UNO Beef House is one of my favourite place for western food! I believe they are famous for their steaks, but since I'm no steak lover I can't give any steaky recommendations.
But their fish & chips and chicken chops are excellent! Portion is large and prices are reasonable (around $4.50 and above).
It helps that they are so near my home. :) Highly recommended if you happen to be free to drop by.
I totally agree with Natsu, the queuing system at IKEA Restaurant & Cafe made me felt like I was in National Service again! Queuing up and picking up food along the way just feels so much like NS.
In case you are wondering, no that is not a compliment. :)
The food is pretty decent, but the price is a little on the high side. I tried their Chicken Chop Rice.
Finally, getting seats might prove to be difficult with the amount of people there. So be prepared to spend a little time waiting.
Was there yesterday with my gf for a nice buffet dinner at this restaurant. It was closed down sometime ago for renovation and was reopened maybe abt a few weeks ago.
I would say that the food there is tasty,fresh and has a wide variety. Aslo the food are presentably arranged for a nice overview.
The food ranges from Premium Live Oysters, Scallops, Prawns, Crayfish, Wide selection of Sashimi, California Hand roll, Assorted Sushi, French Goose Liver Paste, Prawn Salad, Norwegian Smoked Salmon, Black Pepper Crabs, Chili Crabs, Scallops in Garlic sauce, Yang Zhou Fried Rice, Soya Chicken, Grilled Salmon Fish Head, Honey Baked Chicken Drumlets, Baked Scallops, Beef Steak, Lamb Chop, Chicken Chop, Shishamo, Fish Fillets, Ebi Tempura, Crackers, Potato Wedges, Salmon Pizza, Herbal Chicken Soup, Shark’s Fin Soup, Assorted Dim Sum, Crocodile Soup, Stir Fried Seasonal Vegetables, Herbal Prawns, Assorted Pastries, Puddings, Herbal Jelly, Ice-Cream and free flow of Coffee, Tea Juices and Soft Drinks.
And the above are not the entire menu as yet!! Therefore you can really have a good feast over there. Just imagine all the food there waiting for you.
As fro the pricing, it is definitely worth paying for the amount of food you can have. The prices are as follows:
LUNCH ADULT CHILD
Mon - Fri S$26.80 S$16.80
Sat - Sun
& Public Holidays S$28.80 S$18.80
DINNER
Mon - Thu S$33.80 S$16.80
Fri - Sun, Eve
Public Holiday &
Public Holiday S$35.80 S$18.80
HIGH-TEA ADULT CHILD
Sat - Sun &
Public Holidays S$14.80 S$9.80
(All prices subject to10% service charge & 7 % GST)
As for the various meal hours they are as follows:
Business Hours : 11:30am~3:00pm
5:30pm~10:00pm
Sat,Sun & PH (Lunch):11:30am~2:30pm
Sat,Sun & PH High-Tea: 2:30pm~4:30pm
1 Child charge based on height of 110cm-150cm
2 Children under the height of 110cm will be charged under 1 Child buffet rate.
So why wait?? Hurry up and make that reseravtion now!!!
(",)(",)
Was at Millenia Walk with two girlfriends and I wanted to try out Abof, but the price was alittle high for a casual dinner. So we went to Bab Noodle. Although the name suggested that they serves noodle, but I saw my rice on the menu. To change the rice to noodles is an additional $2. Shouldn't they call it Bab Rice then?
Anyway, the 3 of us ordered 2 starters to share and a main each with iced lychee tea for all of us. There were 3 lady staff at work. And as it was late already, the place was rather empty. We were given all the attention we needed. So this was great. Except for my missing straw in my drink, and the fallen spoon from my table. Other than that, the service was great.
Now the food... the starters - Pidan with cold tofu and Seafood tofu were great! Love the taste. As for the main, I was contemplating between the Sukiyaki Beef Set and the Stew Beef with Karrage Chicken Set. I asked the lady who took our order which she recommends, and Sukiyaki was her choice. So I gave that a try. The serving was rather big for me. I was too full only half way through the set. But then the main problem came when I reached home couple of hours later... yap... had a "blasting" time in the loo... perhaps its the beef. As there were some that I thought looked weird. Or again, might be due to the combo of food I had for dinner. Lucky for me, I feel better now after the blasting.
Total spent by the 3 of us was $58.40.
For the service and attention, I give 2 stars and for the value-for-money set meals I'm giving another. Not going to rate the food as my experience was probably uncalled for.
Page One at Vivo is a moderate-sized bookstore with split levels. The higher section is for the Chinese books and the lower one for English.
Variety - They sure cramped a whole lot of books in this place. All the shelves are well filled from top to bottom. Some of the shelves are unusually high and they have little ladders at strategic places. I, being quite short, didn't notice the ladders at first and was jumping for some of the books on the higher shelf. I enjoy many sections in a bookstore and certainly appreciated how they had such a large Chinese section. Their books range from the recently published to those that look really before my time.
Service - Although the staff looked really busy and it's hard to find one standing around, they have people manning information counters well-placed around the store. Just approach the counters and someone would lead you to the right place. That's good service. I also noticed one of them tending to a lady patiently, offering additional information and his opinion on some of the books, which is beyond what I would expect.
Layout - Horrid really. The shelves are not neatly placed and have a certain "design" to them. The signs to the various sections are painted on the pillars and are not pointing in any obvious direction. Some steps are not easily seen and could cause a fall or two. Thank goodness for the staff or I wouldn't have found what I needed.
All in all? I like bookstores and this is one I like but I wish I needn't spend time trying to find my way about the place.
Had dinner with my parents at Borshch Steakhouse, a Russian restaurant run by a Hainanese (How weird) and just a mere 10 minute walk from our house. Not much is known about Borshch (I tried googling!) except for the fact that its been around since god knows when. I probably wasn't even in existence then!
Going to Borshch for a meal is akin to stepping into an air conditioned grilling area as you walk out of it reeking strongly of cooking fumes. It certainly doesn't help that the place is rather small and crampish which only serves to contain the fumes.
Whats a meal without soup? The cream of mushroom soup was thick and starchy and tasted exactly like the can of Campbell soup I have sitting in my kitchen cabinet. In the same vein, the garlic bread was unremarkable and was merely slices of unevenly toasted but crispy baguettes spread with a thin layer of butter atop.
Shrimp Cocktail - I honestly don't know what to make of this appetiser as the shrimps were really tiny! Not that they tasted fresh either, masked by the overwhelming and over generous salad dressing.
Grilled Pork Chop - For a Hainanese run eatery, I would have expected a reasonably good dish of pork chop and Borshch didn't disappoint. The grilled pork chop was evenly grilled with a nice slightly chewy texture to boot. I did find the slab of meat to be a little too fatty though
Sirloin Steak - I was rather skeptical about ordering a steak in such a place, especially when Astons was just next door. However, skepticism soon turned to mild appreciation as I subjected the steak to the taste test. First of all, the steak was done as per my request, medium rare. Second, the meat was fibrous and a tad tasty even without the accompanying gravy. Portions were also quite respectable for the price. I also personally like this dish for the fact that a small mold of butter was allowed to sizzle in the hotplate to give the meat an added boost in terms of taste and smell.
Fancy Pancake and Peach Melba - The desserts were lousy. I couldn't see or taste what was so fancy about the pancake save for a tiny slice of banana wrapped up in the middle. The ice cream in the Peach Melba had ice chips in it and tasted familiarly like Wall's tub ice cream. Four words. I can do better.
Baked Alaska - No visit to a Russian eatery is complete without an order of the famous Baked Alaska, which is essentially ice cream and sponge cake encased within a thick layer of meringue which is then briefly placed in an extremely hot oven to firm the meringue. Borshch's rendition was a slight variation of the original concept, opting to pour a small quantity of rum onto the meringue and flambéing it till it turned a shade of burnt. I personally found it quite good, with the meringue frothy and blending well with the sponge cake and ice cream. Then again, not many places in Singapore do up this dish so its hard to form any basis for comparison. Please note that this dessert is meant to be shared.
A decently satisfying dinner for 3 cost almost $60, which isn't too expensive to pay considering that the mains were decent and so was the Baked Alaska. Service is practically nonexistent though so please do not expect any. Now, they really should do something about the ventilation.
Me and my girlfriend had always liked to go to this restaurant for its dinner buffet simply because of its wide variety of food. Kuishin Bo is the first to introduce a new dining concept in Japanese buffet meal, with a wide spread of food from sashimi, and sushi (over more than 20 kinds), seafood, tempura, teppanyaki, yakitori, mini paper steamboat to soba and ramen. And now, they have the big and tasty Alaskan Crabs' claws as well, which is really value for money. The claws are huge, and teh meat is so juicy and sweet. And every now and then druing your meal, they will have some special food such as Cheesy Slipper Lobsters which is given out to the first 20 diners or so who queue up at the designated counter. Just the mention of all these makes my stomach growl and my saliva drooling all over the place. Yummy yummy!!!
In addition to all the main courses, there is also a large selection of drinks ranging from chilled drinks such as peach tea, lemon tea, coke, mountain dew and hot drinks like cappucino, mocha, chocolate which are dispensed from coffee machine. On top of that, there are also many different flavour of tea bags available for those who prefer tea.
Of course, how can a buffet meal nt have dessert for those who have a sweet tooth like me? The range of desserts there is quite appealing too, ranging from the normal puffs and cakes to the japanese mochi, chocolate fondue for the kids and many many more. So for all those who really have a weakness for desserts, this is definitely the place for you to savour all the different desserts.
As for the prices, it ranges from $24.80 to $27.80 (lunch) and $33.80 to $39.80 (dinner). For kids below 1.4m, the pricing is fixed at 16 and for senior citizens (aged 55 and above), there will be a discount of 10%.
Nowadays, there are also special offers such as Lady's Nite on Wednesday, Early Bird Feast and Last Hour Feast from Friday to Sunday. And for beer lovers, there is also the Let's Cheers!! night on every Tuesday @ 10 /person for free flow of beer, excluding the buffet charge. For all the specials' prices, you can check it out on the website.
But one thing to take note is that the it can really be crowded and therefore it is strongly advised to make a resevation before you make your way there. Else you could be in for a long wait while looking at others enjoying their food.
Xi Yan first opened in Singapore in 2005, bringing along a whole new concept of dining to Singapore with the introduction of private dining whereby tables are extremely limited (think 3-5 tables), reservations are definitely necessary and the chef decides what you eat for that day. It does sound draconian, but the upside is that the menu changes daily, save for a few specialties and dining is exclusive!
Nestled amongst the old shop houses along Craig Road, Xi Yan, as mentioned earlier, is by reservations only and you need a minimum of 6 pax to dine there (exceptions can be made if you do not meet the required number of people, but you need to order the pricier menu. Rule of thumb is - You need to spend about $500-$600/table). The entrance to Xi Yan is discreet, without even a hint of its presence (That explains the difficulty we had in trying to locate it). Here's a clue though. It shares the premises with Sui Japanese Restaurant.
The interior is cosy and modernly furnished with hues of red and brown. Abstract paintings don the sides and ambient lighting is practised. Simplicity at its finesse .
Greenhouse Tomatoes in Sesame Sauce - As the name suggests, the tomatoes are grown in a greenhouse aka organic tomatoes and are much bigger than your average tomato. Not to mention that they cost ridiculously more as well. According to the waiter, these organic tomatoes are juicier and taste better. I am inclined to agree. The tomatoes were juicy and full of bite. With the wasabi infused sesame sauce, the tomato was refreshing and truly an appetizer.
Cold Tofu Pork Floss - Interesting dish with the tofu topped with pork floss, salted egg yolk, dried shrimps and deep fried shallot.A nice combination with the saltiness of the dried shrimp complementing the sweetness of the pork floss with the shallot to give it fragrance. However, the tofu which was supposedly imported from Japan, lacked the silky smoothness which good tofu should have.
Shrimp and Crab Paste on Baguette Toast - A fanciful presentation and preparation method, but tasted nothing out of this world. It is Hong Kong's version of our Heh Bi Hiam. I did find it weird eating bread during a Chinese dinner, but maybe thats just me.
Sichuan Pickles in Spicy Sauce - This dish came with pickles (or jerkins if thats what you know them by) and radish soaked in a spicy concoction of Sichuan peppercorn and a wee bit of sugar. I took a bite of the radish and sweared off it as it was way too sour for my liking. If you like sour and spicy stuff, then this might suit your tastebuds.
Deep Fried Prawns with Salted Egg Yolk - A few grievances about this dish. First of all, the prawns were only averaged sized. For the price we were paying, I had expected huge prawns. Second, the prawns weren't cleaned properly. The innards(or shit if you prefer) could still be seen. The good thing was, the salted egg yolk coating on the prawn shells tasted better with every mouth. It did come across as a little too mild at first though, but the more you suck at the shell, the better the taste.
Stewed Beef Shin with Tangerine Peel - The beef shin was quite good, soft and tender from simmering in the pot for 2 hrs. I could detect a tinge of sweetness as well, probably from the tangerine peel. However, the raw beef taste can be quite overwhelming at times and thats coming from someone who likes steak medium rare.
Sichuan Salivating Chicken - Please do not be mislead by the odd sounding name of this dish. The chicken does not salivate. The sauce is supposed to be so good that it makes the consumer salivate. Quite an audacious claim I must say. Ingredients in this dish are quite interesting actually, with chicken slices, yam noodles, roasted peanuts, chilli, coriander and century egg. I personally found everything normal except for the yam noodles which were surprisingly chewy and full of bite. I've never tried anything like it. Just for the record, this dish did make me salivate, but not from the goodness of the sauce, but from the chilli in it. An underhand method? You decide.
Fried Lemongrass Shrimp Paste Grouper - According to our waiter, many other restaurants would actually steam a good fish in order to exhibit its freshness. But not Xi Yan. What they have done is to deep fry the fish first till its 70% cooked and then coat it with the lemongrass shrimp paste and then deep fry again. The result? A crispy exterior with a soft and moist interior. I laud the skill in the preparation of this dish, but denigrate the quality of the fish. The flesh came across as rather bland, not sweet as I would have expected it to be.
Furong Chicken Soup - This soup was supposedly boiled for 4 hrs before serving. Though relatively long, it still doesn't qualify as double boiled soup and it certainly can't match the other superior soups that I've tried. But still very decent without a doubt.
Young and Old Happy News - Interesting name, uninteresting dish. The young referred to the Dou Miao while the old referred to the preserved vegetables. Lightly fried and beautifully presented, but nothing outstanding.
Tofu Ice Cream on Pandan Glutinous Rice - This was probably the best dish of the day. The ice cream was quite well done but in no way reminded me of tofu. The base of pandan glutinous rice was not too sticky and just right on the texture, tasting pleasantly of pandan. Does this remind you of the Thai style mango atop glutinous rice?
The 6 of us chalked up a hefty bill of $630, which we felt was grossly expensive given the quality of food and ingredients used. Sure its an exclusive novelty, but novelties can only last so long. Service was excellent though and the cooking process of every dish was explained to us by our waiter in great detail. However, that alone is not enough to entice us to return. Not unless the price drops to about $50-$60 per pax down from the $88 .
Hidden in an obscure corner on the third floor of the hotel, Wan Hao doesn't look like much from the outside. However, step in and be wowed by the luxurious and solemn interior which exudes pure unadulterated sophistication and charm. If dining in a party of 4 or less, do try for one of the 4 cosy corner tables that come complete with curtains.
The Wok Fried Fresh Scallop Cubes with Tropical Mango in Fresh Milk and Egg Topped with Crab Roe served on a bed of Vermicelli tasted uncannily like the excellent Shredded Scallop with Fish & Egg White from Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant, except that it was smoother and richer in taste due to the fresh milk. However, the scallop cubes were rather bland and didn't add any life to the dish. Not that this dish wasn't good though. In fact I like it enough to want to order it again when I return.
The Poached Live Prawns came deshelled, with the exception of the head. The prawns were bigger than your usual ones and were extremely fresh, crunchy and juicy. Add that to the fact that they were perfectly cooked and drenched in a garlic concoction which served to complement the natural sweetness of the prawns. Definitely a winner! But at $90/kg, you might want to think long and hard before placing your order.
The Homemade Seaweed Beancurd Topped with Shredded Abalone, Dried Seafood and Vegetables didn't quite meet expectations. The tofu, though soft, was flat in taste and lacked the natural wholesome goodness of the one I had at Li Bai. The vegetables were cooked in a way that I personally dislike - soft with thick gravy.
The Crispy Boneless Chicken Stir Fried with Fresh Strawberry in Honey and Lemon Sauce was a bummer. I thought this dish would be interesting with the use of fruits to enhance the taste of the chicken, but oh boy, was I wrong. The chicken tasted exactly like Sweet and Sour Pork, albeit of a softer texture. The sweetness from the honey didn't exactly go well with the chicken. It tasted a little too strong and the strawberries didn't really make much of an impact on the dish. But having said that, its still an above average dish.
With a name like Chilled Coconut with Sea Coconut, I had expected fresh chilled Coconut meat served with Sea Coconut, but that was not to be. It is actually a layer of Coconut jelly and a few slices of Sea Coconut served in a small Coconut husk on a bed of ice. This is one dish that would score high marks for presentation. I guess you can tell why just from looking at the picture. And it was rather pleasing to boot. The coconut jelly had a strong coconut taste and coupled with the thick and sweet syrup, it was a pleasure to consume. The Sea Coconut tasted rather normal though.
I always wanted to try this restaurant because it looks interesting. So, I went with my Dear there for dinner a couple of weeks ago, and very disappointed with the food quality.
Firstly, the drinks: I ordered hot green tea and my Dear ordered English tea. They served the ‘hot’ green tea (which is warm not hot) in a ’soup bowl’ (maybe be interesting to some pple) and my dear’s English tea, they never give him a teaspoon to stir in the sugar. Can’t possibly asked him to use the spoon in the sugar pot rite?
Secondly, the sushi: The ingredients are fresh, but the rice are not well made; in the sense that it was not properly shaped. The rice fall apart easily. :(
Thirdly, the tori karage: It’s a bit too oily, tough.
Fourth, the chicken wings: Crispy but too salty.
Fifth, the chawanmushi: They should not use SPRING ONIONS. Their taste are overpowered. There are nothing much in the chawanmushi. No crabmeat stick, only a traces of fish cake and 2 small bits of shrimp. Not much taste also. It’s a TOTAL DISAPPOINTMENT.
Sixth, my Main dish - Shoyu Ramen: The soup base is fine. Not too salty. The ramen are well cooked. So, what is wrong with this dish? The Char Siu. VERY FATTENING. I can see mostly FATS, no much meat. They are tough. Not those that melt in the mouth kind even though they have so much layer of FATS.
Seventh, my dear’s Main dish - Tori Fried Rice: The miso soup is ok. The rice was fried with garlic. Dried, but oily. Very oily. Not much taste, the only flavour are the slight garlicky taste and the Fried Tori.
We finished all the dishes, not becoz they are delicious, its becoz we were too HUNGRY.
When we made payment at the counter, then we saw that they, as a Japanese Restaurant, is famous for their claypot Laksa! o.O SURPRISE!!!!!!
UNO Beef House is one of my favourite place for western food! I believe they are famous for their steaks, but since I'm no steak lover I can't give any steaky recommendations.
But their fish & chips and chicken chops are excellent! Portion is large and prices are reasonable (around $4.50 and above).
It helps that they are so near my home. :) Highly recommended if you happen to be free to drop by.
Rating given:
I totally agree with Natsu, the queuing system at IKEA Restaurant & Cafe made me felt like I was in National Service again! Queuing up and picking up food along the way just feels so much like NS.
In case you are wondering, no that is not a compliment. :)
The food is pretty decent, but the price is a little on the high side. I tried their Chicken Chop Rice.
Finally, getting seats might prove to be difficult with the amount of people there. So be prepared to spend a little time waiting.
Rating given:
Was there yesterday with my gf for a nice buffet dinner at this restaurant. It was closed down sometime ago for renovation and was reopened maybe abt a few weeks ago.
I would say that the food there is tasty,fresh and has a wide variety. Aslo the food are presentably arranged for a nice overview.
The food ranges from Premium Live Oysters, Scallops, Prawns, Crayfish, Wide selection of Sashimi, California Hand roll, Assorted Sushi, French Goose Liver Paste, Prawn Salad, Norwegian Smoked Salmon, Black Pepper Crabs, Chili Crabs, Scallops in Garlic sauce, Yang Zhou Fried Rice, Soya Chicken, Grilled Salmon Fish Head, Honey Baked Chicken Drumlets, Baked Scallops, Beef Steak, Lamb Chop, Chicken Chop, Shishamo, Fish Fillets, Ebi Tempura, Crackers, Potato Wedges, Salmon Pizza, Herbal Chicken Soup, Shark’s Fin Soup, Assorted Dim Sum, Crocodile Soup, Stir Fried Seasonal Vegetables, Herbal Prawns, Assorted Pastries, Puddings, Herbal Jelly, Ice-Cream and free flow of Coffee, Tea Juices and Soft Drinks.
And the above are not the entire menu as yet!! Therefore you can really have a good feast over there. Just imagine all the food there waiting for you.
As fro the pricing, it is definitely worth paying for the amount of food you can have. The prices are as follows:
LUNCH ADULT CHILD
Mon - Fri S$26.80 S$16.80
Sat - Sun
& Public Holidays S$28.80 S$18.80
DINNER
Mon - Thu S$33.80 S$16.80
Fri - Sun, Eve
Public Holiday &
Public Holiday S$35.80 S$18.80
HIGH-TEA ADULT CHILD
Sat - Sun &
Public Holidays S$14.80 S$9.80
(All prices subject to10% service charge & 7 % GST)
As for the various meal hours they are as follows:
Business Hours : 11:30am~3:00pm
5:30pm~10:00pm
Sat,Sun & PH (Lunch):11:30am~2:30pm
Sat,Sun & PH High-Tea: 2:30pm~4:30pm
1 Child charge based on height of 110cm-150cm
2 Children under the height of 110cm will be charged under 1 Child buffet rate.
So why wait?? Hurry up and make that reseravtion now!!!
(",)(",)
Rating given:
Was at Millenia Walk with two girlfriends and I wanted to try out Abof, but the price was alittle high for a casual dinner. So we went to Bab Noodle. Although the name suggested that they serves noodle, but I saw my rice on the menu. To change the rice to noodles is an additional $2. Shouldn't they call it Bab Rice then?
Anyway, the 3 of us ordered 2 starters to share and a main each with iced lychee tea for all of us. There were 3 lady staff at work. And as it was late already, the place was rather empty. We were given all the attention we needed. So this was great. Except for my missing straw in my drink, and the fallen spoon from my table. Other than that, the service was great.
Now the food... the starters - Pidan with cold tofu and Seafood tofu were great! Love the taste. As for the main, I was contemplating between the Sukiyaki Beef Set and the Stew Beef with Karrage Chicken Set. I asked the lady who took our order which she recommends, and Sukiyaki was her choice. So I gave that a try. The serving was rather big for me. I was too full only half way through the set. But then the main problem came when I reached home couple of hours later... yap... had a "blasting" time in the loo... perhaps its the beef. As there were some that I thought looked weird. Or again, might be due to the combo of food I had for dinner. Lucky for me, I feel better now after the blasting.
Total spent by the 3 of us was $58.40.
For the service and attention, I give 2 stars and for the value-for-money set meals I'm giving another. Not going to rate the food as my experience was probably uncalled for.
Rating given:
Page One at Vivo is a moderate-sized bookstore with split levels. The higher section is for the Chinese books and the lower one for English.
Variety - They sure cramped a whole lot of books in this place. All the shelves are well filled from top to bottom. Some of the shelves are unusually high and they have little ladders at strategic places. I, being quite short, didn't notice the ladders at first and was jumping for some of the books on the higher shelf. I enjoy many sections in a bookstore and certainly appreciated how they had such a large Chinese section. Their books range from the recently published to those that look really before my time.
Service - Although the staff looked really busy and it's hard to find one standing around, they have people manning information counters well-placed around the store. Just approach the counters and someone would lead you to the right place. That's good service. I also noticed one of them tending to a lady patiently, offering additional information and his opinion on some of the books, which is beyond what I would expect.
Layout - Horrid really. The shelves are not neatly placed and have a certain "design" to them. The signs to the various sections are painted on the pillars and are not pointing in any obvious direction. Some steps are not easily seen and could cause a fall or two. Thank goodness for the staff or I wouldn't have found what I needed.
All in all? I like bookstores and this is one I like but I wish I needn't spend time trying to find my way about the place.
Rating given:
Had dinner with my parents at Borshch Steakhouse, a Russian restaurant run by a Hainanese (How weird) and just a mere 10 minute walk from our house. Not much is known about Borshch (I tried googling!) except for the fact that its been around since god knows when. I probably wasn't even in existence then!
Going to Borshch for a meal is akin to stepping into an air conditioned grilling area as you walk out of it reeking strongly of cooking fumes. It certainly doesn't help that the place is rather small and crampish which only serves to contain the fumes.
Whats a meal without soup? The cream of mushroom soup was thick and starchy and tasted exactly like the can of Campbell soup I have sitting in my kitchen cabinet. In the same vein, the garlic bread was unremarkable and was merely slices of unevenly toasted but crispy baguettes spread with a thin layer of butter atop.
Shrimp Cocktail - I honestly don't know what to make of this appetiser as the shrimps were really tiny! Not that they tasted fresh either, masked by the overwhelming and over generous salad dressing.
Grilled Pork Chop - For a Hainanese run eatery, I would have expected a reasonably good dish of pork chop and Borshch didn't disappoint. The grilled pork chop was evenly grilled with a nice slightly chewy texture to boot. I did find the slab of meat to be a little too fatty though
Sirloin Steak - I was rather skeptical about ordering a steak in such a place, especially when Astons was just next door. However, skepticism soon turned to mild appreciation as I subjected the steak to the taste test. First of all, the steak was done as per my request, medium rare. Second, the meat was fibrous and a tad tasty even without the accompanying gravy. Portions were also quite respectable for the price. I also personally like this dish for the fact that a small mold of butter was allowed to sizzle in the hotplate to give the meat an added boost in terms of taste and smell.
Fancy Pancake and Peach Melba - The desserts were lousy. I couldn't see or taste what was so fancy about the pancake save for a tiny slice of banana wrapped up in the middle. The ice cream in the Peach Melba had ice chips in it and tasted familiarly like Wall's tub ice cream. Four words. I can do better.
Baked Alaska - No visit to a Russian eatery is complete without an order of the famous Baked Alaska, which is essentially ice cream and sponge cake encased within a thick layer of meringue which is then briefly placed in an extremely hot oven to firm the meringue. Borshch's rendition was a slight variation of the original concept, opting to pour a small quantity of rum onto the meringue and flambéing it till it turned a shade of burnt. I personally found it quite good, with the meringue frothy and blending well with the sponge cake and ice cream. Then again, not many places in Singapore do up this dish so its hard to form any basis for comparison. Please note that this dessert is meant to be shared.
A decently satisfying dinner for 3 cost almost $60, which isn't too expensive to pay considering that the mains were decent and so was the Baked Alaska. Service is practically nonexistent though so please do not expect any. Now, they really should do something about the ventilation.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
Me and my girlfriend had always liked to go to this restaurant for its dinner buffet simply because of its wide variety of food. Kuishin Bo is the first to introduce a new dining concept in Japanese buffet meal, with a wide spread of food from sashimi, and sushi (over more than 20 kinds), seafood, tempura, teppanyaki, yakitori, mini paper steamboat to soba and ramen. And now, they have the big and tasty Alaskan Crabs' claws as well, which is really value for money. The claws are huge, and teh meat is so juicy and sweet. And every now and then druing your meal, they will have some special food such as Cheesy Slipper Lobsters which is given out to the first 20 diners or so who queue up at the designated counter. Just the mention of all these makes my stomach growl and my saliva drooling all over the place. Yummy yummy!!!
In addition to all the main courses, there is also a large selection of drinks ranging from chilled drinks such as peach tea, lemon tea, coke, mountain dew and hot drinks like cappucino, mocha, chocolate which are dispensed from coffee machine. On top of that, there are also many different flavour of tea bags available for those who prefer tea.
Of course, how can a buffet meal nt have dessert for those who have a sweet tooth like me? The range of desserts there is quite appealing too, ranging from the normal puffs and cakes to the japanese mochi, chocolate fondue for the kids and many many more. So for all those who really have a weakness for desserts, this is definitely the place for you to savour all the different desserts.
As for the prices, it ranges from $24.80 to $27.80 (lunch) and $33.80 to $39.80 (dinner). For kids below 1.4m, the pricing is fixed at 16 and for senior citizens (aged 55 and above), there will be a discount of 10%.
Nowadays, there are also special offers such as Lady's Nite on Wednesday, Early Bird Feast and Last Hour Feast from Friday to Sunday. And for beer lovers, there is also the Let's Cheers!! night on every Tuesday @ 10 /person for free flow of beer, excluding the buffet charge. For all the specials' prices, you can check it out on the website.
But one thing to take note is that the it can really be crowded and therefore it is strongly advised to make a resevation before you make your way there. Else you could be in for a long wait while looking at others enjoying their food.
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Xi Yan first opened in Singapore in 2005, bringing along a whole new concept of dining to Singapore with the introduction of private dining whereby tables are extremely limited (think 3-5 tables), reservations are definitely necessary and the chef decides what you eat for that day. It does sound draconian, but the upside is that the menu changes daily, save for a few specialties and dining is exclusive!
Nestled amongst the old shop houses along Craig Road, Xi Yan, as mentioned earlier, is by reservations only and you need a minimum of 6 pax to dine there (exceptions can be made if you do not meet the required number of people, but you need to order the pricier menu. Rule of thumb is - You need to spend about $500-$600/table). The entrance to Xi Yan is discreet, without even a hint of its presence (That explains the difficulty we had in trying to locate it). Here's a clue though. It shares the premises with Sui Japanese Restaurant.
The interior is cosy and modernly furnished with hues of red and brown. Abstract paintings don the sides and ambient lighting is practised. Simplicity at its finesse .
Greenhouse Tomatoes in Sesame Sauce - As the name suggests, the tomatoes are grown in a greenhouse aka organic tomatoes and are much bigger than your average tomato. Not to mention that they cost ridiculously more as well. According to the waiter, these organic tomatoes are juicier and taste better. I am inclined to agree. The tomatoes were juicy and full of bite. With the wasabi infused sesame sauce, the tomato was refreshing and truly an appetizer.
Cold Tofu Pork Floss - Interesting dish with the tofu topped with pork floss, salted egg yolk, dried shrimps and deep fried shallot.A nice combination with the saltiness of the dried shrimp complementing the sweetness of the pork floss with the shallot to give it fragrance. However, the tofu which was supposedly imported from Japan, lacked the silky smoothness which good tofu should have.
Shrimp and Crab Paste on Baguette Toast - A fanciful presentation and preparation method, but tasted nothing out of this world. It is Hong Kong's version of our Heh Bi Hiam. I did find it weird eating bread during a Chinese dinner, but maybe thats just me.
Sichuan Pickles in Spicy Sauce - This dish came with pickles (or jerkins if thats what you know them by) and radish soaked in a spicy concoction of Sichuan peppercorn and a wee bit of sugar. I took a bite of the radish and sweared off it as it was way too sour for my liking. If you like sour and spicy stuff, then this might suit your tastebuds.
Deep Fried Prawns with Salted Egg Yolk - A few grievances about this dish. First of all, the prawns were only averaged sized. For the price we were paying, I had expected huge prawns. Second, the prawns weren't cleaned properly. The innards(or shit if you prefer) could still be seen. The good thing was, the salted egg yolk coating on the prawn shells tasted better with every mouth. It did come across as a little too mild at first though, but the more you suck at the shell, the better the taste.
Stewed Beef Shin with Tangerine Peel - The beef shin was quite good, soft and tender from simmering in the pot for 2 hrs. I could detect a tinge of sweetness as well, probably from the tangerine peel. However, the raw beef taste can be quite overwhelming at times and thats coming from someone who likes steak medium rare.
Sichuan Salivating Chicken - Please do not be mislead by the odd sounding name of this dish. The chicken does not salivate. The sauce is supposed to be so good that it makes the consumer salivate. Quite an audacious claim I must say. Ingredients in this dish are quite interesting actually, with chicken slices, yam noodles, roasted peanuts, chilli, coriander and century egg. I personally found everything normal except for the yam noodles which were surprisingly chewy and full of bite. I've never tried anything like it. Just for the record, this dish did make me salivate, but not from the goodness of the sauce, but from the chilli in it. An underhand method? You decide.
Fried Lemongrass Shrimp Paste Grouper - According to our waiter, many other restaurants would actually steam a good fish in order to exhibit its freshness. But not Xi Yan. What they have done is to deep fry the fish first till its 70% cooked and then coat it with the lemongrass shrimp paste and then deep fry again. The result? A crispy exterior with a soft and moist interior. I laud the skill in the preparation of this dish, but denigrate the quality of the fish. The flesh came across as rather bland, not sweet as I would have expected it to be.
Furong Chicken Soup - This soup was supposedly boiled for 4 hrs before serving. Though relatively long, it still doesn't qualify as double boiled soup and it certainly can't match the other superior soups that I've tried. But still very decent without a doubt.
Young and Old Happy News - Interesting name, uninteresting dish. The young referred to the Dou Miao while the old referred to the preserved vegetables. Lightly fried and beautifully presented, but nothing outstanding.
Tofu Ice Cream on Pandan Glutinous Rice - This was probably the best dish of the day. The ice cream was quite well done but in no way reminded me of tofu. The base of pandan glutinous rice was not too sticky and just right on the texture, tasting pleasantly of pandan. Does this remind you of the Thai style mango atop glutinous rice?
The 6 of us chalked up a hefty bill of $630, which we felt was grossly expensive given the quality of food and ingredients used. Sure its an exclusive novelty, but novelties can only last so long. Service was excellent though and the cooking process of every dish was explained to us by our waiter in great detail. However, that alone is not enough to entice us to return. Not unless the price drops to about $50-$60 per pax down from the $88 .
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Hidden in an obscure corner on the third floor of the hotel, Wan Hao doesn't look like much from the outside. However, step in and be wowed by the luxurious and solemn interior which exudes pure unadulterated sophistication and charm. If dining in a party of 4 or less, do try for one of the 4 cosy corner tables that come complete with curtains.
The Wok Fried Fresh Scallop Cubes with Tropical Mango in Fresh Milk and Egg Topped with Crab Roe served on a bed of Vermicelli tasted uncannily like the excellent Shredded Scallop with Fish & Egg White from Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant, except that it was smoother and richer in taste due to the fresh milk. However, the scallop cubes were rather bland and didn't add any life to the dish. Not that this dish wasn't good though. In fact I like it enough to want to order it again when I return.
The Poached Live Prawns came deshelled, with the exception of the head. The prawns were bigger than your usual ones and were extremely fresh, crunchy and juicy. Add that to the fact that they were perfectly cooked and drenched in a garlic concoction which served to complement the natural sweetness of the prawns. Definitely a winner! But at $90/kg, you might want to think long and hard before placing your order.
The Homemade Seaweed Beancurd Topped with Shredded Abalone, Dried Seafood and Vegetables didn't quite meet expectations. The tofu, though soft, was flat in taste and lacked the natural wholesome goodness of the one I had at Li Bai. The vegetables were cooked in a way that I personally dislike - soft with thick gravy.
The Crispy Boneless Chicken Stir Fried with Fresh Strawberry in Honey and Lemon Sauce was a bummer. I thought this dish would be interesting with the use of fruits to enhance the taste of the chicken, but oh boy, was I wrong. The chicken tasted exactly like Sweet and Sour Pork, albeit of a softer texture. The sweetness from the honey didn't exactly go well with the chicken. It tasted a little too strong and the strawberries didn't really make much of an impact on the dish. But having said that, its still an above average dish.
With a name like Chilled Coconut with Sea Coconut, I had expected fresh chilled Coconut meat served with Sea Coconut, but that was not to be. It is actually a layer of Coconut jelly and a few slices of Sea Coconut served in a small Coconut husk on a bed of ice. This is one dish that would score high marks for presentation. I guess you can tell why just from looking at the picture. And it was rather pleasing to boot. The coconut jelly had a strong coconut taste and coupled with the thick and sweet syrup, it was a pleasure to consume. The Sea Coconut tasted rather normal though.
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I always wanted to try this restaurant because it looks interesting. So, I went with my Dear there for dinner a couple of weeks ago, and very disappointed with the food quality.
Firstly, the drinks:
I ordered hot green tea and my Dear ordered English tea. They served the ‘hot’ green tea (which is warm not hot) in a ’soup bowl’ (maybe be interesting to some pple) and my dear’s English tea, they never give him a teaspoon to stir in the sugar. Can’t possibly asked him to use the spoon in the sugar pot rite?
Secondly, the sushi:
The ingredients are fresh, but the rice are not well made; in the sense that it was not properly shaped. The rice fall apart easily. :(
Thirdly, the tori karage:
It’s a bit too oily, tough.
Fourth, the chicken wings:
Crispy but too salty.
Fifth, the chawanmushi:
They should not use SPRING ONIONS. Their taste are overpowered. There are nothing much in the chawanmushi. No crabmeat stick, only a traces of fish cake and 2 small bits of shrimp. Not much taste also. It’s a TOTAL DISAPPOINTMENT.
Sixth, my Main dish - Shoyu Ramen:
The soup base is fine. Not too salty. The ramen are well cooked. So, what is wrong with this dish? The Char Siu. VERY FATTENING. I can see mostly FATS, no much meat. They are tough. Not those that melt in the mouth kind even though they have so much layer of FATS.
Seventh, my dear’s Main dish - Tori Fried Rice:
The miso soup is ok. The rice was fried with garlic. Dried, but oily. Very oily. Not much taste, the only flavour are the slight garlicky taste and the Fried Tori.
We finished all the dishes, not becoz they are delicious, its becoz we were too HUNGRY.
When we made payment at the counter, then we saw that they, as a Japanese Restaurant, is famous for their claypot Laksa! o.O SURPRISE!!!!!!
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