Epicurious is another small eatery along Robertson Quay that I've tried. It's really hard to find! You have to walk all the way to the end, near the bridge. It's facing the river with some seats outside and just 3 tables inside.
I love the ambience. It's very cosy with warm lights around. There are shelves all filled with little knick knacks from the past. There are also photographs of Singapore in the early days.. It was certainly fun looking through everything. So fun that it distracted me from ordering. Luckily I had a companion who was more focused. The items are for sale but they are expensive.. like $6 for a soup spoon..
The only thing which was odd about the place was Jay Chou singing loudly from the kitchen. Luckily we did kinda like Jay so it wasn't bad. But it certainly didn't fit in with the place.
The menu was a little small with few items but apparently they change the items on the menu from time to time so new items will be up for tasting eventually.
I had the Herb Roasted Half Chicken that day. It was served with baked potatoes and mushrooms. The chicken was well marinated and the meat just tastes of the herbs. It was yummy and I'm still thinking of it. Although I hate having to separate meat from bones but I certainly tried hard that night to get my yummy meat. The serving was definitely more than enough for me.
I'd have to agree that $55 for 2 mains and a dessert does seem a little ex but I think it's really worth it! I would definitely be back... to try the Muthu's Flourless Chocolate Cake which was sold out that day :)
Les Bouchons is a quaint little place sitting quietly by the river. When I say little I do mean little as it has about 10 tables only, with 5 outside by the river. At certain times of the day, it might not be such a good idea to dine by the river as the smell can be quite pungent.
Having walked past this place a couple of times, we decided to drop in for a post-xmas dinner. The interior of the place seemed nice at first glance... but if you took a second look you'll see layers of dust on the shelves which are empty. You could even see that there used to be bottles on the shelves and the bottles were taken away recently but not returned.
We were pretty surprised by the small menu of 15 items (in total). There was some trouble picking due to the lack of pictures and detailed descriptions. Soup is not served here. Nope it's not available at all, even if you ask the server.
There was complimentary bread which was a little dry, so it was more disheartening that there wasn't soup to go with it.
Food Ordered: Sirloin Steak with Herbs ($30.80) My companion ordered this medium-rare and it came as she wanted it. The steak was quite big but thin. And despite the "with Herbs" I certainly didn't detect the taste or smell of any in this dish. It was quite a disappointing one. The meat was quite tough and was a little lacking in taste.
Grilled Fillet of Salmon ($30.80) Slightly charred on the outside, this was a pretty large (thick) serving of salmon. I don't know to be happy or sad that it was a large serving since it was just average. The texture was just right. There is little taste. After sprinkling the lemon juice over it, all I could really taste was the lemon. It was really just Grilled Salmon.
Both mains were served with just fries. I loved the fries (the only thing I liked) They were the fat sort and were not oily. They were also free flow. But they already serve a mountain of fries with the mains so unless you think you're going to chill for a long time, I doubt anyone would need another serving of fries.
The service provided wasn't up to par either. Considering that we were the only ones in the restaurant that early evening, they were pretty slow to notice us when we waved. It is a small place you know.
The bill came up to about $85 for two of us. We ordered two mains and a drink. For the quality and the variety I would say that it was too expensive and I wouldn't be back. Looks like I have to look elsewhere for my fat fries.
Benny Se Teo, the only Singaporean to have trained in Jamie Oliver's kitchen "Fifteen", opened this 54-seater restaurant in June 2007. He aimed to help ex-offenders find an alternate path while also delivering good food to the public. With such an interesting story behind this little place, we just had to drop by for a visit.
We found our own seats. It was early afternoon on a weekday and the place was had just two other tables occupied so it was easy for us to find a seat by the window.
This place adopts the self-serve system which means you decide what you want, indicate on the little paper they provide at the tables, bring it to the cashier and pay. You also get your own plain water at a station next to the cashier. That's fine by me since there is no service charge.
Enticed by the option to create your own baked rice, all 3 of us picked Baked Rice for that day. Cheese Baked Rice with Tangy Tomato sauce and Chicken slices ($8.90) The food came pretty quickly but the serving was pretty small (that said, I didn't finish it.). It tasted much like any other Baked Rice... if anything, I'd say the rice was not soft enough.
My companions' baked rice looked more delicious with the cream based sauces.
Eighteen Funky Strawberry - Dessert ($5.80) Four scoops of ice cream served with strawberries and hazel nuts and oreo biscuits... Sounds good isn't it? But it wasn't as good as I had hoped. The ice cream wasn't rich enough and the strawberries were sourish. Well what could I expect for $5.80. It was ok though, I just wouldn't order it again.
After the entire meal, and after drinking 1/2 a glass of water, I noticed that my glass was filthy. Very filthy.
The total came up to about $33.50 for the three of us, which was a little too much for the quantity and quality of food given. I might still go back as the rest of the items on the menu did look interesting though. :) Well if you're a student you can check out the $5.90 set meals which I think are a good deal :)
MmMM This Pasta Fresca has been there for ages and I've only tried it once many years ago. I do remember that it wasn't a terrible experience so decided to try it again just recently.
We were nicely greeted when we stepped in. The dim lighting in this restaurant.. was a little TOO dim. It made it a little hard for me to see actually (I have night blindness) But nonetheless dim is always better than bright places. I liked the country decor with Italian style paintings in the panels. Food Ordered: (please go to the website for descriptions)
Alfredo Fettuccine $14.70 I'm not a fan of cream based sauces so I flinched a little when my companion ordered this but then I don't expect to eat much anyway. It wasn't as thick as I had expected and did go down quite well. My worries about it not being finished were unjustified. The pasta was a teeny bit hard though, resulting in more mouth exercise for us. Quattro Stagioni $16.90 The Pizza of four seasons... quite interesting so I ordered it. With lots of ham and mushrooms on a thin (but not too thin) crust, I liked this pizza! It comes in two sizes and we ordered the smaller one. :) Mousse Al Cioccolato $6.90 MMmMM I am one chocolate lover and for $6.90 I'll go for this over Haagen Daz any day.. it's not fantastic... but it's tastes good enough without being too sweet. The texture is just right too. No marks for presentation though. Tiramisu $7.30 Not quite what I expected but it is a reasonable cake. I wouldn't pay to eat this again though.
All in all I think it was a pretty good visit. I wanted to give it a 3.5... but since there aren't any half-stars... For the relatively good service and great smiles, so 4 it shall be.
Just beside Subway, Chicago's Steakhouse looks like a good place for good western food. On top of that, the word "steakhouse" immediately catches my attention! First thing you do, of course, is to check out the prices on the menu. Fortunate for people like me, the price is actually absolutely reasonable! Plus, the waiters there are really friendly and welcoming, it just makes you want to walk right in.
I sat down and took my time trying to decide on what to eat. They have main courses like steaks, chicken, fish and lamb! What a variety! I would say their Meat Lovers' dish really did look enticing though I didn't take that. As someone who's hunting for cheap and good steak, I was almost certain before I stepped in that I was gonna order steak. Seeing that a Sirloin Steak with mushroom sauce(70z) was only $10.90, I thought "hey! why not right?" The steak is available in 3 different portions and comes with baked potato and fresh greens too.
One thing I really like about the place is that despite the fact that they were pretty packed that day, your orders still came up fast. But to be honest, fast doesn't mean good.
Although I was real surprised when my steak came up so soon, one look at it and I was thoroughly disappointed. For $10.90, the steak being more than palm size was really a good bargain. However, it was not done very well. I ordered a medium rare but I think I got myself a medium instead. I feel that the thickness of the steak really makes a difference and if dining places wanna make their steak look bigger on the surface, even though it's thinner, (which was what they did), they should know how to do their steaks well too, in order to prevent over-cooking. The mushroom sauce tasted rather ordinary also, with one small slice of shitake mushroom on the steak, as though to say: This really is mushroom sauce, in case you're wondering. The sides were rather pathetic. The baked potato was not even bigger than an apple. Yes, it's more like the size of a plum or prune. Pathetic serving of sour cream and no bacon bits (until you ask for it). The fresh greens was about 5 pieces of french beans, 1 cauliflower and 3 pieces of carrots. Pathetic, once again..
However, the non-steak stuff my friends ordered seemed rather appetizing. It looks more value for money too. At a dollar more, the Fish and Chips does look more filling and appealing than the steak I had (at a steakhouse).
Oh and you get free iced water if you dine there. Not bad eh?
Because of the reasonable prices, I would still consider dining here again but I will not order steaks anymore. Of course if you had a bigger budget, you could try their premium steaks, it could be better. But on the whole, the above was my experience with a $10.90 steak. Disappointing.
Founder Bak Kut Teh has been in the Balestier area for many years and has built up its reputation as one of the best Teochew style Bak Kut Teh stalls in Singapore. The multitude of celebrity photographs taken at the store are testament to that and so are the crowds that throng this outfit during its opening hours.
Just a small nugget of information for those who didn't know, Teochew style Bak Kut Teh is characterised by a clear soup with a peppery base whereas the Hokkien style Bak Kut Teh is darker in colour and heavy on the herbs. As to which tastes better, it boils down to individual preferences. I, for one, prefer the Teochew style. Founder's soup base is very peppery and light, with the pork ribs cooked just right (the meat is slightly reddish). The result is tender pork ribs which exude the tasty goodness of the soup. At $5.50 a bowl, it is slightly on the high side though. But there's air conditioning if you sit inside and the quality is really consistent and good, so I guess its worth the extra money.
Had the opportunity to attend a food sampling session at Absolute Haven, one of the up and coming culinary stars of the quaint Prinsep Street. Much has been said and written about this eatery which dishes out modern European cuisine amidst a chic backdrop.
There's an option of al fresco seating in the relatively small outdoor area or indoor seating in a much larger(and cooler) area which boasts clean lines, wooden pillars and oozes minimalistic elegance. Music was rather tasteful as well if I may say, a most fitting complement to the ambience.
Seafood Sampler ($18) - Almost every tom, dick and harry western eatery I know of has some variation of the seafood platter, be it in name, variety of seafood or otherwise. Which explains the lack of expectations for this dish. Even then, it was a disappointment. The prawns weren't fresh, the batter was too thick and the fries were too soggy. Probably the only positive aspect was the accompanying sauces - beetroot with mayonnaise and lime(?) with mint, both of which were unique in their own right. On a side note, the platter was huge, enough for about 4 pax to share (in the misery, (un)fortunately).
Spinach and Wild Mushrooms Salad ($7.50) - I had expected mushrooms covered by/mixed with a tower of spinach so this dish kinda screwed my expectations a little. The thinly sliced mushrooms were buttery and tasty whereas the button and shitake mushrooms came across as rather normal. The spinach was fresh but a little too soft from the balsamic vinaigrette. I liked the dash of cheese atop though.
Oriental Cod Fish ($24) - The name caught my eye. This is probably an example of modern European cuisine, European food with a fusion twist. Taste wise, the fish was fresh and well complemented by the sweet wolfberries and salty bacon bits. However, the meat could have been a little firmer for better texture.
Tenderloin Steak ($28) - The steak wasn't up to expectations. Period. Sure, it was done medium rare just the way we ordered it, but the meat was too soft, probably from the overuse of tenderizer? The lack of marination was apparent - the beef relied on the overly salty sauce to give it taste. Nothing like the pièce de résistance I had at Prive. I didn't quite like the accompanying potato gratin as well as I found it too dry and heavy on the palate.
Chicken Roulade ($20) - This was probably the best dish of the evening, simple yet close to the heart. Fragrant, tender and juicy, the chicken had bacon and spinach stuffed in between which added a slight salty dimension to it. The avocado salad really wasn't my cup of tea though. Very soft and mashed up, it reminded me of baby food. But I guess this really boils down to personal preference.
Victorian Creme Brulee ($8) - Aesthetics wise, the creme brulee was rather pleasing, especially when served with the rose petals. However, its texture reminded me more of egg custard than creme brulee, which is something rather weird. There was also a small rose bud embedded within, which came across as rather overwhelming.
Tira Mi Su ($9) - Another visually pleasing dessert, the tiramisu didn't impress with its pudding like mascarpone cheese mousse. It tasted really weird to me, but I guess thats personal preference as well. I couldn't detect any hint of liqueur at all and the cake was rather soggy from the espresso coffee at the bottom. It wasn't entirely disastrous though. At least it came across as light on the palate.
Overall, the food certainly isn't great but the soothing ambience and attentive service more than makes up for it. You won't have to worry about still or sparkling here as well as they serve natural strawberry flavoured ice water, a deviation from the norm.
*disclaimer: This tasting session was for the purpose of ascertaining the suitability of Absolute Haven for one of our upcoming events.
My cousin picked this restaurant for my aunt’s birthday celebration last month. Since there are more old people in the group, I think it will be a good place for dinner and celebration as well. This restaurant is right in front of the hotel and next to the main road. It is directly opp parkway parade as well. Hard to miss it with a big white signboard outside the restaurant.
From the outlook of the restaurant, white grand old looking double story building that seems that it had been standing there since I know when. There is also a big carpark jz outside the restaurant, making parking an easy thing to do. If you are really that lazy, there is also valet parking as well. Haa…
When I stepped in, I was quite surprised to see that the restaurant has 3 levels, a basement, ground floor and 2nd floor. Since we have a reservation for 10 people, we were ushered to a private room. Hee… Cool! The main dining room is quite big all with tables able to host at least 10 people and not to mention that they are all full that day. So back to the private room, I think they had at least a few private rooms there.
Inside the room, they have a table for 10 (of cos!), a tv which can watch Ch 5, 8 or U and it is hook up to their KTV system as well. Haa… Can sing and eat at the same time, but then dun expect Kbox or Partyworld kind of songs ok. Hee…… Well at least the TV entertained my nephew, making all of us free to enjoy the dinner. Haa…
We decided to settle for buffet since it will be much more worth it than ordering a set meal for 10 people and at the same time we can order more dishes as well. Well it was a no brainer choice anyway. Looking at the menu there are altogether 52 items where 3 items can be ordered only once and the rest unlimited orders.
The 3 items are:
Mini Monk Jump Over The Wall (Limited to one serving per person). They came in small portions but have to say that we are all very impressed with what is inside the soup! Each bowl will consist of scallops, shark fin, a small little abalone, mushrooms and tons of other goodie stuff that made the soup really good! All natural flavors went into the soup and no MSG. It is a favorite among group. Too bad only 1 serving.
Beijing Roasted Duck (Served with Spring Onions, Cucumber & Sweet Sauce). This one came all ready made. That means the duck skin already all wrapped up in the crepe. I find the dish a little cold and the skin is not as crispy as I expected it to be. Only limited to 2 pcs per person, where got enough?
Live Prawns (Limited to 100g per person) which can be done by either Poached Live Prawns or Deep Fried Prawns with Almond Flake or Fried Prawns with Marmite Sauce. This one came as wrong order, as we had not ordered yet they sent other table prawns to us. Well, since we dig in already, they cannot take back as well. It was poached and has to say that it is one of the freshest prawns I have eaten from sometime. The sizes of the prawns are really huge as well. The prawns are really sweet and there is no “xing wei” at all.
Below are some of the items that I think is worth to give it a shot as well.
Salmon Sashimi – This came in big potions and thick slices as well. It was a hit with my cousin who loved to eat sashimi. Well I am not a big fan of it. However from the way they keep ordering this dish, I think they are really fresh (well I ate one slice), and it was as good as any common jap restaurant that you can find.
Crispy Vietnamese Spring Roll – This came as a surprised. It came to us hot and very crispy. They added in mango and cucmber in the roll which make it extra crunchy.
Cantonese Style Roasted Spring Chicken – I loved to eat chicken and this dish does not disappoint me. The skin is roasted to turn very crispy and have to say very little fats on the skin as well. The meat is juicy and tender not dry even when eating the breast meat. No need the help of the salt, the chicken is already very tasty on its own. Ordered this dish twice.
Barbecued Combination – It came with cha siew, soy sauce chicken and roasted duck. Not too impressed with this as the dish came cold, like in a cold platter. The cha siew tasted quite good on its own, not to sweet as well. Too bad it is cold.
Seafood Salad with Fresh Fruits – This came as a simple salad but because of the fruits used are very fresh, sweet and crunchy, it becomes the highlight of this dish instead of the seafood. Surprising even left on its own, it does not become very watery as well.
Crispy Fried Stuffed Dough Fritters Coated with Mayonnaise – This came in very small portion so we got to order more so that everyone could have at least one. Haa…. Usually this dish will be very oily, but then it turned out to be crispy but not oily. Together with the mayo, it is a prefect combination.
Sautéed Scallops with Celery in X.O Sauce – Well the combination of scallops and celery is enough. Plus the scallops are not over done, not to mention that they are huge! The celery is green and cruchy not overcooked. When both are combined with the sauce, it is so tasty that we had to order another one more.
Deep Fried Marble Goby Fish with Chef’s Special Sauce - According to my mum this fish is very expensive, and were quite surprised when they served us 2 fish. The fish is deep fried and therefore very crispy. It is slightly floured so when eating the fish on its own is able to taste the sweetness and have to say that it is fresh as well. The sauce jz heighten our taste buds and makes the fish taste even better. Haa….
Coffee Pork Ribs – This dish dun look appealing as it came dark brown and not appetizing at all. However looks can be deceiving. The coffee taste is strong enough to taste but not strong enough to overpower the taste of the pork ribs. The pork ribs are chewy and came with a little bit of fats making it melt in your mouth. Of course we have to order this the second time as well.
Sliced Ostrich Meat with Ginger and Onion in Clam Sauce - This one came in a claypot all sizzling. The meat is not over cooked and tender, with the sauce, I can eat this dish all by myself. Now someone pls hand a bowl of rice to me now.
Sweet and Sour Pork Served in Yam Ring – This came as surprise as well. Who will combine sweet and sour pork with yam ring? The sweet and sour pork tasted normal, nothing out of the ordinary. However it was the yam ring that made us asking for more! It is so soft and fluffy, and it is coated with a thin layer of flour before it was deep fried. It is not oily as well. In fact we all finished the yam ring instead of the pork. Haa….
Ice Cream Puff – Out of all the dessert, this one stand out! Reason being, the puff is light and fluffy with ice cream inside the mouth sized puff, prefect. We jz ordered more and more and keep throwing more and more into our mouth as well.
Some of the dish that you can give it a miss, well have to be fair down here right:
Crispy Soft Shell Crab with Salted Pepper – We all got high expectation for this dish but this is a major disappointment as it came to us cold and the soft shell crap going all soft on us. I wonder did they leave it in the counter for too long before serving or what. We can taste all the resuide oil in the crab. Disgusting. We rejected the first serving and when then second serving came back to us, at first no one touched it, so I took myself to the task and the result, it is still the same. I rejected it and told them no need to serve us this dish again.
Steamed Red Tilapia (thai style) – This fish somehow is not fresh and not really a lot of meat on it. Next!
Red Bean Pan Cake – This one is a different version from what I expected. The whole pan cake was covered with sesame seeds. I think with the overloading of the seeds, it downplays the appeal of the dish and the skin of the pancake seems to soaked in a lot of oil, so each bite of the pancake oozes out a lot of oil.
Service wise can say that it is very good. The tea cup is never left empy for long. However at one point, our tea pot did went missing. Haa… Wonder where it went? They also keep replacing our plates and clearing our empty dishes as well. The dishes are also served promptly as well. The waiter that served us also had a permanent simile on his face, making him more friendly as well.
Now the bad, as it is an ala carte buffet, you cannot expect me to remember what I have ordered. Of cos when you asked me if I ordered this dish, I will say yes. Hee…. If you have run out of the dish, you could have informed me earlier rather than when I remembered and I asked then you mention to me that the dish is out of stock.
The price is quite reasonable, you can refer to the above post. If we ordered a set meal, I think the price will be much more expensive and we will not able to each so many dishes again and again.
By the end of the meal, all of us are very full and very happy as well. So much so that we brought a birthday cake along, however at the end of the meal we only cut it and took it back home. Haa…. When they know it is ur birthday, they will also play the birthday song over their PA system. Haa… A bit like those old type of Chinese restaurant. Be prepared to hear someone sing using the KTV system, with the sleazy type of MTV that came along with it. Haa…
Overall, it was a very filling and great dinner especially got older people in the group and they always like these kind of traditional food. Everyone in my group is happy with the food. This is a good place for gathering where can have free flow of food and can chit chat at the same time. I will be back again when I got the chance.
Having spent in excess of $1200 (I am still reeling from the shock from seeing my credit card bill) on food alone in the month of Sep (mind you, this sum only includes what I've charged to my credit card. If you include cash expenditure on food, I should be up by another $400 tops), I decided to go budget a little and give Cafe Vic @ Carlton Hotel a shot given its relatively inexpensive pricing for a weekend high tea ($22 ). With a dining timeslot from 12-5pm, it starts a little early for high tea and ends a little late for lunch, which leaves it somewhere in the middle, or perhaps a combination of both lunch and high tea.
The heavy rains throughout the island on Saturday didn't deter us one bit, although it did make us terribly late for our reservation (45 mins in fact. We got there at 1345hrs instead). Upon arrival, we were seated at a pretty cosy table at one of the corners of the restaurant, which was fine with me except for the fact that the tables surrounding us were occupied by groups of people who were making quite a bit of noise with their loud guffaws and raised voices. That really didn't sit well with me, as I didn't trudge through the heavy rain to listen to people's gossips about the latest games or that secret romance. Maybe I'm being a little cranky here, but try getting your pants all wet with a less then dry gf and having to put up with all that loud chatter. I could barely have a decent conversation with my gf throughout the whole meal. Ok enough of my rambling. The cafe was quite nicely done, with huge paintings adorning the walls and floor to ceilings windows offering a view of the outside world. Capacity would easily be in excess of 100 pax, not that it was needed though, with only about 10 pax throughout the whole course of my meal there.
I did a rough estimate on the number of buffet offerings and it totalled about 40, most of which were common fare like dim sum, sandwiches, salads, Rojak, Ice Kachang, noodles and a splattering of sushi and sashimi, which was still ok, given the price and well, its supposed to be high tea. I made it a point to try everything that Cafe Vic had to offer and two words sum my experience up. PLAIN DISAPPOINTMENT. Everything from the sushi to the desserts, were at best, average. The sushi's rice was cold and dry and the same could be said for the sandwiches. The roast duck was way too salty and the deep fried fishballs tasted rubbery and starchy. Even something as simple as fried noodles was a disaster, with parts of the noodle dry and hard. The selection of salads like the smoked chicken salad and the chicken sausage salad was still ok though. The desserts were average, but I particularly liked the pear pie, which I felt was the only one that shone amongst all the desserts, particularly with its nicely baked crust. Even my gf agrees. However, I must compliment on their service, though not fantastic, was good enough for me.
It cost us about $46 after taxes and a 10% discount with my UOB card, which effectively works out to be $23/pax. Definitely not expensive, but quality of food leaves much to be desired, which I feel is a pity given its simple yet nicely done interior. Also, given my good experiences with Wah Lok, I would have expected more from Cafe Vic. Hence, my stand on Cafe Vic is this. Go for it if you just want to gorge yourself with food for a long period (12-5pm no time limit) and food quality bears little significance to you or if you want to just find a nice place to while the weekend afternoons away with your friends over food at a not too hefty price tag. (Sit in a secluded area though)
Had another impromptu dinner last night albeit with a much smaller price tag as compared to the last one when we dined at Morton’s. The venue was Wah Noogee House at Carlton Hotel just across the road from CHIJMES. The younger cousin of the famous Wah Lok is known for whipping up simple yet delicious fare, as evidenced by the multiple newspaper cuttings plastered to the glass. On this particular occasion, it was offering an Ala Carte buffet of 38 dishes at $22 NETT. Being the “kiasu” Singaporeans, we decided to give it a try. Spaces were aplenty when we got there about 2015hrs. Décor was simplistic yet modern, with aesthetically pleasing lights hanging from the high ceiling.
We tried almost everything on the menu. That might seem a little greedy, but trust me when I say this; portions are single servings (read small) and I estimate that we ate about 20 dishes in all. I found everything pretty average, with the deep fried beancurd being slightly above average. It was nicely diced and fried, with a sprinkling of salt and Monosodium Glutamate (MSG). The roast duck had a nice crisp skin, but minimal meat, which was a bummer really. I did like the wantons for their huge and fresh prawns which were tasty and crunchy. But overall, nothing really stood out.
Damage was $22.40/pax, with the 40 cents going to the cost of the wet towels. Not exactly value for money, but it was a pretty satisfying and enjoyable dinner (for me at least). Service was also quite good and the place was nice and quiet. Still it’s not worth the $22 in my opinion. Approximately $15-$17 would have been just right. Having said that, I might just be convinced to try it again because it offers a relaxed environment with decent food at a not too expensive price. (Actually no hotel that I know has a buffet dinner at $22 NETT)
1=SGD 0.0587
Epicurious is another small eatery along Robertson Quay that I've tried. It's really hard to find! You have to walk all the way to the end, near the bridge. It's facing the river with some seats outside and just 3 tables inside.
I love the ambience. It's very cosy with warm lights around. There are shelves all filled with little knick knacks from the past. There are also photographs of Singapore in the early days.. It was certainly fun looking through everything. So fun that it distracted me from ordering. Luckily I had a companion who was more focused. The items are for sale but they are expensive.. like $6 for a soup spoon..
The only thing which was odd about the place was Jay Chou singing loudly from the kitchen. Luckily we did kinda like Jay so it wasn't bad. But it certainly didn't fit in with the place.
The menu was a little small with few items but apparently they change the items on the menu from time to time so new items will be up for tasting eventually.
I had the Herb Roasted Half Chicken that day. It was served with baked potatoes and mushrooms. The chicken was well marinated and the meat just tastes of the herbs. It was yummy and I'm still thinking of it. Although I hate having to separate meat from bones but I certainly tried hard that night to get my yummy meat. The serving was definitely more than enough for me.
I'd have to agree that $55 for 2 mains and a dessert does seem a little ex but I think it's really worth it! I would definitely be back... to try the Muthu's Flourless Chocolate Cake which was sold out that day :)
Click here for more pics
Rating given:
Les Bouchons is a quaint little place sitting quietly by the river. When I say little I do mean little as it has about 10 tables only, with 5 outside by the river. At certain times of the day, it might not be such a good idea to dine by the river as the smell can be quite pungent.
Having walked past this place a couple of times, we decided to drop in for a post-xmas dinner. The interior of the place seemed nice at first glance... but if you took a second look you'll see layers of dust on the shelves which are empty. You could even see that there used to be bottles on the shelves and the bottles were taken away recently but not returned.
We were pretty surprised by the small menu of 15 items (in total). There was some trouble picking due to the lack of pictures and detailed descriptions. Soup is not served here. Nope it's not available at all, even if you ask the server.
There was complimentary bread which was a little dry, so it was more disheartening that there wasn't soup to go with it.
Food Ordered:
Sirloin Steak with Herbs ($30.80)
My companion ordered this medium-rare and it came as she wanted it. The steak was quite big but thin. And despite the "with Herbs" I certainly didn't detect the taste or smell of any in this dish. It was quite a disappointing one. The meat was quite tough and was a little lacking in taste.
Grilled Fillet of Salmon ($30.80)
Slightly charred on the outside, this was a pretty large (thick) serving of salmon. I don't know to be happy or sad that it was a large serving since it was just average. The texture was just right. There is little taste. After sprinkling the lemon juice over it, all I could really taste was the lemon. It was really just Grilled Salmon.
Both mains were served with just fries. I loved the fries (the only thing I liked) They were the fat sort and were not oily. They were also free flow. But they already serve a mountain of fries with the mains so unless you think you're going to chill for a long time, I doubt anyone would need another serving of fries.
The service provided wasn't up to par either. Considering that we were the only ones in the restaurant that early evening, they were pretty slow to notice us when we waved. It is a small place you know.
The bill came up to about $85 for two of us. We ordered two mains and a drink. For the quality and the variety I would say that it was too expensive and I wouldn't be back. Looks like I have to look elsewhere for my fat fries.
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Benny Se Teo, the only Singaporean to have trained in Jamie Oliver's kitchen "Fifteen", opened this 54-seater restaurant in June 2007. He aimed to help ex-offenders find an alternate path while also delivering good food to the public. With such an interesting story behind this little place, we just had to drop by for a visit.
We found our own seats. It was early afternoon on a weekday and the place was had just two other tables occupied so it was easy for us to find a seat by the window.
This place adopts the self-serve system which means you decide what you want, indicate on the little paper they provide at the tables, bring it to the cashier and pay. You also get your own plain water at a station next to the cashier. That's fine by me since there is no service charge.
Enticed by the option to create your own baked rice, all 3 of us picked Baked Rice for that day.
Cheese Baked Rice with Tangy Tomato sauce and Chicken slices ($8.90)
The food came pretty quickly but the serving was pretty small (that said, I didn't finish it.). It tasted much like any other Baked Rice... if anything, I'd say the rice was not soft enough.
My companions' baked rice looked more delicious with the cream based sauces.
Eighteen Funky Strawberry - Dessert ($5.80)
Four scoops of ice cream served with strawberries and hazel nuts and oreo biscuits... Sounds good isn't it? But it wasn't as good as I had hoped. The ice cream wasn't rich enough and the strawberries were sourish. Well what could I expect for $5.80. It was ok though, I just wouldn't order it again.
After the entire meal, and after drinking 1/2 a glass of water, I noticed that my glass was filthy. Very filthy.
The total came up to about $33.50 for the three of us, which was a little too much for the quantity and quality of food given. I might still go back as the rest of the items on the menu did look interesting though. :) Well if you're a student you can check out the $5.90 set meals which I think are a good deal :)
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MmMM This Pasta Fresca has been there for ages and I've only tried it once many years ago. I do remember that it wasn't a terrible experience so decided to try it again just recently.
We were nicely greeted when we stepped in. The dim lighting in this restaurant.. was a little TOO dim. It made it a little hard for me to see actually (I have night blindness) But nonetheless dim is always better than bright places. I liked the country decor with Italian style paintings in the panels.
Food Ordered:
(please go to the website for descriptions)
Alfredo Fettuccine $14.70
I'm not a fan of cream based sauces so I flinched a little when my companion ordered this but then I don't expect to eat much anyway. It wasn't as thick as I had expected and did go down quite well. My worries about it not being finished were unjustified. The pasta was a teeny bit hard though, resulting in more mouth exercise for us.
Quattro Stagioni $16.90
The Pizza of four seasons... quite interesting so I ordered it. With lots of ham and mushrooms on a thin (but not too thin) crust, I liked this pizza! It comes in two sizes and we ordered the smaller one. :)
Mousse Al Cioccolato $6.90
MMmMM I am one chocolate lover and for $6.90 I'll go for this over Haagen Daz any day.. it's not fantastic... but it's tastes good enough without being too sweet. The texture is just right too. No marks for presentation though.
Tiramisu $7.30
Not quite what I expected but it is a reasonable cake. I wouldn't pay to eat this again though.
All in all I think it was a pretty good visit. I wanted to give it a 3.5... but since there aren't any half-stars... For the relatively good service and great smiles, so 4 it shall be.
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Just beside Subway, Chicago's Steakhouse looks like a good place for good western food. On top of that, the word "steakhouse" immediately catches my attention! First thing you do, of course, is to check out the prices on the menu. Fortunate for people like me, the price is actually absolutely reasonable! Plus, the waiters there are really friendly and welcoming, it just makes you want to walk right in.
I sat down and took my time trying to decide on what to eat. They have main courses like steaks, chicken, fish and lamb! What a variety! I would say their Meat Lovers' dish really did look enticing though I didn't take that. As someone who's hunting for cheap and good steak, I was almost certain before I stepped in that I was gonna order steak. Seeing that a Sirloin Steak with mushroom sauce(70z) was only $10.90, I thought "hey! why not right?" The steak is available in 3 different portions and comes with baked potato and fresh greens too.
One thing I really like about the place is that despite the fact that they were pretty packed that day, your orders still came up fast. But to be honest, fast doesn't mean good.
Although I was real surprised when my steak came up so soon, one look at it and I was thoroughly disappointed. For $10.90, the steak being more than palm size was really a good bargain. However, it was not done very well. I ordered a medium rare but I think I got myself a medium instead. I feel that the thickness of the steak really makes a difference and if dining places wanna make their steak look bigger on the surface, even though it's thinner, (which was what they did), they should know how to do their steaks well too, in order to prevent over-cooking. The mushroom sauce tasted rather ordinary also, with one small slice of shitake mushroom on the steak, as though to say: This really is mushroom sauce, in case you're wondering. The sides were rather pathetic. The baked potato was not even bigger than an apple. Yes, it's more like the size of a plum or prune. Pathetic serving of sour cream and no bacon bits (until you ask for it). The fresh greens was about 5 pieces of french beans, 1 cauliflower and 3 pieces of carrots. Pathetic, once again..
However, the non-steak stuff my friends ordered seemed rather appetizing. It looks more value for money too. At a dollar more, the Fish and Chips does look more filling and appealing than the steak I had (at a steakhouse).
Oh and you get free iced water if you dine there. Not bad eh?
Because of the reasonable prices, I would still consider dining here again but I will not order steaks anymore. Of course if you had a bigger budget, you could try their premium steaks, it could be better. But on the whole, the above was my experience with a $10.90 steak. Disappointing.
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Founder Bak Kut Teh has been in the Balestier area for many years and has built up its reputation as one of the best Teochew style Bak Kut Teh stalls in Singapore. The multitude of celebrity photographs taken at the store are testament to that and so are the crowds that throng this outfit during its opening hours.
Just a small nugget of information for those who didn't know, Teochew style Bak Kut Teh is characterised by a clear soup with a peppery base whereas the Hokkien style Bak Kut Teh is darker in colour and heavy on the herbs. As to which tastes better, it boils down to individual preferences. I, for one, prefer the Teochew style. Founder's soup base is very peppery and light, with the pork ribs cooked just right (the meat is slightly reddish). The result is tender pork ribs which exude the tasty goodness of the soup. At $5.50 a bowl, it is slightly on the high side though. But there's air conditioning if you sit inside and the quality is really consistent and good, so I guess its worth the extra money.
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Had the opportunity to attend a food sampling session at Absolute Haven, one of the up and coming culinary stars of the quaint Prinsep Street. Much has been said and written about this eatery which dishes out modern European cuisine amidst a chic backdrop.
There's an option of al fresco seating in the relatively small outdoor area or indoor seating in a much larger(and cooler) area which boasts clean lines, wooden pillars and oozes minimalistic elegance. Music was rather tasteful as well if I may say, a most fitting complement to the ambience.
Seafood Sampler ($18) - Almost every tom, dick and harry western eatery I know of has some variation of the seafood platter, be it in name, variety of seafood or otherwise. Which explains the lack of expectations for this dish. Even then, it was a disappointment. The prawns weren't fresh, the batter was too thick and the fries were too soggy. Probably the only positive aspect was the accompanying sauces - beetroot with mayonnaise and lime(?) with mint, both of which were unique in their own right. On a side note, the platter was huge, enough for about 4 pax to share (in the misery, (un)fortunately).
Spinach and Wild Mushrooms Salad ($7.50) - I had expected mushrooms covered by/mixed with a tower of spinach so this dish kinda screwed my expectations a little. The thinly sliced mushrooms were buttery and tasty whereas the button and shitake mushrooms came across as rather normal. The spinach was fresh but a little too soft from the balsamic vinaigrette. I liked the dash of cheese atop though.
Oriental Cod Fish ($24) - The name caught my eye. This is probably an example of modern European cuisine, European food with a fusion twist. Taste wise, the fish was fresh and well complemented by the sweet wolfberries and salty bacon bits. However, the meat could have been a little firmer for better texture.
Tenderloin Steak ($28) - The steak wasn't up to expectations. Period. Sure, it was done medium rare just the way we ordered it, but the meat was too soft, probably from the overuse of tenderizer? The lack of marination was apparent - the beef relied on the overly salty sauce to give it taste. Nothing like the pièce de résistance I had at Prive. I didn't quite like the accompanying potato gratin as well as I found it too dry and heavy on the palate.
Chicken Roulade ($20) - This was probably the best dish of the evening, simple yet close to the heart. Fragrant, tender and juicy, the chicken had bacon and spinach stuffed in between which added a slight salty dimension to it. The avocado salad really wasn't my cup of tea though. Very soft and mashed up, it reminded me of baby food. But I guess this really boils down to personal preference.
Victorian Creme Brulee ($8) - Aesthetics wise, the creme brulee was rather pleasing, especially when served with the rose petals. However, its texture reminded me more of egg custard than creme brulee, which is something rather weird. There was also a small rose bud embedded within, which came across as rather overwhelming.
Tira Mi Su ($9) - Another visually pleasing dessert, the tiramisu didn't impress with its pudding like mascarpone cheese mousse. It tasted really weird to me, but I guess thats personal preference as well. I couldn't detect any hint of liqueur at all and the cake was rather soggy from the espresso coffee at the bottom. It wasn't entirely disastrous though. At least it came across as light on the palate.
Overall, the food certainly isn't great but the soothing ambience and attentive service more than makes up for it. You won't have to worry about still or sparkling here as well as they serve natural strawberry flavoured ice water, a deviation from the norm.
*disclaimer: This tasting session was for the purpose of ascertaining the suitability of Absolute Haven for one of our upcoming events.
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Rating given:
My cousin picked this restaurant for my aunt’s birthday celebration last month. Since there are more old people in the group, I think it will be a good place for dinner and celebration as well. This restaurant is right in front of the hotel and next to the main road. It is directly opp parkway parade as well. Hard to miss it with a big white signboard outside the restaurant.
From the outlook of the restaurant, white grand old looking double story building that seems that it had been standing there since I know when. There is also a big carpark jz outside the restaurant, making parking an easy thing to do. If you are really that lazy, there is also valet parking as well. Haa…
When I stepped in, I was quite surprised to see that the restaurant has 3 levels, a basement, ground floor and 2nd floor. Since we have a reservation for 10 people, we were ushered to a private room. Hee… Cool! The main dining room is quite big all with tables able to host at least 10 people and not to mention that they are all full that day. So back to the private room, I think they had at least a few private rooms there.
Inside the room, they have a table for 10 (of cos!), a tv which can watch Ch 5, 8 or U and it is hook up to their KTV system as well. Haa… Can sing and eat at the same time, but then dun expect Kbox or Partyworld kind of songs ok. Hee…… Well at least the TV entertained my nephew, making all of us free to enjoy the dinner. Haa…
We decided to settle for buffet since it will be much more worth it than ordering a set meal for 10 people and at the same time we can order more dishes as well. Well it was a no brainer choice anyway. Looking at the menu there are altogether 52 items where 3 items can be ordered only once and the rest unlimited orders.
The 3 items are:
Mini Monk Jump Over The Wall (Limited to one serving per person). They came in small portions but have to say that we are all very impressed with what is inside the soup! Each bowl will consist of scallops, shark fin, a small little abalone, mushrooms and tons of other goodie stuff that made the soup really good! All natural flavors went into the soup and no MSG. It is a favorite among group. Too bad only 1 serving.
Beijing Roasted Duck (Served with Spring Onions, Cucumber & Sweet Sauce). This one came all ready made. That means the duck skin already all wrapped up in the crepe. I find the dish a little cold and the skin is not as crispy as I expected it to be. Only limited to 2 pcs per person, where got enough?
Live Prawns (Limited to 100g per person) which can be done by either Poached Live Prawns or Deep Fried Prawns with Almond Flake or Fried Prawns with Marmite Sauce. This one came as wrong order, as we had not ordered yet they sent other table prawns to us. Well, since we dig in already, they cannot take back as well. It was poached and has to say that it is one of the freshest prawns I have eaten from sometime. The sizes of the prawns are really huge as well. The prawns are really sweet and there is no “xing wei” at all.
Below are some of the items that I think is worth to give it a shot as well.
Salmon Sashimi – This came in big potions and thick slices as well. It was a hit with my cousin who loved to eat sashimi. Well I am not a big fan of it. However from the way they keep ordering this dish, I think they are really fresh (well I ate one slice), and it was as good as any common jap restaurant that you can find.
Crispy Vietnamese Spring Roll – This came as a surprised. It came to us hot and very crispy. They added in mango and cucmber in the roll which make it extra crunchy.
Cantonese Style Roasted Spring Chicken – I loved to eat chicken and this dish does not disappoint me. The skin is roasted to turn very crispy and have to say very little fats on the skin as well. The meat is juicy and tender not dry even when eating the breast meat. No need the help of the salt, the chicken is already very tasty on its own. Ordered this dish twice.
Barbecued Combination – It came with cha siew, soy sauce chicken and roasted duck. Not too impressed with this as the dish came cold, like in a cold platter. The cha siew tasted quite good on its own, not to sweet as well. Too bad it is cold.
Seafood Salad with Fresh Fruits – This came as a simple salad but because of the fruits used are very fresh, sweet and crunchy, it becomes the highlight of this dish instead of the seafood. Surprising even left on its own, it does not become very watery as well.
Crispy Fried Stuffed Dough Fritters Coated with Mayonnaise – This came in very small portion so we got to order more so that everyone could have at least one. Haa…. Usually this dish will be very oily, but then it turned out to be crispy but not oily. Together with the mayo, it is a prefect combination.
Sautéed Scallops with Celery in X.O Sauce – Well the combination of scallops and celery is enough. Plus the scallops are not over done, not to mention that they are huge! The celery is green and cruchy not overcooked. When both are combined with the sauce, it is so tasty that we had to order another one more.
Deep Fried Marble Goby Fish with Chef’s Special Sauce - According to my mum this fish is very expensive, and were quite surprised when they served us 2 fish. The fish is deep fried and therefore very crispy. It is slightly floured so when eating the fish on its own is able to taste the sweetness and have to say that it is fresh as well. The sauce jz heighten our taste buds and makes the fish taste even better. Haa….
Coffee Pork Ribs – This dish dun look appealing as it came dark brown and not appetizing at all. However looks can be deceiving. The coffee taste is strong enough to taste but not strong enough to overpower the taste of the pork ribs. The pork ribs are chewy and came with a little bit of fats making it melt in your mouth. Of course we have to order this the second time as well.
Sliced Ostrich Meat with Ginger and Onion in Clam Sauce - This one came in a claypot all sizzling. The meat is not over cooked and tender, with the sauce, I can eat this dish all by myself. Now someone pls hand a bowl of rice to me now.
Sweet and Sour Pork Served in Yam Ring – This came as surprise as well. Who will combine sweet and sour pork with yam ring? The sweet and sour pork tasted normal, nothing out of the ordinary. However it was the yam ring that made us asking for more! It is so soft and fluffy, and it is coated with a thin layer of flour before it was deep fried. It is not oily as well. In fact we all finished the yam ring instead of the pork. Haa….
Ice Cream Puff – Out of all the dessert, this one stand out! Reason being, the puff is light and fluffy with ice cream inside the mouth sized puff, prefect. We jz ordered more and more and keep throwing more and more into our mouth as well.
Some of the dish that you can give it a miss, well have to be fair down here right:
Crispy Soft Shell Crab with Salted Pepper – We all got high expectation for this dish but this is a major disappointment as it came to us cold and the soft shell crap going all soft on us. I wonder did they leave it in the counter for too long before serving or what. We can taste all the resuide oil in the crab. Disgusting. We rejected the first serving and when then second serving came back to us, at first no one touched it, so I took myself to the task and the result, it is still the same. I rejected it and told them no need to serve us this dish again.
Steamed Red Tilapia (thai style) – This fish somehow is not fresh and not really a lot of meat on it. Next!
Red Bean Pan Cake – This one is a different version from what I expected. The whole pan cake was covered with sesame seeds. I think with the overloading of the seeds, it downplays the appeal of the dish and the skin of the pancake seems to soaked in a lot of oil, so each bite of the pancake oozes out a lot of oil.
Service wise can say that it is very good. The tea cup is never left empy for long. However at one point, our tea pot did went missing. Haa… Wonder where it went? They also keep replacing our plates and clearing our empty dishes as well. The dishes are also served promptly as well. The waiter that served us also had a permanent simile on his face, making him more friendly as well.
Now the bad, as it is an ala carte buffet, you cannot expect me to remember what I have ordered. Of cos when you asked me if I ordered this dish, I will say yes. Hee…. If you have run out of the dish, you could have informed me earlier rather than when I remembered and I asked then you mention to me that the dish is out of stock.
The price is quite reasonable, you can refer to the above post. If we ordered a set meal, I think the price will be much more expensive and we will not able to each so many dishes again and again.
By the end of the meal, all of us are very full and very happy as well. So much so that we brought a birthday cake along, however at the end of the meal we only cut it and took it back home. Haa…. When they know it is ur birthday, they will also play the birthday song over their PA system. Haa… A bit like those old type of Chinese restaurant. Be prepared to hear someone sing using the KTV system, with the sleazy type of MTV that came along with it. Haa…
Overall, it was a very filling and great dinner especially got older people in the group and they always like these kind of traditional food. Everyone in my group is happy with the food. This is a good place for gathering where can have free flow of food and can chit chat at the same time. I will be back again when I got the chance.
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Having spent in excess of $1200 (I am still reeling from the shock from seeing my credit card bill) on food alone in the month of Sep (mind you, this sum only includes what I've charged to my credit card. If you include cash expenditure on food, I should be up by another $400 tops), I decided to go budget a little and give Cafe Vic @ Carlton Hotel a shot given its relatively inexpensive pricing for a weekend high tea ($22 ). With a dining timeslot from 12-5pm, it starts a little early for high tea and ends a little late for lunch, which leaves it somewhere in the middle, or perhaps a combination of both lunch and high tea.
The heavy rains throughout the island on Saturday didn't deter us one bit, although it did make us terribly late for our reservation (45 mins in fact. We got there at 1345hrs instead). Upon arrival, we were seated at a pretty cosy table at one of the corners of the restaurant, which was fine with me except for the fact that the tables surrounding us were occupied by groups of people who were making quite a bit of noise with their loud guffaws and raised voices. That really didn't sit well with me, as I didn't trudge through the heavy rain to listen to people's gossips about the latest games or that secret romance. Maybe I'm being a little cranky here, but try getting your pants all wet with a less then dry gf and having to put up with all that loud chatter. I could barely have a decent conversation with my gf throughout the whole meal. Ok enough of my rambling. The cafe was quite nicely done, with huge paintings adorning the walls and floor to ceilings windows offering a view of the outside world. Capacity would easily be in excess of 100 pax, not that it was needed though, with only about 10 pax throughout the whole course of my meal there.
I did a rough estimate on the number of buffet offerings and it totalled about 40, most of which were common fare like dim sum, sandwiches, salads, Rojak, Ice Kachang, noodles and a splattering of sushi and sashimi, which was still ok, given the price and well, its supposed to be high tea. I made it a point to try everything that Cafe Vic had to offer and two words sum my experience up. PLAIN DISAPPOINTMENT. Everything from the sushi to the desserts, were at best, average. The sushi's rice was cold and dry and the same could be said for the sandwiches. The roast duck was way too salty and the deep fried fishballs tasted rubbery and starchy. Even something as simple as fried noodles was a disaster, with parts of the noodle dry and hard. The selection of salads like the smoked chicken salad and the chicken sausage salad was still ok though. The desserts were average, but I particularly liked the pear pie, which I felt was the only one that shone amongst all the desserts, particularly with its nicely baked crust. Even my gf agrees. However, I must compliment on their service, though not fantastic, was good enough for me.
It cost us about $46 after taxes and a 10% discount with my UOB card, which effectively works out to be $23/pax. Definitely not expensive, but quality of food leaves much to be desired, which I feel is a pity given its simple yet nicely done interior. Also, given my good experiences with Wah Lok, I would have expected more from Cafe Vic. Hence, my stand on Cafe Vic is this. Go for it if you just want to gorge yourself with food for a long period (12-5pm no time limit) and food quality bears little significance to you or if you want to just find a nice place to while the weekend afternoons away with your friends over food at a not too hefty price tag. (Sit in a secluded area though)
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Rating given:
Had another impromptu dinner last night albeit with a much smaller price tag as compared to the last one when we dined at Morton’s. The venue was Wah Noogee House at Carlton Hotel just across the road from CHIJMES. The younger cousin of the famous Wah Lok is known for whipping up simple yet delicious fare, as evidenced by the multiple newspaper cuttings plastered to the glass. On this particular occasion, it was offering an Ala Carte buffet of 38 dishes at $22 NETT. Being the “kiasu” Singaporeans, we decided to give it a try. Spaces were aplenty when we got there about 2015hrs. Décor was simplistic yet modern, with aesthetically pleasing lights hanging from the high ceiling.
We tried almost everything on the menu. That might seem a little greedy, but trust me when I say this; portions are single servings (read small) and I estimate that we ate about 20 dishes in all. I found everything pretty average, with the deep fried beancurd being slightly above average. It was nicely diced and fried, with a sprinkling of salt and Monosodium Glutamate (MSG). The roast duck had a nice crisp skin, but minimal meat, which was a bummer really. I did like the wantons for their huge and fresh prawns which were tasty and crunchy. But overall, nothing really stood out.
Damage was $22.40/pax, with the 40 cents going to the cost of the wet towels. Not exactly value for money, but it was a pretty satisfying and enjoyable dinner (for me at least). Service was also quite good and the place was nice and quiet. Still it’s not worth the $22 in my opinion. Approximately $15-$17 would have been just right. Having said that, I might just be convinced to try it again because it offers a relaxed environment with decent food at a not too expensive price. (Actually no hotel that I know has a buffet dinner at $22 NETT)
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Rating given: