I remember frequently patronising the now defunct Dolphins Restaurant around the Macpherson area when I was still a secondary school student for its value for money set lunches and dinners. Fast forward a decade and the only hint of Dolphins existence is its flagship outlet along Genting Lane.
Oddly located on the 7th floor of an aging industrial building, it is so obscure that you would have to actually know that such a place existed. The interior is homely and reminiscent of steak houses of yesteryear (think Jack's place in the early 90s), made complete with nice booth seats in one corner.
Cream of Mushroom - The soup came with my set lunch and was rather starchy. Beats a watered down version I guess. And I'm pretty sure it came straight out of a can.
Tenderloin with Slipper Lobster - Done up medium rare, the tenderloin was decent but not outstanding. The meat tasted a little flat and could have done with some seasoning. On the up side, the slipper lobster was relatively big and sweet. But as with all lobsters, meat is always limited.
Pasta with Beef - Surprisingly, the pasta was al dente and the addition of capsicum gave this dish a very interesting twist - one that did not sit too well with me however. The beef cubes were plentiful though but lacking in taste and texture.
I guess $47 for 2 for lunch isn't exactly cheap or value for money, but I would say its still decent and definitely a nice quiet place to have a meal. That, plus the nostalgic factor and decent service, is enough for a revisit.
Having watched a few movies there a few times, I must say, I'm quite satisfied with the seats and the range of finger food being offered. I like potato wedges and I think this is the only place where wedges are being offered, although a tad more expensive and less than having them in cafe.
The seats are not too uncomfortable although there are too many commercials running running for around 30 minutes before showing the movie.
It would be better to show the movie after 5 - 6 minutes of commercials since we pay for the movie, not the commercials. Overall, I like the legroom. However, if there were to be someone sitting in front of me, I would have a head outline instead of having the privilege to watch the whole screen.
Food portion was large, menu described the dishes, and other instructions (e.g rare, medium rare) well. Ordered Chef's salad, Mixed grill and garlic steak. Chef's salad was the best dish that day with extremely fresh vegetables and sliced chicken. Garlic steak was also not bad though the fried garlic was too overwhelming and covered the taste of beef. Service was fast and swift without any encounter of rude service crew. Overall a nice place for a date or dinner night out.
Con:
Peach cooler wasn't exactly a nice drink. We were sort of forced into ordering it by the (auntie) manager. Its quite expensive at about $4 per glass.
Today marks the second time that I am doing a review on Astons Specialities, albeit a rather short one. The first review can be found here. This time however, the location is different. That's right, Astons has a new outlet in the Serangoon Gardens estate. Unlike the original outlet, the new outlet isn't a stand alone unit by itself. Instead, it is housed inside a coffeeshop just next to HSBC and Borsch Steak House. Not really visible from the main road if you ask me, unless you happen to be walking towards the Starbucks/Cafe Cartel area.
On to the food. I had an order of Sirloin Steak medium rare with sides of fries and baked beans. My dad had the Sirloin as well, medium well though and my mum had the Char Grilled Chicken. Both my dad's and my steak turned out overcooked. Mine came almost medium well whereas my dad's one came well done. However, the meat was still a little juicy and sweet in my case, which was a relief in some ways. My mum's chicken was just average.
In my conversation with the cook/owner later on, he explained that the stall was only 3 days old and they weren't familiar with the equipment yet, hence the overcooking. He even offered to change our steaks for us and gave us a small discount on the food, which I felt was a nice gesture on his part.
Total damage was $25. Not cheap, but not expensive either. I'm sure once they get the hang of the equipment, the food will get better and the crowds will come. I'll definitely be back.
This is THE zhi char stall that my family love going. We've been there many many times. So often that my father will just help himself to the chili (lots and lots of this! cos its sooo devine!), rice and whatever that's available at the counter. The workers also don't know what to say to him lah. Haha!
When asked to find a place for dinner, my parents of cos recommended Jin Wei. So the entire family gathered there for our reunion dinner.
Some of the must try dishes... The Thai-style aka Assam Fish Head Cereal Prawn and a special Tofu MUST TRY!! (can't remember the name, but this dish will not be served on special nights like CNY. Cos its hard to produce and everyone will sure want to order this dish. )
The Thai-style aka Assam Fish Head The assam curry is cooked to the right sour-ness and spiciness. My family can just drink this on its on! The fish is fresh and meat is soft and tender. Don't mixed this up with the claypot curry fish head. Be sure to order the Assam fish head that's served on a flat plate on heat.
Cereal Prawn Fresh prawns fried and blended with finely chopped cereals. Crispy and fragrance. The prawns are sweet and juicy even thou its fried. Love love love this dish!
Fried Tofu aka Golden Tofu or something like that. As mentioned, this is the DIE DIE MUST TRY dish. It's one of their specialties and HOT favorite. Whenever I go, I insist on ordering this tofu. It's crispy, soft, fragrance, yummy, delicious and simply great lah! Just go and try if you have the chance to lah!
Went to decoder cafe over the weekend for Pingsters gathering. Initially I was reluctant to go on my own as I have no idea where Balmoral Plaza was. There wasn't any direct way of getting there from my house. But still, not wanting to miss the fun with fellow bloggers, I spent 30mins searching online on ways to getting there. Finally found the fastest way... Take bus to Sengkang station... take NEL to Little India.. take 170, 48, or 960 from bus stop at Exit B (or was it A?)... alight at the 5th stop infront of Balmoral Plaza. It's not that difficult to get there after all!
I was greeted by the hugeee collection of games at the entrance of the cafe. Behind it were two computers set up for customers to use for free. (Can do live blogging from there! hee...) The place is small and cosy. There's 3 sets of bigger tables and chairs and 2/3 tables for groups of 2-4. Tables and chairs were of nice height and comfortable enough for long hours of play.
The menu was thematically designed to fit into the gaming environment. They cleverly made it in a way that they can expand or change the menu whenever they have to. And in my opinion, they probably have to soon...
Feeling famished, I ordered my favorite mushroom and cream pasta, and topped it up with $3.50 for the soup and a drink. When the soup was served, I knew what I was going to expect for my pasta. The soup was a tad too diluted. When I saw my pasta, the cream that came with it was diluted too. Too plain for me. The only thing I enjoyed was the canned green tea from Heaven and Earth.
However, food aside, I still love this place! For its friendly, attentive and helpful staff. They are very patient when teaching you the games and demonstrating how its played.
The next time I go, I'll probably stick to their finger food and cakes. Wedges and chicken bites look good. (More stars next time if they improve on their menu.)
This was where I spent my Valentine's day this year. Met up with my girlfriend for dinner as my bf had class that night. We arranged to meet at Marina Square and only decided where to eat when she reached the place. She went to couple others but were rejected as they were fully booked for the night.
As we've both never been to Pasta de Waraku, and I wanted to try it long ago ever since I saw their display outside, we decided to try it, since it wasn't fully booked and my friend managed to get a table immediately.
The lady serving us was very friendly and nice. As it was our first time, we had many questions, and she patiently explained to us and answered our questions... with a smile. :)
Finally we settled on our choice and were ready to order. My friend had a Chicken & Mushroom with Japanese style curry @ $16.80 and I ordered the Octopus and Squid pasta with their special, supposed to be healthy, Wafu sauce @ $14.80 (minus the mayo).
After tasting both pasta, I concluded that the Chicken & Mushroom (No. 38 on the menu) is better. I like the curry taste (non-spicy). And its a unique way of eating pasta. My order was disappointing. I had to add tons of chili flakes and cheese to flavor it. Perhaps I shouldn't have selected the healthier choice.
Might think twice the next time I'm around one. Sketches serves better pasta.
Made our way one rainy evening to Sunset Grill & Pub, an eatery/drinking hole equally known for its buffalo wings and very inaccessible location. Notoriously hidden in the inner realms of Seletar airbase, Sunset is a pain in the ass to find (pardon my language), even with the help of a map provided by the place. Just so that you know, Sunset doesn't appear on any streetdirectory the last I checked. Even if you manage to find the carpark, you still need to walk a short distance before you can actually see the joint itself. Talk about private dining.
Caesar Salad - The caesar salad was actually very normal tasting with slices of boiled egg, bacon bits and croutons. The vegetables were fresh but I found it terribly overpriced at $12.50.
Deep Fried Mushrooms - First the good. The breaded mushrooms were crispy on the outside with exploding juices in every bite. Now the bad. The batter was too thick and absorbed too much of the oil used in deep frying the mushrooms, so much so that it had an oily residue taste.
Buffalo Wings - Feeling intimidated by the level of spiciness the wings came in, we decided to stick to the safest bet - the mildest level 1. Even then, it was quite spicy for me (I don't really take chilli by the way), not to mention huge and juicy as well. However, because of its sourish nature, its really an acquired taste.
Hamburger Steak - The meat was too dry but at least the raw beef taste wasn't overpowering. The other gripe I had was that the meat was almost well done, which explains the dryness. Definitely not something I would order again.
Although no service charge or GST was imposed, $60 for the above dishes is really on the expensive side. Sure, the novelty is there and the prospect of watching planes take off is exciting, but for the quality of food and price, I'll be hard pressed to return. Oh and if you do decide to sit in the al fresco area, please watch out for the mosquitoes.
Was there over the weekend and was excited to see them selling mini steamboat! And only at $13.80 each! So we went in to try. When we set down, we somehow concluded that the steamboat idea might have came to mind when they saw they neighbor selling hotpots. (But this is just our presumption lah)
The mini steamboat comes with Tom Yam Soup and a plate of fresh ingredients such as prawns, slice fish, sotong (squid), mushrooms, and tang hoon.
The tom yam soup is spicy and sour. Taste was not bad. Drinking tom yam while its boiling hot is super shiok! This mini steamboat is good for 2 to share. As we were not hungry, and just needed something to fill out tummy, this pot of tom yam was good enough.
Kelson Betta is a small shop located in Roxy Square (opposite Parkway Parade) that houses many high quality Betta, aka Siamese Fighting Fish. These aren't the kind you put in little jars and bring around to challenge people. These are show quality fish, bred for viewing pleasure.
He has a large variety of Halfmoons, Crowntails, etc.
My bf had been frequenting his shop and I thought about buying him two Betta for companionship. We called Kelson on his mobile at 9pm, when most shops were closing. It was the day before CNY eve and we were praying hard that he would be around. He was in the vicinity of his shop when we called and he actually opened for us!
Once there, he took the time to show us his new stock and explain the differences between the breeds and colours. The fish were all healthy and very beautiful. Some of them in colours which are rarely seen elsewhere.
Kelson gave very good and economical advice about how to take care of the fish. Even when we asked the same questions repeatedly, he explained very patiently as he is very passionate about these fish. He also taught us how to transport the fish around if we wished to travel with them. He doesn't sell the accessories for the fish so he is not the kind who would hard-sell other stuff when one purchases fish from him.
Happily equipped with new-found knowledge and feeling secure with his assurance that we can call him anytime, we're now the proud parents of two male betta and one female one. The prices start from $40 onwards. There are very expensive ones which have won awards so those cost hundreds. Do drop by for a visit. But give Kelson a ring before you go ya?
I remember frequently patronising the now defunct Dolphins Restaurant around the Macpherson area when I was still a secondary school student for its value for money set lunches and dinners. Fast forward a decade and the only hint of Dolphins existence is its flagship outlet along Genting Lane.
Oddly located on the 7th floor of an aging industrial building, it is so obscure that you would have to actually know that such a place existed. The interior is homely and reminiscent of steak houses of yesteryear (think Jack's place in the early 90s), made complete with nice booth seats in one corner.
Cream of Mushroom - The soup came with my set lunch and was rather starchy. Beats a watered down version I guess. And I'm pretty sure it came straight out of a can.
Tenderloin with Slipper Lobster - Done up medium rare, the tenderloin was decent but not outstanding. The meat tasted a little flat and could have done with some seasoning. On the up side, the slipper lobster was relatively big and sweet. But as with all lobsters, meat is always limited.
Pasta with Beef - Surprisingly, the pasta was al dente and the addition of capsicum gave this dish a very interesting twist - one that did not sit too well with me however. The beef cubes were plentiful though but lacking in taste and texture.
I guess $47 for 2 for lunch isn't exactly cheap or value for money, but I would say its still decent and definitely a nice quiet place to have a meal. That, plus the nostalgic factor and decent service, is enough for a revisit.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
Having watched a few movies there a few times, I must say, I'm quite satisfied with the seats and the range of finger food being offered. I like potato wedges and I think this is the only place where wedges are being offered, although a tad more expensive and less than having them in cafe.
The seats are not too uncomfortable although there are too many commercials running running for around 30 minutes before showing the movie.
It would be better to show the movie after 5 - 6 minutes of commercials since we pay for the movie, not the commercials. Overall, I like the legroom. However, if there were to be someone sitting in front of me, I would have a head outline instead of having the privilege to watch the whole screen.
Rating given:
Pro:
Food portion was large, menu described the dishes, and other instructions (e.g rare, medium rare) well. Ordered Chef's salad, Mixed grill and garlic steak. Chef's salad was the best dish that day with extremely fresh vegetables and sliced chicken. Garlic steak was also not bad though the fried garlic was too overwhelming and covered the taste of beef. Service was fast and swift without any encounter of rude service crew. Overall a nice place for a date or dinner night out.
Con:
Peach cooler wasn't exactly a nice drink. We were sort of forced into ordering it by the (auntie) manager. Its quite expensive at about $4 per glass.
Rating given:
Today marks the second time that I am doing a review on Astons Specialities, albeit a rather short one. The first review can be found here. This time however, the location is different. That's right, Astons has a new outlet in the Serangoon Gardens estate. Unlike the original outlet, the new outlet isn't a stand alone unit by itself. Instead, it is housed inside a coffeeshop just next to HSBC and Borsch Steak House. Not really visible from the main road if you ask me, unless you happen to be walking towards the Starbucks/Cafe Cartel area.
On to the food. I had an order of Sirloin Steak medium rare with sides of fries and baked beans. My dad had the Sirloin as well, medium well though and my mum had the Char Grilled Chicken. Both my dad's and my steak turned out overcooked. Mine came almost medium well whereas my dad's one came well done. However, the meat was still a little juicy and sweet in my case, which was a relief in some ways. My mum's chicken was just average.
In my conversation with the cook/owner later on, he explained that the stall was only 3 days old and they weren't familiar with the equipment yet, hence the overcooking. He even offered to change our steaks for us and gave us a small discount on the food, which I felt was a nice gesture on his part.
Total damage was $25. Not cheap, but not expensive either. I'm sure once they get the hang of the equipment, the food will get better and the crowds will come. I'll definitely be back.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
This is THE zhi char stall that my family love going. We've been there many many times. So often that my father will just help himself to the chili (lots and lots of this! cos its sooo devine!), rice and whatever that's available at the counter. The workers also don't know what to say to him lah. Haha!
When asked to find a place for dinner, my parents of cos recommended Jin Wei. So the entire family gathered there for our reunion dinner.
Some of the must try dishes...
The Thai-style aka Assam Fish Head
Cereal Prawn
and a special Tofu MUST TRY!! (can't remember the name, but this dish will not be served on special nights like CNY. Cos its hard to produce and everyone will sure want to order this dish. )
The Thai-style aka Assam Fish Head
The assam curry is cooked to the right sour-ness and spiciness. My family can just drink this on its on! The fish is fresh and meat is soft and tender. Don't mixed this up with the claypot curry fish head. Be sure to order the Assam fish head that's served on a flat plate on heat.
Cereal Prawn
Fresh prawns fried and blended with finely chopped cereals. Crispy and fragrance. The prawns are sweet and juicy even thou its fried. Love love love this dish!
Fried Tofu aka Golden Tofu or something like that.
As mentioned, this is the DIE DIE MUST TRY dish. It's one of their specialties and HOT favorite. Whenever I go, I insist on ordering this tofu. It's crispy, soft, fragrance, yummy, delicious and simply great lah! Just go and try if you have the chance to lah!
Rating given:
Went to decoder cafe over the weekend for Pingsters gathering. Initially I was reluctant to go on my own as I have no idea where Balmoral Plaza was. There wasn't any direct way of getting there from my house. But still, not wanting to miss the fun with fellow bloggers, I spent 30mins searching online on ways to getting there. Finally found the fastest way... Take bus to Sengkang station... take NEL to Little India.. take 170, 48, or 960 from bus stop at Exit B (or was it A?)... alight at the 5th stop infront of Balmoral Plaza. It's not that difficult to get there after all!
I was greeted by the hugeee collection of games at the entrance of the cafe. Behind it were two computers set up for customers to use for free. (Can do live blogging from there! hee...) The place is small and cosy. There's 3 sets of bigger tables and chairs and 2/3 tables for groups of 2-4. Tables and chairs were of nice height and comfortable enough for long hours of play.
The menu was thematically designed to fit into the gaming environment. They cleverly made it in a way that they can expand or change the menu whenever they have to. And in my opinion, they probably have to soon...
Feeling famished, I ordered my favorite mushroom and cream pasta, and topped it up with $3.50 for the soup and a drink. When the soup was served, I knew what I was going to expect for my pasta. The soup was a tad too diluted. When I saw my pasta, the cream that came with it was diluted too. Too plain for me. The only thing I enjoyed was the canned green tea from Heaven and Earth.
However, food aside, I still love this place! For its friendly, attentive and helpful staff. They are very patient when teaching you the games and demonstrating how its played.
The next time I go, I'll probably stick to their finger food and cakes. Wedges and chicken bites look good. (More stars next time if they improve on their menu.)
Rating given:
This was where I spent my Valentine's day this year. Met up with my girlfriend for dinner as my bf had class that night. We arranged to meet at Marina Square and only decided where to eat when she reached the place. She went to couple others but were rejected as they were fully booked for the night.
As we've both never been to Pasta de Waraku, and I wanted to try it long ago ever since I saw their display outside, we decided to try it, since it wasn't fully booked and my friend managed to get a table immediately.
The lady serving us was very friendly and nice. As it was our first time, we had many questions, and she patiently explained to us and answered our questions... with a smile. :)
Finally we settled on our choice and were ready to order. My friend had a Chicken & Mushroom with Japanese style curry @ $16.80 and I ordered the Octopus and Squid pasta with their special, supposed to be healthy, Wafu sauce @ $14.80 (minus the mayo).
After tasting both pasta, I concluded that the Chicken & Mushroom (No. 38 on the menu) is better. I like the curry taste (non-spicy). And its a unique way of eating pasta. My order was disappointing. I had to add tons of chili flakes and cheese to flavor it. Perhaps I shouldn't have selected the healthier choice.
Might think twice the next time I'm around one. Sketches serves better pasta.
Rating given:
Made our way one rainy evening to Sunset Grill & Pub, an eatery/drinking hole equally known for its buffalo wings and very inaccessible location. Notoriously hidden in the inner realms of Seletar airbase, Sunset is a pain in the ass to find (pardon my language), even with the help of a map provided by the place. Just so that you know, Sunset doesn't appear on any streetdirectory the last I checked. Even if you manage to find the carpark, you still need to walk a short distance before you can actually see the joint itself. Talk about private dining.
Caesar Salad - The caesar salad was actually very normal tasting with slices of boiled egg, bacon bits and croutons. The vegetables were fresh but I found it terribly overpriced at $12.50.
Deep Fried Mushrooms - First the good. The breaded mushrooms were crispy on the outside with exploding juices in every bite. Now the bad. The batter was too thick and absorbed too much of the oil used in deep frying the mushrooms, so much so that it had an oily residue taste.
Buffalo Wings - Feeling intimidated by the level of spiciness the wings came in, we decided to stick to the safest bet - the mildest level 1. Even then, it was quite spicy for me (I don't really take chilli by the way), not to mention huge and juicy as well. However, because of its sourish nature, its really an acquired taste.
Hamburger Steak - The meat was too dry but at least the raw beef taste wasn't overpowering. The other gripe I had was that the meat was almost well done, which explains the dryness. Definitely not something I would order again.
Although no service charge or GST was imposed, $60 for the above dishes is really on the expensive side. Sure, the novelty is there and the prospect of watching planes take off is exciting, but for the quality of food and price, I'll be hard pressed to return. Oh and if you do decide to sit in the al fresco area, please watch out for the mosquitoes.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
Was there over the weekend and was excited to see them selling mini steamboat! And only at $13.80 each! So we went in to try. When we set down, we somehow concluded that the steamboat idea might have came to mind when they saw they neighbor selling hotpots. (But this is just our presumption lah)
The mini steamboat comes with Tom Yam Soup and a plate of fresh ingredients such as prawns, slice fish, sotong (squid), mushrooms, and tang hoon.
The tom yam soup is spicy and sour. Taste was not bad. Drinking tom yam while its boiling hot is super shiok! This mini steamboat is good for 2 to share. As we were not hungry, and just needed something to fill out tummy, this pot of tom yam was good enough.
Rating given:
Kelson Betta is a small shop located in Roxy Square (opposite Parkway Parade) that houses many high quality Betta, aka Siamese Fighting Fish. These aren't the kind you put in little jars and bring around to challenge people. These are show quality fish, bred for viewing pleasure.
He has a large variety of Halfmoons, Crowntails, etc.
My bf had been frequenting his shop and I thought about buying him two Betta for companionship. We called Kelson on his mobile at 9pm, when most shops were closing. It was the day before CNY eve and we were praying hard that he would be around. He was in the vicinity of his shop when we called and he actually opened for us!
Once there, he took the time to show us his new stock and explain the differences between the breeds and colours. The fish were all healthy and very beautiful. Some of them in colours which are rarely seen elsewhere.
Kelson gave very good and economical advice about how to take care of the fish. Even when we asked the same questions repeatedly, he explained very patiently as he is very passionate about these fish. He also taught us how to transport the fish around if we wished to travel with them. He doesn't sell the accessories for the fish so he is not the kind who would hard-sell other stuff when one purchases fish from him.
Happily equipped with new-found knowledge and feeling secure with his assurance that we can call him anytime, we're now the proud parents of two male betta and one female one. The prices start from $40 onwards. There are very expensive ones which have won awards so those cost hundreds. Do drop by for a visit. But give Kelson a ring before you go ya?
Rating given: