Had lunch there yesterday with my colleagues, decision being made upon it's relatively low cost (S$70 for 3).
The soups are pretty solid, Sharksfin (right...), Cream of Mushroom, Herbal Black Chicken (highly recommended) & Tom Yum (needs more spice).
Shashimi-wise... the lack of mekajiki's a major blow, but not much complaints otherwise.
Their lamb chop's a die die must try, no gamey taste at all! My colleague commented that I must've consumed an entire animal's weight in meat... plus the black pepper gravy (which they use for their chicken chop as well) really goes down a treat.
Baked oysters... somehow I get the feeling that the oysters are no different from the ones used in the 蚝煎 found in hawker centres. When asked if they were fresh, I replied that it's impossible to tell under all that cheese (yum!) & tomato paste.
All in all, a pretty good buffet joint at a pretty decent price.
Went for lunch with my colleagues on Tuesday, as OK Shabu Shabu just across the road wasn't open.
@ SGD 15.80 (no GST) for a lunch buffet, we thought it was pretty value for money.
The mushroom soup was pretty good, though a tad watery, & the salad selection excellent. A colleague did complain about the beef in the Stroganoff being tough as old leather.
But one bite of their thickly slathered garlic bread gives one a tiny glimpse of heaven.
Out of the 6 Churrasco offered, only the Char Siew & Rump steak really stood out. Everything else was simply too dry, even the Prawns & Dory fillet, which made it oft times hard for one to choke them down.
If I wanted to eat Char Siew, I'd have gone to one of those Shao La stalls nearby.
Nevertheless, it still is pretty value for money, considering how full I was even until dinner time.
In one word, my meal @ BBQ Chicken was... abysmal.
Thought it was worth a go, what with the nice ambience & long queue waiting to be seated.
I mean, one has to try pretty hard to get fried chicken done wrong, right?
Right?
Cream of Mushroom ($4.00): Fresh creamy mushroom soup seasoned with freshly diced mushroom.
Such pretty words, for a soup that turned out dilute, weird, & had lumps of condensate in it. For 4 bucks, I’d at least expect to get something decent... what I got was an insult.
Original Chicken ($11.90): Marinated right through the meat with BBQ’s unique recipe and secret formula of 30 natural seasonings and cooked to golden perfection. Complete with golden fries and coleslaw.
The menu was kinda misleading; it showed you a virtual plethora of beautifully fried chicken drumsticks, & you end up with a pathetic excuse of a drum & a thigh. That’s perfectly normal. But what I don’t understand is why the chicken came out slightly lukewarm, when one would expect it to be finger-sizzling from the deep-fryer. The fries were terrible, some capable of sending my sodium levels sky-high, whilst others seemed nary to have a touch of salt at all. Plus, I’ve tasted better coleslaw at hawker centres.
Popeye’s would lay the smack down on this bugger any day of the week, & even Colonel Sanders’ ‘Secret Recipe of 11 Herbs & Spices’ seem to work heckuva lot better than their 30.
Korean Charbroiled ($13.90): Using only the most tender leg meat, it is marinated in a natural sauce made of 30 secret ingredients then roasted first with hardwood charcoal, followed by roasting on earthenware. Definitely a must try at BBQ Chicken. Complete with golden fries and coleslaw.
Remarkably, those (yet another) ‘30 secret ingredients’ resulted in a dish that tasted exactly like satay! I’m not certain if those chaps barbequing skewers of meat over at East Coast Food Centre happen to be privy to the same recipe, but when I can get the same for a lot cheaper (plus satay sauce!), you know where I’ll be heading.
Yes, I do understand that during peak periods, quality of the dishes served in restaurants do somewhat take a dip.
All the same, I wouldn’t be heading back there in a hurry.
Wanted to lunch at Astons Specialties (Katong) today, when we noticed a new steamboat joint right next door.
Seeing as to how it’s charging only $15.90 per adult for lunch ($17.90 for dinner, children @ $12.90 & $14.90 respectively), thought we might as well give the place a try.
First impression is that it’s a pretty cosy, with most of the seats being booths, thus ensuring a measure of privacy.
Everyone gets an individual sunken pot, which is great if you don’t enjoy having bits of vermicelli or tofu contaminating your soup (plus the hygiene factor for those mysophobes out there). The knobs are placed below table level just in front of you, which gives a great & easy degree of control over the heat.
For the soup base, we selected Beef Bone Soup & Seafood Soup (Sichuan Ma La & Chicken being the two other options for buffet)... not that there was much of a difference between the two. On a positive note, they don’t use any MSG at all; anything that tastes that bland can’t possibly contain food additives.
Their offerings are very fresh though, as evidenced by the photos, but sadly the insipid soup bases practically drain all cooked food of their taste, leaving much to be desired.
Their Sliced Pork is beautifully cut, the meat nicely marbled. There’re some cartilage attached though, which may be a blessing or a curse, depending on your personal preference (I personally like it, but the missus doesn’t).
The Squid Ball’s a treat, seeing as to how it actually does taste like squid. Not as awesome as the ones served @ Mini Steamboat Delight in Parkway Parade’s Food Court though.
Under no circumstance should one order their Mutton or Homemade Mutton (the later being marinated), this piece of advice coming from a guy who loves eating mutton. The 腥味 of the meat is simply overpowering, & is apt to contaminate the soup as well. I was only able to stomach the former with the help of their sauce, which took the edge off the offensiveness somewhat.
The latter was consigned to a far corner of the table after GC threw in the towel.
Sauce-wise, it does go well with the food, the missus’ complaint being that there’s only one kind available, which makes everything taste the same.
Frankly, the only thing I was fairly impressed with was their Man Tou, which was served with condensed milk. I only managed a bite, ‘cos my elder daughter practically snatched the last one from right under my nose. Can’t be compared to the ones at The Magic of ChongQing Hot Pot, but price-wise, it’s pretty decent stuff.
Could’ve gotten a better rating, ‘cept for the bland soup base, super 腥 mutton, & lack of sauce variety.
Seeing as to how the recent reviews have been so positive, I decided to give the joint another go.
Man, was I delighted by the positive changes wrought over a 2 month period.
Price is still as easy on the wallet, atmosphere is still as cosy, & their offerings are as fresh as ever.
But the soup bases, ah, at least now they taste of what they're supposed to be. The missus commented that it was a tad bland, but as we all know, the soup can only get better as the meal progresses.
Some of the options such as Black Chicken soup base have an extra surcharge attached, as well as the previously much abhorred mutton. Too traumatised even till now, GC decided to give the latter a pass.
Not nearly 120 items on offer as yet, but I don't find the menu all that lacking as well.
A friend commented that he felt somewhat at odds; on one hand, he really enjoyed the warm cosy atmosphere, but on the other, he wished that there were more patrons so that the business would be more viable.
Ok Shabu Shabu has made it into my list as a top regular haunt.
The only reason I happen to know about this joint’s ‘cos my Industrial Attachment (IA) office was situated 2 streets away.
That was about 4 years ago.
At any rate, much as feizhu mentioned, you wouldn’t imagine such a fine-looking steakhouse in the midst of an industrial estate, with an alfresco option to boot.
One thing I love about the joint’s that for an additional SGD 4.90 on top of a main course, you get to enjoy a free flow of Soup of the Day, Homemade Garlic Bread & Coffee/Tea.
& boy is their Homemade Garlic Bread to die for; crispy on the outside, succulent on the inside, I could just drown in the stuff. The garlic spread is truly in a class of its own, with small chunks of garlic to give it that extra kick.
Yes, I’m a big fan of garlic.
The Soup of the Day’s pretty ok (Cream of Potato), but if you’re lucky, you just might get their Seafood Soup, which is heckuva lot better.
They used to provide sachets of different teas as well, but that’s sadly no longer available, & one will thus be subjected to run-of-the-mill type brews.
Escargot Bourguignonne ($8.90): Half doz succulentescargot (sic) fried with garlic – baked till perfection. Perfection it is not; other than the garlic, you don’t really taste anything else.
Fish N Chips ($7.90): From the Children Menu. Seeing as to how the kiddies wolfed it down, it can’t be half bad.
Grilled Chicken with Baked Scallop ($20.90): One of their Daily Value Meals. The chicken was rather spicy, which came as a surprise. All in all, it was pretty decent. Main complaint’s that the bacon bits that came with the baked potato tasted... weird.
N.Y. Steak (300gm) ($31.90): From the Steak Lover’s Meal. It was commented that the steak tasted plenty good... ‘cept for the excess of fats & collagen. The Wild Mushroom sauce works a treat, though too much of it tends to be rather overwhelming.
T-Bone Steak (500gm) ($35.90 $4.90 for set): Half a kilo of meaty madness... if only it didn’t suffer from the same excesses as the NY Steak. Had it Medium Rare, which was ok, though if you’re squeamish about the sight of red in your steak, you’ll probably be better off having it Medium Well; the meat near the bone will tend to come out pretty much uncooked at all. The tenderloin portion of the steak was almost non-existent.
The staffs are pretty friendly, & what with the place operating pretty much throughout the day, you’re assured a quiet meal other than during lunchtime.
Not a regular haunt, but I’d go back now & then just for their Homemade Garlic Bread.
1=SGD 0.0587
The soups are pretty solid, Sharksfin (right...), Cream of Mushroom, Herbal Black Chicken (highly recommended) & Tom Yum (needs more spice).
Shashimi-wise... the lack of mekajiki's a major blow, but not much complaints otherwise.
Their lamb chop's a die die must try, no gamey taste at all! My colleague commented that I must've consumed an entire animal's weight in meat... plus the black pepper gravy (which they use for their chicken chop as well) really goes down a treat.
Baked oysters... somehow I get the feeling that the oysters are no different from the ones used in the 蚝煎 found in hawker centres. When asked if they were fresh, I replied that it's impossible to tell under all that cheese (yum!) & tomato paste.
All in all, a pretty good buffet joint at a pretty decent price.
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@ SGD 15.80 (no GST) for a lunch buffet, we thought it was pretty value for money.
The mushroom soup was pretty good, though a tad watery, & the salad selection excellent. A colleague did complain about the beef in the Stroganoff being tough as old leather.
But one bite of their thickly slathered garlic bread gives one a tiny glimpse of heaven.
Out of the 6 Churrasco offered, only the Char Siew & Rump steak really stood out. Everything else was simply too dry, even the Prawns & Dory fillet, which made it oft times hard for one to choke them down.
If I wanted to eat Char Siew, I'd have gone to one of those Shao La stalls nearby.
Nevertheless, it still is pretty value for money, considering how full I was even until dinner time.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!ah cheap! i also went before, but the one i went its at queenstown there. but i find it too salty
29 Aug 2008 at 2:58 pm
Thought it was worth a go, what with the nice ambience & long queue waiting to be seated.
I mean, one has to try pretty hard to get fried chicken done wrong, right?
Right?
Cream of Mushroom ($4.00):
Fresh creamy mushroom soup seasoned with freshly diced mushroom.
Such pretty words, for a soup that turned out dilute, weird, & had lumps of condensate in it. For 4 bucks, I’d at least expect to get something decent... what I got was an insult.
Original Chicken ($11.90):
Marinated right through the meat with BBQ’s unique recipe and secret formula of 30 natural seasonings and cooked to golden perfection. Complete with golden fries and coleslaw.
The menu was kinda misleading; it showed you a virtual plethora of beautifully fried chicken drumsticks, & you end up with a pathetic excuse of a drum & a thigh. That’s perfectly normal. But what I don’t understand is why the chicken came out slightly lukewarm, when one would expect it to be finger-sizzling from the deep-fryer. The fries were terrible, some capable of sending my sodium levels sky-high, whilst others seemed nary to have a touch of salt at all. Plus, I’ve tasted better coleslaw at hawker centres.
Popeye’s would lay the smack down on this bugger any day of the week, & even Colonel Sanders’ ‘Secret Recipe of 11 Herbs & Spices’ seem to work heckuva lot better than their 30.
Korean Charbroiled ($13.90):
Using only the most tender leg meat, it is marinated in a natural sauce made of 30 secret ingredients then roasted first with hardwood charcoal, followed by roasting on earthenware. Definitely a must try at BBQ Chicken. Complete with golden fries and coleslaw.
Remarkably, those (yet another) ‘30 secret ingredients’ resulted in a dish that tasted exactly like satay! I’m not certain if those chaps barbequing skewers of meat over at East Coast Food Centre happen to be privy to the same recipe, but when I can get the same for a lot cheaper (plus satay sauce!), you know where I’ll be heading.
Yes, I do understand that during peak periods, quality of the dishes served in restaurants do somewhat take a dip.
All the same, I wouldn’t be heading back there in a hurry.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!
Seeing as to how it’s charging only $15.90 per adult for lunch ($17.90 for dinner, children @ $12.90 & $14.90 respectively), thought we might as well give the place a try.
First impression is that it’s a pretty cosy, with most of the seats being booths, thus ensuring a measure of privacy.
Everyone gets an individual sunken pot, which is great if you don’t enjoy having bits of vermicelli or tofu contaminating your soup (plus the hygiene factor for those mysophobes out there). The knobs are placed below table level just in front of you, which gives a great & easy degree of control over the heat.
For the soup base, we selected Beef Bone Soup & Seafood Soup (Sichuan Ma La & Chicken being the two other options for buffet)... not that there was much of a difference between the two. On a positive note, they don’t use any MSG at all; anything that tastes that bland can’t possibly contain food additives.
Their offerings are very fresh though, as evidenced by the photos, but sadly the insipid soup bases practically drain all cooked food of their taste, leaving much to be desired.
Their Sliced Pork is beautifully cut, the meat nicely marbled. There’re some cartilage attached though, which may be a blessing or a curse, depending on your personal preference (I personally like it, but the missus doesn’t).
The Squid Ball’s a treat, seeing as to how it actually does taste like squid. Not as awesome as the ones served @ Mini Steamboat Delight in Parkway Parade’s Food Court though.
Under no circumstance should one order their Mutton or Homemade Mutton (the later being marinated), this piece of advice coming from a guy who loves eating mutton. The 腥味 of the meat is simply overpowering, & is apt to contaminate the soup as well. I was only able to stomach the former with the help of their sauce, which took the edge off the offensiveness somewhat.
The latter was consigned to a far corner of the table after GC threw in the towel.
Sauce-wise, it does go well with the food, the missus’ complaint being that there’s only one kind available, which makes everything taste the same.
Frankly, the only thing I was fairly impressed with was their Man Tou, which was served with condensed milk. I only managed a bite, ‘cos my elder daughter practically snatched the last one from right under my nose. Can’t be compared to the ones at The Magic of ChongQing Hot Pot, but price-wise, it’s pretty decent stuff.
Could’ve gotten a better rating, ‘cept for the bland soup base, super 腥 mutton, & lack of sauce variety.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Updated: 20th July 2008
Seeing as to how the recent reviews have been so positive, I decided to give the joint another go.
Man, was I delighted by the positive changes wrought over a 2 month period.
Price is still as easy on the wallet, atmosphere is still as cosy, & their offerings are as fresh as ever.
But the soup bases, ah, at least now they taste of what they're supposed to be. The missus commented that it was a tad bland, but as we all know, the soup can only get better as the meal progresses.
Some of the options such as Black Chicken soup base have an extra surcharge attached, as well as the previously much abhorred mutton. Too traumatised even till now, GC decided to give the latter a pass.
Not nearly 120 items on offer as yet, but I don't find the menu all that lacking as well.
A friend commented that he felt somewhat at odds; on one hand, he really enjoyed the warm cosy atmosphere, but on the other, he wished that there were more patrons so that the business would be more viable.
Ok Shabu Shabu has made it into my list as a top regular haunt.
- 1 more comment »
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!So its just OK only lah. But does look interesting thou. Thanks for sharing!
02 May 2008 at 9:19 am
east coast! so far away! lol
02 May 2008 at 9:54 am
The Mantou is served at Mushroom Pot too.
02 May 2008 at 4:39 pm
That was about 4 years ago.
At any rate, much as feizhu mentioned, you wouldn’t imagine such a fine-looking steakhouse in the midst of an industrial estate, with an alfresco option to boot.
One thing I love about the joint’s that for an additional SGD 4.90 on top of a main course, you get to enjoy a free flow of Soup of the Day, Homemade Garlic Bread & Coffee/Tea.
& boy is their Homemade Garlic Bread to die for; crispy on the outside, succulent on the inside, I could just drown in the stuff. The garlic spread is truly in a class of its own, with small chunks of garlic to give it that extra kick.
Yes, I’m a big fan of garlic.
The Soup of the Day’s pretty ok (Cream of Potato), but if you’re lucky, you just might get their Seafood Soup, which is heckuva lot better.
They used to provide sachets of different teas as well, but that’s sadly no longer available, & one will thus be subjected to run-of-the-mill type brews.
Escargot Bourguignonne ($8.90): Half doz succulentescargot (sic) fried with garlic – baked till perfection. Perfection it is not; other than the garlic, you don’t really taste anything else.
Fish N Chips ($7.90): From the Children Menu. Seeing as to how the kiddies wolfed it down, it can’t be half bad.
Grilled Chicken with Baked Scallop ($20.90): One of their Daily Value Meals. The chicken was rather spicy, which came as a surprise. All in all, it was pretty decent. Main complaint’s that the bacon bits that came with the baked potato tasted... weird.
N.Y. Steak (300gm) ($31.90): From the Steak Lover’s Meal. It was commented that the steak tasted plenty good... ‘cept for the excess of fats & collagen. The Wild Mushroom sauce works a treat, though too much of it tends to be rather overwhelming.
T-Bone Steak (500gm) ($35.90 $4.90 for set): Half a kilo of meaty madness... if only it didn’t suffer from the same excesses as the NY Steak. Had it Medium Rare, which was ok, though if you’re squeamish about the sight of red in your steak, you’ll probably be better off having it Medium Well; the meat near the bone will tend to come out pretty much uncooked at all. The tenderloin portion of the steak was almost non-existent.
The staffs are pretty friendly, & what with the place operating pretty much throughout the day, you’re assured a quiet meal other than during lunchtime.
Not a regular haunt, but I’d go back now & then just for their Homemade Garlic Bread.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Sounds expensive
29 Apr 2008 at 11:42 pm