Forget about the full-sized donuts! Marcial Kobe's mini ones are much more yummilicious!!
Happened to be at Central last week and decided to give these cute little donuts a try. Located at the corner of Central basement (where I usually get lost walking as it seems like a maze to me). There were about 10 flavors to choose from. Not sure if its on promo or the usual price, but I got 12 mini donuts at $4. Quite cheap lah!
These donuts are very crispy and are not too sweet. The size is just nice to pop into your mouth. But I had to bite them bit by bit to savor the different taste of each mini donuts. There were the sugared ones, caramelized ones, chocolate ones, and alot of others, which I can't recall! All are delicious lah! So go give it a try when you're around The Central ya!
Dropped by Cafe Oliv, one of the many small eateries lining East Coast Road, for lunch. Its chef, Kevin Heng, used to work for Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa and the Emerald Hill Group but has since moved on to open up Cafe Oliv with his buddy, Patrick Ang.
Situated just next to the famous 328 Laksa and further down from Astons Specialties, Cafe Oliv is a tiny eatery which can probably seat about 20 pax. The interior is minimalistic with its clean lines and plastic tables and chairs.
Cream of Vegetable Soup - This came as part of the set lunch which means you don't get to choose anything except for the main course. I wouldn't say the soup was terrific or anything close to that, but it was decent - tasty yet not too coagulated or runny. Something should be done about the rock hard bread though, which was still too hard even after dipping it into the soup.
Grilled Half Shell Scallops with Basil Aglio Olio Linguine - As lip smacking as this dish may sound, it certainly had lots of room for improvement. The linguine wasn't al dente to begin with and came across as a tad too salty for my liking. The scallops were nicely grilled with a tinge of rawness but didn't seem particularly sweet.
Traditional Beef Stew with Fennel - I liked the thick gravy which came with this dish but the beef did seem a tad too soft for my liking though my friend found it just right. Nice warm dish to have on a cold rainy day. Just don't get your expectations too high.
Oliv Mini Trio Meat Burger - Made up of 3 different types of burger, namely BBQ sliced pork, cod fish steak and tenderloin steak, this dish was one of the more interesting dishes around. Personally I fancied the tenderloin burger the most as the patty was chewy with lots of bite. The BBQ sliced pork, which looked and tasted like Kong Ba incidentally, had its taste overwhelmed by the bacon. As for the salmon, I found it a tad too salty.
Brownie with Ice Cream - Its really difficult to go wrong with brownies, save for those that are hard and dry. Having said that, I did like the brownie quite a fair bit with its chocolaty overtones.
A relaxing and filling lunch for 2 came to the tune of $43, which isn't expensive considering that the set lunch itself is only $10.90 nett per person. No service charge or GST is imposed, which is a plus as well and not forgetting the good service rendered. I would say overall food quality is decent but don't expect too much.
When you think of Cheap Electronics.. Where do you think of? Of course Mustafa....
How about Cheap perfumes and consmetics? Of course Mustafa....
How about Mid night shopping? Of Course Mustafa.......
Mustafa is the most superb HYPER SUPER MEGA departmental store i've ever come across...
Its Huge and most importantly the selections of goods is of such a fabulous variety. I love the fact that we could find some really rare items in one of the kind packaging. There are also a good selection of candy and chocolates, some i guess imported from UK...
Electronics and mobile devices like mobile phones, MP3 players and cameras are also of such a good value prices, some come with warranty.
Cosmetics especially fragrances you can select until your eyes POP OUT... You can test as much as you want and if you don't feel like buying, just walk away.... But you can never resist as the prices are of such a good value, you can hardly find it anywhere...
My friend found a brand of soap that was like popular 50 years ago and it was widely sold in the toiletries department. Can you imagine, Mustafa are also retailing CARS, FLIGHTS, 2 LEVELS OF REAL GOLD ACCESSORIES and a huge level of fruits and vegetables...
They sell their veg cheaper then my neighbourhood wet market and stock up on loads of veg i have never even seen before... I guess must be FLOWN FROM INDIA. It was FABULOUS.... I picked up a huge pack of mint for just a dollar and bought a large bottle of HARSHEYs chocolate sauce for just $4.90... Cheap hor... and the Muruku... really all sorts... so YUMMY....
For all our Indian friends out there... THIS IS A LITTLE PIECE OF MUMBAI for you.... Quit Harassing MR INDIAN CURRY HOUSE....
For those night vampires out there.. Go shopping at 3am at MUSTAFA.. you can get everything you want at SUPER VALUE prices Plus all the services and attention you need from the staff....
Café Oliv is a small café just beside the Famous 328 Laksa shop. The interior is very simple with normal white tables and orange plastic chairs. A casual setting suitable for the regular office lunchers or for families.
Chef Kevin Heng, together with buddy Patrick Ang, followed their dreams of having a place to call their own by starting Café Oliv together. Knowing that he has 12 years of culinary experience in places like the Rasa Sentosa and the Emerald Group, we were all ready to savour good food.
We ordered the following : - Duck breast salad A good salad I must say. There were small slices of grilled duck meat on top of the vinegeratte salad. The duck meat was lean and very well marinated which brings out the taste of the fresh vegetables.
Beef stew with Rice It was a LARGE serving of stew,in comparison to rice. The stew was good and very rich. We had to order an extra serving of bread to dip into the stew. It had a slightly sweet but savoury taste.
Chargrilled tenderloin with roasted potates The presentation surprised me, especially in a small café like this. Very beautifully presented, but a little disappointing in taste. The medium tenderloin was a little undercooked.When I was eating it,my white plate looked quite bloody. I think there should be more sauce on the sides as the carrots and string beans were very bland. The roasted potates were perfect though,a very good combo with the tenderloin.
Over all,I think it was worth it. We paid $47 for both of us (with drinks and extra bread,of course).I was really impressed with the presentation of the food and the service.I had a glass of hot water.The server had changed a new glass of hot water for me every time (not topping it up).
There seems to be a growing trend of opening what used to be deemed more exclusive food (Italian, French etc) in food/hawker centres with competitive prices to boot. Ragazzi the Italian Kitchen is one such outlet to jump on the bandwagon to offer quality Italian food at coffeeshop prices.
Located at a rather obscure coffeeshop under a block of flats in the Ghim Moh estate, Ragazzi is owned and run by Gabriel Cher, ex chef-de partie of The Oriental's Dolce Vita (Interestingly, Dolce Vita serves Mediterranean food now, not Italian). Business was rather slow on a wet Saturday evening and one can only wonder if its the lack of publicity, wet weather or quality of food thats keeping the crowds at bay.
Zuppa alla Funghi - For $2.50 a pop, I certainly wasn't expecting much. But I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the soup was made from grounded mushrooms and onions, which was evident from the taste and texture. Only thing that could been improved was its thickness. It did come across as a little too watery but hey, its definitely value for money.
The bruschetta ($3) could have been good but was let down by a few factors. The good things first. Well toasted with the sides a little charred but soft and warm within. Now for the bad part. There was an way too much olive oil on the middle portion of the bread, which made it a little too soggy. Tomatoes on the top didn't look very fresh but did provide the necessary texture and zest.
Melanzane al Forno - I've never been a fan of eggplants and this wasn't about to change anything. The eggplant was a little too soft for my liking but I did like the layer of grilled cheese on top.
Carbonara ($7) - Being a cream based pasta lover, I naturally ordered the Carbonara to be on the safe side. The pasta was a tad too overcooked and the gravy did come across as a little too thick, rendering me nauseous after a while. However I would still say its very decent with the respectable bacon toppings and definitely better than anything pasta mania or the likes can whip up.
Del Bosco ($6) - As with the Carbonara, the Del Bosco's pasta was a tad too overcooked as well but what won me over were the sausages, which tasted thoroughly smoked but was a tad too salty. The tomato sauce wasn't outstanding, being average at best.
Tiramisu ($4.50) - I would be lying if I said that the Tiramisu was decent. To be honest, it was terrible. For one, the sponge fingers weren't soaked in Kahlua. It tasted more like fruit essence or something. Also, the mascarpone cheese was a little too dense and the whole thing was rather watery(water logged would have been appropriate too) at the bottom. It definitely didn't help that too much Cocoa powder was added as well.
All in all, a very filling dinner for 2 pax cost $27.50, which is very pricey by hawker standards but cheap by restaurant standards. Overall food quality is still decent so you might want to give this place a shot if you are craving for Italian food but not willing to fork out the dough for it.
After reading the above reviews, I decided to give this place a try. Couldn't find the place at first, but thanks to Lucardia, I managed to find it.
The concept of the ice-cream sticks ordering system is interesting, but if fact I feel that its quite inconvenient for the customers. Let's just say, we still pay 10% service charge but we do half the work for them, i.e. ordering. The sushi belt is right in the center of the place and you have to carry them back to your seats. The tray they provide is small. The most you can put is 4 plates at a go. Well, still consider alright since there aren't that many options to choose form.
99cents for a plate of sushi is cheap. But that's all they are. Cheap. The other dishes available looks normal. Ordered Fried Ebi and Fried Tofu. Tasted nice. But not fantastic.
One thing I don't like is the after-smell that's stuck with you event up till now. The spell that I call the "foodcourt smell". (That's one reason why I avoid eating at foodcourts.) So ya, I'll be avoiding this place too.
After our last visit to Peaberry & Pretzel some time back, my gf and I decided to head back to Sunset Way to try out Megumi Japanese Restaurant on the recommendations of some folks.
Located just a few doors down from Peaberry & Pretzel, Megumi's air conditioned interior is smallish, with the bulk of the seating capacity in the al fresco area outside. Notice that this means lunch here in the afternoon might mean a sweaty affair unless you get to sit inside.
Billed as the Megumi special roll, there was nothing really special about it in my humble opinion. It came across as your ordinary California Roll with crab sticks and Tamago in it. Not that the extra ingredients gave it much taste either. Lets just say it tasted like a slightly sweeter version of the California Roll. So much for the secrecy. One other bone I had was that the rice was a little too dry and could have been firmer.
Char Siew Ramen - Labeled a house specialty, the ramen was a let down honestly. The noodles were your normal egg noodles though of a more springy version whereas the Char Siew was a little too dry and tough. It certainly didn't help that the soup was a tad too salty as well.
Saikoro Steak Set - Another one of the house specialties except that this one actually tasted quite decent. The beef was a little overcooked but still retained enough of its juices, taste and texture to warrant a decent rating. However, I must mention that portions are small and not homogeneously cooked, as evident by the residual butter I detected on some pieces of beef.
Black Sesame Ice Cream - I'm not exactly a fan of black sesame ice cream so I am not in a position to comment if its good or not. But my gf seemed to like it quite a bit so I'm guessing it must be of a certain standard.
Fried Vanilla Ice Cream - This was probably what I liked the best of all the dishes that evening. Interestingly, the batter was a thicker version of the crispy yet light tempura batter and actually went quite good with the vanilla ice cream. Now something needs to be done about the quality of the ice cream though, which was really mediocre.
While $61 for 2 pax isn't unreasonably expensive for the food, it isn't exactly cheap either, considering that the food was merely average. One funny thing I discovered. The restaurant was actually playing Korean songs. How cool is that?
I’ve been to Robertson Walk many times, but this was my first at the second level. With so many pubs and resturants on the ground floor, one might not discover what’s hidden at the upper floor. Sage, The Resturant is the product of the determination of husband and wife team Jusman So and Kimberly Chew. With Jusman cooking up delicious creation and Kimberly’s warm service, Sage is warm and welcoming.
We had a special dinner menu designed for us. It includes Scallops, Foie Gras, Cod & Bouillabaisse and Creme Brulee.
The scallop was fresh and well-packed. Its different from the ordinary one where the meat splits up when you cut into it. The squid ink capellini was something that I would want to try again. Cavier was alittle too saltish for my liking. The leek and potato vichyssoise was very yummy. Everyone was asking for more bread so that they can clean off the very last drop of it from their plate.
This was my second time having foie gras. As compared to the one I ate at My Humble House anniversary cocktail dinner, this was so much better. In fact, this was heavenly (and super sinful too!). The pistachio crust makes the entire experience different. Crispy exterior with moist and soft interior. However, after the entire piece, I could feel the fats wrapped around my entire heart! Yes! It was that sinful!
The Cod & Bouillabaisse was the best for the entire night! Cod was cooked to perfection. It melts immediately when it reaches your tongue. I could still remember the feeling and taste of the cod in my mouth as I typed this. The sauce complimented well with prawns and vegetables. The toast was again used to clear the plate. I would love to have this again, but sadly, its not on their menu. This was specially created just for our dinner that night.
The dessert was a sweet-sour-sorbet with not-so-well-received-jelly. I had just half of the serving and gave up. I’m not a sour sorbet fan, so I sure not comment much. However, the Lavender creme brulee and Navel orange meringue was nice. Although a little too sweet, but I finished them both eventually. The meringue tasted like hard and crispy candyfloss. The creme brulee was a great ending for the night.
Overall the dinner was nice and quite an experience for me. However, due to the setting and the many new faces around, I didn’t quite enjoy it as much as I hope to. The food was nice but not something which I would return for more, due to the price. (Total for 10 of us came up to $1022, incl. a bottle of New Zealand Red wine.)
For those who have lived in Siglap long enough you would know that this is the old family-run cake shop next to old Siglap Market (which is now NTUC). It boasts of award winning cakes, namely their Chocolate Truffle Cake and Tiramisu.
They closed at their original location months ago, to reopen as a cafe in the basement of Siglap Centre. It now has a small seating area for 6-7 patrons and is tastefully designed with a chic modern look.
I bought a 500g Chocolate Truffle Cake off the shelf for $20. The price has increased and I'm not surprised. However the quality has dropped. The cake does not have that strong chocolate taste it used to have. It's now a lot of cake and less chocolate. It's still fine just not award winning anymore.
I also bought a few chocolate chip cookies and regretted it. The cookies are just flat pieces of plain sugar. It took me, a junk foodie, a long time to finish it. And they weren't cheap at $2.50 each.
This particular outlet is situated in the bustling Parkway Parade. It's relatively new, since it opened a few months after the major revamp. It's in the basement right next to the food court. Not a cosy ambience with all the noise and bright lights from the surroundings. It has a very casual atmosphere though, which makes it good for family outings and friends.
We ordered the following...
Black Olive Fried Rice with Chickens and Cashew Nuts The rice was fragrant and was tasty on its own. However for a one-dish meal it didn't have enough ingredients. There were only a few measly pieces of chicken. The rice was not cooked with the cashew nuts as the nuts was served on the side. It certainly didn't justify its price of $9... It was also really oily, leaving oil marks all over the plate when I was done.
Pineapple Fried Rice with Seafood The picture on their website/menu and the one we saw were worlds apart. There wasn't any pineapple in the dish, so it's highly likely they used powder mixtures which can be bought cheap from supermarkets. There was only 1 prawn and 2 sotongs in the whole thing... which kinda made treasure hunting for them a challenge.
The service was not as good as I had expected. We were the only ones there at first on a weekday afternoon. Later on another table became occupied. Yet they took pretty long 20min to serve us and 10min to bring us the bill. Slow service despite few patrons is a bad thing. No smiles could be seen anywhere too.
The only thing that interested me was the ala carte buffet which had quite a variety of dishes. We watched the neighbouring table order and it came in nice small dishes which made ordering a variety easy. But judging from the quality we had, I seriously doubt we would be back for more.
Forget about the full-sized donuts! Marcial Kobe's mini ones are much more yummilicious!!
Happened to be at Central last week and decided to give these cute little donuts a try. Located at the corner of Central basement (where I usually get lost walking as it seems like a maze to me). There were about 10 flavors to choose from. Not sure if its on promo or the usual price, but I got 12 mini donuts at $4. Quite cheap lah!
These donuts are very crispy and are not too sweet. The size is just nice to pop into your mouth. But I had to bite them bit by bit to savor the different taste of each mini donuts. There were the sugared ones, caramelized ones, chocolate ones, and alot of others, which I can't recall! All are delicious lah! So go give it a try when you're around The Central ya!
Rating given:
Dropped by Cafe Oliv, one of the many small eateries lining East Coast Road, for lunch. Its chef, Kevin Heng, used to work for Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa and the Emerald Hill Group but has since moved on to open up Cafe Oliv with his buddy, Patrick Ang.
Situated just next to the famous 328 Laksa and further down from Astons Specialties, Cafe Oliv is a tiny eatery which can probably seat about 20 pax. The interior is minimalistic with its clean lines and plastic tables and chairs.
Cream of Vegetable Soup - This came as part of the set lunch which means you don't get to choose anything except for the main course. I wouldn't say the soup was terrific or anything close to that, but it was decent - tasty yet not too coagulated or runny. Something should be done about the rock hard bread though, which was still too hard even after dipping it into the soup.
Grilled Half Shell Scallops with Basil Aglio Olio Linguine - As lip smacking as this dish may sound, it certainly had lots of room for improvement. The linguine wasn't al dente to begin with and came across as a tad too salty for my liking. The scallops were nicely grilled with a tinge of rawness but didn't seem particularly sweet.
Traditional Beef Stew with Fennel - I liked the thick gravy which came with this dish but the beef did seem a tad too soft for my liking though my friend found it just right. Nice warm dish to have on a cold rainy day. Just don't get your expectations too high.
Oliv Mini Trio Meat Burger - Made up of 3 different types of burger, namely BBQ sliced pork, cod fish steak and tenderloin steak, this dish was one of the more interesting dishes around. Personally I fancied the tenderloin burger the most as the patty was chewy with lots of bite. The BBQ sliced pork, which looked and tasted like Kong Ba incidentally, had its taste overwhelmed by the bacon. As for the salmon, I found it a tad too salty.
Brownie with Ice Cream - Its really difficult to go wrong with brownies, save for those that are hard and dry. Having said that, I did like the brownie quite a fair bit with its chocolaty overtones.
A relaxing and filling lunch for 2 came to the tune of $43, which isn't expensive considering that the set lunch itself is only $10.90 nett per person. No service charge or GST is imposed, which is a plus as well and not forgetting the good service rendered. I would say overall food quality is decent but don't expect too much.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
When you think of Cheap Electronics.. Where do you think of? Of course Mustafa....
How about Cheap perfumes and consmetics? Of course Mustafa....
How about Mid night shopping? Of Course Mustafa.......
Mustafa is the most superb HYPER SUPER MEGA departmental store i've ever come across...
Its Huge and most importantly the selections of goods is of such a fabulous variety. I love the fact that we could find some really rare items in one of the kind packaging. There are also a good selection of candy and chocolates, some i guess imported from UK...
Electronics and mobile devices like mobile phones, MP3 players and cameras are also of such a good value prices, some come with warranty.
Cosmetics especially fragrances you can select until your eyes POP OUT... You can test as much as you want and if you don't feel like buying, just walk away.... But you can never resist as the prices are of such a good value, you can hardly find it anywhere...
My friend found a brand of soap that was like popular 50 years ago and it was widely sold in the toiletries department. Can you imagine, Mustafa are also retailing CARS, FLIGHTS, 2 LEVELS OF REAL GOLD ACCESSORIES and a huge level of fruits and vegetables...
They sell their veg cheaper then my neighbourhood wet market and stock up on loads of veg i have never even seen before... I guess must be FLOWN FROM INDIA. It was FABULOUS.... I picked up a huge pack of mint for just a dollar and bought a large bottle of HARSHEYs chocolate sauce for just $4.90... Cheap hor... and the Muruku... really all sorts... so YUMMY....
For all our Indian friends out there... THIS IS A LITTLE PIECE OF MUMBAI for you.... Quit Harassing MR INDIAN CURRY HOUSE....
For those night vampires out there.. Go shopping at 3am at MUSTAFA.. you can get everything you want at SUPER VALUE prices Plus all the services and attention you need from the staff....
Its what i call a midnight get away.. heehee!
Rating given:
Café Oliv is a small café just beside the Famous 328 Laksa shop. The interior is very simple with normal white tables and orange plastic chairs. A casual setting suitable for the regular office lunchers or for families.
Chef Kevin Heng, together with buddy Patrick Ang, followed their dreams of having a place to call their own by starting Café Oliv together. Knowing that he has 12 years of culinary experience in places like the Rasa Sentosa and the Emerald Group, we were all ready to savour good food.
We ordered the following : -
Duck breast salad
A good salad I must say. There were small slices of grilled duck meat on top of the vinegeratte salad. The duck meat was lean and very well marinated which brings out the taste of the fresh vegetables.
Beef stew with Rice
It was a LARGE serving of stew,in comparison to rice. The stew was good and very rich. We had to order an extra serving of bread to dip into the stew. It had a slightly sweet but savoury taste.
Chargrilled tenderloin with roasted potates
The presentation surprised me, especially in a small café like this. Very beautifully presented, but a little disappointing in taste. The medium tenderloin was a little undercooked.When I was eating it,my white plate looked quite bloody. I think there should be more sauce on the sides as the carrots and string beans were very bland. The roasted potates were perfect though,a very good combo with the tenderloin.
Over all,I think it was worth it. We paid $47 for both of us (with drinks and extra bread,of course).I was really impressed with the presentation of the food and the service.I had a glass of hot water.The server had changed a new glass of hot water for me every time (not topping it up).
I will be back for more.
Rating given:
There seems to be a growing trend of opening what used to be deemed more exclusive food (Italian, French etc) in food/hawker centres with competitive prices to boot. Ragazzi the Italian Kitchen is one such outlet to jump on the bandwagon to offer quality Italian food at coffeeshop prices.
Located at a rather obscure coffeeshop under a block of flats in the Ghim Moh estate, Ragazzi is owned and run by Gabriel Cher, ex chef-de partie of The Oriental's Dolce Vita (Interestingly, Dolce Vita serves Mediterranean food now, not Italian). Business was rather slow on a wet Saturday evening and one can only wonder if its the lack of publicity, wet weather or quality of food thats keeping the crowds at bay.
Zuppa alla Funghi - For $2.50 a pop, I certainly wasn't expecting much. But I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the soup was made from grounded mushrooms and onions, which was evident from the taste and texture. Only thing that could been improved was its thickness. It did come across as a little too watery but hey, its definitely value for money.
The bruschetta ($3) could have been good but was let down by a few factors. The good things first. Well toasted with the sides a little charred but soft and warm within. Now for the bad part. There was an way too much olive oil on the middle portion of the bread, which made it a little too soggy. Tomatoes on the top didn't look very fresh but did provide the necessary texture and zest.
Melanzane al Forno - I've never been a fan of eggplants and this wasn't about to change anything. The eggplant was a little too soft for my liking but I did like the layer of grilled cheese on top.
Carbonara ($7) - Being a cream based pasta lover, I naturally ordered the Carbonara to be on the safe side. The pasta was a tad too overcooked and the gravy did come across as a little too thick, rendering me nauseous after a while. However I would still say its very decent with the respectable bacon toppings and definitely better than anything pasta mania or the likes can whip up.
Del Bosco ($6) - As with the Carbonara, the Del Bosco's pasta was a tad too overcooked as well but what won me over were the sausages, which tasted thoroughly smoked but was a tad too salty. The tomato sauce wasn't outstanding, being average at best.
Tiramisu ($4.50) - I would be lying if I said that the Tiramisu was decent. To be honest, it was terrible. For one, the sponge fingers weren't soaked in Kahlua. It tasted more like fruit essence or something. Also, the mascarpone cheese was a little too dense and the whole thing was rather watery(water logged would have been appropriate too) at the bottom. It definitely didn't help that too much Cocoa powder was added as well.
All in all, a very filling dinner for 2 pax cost $27.50, which is very pricey by hawker standards but cheap by restaurant standards. Overall food quality is still decent so you might want to give this place a shot if you are craving for Italian food but not willing to fork out the dough for it.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
After reading the above reviews, I decided to give this place a try. Couldn't find the place at first, but thanks to Lucardia, I managed to find it.
The concept of the ice-cream sticks ordering system is interesting, but if fact I feel that its quite inconvenient for the customers. Let's just say, we still pay 10% service charge but we do half the work for them, i.e. ordering. The sushi belt is right in the center of the place and you have to carry them back to your seats. The tray they provide is small. The most you can put is 4 plates at a go. Well, still consider alright since there aren't that many options to choose form.
99cents for a plate of sushi is cheap. But that's all they are. Cheap. The other dishes available looks normal. Ordered Fried Ebi and Fried Tofu. Tasted nice. But not fantastic.
One thing I don't like is the after-smell that's stuck with you event up till now. The spell that I call the "foodcourt smell". (That's one reason why I avoid eating at foodcourts.) So ya, I'll be avoiding this place too.
Rating given:
After our last visit to Peaberry & Pretzel some time back, my gf and I decided to head back to Sunset Way to try out Megumi Japanese Restaurant on the recommendations of some folks.
Located just a few doors down from Peaberry & Pretzel, Megumi's air conditioned interior is smallish, with the bulk of the seating capacity in the al fresco area outside. Notice that this means lunch here in the afternoon might mean a sweaty affair unless you get to sit inside.
Billed as the Megumi special roll, there was nothing really special about it in my humble opinion. It came across as your ordinary California Roll with crab sticks and Tamago in it. Not that the extra ingredients gave it much taste either. Lets just say it tasted like a slightly sweeter version of the California Roll. So much for the secrecy. One other bone I had was that the rice was a little too dry and could have been firmer.
Char Siew Ramen - Labeled a house specialty, the ramen was a let down honestly. The noodles were your normal egg noodles though of a more springy version whereas the Char Siew was a little too dry and tough. It certainly didn't help that the soup was a tad too salty as well.
Saikoro Steak Set - Another one of the house specialties except that this one actually tasted quite decent. The beef was a little overcooked but still retained enough of its juices, taste and texture to warrant a decent rating. However, I must mention that portions are small and not homogeneously cooked, as evident by the residual butter I detected on some pieces of beef.
Black Sesame Ice Cream - I'm not exactly a fan of black sesame ice cream so I am not in a position to comment if its good or not. But my gf seemed to like it quite a bit so I'm guessing it must be of a certain standard.
Fried Vanilla Ice Cream - This was probably what I liked the best of all the dishes that evening. Interestingly, the batter was a thicker version of the crispy yet light tempura batter and actually went quite good with the vanilla ice cream. Now something needs to be done about the quality of the ice cream though, which was really mediocre.
While $61 for 2 pax isn't unreasonably expensive for the food, it isn't exactly cheap either, considering that the food was merely average. One funny thing I discovered. The restaurant was actually playing Korean songs. How cool is that?
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
I’ve been to Robertson Walk many times, but this was my first at the second level. With so many pubs and resturants on the ground floor, one might not discover what’s hidden at the upper floor. Sage, The Resturant is the product of the determination of husband and wife team Jusman So and Kimberly Chew. With Jusman cooking up delicious creation and Kimberly’s warm service, Sage is warm and welcoming.
We had a special dinner menu designed for us. It includes Scallops, Foie Gras, Cod & Bouillabaisse and Creme Brulee.
The scallop was fresh and well-packed. Its different from the ordinary one where the meat splits up when you cut into it. The squid ink capellini was something that I would want to try again. Cavier was alittle too saltish for my liking. The leek and potato vichyssoise was very yummy. Everyone was asking for more bread so that they can clean off the very last drop of it from their plate.
This was my second time having foie gras. As compared to the one I ate at My Humble House anniversary cocktail dinner, this was so much better. In fact, this was heavenly (and super sinful too!). The pistachio crust makes the entire experience different. Crispy exterior with moist and soft interior. However, after the entire piece, I could feel the fats wrapped around my entire heart! Yes! It was that sinful!
The Cod & Bouillabaisse was the best for the entire night! Cod was cooked to perfection. It melts immediately when it reaches your tongue. I could still remember the feeling and taste of the cod in my mouth as I typed this. The sauce complimented well with prawns and vegetables. The toast was again used to clear the plate. I would love to have this again, but sadly, its not on their menu. This was specially created just for our dinner that night.
The dessert was a sweet-sour-sorbet with not-so-well-received-jelly. I had just half of the serving and gave up. I’m not a sour sorbet fan, so I sure not comment much. However, the Lavender creme brulee and Navel orange meringue was nice. Although a little too sweet, but I finished them both eventually. The meringue tasted like hard and crispy candyfloss. The creme brulee was a great ending for the night.
Overall the dinner was nice and quite an experience for me. However, due to the setting and the many new faces around, I didn’t quite enjoy it as much as I hope to. The food was nice but not something which I would return for more, due to the price. (Total for 10 of us came up to $1022, incl. a bottle of New Zealand Red wine.)
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For those who have lived in Siglap long enough you would know that this is the old family-run cake shop next to old Siglap Market (which is now NTUC). It boasts of award winning cakes, namely their Chocolate Truffle Cake and Tiramisu.
They closed at their original location months ago, to reopen as a cafe in the basement of Siglap Centre. It now has a small seating area for 6-7 patrons and is tastefully designed with a chic modern look.
I bought a 500g Chocolate Truffle Cake off the shelf for $20. The price has increased and I'm not surprised. However the quality has dropped. The cake does not have that strong chocolate taste it used to have. It's now a lot of cake and less chocolate. It's still fine just not award winning anymore.
I also bought a few chocolate chip cookies and regretted it. The cookies are just flat pieces of plain sugar. It took me, a junk foodie, a long time to finish it. And they weren't cheap at $2.50 each.
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This particular outlet is situated in the bustling Parkway Parade. It's relatively new, since it opened a few months after the major revamp. It's in the basement right next to the food court. Not a cosy ambience with all the noise and bright lights from the surroundings. It has a very casual atmosphere though, which makes it good for family outings and friends.
We ordered the following...
Black Olive Fried Rice with Chickens and Cashew Nuts
The rice was fragrant and was tasty on its own. However for a one-dish meal it didn't have enough ingredients. There were only a few measly pieces of chicken. The rice was not cooked with the cashew nuts as the nuts was served on the side. It certainly didn't justify its price of $9... It was also really oily, leaving oil marks all over the plate when I was done.
Pineapple Fried Rice with Seafood
The picture on their website/menu and the one we saw were worlds apart. There wasn't any pineapple in the dish, so it's highly likely they used powder mixtures which can be bought cheap from supermarkets. There was only 1 prawn and 2 sotongs in the whole thing... which kinda made treasure hunting for them a challenge.
The service was not as good as I had expected. We were the only ones there at first on a weekday afternoon. Later on another table became occupied. Yet they took pretty long 20min to serve us and 10min to bring us the bill. Slow service despite few patrons is a bad thing. No smiles could be seen anywhere too.
The only thing that interested me was the ala carte buffet which had quite a variety of dishes. We watched the neighbouring table order and it came in nice small dishes which made ordering a variety easy. But judging from the quality we had, I seriously doubt we would be back for more.
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