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Nemesis's Reviews

       30 Jul 2008 at 10:48 pm
    feizhu feizhu says:

    Saw that Dian Xiao Er was rather empty one afternoon while I was at Vivocity so popped in for a quick lunch. Legend has it that a Xiao Er (waiter) at a roast duck restaurant combined herbs with roast duck to help his bedridden master recover. The master showed remarkable improvements in his condition and emerged even stronger than before, thus giving rise to the Herbal Roast Duck, which Dian Xiao Er is known for.

    All of Dian Xiao Er's restaurants are painstakingly designed to replicate the teahouses of ancient China and the outlet at Vivo certainly looks the part with its wooden beams, grey brick walls and red Chinese lanterns. Tables and chairs were of the wooden variant as well and honestly I felt that everything was cramped too close for comfort. Overhearing the adjourning table's conversation proved too easy for comfort.

    Soup of the Day - The soup of the day was lotus root soup, which came across as light and sweet with chunks of meat and lotus root inside. Definitely a great way to start off the meal.

    Poached Spinach with Century and Salted Eggs - This method of cooking usually uses 3 types of eggs but I guess Dian Xiao Er decided to go without the normal egg, using only century and salted eggs. I found the vegetables a tad too soft for my liking and the taste struck me as rather ordinary.

    Herbal Roast Duck - There have been many claims that a trip to Dian Xiao Er is never complete without ordering the legendary herbal roast duck. I didn't quite attest to those claims though, finding the duck to be less then extraordinary. Maybe I'm just picky but it was really way too sweet for my liking, even though the skin was crisp and the meat firm. Strangely enough, the duck tasted to me like 九层糕 or nine layered cake sans the texture.

    Old Style Steamed Fish Slices -
    I don't know what does old style entail so I shall not comment, but the fish wasn't exactly fresh and that definitely didn't sit well with me. There was really alot of fish leftover when we were done.

    Overall the lunch didn't impress me much and it wasn't cheap either, standing at about $49 for 2 pax. Quantity is sufficient but there is much room for improvement quality wise. Until then, I guess I won't be returning to Dian Xiao Er in a hurry.

    See all my pictures here.


    Rating given:Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5

       29 Jul 2008 at 1:25 am
    Category: Juice Bars
    ladyironchef ladyironchef says:

    Orange Julius has been around for as long i remember it, but never have i purchase anything from there before. Neither did i pay much attention to it. So it came to me as a surprise when my friend was buying their orange juice, and i saw that they were actually selling hotdogs also.

    Orange Julius ($3.40)
    Freshly squeezed orange juice with Julius flavor enhancer blended with flaked ice to create a light, airy, and very refreshing drink which is also low in fat and contains no cholestrol.

    Julius Originals come in three sizes, small ($3.40), medium ($4), and large ($4.70). And there’s also smoothies available.

    Give me an orange, Julius!

    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:Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5

       29 Jul 2008 at 1:23 am
    ladyironchef ladyironchef says:

    Rabbit Brand, rabbit brand. We are not talking about the rabbit brand sweet. I have heard about Rabbit Brand Seafood restaurant, but i have no idea that they got an outlet selling seafood delicacies, right in the middle of town, Lucky Plaza.

    My friend introduce me to Rabbit Brand Seafood delicacies for a budget lunch, i don’t visit Lucky Plaza often, but Rabbit Brand does turns out to be quite a surprise.

    A quick look at the menu actually tells you everything about Rabbit Brand, they offer seafood delicacies such as shark fin, abalone, at absolutely cheap prices, how authentic the seafood are remains to be seen, but then you can’t really to expect to have the real deal at a price as cheap as 5 bucks can you?

    They have many sets, with the cheapest going at $5.50, to the most expensive at $12.50. Buddha over the wall, abalone, shark fin, sea cucumber, scallops are the seafood delicacies which Rabbit Brand serves.

    Set B: Baby Abalone in sauce ($8.50)
    The set B option has the baby abalone in sauce, vegetables, rice and chinese tea, and not to mention the cheng tng (literally clear soup, a type of chinese dessert) which comes free with every set.

    Whether the baby abalone is the real one or not isn’t really the question here, its the sauce which the baby abalone is cooked in that excites me. The essence of the mushroom and the abalone are clearly all absorbed into the sauce, and just having the sauce with white rice is good enough.

    Set J: Shark fin, scallop and scrambled egg ($5.50)
    The set J has shark fin and scallop with the scrambled egg. I am skeptical about the shark fin, and scallop mention in the menu because its barely there, but then you can’t complain when the meal is only $5.50. What do you expect?

    Nonetheless, i love scrambled eggs, and the one here does well for me. A simple and hearty meal.

    Pak Choy Meow ($1.60)
    The pak choy meow, or white vegetables comes in four, and two mushroom. Evidently in the picture. The prices for their side dishes selections are cheap, with most under 2 bucks for each one. The white vegetables are good, crunchy and fresh.

    Total bill is $16.69 for 2 person. I do think that the prices are rather reasonable for a meal in the heart of the town, Orchard. With normal food and drinks in a food court, prices are about the same, but i think the simple fare here definitely suits me better.

    You cannot be expecting to have the real seafood delicacies with the cheap prices you are paying, but its quite a novice tasting such similar ones. Rather than buying you-know-what junk food, have your lunch today at Rabbit Brand seafood specialty!

    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:Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5

    474. Outback Steakhouse   
       27 Jul 2008 at 11:33 pm
    Category: Steakhouses
    feizhu feizhu says:

    I realise that I've never written anything about Outback Steakhouse despite quite a few visits to to the restaurant both in Singapore and overseas, so here goes. Popped by with my gf on a not so quiet Thursday evening.

    The interior is cosy and cheerful with wooden booth seats for extra privacy. Signs and stickers adorn the wall with overhanging lamp shades for a casual laid back atmosphere. Interestingly, while Outback is supposed to embody the spirit of the Australian outback - rugged, friendly and casual, this successful chain actually started out in the US and the owners have never stepped foot into Australia! So much for authenticity I guess.

    Complimentary Bread & Cheese Fries - The complimentary bread was relatively huge and came served on a cutting board with a knife and butter. I thought it was rather average tasting though.
    I'm a sucker for fries and cheese so anything that combines these two ingredients together works magic for me. It definitely helped that the fries were chunky and crispy while the cheese was thick and had lots of bacon chips in it.

    Prime Minister's Prime Rib - At 8oz, this is one of the smaller prime ribs that I've had (I usually prefer a 10oz or 12oz). Slow roasted in an oven, the medium rare rib was succulent and tender but I did find it a little too fatty. It could have done with a dash of salt and pepper as well to complement the natural beefy taste of the rib. There's an option to add on homemade mushroom sauce or peppercorn sauce, but at $6.90 a pop, I'd rather pass.

    Sizzling Chicken - The sizzling chicken had me salivating at the fragrance it emitted at the table. However I did find this dish a little lacking. The boneless chicken came across as a tad too dry though still reasonably fibrous. Nothing special but still very palatable.

    Chocolate Thunder from Down Under - Warm and rich chocolate sauce drizzled over soft and moist pecan brownie with a nice smooth scoop of vanilla ice cream. Whats not to like?However, at $15.90 for this dessert, I had expected a humongous slab of brownie topped with yet another humongous scoop of ice cream, enough to stuff 2 people. What I got was really disappointing, size wise. To be fair, the brownie and ice cream was bigger than usual, but only by that much. A very nice and sinful dessert!

    $111 for 2 pax is certainly on the high side for a hearty but relatively unimpressive dinner. Food quality is above average at best but what I like is the casual setting and friendly service. Soft drinks are free flow if you order a glass, so please don't spend unnecessary money by ordering 2 glasses when you can order 1 glass to share, alongside free ice water.

    See all my pictures here.


    Rating given:Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5

    475. Village Wok   
       24 Jul 2008 at 4:44 pm
    claud claud says:

    DIY Popiah anyone?

    I love making my own popiahs! My grandma used to host Popiah party for us. As we grow up, everyone is too busy with work and stuff, we've not have any popiah party for long time. Now I've found the place to go for our next family dinner! Village Wok serves DIY Popiah Set! How cool is that? The set comes with all the necessary condiments, ingredients and the power chili. Love it! The popiah skin was neither too thin nor thick, just nice to wrap up all the yummy ingredients without having to worry that the skin will give way when bitten into.

    Dishes ordered include the Village Smoked Chicken with BBQ Pork, Deep Fried Crystal Prawns in Light Wasabi Sauce, XO Crispy Tofu, Brinjal in BXO Sauce, Vegetarian Ee Mee and Pulat Hitam with Coconut Gelato ice-cream.

    The Smoked Chicken served with their special ginger dip was quite tasty. Personally would prefer the meat to be softer thou. But still passable.

    Wasabi prawns is deep fried and topped with very light wasabi sauce. As a fan of wasabi, this would attract me more if the sauce was more powerpack. This dish is best eaten while its still hot. The outer fried layer become slightly tough when I had my second piece when the dish has cooled off.

    XO Crispy Tofu was good. Homemade tofu was soft and the XO sauce served on the side adds flavor to it. Simple yet tasty.

    Fried Brinjal with Crispy Squid is not a vegetable which most would enjoy. But the ones at Village Wok managed to convince my friend to give it a go. He quite enjoyed it and even had quite a few pieces. Their special BXO sauce gives this purple vegetable a new life. The sauce was sweet and the crispy squid topping gives it a crunchy texture.

    The Vegetarian Ee Mee was nice. There was plentiful of golden mushrooms which give the dish more texture when chewing the noodles. Sauce was not too thick nor saltish. Just nice to my liking.

    The lunch ended with a refreshing glass of pulut hitam (black glutinous rice) with gelato coconut ice-cream. It gave a beautiful closure to the meal. Will surely order this when I return.

    I was told that they've a special dish - Cold Crab with Special Vinaigrette Sauce. We'd wanted to try it, but this is a by-reservation-only dish. Must remember to place my order the next time I go. It looks pretty good. And Village Wok creates and uses only their own in-house brand of sauces and dips.


    Rating given:Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5

       24 Jul 2008 at 2:03 am
    Category: Buffet
    ladyironchef ladyironchef says:

    If you have been following through LIC, you will know that i never fancy buffet, because the greedy me will want to eat as much as possible to satisfy the price, and you need to fork out big money for quality buffet, think The line at Shangri-la, Wasabi bistro, Melt the world cafe.

    Having said that, as my family wanted a weekend dinner buffet without being too heavy on the pocket, i did some research online, and decided on Feast @ East the buffet restaurant. Nothing mind-blowing, just the rather reasonable bill for a weekend dinner buffet, which can otherwise be very expensive.

    Feast @ East is located at Grand Mercure roxy hotel at East coast road, just directly opposite Parkway parade. I do have doubts about restaurants in hotel situated in suburban area initially. But i guess there’s always a first time for everything.

    The interior of Feast @ East is rather big, i think housing 80-100 shouldn’t be a problem. As the name implies, firstly the heritage feast in the east. And second, they are a buffet restaurant. Duh!

    A gastronomic journey of food from a bygone area which many may have forgotten and also the familiar favourites. Truly authentic tastes from the various cultures and lifestyle of Singapore.

    This is how Feast @ East describe themselves, and i do agree to certain extent. What really impress me about Feast @ East is the small little details they go into, to create the bygone area feel with some of the stuff that we used to see when we are just small kids. You will see them in the pictures later.

    However, the food really is average, nothing much to shout about, and before the buffet here, i had Kampong chicken, went to Bark cafe, so i wasn’t very hungry.

    “Authentic” local delights
    Somehow i feel that they are more like Hawker food, and honestly, hawker food are best eaten in hawker, not a restaurant.

    Roasted meat selectionsSurprisingly the roast duck is actually quite good. I am more of a duck than chicken fan, and i must say the duck gets the thumbs up!

    Gammon Ham
    The gammon ham is too salty, not to our liking. Generous in serving, but wait, this is a all-you-can-eat buffet after all.

    Mee Siam
    I had a taste of the mee siam, i’m not sure how you exactly describe a good mee siam, but i think this one is normal.

    Laksa
    The laksa is quite all right to be fair, nothing fantastic, but nothing bad either.

    The desserts section are really the part that set me licking, literally. I am a sucker for desserts, and for feast @ east, i didn’t really try most of their local food, instead my efforts are all channel into, yes desserts.

    How can one resist the warm and chocolaty, chocolate fondue. Definitely not me, put a marshmallow under the flowing chocolate, and its simply goodness, do it the same with different kind of fruits!

    The desserts and cakes selections are rather comprehensive, there are hits and misses of course.

    Total Bill is $134.15 for 4 person which works out to be about $33 per head. The normal price for their buffet dinner will be $38, but we use the Citicard promotion, 1 dines free with 3 paying adults. At $33, i guess the price isn’t that expensive given its a weekend buffet dinner. But at $38, i might think twice before coming.

    You can’t really speak of quality in the food, we felt that they are normal, at best a few dish stands out. Otherwise you are actually paying for the experience of eating hawker food in a restaurant environment. Dessert-wise i think its not too bad, with quite a repertoire to choose from.

    Like what i mentioned earlier, credits to Feast @ East for putting in the effort in the small details which creates a truly heritage feel, the gastronomic journey of food from a bygone area which many may have forgotten. The concept is good, but the food just needs to be better.

    If you are not too fussy about food, Feast @ East do makes a nice place to bring your family along for a buffet spread. But if you are particular about the quality of food, stir clear of this place.

    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:Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5

       23 Jul 2008 at 11:56 pm
    feizhu feizhu says:

    Dim sum was on the cards again and this time it was at Peach Garden at OCBC building. Peach Garden appealed with its location, promise of a great view as well as its stellar reviews for dim sum.

    Perched on the 33rd floor of OCBC building at Chulia Street, Peach Garden offers a birds eye view of the surrounding area if you manage to get a window seat of course. The interior oozes class with its traditional Chinese wooden decor complete with thick carpets for that touch of exclusivity.

    Appetiser - This was really weird tasting to me because it had cordyceps in it, which reminded me of maggots. I shall not attempt to elaborate more.

    Steamed Siew Mai with Phoneix Prawn - A staple in any dim sum offering, the siew mai was quite different in the sense that there was alot of prawn in it and though fresh, it overwhelmed the taste of the pork. I'm not really complaining though. What I didn't appreciate was the prawns not being fully de shelled, with the tip still showing. I guess the purpose was to show that it was a whole prawn in the siew mai.

    Steamed Fresh Prawn Dumpling - You can't really go wrong with Har Gao and Peach Garden wasn't just about to challenge that notion. The skin, though a little too thick for my liking, was rather chewy and enveloped a dollop of nice crunchy prawns.

    XO Carrot Cake - Okay this wasn't exactly very good, with the carrot cake a tad too soft and salty. Portions were very small as well for the price ($8). On the upside, it wasn't too oily and came across as rather fragrant.

    Baked Spare Rib with BBQ Sauce - I've actually eaten this quite a few times from Peach Garden so it was no surprise that it was good as I remembered it to be. Crisp along the edges with a nice sweet aftertaste from the BBQ sauce while succulent and naturally sweet on the inside. But at $7 a pop, I don't exactly find it value for money.

    Steamed Rice Roll with Prawn & Steamed Rice Roll with Char Siew - I hate to say this but both the steamed rice rolls aka chee cheong fan, were substandard. For one, the cheong fan's texture tasted rather coarse, not silky and smooth as I would have expected. To put it in perspective, there are a lot of hawker stalls out there that sell the same quality of chee cheong fan.

    Boiled Porridge with Century Egg and Pork - The porridge was salty and between the 8 of us, we almost couldn't finish 4 bowls of it. That probably says alot. And strangely enough, the pork tasted more like chicken.

    Steamed Xiao Long Bao with Conpoy - Average average average. The final verdict that most of us handed down. The skin was a tad too dry and thick while the juice within wasn't flavourful enough. Probably the only saving grace was that the pork taste wasn't too overwhelming.

    Baked Mini Egg Tart - Flaky with a nice and not too sweet custard filling, the mini egg tarts were rather decent but not outstanding. For one, the crust was tasteless and at $1.30 each, its a total rip off.

    Steamed BBQ Pork Bun - I personally thought that the flour was a little too thick for the bun, which made it quite a chore to eat. The char siew filling was decent though but it wasn't enough to make me write this dish off.

    Steamed Yolk Cream Bun - A signature dish of Peach Garden and rightly so. The delicious smooth molten custard gushed out as soon as an opening was made in the moist bun skin, making for a messy but delightful dish. However, as with the BBQ pork bun, I did find the flour a little too thick as well. One thing I also found lacking was the presence of egg yolk sediment in the molten custard, which would have given it a slightly salty taste and a rougher texture. But all in all, an excellent eat nevertheless.

    Baked BBQ Pork Pastry - After the excellent BBQ pork pastry aka char siew sou I had at Yan Ting, nothing else comes close. And Peach Garden's rendition was in no position to contest that claim. Though decent, the char siew did seem a tad too sweet for my liking while the pastry came across as flat.

    An uninspiring dim sum session for 8 cost to the tune of $178 after a 15% discount. Service overwall was rather terrible save for a few rather nice gestures by 2 ladies who I presume to be the owners. Prices are still rather reasonable and if you can look past the hits and misses and generally slightly above average dim sum, you will probably like Peach Garden. As for me, I'll be happy to stick to my regular haunts.

    See all my pictures here.


    Rating given:Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5

    478. Caffe Cova   
       23 Jul 2008 at 12:50 pm
    Category: Deli and Cafe
    ladyironchef ladyironchef says:

    Cova, which opened in 1817 beside the famous “La Scala” theatre, was founded by Antonio Cova, a soldier of Napoleon who first ‘campaigned’ as a pastry chef in the Galleria De Cristoforis.

    Over the past 190 off years, Cova has built up a name for its authentic Italian culture , offering an espresso coffee or a tea savoured in the comfort of a neo-classical lounge in the mainstay of high-society life.

    Outside of Italy, Cova can only be found in Japan and Hong Kong, so land ahoy! For Cova has finally opened on our shores. Choosing the ritzy Paragon Shopping centre where the likes of Prada, Gucci can be found, for the opening in Singapore certainly won’t go wrong for a premium brand like Cova.

    Caffe Cova is spilt into a tea room and restaurant, with the open concept cafe having the space once taken by Dome, and the restaurant taking over the premise of Swarovski crystal shop.

    The restaurant interior is done up splendidly, the lighting and the tone is set in majestic gold to reflect the ambience of the place. The serving waiters are dressed smartly, stepping inside the restaurant, think fashion and lifestyle.

    They had quite a wide range of cakes available, but its not available on the menu because the cakes changes everyday. So you’ll need to go to the counter to order for it.

    But, the big but, there’s only several cakes of the day, which you order in slices. The rest are all sold in whole, which makes it difficult if you want to try many different cakes, or unless you got a large group with you.

    Prices in a posh restaurant like Cova is definitely not what you will describe as affordable. For their dinner menu, the mains are all in the 30 range.

    For a swanky restaurant, you may ask 30 should seem rather reasonable, given there’s other places not in their league but charge around the same price. But Cova being famous for its coffee, cakes and pastries, i remain skeptical about paying 30 for their main course.

    My secret food partner and I went for dinner, but we were after their cakes and pastries after all. So we didn’t ordered any main course, desserts are enough!

    Unfortunately for us, Caffe Cova seems to be very popular during tea time, when we went during dinner time, quite a lot of their pastries are sold out, that includes their signature Sacher cake. And we went just one week into their opening.

    Bigne Pistachio
    Cova has sets for their mini pastries, with assortment of 4 petite ones going for 9 bucks. For such a miniature pastry at 2 bucks, it will make Bread Papa’s cream puff seems a very good deal. The bigne Pistachio does not really have much of a pistachio taste. Period.

    Mini Chocolate Raspberry Tart
    The chocolate shavings on the mini chocolate raspberry tart is what caught my attention, its done very exquisitely and pretty to look at.

    The raspberry in the middle is rather sourish, but i guess it gives a compliment in taste to the sweet chocolate. But i’ll rather the raspberry to be slightly sweeter to perfect the overall taste.

    Mini Chocolate Gooseberry Tart
    Chocolate toppings coupled with gooseberry in the middle to make up the tart. Personally i do felt that the mini chooclate gooseberry tart is my least-like among the 4 pastries.

    The gooseberry is too sourish, and its not like the case of the raspberry. Not so sure whether thats how gooseberry should be, but i don’t like the mini chocolate gooseberry tart.

    Mini Chocolate Hazelnut Tart
    The hazelnut tart is the best of the lot, with the other three being quite a letdown. I love hazelnut, eating nutella out of the container is a favourite pastime for me. The mini chocolate hazelnut tart is gone in a mouthful, you wish there is more.

    Assortment of cookies ($5.50 per 100 gram)
    There’s quite a wide variety of cookies to choose from, but please don’t be mistaken by the picture, there’s more cookies from the 100gram than the seven shown in it.

    Back to the point, the cookies are actually quite ordinary, like your normal butter cookies. I like the Krumiri (long banana shape-like), butter cookie with chocolate coating at the tip.

    My partner preferred the star shape cookie with-a-hole-in-the-middle, which is covered with sugar.

    The assortment of cookies at $5.50 per 100 gram isn’t very expensive, for a place like Cova where everything else is so expensive. But considering the fact that Famous Amos cookies are priced in the repotire of 4 plus, i do think buying famous amos is a better economic choice

    Nevertheless, Cova cookies selections are placed in a nice bag, which makes a rather affordable and presentable gift for friends and family.

    Gamberi ($14)
    A refreshing combination of prawn and mayonnaise. The bread was a soft brioche so credits for that. But the Gamberi sandwich wasn’t even hot and toasted.

    Furthermore, the sandwich portions were meagres given the price, the shrimps were crunchy but there’s only 3 tiny ones in the sandwich.

    Total Bill is $32.50 for the pastries, cookies and sandwich. All in all, Cova is a good place for novelty, if u havent been to better italian sidewalk cafes, or even tried da paolo’s sweet little treats, its a nice place to experience the tai-tai lifestyle. Otherwise, i do find it quite a rip-off, which Cova rides on its brand name and not really worth it.

    There are certainly other places for better cakes and pastries, but i guess going to Cova is more than just that, its the overall glamorous experience seating in Cova that really attracts people there. Maybe i will go back again for their Sacher cake.

    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:Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5

    479. First Thai   
       20 Jul 2008 at 9:02 pm
    Category: Coffee Shops, Thai
    feizhu feizhu says:

    Fresh with the memory of Bangkok's excellent Thai food and armed with a craving for Phad Thai, I headed down to First Thai at Purvis Street, which purportedly serves up authentic Thai food at reasonable prices.

    The place sits right at the front of Purvis Street, making it easy to find and plays neighbours to Yet Con, which is next door and Chin Chin just across the road. Decor is very coffeeshop like save for the nice green olden style windows that look out to the main road. There is no airconditioning at this eatery so be prepared to sweat it out on a hot day. If the place is full, you'll probably have to share a table with someone or queue up outside the shop. Do note that you will not be seated until everyone in your group is present.

    Tom Yam Soup Individual Serving - This is one of the better tom yam soups that I've tried in Singapore and at $7 a pop, it really isn't too expensive given the amount of ingredients in it. Light and sourish with a tinge of spiciness. But I would have preferred it a little spicier. And thats coming from someone whose spice tolerance level is rather low.

    Pandan Chicken - Ok I got to admit that this isn't exactly cheap, at $8 for 4 bite sized pieces of pandan chicken. The chicken, though nice and juicy, didn't exactly wow me probably because of its rather mild taste. There was no burst in the mouth melody of flavours that I experienced while eating it in Bangkok. But still a nice eat nevertheless.

    Phad Thai ($8)- One of the highly recommended dishes and purportedly one of the best in Singapore, the Phad Thai was actually quite good. Lightly sweet with a firm and chewy texture. However, it was a little too wet as compared to what I had in Bangkok. The ubiquitous dried shrimps were also missing. I know that dried shrimps are optional but they give an added texture and introduce a much appreciated salty dimension to the dish. Personally I still prefer the Phad Thai from Sweet Salty Spicy Food Market & Thai Canteen.

    The cost of food sufficient for 1 pax stood at $23 (no GST, no service charge), which is still acceptable given the quality of food. However, drinks cost me an additional $8 which is terribly expensive. $3 for a glass of coconut juce, $4 if you want less ice. 50 cents for warm water and 50 cents for ice only. So technically if you wanted ice water, it will be $1/cup. Theres the more expensive option of bottled water though, starting at $2 (without ice). Sorry but I think its a rip off, especially when its only a coffeeshop. If I ever visit again, I'll be sure to bring my own water.

    See all my pictures here.


    Rating given:Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5

    480. Fresh Bulggogi   
       18 Jul 2008 at 12:36 am
    Category: Korean
    feizhu feizhu says:

    Had the opportunity to partake in a food tasting session at Fresh Bulggogi, courtesy of Benny, the marketing manager for Zingrill Holdings, which also owns and operates the Breeks, Seoul Garden and Zingdo chains of restaurants.

    Located on level 3 of the viewing gallery at Changi Airport Terminal 2, Fresh Bulggogi spots a fresh lime green and black facade and plays immediate neighbour to Fish & Co. The interior (at least where I sat) consists of booth seats that can seat 4 pax very comfortably or 6 pax if you happen to be smaller in size. The concept of Fresh Bulggogi is built upon that of Seoul Garden save for 2 major differences. First, it only has an ala carte menu with no buffet option. Second, the food items sold are slightly more upmarket, with stuff like half shell scallops, sashimi grade salmon, just to name a few. It also serves up quick meals like Bibim Baps for time strapped customers who are in a hurry to catch their flights. For customers who dread perspiring while having steamboat, this place eliminates the problem by placing the pot in a dug in enclosure and installing cool air blowers right above the pot level. This prevents the heat from dissipating upwards and keeps the surroundings cool.

    Pine Mushroom Salad with Prawns - Honestly the salad wasn't to my liking and was rather lacklustre in my humble opinion. The pine mushrooms tasted rather bland while the prawns were rather small in size and barely sweet. However there is one positive remark I must make and that is the effort put in to remove the prawn intestines. Not many places, even high class restaurants, bother doing so.

    Deep Fried Assorted Mushrooms - This was actually comfort food for all of us. Assorted mushrooms coated with batter and deep fried till crisp on the outside yet soft on the inside. Very nice and chewy but I did find the batter a wee bit too thick. A little more moisture in the mushrooms would also be much appreciated.

    Kimchi Jjigae with Sliced Salmon (김치찌개) - Unfortunately, none of us at the table could fully appreciate this humble Korean stew. It was essentially vegetables, mushrooms and rice cakes in a kimchi broth. According to wikipedia, Kimchi Jjigae is best cooked with older more fermented kimchi, which creates a much stronger taste and also contains more beneficial bacteria also found in yoghurt. The salmon slices were passably fresh but tasted rather weird with the kimchi broth.

    Garlic Chicken Bap - A classic Korean dish and one that I've eaten a couple of times, the garlic chicken bap was surprisingly quite decent. For starters, the kimchi was lightly sour and spicy while the chicken was well marinated and you could actually taste the marination. Add the fact that the rice was moist and a little sticky and it made for a rather nice dish.

    Premium Set C (Chicken Breast Meat, Beef Bulggogi, Chicken Bulggogi and Sliced Beef) - For our steamboat, we had a choice of 2 soup bases, kimchi and chicken, of which we chose the latter. I wouldn't go as far as to say the broth was great, but it was decently sweet yet light.

    We had the premium set C for the sliced beef. Seriously, how bad can steamboat get? Everything tasted relatively fresh but the thinly sliced beef did look a darker shade of red as compared to what other tables were getting (this is based purely on our observations). The set is meant for 2 but in case the ingredients are insufficient, there is always the ala carte top up option.

    Chicken Bulggogi & Korean Rice Cakes - 2 of our top up options, the chicken bulggogi, which the Koreans eat with lettuce and the rice cakes, which look like sliced fishcakes but tasted to me like chewy kueh when cooked.

    Honestly, I know nuts to nothing about Korean food but personally I found the food overall to be rather decent, maybe not wholly authentic but certainly very edible. Prices are on the high side ( the damage for 4 pax was about $165 inclusive of 6 juices/soft drinks and 4 ice cream desserts) but thats to be expected since its at the airport. Oh and take note that they do not serve sky juice. Service was friendly but the place did seem a little short handed at times.

    See all my pictures here.


    Rating given:Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5

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