Having tried small piece of the Unagi Pizza at Pastamania, I simply needed more. Since we were around one outlet, we decided to have our dinner there.
He ordered Aglio Olio Pasta, adding Chicken to it, and I had the Unagi Pizza.
The place was quite packed since it was a weekend. Thus we waited quite awhile for our order to come. Good thing we ordered the set that comes with soup, drinks and toast. Else I would have suffered from hunger due to the wait.
10mins later, the pasta came. Having paid extra for the chicken, it was quite a disappointment. The chicken was tasteless and it didn't go that well with the choice of sauce.
After a long wait, the pizza didn't come. He took his time to eat his pasta, but even so, the pizza didn't come after he finished his pasta! We checked with the manager on duty and he told us the pasta is coming soon. True enough, the next order that came out from the pizza counter was my Unagi Pizza.
Due to the wait, my tummy was already missing the hunger that it initially have. Looking at the pizza infront of me, I didn't quite have the appetite to finish it.
As expected, the pizza was nice and yummy when eaten hot. Taste of the sauce with the unagi and thin crust of pizza makes eating it enjoyable. (It would have been better if we didn't have to wait that long for it.)
I was the first to review about Cotton On in Yebber and the first outlet was in Wisma. I had loved it then and was very excited when I saw them having an outlet in Parkway.
I went the week they opened and also the following week.
The first time I went the place was rather messy and I forgave them since they had just opened.
But it was still pretty messy the second time and I was rather upset. Also the prices of the items seem higher now. I guess it's because more people are buying. That aside I still love their long tops.
There are two major gripes I have about this outlet. One is that the lighting is much too dim to see some colours properly.
The second is that the customer service people are too busy chatting to each other and they don't tend to the customers very much. This is part of the reason why the place becomes messy as the customers ransack to look for the right size.
MMmmM I guess I will still pop by if I'm in the area but I wouldn't go there specially to buy. :P
I had this plan for my "other" home. After much discussion when this plan was introduced, we decided to sign up since the mobile phones, telephone lines and internet were all under Singnet anyway.
We did save a lot in the long run... but...
Setting up triggered a lot of problems and we were without our phone lines and internet for 2 weeks. The MIO box gave quite a bit of problems. The repairman had to come 3-4 times and we had the box changed twice. We live in a private estate and were told that things will be fine in our particular estate. After the initial hiccups we were finally able to use the phone lines and the internet.
BTW you have to purchase a different kind of phone to be used with the MIO system.
Once we started to use it, we noticed that at times the phone doesn't detect the incoming call. Everything is working (when the repairman came to test it) but it just doesn't ring every single time we call. It would miss a couple of times. And there would be quite a bit of static on the line, which disrupts the call.
It could possibly be a line connection thing but Singtel should also be responsible for checking our lines when we had them install the system. I guess this one might take some time to settle.
FYI, Maxonline cannot be installed in my estate, according to their customer service rep.
I love the National Museum and the romantic-ness of it all. To be very honest, I didn't really know about Chef Chan until my little Birdie friend told me. All to happy to have a chance to dine at the charming Museum, I jumped at this chance.
Arriving at the place, I wasn't disappointed by the place! I love the entire atmosphere. Chef Chan was tucked away in an obscure corner of the museum, but the restaurant was very appropriately designed. The entire oriental theme was soothing and not overly gaudy, which was often so with Chinese restaurants.
What we had that night:
Melon Strips Enlivened with Orange Juice You know the F&N Orange squash we used to drink during CNY? It tastes like that... with lots of crunch. I liked it but I didn't think I would have something like this in this restaurant. I'd have to agree with the rest that this was easy to make at home. But I guess it's a reasonable starter.
Prawn Balls Stuffed with Pate and Wine I could taste neither pate nor wine. We only had one ball each and mind you, it wasn't very big. It was salty and that was the only obvious taste I could get from the ball. The only thing it reminded me of was those balls you could microwave once you take them out from the freezer.
Stir Fried Shark’s Fin with Eggs, Bean Sprouts and Spring Onion Served in Lettuce Leaves Someone said it looked like a whole lot of Tunghoon. There was some shark's fin I guess and a mix of everything else. This dish was lightly flavoured and I liked it pretty much. But the cabbage I had below was a bit thick and had a contrasting bitter taste to the salad sitting on it. So I refused to eat it after a few bites.
Steamed Lobster with Garlic You could SMELL the garlic from a distance. Everyone had one half of the lobster which was a nice serving to have. Mine wasn't so covered in garlic so I was pretty happy with it. The lobster was pretty fresh I guess but the garlic really burned in my middle when I'd finished it.
Steamed Sliced Garoupa in Village Style I had 2-3 pieces of this (unlike some people). The fish bits had a nice texture but the gravy that came with it was horrid. It's was sickeningly sticky which made me baulk at the first taste. I rubbed it off at the side of the dish so that I didn't have to eat too much of it. Relatively acceptable dish I guess... They need to do something about the gravy.
Sauteed Vegetable with Shredded Mushroom A dish you can definitely find at your neighbourhood Chze Char stall.
Chef Chan’s Famous Crispy Roast Chicken This is a YUMMY! I loved this one. The skin was crisp and I ate it too, despite being the sort who usually peels it off. The meat was very tasty on its own. I liked the texture (cos I got the part I wanted) This was definitely the winning dish of the night that kept everyone very quiet.
Papaya with White Fungus & Herbal Jelly with Glutinous Rice & Mango Mistake Mistake Mistake. The texture of the glutinous rice did not go well with the Guilingao! Terrible... it took me a few tries before I figured I had to eat all the glutinous rice first then have the mango and the herbal jelly together. Any other way just made me quite sick really.
We chalked up a bill of about $860, which works out to be about $96 per person. It would have been more expensive but thanks to someone's credit card, we had a discount.
I wouldn't say this is below average... in actual fact I didn't think that the food "sucked". It was below expectations, thanks to its price. But it's not terrible food. Just expensive average food I guess. The chicken saved it from a 2-star.
Together with few Yebbers, we joined a foodie eat out at Tea Cosy. We had a selection of mains from the planned menu just for the gathering.
For the set, there was the homemade mushroom soup, infamous decadent salad, choice of main (laksa pasta, grilled lime chicken and pan fried foie gras). Paid $25.90 for pasta or chicken. Those who took the foie gras paid $32.90 .
It took them quite awhile to get the soup served. The mushroom soup was alright. Nothing special about it. Then after another long wait, the salad came.
It's quite sad to see the portion smaller than usual. Isn't it supposed to be a special promotional set? Promotional in terms of pricing and not the serving size right? If paying lesser for sets means getting lesser in serving, than what's the point of getting the promotion? Or at least it should be made aware to the customers that the salad served will be of sampling size or something? That aside, everyone at my table had to agree that the salad live up to its standard. The mayo on it was very tasty. Vegetables was fresh and the entire combination (with the saddening few tiny pieces of foie gras) was good. This will be the only thing that'll tempt me to go back for more.
The chicken was alright. Grilled to slightly charred on the outside and the sauce was alright only. Vegetables on the side could have been crunchier.
The desserts were not bad and I'll recommend girls who want a place to hang out over mini tea party to check Tea Cosy out. It's quite an experience with all the unique antique furnitures.
Overall my first experience at Tea Cosy was average. At times I feel upset too. This I shall not talk about it since it was a miscommunication between the mid-shift waitress they hired just for that night and us. In fact, the management should have given a better briefing before the night. Or perhaps get a more experience waitress the next time.
The only think I remember now is the smelly table. :(
It was quite a bad experience when I was there for dinner. When we walked into the sitting/dining area behind the serving/ordering counter, the place was quite messed up with tables and chairs misaligned and many tables uncleared. We sat ourselves at the "cleaniest" table we can find and looked at the menu. The food was quite cheap and there were quite a lot of variety. Then we spotted a piece of A6 paper with scribbling of some promo set available. $7.90 for main course with drink. (Can't remember if there's soup thou.)
We ordered the Grilled Sirloin Steak and Seafood Aglio Oli both at promotional price of $7.90. Added Fried Calamari for starter.
While waiting for the order, a lady came to clean our tables and after she wiped the table, there was a strong stinge of smell left behind by the cloth she used! It was as thou the cloth has been left unwashed for few days! Smell worst then toilet can? What disgusted me more was that the same pair of hands that handled the smelly table cloth was serving the food and folding paper napkins loh! I had to apply medicated oil on my nose to cover the smell. And when our food was served, all my appetite was gone. Good thing the food was still presentable the least.
When my steak came, I then realised that we didn't get to choose the done-ness of it. It was cooked, almost to complete well done. So it was too tough to chew. Didn't really enjoy it. Boyfriend's pasta was a tad better. At least the seafood was presentable and of a good size. There was more of a black pepper taste instead of how aglio olio pasta should taste like.
Our starter was then served after the main courses. (Hmm...) We should have expected what was served since it was only $2.50 for the Fried Calamari. It was pathetic and the calamari was overcooked. Again too tough to chew.
Guess I was just unlucky to get this kind of experience at Spagetti Too since the 2 ladies before me enjoyed themselves at the same location. Chef was different perhaps. And the lady serving was different too?
Food: 3 out of 5
Service: 2 out of 5
Cleanliness: 1.5 out of 5
Value for money: 3 out of 5
After staying away from sweet and oily donuts for awhile, I decided that its time to try something new. Saw this store at IMM few times I was there and finally decides to try it.
I used to be a fan for egg tarts before the craze for donuts. And this little store serves sweet little tarts with quite a number of different fillings. The original one looks like the usual Portuguese's egg tarts but of a different shape. I bought two flavors, the Melting Chocolate (shown in photo) and the Strawberry one.
The tart is soft yet the texture is well maintained. It's not too buttery nor eggy. Taste is just right. Topped with chocolate chips and inside filled with melted chocolate. The piece I got, the chocolate was only visible when I bite off almost half of the tart. But once there, every bite into the tart is greeted with just the right amount of melted chocolate and egg. Great delight when ate while its still warm.
The strawberry filling one is a tad too sweet for my liking. Perhaps the next time I will give the savory choices a try. They've the Mushroom Chicken and Pepper Chicken tarts too. Pretty unique since most egg tarts sold in the market are usually sweet ones.
The only sad part is their pricing. Each tart goes at $1.20. And you'll only save $1.20 if you buy 12 pieces. Not that encouraging for customers to want to buy more at a go. 12 pieces is a tad too many, unless you're buying for a party or to share with friends at gatherings ya?
Singapore Airlines... one of the brands our country is identified with all the time in many countries all over the world.
I had the chance to travel on it *again* recently and was very satisfied. The flight I was on, was quite empty so my friend and I got a free seat between the two of us so we had plenty of space to move about in.
Boarding the plane we were nicely greeted and the blankets and pillows were already waiting patiently on our seats for us. The stewardess and stewards were eloquent enough and didn't bother passengers unneccessarily. And even when some of the passengers across the aisle made some irritating demands, the service didn't falter.
The flight was turbulent at a few points but I think it was thanks to the cloudy situation. The take off and landing was smooth which was great.
Definitely very satisfied with it but they ARE expensive. Luckily I didn't pay for this trip. haha :)
I was excited when a friend asked me along to the new Persimmon opened by the same people from Epicurious. We had such a nice time at Epi that I was pretty sure that Persimmon would be good too! So despite my busy schedule I went down with my friend for the food-tasting session.
Armed with a street directory and a good navigator (moi) we managed to find the carpark behind the Link Hotel. By the way, I found Link Hotel quite interesting and am really thinking of giving it a try. But the parking was $4 per entry in an open air carpark which I found quite a rip-off. But this is the nearest carpark so there isn't much of a choice.
One wouldn't be able to miss Persimmon with its bright orange lights standing tall just outside of it.
After much discussion on how to take a good photo of the front of the restaurant, we finally stepped into the place, greeted by Helena, one of the owners. She introduced us to the rest of the crowd for the evening who were all very friendly people and got us some wine before seating us at this long table meant for large groups.
The black and white tiled flooring and the coffeeshop table and chairs gave it a local feel. But the modern white finishings of the counter and the sides complemented it nicely. I loved the antique-looking sofa sets and the live orchids which gave the place an artsy touch. Old Chinese tunes and jazz helped me relax here.
Food we had:
Mushroom and Sesame Shooter First up was this warm soup in a little glass. I loved the taste and thickness of it. We were told that there was some alcohol in it... but honestly? I couldn't taste it and was happy with that.
Tunghoon Salad with Crabcake This was served with scallop and the presentation was very nice. The Tunghoon had a sourish-spicy taste to it and I liked it very very much! I think it would be better with some cashew bits in it but then that would be very common in Thai salad dishes I guess. As for the crabcake, I would have liked it with more flavour as it was a little bland next to the salad.
Fried Kwayteow served with Wagyu Beef I wanted to write Char Kuay Teow... but then, it wasn't quite that either. I generally try not to eat both CKT and Beef actually. But I did like this version of CKT. It was still oily nonetheless (what is CKT without oil?!) but it did seem healthier somewhat. The noodles were not flimsy and drenched in oil like the hawker centre types but they still have some bite in them. But it was a little too salty but not over the top. I did enjoy the beef though, despite trying to stay away from it. But it was really good, very flavourful and the beansprouts that came with it gave the dish some crunch.
Fisherman's Pie This version had laksa swimming below the puff pastry. The puff pastry is nice but it would have been better with some butter as my friend suggested. I think it would have made it softer and more "fluffy". I wasn't really too concerned that it didn't puff up but I think some softness was missing. I liked the gravy mostly but not quite for drinking though. The ingredients were pretty much what you would expect and they tasted ok. But the potato had probably been floating inside for sometime and its texture was a little too soft.
Pineapple Tart For the first time, I had a giant pineapple tart for dessert. The top has your usual pineapple ring which I wasn't a fan of as it was a little sourish and hard to chew. Beneath it was sweet caramelised pineapple which was very tasty, especially when eaten with the crust! I loved the crust and tried to finish everything but I couldn't as I was too full.
I can't give a pricing for the items I had as I was there for food-tasting. But I took a glance at the menu and the prices are more or less like those in a cafe with mains going in the $20 range.
Not to mention, we took a surprise visit into THE KITCHEN! Helena was so nice to bring us around and show us different sections of the place and we soon realised how much effort was put into planning and designing a place like this! She also showed us a speciall little room that can seat 8 people. It's very cosy and there isn't a minimum spending amount before you can use the room!
Caught a late night show at the new Cathay cineplex at Downtown East. Arriving at the cinema level, I knew it's not going to be as good as the original The Cathay at orchard. Obviously this is one of the smallest Cathay around their cineplexes.
The cinema I went to was no. 3. It was relatively small but leg room was sufficient but not as wide as those at GV vivo. I've to disagree with genesis with the seats. After 100 mins of watching the show, my partner and I both suffered from neck ache and strain. We were seated on Row E, which's still considered among the back rows. The seats were uncomfortable and we were blocked by the couples in front of us. (Not alot thou, but still we can see their heads popping above the seats.)
Unlike GV cinemas, cathay still only provides "couple seats" with reclining arm rest at the 2 back rows. So if you're looking at getting some cuddling, especially for horror shows with your girlfriends, you might want to book the tickets in advance.
Another inconvenient thing about this Cathay is the toilet. It's located outside of the cinema and boy it was wet and dirty! Although the place is still pretty new, but the toilets were badly maintained. Guess the crowd overpowered the frequency of toilet maintenances.
Although the place is not up to our standard as compared to other Cathay and GV cinemas, we'll probably still go back for movies at nights. Reasons? Well, it's nearby our homes and the open space public parking outside is free after 10pm!
1=SGD 0.0587
Having tried small piece of the Unagi Pizza at Pastamania, I simply needed more. Since we were around one outlet, we decided to have our dinner there.
He ordered Aglio Olio Pasta, adding Chicken to it, and I had the Unagi Pizza.
The place was quite packed since it was a weekend. Thus we waited quite awhile for our order to come. Good thing we ordered the set that comes with soup, drinks and toast. Else I would have suffered from hunger due to the wait.
10mins later, the pasta came. Having paid extra for the chicken, it was quite a disappointment. The chicken was tasteless and it didn't go that well with the choice of sauce.
After a long wait, the pizza didn't come. He took his time to eat his pasta, but even so, the pizza didn't come after he finished his pasta! We checked with the manager on duty and he told us the pasta is coming soon. True enough, the next order that came out from the pizza counter was my Unagi Pizza.
Due to the wait, my tummy was already missing the hunger that it initially have. Looking at the pizza infront of me, I didn't quite have the appetite to finish it.
As expected, the pizza was nice and yummy when eaten hot. Taste of the sauce with the unagi and thin crust of pizza makes eating it enjoyable. (It would have been better if we didn't have to wait that long for it.)
Rating given:
I was the first to review about Cotton On in Yebber and the first outlet was in Wisma. I had loved it then and was very excited when I saw them having an outlet in Parkway.
I went the week they opened and also the following week.
The first time I went the place was rather messy and I forgave them since they had just opened.
But it was still pretty messy the second time and I was rather upset. Also the prices of the items seem higher now. I guess it's because more people are buying. That aside I still love their long tops.
There are two major gripes I have about this outlet. One is that the lighting is much too dim to see some colours properly.
The second is that the customer service people are too busy chatting to each other and they don't tend to the customers very much. This is part of the reason why the place becomes messy as the customers ransack to look for the right size.
MMmmM I guess I will still pop by if I'm in the area but I wouldn't go there specially to buy. :P
Rating given:
I had this plan for my "other" home. After much discussion when this plan was introduced, we decided to sign up since the mobile phones, telephone lines and internet were all under Singnet anyway.
We did save a lot in the long run... but...
Setting up triggered a lot of problems and we were without our phone lines and internet for 2 weeks. The MIO box gave quite a bit of problems. The repairman had to come 3-4 times and we had the box changed twice. We live in a private estate and were told that things will be fine in our particular estate. After the initial hiccups we were finally able to use the phone lines and the internet.
BTW you have to purchase a different kind of phone to be used with the MIO system.
Once we started to use it, we noticed that at times the phone doesn't detect the incoming call. Everything is working (when the repairman came to test it) but it just doesn't ring every single time we call. It would miss a couple of times. And there would be quite a bit of static on the line, which disrupts the call.
It could possibly be a line connection thing but Singtel should also be responsible for checking our lines when we had them install the system. I guess this one might take some time to settle.
FYI, Maxonline cannot be installed in my estate, according to their customer service rep.
Rating given:
I love the National Museum and the romantic-ness of it all. To be very honest, I didn't really know about Chef Chan until my little Birdie friend told me. All to happy to have a chance to dine at the charming Museum, I jumped at this chance.
Arriving at the place, I wasn't disappointed by the place! I love the entire atmosphere. Chef Chan was tucked away in an obscure corner of the museum, but the restaurant was very appropriately designed. The entire oriental theme was soothing and not overly gaudy, which was often so with Chinese restaurants.
What we had that night:
Melon Strips Enlivened with Orange Juice
You know the F&N Orange squash we used to drink during CNY? It tastes like that... with lots of crunch. I liked it but I didn't think I would have something like this in this restaurant. I'd have to agree with the rest that this was easy to make at home. But I guess it's a reasonable starter.
Prawn Balls Stuffed with Pate and Wine
I could taste neither pate nor wine. We only had one ball each and mind you, it wasn't very big. It was salty and that was the only obvious taste I could get from the ball. The only thing it reminded me of was those balls you could microwave once you take them out from the freezer.
Stir Fried Shark’s Fin with Eggs, Bean Sprouts and Spring Onion Served in Lettuce Leaves
Someone said it looked like a whole lot of Tunghoon. There was some shark's fin I guess and a mix of everything else. This dish was lightly flavoured and I liked it pretty much. But the cabbage I had below was a bit thick and had a contrasting bitter taste to the salad sitting on it. So I refused to eat it after a few bites.
Steamed Lobster with Garlic
You could SMELL the garlic from a distance. Everyone had one half of the lobster which was a nice serving to have. Mine wasn't so covered in garlic so I was pretty happy with it. The lobster was pretty fresh I guess but the garlic really burned in my middle when I'd finished it.
Steamed Sliced Garoupa in Village Style
I had 2-3 pieces of this (unlike some people). The fish bits had a nice texture but the gravy that came with it was horrid. It's was sickeningly sticky which made me baulk at the first taste. I rubbed it off at the side of the dish so that I didn't have to eat too much of it. Relatively acceptable dish I guess... They need to do something about the gravy.
Sauteed Vegetable with Shredded Mushroom A dish you can definitely find at your neighbourhood Chze Char stall.
Chef Chan’s Famous Crispy Roast Chicken
This is a YUMMY! I loved this one. The skin was crisp and I ate it too, despite being the sort who usually peels it off. The meat was very tasty on its own. I liked the texture (cos I got the part I wanted) This was definitely the winning dish of the night that kept everyone very quiet.
Papaya with White Fungus & Herbal Jelly with Glutinous Rice & Mango
Mistake Mistake Mistake. The texture of the glutinous rice did not go well with the Guilingao! Terrible... it took me a few tries before I figured I had to eat all the glutinous rice first then have the mango and the herbal jelly together. Any other way just made me quite sick really.
We chalked up a bill of about $860, which works out to be about $96 per person. It would have been more expensive but thanks to someone's credit card, we had a discount.
I wouldn't say this is below average... in actual fact I didn't think that the food "sucked". It was below expectations, thanks to its price. But it's not terrible food. Just expensive average food I guess. The chicken saved it from a 2-star.
Rating given:
Love the salad and desserts.
Together with few Yebbers, we joined a foodie eat out at Tea Cosy. We had a selection of mains from the planned menu just for the gathering.
For the set, there was the homemade mushroom soup, infamous decadent salad, choice of main (laksa pasta, grilled lime chicken and pan fried foie gras). Paid $25.90 for pasta or chicken. Those who took the foie gras paid $32.90 .
It took them quite awhile to get the soup served. The mushroom soup was alright. Nothing special about it. Then after another long wait, the salad came.
It's quite sad to see the portion smaller than usual. Isn't it supposed to be a special promotional set? Promotional in terms of pricing and not the serving size right? If paying lesser for sets means getting lesser in serving, than what's the point of getting the promotion? Or at least it should be made aware to the customers that the salad served will be of sampling size or something? That aside, everyone at my table had to agree that the salad live up to its standard. The mayo on it was very tasty. Vegetables was fresh and the entire combination (with the saddening few tiny pieces of foie gras) was good. This will be the only thing that'll tempt me to go back for more.
The chicken was alright. Grilled to slightly charred on the outside and the sauce was alright only. Vegetables on the side could have been crunchier.
The desserts were not bad and I'll recommend girls who want a place to hang out over mini tea party to check Tea Cosy out. It's quite an experience with all the unique antique furnitures.
Overall my first experience at Tea Cosy was average. At times I feel upset too. This I shall not talk about it since it was a miscommunication between the mid-shift waitress they hired just for that night and us. In fact, the management should have given a better briefing before the night. Or perhaps get a more experience waitress the next time.
Rating given:
The only think I remember now is the smelly table. :(
It was quite a bad experience when I was there for dinner. When we walked into the sitting/dining area behind the serving/ordering counter, the place was quite messed up with tables and chairs misaligned and many tables uncleared. We sat ourselves at the "cleaniest" table we can find and looked at the menu. The food was quite cheap and there were quite a lot of variety. Then we spotted a piece of A6 paper with scribbling of some promo set available. $7.90 for main course with drink. (Can't remember if there's soup thou.)
We ordered the Grilled Sirloin Steak and Seafood Aglio Oli both at promotional price of $7.90. Added Fried Calamari for starter.
While waiting for the order, a lady came to clean our tables and after she wiped the table, there was a strong stinge of smell left behind by the cloth she used! It was as thou the cloth has been left unwashed for few days! Smell worst then toilet can? What disgusted me more was that the same pair of hands that handled the smelly table cloth was serving the food and folding paper napkins loh! I had to apply medicated oil on my nose to cover the smell. And when our food was served, all my appetite was gone. Good thing the food was still presentable the least.
When my steak came, I then realised that we didn't get to choose the done-ness of it. It was cooked, almost to complete well done. So it was too tough to chew. Didn't really enjoy it. Boyfriend's pasta was a tad better. At least the seafood was presentable and of a good size. There was more of a black pepper taste instead of how aglio olio pasta should taste like.
Our starter was then served after the main courses. (Hmm...) We should have expected what was served since it was only $2.50 for the Fried Calamari. It was pathetic and the calamari was overcooked. Again too tough to chew.
Guess I was just unlucky to get this kind of experience at Spagetti Too since the 2 ladies before me enjoyed themselves at the same location. Chef was different perhaps. And the lady serving was different too?
Food: 3 out of 5
Service: 2 out of 5
Cleanliness: 1.5 out of 5
Value for money: 3 out of 5
Rating given:
Mini delights to warm one's heart.
After staying away from sweet and oily donuts for awhile, I decided that its time to try something new. Saw this store at IMM few times I was there and finally decides to try it.
I used to be a fan for egg tarts before the craze for donuts. And this little store serves sweet little tarts with quite a number of different fillings. The original one looks like the usual Portuguese's egg tarts but of a different shape. I bought two flavors, the Melting Chocolate (shown in photo) and the Strawberry one.
The tart is soft yet the texture is well maintained. It's not too buttery nor eggy. Taste is just right. Topped with chocolate chips and inside filled with melted chocolate. The piece I got, the chocolate was only visible when I bite off almost half of the tart. But once there, every bite into the tart is greeted with just the right amount of melted chocolate and egg. Great delight when ate while its still warm.
The strawberry filling one is a tad too sweet for my liking. Perhaps the next time I will give the savory choices a try. They've the Mushroom Chicken and Pepper Chicken tarts too. Pretty unique since most egg tarts sold in the market are usually sweet ones.
The only sad part is their pricing. Each tart goes at $1.20. And you'll only save $1.20 if you buy 12 pieces. Not that encouraging for customers to want to buy more at a go. 12 pieces is a tad too many, unless you're buying for a party or to share with friends at gatherings ya?
Rating given:
Singapore Airlines... one of the brands our country is identified with all the time in many countries all over the world.
I had the chance to travel on it *again* recently and was very satisfied. The flight I was on, was quite empty so my friend and I got a free seat between the two of us so we had plenty of space to move about in.
Boarding the plane we were nicely greeted and the blankets and pillows were already waiting patiently on our seats for us. The stewardess and stewards were eloquent enough and didn't bother passengers unneccessarily. And even when some of the passengers across the aisle made some irritating demands, the service didn't falter.
The flight was turbulent at a few points but I think it was thanks to the cloudy situation. The take off and landing was smooth which was great.
Definitely very satisfied with it but they ARE expensive. Luckily I didn't pay for this trip. haha :)
Rating given:
I was excited when a friend asked me along to the new Persimmon opened by the same people from Epicurious. We had such a nice time at Epi that I was pretty sure that Persimmon would be good too! So despite my busy schedule I went down with my friend for the food-tasting session.
Armed with a street directory and a good navigator (moi) we managed to find the carpark behind the Link Hotel. By the way, I found Link Hotel quite interesting and am really thinking of giving it a try. But the parking was $4 per entry in an open air carpark which I found quite a rip-off. But this is the nearest carpark so there isn't much of a choice.
One wouldn't be able to miss Persimmon with its bright orange lights standing tall just outside of it.
After much discussion on how to take a good photo of the front of the restaurant, we finally stepped into the place, greeted by Helena, one of the owners. She introduced us to the rest of the crowd for the evening who were all very friendly people and got us some wine before seating us at this long table meant for large groups.
The black and white tiled flooring and the coffeeshop table and chairs gave it a local feel. But the modern white finishings of the counter and the sides complemented it nicely. I loved the antique-looking sofa sets and the live orchids which gave the place an artsy touch. Old Chinese tunes and jazz helped me relax here.
Food we had:
Mushroom and Sesame Shooter
First up was this warm soup in a little glass. I loved the taste and thickness of it. We were told that there was some alcohol in it... but honestly? I couldn't taste it and was happy with that.
Tunghoon Salad with Crabcake
This was served with scallop and the presentation was very nice. The Tunghoon had a sourish-spicy taste to it and I liked it very very much! I think it would be better with some cashew bits in it but then that would be very common in Thai salad dishes I guess. As for the crabcake, I would have liked it with more flavour as it was a little bland next to the salad.
Fried Kwayteow served with Wagyu Beef
I wanted to write Char Kuay Teow... but then, it wasn't quite that either. I generally try not to eat both CKT and Beef actually. But I did like this version of CKT. It was still oily nonetheless (what is CKT without oil?!) but it did seem healthier somewhat. The noodles were not flimsy and drenched in oil like the hawker centre types but they still have some bite in them. But it was a little too salty but not over the top. I did enjoy the beef though, despite trying to stay away from it. But it was really good, very flavourful and the beansprouts that came with it gave the dish some crunch.
Fisherman's Pie
This version had laksa swimming below the puff pastry. The puff pastry is nice but it would have been better with some butter as my friend suggested. I think it would have made it softer and more "fluffy". I wasn't really too concerned that it didn't puff up but I think some softness was missing. I liked the gravy mostly but not quite for drinking though. The ingredients were pretty much what you would expect and they tasted ok. But the potato had probably been floating inside for sometime and its texture was a little too soft.
Pineapple Tart
For the first time, I had a giant pineapple tart for dessert. The top has your usual pineapple ring which I wasn't a fan of as it was a little sourish and hard to chew. Beneath it was sweet caramelised pineapple which was very tasty, especially when eaten with the crust! I loved the crust and tried to finish everything but I couldn't as I was too full.
I can't give a pricing for the items I had as I was there for food-tasting. But I took a glance at the menu and the prices are more or less like those in a cafe with mains going in the $20 range.
Not to mention, we took a surprise visit into THE KITCHEN! Helena was so nice to bring us around and show us different sections of the place and we soon realised how much effort was put into planning and designing a place like this! She also showed us a speciall little room that can seat 8 people. It's very cosy and there isn't a minimum spending amount before you can use the room!
Definitely worth another visit!
For more pictures, go to my blog
Rating given:
Caught a late night show at the new Cathay cineplex at Downtown East. Arriving at the cinema level, I knew it's not going to be as good as the original The Cathay at orchard. Obviously this is one of the smallest Cathay around their cineplexes.
The cinema I went to was no. 3. It was relatively small but leg room was sufficient but not as wide as those at GV vivo. I've to disagree with genesis with the seats. After 100 mins of watching the show, my partner and I both suffered from neck ache and strain. We were seated on Row E, which's still considered among the back rows. The seats were uncomfortable and we were blocked by the couples in front of us. (Not alot thou, but still we can see their heads popping above the seats.)
Unlike GV cinemas, cathay still only provides "couple seats" with reclining arm rest at the 2 back rows. So if you're looking at getting some cuddling, especially for horror shows with your girlfriends, you might want to book the tickets in advance.
Another inconvenient thing about this Cathay is the toilet. It's located outside of the cinema and boy it was wet and dirty! Although the place is still pretty new, but the toilets were badly maintained. Guess the crowd overpowered the frequency of toilet maintenances.
Although the place is not up to our standard as compared to other Cathay and GV cinemas, we'll probably still go back for movies at nights. Reasons? Well, it's nearby our homes and the open space public parking outside is free after 10pm!
Rating given: