feizhu's Reviews
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I've never tried Mei Cai Kou Rou before, so it came as a surprise that the Mei Cai was a little sweet instead of the usual saltiness that I associate with Mei Cai. It was something different, to me at least. The Kou Rou was thick with a few layers of meat and fat and tasted decent. The tofu was of the rougher genre, typically called "Dao Gua" or "Dou Gan". It was stuffed with meat in the middle and was nothing special really, but I like the gravy that came with it. It was a little peppery and very salty when consumed alone, but when eaten with the tofu, the saltiness was toned down and it made for a nice combination.
Overall, the bill was just shy of $20, inclusive of taxes and other stuff like towels, peanuts and others. Expensive? No way. Cheap? Relatively. Food wise is ok, based on the limited number of dishes that I've tried. (I've tried their salted chicken before and it was really salty, but hey, it is supposed to be salty.) Honestly speaking, if I am in search of cheap and simple home cooked fare in a quiet environment (uncomfortably quiet in fact, due to the small enclosed area and if there are no other patrons around), I'll be back. Other than that, I think not.
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The Pork with Special Sauce & Popiah Skin looked gross when it arrived. The pork strips looked like maggots fried in oyster sauce. However, the dish was pleasently good. The Popiah skin was of a thicker kind and warm when served. Together with the pork strips, it was delectable. The Fried Mao's Spicy Pork was a favourite with my dad. The pork was thinly sliced and pan fried, making it a litle crisp on the edges and chewy.
Fish and Dried Scallop with Egg White might sound a little weird to some, but I like it! It wasn't as good as Prima's(Review coming soon)version, but good enough. The egg whites were smooth and nicely beaten. But beware. Too much of it can make you woozy. Next comes the highly recommended Xiao Long Bao. At $5 for 8 pieces, I consider it a steal, considering the quality. The skin was thin yet strong enough to hold the fillings inside. Pop one into your mouth and the juices just explode. Still, I find Crystal Jade's Xiao Long Bao a wee bit better. But I'll choose this over Crystal Jade's one anyday due to the huge disparity in price.
The highlight of the night(to me at least) was the exquisitely done Red Bean Snow Bun. This is a pretty unique dish because the "bun" is made from egg white which is deep fried. It looks exactly like a bun, golden on the outside and white on the inside. The "bun" was warm, soft and fluffy, albeit a little too oily. It had red bean paste as filling and a sprinkling of sugar on the outside. Pure genius I must say. The bun itself was pretty tasteless, but the red bean paste and sugar provided the sweetness. The paste was smooth and not too sweet. Goodbye Red Bean Paste Pan Cakes. Hello Red Bean Snow Bun!
Total cost for the meal was $52 for 3 pax. Not the cheapest I've tried, but reasonable enough. Food quality is also pretty good. One thing they need to brush up on a little is their attentiveness. We had problems trying to catch the attention of the lady boss and her husband. But you can't blame them really. They are the only 2 wait staff manning the whole place. Try it out if you want something different from your usual fare.
See all my pictures here.
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Located along serene Upper Bukit Timah Road, SSS, which is one of the new kids on the block, resides towards the end of a row of shops also known as The Rail Mall. The interior is simply done up with shelves of Thai sauces and condiments on display together with fresh local produce of herbs and vegetables. Hanging fruits at the entrance add to the down to earth market feel of the place.
Hot and Sour Soup with Prawns, Straw Mushrooms and Aromatics - Notice that the name mentioned prawns. However, there was only 1 prawn, albeit of a rather large size. Bone picking aside, the soup was light yet sourish and hits you before you even know it. Its not so much the chilli kind of spicy but the wasabi kind of 呛, which has been known to reduce grown men to tears. Although I'm not one for spicy stuff, I liked this soup quite a bit.
Wagyu Beef Skewer - At $5.50 a skewer and 2 mouthfuls, this is one expensive piece of beef. However I must admit that the beef was excellent. Tender and succulent with a tinge of sourish herbs taste complementing the natural beefy flavours of the meat - all these without being done medium rare.
Sweet Barbeque Pork in Thai Spices with Fresh Vegetables - This dish is very much akin to our local char siew except that it was much drier with an unidentifiable lightly sweet yet salty spice taste. With the meat being dry, it naturally got tougher and more chewy, which isn't necessarily a good thing, especially for people with weak teeth like myself. Still a relatively decent dish overall.
Roast Duck with Flat Rice Noodles in a Fragrant Thai Herb Broth with Bean Sprouts and Fried Garlic - First impression, this dish looked like a typical bowl of duck meat kway teow. Interestingly, the broth reminded me of the gravy used in lor mee, albeit of a much sweeter version. The duck slices were nice and chewy but the rice noodles, though silky and smooth, tended to clump together.
'Pat Thai' Stir Fried Thai Rice Noodles - This has got to be one of the best Pat Thai I've eaten in a long long while. A tad chewy and moist, the Pat Thai was fried with dried shrimps, beansprouts and huge prawns, exuding a nice fragrant aroma when served. Another plus point was that the noodles didn't clump together even when the dish turned cold. Probably the only gripe I had was the sweetness of the dish, which was a little excessive for me personally.
Black Sticky Rice with Caramelised Coconut and Coconut Cream - For those who have eaten enough of such dishes, you would probably know that this is essentially Pulot/Burbur Hitam. And although I dont really fancy it, I must say that this one was quite appetising, not too starchy but could do with a lot less sugar.
Coconut Custard Tart - Served up with a dollop of fresh cream, the tart looked limp and tired, much to my disappointment. However it wasn't half as bad as it looked, tasting pretty much like egg tart with a layer of sweetened coconut. To be fair, it was actually quite nice but it might have been better if served chilled.
Honestly, $50 for the spread and quality isn't expensive. However portions aren't big so hearty eaters might need to order something extra from the ala carte menu. I'm not sure about the portions come dinner time but prices tend towards the higher end during that period. Think $12 for a plate of Pat Thai. SSS isn't the cheapest Thai food place nor the best, but for the prices, its worth it.
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Opened just slightly over a year ago in end 2006, Melvados is located within the upmarket residential enclave of Bukit Timah, playing neighbours to only a clinic and a pub. The decor is simple, with cheap looking wooden tables and chairs sparsely populating the granite floor. There are cosy sofas too but those are of the limited variety. The entire place is small, probably fitting in about 20 pax at most. With huge floor to ceiling windows, the place exudes a nice cosy feeling, just perfect for a lazy afternoon tea session.
Seafood Platter - I'm not exactly a fan of seafood platters as they usually consist of alot of deep fried stuff that tend to make me nauseous after a while. This one was no exception. Served with onion rings, fries, calamari and fish/prawn cakes, the platter was, if I may say, off the charts. Not that I mean it in a good way though. Everything (save for the fries) was rather tasteless and too filled with thick batter that tasted exactly like deep fried flour.
Black & White Kisses - Billed as Melvados's signature brownie, the Black & White Kisses was actually quite good. Moist and not too rich with a nice wholesome baked taste and topped with black and white hershey's kisses. The only bone I had was the consistently smooth homogeneous texture of the brownie, which made it seem a little weird. However such gripes are forgotten when the brownie is paired with the vanilla ice cream, making for a sweet and delightful dessert without the chocolate overload.
Sizzling Brownies Sensation - Ever heard of hotplate brownie? No? Neither have I. It was that curiosity that prompted us to order this dessert. In retrospect, it wasn't such a good idea after all. A brownie served on a hot plate with a scoop of rapidly melting ice cream. How special is that? I did a quick calculation and the novelty of a hotplate cost us an additional $2.10 with the exact same ingredients as their signature Black & White Kisses. There's another problem with serving brownies on a hotplate. The underside of the brownie will harden and stick to the base and the ice cream melts so fast that its a little more than just flavoured cream after a while.
Chocolate Madness - I didn't quite take to this brownie as it was a tad hard and dry when served. Not exactly my cup of tea. And for the record, it didn't really taste that strongly of chocolate as inferred by its name.
I'm really not sure about the going prices for brownies because I don't eat enough of them to know but I'm guessing $18.50 for 3 brownies is a wee bit on the high side. Meldavos serves mains like pasta and sandwiches as well but sticking to just the brownies might just be a safer bet.
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Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Seems like a waste of $$.
16 Apr 2008 at 12:22 pm
ahh, the sizzling one no good, i saw another table eating it, den the ice cream immediately melted. lol
16 Apr 2008 at 8:51 pm
The grandeur of the hotel is apparent and it extends to Yan Ting. The decor is predominantly eastern with western influences and decked out in hues of black and gold. A low ceiling coupled with a tasteful chandelier, classy stained glass panels and artworks depicting various greenery adorn the cosy dining area. Heavy wooden chairs with floral designs and waitresses in complementary black and gold uniforms complete the setup. Even the cutlery screams expensive. The chopsticks, chopstick rests and spoons are gold plated and inlaid with jade pieces. Talk about fine dining. One thing that sets Yan Ting apart from other Chinese restaurant is its dim sum pricing. Other restaurants charge dim sum by per steamer/plate whereas Yan Ting does it per piece.
Amuse Bouche - Most Chinese restaurants don't dish out appetisers but hey its free so I'm not complaining. This particular amuse bouche was cucumber stuffed with chicken. Quite a treat actually. The cucumber was crunchy and a tad juicy, complementing the light smoky taste of the chicken.
Ha Kao ($2 each) - Thin yet firm skin coupled with fresh and crunchy prawns. How much better can Ha Kao get? Not much really. Yan Ting's rendition is really one of the best that I've tried so far. But at $2, its ridiculously more expensive than the competition. Think Royal China or Wah Lok.
Chives Dumpling ($2 each) - This is the first time I'm eating this and honestly I'm not impressed. Sure the skin was nicely pan fried but the chives seemed rather bland and the whole dumpling was a little soggy on the whole.
Glutinous Chicken Wrapped in Lotus Leaf ($1.80 each) - Usually I steer away from this dish because its really oily but Yan Ting's rendition didn't leave me feeling like my arteries had been clogged up. However, having said that, it didn't quite meet expectations. For starters, it wasn't fragrant enough or tasty enough. It definitely didn't help that portion size was minute. Personally I felt that the only saving grace was the light hint of lotus leaf taste which the rice carried.
Siew Mai ($2 each) - I would say the siew mai was quite good, with predominantly lean meat sans the overwhelming pork taste and a nice smooth skin to boot. Texture wise was also quite pleasing, smooth with the occasional roughage.
Char Siew Pastry ($1.60 each) - Undoubtedly the star of the meal, as agreed on by everyone around the table. The char siew pastry aka char siew sou, in my humble opinion, is really second to none in Singapore. Fragrant with lightly sweet and lean char siew enveloped in a fluffy light pastry with a buttery overtone. One is really not enough. We were so close to ordering another round of this wonderful dish.
Xiao Long Bao ($4 each) - Honestly, $4 for a single Xiao Long Bao is pure madness. However, I'll be the first to admit that the XLB was nothing short of excellent. Bigger than your usual XLB, Yan Ting's offering had copious amounts of soup contained within the soft yet firm skin. Its really amazing how well the skin holds up even though its evident that the juices within are straining to gush out at the slightest break. The filling of meat is tender and smooth as well, capping what I consider to be one of the best XLBs I've eaten in a very long while.
XO Cheong Fun ($4 each) - Another first for me. I've never seen cheong fun done this way before. Stir fried with XO sauce, and tasting very much like our very own Char Kway Teow. Probably I'm just not used to this form of cheong fun as I found it average and very oily. What a bummer for $4.
Radish Cake ($1.60 each) - Pan fried till lightly charred on the surface, the radish cake didn't offer too many surprises. Soft, smooth and tasty but I've definitely tried better ones.
Egg Tart ($1.60 each) - One of only 2 pastry items on the menu (the other being the char siew pastry), the egg tart was excellent as well, due largely in part to the wonderfully light and buttery pastry. Credit must also go to the egg custard filling which was good in its own right, smooth and not too sweet with a slight "eggish" taste. There's the problem of tiny portions though.
BBQ Pork Bun ($1.60 each) - I didn't find the char siew bao very outstanding although it was definitely in the above average region. Soft fluffy bao skin encompassing delectable, not too sweet char siew pieces. Terribly expensive though.
Custard Steamed Bun ($1.60 each) - I have the tendency to always order custard buns whenever and wherever they are available. Yan Ting's rendition didn't leave me impressed. Sure it was piping hot when served but the custard wasn't fragrant or tasty enough. Overall still decent though.
Beancurd Roulette ($1.80 each) - This was unexpectedly different from what I'm used to. The skin in this case was slightly thicker and deep fried till it became crispy and a little hard, just like deep fried spring roll skin. Thicker skins usually absorb more oil, hence it wasn't exactly a very pleasant experience eating the beancurd roulette. But I must say that the filling was actually quite good.
Bird's Nest Jelly - Finally! A bird's nest dessert that doesn't cost an arm or leg. Well almost. The orb shaped jelly had a few strands of birds nest lodged within and I'm pretty sure those would have gone unnoticed it if it wasn't for the fact that I was scrutinizing the jelly for them. Overall a nice and sweet but expensive ending to lunch.
Yan Ting's dim sum was a case of hits and misses but even then, the misses were still above average and very palatable. But there's a price to pay and that amounted to almost $205 for the 5 of us. As mentioned earlier, Yan Ting charges dim sum by the piece so bear that in mind and order wisely or you might just walk away alot poorer. To end off on a high note, the service was very professional and attentive, capping off, in my own humble opinion, an excellent dim sum session.
See all my pictures here.
- 2 more comments »
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!woo, yan ting only 4 star? i'll have thought it will get 5. haha! so where can we find 5 star dim sum?
13 Apr 2008 at 9:55 am
no 5 star dim sum in Singapore so far.
13 Apr 2008 at 11:45 am
high standards! haha
13 Apr 2008 at 1:00 pm