Wasn't easy to find this shop. This shop was hidden in an "ulu" lane near Bugis and I was hot and sweaty all over when I reached the shop.
The interior of this shop was beautiful and unique. I enjoyed browsing at the things sold inside.
There was beautiful shoes, bags, and some accessories inside which were quite cute.
Price was not cheap....
I did not manage to buy the shoes I wanted because even the largest size was too small for me. I think it was the cutting. Too bad. Would be good if they had bigger sizes.
Not really keen to go back again because of it's location...
Had a dinner there with my family and we all enjoyed the meal very much.
It was crowded that evening but the waiters and waitresses were all very very polite. The service was excellent.
The hot chinese tea served was nice, and all dishes were quite delicious as well. Price was reasonable for a restaurant like this.
Herbal roast duck:
Fragrant and tender meat. Tasty.
'Dong Po' pork:
My father liked it alot. I am not a fan of pork but I liked this dish too because it was delicious and did not have those "pork smell".
Fish maw with seafood:
Tasted like shark fin. Not bad.
Fried dou miao:
My favourite vegetable. Tasted fresh and good. Was finished in a short time =P
Food are always associated with places, like when you think of Laksa, Katong laksa instantly comes into mind. And there are also instances when you passed by a particular place, say Maxwell food centre, i dare say people will remember Tian Tian chicken rice as one of the stalls to go to.
Let’s shift our focus to Tiong Bahru, there are quite a lot of food that can triggered your fond memories, like the Tiong Bahru Lor mee, roast meat, bao, chicken rice and a few others. For some food like Nasi Lemak, you can probably named a few good ones like the Adam road and Punggol ones. But how about Chwee Kueh? When you think of Chwee Kueh, Tiong Bahru immediately comes into mind. This only goes to show how good the Tiong Bahu Chwee Kueh is!
Since Tiong Bahru is synonymous with Chwee Kueh, a few other stalls have since then come up and claimed that they are the original Tiong Bahru Chwee Kueh, so who really is the original stall that sells this humble, yet delicious Kueh? For me, there can only be one stall, and that is Jian Bo Shui Kueh.
Jian Bo has been around for as long as I can remember, saying that I have grown up eating their Shui Kueh is not exaggerating. They have been in operations for 50 years already, thats like older than Singapore? Anyway, i dare say the other competitors that uses the “original Tiong Bahru Chwee Kueh” are not as good as them. Even if they are, i also refused to acknowledge it, I’m bias, and Jian Bo Shui Kueh does have sentimental values to me.
The tasty fried chye poh, so good yet so sinful, but at the same time that you can’t help youself saying, “Aunti, 4 Shui Kueh add extra chye poh please!“
The original, one and only Shui Kueh (4 for $1) You ain’t seeing wrongly, 4 delightful Shui Kueh for one dollar. Judging by their good business, I reckon they must have sell at least thousands of Shui Kueh everyday. Otherwise how else do you maintain the rental and expenses just by selling Shui Kueh, and not least 50 years!
Jian Bo Shui Kueh has got a very smooth texture for the cake, add some savoury chye poh and you are done! For the health conscious, maybe you can have less of the chye poh, but the shui kueh still taste just as nice.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
You remember when you were a kid, you told your mother “Ma, ma, i dreamt of a pig which was black in colour!”, and your mother chided you for telling ties, since pig is always pinkish in colour, and you shouldn’t spot the colour wrong since pigs in fairy tales and cartoons are always pink. Well, it won’t be a problem next time when you visit Tampopo and tell your mother that the pig there is really black!
Tampopo’s famous for their black pig, or Kurobuta, which is known to rear in Kagoshima prefecture. Kurobuta is to the pig, like what wagyu is to the beef. They are supposed to be stress-free, making the meat more tender and superior to the other form of pork.
Tampopo recently shifted to its new premise on the ground floor on Liang court, a far cry from the old one at the basement within Mei-di-ya supermarket. The new restaurant boost seating capacity of more than 80 (my rough estimates). The use of wooden bamboo forms a good contrast to the contemporary decorations, and the conveyor belt completes the interior.
I had made a reservation for 4 people after doing some research online as people mentioned that they always got a long queue, especially so during meal times. True to the comments, there was a surging line outside Tampopo when we got there at 7.30pm.
The conveyor belt within Tampop isn’t what you see in Japanese chains like Sakae sushi, the one here is special because it can automatically deliver food from the kitchen to your table. And you can’t “pick up” the food on the conveyer belt since the plates are programmed by magnetic fields, which are designated to deliver to the particular tables.
But from what i understands, the conveyor belt is still a experiment in progress, and not all of the dishes can be delivered using the belt, only particular items like sushi and some other smaller dishes can go through the belt for now.
Gyoza ($5.80) We started off with Gyoza, the Japanese version of our Chinese dumplings or “jiaozi“. The notable difference between the Japanese style Gyoza and the Chinese style “jiaozi” are the rich garlic flavors in the Japanese rendition, and Gyoza is served with soy-based dipping sauce. I’m not too sure whether its just me, but I found that the Japanese version had a thicker skin compared to the chinese style.
The gyoza here was slightly “charred” on the outside, but below the skin, the mixture of minced pork and garlic was very balanced. A good appetizer to share around and start your meal.
Normal grade loin cutlet ($21.80) I had the normal grade loin cutlet with rice set only because their top grade loin was sold out! I was actually quite frustrated because i had came with the sole purpose of trying their signature top grade loin, and how could a restaurant sold out so quickly by 7.30pm on a Saturday dinner!
Nevertheless, i must say that their normal grade was already very good. Pork cutlet in the hands of less skillful chef would be ruin by over-fried and too oily and dry, but the one here was done just right, the breaded crust was light and had a melt-in-your-mouth effect, and under the crispy exterior was juicy, tender meat.
I’ll say Tampopo’s pork loin is on par with the one that i had at Tetsu, although the one here was smaller and leaner. Tetsu definitely had a more generous cut of the pork loin. But the one that i had here was only the normal grade and i hate to think what will Tampopo’s top grade pork loin be like.
Omelette rice ($10) The omelette rice was done very nicely, with Japanese pearl rice wrapped within the soft and thick layer of omelette to good effect. As you all know, Japanese pearl rice is very different from the Thai rice very commonly used in Singapore. The pearl rice has a soft and moist texture, which is very light on the palate. Although there’s nothing spectacular with the omelette rice, it’s a simple dish which you couldn’t find fault with.
Pork loin Yanagawa ($16) We also had the pork loin Yanagawa a la carte, add $4.80 to get a set with rice, miso soup and fruits. I think i’ll prefer my pork loin cutlet to this. The pork loin Yanagawa was literally wet with the egg mixtures, i thought pork cutlet would be nicer dry and crispy than wet and soggy.
Unagi Yanakawa ($12.80) The reason why my friend chose the Unagi Yanakawa was because she wanted unagi, and within budget. This was the cheapest option for Unagi in the menu. I didn’t mind unagi, but i’m not really a fan of Yanakawa-style.
Unagi and tempura box ($18.80) The set came with unagi, prawn tempura, tamago, fruits, and miso soup. Nonetheless, I must say it’s rather value given there’s unagi and tempura. Serving size is certainly not comparable to the one we had at Kyomomoyama, but this one was part of a set, and cheaper too.
The tempura was lightly battered and the prawn was decent in size. However my friend found it to be too oily for her liking, and i nearly fainted when she mentioned that Waraku got better ones. Not that i disliked Waraku, but i just don’t think Waraku is that good, price is reasonable, but food-wise average.
Total bill was $102.65 for 4 people. I do not think that prices at Tampopo are expensive, in fact they are actually quite reasonable, in the range of high tens, to twenty for per person. If you visit Tampopo, their Kurobuta pork loin is certainly one dish you must try.
I wanted dessert but the rest were too full, within Tampopo there was limited choice for desserts, but if you would just head to the basement to Tampopo Deli, a standalone shop for their chiffon cakes and other desserts. Tampopo is actually famous for their ramen, while their sister restaurant Tomton at Central focus on kurobuta pork. I’ll definitely go Tampopo Deli for their chiffon cakes, and Tomton for the top-grade pork loin next time!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Mellben Seafood needs no further introduction in the local scene. Renowned for their claypot crab bee hoon, many food lovers have braved rain and storm to queue up in its heartlands outlet, all just for their crabs. The first Mellben Seafood has been around at Ang Mo Kio for several years now, and it’s until last year where they open this one at Toa Payoh, and i recently also heard that they have a third branch at Pasir Ris.
Prawn paste chicken ($10) The prawn paste chicken or “har cheong kai” is always a dish on our list to order when my family had zi-char. Personally i’ll prefer sweet sour pork to this anytime, but my brother is a fan of chicken. The chicken came pipping hot and the fermented puréed shrimp taste was very evident in the crispy skin. But at $10, the price is slightly higher, as most zi-char stalls offer this dish at $8.
Fried sambal Kangkong ($10) We also seem to have the habit of ordering sambal kangkong. Mellben’s rendition was truly hot and spicy. Again at $10 for a vegetable dish, it was priced higher than the usual $6-8 repertoire.
Chili Crab ($41.80) While patrons to Mellben always order their signature claypot crab bee hoon, we decided to buck the trend and had the chili crab ($38 per kg) instead. Our decision was vindicated, the chili crab proved itself no less than the more popular claypot crab bee hoon counterpart. The thick chili gravy was spicy and slightly sweet, and i particularly enjoyed the eggy taste.
My family’s always has a soft spot for crabs, not me though, i’m too lazy to eat crab. But when i do eat crab, i always take the big pincher, because they are by far the easiest to eat and with the most meat. One bite settles everything, all the fleshy meat into my stomach!`
i’m a sucker for those fried mantou that always come together with the chili crab. Some people will like to drench the whole bun into the chili gravy, but for me i always like to poke a hole in the middle of the bun. After which i’ll put some thick spicy eggy gravy into the middle and let it flow inside. And after the first wonderful bite, i’ll then dipped the remaining bun to get the maximum soak of chili gravy. Heavenly!
Total Bill was $71.50 for 4 people. This is actually quite reasonable for 4 people, but if you examine closely, the price range of the food at Mellben is substaintially higher than the normal zi-char store. This is partly due to the popularity of Mellben, and they are able to commend a slight premium over the rest. The chili crab was excellent, and we will be looking to try the rest of the crab-mates next time.
One thing to note about Mellben though, the two branch at Ang Mo Kio and Toa Payoh are both not within walking distance from the MRT station, which means to say you will need to take a feeder bus in from the interchange which can be quite a chore. Nevertheless, they are selling out the crabs every night, this tells you something about them!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
I felt honoured to be invited for this food tasting in this restaurant which is actually near to my workplace.
I heard that their main business is their variety of sauces, and this restaurant is to showcase their sauces.
The restaurant's decor itself was quite simple and elegant looking. The dishes were also delicious. We ate those recommended dishes thus they should be the best in this restaurant.
Popiah DIY $20 /set
Completely healthy with stewed vegetables in prawn stock and condiments. Had a bit of fun wrapping my own popiah and it tasted good...especially with their sauces.
Chilled Crab with Special Vinegrette Sauce @ $30 /crab Really enjoyed the crabs alot with or without the sauce because they tasted very fresh and they were in quite big pieces...yum...Furthermore, they had been cut well enough for us to eat the crab meats at ease.
The Phoenix Soars @ $21
Yin-Yang boneless Village Wok Chicken The chicken wasn't bad too. Nothing much to comment.
Village Wok Celebration Parade @ $22
A combination of VW award dishes, VW Mustard Roast Crispy Pork and Village BBQ Pork The BBQ pork was not coloured like those normal ones sold outside. Nevertheless, they tasted quite nice when accompanied with the sauces.
Fried Brinjal with Crispy Squid in BXO Sauce @ $15 Aaah~~this was my favourite dish! Ate alot of it and the brinjal pieces tasted really delicious and sweet as they were like emersed with the BXO sauce...They didn't have the strong vegetable taste.
Steamed Pating Fish with Preserved Vegetable @ $44 The preserved vegetable "cai por" was nice but as a matter of fact, I don't like fish. -.-||
Black Pepper Ham Leg @ $23 Voted The Travelling Gourmet’s favorite dish Really big pieces! The skin was crispy and it should had been crispier if we had eaten them earlier. Not bad but I'm not a pork lover. Still had that strong pork taste which I didn't fancy much.
Smiling Fortune Noodle @ $8 (potion served was smaller that day)
Tangy noodles harmonized with delectable fresh prawn essence, topped with prawns. Oh this was nice! The soup was nice especially with chilli powder! I finished drinking the soup!
VW Desserts - Sampler size
Black Glutinous Rice with Coconut Ice-cream @ $4.80
Lemongrass ice-cream
Kaya with bread I can say that the desserts were all satisfactory and I was especially attracted to the lemongrass icecream. It tasted really unique and I didn't feel sick eating it though I was terribly full already. I wanted more in fact. The kaya also tasted good and it was fragrant...It was sweet but not overly sweet. Just nice!
This is almost like a storeroom but very well kept and organised. ViewPoint Trading & Collectibles is one shop that you cannot miss when you're at China Square Central.
Housed with many vintage collectibles, ranging from vintage toys, furnitures, black vinyl records and player, to awesome items that you can hardly (or never) find in the modern days. The shop though not very big, is very well organised and maintained. Items are placed in groups and display in a way that is easy to spot interesting things among the clutter of collectibles.
If you're looking for unique decor for your house, this is a great place to go if you're into the retro and vintage stuff.
The Mid-Autumn festival falls on the 15th of Aug of the Chinese lunar colander every year. People celebrate the festival by eating moon cakes, sipping a cup of tea while appreciating the round moon, while children run about holding their colourful lanterns.
Moon cakes are Chinese pastries eaten during the Mid-Autumn festival, while they traditionally comes in lotus seed paste, the food & beverage experts have constantly come up with creative and exotic ingredients to pair up with the moon cake. Snow skin moon cakes are not uncommon now, with most places offering it as an alternative to the traditional moon cake.
I was given the opportunity for a moon cake-tasting session with Yan Ting’s snow skin moon cake. They are available at the lobby of St Regis hotel, the snow skin moon cake comes in 6 different flavours, and there’s also the traditional baked moon cake to choose from.
St Regis, with the 6 Star luxury hotel tag, pays full attention to detail. According the Yan Ting’s manager, Mr Danny Chan, the box containing the moon cake samplings are made of superior wood and does not come cheap.
Besides the lobby booth, you can also pick up their moon cake directly outside the restaurant on the second level after you finished a meal there.
The box for 8 snow skin moon cakes is also nicely designed, with majesty gold set as the theme. This is a great box to give to relatives, or business associates as gift during the Mid-autumn festival. Alternatively, there’s also another premium gift set which features Yan Ting six uniquely flavoured snow skin moon cake with two tins of Dammann Frères tea, set in an elegantly designed casing.
For the mini snow skin selection, there are 6 different flavours to choose from, you can either have 8 of the same flavour, or choose a mix of all the flavours.
Almond snow skin, martell cordon bleu cognac truffle, custard paste ($8 per piece) Martell drinkers would rejoice with the martell cordon bleu congac moon cake. Made with almond, the snowy-white skin like all the other moon cake bears the signature Chinese name of Yan Ting on the surface.
Beneath the snowy white almond skin, there’s the custard paste filling with the luxurious martell cordon bleu cognac truffle in the heart. The almond taste was quite heavy, together with the strong martell cognac, the overwhelming taste covered the custard paste.
It was interesting to try martell truffle inside a moon cake, and it came in a generous portion. There’s a strong after-taste of the martell truffle. Overall an interesting take on snow skin moon cake, and if you like Martell and almond, this novelty might just work for you.
Seven perfumes snow skin, martell cordon bleu cognac truffle, white lotus paste ($8.5 per piece) This one was quite similar to the previous one, with the use of martell cordon blue cognac truffle, but in place of the almond skin and custard paste were seven perfumes snow skin and white lotus paste respectively.
I love the aromatic and subtle seven perfumes snow skin, which was made from St Regis’s exclusive Dammann Frères tea from France. And at the centre of the moon cake, the martell cordon bleu cognac truffle. There’s no clashing of flavours because the subtle tea snow skin and white lotus paste seemed to blend in perfectly with the stronger Martell truffle.
Almond snow skin, advocaat egg liqueuer truffle, black sesame paste ($5.25 per piece) Besides having custard and lotus paste as fillings, Yan Ting also used the fragrant and rich black sesame paste. Under the dainty white snow skin, the black sesame provided a good contrast to the colour of the moon cake.
I felt that almond worked better with black sesame than custard paste. The advocaat egg liqueur truffle was also unique in its own right. Advocaat is a rich and creamy liqueur made from eggs, sugar and brandy, its smooth taste was rather similar to the almond skin. And the liqueur taste wasn’t as robust as the martell cordon bleu cognac truffle.
Bloody mary snow skin with custard paste ($5.25 per piece) Inspired by the iconic signature cocktail at the original St Regis New York, Yan Ting introduces the first-ever Bloody mary moon cake. The bloody mary snow skin brought the innovation level for moon cakes to another level.
The unique use of bloody mary is worth mentioning, but bloody mary being a mix of vodka and tomato juice, having a stronger taste, covered the custard paste. Personally, I felt that it would be better by combining bloody mary and white lotus paste instead. But I guess Chef Chan Siu Kong and his culinary team would have experience with many different combinations and felt that this is the one that provides a different view.
Seven perfumes snow skin with single yolk and white lotus paste ($6 per piece) Moon cake purist need not fret; the seven perfume snow skin came closest to the traditional moon cake with your white lotus and egg yolk, the only exception the snow skin. The scented Seven perfumes snow skin gave it an edge over other normal snow skin with white lotus paste.
This was the most ordinary and simple moon cake among the snow skin offered by Yan Ting. The superior quality of the white lotus paste meant that it’s not overly-sweet, smooth and silky. Together with the salty egg yolk, like they say, simple is beautiful.
Almond snow skin with premium bird’s nest and custard paste ($28.5 per piece) The moon cake with edible gold foil and premium bird’s nest screams extravagant. The gold foil on the top looked magnificence, I’m not sure about the taste of gold though. This among the 6 flavours, is the most expensive at $28.5 per piece, while the rest are all in the $5-8 repertoire.
Manager Mr. Chan mentioned that 1 “jin” of premium bird’s nest goes into making 4 bird’s nest moon cake. And for once, i thought that the use of custard paste worked very well with the whole-strand bird’s nest. The ultimate indulgence, glittering gold and top-grade bird’s nest.
The total cost of this particular box of 8 snow skin moon cake (mix-and-match) comes up to a princely $75.25. According to St Regis, customers usually get a box of 8 of the same moon cake, otherwise they will purchase St Regis Premium gift set at $98. But as this was a moon cake tasting session, I had the mix of the 6 flavours.
Yan Ting’s extensive use of custard meant that if you do not like custard, then your judgement of Yan Ting moon cake will likely be affected. Nevertheless, they uses top-notch lotus paste, and their unique seven perfume snow skin is very aromatic and i will definitely recommend you to try that at least.
The exotic ingredients such as martell cordon bleu cognac truffle, advocaat egg liqueur truffle, and bloody mary fits the price tag of the moon cakes, and if you do not like liqueur, there’s also a range of traditional baked moon cakes, top quality lotus paste and yolk, fragrant and rich black sesame paste, pandan paste, Jin Hua ham and assorted nuts, all based on recipes of Chef Chan.
The moon cake pricing is indeed hefty, but that is the least you can expected coming from St Regis, the glamorous and prestigious 6 star hotel. Yan Ting. The St. Regis moon cakes are available from special retail booths at Change Alley in Raffles Place and the hotel lobby, by visiting Yan Ting restaurant in the hotel or by placing orders over the phone or email.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
There are different types of restaurants, those that started out small and humble, and then go on to become popular among the connoisseur, and eventually moving on to up-market, and also there are restaurants who started on a bang, but decided to go the other way round, New York New York, of course belongs to the latter.
New York New York (NYNY), started well, with the maiden restaurant at the ever-busy Citylink, which by far a good location, witnessing the everyday crowd moving from City hall to Marina Square, Suntec area.
My initial impression of New York New York was good, even though people told me that their food was average, but i still proceed on to my first visit there. But slowly and surely, NYNY started to venture into the heartlands, with new restaurants at Lot 1, Amk Hub, Heartland mall and downtown east.
Not that NYNY is a very classy restaurant in the first place, but i still find the overall feel to be above average. But it seems that the move into the heartlands is reaping dividends for NYNY, with most of the restaurants being filled up easily every day, especially so during the weekends where the whole family comes out to dine.
New York New York (NYNY), with its big white & green signage, and the trademark light green comfy furnitures, stands out from far. NYNY used the copy-and-paste method for their interior decor to good effects. The particular branch is at Lot 1, taking over the place of the former tenant, Pizza Hut.
By and large the location is a good place as its on the ground floor, and just beside the entrance near the taxi stand. This makes me wonder why Pizza Hut chose to vacant it in the first place.
Caribbean Breeze ($5.90) Frozen pink guava and pineapple juice, which came across as rather sour to us.
Lime lemonade soda ($5.90) Real traditional American lemonade, good and reliable.
Spaghetti Bolognese ($12.90) The spaghetti bolognese with giant meatballs. The pasta is done “al dente” firm yet not too hard. The meatball was really gigantic, well i’m not really a meatball person but my brother seemed to enjoy this simple pasta.
Tagliatelle mushroom alfredo with crispy fish ($12.90) Fish and creamy pasta instead of chips. The pasta was average, i preferred tomato to cream base, and the fish was average nothing spectacular.
Smoked salmon velvet ($9.90) Smoked salmon, tuna mayo, marinated tomatoes, grilled vegetables and sauteed onions made up the Smoked salmon velvet. I felt vegetables in sandwich would be better off being fresh than grilled.
Tagliatelle aglio with fresh seafood ($12.90) Simple and delicious. Extra virgin olive oil with lots of garlic and chili combined perfectly with mixed seafood. I never liked aglio because i found it too dry, and too spicy. But then again, its personal preference.
Juicy beef tenders ($13.90) Under the cloud of the creamy mashed potatos, the beef chunks with gravy was too salty for our liking. We struggled to finish the dish.
Hawaiian pizza ($13.90) The hawaiian pizza came in the thin form with the typical hawaiian toppings like pineapple and ham. 8 slices to share around the table. However, i lamented the fact that the pizza wasn’t cheesy enough.
Total bill was $103.81 for a table of 6, which worked out to an average of around $17 per person. Prices are still within the reasonable range for a mid-tier restaurant. The menu is comprehensive with lots of choices like salad, pasta, pizza, main course, and desserts. Food at NYNY is average at best, judging from the lines of people queuing up for a table at NYNY, I believe we will see more of NYNY opening in other heartland shopping centre.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
It’s a shame that Dim sum isn’t getting the recognition as its Sushi counterparts. The Japanese sushi is also like what Dim sum is to the Chinese cuisine, just that it comes in the form of vinegared rice topped with ingredients like fish, various meats and vegetables.
With the entrée of more Spanish restaurants in the local dining scene, more people knows about tapas, and degustion has always been a firm word on the menu of the French restaurants here. How about dim sum? I think that most youngsters nowadays are not really into dim sum, since it’s often seen as a more traditional meal. Youngsters want to break out of the tradition, they want something hip and cool, and dim sum is not that. Which is cooler, saying you had dim sum, or tapas at the latest Spanish restaurant and a 6 course degustion dinner?
Dim sum is akin a piece of artwork crafted by the chef, so exquisite and refine. No offence to the Sushi-fanatic, but give me dim sum over sliced raw fish anytime.
Every hotel will have their own flagship restaurants in the different cuisines, and at Carlton hotel, Wah Lok is the Cantonese representative. Our latest dim sum adventure brings us here, together with hautestuff and ladies, we had a great time over our dim sum lunch.
Wah Lok is located on the second level within the Carlton hotel, the high ceiling of the restaurant makes the interior looks very spacious. The decor is typical of most Chinese restaurants, with a very comfy and homely feel. There are two different dining halls and can easily fill up on a normal day, which shows the popularity of the restaurant.
Char siew sou ($3.80 for 3) The Baked BBQ pork pastry or more affectionately known as char siew sou, has always been one of the dim sum that i will order first. Wah lok’s version of the char siew sou did not disappoint, within the buttery surface of the pastry were juicy and sweet char siew fillings.
The rendition at Wah lok may not be as refine as the one i had at Yan Ting, nevertheless it’s still better than most char siew sou that i had before, and all of us were tempted to order second helpings.
Baked BBQ pork buns ($3 for 2) We asked the captain for recommendations, and he promptly suggested that we have Wah Lok’s signature, char siew bao. We were rather surprised when the char siew bao came, as it’s not the normal steamed buns which has white pillowry exterior. Instead, the baked counterpart is browned and glazed, more like bo luo bao.
The juicy and sweet char siew was enveloped within the baked pastry. Although we just had the char siew sou which is a different variety made with puff pastry, the pork buns were gone in an instant.
Baked egg tarts ($3.20 for 3) The petite baked egg tarts had smooth and eggy fillings within the puff pastry. The miniature size of the egg tart was the only problem as we only had one each.
Steamed prawn dumplings ($5.40) The steamed prawn dumplings, or “Har Gao” at Wah Lok had fresh, succulent prawns contained by the thinly light skin. Solid and reliable prawn dumplings.
Steamed pork dumplings ($4.60) The steamed pork dumplings or “siew mai” is another dim sum which i would not fail to order. The siew mai was well-balanced, not too porky.
Fried XO carrot cake ($10) The fried xo carrot cake was off-the-menu, which we requested for instead of the steamed carrot cake. However this was a mistake as the carrot cake was bland and too soft for my liking. We couldn’t taste much of the supposedly “oomph” xo sauce. At $10, we would be better off ordering two other basket of dim sum.
Steamed chicken claw with chili ($3) I am never a fan of chicken claw, but the three ladies certainly enjoyed it, munching the chicken feet and spiting out the small bones.
Deep fried beancurd ($5.6) We wanted one more dim sum after our first round, and the waiter recommended this. The deep fried beancurd skin with prawns was excellent. Normally, the beancurd skin would be more than the prawn, but in this instance, the succulent prawn fillings threatened to overshadow the beancurd skin.
Fried mango ice cream ($6) We ended off our dim sum lunch with a very non-chinese dessert. Fried ice cream was a craze a few years back, and i remember there’s even a store at the Tiong Bahru market which used to sell fried ice cream. But not anymore, where can you still find fried ice cream nowadays?
The crispy exterior had a strong hint of coconut taste, while the interior was icy cold ice cream, simply magic, how did they do that?
Total bill was $63.75 for 4 person, which worked out to be around $16 per person. We didn’t really ordered a lot, so the price might seem deceptive, nevertheless, the dim sum at Wah Lok is still priced reasonably given their quality. The portions are quite petite, but it will do for our ladies. I foresee i’ll be coming back to Wah Lok quite often in the near future to try out the rest of the dim sum.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
1=SGD 0.0587
Wasn't easy to find this shop. This shop was hidden in an "ulu" lane near Bugis and I was hot and sweaty all over when I reached the shop.
The interior of this shop was beautiful and unique. I enjoyed browsing at the things sold inside.
There was beautiful shoes, bags, and some accessories inside which were quite cute.
Price was not cheap....
I did not manage to buy the shoes I wanted because even the largest size was too small for me. I think it was the cutting. Too bad. Would be good if they had bigger sizes.
Not really keen to go back again because of it's location...
Rating given:
Had a dinner there with my family and we all enjoyed the meal very much.
It was crowded that evening but the waiters and waitresses were all very very polite. The service was excellent.
The hot chinese tea served was nice, and all dishes were quite delicious as well. Price was reasonable for a restaurant like this.
Herbal roast duck:
Fragrant and tender meat. Tasty.
'Dong Po' pork:
My father liked it alot. I am not a fan of pork but I liked this dish too because it was delicious and did not have those "pork smell".
Fish maw with seafood:
Tasted like shark fin. Not bad.
Fried dou miao:
My favourite vegetable. Tasted fresh and good. Was finished in a short time =P
Prawn ball with mayo sauce:
Nice! Not too oily.
Will update with photos soon.
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Food are always associated with places, like when you think of Laksa, Katong laksa instantly comes into mind. And there are also instances when you passed by a particular place, say Maxwell food centre, i dare say people will remember Tian Tian chicken rice as one of the stalls to go to.
Let’s shift our focus to Tiong Bahru, there are quite a lot of food that can triggered your fond memories, like the Tiong Bahru Lor mee, roast meat, bao, chicken rice and a few others. For some food like Nasi Lemak, you can probably named a few good ones like the Adam road and Punggol ones. But how about Chwee Kueh? When you think of Chwee Kueh, Tiong Bahru immediately comes into mind. This only goes to show how good the Tiong Bahu Chwee Kueh is!
Since Tiong Bahru is synonymous with Chwee Kueh, a few other stalls have since then come up and claimed that they are the original Tiong Bahru Chwee Kueh, so who really is the original stall that sells this humble, yet delicious Kueh? For me, there can only be one stall, and that is Jian Bo Shui Kueh.
Jian Bo has been around for as long as I can remember, saying that I have grown up eating their Shui Kueh is not exaggerating. They have been in operations for 50 years already, thats like older than Singapore? Anyway, i dare say the other competitors that uses the “original Tiong Bahru Chwee Kueh” are not as good as them. Even if they are, i also refused to acknowledge it, I’m bias, and Jian Bo Shui Kueh does have sentimental values to me.
The tasty fried chye poh, so good yet so sinful, but at the same time that you can’t help youself saying, “Aunti, 4 Shui Kueh add extra chye poh please!“
The original, one and only Shui Kueh (4 for $1)
You ain’t seeing wrongly, 4 delightful Shui Kueh for one dollar. Judging by their good business, I reckon they must have sell at least thousands of Shui Kueh everyday. Otherwise how else do you maintain the rental and expenses just by selling Shui Kueh, and not least 50 years!
Jian Bo Shui Kueh has got a very smooth texture for the cake, add some savoury chye poh and you are done! For the health conscious, maybe you can have less of the chye poh, but the shui kueh still taste just as nice.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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You remember when you were a kid, you told your mother “Ma, ma, i dreamt of a pig which was black in colour!”, and your mother chided you for telling ties, since pig is always pinkish in colour, and you shouldn’t spot the colour wrong since pigs in fairy tales and cartoons are always pink. Well, it won’t be a problem next time when you visit Tampopo and tell your mother that the pig there is really black!
Tampopo’s famous for their black pig, or Kurobuta, which is known to rear in Kagoshima prefecture. Kurobuta is to the pig, like what wagyu is to the beef. They are supposed to be stress-free, making the meat more tender and superior to the other form of pork.
Tampopo recently shifted to its new premise on the ground floor on Liang court, a far cry from the old one at the basement within Mei-di-ya supermarket. The new restaurant boost seating capacity of more than 80 (my rough estimates). The use of wooden bamboo forms a good contrast to the contemporary decorations, and the conveyor belt completes the interior.
I had made a reservation for 4 people after doing some research online as people mentioned that they always got a long queue, especially so during meal times. True to the comments, there was a surging line outside Tampopo when we got there at 7.30pm.
The conveyor belt within Tampop isn’t what you see in Japanese chains like Sakae sushi, the one here is special because it can automatically deliver food from the kitchen to your table. And you can’t “pick up” the food on the conveyer belt since the plates are programmed by magnetic fields, which are designated to deliver to the particular tables.
But from what i understands, the conveyor belt is still a experiment in progress, and not all of the dishes can be delivered using the belt, only particular items like sushi and some other smaller dishes can go through the belt for now.
Gyoza ($5.80)
We started off with Gyoza, the Japanese version of our Chinese dumplings or “jiaozi“. The notable difference between the Japanese style Gyoza and the Chinese style “jiaozi” are the rich garlic flavors in the Japanese rendition, and Gyoza is served with soy-based dipping sauce. I’m not too sure whether its just me, but I found that the Japanese version had a thicker skin compared to the chinese style.
The gyoza here was slightly “charred” on the outside, but below the skin, the mixture of minced pork and garlic was very balanced. A good appetizer to share around and start your meal.
Normal grade loin cutlet ($21.80)
I had the normal grade loin cutlet with rice set only because their top grade loin was sold out! I was actually quite frustrated because i had came with the sole purpose of trying their signature top grade loin, and how could a restaurant sold out so quickly by 7.30pm on a Saturday dinner!
Nevertheless, i must say that their normal grade was already very good. Pork cutlet in the hands of less skillful chef would be ruin by over-fried and too oily and dry, but the one here was done just right, the breaded crust was light and had a melt-in-your-mouth effect, and under the crispy exterior was juicy, tender meat.
I’ll say Tampopo’s pork loin is on par with the one that i had at Tetsu, although the one here was smaller and leaner. Tetsu definitely had a more generous cut of the pork loin. But the one that i had here was only the normal grade and i hate to think what will Tampopo’s top grade pork loin be like.
Omelette rice ($10)
The omelette rice was done very nicely, with Japanese pearl rice wrapped within the soft and thick layer of omelette to good effect. As you all know, Japanese pearl rice is very different from the Thai rice very commonly used in Singapore. The pearl rice has a soft and moist texture, which is very light on the palate. Although there’s nothing spectacular with the omelette rice, it’s a simple dish which you couldn’t find fault with.
Pork loin Yanagawa ($16)
We also had the pork loin Yanagawa a la carte, add $4.80 to get a set with rice, miso soup and fruits. I think i’ll prefer my pork loin cutlet to this. The pork loin Yanagawa was literally wet with the egg mixtures, i thought pork cutlet would be nicer dry and crispy than wet and soggy.
Unagi Yanakawa ($12.80)
The reason why my friend chose the Unagi Yanakawa was because she wanted unagi, and within budget. This was the cheapest option for Unagi in the menu. I didn’t mind unagi, but i’m not really a fan of Yanakawa-style.
Unagi and tempura box ($18.80)
The set came with unagi, prawn tempura, tamago, fruits, and miso soup. Nonetheless, I must say it’s rather value given there’s unagi and tempura. Serving size is certainly not comparable to the one we had at Kyomomoyama, but this one was part of a set, and cheaper too.
The tempura was lightly battered and the prawn was decent in size. However my friend found it to be too oily for her liking, and i nearly fainted when she mentioned that Waraku got better ones. Not that i disliked Waraku, but i just don’t think Waraku is that good, price is reasonable, but food-wise average.
Total bill was $102.65 for 4 people. I do not think that prices at Tampopo are expensive, in fact they are actually quite reasonable, in the range of high tens, to twenty for per person. If you visit Tampopo, their Kurobuta pork loin is certainly one dish you must try.
I wanted dessert but the rest were too full, within Tampopo there was limited choice for desserts, but if you would just head to the basement to Tampopo Deli, a standalone shop for their chiffon cakes and other desserts. Tampopo is actually famous for their ramen, while their sister restaurant Tomton at Central focus on kurobuta pork. I’ll definitely go Tampopo Deli for their chiffon cakes, and Tomton for the top-grade pork loin next time!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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Mellben Seafood needs no further introduction in the local scene. Renowned for their claypot crab bee hoon, many food lovers have braved rain and storm to queue up in its heartlands outlet, all just for their crabs. The first Mellben Seafood has been around at Ang Mo Kio for several years now, and it’s until last year where they open this one at Toa Payoh, and i recently also heard that they have a third branch at Pasir Ris.
Prawn paste chicken ($10)
The prawn paste chicken or “har cheong kai” is always a dish on our list to order when my family had zi-char. Personally i’ll prefer sweet sour pork to this anytime, but my brother is a fan of chicken. The chicken came pipping hot and the fermented puréed shrimp taste was very evident in the crispy skin. But at $10, the price is slightly higher, as most zi-char stalls offer this dish at $8.
Fried sambal Kangkong ($10)
We also seem to have the habit of ordering sambal kangkong. Mellben’s rendition was truly hot and spicy. Again at $10 for a vegetable dish, it was priced higher than the usual $6-8 repertoire.
Chili Crab ($41.80)
While patrons to Mellben always order their signature claypot crab bee hoon, we decided to buck the trend and had the chili crab ($38 per kg) instead. Our decision was vindicated, the chili crab proved itself no less than the more popular claypot crab bee hoon counterpart. The thick chili gravy was spicy and slightly sweet, and i particularly enjoyed the eggy taste.
My family’s always has a soft spot for crabs, not me though, i’m too lazy to eat crab. But when i do eat crab, i always take the big pincher, because they are by far the easiest to eat and with the most meat. One bite settles everything, all the fleshy meat into my stomach!`
i’m a sucker for those fried mantou that always come together with the chili crab. Some people will like to drench the whole bun into the chili gravy, but for me i always like to poke a hole in the middle of the bun. After which i’ll put some thick spicy eggy gravy into the middle and let it flow inside. And after the first wonderful bite, i’ll then dipped the remaining bun to get the maximum soak of chili gravy. Heavenly!
Total Bill was $71.50 for 4 people. This is actually quite reasonable for 4 people, but if you examine closely, the price range of the food at Mellben is substaintially higher than the normal zi-char store. This is partly due to the popularity of Mellben, and they are able to commend a slight premium over the rest. The chili crab was excellent, and we will be looking to try the rest of the crab-mates next time.
One thing to note about Mellben though, the two branch at Ang Mo Kio and Toa Payoh are both not within walking distance from the MRT station, which means to say you will need to take a feeder bus in from the interchange which can be quite a chore. Nevertheless, they are selling out the crabs every night, this tells you something about them!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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I felt honoured to be invited for this food tasting in this restaurant which is actually near to my workplace.
I heard that their main business is their variety of sauces, and this restaurant is to showcase their sauces.
The restaurant's decor itself was quite simple and elegant looking. The dishes were also delicious. We ate those recommended dishes thus they should be the best in this restaurant.
Popiah DIY $20 /set
Completely healthy with stewed vegetables in prawn stock and condiments.
Had a bit of fun wrapping my own popiah and it tasted good...especially with their sauces.
Chilled Crab with Special Vinegrette Sauce @ $30 /crab
Really enjoyed the crabs alot with or without the sauce because they tasted very fresh and they were in quite big pieces...yum...Furthermore, they had been cut well enough for us to eat the crab meats at ease.
The Phoenix Soars @ $21
Yin-Yang boneless Village Wok Chicken
The chicken wasn't bad too. Nothing much to comment.
Village Wok Celebration Parade @ $22
A combination of VW award dishes, VW Mustard Roast Crispy Pork and Village BBQ Pork
The BBQ pork was not coloured like those normal ones sold outside. Nevertheless, they tasted quite nice when accompanied with the sauces.
Fried Brinjal with Crispy Squid in BXO Sauce @ $15
Aaah~~this was my favourite dish! Ate alot of it and the brinjal pieces tasted really delicious and sweet as they were like emersed with the BXO sauce...They didn't have the strong vegetable taste.
Steamed Pating Fish with Preserved Vegetable @ $44
The preserved vegetable "cai por" was nice but as a matter of fact, I don't like fish. -.-||
Black Pepper Ham Leg @ $23
Voted The Travelling Gourmet’s favorite dish
Really big pieces! The skin was crispy and it should had been crispier if we had eaten them earlier. Not bad but I'm not a pork lover. Still had that strong pork taste which I didn't fancy much.
Smiling Fortune Noodle @ $8 (potion served was smaller that day)
Tangy noodles harmonized with delectable fresh prawn essence, topped with prawns.
Oh this was nice! The soup was nice especially with chilli powder! I finished drinking the soup!
VW Desserts - Sampler size
Black Glutinous Rice with Coconut Ice-cream @ $4.80
Lemongrass ice-cream
Kaya with bread
I can say that the desserts were all satisfactory and I was especially attracted to the lemongrass icecream. It tasted really unique and I didn't feel sick eating it though I was terribly full already. I wanted more in fact. The kaya also tasted good and it was fragrant...It was sweet but not overly sweet. Just nice!
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This is almost like a storeroom but very well kept and organised. ViewPoint Trading & Collectibles is one shop that you cannot miss when you're at China Square Central.
Housed with many vintage collectibles, ranging from vintage toys, furnitures, black vinyl records and player, to awesome items that you can hardly (or never) find in the modern days. The shop though not very big, is very well organised and maintained. Items are placed in groups and display in a way that is easy to spot interesting things among the clutter of collectibles.
If you're looking for unique decor for your house, this is a great place to go if you're into the retro and vintage stuff.
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The Mid-Autumn festival falls on the 15th of Aug of the Chinese lunar colander every year. People celebrate the festival by eating moon cakes, sipping a cup of tea while appreciating the round moon, while children run about holding their colourful lanterns.
Moon cakes are Chinese pastries eaten during the Mid-Autumn festival, while they traditionally comes in lotus seed paste, the food & beverage experts have constantly come up with creative and exotic ingredients to pair up with the moon cake. Snow skin moon cakes are not uncommon now, with most places offering it as an alternative to the traditional moon cake.
I was given the opportunity for a moon cake-tasting session with Yan Ting’s snow skin moon cake. They are available at the lobby of St Regis hotel, the snow skin moon cake comes in 6 different flavours, and there’s also the traditional baked moon cake to choose from.
St Regis, with the 6 Star luxury hotel tag, pays full attention to detail. According the Yan Ting’s manager, Mr Danny Chan, the box containing the moon cake samplings are made of superior wood and does not come cheap.
Besides the lobby booth, you can also pick up their moon cake directly outside the restaurant on the second level after you finished a meal there.
The box for 8 snow skin moon cakes is also nicely designed, with majesty gold set as the theme. This is a great box to give to relatives, or business associates as gift during the Mid-autumn festival. Alternatively, there’s also another premium gift set which features Yan Ting six uniquely flavoured snow skin moon cake with two tins of Dammann Frères tea, set in an elegantly designed casing.
For the mini snow skin selection, there are 6 different flavours to choose from, you can either have 8 of the same flavour, or choose a mix of all the flavours.
Almond snow skin, martell cordon bleu cognac truffle, custard paste ($8 per piece)
Martell drinkers would rejoice with the martell cordon bleu congac moon cake. Made with almond, the snowy-white skin like all the other moon cake bears the signature Chinese name of Yan Ting on the surface.
Beneath the snowy white almond skin, there’s the custard paste filling with the luxurious martell cordon bleu cognac truffle in the heart. The almond taste was quite heavy, together with the strong martell cognac, the overwhelming taste covered the custard paste.
It was interesting to try martell truffle inside a moon cake, and it came in a generous portion. There’s a strong after-taste of the martell truffle. Overall an interesting take on snow skin moon cake, and if you like Martell and almond, this novelty might just work for you.
Seven perfumes snow skin, martell cordon bleu cognac truffle, white lotus paste ($8.5 per piece)
This one was quite similar to the previous one, with the use of martell cordon blue cognac truffle, but in place of the almond skin and custard paste were seven perfumes snow skin and white lotus paste respectively.
I love the aromatic and subtle seven perfumes snow skin, which was made from St Regis’s exclusive Dammann Frères tea from France. And at the centre of the moon cake, the martell cordon bleu cognac truffle. There’s no clashing of flavours because the subtle tea snow skin and white lotus paste seemed to blend in perfectly with the stronger Martell truffle.
Almond snow skin, advocaat egg liqueuer truffle, black sesame paste ($5.25 per piece)
Besides having custard and lotus paste as fillings, Yan Ting also used the fragrant and rich black sesame paste. Under the dainty white snow skin, the black sesame provided a good contrast to the colour of the moon cake.
I felt that almond worked better with black sesame than custard paste. The advocaat egg liqueur truffle was also unique in its own right. Advocaat is a rich and creamy liqueur made from eggs, sugar and brandy, its smooth taste was rather similar to the almond skin. And the liqueur taste wasn’t as robust as the martell cordon bleu cognac truffle.
Bloody mary snow skin with custard paste ($5.25 per piece)
Inspired by the iconic signature cocktail at the original St Regis New York, Yan Ting introduces the first-ever Bloody mary moon cake. The bloody mary snow skin brought the innovation level for moon cakes to another level.
The unique use of bloody mary is worth mentioning, but bloody mary being a mix of vodka and tomato juice, having a stronger taste, covered the custard paste. Personally, I felt that it would be better by combining bloody mary and white lotus paste instead. But I guess Chef Chan Siu Kong and his culinary team would have experience with many different combinations and felt that this is the one that provides a different view.
Seven perfumes snow skin with single yolk and white lotus paste ($6 per piece)
Moon cake purist need not fret; the seven perfume snow skin came closest to the traditional moon cake with your white lotus and egg yolk, the only exception the snow skin. The scented Seven perfumes snow skin gave it an edge over other normal snow skin with white lotus paste.
This was the most ordinary and simple moon cake among the snow skin offered by Yan Ting. The superior quality of the white lotus paste meant that it’s not overly-sweet, smooth and silky. Together with the salty egg yolk, like they say, simple is beautiful.
Almond snow skin with premium bird’s nest and custard paste ($28.5 per piece)
The moon cake with edible gold foil and premium bird’s nest screams extravagant. The gold foil on the top looked magnificence, I’m not sure about the taste of gold though. This among the 6 flavours, is the most expensive at $28.5 per piece, while the rest are all in the $5-8 repertoire.
Manager Mr. Chan mentioned that 1 “jin” of premium bird’s nest goes into making 4 bird’s nest moon cake. And for once, i thought that the use of custard paste worked very well with the whole-strand bird’s nest. The ultimate indulgence, glittering gold and top-grade bird’s nest.
The total cost of this particular box of 8 snow skin moon cake (mix-and-match) comes up to a princely $75.25. According to St Regis, customers usually get a box of 8 of the same moon cake, otherwise they will purchase St Regis Premium gift set at $98. But as this was a moon cake tasting session, I had the mix of the 6 flavours.
Yan Ting’s extensive use of custard meant that if you do not like custard, then your judgement of Yan Ting moon cake will likely be affected. Nevertheless, they uses top-notch lotus paste, and their unique seven perfume snow skin is very aromatic and i will definitely recommend you to try that at least.
The exotic ingredients such as martell cordon bleu cognac truffle, advocaat egg liqueur truffle, and bloody mary fits the price tag of the moon cakes, and if you do not like liqueur, there’s also a range of traditional baked moon cakes, top quality lotus paste and yolk, fragrant and rich black sesame paste, pandan paste, Jin Hua ham and assorted nuts, all based on recipes of Chef Chan.
The moon cake pricing is indeed hefty, but that is the least you can expected coming from St Regis, the glamorous and prestigious 6 star hotel. Yan Ting. The St. Regis moon cakes are available from special retail booths at Change Alley in Raffles Place and the hotel lobby, by visiting Yan Ting restaurant in the hotel or by placing orders over the phone or email.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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There are different types of restaurants, those that started out small and humble, and then go on to become popular among the connoisseur, and eventually moving on to up-market, and also there are restaurants who started on a bang, but decided to go the other way round, New York New York, of course belongs to the latter.
New York New York (NYNY), started well, with the maiden restaurant at the ever-busy Citylink, which by far a good location, witnessing the everyday crowd moving from City hall to Marina Square, Suntec area.
My initial impression of New York New York was good, even though people told me that their food was average, but i still proceed on to my first visit there. But slowly and surely, NYNY started to venture into the heartlands, with new restaurants at Lot 1, Amk Hub, Heartland mall and downtown east.
Not that NYNY is a very classy restaurant in the first place, but i still find the overall feel to be above average. But it seems that the move into the heartlands is reaping dividends for NYNY, with most of the restaurants being filled up easily every day, especially so during the weekends where the whole family comes out to dine.
New York New York (NYNY), with its big white & green signage, and the trademark light green comfy furnitures, stands out from far. NYNY used the copy-and-paste method for their interior decor to good effects. The particular branch is at Lot 1, taking over the place of the former tenant, Pizza Hut.
By and large the location is a good place as its on the ground floor, and just beside the entrance near the taxi stand. This makes me wonder why Pizza Hut chose to vacant it in the first place.
Caribbean Breeze ($5.90)
Frozen pink guava and pineapple juice, which came across as rather sour to us.
Lime lemonade soda ($5.90)
Real traditional American lemonade, good and reliable.
Spaghetti Bolognese ($12.90)
The spaghetti bolognese with giant meatballs. The pasta is done “al dente” firm yet not too hard. The meatball was really gigantic, well i’m not really a meatball person but my brother seemed to enjoy this simple pasta.
Tagliatelle mushroom alfredo with crispy fish ($12.90)
Fish and creamy pasta instead of chips. The pasta was average, i preferred tomato to cream base, and the fish was average nothing spectacular.
Smoked salmon velvet ($9.90)
Smoked salmon, tuna mayo, marinated tomatoes, grilled vegetables and sauteed onions made up the Smoked salmon velvet. I felt vegetables in sandwich would be better off being fresh than grilled.
Tagliatelle aglio with fresh seafood ($12.90)
Simple and delicious. Extra virgin olive oil with lots of garlic and chili combined perfectly with mixed seafood. I never liked aglio because i found it too dry, and too spicy. But then again, its personal preference.
Juicy beef tenders ($13.90)
Under the cloud of the creamy mashed potatos, the beef chunks with gravy was too salty for our liking. We struggled to finish the dish.
Hawaiian pizza ($13.90)
The hawaiian pizza came in the thin form with the typical hawaiian toppings like pineapple and ham. 8 slices to share around the table. However, i lamented the fact that the pizza wasn’t cheesy enough.
Total bill was $103.81 for a table of 6, which worked out to an average of around $17 per person. Prices are still within the reasonable range for a mid-tier restaurant. The menu is comprehensive with lots of choices like salad, pasta, pizza, main course, and desserts. Food at NYNY is average at best, judging from the lines of people queuing up for a table at NYNY, I believe we will see more of NYNY opening in other heartland shopping centre.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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It’s a shame that Dim sum isn’t getting the recognition as its Sushi counterparts. The Japanese sushi is also like what Dim sum is to the Chinese cuisine, just that it comes in the form of vinegared rice topped with ingredients like fish, various meats and vegetables.
With the entrée of more Spanish restaurants in the local dining scene, more people knows about tapas, and degustion has always been a firm word on the menu of the French restaurants here. How about dim sum? I think that most youngsters nowadays are not really into dim sum, since it’s often seen as a more traditional meal. Youngsters want to break out of the tradition, they want something hip and cool, and dim sum is not that. Which is cooler, saying you had dim sum, or tapas at the latest Spanish restaurant and a 6 course degustion dinner?
Dim sum is akin a piece of artwork crafted by the chef, so exquisite and refine. No offence to the Sushi-fanatic, but give me dim sum over sliced raw fish anytime.
Every hotel will have their own flagship restaurants in the different cuisines, and at Carlton hotel, Wah Lok is the Cantonese representative. Our latest dim sum adventure brings us here, together with hautestuff and ladies, we had a great time over our dim sum lunch.
Wah Lok is located on the second level within the Carlton hotel, the high ceiling of the restaurant makes the interior looks very spacious. The decor is typical of most Chinese restaurants, with a very comfy and homely feel. There are two different dining halls and can easily fill up on a normal day, which shows the popularity of the restaurant.
Char siew sou ($3.80 for 3)
The Baked BBQ pork pastry or more affectionately known as char siew sou, has always been one of the dim sum that i will order first. Wah lok’s version of the char siew sou did not disappoint, within the buttery surface of the pastry were juicy and sweet char siew fillings.
The rendition at Wah lok may not be as refine as the one i had at Yan Ting, nevertheless it’s still better than most char siew sou that i had before, and all of us were tempted to order second helpings.
Baked BBQ pork buns ($3 for 2)
We asked the captain for recommendations, and he promptly suggested that we have Wah Lok’s signature, char siew bao. We were rather surprised when the char siew bao came, as it’s not the normal steamed buns which has white pillowry exterior. Instead, the baked counterpart is browned and glazed, more like bo luo bao.
The juicy and sweet char siew was enveloped within the baked pastry. Although we just had the char siew sou which is a different variety made with puff pastry, the pork buns were gone in an instant.
Baked egg tarts ($3.20 for 3)
The petite baked egg tarts had smooth and eggy fillings within the puff pastry. The miniature size of the egg tart was the only problem as we only had one each.
Steamed prawn dumplings ($5.40)
The steamed prawn dumplings, or “Har Gao” at Wah Lok had fresh, succulent prawns contained by the thinly light skin. Solid and reliable prawn dumplings.
Steamed pork dumplings ($4.60)
The steamed pork dumplings or “siew mai” is another dim sum which i would not fail to order. The siew mai was well-balanced, not too porky.
Fried XO carrot cake ($10)
The fried xo carrot cake was off-the-menu, which we requested for instead of the steamed carrot cake. However this was a mistake as the carrot cake was bland and too soft for my liking. We couldn’t taste much of the supposedly “oomph” xo sauce. At $10, we would be better off ordering two other basket of dim sum.
Steamed chicken claw with chili ($3)
I am never a fan of chicken claw, but the three ladies certainly enjoyed it, munching the chicken feet and spiting out the small bones.
Deep fried beancurd ($5.6)
We wanted one more dim sum after our first round, and the waiter recommended this. The deep fried beancurd skin with prawns was excellent. Normally, the beancurd skin would be more than the prawn, but in this instance, the succulent prawn fillings threatened to overshadow the beancurd skin.
Fried mango ice cream ($6)
We ended off our dim sum lunch with a very non-chinese dessert. Fried ice cream was a craze a few years back, and i remember there’s even a store at the Tiong Bahru market which used to sell fried ice cream. But not anymore, where can you still find fried ice cream nowadays?
The crispy exterior had a strong hint of coconut taste, while the interior was icy cold ice cream, simply magic, how did they do that?
Total bill was $63.75 for 4 person, which worked out to be around $16 per person. We didn’t really ordered a lot, so the price might seem deceptive, nevertheless, the dim sum at Wah Lok is still priced reasonably given their quality. The portions are quite petite, but it will do for our ladies. I foresee i’ll be coming back to Wah Lok quite often in the near future to try out the rest of the dim sum.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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