WELCOME TO YEBBER
You can use your Facebook Account to register in Yebber and start reviewing your favourite or least favourite businesses
Please click the login button below and proceed to create a new Yebber ID at the next step.
Food & Beverage
Click here for future month
1=SGD 0.0587
On my last visit to Romano Ristorante, I spotted this restaurant going by the name of Madam Q Steakhouse just next to it and with a large placard outside advertising its set dinner for only $18.90 . That was good enough reason for me to return just to try it out.
Ironically, I didn't order the set menu and neither did my dining companions as it didn't really look very appetising. That aside, the place was simply done up but rather tiny and not to mention noisy with all the incessant chatter. What I liked about it though, was its dim lighting and nice cosy corner bench like seats which came with cushions.
Haloumi Cheese - Deep Fried Cheese with Tomato Pizzaiola Sauce - What started out as a potential drool inducing dish was nothing more than a farce. The cheese was way too chewy and bland to be even considered cheese. On top of that, the batter coating, though crispy, was a little too thick for my liking. Overall the whole dish was a joke. Nowhere in comparison to the excellent rendition that Senso dishes up.
Cheese and Tomato Bruschetta - Toasted French Bread Topped with Tomatoes and Cheese - Another joke if you ask me. The bruschetta was nothing more than a slice of toasted baguette topped with tomatoes and then covered with a layer of melting cheese. Tasted like it as well. I'm pretty sure I can do this easily at home myself and not even have to fork out a third of the price that it goes for at Madam Q's.
Beef Stew "English Style" - Beef Chunks Stewed to Perfection, with Mashed Potatoes and Carrots - First of all, I can't claim to know what exactly constitutes "English style" beef stew, but I have eaten enough beef stew to know that this one wasn't exactly stewed to perfection. For one, the beef chunks were a wee bit too soft and didn't come across as very fibrous. This dish kinda reminded me of beef redang, minus the spiciness. Decent dish though.
Barracka Chicken - Chicken Breast with Garlic sauce, Sauteed Potatoes and Vegetables - The chicken breast was a little too over grilled as evident from the charred bits along the edges. Even with the garlic sauce, the meat was still tasteless, which goes to show how strong the sauce was. To give it credit, the meat was still decently tender and succulent but portions could have been bigger.
Fish & Chips - The dish with the largest serving of the day, the humble fish & chips. Incidentally, it was probably one of the most value for money dishes that evening. Two large slabs of not exactly very fresh fish coated in decent batter, deep fried and then served with fries and vegetables. Ironically, this dish was meant to be for the kids, as told to us by the friendly owner.
Grilled Chicken in Mushroom Sauce - Grilled Chicken Thigh served with Pasta in Mushroom Sauce - Oily oily oily. That was the first impression I had when I saw the dish. The pasta was literally laden with excess olive oil and it reminded me of eating Hokkien Mee sans the Wok Hei taste. The grilled chicken was bland, just like the Barracka Chicken. A most disappointing and unhealthy dish if you ask me.
Tiramisu - I have come to realise that many eateries claim the Tiramisu as their signature dish, which really makes you wonder about the standard of Tiramisu nowadays. For a steakhouse, Madam Q's Tiramisu was actually quite decent, or more appropriately, the star of the evening (Not that it was excellent or anything close. It just happened to be the best amongst the myriad of mediocre dishes). For once I could actually taste the sponge yet at the same time enjoy the light as air cream. A note on the excessive sprinkling of chocolate powder atop though. I almost chocked on it.
Although prices were rather inexpensive, standing at about $86 for 4 pax, we were barely full after the dinner and not the least bit satisfied with the quality. Service was good though, especially with the affable boss walking around to make small talk with customers. But service only forms a smaller portion of the equation. Quality of food takes up the rest. At the end of the day, is Madam Q really a steakhouse as its name suggests, or is it an Italian restaurant, as characterised by the type of food it serves? I really wonder.
See my pictures here
Rating given:
Old style steak houses are slowly disappearing with time and taking with them memories of the culinary scene of yesteryear. Many such restaurants have revamped themselves to catch up with modern times, leaving but a pitiful few to keep the line. Mariners' Corner Restaurant & Steakhouse is one such restaurant which still hangs on to a part of history.
Inconspicuously located at the ground floor of Maritime House along Cantonment Road, Mariners' Corner has been around since 1984 and mainly catered to seafarers who dropped by the Singapore Mariner's Club. Decked out to look like a ship cabin, the interior exuded a sense of coziness and warm nostalgia with its carpeted floors, wooden panelings and checkered table cloths.
Mushroom Soup with Garlic Bread - The mushroom soup tasted like your straight out of the can Campbell soup, which was still quite decent while the garlic bread, though generous size wise, tasted nothing out of the ordinary.
Escargot Gastrome - Its been ages since I last ate Escargots. Used to have them on a regular basis when I was in Canada but stopped altogether when I returned to Singapore because of their prohibitively expensive prices here. Well I finally broke the duck and ordered half a dozen at $8, which is rather cheap if you ask me. The Escargots were baked with garlic and butter and came across as very fragrant and tasty with a rather strong garlic taste. Not that I'm complaining though as the garlic helps to mask the rawness of the flesh. However, having said that, I still prefer my Escargots baked with a layer of cheese on top. Just a subtle reminder, please do not expect top quality Escargots for the price though.
Ribeye Steak Combo with Skewered Prawn - Ribeye steak with prawns on a kebab. Whats not to like? Plenty actually. The steak, though done up medium rare and of relatively generous portions, was a little soft and limp texture wise. The accompanying mushroom sauce was flavourful though and complemented the lightly charred taste of the steak.
While the steak was still decent, the skewered prawns were a let down. Served with mushrooms and other vegetables, the prawns were unfresh and probably a little undercooked. The only positive thing was that the restaurant actually took the effort to remove the innards of the prawns before grilling it.
Grilled Lobster with Boneless Chicken Fillet - I was shocked by the size of the lobster when this dish came into view. It was huge, at least for the price. Having said that, the amount of meat that came with the lobster was pathetic, weighing in no more than 2 mouthfuls. On top of that, the meat was a little too dry and tough. The chicken fared a little better, with the meat nicely marinated with garlic and pepper, giving it a nice pepperish taste. With the accompanying mushroom sauce, it actually tasted quite decent.
Dinner for 2 in a relaxing environment with excellent service cost about $55, which isn't too much to pay considering we had steak, lobsters, escargots and other stuff like free flow salad, dessert, soft drinks and soup which came with the set meal. Sure, this isn't the best place to enjoy a good quality dinner, not even close. But it makes you feel right at home and prices are considerably cheap for what you get. So if you do go, lower your expectations, kick back and relax.
See my pictures here
Rating given:
The venue for the September edition of our monthly dinner was the much anticipated Hai Tien Lo. After all the rather substandard monthly dinners we had been having over the last 2 months, it was decided that a road more familiar would be taken for once and the patronising of new places would be left to subsequent dinners. For my previous write ups on Hai Tien Lo, please see here, here and here
If you have read all my writeups on Hai Tien Lo, you would have noticed that Peking duck has always been on the order list and there was no exception this time round as well. The skin was as I remembered it to be, crisp with minimal fats and wrapped in nice and thin pancakes. However, the meat was a little disappointing on this occasion. Some parts of the meat were a little dry and tough while some were fine. Not evenly roasted if you ask me. But its still good.
Hai Tien Lo Homemade Beancurd with Minced Pork & Pine Mushroom Sauce - A signature dish of Hai Tien Lo, the tofu was a little lacklustre today. Sure, it was still silky and smooth, but I personally found the taste a little too weak as compared to a similar dish I had on a previous occasion. Nevertheless, the gravy did make up for it some sort as it came across as a little starchy and full of flavours from the minced pork and mushroom.
Sautéed Snow Peas with Deep Fried Crispy Dried Scallops & Fermented Mustard Vegetables - Not a particularly exciting dish, the snow peas were crunchy and fresh though and went well with the slightly salty mustard vegetables or Cai Por as most people know it. Sadly, the dried scallops didn't really taste like scallops. In fact it didn't have much taste at all. Maybe its purpose was just to provide a nice crisp to the whole dish.
Sautéed Silvers of Ostrich with Honey Pepper Sauce - A rather exotic dish which you don't commonly find elsewhere, the ostrich meat tasted to me like a softer rendition of pork and was mildy sweet and pepperish from the sauce. Served atop a bed of fresh crunchy snow peas, the colour contrast was boldly striking and enticing.
Sautéed Scallops & Lobster with Garlic - I didn't expect this dish to come with asparagus as an added bonus. The lobster pieces were relatively fresh and crunchy and so were the scallops, which were both generous in size and quantity. Whats not to like?
Steamed Prawns with Mashed Garlic Served in Bamboo Basket - Humongous fresh and crunchy prawns steamed and served with a nice flavourful garlic sauce, the steamed prawns were rightly one of the stars for the evening. A pity we were only allocated 2 pieces of prawns each.
Stewed Fish Noodles with Ginger & Spring Onions Served with King Prawn - The honour of being the Pièce de résistance for the evening went to a very well executed stewed fish noodles. Common as it may be in most Chinese restaurants of similar standing, Hai Tien Lo's offering is a cut above the rest and yes, that includes the excellent one I had from Li Bai. Hai Tien Lo's rendition carried more flavour in the stock and the noodles were slightly thinner yet equally robust and chewy, making for a gastronomical indulgence. May I add that the king prawn was huge as well? However, as with Li Bai, portions were small and this dish could well do with more of the tasty noodles.
Cod Fish Baked & Glazed with Moet & Chandon Champagne Sauce - The cod fish glazed with Moet & Chandon champagne was nicely baked, a little charred along the edges and tender, albeit a tad too soft and sweet from the sauce. Couldn't quite make out the Moet or champagne though. What I liked about this dish was that it came with tiny cubes of jackfruit and strawberries, which complemented the dish very well.
How much would you expect to pay for such a filling and wonderful dinner? Nothing less than $564 for 6 pax. Do the math and it comes to about $94 per head, which is rather expensive. But hey, with a 25% discount, the bill drops to a more manageable $70, a price everyone was more than happy to pay. Add the fact that you are perched 37 storeys up with a bird's eye view and you have a clear winner.
See my pictures here
Rating given:
Popped by Thai Village with my gf and parents to have dinner. Honestly I have never been a fan of Thai Village, not after my unhappy encounter at the restaurant's Oasis outlet, details of which I shall not divulge for some personal reasons.
Sitting pretty in a stand alone structure with huge windows in the midst of secluded Taman Jurong, Thai Village literally outshines the competition (think MacDonalds and KFC) with its huge neon signboards and brightly lighted interior. Surprisingly, for a restaurant situated in such an isolated heartland, it was rather packed by the time we got down to eating our food.
Thai Village is purportedly known for its quality shark's fin at a prices that won't break your arm. At $90 for a portion of shark's fin large enough for 6 bowls, I'm inclined to agree. However, the quality of the shark's fin was rather debatable as the fins, though served as a whole piece, was a little too coarse, unlike top grade shark's fin where the fins are smooth and have a slight bony texture. The soup could also have been better, coming across as a tad too starchy and heavy. But honestly, I'll be hard pressed to find a dish of similar quality and quantity for that price in Singapore(maybe I just haven't eaten enough to know).
Salt Baked Chicken Drumsticks - As tantalizing as the name may sound, it tasted nowhere near. I was expecting something salty yet the chicken, which was served in a huge claypot, turned out sweet. Sure, the meat was tender but $16 for 6 tiny pieces is a big no no. It was overall a very forgettable dish.
Baked Crabs with Vermicelli & the garlic base - The star for the evening - Baked Crabs with Vermicelli. To be honest, I haven't had such a great rendition of this dish for eons. The crab's flesh was fresh, sweet and firm, all markings of an excellent crab. The vermicelli was excellent as well, having soaked up the juices from the crab as well as from the tons of garlic at the bottom, rendering it soft and silky with a rather strong garlic taste. And before I forget, there was a little surprise hidden beneath the mountain of garlic - pieces of 3 tiered pork (literal translation from San Chen Rou) which were a little too hard from all the baking but tasted excellently garlicky nevertheless.
Seafood Fried Rice - A 50-50 dish if you ask me. Why so? The rice was fragrant and tasty but lacked the quintessential Wok Hei taste. Seafood pickings were also rather miserly. Take your chances!
Asparagus Fried with Mushroom - Asparagus are supposed to be a little hard and crunchy, but this one was a little too soft and portions were measly. Coupled with the fact that I could only make out 6 pieces of scallops and it becomes a must never order again dish.
Baked Thai Style Cod Fish - The fish was a little crispy on the outside but terribly tasteless, unless you consider oil a taste. Not to mention that it wasn't actually very fresh. I guess I need not say more.
Yam Paste - One of the very decent Orh Nee that I've tried, but just a little too runny for my liking and the onset of a generous quantity of coconut milk was quite overwhelming.
The 4 of us chalked up a rather hefty bill of about $230, which I feel is a little on the expensive side given the number of merely average dishes. Sure the Baked Crabs and Shark's Fin Soup soup were good, but I really don't foresee myself returning just for those.
See my pictures here
Rating given:
Cathay - a name synonymous with movies of the past era. What most people don't know is that Cathay actually operates a rather niche eatery in its premises which goes by the name of The Cathay Restaurant. Started in 1940, the restaurant served up European fare but switched to Chinese food in 1951 and was purportedly Singapore's finest Chinese restaurant at that time.
Situated on the 2nd floor of the spanking new Cathay building, The Cathay Restaurant embraces the modern with its unpretentiously upclass decor yet retains his heritage by showcasing portraits of movie stars from the golden era. Retro-ish (if there's such a word) I must say.
Doubled Boiled Shark's Bone Cartilage with Bamboo Fungus - I've always been a fan of shark bone soup and The Cathay Restaurant's rendition didn't disappoint. But then again, it wasn't outstanding either. The soup was tasty but did come across as a little too milky for my liking and left a slight starchy residue on my tongue after every mouthful, which I personally found a little unsettling.
Deep Fried Spring Rolls - This is not your usual spring rolls because it comes with fatty pork, mushrooms and turnip as ingredients. Found it rather normal in spite of all the ingredients, probably due to the overall blandness but the skin was nice and crisp though.
Siew Mai - Interestingly, the Siew Mai had this predominant mushroom taste owing to the fact that one of the ingredients in it was a sizable chunk of mushroom. This is something rather unique but I personally found it a little too "mushroomy", totally eclipsing the traditional pork taste that I associate with Siew Mai. Just an individual preference I guess.
Pan Fried Pork Chop with Special Sauce - The pork chop was very well marinated as evident by the lightly sweet flavours each bite held. However, the pork was a tad on the chewy side which made eating difficult and there was a slight overuse on the amount of Chinese celery as I found the taste pretty evident, to the extent of being a little overwhelming.
Poached Seasonal Vegetables - Funny how poached seasonal vegetables would turn out to have beancurd in it. Not that I'm complaining though. The beancurd was tasty but wasn't firm or silky enough to make the premium grade cut. The vegetables tasted like they had been blanched in boiling water and served up with gravy.
Special Homemade Noodles with Mixed Seafood - I honestly don't see or taste anything special about the homemade noodles. Sure, it was chewy but that was it. Beansprouts and fresh average sized prawns graced the dish which tasted to me a little like Hor Fun due to the slightly smoky and starchy gravy. Having said that, the gravy was really too weak to make much of a difference, especially when the noodles were practically tasteless. I had to resort to adding soya sauce.
Double Boiled Dried Apricot with Sea Coconut and Red Dates -
If you get a kick out of having a sugar rush, then this dessert is probably for you. It was insanely sweet and I must say even for a sugar fanatic like me, I had a hard time trying to finish it. I attribute this to the extra sugar they added into the syrup on top of the sweetness from the already very sweet apricot.
With a 1 for 1 offer from Standard Chartered, I only had to fork out about $55 for 2 pax, which I feel is rather reasonable given the acceptable quantity and decent quality of food. If the standard of the dim sum is anything to go by, food quality at The Cathay isn't exactly top notch, but its refined enough to warrant another visit. Not without a high percentage discount though.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
"Oh nice nails! Where did you do it? "
'Sh... its a secret..."
Secrets at Eleven is a relaxing and very nice place to get your pretty nails. Located on the second level (above Happy Daze). The decor is simple and welcoming. I had my meni done at their balcony. Imagine, relaxing on a big arm chair, with open view of the happenings below me and the friendliest manicurist. 2 other friends can sit next to you by the balcony and together have your nails done up, drink a cup of nice warm tea and catch-up with the latest happenings in life.
The manicurists know their products very well and their service and skill is good. When come to choosing colors for the nails, they'll try on every color you want to see on each of your nails so that you can see exactly how it looks like on your hands. (I ended up with 10 different color on my fingers!) This is great cos you'll not regret only after all the nails were painted. They wouldn't rush you and they'll be more than glad to try on as many colors as you want so that you're happy with the decision.
For just $23 for a classic mani and $33 for a classic pedi, Secrets at Eleven is the place to go with your girlfriends!
Rating given:
I'm loving every bits of this new magazine! Saw this new magazine at the newsstand and was attracted by its name - Smitten. Curious to know what's it about, I picked it up and glance through the cover and saw that this copy is their debut issue and topics looks pretty interesting.
Project Smitten is the name of the magazine. (Smitten reminds me of kitten. Small, cute, playful, fun, pretty and mischievous!)
Flipping through the pages of Smitten and I'm greeted by the faces behind Smitten. In Smitten picks, the key ladies in Smitten share they favorite picks for the month. This gives me, as a reader, feel closer to the magazine as I'm able to match the names to faces. Loving this!
Every page you flip to, you'll find the trendiest and uber stylish fashion. Best of all, they show you exactly where you can get them! Even the cute little puppies.
Another section I love is the spy section - spy now and smitten spy. You'll be able to find rare finds and hidden treasures locally, internationally and in the www in these sections.
The smitten decorate pages are also one that I simply adore! I love everything pretty, cute, quirky and cool. Decorate now shows you where you can find these cool stuff to add on to your collection. Great pages to flip through if you're considering buying unique gifts for your friends.
Smitten is one mag that I'm so going to subscribe!
Oh, did I mention about the Smitten Society card that gives you great discounts during the Smitten Shopping Week? Go grab a copy of smitten to find out!
*****Updated 6 Jan 2008*****
Was delighted to have received my first subscribed delivery from Project Smitten (Jan/Feb08) this morning at my doorstep. Since I’m at my CNY shopping mood, I quickly flipped the pages and see what they’ve in store for us. Spotted a “Hot Buy” of a bag organiser from M)phosis on page 55 of this issue and wanted to get one for myself. Went shopping at Bugis Junction and stopped by M)phosis to ask if they’ve stock for it. Looks like, I’m not the first who was there to ask about this bag.
The salesgirl asked which magazine I saw this bag in and told me that the bag I was looking for was from months ago! They no longer carry it! I asked if they’ll be bringing in more, she said it depends.
I was quite upset that this thing happened. Why does a fashion magazine publish a product that was already not on sale? I was very pleased with their content once. But after this incident, and many other which I’d heard (from their facebook group), I guess they’ve got to improve a lot more to gain back the trust from existing subscribers and attract new ones.
Dropping my 5 stars rating to 3.
Rating given:
Yummy O? Yet another donut outlet for the craze for donuts. Was it really Yummy?
Ever since don't know when, the craze for donuts picked up and everyone in Singapore was taking leave and skipping lessons just to queue for a box of donuts. Similar to many other craze fab, everyone wants a piece of this fab pie "while the rod is hot". So everywhere I go, I see some kind of donuts outlet and if there's not a long queue, I'll go get some to try it out. (Famous or not famous, rewarded or not rewarded.)
The drifting fragrance of the donuts lured me towards the stall hidden at the corner of White Sands (among OCK and other snack stalls). Curious to find out what they have to offer, I went to take a peep. And the heart shaped donuts and mocha flavored ones tempted me to buy and try. Something different from the other donuts is that they donut prices are fixed. No bulk discount even if you buy 6 or 12 in a box. (Maybe that's why there wasn't a queue?) And one plus point for this is the packaging. Instead of just placing your donuts in a big box, they have this plastic tray that separates the donuts in the box, I thought this was helpful, so you don't have to worry about them pushing against one another inside the box.
Now, the most important element is the taste and yumminess of these donuts. They claimed to be the only donut awarded with an award by Singapore. (can't remember by which organisation) but I'm having second thought about it. My mum agreed with me too. I told her I didn't have to queue for these donuts. And later when she tried one, she told me those I queued for tasted better. These donuts were too sweet and the dough taste just like any bread with fillings from the usual bakeries. Other than this, I don't know what else to comment on the donuts. Sure not how their name suggests.
Rating given:
Totally agree with Leenie! Kallang McDonalds is the best place to go!
This is the place where I spent most of my weekends and some weekdays noon at. Especially during the school holidays. My bf and I will drive up, park at the Free parking lots and spend the whole afternoon at Kallang McDonalds, either marking worksheets, preparing presentations, writing papers or mugging for exams.
With the Free power sources around the place, no wonder so many business people who works out of office would gather there for meetings or checking emails and surfing the net.
The corner booth seats next to the toilet is my favorite spot. But they're usually taken up. And there's no power point at those seats. Except for one furthest away from the toilet which has a point nearby, but not long enough for the usual labtop cables. So some even brought their own extension chord!! McDonalds should have more of such facilities for their standalone outlets like Kallang's.
I'm giving this outlet 5 stars for their generosity for providing so many power points for customers and never complaining or "chasing" anyone away even if they sat there entire day with just a purchase of a EVM.
If you happen to be there often too, share your experience here too! Who knows, maybe we might have seen one another before! (hmm... maybe we could have a Yebber gathering one day at Kallang McDonalds! tsk tsk.)
Rating given:
Cheap and good is what I call this Chicken Rice Stall.
It was love at first sight! Ever since I took my first mouthful of the rice and chicken with their chilli, I knew immediately that this is what I'll be having for a long long time.
As a fan of chicken rice (I don't take char siew or any food with pork/lard) I give this stall 4 out of 5 thumbs up. I'll order their set everytime I have it. Paying just $3.50 for a plate of boneless chicken, vegetables, rice and soup. Where can you find such a cheap chicken rice meal? I remember paying $5.50 to $6 for a set exactly the same at Food Courts.
The meat is served with cucumber, a slice of tomato and few pieces of archar. Texture of meat is just right and it isn't too oily. The chilli is good too. Trust me. Cos I'm a chilli freak! LOL!
Rating given: