UNO Beef House is one of my favourite place for western food! I believe they are famous for their steaks, but since I'm no steak lover I can't give any steaky recommendations.
But their fish & chips and chicken chops are excellent! Portion is large and prices are reasonable (around $4.50 and above).
It helps that they are so near my home. :) Highly recommended if you happen to be free to drop by.
I totally agree with Natsu, the queuing system at IKEA Restaurant & Cafe made me felt like I was in National Service again! Queuing up and picking up food along the way just feels so much like NS.
In case you are wondering, no that is not a compliment. :)
The food is pretty decent, but the price is a little on the high side. I tried their Chicken Chop Rice.
Finally, getting seats might prove to be difficult with the amount of people there. So be prepared to spend a little time waiting.
It was huge but tiring to explore. I wanted to go Daiso, but had to navigate about half an hour to get there because I'm quite useless when it comes to map-reading (wth coordinates?!).
Shopping-wise, the shops are mostly on the high-end side... though the range is good - you can find anything from electronics to bodycare to apparel (all kinds) to toys. I'll get something from Mango/River Island/Forever 21 once in a while, and that's during sales. :P In general, the shopping mall does not appeal to me that much.
Like tinkerbell, I go there for the food. The food choices are extensive... My faves include White Dog Cafe, SuperDog, and Kim Gary HK Cafe. I don't fancy Food Republic much because the food is over-rated imo.
Usually, I'll only go there when I'm heading there for a meal with my kakis/bf and I only shop if there's nothing else to do on that day.
As this place was situated near the office, me and my colleagues decided to try out this place which was recommended by another colleague.
I was a little skeptical as the place didn't look "posh" and the menu was cheaply made, so I didn't have much expectations. I was quite happy with the service though, because the boss was very friendly.
The first item to arrive was the Lemongrass Salad (Yam Ta Krai). It didn't look impressive at first, but when we tried it... all of us had this OMG expressions on our faces! It was an explosion of flavours - sweet and savoury without being overpowering. The ingredients were very crispy as well. This was definitely a winner, and my favourite for this meal. Bear in mind that I'm usually a loyal meat-lover.
We had a bowl of Tomyam soup, and it was impressive as well. There were soooo much ingredients, and the level of spicy-ness and sourness were just right. The prawns were huge too! We also had Red Curry Duck, which was pretty good as well, but somewhat overshadowed by the Tomyam as we had that first. ^^;
We also had Fried Chicken w/ Cashew (Phad Kai Med Mamuang) and the pieces were very tender and yummy. Lotus has this unique dish - Crispy Kang Kong, which looks like a pile of moldy (okay, battered) seaweed on a plate. However, they taste fantastic! Especially after dipping it in a creamy sauce (I have no idea what sauce it is). The crispiness was perfect, and this is my 2nd favourite dish.
We had Pineapple Rice (Khao Phad Sapparot) as our staple, and the serving was generous (we could barely finish it with 6 hungry people!). The pork floss was complementing the pineapple rice wonderfully.
We didn't have enough tummy-bytes for dessert, but I've tried their Sticky Mango Rice before. It was lovely, but can do without as I believe most will be filled to the brim by the main dishes already.
Finally, the bill. Guess what we paid for this wonderfully satisfying lunch? Less than $12 per person (woah!).
Reviewing what I just wrote, I think I sound pretty exaggerated, but I'm not! Even the fussiest of us loved this place. I'm recommending this place to everyone I know, for sure. :)
Was at Millenia Walk with two girlfriends and I wanted to try out Abof, but the price was alittle high for a casual dinner. So we went to Bab Noodle. Although the name suggested that they serves noodle, but I saw my rice on the menu. To change the rice to noodles is an additional $2. Shouldn't they call it Bab Rice then?
Anyway, the 3 of us ordered 2 starters to share and a main each with iced lychee tea for all of us. There were 3 lady staff at work. And as it was late already, the place was rather empty. We were given all the attention we needed. So this was great. Except for my missing straw in my drink, and the fallen spoon from my table. Other than that, the service was great.
Now the food... the starters - Pidan with cold tofu and Seafood tofu were great! Love the taste. As for the main, I was contemplating between the Sukiyaki Beef Set and the Stew Beef with Karrage Chicken Set. I asked the lady who took our order which she recommends, and Sukiyaki was her choice. So I gave that a try. The serving was rather big for me. I was too full only half way through the set. But then the main problem came when I reached home couple of hours later... yap... had a "blasting" time in the loo... perhaps its the beef. As there were some that I thought looked weird. Or again, might be due to the combo of food I had for dinner. Lucky for me, I feel better now after the blasting.
Total spent by the 3 of us was $58.40.
For the service and attention, I give 2 stars and for the value-for-money set meals I'm giving another. Not going to rate the food as my experience was probably uncalled for.
Which is the reason why I had never stepped into SuperDog until recently. I mean, how could a hotdog "loti" satisfy my appetite?
I was wrong. I decided to give it a try, and ordered a chilli dog. It was OOMPH. The chilli fries is a must-have! The hotdog itself was BIG and juicy. Excellent! Other than being absolutely delicious, it's downright filling. I couldn't even finish my drink!
Very worth the price, and I will definitely visit again. :)
I would like to give 3 and a half stars, but the rating system doesn't allow that... so I rounded it up. :D
Firstly, the muchly raved service. The service was fantastic, and the boss was downright humorous. He's very sincere, and could even identify that me and my boyfriend were a couple (we came in a mixed group)! Service-wise, 5 star for sure. :)
Secondly, the ambience. The place is fairly remote and a little troublesome to find for a first-timer, but I guess that adds some points for a romantic atmosphere and privacy. I loved the candlelit indoors, though it was a little troublesome when taking photos (but that's my lousy camera's fault). The outdoors was romantic too, with all the lights, but it was a little humid at that point of time. 4-stars I suppose.
Thirdly, the food. Frankly, the quality is quite disappointing. The taste was okay, because I'm not a fussy eater, but it doesn't justify the price. The quantity wasn't much too, especially since all of us are fairly big eaters. The dessert was good, but the serving portion was quite small as well. I give this 2-stars.
Had dinner with my parents at Borshch Steakhouse, a Russian restaurant run by a Hainanese (How weird) and just a mere 10 minute walk from our house. Not much is known about Borshch (I tried googling!) except for the fact that its been around since god knows when. I probably wasn't even in existence then!
Going to Borshch for a meal is akin to stepping into an air conditioned grilling area as you walk out of it reeking strongly of cooking fumes. It certainly doesn't help that the place is rather small and crampish which only serves to contain the fumes.
Whats a meal without soup? The cream of mushroom soup was thick and starchy and tasted exactly like the can of Campbell soup I have sitting in my kitchen cabinet. In the same vein, the garlic bread was unremarkable and was merely slices of unevenly toasted but crispy baguettes spread with a thin layer of butter atop.
Shrimp Cocktail - I honestly don't know what to make of this appetiser as the shrimps were really tiny! Not that they tasted fresh either, masked by the overwhelming and over generous salad dressing.
Grilled Pork Chop - For a Hainanese run eatery, I would have expected a reasonably good dish of pork chop and Borshch didn't disappoint. The grilled pork chop was evenly grilled with a nice slightly chewy texture to boot. I did find the slab of meat to be a little too fatty though
Sirloin Steak - I was rather skeptical about ordering a steak in such a place, especially when Astons was just next door. However, skepticism soon turned to mild appreciation as I subjected the steak to the taste test. First of all, the steak was done as per my request, medium rare. Second, the meat was fibrous and a tad tasty even without the accompanying gravy. Portions were also quite respectable for the price. I also personally like this dish for the fact that a small mold of butter was allowed to sizzle in the hotplate to give the meat an added boost in terms of taste and smell.
Fancy Pancake and Peach Melba - The desserts were lousy. I couldn't see or taste what was so fancy about the pancake save for a tiny slice of banana wrapped up in the middle. The ice cream in the Peach Melba had ice chips in it and tasted familiarly like Wall's tub ice cream. Four words. I can do better.
A decently satisfying dinner for 3 cost almost $60, which isn't too expensive to pay considering that the mains were decent and so was the Baked Alaska. Service is practically nonexistent though so please do not expect any. Now, they really should do something about the ventilation.
Xi Yan first opened in Singapore in 2005, bringing along a whole new concept of dining to Singapore with the introduction of private dining whereby tables are extremely limited (think 3-5 tables), reservations are definitely necessary and the chef decides what you eat for that day. It does sound draconian, but the upside is that the menu changes daily, save for a few specialties and dining is exclusive!
Nestled amongst the old shop houses along Craig Road, Xi Yan, as mentioned earlier, is by reservations only and you need a minimum of 6 pax to dine there (exceptions can be made if you do not meet the required number of people, but you need to order the pricier menu. Rule of thumb is - You need to spend about $500-$600/table). The entrance to Xi Yan is discreet, without even a hint of its presence (That explains the difficulty we had in trying to locate it). Here's a clue though. It shares the premises with Sui Japanese Restaurant.
The interior is cosy and modernly furnished with hues of red and brown. Abstract paintings don the sides and ambient lighting is practised. Simplicity at its finesse .
Greenhouse Tomatoes in Sesame Sauce - As the name suggests, the tomatoes are grown in a greenhouse aka organic tomatoes and are much bigger than your average tomato. Not to mention that they cost ridiculously more as well. According to the waiter, these organic tomatoes are juicier and taste better. I am inclined to agree. The tomatoes were juicy and full of bite. With the wasabi infused sesame sauce, the tomato was refreshing and truly an appetizer.
Cold Tofu Pork Floss - Interesting dish with the tofu topped with pork floss, salted egg yolk, dried shrimps and deep fried shallot.A nice combination with the saltiness of the dried shrimp complementing the sweetness of the pork floss with the shallot to give it fragrance. However, the tofu which was supposedly imported from Japan, lacked the silky smoothness which good tofu should have.
Shrimp and Crab Paste on Baguette Toast - A fanciful presentation and preparation method, but tasted nothing out of this world. It is Hong Kong's version of our Heh Bi Hiam. I did find it weird eating bread during a Chinese dinner, but maybe thats just me.
Sichuan Pickles in Spicy Sauce - This dish came with pickles (or jerkins if thats what you know them by) and radish soaked in a spicy concoction of Sichuan peppercorn and a wee bit of sugar. I took a bite of the radish and sweared off it as it was way too sour for my liking. If you like sour and spicy stuff, then this might suit your tastebuds.
Deep Fried Prawns with Salted Egg Yolk - A few grievances about this dish. First of all, the prawns were only averaged sized. For the price we were paying, I had expected huge prawns. Second, the prawns weren't cleaned properly. The innards(or shit if you prefer) could still be seen. The good thing was, the salted egg yolk coating on the prawn shells tasted better with every mouth. It did come across as a little too mild at first though, but the more you suck at the shell, the better the taste.
Stewed Beef Shin with Tangerine Peel - The beef shin was quite good, soft and tender from simmering in the pot for 2 hrs. I could detect a tinge of sweetness as well, probably from the tangerine peel. However, the raw beef taste can be quite overwhelming at times and thats coming from someone who likes steak medium rare.
Sichuan Salivating Chicken - Please do not be mislead by the odd sounding name of this dish. The chicken does not salivate. The sauce is supposed to be so good that it makes the consumer salivate. Quite an audacious claim I must say. Ingredients in this dish are quite interesting actually, with chicken slices, yam noodles, roasted peanuts, chilli, coriander and century egg. I personally found everything normal except for the yam noodles which were surprisingly chewy and full of bite. I've never tried anything like it. Just for the record, this dish did make me salivate, but not from the goodness of the sauce, but from the chilli in it. An underhand method? You decide.
Fried Lemongrass Shrimp Paste Grouper - According to our waiter, many other restaurants would actually steam a good fish in order to exhibit its freshness. But not Xi Yan. What they have done is to deep fry the fish first till its 70% cooked and then coat it with the lemongrass shrimp paste and then deep fry again. The result? A crispy exterior with a soft and moist interior. I laud the skill in the preparation of this dish, but denigrate the quality of the fish. The flesh came across as rather bland, not sweet as I would have expected it to be.
Furong Chicken Soup - This soup was supposedly boiled for 4 hrs before serving. Though relatively long, it still doesn't qualify as double boiled soup and it certainly can't match the other superior soups that I've tried. But still very decent without a doubt.
Young and Old Happy News - Interesting name, uninteresting dish. The young referred to the Dou Miao while the old referred to the preserved vegetables. Lightly fried and beautifully presented, but nothing outstanding.
Tofu Ice Cream on Pandan Glutinous Rice - This was probably the best dish of the day. The ice cream was quite well done but in no way reminded me of tofu. The base of pandan glutinous rice was not too sticky and just right on the texture, tasting pleasantly of pandan. Does this remind you of the Thai style mango atop glutinous rice?
The 6 of us chalked up a hefty bill of $630, which we felt was grossly expensive given the quality of food and ingredients used. Sure its an exclusive novelty, but novelties can only last so long. Service was excellent though and the cooking process of every dish was explained to us by our waiter in great detail. However, that alone is not enough to entice us to return. Not unless the price drops to about $50-$60 per pax down from the $88 .
Hidden in an obscure corner on the third floor of the hotel, Wan Hao doesn't look like much from the outside. However, step in and be wowed by the luxurious and solemn interior which exudes pure unadulterated sophistication and charm. If dining in a party of 4 or less, do try for one of the 4 cosy corner tables that come complete with curtains.
The Wok Fried Fresh Scallop Cubes with Tropical Mango in Fresh Milk and Egg Topped with Crab Roe served on a bed of Vermicelli tasted uncannily like the excellent Shredded Scallop with Fish & Egg White from Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant, except that it was smoother and richer in taste due to the fresh milk. However, the scallop cubes were rather bland and didn't add any life to the dish. Not that this dish wasn't good though. In fact I like it enough to want to order it again when I return.
The Poached Live Prawns came deshelled, with the exception of the head. The prawns were bigger than your usual ones and were extremely fresh, crunchy and juicy. Add that to the fact that they were perfectly cooked and drenched in a garlic concoction which served to complement the natural sweetness of the prawns. Definitely a winner! But at $90/kg, you might want to think long and hard before placing your order.
The Homemade Seaweed Beancurd Topped with Shredded Abalone, Dried Seafood and Vegetables didn't quite meet expectations. The tofu, though soft, was flat in taste and lacked the natural wholesome goodness of the one I had at Li Bai. The vegetables were cooked in a way that I personally dislike - soft with thick gravy.
The Crispy Boneless Chicken Stir Fried with Fresh Strawberry in Honey and Lemon Sauce was a bummer. I thought this dish would be interesting with the use of fruits to enhance the taste of the chicken, but oh boy, was I wrong. The chicken tasted exactly like Sweet and Sour Pork, albeit of a softer texture. The sweetness from the honey didn't exactly go well with the chicken. It tasted a little too strong and the strawberries didn't really make much of an impact on the dish. But having said that, its still an above average dish.
With a name like Chilled Coconut with Sea Coconut, I had expected fresh chilled Coconut meat served with Sea Coconut, but that was not to be. It is actually a layer of Coconut jelly and a few slices of Sea Coconut served in a small Coconut husk on a bed of ice. This is one dish that would score high marks for presentation. I guess you can tell why just from looking at the picture. And it was rather pleasing to boot. The coconut jelly had a strong coconut taste and coupled with the thick and sweet syrup, it was a pleasure to consume. The Sea Coconut tasted rather normal though.
UNO Beef House is one of my favourite place for western food! I believe they are famous for their steaks, but since I'm no steak lover I can't give any steaky recommendations.
But their fish & chips and chicken chops are excellent! Portion is large and prices are reasonable (around $4.50 and above).
It helps that they are so near my home. :) Highly recommended if you happen to be free to drop by.
Rating given:
I totally agree with Natsu, the queuing system at IKEA Restaurant & Cafe made me felt like I was in National Service again! Queuing up and picking up food along the way just feels so much like NS.
In case you are wondering, no that is not a compliment. :)
The food is pretty decent, but the price is a little on the high side. I tried their Chicken Chop Rice.
Finally, getting seats might prove to be difficult with the amount of people there. So be prepared to spend a little time waiting.
Rating given:
It was huge but tiring to explore. I wanted to go Daiso, but had to navigate about half an hour to get there because I'm quite useless when it comes to map-reading (wth coordinates?!).
Shopping-wise, the shops are mostly on the high-end side... though the range is good - you can find anything from electronics to bodycare to apparel (all kinds) to toys. I'll get something from Mango/River Island/Forever 21 once in a while, and that's during sales. :P In general, the shopping mall does not appeal to me that much.
Like tinkerbell, I go there for the food. The food choices are extensive... My faves include White Dog Cafe, SuperDog, and Kim Gary HK Cafe. I don't fancy Food Republic much because the food is over-rated imo.
Usually, I'll only go there when I'm heading there for a meal with my kakis/bf and I only shop if there's nothing else to do on that day.
Rating given:
As this place was situated near the office, me and my colleagues decided to try out this place which was recommended by another colleague.
I was a little skeptical as the place didn't look "posh" and the menu was cheaply made, so I didn't have much expectations. I was quite happy with the service though, because the boss was very friendly.
The first item to arrive was the Lemongrass Salad (Yam Ta Krai). It didn't look impressive at first, but when we tried it... all of us had this OMG expressions on our faces! It was an explosion of flavours - sweet and savoury without being overpowering. The ingredients were very crispy as well. This was definitely a winner, and my favourite for this meal. Bear in mind that I'm usually a loyal meat-lover.
We had a bowl of Tomyam soup, and it was impressive as well. There were soooo much ingredients, and the level of spicy-ness and sourness were just right. The prawns were huge too! We also had Red Curry Duck, which was pretty good as well, but somewhat overshadowed by the Tomyam as we had that first. ^^;
We also had Fried Chicken w/ Cashew (Phad Kai Med Mamuang) and the pieces were very tender and yummy. Lotus has this unique dish - Crispy Kang Kong, which looks like a pile of moldy (okay, battered) seaweed on a plate. However, they taste fantastic! Especially after dipping it in a creamy sauce (I have no idea what sauce it is). The crispiness was perfect, and this is my 2nd favourite dish.
We had Pineapple Rice (Khao Phad Sapparot) as our staple, and the serving was generous (we could barely finish it with 6 hungry people!). The pork floss was complementing the pineapple rice wonderfully.
We didn't have enough tummy-bytes for dessert, but I've tried their Sticky Mango Rice before. It was lovely, but can do without as I believe most will be filled to the brim by the main dishes already.
Finally, the bill. Guess what we paid for this wonderfully satisfying lunch? Less than $12 per person (woah!).
Reviewing what I just wrote, I think I sound pretty exaggerated, but I'm not! Even the fussiest of us loved this place. I'm recommending this place to everyone I know, for sure. :)
Rating given:
Was at Millenia Walk with two girlfriends and I wanted to try out Abof, but the price was alittle high for a casual dinner. So we went to Bab Noodle. Although the name suggested that they serves noodle, but I saw my rice on the menu. To change the rice to noodles is an additional $2. Shouldn't they call it Bab Rice then?
Anyway, the 3 of us ordered 2 starters to share and a main each with iced lychee tea for all of us. There were 3 lady staff at work. And as it was late already, the place was rather empty. We were given all the attention we needed. So this was great. Except for my missing straw in my drink, and the fallen spoon from my table. Other than that, the service was great.
Now the food... the starters - Pidan with cold tofu and Seafood tofu were great! Love the taste. As for the main, I was contemplating between the Sukiyaki Beef Set and the Stew Beef with Karrage Chicken Set. I asked the lady who took our order which she recommends, and Sukiyaki was her choice. So I gave that a try. The serving was rather big for me. I was too full only half way through the set. But then the main problem came when I reached home couple of hours later... yap... had a "blasting" time in the loo... perhaps its the beef. As there were some that I thought looked weird. Or again, might be due to the combo of food I had for dinner. Lucky for me, I feel better now after the blasting.
Total spent by the 3 of us was $58.40.
For the service and attention, I give 2 stars and for the value-for-money set meals I'm giving another. Not going to rate the food as my experience was probably uncalled for.
Rating given:
I eat like a horse.
Which is the reason why I had never stepped into SuperDog until recently. I mean, how could a hotdog "loti" satisfy my appetite?
I was wrong. I decided to give it a try, and ordered a chilli dog. It was OOMPH. The chilli fries is a must-have! The hotdog itself was BIG and juicy. Excellent! Other than being absolutely delicious, it's downright filling. I couldn't even finish my drink!
Very worth the price, and I will definitely visit again. :)
Rating given:
I would like to give 3 and a half stars, but the rating system doesn't allow that... so I rounded it up. :D
Firstly, the muchly raved service. The service was fantastic, and the boss was downright humorous. He's very sincere, and could even identify that me and my boyfriend were a couple (we came in a mixed group)! Service-wise, 5 star for sure. :)
Secondly, the ambience. The place is fairly remote and a little troublesome to find for a first-timer, but I guess that adds some points for a romantic atmosphere and privacy. I loved the candlelit indoors, though it was a little troublesome when taking photos (but that's my lousy camera's fault). The outdoors was romantic too, with all the lights, but it was a little humid at that point of time. 4-stars I suppose.
Thirdly, the food. Frankly, the quality is quite disappointing. The taste was okay, because I'm not a fussy eater, but it doesn't justify the price. The quantity wasn't much too, especially since all of us are fairly big eaters. The dessert was good, but the serving portion was quite small as well. I give this 2-stars.
I might not go back again, but it's worth a try.
Rating given:
Had dinner with my parents at Borshch Steakhouse, a Russian restaurant run by a Hainanese (How weird) and just a mere 10 minute walk from our house. Not much is known about Borshch (I tried googling!) except for the fact that its been around since god knows when. I probably wasn't even in existence then!
Going to Borshch for a meal is akin to stepping into an air conditioned grilling area as you walk out of it reeking strongly of cooking fumes. It certainly doesn't help that the place is rather small and crampish which only serves to contain the fumes.
Whats a meal without soup? The cream of mushroom soup was thick and starchy and tasted exactly like the can of Campbell soup I have sitting in my kitchen cabinet. In the same vein, the garlic bread was unremarkable and was merely slices of unevenly toasted but crispy baguettes spread with a thin layer of butter atop.
Shrimp Cocktail - I honestly don't know what to make of this appetiser as the shrimps were really tiny! Not that they tasted fresh either, masked by the overwhelming and over generous salad dressing.
Grilled Pork Chop - For a Hainanese run eatery, I would have expected a reasonably good dish of pork chop and Borshch didn't disappoint. The grilled pork chop was evenly grilled with a nice slightly chewy texture to boot. I did find the slab of meat to be a little too fatty though
Sirloin Steak - I was rather skeptical about ordering a steak in such a place, especially when Astons was just next door. However, skepticism soon turned to mild appreciation as I subjected the steak to the taste test. First of all, the steak was done as per my request, medium rare. Second, the meat was fibrous and a tad tasty even without the accompanying gravy. Portions were also quite respectable for the price. I also personally like this dish for the fact that a small mold of butter was allowed to sizzle in the hotplate to give the meat an added boost in terms of taste and smell.
Fancy Pancake and Peach Melba - The desserts were lousy. I couldn't see or taste what was so fancy about the pancake save for a tiny slice of banana wrapped up in the middle. The ice cream in the Peach Melba had ice chips in it and tasted familiarly like Wall's tub ice cream. Four words. I can do better.
Baked Alaska - No visit to a Russian eatery is complete without an order of the famous Baked Alaska, which is essentially ice cream and sponge cake encased within a thick layer of meringue which is then briefly placed in an extremely hot oven to firm the meringue. Borshch's rendition was a slight variation of the original concept, opting to pour a small quantity of rum onto the meringue and flambéing it till it turned a shade of burnt. I personally found it quite good, with the meringue frothy and blending well with the sponge cake and ice cream. Then again, not many places in Singapore do up this dish so its hard to form any basis for comparison. Please note that this dessert is meant to be shared.
A decently satisfying dinner for 3 cost almost $60, which isn't too expensive to pay considering that the mains were decent and so was the Baked Alaska. Service is practically nonexistent though so please do not expect any. Now, they really should do something about the ventilation.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
Xi Yan first opened in Singapore in 2005, bringing along a whole new concept of dining to Singapore with the introduction of private dining whereby tables are extremely limited (think 3-5 tables), reservations are definitely necessary and the chef decides what you eat for that day. It does sound draconian, but the upside is that the menu changes daily, save for a few specialties and dining is exclusive!
Nestled amongst the old shop houses along Craig Road, Xi Yan, as mentioned earlier, is by reservations only and you need a minimum of 6 pax to dine there (exceptions can be made if you do not meet the required number of people, but you need to order the pricier menu. Rule of thumb is - You need to spend about $500-$600/table). The entrance to Xi Yan is discreet, without even a hint of its presence (That explains the difficulty we had in trying to locate it). Here's a clue though. It shares the premises with Sui Japanese Restaurant.
The interior is cosy and modernly furnished with hues of red and brown. Abstract paintings don the sides and ambient lighting is practised. Simplicity at its finesse .
Greenhouse Tomatoes in Sesame Sauce - As the name suggests, the tomatoes are grown in a greenhouse aka organic tomatoes and are much bigger than your average tomato. Not to mention that they cost ridiculously more as well. According to the waiter, these organic tomatoes are juicier and taste better. I am inclined to agree. The tomatoes were juicy and full of bite. With the wasabi infused sesame sauce, the tomato was refreshing and truly an appetizer.
Cold Tofu Pork Floss - Interesting dish with the tofu topped with pork floss, salted egg yolk, dried shrimps and deep fried shallot.A nice combination with the saltiness of the dried shrimp complementing the sweetness of the pork floss with the shallot to give it fragrance. However, the tofu which was supposedly imported from Japan, lacked the silky smoothness which good tofu should have.
Shrimp and Crab Paste on Baguette Toast - A fanciful presentation and preparation method, but tasted nothing out of this world. It is Hong Kong's version of our Heh Bi Hiam. I did find it weird eating bread during a Chinese dinner, but maybe thats just me.
Sichuan Pickles in Spicy Sauce - This dish came with pickles (or jerkins if thats what you know them by) and radish soaked in a spicy concoction of Sichuan peppercorn and a wee bit of sugar. I took a bite of the radish and sweared off it as it was way too sour for my liking. If you like sour and spicy stuff, then this might suit your tastebuds.
Deep Fried Prawns with Salted Egg Yolk - A few grievances about this dish. First of all, the prawns were only averaged sized. For the price we were paying, I had expected huge prawns. Second, the prawns weren't cleaned properly. The innards(or shit if you prefer) could still be seen. The good thing was, the salted egg yolk coating on the prawn shells tasted better with every mouth. It did come across as a little too mild at first though, but the more you suck at the shell, the better the taste.
Stewed Beef Shin with Tangerine Peel - The beef shin was quite good, soft and tender from simmering in the pot for 2 hrs. I could detect a tinge of sweetness as well, probably from the tangerine peel. However, the raw beef taste can be quite overwhelming at times and thats coming from someone who likes steak medium rare.
Sichuan Salivating Chicken - Please do not be mislead by the odd sounding name of this dish. The chicken does not salivate. The sauce is supposed to be so good that it makes the consumer salivate. Quite an audacious claim I must say. Ingredients in this dish are quite interesting actually, with chicken slices, yam noodles, roasted peanuts, chilli, coriander and century egg. I personally found everything normal except for the yam noodles which were surprisingly chewy and full of bite. I've never tried anything like it. Just for the record, this dish did make me salivate, but not from the goodness of the sauce, but from the chilli in it. An underhand method? You decide.
Fried Lemongrass Shrimp Paste Grouper - According to our waiter, many other restaurants would actually steam a good fish in order to exhibit its freshness. But not Xi Yan. What they have done is to deep fry the fish first till its 70% cooked and then coat it with the lemongrass shrimp paste and then deep fry again. The result? A crispy exterior with a soft and moist interior. I laud the skill in the preparation of this dish, but denigrate the quality of the fish. The flesh came across as rather bland, not sweet as I would have expected it to be.
Furong Chicken Soup - This soup was supposedly boiled for 4 hrs before serving. Though relatively long, it still doesn't qualify as double boiled soup and it certainly can't match the other superior soups that I've tried. But still very decent without a doubt.
Young and Old Happy News - Interesting name, uninteresting dish. The young referred to the Dou Miao while the old referred to the preserved vegetables. Lightly fried and beautifully presented, but nothing outstanding.
Tofu Ice Cream on Pandan Glutinous Rice - This was probably the best dish of the day. The ice cream was quite well done but in no way reminded me of tofu. The base of pandan glutinous rice was not too sticky and just right on the texture, tasting pleasantly of pandan. Does this remind you of the Thai style mango atop glutinous rice?
The 6 of us chalked up a hefty bill of $630, which we felt was grossly expensive given the quality of food and ingredients used. Sure its an exclusive novelty, but novelties can only last so long. Service was excellent though and the cooking process of every dish was explained to us by our waiter in great detail. However, that alone is not enough to entice us to return. Not unless the price drops to about $50-$60 per pax down from the $88 .
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
Hidden in an obscure corner on the third floor of the hotel, Wan Hao doesn't look like much from the outside. However, step in and be wowed by the luxurious and solemn interior which exudes pure unadulterated sophistication and charm. If dining in a party of 4 or less, do try for one of the 4 cosy corner tables that come complete with curtains.
The Wok Fried Fresh Scallop Cubes with Tropical Mango in Fresh Milk and Egg Topped with Crab Roe served on a bed of Vermicelli tasted uncannily like the excellent Shredded Scallop with Fish & Egg White from Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant, except that it was smoother and richer in taste due to the fresh milk. However, the scallop cubes were rather bland and didn't add any life to the dish. Not that this dish wasn't good though. In fact I like it enough to want to order it again when I return.
The Poached Live Prawns came deshelled, with the exception of the head. The prawns were bigger than your usual ones and were extremely fresh, crunchy and juicy. Add that to the fact that they were perfectly cooked and drenched in a garlic concoction which served to complement the natural sweetness of the prawns. Definitely a winner! But at $90/kg, you might want to think long and hard before placing your order.
The Homemade Seaweed Beancurd Topped with Shredded Abalone, Dried Seafood and Vegetables didn't quite meet expectations. The tofu, though soft, was flat in taste and lacked the natural wholesome goodness of the one I had at Li Bai. The vegetables were cooked in a way that I personally dislike - soft with thick gravy.
The Crispy Boneless Chicken Stir Fried with Fresh Strawberry in Honey and Lemon Sauce was a bummer. I thought this dish would be interesting with the use of fruits to enhance the taste of the chicken, but oh boy, was I wrong. The chicken tasted exactly like Sweet and Sour Pork, albeit of a softer texture. The sweetness from the honey didn't exactly go well with the chicken. It tasted a little too strong and the strawberries didn't really make much of an impact on the dish. But having said that, its still an above average dish.
With a name like Chilled Coconut with Sea Coconut, I had expected fresh chilled Coconut meat served with Sea Coconut, but that was not to be. It is actually a layer of Coconut jelly and a few slices of Sea Coconut served in a small Coconut husk on a bed of ice. This is one dish that would score high marks for presentation. I guess you can tell why just from looking at the picture. And it was rather pleasing to boot. The coconut jelly had a strong coconut taste and coupled with the thick and sweet syrup, it was a pleasure to consume. The Sea Coconut tasted rather normal though.
See all my pictures here
Rating given: