If you have been following through LIC, you will know that i never fancy buffet, because the greedy me will want to eat as much as possible to satisfy the price, and you need to fork out big money for quality buffet, think The line at Shangri-la, Wasabi bistro, Melt the world cafe.
Having said that, as my family wanted a weekend dinner buffet without being too heavy on the pocket, i did some research online, and decided on Feast @ East the buffet restaurant. Nothing mind-blowing, just the rather reasonable bill for a weekend dinner buffet, which can otherwise be very expensive.
Feast @ East is located at Grand Mercure roxy hotel at East coast road, just directly opposite Parkway parade. I do have doubts about restaurants in hotel situated in suburban area initially. But i guess there’s always a first time for everything.
The interior of Feast @ East is rather big, i think housing 80-100 shouldn’t be a problem. As the name implies, firstly the heritage feast in the east. And second, they are a buffet restaurant. Duh!
A gastronomic journey of food from a bygone area which many may have forgotten and also the familiar favourites. Truly authentic tastes from the various cultures and lifestyle of Singapore.
This is how Feast @ East describe themselves, and i do agree to certain extent. What really impress me about Feast @ East is the small little details they go into, to create the bygone area feel with some of the stuff that we used to see when we are just small kids. You will see them in the pictures later.
However, the food really is average, nothing much to shout about, and before the buffet here, i had Kampong chicken, went to Bark cafe, so i wasn’t very hungry.
“Authentic” local delights Somehow i feel that they are more like Hawker food, and honestly, hawker food are best eaten in hawker, not a restaurant.
Roasted meat selectionsSurprisingly the roast duck is actually quite good. I am more of a duck than chicken fan, and i must say the duck gets the thumbs up!
Gammon Ham The gammon ham is too salty, not to our liking. Generous in serving, but wait, this is a all-you-can-eat buffet after all.
Mee Siam I had a taste of the mee siam, i’m not sure how you exactly describe a good mee siam, but i think this one is normal.
Laksa The laksa is quite all right to be fair, nothing fantastic, but nothing bad either.
The desserts section are really the part that set me licking, literally. I am a sucker for desserts, and for feast @ east, i didn’t really try most of their local food, instead my efforts are all channel into, yes desserts.
How can one resist the warm and chocolaty, chocolate fondue. Definitely not me, put a marshmallow under the flowing chocolate, and its simply goodness, do it the same with different kind of fruits!
The desserts and cakes selections are rather comprehensive, there are hits and misses of course.
Total Bill is $134.15 for 4 person which works out to be about $33 per head. The normal price for their buffet dinner will be $38, but we use the Citicard promotion, 1 dines free with 3 paying adults. At $33, i guess the price isn’t that expensive given its a weekend buffet dinner. But at $38, i might think twice before coming.
You can’t really speak of quality in the food, we felt that they are normal, at best a few dish stands out. Otherwise you are actually paying for the experience of eating hawker food in a restaurant environment. Dessert-wise i think its not too bad, with quite a repertoire to choose from.
Like what i mentioned earlier, credits to Feast @ East for putting in the effort in the small details which creates a truly heritage feel, the gastronomic journey of food from a bygone area which many may have forgotten. The concept is good, but the food just needs to be better.
If you are not too fussy about food, Feast @ East do makes a nice place to bring your family along for a buffet spread. But if you are particular about the quality of food, stir clear of this place.
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!
Cova, which opened in 1817 beside the famous “La Scala” theatre, was founded by Antonio Cova, a soldier of Napoleon who first ‘campaigned’ as a pastry chef in the Galleria De Cristoforis.
Over the past 190 off years, Cova has built up a name for its authentic Italian culture , offering an espresso coffee or a tea savoured in the comfort of a neo-classical lounge in the mainstay of high-society life.
Outside of Italy, Cova can only be found in Japan and Hong Kong, so land ahoy! For Cova has finally opened on our shores. Choosing the ritzy Paragon Shopping centre where the likes of Prada, Gucci can be found, for the opening in Singapore certainly won’t go wrong for a premium brand like Cova.
Caffe Cova is spilt into a tea room and restaurant, with the open concept cafe having the space once taken by Dome, and the restaurant taking over the premise of Swarovski crystal shop.
The restaurant interior is done up splendidly, the lighting and the tone is set in majestic gold to reflect the ambience of the place. The serving waiters are dressed smartly, stepping inside the restaurant, think fashion and lifestyle.
They had quite a wide range of cakes available, but its not available on the menu because the cakes changes everyday. So you’ll need to go to the counter to order for it.
But, the big but, there’s only several cakes of the day, which you order in slices. The rest are all sold in whole, which makes it difficult if you want to try many different cakes, or unless you got a large group with you.
Prices in a posh restaurant like Cova is definitely not what you will describe as affordable. For their dinner menu, the mains are all in the 30 range.
For a swanky restaurant, you may ask 30 should seem rather reasonable, given there’s other places not in their league but charge around the same price. But Cova being famous for its coffee, cakes and pastries, i remain skeptical about paying 30 for their main course.
My secret food partner and I went for dinner, but we were after their cakes and pastries after all. So we didn’t ordered any main course, desserts are enough!
Unfortunately for us, Caffe Cova seems to be very popular during tea time, when we went during dinner time, quite a lot of their pastries are sold out, that includes their signature Sacher cake. And we went just one week into their opening.
Bigne Pistachio Cova has sets for their mini pastries, with assortment of 4 petite ones going for 9 bucks. For such a miniature pastry at 2 bucks, it will make Bread Papa’s cream puff seems a very good deal. The bigne Pistachio does not really have much of a pistachio taste. Period.
Mini Chocolate Raspberry Tart The chocolate shavings on the mini chocolate raspberry tart is what caught my attention, its done very exquisitely and pretty to look at.
The raspberry in the middle is rather sourish, but i guess it gives a compliment in taste to the sweet chocolate. But i’ll rather the raspberry to be slightly sweeter to perfect the overall taste.
Mini Chocolate Gooseberry Tart Chocolate toppings coupled with gooseberry in the middle to make up the tart. Personally i do felt that the mini chooclate gooseberry tart is my least-like among the 4 pastries.
The gooseberry is too sourish, and its not like the case of the raspberry. Not so sure whether thats how gooseberry should be, but i don’t like the mini chocolate gooseberry tart.
Mini Chocolate Hazelnut Tart The hazelnut tart is the best of the lot, with the other three being quite a letdown. I love hazelnut, eating nutella out of the container is a favourite pastime for me. The mini chocolate hazelnut tart is gone in a mouthful, you wish there is more.
Assortment of cookies ($5.50 per 100 gram) There’s quite a wide variety of cookies to choose from, but please don’t be mistaken by the picture, there’s more cookies from the 100gram than the seven shown in it.
Back to the point, the cookies are actually quite ordinary, like your normal butter cookies. I like the Krumiri (long banana shape-like), butter cookie with chocolate coating at the tip.
My partner preferred the star shape cookie with-a-hole-in-the-middle, which is covered with sugar.
The assortment of cookies at $5.50 per 100 gram isn’t very expensive, for a place like Cova where everything else is so expensive. But considering the fact that Famous Amos cookies are priced in the repotire of 4 plus, i do think buying famous amos is a better economic choice
Nevertheless, Cova cookies selections are placed in a nice bag, which makes a rather affordable and presentable gift for friends and family.
Gamberi ($14) A refreshing combination of prawn and mayonnaise. The bread was a soft brioche so credits for that. But the Gamberi sandwich wasn’t even hot and toasted.
Furthermore, the sandwich portions were meagres given the price, the shrimps were crunchy but there’s only 3 tiny ones in the sandwich.
Total Bill is $32.50 for the pastries, cookies and sandwich. All in all, Cova is a good place for novelty, if u havent been to better italian sidewalk cafes, or even tried da paolo’s sweet little treats, its a nice place to experience the tai-tai lifestyle. Otherwise, i do find it quite a rip-off, which Cova rides on its brand name and not really worth it.
There are certainly other places for better cakes and pastries, but i guess going to Cova is more than just that, its the overall glamorous experience seating in Cova that really attracts people there. Maybe i will go back again for their Sacher cake.
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 tried the Choco Mint and Irish Cream flavours. Bad move as the mint flavour was too strong and overpowered the Irish Cream. Another bad move, I choose Oreo chips instead of something else.
The end result wasn't that bad but the mixing of the two flavours felt weird if they didn't compliment each other. The seats in the shop were few and isn't that suited for large groups wanting to enjoy their chat.
I'm a safe ice cream eater and it was a pity because I could have chosen the more exotic flavours (for the same amount of money spent) that aren't sold in tubs elsewhere.
I have watched movies here a few times and each time I was freezing cold in the cinema despite having a shawl. However, I like the sound system and the comfortable chairs. It's rather spacious for the legroom which is a good improvement.
I like the seating arrangement as I won't be seeing the outlines of heads in front of me that easily. However, as the cinema halls are located along the stretch of corridor, the restrooms are located at the end of the corridor. If you are watching a movie in Hall 8, you have along route to go if you need to use the restroom desperately.
I am not sure if I like the idea of purchasing my tickets together with the popcorn. If I'm buying the tickets for a movie that will be shown in 15 minutes, I like it but if the movie is being shown in 1 hour and I have a voucher that is valid for tickets and popcorn, I have to hold on to the food and drinks for an hour. I'm not sure I like the idea unless I'm watching the movie on a weekday before 5pm.
I went to this branch twice as it offers one of the cheapest Japanese cuisine. I prefer udons and will order the Katsudon. However, it's too salty for my taste and to my disappointment.
It's a good thing that there is free flow of green tea. The portions are just right for me and they have promotions now and then.
The tables are just right for my elbows but if I were to make any huge motions with my arms, the customer next to me will be hit in the face.
That said, the air-conditioning needs to be worked on too.
Caffe Beviamo actually manages to catch LIC attention because of its apparent lack of signboard. The first time i know of this self-effacing and laid-back restaurant is during my visit to Tetsu at Tanglin Mall. The Caffe Beviamo there is located on the ground floor and i walked around the restaurant three times trying to spot its name but to no avail.
After knowing that Caffe Beviamo is also available at Paragon level 5, a visit looks to be on the cards. And after some “investigation”, LIC found the signboard for Caffe Beviamo!
Paragon level 5 is hardly a place i’ll go, not that i don’t visit Paragon, but that who goes to level 5? Its always at the first few levels that are most crowded. Therefore its rather a surprise when i reached level 5 and all the seats at Caffe Beviamo is taken.
The area isn’t very big, with rough estimates of at most 40 seaters. The light serene green of the woody seats coupled with white simple tables actually gives an unpretentious feel.
The most amazing thing about Caffe Beviamo is actually its simplicity. The whole cafe is so straightforward in the sense that it has a easy and pleasant ambience, the food they served are your simple and comfort food like sandwiches, toasts, salads and pasta. So much so that they bear a reminiscent of Epicurious.
Linguine ($11.50) Linguine with tomato, basil & bocconcini. There are only two type of pasta available on the menu, with the other being Torchietti. The linguine served here is very simple, not very flavorful in the sense that it does not packs too many type of different ingredients in. Just simple tomato and bocconcini with a hint of basil.
Its rather hard to describe the term “Australian cuisine” as there’s rather few of such places in Singapore. But Caffe Beviamo quintessentially categorize its food as Australian. I’m not sure how “Australian” is the pasta, but its comfort food to me, simple and good.
Chicken Sandwiches ($10.50) Basil pesto, zucchini, poached chicken breast and cheese makes up the chicken sandwich. The chicken sandwich is rather good too, nothing too complicated. I’m rather skeptical about the zucchini initially, but it actually taste quite well together with the chicken breast sandwich in between the bread.
Strawberry Shortcake ($3.5) The strawberry shortcake rendition at Caffe Beviamo is given a make-over, not quite like your usual ones. With a big red juicy strawberry sandwich in between the pastry, it does provides an inspiration with the “playing” of food by constructing them different from the norm.
The desserts are not on the menu, and its rather pick-your-own from the counter. So grab yours fast because once they are out, other different ones will be offered instead. I saw a carrot cake before we started our meal, but after we finished it’s gone!
Cheese Cake ($4) The normal cheese cake at Caffe Beviamo is real good! Cheesy yet not to the extent overwhelming. The biscuit crumb layer underneath the cake provides a different dimension to the soft and fluffy cheese cake. The “oomph” feel immediately make its presence known.
So good! And at 4 bucks, it’s really a steal. Appearance-wise it looks very ordinary, but the taste is definitely not!
Total bill is $31.55 for 2 person. The food and ambience at Caffe Beviamo is bona fide simple, but the simplicity is exactly the beauty of the place. Price-wise its certainly affordable in a cafe style, prices for pastas, sandwiches and salads ranges in the tens, and different varieties of toast at $4.5 each.
I’m not saying the food is excellent, it isn’t. However the comfort and simple food is exactly what you need sometimes after feeling jade from eating. The price won’t hurt you in the pocket, and the place’s nice to hang out with a couple of friends.
Desserts are excellent, although this can come to be rather a big tag since i have only tried two of their desserts. But given the prices, i think they are definitely worth a try, and i’ll be going to the other one at Tanglin Mall again. 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!
At the end of the winding South Buona Vista road off Pasir Panjang is Village Centre, a small building with Cold Storage its anchor tenant, and a mix of other restaurants like the familiar Lemongrass Thai restaurant. Besides that, there’s also a hidden gem in the form of Fish Mart Sakuraya, i’m not so sure whether its so much of a hidden find since there might be tons of people knowing its existence already.
Inside you can find groceries, not your normal ones, but with the made-in-japan tag, and on the wrappings you see a written language in the form of Japanese. Think Meidi-ya at Liang court, Isetan supermarket and you will pretty much get the idea.
Besides food stuff, Fish Mart Sakuraya also have cooking materials and seasonings imported from Japan.
Within Fish Mart Sakuraya, besides selling Japanese food stuff, they also have a dine-in area which offers real cheap Japanese food. I didn’t have any on that day but i will look to go back and try next time.
A wide range of fish available to choose from. The chef will cook them on the spot, maintaining the freshness of the fish.
Fish Mart Sakuraya is a gem for people staying in the west and provides an alternative for those who does not want to go all the way to places like Meidi-ya and Isetan supermarket in Town for their Japanese fixes. Besides the one at Village Centre, there’s also another one at Parkway Parade
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!
Thye Hong is well-known for their Hokkien fried noodles, and is a mainstay in Bread Talk’s Food Republic, with the honor of having the longest queue in the upscale food court. The joke around is if you want to find Thye Hong, just see which stall has the longest queue and there you go, Thye Hong.
The main thing that amaze me about Thye Hong is actually the cook’s ability to churn out so many plates of hokkien mee at one go. The cook will perform for the long queue visible through the transparent glass, dishing out the hokkien mee with the big wok.
It is not easy to get the right taste for a plate of dish, let alone such a big quantity of hokkien mee, which i mean is quite a feat. As always, if you happen to be there when they served finish one round, be prepared to wait up till 15 minutes. While the cook is preparing the noodles, the lines behind is gradually forming up ready for the next round of “assault”.
Thye Hong Hokkien Mee ($4) The renown Thye Hong hokkien mee, comes with different prices of $4, 6, 8. I quite like the hokkien mee here, and being not a fan of food court, the only time i’ll patronise Food Republic is for, well Thye Hong hokkien mee. My companion find the hokkien mee to be on the salty side while i thought it is all right.
There’s different opinion about the chili too, for me i find it quite hot, but as my companion is a chill-eater, the ones here aren’t any kick for her. I tried Thye Hong hokkien mee at other outlets, but sad to say the standards differ. The one at Wisma Food Republic is still the best for Thye Hong.
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 Brownie Factory, petite in size but big with brownies. Despite the rather small store at basement two of Takashimaya, do not underrate its brownie, with selections of up to 24 brownies at one go, its hell lots of brownies to choose from.
From what i understand from the person-in-charge, their total brownies assortments stands over 40, and they varies from different festivals. I think its really creative of the Brownie Factory to concoct different types of brownie to suit our fussy taste bud
The prices for the brownies ranges from 2 bucks to 4 bucks, with so many different types of brownies to pick from, its really a headache. Fortunately for my companion and me, we did not have this problem because there's a current promotion which offers us the brownie factory’s best four selling brownie all for the price of 11 bucks.
There’s some other unique brownies like peanut butter, very bitter fudgy chewy gooey brownie, tutti-frutti marshmallow brownie, peppermint brownie and many more.
Fudgy Chewy Gooey Brownie ($3.10) The Brownie Factory #1 bestseller! Fudgy chewy gooey chocolaty and full of walnuts. The name fudge chewy gooey brownie says it all already. The chewy part is true to its name, its the chewiest among the four brownie.
Initially my companion and i like this very much because its very chewy and we find the overall taste to be just right. But as it gets on, the brownie becomes too sweet and threatens to overwhelm the taste bud.
Triple Chocolate Brownie ($2.40) Dense moist chocolate brownie topped with little and semi sweet chocolate chips and walnuts. The name alone suggest the sweetness, being triple chocolate. And thats what we thought so at the outset.
But the triple chocolate brownie (#2 bestseller) is completely opposite to the fudge chewy gooey brownie. The first bite is very sweet, but after tasting all the brownie, we find this not really that sweet after all. And there’s a hint of dark chocolate within, the smooth texture together with the choclate chips and walnuts makes us conclude overall the best brownie among the four.
Original Chocolate Brownie ($2.70) Dense moist chocolate brownie topped with walnut and semi sweet chocolate chips. If you do not have a sweet tooth, then the Original Chocolate brownie (#3 bestseller) is surely the one for you.
The least sweet among the four brownie we had, texture wise and appearance its the most similar to the triple chocolate brownie, less the chocolaty taste.
Fudgy Wudgy Chewy Brownie I rather like the Fudgy wudgy chewy brownie (#4 bestseller) too. The freeze chocolate layer goes well together with the chewy brownie, albeit being rather hard to bite into. The sweetness level is on the high side too, but its a nice alternative to the rest because this one is a cold brownie.
Total bill is $11 for 4 of the bestselling brownies at The Brownie Factory. Brownies are actually meant to be sweet, i guess the main problem is because 2 of us eat 4 brownie at one go, therefore the sweetness rather overwhelm us a bit. But i think eaten each separately, they should be all right.Price wise is rather reasonable given the cheapest is about 2 bucks, with the most expensive ones going at around 4 bucks.
The Brownie Factory has been around for about 6 years already, yet everytime i passed by the area i totally missed out the store, which is really a pity until now. If you are in the area, do try out their brownie! I like the triple chocolate brownie the most, and will definitely look to try some other unique flavours the next time round.
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!
This Chi Zhar stall is very ulu lah! Hidden right at the corner of the estate, it's not easy to spot! There are many other coffee shops and eateries around that area, and every one of them were packed to the rim this evening. Hoping I got to the right place, finally I found this tiny stall hidden at the back of this quiet coffee shop.
It was Mum's birthday and we decided to give this place a try. Am glad that Mum enjoyed it, but I got "bitten" by the crab! My upper right lips hurts. Ok, nuff of whining, so what's good about this place?
We ordered "3 Glass Chicken", Claypot Seafood Tofu, Stout Pork Ribs, "Hei Zhou" (prawn roll like dish) and the highly recommended Jin Sha Xie (Golden Sand Crab) and fried Man Tou. Total bill came up to $108. All the dishes were the biggest portion one. (But it wasn't THAT big after all.)
The "3 Glass Chicken" was too dry and the meat was too tough. But the outside of the chicken was rather tasty.
Claypot Seafood Tofu was not bad. There were tofu, cuttlefish, sliced fish, vegetables and carrots. The sauce was not too thick nor diluted. Just nice to go with plain rice.
I didn't eat the pork ribs so I don't know how it tastes.
"Hei Zhou" was pretty good. Fried to the right texture and its crispy and flavorful.
Star of the night was the Golden Sand Crab. Dad picked up one bigger and one medium size crabs. The crab was not the freshiest, as there wasn't any sweetness to the meat. But there was plenty of meat in the crabs. The best part was the sauce! As described by Reiko and Lucardia, the sauce is very well prepared. It was creamy, milky and spicy! Great with man tou and I couldn't stop dipping my crab meat in the sauce before every mouthful. The entire plate was cleared (almost spotless) at the end of dinner! Will go back just for the crab when I'm around the area.
1=SGD 0.0587
If you have been following through LIC, you will know that i never fancy buffet, because the greedy me will want to eat as much as possible to satisfy the price, and you need to fork out big money for quality buffet, think The line at Shangri-la, Wasabi bistro, Melt the world cafe.
Having said that, as my family wanted a weekend dinner buffet without being too heavy on the pocket, i did some research online, and decided on Feast @ East the buffet restaurant. Nothing mind-blowing, just the rather reasonable bill for a weekend dinner buffet, which can otherwise be very expensive.
Feast @ East is located at Grand Mercure roxy hotel at East coast road, just directly opposite Parkway parade. I do have doubts about restaurants in hotel situated in suburban area initially. But i guess there’s always a first time for everything.
The interior of Feast @ East is rather big, i think housing 80-100 shouldn’t be a problem. As the name implies, firstly the heritage feast in the east. And second, they are a buffet restaurant. Duh!
A gastronomic journey of food from a bygone area which many may have forgotten and also the familiar favourites. Truly authentic tastes from the various cultures and lifestyle of Singapore.
This is how Feast @ East describe themselves, and i do agree to certain extent. What really impress me about Feast @ East is the small little details they go into, to create the bygone area feel with some of the stuff that we used to see when we are just small kids. You will see them in the pictures later.
However, the food really is average, nothing much to shout about, and before the buffet here, i had Kampong chicken, went to Bark cafe, so i wasn’t very hungry.
“Authentic” local delights
Somehow i feel that they are more like Hawker food, and honestly, hawker food are best eaten in hawker, not a restaurant.
Roasted meat selectionsSurprisingly the roast duck is actually quite good. I am more of a duck than chicken fan, and i must say the duck gets the thumbs up!
Gammon Ham
The gammon ham is too salty, not to our liking. Generous in serving, but wait, this is a all-you-can-eat buffet after all.
Mee Siam
I had a taste of the mee siam, i’m not sure how you exactly describe a good mee siam, but i think this one is normal.
Laksa
The laksa is quite all right to be fair, nothing fantastic, but nothing bad either.
The desserts section are really the part that set me licking, literally. I am a sucker for desserts, and for feast @ east, i didn’t really try most of their local food, instead my efforts are all channel into, yes desserts.
How can one resist the warm and chocolaty, chocolate fondue. Definitely not me, put a marshmallow under the flowing chocolate, and its simply goodness, do it the same with different kind of fruits!
The desserts and cakes selections are rather comprehensive, there are hits and misses of course.
Total Bill is $134.15 for 4 person which works out to be about $33 per head. The normal price for their buffet dinner will be $38, but we use the Citicard promotion, 1 dines free with 3 paying adults. At $33, i guess the price isn’t that expensive given its a weekend buffet dinner. But at $38, i might think twice before coming.
You can’t really speak of quality in the food, we felt that they are normal, at best a few dish stands out. Otherwise you are actually paying for the experience of eating hawker food in a restaurant environment. Dessert-wise i think its not too bad, with quite a repertoire to choose from.
Like what i mentioned earlier, credits to Feast @ East for putting in the effort in the small details which creates a truly heritage feel, the gastronomic journey of food from a bygone area which many may have forgotten. The concept is good, but the food just needs to be better.
If you are not too fussy about food, Feast @ East do makes a nice place to bring your family along for a buffet spread. But if you are particular about the quality of food, stir clear of this place.
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:
Cova, which opened in 1817 beside the famous “La Scala” theatre, was founded by Antonio Cova, a soldier of Napoleon who first ‘campaigned’ as a pastry chef in the Galleria De Cristoforis.
Over the past 190 off years, Cova has built up a name for its authentic Italian culture , offering an espresso coffee or a tea savoured in the comfort of a neo-classical lounge in the mainstay of high-society life.
Outside of Italy, Cova can only be found in Japan and Hong Kong, so land ahoy! For Cova has finally opened on our shores. Choosing the ritzy Paragon Shopping centre where the likes of Prada, Gucci can be found, for the opening in Singapore certainly won’t go wrong for a premium brand like Cova.
Caffe Cova is spilt into a tea room and restaurant, with the open concept cafe having the space once taken by Dome, and the restaurant taking over the premise of Swarovski crystal shop.
The restaurant interior is done up splendidly, the lighting and the tone is set in majestic gold to reflect the ambience of the place. The serving waiters are dressed smartly, stepping inside the restaurant, think fashion and lifestyle.
They had quite a wide range of cakes available, but its not available on the menu because the cakes changes everyday. So you’ll need to go to the counter to order for it.
But, the big but, there’s only several cakes of the day, which you order in slices. The rest are all sold in whole, which makes it difficult if you want to try many different cakes, or unless you got a large group with you.
Prices in a posh restaurant like Cova is definitely not what you will describe as affordable. For their dinner menu, the mains are all in the 30 range.
For a swanky restaurant, you may ask 30 should seem rather reasonable, given there’s other places not in their league but charge around the same price. But Cova being famous for its coffee, cakes and pastries, i remain skeptical about paying 30 for their main course.
My secret food partner and I went for dinner, but we were after their cakes and pastries after all. So we didn’t ordered any main course, desserts are enough!
Unfortunately for us, Caffe Cova seems to be very popular during tea time, when we went during dinner time, quite a lot of their pastries are sold out, that includes their signature Sacher cake. And we went just one week into their opening.
Bigne Pistachio
Cova has sets for their mini pastries, with assortment of 4 petite ones going for 9 bucks. For such a miniature pastry at 2 bucks, it will make Bread Papa’s cream puff seems a very good deal. The bigne Pistachio does not really have much of a pistachio taste. Period.
Mini Chocolate Raspberry Tart
The chocolate shavings on the mini chocolate raspberry tart is what caught my attention, its done very exquisitely and pretty to look at.
The raspberry in the middle is rather sourish, but i guess it gives a compliment in taste to the sweet chocolate. But i’ll rather the raspberry to be slightly sweeter to perfect the overall taste.
Mini Chocolate Gooseberry Tart
Chocolate toppings coupled with gooseberry in the middle to make up the tart. Personally i do felt that the mini chooclate gooseberry tart is my least-like among the 4 pastries.
The gooseberry is too sourish, and its not like the case of the raspberry. Not so sure whether thats how gooseberry should be, but i don’t like the mini chocolate gooseberry tart.
Mini Chocolate Hazelnut Tart
The hazelnut tart is the best of the lot, with the other three being quite a letdown. I love hazelnut, eating nutella out of the container is a favourite pastime for me. The mini chocolate hazelnut tart is gone in a mouthful, you wish there is more.
Assortment of cookies ($5.50 per 100 gram)
There’s quite a wide variety of cookies to choose from, but please don’t be mistaken by the picture, there’s more cookies from the 100gram than the seven shown in it.
Back to the point, the cookies are actually quite ordinary, like your normal butter cookies. I like the Krumiri (long banana shape-like), butter cookie with chocolate coating at the tip.
My partner preferred the star shape cookie with-a-hole-in-the-middle, which is covered with sugar.
The assortment of cookies at $5.50 per 100 gram isn’t very expensive, for a place like Cova where everything else is so expensive. But considering the fact that Famous Amos cookies are priced in the repotire of 4 plus, i do think buying famous amos is a better economic choice
Nevertheless, Cova cookies selections are placed in a nice bag, which makes a rather affordable and presentable gift for friends and family.
Gamberi ($14)
A refreshing combination of prawn and mayonnaise. The bread was a soft brioche so credits for that. But the Gamberi sandwich wasn’t even hot and toasted.
Furthermore, the sandwich portions were meagres given the price, the shrimps were crunchy but there’s only 3 tiny ones in the sandwich.
Total Bill is $32.50 for the pastries, cookies and sandwich. All in all, Cova is a good place for novelty, if u havent been to better italian sidewalk cafes, or even tried da paolo’s sweet little treats, its a nice place to experience the tai-tai lifestyle. Otherwise, i do find it quite a rip-off, which Cova rides on its brand name and not really worth it.
There are certainly other places for better cakes and pastries, but i guess going to Cova is more than just that, its the overall glamorous experience seating in Cova that really attracts people there. Maybe i will go back again for their Sacher cake.
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 tried the Choco Mint and Irish Cream flavours. Bad move as the mint flavour was too strong and overpowered the Irish Cream. Another bad move, I choose Oreo chips instead of something else.
The end result wasn't that bad but the mixing of the two flavours felt weird if they didn't compliment each other. The seats in the shop were few and isn't that suited for large groups wanting to enjoy their chat.
I'm a safe ice cream eater and it was a pity because I could have chosen the more exotic flavours (for the same amount of money spent) that aren't sold in tubs elsewhere.
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I have watched movies here a few times and each time I was freezing cold in the cinema despite having a shawl. However, I like the sound system and the comfortable chairs. It's rather spacious for the legroom which is a good improvement.
I like the seating arrangement as I won't be seeing the outlines of heads in front of me that easily. However, as the cinema halls are located along the stretch of corridor, the restrooms are located at the end of the corridor. If you are watching a movie in Hall 8, you have along route to go if you need to use the restroom desperately.
I am not sure if I like the idea of purchasing my tickets together with the popcorn. If I'm buying the tickets for a movie that will be shown in 15 minutes, I like it but if the movie is being shown in 1 hour and I have a voucher that is valid for tickets and popcorn, I have to hold on to the food and drinks for an hour. I'm not sure I like the idea unless I'm watching the movie on a weekday before 5pm.
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I went to this branch twice as it offers one of the cheapest Japanese cuisine. I prefer udons and will order the Katsudon. However, it's too salty for my taste and to my disappointment.
It's a good thing that there is free flow of green tea. The portions are just right for me and they have promotions now and then.
The tables are just right for my elbows but if I were to make any huge motions with my arms, the customer next to me will be hit in the face.
That said, the air-conditioning needs to be worked on too.
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Caffe Beviamo actually manages to catch LIC attention because of its apparent lack of signboard. The first time i know of this self-effacing and laid-back restaurant is during my visit to Tetsu at Tanglin Mall. The Caffe Beviamo there is located on the ground floor and i walked around the restaurant three times trying to spot its name but to no avail.
After knowing that Caffe Beviamo is also available at Paragon level 5, a visit looks to be on the cards. And after some “investigation”, LIC found the signboard for Caffe Beviamo!
Paragon level 5 is hardly a place i’ll go, not that i don’t visit Paragon, but that who goes to level 5? Its always at the first few levels that are most crowded. Therefore its rather a surprise when i reached level 5 and all the seats at Caffe Beviamo is taken.
The area isn’t very big, with rough estimates of at most 40 seaters. The light serene green of the woody seats coupled with white simple tables actually gives an unpretentious feel.
The most amazing thing about Caffe Beviamo is actually its simplicity. The whole cafe is so straightforward in the sense that it has a easy and pleasant ambience, the food they served are your simple and comfort food like sandwiches, toasts, salads and pasta. So much so that they bear a reminiscent of Epicurious.
Linguine ($11.50)
Linguine with tomato, basil & bocconcini. There are only two type of pasta available on the menu, with the other being Torchietti. The linguine served here is very simple, not very flavorful in the sense that it does not packs too many type of different ingredients in. Just simple tomato and bocconcini with a hint of basil.
Its rather hard to describe the term “Australian cuisine” as there’s rather few of such places in Singapore. But Caffe Beviamo quintessentially categorize its food as Australian. I’m not sure how “Australian” is the pasta, but its comfort food to me, simple and good.
Chicken Sandwiches ($10.50)
Basil pesto, zucchini, poached chicken breast and cheese makes up the chicken sandwich. The chicken sandwich is rather good too, nothing too complicated. I’m rather skeptical about the zucchini initially, but it actually taste quite well together with the chicken breast sandwich in between the bread.
Strawberry Shortcake ($3.5)
The strawberry shortcake rendition at Caffe Beviamo is given a make-over, not quite like your usual ones. With a big red juicy strawberry sandwich in between the pastry, it does provides an inspiration with the “playing” of food by constructing them different from the norm.
The desserts are not on the menu, and its rather pick-your-own from the counter. So grab yours fast because once they are out, other different ones will be offered instead. I saw a carrot cake before we started our meal, but after we finished it’s gone!
Cheese Cake ($4)
The normal cheese cake at Caffe Beviamo is real good! Cheesy yet not to the extent overwhelming. The biscuit crumb layer underneath the cake provides a different dimension to the soft and fluffy cheese cake. The “oomph” feel immediately make its presence known.
So good! And at 4 bucks, it’s really a steal. Appearance-wise it looks very ordinary, but the taste is definitely not!
Total bill is $31.55 for 2 person. The food and ambience at Caffe Beviamo is bona fide simple, but the simplicity is exactly the beauty of the place. Price-wise its certainly affordable in a cafe style, prices for pastas, sandwiches and salads ranges in the tens, and different varieties of toast at $4.5 each.
I’m not saying the food is excellent, it isn’t. However the comfort and simple food is exactly what you need sometimes after feeling jade from eating. The price won’t hurt you in the pocket, and the place’s nice to hang out with a couple of friends.
Desserts are excellent, although this can come to be rather a big tag since i have only tried two of their desserts. But given the prices, i think they are definitely worth a try, and i’ll be going to the other one at Tanglin Mall again. 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!
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At the end of the winding South Buona Vista road off Pasir Panjang is Village Centre, a small building with Cold Storage its anchor tenant, and a mix of other restaurants like the familiar Lemongrass Thai restaurant. Besides that, there’s also a hidden gem in the form of Fish Mart Sakuraya, i’m not so sure whether its so much of a hidden find since there might be tons of people knowing its existence already.
Inside you can find groceries, not your normal ones, but with the made-in-japan tag, and on the wrappings you see a written language in the form of Japanese. Think Meidi-ya at Liang court, Isetan supermarket and you will pretty much get the idea.
Besides food stuff, Fish Mart Sakuraya also have cooking materials and seasonings imported from Japan.
Within Fish Mart Sakuraya, besides selling Japanese food stuff, they also have a dine-in area which offers real cheap Japanese food. I didn’t have any on that day but i will look to go back and try next time.
A wide range of fish available to choose from. The chef will cook them on the spot, maintaining the freshness of the fish.
Fish Mart Sakuraya is a gem for people staying in the west and provides an alternative for those who does not want to go all the way to places like Meidi-ya and Isetan supermarket in Town for their Japanese fixes. Besides the one at Village Centre, there’s also another one at Parkway Parade
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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Thye Hong is well-known for their Hokkien fried noodles, and is a mainstay in Bread Talk’s Food Republic, with the honor of having the longest queue in the upscale food court. The joke around is if you want to find Thye Hong, just see which stall has the longest queue and there you go, Thye Hong.
The main thing that amaze me about Thye Hong is actually the cook’s ability to churn out so many plates of hokkien mee at one go. The cook will perform for the long queue visible through the transparent glass, dishing out the hokkien mee with the big wok.
It is not easy to get the right taste for a plate of dish, let alone such a big quantity of hokkien mee, which i mean is quite a feat. As always, if you happen to be there when they served finish one round, be prepared to wait up till 15 minutes. While the cook is preparing the noodles, the lines behind is gradually forming up ready for the next round of “assault”.
Thye Hong Hokkien Mee ($4)
The renown Thye Hong hokkien mee, comes with different prices of $4, 6, 8. I quite like the hokkien mee here, and being not a fan of food court, the only time i’ll patronise Food Republic is for, well Thye Hong hokkien mee. My companion find the hokkien mee to be on the salty side while i thought it is all right.
There’s different opinion about the chili too, for me i find it quite hot, but as my companion is a chill-eater, the ones here aren’t any kick for her. I tried Thye Hong hokkien mee at other outlets, but sad to say the standards differ. The one at Wisma Food Republic is still the best for Thye Hong.
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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The Brownie Factory, petite in size but big with brownies. Despite the rather small store at basement two of Takashimaya, do not underrate its brownie, with selections of up to 24 brownies at one go, its hell lots of brownies to choose from.
From what i understand from the person-in-charge, their total brownies assortments stands over 40, and they varies from different festivals. I think its really creative of the Brownie Factory to concoct different types of brownie to suit our fussy taste bud
The prices for the brownies ranges from 2 bucks to 4 bucks, with so many different types of brownies to pick from, its really a headache. Fortunately for my companion and me, we did not have this problem because there's a current promotion which offers us the brownie factory’s best four selling brownie all for the price of 11 bucks.
There’s some other unique brownies like peanut butter, very bitter fudgy chewy gooey brownie, tutti-frutti marshmallow brownie, peppermint brownie and many more.
Fudgy Chewy Gooey Brownie ($3.10)
The Brownie Factory #1 bestseller! Fudgy chewy gooey chocolaty and full of walnuts. The name fudge chewy gooey brownie says it all already. The chewy part is true to its name, its the chewiest among the four brownie.
Initially my companion and i like this very much because its very chewy and we find the overall taste to be just right. But as it gets on, the brownie becomes too sweet and threatens to overwhelm the taste bud.
Triple Chocolate Brownie ($2.40)
Dense moist chocolate brownie topped with little and semi sweet chocolate chips and walnuts. The name alone suggest the sweetness, being triple chocolate. And thats what we thought so at the outset.
But the triple chocolate brownie (#2 bestseller) is completely opposite to the fudge chewy gooey brownie. The first bite is very sweet, but after tasting all the brownie, we find this not really that sweet after all. And there’s a hint of dark chocolate within, the smooth texture together with the choclate chips and walnuts makes us conclude overall the best brownie among the four.
Original Chocolate Brownie ($2.70)
Dense moist chocolate brownie topped with walnut and semi sweet chocolate chips. If you do not have a sweet tooth, then the Original Chocolate brownie (#3 bestseller) is surely the one for you.
The least sweet among the four brownie we had, texture wise and appearance its the most similar to the triple chocolate brownie, less the chocolaty taste.
Fudgy Wudgy Chewy Brownie
I rather like the Fudgy wudgy chewy brownie (#4 bestseller) too. The freeze chocolate layer goes well together with the chewy brownie, albeit being rather hard to bite into. The sweetness level is on the high side too, but its a nice alternative to the rest because this one is a cold brownie.
Total bill is $11 for 4 of the bestselling brownies at The Brownie Factory. Brownies are actually meant to be sweet, i guess the main problem is because 2 of us eat 4 brownie at one go, therefore the sweetness rather overwhelm us a bit. But i think eaten each separately, they should be all right.Price wise is rather reasonable given the cheapest is about 2 bucks, with the most expensive ones going at around 4 bucks.
The Brownie Factory has been around for about 6 years already, yet everytime i passed by the area i totally missed out the store, which is really a pity until now. If you are in the area, do try out their brownie! I like the triple chocolate brownie the most, and will definitely look to try some other unique flavours the next time round.
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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This Chi Zhar stall is very ulu lah! Hidden right at the corner of the estate, it's not easy to spot! There are many other coffee shops and eateries around that area, and every one of them were packed to the rim this evening. Hoping I got to the right place, finally I found this tiny stall hidden at the back of this quiet coffee shop.
It was Mum's birthday and we decided to give this place a try. Am glad that Mum enjoyed it, but I got "bitten" by the crab! My upper right lips hurts. Ok, nuff of whining, so what's good about this place?
We ordered "3 Glass Chicken", Claypot Seafood Tofu, Stout Pork Ribs, "Hei Zhou" (prawn roll like dish) and the highly recommended Jin Sha Xie (Golden Sand Crab) and fried Man Tou. Total bill came up to $108. All the dishes were the biggest portion one. (But it wasn't THAT big after all.)
The "3 Glass Chicken" was too dry and the meat was too tough. But the outside of the chicken was rather tasty.
Claypot Seafood Tofu was not bad. There were tofu, cuttlefish, sliced fish, vegetables and carrots. The sauce was not too thick nor diluted. Just nice to go with plain rice.
I didn't eat the pork ribs so I don't know how it tastes.
"Hei Zhou" was pretty good. Fried to the right texture and its crispy and flavorful.
Star of the night was the Golden Sand Crab. Dad picked up one bigger and one medium size crabs. The crab was not the freshiest, as there wasn't any sweetness to the meat. But there was plenty of meat in the crabs. The best part was the sauce! As described by Reiko and Lucardia, the sauce is very well prepared. It was creamy, milky and spicy! Great with man tou and I couldn't stop dipping my crab meat in the sauce before every mouthful. The entire plate was cleared (almost spotless) at the end of dinner! Will go back just for the crab when I'm around the area.
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