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Had a craving for ramen but didn't fancy jostling with the mad crowds at Santouka or Marutama nor was I particularly willing to pay in excess of $15 for a bowl of ramen. Enter Men Tei, which I came across while reading some forums online. Its selling point (to me at least)? All bowls of ramen go for $13 nett.
Located on the ground level of Robinson Centre along Robinson Road in the Central Business District (CBD), Men Tei occupys a small space that is simpley done up and seats probably about 20 pax tops. The menu occupies a single sheet of paper (6 different types of ramen) so if you are looking for variety, this place is probably out.
Shio Ramen - You have the option of specifying the "doneness" of your noodles, ranging from normal, hard or extra hard. I didn't know that until after my ramen was served so I am assuming they gave me the normal option. I thought that it was a little too soft but at least it retained a little chewiness. The ramen broth honestly wasn't very robust and I couldn't quite make out any pork taste. Simply put, it was just salty but light. The egg was quite well done - quivery without being overly soft while the yakibuta (3 slices) was tender and flavourful.
Spicy Tonkatsu Ramen - Although the spicy ramen looked the part, it actually wasn't that bad and that's coming from someone who has a low tolerance for spiciness. As with the Shio ramen, the broth wasn't very robust but the yakibuta and tamago were equally good.
For the price, I honestly think its value for money given the quality of the ramen. Service is decent as well and best of all, there is no queue when you dine there on weekday evenings (they do not open on weekends or public holidays). The same can't be said for weekday lunch though. Men Tei also provides a delivery service to nearby offices for those who crave ramen but are too busy to step out.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
I need some chocolate, I need some sweets; to cure my oh-so-painful-heartache. I need a patissier to cheer me up: Tiramisu, mont blanc, creme brulee, macaron, le royale; give it to me, give it all to me.
“A slice of everything on display, and a cup of hot chocolate with extra chocolate.”
“Everything?”
“Yes! Which part of every-thing do you not understand?”
The patissier is my best friend, he will know how to make this go away. Stepping into the patisserie, a tiny part of the gloominess was lifted, at the sight of the so-many-pretty-and-petite desserts.
I sunk my teeth into it, and oh-boy, it was good, I already felt better! The richness of the cake was soaked and immersed in the essence of the espresso, brandy & white rum, I was literally intoxicated.
Bittersweet. It’s all about chocolate. The first taste, so sweet and rosy, followed by the slightly bitter taste from the dark chocolate; the perfect analogy to life, the bitterness, the happy times, it depends on which part you want to taste - I want sweet now!
* * *
(1) The above is a largely exaggerated story on my part, no doubt sweets and chocolates helps when you are feeling down, but it is only a temporary measure. A heart-to-heart chat with a good friend does wonders, and the best part: we had it over desserts.
(2) The two slices of cake are Tiramisu and Chocolate Amer. The latter was a half-price promotional item for Bakerzin in the month of May. The current dessert that is on half-price is the New York cheesecake.
(3) As much as I do not really fancy Bakerzin, and the fact that I’ve tried almost every cakes there, the half-price promotion on a slice of cake was too tempting.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
I've always had a thing for reclusive enclaves like that of Portsdown, with its lush greenery and quaint little restaurants that lead you away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. And the area welcomes its newest tenant, an Italian restaurant specializing in pastas going by the name of Soprano (which in singing terms is a voice that has a vocal range that spans 2 octaves - roughly middle C to Soprano C) that opened just 2 weeks ago. Maybe the restaurant aspires to soar to great heights?
Located along Portsdown Road just opposite the building that houses Pietrasanta and cooking academy Palate Sensations, Soprano's sizeable compound comes with its own mini carpark, lawn and pool (not sure if it belongs to Soprano though). There is an option of al fresco seating or indoor seating, with the former perfect for chilling out on a cooling/windy afternoon or evening and the latter a life saver on warm days (the air conditioning seemed to be at a minimum when I was there that afternoon though).
The appetisers consisted of baby onions, onions and a mixture of button mushrooms, olives and capsicums - all of which provided a nice way to start off the meal. The bread on the other hand, wasn't served warm and tasted like ordinary baguette, albeit much denser in the center. Nothing impressive.
Bruschetta - I am actually quite perplexed by the amount of salad that came with the bruschetta. It formed the bulk of this dish save for generous helpings of halved cherry tomatoes atop 2 slices of ciabatta bread. Shouldn't the bread take center stage here? That aside, the ciabatta was toasted to a crisp and sprinkled with olive oil and fine salt granules, giving it a nice resounding texture marrying the sweetness and plumpness of the cherry tomatoes. Given the price ($9), not something I would order again though.
Linguine Aragostina - For $15 a pop, this was a steal honestly. You get 2 halves of a baby lobster served with al dente linguine in a robust and spicy (check out the cut chillis) tomato base sauce. If you prefer other sorts of pasta besides linguine, the aragostina option is also open to spaghetti. They need to fix the problem with the baby lobster though. It wasn't stale but it wasn't exactly fresh either, coming across as a little fishy.
Ravioli Ai Funghi Porcini e Tartufo - This was a cream based pasta and tended to be rather overwhelming after a few mouthfuls. But that wasn't to say that it wasn't good. The ravioli skin was not too thick and came with cheese and spinach stuffing (you can choose what stuffing you would like) in a sea of thick fragrant creamy gravy. I personally thought that the porcini mushrooms tasted great as well - crunchy with a nice woody taste.
Tiramisu - There was something different about this tiramisu. The mascarpone cheese was really yellowish in colour, probably due to the excess addition of egg yolks. I couldn't quite make out any substantial difference though except it being more dense then usual. The sponge to mascarpone ratio was rather lopsided in favour of the cheese. Whatever sponge fingers there were at the bottom was soaked in weak coffee, which meant that this was a teetotaler's rendition. Overall a decent dessert.
Profiterole - The profiterole was complimentary of Soprano and came stuffed with milk chocolate mousse drenched in chilled liquid white chocolate. I am a sucker for such stuff and honestly this is the first time I'm seeing a restaurant in Singapore serving profiteroles drenched in chocolate, which is the way they do it in France. Simple decadent! I wonder how much this goes for though because desserts are not listed on the menu.
$52.80 for 2 pax isn't expensive given the portions of food and decent quality (save for the baby lobster). Throw in reasonably good service and a charming environment and you have a serious contender in the portsdown dining scene. Prices for most pastas hover around the $15-$16 range and lets hope they keep it that way. There is also no GST, only service charge, which is definitely a plus and don't be shy to ask for tap water.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Rainy days are good for sleeping in, but if you are not, the weather makes you sleepy and gloomy. Sunny days are best if you are at the beach, otherwise you probably will be cursing at the blazing sun! I like windy & cloudy day, the breeze simply cheers me up; just like a slice of that very delicious cake.
It took a while before the first of the lot arrived on our table, and everybody focused on the pretty decorations before returning our gaze back to the beautiful cake. The patissier’s hands must be a gift from god - they make everything so pretty!
Honey, would you like some honey? Oh yes honey, I’ll like your honey!
One particular word stood out in the description, “layers of HONEY chiboust cream and strawberry jelly sandwiched within crispy almond dacquoise.” Baby, I was attracted to you, just like bees to honey. And lovely name too, Nid d’abeilles ($7.90).
Why is a black forest call a black forest? Is it because the cake was first created in a forest so black and depressing that it was a shining beacon that brightened up everything? This, was my kind of black forest cake ($7.90); it had very little kirsch soaked cherries. I always wondered why nobody did a black forest without any cherries.
My dear, would you do one for me, pretty please?
The red velvet ($7.90) was completely opposite from its name, it was red but nowhere velvety; the cake was overly-dry. It was definitely a bimbo; pretty to look at, but no substance inside. A real pity - I was eyeing the cherry ganache with much interest.
I always had a thing for rose, you know she’s pretty, cute and even her name sounds so sexy! Even though she got together with lychee, but I’m happy for the sweet couple. They tasted good together, so dreamy, blissful and pleasant! And Oh, how I wish there’s more of the Valrhona ivory chocolate glaze; I’m on cloud nine after having the Lychee rose ($7.90)!
Mango cakes are typically the type of cake that I used to have for my childhood birthdays. For the Mango Mascarpone ($8.90), there was hardly any cake since the composition was made up mostly of the mascarpone cheese cream. It came slightly disfigured, personally I felt that it would taste better if not for the addition of the coconut crumble.
And I will like the cake to have a bit of cake.
And this, was totally my-kind-of-cake! The breathtaking of her beauty seemed to suck the air out of the room, and to complete this vision of perfectness, there was the cute chocolate-film decoration. It would be divine if there’s more of the hazelnut praline feuilletine; I just couldn’t get enough of it!
If there’s a dessert to define me, this would be it, the chocolate praline cake ($7.90).
When the dessert-holics come out to play, there’s only sweets and more sweets! I love desserts outing, we get to try so many cakes just by paying one slice of cake each! Are you a dessert-holic? Join us for more sweets next time!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
Spring Ju Chun Yuan - a collaboration between Far East Hospitality and Ju Chun Yuan, which is known for its Fuzhou cuisine in China. Apparently the boss of Far East ate at the restaurant in China and was so impressed by the food that he decided to bring it to Singapore, lock, stock and barrel with no modifications done to suit the Singaporean palate. And Ju Chun Yuan's claim to fame? It's purportedly the birth place of the extremely pricey and decadent "Buddha Jumps Over The Wall" (佛跳墙).
Aptly located at Far East Square, Ju Chun Yuan is housed in a conserved Chinese courtyard complete with traditional frontage and a tiled roof from ancient Chinese times as well as bamboo shoots flanking the walkway that leads to the restaurant. The interior however, is modern Chinese with a touch of class and sophistication.
Three Delicacies "Min Appetizers" Combination - The first of the three delicacies - Cashew nuts lightly coated with sugar to give it a mild sweetness and sheen. Nice and crunchy and I happen to have a weakness for cashews so this suited me just fine. The second delicacy was essentially winter melon strips dipped into orange syrup. The strips had a nice crunch and tasted mildy sweet with a zesty tinge of orange. Great as a snack. Third was the cucumber slices that had a mild and sharp spicy taste to it. Not a big fan of cucumbers though, so I didn't venture past my first piece.
Pan Fried Cod Fish with House Recipes - According to the waitress, the house recipe contained about 10 different spices in it and I was sold, especially when you throw cod fish into the equation. But honestly, it didn't quite pan out as expected. Sure, the sauce was mildly sweet and very light but the batter coating on the fish slices was a little too thick and I couldn't quite make out the texture of the cod nor the sweetness of the flesh. Disappointing.
Braised Beancurd with Vegetables Served in Fuzhou Style - Beancurd is comfort food to me and I like it done in any way, well almost. I don't exactly know what fuzhou style tofu entails but this dish tasted like normal braised beancurd (红烧豆府) to me. Average but edible.
Braised "Lychee" Minced Pork with Water Chestnut - I opted for this dish because I was intrigued by lychee, water chestnut and minced pork together in 1 dish. It turned out to be a most unwise decision. For starters, the minced pork comprised mostly fatty pork and carried an overwhelming pork taste. The lump of chestnut in the center of the meat ball added a nice crunch to it while the drizzled sauce tasted sweet, very much like those you would find on sweet and sour pork (咕噜肉). There was no taste of lychee whatsoever.
Fried Rice with Minced Shrimp and Egg White Served in Fuzhou Style - As aesthetically pleasing as the fried rice looked with its homogeneously egg coated grains of rice, it fell short in taste. There was no discernible wok hei taste and the whole dish lacked any flavour to the extent of being bland. Still edible though as the rice was soft and moist with reasonable servings of chopped prawns and other condiments. One thing I realised was that the rice seemed more steamed then fried. The restaurant probably steamed it for quite a bit before doing a fast fry with minimal oil.
Cold White Fungus with Osmanthus Syrup - A light and sweet cold white fungus dessert with floral connotations from the osmanthus to end off the disappointing meal. As average as it gets.
Fuzhou Yam Pudding - I had been dying to try out Ju Chun Yuan's rendition of my favourite dessert, yam pudding, ever since it was billed as one of the best by local media sometime back. On hindsight, I should have known about the overhyping that plagues most local media these days. Though the yam pudding was smooth, it retained little moisture, making it a tad dry. It wasn't fragrant either, probably due to the minimal or lack of lard. What was different was the addition of sesame seeds, which really boils down to personal preference.
Dinner for 2 cost to the tune of $71, which isn't expensive for the quantity and variety of food. However, quality is suspect, which does make $71 seem a little over the top. To be fair, it may be because I am not used to authentic Fuzhou cuisine like the way they do it in China? Either that, or they really need to work on their food.
See all my pictures here.
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With a poached egg sitting pretty on top of the pastas, the Carbonara ($13.50) looks great and tasty when it first arrived. But when I finally got to try it, the cream base pasta was a tad too strong; it was great for the initial few bites, but the cream was way too overwhelming.
Spaghetti tossed in a classic rich tomato meat sauce and aged Parmesan cheese, the classic Bolognaise ($14.50).
Bolognaise and poached eggs doria ($16), the traditional baked rice covered with cheese, and did you saw that? Poached eggs!
Croque Madame ($13.50) Homemade pain de mie (white toast bread) baked with ham, Swiss Gruyere cheese, sunny side up and side salad with house dressing.
“Sandwich for dinner?” You raised your eyebrow. “Why not?” Don’t look down on this Madame, she can sure hold her weight with the others; the thick slice of bread, the heavy cheese, the egg, ham, and salad - everything you need for a filling meal.
Something sweet, to end the meal, before we continue elsewhere
One of us had the Earl Grey ice cream ($8) from Canele before, and she was bend on having it, wish acceded, it’s her birthday that we’re celebrating after all. The very distinctive earl grey flavour, the seemingly-smaller-scoop-than-my-previous-visit, and the milk chocolate shards.
We almost fought over this, the madagascar ($8) was way too, common (read:plain), to worth the money. But I was proved wrong; open your eyes wide, that’s vanilla beans you’re looking at! Ooh, ah! That, alone, made me felt better about paying eight dollars for a scoop of ice cream. Fresh strawberries that were not very sweet, and almond crumble at the bottom to provide a crunchy texture to the smooth and soft ice cream.
I looked around the adjacent tables, throwing envious glances to the mont blanc, the tiramisu, the macarons, that the others were having. Unfortunately, the rest (on my table) did not have the same feeling as me, they never like cakes you see.
* * *
I wasn’t really impressed with the main course that Canele offered, but, to be fair, I think they are priced reasonably. And if I may, I’ll also like to think that the ice cream here are under-recognised; people always rave about the cakes available, but I don’t think much people know that they serve good ice cream too.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
Twenty four of us descended to Gunther’s in a foodgraphy-frenzy. Hells hath no fury like a floggers' hunger. The long discussion of food, followed by the occasional exclaims of ‘ooh‘, and ‘aah‘. Welcome to the world of the food lovers.
It was smooth, and silky, strands of it sticking out; yet in the dim light setting against the white background, it looked angelic, yes, this must be it: Cold Angel-hair pasta. I enjoyed every slurp, and I’ll gladly have it again.
This, is the In-thing for this season, like the latest fashion trends for each year; rejoiced people, it is this time of the year for the sacred white asaparagus, not green, not red, but white. And then, I spotted the yellowish sauce over the the Poached white asparagus with Bouchot mussels.
I stopped, and slowly took a bit of it with my spoon; “it couldn’t be, Oh yes it is!” I dipped everything on the plate with the hollandaise sauce, and made sure not a single drop of it was left.
“Have you had white asparagus before?”
“No, I don’t see what's the craze over them..”
A surprise always had the biggest impact when you least expected it, and it came pleasantly of course.
There was pata negra, and salted baked seabass for the folks who couldn’t have beef; and damn, the roasted black pig from Spain sounded so good, I should have claimed to have allergies against cows!
My piece was very well balanced in the portions of the fats and meat (read: too much fats). I took a bite of the meat, and chewed down some fats. And it’s not that the Grilled Cote de Boeuf wasn’t good. In fact it was more than excellent; the slightly tinge of pink fully captured my imagination.
My eyes tweaked to see what was coming. It was supposed to be desserts next, but they were serving us, pizzas. You know, the elongated slice of thin-crust bread with toppings all over. Ah no, I was clearly mistaken, this was no pizza, it’s the Fine apple tart a la dragees, with rum & raisin ice-cream.
Once we had our desserts, once we paid off the bill, it would be bye-bye until a year later. Or at least that’s what the script wrote. A year, is far too long a time for us to meet up. We should meet up regularly my friends, and hunt down all the good food around our island.
Note: The 4 course Carte Blanche set menu was $45 per person and done especially for our Food Bloggers lunch, it's not available to public.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
Went in search of Hokkien food one weekend evening and ended up at Quan Xian Yuan, which came highly recommended to me for its quality food and reasonable prices. Apparently it is so popular that when we tried making reservations for 630pm in the afternoon itself, it was full and the only option was to rush down at 530pm and finish our meal by 630pm. And so we did.
The place isn't located at somewhere you would term as accessible - an inconspicuous restaurant occupying 2 rather dilapidated units along Jalan Besar Road. The interior is dated as well, looking more like a scene out from a sixties movie set then a modern Chinese restaurant.
Prawn Roll - The prawn roll aka ha zhor had too much batter for my liking. It looked a little like goreng pisang (deep fried banana fritters) to me and that's definitely not a good thing. I couldn't quite make out the subtle presence of the prawns, if any and honestly, it was filled with more flour then anything.
Broccoli with Scallops - You can't really go wrong with broccoli and scallops and thankfully this one wasn't the exception. Apart from the scallops being a little too soft, I thought that this dish was still quite decent, but nothing to shout about of course.
Kong Ba Pao (扣肉包) - The answer to all weight loss programs, diets and they key to having a short life - that's what popping a serving of kong ba in your mouth does for you. I would have gladly thrown any health concerns out of the window if the kong ba had been good. Sadly, that wasn't the case. The meat was overly fatty to the point of being gross and the gravy was seriously bland. A little sugar might have made it more palatable.
Hokkien Mee - If the taste of alkaline was my thing, then this dish would have been a delicacy. Otherwise, it was terrible. Bland save for the strong hint of alkaline from the noodles, coupled with not so fresh prawns and a watery gravy that was more for the colour then taste, the noodles were limp and soggy. Not exactly my idea of a signature dish.
To be fair to the restaurant, the food isn't expensive (save for the scallops dish). As a matter of fact, it's considered quite cheap, standing at $48 for the 3 of us. But something really needs to be done about the quality of food. We tried the signature dishes and they turned out so bad. I really can't imagine how the "normal" dishes will turn out. Makes me wonder about the crowds.
See all my pictures here.
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Absinthe - a green alcoholic spirit which was more commonly known as the green fairy because of its purported hallucinogenic effects. It also happens to be the name of upmarket French restaurant jointly owned by the folks from OSO, restaurant manager Philippe Pau and chef Francois Mermilliod of Flutes at the Fort fame.
Sitting pretty at the end of a row of shophouses along Bukit Pasoh Road and playing immediate neighbour to OSO, Absinthe's green signboard, which is a nod to the greenish colour of the alcohol, greets you from a distance. The swanky interior boasts low ceilings and parquet flooring coupled with ambient ceiling lighting for a relaxing dining experience.
Complimentary Bread - When the first round of complimentary bread hit us, it was actually quite good. Crusty on the outside while retaining its softness and fluffiness on the inside. The second serving was akin to eating stones so I promptly gave up after a few mouthfuls.
Chilled Ravioli of Lobster with Lime Sabayon, Pink Guava Julienne and Shiso - Very interesting to say the least. This wasn't your typical ravioli. The skin was reminiscent of har gao and there were crunchy strands of guava nestled below it on a bed of fresh Boston lobster. The presence of fish roe gave it a nice salty taste while the lime sabayon was savoury with a hint of tartness. Very nice.
Pan-Fried Foie Gras with Warm Blinis and Wild Hibiscus Flower Compote - I thought that the foie gras was excellent. On par with what I had at Sage, if not better by a notch or two. Very well pan fried to a crisp on the outside yet melt in the mouth quivery on the inside with a hint of saltiness. The hibiscus flower compote provided a nice sourish dimension to the foie gras.
Hokkaido Scallop With Sea Urchin Emulsion and Small Herb Salad - Scallops never fail to entice me and Absinthe's rendition came with sea urchin emulsion, which was a first for me. The scallops were done tataki style, well seared on the outside but soft and relatively rare on the inside, which is a refreshing change from the usual seared scallops. I could make out a hint of fishiness amongst the predominantly salty emulsion. Overall another excellent dish.
Pork Belly - The pork belly was a special of the day and I requested this as my main instead of the lamb/fish option for my degustation and I am glad I did. The skin was very crispy, the fats were sinfully melt in your mouth and the meat fibrous with a generous dose of salt. And being pork belly, the ratio of fats to meat is a lot higher then other parts of the pig. Definitely not for the health conscious or faint hearted.
Crème Brûlée, Absinthe Sorbet - Apparently some of the ice parfaits didn't make it past the QC test that evening so I had a choice of crème brûlée instead. I wasn't too impressed by it though. The caramel layer was a little too overtorched, resulting in a rather burnt layer. On the upside, it was milky smooth with raisins in it. What I thought was interesting was the absinthe sorbet, which I had mistaken as lime sorbet at first sight. The sorbet had a very weak absinthe dosage, coming across more like liqurious with its herbal overtones.
The degustation cost $98++ but because I requested to change my main to the pork belly, it cost me another $6++, bringing the total to $122.41 nett. Sure it isn't cheap, but the excellent quality of food and service more then makes up for it. I will definitely be back, but this time I'm aiming the private dining room for 4pax within the wine cellar.
See all my pictures here.
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I have a sweet tooth
Contrary to normal beliefs that guys don’t like sweet stuff, I, for one, however proved to be the complete opposite. I like things that make me happy; food that can cheer me up, the happily-ever-after fairytale-like stories, and naturally, sweet nibbles that I always crave for.
The lady took one, from the pile of mountain-stacked high; this was the one destined for me. Poking a hole into the bottom by tucking it in, she pressed the pump; the lovely custard swam into the tiny hole, just big enough, for everything to flow inside.
Dusted with some icing sugar; it was akin like putting on the make-up for the pretty. I was excited by the sticking in and out, with each done, I could barely hide my excitement. And she repeated this process, six times in total.
Do not, I repeat, Do not (note: in bold), share your sweets around, they are not meant to be shared. What’s the point of passing them around, only to feel slightly agonizing over the fact that you are going to have less for yourself?
Stop staring at my cream puff. They are mine, and mine alone.
This, will come down as, one of the toughest decision you will make in your life. Chocolate, vanilla, or strawberrry? And there’s the lovely eclair winking at me, the tiramisu trying to seduce me. It is a land, of temptations. I decided, like what seemed to take an eternity, to go for just half-a-dozen with the chocolate and vanilla flavours. The rest, are my excuses for coming back next time.
And I regretted just getting six.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given: