which i did) to make your reservations.
The service staff there are polite and quick to help out if we got any inquiries, and my friend note that most of them are good-looking. Anyway thats not the main point, the service at Absolute Haven is indeed what other new start-ups should learn from. Excellent services can never go wrong!
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 biasness. 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 : )
Dropped by Empire Cafe with my gf for dinner since we were in the vicinity, didn't fancy spending much on food and Empire Cafe looked pretty crowd free at that time.
Sitting right at the corner of Raffles Hotel, Empire Cafe plays home to a nostalgic interior styled to mimic a typical 1920s Singapore coffee house, with air conditioning of course. There's the booth seats, marble floors, granite table tops and wooden chairs, all reminiscent of an era long past and forgotten.
Crab Meat Fried Rice - For $18, the crab meat fried rice was terribly expensive considering its quality and portion size. True, the rice was throughly fried with a noticeable Wok Hei taste but it just wasn't tasty enough, coming across as a little on the bland side. The not too generous ingredients didn't help either. Portion size was just a little bigger than your $3/plate fried rice at the coffeeshop. The only consolation was probably the not too sizeable crab claw that came with the rice.
Bak Kut Teh - I really didn't know whether to cry or to laugh when I had a sip of the Bak Kut Teh soup. It was sweet from all the wolfberries that came with the soup. Maybe its just me, but I don't think Bak Kut Teh is supposed to be cooked with wolfberries, is it? At least the ones I've tried so far aren't. Soup aside, the meat was fibrous yet tender and quite a size to boot. All in all, I wouldn't say that this was a bad dish, just that it was different. For me, I didn't like it one bit.
Durian Chendol - What can I say? This dish was as common as it gets. Probably the only up side was the finely shaved ice, which then again can be found in many other places that sell this dish for half to a third of the price.
Can you fathom paying close to $63 for such a meal with 2 glasses of free flow lime juice? I honestly can't and the experience still seems rather surreal as I write this entry. So much for wanting to cut down on our expenditure for the evening. Strangely enough, the restaurant was almost full when we were done - a sign of growing affluence?
Those Dim Sum cravings just don't stop and its been bothering me for quite a while. With some luck, reprieve was in sight as my colleagues and I settled for Dim Sum at the relatively well known Teahouse near our office.
Housed on the third floor of China Square, Teahouse comes under the umbrella of the illustrious Tung Lok group, which is famous for its fine dining Chinese restaurants. Step into the restaurant and a quaint teahouse setting greets you. Decor is simplistic, with wooden tables and chairs and whirling ceiling fans. The sight of Dim Sum being pushed around in trolleys complete the typical teahouse atmosphere.
Tofu with Fish Paste - I found this dish very normal. The Tofu tasted like those you could buy at the markets and the fish paste just didn't taste wholesome enough. I could probably get one of comparable quality at half the price.
Char Siew Sou - I'm rather particular when it comes to Char Siew Sou because its probably one of my favourite Dim Sum dishes. Sad to say, this one didn't quite make the cut. Although the pastry was flaky, it wasn't crisp enough and the Char Siew filling was a little tasteless. No BBQ taste, not sweet, nothing. Edible, but certainly not worth the money.
Egg Tarts - Another one of my favourite dishes. But disappointment after disappointment. The Egg Tart was just short of terrible. The custard filling was hardly sweet and the pastry crumbled upon the slightest exertion of pressure. No slightly burnt taste that I like as well.
Deep Fried Prawn Dumpling - A good gauge as to whether this dish is well executed is to taste the skin. If its thin, crispy and doesn't carry a reused oil aftertaste, then its good. Of course the prawns must be fresh as well to complement the skin. Teahouse's rendition was a mixture of good and bad. The skin could have obviously done with more deep frying because it was a little chewy instead of crispy. The prawns however, were nice and crunchy, which indicates freshness?
Carrot Cake - If I were to call the carrot cake a joke, that would be an understatement. Its probably closer to disaster. The carrot cake was soft and mushy and reeked of oil. Not to mention it left a distasteful aftertaste. Pure gross. They should really take this off the menu. I'm not kidding
Chee Cheong Fun - We had a serving of Char Siew Chee Cheong Fun and Prawn Chee Cheong Fun. Both tasted rather normal, but I like the Char Siew one more due to personal biasness. Only problem with the Chee Cheong Fun is that the skin could have been thinner and silkier.
Har Gao - Fresh and crunchy prawns enveloped by an acceptably thin skin. What more can I say? Could use some heating up though as Dim Sum is best eaten warm or piping hot.
Char Siew Pao - The Char Siew Pao didn't come piping hot. In fact it came almost cold. And cold it remained, with my palate failing to warm up to it. I personally found the skin too thick and not soft enough. The filling was normal and I almost can't remember how it tastes like. I guess that pretty much says how I feel about the Pao.
An unsatisfying Dim Sum lunch (for me at least) for 3 pax cost about $45. Not exactly the most expensive of Dim Sum lunches, but it is hard to justify for the quality and quantity of food. Add in average service and you get a place where I won't be visiting again, at least not for Dim Sum. Wah Lok beckons.
1=SGD 0.0587
Make no mistake, Dessert Boutique of Delectable Blessings! is actually the name of a dessert shop housed along the newly refurbished Market Street Carpark. Just 7 weeks old and located just a few doors down from RoGues, this outfit prides itself on selling healthy desserts. No more oily and excessively sweet or salty desserts. Everything here is freshly made and natural flavours are key to the desserts. I had a few samples, courtesy of a lovely lady, who also happens to be one of the owners of the shop and found them quite delectable. The In All Fairness (trust them to come up with such names), which was essentially Barley, Gingko with Beancurd Skin, was very light and refreshing. This dish is best taken chilled. The Mango Tango!, on the other hand, was a little creamy with Sago, Pomelo and Watermelon. I didn't quite taste the Watermelon, but the Pomelo provided an added zest to the dish. It tasted like your normal day to day Mango Sago, albeit a creamier and less sweet rendition. My favourite was the White Fungus with Chinese Almonds and Papaya, which happened to be the Delectable Experiment of the week. For $3, you get a huge cup of White Fungus swirling in a sweet but light syrup and lots of Chinese Almonds. I could see the pieces of Papayas, but they were too mashed up too have any taste. Experience the chilled syrup trickle down your throat and all memories of a bad lunch quickly dissipates.
Do try it if you happen to be in the area. They do delivery to nearby areas within a 10 minute walk from the shop, but the minimum order is $10. Other than that, the minimum order goes up to $30 and a delivery charge of between $5-$10 is imposed, depending on location. They also serve healthy breakfast items which might be a good alternative to those MacDonalds or Char Kuay Teows. There is a small dining area which can seat up to 6(?) people, but it is rather cramp, so you are better off eating on the go.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
Hidden in an obscure corner of the Changi Market is a lesser known western bar cum restaurant. Recommended by Makansutra as "Don't try, regret ah!", i made it my personal agenda to pay the place a visit. Charlie's corner has always been more of a 'watering hole' location to me as they serve an astonishing variety of beer. Pretty close to 80 different beers from around the world can be found here, though not on tap. This time however, i was there for the food.
There's really nothing much to say about the interior nor exterior really, its just a make shift corner with cheap metal chairs and alfresco dining qualities in an Asian way. Thats not to say its without it charm of course, and honestly, after a few beers, it doesn't matter where you are at.
Kilkenny ($10.90), Hoegarden ($9) - My 2 favorite sins. Kilkenny and Hoegarden. Both are bottled and served in their respective glasses but i really do find the price a little too steep. I can get a pint of Hoegarden at $7 and triple the volume shown here. That said, how can you fault a smooth and melt in your mouth Kilkenny and an ice cold sweet Hoegarden? Regardless of the price, its still going to be good.
Charlie's Famous Fish and Chips ($13.90) - Charlie's famous fish and chips is kind of an overstatement if you ask me. First of all, it really doesn't look like much. At first glance, i thought its was breaded fried fish which isn't too far from the truth. The good thing about the fish and chips is that its thick and juicy and has a light sweetness. The crust is also nicely done and well fried for a crumbling crispy finish. However, i still think its overpriced.
Chicken Chop ($12.90) - The chicken chop was a joke really. The meat was quite tender to its merit but tasteless even with the mushroom sauce accompaniment which basically renders it salty. My gf commented that its very average and just not satisfying. And at this price, i could have gotten 2 chicken chops from the market just around the corner.
Spicy Chicken Wings ($7.50) - The spicy chicken wings were served only with the central portion of the wing which is touted and the most tender and meaty portion of a chicken wing. This version came in 6 pieces but i really would have preferred having the entire wing given the price. The thing is, these wings were the best items we had that night (aside from the beer of course). Fried to perfection and still retaining its meat juices inside, the wings were delectable. Add the fact that the sauce is a mix between chili and rodeo sauce and its basically a fragrant juicy and tender experience. Have it piping hot with an ice cold beer for best effect.
This below average meal cost me $54.20 which really shocked my socks off.
Somehow, its either i ordered the wrong items or the Makansutra guy got special treatment. To me, the place is good for lazy gatherings and quiet drink sessions but the food offerings, in terms of main courses, needed much improvement. At this stage, it still feels like a bonafide rip off. And honestly, the drinks were overpriced as well. Its difficult for me to find a reason to return sadly.
Rating given:
In recent years, many food outlets claiming to sell restaurant quality western food at coffeeshop prices have sprung up in the heartlands across Singapore. Think Aston's and Botak Jones. Western Chow is the latest contender to have jumped on the bandwagon.
Opened just barely two weeks ago, Western Chow is hidden at the corner of a secluded coffeeshop just off Lorong Ah Soo. The system of ordering is simple. You make your order at the counter, pay up and you will receive an order number (as shown in the picture above). Take the number and sit anywhere you want and you will be served shortly.
Ribeye Steak ($14) - I had my ribeye medium rare and it came looking a shade of red, indicating its over doneness. That aside, the beef was way too soft, hinting of a possible use of tenderizer or "Peng Seh" as my parents term it. The beef had no bite whatsoever and no natural beef taste, masked by the overpowering black pepper sauce. Its really a sheer waste of such a good cut of beef.
Chicken Chop ($5.80) - As with the ribeye steak, the chicken chop was soft and a didn't really hold up to much chewing. I liked the sauce though, BBQ square with a dash of pepper. Having said that, the sauce alone wasn't enough to salvage the chicken chop. A pity really.
The 3 of us spent $33.80 in total, which was relatively expensive given the below average quality of food. To give them credit, all of the staff were very friendly. I certainly hope they will do something about it before they start losing customers. Oh and if you do ever patronise, please sit along the fringes of the coffeeshop or risk smelling like cooked food when you are done due to the fumes from the Char Kway Teow stall.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Had a craving for Japanese curry so dropped by Curry Favor's newly opened outlet at Novena Square for dinner. Curry Favor, which has its flagship outlet at Stamford House, purportedly dishes out one of the best authentic Japanese curries in Singapore and South East Asia. Quite a statement I must say.
The interior is simply done up with ample distance between tables which allows for limited privacy. Not that it was really necessary as the place was quite dead on a Saturday evening, with only 4 tables occupied.
Rosu Katsu (Pork) Curry - Curry Favor offers the flexibility of ordering half portions for certain dishes, which caters to small eaters or people who tend to opt for a lighter meal. The half portion of Rosu Katsu came with about 5 slices of succulent and not overly deep fried pork chops and a regular serving of rice. With a name like Curry Favor, it is rather obvious that the curry should take centre stage. And this is where it falters, well almost. The curry was light and sweet ( a little too sweet in fact) but didn't posses the wow factor. It lacked the fragrance as well. I would say its very decent but certainly not the best in Singapore or South East Asia.
Filet Pork Stewed Curry - This was a full sized order and honestly, the amount of pork fillets in it didn't justify the price. There seemed to be more potato cubes and carrots than pork fillets. Sure, the fillets were tender and full of bite and the curry thick and lightly sweet. But as with the Rosu Katsu, the curry lacked the oomph factor and fragrance, although I must say I did enjoy the overall dish quite a bit.
A rather filling but hardly satisfying dinner for 2 cost about $35 ($30 with $5 discount). Filling because there's a lot of starch in the dishes, rice, potato and curry. But having said that, food quality is still reasonably above average but prices could drop a notch or two. It does help that service is good as well.
See all my pictures here.
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Many would have known by now that I've been suffering from teeth problems for a few weeks now. I had been the patient of a popular dental chain until recently when the last job by them was poorly done and was very painful.
The last job started to give me problems and I asked around for recommendations. My colleague gave me the address of this clinic and I booked an appointment. There are four inhouse dentists so it's quite easy to get an appointment.
I went for my first visit which was pretty normal. A Dr. Chan (I think), a lady dentist, tended to me and she explained that she needed to do a re-filling. She was gentle and professional but certainly didn't waste any time with me. I was out in a jiffy so that she could move on to the next patient. No complaints I guess. But she did mention that the refilling might not help things as the damage might be too bad. So she told me to go back if the pain continues.
True enough, the pain came back fast and more furious. So I called them and managed to get an appointment with Dr. Leonard Tan in a few days.
Dr. Tan is the reason why I'm writing this review really. With the pain I was having I was really afraid when I went into the room as my gums and teeth were really sensitive at that point. But Dr. Tan was really gentle and I felt at ease in the chair. He was really careful when probing the affected area and didn't poke too hard until he was sure I wouldn't scream. (heh) Then he took me over for an X-ray and while waiting for the X-ray results, he patiently explained to me my options if the results were BAD.
He clearly explained what the root canal treatment was and told me exactly how much it cost. He didn't harp on it and told me I have other options like having the problem extracted.
When the results came back and were not conclusive, he advised me to tolerate the pain a bit and told me to do a number of things to see if they spark off unbearable pain which will point to damaged nerves.
What I really liked was how he wasn't money-minded and gave me my options and let me make the choice. He didn't charge me for this consultation and he gave me painkillers for free too. He only charged me $15 for the X-ray. Very reasonable isn't it?
Immensely happy with the service, I think I will make Dr. Tan my regular dentist. My colleague also recommended Dr. Zhou whom she said had plenty of experience.
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While waiting for a couple of friends to arrive for lunch this afternoon, another lunch kaki and me decided to go for a sip of a much needed drink on a hot Sunday afternoon. Since scheduled lunch was around Katong/East Coast area, we settled on iced coffee @ Coffee Master Café in Katong Mall.
Situated right beside Awfully Chocolate, coffee lovers have a choice of al fresco seating right at the entrance of Katong Mall, or the simple and quaint indoors which seemed to bring time to a standstill while you are at it.
My kaki had a special order of Iced Mocha Mint Latte that was meant to be hot coffee. The mint flavour was barely delicate, which explains why this combination should only be drunk hot.
The Iced Hazelnut Mocha I had though was absolutely great! In the vein of the rest that I have drank before, the drink came with enough punch of the hazelnut essence, but what sets it apart from the rest was the smooth aftertaste that is gentle to your palate, that was lacking in most.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
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On my family's previous dinner trip to My Mum's Place, we had spotted a few stalls beside it which we had meant to try. One such stall was Lau Hock Guan Kee Bak Kut Teh, which I was told, sold decent Bak Kut Teh. As with Tasty Penang just 2 doors down, Lau Hock Guan Kee is rather old school, opting for fans in favour of air conditioners. Read, it can get quite stuffy and warm if you choose to sit inside. Manned by a few old ladies, Lau Hock Guan Kee doesn't offer a menu unless you specifically request for it. The old ladies rattle off whatever's available and are very warm and hospitable, although in a rather loud sense. We had the Fried Baby Kailan with Oyster Sauce, Beancurd with Minced Meat and Bak Kut Teh.
The Fried Baby Kailan with Oyster Sauce was a little too "sweet" for me due to the excessive oyster sauce. The generous serving of fried shallots atop was a bonus and added flavour to the dish. Beancurd with Minced Meat might seem like an easy dish to prepare. Just get good beancurd, throw some minced meat and garnishes in and you are done. Even a novice cook like myself can easily whip up Beancurd with Minced Meat, but doing it well is an art by itself. Lau Hock Guan Kee's version exceeded expectations. What looked like a pathetic excuse for the dish turned out to have soft and silky tofu (similar to the Agedashi Tofu in Japanese eateries) and a tantalising gravy owing to the hearty mix of minced meat, carrots, spring onions, mushrooms and other garnishes. But then again, it would have been better if the cook had gone a little easier on the salt.
I'm sure everyone has eaten quite a bit of Bak Kut Teh in their lives and I'm no exception. The 2 most popular versions of Bak Kut Teh are the Teochew version, which has a clear and peppery soup and the Hokkien version, which has a dark and herbal soup. Lau Hock Guan Kee's rendition belonged to neither group. It's soup was slightly darkish and had seaweed and vegetables in it. It had no Bak Kut taste but tasted strongly of the seaweed. Rather weird, but still very decent in my opinion. The Bak Kut itself was nice though. The meat was tender and we had no difficulty tearing the meat off the bones. If they can do something about the soup, I'm sure this will be a smashing Bak Kut Teh.
Dinner for 3 pax with drinks cost a mere $30/-. For the huge portions (all of our dishes can feed 4 pax), this is definitely a steal. We had actually wanted to try their fish head and Fish Stomach with Bittergourd, but were too stuffed to even harbour such thoughts at the end of our meal. As such, I'll definitely be back to pick up from where we left off.
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Absolute Haven pride itself in serving Modern European Cuisine. Barely one years old, the restaurant has attracted numerous food-lovers and had rave reviews about the place. Thus its no wonder LIC must make a visit to Absolute Haven for a dinner.
Located at Prinsep street, the area has seen the entry of many new restaurants and has become a dining spot positioned within walking distance to Orchard. Absolute Haven is probably the crown among the many restaurants there, with the others not really being competitiors to it, but as complements which help to build Prinsep street as a place to dine.
Entering through the gates of Absolute Haven, there is the alfresco dining area where you can chill out with your friends. Otherwise, if you are on a romantic date and do not want to be seen sweating while enjoying your meal, step inside, to the cozy and chic environment of Absolute Haven.
When my friend and i reached the place at 7pm, the place was not full yet, but the crowd starts to come in subsequently. Being brought to our seats, we browse through the menu and placed our orders.
Mushroom Soup ($5.80)
A very mushroom mushroom soup, made from portobello mushrooms, shitake mushrooms, and button mushroom. The rendition here is quite similar to the ones I had at Friends @ Jelita, except this one comes up stronger in the "mushroom taste"
Soup of the day ($5.80)
We begin our delightful meal with the soup of the day. I'm not really a soup person while dining out so my view may not paint an accurate picture.
Oriental Cod-Fish ($24.0)
Steamed cod-fish done in oriental style topped with wolfberries, shitake mushrooms and bacon, served on a bed of asparagus.
This is truly an fusion where East meet West. You will never expect a dish like Oriental steamed cod fish to appear in a modish European restaurant like Absolute Haven.
Wolfberries as a ingredient, are by far rarely found in European restaurant, it further emphasized the oriental-ness of the dish. The use of bacon added flavoring which enhance the taste of the fish.
It does seems slightly weird to have a oriental steamed cod fish as a main course as usually it is more common to find it in Chinese restaurants. Nevertheless we enjoyed the unique experience, there's always a first for everything.But from what we gathered from Phyllis (Absolute's Manager), some customers find it to be too fishy, and the fish will be taken off the new menu which will commerce on 9th April.
Chef's Special Norwergian Salmon ($32)
Herb oil confit Norwergian Salmon drizzled with Vanilla cream sauce, walnut & black olive pilaf rice, accompanied with organic butternut pumpkin braised in Earl grey tea.
The food at Absolute Haven are all presented very well, the chef really does put in effort in making the dishes look nice. After all, a good appearance of the food does makes it taste better. Applause to the chefs for their hard work!
Having try quite a few Salmons recently, the version here is slightly different to the ones i had before which are mostly grilled or pan-fried. The herb oil confit salmon is a nice change, and i dutifully finish every bit of it.
The walnut & black olive pilaf rice is good, without a doubt. The organic butternut pumpkin braised in Earl grey tea isn't really to my liking, but i do appreciated the effort put into making this side dish.
Tira Mi Su ($9)
A classical Italian dessert served with espresso coffee and liqueur in light mascarpone cheese mousse. The Tira Mi Su here simply melts in my mouth, the liqueur was not too strong which does well for me. The slight hint of cheese in the mousse also provides a variation from the normal Tiramisu.
The thought of the Tira Mi Su dissolving at the tip of my tongue is enough to make me visit Absolute Haven again.
Passion Fruit Panna Cotta ($9)
This dessert wasn't on the menu when we visited Absolute Haven on the 22th March. There was another choice, lavender Panna Cotta, which offers a sweet version instead of the slightly more sour flavor of the passion fruit panna cotta. My friend preferred sour to sweet, so we got the Passion Fruit.
Total Bill came up to around $100.15 for two person. I got two Absolute Haven vouchers (entitled to two free soup and main course). But do not let this fact spoils the review. I deliberately left this fact for the end so that my share-readers can read through this review without any hint of biasness. Absolute Haven is excellent, and i'm not saying this because i got a free meal.
We paid $13.30 for this excellent dinner for the Tiramisu, the Panna Cotta was on the house, courtesy of Phyllis. Absolute Haven promise romantic fine-dining at an affordable price, without burning a hole in your pocket, you can bring your dates there for special occasions. Even for normal events, it's a great place to chill out with your family and friends. The price of their mains ranges from $16 to $32, and desserts are valued at $9-$12.
The friendly manager, Phyllis came up and spoke to us about our meal halfway through. She is a real nice person. You could feel her earnest and sincerity while she was talking to us. There are few managers or bosses in the local food & beverage industry that come across to me as genuine as her. Do call her 9766 3798 or even drop her a sms (which i did) to make your reservations.
The service staff there are polite and quick to help out if we got any inquiries, and my friend note that most of them are good-looking. Anyway thats not the main point, the service at Absolute Haven is indeed what other new start-ups should learn from. Excellent services can never go wrong!
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 biasness. 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 : )
" Romantic Fine Dining at an affordable price "
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Dropped by Empire Cafe with my gf for dinner since we were in the vicinity, didn't fancy spending much on food and Empire Cafe looked pretty crowd free at that time.
Sitting right at the corner of Raffles Hotel, Empire Cafe plays home to a nostalgic interior styled to mimic a typical 1920s Singapore coffee house, with air conditioning of course. There's the booth seats, marble floors, granite table tops and wooden chairs, all reminiscent of an era long past and forgotten.
Crab Meat Fried Rice - For $18, the crab meat fried rice was terribly expensive considering its quality and portion size. True, the rice was throughly fried with a noticeable Wok Hei taste but it just wasn't tasty enough, coming across as a little on the bland side. The not too generous ingredients didn't help either. Portion size was just a little bigger than your $3/plate fried rice at the coffeeshop. The only consolation was probably the not too sizeable crab claw that came with the rice.
Bak Kut Teh - I really didn't know whether to cry or to laugh when I had a sip of the Bak Kut Teh soup. It was sweet from all the wolfberries that came with the soup. Maybe its just me, but I don't think Bak Kut Teh is supposed to be cooked with wolfberries, is it? At least the ones I've tried so far aren't. Soup aside, the meat was fibrous yet tender and quite a size to boot. All in all, I wouldn't say that this was a bad dish, just that it was different. For me, I didn't like it one bit.
Durian Chendol - What can I say? This dish was as common as it gets. Probably the only up side was the finely shaved ice, which then again can be found in many other places that sell this dish for half to a third of the price.
Can you fathom paying close to $63 for such a meal with 2 glasses of free flow lime juice? I honestly can't and the experience still seems rather surreal as I write this entry. So much for wanting to cut down on our expenditure for the evening. Strangely enough, the restaurant was almost full when we were done - a sign of growing affluence?
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Those Dim Sum cravings just don't stop and its been bothering me for quite a while. With some luck, reprieve was in sight as my colleagues and I settled for Dim Sum at the relatively well known Teahouse near our office.
Housed on the third floor of China Square, Teahouse comes under the umbrella of the illustrious Tung Lok group, which is famous for its fine dining Chinese restaurants. Step into the restaurant and a quaint teahouse setting greets you. Decor is simplistic, with wooden tables and chairs and whirling ceiling fans. The sight of Dim Sum being pushed around in trolleys complete the typical teahouse atmosphere.
Tofu with Fish Paste - I found this dish very normal. The Tofu tasted like those you could buy at the markets and the fish paste just didn't taste wholesome enough. I could probably get one of comparable quality at half the price.
Char Siew Sou - I'm rather particular when it comes to Char Siew Sou because its probably one of my favourite Dim Sum dishes. Sad to say, this one didn't quite make the cut. Although the pastry was flaky, it wasn't crisp enough and the Char Siew filling was a little tasteless. No BBQ taste, not sweet, nothing. Edible, but certainly not worth the money.
Egg Tarts - Another one of my favourite dishes. But disappointment after disappointment. The Egg Tart was just short of terrible. The custard filling was hardly sweet and the pastry crumbled upon the slightest exertion of pressure. No slightly burnt taste that I like as well.
Deep Fried Prawn Dumpling - A good gauge as to whether this dish is well executed is to taste the skin. If its thin, crispy and doesn't carry a reused oil aftertaste, then its good. Of course the prawns must be fresh as well to complement the skin. Teahouse's rendition was a mixture of good and bad. The skin could have obviously done with more deep frying because it was a little chewy instead of crispy. The prawns however, were nice and crunchy, which indicates freshness?
Carrot Cake - If I were to call the carrot cake a joke, that would be an understatement. Its probably closer to disaster. The carrot cake was soft and mushy and reeked of oil. Not to mention it left a distasteful aftertaste. Pure gross. They should really take this off the menu. I'm not kidding
Chee Cheong Fun - We had a serving of Char Siew Chee Cheong Fun and Prawn Chee Cheong Fun. Both tasted rather normal, but I like the Char Siew one more due to personal biasness. Only problem with the Chee Cheong Fun is that the skin could have been thinner and silkier.
Har Gao - Fresh and crunchy prawns enveloped by an acceptably thin skin. What more can I say? Could use some heating up though as Dim Sum is best eaten warm or piping hot.
Char Siew Pao - The Char Siew Pao didn't come piping hot. In fact it came almost cold. And cold it remained, with my palate failing to warm up to it. I personally found the skin too thick and not soft enough. The filling was normal and I almost can't remember how it tastes like. I guess that pretty much says how I feel about the Pao.
An unsatisfying Dim Sum lunch (for me at least) for 3 pax cost about $45. Not exactly the most expensive of Dim Sum lunches, but it is hard to justify for the quality and quantity of food. Add in average service and you get a place where I won't be visiting again, at least not for Dim Sum. Wah Lok beckons.
See all my pictures here.
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