I’m of the opinion that Korean food in Singapore is not as established as their Japanese counterparts. It’s easy to name some good Japanese restaurants, but Korean ones?
The Kdrama wave had created a huge impact and let the world know more about South Korea, I’m one of those who stick to the big screen watching new dramas like Boys before flowers, and Ja Myung. Naturally, I’m intrigued by the food as well after watching so many kdramas.
The-one-most-associated-with-Korean-food. Miss kimchi was a tad salty for my liking, I’m not sure how the authentic one should taste like, but this wasn’t my favourite among the four free appetisers that we were served with.
The beansprouts, or more commonly known to us as the dou-ya; were big (compared to the normal beansprouts), and crunchy. Very nice indeed.
Do they called this Anchovy? No matters, the tiny fish was fried to crisp-cross, I could almost hear the sound when I took a bite - crunch, crunch.
I liked this one! With a sweet and sour consistency, the cucumber reminded me of our local achar. There’s nothing better than something sour-sweet to start the palate going.
We had the cold noodle ($10) next. A couple of beef slices, with a egg, the cold noodle was well, like the name, cold, with a springy and bouncy texture, which slurped down my throat easily. The difficult part was getting accustomed to using the extremely-thin Korean chopsticks to get the noodles.
And the other choice was the Dol Sot Bibim Bap ($11.50), well if you couldn’t read Korean like me, it’s pretty obvious from the photo; Hot stone bowl rice with choice of chicken, pork, beef or vegetarian toppings. We mixed everything up nicely, and the chili was fantastic. It wasn’t too spicy, and I just kept adding and adding more. The best part of eating in the hot stone bowl? Everything remained pipping hot!
* * *
Total bill was $25 for the two dishes we got, the four appetisers came free with any dishes ordered and they could be refill. I’m not very sure whether I’m a kimchi-person, maybe a few more tries will do the job. There you go, my first Korean food experience! And Fusionpolis isn’t exactly that ulu, it’s only three bus stops from Buona Vista station.
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 have a friend, his name is Jones. He is a grocer, and he ain’t a normal grocer. Gourmet products, that’s right. All the customers would drop by and waved, “Hello Jones!”. And the kids would peeked around curiously, and oh yes, they had a song which goes something like this;
Jones the grocer, Can we eat it? Jones the grocer, Yes we can!
Jones the grocer, I want some food! Jones the grocer, Come and get it!
My latest breakfast-brunch crave brought me to Jones the grocer, because they are one of the few that serves brunch during weekdays (the other few being Prive, Rider’s, and Casa Verde).
Much as I liked having brunch on a lazy Sunday morning, but the idea of having it during a WEEKDAY enthrals me even more! Well the rest of the world rushed off to work, I’m slowly sipping a cup of coffee, having my favourite eggs, and reading the newspaper. You get the idea?
I want breakfast. I want eggs. I want pancakes.
Pancakes we wanted, and Coconut pancakes ($12.5) we got! Sour mango wasn’t exactly what we expected, but it presented a contrast with the syrup, well they called it the palm sugar syrup here. Whatever, all the syrup tasted the same to me, sweet and sweet!
And did you see what I saw? Vanilla beans! Tiny speaks of vanilla beans! I’m not going to go into the story of how excited I’ll become when I saw the beans, but, I’m excited! It was nice having vanilla beans with pancakes, but we did felt that it would be better to have it with butter and syrup for breakfast at least. And oh ya, the pancakes here are one of the thickest-I-ever-came-across.
Jones english breakfast ($20). I’ll like to call it the best-of-everything. Poached eggs, grilled bacon, pork sausages, sautéed mushroom, and even slow roasted tomato for some nutritional balance! What is there not to like?
I can never resist the golden-yellow egg yolk flowing out of the pure egg white: striptease - stop playing with me or I’ll eat you up! I put the poached eggs, bacon, and mushroom on top of the sourdough (the sausage was too huge to fit in on top), and I tried to put everything in one bite.
Well I failed of course, but that’s obviously what I intended to; in this way I could repeat and repeat the same full-mouth-process until I finished the whole thing, and wanting more.
Total bill was $35.75 for the brunch, they had 10% service charge but the 7% GST was already included in the bill. Was it expensive? No, for the mere thought that I was having my breakfast while the rest of the world were busy slogging it out in the office, that’s something priceless.
But for weekday brunch, I’ll prefer Rider’s and Prive if you have your own transport, not that it is easy to get to dempsey either.
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 love that look, as I loved the look on your face when you grazed upon the slab of peanut butter chocolate, the same look on my face when I slurped down a cup of hot chocolate, the slice of rich chocolate truffle cake. It’s a gaze of wonder: the same look you see on children’s faces when they are given chocolate, and it is always a joy to see the happy smiles. Down memory lane one ninety one, one of the finest there is, Laurent Bernard Chocolatier.
The problem with eating good food means that after you tried the best, there’s no way you can accept something inferior. Tiny specks of real vanilla seeds imparted a fragrance that no artificial flavouring can match. I loved vanilla bean ice cream ($4.50 one scoop), and what am I going to do with those King’s ice cream in the fridge?
We eyed the Chocolate tart ($7.80 ). After some hasty shots, I gave up in my attempts to take a perfect shot. The thinly pastry crust, the layer of hazelnut praline above it, the rich and sweet chocolate - what’s there not to like? It would be perfect if the whipped cream is replaced with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream!
The density of the chocolate. I just kept going and going, I don’t want to share this with anyone else. So simple, yet so, so good. Chocolate truffle ($6.80 ).
It was unfortunate that we did not get to try the highly acclaimed Chocolate soufflé - the very one that prompted our visit to Laurent’s. And even though I only tried two of their desserts, I must say the array of chocolate desserts look very tempting, and I will certainly come back to try some of the other cakes.
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!
Hands up if you don’t like kaya toast! From the freshly baked white bread toasted to perfection, the sweet and fragrant home-made kaya and the slightly melted butter, it was a combination of everything so simple. The truth to be told, this was one my first time trying Killiney’s toast, and I have not tried Ya Kun’s one yet. I know, i know.
Logically speaking, we can just buy their bread, the kaya, and the butter to make ourselves at home. But, somehow it is impossible to replicate the same slice of toast when we d-i-y. So I will like to think that it is their skills and the toaster that makes the difference. Killiney’s famous bread toast ($0.80 per piece).
For those who prefer to have more substantial portion for breakfast, the French loaf toast ($1.80) might be a better option. More kaya, more kaya!
I was surprised by the revelation of eating French toast with kaya ($1.60 per piece). I have never, ever tried eating French toast with kaya before, and I did not even harboured the thought that it could be done. Oh-my! This is one which you either love it, or hate it.
Unfortunately both of us do not drink coffee, and we chose the ice barley over hot tea due to the weather conditions. All along I thought that Killiney is famous for their kaya toast and kopi. But they also served food like curry chicken, mee siam, and mee rubus.
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 want a day out with you, To catch up and have some good food. I want somewhere green & green, where we can sit all day and talk.
No, I don’t even know where this place is. It doesn’t matter. We will find it somehow, so long we follow our heart, Or just go along with our legs.
Spaghetti Vongole ($18)
Among the many ones out there, you somehow caught our attention. Maybe this is what they call fate. No matter, it’s my pleasure knowing you. Clams, plenty of them. The lovely seashells, with the simple-yet-important garlic. And oh yes, there was chilli with white wine & olive oil sauce too.
Sfilatino Casa Verde ($23)
You are sexy, you are hot. Thin is the in-thing, and you are slim. This is one pizza which I will willingly fork out my wallet for. The fillings, oh my, they were generous. Just look at the amount of ham, mushrooms, and mozzarella on top of the thin-crust pizza.
I know this is wrong, But i am a sucker for ambience. I always choose a nice place to dine at, And it is ok even if the food is not that fantastic. But luckily for me, you were great. I will come back again, yes I will. For brunch, for lunch, and for dinner.
***
Total bill was $41 for one pizza and spaghetti. The pizza was big enough to share among the 3 of us. I’ve always wanted to go to Casa Verde after hearing so much about the wonderful ambience. It is after all, located within the beautiful Botanic Gardens. I will definitely go back for brunch again, the prices for breakfast look good.
Its about a 15 minutes walk from the main entrance, otherwise cab in to the visitors centre, the fare is about $4. Well, i took the latter as it was raining. All right, it’s just a bloody excuse for being lazy. See you there!
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!
Slumdog millionaire made an big impact on me; millions of people living in poverty while here we are, fretting about the hot weather, how long the bus took to arrive. I, want to learn more about their culture. I, want to visit the Taj Mahal. I, want to experience their food; their cuisine which has stood against the test of time.
With a glass of mango lassi, we toasted to the world, to good health, and to the glorious food. The sea. The sea. Facing the calm and still of the blue, we feasted. We ate, and ate; a feast for the king.
And so, my adventure with Indian cuisine started. The first to arrive was the Lamb Kakori Malai kebab ($20). And frankly speaking, it looked more like otah to me - but it tasted much better than that. The sensational melt-in-the-mouth-lamb was enough for me to dig several times.
It’s all about prawn, prawn, prawn, daddy-o. You like prawn? You’ll love the Prawns with garlic butter ($24). The distinct garlic butter taste, the teppanyaki style, oh my. But it was slightly salty, more lemon would have solve the problem. But then again, the tone-down version wouldn’t be the real deal, so I say, keep it that way!
And besides the prawn, we have a fish as well. If there was a dish which piped my curiosity, it ought to be the Fish three pepper ($22). With its unique name, and the exotic Indian herbs & spices, I enjoyed every bite, it was good.
Street-food. Read: what the locals eat. Crisp papris topped with chopped potatoes, the crust was awesome; crunch, crunch. One of my favourite, Aloo Papri Delhi Chat ($10).
Slightly sourish, with Indian spices filled within the semolina baked cups. I preferred the Aloo Papri Delhi Chat to the Raj Kachori Chat ($10). , but I enjoyed using my spoon to break down the potato crust; destroyed the wall, and the Indian prince conquered the city!
And how can we not have biryani when eating Indian food; rice is a staple for us Asians after all. We had two different types of biryani, the dum biryani lamb and the Hyderabadi chicken biryani ($18). The chunks of chicken bites were good, but to shelve out eighteen bucks for a bowl of rice? I don’t think so.
The Indian bread, Garlic Nann ($7). It was my first time trying it of course, and the nann was good to go with almost all the dishes; a bite of nann, a mouth of meat. Or simply dipped the nann into the curries!
This was another of my favourite! Compared with the lamb Kakori Malai kebab, the Lagan Ke lamb ($14) was better seasoned with the spices; which resulted in a less gamy taste.
The Lalla Mussa Dal ($18) was Black lentil, speciality of the house. But it wasn’t my type; I'm just not that into you.
By and large I couldn’t remember the Dum Methi prawn ($24) much. It was prawns tossed wth methi, cashew nut onion paste. But somehow after I noticed its presense on our elongated table, there wasn’t a single prawn in sight. Everybody finished it - without even leaving a prawn for me!
As much as I appreciated that the restaurant provided some sweets to complete the meal, but the Tutti Frutti ($10) didn’t pretty much fit into what I had in mind for Indian desserts.
Neither was the Hot chocolate brownie ($8), which was not made in-house.
But luckily there was the Kulfis ($10) - traditional pistachio Indian ice cream to save the day! There’s always a first time for everything, and it’s my first time trying Indian ice cream. The texture was very different; solid and dense - it took forever to melt.
It was, oh-my-god, so sweet. I did not bother to ask what is it; it is enough, to taste it. But I wasn’t about to let Cinderella leave without asking for her name, just before the clock struck twelve, Garam Gulab Jamun ($8).
* * *
I always wanted to try other cuisines other than the-usual-western-Jap-Chinese-food. Having taken the first step out of my comfort zone, it’s time to try more exotic food, and this meal has certainly aroused me to try some of the other Indian places that I’ve heard so much of.
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!
The-sight-of-it is enough to excite me. The flowing chocolate - like water plunging down from a magnificent waterfall: wonderful, sweet. The cute white marshmallows beckon to me. The puffs - baked for the sole reunion with the delicious chocolate. The big juicy strawberries, oh my. What’s there not to like about a chocolate fondue? I love it!
Now, I famously don’t like buffets. When I see food laying out, exposed, I see food dying. I see the ocean trout that every passing diner can feel free to squeeze at. I see food left out in the open air unprotected from the passing fancies of everybody. BUT, but, the current Citibank credit card 50% promotion for 10 @ Claymore is simply too good a deal to miss, so I decided to go for it after all.
How does $29 for buffet lunch sounds? On top of it with a 1-for-1 promotion, and we are talking about Pan Pacific Hotel, not some dubious twenties-odd range buffet (you-know-where-I-am-referring-to). Given, the variety here cannot compare with other international buffets who have more spread, but what I like about 10 @ Claymore is the focus.
Instead of giving a lot items to choose from, they decided to give just enough. For those who inherited our Singapore-kiasu-genes, my apologies. But this is one buffet where I actually don’t feel guilty trying to gorge myself silly. I ate a bit of everything, and rushed to have my desserts.
The chocolate truffle was terrific - sweet, smooth, refined, yet unbelievably simple. I had mutiple helpings of it, until my stomach decided to do a red-shirt-alike-protest to me.
Total bill was $34 for 2 person after the citibank credit card promotion. The current good deal last until 30 April, 2 person are entitled to a 50% discount. For $17 bucks per person, buffet lunch at a classy environment, enough said! And oh yes, I forgot to mention that the service was top-notch; the staffs were attentive and always happy to help out when you need anything
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!
Foie Gras is in my blood. Having said that, I’m more beef than Foie Gras, really. Wedges here, is my awesome assistant, The new Spring fashion is so passé, sun-dried tomato is the latest in-thing now! Marmalade Pantry’s famous, Sun-dried tomato Foie Gras Burger ($26).
My name is Chocolate, Chocolate Truffe ($7.80). I’m the ladies man, smooth is my texture, sweet is my nature. Try me, and you are sold. No one can resist my temptations, the thick, oh-so-thick chocolate which is so rich and good.
Hello everybody, eh, my name is Chocolate Tart ($4.20). I don’t have anything to say about myself. I’m a simple guy, but they say my chocolate is wondeful, I will rather keep a low profile. Please, don’t tell anybody else. Thank you.
They call me little miss rose ($4.2). I’m very girly and feminine in nature, but most people just judged me by my appearances. I snub those pretentious of my kind who can only face the world with their frosting make-ups. Simple is beautiful, once you get to know me, the ladies worship me and the guys adore me.
The spokesperson for Marmalade, everybody calls for me when they are here. It will be impossible if you have not heard about Sticky Date toffee pudding ($12) by now. My companion, the lovely Vanilla bean ice cream compliments me perfectly.
***
Having heard so much about Marmalade Pantry Foie Gras burger, the few of us were rather disappointed by it because there just wasn’t much foie gras taste. But the wedges that accompanied the burger was very good.
The chocolate truffle cake, and chocolate tart was wonderful, with the chocolate being very sweet yet not overly heavy. By now having tried two of Toast (under the same group as Marmalade) cupcakes and another one today, I must say their cupcakes are the better ones around. Moist and rich, there wasn’t any pretty frosting, just a solid good cupcake.
The sticky date toffee pudding also did not impressed us. Perhaps it was undone by its famous reputation, we were somewhat expecting more from it, but it never came. Nonetheless, nobody could resist having cold icy vanilla bean ice cream with the warm pudding.
Total bill was $64.15 for 6 person. Even though the burger and pudding did not exactly wow me, but I will definitely come back to try the array of desserts available, and of course their cupcakes.
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!
As it was a Wednesday and they have a special price for ladies for buffet dinner, it was decided that my boyfriend and I try since we were in the area.
I like the spacious area and the recommendations by the waitress. She was very thoughtful and gave us suggestions about the food. We tried the dual soup base since my boyfriend loves spicy bases while I prefer the non spicy ones.
The mushroom soup base tasted slightly herbal and I love it. Soon, our orders arrived. I loved the fried Shitake mushroom, however, it could only be ordered once during the buffet. Most of the other choices can be ordered as much as you like.
The beef and fish slices were sliced thinly, so it was rather fast to be cooked ready for eating. The ambiance feels cozy and quiet. I'm not sure if it was due to being a weekday but it sure felt good not having to wait for too long for a meal.
We are all old friends, yet we never met before. We visit each other on the web, that is how we “meet” everybody. Food brings us together, finally we can put a face to each other instead of just a nickname. From online, to offline, our food blogger outing.
While waiting for everybody to arrive, we ordered some fried dim sum for the photo shoot first. Hua Ting have more steamed items than fried ones, and the baked chicken & mango tart ($3.90) headed the list. This reminded me of the one that I had at Man Fu Yuan, and personally I felt it was well executed with the sweet mango zing and crust pastry.
I am not a big fan of bean skin roll dim sum, but since this was one of the few fried item and came highly recommended by the staff, we ordered the Deep-fried bean skin with prawn ($4.80).
Oh, the prawns were fresh. Yes they were. But, but the skin was too thick, and well they are not the best Steamed crystal prawn dumpling ($4.80) I had before.
There was the option of doing it steamed or pan-fried. But who could resist yummy-sinful fried food? Not us, we went for the pan-fried carrot cake with canopy ($3.90). Eat first, worry later! For some unknown reasons that continue to evade us, we are seeing restaurants not frying their carrot cake enough. Is it for the health conscious customers, or is it because it requires more oil? I wished they will just pan-fried it longer.
The first page of the menu comprises of the signature dim sum Hua ting serves, yet i was surprised not to find the Steamed siew mai with shrimp roe ($4.80) there. I felt that it was better than their har gau. And oh yes, there was also mushroom mixed within the siew mai.
There was nothing to fault for their Steamed BBQ pork bun ($3.90). I love my char siew bun, and when there was no char siew sou, I comforted myself by indulging in every moment of this.
Drum roll! Announcing the award for the best performer for the meal, I presented to you, Deep fried scallop pastry with onion and garlic ($4.50). My personal favourite out of the 12 dim sum that we tried that day. The pastry literally melted in my month when I took a bite. And I simple love the strong garlic taste within.
I will also like to mention the good service of the staffs at Hua Ting. While I was causally asking my friend what was inside the Steamed dumpling in Teow Chew style ($3.90), one waitress who was walking by overheard us and stopped to explain. While she couldn’t get all the ingredients in it, she went to the kitchen to ask and came back to tell us. So here it is, peanut, turnip, mushroom & celery.
You definitely will have tried char siew and prawn cheong fun before. Okay, how about scallop? Aye most restaurants have that too! All right, I give you Steamed cheong fun with sliced fish ($4.80). Now that’s something new isn’t it? It was a unique and bold creation, and while personally I still preferred char siew and prawn for my cheong fun, you need to give credits to the chef for trying something new.
Steamed soya bean skin rolls with chicken and mushroom in superior oyster sauce ($4.20). With such a long name, I was caught dumbfound and the staff had to kindly explained a few times what it was. It was actually the same as the deep fried bean skin we had earlier. But somehow I like this one more, the oozing out of the oyster sauce when I took a bite into the bean skin rolls. Oh my.
The others wanted lo mai gai, but there was none. We just have to make do with the Steamed glutinous rice with abalone ($5.20) and it was competent enough. There was the grimicky tiny abalone on top to up the prestige level, but I felt it would be better to give me Taiwanese sausages instead of that.
Not many restaurants use duck for their dim sum, it is always like what I mentioned, char siew, prawn & scallop. Therefore we chose the Pan fried shredded duck rolls ($4.20) out of curiosity.
I never like ordering Steamed pork ribs ($3.90) in dim sum restaurants. I felt they were overpriced, and under-portion. Honestly I will rather order another steamed char siew bun to give me more meat. I’m a carnivore!
Total bill was $120 after a 15% credit card discount for 6 person. We tried 14 out of the 20 dim sum available, and that’s quite a lot! I was confused between Orchard hotel with Orchard Parade hotel, so do check your maps before going down. In my personal opinion, the staffs at Hua Ting merit the good service tag, all of them were friendly and knowledgeable. Thank you!
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
I’m of the opinion that Korean food in Singapore is not as established as their Japanese counterparts. It’s easy to name some good Japanese restaurants, but Korean ones?
The Kdrama wave had created a huge impact and let the world know more about South Korea, I’m one of those who stick to the big screen watching new dramas like Boys before flowers, and Ja Myung. Naturally, I’m intrigued by the food as well after watching so many kdramas.
The-one-most-associated-with-Korean-food. Miss kimchi was a tad salty for my liking, I’m not sure how the authentic one should taste like, but this wasn’t my favourite among the four free appetisers that we were served with.
The beansprouts, or more commonly known to us as the dou-ya; were big (compared to the normal beansprouts), and crunchy. Very nice indeed.
Do they called this Anchovy? No matters, the tiny fish was fried to crisp-cross, I could almost hear the sound when I took a bite - crunch, crunch.
I liked this one! With a sweet and sour consistency, the cucumber reminded me of our local achar. There’s nothing better than something sour-sweet to start the palate going.
We had the cold noodle ($10) next. A couple of beef slices, with a egg, the cold noodle was well, like the name, cold, with a springy and bouncy texture, which slurped down my throat easily. The difficult part was getting accustomed to using the extremely-thin Korean chopsticks to get the noodles.
And the other choice was the Dol Sot Bibim Bap ($11.50), well if you couldn’t read Korean like me, it’s pretty obvious from the photo; Hot stone bowl rice with choice of chicken, pork, beef or vegetarian toppings. We mixed everything up nicely, and the chili was fantastic. It wasn’t too spicy, and I just kept adding and adding more. The best part of eating in the hot stone bowl? Everything remained pipping hot!
* * *
Total bill was $25 for the two dishes we got, the four appetisers came free with any dishes ordered and they could be refill. I’m not very sure whether I’m a kimchi-person, maybe a few more tries will do the job. There you go, my first Korean food experience! And Fusionpolis isn’t exactly that ulu, it’s only three bus stops from Buona Vista station.
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!
Rating given:
I have a friend, his name is Jones. He is a grocer, and he ain’t a normal grocer. Gourmet products, that’s right. All the customers would drop by and waved, “Hello Jones!”. And the kids would peeked around curiously, and oh yes, they had a song which goes something like this;
Jones the grocer, Can we eat it?
Jones the grocer, Yes we can!
Jones the grocer, I want some food!
Jones the grocer, Come and get it!
My latest breakfast-brunch crave brought me to Jones the grocer, because they are one of the few that serves brunch during weekdays (the other few being Prive, Rider’s, and Casa Verde).
Much as I liked having brunch on a lazy Sunday morning, but the idea of having it during a WEEKDAY enthrals me even more! Well the rest of the world rushed off to work, I’m slowly sipping a cup of coffee, having my favourite eggs, and reading the newspaper. You get the idea?
I want breakfast. I want eggs. I want pancakes.
Pancakes we wanted, and Coconut pancakes ($12.5) we got! Sour mango wasn’t exactly what we expected, but it presented a contrast with the syrup, well they called it the palm sugar syrup here. Whatever, all the syrup tasted the same to me, sweet and sweet!
And did you see what I saw? Vanilla beans! Tiny speaks of vanilla beans! I’m not going to go into the story of how excited I’ll become when I saw the beans, but, I’m excited! It was nice having vanilla beans with pancakes, but we did felt that it would be better to have it with butter and syrup for breakfast at least. And oh ya, the pancakes here are one of the thickest-I-ever-came-across.
Jones english breakfast ($20). I’ll like to call it the best-of-everything. Poached eggs, grilled bacon, pork sausages, sautéed mushroom, and even slow roasted tomato for some nutritional balance! What is there not to like?
I can never resist the golden-yellow egg yolk flowing out of the pure egg white: striptease - stop playing with me or I’ll eat you up! I put the poached eggs, bacon, and mushroom on top of the sourdough (the sausage was too huge to fit in on top), and I tried to put everything in one bite.
Well I failed of course, but that’s obviously what I intended to; in this way I could repeat and repeat the same full-mouth-process until I finished the whole thing, and wanting more.
Total bill was $35.75 for the brunch, they had 10% service charge but the 7% GST was already included in the bill. Was it expensive? No, for the mere thought that I was having my breakfast while the rest of the world were busy slogging it out in the office, that’s something priceless.
But for weekday brunch, I’ll prefer Rider’s and Prive if you have your own transport, not that it is easy to get to dempsey either.
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!
Rating given:
I love that look, as I loved the look on your face when you grazed upon the slab of peanut butter chocolate, the same look on my face when I slurped down a cup of hot chocolate, the slice of rich chocolate truffle cake. It’s a gaze of wonder: the same look you see on children’s faces when they are given chocolate, and it is always a joy to see the happy smiles. Down memory lane one ninety one, one of the finest there is, Laurent Bernard Chocolatier.
The problem with eating good food means that after you tried the best, there’s no way you can accept something inferior. Tiny specks of real vanilla seeds imparted a fragrance that no artificial flavouring can match. I loved vanilla bean ice cream ($4.50 one scoop), and what am I going to do with those King’s ice cream in the fridge?
We eyed the Chocolate tart ($7.80 ). After some hasty shots, I gave up in my attempts to take a perfect shot. The thinly pastry crust, the layer of hazelnut praline above it, the rich and sweet chocolate - what’s there not to like? It would be perfect if the whipped cream is replaced with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream!
The density of the chocolate. I just kept going and going, I don’t want to share this with anyone else. So simple, yet so, so good. Chocolate truffle ($6.80 ).
It was unfortunate that we did not get to try the highly acclaimed Chocolate soufflé - the very one that prompted our visit to Laurent’s. And even though I only tried two of their desserts, I must say the array of chocolate desserts look very tempting, and I will certainly come back to try some of the other cakes.
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!
Rating given:
Hands up if you don’t like kaya toast! From the freshly baked white bread toasted to perfection, the sweet and fragrant home-made kaya and the slightly melted butter, it was a combination of everything so simple. The truth to be told, this was one my first time trying Killiney’s toast, and I have not tried Ya Kun’s one yet. I know, i know.
Logically speaking, we can just buy their bread, the kaya, and the butter to make ourselves at home. But, somehow it is impossible to replicate the same slice of toast when we d-i-y. So I will like to think that it is their skills and the toaster that makes the difference. Killiney’s famous bread toast ($0.80 per piece).
For those who prefer to have more substantial portion for breakfast, the French loaf toast ($1.80) might be a better option. More kaya, more kaya!
I was surprised by the revelation of eating French toast with kaya ($1.60 per piece). I have never, ever tried eating French toast with kaya before, and I did not even harboured the thought that it could be done. Oh-my! This is one which you either love it, or hate it.
Unfortunately both of us do not drink coffee, and we chose the ice barley over hot tea due to the weather conditions. All along I thought that Killiney is famous for their kaya toast and kopi. But they also served food like curry chicken, mee siam, and mee rubus.
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!
Rating given:
I want a day out with you,
To catch up and have some good food.
I want somewhere green & green,
where we can sit all day and talk.
No, I don’t even know where this place is.
It doesn’t matter.
We will find it somehow, so long we follow our heart,
Or just go along with our legs.
Spaghetti Vongole ($18)
Among the many ones out there, you somehow caught our attention. Maybe this is what they call fate. No matter, it’s my pleasure knowing you. Clams, plenty of them. The lovely seashells, with the simple-yet-important garlic. And oh yes, there was chilli with white wine & olive oil sauce too.
Sfilatino Casa Verde ($23)
You are sexy, you are hot. Thin is the in-thing, and you are slim. This is one pizza which I will willingly fork out my wallet for. The fillings, oh my, they were generous. Just look at the amount of ham, mushrooms, and mozzarella on top of the thin-crust pizza.
I know this is wrong,
But i am a sucker for ambience.
I always choose a nice place to dine at,
And it is ok even if the food is not that fantastic.
But luckily for me, you were great.
I will come back again, yes I will.
For brunch, for lunch, and for dinner.
***
Total bill was $41 for one pizza and spaghetti. The pizza was big enough to share among the 3 of us. I’ve always wanted to go to Casa Verde after hearing so much about the wonderful ambience. It is after all, located within the beautiful Botanic Gardens. I will definitely go back for brunch again, the prices for breakfast look good.
Its about a 15 minutes walk from the main entrance, otherwise cab in to the visitors centre, the fare is about $4. Well, i took the latter as it was raining. All right, it’s just a bloody excuse for being lazy. See you there!
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!
Rating given:
Slumdog millionaire made an big impact on me; millions of people living in poverty while here we are, fretting about the hot weather, how long the bus took to arrive. I, want to learn more about their culture. I, want to visit the Taj Mahal. I, want to experience their food; their cuisine which has stood against the test of time.
With a glass of mango lassi, we toasted to the world, to good health, and to the glorious food. The sea. The sea. Facing the calm and still of the blue, we feasted. We ate, and ate; a feast for the king.
And so, my adventure with Indian cuisine started. The first to arrive was the Lamb Kakori Malai kebab ($20). And frankly speaking, it looked more like otah to me - but it tasted much better than that. The sensational melt-in-the-mouth-lamb was enough for me to dig several times.
It’s all about prawn, prawn, prawn, daddy-o. You like prawn? You’ll love the Prawns with garlic butter ($24). The distinct garlic butter taste, the teppanyaki style, oh my. But it was slightly salty, more lemon would have solve the problem. But then again, the tone-down version wouldn’t be the real deal, so I say, keep it that way!
And besides the prawn, we have a fish as well. If there was a dish which piped my curiosity, it ought to be the Fish three pepper ($22). With its unique name, and the exotic Indian herbs & spices, I enjoyed every bite, it was good.
Street-food. Read: what the locals eat. Crisp papris topped with chopped potatoes, the crust was awesome; crunch, crunch. One of my favourite, Aloo Papri Delhi Chat ($10).
Slightly sourish, with Indian spices filled within the semolina baked cups. I preferred the Aloo Papri Delhi Chat to the Raj Kachori Chat ($10). , but I enjoyed using my spoon to break down the potato crust; destroyed the wall, and the Indian prince conquered the city!
And how can we not have biryani when eating Indian food; rice is a staple for us Asians after all. We had two different types of biryani, the dum biryani lamb and the Hyderabadi chicken biryani ($18). The chunks of chicken bites were good, but to shelve out eighteen bucks for a bowl of rice? I don’t think so.
Tangy, creamy coconut sauce, with crab patties. Massala crab cake ($24)
The Indian bread, Garlic Nann ($7). It was my first time trying it of course, and the nann was good to go with almost all the dishes; a bite of nann, a mouth of meat. Or simply dipped the nann into the curries!
This was another of my favourite! Compared with the lamb Kakori Malai kebab, the Lagan Ke lamb ($14) was better seasoned with the spices; which resulted in a less gamy taste.
The Lalla Mussa Dal ($18) was Black lentil, speciality of the house. But it wasn’t my type; I'm just not that into you.
By and large I couldn’t remember the Dum Methi prawn ($24) much. It was prawns tossed wth methi, cashew nut onion paste. But somehow after I noticed its presense on our elongated table, there wasn’t a single prawn in sight. Everybody finished it - without even leaving a prawn for me!
As much as I appreciated that the restaurant provided some sweets to complete the meal, but the Tutti Frutti ($10) didn’t pretty much fit into what I had in mind for Indian desserts.
Neither was the Hot chocolate brownie ($8), which was not made in-house.
But luckily there was the Kulfis ($10) - traditional pistachio Indian ice cream to save the day! There’s always a first time for everything, and it’s my first time trying Indian ice cream. The texture was very different; solid and dense - it took forever to melt.
It was, oh-my-god, so sweet. I did not bother to ask what is it; it is enough, to taste it. But I wasn’t about to let Cinderella leave without asking for her name, just before the clock struck twelve, Garam Gulab Jamun ($8).
* * *
I always wanted to try other cuisines other than the-usual-western-Jap-Chinese-food. Having taken the first step out of my comfort zone, it’s time to try more exotic food, and this meal has certainly aroused me to try some of the other Indian places that I’ve heard so much of.
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!
Rating given:
The-sight-of-it is enough to excite me. The flowing chocolate - like water plunging down from a magnificent waterfall: wonderful, sweet. The cute white marshmallows beckon to me. The puffs - baked for the sole reunion with the delicious chocolate. The big juicy strawberries, oh my. What’s there not to like about a chocolate fondue? I love it!
Now, I famously don’t like buffets. When I see food laying out, exposed, I see food dying. I see the ocean trout that every passing diner can feel free to squeeze at. I see food left out in the open air unprotected from the passing fancies of everybody. BUT, but, the current Citibank credit card 50% promotion for 10 @ Claymore is simply too good a deal to miss, so I decided to go for it after all.
How does $29 for buffet lunch sounds? On top of it with a 1-for-1 promotion, and we are talking about Pan Pacific Hotel, not some dubious twenties-odd range buffet (you-know-where-I-am-referring-to). Given, the variety here cannot compare with other international buffets who have more spread, but what I like about 10 @ Claymore is the focus.
Instead of giving a lot items to choose from, they decided to give just enough. For those who inherited our Singapore-kiasu-genes, my apologies. But this is one buffet where I actually don’t feel guilty trying to gorge myself silly. I ate a bit of everything, and rushed to have my desserts.
The chocolate truffle was terrific - sweet, smooth, refined, yet unbelievably simple. I had mutiple helpings of it, until my stomach decided to do a red-shirt-alike-protest to me.
Total bill was $34 for 2 person after the citibank credit card promotion. The current good deal last until 30 April, 2 person are entitled to a 50% discount. For $17 bucks per person, buffet lunch at a classy environment, enough said! And oh yes, I forgot to mention that the service was top-notch; the staffs were attentive and always happy to help out when you need anything
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!
Rating given:
Foie Gras is in my blood. Having said that, I’m more beef than Foie Gras, really. Wedges here, is my awesome assistant, The new Spring fashion is so passé, sun-dried tomato is the latest in-thing now! Marmalade Pantry’s famous, Sun-dried tomato Foie Gras Burger ($26).
My name is Chocolate, Chocolate Truffe ($7.80). I’m the ladies man, smooth is my texture, sweet is my nature. Try me, and you are sold. No one can resist my temptations, the thick, oh-so-thick chocolate which is so rich and good.
Hello everybody, eh, my name is Chocolate Tart ($4.20). I don’t have anything to say about myself. I’m a simple guy, but they say my chocolate is wondeful, I will rather keep a low profile. Please, don’t tell anybody else. Thank you.
They call me little miss rose ($4.2). I’m very girly and feminine in nature, but most people just judged me by my appearances. I snub those pretentious of my kind who can only face the world with their frosting make-ups. Simple is beautiful, once you get to know me, the ladies worship me and the guys adore me.
The spokesperson for Marmalade, everybody calls for me when they are here. It will be impossible if you have not heard about Sticky Date toffee pudding ($12) by now. My companion, the lovely Vanilla bean ice cream compliments me perfectly.
***
Having heard so much about Marmalade Pantry Foie Gras burger, the few of us were rather disappointed by it because there just wasn’t much foie gras taste. But the wedges that accompanied the burger was very good.
The chocolate truffle cake, and chocolate tart was wonderful, with the chocolate being very sweet yet not overly heavy. By now having tried two of Toast (under the same group as Marmalade) cupcakes and another one today, I must say their cupcakes are the better ones around. Moist and rich, there wasn’t any pretty frosting, just a solid good cupcake.
The sticky date toffee pudding also did not impressed us. Perhaps it was undone by its famous reputation, we were somewhat expecting more from it, but it never came. Nonetheless, nobody could resist having cold icy vanilla bean ice cream with the warm pudding.
Total bill was $64.15 for 6 person. Even though the burger and pudding did not exactly wow me, but I will definitely come back to try the array of desserts available, and of course their cupcakes.
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!
Rating given:
As it was a Wednesday and they have a special price for ladies for buffet dinner, it was decided that my boyfriend and I try since we were in the area.
I like the spacious area and the recommendations by the waitress. She was very thoughtful and gave us suggestions about the food. We tried the dual soup base since my boyfriend loves spicy bases while I prefer the non spicy ones.
The mushroom soup base tasted slightly herbal and I love it. Soon, our orders arrived. I loved the fried Shitake mushroom, however, it could only be ordered once during the buffet. Most of the other choices can be ordered as much as you like.
The beef and fish slices were sliced thinly, so it was rather fast to be cooked ready for eating. The ambiance feels cozy and quiet. I'm not sure if it was due to being a weekday but it sure felt good not having to wait for too long for a meal.
Rating given:
We are all old friends, yet we never met before. We visit each other on the web, that is how we “meet” everybody. Food brings us together, finally we can put a face to each other instead of just a nickname. From online, to offline, our food blogger outing.
While waiting for everybody to arrive, we ordered some fried dim sum for the photo shoot first. Hua Ting have more steamed items than fried ones, and the baked chicken & mango tart ($3.90) headed the list. This reminded me of the one that I had at Man Fu Yuan, and personally I felt it was well executed with the sweet mango zing and crust pastry.
I am not a big fan of bean skin roll dim sum, but since this was one of the few fried item and came highly recommended by the staff, we ordered the Deep-fried bean skin with prawn ($4.80).
Oh, the prawns were fresh. Yes they were. But, but the skin was too thick, and well they are not the best Steamed crystal prawn dumpling ($4.80) I had before.
There was the option of doing it steamed or pan-fried. But who could resist yummy-sinful fried food? Not us, we went for the pan-fried carrot cake with canopy ($3.90). Eat first, worry later! For some unknown reasons that continue to evade us, we are seeing restaurants not frying their carrot cake enough. Is it for the health conscious customers, or is it because it requires more oil? I wished they will just pan-fried it longer.
The first page of the menu comprises of the signature dim sum Hua ting serves, yet i was surprised not to find the Steamed siew mai with shrimp roe ($4.80) there. I felt that it was better than their har gau. And oh yes, there was also mushroom mixed within the siew mai.
There was nothing to fault for their Steamed BBQ pork bun ($3.90). I love my char siew bun, and when there was no char siew sou, I comforted myself by indulging in every moment of this.
Drum roll! Announcing the award for the best performer for the meal, I presented to you, Deep fried scallop pastry with onion and garlic ($4.50). My personal favourite out of the 12 dim sum that we tried that day. The pastry literally melted in my month when I took a bite. And I simple love the strong garlic taste within.
I will also like to mention the good service of the staffs at Hua Ting. While I was causally asking my friend what was inside the Steamed dumpling in Teow Chew style ($3.90), one waitress who was walking by overheard us and stopped to explain. While she couldn’t get all the ingredients in it, she went to the kitchen to ask and came back to tell us. So here it is, peanut, turnip, mushroom & celery.
You definitely will have tried char siew and prawn cheong fun before. Okay, how about scallop? Aye most restaurants have that too! All right, I give you Steamed cheong fun with sliced fish ($4.80). Now that’s something new isn’t it? It was a unique and bold creation, and while personally I still preferred char siew and prawn for my cheong fun, you need to give credits to the chef for trying something new.
Steamed soya bean skin rolls with chicken and mushroom in superior oyster sauce ($4.20). With such a long name, I was caught dumbfound and the staff had to kindly explained a few times what it was. It was actually the same as the deep fried bean skin we had earlier. But somehow I like this one more, the oozing out of the oyster sauce when I took a bite into the bean skin rolls. Oh my.
The others wanted lo mai gai, but there was none. We just have to make do with the Steamed glutinous rice with abalone ($5.20) and it was competent enough. There was the grimicky tiny abalone on top to up the prestige level, but I felt it would be better to give me Taiwanese sausages instead of that.
Not many restaurants use duck for their dim sum, it is always like what I mentioned, char siew, prawn & scallop. Therefore we chose the Pan fried shredded duck rolls ($4.20) out of curiosity.
I never like ordering Steamed pork ribs ($3.90) in dim sum restaurants. I felt they were overpriced, and under-portion. Honestly I will rather order another steamed char siew bun to give me more meat. I’m a carnivore!
Total bill was $120 after a 15% credit card discount for 6 person. We tried 14 out of the 20 dim sum available, and that’s quite a lot! I was confused between Orchard hotel with Orchard Parade hotel, so do check your maps before going down. In my personal opinion, the staffs at Hua Ting merit the good service tag, all of them were friendly and knowledgeable. Thank you!
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!
Rating given: