Weekends are the best time for dim sum, it is when everybody is free to have a long lunch, and what can be better than to yum cha?
My friend wanted to try the Beancurd prawn roll ($4.50), and I have never been a big fan of beancurd skin. Since a lot dim sum has prawns, we decided to go for the Char siew cheong fun ($4.50). The savoury light sauce always enhance the flavour of the cheong fun.
After trying so many different har gau ($4.50), it has somewhat become rather ordinary to me. I know it’s the dim sum queen; all right if you must, fresh crunchy prawns held firmly within translucent skins. But I’m indifference to it, at least for now.
I was craving for custard buns badly, and to my delight it’s listed on the menu; but the initial euphoria half evaporated when the captain said that it’s been replaced by the Baked custard buns ($3.50 for 3). So feeling half skeptical and half excited, we approached it. Judging from appearances, the baked buns look like those hard, baked pastry kind. We took a bite, and it was astonishing so soft! I would prefer those molten custard on any other day, but this was just as good!
Siew mai and har gau always come together in pairs, there isn’t one without the other. But unlike the har gau, I’m not so sick of Siew Mai ($4.50 for 4) since it has a combination of porky and prawny bite.
I’m insanely in love with Char siew sou ($4 for 3). The ones here reminded me of my old flame; the buttery crispy flakes, the oozing oh-so-sweet juice from the char siew. Delish! You know like they say, your first love is always the most memorable, if I’ve not had better before, I’ll say this is quite good. But then again, I’m biased against char siew sou.
The fragrant glutinous rice ($4.50) enveloped within the leaf; the salted egg yoke bursting through your tastebud with it’s strong and distinct taste, the little bites of chicken shreds, a pity the Chinese sausages were missing here. Almost perfect.
Pan-fried carrot cake ($3.50) used to be a favourite of mine, but after trying several half-hearted versions, I’m leaning towards some of the better steamed ones that I had. Packed the carrot cake full with relish, lots of them. Then lightly-seared it until golden brown, leaving a crispy surface with soft relish beneath it. Sounds easy? Do one for me.
I’m undecided if I will come back to Asia Grand for dim sum again. And it’s not because they are not good, the variety of dim sum available was very comprehensive. But the main reason was the existence of a better option just directly opposite them. I’ll probably drop by again for their Peking duck, which is definitely much cheaper than the one I had at Peach Garden.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
If I do it my way, I will start every meal with desserts. A typical dinner usually goes something like this: complimentary bread and cheesesticks to keep you entertain, but that’s no dessert. Then there’s soup, appetisers, main course, blah blah blah until we reach desserts! So why do we eat desserts at the end when we are clearly anticipating for it from the start!
And when I go to an Italian restaurant, the first thing that comes to my mind will always, be the tiramisu. It is, the heart and soul, the perfect ambassador for Italian cuisine. Fine, I exaggerated. It is at least one of the first thing that you will think of when we are talking about Italian desserts. The Tiramisu Senso ($14) here was way better than the one I had at their bistro before.
And the second thing (for me) when it comes to Italian cuisine will be pasta of course! However, I was tempted to try Senso’s risotto, so we had the Risotto ($28) – carnaroli risotto served with saffron and sea scallops. It was good, but company always make the food taste better, and since my dining companion wasn’t a big fan of risotto, I should have gone for their pastas instead.
My companion also raved about the excellent Agnello (rack of lamb) that she had at Senso before, but we decided to try something new this time round. Food is always an adventure no? The choice of the second main was contested by the Manzo (beef tenderloin), Milanese (rack of veal) and the Ossobuco (braised veal shank). I was initially skeptical of having the braised veal shank since my previous encounter was a complete diaster.
But I was sweet-talked into it, and I’m glad that we ordered this; the Ossobuco ($34) was done just right, the veal shank absorbed the goodness of the sauce, I know tender is a word over-used when it comes to describing food, but yes, it was tender!
The Bruciata ($14) made its appearance in a very creative way and we were completely fascinated by the mini frying pan. Oven-baked egg custard, or more commonly known as Creme Brulee, I finished everything on my own!
* * *
I didn’t manage to take any shot of the place, we dined in the charming al fresco area, but it was the private room that caught my eyes! That place is perfect for a group of twenty, I will definitely love to do a party there some day.
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Had dinner with my family at Jumbo Serangoon Gardens to "commemorate" its 20 odd years of business in the area, just before its swan song at the end of October. Apparently the rent has at the club has shot up by quite a bit so Jumbo has decided to take its business elsewhere.
The interior looks a little dated but boasts a quirky blue ceiling with concealed lights to give an impression of dining under the sky - not that it really worked though but studies have shown that blue is a calming colour, which could have been useful, judging from the crowd that evening.
Kailan with Garlic - You can't really go wrong with fried kailan and garlic so no surprises or disappointments here. Portions are a little small for $12 though.
Chilli Crab - The crab seemed rather small for its purported weight (1kg) and it didn't help that this signature Jumbo dish failed to live up to expectations. The gravy was rather watery and didn't go very well with the oily, insipid mantous that used to be an object of greedy desire (for me at least) some 10 years ago. How quality has deteriorated over the years!
Homemade Beancurd - I liked the generous amount of golden mushroom that buried the homemade beancurd. What I didn't like was the lack of silkiness and savouriness in the beancurd. Sure, it was soft but didn't slither down my throat and came across as bland.
Deep Fried Red Tilapia - Tilapias don't go for much in the markets but we were charged $32 for it - hardly fitting. Inflated prices aside, the fish was nicely deep fried and crisp on the outside, coupled with firm flesh on the inside. I didn't appreciate the tons of bones within though. Overall an averagely decent dish.
Cereal Prawns - The prawns weren't fresh and the flesh tasted a little soft and "powdery". I certainly didn't expect that from an established seafood restaurant like Jumbo. On the upside, the prawns were deshelled, leaving only the head, something which most places don't bother to do. I did like the cereal dressing though - mildy spicy, crunchy and sweet. But then again, it wasn't enough to salvage this dish.
Mee Goreng - One of the staples of Jumbo ever since we started patronising them some 10 odd years ago, the mee goreng was a shadow of its former self. Overly sweet would be most apt in describing it, with the noodles carrying no taste except being sweet. Apparently the sweetness is used to cover the alkaline taste present in the egg noodles, but this is really an overkill.
I don't know about you, but $188 ($138 with a $50 discount) for a sub standard dinner for 6 pax just doesn't cut it for me. Service was decent in a haphazard sort of way. Final words? Good riddance to overpriced and commercialized sub quality food!
Reclusiveness seems to be the name of the game these days as small "boutique" restaurants start up in not too accessible locations, just like Jules, a tiny cafe whipping up Australian cuisine in the north eastern heartlands of Singapore.
Nestled in the midst of a private estate just opposite Nanyang JC, Jules plays neighbour to a seafood restaurant (Punggol Seng Choon I believe) and is visible from afar with its brightly litted crimson red signboard. The place is tiny and sparsely furnished, complete with granite flooring and wooden furniture. Air conditioning is a luxury unless you are seated just below one of the two units present. Fans attempt to cool things down a little but don't make much of a difference especially if you are taking the table just next to the counter.
Wagyu Burger - Although I still maintain my stand that wagyu beef should never been minced into patty, Jules did quite a good job on the beef I must admit. The patty's texture was uneven and I could make out bits and pieces of fat, which contributed to the chewy texture. The inherent beefy taste reminded me more of steak then patty, which was definitely good and I certainly appreciated the dollop of sundried tomato puree atop. The bread was average though and so were the fries.
Fig Pudding - I don't know what prompted me to order the fig pudding. Maybe it was the wait staff's recommendation. But I'm glad I did. I'm not exactly a fan of figs but the pudding was nice and moist without coming across as too sweet. Small pieces of figs were lodged within and the sauce had vanilla beans in it. Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it proved to be a nice sweet ending to conclude the meal.
Prices are nett (no GST, no service charge), which is a huge plus. On my part, I forked out $26 for the burger and the pudding, which is very reasonable given the quality. Service was decent as well but the wait can be quite long especially if you have a big group. That aside, they probably need to look into installing more airconditioners to cool the place down.
A dreamy Sunday out with you, eating nothing but eggs and pancakes. And a glass of that bubbly champagne is just the icing on the cake. I love brunch! I really do. There’s just something about brunch that makes me excited, just the mention of it will be enough to get me on a high.
And how about a buffet brunch? Excellent, you get to eat a bit of everything (not that I’m a big fan of buffet), and free flow of champagne? Swoon!
I can never say no to desserts, you are my weakness. And we couldn’t resist taking photographs at the desserts section first since it’s right in front of the restaurant. All the petite desserts were waving to me, with the alluring cakes winking and making signals for me to step forward.
Do you want a piece of chocolate?
How about a chocolate tree? I’ll pluck the chocolates off and give them all to you. I know you want the bitter one, and you can feed me the sweet one. The chocolates, they were so good!
Rows, and rows of them: mustard lax salmon, smoked salmon, Thai smoked salmon, and an assortment of smoked fish platter. I bet you will just stand there all day and finish every slice of them.
Breakfast to me, must consist of eggs benedicts, pancakes, sausages; that sort of stuff. They had poached eggs here, but there wasn’t any hollandaise sauce, and sadly because the breakfast section was prepared beforehand (not on the spot), the eggs, sausages, and hash browns were cold.
But there’s an ala-minute section where the chef prepared eggs-done-in-any-style. Omelettes, sunny sideup, overeasy, you name it, they have it.
And while you are at the same area, the chef will prepared Vol Au Vent on the spot too. There’s Prawn with Brandy Sauce, Duck Confit with Foie Gras, Chicken Ragout with Mushrooms and Ham & Cheese Ragout to choose from. I’ve the duck confit with foie gras, which sort of reminded me of the kueh pie tee; crispy shells with savoury fillings
The array of seafood selection at Global Kitchen consisted of the typical mussels, prawns, scallop, and there’s Alaskan king crabs too! But it was the spoilt-for-choice of oysters that impressed me! The usual buffet line-ups will mostly just have, you know, fresh oysters on a bed of ice. But not here, there’s so many options, this is oysters at their best!
Some people proclaim oyster as the perfect food. There’s no preparation involved, no standing of hours in front of the stove to cook it. It’s absolutely fresh – it’s still alive just moments before you pop it inside your mouth. A slice of lemon wedge is all you need, and we are ready.
Among all, the fried oyster with bacon wrap was my favourite; I know this might not be the best way to taste the oysters as there probably wouldn’t be “freshness” left since it’s fried, but you know the thing with fried food, it’s always tasty. The saltiness of the bacon greatly enhanced the whole thing, not that you need to “add more flavour” to the oyster anyway. The purist probably couldn’t accept it since this was akin to killing the oyster, but I like it!
I also enjoyed the baked oyster with cheese tremendously. What’s there not to like when oyster marry with cheese? Fans of oysters will most likely gulp down a dozen of them at one shot, but not me. I had enough after having about five different ways of oysters, and there’s a few other ways which I didn’t try!
In buffets, I will always go for the ala minute food – stuff that are cook by chefs on the spot. And the fish & chips were pretty impressive. For one, they had mashed green peas, yes green peas! It totally exudes the “British feel” of a hearty fish & chips.
And can you imagine my excitement when I saw the chef preparing risotto and pastas too? There’s not much ingredients to choose from, you know the typical mushroom, tomato, but there’s no need for fanciful stuff when a plate of simple and comfort risotto/pasta is all I need.
There’s actually a lot more food, main courses like duck breast, salmon, seabass, beef, lamb, pork loin; in short, something to cater to everybody. I didn’t try all of them, just a bit here and there.
Free flow of champagne, amazing company with Camemberu, and Aromacookery, we pigged out for three hours ( including one hour for taking photos), this is what I call brunch! My appreciation to Cheryl and Merissa of Pan Pacific Hotel for hostingus for the media tasting session. We did not eat a lot, just a bit of everything, and yet at the end of it I was feeling sick – over stuffed with food. And we didn’t even try all the things available at the buffet! The champagne brunch is on Sundays from 12.00pm to 3.00pm.
Price: $98 per adult (with Champagne, wines, cocktails, beers, juices and soft drinks) $88 per adult (with wines, cocktails, beers, juices and soft drinks) $78 per adult (with juices and soft drinks)
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Dinner was at Cafe De Hong Kong (CDHK for short), a small restaurant selling HK style cze char dishes that have garnered rave reviews from many sources, both mainstream media and blogs alike.
Inconveniently located at the beginning of Balestier Road, just off the junction of Thomson Road and Balestier Road, CDHK looks like just any eatery that dots the entire stretch of Balestier Road. Step in however and a HK cafe style decor greets you with its quirky design and white washed walls. Parking in the area can pose a problem so cabs or public transport might be a better alternative.
Pork Ribs - Looking beautifully charred around the edges, the ribs were fall of the bone tender but came across as bland even with the sauce. Could have done with a little more marination. Mildly disappointing to say the least.
Salad Dressing Prawn Ball - I couldn't see the reason why this dish came highly recommended by our waitress. The prawn balls didn't exactly wow any of us at the table though I must admit that it was still quite decent nonetheless - crunchy with a dollop of mayonnaise. Then again, how bad can anything with mayonnaise be? I did like the broccoli though, which was cooked just right.
Roasted Chicken - Apparently this dish is so popular that you have to make a booking for it when you make your table reservation and that's exactly what we did. The half chicken (for the 5 of us) was more then adequate, which is rather surprisingly considering that in some places, a whole chicken might not even be sufficient. Consistency is suspect here as some parts of the chicken were juicy and tender while other parts tiptoed into the dry region. There was a higher salt content in certain areas as well.
Supreme Tofu - The tofu came with a thin slice of scallop on top and was silky smooth but lacked savouriness. Decent but nothing fantastic. Makes me wonder about the supreme in the name.
Stir Fried You Mak Cai with Dace Fish - Personally I thought that the vegetables were a little limp - the result of overcooking. The slight saltiness from the dace fish was apparent and I appreciated it. Overall nothing too fancy or outstanding, but definitely palatable.
The bill for the 5 of us was just shy of $100, which isn't too expensive by any standards. However, I can't quite attest to the rave reviews that have been popping up ever so often. Still, food and service is decent so probably still worth a try.
Shucks! What are you doing with fork & spoon? Throw them away! The rehttp://www.yebber.com/review/burger-shack/al way to eat a delicious burger, is to use your hands! First, press down and flatter the bun, stuff back all the ingredients that dropped out, and use both hands, yes bare hands with no napkins, or wrapper. Picked up the burger and take a breathe in; just like how people swirl and sniff their wine.
Okay now, the glorious moment; take your first tentative bite – open your mouth as wide as you can, and sink your teeth into the bun, then taste the ingredients, and then the meat, followed by the bun again. Yum! And finish the whole burger in one mouthful!
We queued up and ordered from the counter when everyone arrived; there was seven different burgers to choose from, with the typical add-ons like cheese, bacon, and egg. My friend ordered the BBQ pulled pork burger ($6.20), the pork strips were actually quite tasty, but the bun was too hard. And oh yes, note that all the price stated are just the burger only, you need to add on $3.50 (or $2.50 for students) for a set with fries and drink.
The Thai Chili burger ($6.20) was sweet-meet-spicy; a piece of deep fried chicken patty was drizzled with spicy sweet sauce Fancy a Zinger?
It is the must-have for every burger joint on their menu, how can they not have the King Ramlee burger? Unfortunately, Burger Shack’s Ramli ($6.20) is a very poor rendition of the famous street burger. Even Relish’s version was better. In place of the sweet chili sauce, they used a sambal sauce which wasn’t really spicy, and Ramlee’s all about the generous sweet chili with lots of barbecue sauce. And instead of wrapping the patty within the omelette, they merely placed the sunny side-up above the beef patty.
Another chicken, the J-burger ($6.20) with okonomiyaki sauce.
The Grilled Chicken ($5.70) was pretty decent with a tender flamed-grilled chicken fillet. Pity about the hard buns though.
Omph, I was excited by the prospect of having melted cheese on top of a medium rare beef patty with a pink tinge in the middle. Delicious right?
Except it wasn’t the case.
There’s the Original ($5.70) and the Double ($7.70) to choose from, and I had add-on cheese for $1.50 too. And I feel cheated that the cheese wasn’t melted. The beef patty was also much smaller than expected.
Nowadays I seldom check out new restaurants immediately when they are just opened. It’s like nurturing a plant; you need to water it regularly, give it nutrients and let it have sufficient sunlight to grow. The same goes for a new restaurant, there are bound to be hiccups initially so we need to give them time to improve the service and tweak the menu.
Three things I don’t like about Burger Shack: the noisy sound system as they use mic to call out the orders that are ready. As much as I understand that the self-service system helps them to keep the price competitive, but I couldn’t help feeling irritated, and it had the whole-fast-food-restaurant-vibe. The interior has a poor air ventilation – we smell like burgers after finishing dinner. And the food can really be better; the fries were cold, some of the burger buns were all right, but some were over toasted and too hard.
But I still think Burger Shack will do well. Students adored Island Creamery and you bet they will hopped by Burger Shack which is less than 5 minutes walk across the road.
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I’m a simple person, with a simple taste bud, however nobody ever believe me. Even though the food at fine dining restaurant is good, but it’s not me, I prefer going to small, unpretentious, and cozy places instead.
Escargot, escargot, you really need to hand it to the French. They cook anything that can crawl, and make everything taste so good! The escargot that I’ve tried before, have a very strong garlic and buttery smell from afar, but La Petite’s rendition did not involve the use of these, instead the sweetness of the snail was deeply captivated within the croissant. The bread was so good; it absorbed the essence of the juice from the escargot (6 pieces for $12) – it was heavenly!
Foie gras, has long been one of the sacred food that I promise myself I’ll try in this life. Up till now, I’ve not exactly eaten it before, not unless you count the one which hardly had any foie gras. Let me describe more about the encounter: she tasted familiar, hold on, it seems to be like pig liver. Oh no, it’s even better than that! With the gamy taste, it’s bound to be an acquired taste, but to everyone out there, go on, try it! And you can proudly declared: I’ve sample foie gras before!
We were contemplating between the foie gras pan fried w/orange confit ($17), or the ravioli of prawns and foie gras in light lemon creme ($14.5). And we went for the latter. The uncanny similarity with the Chinese dumplings, but this one had foie gras and a big prawn instead. Initially, we thought that there would be hardly any foie gras inside, but we were wrong. The foie gras fillings were substantial, enough to experience the goose liver taste!
In my eyes mouth, duck will always be better than chicken. But most places doesn’t serve duck, and even if they do, its usually duck confit or pan seared duck breast. There’s nothing better for a duck drumstick than a duck confit! I enjoyed slowly peeling off her clothes, admiring everything there’s for us to see, before bringing my nose to smell her fragrance. Oh my, she smells so good! I closed my eyes for a second, and imagine the unimaginable. In my excitement, I brought up the fork again, and poke it into her. Slowly, we teased each other playfully, until to the point where we couldn’t take it no longer. Then, I tucked in. It’s good! I enjoyed every bite, and I love it even more because I’m sharing it with you. Confit de canard w/gratin ($15)
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Upmarket restaurant IL Lido at Sentosa has apparently gone mass market with its latest offering - Cafeteria IL Lido, located at Suntec City Mall. Although I didn't think too much about the upscale IL Lido, I was tempted to find out what its "mass consumer centric" eatery offered.
The eatery seats beside other mass market eateries around the mall's fountain area at B1 and boasts a seating capacity probably in excess of 80 pax. The place is rather "cafeish" and comes across as cheery and soothing with its bright wall tones and wooden furniture.
Spaghetti Carbonara - This honestly smacked of convenience. The pasta wasn't al dente while the cream sauce was rather watery without any presence of egg yolk and tasted like the pre made bottled cream sauces you could get off the shelves at any supermarket. The only saving grace was the generous amount of bacon chips which could have used a little more salt.
Ham and Mushroom Pizza - The pizza base was thin, almost to the extent of biscuit like. While I appreciate the gooey cheese and generous toppings atop, I didn't quite take to the pizza in general because everything tasted bland. The crust was way too thin (and hard) to absorb any flavours from the tomato sauce or the cheese and essentially you are just eating biscuit topped with ingredients, something which I can probably do myself without too much hassle.
Tiramisu - This tiramisu has the dubious honour of being the worst tiramisu I have ever eaten in my life (sometimes I wonder if it is even edible) . For starters, it was served at room temperature and that resulted in the mascarpone cheese being soft and almost watery. To cut cost, they probably didn't add eggs in it as well, which made the whole dessert very flat tasting. The sponge fingers were terrible - drowned in what tasted like instant coffee and grossly soft. It came to a point where I was almost "drinking" the whole dessert. And if you are thinking alcohol, there is none of it present.
Black Forest - I would say the black forest was at least palatable. The cherries were a little dry but rather tart and the cream to sponge ratio was quite lopsided in favour of the cream. At least it was sweet though.
I don't know about you but $36 for such mind blowingly lousy food irritates me to no end. Compound the fact that service was seriously lacking ( I had to gesture for about 10 mins before I could catch the attention of any service staff and I wasn't the only table facing such problems) and that I had to pay a 10% service charge for that, I will never go back, not even step near it. Honestly, IL Lido has never enjoyed a high standing in my books but with Cafeteria IL Lido, the entire brand name has just slipped a few rungs.
Had been meaning to try out Teochew City for quite a while now so made it a point to head down one weekend evening for dinner. Owned and operated by the Prima group, which also owns the historic Prima Towering Revolving Restaurant, Teochew City is one of the pioneers of Teochew fine dining in Singapore and apparently serves quite good Teochew food, if the hearsays are to be trusted.
Located in a corner at the top floor of Centrepoint Shopping Centre, the restaurant cuts a lone figure amidst the retail shops in the mall. A huge signboard makes known the restaurant as soon as the escalator takes you up but human traffic on that level is probably too scarce to make much of a difference. The restaurant's interior is rather spacious and offers a view of live seafood swimming around in huge tanks by the side - very typical Chinese restaurant decor.
Crab Meat & Fish Maw Soup - The soup was tasty and not overly starchy with relatively generous amounts of crab meat and fish maw. However, drinking too much still can make you woozy. And $8 gets you a decent sized bowl.
Braised Goose - I doubt the ban on fresh goose meat has been lifted so this is probably frozen meat. Not that it mattered though, because it was handled quite well and the only slip was the mild dryness of the meat. Portions were also generous for a small serving.
Hong Kong Kailan with Mushrooms - The vegetables weren't overcooked while the sauce didn't come across as too starchy. Mushroom servings were generous and though not the most exciting vegetable dish I've had, no complains really.
Lobster and Prawn Balls - This dish featured prawn paste and fresh prawn molded into balls and deep fried till crisp. Nice but a tad too oily for my liking. The pièce de résistance however, was the egg white with lobster meat served alongside. Savoury without any hint of rawness and a nice smooth texture, complemented by the shreds of lobster meat within. Could have done with a pinch less salt though.
Yam Paste with Gingko Nuts and Pumpkin - The hallmark of Teochew desserts and its most famous one yet - the humble yet time consuming to produce yam paste. Fragrant with a spoonful of not too sweet syrup atop, the paste was smooth and thick. And I like my yam paste without coconut milk.
After a 10% discount, the 3 of us chalked up a bill of almost $125 ($138 without discount), which isn't exactly cheap but consider the quality of food and I reckon it's still reasonable. Service was good and the place provided a nice respite from the mad Orchard Road crowds on a weekend.
1=SGD 0.0587
Weekends are the best time for dim sum, it is when everybody is free to have a long lunch, and what can be better than to yum cha?
My friend wanted to try the Beancurd prawn roll ($4.50), and I have never been a big fan of beancurd skin. Since a lot dim sum has prawns, we decided to go for the Char siew cheong fun ($4.50). The savoury light sauce always enhance the flavour of the cheong fun.
After trying so many different har gau ($4.50), it has somewhat become rather ordinary to me. I know it’s the dim sum queen; all right if you must, fresh crunchy prawns held firmly within translucent skins. But I’m indifference to it, at least for now.
I was craving for custard buns badly, and to my delight it’s listed on the menu; but the initial euphoria half evaporated when the captain said that it’s been replaced by the Baked custard buns ($3.50 for 3). So feeling half skeptical and half excited, we approached it. Judging from appearances, the baked buns look like those hard, baked pastry kind. We took a bite, and it was astonishing so soft! I would prefer those molten custard on any other day, but this was just as good!
Siew mai and har gau always come together in pairs, there isn’t one without the other. But unlike the har gau, I’m not so sick of Siew Mai ($4.50 for 4) since it has a combination of porky and prawny bite.
I’m insanely in love with Char siew sou ($4 for 3). The ones here reminded me of my old flame; the buttery crispy flakes, the oozing oh-so-sweet juice from the char siew. Delish! You know like they say, your first love is always the most memorable, if I’ve not had better before, I’ll say this is quite good. But then again, I’m biased against char siew sou.
The fragrant glutinous rice ($4.50) enveloped within the leaf; the salted egg yoke bursting through your tastebud with it’s strong and distinct taste, the little bites of chicken shreds, a pity the Chinese sausages were missing here. Almost perfect.
Pan-fried carrot cake ($3.50) used to be a favourite of mine, but after trying several half-hearted versions, I’m leaning towards some of the better steamed ones that I had. Packed the carrot cake full with relish, lots of them. Then lightly-seared it until golden brown, leaving a crispy surface with soft relish beneath it. Sounds easy? Do one for me.
I’m undecided if I will come back to Asia Grand for dim sum again. And it’s not because they are not good, the variety of dim sum available was very comprehensive. But the main reason was the existence of a better option just directly opposite them. I’ll probably drop by again for their Peking duck, which is definitely much cheaper than the one I had at Peach Garden.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
If I do it my way, I will start every meal with desserts. A typical dinner usually goes something like this: complimentary bread and cheesesticks to keep you entertain, but that’s no dessert. Then there’s soup, appetisers, main course, blah blah blah until we reach desserts! So why do we eat desserts at the end when we are clearly anticipating for it from the start!
And when I go to an Italian restaurant, the first thing that comes to my mind will always, be the tiramisu. It is, the heart and soul, the perfect ambassador for Italian cuisine. Fine, I exaggerated. It is at least one of the first thing that you will think of when we are talking about Italian desserts. The Tiramisu Senso ($14) here was way better than the one I had at their bistro before.
And the second thing (for me) when it comes to Italian cuisine will be pasta of course! However, I was tempted to try Senso’s risotto, so we had the Risotto ($28) – carnaroli risotto served with saffron and sea scallops. It was good, but company always make the food taste better, and since my dining companion wasn’t a big fan of risotto, I should have gone for their pastas instead.
My companion also raved about the excellent Agnello (rack of lamb) that she had at Senso before, but we decided to try something new this time round. Food is always an adventure no? The choice of the second main was contested by the Manzo (beef tenderloin), Milanese (rack of veal) and the Ossobuco (braised veal shank). I was initially skeptical of having the braised veal shank since my previous encounter was a complete diaster.
But I was sweet-talked into it, and I’m glad that we ordered this; the Ossobuco ($34) was done just right, the veal shank absorbed the goodness of the sauce, I know tender is a word over-used when it comes to describing food, but yes, it was tender!
The Bruciata ($14) made its appearance in a very creative way and we were completely fascinated by the mini frying pan. Oven-baked egg custard, or more commonly known as Creme Brulee, I finished everything on my own!
* * *
I didn’t manage to take any shot of the place, we dined in the charming al fresco area, but it was the private room that caught my eyes! That place is perfect for a group of twenty, I will definitely love to do a party there some day.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
Had dinner with my family at Jumbo Serangoon Gardens to "commemorate" its 20 odd years of business in the area, just before its swan song at the end of October. Apparently the rent has at the club has shot up by quite a bit so Jumbo has decided to take its business elsewhere.
The interior looks a little dated but boasts a quirky blue ceiling with concealed lights to give an impression of dining under the sky - not that it really worked though but studies have shown that blue is a calming colour, which could have been useful, judging from the crowd that evening.
Kailan with Garlic - You can't really go wrong with fried kailan and garlic so no surprises or disappointments here. Portions are a little small for $12 though.
Chilli Crab - The crab seemed rather small for its purported weight (1kg) and it didn't help that this signature Jumbo dish failed to live up to expectations. The gravy was rather watery and didn't go very well with the oily, insipid mantous that used to be an object of greedy desire (for me at least) some 10 years ago. How quality has deteriorated over the years!
Homemade Beancurd - I liked the generous amount of golden mushroom that buried the homemade beancurd. What I didn't like was the lack of silkiness and savouriness in the beancurd. Sure, it was soft but didn't slither down my throat and came across as bland.
Deep Fried Red Tilapia - Tilapias don't go for much in the markets but we were charged $32 for it - hardly fitting. Inflated prices aside, the fish was nicely deep fried and crisp on the outside, coupled with firm flesh on the inside. I didn't appreciate the tons of bones within though. Overall an averagely decent dish.
Cereal Prawns - The prawns weren't fresh and the flesh tasted a little soft and "powdery". I certainly didn't expect that from an established seafood restaurant like Jumbo. On the upside, the prawns were deshelled, leaving only the head, something which most places don't bother to do. I did like the cereal dressing though - mildy spicy, crunchy and sweet. But then again, it wasn't enough to salvage this dish.
Mee Goreng - One of the staples of Jumbo ever since we started patronising them some 10 odd years ago, the mee goreng was a shadow of its former self. Overly sweet would be most apt in describing it, with the noodles carrying no taste except being sweet. Apparently the sweetness is used to cover the alkaline taste present in the egg noodles, but this is really an overkill.
I don't know about you, but $188 ($138 with a $50 discount) for a sub standard dinner for 6 pax just doesn't cut it for me. Service was decent in a haphazard sort of way. Final words? Good riddance to overpriced and commercialized sub quality food!
See all my pictures here.
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Reclusiveness seems to be the name of the game these days as small "boutique" restaurants start up in not too accessible locations, just like Jules, a tiny cafe whipping up Australian cuisine in the north eastern heartlands of Singapore.
Nestled in the midst of a private estate just opposite Nanyang JC, Jules plays neighbour to a seafood restaurant (Punggol Seng Choon I believe) and is visible from afar with its brightly litted crimson red signboard. The place is tiny and sparsely furnished, complete with granite flooring and wooden furniture. Air conditioning is a luxury unless you are seated just below one of the two units present. Fans attempt to cool things down a little but don't make much of a difference especially if you are taking the table just next to the counter.
Wagyu Burger - Although I still maintain my stand that wagyu beef should never been minced into patty, Jules did quite a good job on the beef I must admit. The patty's texture was uneven and I could make out bits and pieces of fat, which contributed to the chewy texture. The inherent beefy taste reminded me more of steak then patty, which was definitely good and I certainly appreciated the dollop of sundried tomato puree atop. The bread was average though and so were the fries.
Fig Pudding - I don't know what prompted me to order the fig pudding. Maybe it was the wait staff's recommendation. But I'm glad I did. I'm not exactly a fan of figs but the pudding was nice and moist without coming across as too sweet. Small pieces of figs were lodged within and the sauce had vanilla beans in it. Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it proved to be a nice sweet ending to conclude the meal.
Prices are nett (no GST, no service charge), which is a huge plus. On my part, I forked out $26 for the burger and the pudding, which is very reasonable given the quality. Service was decent as well but the wait can be quite long especially if you have a big group. That aside, they probably need to look into installing more airconditioners to cool the place down.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
A dreamy Sunday out with you, eating nothing but eggs and pancakes. And a glass of that bubbly champagne is just the icing on the cake. I love brunch! I really do. There’s just something about brunch that makes me excited, just the mention of it will be enough to get me on a high.
And how about a buffet brunch? Excellent, you get to eat a bit of everything (not that I’m a big fan of buffet), and free flow of champagne? Swoon!
I can never say no to desserts, you are my weakness. And we couldn’t resist taking photographs at the desserts section first since it’s right in front of the restaurant. All the petite desserts were waving to me, with the alluring cakes winking and making signals for me to step forward.
Do you want a piece of chocolate?
How about a chocolate tree? I’ll pluck the chocolates off and give them all to you. I know you want the bitter one, and you can feed me the sweet one. The chocolates, they were so good!
Rows, and rows of them: mustard lax salmon, smoked salmon, Thai smoked salmon, and an assortment of smoked fish platter. I bet you will just stand there all day and finish every slice of them.
Breakfast to me, must consist of eggs benedicts, pancakes, sausages; that sort of stuff. They had poached eggs here, but there wasn’t any hollandaise sauce, and sadly because the breakfast section was prepared beforehand (not on the spot), the eggs, sausages, and hash browns were cold.
But there’s an ala-minute section where the chef prepared eggs-done-in-any-style. Omelettes, sunny sideup, overeasy, you name it, they have it.
And while you are at the same area, the chef will prepared Vol Au Vent on the spot too. There’s Prawn with Brandy Sauce, Duck Confit with Foie Gras, Chicken Ragout with Mushrooms and Ham & Cheese Ragout to choose from. I’ve the duck confit with foie gras, which sort of reminded me of the kueh pie tee; crispy shells with savoury fillings
The array of seafood selection at Global Kitchen consisted of the typical mussels, prawns, scallop, and there’s Alaskan king crabs too! But it was the spoilt-for-choice of oysters that impressed me! The usual buffet line-ups will mostly just have, you know, fresh oysters on a bed of ice. But not here, there’s so many options, this is oysters at their best!
Some people proclaim oyster as the perfect food. There’s no preparation involved, no standing of hours in front of the stove to cook it. It’s absolutely fresh – it’s still alive just moments before you pop it inside your mouth. A slice of lemon wedge is all you need, and we are ready.
Among all, the fried oyster with bacon wrap was my favourite; I know this might not be the best way to taste the oysters as there probably wouldn’t be “freshness” left since it’s fried, but you know the thing with fried food, it’s always tasty. The saltiness of the bacon greatly enhanced the whole thing, not that you need to “add more flavour” to the oyster anyway. The purist probably couldn’t accept it since this was akin to killing the oyster, but I like it!
I also enjoyed the baked oyster with cheese tremendously. What’s there not to like when oyster marry with cheese? Fans of oysters will most likely gulp down a dozen of them at one shot, but not me. I had enough after having about five different ways of oysters, and there’s a few other ways which I didn’t try!
In buffets, I will always go for the ala minute food – stuff that are cook by chefs on the spot. And the fish & chips were pretty impressive. For one, they had mashed green peas, yes green peas! It totally exudes the “British feel” of a hearty fish & chips.
And can you imagine my excitement when I saw the chef preparing risotto and pastas too? There’s not much ingredients to choose from, you know the typical mushroom, tomato, but there’s no need for fanciful stuff when a plate of simple and comfort risotto/pasta is all I need.
There’s actually a lot more food, main courses like duck breast, salmon, seabass, beef, lamb, pork loin; in short, something to cater to everybody. I didn’t try all of them, just a bit here and there.
Free flow of champagne, amazing company with Camemberu, and Aromacookery, we pigged out for three hours ( including one hour for taking photos), this is what I call brunch! My appreciation to Cheryl and Merissa of Pan Pacific Hotel for hostingus for the media tasting session. We did not eat a lot, just a bit of everything, and yet at the end of it I was feeling sick – over stuffed with food. And we didn’t even try all the things available at the buffet! The champagne brunch is on Sundays from 12.00pm to 3.00pm.
Price:
$98 per adult (with Champagne, wines, cocktails, beers, juices and soft drinks)
$88 per adult (with wines, cocktails, beers, juices and soft drinks)
$78 per adult (with juices and soft drinks)
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
Dinner was at Cafe De Hong Kong (CDHK for short), a small restaurant selling HK style cze char dishes that have garnered rave reviews from many sources, both mainstream media and blogs alike.
Inconveniently located at the beginning of Balestier Road, just off the junction of Thomson Road and Balestier Road, CDHK looks like just any eatery that dots the entire stretch of Balestier Road. Step in however and a HK cafe style decor greets you with its quirky design and white washed walls. Parking in the area can pose a problem so cabs or public transport might be a better alternative.
Pork Ribs - Looking beautifully charred around the edges, the ribs were fall of the bone tender but came across as bland even with the sauce. Could have done with a little more marination. Mildly disappointing to say the least.
Salad Dressing Prawn Ball - I couldn't see the reason why this dish came highly recommended by our waitress. The prawn balls didn't exactly wow any of us at the table though I must admit that it was still quite decent nonetheless - crunchy with a dollop of mayonnaise. Then again, how bad can anything with mayonnaise be? I did like the broccoli though, which was cooked just right.
Roasted Chicken - Apparently this dish is so popular that you have to make a booking for it when you make your table reservation and that's exactly what we did. The half chicken (for the 5 of us) was more then adequate, which is rather surprisingly considering that in some places, a whole chicken might not even be sufficient. Consistency is suspect here as some parts of the chicken were juicy and tender while other parts tiptoed into the dry region. There was a higher salt content in certain areas as well.
Supreme Tofu - The tofu came with a thin slice of scallop on top and was silky smooth but lacked savouriness. Decent but nothing fantastic. Makes me wonder about the supreme in the name.
Stir Fried You Mak Cai with Dace Fish - Personally I thought that the vegetables were a little limp - the result of overcooking. The slight saltiness from the dace fish was apparent and I appreciated it. Overall nothing too fancy or outstanding, but definitely palatable.
The bill for the 5 of us was just shy of $100, which isn't too expensive by any standards. However, I can't quite attest to the rave reviews that have been popping up ever so often. Still, food and service is decent so probably still worth a try.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Shucks! What are you doing with fork & spoon? Throw them away! The rehttp://www.yebber.com/review/burger-shack/al way to eat a delicious burger, is to use your hands! First, press down and flatter the bun, stuff back all the ingredients that dropped out, and use both hands, yes bare hands with no napkins, or wrapper. Picked up the burger and take a breathe in; just like how people swirl and sniff their wine.
Okay now, the glorious moment; take your first tentative bite – open your mouth as wide as you can, and sink your teeth into the bun, then taste the ingredients, and then the meat, followed by the bun again. Yum! And finish the whole burger in one mouthful!
We queued up and ordered from the counter when everyone arrived; there was seven different burgers to choose from, with the typical add-ons like cheese, bacon, and egg. My friend ordered the BBQ pulled pork burger ($6.20), the pork strips were actually quite tasty, but the bun was too hard. And oh yes, note that all the price stated are just the burger only, you need to add on $3.50 (or $2.50 for students) for a set with fries and drink.
The Thai Chili burger ($6.20) was sweet-meet-spicy; a piece of deep fried chicken patty was drizzled with spicy sweet sauce Fancy a Zinger?
It is the must-have for every burger joint on their menu, how can they not have the King Ramlee burger? Unfortunately, Burger Shack’s Ramli ($6.20) is a very poor rendition of the famous street burger. Even Relish’s version was better. In place of the sweet chili sauce, they used a sambal sauce which wasn’t really spicy, and Ramlee’s all about the generous sweet chili with lots of barbecue sauce. And instead of wrapping the patty within the omelette, they merely placed the sunny side-up above the beef patty.
Another chicken, the J-burger ($6.20) with okonomiyaki sauce.
The Grilled Chicken ($5.70) was pretty decent with a tender flamed-grilled chicken fillet. Pity about the hard buns though.
Omph, I was excited by the prospect of having melted cheese on top of a medium rare beef patty with a pink tinge in the middle. Delicious right?
Except it wasn’t the case.
There’s the Original ($5.70) and the Double ($7.70) to choose from, and I had add-on cheese for $1.50 too. And I feel cheated that the cheese wasn’t melted. The beef patty was also much smaller than expected.
Nowadays I seldom check out new restaurants immediately when they are just opened. It’s like nurturing a plant; you need to water it regularly, give it nutrients and let it have sufficient sunlight to grow. The same goes for a new restaurant, there are bound to be hiccups initially so we need to give them time to improve the service and tweak the menu.
Three things I don’t like about Burger Shack: the noisy sound system as they use mic to call out the orders that are ready. As much as I understand that the self-service system helps them to keep the price competitive, but I couldn’t help feeling irritated, and it had the whole-fast-food-restaurant-vibe. The interior has a poor air ventilation – we smell like burgers after finishing dinner. And the food can really be better; the fries were cold, some of the burger buns were all right, but some were over toasted and too hard.
But I still think Burger Shack will do well. Students adored Island Creamery and you bet they will hopped by Burger Shack which is less than 5 minutes walk across the road.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
I’m a simple person, with a simple taste bud, however nobody ever believe me. Even though the food at fine dining restaurant is good, but it’s not me, I prefer going to small, unpretentious, and cozy places instead.
Escargot, escargot, you really need to hand it to the French. They cook anything that can crawl, and make everything taste so good! The escargot that I’ve tried before, have a very strong garlic and buttery smell from afar, but La Petite’s rendition did not involve the use of these, instead the sweetness of the snail was deeply captivated within the croissant. The bread was so good; it absorbed the essence of the juice from the escargot (6 pieces for $12) – it was heavenly!
Foie gras, has long been one of the sacred food that I promise myself I’ll try in this life. Up till now, I’ve not exactly eaten it before, not unless you count the one which hardly had any foie gras. Let me describe more about the encounter: she tasted familiar, hold on, it seems to be like pig liver. Oh no, it’s even better than that! With the gamy taste, it’s bound to be an acquired taste, but to everyone out there, go on, try it! And you can proudly declared: I’ve sample foie gras before!
We were contemplating between the foie gras pan fried w/orange confit ($17), or the ravioli of prawns and foie gras in light lemon creme ($14.5). And we went for the latter. The uncanny similarity with the Chinese dumplings, but this one had foie gras and a big prawn instead. Initially, we thought that there would be hardly any foie gras inside, but we were wrong. The foie gras fillings were substantial, enough to experience the goose liver taste!
In my eyes mouth, duck will always be better than chicken. But most places doesn’t serve duck, and even if they do, its usually duck confit or pan seared duck breast. There’s nothing better for a duck drumstick than a duck confit! I enjoyed slowly peeling off her clothes, admiring everything there’s for us to see, before bringing my nose to smell her fragrance. Oh my, she smells so good! I closed my eyes for a second, and imagine the unimaginable. In my excitement, I brought up the fork again, and poke it into her. Slowly, we teased each other playfully, until to the point where we couldn’t take it no longer. Then, I tucked in. It’s good! I enjoyed every bite, and I love it even more because I’m sharing it with you. Confit de canard w/gratin ($15)
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
Upmarket restaurant IL Lido at Sentosa has apparently gone mass market with its latest offering - Cafeteria IL Lido, located at Suntec City Mall. Although I didn't think too much about the upscale IL Lido, I was tempted to find out what its "mass consumer centric" eatery offered.
The eatery seats beside other mass market eateries around the mall's fountain area at B1 and boasts a seating capacity probably in excess of 80 pax. The place is rather "cafeish" and comes across as cheery and soothing with its bright wall tones and wooden furniture.
Spaghetti Carbonara - This honestly smacked of convenience. The pasta wasn't al dente while the cream sauce was rather watery without any presence of egg yolk and tasted like the pre made bottled cream sauces you could get off the shelves at any supermarket. The only saving grace was the generous amount of bacon chips which could have used a little more salt.
Ham and Mushroom Pizza - The pizza base was thin, almost to the extent of biscuit like. While I appreciate the gooey cheese and generous toppings atop, I didn't quite take to the pizza in general because everything tasted bland. The crust was way too thin (and hard) to absorb any flavours from the tomato sauce or the cheese and essentially you are just eating biscuit topped with ingredients, something which I can probably do myself without too much hassle.
Tiramisu - This tiramisu has the dubious honour of being the worst tiramisu I have ever eaten in my life (sometimes I wonder if it is even edible) . For starters, it was served at room temperature and that resulted in the mascarpone cheese being soft and almost watery. To cut cost, they probably didn't add eggs in it as well, which made the whole dessert very flat tasting. The sponge fingers were terrible - drowned in what tasted like instant coffee and grossly soft. It came to a point where I was almost "drinking" the whole dessert. And if you are thinking alcohol, there is none of it present.
Black Forest - I would say the black forest was at least palatable. The cherries were a little dry but rather tart and the cream to sponge ratio was quite lopsided in favour of the cream. At least it was sweet though.
I don't know about you but $36 for such mind blowingly lousy food irritates me to no end. Compound the fact that service was seriously lacking ( I had to gesture for about 10 mins before I could catch the attention of any service staff and I wasn't the only table facing such problems) and that I had to pay a 10% service charge for that, I will never go back, not even step near it. Honestly, IL Lido has never enjoyed a high standing in my books but with Cafeteria IL Lido, the entire brand name has just slipped a few rungs.
See all my pictures here.
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Had been meaning to try out Teochew City for quite a while now so made it a point to head down one weekend evening for dinner. Owned and operated by the Prima group, which also owns the historic Prima Towering Revolving Restaurant, Teochew City is one of the pioneers of Teochew fine dining in Singapore and apparently serves quite good Teochew food, if the hearsays are to be trusted.
Located in a corner at the top floor of Centrepoint Shopping Centre, the restaurant cuts a lone figure amidst the retail shops in the mall. A huge signboard makes known the restaurant as soon as the escalator takes you up but human traffic on that level is probably too scarce to make much of a difference. The restaurant's interior is rather spacious and offers a view of live seafood swimming around in huge tanks by the side - very typical Chinese restaurant decor.
Crab Meat & Fish Maw Soup - The soup was tasty and not overly starchy with relatively generous amounts of crab meat and fish maw. However, drinking too much still can make you woozy. And $8 gets you a decent sized bowl.
Braised Goose - I doubt the ban on fresh goose meat has been lifted so this is probably frozen meat. Not that it mattered though, because it was handled quite well and the only slip was the mild dryness of the meat. Portions were also generous for a small serving.
Hong Kong Kailan with Mushrooms - The vegetables weren't overcooked while the sauce didn't come across as too starchy. Mushroom servings were generous and though not the most exciting vegetable dish I've had, no complains really.
Lobster and Prawn Balls - This dish featured prawn paste and fresh prawn molded into balls and deep fried till crisp. Nice but a tad too oily for my liking. The pièce de résistance however, was the egg white with lobster meat served alongside. Savoury without any hint of rawness and a nice smooth texture, complemented by the shreds of lobster meat within. Could have done with a pinch less salt though.
Yam Paste with Gingko Nuts and Pumpkin - The hallmark of Teochew desserts and its most famous one yet - the humble yet time consuming to produce yam paste. Fragrant with a spoonful of not too sweet syrup atop, the paste was smooth and thick. And I like my yam paste without coconut milk.
After a 10% discount, the 3 of us chalked up a bill of almost $125 ($138 without discount), which isn't exactly cheap but consider the quality of food and I reckon it's still reasonable. Service was good and the place provided a nice respite from the mad Orchard Road crowds on a weekend.
See all my pictures here.
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