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Sport & Recreation
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1=SGD 0.0587
Was in the mood for a lazy and peaceful brunch late one Saturday morning so decided to skip town and head to Le Bistrot at Kallang, a bistro purportedly featuring classic and inventive French cuisine and of course a brunch menu at seemingly reasonable prices (the main draw).
Le Bistrot boasts a rather quaint yet cozy interior with wooden paneling and cushions to go along with the co joint seats. There are floor to ceiling windows and even part of the ceiling is made from glass, allowing sunlight to flow through. Very much like a homely greenhouse with bulbs hanging from the ceiling.
Toasted Bread - You get to choose your choice of spreads for the bread, ranging from apricot jam to chestnut jam, all self service from the wooden shelf thats sits in the centre of the room. I appreciate the choice of jams and certainly the quality of the bread, which had a muffin like texture - a tad chewy and porous. Only bone I had was that the crust was a little too hard, but at least it was served warm.
Marinated Artichoke Salad & Mixed Fruit Soup with Mango Sorbet -
Artichoke seriously isn't my cup of tea hence I didn't quite take to the salad. The mango sorbet was refreshing and came served with diced rock melon and pineapple cubes for added texture and taste.
Viennoiserie - Viennoiserie, or French for Viennese Specialities, include stuff like croissants, Danish pastries etc. This particular one was a chocolate croissant I believe. Nice and flaky without the lingering oil stains on the fingers. The chocolate filling wasn't too sweet or hard, which probably meant it hadn't been lying around in the open for too long - a good sign definitely.
Omelette with Smoked Spicy Pork Sausage & Omelette with Nurnberger Pork Sausage - The omelettes were a little runny yet smooth without being too heavy on the milk, which equates not nausea inducing, for me at least. The spicy pork sausage (addition of $3.50) didn't exactly wow me with its limp chilli taste and non existent smokiness. I thought better of the Nurnberger sausage(addition of $4) though, which was mildly salty with a slightly uneven texture, making it a nice accompainment to the omelette.
Hot Chocolate - Its one of the few times I order hot chocolate in favour of coffee/tea and I must say it came as a surprise to me when we were served a small pack of valhorna 61% cocoa chocolate, a pot of heated milk and one pot of molten chocolate. The idea is to place the piece of chocolate in your cup and pour in your desired amount of molten chocolate or milk to suit your tastebuds. Please remember to stir of course!
$57 for a 2 pax brunch tends towards the expensive side especially when there wasn't really much to eat. But I must admit that the environment is rather relaxing and no crowds are a big plus. Service is good as well but I doubt I'll be back for brunch, not unless they drop their prices.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Its been a while since I last stepped into Shangri-La hotel (the last time being the IISS about a year back) and what better way to revisit than a leisurely dim sum meal at its flagship Chinese restaurant, Shang Palace. It definitely helped that Shang Palace was offering a 30% discount on all its dim sum items from now till 31st Dec 2008 for its first dim sum seating (10.30am - 12pm).
Located at lobby level of this highly regarded premium hotel, Shang Palace's recent facelift sees a more contemporary and posh interior with elements of tradition through the usage of red crystal chandeliers amidst flowery wall panels and black wooden door arches. Is it just me or are alot of the Chinese restaurants starting to look alike?
What I found rather ingenious was the tea menu. Instead of the usual book like menu, the names of the various teas were inscribed onto colour coded sticks and placed in a container. Merely a novelty, but at least it beats flipping through pages.
Custard Bun - Fast becoming one of the quintessential items on my dim sum list, the custard bun got the meal off to a great start with its piping hot and sinfully rich custard mixed with sediments of egg yolk, all contained within a soft and slightly chewy bun. I would have liked it better if the custard to bun ratio was lower, ie. decrease the amount of flour or increase the amount of custard. There's the issue of its minute size though.
Shanghai Pork Dumpling - I was utterly disappointed with Shang Palace's rendition of this classic Shanghainese dish. The skin was a tad too thick while the gravy came across as thick and oily. After popping one XLB into my mouth, I couldn't bear to eat another one.
Fried Spring Roll - This spring roll was rather different from the commonplace ones that you get elsewhere. Instead of vegetables, you get egg white and crab meat as a filling. Not that it made much of a difference honestly. The oil taste from the crisp skin overwhelmed everything. Not that egg white or crab meat had much taste to begin with though.
Shark's Fin Dumpling Soup - At $8 a bowl, the fins were ample but of very low quality. I like the fact that there were bits of scallops in the dumpling and that the soup was very light on the palate.
Deep Fried Beancurd Skin Roll with Prawns - The fried beancurd skin roll or 腐皮卷 came stuffed with prawns, spotting a nice crisp exterior that wasn't overly fried. However, it did come across as a tad too oily.
BBQ Pork Custard Bun - This dish was essentially pineapple bun stuffed with char siew (叉燒菠蘿包). I personally liked this quite a bit as the bun was soft and not too sweet while the char siew was plump and juicy. The sweetness from the char siew permeated through, which made for a nice but extremely high in calorie snack.
Siew Mai - Very much like the siew mai I had at Peach Garden, Shang Palace's offering had small chunks of prawns in it as well. There was a noticeable absence of the overwhelming pork taste that plagues alot of siew mais but I did find the salt level a little high.
Scallop & Lobster Roll - I don't quite remember the name of this dish but it tasted to me like Har Gao, which wasn't really what I was expecting. The lobster shreds were minimal, not to mention tasteless and the whole thing was mainly prawn paste (I believe) and a small piece of scallop.
Har Gao - The Har Gao skin was excessively thick and became gross when cold. Not even the crunchy prawn filling could save it after we left a piece to cool for about 10 minutes. However, when eaten hot, its still rather decent overall.
Four Treasure Flour Roll - Fancy names aside, the flour roll aka chee cheong fan, was smooth, silky and not too thick. I could only make out char siew and prawns in the filling so I'm not sure where did the 4 treasures come from. One of the better chee cheong fans I've had in a long long time.
Century Egg Porridge - $10 got me a bowl of congee that's probably three quarters the size of those you get for $3 at food centres. Topped with thin slices of crispy dough fritters, the porridge had a generous amount of chicken shreds and century egg. But I did think that the chef was a little too liberal with the salt.
A disappointment really. The mini egg tarts were, as the name suggests, mini and the pastry was a little too flaky. No buttery undertone that I personally like as well. The custard filling could also have done with more sugar. $4.90 for 3 is really a rip off.
It was really an expensive dim sum experience, at $113 before discount and $87 after a 30% early bird discount for 2 pax. Overall I thought that the dim sum lacked finesse, and pales in comparison to places like Royal China or Yan Ting. Service was good but pacing of the dishes would be much appreciated - all my dishes came in the space of 10 minutes. I highly doubt that I'll be back, not even with the discount.
See all my pictures here.
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Bobo had the chance to be invited for food tasting at Village Wok. Initially this bimbo was afraid that she would have problems finding the place, with it being in CBD and all. But it was really easy to locate. It's quite near the Food Centre just slightly off the main road.
Upon entering the place, Bobo was slightly surprised. The signboard and the decor of the place itself wasn't like other Chinese restaurants. It's not like pretentiously posh but very very simple.. like a family business sorts. It was later when the lady boss (a pretty one) explained, that Bobo understood that this place is more of a B2B sort of business, selling its famous sauces to other eateries.
It was empty that day... CBD, on Sundays, is a ghost town as every one knows. So they had all the space to ourselves and the freedom to make noise. Fantastic! haha.
Popiah DIY $20 /set
Completely healthy with stewed vegetables in prawn stock and condiments.
Honestly Bobo thinks it is a little expensive considering it's just vegetables and stuff. BUT try preparing all these things at home then you would know what a hassle it is. It's not only good and healthy to eat, it's like an activity for family and friends to do. The good thing about DIY is that you can put whatever you want in it and leave whatever you want out. Yummy!
Chilled Crab with Special Vinegrette Sauce @ $30 /crab
Bobo doesn't really like crab. Simply because it's troublesome. But the nice thing about this one was that they cut it up properly, so that it's easy to eat! They didn't need to use the hammer or weird tools to pry the meat out to eat. That aside, the flesh was sweet and fresh, tasty even without the sauce. They were told that the crabs were from Sri Lanka.
The Phoenix Soars @ $21
Yin-Yang boneless Village Wok Chicken
Bobo loved this one. She liked its tasty flesh and there was plenty of breast meat for her to pick. Yummy.
Village Wok Celebration Parade @ $22
A combination of VW award dishes, VW Mustard Roast Crispy Pork and Village BBQ Pork
Firstly, Bobo has to admit that she's not the sort who go for such meat. But she did try the Char Siew which was ok. The presentation of this dish is pretty special in that it looked like the chinese word "fortune". Cool eh.
Fried Brinjal with Crispy Squid in BXO Sauce @ $15
Bobo likes Brinjal! Initially she thought that this dish was carrot cake because it reminded her of the one at Taste Paradise. But it's brinjal much to her surprise. It was quite tasty but a little bit too sweet though.
Steamed Pating Fish with Preserved Vegetable @ $44
Preserved Vegetable... that's Chai Por, the thingy you have on chwee kueh? Bobo loves chai por. This particular version is not as salty as what people normally have which makes it seem healthier. But Bobo (being unhealthy) do likes salty chai por. The fish was normal she thinks.
Black Pepper Ham Leg @ $23
Voted The Travelling Gourmet’s favorite dish
Bobo had a very small bit of this. As above, she's not a fan of pork so she shouldn't comment on this, having not tasted enough versions.
Smiling Fortune Noodle @ $8
Tangy noodles harmonized with delectable fresh prawn essence, topped with prawns.
The serving given to them was slightly smaller that day as they already had plenty to eat. Each person had a pot to themselves. It was served nice and hot with a little tealight below. Bobo liked the soup base a lot and the noodles were served at the right time, so they weren't mushy. But she doesn't remember eating many prawns. One maybe. or was it two?
VW Desserts - Sampler size
Black Glutinous Rice with Coconut Ice-cream @ $4.80
Lemongrass ice-cream
Kaya with bread
Bobo liked the Black Glutinous Rice with Coconut ice cream the best. The other ice cream had a nice tinge of lemongrass in the aftertaste. But otherwise it was normal. Bobo isn't quite a fan of Kaya but she enjoyed it all the same. It wasn't the ultra sweet sort you get from the supermarket.
The prices might seem a bit high but it IS a chinese restaurant after all and such prices are pretty common for this kind of food served there.
We had the chance to taste many of their sauces which was really nice. Bobo wanted to buy the salted fish one home but she forgot. SIGGHHH.
For more pictures, click here
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Singapore Fireworks Festival 2008 was awesome!
This almost-annual event (been happening for 4 years I think. The first one for me was in 2005) happens at the Singapore River. Thousands of people gathered at the floating platform, along the river, around Esplanade, on the bridge, at the Merlion Park, One Fullerton and everywhere possible to catch a glimpse of the display!
Some people even went to "chop" their place as early as 6pm! (Fireworks starts around 9pm!) Those who went later were either caught in the massive traffic jam or human jam. Despite the congestion and all, everyone was in high spirit to catch the firework display.
This year, there were 2 nights of display. First by the team from France and on Saturday night, by the team from Korea. These teams are both award-winning teams! No wonder everyone had their jaws wide open for the entire 15-20 minutes display.
Those who paid for the tickets to watch the display at the floating platform probably have a better understanding of the entire show as it was accompanied by synchronize music. For the rest of us, we had to imagine the music in our head while the fireworks was firing in the sky.
If you'd missed it, I've attached a short clip of the display by French team.
Anyone else went? Share your experience here! Especially if you've got photos taken!
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Made the trip east to Chin Lee or 深利美食馆 for dinner with my parents after seeing it in appear in a couple of television programs and writeups with regard to its good food and reasonable prices.
Located just below a block of flats at Bedok North, Chin Lee's reputation was evident as the place was packed on a Sunday evening and families without reservations were asked to wait or turned away. The air conditioned interior was simply done up like any traditional Chinese restaurant except that they offer two private rooms which can be booked in advance.
Fish Maw Soup - Tasting suspiciously like shark's fin soup ( I wish!), the fish maw soup didn't come across as too starchy and had quite a sizeable amount of crab meat in it. The fish maw wasn't too soggy and overall I found it quite a good dish.
Stir Fried Kailan - Found the vegetables very normal but I did think that the restaurant was a little too generous with the garlic, which made the vegetables a little bitter. Still, I can't complain for $6 though.
Homemade Beancurd - I thought that the beancurd was comfort homely food, with its silkiness and softness and of course the copious amount of minced meat atop. However it lacked the smokey savoury taste that I like. Still a good eat nevertheless.
Coffee Pork Ribs - Served up in an aluminum foil, the coffee pork ribs was a recommendation by the waitress. The aroma of coffee was strong but surprisingly, the taste was rather mild. Honestly I thought that the pork ribs were a little too dry and hard for my liking. Very edible, but certainly not a must order dish.
Orh Nee -
Interestingly, Chin Lee's rendition of this ubiquitous Teochew dessert was a much darker shade of brown than what I usually eat, which I suppose is attributed to the addition of gula melaka or brown sugar. The texture was also compact and glue like, yet very smooth and not too sweet. Definitely one of the best Orh Nees I've tried so far.
A satisfying dinner for 3 set us back by almost $62, which is very reasonable for the quantity and quality of food. Service was efficient and I dare say that this is probably one of the better air conditioned cze char stalls around. Chin Lee is a gem indeed. Just remember to make your reservations.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Excellent service!
Straits Kitchen, located at Grand Hyatt hotel, has the best of local cuisine in a contemporary market place setting. This is the place to go if you want to eat-all-you-can of the variety of food in one sitting. However I feel that the taste and quality of food is not the best you can have in Singapore. But that's almost true for all buffets right? So no complain there. The choice of food available should make up to it. Some of them are pretty decent and some of us had more than 1 serving!
One thing that I must mention is the excellent service and very attentive service staff! They clear the empty plates fast and when they see that someone is using their hands to eat (crabs and prawns), they'll bring a bowl of water with lemon for that person without having for us to ask! Each section of the place is managed by a few service staff. Hence they're able to provide the attention needed at each table. This truly enhances our dining experience at Straits Kitchen! 5 stars for their service!
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Off the beaten track was the theme for the day and my gf and I found ourselves at Buckaroo BBQ & Grill at Andrews Ave near Sembawang Park. Nestled amongst private houses, it's not a difficult place to find if you drive or if you know the area well, because the surrounding area can be quite deserted at night.(Most of the houses don't look like there's anyone living in them). It looks like a cross between a tarven and a beach pub, with its alfresco open air dining, wooden tables and flooring and the jolly lightning. Luckily there were no mosquitoes last night(at least they didn't bite me or my gf), so it made for a rather pleasent dining experience. Service was attentive and very friendly. I even made small talk with one of the waiters, something that's almost unheard of in fine dining restaurants.
After a long look at the menu, we ordered half a dozen of the Combustion Wings(Buffalo wings @level 1 spiciness) and a Spaghetti Marinara(seafood) and a round of drinks of course. Food was served piping hot and the portions were huge. I was shocked by the size of the wings as well as the spaghetti. The wings were easily double the size of those you could get at the market. Seemed like a bohemian task trying to finish the dishes, especially since we were already quite stuffed from all the eating at the World Food Fair 2006.
The wings were a little sourish(something which had already been forewarned by our server when taking our order) which my gf didn't really like, but it whetted my tastebuds with its tangy taste. A pity we couldn't finish it though and had to do a take away. The spaghetti was nice without the sauce being too overwhelming, which is the case with many spaghettis that I have eaten. The prawns were fresh and so were the mussels. (I hate mussels though)The drinks are your normal soft drinks, but if you drink root beer, go for the dispenser one. It tastes a little like Sarsi, which I'm crazy about.
The owner of Buckaroo is the same guy who set up Sunset at Seletar Airbase. In my humble opinion, its worth a trip down. Portions are gigantic, so please go with an empty stomach. No service charge is imposed as well, which is a big plus point. The waiters there are friendly and non pretentious. Do try the level 10 spiciness wings if you are up for the challenge. Do note also that the entire place is non air conditioned, so it might be a little uncomfortable on a warm night, even with fans blowing at you. They close early as well(1030pm on a saturday night), so please keep that in mind. Overall, a nice place to hang out with a group of friends over decent grub without busting too big a hole in your pocket. There's also nothing nearby, just Sembawang park, so don't expect any night entertainment of any sort. Driving is recommended.
See all my pictures here.
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Much has been said about Loy Sum Juan Restaurant, which took root from humble beginnings as a small stall before expanding into the restaurant it is today. Ask the older generation and more likely than not, they would have heard of this iconic Cantonese restaurant.
If you never knew of its existence, the probability of chancing upon this place is slim as it is hidden on the 6th floor of Tiong Bahru Plaza, which is only accessible by lift (or stairs maybe?). Decor comes across as very typical old school Chinese save for a more contemporary arched ceiling.
Har Cheong Gai - Served up piping hot, the Har Cheong Gai aka Prawn Paste Chicken was nice and crispy on the outside without the batter being too thick. Would have prefered the taste of the shrimp paste to be a wee bit stronger though.
Broccoli with Scallops - A rather average dish with the vegetables not overly soft but the scallops a tad too bland. $20 does seem a wee bit expensive for such a dish though.
Homemade Beancurd with Katsobushi & Shinjii Mushrooms - Another simple dish, the homemade beancurd was relatively smooth and soft but lacked the smokey aftertaste that I hanker after. It came topped with katsobushi or bonito flakes which did seem a little too bland. All in all an average but palatable dish.
I can't say I enjoyed my meal but at least it was filling and decently palatable and I didn't have to contend with the crowds at the other food outlets in Tiong Bahru Plaza. Service was alright and being a traditional Chinese restaurant, you do not have to pay for your paper towels and peanuts if you return them.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Had been meaning to try out Nanbantei and the chance presented itself one evening when I happened to be at Orchard with my gf. Located on the 5th floor of the hip Far East Plaza, Nanbantei, which specialises in Yakitori, has garnered many accolades and rave reviews including that of Tatler's Singapore's Best Restaurant.
The interior of Nanbantei is rather tiny and cramp and the bulk of the seating comes in the form of counter seats (there are a few tables that can accomodate 4 though), which offer a live view of the chef grilling your orders. When I say cramp, it means almost shoulder to shoulder with the person beside you at the counter, which is really disconcerting to say the least.
The scallop was quite a size and came very well seasoned and grilled. A nice smokey taste lingered, complementing the fibrous texture of the scallop. I did find the salt a little too heavy though.
Asparagus Maki & Nikuzume Shiitake - If I may say, the asparagus maki was nothing short of excellent. It really surpassed all expectations. Soft asparagus covered with a layer of pork grilled till crisp and a sprinkling of salt for that extra flavour. If not for the price($5.70), I would have ordered more.
The Shiitake mushroom stuffed with chicken was average really. The chicken taste overwhelmed the mushroom and it was a tad too salty.
Ebi - At $7 per relatively large prawn, its honestly quite expensive especially when there was no marination or anything, save for the dash of salt sprinkled whilst grilling. To give it credit, the prawns were sweet with a nice grilled taste. But believe me, take away the shells and the meat is minimal.
Tokusei Tsukune - Nanbantei's Tokusei Tsukune or house special meatballs, was essentially 2 skewers of meat merged into one huge and rather unsightly chunk and came served with a single raw quail's egg sliced off at the top. The meat was nicely minced with bits of uneveness but I did find the dish to be very salty probably due to the sauce. A decent dish, but not fantastic.
Shiitake - Yet another overly salty dish, the shiitake didn't come across as too dry though due to the sauce. Not something I would order again for just over $5.
Yaki Onigiri - A Japanese speciality according to the waitress, the Yaki Onigiri was rather interesting and looked very much like a corn cob. Grilled to charred and hard on the outside yet a little soft and sticky on the inside. The flavours were a mix and match of salty and spicy, which honestly was a terrible end to the meal. It definitely didn't help that bits of the charred rice were very prone to getting lodged in between my teeth.
$68 for a meal with such meagre portions is ridiculously expensive in my opinion, even though the food is fairly decent. To be fair, Nanbantei does offer set meals at $32 for 8 sticks of yakitori which does seem a better deal, but going ala carte is definitely a big no no. Drinks are expensive as well and no complimentary iced water is served.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Small but cosy cafe.
Have past by this little cafe tuck at the corner of Marina Square several times. Over the weekend, we decided to give it a try.
As we weren't that hungry, and it was already pretty late, we decided to have some finger food. Ordered half dozen of NZ Greenlip Mussels and a Seafood Basket.
You can choose how you want your mussels to be done. We settled with White wine and garlic. This half dozen mussels was pretty alright. The wine was relatively mild and could taste more of the garlic than the wine.
The Seafood Basket took quite awhile to come. We were shocked to see it served in a bucket instead of the usual basket. There was a piece of fish, 2 prawns, 2 scallops, 2 fish nuggets and bunch of fries. All quite well battered and fried. Except for the prawns, which we both felt was too tiny and too much batter. Fish was crispy and crunch. Like the texture of the way it was cooked.
Overall quite a nice and simple meal. The place is pretty cool at night, we the lightings hanging from the ceiling of Marina Square and cosy ambience of Fin Cafe. (Check out the attached video and you'll know what I mean.) :)
And well, looks like they've started charging GST already! Its hard to survive without this these days.
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