feizhu's Reviews
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Complimentary Bread & Cream of Pumpkin - I didn't think too much of either the complimentary bread or the cream of pumpkin soup. The bread was well, bread that you can get off the shelves at any supermarket. The cream of pumpkin was way too sweet for my liking and I don't know if my tastebuds were playing tricks on me, but the soup actually tasted very strongly of curry powder.
Crispy Salmon with Couscous - I tried a little of this and found it quite decent with the skin pan fried till crispy. There was also a noticeable absence of the overpowering (to me) fishy taste that is common to salmons. I didn't quite fancy the couscous though, but thats just a personal preference.
Crispy Chicken With Yogurt - Served up atop a mound of subtly sweet mashed sweet potato, the crispy chicken was surprisingly quite good with its crisp skin and succulent meat. However the down side to crispy skin is the inordinate amount of oil that comes with it. And I couldn't taste any yogurt at all.
Ice Cream in Waffle Basket - The ice cream tasted rather normal although it was supposed to be from New Zealand. The waffle basket tasted funny though , dry with a kept for too long in the cupboard taste.
2 set lunches set us back by about $48, which puts it in the mid range for set lunch prices. Service is still excellent and the environment is definitely cosy. Will definitely drop by for lunch again.
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Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!prices seem reasonable eh? but its at big splash!
05 Jul 2008 at 9:46 am
Nice American diner style place to eat in, complete with a full size jukebox that belts out perennial favourites. Reminded me of the small diners I used to frequent in North American when I was still a student. Only difference is that this one didn't come with booth seats.
Cheese Fries - Well, as the name suggests, this dish was essentially cheese with fries, except that the cheese wasn't drizzled onto the fries. It came in a small saucer for you to dip your fries in. The fries were not too badly done, crispy and fresh. The cheese was thick and gooey, just that the portion was quite miserable considering the amount of fries we had.
Cheese Macaroni Chicken - Cheese atop macaroni with slices of grilled chicken is a rather simple dish to make but sadly not many places in Singapore sell it. Seah Street Deli's rendition is probably one of the better ones. However on this occasion, the macaroni was a little dry and burnt. The cheese was nice and thick but could do with a more generous serving. No complains about the chickens though, which were grilled with a slightly smoky taste.
Beef Pot Roast - My must order dish whenever I drop by. The pot roast consists of thinly sliced chewy pieces of beef which are a little charred along the edges , giving it that nice burnt taste and mashed potatoes with a buttery texture and taste. Very good!
Chocolate Decadence - The chocolate decadence was still as big as I remembered it to be. Only difference is the price, which has shot up from $7.95 a few months back to its present $11.95, a 50% increase over its old price! I would have been cool about it if the quality had been maintained, but no, the eatery decided to cut down on the ingredients as well. The all important layer of black forest between the layers of chocolate and cake was now gone. It breathed life into what was originally a mundane chocolate cake and made it great. Don't get me wrong though, the chocolate cake was still quite good, with the chocolate concentrated and not too sweet. But it can be really overwhelming if you decide to finish it all alone.
The prices have certainly increased since my last visit here in August last year. Food quality has dipped a wee bit, but its still pretty decent for the pricing. I should still be patronising.
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Nestled in the former seedy neighbourhood of Joo Chiat just down the road from Canton Wok and Joo Heng, Emperor's Soup occupies a small unit space that probably seats about 30 pax, so if you are coming on weekends for dinner, a reservation might be a good thing to have. The interior is simply done up with red curtains and wooden racks exhibiting replica Chinese antiques and ornaments. Instrumental Chinese music wafts through the air from a portable stereo system located near the entrance to the washroom.
Double Boiled Shark Bone Soup with Mushroom and Bamboo Shoots & Fish Maw with Sea Cucumber and Shark's Fin Broth - At first glance, I thought the bowl holding the milky broth would be the shark bone soup but it turned out to be the shark's fin broth, which was really quite a deviation from the norm, especially when the shark bone soup turned out brownish in colour. This non milky shark bone soup is definitely a first for me and it tasted exactly like shark's fin soup but much starchier. Very average if you ask me.
The averageness carried on to the shark's fin broth, which came across as a little too milky for my liking. I couldn't actually make out any sea cucumber so either they missed it out or I wasn't looking hard enough.
Soft Shell Crab with Minced Pork - I honestly didn't quite take to this dish although I must admit that the soft shell crab was quite well fried. The minced pork or 肉松 was crispy and not too sweet as well but personally I found it overly oily from the amount of oil the deep fried batter absorbed. Sans the oil, I would probably have liked it a whole lot more.
Superior Bird's Nest with Fresh Milk - I thought I had landed myself a bargain at $8 for superior bird's nest. But as the adage goes, you get what you pay for. Served atop a bed of egg white cooked with milk, the bird's nest was barely a teaspoonful which wasn't even sufficient to gauge the quality of it (not that I know much about differentiating the various grades of bird's nest). One peeve I have with this dish was the raw fishy smell that emitted from the egg white, although the egg white came across as rather bland.
Fried Crispy Duck - I must say that the crispy duck was quite decent, crisp on the outside yet tender on the inside. It tasted uncannily like KFC's original chicken except that this was duck. What I liked about the duck was that it tasted fresh. No traces of reused oil which is prevalent in a lot of such deep fried dishes. It also helped that the duck was boneless.
Steamed Beancurd and Scallop in Black Bean Sauce - Smooth quivery beancurd topped with thinly sliced scallops and covered with a mild black bean sauce. The verdict? Decent enough but would have been better if the scallops actually had some taste in them.
A slightly above average meal set the 2 of us back by almost $75, which doesn't quite equate value for money. Service was decent though. To be brutally honest, I didn't feel like an emperor after the meal, more like a pauper really. So much for the name.
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Located at Teck Chye Terrace along Upper Serangoon Road, or more commonly known to people in the neighbourhood as "Hongkong Street" for its high concentration of Cantonese restaurants, Ju Bao's selling point is purportedly its great Cantonese food at affordable prices. Crowds throng this place during weekends so if you are thinking of having dinner, please go early.
Broccoli with Scallops - Our waitress tried to hard sell this dish to us and we succumbed. After all, how expensive or bad tasting could it be? On both accounts, it was a grave mistake. The scallops were small and lacking in bite but the major bummer was the fishy smell they emitted. The broccoli was still decent but at $22 for such a small portion, you have got to be kidding me.
Crispy Chicken - I suspected the chicken was precooked and left to cool in the kitchen because it was cool when served. And it was very oily. Some parts of the chicken were very salty while other parts were bland. Did I mention that portions were small as well? Sadly, the only positive note was probably the moist and tender meat, which made eating the chicken bearable, but barely.
Steamed Tofu - The tofu was smooth and came topped with mushrooms, minced meat and some other garnishes. However the dish in its entirety tasted rather bland and $8 for 4 relatively small pieces is terribly expensive.
While the absolute prices of the food didn't seem much, but factor in the quality and quantity of the food and its really a case of too little (quality & quantity) and too much (price). An unsatisfying dinner for the 3 of us cost about $47, which would have been better spent elsewhere. From the former head chef of Lei Garden, I had expected way better. Did I go on an off day or is the place just over hyped? I seriously wonder.
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Opened only about a week ago, Dessert Bowl can be rather difficult to find, given that its on the 2nd floor and plays neighbour to a pub along a quiet row of shophouses that houses OCBC as well. It definitely doesn't help that the signs are not prominently located. However make your way up and be rewarded by the sight of a brightly lighted cosy area which can probably take about 30 people or so. If you are lucky, you might just get one of the 2 sofa seats that overlook the roads below through the huge glass windows.
Rock Melon Sago - A very typical Chinese dessert, the rock melon sago wasn't outstanding and I personally found it a tad too sweet. But having said that, I don't remember the last time I had a rock melon sago that made me go wow. So maybe its just me.
Strawberry Ice - I didn't get to try this but from what I understand, the strawberries were very sour but other then that, no other complaints.
Mango De Creme - My original order of the Durian mousse was sold out so I thought I would try something a little different, namely the Mango De Creme, which was essentially custard with toppings of mango cubes and puree served up in a tin foil container. The custard came across as smooth and firm, very much like the texture of creme brulee. I'm not sure if it was effort on the part of the shop or pure luck that the mango cubes were sweet but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Overall a rather enjoyable dessert.
I don't really eat alot of Chinese desserts so I'm not sure if $10.50 for 3 desserts is considered expensive. But personally I think its still acceptable especially when this is definitely a cheaper alternative to Ice Cube. The dessert menu is rather extensive and that would probably be a good reason for me to drop by often for an after dinner dessert session.
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Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!eh.. A bit ex la... for just desserts. :) but if it's good then alright ba :P
28 Jun 2008 at 7:39 am