Many food lovers always like to go Holland Village as it has always been one of the popular dining spots in Singapore that has so many different restaurants. I recently came to know that Mykii restaurant actually serves brunch on weekends. It wasn’t even on my list of Brunch Places in Singapore when I had compiled it back then.
Breakfast at Mykii Brasserie Cafe is available on weekends from 11.30am – 4pm, and there are three brunch menus to choose from: Hearty Deluxe ($38), Gourmet Chic ($28) and Classique ($28). We had a Hearty Deluxe brunch set which came with a starter of homemade bread & muffin/scone/cupcake, Mykii Brunch platter, a choice of main course, dessert, coffee/tea and fruit juice. I know, that’s quite an handful isn’t it? In addition to that, we shared another Gourmet Chic brunch set which was essentially about the same as the Hearty Deluxe brunch set – less the main course.
Most of the time, I prefer to order from the ala carte menu, rather than having a brunch buffet. There’s no need for so much variety for breakfast, I’m a cereal-eggs-pancakes-desserts kind of guy. I like to keep brunch simple – nothing too heavy.
The scones are sturdy, yet crumby, hard on the outside yet so moist inside, it’s the type that I will love to have every morning. On the other hand, the Oreo cupcake was just okay, very sweet and a little too dry. The homemade bread, however was excellent. While waiting for the food to come, we couldn’t help but spread the room-temperature butter onto the bread and wolfed down two slices each.
The Eggs Benedict was more than just a pretty face. The magical combination of eggs and bacon always works. While the holladaise sauce wasn’t as buttery as I would like it to be, it’s just assuring to have Eggs Benedict for breakfast.
Mykii’s Brunch platter consisted of French chipolata sausage, grilled fresh tomatoes, streaky bacon with farmhouse eggs. For the eggs, we chose to have the ocean’s catch omelette with squids and prawn with a tangy thai-sweet chili mayonnaise. Hearty and satisfying, this is my classic interpretation of a big breakfast.
By the time the Iceland Smoked Salmon Sandwich arrived on our table, our stomach was already almost filled to the brim. I had no idea why it was named the Iceland smoked salmon sandwich, but I do know for a fact that the fries that accompanied the sandwich were delicious. It was nicely cut, and had a great potato taste. They were also light and not too salty; we finished every fry without feeling guilty.
If you have been around for some time, you will know that I have always been against the marriage of chocolate and banana. There are plenty of different options like orange chocolate and chocolate mint, but yes, I do not like chocolate banana.
The Chocolate Banana cake here did not change my opinion of the popular dessert, but at least it wasn’t that bad. For one, the bulk of the cake was chocolate ganache and only a thin layer was the banana component. I have nothing against banana, but chocolate banana doesn’t work for me.
I was elated when the dessert menu had a choice of Sweet Morning Platter, which was petite old English pancakes with pear compote, smoothie shooter, and vanilla bean gelato. When the dessert came, the size of the pancakes caught us by surprise. Again, I blamed myself for not reading the menu carefully, petite old English pancakes.. Yes it’s petite, small, tiny or whatever vocabularies you can think of.
Well, it wasn’t too bad. It’s pancakes, you know – pancakes always taste good. The slightly sourish smoothie shooter provided a good counterbalance to the sweet duo of pear compote and ice cream. Ooh, there’s vanilla beans! Perfect. Just the way I wanted to end a good and hearty brunch.
Compared with the other brunch places in Singapore, Mykii probably won’t be among my favorites, but that’s not because it’s not good. The food was pretty decent, not top-notch, but good enough. Their brunch menu really spoils me with so much food, and I’m very sure that my stomach will hold a protest very soon if this goes on.
Actually come to think of it, the beautiful part about breakfast food is the simplicity of it. Having a cup of coffee while reading Sunday Times, beginning breakfast with starter-eggs-mains-desserts, and most importantly, having it with your favorite person – what more can you ask for?
Go and have a good breakfast today! Weekends are meant for brunch.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Finally finally finally had the chance to be around the area at 530pm on a weekday! Tropped up, saw no queue, and so so inside we went.
Shrimp cake spring roll ($6) - this really didnt have any 'cake' as in 'crab cake' but was more of prawn paste in deep fried spring roll. Nicely fried, and the spring roll was lighter than typical, which was a bonus. It could have came with a better sauce than bottled chilli sauce though, as I felt as the run of the mill sauce destroyed the dish.
Karakamen ($17) egg ($2) - "Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen served with minced pork and spicy paste". Tried the soup, and it tasted like dan dan mian. The egg that cost $2 was also overcooked; the yolk was not runny at all. Disappointing.
Shiromaru Classic ($15) - "Original recipe tonkotsu soup served with thin noodles, Rosu chashu (Pork Loin), cabbage, kikurage & scallions". Ordered this because it was the classic dish. Didnt realise it came with ginger too, I had to take it all out because I'm not a ginger person. The broth was alot creamier than expected, with a delicate but obvious porky taste; a tad more salt and I would have found it too salty. The creamy texture made the soup quite je lart for me, and I couldnt finish it, although it was probably bursting with collagen. Luckily the thin noodles was not overcooked. The chashu was also mostly lean with a tiny bit of fat trimmings.
I thought the visit would explain the hoo-haa and the neverending long queues on nights and weekends, but I didnt quite get it. Perhaps the hype surrounding this place is too big for their own good, as I went to expect a drama moment when I took my 1st spoonful of the broth. It was not that bad, but it is not something I will brave the queue for either.
Service was typical Jap polite service and smily staff, so bonus points for them. But still not going to be on my return visit list anytime soon.
Ever since my friend went to Max Brenner Chocolate Bar, she has been telling me: “you must go to Max Brenner, they have the best waffles in Singapore!” I have heard of Max Brenner before of course, it’s the chocolate bar at Esplanade that all chocolate lovers should go to.
It’s strange how even when I saw Max Brenner while holidaying in Australia, I never had the urge to go there. You know how they say sometimes it hits you when you least expect it? Well, that time was now. When the word ‘Max Brenner’ appeared in twitter so many times a week, I know it’s only sooner or later before I try their famous chocolate desserts.
When we saw the picture of the amazing Chocolate Souffle on the menu, I couldn’t help but mis-read it as ‘Best Chocolate Souffle‘. It’s funny how our eyes like to play tricks on us, and with that, we ordered the Banana Split Waffles, and the Chocolate Souffle.
Then everything went silent. We didn’t speak for at least a minute. If you have ever experienced this phenomenon, it can only mean two things: a) the food is so good that everyone forgot how to speak, and b) your dining companion is too busy, desperately trying to figure out how the chef came up with this out-of-this-world creation. We smiled at each other, and the silence continued until we finished the Chocolate Souffle.
Between the two of us, we wiped everything clean within a minute. It was so good! I have no vocabulary to describe it; excellent or fantastic are simply not good enough to explain how it tasted like. Maybe, maybe heavenly is the only word that fits the description. This is the Best Chocolate Souffle in Singapore.
Initially, I felt that it’s expensive to pay $16 for a dessert. But I changed my mind after having it – I’d definitely pay for the best chocolate souffle every single time.
Today is waffles day – because I say so.
Adrenaline flowed through my body as we poured the tube of chocolate over the Belgian waffles. Although it wasn’t as fluffy nor as hot as I’ve imagine (time spent on taking photographs), the waffles were very satisfying. Both of us had been craving for waffles for a whole week. When the staff brought the waffles to our table; it was like bringing a helpless lamb to the mercy of the wolf – we devoured it in a split second.
Scrambling to maximize the tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream, every mouthful was so gratifying. And subconsciously, we started to Ooh and whoa. Who needs bananas and berries when there’s waffles? Give me more waffles!
I’ve always insisted that every guy should have a waffle maker at home, it’s the best thing you can do for your girl the next morning. Otherwise, please be a good boyfriend and bring her to Max Brenner for this orgasmic experience – I promise she will love you even more.
* * *
We finished both the Chocolate Souffle and the Banana Split Waffles within ten minutes. Chocolate overdose? Definitely not, can we have another Chocolate Souffle please?
Now if you can excuse me, I need to go check out Laurent Bernand’s Chocolate Souffle.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Had a sudden craving for dim sum on a Sunday afternoon and didnt want to fight with the Crystal Jade crowd so headed towards Hai Tien Lo for some nice quiet dim sum. It was surprisingly not packed at 1pm and we were given a table with a view~
Service was good, but perhaps it was the small crowd as well. Orders were taken swiftly, and staff hurried to offer to refill our tea when they spotted my picking up the tea pot. Nice quiet crowd with some business guys and young families allowed for some peace and quiet. It was also quite nice to just space out at the view sporadically too.
All except the porridge, shark's fin dumpling, and rice flour roll came in 3 pieces:
Shark's fin dumpling in a broth ($13 per pax) - I only tried the broth and liked it quite a bit. It was a very light chicken broth with what I think was the sweetnss of scallops (?). I wished there was more broth so I can drink it as a soup.
Steam crystal dumplings with vegetables ($3.90) - This was disappointingly normal, with the usual crunch of meat and some veg. Presentation can be better too.
Pan fried rice flour rolls with crispy conpoy ($3.90) - Good. The plain rolls came pan-fried excellently and the conpoy added a nice touch of fragrance. The accompanying sauce was some form of bean sauce I think, savoury but too gluey for my liking. Rather eat it plain.
Poached Beijing dumplings stuffed with chicken and prawns in chilli vinegar sauce ($4.20) - The highlight was the sauce itself: very good. It enhanced the sweetness of the dumplings and helped to avoid any typical dim sum 'crunch fatigue' syndrome. The chilli and vinegar was mixed in the correct proportion, and was so good that we ended up dipping most of our other dim sum in it.
Deep fried sea perch wrapped with vermicelli ($5.40) - Was glad we ordered this. Fish was deep fried so to be honest the sweetness of it wasn't apparent, but the vermicelli was freshly fried without the stale oil taste which I am very sensitive to. It wasquite skillfully done and presented, with some roe dotting the top of the pieces.
Century egg porridge ($3.90) - Disappointingly bland and too watery for my liking. It didnt have the fragrance of the century egg as I think they used another variety of century egg which was golden organge hued. Pepper did not manage to lift the taste.
Rose Pu Er ($6 per pax) - Nice fragrant choice, although I personally think $6 is too pricey. I mean how much tea can one drink?
The host who greeted us asked for my name even though I did not make a reservation and I wondered why. Then realized its because she wanted to say goodbye when we left addressing me by name. How nice!
I was quite plesantly surprised by the prices. I'd pick this over Crystal Jade for almost the same pricing with a less noisy / hurried crowd. The varity of dim sum is small though, so expect to be bored after your 3rd visit.
Finally dropped by this place as have seen many a times the long queues outside this new outlet. It was an early dinner about 5:30pm and about just in time as a queue formed soon after that.
Shio Ramen Gyoza Set ($12.80) - I think they must have tamed down the amount of salt after feedback from the Ion outlet as I actually found the soup base quite nice. The soup is apparently cooked for 7 hours before it reaches your table, and an extra puny portion of it will set you back another $2. I have no idea what is 'shio' but it was a refreshing change from Ajisen, which to me tasted like it came with a good handful of MSG. I think it was pork bones stock amongst other stuff, not your cloudy typical and light enough for me to want to drink it without panting for water. It was to me value worth too as the ramen, althought with an egg and only 1 piece of cha shu, came with 3 pieces of gyoza. Decent portion for a normal dinner. Gyozas were nicely pan-fried too.
Agedashi Tofu ($4.80) - Normal fried tofu, although I liked the fact that it didnt come drowned in the sauce which usually ends up making you eat really soggy tofu.
Tako Tempura ($6.80) - Batter was abit too thick for me, and the squid could have been in smaller pieces. Really chewy as well. But the accompanying sauce helped cut the richness of the batter.
Hokkaido Salad ($6.80) - this was a very nice surprise because of the portion and ingredients in the salad. Fresh lettuce, strips of carrot, corn, potato cubes, tomato, baby asparagus, and even scallops. All nice and fresh with a japanese vinegrette sauce. Good!
Service was typical, although there was an irritating fly that keeps wanting to land on our food. Food didnt take too long to arrive too, which was a plus point too.
I remember patronising Miss Clarity Cafe when it was still a small obscure cafe at Purvis Street back in 2005/2006. What drew me to this cafe was the reasonably priced set meals (for its location). Fast forward 4-5 years and the eatery has expanded to include an outlet along Upper Thomson Road.
The interior at the Thomson outlet is reminiscent of the original shop at Purvis, with its predominantly pink theme and girlish intonations. Even the menu is pink! And for all the eatery's success, it was empty on a Saturday evening (maybe standards have dropped or the crowds are limited to the outlet at Purvis).
Chicken Ballotine - One of the apparently popular and signature dish of the eatery, the Chicken Ballotine was essentially boneless thigh meat stuffed with mushrooms and roasted. Personally I thought the idea was good but the execution was terrible. For starters, the meat was very dry and rubbery. I could make out the mushrooms but the chicken itself didn't have much inherent taste. Disappointing as compared to what I had many years back.
Soft Shell Crab Linguine - If my Chicken Ballotine was bad, the soft shell crab linguine was a total disaster. Limp pasta swimming in artificial tasting cream based sauce and topped with crisp but flour laden soft shell crab pieces. This is as bad as it gets.
Blueberry Pie - Any hopes of dessert salvaging the meal was torn to shreds as soon as I had the first bite of the blueberry pie. First please allow me to qualify that I personally am not used to having warm blueberry pies. I prefer my blueberry pies chilled. So it came as quite a bummer when mine came served warm with a gooey, seemingly mass produced blueberry filling, sandwiched between 2 layers of hard, dry and tasteless biscuit. The sad fact of the matter is, even Han's blueberry pie, at just over 2 bucks for a slice, enjoys a better standing in my books.
A ruined dinner for 2 wasn't expensive, at almost $27. But seriously, I'll rather stuff myself with 3 big mac meals than step foot into Miss Clarity ever again. Did I mention that I have a weakness for fast food? ;)
They brew their own beers and it tastes like it is. Some of those I like are their Wheat Bier (no it is not a typo), Summer Ale, and Golden Ale. Go before 8pm for their Happy Hour promo - 3 half pints for $18. Otherwise each half pint on their own costs $9 if you just want one. I think the per half pint price is cheaper before 7pm, but cant remember how much.
The crowd is your typical chill out crowd but I like it better than say Paulaner as the place doesnt seem too packed even when its full, perhaps because they have the alfresco area facing the sea. It helps reduces the noise level too, we can actually hear each other and chat!
We had 2 bites that replaced dinner:
Chips with chilli crab dip ($12) - these come thick cut and very freshly deep fried, which was a definite plus point. The only thing is the dip came in half of what the small holder was supposed to contain so we asked if we could have more but was told additional dip will cost $8. HUH? I mean the dip was thew actual chilli crab sauce with real crab meat and all that, but $8 was a tad too high for me for just the sauce. If I ordered that, the chips will come up top $20! They should just use a smaller holder if they intend to serve that little dip, or maybe they fill half on purpose so you are tempted to ask for the top-up.
Beer battered onion rings ($9) - We are attracted by this order after it went past us. It came in a thick crispy batter which didnt quite have the beer taste but we thought it was good it wasn't oily. Until my dinner mate bit into one and realized the batter was still there, not cooked thoroughly, maybe because the oil was too hot. We alerted one staff who brought it on and asked us if we wanted a replacement, which we did. The replacement took quite a while, and when it came, the batter was doubly hard and much more oily, which meant they had deep fried it a longer time to avoid the same thing happening again.
Otherwise, service was generally okay; plus the GM of the place was a friendly chap. The beer itself is not dirt cheap but it is still something special from other places. I love the Wheat Bier which had calamansi in it; may sound strange but it is really nice!
If you have ever tried out Ban Heng's buffet selection, you might probably agree that it's skewed pretty much to the quantity and not so much the quality aspect of things. However we decided to give Ban Heng's ala carte menu a chance, to see how it would stack up against the likes of Liang Kee and Guan Hin, both reputable Teochew restaurants which were mere minutes walk away. And failing to make prior reservations, we were "relegated" to the corridor seats to dine amongst the fumes of vehicles attempting to snare a parking lot right in front of the restaurant.
Broccoli with Dried Scallops - Nice crunchy texture from the broccoli meant that it wasn't overcooked. Coupled with a not so generous serving of dried scallop, this dish was decent. Well at least it wasn't bland and the lightly salty/starchy gravy went well with rice.
Braised Goose - Ban Heng's rendition of this classic Teochew dish was simple yet appetising (portions were miserable though). Tender meat with a nice roughness that was complemented by the flavourful gravy. Very good! And for once I can actually say that the accompanying beancurd was good. Soft and silky unlike the dry and much firmer species that usually plonk themselves alongside this dish.
Braised Beancurd with Seafood - I was actually quite surprised to find scallops, pacific clams, sea cucumber, fish slices and the likes in this dish. In most places (high end restaurants are the exception) you honestly wouldn't expect to see anything close to sea cucumber or scallops served up with beancurd. The word "seafood" usually just entails fish slices, a couple of mushrooms, a tiny prawn or two and that's it. Technicalities aside, everything in the pot was well simmered in the rich gravy, resulting in a wonderful seafood feast.
Orh Nee - Another hallmark of Teochew cuisine, the simple yet notoriously tedious to make, yam paste aka Orh Nee. Blanketed under a layer of coconut milk, the paste was a little moist and very smooth without being overly sweet. Personally I still prefer the drier variants but this one was undoubtedly good.
Apart from the long waiting time for our food, we had no real complains. Food quality was above average but price (almost $66 for 3 pax) was a wee bit on the high side. Service was decent but only from a couple of wait staff. If they can improve on their kitchen turn around time, I'll sign on as a regular customer.
ps: Remember not to try their buffet unless quantity, not quality, is what you are looking for.
Dropped by on a eve of PH at about 7pm and the place was rather packed. We walked past the apparent reception as the lady did not acknowledge us, but when inside was told to walk back out again to get our seats. The same lady who ignored us told us sheepishly that they have a waiting list and no tables, when we could see available tables right from where we were standing. She repeated the same thing a 2nd time, so I pointed out an empty high table :"Even that is not available?", to which she looked sheepish again and said a little reluctantly "Okay, I'll give that to you first". By the time we left at 10pm, the table was not needed at all. Sigh.
Overeasy is your usual chillout place with a section of the indoor seating set up to be for proper dinners - red booth seats and long tables. The crowd is mostly Shenton Way executives chilling out after a day's work. This may also be why they have a 1-4-1 drink promo (wines, housepours, draft beers) until 8pm for anyone with a business card. If you have a UOB card, the promo extends until 8:30pm.
We ordered Erdinger but it came served in Heineken glasses, and they explained that it was because they ran out of the tall Erdinger glasses, which I thought was quite odd. The lady who served us was quite patient as well, explaining some dishes and checking on salad dressings with a smile.
Erdinger was $14 for 1 pint and white wine was $12 per glass - normal prices.
Cheesesteak sliders ($15) - 5 mini burgers served in a long plate. Freshly toasted buns sandwiching a slab of beef and cheese sauce, this was a really good savory starter. The beef especially was done just nice and no 'beefy' taste at all. Good!
Cobb Salad ($11) - A haphazard mix of corn, lettuce, tomatoes, minced egg, onions, croutons, radish slices, and bacon. The mix did not gel together very well; it felt like the chef took whatever was available and threw it together. We declined the blue cheese dressing and had red wine vinegrette instead, which was quite good but not enough to save the dish.
Blueberry Waffles ($12) - A big round waffle that came with scattered real blueberries and crumbs; a smaller-than-expected scoop of walnut ice cream sat on top. Fluffy and fragrant but it was still quite heavy considering it was under the dessert section.
Managed to speak to one of their more senior staff and apparently they focus alot on their food, which is good I guess.
BUT YOU HAVE TO CHECK YOUR BILL BEFORE YOU SIGN IT. Because mine came without them factoring in the 1-4-1 prices, so I asked them to amend it and the correct bill came thereafter. They also gave me the void charge slip, and when had the chance to look at it, to my horrors, I realised that I would have signed for a $200 bill if I had not checked it. Why? Because the bill with the wrong prices added up to $91, and they had the audacity to incluce a $109 tips (yes, TIPS).
I wished I could have noticed it on the spot; I would really love to hear their explanation on this. To me, this could not be a typo error. And I am sure there are people who are used to signing their bill without checking. I find it quite disgusting that they resort to this to rake in the bucks.
I would come here again as the drinks and food are not too bad, BUT of course I will now scrutinize my bill even more. Please take note!!! That explains my 1 star rating for 'service'.
Dropped by for an impromptu visit just to check out the place but ended up eating dinner there. Might as well. Occupying the space vacated by Subway, the seating was small, perhaps about 30 pax will fill up the place nicely.
As the name suggests, seating is all benches alongside equally stark tables, a little like canteen style where you have to slot yourself into the seat. You order at the counter which has the menu, pay, take your number, and wait. The chalkboard provides for easy browsing too.
Soft-shell crab burger ($8.20) - the sauce tasted like real chilli-crab sauce, and the piece of crab was the actual thingy and not some paste etc. Good start! The cabbage was fresh and provided a very nice crunch to the burger. Bun was soft although not wow.
Potato crisps ($1.00) - You can add this one to any burger order for $1 which is recommended because otherwise the burger alone looks quite sad. There was a slightly different crunch to it as opposed to mass market chips and was still quite warm when it reached us. It is supposedly home-made from scratch although my dinner buddy mentioned that fresh potaotes should be a bit softer and not too crisp.
Wasabi butter-fish burger ($8.20) - Nice! Big slab of actual fish with cabbage and a slice of sweet tomato. Nice dose of the wasabi sauce, although there was no hint of the usual wasabi 'kick' and the bitterness of it came across as a little strang. We later found out that the bitterness came from the addition of mustard and roasted saseme seeds; and they adjusted the original level of spiciness after feedback from other customers. Taste are subjective I guess.
Actually the burgers were much smaller than expected; perhaps they had to adjust the prices to accommodate the younger crowd at Cineleisure, and hence accordingly the portion.
Service was quite haphazard, with only 1 staff taking orders, another serving the tables, and I think a 3rd making the burgers. We could see the staff serving the wrong orders a few times despite the small seatings; and our request to hold the mayo was overlooked, although it was replaced with a fresh one after alerting.
You'd also have to cut your own if you'd like to halve your burgers to share, as the staff advised that the kitchen is typically to busy for such extra requests, and they give you a pair of knife and fork (the orders do not come with these and most eat with their hands). Chilli sauce also came in fastfood-style packs.
Kudos to the staff who asked for our feedback and the 'chef' who came out of the kitchen to speak to us personally. I thought it was quite receptive of them to hear from us.
Prices may be pricer than say Mos Burger when size of the burgers are very close, so that may turn some teenagers off. But if you feel like a tiny splurge without having to go all the way to Relish, this is perhaps the mini-alternative to it.
They also have a little 'introduction' about the ingredients they use on the tables, which after reading will make you feel that your little splurge may be worth it after all.
1=SGD 0.0587
Many food lovers always like to go Holland Village as it has always been one of the popular dining spots in Singapore that has so many different restaurants. I recently came to know that Mykii restaurant actually serves brunch on weekends. It wasn’t even on my list of Brunch Places in Singapore when I had compiled it back then.
Breakfast at Mykii Brasserie Cafe is available on weekends from 11.30am – 4pm, and there are three brunch menus to choose from: Hearty Deluxe ($38), Gourmet Chic ($28) and Classique ($28). We had a Hearty Deluxe brunch set which came with a starter of homemade bread & muffin/scone/cupcake, Mykii Brunch platter, a choice of main course, dessert, coffee/tea and fruit juice. I know, that’s quite an handful isn’t it? In addition to that, we shared another Gourmet Chic brunch set which was essentially about the same as the Hearty Deluxe brunch set – less the main course.
Most of the time, I prefer to order from the ala carte menu, rather than having a brunch buffet. There’s no need for so much variety for breakfast, I’m a cereal-eggs-pancakes-desserts kind of guy. I like to keep brunch simple – nothing too heavy.
The scones are sturdy, yet crumby, hard on the outside yet so moist inside, it’s the type that I will love to have every morning. On the other hand, the Oreo cupcake was just okay, very sweet and a little too dry. The homemade bread, however was excellent. While waiting for the food to come, we couldn’t help but spread the room-temperature butter onto the bread and wolfed down two slices each.
The Eggs Benedict was more than just a pretty face. The magical combination of eggs and bacon always works. While the holladaise sauce wasn’t as buttery as I would like it to be, it’s just assuring to have Eggs Benedict for breakfast.
Mykii’s Brunch platter consisted of French chipolata sausage, grilled fresh tomatoes, streaky bacon with farmhouse eggs. For the eggs, we chose to have the ocean’s catch omelette with squids and prawn with a tangy thai-sweet chili mayonnaise. Hearty and satisfying, this is my classic interpretation of a big breakfast.
By the time the Iceland Smoked Salmon Sandwich arrived on our table, our stomach was already almost filled to the brim. I had no idea why it was named the Iceland smoked salmon sandwich, but I do know for a fact that the fries that accompanied the sandwich were delicious. It was nicely cut, and had a great potato taste. They were also light and not too salty; we finished every fry without feeling guilty.
If you have been around for some time, you will know that I have always been against the marriage of chocolate and banana. There are plenty of different options like orange chocolate and chocolate mint, but yes, I do not like chocolate banana.
The Chocolate Banana cake here did not change my opinion of the popular dessert, but at least it wasn’t that bad. For one, the bulk of the cake was chocolate ganache and only a thin layer was the banana component. I have nothing against banana, but chocolate banana doesn’t work for me.
I was elated when the dessert menu had a choice of Sweet Morning Platter, which was petite old English pancakes with pear compote, smoothie shooter, and vanilla bean gelato. When the dessert came, the size of the pancakes caught us by surprise. Again, I blamed myself for not reading the menu carefully, petite old English pancakes.. Yes it’s petite, small, tiny or whatever vocabularies you can think of.
Well, it wasn’t too bad. It’s pancakes, you know – pancakes always taste good. The slightly sourish smoothie shooter provided a good counterbalance to the sweet duo of pear compote and ice cream. Ooh, there’s vanilla beans! Perfect. Just the way I wanted to end a good and hearty brunch.
Compared with the other brunch places in Singapore, Mykii probably won’t be among my favorites, but that’s not because it’s not good. The food was pretty decent, not top-notch, but good enough. Their brunch menu really spoils me with so much food, and I’m very sure that my stomach will hold a protest very soon if this goes on.
Actually come to think of it, the beautiful part about breakfast food is the simplicity of it. Having a cup of coffee while reading Sunday Times, beginning breakfast with starter-eggs-mains-desserts, and most importantly, having it with your favorite person – what more can you ask for?
Go and have a good breakfast today! Weekends are meant for brunch.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
Finally finally finally had the chance to be around the area at 530pm on a weekday! Tropped up, saw no queue, and so so inside we went.
Shrimp cake spring roll ($6) - this really didnt have any 'cake' as in 'crab cake' but was more of prawn paste in deep fried spring roll. Nicely fried, and the spring roll was lighter than typical, which was a bonus. It could have came with a better sauce than bottled chilli sauce though, as I felt as the run of the mill sauce destroyed the dish.
Karakamen ($17) egg ($2) - "Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen served with minced pork and spicy paste". Tried the soup, and it tasted like dan dan mian. The egg that cost $2 was also overcooked; the yolk was not runny at all. Disappointing.
Shiromaru Classic ($15) - "Original recipe tonkotsu soup served with thin noodles, Rosu chashu (Pork Loin), cabbage, kikurage & scallions". Ordered this because it was the classic dish. Didnt realise it came with ginger too, I had to take it all out because I'm not a ginger person. The broth was alot creamier than expected, with a delicate but obvious porky taste; a tad more salt and I would have found it too salty. The creamy texture made the soup quite je lart for me, and I couldnt finish it, although it was probably bursting with collagen. Luckily the thin noodles was not overcooked. The chashu was also mostly lean with a tiny bit of fat trimmings.
I thought the visit would explain the hoo-haa and the neverending long queues on nights and weekends, but I didnt quite get it. Perhaps the hype surrounding this place is too big for their own good, as I went to expect a drama moment when I took my 1st spoonful of the broth. It was not that bad, but it is not something I will brave the queue for either.
Service was typical Jap polite service and smily staff, so bonus points for them. But still not going to be on my return visit list anytime soon.
Rating given:
Ever since my friend went to Max Brenner Chocolate Bar, she has been telling me: “you must go to Max Brenner, they have the best waffles in Singapore!” I have heard of Max Brenner before of course, it’s the chocolate bar at Esplanade that all chocolate lovers should go to.
It’s strange how even when I saw Max Brenner while holidaying in Australia, I never had the urge to go there. You know how they say sometimes it hits you when you least expect it? Well, that time was now. When the word ‘Max Brenner’ appeared in twitter so many times a week, I know it’s only sooner or later before I try their famous chocolate desserts.
When we saw the picture of the amazing Chocolate Souffle on the menu, I couldn’t help but mis-read it as ‘Best Chocolate Souffle‘. It’s funny how our eyes like to play tricks on us, and with that, we ordered the Banana Split Waffles, and the Chocolate Souffle.
Then everything went silent. We didn’t speak for at least a minute. If you have ever experienced this phenomenon, it can only mean two things: a) the food is so good that everyone forgot how to speak, and b) your dining companion is too busy, desperately trying to figure out how the chef came up with this out-of-this-world creation. We smiled at each other, and the silence continued until we finished the Chocolate Souffle.
Between the two of us, we wiped everything clean within a minute. It was so good! I have no vocabulary to describe it; excellent or fantastic are simply not good enough to explain how it tasted like. Maybe, maybe heavenly is the only word that fits the description. This is the Best Chocolate Souffle in Singapore.
Initially, I felt that it’s expensive to pay $16 for a dessert. But I changed my mind after having it – I’d definitely pay for the best chocolate souffle every single time.
Today is waffles day – because I say so.
Adrenaline flowed through my body as we poured the tube of chocolate over the Belgian waffles. Although it wasn’t as fluffy nor as hot as I’ve imagine (time spent on taking photographs), the waffles were very satisfying. Both of us had been craving for waffles for a whole week. When the staff brought the waffles to our table; it was like bringing a helpless lamb to the mercy of the wolf – we devoured it in a split second.
Scrambling to maximize the tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream, every mouthful was so gratifying. And subconsciously, we started to Ooh and whoa. Who needs bananas and berries when there’s waffles? Give me more waffles!
I’ve always insisted that every guy should have a waffle maker at home, it’s the best thing you can do for your girl the next morning. Otherwise, please be a good boyfriend and bring her to Max Brenner for this orgasmic experience – I promise she will love you even more.
* * *
We finished both the Chocolate Souffle and the Banana Split Waffles within ten minutes. Chocolate overdose? Definitely not, can we have another Chocolate Souffle please?
Now if you can excuse me, I need to go check out Laurent Bernand’s Chocolate Souffle.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
Nice dim sum with nice crowd ~
Had a sudden craving for dim sum on a Sunday afternoon and didnt want to fight with the Crystal Jade crowd so headed towards Hai Tien Lo for some nice quiet dim sum. It was surprisingly not packed at 1pm and we were given a table with a view~
Service was good, but perhaps it was the small crowd as well. Orders were taken swiftly, and staff hurried to offer to refill our tea when they spotted my picking up the tea pot. Nice quiet crowd with some business guys and young families allowed for some peace and quiet. It was also quite nice to just space out at the view sporadically too.
All except the porridge, shark's fin dumpling, and rice flour roll came in 3 pieces:
Shark's fin dumpling in a broth ($13 per pax) - I only tried the broth and liked it quite a bit. It was a very light chicken broth with what I think was the sweetnss of scallops (?). I wished there was more broth so I can drink it as a soup.
Steam crystal dumplings with vegetables ($3.90) - This was disappointingly normal, with the usual crunch of meat and some veg. Presentation can be better too.
Pan fried rice flour rolls with crispy conpoy ($3.90) - Good. The plain rolls came pan-fried excellently and the conpoy added a nice touch of fragrance. The accompanying sauce was some form of bean sauce I think, savoury but too gluey for my liking. Rather eat it plain.
Poached Beijing dumplings stuffed with chicken and prawns in chilli vinegar sauce ($4.20) - The highlight was the sauce itself: very good. It enhanced the sweetness of the dumplings and helped to avoid any typical dim sum 'crunch fatigue' syndrome. The chilli and vinegar was mixed in the correct proportion, and was so good that we ended up dipping most of our other dim sum in it.
Deep fried sea perch wrapped with vermicelli ($5.40) - Was glad we ordered this. Fish was deep fried so to be honest the sweetness of it wasn't apparent, but the vermicelli was freshly fried without the stale oil taste which I am very sensitive to. It wasquite skillfully done and presented, with some roe dotting the top of the pieces.
Century egg porridge ($3.90) - Disappointingly bland and too watery for my liking. It didnt have the fragrance of the century egg as I think they used another variety of century egg which was golden organge hued. Pepper did not manage to lift the taste.
Rose Pu Er ($6 per pax) - Nice fragrant choice, although I personally think $6 is too pricey. I mean how much tea can one drink?
The host who greeted us asked for my name even though I did not make a reservation and I wondered why. Then realized its because she wanted to say goodbye when we left addressing me by name. How nice!
I was quite plesantly surprised by the prices. I'd pick this over Crystal Jade for almost the same pricing with a less noisy / hurried crowd. The varity of dim sum is small though, so expect to be bored after your 3rd visit.
Rating given:
Better than Ajisen~
Finally dropped by this place as have seen many a times the long queues outside this new outlet. It was an early dinner about 5:30pm and about just in time as a queue formed soon after that.
Shio Ramen Gyoza Set ($12.80) - I think they must have tamed down the amount of salt after feedback from the Ion outlet as I actually found the soup base quite nice. The soup is apparently cooked for 7 hours before it reaches your table, and an extra puny portion of it will set you back another $2. I have no idea what is 'shio' but it was a refreshing change from Ajisen, which to me tasted like it came with a good handful of MSG. I think it was pork bones stock amongst other stuff, not your cloudy typical and light enough for me to want to drink it without panting for water. It was to me value worth too as the ramen, althought with an egg and only 1 piece of cha shu, came with 3 pieces of gyoza. Decent portion for a normal dinner. Gyozas were nicely pan-fried too.
Agedashi Tofu ($4.80) - Normal fried tofu, although I liked the fact that it didnt come drowned in the sauce which usually ends up making you eat really soggy tofu.
Tako Tempura ($6.80) - Batter was abit too thick for me, and the squid could have been in smaller pieces. Really chewy as well. But the accompanying sauce helped cut the richness of the batter.
Hokkaido Salad ($6.80) - this was a very nice surprise because of the portion and ingredients in the salad. Fresh lettuce, strips of carrot, corn, potato cubes, tomato, baby asparagus, and even scallops. All nice and fresh with a japanese vinegrette sauce. Good!
Service was typical, although there was an irritating fly that keeps wanting to land on our food. Food didnt take too long to arrive too, which was a plus point too.
Rating given:
I remember patronising Miss Clarity Cafe when it was still a small obscure cafe at Purvis Street back in 2005/2006. What drew me to this cafe was the reasonably priced set meals (for its location). Fast forward 4-5 years and the eatery has expanded to include an outlet along Upper Thomson Road.
The interior at the Thomson outlet is reminiscent of the original shop at Purvis, with its predominantly pink theme and girlish intonations. Even the menu is pink! And for all the eatery's success, it was empty on a Saturday evening (maybe standards have dropped or the crowds are limited to the outlet at Purvis).
Chicken Ballotine - One of the apparently popular and signature dish of the eatery, the Chicken Ballotine was essentially boneless thigh meat stuffed with mushrooms and roasted. Personally I thought the idea was good but the execution was terrible. For starters, the meat was very dry and rubbery. I could make out the mushrooms but the chicken itself didn't have much inherent taste. Disappointing as compared to what I had many years back.
Soft Shell Crab Linguine - If my Chicken Ballotine was bad, the soft shell crab linguine was a total disaster. Limp pasta swimming in artificial tasting cream based sauce and topped with crisp but flour laden soft shell crab pieces. This is as bad as it gets.
Blueberry Pie - Any hopes of dessert salvaging the meal was torn to shreds as soon as I had the first bite of the blueberry pie. First please allow me to qualify that I personally am not used to having warm blueberry pies. I prefer my blueberry pies chilled. So it came as quite a bummer when mine came served warm with a gooey, seemingly mass produced blueberry filling, sandwiched between 2 layers of hard, dry and tasteless biscuit. The sad fact of the matter is, even Han's blueberry pie, at just over 2 bucks for a slice, enjoys a better standing in my books.
A ruined dinner for 2 wasn't expensive, at almost $27. But seriously, I'll rather stuff myself with 3 big mac meals than step foot into Miss Clarity ever again. Did I mention that I have a weakness for fast food? ;)
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Nice beer and better than average bites~
This place is for beer lovers ~
They brew their own beers and it tastes like it is. Some of those I like are their Wheat Bier (no it is not a typo), Summer Ale, and Golden Ale. Go before 8pm for their Happy Hour promo - 3 half pints for $18. Otherwise each half pint on their own costs $9 if you just want one. I think the per half pint price is cheaper before 7pm, but cant remember how much.
The crowd is your typical chill out crowd but I like it better than say Paulaner as the place doesnt seem too packed even when its full, perhaps because they have the alfresco area facing the sea. It helps reduces the noise level too, we can actually hear each other and chat!
We had 2 bites that replaced dinner:
Chips with chilli crab dip ($12) - these come thick cut and very freshly deep fried, which was a definite plus point. The only thing is the dip came in half of what the small holder was supposed to contain so we asked if we could have more but was told additional dip will cost $8. HUH? I mean the dip was thew actual chilli crab sauce with real crab meat and all that, but $8 was a tad too high for me for just the sauce. If I ordered that, the chips will come up top $20! They should just use a smaller holder if they intend to serve that little dip, or maybe they fill half on purpose so you are tempted to ask for the top-up.
Beer battered onion rings ($9) - We are attracted by this order after it went past us. It came in a thick crispy batter which didnt quite have the beer taste but we thought it was good it wasn't oily. Until my dinner mate bit into one and realized the batter was still there, not cooked thoroughly, maybe because the oil was too hot. We alerted one staff who brought it on and asked us if we wanted a replacement, which we did. The replacement took quite a while, and when it came, the batter was doubly hard and much more oily, which meant they had deep fried it a longer time to avoid the same thing happening again.
Otherwise, service was generally okay; plus the GM of the place was a friendly chap. The beer itself is not dirt cheap but it is still something special from other places. I love the Wheat Bier which had calamansi in it; may sound strange but it is really nice!
Rating given:
If you have ever tried out Ban Heng's buffet selection, you might probably agree that it's skewed pretty much to the quantity and not so much the quality aspect of things. However we decided to give Ban Heng's ala carte menu a chance, to see how it would stack up against the likes of Liang Kee and Guan Hin, both reputable Teochew restaurants which were mere minutes walk away. And failing to make prior reservations, we were "relegated" to the corridor seats to dine amongst the fumes of vehicles attempting to snare a parking lot right in front of the restaurant.
Broccoli with Dried Scallops - Nice crunchy texture from the broccoli meant that it wasn't overcooked. Coupled with a not so generous serving of dried scallop, this dish was decent. Well at least it wasn't bland and the lightly salty/starchy gravy went well with rice.
Braised Goose - Ban Heng's rendition of this classic Teochew dish was simple yet appetising (portions were miserable though). Tender meat with a nice roughness that was complemented by the flavourful gravy. Very good! And for once I can actually say that the accompanying beancurd was good. Soft and silky unlike the dry and much firmer species that usually plonk themselves alongside this dish.
Braised Beancurd with Seafood - I was actually quite surprised to find scallops, pacific clams, sea cucumber, fish slices and the likes in this dish. In most places (high end restaurants are the exception) you honestly wouldn't expect to see anything close to sea cucumber or scallops served up with beancurd. The word "seafood" usually just entails fish slices, a couple of mushrooms, a tiny prawn or two and that's it. Technicalities aside, everything in the pot was well simmered in the rich gravy, resulting in a wonderful seafood feast.
Orh Nee - Another hallmark of Teochew cuisine, the simple yet notoriously tedious to make, yam paste aka Orh Nee. Blanketed under a layer of coconut milk, the paste was a little moist and very smooth without being overly sweet. Personally I still prefer the drier variants but this one was undoubtedly good.
Apart from the long waiting time for our food, we had no real complains. Food quality was above average but price (almost $66 for 3 pax) was a wee bit on the high side. Service was decent but only from a couple of wait staff. If they can improve on their kitchen turn around time, I'll sign on as a regular customer.
ps: Remember not to try their buffet unless quantity, not quality, is what you are looking for.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Nice chill out place~
Dropped by on a eve of PH at about 7pm and the place was rather packed. We walked past the apparent reception as the lady did not acknowledge us, but when inside was told to walk back out again to get our seats. The same lady who ignored us told us sheepishly that they have a waiting list and no tables, when we could see available tables right from where we were standing. She repeated the same thing a 2nd time, so I pointed out an empty high table :"Even that is not available?", to which she looked sheepish again and said a little reluctantly "Okay, I'll give that to you first". By the time we left at 10pm, the table was not needed at all. Sigh.
Overeasy is your usual chillout place with a section of the indoor seating set up to be for proper dinners - red booth seats and long tables. The crowd is mostly Shenton Way executives chilling out after a day's work. This may also be why they have a 1-4-1 drink promo (wines, housepours, draft beers) until 8pm for anyone with a business card. If you have a UOB card, the promo extends until 8:30pm.
We ordered Erdinger but it came served in Heineken glasses, and they explained that it was because they ran out of the tall Erdinger glasses, which I thought was quite odd. The lady who served us was quite patient as well, explaining some dishes and checking on salad dressings with a smile.
Erdinger was $14 for 1 pint and white wine was $12 per glass - normal prices.
Cheesesteak sliders ($15) - 5 mini burgers served in a long plate. Freshly toasted buns sandwiching a slab of beef and cheese sauce, this was a really good savory starter. The beef especially was done just nice and no 'beefy' taste at all. Good!
Cobb Salad ($11) - A haphazard mix of corn, lettuce, tomatoes, minced egg, onions, croutons, radish slices, and bacon. The mix did not gel together very well; it felt like the chef took whatever was available and threw it together. We declined the blue cheese dressing and had red wine vinegrette instead, which was quite good but not enough to save the dish.
Blueberry Waffles ($12) - A big round waffle that came with scattered real blueberries and crumbs; a smaller-than-expected scoop of walnut ice cream sat on top. Fluffy and fragrant but it was still quite heavy considering it was under the dessert section.
Managed to speak to one of their more senior staff and apparently they focus alot on their food, which is good I guess.
BUT YOU HAVE TO CHECK YOUR BILL BEFORE YOU SIGN IT. Because mine came without them factoring in the 1-4-1 prices, so I asked them to amend it and the correct bill came thereafter. They also gave me the void charge slip, and when had the chance to look at it, to my horrors, I realised that I would have signed for a $200 bill if I had not checked it. Why? Because the bill with the wrong prices added up to $91, and they had the audacity to incluce a $109 tips (yes, TIPS).
I wished I could have noticed it on the spot; I would really love to hear their explanation on this. To me, this could not be a typo error. And I am sure there are people who are used to signing their bill without checking. I find it quite disgusting that they resort to this to rake in the bucks.
I would come here again as the drinks and food are not too bad, BUT of course I will now scrutinize my bill even more. Please take note!!! That explains my 1 star rating for 'service'.
Rating given:
Not too bad~
Dropped by for an impromptu visit just to check out the place but ended up eating dinner there. Might as well. Occupying the space vacated by Subway, the seating was small, perhaps about 30 pax will fill up the place nicely.
As the name suggests, seating is all benches alongside equally stark tables, a little like canteen style where you have to slot yourself into the seat. You order at the counter which has the menu, pay, take your number, and wait. The chalkboard provides for easy browsing too.
Soft-shell crab burger ($8.20) - the sauce tasted like real chilli-crab sauce, and the piece of crab was the actual thingy and not some paste etc. Good start! The cabbage was fresh and provided a very nice crunch to the burger. Bun was soft although not wow.
Potato crisps ($1.00) - You can add this one to any burger order for $1 which is recommended because otherwise the burger alone looks quite sad. There was a slightly different crunch to it as opposed to mass market chips and was still quite warm when it reached us. It is supposedly home-made from scratch although my dinner buddy mentioned that fresh potaotes should be a bit softer and not too crisp.
Wasabi butter-fish burger ($8.20) - Nice! Big slab of actual fish with cabbage and a slice of sweet tomato. Nice dose of the wasabi sauce, although there was no hint of the usual wasabi 'kick' and the bitterness of it came across as a little strang. We later found out that the bitterness came from the addition of mustard and roasted saseme seeds; and they adjusted the original level of spiciness after feedback from other customers. Taste are subjective I guess.
Actually the burgers were much smaller than expected; perhaps they had to adjust the prices to accommodate the younger crowd at Cineleisure, and hence accordingly the portion.
Service was quite haphazard, with only 1 staff taking orders, another serving the tables, and I think a 3rd making the burgers. We could see the staff serving the wrong orders a few times despite the small seatings; and our request to hold the mayo was overlooked, although it was replaced with a fresh one after alerting.
You'd also have to cut your own if you'd like to halve your burgers to share, as the staff advised that the kitchen is typically to busy for such extra requests, and they give you a pair of knife and fork (the orders do not come with these and most eat with their hands). Chilli sauce also came in fastfood-style packs.
Kudos to the staff who asked for our feedback and the 'chef' who came out of the kitchen to speak to us personally. I thought it was quite receptive of them to hear from us.
Prices may be pricer than say Mos Burger when size of the burgers are very close, so that may turn some teenagers off. But if you feel like a tiny splurge without having to go all the way to Relish, this is perhaps the mini-alternative to it.
They also have a little 'introduction' about the ingredients they use on the tables, which after reading will make you feel that your little splurge may be worth it after all.
Rating given: