All 7 of us went there happily craving dim sum but there wasn't any. It was the last day of the CNY and they didnt serve dim sum. So we settled for whatever they were offering ala carte.
Deep fried silver fish - I thoght this was the best dish of the day. Crunchy fish tossed with a tangy sauce that reminded me of what you get with a Thai salad. Quite a refreshingbite.
Fried carrot cake - didnt know where this came from as it wasn't on the menu and they said the dim sum dishes are not available. The fragrance was really nice but the taste didnt up to it. Too bland.
Roasted meat - 9 tiny cubes of pork. Warned by lunch mates, I lifted a piece to my nose and make the clever decision not to eat it. It smelt like a whole pig has been condensed into the tiny cube, resulting in a terribly overwhelming porky smell (and taste). Bravo to the 2 gentlemen at the table who ate more than one cube. One spat it out right after putting it into her mouth.
Peking Duck - Very nice presentation but taste didnt match up, again. The skin was not crispy enough and the sauce was overly watery. The crackers that came with it tasted bland too.
Fish done in two ways stired fried with asparagus - We were told this was only available that day. It essentially was garoupa sliced and stired fried, with the more bony parts of the fish deep fried to add to the volumne of the dish. Other than the fact that the fish was fresh, nothing special.
Prawn done in 2 ways - 2 deep fried prawns in wasabi and laksa sauce. Nicely presented in a glass and wasabi was okay, but what laksa????
Tofu with crab meat sauce and brocolli - bland tofu covered in bland roe-colpured crab meat sauce. The only saviour of the dish are the brocolli which added a nice crunch.
Fried rice with duck meat - we chose for the duck meat to be done this way. Was much more flavourful than the previous dishes but couldnt finish the single portion; a tad too oily.
Service was not too bad, although the lady who served us a few times had a perpetual frown on her face. We never found out why. Tea was refilled efficiently. Ambience felt Chinese grandeur in warm brownish tones.
Be warned that some dishes and tea are charged at per pax. Bill came up to $50 per pax, which was really not justified for the quality we got. For the same price we could have had many other options that will result a satisfying lunch. If they deliver this quality of food at their supposedly up-market outlet, I dread to think what the other outlets serve. Oh, and we were not told the fish was $80 which was pricer than the duck at $68.
The conclusion was maybe their dim sum is worth another shot, but I'm not sure.
And my pursuit of a great burger continues, with a visit to Fat Boys, which has recently been voted by "users" as the best burger joint in a popular local food website. I am skeptical about the validity of the data but no harm giving Fat Boys a try anyways, seeing that it's about a 15 min drive from my place and prices seem reasonable enough.
The place is casual and laid back, with bench seats and high bar tables accommodating about 20-30 pax or so. If it's only you and your partner, sharing a table during meal periods might be the norm rather than the exception. The menu is rather simple and the main focus is on the burgers where you can choose from existing options or have your burger customised.
DIY Burger - This burger was customised to include a chicken patty topped with sauteed mushrooms, drizzled with their homemade BBQ sauce on a white sesame bun. First looks, the huge patty oozed appetising with evident grill streaks running the breadth of the patty. Now came the bummer(s). The patty was made up from minced chicken and wasn't the whole piece of meat I was expecting. That meant a loss in texture and taste. The mushrooms were a little dry while the bun was merely average. And to be honest, the BBQ sauce tasted, well, like bottled BBQ sauce.
Fat Bastard - Apparently one of the respresentative dish of Fat Boys, the Fat Bastard was a mean double beef patty with an egg sandwiched between and topped with bacon strips. Greedy me opted for extra sauteed mushrooms with that and the end result was a humongous burger that threatened to burst my belly. That would have been an ideal scenario if the burger had been good. Unfortunately, the converse was true. The beef patty was overcooked but was surprisingly "juicy", which led to the conclusion that it was frozen patty. Also, the texture was very fine, probably machine chopped. Most disappointing!
After a 15% discount, the bill stood at about $23 ($27 before discount). In absolute terms, that price isn't too expensive but factor in quality and there seems to be some disparity. In short, inexpensive but average burgers at best. Service was decent though, if that's any consolation.
Right on the heels of a romantic dinner at Forlino, I had another amazing Italian feast – the following day. The original plan was to have a simple lunch somewhere else.
“Why don’t we go to Valentino?” I asked jokingly.
Apparently, my lunch date took it very seriously. To cut the story short, we ended up at Valentino’s after calling to confirm a table. Stepping inside Ristorante Da Valentino, it feels like we are in our charming Italian neighbours’ house for dinner.
Most squid ink pasta, or at least the ones that I’ve tried, had the quirky and murky flavor. This one tasted like squid ink. It tasted like fresh ink extracted on the spot.
Like the one that I’ve at Forlino the night before, the Fettucine al Granchio ($23.9) here was also infused with squid ink. Huge chunks of crab meat with the fettucine, tossed with the creamy tomato sauce – it was absolutely wicked!
Now we have a problem. I want every slurp of the pasta. No, I do not want to share.
Option A: Finish everything and re-order before my partner returns from the washroom. Option B: Try to convince her that the mushroom risotto is better than the squid ink pasta. I could see no Option C, even though I was secretly praying that she’d not like the pasta.
Unfortunately not. In case you are wondering, we wiped the plate clean. I’d die for the squid ink pasta, or less dramatically, save up and come here every week – just for this.
I want Risotto. My dear Seafood linguine, it doesn’t mean I don’t like you anymore. It just means right now, I’m craving for risotto more.
Mushroom risotto has a very important place in my heart. I don’t always order it, but when I do – it has to be good. Maybe subconsciously, we wanted more of the squid ink pasta, or maybe we had small appetite that day. Either way, just a word of caution: see the plate of Porcini Mushroom Risotto ($23.9) up there? It might not look like a lot, but trust me, both of us couldn’t finish it.
Sweetie, it’s desserts, and Perla’s Pastry Boutique is calling!
Right beside the restaurant, there is Perla’s patisserie by Valentino’s sister. There’s no dine-in area for the patisserie, but the desserts are available if you are dining in the restaurant. It was an agonizing choice between the tiramisu, panna cotta, frutti bosco and their signature chantilly cake. But the sight of the gorgeous mixed berries were simply irresistible.
There’s a wise saying that goes like this: never trust a beautiful woman, and if I can add on to it, never trust the beautiful berries to taste sweet. Call me shallow, but I actually fall for it. Oh well, what to do, I’m superficial. Anyway I believe there’s blackberries, raspberries and strawberries in the Frutti Bosco ($8.80).
* * *
A romantic dinner for two is not necessary just about fantastic view or fanciful cuisine. Lovely, lovely place. Valentino is my definition of a romantic restaurant, it is all about us having good food in a cozy ambiance. Here’s a restaurant for Valentine’s day, reservations are definitely a must for dinner.
I’m going to bring all my friends to Ristorante Da Valentino for their homely, authentic Italian food. Rifle range road is directly opposite King’s Albert Park & Bukit Timah Plaza. Pick up your phone, and dial the eight digit numbers. Get on with it.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
The hotel was having a good deal of 2nd night being free so we had a 3d2n staycation over the Hari Raya long weekend. Check in was 2pm but was informed at 3pm that the room was not ready. I had the choice of waiting or 'upgraded' to a shophouse room which was on the 2nd floor; I picked the latter.
It was highlighted that the room was in another wing would be quite a walk, but it turned out to be about 5mins walk which was not too bad. When I entered the room, I wondered if I had really been upgraded.
'Shophouse' meant stark wooden furnishings and non-carpeted floors (I'm a carpet person), definitely not as special as I thought it would be. On closer inspection, the carpet that was in front of the TV set was littered with hair and dust, something the housekeeping had obviously missed out on. The rest of the room was just that, and to be honest, I felt the room was not deserving of 5-star rating at all, even though it is quite spacious (it had plenty of space even after adding 2 extra beds). The 'upgrade' was overhyped; perhaps the normal rooms would be even better?
For some reason the temperare of my room seemed to be stuck at a freezing level and refused to warm up even a little even though I tried to set it at the lowest fan speed and warmest temperature available. We were all absolutely freezing inside. I mentioned to the front desk on my way out and were told the technician will take a look. When I came back, I enquired and was told the technician had gone into and left the room already. I asked if then he mentioned there was anything wrong or did he rectify anything, I was given no answer because " the technician usually doesn't tell us or report to us after checking". So erm, what was the purpose of the visit then?? We decided to freeze our brains for the rest of the stay since the hotel couldnt do anything about it.
Didnt have the chance to try the breakfast, but the high tea at the lobby lounge was pricey at $40 per person but little variety and taste too. Don't go for that.
I came with high expectation because this is a 5-star property but was rather disappointed at how the 'upgrade' turned out to be and the apparent lack of going the extra mile for in-house guests, and maintaince of the property. The outside and common areas of the hotel looks good though so maybe they're just really neglecting the rooms. Will post the pictures when I get them from my friends.
We couldnt resist the excellent offer of having 50% off weekends from their Jan10 sale so it was a stayacation for us from 19-21 Feb (3d2n). It was also nice of the reservation team to offer to upgrade us to the Executive floor after I made some feedback about the room rates, so kudos to that.
Our classic twin-bedded room was on the 30th floor, offering views of Suntec City. The room at 40sm felt smaller than most as the bathroom occupied a sizeable portion of the room. Beddings and furniture were all very well maintained, although am not sure it was because we were on the Executive floor. Bathroom amenities were more than sufficient and the conrad bear was a quite signature touch for guests. The only thing is I didnt quite understand the layout of the TV as it was placed adjacent to the beds, which made watching TV quite tricky. The beds were terribly comfortable too!
Requests for extra bottled water, towels, and ice buckets were met with quickly, and I had 2 pieces of laundry pressed as part of the perks of the Exe floor, which was returned very efficiently as well.
We spent most of our time at the Executive Lounge as the aim of the trip was really to just relax and enjoy. I would recommend anyone to take the Executive floor rooms as the Lounge has complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea from 2:30pm - 5pm, then evening tapas from 5:30pm - 8pm. And its free flow of coffee, tea, soft drinks, wine, and sparkling wine, and housepours all day until 11pm. Basically you can have all your meals there if you want.
Quality of food was also excellent given that it was offered complimentry. I had sandwiches, dim sum, chips, sweets, pralines, cheese platter etc and all were very good. They even have a nespresso machine for you to make your own coffee.
In particular, Roy from the Executive Lounge represented the hotel magnificantly. Throughout my stays and travels, I have never ever experienced such a high level of service from any hotel. He was courteous, attentive without being intrusive, and indeed efficient. He made us feel totally welcomed at the lounge, despite the fact that we were probably one of the youngest group at the lounge. He went out of his way to ensure our needs were met, and always had a smile on his face even during busy periods. We observed that he delivered the same level of service to the other guests at the Lounge.
The above, does also come with a slight comparison to a lady staff at the same Lounge during the stay unfortunately. We might have been mistaken as she may have been in a bad mood that day, but we encountered disdain in her eyes when we first entered the Lounge on 19 Feb, and throughout the afternoon she never served us at all nor smiled. At that time, the Lounge was slightly occupied with a few groups of non-locals, so we were the only local (and younger in age) group that afternoon. Regardless of what was the cause behind her attitude, it should not have happened, especially at the Lounge. And we caught her a few times slouching against the Lounge walls when not serving guests, which looked quite unsightly.
But otherwise, the stay was most enjoyable. Good location for shopping as the hotel is right next to Suntec, Marina Square and Millenia Walk which offers multiple choices. I am watching out for new promotions and am coming back again if so!
What used to be the famous Sin Leong Restaurant is now renamed as Roland Restaurant and apparently its original owner and the god father of current owner Roland Lim, Chef Sin Leong, was one of the "four heavenly kings" in the culinary world who created yusheng as we know it today. And to add to that history, Roland's family was the "founder" of chilli crab as well as the esteemd Palm Beach Seafood Restaurant, which was sold off in the 80's when the family moved to New Zealand for 15 years.
The restaurant is located at the most unlikely of places, on the top floor of a multi story carpark next to Parkway Parade Shopping Centre - reminiscent of another old time restaurant, Red Star, whose owner was also one of the four "heavenly kings". Roland's interior, however, is more modernised and even boasts a water wall feature at the entrance.
Asparagus with Japanese Mushrooms - An excellent first dish augured well for our dinner. The asparagus were crunchy without being undercooked and in the midst of the mushrooms were generous bits of dried shrimp (虾米) that imparted a distinct unami taste. Most delightful! Look out for chopped chilli in the mix though, because it can get quite spicy.
USA Duck - Purportedly one of the signature dishes of Roland, the USA duck was nothing but a let down. Dry and bland meat led to the conclusion/belief that the duck was frozen. Sure, the skin was a little crisp but that's probably the only positive. And the sauce, which tasted a little like plum sauce - sweet with a little sourish contrast, certainly didn't make things any better.
Prawns with Salted Egg - The prawns were a pretty sight - sizeable and coated with tons of egg frills. But when it came down to what mattered most, the taste test, they faltered. For starters, the prawns were huge and crunchy but not sweet (we couldn't make out any taste of prawn actually). Add to the fact that anything coated with too much soft and paste like egg yolk is a sure recipe for nausea, this dish left us feeling queasy after a few bites.
Owing to Chinese New Year, I am presuming the prices have been marked up (the menu stated CNY menu). Nonetheless, $83 for dinner for 3 pax isn't exactly reasonable, considering that it was still a week before CNY when we patronised. Food quality was average at best, saved only by the asparagus. Some people might argue that Roland is best known for their chilli crab, but with such average dishes, I find it hard to justify a return trip for their crabs, or anything else for that matter.
Remember the times when you were a kid, and blew soap bubbles into the air, making you go ‘aww..’ inside, I have the same feeling when it comes to ice cream too. In this world, not many things can give you that type of feeling and I believe, ice cream is one of them.
You do not need an excuse to eat ice cream.
Whenever I feel happy, I will indulge in ice cream as it makes me even happier. And besides having a patissier to cheer me up when I’m feeling down, ice cream practically does the same thing as it always chase the blues away.
How good can a good ice cream be?
I mean ice cream, being ice cream, is already perfect. How do the ice cream places in Singapore reinvent and continue the trend for something that is already done to death and found everywhere? Well, they either come up with all sorts of fanciful flavors, throw in some exotic toppings, hire pretty girls, let you mix-and-match your own ingredients, reinvent ice cream in the form of sundaes, or this case, milkshakes. Yes, milkshakes.
Ice cream, can never be bad. Even an exceptional ordinary ice cream will taste good when you are craving for it. Unike the other ice cream parlours in Singapore that scramble to compete on the varieties of flavor, the folks behind Once Upon A Milk Shake (OUAM) are a smart bunch; they keep things simple to just a couple of flavor, and package everything nicely.
What’s there not to like when it a) has a catchy name, b) sports a clean and yet bold color in white & purple, c) gives you choices of either ice cream, milkshake, or both, d) comes up with whimsical names like Agent Strawberry and Nutty Peanut Butler.
On the two occasions that I went there, I had the Chocolate Truffle Castle, Sir Cookies & Cream, Vainillapot, and Nutty Peanut Butler. The Chocolate truffle ice cream was awfully good. Thick and chocolaty, there’s no way any chocolate lover can resist this. But it was not my favorite pick, don’t get me wrong, I like chocolate, but I never really fancy chocolate ice cream; chocolate on its own, is already divine.
The Cookies & Cream milkshake, is oh-so-good. There are some renditions of the cookies and cream that are too dense and heavy, while there are others that are too light and hardly have any cookie texture. I like the lush vanilla base that has rich Oreo cookies bits, and at the same time, it’s also not cloyingly sweet. All in one cookie – this is a keeper.
Recently I’m hooked on Vanilla ice cream. Since there’s a huge supply of Ben & Jerry ice cream in my fridge, I’ve been having vanilla ice cream almost every day for the past week. Vanilla, is perhaps the simplest flavor there is, and yet the hardest to attain perfection. I think it’s the nature of vanilla, the subtle, yet sweetly-flavored, distinct elegant taste that appeals to me. Vanilla milkshake, anyone?
Peanut butter can perhaps, be mentioned in the same legendary status like Nutella. Peanut butter, I’m sure, was invented for the sole purpose of satisfying the wildest desire of the human species. Oh yes, there is the lovely strawberry jam, those are great, but it pales in comparison when you put it side by side with peanut butter. The richness of the thick and creamy peanut butter milkshake simply makes anything ordinary, taste delicious. It’s so addictive that you will eat it straight from the jar.
Which makes it a pity when my friend claimed that she had tasted better Peanut butter milkshake elsewhere before. Perhaps the one here, is still not the one to beat.
The milkshakes are available in 2 sizes (mini @ $3.30 and regular @ $5.50). The mini ones are really tiny, but I’d go for mini and try different flavors. Best ice cream and milkshake in Singapore? Maybe, maybe not. But does it really matter?
Among all the ice cream parlours in Singapore, Once Upon A Milkshake (OUAM) is all about gimmicks, but I love it! You know what? It’s like a guy knowing that the girl is lying to him, and yet, is willing to be deceived. I know I’m superficial. Whatever, I’m a sucker for all things pretty.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
The outlet have a good sized couch area right in front of the band set which wasnt playing when I was there that night. I guess low tables are good for having ice cream and catching up but I found the couch seats rather bad for people who want some privacy chat.
Each scoop costs $5.50 if Im not wrong, and is already more pricey than most brands around. Because there was about 8 of us, the satff cheerfully recommended the Merlionster, which was 6 scoops topped with various stuff like bananas and brownies. It was probably our fault too for not looking too carefully at the prices, but we never thought it will cost $32.90.
Technically, it is still cheaper than if you would have ordered 6 ala carte scoops. BUT they could have done much better than to squash all 6 scoops into a tiny plastic bowl with whatever 'vairious stuff' it was supposed to hold threatening to drop off the edge of it. This was by far the most expensive ice cream I had ever had. I shudder to think how the Vermonster looks like for the charge of $88.00.
And I had the Snapple at $3.90 instead of their signature milkshakes which were $8.90 for a small size cup.
Chose this quiet spot for a company dinner, and ala carte's buffet always a good choice as guests then do not worry about ordering more items and thus adding costs, and there's no need to walk about and disrupting conversations.
The ala carte buffet is a quite comprehensive range of starters, mains, soups, and desserts; including oysters and sashimi, sushi, and shabu shabu. $42 per pax for weekends and $52 for weekdays seem like an odd promo at first but perhaps given that most of the weekend crowd there will not consider this as a dining option, it is a good pull factor.
We had the long booth seat for our big group on the mezzaine level which provided maximum privacy but it meant a difficult task getting the attention of service staff. They also have pull out drawers for your shoes while providing slippers if you like. Nice touch.
Shabu shabu - this is one of rare times I actually like beef. Thinly sliced beef sloshed in stock was very good and indicative of the things to come.
Salmon sashimi - thickly sliced and very fresh. We ordered more than 1 serving of course.
Vegetable spring roll - a little like the Vietnamese spring roll but without the beehoon. Refreshing on the palette and a healthy option against all the meaty stuff.
Deep fried shrimp - the first time I tried is was at Ichibantei at Liang Court and was hooked. The shrimps were deep fried to a nice crunch and was very addicitvely savoury.
Asparagus in blue cheese sauce - Im not a blue cheese fan and found the cheese overpowering. Couldnt actually taste the sweetness of the veg. Strange combination too.
Prawn tempura - sweet crunchy prawns in non-oily batter, done very well.
Eel fried rice - I didnt taste too much eel but was too full by then to take a second bite.
Coconut creme brulee - yes I know, creme brulee in a Jap restaurant? It turned out to be one of their signature dessert and although I dont like creme brulees in general and declined to taste it, I know of ladies who can take 4 servings at one go, after dinner.
Guests can be seated at 6pm and leave at 11pm, so you can basically stuff yourself for all you want and stagger out of the place thereafter. Its probably better for catching up with girl friends than dates or couple's night out though.
Dropped by the Mandarin Gallery branch on a busy Saturday afternoon and the place was packed. Informed the staff that I needed a table for 2 and she said okay and walked off, so I waited, only to realise that there was another entrance to the area where people were waiting too. Then 2 ladies who just came in breezed right past me and parked themselves at a newly vacated table. Huh? I asked the staff which side was the correct queue, and she sheepishly said, oh both sides. I had to ask then can I be seated soon as the 2 ladies came after me had already seated themselves. It took another staff to come to me to offer me a table. They should really re-look their queue system.
Service and system aside, we ordered some bites to share:
Lemon meringue tart - the lemon was not strong enough and the pastry dissappointedly dry.
Thick cut fries - it looked like it came from a frozen pack, sadly, although it was served piping hot. Came with a mustard dip that was quite addictive.
Long Black - Credits to a good long black. Nicely pressed and acidic.
Will seriously re-consider about dropping by again.
1=SGD 0.0587
Sorely disappointed
All 7 of us went there happily craving dim sum but there wasn't any. It was the last day of the CNY and they didnt serve dim sum. So we settled for whatever they were offering ala carte.
Deep fried silver fish - I thoght this was the best dish of the day. Crunchy fish tossed with a tangy sauce that reminded me of what you get with a Thai salad. Quite a refreshingbite.
Fried carrot cake - didnt know where this came from as it wasn't on the menu and they said the dim sum dishes are not available. The fragrance was really nice but the taste didnt up to it. Too bland.
Roasted meat - 9 tiny cubes of pork. Warned by lunch mates, I lifted a piece to my nose and make the clever decision not to eat it. It smelt like a whole pig has been condensed into the tiny cube, resulting in a terribly overwhelming porky smell (and taste). Bravo to the 2 gentlemen at the table who ate more than one cube. One spat it out right after putting it into her mouth.
Peking Duck - Very nice presentation but taste didnt match up, again. The skin was not crispy enough and the sauce was overly watery. The crackers that came with it tasted bland too.
Fish done in two ways stired fried with asparagus - We were told this was only available that day. It essentially was garoupa sliced and stired fried, with the more bony parts of the fish deep fried to add to the volumne of the dish. Other than the fact that the fish was fresh, nothing special.
Prawn done in 2 ways - 2 deep fried prawns in wasabi and laksa sauce. Nicely presented in a glass and wasabi was okay, but what laksa????
Tofu with crab meat sauce and brocolli - bland tofu covered in bland roe-colpured crab meat sauce. The only saviour of the dish are the brocolli which added a nice crunch.
Fried rice with duck meat - we chose for the duck meat to be done this way. Was much more flavourful than the previous dishes but couldnt finish the single portion; a tad too oily.
Service was not too bad, although the lady who served us a few times had a perpetual frown on her face. We never found out why. Tea was refilled efficiently. Ambience felt Chinese grandeur in warm brownish tones.
Be warned that some dishes and tea are charged at per pax. Bill came up to $50 per pax, which was really not justified for the quality we got. For the same price we could have had many other options that will result a satisfying lunch. If they deliver this quality of food at their supposedly up-market outlet, I dread to think what the other outlets serve. Oh, and we were not told the fish was $80 which was pricer than the duck at $68.
The conclusion was maybe their dim sum is worth another shot, but I'm not sure.
Taste Paradise: please buck up.
Rating given:
And my pursuit of a great burger continues, with a visit to Fat Boys, which has recently been voted by "users" as the best burger joint in a popular local food website. I am skeptical about the validity of the data but no harm giving Fat Boys a try anyways, seeing that it's about a 15 min drive from my place and prices seem reasonable enough.
The place is casual and laid back, with bench seats and high bar tables accommodating about 20-30 pax or so. If it's only you and your partner, sharing a table during meal periods might be the norm rather than the exception. The menu is rather simple and the main focus is on the burgers where you can choose from existing options or have your burger customised.
DIY Burger - This burger was customised to include a chicken patty topped with sauteed mushrooms, drizzled with their homemade BBQ sauce on a white sesame bun. First looks, the huge patty oozed appetising with evident grill streaks running the breadth of the patty. Now came the bummer(s). The patty was made up from minced chicken and wasn't the whole piece of meat I was expecting. That meant a loss in texture and taste. The mushrooms were a little dry while the bun was merely average. And to be honest, the BBQ sauce tasted, well, like bottled BBQ sauce.
Fat Bastard - Apparently one of the respresentative dish of Fat Boys, the Fat Bastard was a mean double beef patty with an egg sandwiched between and topped with bacon strips. Greedy me opted for extra sauteed mushrooms with that and the end result was a humongous burger that threatened to burst my belly. That would have been an ideal scenario if the burger had been good. Unfortunately, the converse was true. The beef patty was overcooked but was surprisingly "juicy", which led to the conclusion that it was frozen patty. Also, the texture was very fine, probably machine chopped. Most disappointing!
After a 15% discount, the bill stood at about $23 ($27 before discount). In absolute terms, that price isn't too expensive but factor in quality and there seems to be some disparity. In short, inexpensive but average burgers at best. Service was decent though, if that's any consolation.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Right on the heels of a romantic dinner at Forlino, I had another amazing Italian feast – the following day. The original plan was to have a simple lunch somewhere else.
“Why don’t we go to Valentino?” I asked jokingly.
Apparently, my lunch date took it very seriously. To cut the story short, we ended up at Valentino’s after calling to confirm a table. Stepping inside Ristorante Da Valentino, it feels like we are in our charming Italian neighbours’ house for dinner.
Most squid ink pasta, or at least the ones that I’ve tried, had the quirky and murky flavor. This one tasted like squid ink. It tasted like fresh ink extracted on the spot.
Like the one that I’ve at Forlino the night before, the Fettucine al Granchio ($23.9) here was also infused with squid ink. Huge chunks of crab meat with the fettucine, tossed with the creamy tomato sauce – it was absolutely wicked!
Now we have a problem. I want every slurp of the pasta. No, I do not want to share.
Option A: Finish everything and re-order before my partner returns from the washroom. Option B: Try to convince her that the mushroom risotto is better than the squid ink pasta. I could see no Option C, even though I was secretly praying that she’d not like the pasta.
Unfortunately not. In case you are wondering, we wiped the plate clean. I’d die for the squid ink pasta, or less dramatically, save up and come here every week – just for this.
I want Risotto. My dear Seafood linguine, it doesn’t mean I don’t like you anymore. It just means right now, I’m craving for risotto more.
Mushroom risotto has a very important place in my heart. I don’t always order it, but when I do – it has to be good. Maybe subconsciously, we wanted more of the squid ink pasta, or maybe we had small appetite that day. Either way, just a word of caution: see the plate of Porcini Mushroom Risotto ($23.9) up there? It might not look like a lot, but trust me, both of us couldn’t finish it.
Sweetie, it’s desserts, and Perla’s Pastry Boutique is calling!
Right beside the restaurant, there is Perla’s patisserie by Valentino’s sister. There’s no dine-in area for the patisserie, but the desserts are available if you are dining in the restaurant. It was an agonizing choice between the tiramisu, panna cotta, frutti bosco and their signature chantilly cake. But the sight of the gorgeous mixed berries were simply irresistible.
There’s a wise saying that goes like this: never trust a beautiful woman, and if I can add on to it, never trust the beautiful berries to taste sweet. Call me shallow, but I actually fall for it. Oh well, what to do, I’m superficial. Anyway I believe there’s blackberries, raspberries and strawberries in the Frutti Bosco ($8.80).
* * *
A romantic dinner for two is not necessary just about fantastic view or fanciful cuisine. Lovely, lovely place. Valentino is my definition of a romantic restaurant, it is all about us having good food in a cozy ambiance. Here’s a restaurant for Valentine’s day, reservations are definitely a must for dinner.
I’m going to bring all my friends to Ristorante Da Valentino for their homely, authentic Italian food. Rifle range road is directly opposite King’s Albert Park & Bukit Timah Plaza. Pick up your phone, and dial the eight digit numbers. Get on with it.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
Dated property and freezing shophouse room
The hotel was having a good deal of 2nd night being free so we had a 3d2n staycation over the Hari Raya long weekend. Check in was 2pm but was informed at 3pm that the room was not ready. I had the choice of waiting or 'upgraded' to a shophouse room which was on the 2nd floor; I picked the latter.
It was highlighted that the room was in another wing would be quite a walk, but it turned out to be about 5mins walk which was not too bad. When I entered the room, I wondered if I had really been upgraded.
'Shophouse' meant stark wooden furnishings and non-carpeted floors (I'm a carpet person), definitely not as special as I thought it would be. On closer inspection, the carpet that was in front of the TV set was littered with hair and dust, something the housekeeping had obviously missed out on. The rest of the room was just that, and to be honest, I felt the room was not deserving of 5-star rating at all, even though it is quite spacious (it had plenty of space even after adding 2 extra beds). The 'upgrade' was overhyped; perhaps the normal rooms would be even better?
For some reason the temperare of my room seemed to be stuck at a freezing level and refused to warm up even a little even though I tried to set it at the lowest fan speed and warmest temperature available. We were all absolutely freezing inside. I mentioned to the front desk on my way out and were told the technician will take a look. When I came back, I enquired and was told the technician had gone into and left the room already. I asked if then he mentioned there was anything wrong or did he rectify anything, I was given no answer because " the technician usually doesn't tell us or report to us after checking". So erm, what was the purpose of the visit then?? We decided to freeze our brains for the rest of the stay since the hotel couldnt do anything about it.
Didnt have the chance to try the breakfast, but the high tea at the lobby lounge was pricey at $40 per person but little variety and taste too. Don't go for that.
I came with high expectation because this is a 5-star property but was rather disappointed at how the 'upgrade' turned out to be and the apparent lack of going the extra mile for in-house guests, and maintaince of the property. The outside and common areas of the hotel looks good though so maybe they're just really neglecting the rooms. Will post the pictures when I get them from my friends.
Rating given:
Mostly enjoyable~
We couldnt resist the excellent offer of having 50% off weekends from their Jan10 sale so it was a stayacation for us from 19-21 Feb (3d2n). It was also nice of the reservation team to offer to upgrade us to the Executive floor after I made some feedback about the room rates, so kudos to that.
Our classic twin-bedded room was on the 30th floor, offering views of Suntec City. The room at 40sm felt smaller than most as the bathroom occupied a sizeable portion of the room. Beddings and furniture were all very well maintained, although am not sure it was because we were on the Executive floor. Bathroom amenities were more than sufficient and the conrad bear was a quite signature touch for guests. The only thing is I didnt quite understand the layout of the TV as it was placed adjacent to the beds, which made watching TV quite tricky. The beds were terribly comfortable too!
Requests for extra bottled water, towels, and ice buckets were met with quickly, and I had 2 pieces of laundry pressed as part of the perks of the Exe floor, which was returned very efficiently as well.
We spent most of our time at the Executive Lounge as the aim of the trip was really to just relax and enjoy. I would recommend anyone to take the Executive floor rooms as the Lounge has complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea from 2:30pm - 5pm, then evening tapas from 5:30pm - 8pm. And its free flow of coffee, tea, soft drinks, wine, and sparkling wine, and housepours all day until 11pm. Basically you can have all your meals there if you want.
Quality of food was also excellent given that it was offered complimentry. I had sandwiches, dim sum, chips, sweets, pralines, cheese platter etc and all were very good. They even have a nespresso machine for you to make your own coffee.
In particular, Roy from the Executive Lounge represented the hotel magnificantly. Throughout my stays and travels, I have never ever experienced such a high level of service from any hotel. He was courteous, attentive without being intrusive, and indeed efficient. He made us feel totally welcomed at the lounge, despite the fact that we were probably one of the youngest group at the lounge. He went out of his way to ensure our needs were met, and always had a smile on his face even during busy periods. We observed that he delivered the same level of service to the other guests at the Lounge.
The above, does also come with a slight comparison to a lady staff at the same Lounge during the stay unfortunately. We might have been mistaken as she may have been in a bad mood that day, but we encountered disdain in her eyes when we first entered the Lounge on 19 Feb, and throughout the afternoon she never served us at all nor smiled. At that time, the Lounge was slightly occupied with a few groups of non-locals, so we were the only local (and younger in age) group that afternoon. Regardless of what was the cause behind her attitude, it should not have happened, especially at the Lounge. And we caught her a few times slouching against the Lounge walls when not serving guests, which looked quite unsightly.
But otherwise, the stay was most enjoyable. Good location for shopping as the hotel is right next to Suntec, Marina Square and Millenia Walk which offers multiple choices. I am watching out for new promotions and am coming back again if so!
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What used to be the famous Sin Leong Restaurant is now renamed as Roland Restaurant and apparently its original owner and the god father of current owner Roland Lim, Chef Sin Leong, was one of the "four heavenly kings" in the culinary world who created yusheng as we know it today. And to add to that history, Roland's family was the "founder" of chilli crab as well as the esteemd Palm Beach Seafood Restaurant, which was sold off in the 80's when the family moved to New Zealand for 15 years.
The restaurant is located at the most unlikely of places, on the top floor of a multi story carpark next to Parkway Parade Shopping Centre - reminiscent of another old time restaurant, Red Star, whose owner was also one of the four "heavenly kings". Roland's interior, however, is more modernised and even boasts a water wall feature at the entrance.
Asparagus with Japanese Mushrooms - An excellent first dish augured well for our dinner. The asparagus were crunchy without being undercooked and in the midst of the mushrooms were generous bits of dried shrimp (虾米) that imparted a distinct unami taste. Most delightful! Look out for chopped chilli in the mix though, because it can get quite spicy.
USA Duck - Purportedly one of the signature dishes of Roland, the USA duck was nothing but a let down. Dry and bland meat led to the conclusion/belief that the duck was frozen. Sure, the skin was a little crisp but that's probably the only positive. And the sauce, which tasted a little like plum sauce - sweet with a little sourish contrast, certainly didn't make things any better.
Prawns with Salted Egg - The prawns were a pretty sight - sizeable and coated with tons of egg frills. But when it came down to what mattered most, the taste test, they faltered. For starters, the prawns were huge and crunchy but not sweet (we couldn't make out any taste of prawn actually). Add to the fact that anything coated with too much soft and paste like egg yolk is a sure recipe for nausea, this dish left us feeling queasy after a few bites.
Owing to Chinese New Year, I am presuming the prices have been marked up (the menu stated CNY menu). Nonetheless, $83 for dinner for 3 pax isn't exactly reasonable, considering that it was still a week before CNY when we patronised. Food quality was average at best, saved only by the asparagus. Some people might argue that Roland is best known for their chilli crab, but with such average dishes, I find it hard to justify a return trip for their crabs, or anything else for that matter.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Remember the times when you were a kid, and blew soap bubbles into the air, making you go ‘aww..’ inside, I have the same feeling when it comes to ice cream too. In this world, not many things can give you that type of feeling and I believe, ice cream is one of them.
You do not need an excuse to eat ice cream.
Whenever I feel happy, I will indulge in ice cream as it makes me even happier. And besides having a patissier to cheer me up when I’m feeling down, ice cream practically does the same thing as it always chase the blues away.
How good can a good ice cream be?
I mean ice cream, being ice cream, is already perfect. How do the ice cream places in Singapore reinvent and continue the trend for something that is already done to death and found everywhere? Well, they either come up with all sorts of fanciful flavors, throw in some exotic toppings, hire pretty girls, let you mix-and-match your own ingredients, reinvent ice cream in the form of sundaes, or this case, milkshakes. Yes, milkshakes.
Ice cream, can never be bad. Even an exceptional ordinary ice cream will taste good when you are craving for it. Unike the other ice cream parlours in Singapore that scramble to compete on the varieties of flavor, the folks behind Once Upon A Milk Shake (OUAM) are a smart bunch; they keep things simple to just a couple of flavor, and package everything nicely.
What’s there not to like when it a) has a catchy name, b) sports a clean and yet bold color in white & purple, c) gives you choices of either ice cream, milkshake, or both, d) comes up with whimsical names like Agent Strawberry and Nutty Peanut Butler.
On the two occasions that I went there, I had the Chocolate Truffle Castle, Sir Cookies & Cream, Vainillapot, and Nutty Peanut Butler. The Chocolate truffle ice cream was awfully good. Thick and chocolaty, there’s no way any chocolate lover can resist this. But it was not my favorite pick, don’t get me wrong, I like chocolate, but I never really fancy chocolate ice cream; chocolate on its own, is already divine.
The Cookies & Cream milkshake, is oh-so-good. There are some renditions of the cookies and cream that are too dense and heavy, while there are others that are too light and hardly have any cookie texture. I like the lush vanilla base that has rich Oreo cookies bits, and at the same time, it’s also not cloyingly sweet. All in one cookie – this is a keeper.
Recently I’m hooked on Vanilla ice cream. Since there’s a huge supply of Ben & Jerry ice cream in my fridge, I’ve been having vanilla ice cream almost every day for the past week. Vanilla, is perhaps the simplest flavor there is, and yet the hardest to attain perfection. I think it’s the nature of vanilla, the subtle, yet sweetly-flavored, distinct elegant taste that appeals to me. Vanilla milkshake, anyone?
Peanut butter can perhaps, be mentioned in the same legendary status like Nutella. Peanut butter, I’m sure, was invented for the sole purpose of satisfying the wildest desire of the human species. Oh yes, there is the lovely strawberry jam, those are great, but it pales in comparison when you put it side by side with peanut butter. The richness of the thick and creamy peanut butter milkshake simply makes anything ordinary, taste delicious. It’s so addictive that you will eat it straight from the jar.
Which makes it a pity when my friend claimed that she had tasted better Peanut butter milkshake elsewhere before. Perhaps the one here, is still not the one to beat.
The milkshakes are available in 2 sizes (mini @ $3.30 and regular @ $5.50). The mini ones are really tiny, but I’d go for mini and try different flavors. Best ice cream and milkshake in Singapore? Maybe, maybe not. But does it really matter?
Among all the ice cream parlours in Singapore, Once Upon A Milkshake (OUAM) is all about gimmicks, but I love it! You know what? It’s like a guy knowing that the girl is lying to him, and yet, is willing to be deceived. I know I’m superficial. Whatever, I’m a sucker for all things pretty.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
Terribly overpriced.
The outlet have a good sized couch area right in front of the band set which wasnt playing when I was there that night. I guess low tables are good for having ice cream and catching up but I found the couch seats rather bad for people who want some privacy chat.
Each scoop costs $5.50 if Im not wrong, and is already more pricey than most brands around. Because there was about 8 of us, the satff cheerfully recommended the Merlionster, which was 6 scoops topped with various stuff like bananas and brownies. It was probably our fault too for not looking too carefully at the prices, but we never thought it will cost $32.90.
Technically, it is still cheaper than if you would have ordered 6 ala carte scoops. BUT they could have done much better than to squash all 6 scoops into a tiny plastic bowl with whatever 'vairious stuff' it was supposed to hold threatening to drop off the edge of it. This was by far the most expensive ice cream I had ever had. I shudder to think how the Vermonster looks like for the charge of $88.00.
And I had the Snapple at $3.90 instead of their signature milkshakes which were $8.90 for a small size cup.
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Value for money ala carte buffet
Chose this quiet spot for a company dinner, and ala carte's buffet always a good choice as guests then do not worry about ordering more items and thus adding costs, and there's no need to walk about and disrupting conversations.
The ala carte buffet is a quite comprehensive range of starters, mains, soups, and desserts; including oysters and sashimi, sushi, and shabu shabu. $42 per pax for weekends and $52 for weekdays seem like an odd promo at first but perhaps given that most of the weekend crowd there will not consider this as a dining option, it is a good pull factor.
We had the long booth seat for our big group on the mezzaine level which provided maximum privacy but it meant a difficult task getting the attention of service staff. They also have pull out drawers for your shoes while providing slippers if you like. Nice touch.
Shabu shabu - this is one of rare times I actually like beef. Thinly sliced beef sloshed in stock was very good and indicative of the things to come.
Salmon sashimi - thickly sliced and very fresh. We ordered more than 1 serving of course.
Vegetable spring roll - a little like the Vietnamese spring roll but without the beehoon. Refreshing on the palette and a healthy option against all the meaty stuff.
Deep fried shrimp - the first time I tried is was at Ichibantei at Liang Court and was hooked. The shrimps were deep fried to a nice crunch and was very addicitvely savoury.
Asparagus in blue cheese sauce - Im not a blue cheese fan and found the cheese overpowering. Couldnt actually taste the sweetness of the veg. Strange combination too.
Prawn tempura - sweet crunchy prawns in non-oily batter, done very well.
Eel fried rice - I didnt taste too much eel but was too full by then to take a second bite.
Coconut creme brulee - yes I know, creme brulee in a Jap restaurant? It turned out to be one of their signature dessert and although I dont like creme brulees in general and declined to taste it, I know of ladies who can take 4 servings at one go, after dinner.
Guests can be seated at 6pm and leave at 11pm, so you can basically stuff yourself for all you want and stagger out of the place thereafter. Its probably better for catching up with girl friends than dates or couple's night out though.
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Dropped by the Mandarin Gallery branch on a busy Saturday afternoon and the place was packed. Informed the staff that I needed a table for 2 and she said okay and walked off, so I waited, only to realise that there was another entrance to the area where people were waiting too. Then 2 ladies who just came in breezed right past me and parked themselves at a newly vacated table. Huh? I asked the staff which side was the correct queue, and she sheepishly said, oh both sides. I had to ask then can I be seated soon as the 2 ladies came after me had already seated themselves. It took another staff to come to me to offer me a table. They should really re-look their queue system.
Service and system aside, we ordered some bites to share:
Lemon meringue tart - the lemon was not strong enough and the pastry dissappointedly dry.
Thick cut fries - it looked like it came from a frozen pack, sadly, although it was served piping hot. Came with a mustard dip that was quite addictive.
Long Black - Credits to a good long black. Nicely pressed and acidic.
Will seriously re-consider about dropping by again.
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