feizhu's Reviews
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Hidden in a secluded area just along Chu Lin Road, off the Hillview estate, La Noce, which means "Walnut", is a tiny eatery which can probably hold about 35 pax. The interior is simply furnished and instantly puts one at ease with its cosiness and warmth. Please be warned that its not an easy place to find but if you do find it, there's free valet parking available. And public transport is a big no no, unless you are willing to walk.
The complimentary bread was a joke. Charred on the outside and dry on the inside. It wasn't served warm as well. What else can I say?
Vitello Tonnato - For $18, I had honestly expected more. Sure, the veal was thinly sliced but the taste was overwhelmed by the tuna sauce so much so that you could have substituted the veal with ham and I wouldn't really be able to tell the difference. Still a decent dish though.
Ravioli White Truffle - You could have imagined my delight when I heard from our waiter that La Noce was actually doing a special of White Truffle Ravioli. Honestly, for $24 a pop, I certainly didn't expect much. However, what I got was way below expectations. The white truffle flakes, if any, were drowned by the cream sauce which was a pity really, considering that white truffles have to be eaten with something light to bring out its aroma and taste. The stuffing inside the Ravioli, which our waiter claimed was made from white truffles (a most unbelievable statement considering the prohibitive prices of white truffles), tasted like mashed up cheese and together with the cream sauce, made for a nausea inducing dish.
Quattro Stagioni - The Stagioni, or 4 seasons pizza as it's also known, was decent but not outstanding. The crust, though thin, was way too hard and I had problems cutting through it. Quantity of ingredients was sufficient though.
La Noce Souffle - This has got to be one of the lousier Chocolate Souffles that I've ever eaten. Minimal chocolate oozed out of the cake when I broke through the crust, which was a bummer really. The texture of the cake didn't taste like cake, but more of kueh, soft and a tad elastic. And $14 for this is a joke.
Dessert Platter - Tiramisu, pine nuts pie, Panna Cotta and Profiteroles made up the dessert platter and honestly, none were outstanding, all average at best. The tiramisu has no alcohol in it, which would still have been acceptable if it was fluffy and moist - both of which were lacking. The profiteroles were reminiscent of the ones in France, freshly drenched in chocolate and served. The only glaring difference was that the ones from La Noce were drenched in chocolate and then left to sit before serving, which made the pastry rather soft.
Sadly, even the quintessential panna cotta wasn't up to the mark. It wasn't very quivery or sweet enough. The pine nut pie was the best of the lot, with the pine but filling light yet tasty. But still not outstanding.
$490 for 7 pax is honestly a case of too little, too much. Too little in terms of quality/value and too much in terms of cost. Service is excellent and so is the hospitality of Chef Salvatore, but he needs to bring back the standards of PaPi before I'll even considering stepping in again.
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Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Sound like a waste of money...
20 Dec 2007 at 11:16 pm
Honestly, it was.
21 Dec 2007 at 12:15 am
Occupying just a small unit along the bustling Roberston Walk, Epicurious does mostly al fresco seating with the exception of 3 small tables in its tiny interior which seem to suffer from cooling problems (read. Where's the airconditioning?) The al fresco area has big blower fans to cool the area though, which is probably why people usually choose to sit outside instead of inside (from my observations).
Epicurious Burger - Read many good things about the burger so thought I would give it a shot with the works ($4 for an addition of egg, cheese and bacon) First looks, it didn't come across as impressive as the one from Wild Rocket, especially in the size department. Taste wise was pretty decent though. The beef patty could have been a little less cooked but still managed to retain its juiciness and taste. Add the egg, cheese and bacon in and you get one hearty burger. I didn't like the bread though, which was a little too toasted, rendering it hard. The accompanying fries were just overfried and too salty.
Herb Roasted Half Chicken - The chicken was nice without being too strong on the herbs, a bane that most such dishes suffer from. However, the portions could have been bigger and I personally would have liked it to be a little more sour so as to bring out the contrast.
Hazelnut Cheesecake - Interestingly, the hazelnut cheesecake came topped with strawberries. That aside, it was actually quite good, with the cheese relatively light and airy without being too overwhelming. The base was a concoction of dark chocolate and orange peel, which was certainly something different.
$55 for 2 mains and 1 dessert might seem to be pushing the boundaries for reasonable pricing. But food is pretty decent and the place is rather cosy with good service. Worth a visit if you are in the vicinity and dont want to bust your budget dining at the fancier outfits.
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Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!So when can we try Muthu's Flourless Chocolate Cake?
18 Dec 2007 at 12:31 am
I went back again with her. Still didn't try it lol.
18 Dec 2007 at 4:44 pm
Unpretentiously located along East Coast Road just before Siglap Centre, Sushi Jiro plays neighbour to the more illustrious Perle Noir, which incidentally, is never open for lunch. The decor is simple and you get to dine in private tatami rooms which can probably seat about 2-8 pax.
I've honestly not eaten enough Chawamushi to gauge whether Sushi Jiro's rendition was good, but I did like it for coming across as light on the palate. The addition of orange peel to the rather watery base was a nice touch as it introduced a slightly bitter dimension to the dish.
Wakadori Karaage - The chicken was nice and crispy but tasted like it had too much oil. Every bite brought forth a secretion of juices (oil water), which got me worrying for my health really.
Eihire - This dish piqued my curiosity quite a bit as I've never eaten stingray fins before. Lightly grilled, the fins were interesting but not something I would order again. It seemed rather salty for starters and when eaten with the mayonnaise, the flavours didn't seem to complement, to the extent of being weird.
Tempura Moriawase - Almost a staple regardless of which Japanese restaurant I patronise, the tempura batter was thin and light but a little too bland for my liking. I did like the prawns that came with it though, huge, fresh and sweet. The other stuff were rather average.
California Maki - I can't think of a better word than average to describe the California Maki. Rice was of the right texture but seemed a little too scattered. The only plus point was that it was covered with roe.
I would say that overall the meal was very average but the tatami rooms did make for a more private and enjoyable lunch. However, $58 for 2 pax might seem a little steep especially for the quality and quantity of food. That said, service is good and they have a rather novel system (at least in Singapore) of catching the wait staff's attention, which is to clap your hands.
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Housed in a small shop along East Coast Road in the Siglap area, Werner's has been featured in various television programs as well as articles touting its authentic and tasty German food. The interior is simple yet homely complete with a bar counter and nice Christmas look a like decorations.
Fried Camembert - Interestingly, when I first ordered this dish, I had hoped it would be on par with the one I had at Senso some time back. Unfortunately, it wasn't half as good although I have to admit that the cheese was nice and a little molten in the centre while the exterior was deep fried to a crisp. Would have preferred the core to be a little firmer though as it did seem a little too gooey for my liking.
In all honesty, the calamari was good the first few pieces as the batter tasted like those you would find on onion rings. You might wonder why its only the first few pieces. Well because the batter was way too oily and when eaten with the accompanying Mayonnaise, rendered me nauseous really fast, especially when everything turned cold.
Fleischkase - German Meatloaf with Sauteed Potatoes and Fried Egg - I shall refrain from complaining, but the Fleischkase was a joke! It really tasted like luncheon meat to me, albeit of a more substantial chunk and less salty variation. For the price, I rather eat luncheon meat!
Schmorbraten - Beef Pot Roast with Dumpling, Boiled Potatoes - The Schmorbraten's gravy looked and tasted a little too dense but the beef was still acceptable - nice and tasty but a little too chewy. Nothing fantastic though and I probably wouldn't order this again.
Rote Grutze - Sweet Sour Cherry and Raspberry Sago with Vanilla Sauce - A rather interesting dish and I must admit that I've never tried it before. However, it wasn't as special as I had made it out to be. The sago came submerged under a layer of vanilla sauce and its texture reminded me of jam. So just imagine jam under a layer of creamy tasting sauce. Not something I'll order again as it was a little too weird for me.
Baked Cream Cheese Cake - I wasn't too impressed with the cheesecake as it wasn't as creamy as I would have liked it to be and the accompanying ice cream tasted like king's ice cream! Decent nevertheless.
$78 for lunch for 3 pax is really expensive given the quality of food. I would be hard pressed to find a reason to return, rave reviews in the media or not. On a side note, Werner's operates a bakery just next door as well, which sells some really cool German bread.
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Located at a rather prominent row of shops along the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE), Chako is ironically hidden from sight and totally devoid of human traffic on a Tuesday evening. Not that I'm complaining though. The interior was tiny and oozed a homely feel made complete by a shelf full of Japanese comics and the motherly figure of Chako, who fussed over us and explained to us in detail the items on the menu (which happens to be in Japanese by the way).
The Occha deserves a mention on its own. Unlike the usual Occha served at most other Japanese eateries, the Occha here was particularly fragrant and carried a whiff of coffee aroma. It had a tinge of coffee taste as well which was delightful.
The sides of Miso Soup and Cold Tofu came with every order of a main course. What I liked about the Miso soup was that there were cockles in it, which was something different. However the soup did come across as a tad too salty for my liking. The tofu was soft and silky but nothing out of the ordinary.
My Hanburg steak was nice and thick but a little too soft for my liking. Meat was pan fried till well done instead of the usual medium/medium rare which would have been tastier and juicier. Simply done without the frills and very decent.
Served up with various vegetables like lettuce, carrots, egg plants etc, the Yakiniku Chicken was relatively well done. Crispy on the outside and not too heavy on the BBQ sauce. Add the fact that it was topped with a generous amount of crushed peanuts and you have a nice yet simple dish.
The vanilla soya bean ice cream came across as light, tasting of soya with a tinge of vanilla. It came with cut fruits which had been carefully prepared, ie. the grapes had the head cut off and the pear has its skin removed.
I'm not exactly a fan of yoghurt but the mango yoghurt wasn't half as bad as I made it out to be. Slightly sourish with a dash of mango. I understand that both desserts are hand made by Chako herself.
We were the only 2 customers in the restaurant that evening and it was a long dinner, standing at 2.5hrs and costing $55. Expensive? A little. Food quality? Decent. Satisfaction from a home cooked dinner? Priceless. On a side note, please be prepared to wait for your food as it is a one man show. If you can't understand Japanese, please bring along something to read to while away the long waiting times.
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Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Hmm sounds good.. $55 for a homecooked sort of meal might be a bit ex but it sounded like a good experience. Will try if I can get myself there. :P
22 Nov 2007 at 12:46 am
Its rather accessible by bus I think. :)
22 Nov 2007 at 10:07 am