As i'm preparing and writing this post, i'm struggling deep inside on whether i should post this or not. Reason being, this is one of my absolute favorites of all time and the fact that already too many people know of this gem of a restaurant. I'll make a statement here: "This is the best Japanese food i've had in Singapore thus far." Not that i've tried alot of the higher end restaurants but given the price and the quality, nowhere in Singapore comes close yet. You do have to get over a few things you may find weird though.
I'll start off with some things to note so that you at least know what to expect:
1: Do NOT put your finished plates on the sushi counter
2: If you order the hotpots, do NOT put your hand near the serving plate when he serves.
3: Your experience will depend solely on the food and not on the service and that the only way it can be.
4: Always order in numbers and prepare your order BEFORE coming into the restaurant.
5: A $2 charge is mandatory for each seat and comes with a drink. There's no service charge or gst.
6: There's no pork or lard here.
7: Be prepared to wait 1 hour at least if you miss the first seating. The restaurant seats only 16 people and if you miss it, you'll just have to queue outside till someone finishes their meal.
8: Do NOT offend the chef.
This is it, the place to look for. Wasabi tei is run by only 2 people, the chef and (if i'm not mistaken) his wife or assistant. She's in charge of serving drinks and taking orders while the chef takes care of everything else. Both of them have quite a temper but otherwise, i think their just nice people making a living.
Amuse Boche - Apart from the drink, your $2 per seat also comes with the appetiser. It looks less appealing then it really is. To describe its taste, its sweet, slightly salty and light. In other words, its an excellent appetiser in my opinion. Not sure if thats beancurd or meat but no matter, its still good.
Chawanmushi ($5) - A picture speaks a thousand words and this chawamushi should tell you how it tastes like quite simply. Its nothing short of superb. The generous helpings of enoki mushrooms, prawn, sharks fin and chicken meat is obvious since its filled to the brim with it. Its also made fresh when its ordered which thus give the chawanmushi its excellent melt in your mouth sensation. Unlike other renditions, this is extremely light and smooth. To date, this dish is unmatched anywhere else in Singapore.
Salmon Sashimi ($9) - I hope this picture tells you that the salmon sashimi comes in a huge portion because it definitely did. 6 thick slices of salmon thats easily 2 servings in similar restaurants for a reasonable price of $9. It also helps that the sashimi is wonderfully fresh and sweet with the natural fat of the fish giving it a nice smooth texture as well. At this price, the quality is just unbelievable. Trust me, this is worth more then all the red plates or whatever plates the sashimi comes in elsewhere.
Mixed Sashimi Rice ($20) - Another shockingly huge portion of sliced fish. My gf ordered this because she's a huge fan of sashimi and honestly, i've never felt it worth my money to eat this until now and thats saying a lot. Salmon, toro, kenpachi, tuna and fish roe rounds up the sashimi selection and each comes in thick slices and generously proportioned. Sashimi is the ultimate test of freshness offered by a japanese restaurant and over here, i would say i've found the winner. What else can i say about the freshness and generousity of the portions at the price? Its just really really good.
Cod Fish Hotpot ($15) - I found this on the menu and was geniunely surprised at this being offered at $15. After all, cod is an extremely expensive fish. However, i'm glad to report that this is also worth every cent. The fish is very smooth and tender while the hotpot is filled with assorted vegetables, mushrooms and vermicelli. It also helps that it is served with rice and a nice concoction of home made chili sauce which goes really well with the fish. In fact, i'd say it enhances the fresh taste of the fish and makes it even better. A worthwhile item as well.
On this visit, my total damage amounted to $52 and i have to say, this is more value for money then any japanese restaurant i've ever been to.
The fabled and legendary chawanmushi - On my second, third and forth visit, the chawanmushi is still something we'll order and never get sick off. There's nothing more to say about it, its just that good. If you've only eaten at say...Sakae or Sushi Tei, this version will change your opinion of chawanmushi for good.
Crab Sushi ($6) - One thing to note about the chef is that he seems to do sushi rolls last after preparing everything else. So if you're here and only ordered sushi, you're gonna need to wait for some time. The sushi we ordered had crab meat, avacado, cucumbers and fish roe and like the rest of the offerings, this was good. However, it wasn't great and the waiting time involved makes me feel that the other items are much better investments.
Sashimi Moriwase ($25) - Sashimi addiction? Yeah, i'd say that's pretty much the case here. For $25, you get generous portions and thick slices of sashimi with the same wonderful freshness and sweetness i've mentioned earlier. At this portion size and quality, i'd say this is easily $40 or more in other restaurants but over here, its a luxury i wouldn't miss to order. The added scallop this time around is excellent to say the least. Its sweetness and texture is something you need to try to understand. I ordered this on subsequent visits as well and i have to say, it never disappoints. Have this and thank me later. It also helps that the chef prepares this as one of his first items to serve so you'll get it pretty quickly.
Unagi Rice ($13) - Look at the unagi and believe it. This is only $13 and the portion he is giving is simply huge. For the same price, you'd probably get only one piece elsewhere but over here, 2 huge portions of savoury, made on-the-spot freshly grilled unagi at an unbelievably reasonable price. It helps that the unagi is also of the melt-in-your-mouth texture with an excellent and balanced sauce which is neither too sweet nor too salty. My order was a little charred at some places but even then, i found this very tasty. I'm pretty much sold for this dish and i simply love it much like everything else i've tried here.
Total bill was a little more this time at $58 for 2 but still more value for money then anything else thus far.
Minus the little gripes about the small space and the sometimes black face of the couple. This place is a treasure little found elsewhere in Singapore. The food is nothing short of excellent and the value for money it provides is second to none. Thus far in my food endevours, nothing matches this place for quality and value quite this much. The only places close to it will be Sage for the quality of its fusion food but the cost is definitely much higher. Wasabi tei is a place i would return to again and again and again and to be honest, i did return with my gf at least another 3 times with more still on the cards. Definitely a winner. Do note its not open on Sundays and public holidays though. You'll probably see me there again real soon as well. Cheers and a special Thank You! to the chef and his assistant for bringing such reasonably priced and good japanese food into Singapore.
I was very much enticed by the 50% discount that Bistro Senso was offering on its ala carte menu during the Singapore Flyer downtime so made a purposeful trip down just to give it a shot. It definitely helped that I had a great experience at Senso Ristorante at club street quite a few years back.
The interior is comfortably cafe-ish and decked out in predominantly red and black shades with towering floor to ceilings windows that allow a view of the Marina Barrage, among other things. There is also a al fresco option but being a hot afternoon, the air conditioned indoors definitely seemed a lot more appealing.
Caprese Di Mozzarella Di Bufala - For starters, we had the mozzarella salad, which was decent but nothing to shout about. The cheese was a little too bland but thankfully, still relatively smooth. If it wasn't the salt from the salad which "spiced" things up a little, I honestly don't think we could have finished this dish.
Calamari - The calamari batter was a tad too thick for my liking but the squid had a nice springy texture and didn't come across as overly salty. It didn't seem very oily as well which is a plus point I guess.
Calzone - The calzone aka "folded pizza" surprised me with its humongous serving size. It was easily double the size of any calzone that I've ever tried (not that I've tried a lot though). (Un)fortunately, most of it was just hot air (literally!). When I made a hole in the pizza, the dough sort of deflated and the whole thing was hollow, save for a bed of cheese coupled with a few slices of ham. On the upside, the pastry was nice and chewy, almost like eating roti prata. But the whole pizza could really do with more ingredients.
Lobster and Crab Meat Ravioli - I was rather surprised to see this on the menu as lobster and crab meat are usually quite expensive and this ravioli was only going for $18 (before discount). The ravioli had crab shreds for filling and I couldn't quite make out any lobster at all. However, thrown into the pot were servings of relatively fresh squid, mussel and prawns, all held together by a lightly sourish and tomato base sauce. Not exactly what I was expecting, but for the price, I really can't complain.
Tiramisu - The desserts proved to be anything but good. For an Italian eatery, the tiramisu was sadly pathetic. The sponge was a tad dry even at the base and the mascarpone cheese wasn't dense or moist enough. And where was the alcohol taste?
Creme Brulee - Only for those with a very sweet tooth best describes the creme brulee. It was mind blowingly sweet even for me and definitely not made from vanilla beans. The texture was uncomfortably smooth, soft and almost creamy, very much like paste. The caramel also looked like it hadn't been torched long enough.
A very filling meal for 2 cost us to the tune of $90 ($45 after 50% discount). Though we did manage to get 2 full courses (appetiser, main, dessert) for the price, I doubt I will be back in the absense of the discount simply because the quality of food doesn't quite live up to its pricing. Service was good but how hard is it to serve just 1 table?
Was at Yishun for my gf's friend's baby's one month party yesterday (01112009) and chanced upon this outlet hidden in the newly opened Northpoint wing.
The decor looks better then usual with wide open spaces and was bristling with customers and activity which thus also lead to me consenting to give it a try.
My gf had a coupon for $10 of a main dish with the Xin Wang card and our orders are as follows:
HK Cheese Baked Pork chop spagghetti - This wasn't too bad. The tomato is more sourish then sweet while the pork chop was a little hard. Spaggheti was plentiful however and this was actually quite overwhelming after a while.
Shrimp Dumplings - I found this rather good actually. Fresh, crunchy and sweet prawns basically make this dish good.
Pork Pastry - This was average as the pastry is not fragrant. The pork within is alright however, warm and sweet.
Pork Chop burger - I found this to be the least worthwhile item we ordered. The pork chop had a big layer of fats but was thankfully tender while the "burger" was made using toasted white bread. Overall, get rid of the fats and its acceptable but hardly worth $4.90. Mcdonalds fare better for the price.
Overall bill came to $12.90 after the $10 discount.
Honestly, this branch is better then the others i've tried but i still find it overpriced for the simple fare they provide. Our conclusion for why this is better is because, being a new branch, we theorised that probably the executive chef was on the location which thus resulted in the difference in quality.
Its great to see Manhattan Fish Market in a less centralized area like Pasir Ris because first of all, i'm nearer to the East and second of all, this was one of the first restaurants i tried when i started out.
Straight to the point, the restaurants main competitor will be Fish and Co. Their generally a little different in terms of preparation and so far, my impression of MFM is that it has more fried items.
Fried country mushrooms ($9.90) - 6 button mushrooms covered in batter and deep fried. Its as good as ever but i did find that this time, it cooled a lot faster as well. Probably due to peak hour and the fact that lots of people were there. Which led to it being prepared earlier to meet the demand.
Main Platter for 2($33.90) - The platter for 2 used to go for $29.90 but has since increased their prices since then. You get the usual HUGE piece of fish, fries, garlic rice, flaming prawns, calamari and mussels. Its actually a pretty big portion to be honest and big eaters need apply to finish it. The fish is still one of the better ones, thick, sweet and lightly battered. I could have 2 pieces if given the choice. The prawns are average but the mayo like sauce is excellent with the rice. mussels and calamari were equally well done. To me, this is still a good platter of food.
Overall billed clocked in at $46.40.
A hefty sum to be sure but still under the acceptable range.
However, if it continues its upward trend in pricing, i'd find it hard pressed to find an excuse to return before long.
There used to be four, but with the latest addition of the Canon to the Arsenal, the power balance was tipped back. The current score stands at Canon 2, Olympus 2, Nikon 1. With the figure at a perfect five, there’s a harder fight especially so when somebody countdown five seconds for the shots.
While just like how the different brands have their own strengths; with Canon producing the crisp sharp shots, Nikon edging out with the vibrant colours display, Olympus providing the balance in between, there isn’t a perfect combination. And of course, there are pros and cons of Choupinette. The small capacity of the restaurant made it a great place for a lazy pig-out, but it also meant that the place was packed to the crowd on a busy weekend.
I like how my Nikon produced the perfect blend of colour, to bring out the best in the settings of the restaurant. And surely, the Canon and Olympus camp would protest against that.
Walking by the array of bread, the three of us were attracted by the Pain au chocolat ($2.90). From the memories, warm melting chocolate filled within the crispy bread. But it was not to be, the bread was cold even though the staff helped us warm it up. Chocolate fillings, or rather, the lack of it was the main downfall.
The same problem goes for the Almond Danish ($2.90), the bread wasn’t warm, while we couldn’t expect freshly baked bread to be coming out just for us, it would be a lot better if only the bread was warm.
The chouchou’s set ($22 ) from the lunch menu had choices of either one of grilled hot sandwich, lasagna or smoked salmon sandwich, together with a drink and dessert. This was La Moussaka. The fanciful name brought home the impact, otherwise you wouldn’t be seeing this dish here. But, it was a very ordinary one, nothing to shoot about.
The generous slices of smoked salmon from the Le Noé’s sandwich ($22 from chouchou’s set) was definitely worth the price. Coming in two huge slabs of bread, it could easily filled up two person.
Choupinette’s interpretation of the Madame and Monsieur was an egg, with the latter coming without. Grilled sandwich with a choice of ham, chicken or eggplants with emmenthal cheese & béchamel sauce. Le Croque-Monsieur ($15). Apparently, our Madame was so engrossed with the sandwich that she couldn’t give her comment.
I always wondered what exactly is a quiche ($6 per slice), well i got my answer today, in not one, but two quiche! The lorraine quiche (top picture) is perhaps the most common quiche there is. While I didn’t exactly fancy the spinach quiche, I still prefer my spinach eaten like a vegetable.
Eggs on toast with smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce served all day long. This is for all the lazy bums out there! The Egg Royal’s ($21 ) ought to be presented with the most-expensive-eggs-you-ever-eaten honour. I kind of wanted to kick myself for not ordering this, the poached eggs were done perfectly, and the looks alone would give much pleasure.
Another dish which you can’t left out of any brunch menu, Eggs Benedict’s ($20 ). Eggs on toast with ham and hollandaise sauce. Well if your stomach isn’t feeling right having smoked salmon for breakfast, eggs with ham are always a safer choice.
It’s kind of heavy eating a burger for breakfast, but hey we are having brunch! For all the carnivores, Le Burger ($18) is just, well a hamburger. The beef patty was slightly overcooked, but it was served with a generous servings of salad, and the fries even came on a separate bowl. But for $18, i thought it was rather on the high side, you can have a gourmet burger at Relish, or maybe a cheaper burger from Hotshots or Smoking frog kitchen might do the job.
On first impression, the Tarte au citron ($5.60) or lemon meringue tart would definitely made a statement with the beautiful burnt and thick layer of meringue. While others took one bite of the tart and refused to touch it any more, i was slowly sampling it since this was my first time trying meringue. The layer of meringue on top was supposed to form a stiff peak but the one here was too thick, and there was also hint of coarse sugar within which was probably due to the improper dissolve of the sugar.
We were contemplating between chocolate or coffee éclair since there was too much desserts with chocolate. But we decided against it since coffee is an acquired taste, and had the Éclair au chocolat ($5). There was a salty after-taste in the éclair which came across as rather weird.
I was eagerly anticipating the Palais Royal ($6.90), for the dark chocolate and crunchy praline. But there wasn’t any crunchy praline to be found. Nonetheless, i still enjoyed the dessert even though some didn’t really like it as they were disappointed by the lack of the crunchy praline.
A very simple custard & raspberry, the Millefeuille framboise ($7). The several layers of puff pastry brought back fond childhood memories of the cake which i had before when i was a kid. It was difficult not to make a mess of it as the cake crumbled easily.
The Tarte aux Pommes ($5.90 a slice, $7.90 for an additional scoop of ice cream) was quintessentially an apple tart with a scoop of normal ice cream. The additional of 2 bucks for the scoop of ice cream was totally not worth the money, but the apple tart was decent. The thin slice of dessert was fulsome with the apple taste.
Vendôme ($6.90) also caught our attention with the three layers of dark, milk and white chocolate. The dessert was more like eating three layers of chocolate mousse, some didn’t like it, but i did.
The macarons ($1.80 each) were a disaster. We had eight of them, four from each chouchou’s set. Choupinette has about 13 flavours of macarons available, we chose chocolate, raspberry, strawberry, peach, passion fruit, orange, pear and hazelnut. Almost all the macarons had chocolate gauche for fillings, i wouldn’t mind small macarons if they were good, but the one here had an artificial taste to it. Something was definitely missing but we couldn’t quite make out what. The very artificial colouring of the macarons didn’t appeal to us too. The shells of the macaron crumbled easily and didn’t have the chewy texture a good macaron should have.
Total bill was $193 for 9 of us. Some paid more for their expensive egg brunch, while some paid less for just bread and desserts. But generally, if you are looking to try their brunch or lunch menu, you will probably looking at 20 per person, and that’s probably excluding desserts. Choupinette has a great base of Caucasians customers, and it isn’t difficult to see why for the cosy and homely decorations of the place. The name of the restaurant, and the French names of the food screams chic. It will probably be better to go on a weekday where there’s less customers if you want to try this place out.
Well, just like how there will never be a perfect DSLR for either Canon, Olympus or Nikon users. Some of you might like Nikon for the design, Canon for its brand, Olympus for its nimbleness, all of us have different preferences. Similarly for Choupinette, while we were disappointed by the desserts, but the eggs on the brunch were exceptional, and you might just like the food there. No matter what, all of us love our DSLR, and the common passion for food. Another dessert enthusiast outing, until the next one!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
A classic Italian gastronomic, Galbiati gourmet deli actually started out as a takeaway place for its gourmet products. I’ve been wanting to give the place a visit ever since a friend highly recommended it, and railmall is so near to my place.
The interior of the deli was very small, with seating of at most 30. The simplistic environment of the place does makes one feels comfortable, a place where you can call your own Italian joint. The food offered are mostly simple food, with a wide array of home-made pastas, appetizer and main courses.
The Salmon asparagus linguine ($18) was based on the recommendation of the serving staff as my friend’s a great fan of the fish. A very light cream base accompanied the linguine, with the salmon stronger in taste. The asparagus seems to act as the neutralising balance between the salmon and the overall light taste of the dish. A fairly good home-made pasta.
I’ve a sneak preview of their pizzas at the counter, and was excited to hear that they’d served it fresh from the oven. The popular Hawaiian pizza ($8) was our choice for the night. Coming in squares of 6, the pizza was value for money. But, there’s no free lunch in this world, i thought that the ingredients were miserable, with one small cube of pineapple and ham. The pizza crust was very hard, and dry for my personal liking. And the tomato spread for the base was insufficient.
One of the unique characteristics of Galbiati deli was they actually encouraged takeaways. Dining in, the Lavender cheesecake ($7) is a dollar more expensive than if you opted to takeaway their desserts. The lavender flower infused a aromatic fragrant into the light cheesecake. The crust base was always a welcoming partner, to provide the crunch.
We always like to save the best for the last, to savour every bite of the Tiramisu ($7) for a lasting moment stored in our memory. Well i didn’t exactly had many tiramisu before, but Galbiati’s one is probably one of the best i’ve before. There wasn’t any deconstruction, nothing fanciful about the famous Italian dessert. Just a solid good one. The mascrapone cheese, with the the coffee-liquer infuse flavour, i was sorely tempted to order another one.
Total bill was $44 for two person. While the dinner didn’t exactly turn out to be as good as what i’ve expected, it’s easy to imagine myself back here for a simple meal. The only problem? The restaurant doesn’t allow photography, so i was taking photos secretly while they were not looking.
And i do enjoyed my rights of taking photos openly, so this may be the reason a revisit will eluded me. One thing’s for sure, i’ll definitely be back to try the other desserts, and the tiramisu of course. But the next time round, i’ll probably takeaway their desserts, and snap shots of it just directly outside their shop!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Au petit salut is helmed by chef Patrick Steuberger from Switzerland. Having garnered various experiences overseas in multiple countries and various michellin star chefs as tutors, Patrick returned to Au petit salut as executive chef in 2005. With such an impressive resume, its no wonder the restaurant was introduced to me by my boss.However, i maintain that reputation remains as reputation until put to the actual taste test. How will it fare i wonder?
Upon entering, you will find that the restaurant exudes a form of rustic charm for its location and the design of it exterior. Seemingly a colonial building that has yet to be teared down and located in the deep recesses of a mildly wooded enclave, its like stepping back in time to a less busy era where life was a little less complicated. In short, i felt relaxed the moment i parked my car.
The restaurant is a rather intimate affair with the interior seating about 30-40 people and the al fresco section seating around the same number of people. When i made my reservation, the restaurant was fully booked due to a corporate function but they made concessions since i only needed 2 seats.Decor wise, minimal is best for this place but i'm quite pleased with the simple and clean approach used.
The restaurant is a rather intimate affair with the interior seating about 30-40 people and the al fresco section seating around the same number of people. When i made my reservation, the restaurant was fully booked due to a corporate function but they made concessions since i only needed 2 seats.Decor wise, minimal is best for this place but i'm quite pleased with the simple and clean approach used.
My choice of starter was the foie gras as usual. For the price, i'm surprised at how big a portion the foie gras was. In short, this would easily have cost more then $30 on ala carte given the size. Quality wise, it was also a surprise since the Xeres vinegar and red onions actually managed to enhance the taste of the foie gras by adding a sourish and sweet taste. The spinach also managed to neutralize the oily taste somewhat. However, make no mistake, this is still a sinful and oily dish but one thats done well in both quality and quantity.
My gf had this soup and i had a taste, i can't remember what vegetable it was but i can tell you it tasted fresh, sweet and appetising.
Half dozen baked Burgundy snails with tomato and garlic butter - Feeling a little adventurous, we ordered an addtional serving for appetiser which was these little critters you see here. Snails. First off, i've never tasted these things before and was warned that they come with a weird and sometimes pungent smell when done wrong. However, this rendition i tried was optimistic. The tomato and garlic butter was baked well into the dish and managed to cover the pungent taste. There was still a hint of the slimey texture of the snail but otherwise, the majority of the taste went to the garlic butter. It was quite alright actually.
Filet de boeuf sauce moutarde et herbes fraîches - Pan seared beef tenderloin of about 150gm served with mashed potato mustard and herb sauce. The beef itself was a little overcooked on the sides but got better towards the middle since my order was for medium rare. The meat near the middle was tender and succulent with a generous smattering of juiciness. The herb sauce fared pretty well but bordered on being too salty. Mashed potato was excellent, supremely smooth and easy on the palate but some may find it too milky.
Guinea fowl and pork sausage served with melted cabbage and bacon, brown jus - My gf's dish, i only had a small taste of this but i found it salty and sourish. Not exactly something i would like. For the record, my gf didn't like this much either.
Fondant chaud au chocolat - Ah....fondants. Something i would soon stop ordering since i now know how to make it myself. Their rendition was pretty good, nice and crispy on the outside while warm suitably flowing on the inside. The chocolate is just right, not too sweet nor too bitter. This went well with the chocolate sorbet but horribly with the reddish fruit (i suspect raspberry).
“Mont-Blanc” vanilla ice cream, chestnut purée and meringue - Well, this didn't go too well. Being my first mont blanc and all, the vanilla ice cream was the only thing passable while the chestnut puree tasted like sweetened yam. Utterly disappointed given the rather flashy name.
Hazelnut tart with orange marmalade and vanilla “Crème Anglaise” - Another disappointment in the dessert department, this hazelnut tart was once again, rather lacklustre in weird in the taste department. Its also warm and the thing that looks like ice cream isn't. It tastes like orange cream and didn't go well with the tart at all.
Total bill came up to $131 for this meal.
In the end, the meal was still satisfactory even though one main dish and 2 of its desserts were rather lacklustre. Service was excellent while the relaxed atmosphere would have been complete if the corporate event was not ongoing while we were there. I did realise that all of the dishes that didn't live up to standard came from the $30 lunch menu while the $58 lunch menu was generally better in standard and taste. Maybe a difference in price means a difference in quality?
The Singapore Flyer is touted as the world’s largest observation wheel, even higher than London Eye. Our nation’s pride. Minor breakdowns before were already ominous signals that a catastrophe will happen one day. Alas, the dreadful thing finally struck. How the mighty has fallen. The management should have already looked into and made backup plans, but it failed anyway. Now, time for us to do some self-reflections and damage-recovery.
While the flyer remains closed for investigations, the ones to suffer the backslash are the restaurants and other tenents. Senso Bistro, is coming up with a 50% promotion off all their a la carte menu from now until the flyer starts operating (date unknown yet).
The natural vibe of the restaurant, with its simple layout and decorations, provided a good place for either a causal lunch, or nice dinner without burning a hole in the pocket.
Not to mention there’s also al fresco dining, which would be ideal for dinner, with the sea breeze and eating under the stars making it a romantic affair.
The waiter kindly asked us whether we’ll like some garlic bread ($4) while waiting, but he failed to mention it’s not free. Naturally when he offered us bread i thought it was complimentary. There’s no free lunch in this world. All right, it’s not so much about the money, we are talking about principle, like shouldn’t they at least inform us the bread wasn’t complimentary? Next time, don’t be shy, ask!
With ten selections to choose from the Pizze menu, we were spoilt for choices. To be on the safe side, we went for the popular Hawaiian ($18 before 50% discount). The paper-thin pizza was huge, with eight slices easily filling up the four of us. The ingredients of pineapple, cooked ham were very generous. The only gripe? I lamented the fact that the pizza did not have enough mozzarella cheese. Still, with the promotion, it’s definitely a steal at just under ten bucks. It made the one I’ve at Galbiati looked pathetic.
Grilled tuna loin coated in fresh herbs. The Tonno ($24 before 50% discount) was a disappointment really. The fish was over-cooked, making the meat too dry and hard. I liked the side vegetables that came with it, lightly stir-fried, the greens were crunchy and fresh.
When asked to choose between the T-bone steak and veal loin, the manager recommended the latter for the delicate taste and tender texture. Veal loin is the meat of calves, and at Bistro Senso, the pan-fried veal loin scaloppine ($24 before discount) can be done in three different methods. Ours were ‘alla Pizzaiola’ with tomato and mozzarella cheese. The whole taste was like having a steak-pizza. A refreshing combination, but the meat was not tender enough, and came across as too tough. And since we had pizza already, now i’m wishing i chose the other method of breaded and golden crispy instead.
And how can we not have any pasta from an Italian bistro? The Ravioli ($18 before 50% discount) was essentially lobster and crab pasta served with assorted seafood ragout in tomato and basil sauce. This was actually my first time having a ravioli pasta. The tomato and basil sauce was flavourful and strong in taste. The prawns and squids were fresh, but to be frank, I didn’t quite enjoy ravioli. I still preferred my pasta to be spaghetti or linguine. Personal taste.
I was eagerly anticipating the desserts, well most people would find tiramisu ($8 before 50% discount) boring and chose some other interesting options. But there was no way I’m going to miss out trying the popular Italian dessert from an Italiano joint. The mascarpone cream was too light, and the espresso taste was not strong.
Another famous Italian dessert, Pannacotta ($8 before 50% discount). The bouncy texture was evident, but i couldn’t figure out what’s in the double cream flan. The raspberry coulis did provided a contrast with the pannacotta.
The last one, Creme brulee ($8 before 50% discount). The oven-baked egg custard of the Italian dessert did taste rather like our Chinese egg tarts. The caramelised sugar on top of the dessert wasn’t burned enough, and lacked the torched burnt taste.
Total bill was $65.91 for 4 person after a 50% discount. Although i wasn’t very impressed with the food, but with the promotional prices, the food is really cheap! The pizzas and pastas are like 9 bucks each, and the main course 12 bucks. The soothing ambience with the inexpensive price means that you should visit Senso Bistro before the Singapore Flyer reopens. Talk about patriotism, and national pride.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Had another bout of craving for Thai food but didn't fancy spending too much due to the economic downturn so dropped by Jai Thai for a simple no frills dinner with my folks. Jai, which means heart in English, is touted as the most value for money Thai restaurant in Singapore.
Located in the rather secluded private estate of Jalan Pemimpin in the Thomson/Sin Ming area, Jai Thai operates out of a rather spacious shophouse but provides very limited parking spaces. The interior is kept simple and unassuming with cheap wooden tables and chairs and Chinese tunes playing in the background. There is of course the obligatory photos of the Thai royal family.
Tom Yum Soup - To be honest, I didn't quite take to the tom yum soup because it wasn't the clear and hard hitting sourish spicy type that I personally prefer. Instead, it had lots of chilli flakes and came across as only mildly sourish and watery. Good for people who don't like their soup too extreme I guess. On the upside, it came with fried fish pieces, squid and prawns which were relatively fresh.
Thai Fish Cake - At $1.50 a piece, the fish cake was decent. Not the best I've tried but very palatable. Just that I found it a wee bit too soft for my liking.
Pineapple Fried Rice - Evenly fried and decent tasting but on the dry side. Miserable bits of chicken and chicken floss donned the top. However at $6 for a 2 pax portion, I guess its still acceptable.
Kai Lan with Oyster Sauce - How bad can kai lan with oyster sauce get? Average tasting but at least the leaves didn't have worm holes in it - something that usually plagues alot of budget eateries. I did find the oyster sauce a little excessive though.
Pandan Chicken - This was probably the best dish of the day. Big chunks of boneless chicken meat well marinated and fragrant to boot. Very worth the price ($5) but watch out for the excessive oil.
Mango Pudding - At $1.50, I honestly didn't expect much. The pudding's texture was more like jelly then pudding and came topped with coconut milk. Edible but not something I would order again.
Mango Sticky Rice - The rice was smooth, sticky and sweet at the same time with the generous mango slices mildy sweet and sour. A drizzle of coconut milk atop completed the picture with the whole dish coming across as sweet, creamy with a light sourish tinge. Quite good I must say.
I would say $30 for a filling dinner for 3 pax is really a steal. Food quality is decent but service needs to buck up a little as the wait staff do seem a little inefficient. For the price, I would definitely be better off eating here then at Thai Express and the likes.
Situated at United Square, one can locate Fiesta Brasilia hidden at the corner on the basement level beside Brauhaus Restaurant & Pub and McDonalds.
Started by one of co-founders of Brazil Churrascaria along Sixth Avenue and his partner, what sets this restaurant apart from the rest of the Brazilian meat buffet outlets is their casual setting and festive atmosphere, although a nice private dining area is also available.
Dinner was kick-started by the Cheese Bread, which was something different and interesting – it had a nice cheesy flavour accompanied by a lovely chewy texture. Only drawback was that it was served cold – perhaps so that one can enjoy the cheesy taste better.
HFB found the Pumpkin Soup to be mild-flavoured, and also thought it was strange it inclined towards saltiness rather than sweet-flavoured, but he truly enjoyed the accompanied Garlic Bread which he thought was crustily delicious.
HFB then proceed for some salads, and cooked items that also included pasta that one can be ordered off the pasta bar. Voiced your pasta and sauce selection to the chef behind the counter and it will be served right to your table once it is prepared.
While the Cream Sauce Pasta was nothing memorable, the Tomato-based version came al dente and the sauce was surprisingly not too bad amidst the lacked of ingredients.
The first item off from the Passadors, or meat-wielding waiters in Portuguese, was the Snow Fish. The snow fish has a nice firm texture and HFB readily indulged in the nicely charred exterior. However, one had to be careful while eating it as it contains bones within.
The Roast Chicken was a joy to behold – the meat was succulent and the crispy layer of skin was something to die for – this is a MUST TRY!
The Tenderloin wrapped with Bacon though could be better executed – the meat was slightly tough – similar to my experience with Vibe.
The Roast Lamb though was something out of the ordinary with a hint of peppermint flavour, although one may find it slightly gamy.
HFB was pretty impressed by the Rump Steak; known to shrivelled when roasted or grilled, it was surprisingly juicy despite it’s lacked of fats.
A few tiny shaves of Honey Roasted Ham revealed a nicely roasted exterior and a sweet tasty bite – something comfy from everyone’s favourite ham.
The Baby Beef, which HFB assumed it to be from a baby calf, was just as brilliant – it was scrumptiously moist and tender and HFB would definitely have more of it if it weren’t for the fact that there was still the Topside Beef Steak to go.
Medium rare was the way the topside beef was prepared and the requested thinly sliced beef was deftly carve from the skewer. It was truly a nice piece of meat to savour and HFB definitely didn’t regret one bit to save some space in his tummy for it.
There were a couple of meats to go but one surely could not leave this place without having the Mövenpick Ice Cream and Cheese Platter served at the dessert corner.
And if you are above 18, do also give the Caipirinha, Brazil’s national aperitif a try! Made with Cachaça, Sugar and Lime – have a few sip and enjoy a festive mood with the passadors who will not hesitate to swap their skewers for some percussion instruments and a douse of samba music.
Fiesta Brasilia is definitely the place for a fun, loud and crazy night out with your peers!
1=SGD 0.0587
As i'm preparing and writing this post, i'm struggling deep inside on whether i should post this or not. Reason being, this is one of my absolute favorites of all time and the fact that already too many people know of this gem of a restaurant. I'll make a statement here: "This is the best Japanese food i've had in Singapore thus far." Not that i've tried alot of the higher end restaurants but given the price and the quality, nowhere in Singapore comes close yet. You do have to get over a few things you may find weird though.
I'll start off with some things to note so that you at least know what to expect:
1: Do NOT put your finished plates on the sushi counter
2: If you order the hotpots, do NOT put your hand near the serving plate when he serves.
3: Your experience will depend solely on the food and not on the service and that the only way it can be.
4: Always order in numbers and prepare your order BEFORE coming into the restaurant.
5: A $2 charge is mandatory for each seat and comes with a drink. There's no service charge or gst.
6: There's no pork or lard here.
7: Be prepared to wait 1 hour at least if you miss the first seating. The restaurant seats only 16 people and if you miss it, you'll just have to queue outside till someone finishes their meal.
8: Do NOT offend the chef.
This is it, the place to look for. Wasabi tei is run by only 2 people, the chef and (if i'm not mistaken) his wife or assistant. She's in charge of serving drinks and taking orders while the chef takes care of everything else. Both of them have quite a temper but otherwise, i think their just nice people making a living.
Amuse Boche - Apart from the drink, your $2 per seat also comes with the appetiser. It looks less appealing then it really is. To describe its taste, its sweet, slightly salty and light. In other words, its an excellent appetiser in my opinion. Not sure if thats beancurd or meat but no matter, its still good.
Chawanmushi ($5) - A picture speaks a thousand words and this chawamushi should tell you how it tastes like quite simply. Its nothing short of superb. The generous helpings of enoki mushrooms, prawn, sharks fin and chicken meat is obvious since its filled to the brim with it. Its also made fresh when its ordered which thus give the chawanmushi its excellent melt in your mouth sensation. Unlike other renditions, this is extremely light and smooth. To date, this dish is unmatched anywhere else in Singapore.
Salmon Sashimi ($9) - I hope this picture tells you that the salmon sashimi comes in a huge portion because it definitely did. 6 thick slices of salmon thats easily 2 servings in similar restaurants for a reasonable price of $9. It also helps that the sashimi is wonderfully fresh and sweet with the natural fat of the fish giving it a nice smooth texture as well. At this price, the quality is just unbelievable. Trust me, this is worth more then all the red plates or whatever plates the sashimi comes in elsewhere.
Mixed Sashimi Rice ($20) - Another shockingly huge portion of sliced fish. My gf ordered this because she's a huge fan of sashimi and honestly, i've never felt it worth my money to eat this until now and thats saying a lot. Salmon, toro, kenpachi, tuna and fish roe rounds up the sashimi selection and each comes in thick slices and generously proportioned. Sashimi is the ultimate test of freshness offered by a japanese restaurant and over here, i would say i've found the winner. What else can i say about the freshness and generousity of the portions at the price? Its just really really good.
Cod Fish Hotpot ($15) - I found this on the menu and was geniunely surprised at this being offered at $15. After all, cod is an extremely expensive fish. However, i'm glad to report that this is also worth every cent. The fish is very smooth and tender while the hotpot is filled with assorted vegetables, mushrooms and vermicelli. It also helps that it is served with rice and a nice concoction of home made chili sauce which goes really well with the fish. In fact, i'd say it enhances the fresh taste of the fish and makes it even better. A worthwhile item as well.
On this visit, my total damage amounted to $52 and i have to say, this is more value for money then any japanese restaurant i've ever been to.
The fabled and legendary chawanmushi - On my second, third and forth visit, the chawanmushi is still something we'll order and never get sick off. There's nothing more to say about it, its just that good. If you've only eaten at say...Sakae or Sushi Tei, this version will change your opinion of chawanmushi for good.
Crab Sushi ($6) - One thing to note about the chef is that he seems to do sushi rolls last after preparing everything else. So if you're here and only ordered sushi, you're gonna need to wait for some time. The sushi we ordered had crab meat, avacado, cucumbers and fish roe and like the rest of the offerings, this was good. However, it wasn't great and the waiting time involved makes me feel that the other items are much better investments.
Sashimi Moriwase ($25) - Sashimi addiction? Yeah, i'd say that's pretty much the case here. For $25, you get generous portions and thick slices of sashimi with the same wonderful freshness and sweetness i've mentioned earlier. At this portion size and quality, i'd say this is easily $40 or more in other restaurants but over here, its a luxury i wouldn't miss to order. The added scallop this time around is excellent to say the least. Its sweetness and texture is something you need to try to understand. I ordered this on subsequent visits as well and i have to say, it never disappoints. Have this and thank me later. It also helps that the chef prepares this as one of his first items to serve so you'll get it pretty quickly.
Unagi Rice ($13) - Look at the unagi and believe it. This is only $13 and the portion he is giving is simply huge. For the same price, you'd probably get only one piece elsewhere but over here, 2 huge portions of savoury, made on-the-spot freshly grilled unagi at an unbelievably reasonable price. It helps that the unagi is also of the melt-in-your-mouth texture with an excellent and balanced sauce which is neither too sweet nor too salty. My order was a little charred at some places but even then, i found this very tasty. I'm pretty much sold for this dish and i simply love it much like everything else i've tried here.
Total bill was a little more this time at $58 for 2 but still more value for money then anything else thus far.
Minus the little gripes about the small space and the sometimes black face of the couple. This place is a treasure little found elsewhere in Singapore. The food is nothing short of excellent and the value for money it provides is second to none. Thus far in my food endevours, nothing matches this place for quality and value quite this much. The only places close to it will be Sage for the quality of its fusion food but the cost is definitely much higher. Wasabi tei is a place i would return to again and again and again and to be honest, i did return with my gf at least another 3 times with more still on the cards. Definitely a winner. Do note its not open on Sundays and public holidays though. You'll probably see me there again real soon as well. Cheers and a special Thank You! to the chef and his assistant for bringing such reasonably priced and good japanese food into Singapore.
Rating given:
I was very much enticed by the 50% discount that Bistro Senso was offering on its ala carte menu during the Singapore Flyer downtime so made a purposeful trip down just to give it a shot. It definitely helped that I had a great experience at Senso Ristorante at club street quite a few years back.
The interior is comfortably cafe-ish and decked out in predominantly red and black shades with towering floor to ceilings windows that allow a view of the Marina Barrage, among other things. There is also a al fresco option but being a hot afternoon, the air conditioned indoors definitely seemed a lot more appealing.
Caprese Di Mozzarella Di Bufala - For starters, we had the mozzarella salad, which was decent but nothing to shout about. The cheese was a little too bland but thankfully, still relatively smooth. If it wasn't the salt from the salad which "spiced" things up a little, I honestly don't think we could have finished this dish.
Calamari - The calamari batter was a tad too thick for my liking but the squid had a nice springy texture and didn't come across as overly salty. It didn't seem very oily as well which is a plus point I guess.
Calzone - The calzone aka "folded pizza" surprised me with its humongous serving size. It was easily double the size of any calzone that I've ever tried (not that I've tried a lot though). (Un)fortunately, most of it was just hot air (literally!). When I made a hole in the pizza, the dough sort of deflated and the whole thing was hollow, save for a bed of cheese coupled with a few slices of ham. On the upside, the pastry was nice and chewy, almost like eating roti prata. But the whole pizza could really do with more ingredients.
Lobster and Crab Meat Ravioli - I was rather surprised to see this on the menu as lobster and crab meat are usually quite expensive and this ravioli was only going for $18 (before discount). The ravioli had crab shreds for filling and I couldn't quite make out any lobster at all. However, thrown into the pot were servings of relatively fresh squid, mussel and prawns, all held together by a lightly sourish and tomato base sauce. Not exactly what I was expecting, but for the price, I really can't complain.
Tiramisu -
The desserts proved to be anything but good. For an Italian eatery, the tiramisu was sadly pathetic. The sponge was a tad dry even at the base and the mascarpone cheese wasn't dense or moist enough. And where was the alcohol taste?
Creme Brulee -
Only for those with a very sweet tooth best describes the creme brulee. It was mind blowingly sweet even for me and definitely not made from vanilla beans. The texture was uncomfortably smooth, soft and almost creamy, very much like paste. The caramel also looked like it hadn't been torched long enough.
A very filling meal for 2 cost us to the tune of $90 ($45 after 50% discount). Though we did manage to get 2 full courses (appetiser, main, dessert) for the price, I doubt I will be back in the absense of the discount simply because the quality of food doesn't quite live up to its pricing. Service was good but how hard is it to serve just 1 table?
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Was at Yishun for my gf's friend's baby's one month party yesterday (01112009) and chanced upon this outlet hidden in the newly opened Northpoint wing.
The decor looks better then usual with wide open spaces and was bristling with customers and activity which thus also lead to me consenting to give it a try.
My gf had a coupon for $10 of a main dish with the Xin Wang card and our orders are as follows:
HK Cheese Baked Pork chop spagghetti - This wasn't too bad. The tomato is more sourish then sweet while the pork chop was a little hard. Spaggheti was plentiful however and this was actually quite overwhelming after a while.
Shrimp Dumplings - I found this rather good actually. Fresh, crunchy and sweet prawns basically make this dish good.
Pork Pastry - This was average as the pastry is not fragrant. The pork within is alright however, warm and sweet.
Pork Chop burger - I found this to be the least worthwhile item we ordered. The pork chop had a big layer of fats but was thankfully tender while the "burger" was made using toasted white bread. Overall, get rid of the fats and its acceptable but hardly worth $4.90. Mcdonalds fare better for the price.
Overall bill came to $12.90 after the $10 discount.
Honestly, this branch is better then the others i've tried but i still find it overpriced for the simple fare they provide. Our conclusion for why this is better is because, being a new branch, we theorised that probably the executive chef was on the location which thus resulted in the difference in quality.
Rating given:
Its great to see Manhattan Fish Market in a less centralized area like Pasir Ris because first of all, i'm nearer to the East and second of all, this was one of the first restaurants i tried when i started out.
Straight to the point, the restaurants main competitor will be Fish and Co. Their generally a little different in terms of preparation and so far, my impression of MFM is that it has more fried items.
Fried country mushrooms ($9.90) - 6 button mushrooms covered in batter and deep fried. Its as good as ever but i did find that this time, it cooled a lot faster as well. Probably due to peak hour and the fact that lots of people were there. Which led to it being prepared earlier to meet the demand.
Main Platter for 2($33.90) - The platter for 2 used to go for $29.90 but has since increased their prices since then. You get the usual HUGE piece of fish, fries, garlic rice, flaming prawns, calamari and mussels. Its actually a pretty big portion to be honest and big eaters need apply to finish it. The fish is still one of the better ones, thick, sweet and lightly battered. I could have 2 pieces if given the choice. The prawns are average but the mayo like sauce is excellent with the rice. mussels and calamari were equally well done. To me, this is still a good platter of food.
Overall billed clocked in at $46.40.
A hefty sum to be sure but still under the acceptable range.
However, if it continues its upward trend in pricing, i'd find it hard pressed to find an excuse to return before long.
Rating given:
There used to be four, but with the latest addition of the Canon to the Arsenal, the power balance was tipped back. The current score stands at Canon 2, Olympus 2, Nikon 1. With the figure at a perfect five, there’s a harder fight especially so when somebody countdown five seconds for the shots.
While just like how the different brands have their own strengths; with Canon producing the crisp sharp shots, Nikon edging out with the vibrant colours display, Olympus providing the balance in between, there isn’t a perfect combination. And of course, there are pros and cons of Choupinette. The small capacity of the restaurant made it a great place for a lazy pig-out, but it also meant that the place was packed to the crowd on a busy weekend.
I like how my Nikon produced the perfect blend of colour, to bring out the best in the settings of the restaurant. And surely, the Canon and Olympus camp would protest against that.
Walking by the array of bread, the three of us were attracted by the Pain au chocolat ($2.90). From the memories, warm melting chocolate filled within the crispy bread. But it was not to be, the bread was cold even though the staff helped us warm it up. Chocolate fillings, or rather, the lack of it was the main downfall.
The same problem goes for the Almond Danish ($2.90), the bread wasn’t warm, while we couldn’t expect freshly baked bread to be coming out just for us, it would be a lot better if only the bread was warm.
The chouchou’s set ($22 ) from the lunch menu had choices of either one of grilled hot sandwich, lasagna or smoked salmon sandwich, together with a drink and dessert. This was La Moussaka. The fanciful name brought home the impact, otherwise you wouldn’t be seeing this dish here. But, it was a very ordinary one, nothing to shoot about.
The generous slices of smoked salmon from the Le Noé’s sandwich ($22 from chouchou’s set) was definitely worth the price. Coming in two huge slabs of bread, it could easily filled up two person.
Choupinette’s interpretation of the Madame and Monsieur was an egg, with the latter coming without. Grilled sandwich with a choice of ham, chicken or eggplants with emmenthal cheese & béchamel sauce. Le Croque-Monsieur ($15). Apparently, our Madame was so engrossed with the sandwich that she couldn’t give her comment.
I always wondered what exactly is a quiche ($6 per slice), well i got my answer today, in not one, but two quiche! The lorraine quiche (top picture) is perhaps the most common quiche there is. While I didn’t exactly fancy the spinach quiche, I still prefer my spinach eaten like a vegetable.
Eggs on toast with smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce served all day long. This is for all the lazy bums out there! The Egg Royal’s ($21 ) ought to be presented with the most-expensive-eggs-you-ever-eaten honour. I kind of wanted to kick myself for not ordering this, the poached eggs were done perfectly, and the looks alone would give much pleasure.
Another dish which you can’t left out of any brunch menu, Eggs Benedict’s ($20 ). Eggs on toast with ham and hollandaise sauce. Well if your stomach isn’t feeling right having smoked salmon for breakfast, eggs with ham are always a safer choice.
It’s kind of heavy eating a burger for breakfast, but hey we are having brunch! For all the carnivores, Le Burger ($18) is just, well a hamburger. The beef patty was slightly overcooked, but it was served with a generous servings of salad, and the fries even came on a separate bowl. But for $18, i thought it was rather on the high side, you can have a gourmet burger at Relish, or maybe a cheaper burger from Hotshots or Smoking frog kitchen might do the job.
On first impression, the Tarte au citron ($5.60) or lemon meringue tart would definitely made a statement with the beautiful burnt and thick layer of meringue. While others took one bite of the tart and refused to touch it any more, i was slowly sampling it since this was my first time trying meringue. The layer of meringue on top was supposed to form a stiff peak but the one here was too thick, and there was also hint of coarse sugar within which was probably due to the improper dissolve of the sugar.
We were contemplating between chocolate or coffee éclair since there was too much desserts with chocolate. But we decided against it since coffee is an acquired taste, and had the Éclair au chocolat ($5). There was a salty after-taste in the éclair which came across as rather weird.
I was eagerly anticipating the Palais Royal ($6.90), for the dark chocolate and crunchy praline. But there wasn’t any crunchy praline to be found. Nonetheless, i still enjoyed the dessert even though some didn’t really like it as they were disappointed by the lack of the crunchy praline.
A very simple custard & raspberry, the Millefeuille framboise ($7). The several layers of puff pastry brought back fond childhood memories of the cake which i had before when i was a kid. It was difficult not to make a mess of it as the cake crumbled easily.
The Tarte aux Pommes ($5.90 a slice, $7.90 for an additional scoop of ice cream) was quintessentially an apple tart with a scoop of normal ice cream. The additional of 2 bucks for the scoop of ice cream was totally not worth the money, but the apple tart was decent. The thin slice of dessert was fulsome with the apple taste.
Vendôme ($6.90) also caught our attention with the three layers of dark, milk and white chocolate. The dessert was more like eating three layers of chocolate mousse, some didn’t like it, but i did.
The macarons ($1.80 each) were a disaster. We had eight of them, four from each chouchou’s set. Choupinette has about 13 flavours of macarons available, we chose chocolate, raspberry, strawberry, peach, passion fruit, orange, pear and hazelnut. Almost all the macarons had chocolate gauche for fillings, i wouldn’t mind small macarons if they were good, but the one here had an artificial taste to it. Something was definitely missing but we couldn’t quite make out what. The very artificial colouring of the macarons didn’t appeal to us too. The shells of the macaron crumbled easily and didn’t have the chewy texture a good macaron should have.
Total bill was $193 for 9 of us. Some paid more for their expensive egg brunch, while some paid less for just bread and desserts. But generally, if you are looking to try their brunch or lunch menu, you will probably looking at 20 per person, and that’s probably excluding desserts. Choupinette has a great base of Caucasians customers, and it isn’t difficult to see why for the cosy and homely decorations of the place. The name of the restaurant, and the French names of the food screams chic. It will probably be better to go on a weekday where there’s less customers if you want to try this place out.
Well, just like how there will never be a perfect DSLR for either Canon, Olympus or Nikon users. Some of you might like Nikon for the design, Canon for its brand, Olympus for its nimbleness, all of us have different preferences. Similarly for Choupinette, while we were disappointed by the desserts, but the eggs on the brunch were exceptional, and you might just like the food there. No matter what, all of us love our DSLR, and the common passion for food. Another dessert enthusiast outing, until the next one!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
A classic Italian gastronomic, Galbiati gourmet deli actually started out as a takeaway place for its gourmet products. I’ve been wanting to give the place a visit ever since a friend highly recommended it, and railmall is so near to my place.
The interior of the deli was very small, with seating of at most 30. The simplistic environment of the place does makes one feels comfortable, a place where you can call your own Italian joint. The food offered are mostly simple food, with a wide array of home-made pastas, appetizer and main courses.
The Salmon asparagus linguine ($18) was based on the recommendation of the serving staff as my friend’s a great fan of the fish. A very light cream base accompanied the linguine, with the salmon stronger in taste. The asparagus seems to act as the neutralising balance between the salmon and the overall light taste of the dish. A fairly good home-made pasta.
I’ve a sneak preview of their pizzas at the counter, and was excited to hear that they’d served it fresh from the oven. The popular Hawaiian pizza ($8) was our choice for the night. Coming in squares of 6, the pizza was value for money. But, there’s no free lunch in this world, i thought that the ingredients were miserable, with one small cube of pineapple and ham. The pizza crust was very hard, and dry for my personal liking. And the tomato spread for the base was insufficient.
One of the unique characteristics of Galbiati deli was they actually encouraged takeaways. Dining in, the Lavender cheesecake ($7) is a dollar more expensive than if you opted to takeaway their desserts. The lavender flower infused a aromatic fragrant into the light cheesecake. The crust base was always a welcoming partner, to provide the crunch.
We always like to save the best for the last, to savour every bite of the Tiramisu ($7) for a lasting moment stored in our memory. Well i didn’t exactly had many tiramisu before, but Galbiati’s one is probably one of the best i’ve before. There wasn’t any deconstruction, nothing fanciful about the famous Italian dessert. Just a solid good one. The mascrapone cheese, with the the coffee-liquer infuse flavour, i was sorely tempted to order another one.
Total bill was $44 for two person. While the dinner didn’t exactly turn out to be as good as what i’ve expected, it’s easy to imagine myself back here for a simple meal. The only problem? The restaurant doesn’t allow photography, so i was taking photos secretly while they were not looking.
And i do enjoyed my rights of taking photos openly, so this may be the reason a revisit will eluded me. One thing’s for sure, i’ll definitely be back to try the other desserts, and the tiramisu of course. But the next time round, i’ll probably takeaway their desserts, and snap shots of it just directly outside their shop!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
Au petit salut is helmed by chef Patrick Steuberger from Switzerland. Having garnered various experiences overseas in multiple countries and various michellin star chefs as tutors, Patrick returned to Au petit salut as executive chef in 2005. With such an impressive resume, its no wonder the restaurant was introduced to me by my boss.However, i maintain that reputation remains as reputation until put to the actual taste test. How will it fare i wonder?
Upon entering, you will find that the restaurant exudes a form of rustic charm for its location and the design of it exterior. Seemingly a colonial building that has yet to be teared down and located in the deep recesses of a mildly wooded enclave, its like stepping back in time to a less busy era where life was a little less complicated. In short, i felt relaxed the moment i parked my car.
The restaurant is a rather intimate affair with the interior seating about 30-40 people and the al fresco section seating around the same number of people. When i made my reservation, the restaurant was fully booked due to a corporate function but they made concessions since i only needed 2 seats.Decor wise, minimal is best for this place but i'm quite pleased with the simple and clean approach used.
The restaurant is a rather intimate affair with the interior seating about 30-40 people and the al fresco section seating around the same number of people. When i made my reservation, the restaurant was fully booked due to a corporate function but they made concessions since i only needed 2 seats.Decor wise, minimal is best for this place but i'm quite pleased with the simple and clean approach used.
My choice of starter was the foie gras as usual. For the price, i'm surprised at how big a portion the foie gras was. In short, this would easily have cost more then $30 on ala carte given the size. Quality wise, it was also a surprise since the Xeres vinegar and red onions actually managed to enhance the taste of the foie gras by adding a sourish and sweet taste. The spinach also managed to neutralize the oily taste somewhat. However, make no mistake, this is still a sinful and oily dish but one thats done well in both quality and quantity.
My gf had this soup and i had a taste, i can't remember what vegetable it was but i can tell you it tasted fresh, sweet and appetising.
Half dozen baked Burgundy snails with tomato and garlic butter - Feeling a little adventurous, we ordered an addtional serving for appetiser which was these little critters you see here. Snails. First off, i've never tasted these things before and was warned that they come with a weird and sometimes pungent smell when done wrong. However, this rendition i tried was optimistic. The tomato and garlic butter was baked well into the dish and managed to cover the pungent taste. There was still a hint of the slimey texture of the snail but otherwise, the majority of the taste went to the garlic butter. It was quite alright actually.
Filet de boeuf sauce moutarde et herbes fraîches - Pan seared beef tenderloin of about 150gm served with mashed potato mustard and herb sauce. The beef itself was a little overcooked on the sides but got better towards the middle since my order was for medium rare. The meat near the middle was tender and succulent with a generous smattering of juiciness. The herb sauce fared pretty well but bordered on being too salty. Mashed potato was excellent, supremely smooth and easy on the palate but some may find it too milky.
Guinea fowl and pork sausage served with melted cabbage and bacon, brown jus - My gf's dish, i only had a small taste of this but i found it salty and sourish. Not exactly something i would like. For the record, my gf didn't like this much either.
Fondant chaud au chocolat - Ah....fondants. Something i would soon stop ordering since i now know how to make it myself. Their rendition was pretty good, nice and crispy on the outside while warm suitably flowing on the inside. The chocolate is just right, not too sweet nor too bitter. This went well with the chocolate sorbet but horribly with the reddish fruit (i suspect raspberry).
“Mont-Blanc” vanilla ice cream, chestnut purée and meringue - Well, this didn't go too well. Being my first mont blanc and all, the vanilla ice cream was the only thing passable while the chestnut puree tasted like sweetened yam. Utterly disappointed given the rather flashy name.
Hazelnut tart with orange marmalade and vanilla “Crème Anglaise” - Another disappointment in the dessert department, this hazelnut tart was once again, rather lacklustre in weird in the taste department. Its also warm and the thing that looks like ice cream isn't. It tastes like orange cream and didn't go well with the tart at all.
Total bill came up to $131 for this meal.
In the end, the meal was still satisfactory even though one main dish and 2 of its desserts were rather lacklustre. Service was excellent while the relaxed atmosphere would have been complete if the corporate event was not ongoing while we were there. I did realise that all of the dishes that didn't live up to standard came from the $30 lunch menu while the $58 lunch menu was generally better in standard and taste. Maybe a difference in price means a difference in quality?
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The Singapore Flyer is touted as the world’s largest observation wheel, even higher than London Eye. Our nation’s pride. Minor breakdowns before were already ominous signals that a catastrophe will happen one day. Alas, the dreadful thing finally struck. How the mighty has fallen. The management should have already looked into and made backup plans, but it failed anyway. Now, time for us to do some self-reflections and damage-recovery.
While the flyer remains closed for investigations, the ones to suffer the backslash are the restaurants and other tenents. Senso Bistro, is coming up with a 50% promotion off all their a la carte menu from now until the flyer starts operating (date unknown yet).
The natural vibe of the restaurant, with its simple layout and decorations, provided a good place for either a causal lunch, or nice dinner without burning a hole in the pocket.
Not to mention there’s also al fresco dining, which would be ideal for dinner, with the sea breeze and eating under the stars making it a romantic affair.
The waiter kindly asked us whether we’ll like some garlic bread ($4) while waiting, but he failed to mention it’s not free. Naturally when he offered us bread i thought it was complimentary. There’s no free lunch in this world. All right, it’s not so much about the money, we are talking about principle, like shouldn’t they at least inform us the bread wasn’t complimentary? Next time, don’t be shy, ask!
With ten selections to choose from the Pizze menu, we were spoilt for choices. To be on the safe side, we went for the popular Hawaiian ($18 before 50% discount). The paper-thin pizza was huge, with eight slices easily filling up the four of us. The ingredients of pineapple, cooked ham were very generous. The only gripe? I lamented the fact that the pizza did not have enough mozzarella cheese. Still, with the promotion, it’s definitely a steal at just under ten bucks. It made the one I’ve at Galbiati looked pathetic.
Grilled tuna loin coated in fresh herbs. The Tonno ($24 before 50% discount) was a disappointment really. The fish was over-cooked, making the meat too dry and hard. I liked the side vegetables that came with it, lightly stir-fried, the greens were crunchy and fresh.
When asked to choose between the T-bone steak and veal loin, the manager recommended the latter for the delicate taste and tender texture. Veal loin is the meat of calves, and at Bistro Senso, the pan-fried veal loin scaloppine ($24 before discount) can be done in three different methods. Ours were ‘alla Pizzaiola’ with tomato and mozzarella cheese. The whole taste was like having a steak-pizza. A refreshing combination, but the meat was not tender enough, and came across as too tough. And since we had pizza already, now i’m wishing i chose the other method of breaded and golden crispy instead.
And how can we not have any pasta from an Italian bistro? The Ravioli ($18 before 50% discount) was essentially lobster and crab pasta served with assorted seafood ragout in tomato and basil sauce. This was actually my first time having a ravioli pasta. The tomato and basil sauce was flavourful and strong in taste. The prawns and squids were fresh, but to be frank, I didn’t quite enjoy ravioli. I still preferred my pasta to be spaghetti or linguine. Personal taste.
I was eagerly anticipating the desserts, well most people would find tiramisu ($8 before 50% discount) boring and chose some other interesting options. But there was no way I’m going to miss out trying the popular Italian dessert from an Italiano joint. The mascarpone cream was too light, and the espresso taste was not strong.
Another famous Italian dessert, Pannacotta ($8 before 50% discount). The bouncy texture was evident, but i couldn’t figure out what’s in the double cream flan. The raspberry coulis did provided a contrast with the pannacotta.
The last one, Creme brulee ($8 before 50% discount). The oven-baked egg custard of the Italian dessert did taste rather like our Chinese egg tarts. The caramelised sugar on top of the dessert wasn’t burned enough, and lacked the torched burnt taste.
Total bill was $65.91 for 4 person after a 50% discount. Although i wasn’t very impressed with the food, but with the promotional prices, the food is really cheap! The pizzas and pastas are like 9 bucks each, and the main course 12 bucks. The soothing ambience with the inexpensive price means that you should visit Senso Bistro before the Singapore Flyer reopens. Talk about patriotism, and national pride.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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Had another bout of craving for Thai food but didn't fancy spending too much due to the economic downturn so dropped by Jai Thai for a simple no frills dinner with my folks. Jai, which means heart in English, is touted as the most value for money Thai restaurant in Singapore.
Located in the rather secluded private estate of Jalan Pemimpin in the Thomson/Sin Ming area, Jai Thai operates out of a rather spacious shophouse but provides very limited parking spaces. The interior is kept simple and unassuming with cheap wooden tables and chairs and Chinese tunes playing in the background. There is of course the obligatory photos of the Thai royal family.
Tom Yum Soup - To be honest, I didn't quite take to the tom yum soup because it wasn't the clear and hard hitting sourish spicy type that I personally prefer. Instead, it had lots of chilli flakes and came across as only mildly sourish and watery. Good for people who don't like their soup too extreme I guess. On the upside, it came with fried fish pieces, squid and prawns which were relatively fresh.
Thai Fish Cake - At $1.50 a piece, the fish cake was decent. Not the best I've tried but very palatable. Just that I found it a wee bit too soft for my liking.
Pineapple Fried Rice - Evenly fried and decent tasting but on the dry side. Miserable bits of chicken and chicken floss donned the top. However at $6 for a 2 pax portion, I guess its still acceptable.
Kai Lan with Oyster Sauce - How bad can kai lan with oyster sauce get? Average tasting but at least the leaves didn't have worm holes in it - something that usually plagues alot of budget eateries. I did find the oyster sauce a little excessive though.
Pandan Chicken - This was probably the best dish of the day. Big chunks of boneless chicken meat well marinated and fragrant to boot. Very worth the price ($5) but watch out for the excessive oil.
Mango Pudding - At $1.50, I honestly didn't expect much. The pudding's texture was more like jelly then pudding and came topped with coconut milk. Edible but not something I would order again.
Mango Sticky Rice - The rice was smooth, sticky and sweet at the same time with the generous mango slices mildy sweet and sour. A drizzle of coconut milk atop completed the picture with the whole dish coming across as sweet, creamy with a light sourish tinge. Quite good I must say.
I would say $30 for a filling dinner for 3 pax is really a steal. Food quality is decent but service needs to buck up a little as the wait staff do seem a little inefficient. For the price, I would definitely be better off eating here then at Thai Express and the likes.
See all my pictures here.
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Situated at United Square, one can locate Fiesta Brasilia hidden at the corner on the basement level beside Brauhaus Restaurant & Pub and McDonalds.
Started by one of co-founders of Brazil Churrascaria along Sixth Avenue and his partner, what sets this restaurant apart from the rest of the Brazilian meat buffet outlets is their casual setting and festive atmosphere, although a nice private dining area is also available.
Dinner was kick-started by the Cheese Bread, which was something different and interesting – it had a nice cheesy flavour accompanied by a lovely chewy texture. Only drawback was that it was served cold – perhaps so that one can enjoy the cheesy taste better.
HFB found the Pumpkin Soup to be mild-flavoured, and also thought it was strange it inclined towards saltiness rather than sweet-flavoured, but he truly enjoyed the accompanied Garlic Bread which he thought was crustily delicious.
HFB then proceed for some salads, and cooked items that also included pasta that one can be ordered off the pasta bar. Voiced your pasta and sauce selection to the chef behind the counter and it will be served right to your table once it is prepared.
While the Cream Sauce Pasta was nothing memorable, the Tomato-based version came al dente and the sauce was surprisingly not too bad amidst the lacked of ingredients.
The first item off from the Passadors, or meat-wielding waiters in Portuguese, was the Snow Fish. The snow fish has a nice firm texture and HFB readily indulged in the nicely charred exterior. However, one had to be careful while eating it as it contains bones within.
The Roast Chicken was a joy to behold – the meat was succulent and the crispy layer of skin was something to die for – this is a MUST TRY!
The Tenderloin wrapped with Bacon though could be better executed – the meat was slightly tough – similar to my experience with Vibe.
The Roast Lamb though was something out of the ordinary with a hint of peppermint flavour, although one may find it slightly gamy.
HFB was pretty impressed by the Rump Steak; known to shrivelled when roasted or grilled, it was surprisingly juicy despite it’s lacked of fats.
A few tiny shaves of Honey Roasted Ham revealed a nicely roasted exterior and a sweet tasty bite – something comfy from everyone’s favourite ham.
The Baby Beef, which HFB assumed it to be from a baby calf, was just as brilliant – it was scrumptiously moist and tender and HFB would definitely have more of it if it weren’t for the fact that there was still the Topside Beef Steak to go.
Medium rare was the way the topside beef was prepared and the requested thinly sliced beef was deftly carve from the skewer. It was truly a nice piece of meat to savour and HFB definitely didn’t regret one bit to save some space in his tummy for it.
There were a couple of meats to go but one surely could not leave this place without having the Mövenpick Ice Cream and Cheese Platter served at the dessert corner.
And if you are above 18, do also give the Caipirinha, Brazil’s national aperitif a try! Made with Cachaça, Sugar and Lime – have a few sip and enjoy a festive mood with the passadors who will not hesitate to swap their skewers for some percussion instruments and a douse of samba music.
Fiesta Brasilia is definitely the place for a fun, loud and crazy night out with your peers!
You can view all the photos here.
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