There is a new outlet at UE Square consisting of a children’s kitchen for kids to take part in baking lessons - pro-family! Although one might find the place pretty noisy on a Sunday afternoon because of these kids - so couples looking for a quiet weekend - BEWARE!
It is here I discovered my latest favourite dessert after their signatured Warm Chocolate Cake – I hereby present to you – the delicious Baked Apple Tart ($9.50), consisting of Caramelised Apple Slices baked to golden hue on a light Puff Pastry along with a dollop their very own Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.
A heavenly combination of sweet and sour, light and creamy, & warm and cold that evokes conflicting emotions in a good way. I foresee this will be a hit among the non-chocolate lovers and those who enjoy the apple crumble.
Enjoy your long weekend!
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Located in an obscure corner of the newly restored National Museum of Singapore – with no signboard or whatsoever on its exterior (signboard faces inwards as I discovered), Chef Chan’s Restaurant, honed by Master Chef Chan Chen Hei – a widely known and respected figure in the Chinese culinary circle, dwells completely at ease in the ‘new’ historical setting – as it is complete with Chef Chan’s personal precious collection of Chinese antiques amassed over the years.
The place is exquisite with only four private dining rooms up for reservations – walk-ins are not entertained.
From utensils to cutleries (besides the glass carrying warm water), everything was matched to give one an authentic Cantonese dining experience to that of a Chinese noble.
With much anticipation, first up was the Melon Strips Enlivened with Orange Juice. While some claimed the melon to be crunchy, I find it rather hard to chew on. However, what turns me off from this dish was the sweet orange aftertaste one gets, and we all felt "Melon Strip Dip in Fanta Orange" would be more apt description.
One thing that irks me in Chinese fine dining is that you are unable to have a 2nd helping unlike those traditional Chinese banquet. This is illustrated when the Prawn Balls Stuffed with Pate and Wine was stacked temptingly on the serving plate but only one was distributed to each of us.
The exterior crust was crispy yet gentle for the throat but the interior was a major letdown – it was just overwhelmed with prawn taste that one cannot discern a hint of the pate or wine in it.
Stir Fried Shark's Fin with Eggs, Bean Sprouts and Spring Onion Served in Lettuce Leaves was probably one of the better dishes that night.
A good harmony among the ingredients – chewy shark’s fin and crunchy bean sprouts and lettuce leaves was a pleasure to chomp on. However, reality check beseech me to realise that one doesn’t need extraordinary culinary skill to execute this – this is one reason why my dad doesn’t order bean sprouts whenever we dine out.
The Sautéed Lobster with Garlic was another highly anticipated dish since it was one of the more “luxurious” items on the menu that night. The intense aroma of the garlic wowed us when it was first brought into our room, but we soon live to regret it as the profuse amount of garlic threatens to engulf the whole dish. It was such a shame since the lobster was very fresh and sweet but the tingling feeling from the garlic seeks to mar it.
The meat of the Steamed Sliced Red Garoupa in Village Style was very fresh with a good bite, but the gravy that accompanied it was outrageously starchy.
This is another example of excessive inclusion of element (starch if you are wondering) that threatens to blemish the already pathetic serving of fish that each of us got that night.
The Sautéed Vegetables with Shredded Mushrooms was greeted with disappointment that night. Drenched in gravy, it was just ordinary – any decent cook should be able to pull this off their kitchen – enough said.
The only showpiece for the night rightfully belongs to this seemingly humble chicken. Probably his best known dish, Chef Chan’s Famous Crispy Roast Chicken was the only dish that kept everyone quiet throughout its partake. Everyone was busy devouring the crispy skin that snap with every bite, coupled with the moist and tender chicken meat that was nothing short of flavour. This dish even though tended towards the saltier side near the end, was the only one that blew me away. A simple dish yet delicately and magnificently executed.
Dessert of the night was a choice between Papaya with White Fungus and Herbal Jelly with Glutinous Rice & Mango. And I opted for the latter, which I swiftly regretted. The dessert didn’t quite gel as one and I ended up eating it three ways, first the mango that was unripe therefore sour, then the glutinous rice which was nothing extraordinary, and lastly follow by the Herbal Jelly which some concluded should come with more honey, but I am used to having it bitter.
We chalked a total of $860.15 for 9 people (after 10% credit card discount), which roughly makes out to $96 per pax. For such a price and Straits Time claiming that it deserved at least one Michelin Star, expectations were high and I expected more. However, only the roast chicken make it for me that night that one is definitely better off having the rest of the dishes at some Tze Char stall elsewhere.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
I credit this place for their cheap Western cuisine and relatively decent quality. I was expecting a lot from this place when I first heard about it on Yebber, and have been bugging friends to accompany me there. But when I was finally there, my expectation dropped a level as I seldom thought highly of food at neighbourhood coffee shops.
I'm rather impressed by the variety of food provided, and the relatively low prices they're able to charge despite the soaring price levels. As I was there rather late (8.30pm), the crowd probably had dispersed already and I didn't have to wait long for my food.
Fish and Chips was not bad. The fish was rather thin however, thus making the chewing sensation a little less satisfying. But I really liked how it was fried till it was crispy. I personally felt that the coleslaw had a slightly bitter after-taste and did not like the taste of onions in it. As for their soup, it's actually Campbell soup, which I feel isn't any original at all.
I left the place feeling satisfied with the price I paid and the food I had, but with all the hooha, I must say the place is a tad over-rated. Not when soups are instant canned-soup ): Nonetheless, I'd say it's a good place for budget western food, minus the ambience.
Looking for chocolates as a gift on Valentine's, birthdays, anniversaries etc? Or just looking for great chocolates to satisfy your own craving? Try Jaime's!
Despite being a rather small shop unit and relatively unnoticed at the 2nd level of TPY Entertainment Centre, it has a great variety of chocolates! It sounds like the lower end of Godiva but I'd give Jaime's credit for its creativity and wonderful imagination.
To begin with, you will get the usual flavoured chocolates suc as nut pralines and almond at Jaime's, but there's also certain rather exciting fruit flavours like passionfruit, pear, orange, lemon, banana and lime. My personal favourites are the milk chocolates and pralines (hazelnut praline and triple praline) which leaves a velvet texture in your mouth, and is slightly creamier and more buttery than usual chocolates.
Of course it's not just about tasting good there, it's also about the visual appeal. One look and you just feel like buying everything there even if you don't like certain flavours. Their chocolates come in different shapes and sizes, with some in dog moulds, ducks, rabbits and teddies. Or you get a heart-shaped box made of milk chocolate, with another chocolate in it! On the surface of the chocolate, some of them even give the effect of sprayed paint or blowed glass - really pretty!
So if you're looking for chocolates as gifts, do try Jaime's! I'm sure they're not just visually appealing but would also taste great (: If you're not sure what to order, try those they recommend! The sales person would be more than happy to help.
Singapore largest retail and lifestyle destination, this is definitely my fav shopping centre to date. Away from the city and away from the hustling and bustling crowd in Orchard Road, over here I can find almost all my fav retail stores - Aldo, Esprit, Zara, Pedro, GAP and River Island to name a few. For the ladies, you have a choice of Diva, Bebe, Chomel, Forever 21, M)phosis, Mango and Topshop to name a few.
What's more they have my fav F&B outlets like Fre(n)sh and Ben and Jerry's as well as my fav Sushi Tei outlet all housed within - oh and also my fav Food Court in Singapore - Check out Food Republic at Level 3, with Singapore in the 60s - 70s as a themed.
For those who enjoy chilling out, you have a wide choice of Bakerzin, Starbucks, Coffeebean and Tea Leaf along with Gloria Jeans.
It is also here that you also get to experience the latest and largest cineplex in Singapore under the same roof - GV Vivocity.
On a side note, a straight bus from Seah Im Bus interchange is also a plus for me!
This is my fav cineplex among the many out there. To start off with, I will always buy my tickets online and the ease of use for the online booking systems is simply wonderful!
The seats are new, big and comfortable and the leg space is fabulous for a tall guy like me. A cinema like Lido will not do for me as my knees will be touching the seats in front of me, but not The Cathay!
And who can forget the wonderful art house, indie movies that Picturehouse host periodically.
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.
I had walked past this place so many times and yet I had not had a thought of walking in for a meal. There are a few reasons, first being there always seem to be a long queue outside the restaurant. Secondly, the place serves the kind of food that does not appeal to me. Thirdly, I was always in rush when I was walking past this place. So finally one fine day, we decided to give this place a try, well there was no queue and I thought that it was all good timing. I sort of regretted my choice when I stood there waiting to be shown to a table.
The place did not seem crowded, in fact can see a few empty tables, but we have to wait at the counter. It seems like the waiters and waitresses, even the managers (well they are the ones wearing more formal), are all very busy and everywhere except the counter where we are waiting. Not even one saw us standing at the counter, making me like an idiot. After about 5 mins of waiting, I told my partner that I will count to five, if till then, no one comes up to us, we will go another place for dinner. Lucky enough (don’t know for them or us), we were ushered to a table that is pretty much near to the edge of the corridor where tons and tons of people walked past, felt like animals on display.
The decoration of the place is pretty much trying to be hip and getting the attention of the teenagers, so that they can come in, eat and spend money. There is a pool table to play and even a candy floss station where you can get free candy floss. There are tables like a capsule where a big group can be seated together. The rest of the tables are like those normal kind.
Well after the bad start, my mood was not very good to start off with. Being seated at that location, it was difficult to get the attention of the waiters. It was really frustrating but finally managed to get one and come and take our orders. So what we ordered?
Root beer float @ $7.60: This came in the A&W style. Big mug of nice cold root beer with a big scoop of ice cream in it. Nothing special but it still taste great. Nice. I do find it a bit expensive for it though. Sigh.
London style fish and chip @ $9.90: This came with a big piece of fish, chips and tartar sauce. That it! No coleslaw or salad or whatever. This is really a ripped off! The fish is a bit flaky, not really fresh, maybe frozen. The batter is a bit too thick. Nothing to wow about. I wonder what do they mean by the London part. I understand in London they served it with vinegar but I dun see them doing that. Hmm….. This is really disappointing.
American Coleslaw @ $4.90: I don’t know it is me or the coleslaw but I do find the taste of the coleslaw a bit weird. Maybe too much mayo or too much vinegar but it does not taste like any normal coleslaw. I got to say this is one of the worst coleslaw that I ever eaten. It was so bad that I did not even finished the whole coleslaw. It is that bad. There is no way I am going to order that again.
Rotisserie Chix Whole @ $14.90: After eating or tasting all the above mentioned food, I did not have high expectation for this dish. However, I was wrong. The dish turned out to be great. The chicken was moist and tender, not dry at all. The size of the chicken is also quite huge, for small eaters, they can just order this and share. The sauce that came with the chicken is perfect for it. This dish is above average. Try this and you will not regret especially after a string of disappointments. This is the one that deserves 4 stars.
After this, we decided to give the desserts a miss and asked for the bill. Again, it took us sometime to get the attention of the waiters for the bill. The bill came to us pretty fast but we paid for it and waited for it to return. We waited and waited with the water at least topped up twice. We asked for the waiter to check on the bill but it seems that it never came back. I wonder why? In the end, I got a bit pissed off and signaled to the manager and ask him to check the bill which after a wait of 10 mins, the waiter finally brought it back to us. I really wonder what happen at that time. I have therefore decided after this experience, there is NO CHANCE that I will ever return to this place for any meal ever again!
Held our annual excuse to dine out in the guise of mother's day at Si Chuan Dou Hua, Plaza Park Royal. Scarred from the barely satisfying dinner at Sun Japanese Dining last year, my family decided to stick to the traditional Chinese route this year. Expectations were high as I had a relatively good experience at Si Chuan Dou Hua UOB Plaza at the beginning of last year.
Wood seems to be the focus for the entire restaurant, with overhanging oriental lamps capping a most traditional Chinese interior that oozes finesse through its plush carpeted floors and doorway arches. Here you can peer through the floor to ceiling windows but the view really isn't something you would want to see - tour coaches.
I liked the keropok (crackers) which came in the usual fish and prawn variety. Crackling with every bite, it wasn't soft or soggy and made for a rather unusual but pleasing appetiser.
Sliced Beef and Tripe in Chilli Sauce - A most appetite whetting way to start off our meal, the sliced beef and tripe was nice and chewy and not to mention very spicy from all the chilli oil. This dish has a rating of 5 chillis on the menu, probably the most number awarded. Just a side comment (please correct me if I am wrong), Szechuan chilli seems to be all about spice and no fragrance.
Eight Treasure Seafood Soup - My choice of soup the last time round and this time as well. The soup definitely doesn't conform to the traditional seafood soup with its greenish colour due to the addition of ground spinach to the mix. It tasted exactly like shark's fin soup, a tad starchy with tiny bits and pieces of shark's fin, scallops, fish maw etc. Overall quite a tasty soup which bears the signature dish tag adequately.
Spicy Pork Belly - Chilli oil plus fatty pork belly is a sure fire recipe for cardiac arrest. And with the pork belly this average, I would rather listen to my doctor. Sure, the pork was chewy and not too spicy but all I could taste was the chilli and nothing else. It definitely didn't help that the pork slices were a tad too dry for my liking as well.
Fried Bittergourd with Bean Paste - A terribly executed dish honestly. The whole dish was very salty and the bittergourd was very plain bitter. Cooking the bittergourd with other stuff like beef would have made it alot better in my humble opinion. So much for a $15 plate of vegetables.
Beancurd with Dried Scallop - I'm a sucker for beancurd and this one didn't disappoint. Nice and smooth with a light smoky aftertaste. Only gripe I had was that the skin seemed a tad too dry and shrivelled. The accompanying gravy was good as well, not too starchy with shredded scallops. Very nice.
Steamed Garoupa - Have you ever eaten a garoupa, or fish for that matter, that costs $300/kg? Well its definitely a first for me and probably the last. The black garoupa, though extremely fresh and sweet with a firm meat texture to boot, cost a whooping $225 . How's that for a shocker? Pretty fishy business if you ask me.
Braised Pork Spare Rib - I really didn't quite take to the spare rib. For starters, it was way too fatty and the sauce was too sweet. The meat was also a tad too soft though still fibrous. Probably the only thing that I liked was the stick shaped man tou which was nice and crispy on the outside yet soft and compact on the inside. And at $10/piece, its definitely not cheap.
Peking Duck - Speechless. That was my initial reaction after popping a slice of the skin covered with a crepe into my mouth. The skin wasn't crispy and instead, tasted soft and limp with lots of fats underneath it. Adding to that was the non egg based crepe which was way too thick and chewy for my liking. We opted to stir fry the remains for the duck with noodles and even that tasted flat as the noodles were soft and bland.
Custard Bun - Honestly I've never had custard bun for dessert before or seen it listed under the dessert section of a menu because its usually under the dim sum portion. The custard bun was seriously quite good but very sinful with all the oil in it. Biting into one releases a gush of melted butter and custard which is guaranteed to make your heart stop. Traces of egg yolk were present in the filling as evident by the sediment. However I would have preferred a slightly more coagulated filling with a stronger custard taste .
Yam Rolls - The second of our complimentary desserts, the yam rolls were essentially yam paste wrapped up in deep fried dough and coated with sesame at both ends. The yam paste tasted like a milder version of Orh Nee and actually went quite well with the dough and sesame, very much like eating dough fritters with a sweet filling.
Fine Beancurd with Syrup - As mentioned before, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out, from its name, that Si Chuan Dou Hua is known for its dou hua aka fine beancurd. At $3 a pop, this is one expensive bowl of dou hua. But I like it quite a bit. Silky smooth yet firm through the addition of egg. You get to decide how much sugar syrup you want in it as well.
The food at Si Chuan Dou Hua was a case of hits and misses but for the price, $550 for 5 pax for lunch, its pure insanity. If the desserts weren't complimentary, we would probably be paying something to the tune of $600. Would you pay so much for a meal like that?
The Indulge @ Cathay offers fusion European cuisine with an Asian twist. Located at basement 1 of Cathay, the front of the restaurant isn’t that prominent from first sight, its more behind in a corner.
The fusion cuisine is apparent in the names of the dishes like panseared salmon with kung po sauce, dory with thai sauce, chicken kebab with oyster ginger sauce.
The Indulge interior is quite small, roughly seats about 20-30. The lightning is actually quite dark, i suppose its for the “ambiance”
One thing that i don’t like was at one corner of the restaurant, they actually dumped quite a lot of stuff there which makes the overall feel messy and untidy.
Apparently The Indulge won quite a lot of awards, and appeared on magazines and local publications.
The Indulge offers “super value” lunch promotion set meals, at $10.90 you can choose from a few main course, and it comes with free tea, soup of the day, and dessert of the day.
There are some dishes which are supposedly the chef’s signature dishes, but not feeling very adventurous, my cousin and I decided to go for the cheaper set meals.
Chicken Chop with roasted black pepper sauce ($10.90) The black pepper sauce chicken chop comes with either garlic rice or mash potatos. I chose garlic rice, and the fragrant of the garlic in the rice surge in when i had my first taste of it.
Although the garlic rice was not bad, not so much can be said of the black peper chicken chop. It was downright ordinary. Being a restaurant i was expecting something more, but it just never came.
Grilled Beef sirloin with black pepper sauce ($10.90) The same could be said for the black pepper sirloin. Done medium rare, the sirloin did nothing to impress us.
One thing which i also did not like was the lack of sides, it could be better if there are sides of veggies or stuff like potatoes which will make the meal more complete.
Dessert of the day The dessert of the day is a single scoop of ice cream, while the ice cream is your normal vanilla, but the sauce and nut goes quite well with it.
Total bill was $25.50 for 2 person, not expensive given its a restaurant. But its a double-edged thing, the quality is certainly not there since its a restaurant also.
Maybe we ordered the wrong dishes, maybe we should have try the signature dishes to have a true gauge of the restaurant, but if the normal dishes taste so ordinary like your typical coffee shop western food, i’m not so sure about the rest.
But having said all that, The Indulge still served fusion food with affordable pricing, and its a good place for a meal in Cathay, especially when there’s not much dining place there, and you can have a quick bite before or after your movies.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my genuine feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or biasness. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
1=SGD 0.0587
There is a new outlet at UE Square consisting of a children’s kitchen for kids to take part in baking lessons - pro-family! Although one might find the place pretty noisy on a Sunday afternoon because of these kids - so couples looking for a quiet weekend - BEWARE!
It is here I discovered my latest favourite dessert after their signatured Warm Chocolate Cake – I hereby present to you – the delicious Baked Apple Tart ($9.50), consisting of Caramelised Apple Slices baked to golden hue on a light Puff Pastry along with a dollop their very own Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.
A heavenly combination of sweet and sour, light and creamy, & warm and cold that evokes conflicting emotions in a good way. I foresee this will be a hit among the non-chocolate lovers and those who enjoy the apple crumble.
Enjoy your long weekend!
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Rating given:
Located in an obscure corner of the newly restored National Museum of Singapore – with no signboard or whatsoever on its exterior (signboard faces inwards as I discovered), Chef Chan’s Restaurant, honed by Master Chef Chan Chen Hei – a widely known and respected figure in the Chinese culinary circle, dwells completely at ease in the ‘new’ historical setting – as it is complete with Chef Chan’s personal precious collection of Chinese antiques amassed over the years.
The place is exquisite with only four private dining rooms up for reservations – walk-ins are not entertained.
From utensils to cutleries (besides the glass carrying warm water), everything was matched to give one an authentic Cantonese dining experience to that of a Chinese noble.
With much anticipation, first up was the Melon Strips Enlivened with Orange Juice. While some claimed the melon to be crunchy, I find it rather hard to chew on. However, what turns me off from this dish was the sweet orange aftertaste one gets, and we all felt "Melon Strip Dip in Fanta Orange" would be more apt description.
One thing that irks me in Chinese fine dining is that you are unable to have a 2nd helping unlike those traditional Chinese banquet. This is illustrated when the Prawn Balls Stuffed with Pate and Wine was stacked temptingly on the serving plate but only one was distributed to each of us.
The exterior crust was crispy yet gentle for the throat but the interior was a major letdown – it was just overwhelmed with prawn taste that one cannot discern a hint of the pate or wine in it.
Stir Fried Shark's Fin with Eggs, Bean Sprouts and Spring Onion Served in Lettuce Leaves was probably one of the better dishes that night.
A good harmony among the ingredients – chewy shark’s fin and crunchy bean sprouts and lettuce leaves was a pleasure to chomp on. However, reality check beseech me to realise that one doesn’t need extraordinary culinary skill to execute this – this is one reason why my dad doesn’t order bean sprouts whenever we dine out.
The Sautéed Lobster with Garlic was another highly anticipated dish since it was one of the more “luxurious” items on the menu that night. The intense aroma of the garlic wowed us when it was first brought into our room, but we soon live to regret it as the profuse amount of garlic threatens to engulf the whole dish. It was such a shame since the lobster was very fresh and sweet but the tingling feeling from the garlic seeks to mar it.
The meat of the Steamed Sliced Red Garoupa in Village Style was very fresh with a good bite, but the gravy that accompanied it was outrageously starchy.
This is another example of excessive inclusion of element (starch if you are wondering) that threatens to blemish the already pathetic serving of fish that each of us got that night.
The Sautéed Vegetables with Shredded Mushrooms was greeted with disappointment that night. Drenched in gravy, it was just ordinary – any decent cook should be able to pull this off their kitchen – enough said.
The only showpiece for the night rightfully belongs to this seemingly humble chicken. Probably his best known dish, Chef Chan’s Famous Crispy Roast Chicken was the only dish that kept everyone quiet throughout its partake. Everyone was busy devouring the crispy skin that snap with every bite, coupled with the moist and tender chicken meat that was nothing short of flavour. This dish even though tended towards the saltier side near the end, was the only one that blew me away. A simple dish yet delicately and magnificently executed.
Dessert of the night was a choice between Papaya with White Fungus and Herbal Jelly with Glutinous Rice & Mango. And I opted for the latter, which I swiftly regretted. The dessert didn’t quite gel as one and I ended up eating it three ways, first the mango that was unripe therefore sour, then the glutinous rice which was nothing extraordinary, and lastly follow by the Herbal Jelly which some concluded should come with more honey, but I am used to having it bitter.
We chalked a total of $860.15 for 9 people (after 10% credit card discount), which roughly makes out to $96 per pax. For such a price and Straits Time claiming that it deserved at least one Michelin Star, expectations were high and I expected more. However, only the roast chicken make it for me that night that one is definitely better off having the rest of the dishes at some Tze Char stall elsewhere.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Rating given:
I credit this place for their cheap Western cuisine and relatively decent quality. I was expecting a lot from this place when I first heard about it on Yebber, and have been bugging friends to accompany me there. But when I was finally there, my expectation dropped a level as I seldom thought highly of food at neighbourhood coffee shops.
I'm rather impressed by the variety of food provided, and the relatively low prices they're able to charge despite the soaring price levels. As I was there rather late (8.30pm), the crowd probably had dispersed already and I didn't have to wait long for my food.
Fish and Chips was not bad. The fish was rather thin however, thus making the chewing sensation a little less satisfying. But I really liked how it was fried till it was crispy. I personally felt that the coleslaw had a slightly bitter after-taste and did not like the taste of onions in it. As for their soup, it's actually Campbell soup, which I feel isn't any original at all.
I left the place feeling satisfied with the price I paid and the food I had, but with all the hooha, I must say the place is a tad over-rated. Not when soups are instant canned-soup ): Nonetheless, I'd say it's a good place for budget western food, minus the ambience.
Rating given:
Looking for chocolates as a gift on Valentine's, birthdays, anniversaries etc? Or just looking for great chocolates to satisfy your own craving? Try Jaime's!
Despite being a rather small shop unit and relatively unnoticed at the 2nd level of TPY Entertainment Centre, it has a great variety of chocolates! It sounds like the lower end of Godiva but I'd give Jaime's credit for its creativity and wonderful imagination.
To begin with, you will get the usual flavoured chocolates suc as nut pralines and almond at Jaime's, but there's also certain rather exciting fruit flavours like passionfruit, pear, orange, lemon, banana and lime. My personal favourites are the milk chocolates and pralines (hazelnut praline and triple praline) which leaves a velvet texture in your mouth, and is slightly creamier and more buttery than usual chocolates.
Of course it's not just about tasting good there, it's also about the visual appeal. One look and you just feel like buying everything there even if you don't like certain flavours. Their chocolates come in different shapes and sizes, with some in dog moulds, ducks, rabbits and teddies. Or you get a heart-shaped box made of milk chocolate, with another chocolate in it! On the surface of the chocolate, some of them even give the effect of sprayed paint or blowed glass - really pretty!
So if you're looking for chocolates as gifts, do try Jaime's! I'm sure they're not just visually appealing but would also taste great (: If you're not sure what to order, try those they recommend! The sales person would be more than happy to help.
Rating given:
Singapore largest retail and lifestyle destination, this is definitely my fav shopping centre to date. Away from the city and away from the hustling and bustling crowd in Orchard Road, over here I can find almost all my fav retail stores - Aldo, Esprit, Zara, Pedro, GAP and River Island to name a few. For the ladies, you have a choice of Diva, Bebe, Chomel, Forever 21, M)phosis, Mango and Topshop to name a few.
What's more they have my fav F&B outlets like Fre(n)sh and Ben and Jerry's as well as my fav Sushi Tei outlet all housed within - oh and also my fav Food Court in Singapore - Check out Food Republic at Level 3, with Singapore in the 60s - 70s as a themed.
For those who enjoy chilling out, you have a wide choice of Bakerzin, Starbucks, Coffeebean and Tea Leaf along with Gloria Jeans.
It is also here that you also get to experience the latest and largest cineplex in Singapore under the same roof - GV Vivocity.
On a side note, a straight bus from Seah Im Bus interchange is also a plus for me!
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This is my fav cineplex among the many out there. To start off with, I will always buy my tickets online and the ease of use for the online booking systems is simply wonderful!
The seats are new, big and comfortable and the leg space is fabulous for a tall guy like me. A cinema like Lido will not do for me as my knees will be touching the seats in front of me, but not The Cathay!
And who can forget the wonderful art house, indie movies that Picturehouse host periodically.
Oh and my fav Ben and Jerry's is there!
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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.
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I had walked past this place so many times and yet I had not had a thought of walking in for a meal. There are a few reasons, first being there always seem to be a long queue outside the restaurant. Secondly, the place serves the kind of food that does not appeal to me. Thirdly, I was always in rush when I was walking past this place. So finally one fine day, we decided to give this place a try, well there was no queue and I thought that it was all good timing. I sort of regretted my choice when I stood there waiting to be shown to a table.
The place did not seem crowded, in fact can see a few empty tables, but we have to wait at the counter. It seems like the waiters and waitresses, even the managers (well they are the ones wearing more formal), are all very busy and everywhere except the counter where we are waiting. Not even one saw us standing at the counter, making me like an idiot. After about 5 mins of waiting, I told my partner that I will count to five, if till then, no one comes up to us, we will go another place for dinner. Lucky enough (don’t know for them or us), we were ushered to a table that is pretty much near to the edge of the corridor where tons and tons of people walked past, felt like animals on display.
The decoration of the place is pretty much trying to be hip and getting the attention of the teenagers, so that they can come in, eat and spend money. There is a pool table to play and even a candy floss station where you can get free candy floss. There are tables like a capsule where a big group can be seated together. The rest of the tables are like those normal kind.
Well after the bad start, my mood was not very good to start off with. Being seated at that location, it was difficult to get the attention of the waiters. It was really frustrating but finally managed to get one and come and take our orders. So what we ordered?
Root beer float @ $7.60: This came in the A&W style. Big mug of nice cold root beer with a big scoop of ice cream in it. Nothing special but it still taste great. Nice. I do find it a bit expensive for it though. Sigh.
London style fish and chip @ $9.90: This came with a big piece of fish, chips and tartar sauce. That it! No coleslaw or salad or whatever. This is really a ripped off! The fish is a bit flaky, not really fresh, maybe frozen. The batter is a bit too thick. Nothing to wow about. I wonder what do they mean by the London part. I understand in London they served it with vinegar but I dun see them doing that. Hmm….. This is really disappointing.
American Coleslaw @ $4.90: I don’t know it is me or the coleslaw but I do find the taste of the coleslaw a bit weird. Maybe too much mayo or too much vinegar but it does not taste like any normal coleslaw. I got to say this is one of the worst coleslaw that I ever eaten. It was so bad that I did not even finished the whole coleslaw. It is that bad. There is no way I am going to order that again.
Rotisserie Chix Whole @ $14.90: After eating or tasting all the above mentioned food, I did not have high expectation for this dish. However, I was wrong. The dish turned out to be great. The chicken was moist and tender, not dry at all. The size of the chicken is also quite huge, for small eaters, they can just order this and share. The sauce that came with the chicken is perfect for it. This dish is above average. Try this and you will not regret especially after a string of disappointments. This is the one that deserves 4 stars.
After this, we decided to give the desserts a miss and asked for the bill. Again, it took us sometime to get the attention of the waiters for the bill. The bill came to us pretty fast but we paid for it and waited for it to return. We waited and waited with the water at least topped up twice. We asked for the waiter to check on the bill but it seems that it never came back. I wonder why? In the end, I got a bit pissed off and signaled to the manager and ask him to check the bill which after a wait of 10 mins, the waiter finally brought it back to us. I really wonder what happen at that time. I have therefore decided after this experience, there is NO CHANCE that I will ever return to this place for any meal ever again!
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Held our annual excuse to dine out in the guise of mother's day at Si Chuan Dou Hua, Plaza Park Royal. Scarred from the barely satisfying dinner at Sun Japanese Dining last year, my family decided to stick to the traditional Chinese route this year. Expectations were high as I had a relatively good experience at Si Chuan Dou Hua UOB Plaza at the beginning of last year.
Wood seems to be the focus for the entire restaurant, with overhanging oriental lamps capping a most traditional Chinese interior that oozes finesse through its plush carpeted floors and doorway arches. Here you can peer through the floor to ceiling windows but the view really isn't something you would want to see - tour coaches.
I liked the keropok (crackers) which came in the usual fish and prawn variety. Crackling with every bite, it wasn't soft or soggy and made for a rather unusual but pleasing appetiser.
Sliced Beef and Tripe in Chilli Sauce - A most appetite whetting way to start off our meal, the sliced beef and tripe was nice and chewy and not to mention very spicy from all the chilli oil. This dish has a rating of 5 chillis on the menu, probably the most number awarded. Just a side comment (please correct me if I am wrong), Szechuan chilli seems to be all about spice and no fragrance.
Eight Treasure Seafood Soup - My choice of soup the last time round and this time as well. The soup definitely doesn't conform to the traditional seafood soup with its greenish colour due to the addition of ground spinach to the mix. It tasted exactly like shark's fin soup, a tad starchy with tiny bits and pieces of shark's fin, scallops, fish maw etc. Overall quite a tasty soup which bears the signature dish tag adequately.
Spicy Pork Belly - Chilli oil plus fatty pork belly is a sure fire recipe for cardiac arrest. And with the pork belly this average, I would rather listen to my doctor. Sure, the pork was chewy and not too spicy but all I could taste was the chilli and nothing else. It definitely didn't help that the pork slices were a tad too dry for my liking as well.
Fried Bittergourd with Bean Paste - A terribly executed dish honestly. The whole dish was very salty and the bittergourd was very plain bitter. Cooking the bittergourd with other stuff like beef would have made it alot better in my humble opinion. So much for a $15 plate of vegetables.
Beancurd with Dried Scallop - I'm a sucker for beancurd and this one didn't disappoint. Nice and smooth with a light smoky aftertaste. Only gripe I had was that the skin seemed a tad too dry and shrivelled. The accompanying gravy was good as well, not too starchy with shredded scallops. Very nice.
Steamed Garoupa - Have you ever eaten a garoupa, or fish for that matter, that costs $300/kg? Well its definitely a first for me and probably the last. The black garoupa, though extremely fresh and sweet with a firm meat texture to boot, cost a whooping $225 . How's that for a shocker? Pretty fishy business if you ask me.
Braised Pork Spare Rib - I really didn't quite take to the spare rib. For starters, it was way too fatty and the sauce was too sweet. The meat was also a tad too soft though still fibrous. Probably the only thing that I liked was the stick shaped man tou which was nice and crispy on the outside yet soft and compact on the inside. And at $10/piece, its definitely not cheap.
Peking Duck - Speechless. That was my initial reaction after popping a slice of the skin covered with a crepe into my mouth. The skin wasn't crispy and instead, tasted soft and limp with lots of fats underneath it. Adding to that was the non egg based crepe which was way too thick and chewy for my liking.
We opted to stir fry the remains for the duck with noodles and even that tasted flat as the noodles were soft and bland.
Custard Bun - Honestly I've never had custard bun for dessert before or seen it listed under the dessert section of a menu because its usually under the dim sum portion. The custard bun was seriously quite good but very sinful with all the oil in it. Biting into one releases a gush of melted butter and custard which is guaranteed to make your heart stop. Traces of egg yolk were present in the filling as evident by the sediment. However I would have preferred a slightly more coagulated filling with a stronger custard taste .
Yam Rolls - The second of our complimentary desserts, the yam rolls were essentially yam paste wrapped up in deep fried dough and coated with sesame at both ends. The yam paste tasted like a milder version of Orh Nee and actually went quite well with the dough and sesame, very much like eating dough fritters with a sweet filling.
Fine Beancurd with Syrup - As mentioned before, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out, from its name, that Si Chuan Dou Hua is known for its dou hua aka fine beancurd. At $3 a pop, this is one expensive bowl of dou hua. But I like it quite a bit. Silky smooth yet firm through the addition of egg. You get to decide how much sugar syrup you want in it as well.
The food at Si Chuan Dou Hua was a case of hits and misses but for the price, $550 for 5 pax for lunch, its pure insanity. If the desserts weren't complimentary, we would probably be paying something to the tune of $600. Would you pay so much for a meal like that?
See all my pictures here.
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The Indulge @ Cathay offers fusion European cuisine with an Asian twist. Located at basement 1 of Cathay, the front of the restaurant isn’t that prominent from first sight, its more behind in a corner.
The fusion cuisine is apparent in the names of the dishes like panseared salmon with kung po sauce, dory with thai sauce, chicken kebab with oyster ginger sauce.
The Indulge interior is quite small, roughly seats about 20-30. The lightning is actually quite dark, i suppose its for the “ambiance”
One thing that i don’t like was at one corner of the restaurant, they actually dumped quite a lot of stuff there which makes the overall feel messy and untidy.
Apparently The Indulge won quite a lot of awards, and appeared on magazines and local publications.
The Indulge offers “super value” lunch promotion set meals, at $10.90 you can choose from a few main course, and it comes with free tea, soup of the day, and dessert of the day.
There are some dishes which are supposedly the chef’s signature dishes, but not feeling very adventurous, my cousin and I decided to go for the cheaper set meals.
Chicken Chop with roasted black pepper sauce ($10.90)
The black pepper sauce chicken chop comes with either garlic rice or mash potatos. I chose garlic rice, and the fragrant of the garlic in the rice surge in when i had my first taste of it.
Although the garlic rice was not bad, not so much can be said of the black peper chicken chop. It was downright ordinary. Being a restaurant i was expecting something more, but it just never came.
Grilled Beef sirloin with black pepper sauce ($10.90)
The same could be said for the black pepper sirloin. Done medium rare, the sirloin did nothing to impress us.
One thing which i also did not like was the lack of sides, it could be better if there are sides of veggies or stuff like potatoes which will make the meal more complete.
Dessert of the day
The dessert of the day is a single scoop of ice cream, while the ice cream is your normal vanilla, but the sauce and nut goes quite well with it.
Total bill was $25.50 for 2 person, not expensive given its a restaurant. But its a double-edged thing, the quality is certainly not there since its a restaurant also.
Maybe we ordered the wrong dishes, maybe we should have try the signature dishes to have a true gauge of the restaurant, but if the normal dishes taste so ordinary like your typical coffee shop western food, i’m not so sure about the rest.
But having said all that, The Indulge still served fusion food with affordable pricing, and its a good place for a meal in Cathay, especially when there’s not much dining place there, and you can have a quick bite before or after your movies.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my genuine feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or biasness. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
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