feizhu's Reviews
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With its discreet and minimalistic frontage, Ootoya could well be mistaken for an upclass Japanese restaurant. But walk in and be greeted by a casual, almost cafe like amostphere complete with shouts of Japanese greeting and a long U shape table (a little like a teppanyaki table except that this one doesn't have a chef standing in front of you preparing food) and small "semi private" rooms for those who have a bigger group (which we were lucky to get).
Charcoal Grilled Pork with Special Sauce ($16) - To be honest, how exciting can grilled pork get? But I was quite taken aback by how well Ootoya grilled its generous pieces of hog - Relatively tender with grilled lines to show for it and a flittering taste of charcoal smokiness. Coupled with plump, mildly sticky rice grains, it made for a wonderful combination.
Banana Parfait ($8) - I am rather skeptical about Japanese desserts as they always seem to prefer form (aesthetics) over substance (might be a misconception). Ootoya's Banana Parfait sought to realign that misconception with a surprisingly good and sweet ending to my meal. The parfait didn't come across as too gelatin and sat on a bed of azuki beans which hinted of coffee. 2 small slices of banana and sponge completed the picture.
Overall I spent about $28 for a wonderful dinner inclusive of free flow green tea. Well worth the money in my humble opinion and definitely worth a revisit.
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Prominently situated amongst the ring of eateries that circle the Fountain of Wealth in the basement, Tang Dian Wang practises a open dining concept where passers by and customers alike are free to let their gaze roam. The decor is decidedly modern Chinese with a nod to tradition in the form of round laterns hanging from the ceiling. During our visit, the place was barely a quarter full, though I can't say the same for weekends.
Roasted Meat & Salted Egg Fragrant Rice in Lotus Wrappers (烧肉咸蛋荷叶饭) - I don't usually order rice in lotus leaf wraps (荷叶饭) when dining out because of the high oil content but apparently Tang Dian Wang is known for it so I made an exception. Oily as usual but moist with a nice lingering aroma. However I did find the roasted meat way too fatty for my liking and overall a little too bland for my liking. Decent but nothing fantastic.
Prawns with Golden Pumpkin Sauce (金瓜奶虾球) - Initial impressions of this dish were good as the prawns were crunchy with a crisp along the edges due to the light batter coating. But it soon became nausea inducing due to the starchy and bland pumpkin sauce that masked any sweetness the prawns might have to offer. Overall a rather insipid dish.
Deep-fried Bean Curd with Bak Kwa (炸肉干豆腐) - The bean curd with bak kwa (dried meat jerky) was a let down honestly. Deep fried till crisp on the outside but lacking the smoothness that I was expecting. Granted, I could make out tiny shards of bak kwa embedded within but they were too little, too small to have any impact on the dish. Although bean curd is one of my favourite dishes, I gave up after the second piece.
Sauteed Horfun with Seafood - The humble horfun(河粉) was the most unlikely star of the evening with its silky smoothness and hint of wok hei. Another plus point was the relatively fresh seafood that it came served with. On the flip side, I did think that the egg gravy was a little too starchy for my liking, which added to the nausea from the earlier dishes.
The 2 of us chalked up a bill of about $65 for dinner which I felt was a little pricey given the quality of food. Every seemed to be heavy on the starch/flour which made me squeamish after a while. Service was okay but that's not enough reason for me to ever step in again.
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The location isn't ideal, tucked away in a nondescript corner of Vivo City, along a small section of eateries that include the more illustrious Tung Lok Signatures. The decor reminds me of a typical fast food type casual eatery usually associated with the likes of the big M and slightly more "upclass" offerings like New York New York (yucks!).
Wild Mushroom Soup - A little runny but the generous chunks of mushroom more than made up for it. The reduced usage of cream as an ingredient was a welcome change and overall a decent rendition of this classic soup.
The Goodfellas - The Goodfellas actually refer to a trio of mini burgers, selected by the customer from a preset list of flavours/combinations. Yours truly chose the safest option - Classic Beef, Philly Cheese Steak and Grilled Chicken, all on MOB's signature brioche. Aesthetics wise, this dish as a whole was rather pleasing to the eye and the brioche came linked together, which I personally found a tad amusing. It didn't taste like the brioche I knew and instead, carried a hint of beer in every bite. And it was rather dry. I thought that the classic beef, which came in the form of a ball, was quite decent but a tad dry. The philly was just way tough and I couldn't quite make out the taste of cheese even though it was visually very evident. Nothing like the real deal from Philadelphia. Best of the lot was the grilled chicken, which had a nice smokiness to it that I personally like. It also helped that the meat was tender.
Grilled Oregano Chicken - This dish seemed like a super sized up version of the grilled chicken burger and no, I'm definitely not complaining. Nicely grilled and tender with a sizeable portion to boot, the chicken was well complimented by the oregano and pommery mustard sauce, which imbued a rich saltiness to it.
Waffle with Ice Cream - Crisp but a little too hard. And the ice cream tasted like hardened milk, lacking the usual richness I would expect even from lower end brands like Kings, which is easily available at most supermarkets. I ate a quarter and gave up.
Apparently my set (mushroom soup good fellas waffle & ice cream drink) would have cost in excess of $40 without the voucher but I only paid $17, which I personally thought was still within the reasonable range. But have me pay the original price for the set and its definitely a big no no. Also, I'm not sure the grilled chicken was worth the $18.90 . Overall it is my personal judgment that this place falls into the same category as Swensens and the likes - not worth a revisit.
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Hailing from neighbouring Malaysia, Canton-i's Singapore outlet is located on the 3rd level of swanky ION Orchard. The interior is awash in white with hues of red radiating from bird cage lamps hanging from the ceiling - traditional in a fun sort of way. Wooden tables and chairs complete the whole outlook.
Roasted Meat Combination - The roasted meats (烧腊) are apparently a signature of Canton-i. And it's honestly not difficult to understand why. The BBQ pork (叉烧) was literally melt in your mouth with a high fat to meat ratio (50%-50%). Absolutely heart stopping (literally!) but simply delightful, especially with the little charred bits along the edges and the robust sweet sauce that didn't overwhelm.
I wasn't too taken by the Roasted pork (烧肉) though, seeing that I've had better ones at Imperial Treasure Cantonese. That's not to say it wasn't any good though. The skin had a noticeable (and audible!) crisp but as the fat to meat ratio was very high, it left a greasy aftertaste in my mouth which was a little overbearing in my humble opinion.
Soya Sauce Chicken - Call us cheapo but this was the main reason why we were at Canton-i; for the $1 soya sauce chicken. And what a disappointment it turned out to be. The meat was tender but I honestly didn't find it anything out of the ordinary. It tasted like chicken with a hint of sugar sweetness, which sort of defied my preconceived notion that soya sauce chicken should be salty. I probably haven't eaten much soya sauce chicken to know but it wasn't exactly my cup of tea.
Long Beans Fried with Minced Pork - Not many places do this dish well and Canton-i falls into the minority. The long bean was fried till crunchy while retaining a wee bit of moisture, boasting a wonderful hint of wok hei and topped with savoury minced pork. An excellent dish, but only if you aren't adverse to oil.
Beancurd with Luffa (Loofah) in Abalone Sauce - This is the first time I've ever eaten luffa/loofah (胜瓜) and I must say that it was rather interesting. Soft with a mildly raw vegetable taste that hits you towards the end. I can't say that I'm a fan of it but I wouldn't mind having another go at it, especially when paired with the flavourful and not too starchy abalone sauce. The beancurd was egg based and came across as smooth and silky. Pity about the lack of savouriness though.
The 3 of us chalked up a bill of about $82, which was honestly a little on the high side considering that the soya sauce chicken was a mere $1. Sky juice is chargeable at $1 /pax and so are the wet towels and tidbits, all pretty much standard stuff at a Chinese restaurant (save for the water though but they do tell you upfront that it's not free). However, the quality of food is undeniable and service is decent, making it a viable, albeit pricier alternative to Imperial Treasure Noodle & Congee House a couple of floors down.
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The interior has a dated elegance to it and a portion of the sitting area consists of semi private partitioned areas linked by a common corridor which can comfortably fit a table of 4. Lighting is dim but adequate and the whole atmosphere has a somber tone to it, perfect for a business gathering.
Appetiser - The glazed cashew nuts were a nice start to the dinner. Crunchy and fresh without the rancid oil taste and topped with a smattering of sesame seeds.
Asparagus with Garlic - A simple dish yet well executed with the asparagus crunchy and fried alongside diced garlic. Fragrant and tasty.
Peking Duck - The signature dish of ITSPD - Peking duck. Honestly I wasn't very wowed by it, seeing that the skin, though crisp to a certain extent, did seem a little limp. Best eaten with sugar. Crepes were provided for the loose slivers of skin and meat but they were a little too thick for my liking. I personally liked the plain and simple chunks of duck served up in a swan like platter - no frills, just juicy and tender and probably the sole saving grace.
We opted to use the remaining duck to do a noodle dish and well, let's just say it was very decent but not something that I personally would have gone for.
Sauteed Scallops with Italian White Truffle Oil - One of my must order dishes whenever I visit any Imperial Treasure outlet (provided they carry it of course!), ITSPD's rendition of the scallops with white truffle oil was a wee bit lacklustre as compared to its cousin at Crowne Plaza Hotel. That's not to say it wasn't any good though. As a matter of fact, the scallops were fragrant from the aromatic truffle oil and tasty to say the least. The only gripe I had was that they seemed a little too soft. Still the pièce de résistance nonetheless.
Sauteed Beancurd with Mushrooms - Smooth but not exactly savoury, the beancurd was decent and I liked the generous topping of mushrooms - comfort food for the soul.
Steamed Custard Bun - This is usually a dim sum item but apparently it's so popular that they stock up some for dinner as well. Having eaten this quite a few times, I am still of the opinion that Peach Garden does a better rendition (at least they used to!), but Imperial Treasure's offering comes in a close second with its oozing sinful custard infused with egg yolk sediment.
Durian Pudding - The moment I set my eyes upon the durian pudding, I had a hunch it wasn't going to turn out well. And I was right. The pudding wasn't rich enough and tasted way too gelatin for my liking. More durian please.
The 4 of us spent a total of $204 for dinner, which isn't too expensive considering the decent quality of food and the reasonably good service. I personally like the privacy that the restaurant offers and I'm sure ITSPD will give nearby Crystal Jade Golden Palace a run for it's money.
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