It was a great lunch outing and boy the food! If not for the bright bright sun from out the window, it might seem like we were having a dinner feast! Ha!
The spread was good. But there's two item that I enjoyed most! And both are prawns!
The first prawn dish was an add on to the set menu ordered. This is one of their signature dish, the Wasabi Prawn balls. The wasabi prawn wasn't powerful enough. It tasted more like salad prawn with all the fruits (honeydew, dragonfruit bits and strawberries) that came with it. Nevertheless, it was nice and easy to eat too. (No need to peel the shell mah! Haha!) Give me this dish alone and I'll be happy to eat it with a bowl of rice.
The next one was from the set menu, not sure about the name, but it seems like cereal butter prawn. (Picture) Before the prawn was served, waiter brought a bowl of lemon water and everyone started discussing whether the ladies or the men will be doing the peeling. Haha! Everyone sighed a sign of relief when the prawn was served. The prawn was big and fragrant. The mixed of dried chilli, curry leaves and dried shrimp makes the whole dish very flavorful and yummy. Enjoyed it!
Many would have known by now that I've been suffering from teeth problems for a few weeks now. I had been the patient of a popular dental chain until recently when the last job by them was poorly done and was very painful.
The last job started to give me problems and I asked around for recommendations. My colleague gave me the address of this clinic and I booked an appointment. There are four inhouse dentists so it's quite easy to get an appointment.
I went for my first visit which was pretty normal. A Dr. Chan (I think), a lady dentist, tended to me and she explained that she needed to do a re-filling. She was gentle and professional but certainly didn't waste any time with me. I was out in a jiffy so that she could move on to the next patient. No complaints I guess. But she did mention that the refilling might not help things as the damage might be too bad. So she told me to go back if the pain continues.
True enough, the pain came back fast and more furious. So I called them and managed to get an appointment with Dr. Leonard Tan in a few days.
Dr. Tan is the reason why I'm writing this review really. With the pain I was having I was really afraid when I went into the room as my gums and teeth were really sensitive at that point. But Dr. Tan was really gentle and I felt at ease in the chair. He was really careful when probing the affected area and didn't poke too hard until he was sure I wouldn't scream. (heh) Then he took me over for an X-ray and while waiting for the X-ray results, he patiently explained to me my options if the results were BAD.
He clearly explained what the root canal treatment was and told me exactly how much it cost. He didn't harp on it and told me I have other options like having the problem extracted.
When the results came back and were not conclusive, he advised me to tolerate the pain a bit and told me to do a number of things to see if they spark off unbearable pain which will point to damaged nerves.
What I really liked was how he wasn't money-minded and gave me my options and let me make the choice. He didn't charge me for this consultation and he gave me painkillers for free too. He only charged me $15 for the X-ray. Very reasonable isn't it?
Immensely happy with the service, I think I will make Dr. Tan my regular dentist. My colleague also recommended Dr. Zhou whom she said had plenty of experience.
Went for the first time with my friends. One of my friends live near the other branch so he took us to eat at this branch since it's nearer to school.
The staff is very friendly! (and maybe because I speak Malay/Indonesian.. Hahaha) You can choose to "hidang" which means you choose 4 to 5 dishes to eat together with your friends (and of course 1 plate of rice for each) or just eat "econ-rice-style", choosing various dishes to go with your 1 plate of rice. They serve rendangs, eggs, various vegetable plates, and super duper delicious tahu telor!
And it's soooo cheap. I usually only spend 4 dollars for a very fulfilling meal. My friend who ordered the most (plus some fishes and some other other things..) ended up spending only 7 dollars. Wow.
Once went there with ping.sg friends and they liked it a lot too!
Haven't gone there in a while. Will go there soon~~~
If you have read some of my reviews you might already know that my boyfriend is a big sucker for Japanese food and since we like to eat together (it's like our favourite pastime as a couple. ahahaha), I agreed when he brought me to this Marche-like Japanese restaurant.
First impression.. Cool. Stalls offer different food.. And there are purikuras (photo sticker station) at the middle of the restaurant. Didn't try it though.
Went there twice and our orders were kinda the same. Omu rice.. Gyoza.. Omelette.. Some satays.. Hmm can't remember.. (yes we order a lottttttt)
The omu rice is like.. er... Rice with tomato ketchup. I know it's supposed to be some tomato rice, but really.. Tastes like rice dipped in tomato sauce. And we gotta wait so long.. About 7 minutes plus. Well I would have been able to agree had the restaurant not been empty (it was not "peak hour"). Same goes to other items. Gotta wait for minutes and minutes and minutes. It's getting irritating when you order a lot and expect to eat soon (and the restaurant is not crowded!) but told to wait wait and wait. Sigh..
Ended up with 30 plus bill. My wallet is not happy...
Tried it the first time because my friend forced me to buy the meesua. It was very nice! I don't like oyster though so I didn't eat the oyster. My boyfriend likes the crispy xxl chicken. However he (and I) are not allowed to eat deep fried food so often anymore so we don't buy it so often. I like the crepes! I always order the crepes. It's not too expensive but tastes really good.
Overall, I think it's nice ;) although can be sinful sometimes.. Find out how much calories are inside that crispy xxxxxl chicken. =P
This is a long overdue post. It's been so long that I even got rid of the pictures I took at this place unknowingly.
I dropped by one weekday afternoon with two other friends for an early lunch and was pretty excited to try out the more upmarket version of Aston's Specialties.
I ordered the King Salmon Steak ($22.90) whilst my two friends had steak. You can get their opinion of the steaks above. I tried a couple of bites from their steak and wasn't impressed. They asked for their steaks to be done medium rare... but didn't get medium rare....
My Salmon turned out to be medium rare instead. One end was even uncooked. I've never tasted salmon so horribly done really. Somewhere in between the salmon was mushy and I couldn't tell whether it's because of the way it was done or that it wasn't fresh. I struggled to finish and in the end I couldn't bear to finish it anymore.
The only thing I really liked was the fries. They were the fat sort I liked and were lightly seasoned, making them tasty on their own without sauces. *yums*
The service was reasonable with the people talking to us before the cameras were whipped out. But when they did notice the cameras, I reckoned we got more attention than other patrons.
I seriously think I would really consder before going back again.
I'd never really been a fan of U.R.S but I was on a hunt for shoes that day and have exhausted all other options. So into this shop I went looking for the right shoes.
I was surprised to see the very similiar designs... almost identical to the ones I've seen in the other shops. They also have the designs I wanted in more acceptable colours like white brown and black. They also seem to have a larger range of working class shoes.
At first when I walked in, I was ignored by the staff nearest to the door. We looked at each other eye to eye and she turned away quickly. I had expected at least a smile or a "welcome" but was given none. I was tempted to walk out but knowing that I didn't have any other shops to go, I stayed a bit more.
Then I spotted them. The shoes I wanted in simple brown colour and they were on sale! I picked up the shoes and immediately a sweet young sales assistant appeared by my side. She offered to get the shoes in two different sizes as I wasn't sure what size I would wear. She also recommended some others which were similiar and I happily agreed to try.
After trying on about 7-9 pairs of shoes I finally bought three. The same lady served me throughout while serving some other customers. I found her to be very approachable, unlike her colleague. But later on when I was paying I found out that all of them were trainees. Apparently they are all studying and this is like attachment for them. So the other girl was very nervous which was why she turned away. I guess it's relatively forgivable then. The prices of the shoes are reasonable. An alternative to Charles and Keith I guess... despite U.R.S being around much longer than them.
Sweet Indulgence is a quaint little place found in the CBD maze. It was a challenge for a few of us that night but everyone managed to turn up in the end.
Due to the way the restaurant is built (lengthwise) our table had to be long and the area inside was pretty crammed. People sitting inside daren't move about too much for the fear of being too troublesome.
But the decor of the place was quite nice. I was initially worried it would be a little warm for some but it wasn't. The lighting was a little dim for photo-taking but we still managed. I like the bar counter and the little piano at the side. The boss even invited people to play on the piano in exchange for a glass of wine.
Food Served:Complimentary bread I was hungry when I had this so I'm probably not a very good judge. It had a slight taste of herbs to it but that was all. It wasn't warm nor soft enough. But it's reasonable I guess.
Salad A very simple salad. period.
Cream of Broccoli Most of the others said it was salty but my brother and I felt it was fine. Odd isn't it. We actually finished everything and were quite pleased with it. Maybe it's because we're broccoli lovers. The odd thing about this soup was that it was served AFTER the main course.
Garlic Prawns Thank goodness for the prawns. 4 bowls of prawns were plonked on the table to be shared by the people surrounding iit. Ours were shared by 5. The prawns came the same time as the salad and saved the day. They were fresh and had just enough bite. They were also in a flavourful dressing/sauce which I found to be quite special.
Poached Salmon with White Sauce & Herbs, served with Pasta and Seasonal Vegetables Firstly, I have to say that every plate of salmon was different. Ours was without the fishy taste/smell though my neighbour's had. We thought it could be due to the fact that ours was slightly smaller. The pasta was slightly overcooked and tasteless.
Oven Baked Chicken Thigh Steak with Crisp Skin served with Chef Sauce & Potato Mash infused with Vanilla and Cream I only liked the potato mash really. The chicken wasn't fantastic. I refused to eat the skin as it was quite soggy not crisp and the meat inside though marinated, wasn't very tasty.
Strawberry Cheesecake I didn't even know what it was when I was eating it. We were arguing about what it was. Some said it was Strawberry shortcake whilst others said it was just a cake. I didn't like it at all and didn't finish mine. It had a very odd smell to it, which I wasn't accustomed to.
Warm Choco Lava Indulgence We had to share this among the 5 of us as a complimentary dessert. Although I liked the taste of the chocolate oozing out and the taste of the crust but I can't help but dislike the texture of the crust. I don't like the whole thing to crumble into bits the moment one takes a stab at it.
Each of us paid $33 that night. We were full but weren't overly so. I guess it's reasonable as it includes a drink but I had certainly expected more. Not worth a planned visit but if you're nearby I guess it's alright.
I was thinking that they were very unprepared for a mini-crowd like us and maybe they would do better if there were less people? I was just thinking. Ah well.
An afternoon tea date with the girlfriends brought me to Zhou's Kitchen at Far East Square. I don't quite know what possessed us to be so brave to as to travel all the way to the CBD area with a newborn baby, but we did. Not to mention we weren't sure where it was and was initially mistakened that it was the one situated above the food court.
After some walking, we caught sight of the lime green bamboos and found ourselves on the doorstep of the restaurant that weekday afternoon. Even at 2pm, the place was still bustling with activity and we were glad we made reservations.
The decor of the place was quite modern with an oriental touch to it. Quite pleasing to the eye really and the lighting was comfortable without being too dim for photo-taking.
Once settled, we took a look at the menu and were a little disappointed that the list was quite short. There wasn't much variety though they seemed to have most of the items we want... except one - the conventional chee cheong fun.
Food ordered: BBQ Pork Buns - Char Siew Bao ($3.20 for 3) The highlight of our meal. We had two servings of this. I liked the fluffiness of the outside and the filling wasn't too sweet. It was just right and it didn't have much fatty meat. My companions enjoyed this one too. But sadly that was all....
Steamed Pork Dumplings ($3.50 for 3) I'm not really a fan of pork dumplings so I guess I shouldn't comment on this. But I really found the skin a little too thick and dry for me. The filling was average and it wasn't juicy enough inside.
Steamed Shrimp Dumplings - Har Gao ($4.20 for 3) Same problem here. The skin was a tad too thick and dry. I wonder if it was because we were there close to the end of lunch time. But it really shouldn't be that way. The prawn inside was ok. It wasn't very fresh but it wasn't "stale" either.
Fried Rice Roll in XO Sauce - Fried Chee Cheong Fun ($4.20) They didn't have steamed chee cheong fun. Not even a single kind. This is the only one they have and apparently it's their signature dish. Well, we thought it tasted like Char Kway Tiao. It was quite oily and didn't have much liquor taste in case you're wondering. We were quite sad we can't have our regular rice rolls really.
Banana Roll with Shrimp ($3.80) We didn't order this but it appeared and we ate absent-mindedly. The taste of the banana was quite strong and it went pretty well with the shrimp I guess though I found it a little weird at first.
Fried Carrot Cake ($3.20) It was pretty oily and wasn't very smooth. I've had much smoother ones and 3 pieces for this price is a tad expensive.
Beancurd Roll with Shrimp- Fu Pi Juan ($3.50) I found that the skin wasn't crisp enough for my liking.
Mango Pomelo Cream ($4) A small serving at this price, I'd expected much more. But the taste of the mango was lacking and finding pomelo is like a mini treasure hunt in this bowl. It was served cold but but quite chilled enough. I would have preferred it if it were sweeter.
Hashima Jelly ($6) My companions had this and I didn't try it. They said it was average though...
Inclusive of tea, towels, pickles, service charge and GST, it cost 3 of us $53.80. The service is alright with them topping up the tea often and they took extra care with the baby around (except one absent minded lady) However I don't think this is worth another visit.... unless I'm in the area and there isn't much of anything else.
Being a dessert (chocolate) fan, no one could stop me from Melvados once I knew they were famous for their brownies. Totally psyched, I travelled all the way to the other end of Singapore for a lazy Sunday afternoon tea with a friend.
Situated in King's Arcade, I couldn't help but notice that the exterior is a little run-down looking. But I guess what was more important to me was the inside since it was a really hot day and I needed a good dose of cool air....
..which I didn't get... for the first time I actually asked my companion if he felt hot. I'm usually the one who doesn't complain about the temperature of the place but this one is an exception. There's a first to everything right? We were sitting pretty far from the window so we weren't subjected to the heat from outside. So it really must be the lack of air-conditioning.
That aside, I found the decor alright. Just a little sparse though. They could have more seats to make the place look more full. But as my companion pointed out, two more tables (like I suggested) could make it look crammed. But I guess they could switch to smaller tables. Nonetheless the tables and chairs didn't quite match though the sofas looked nice. I say look cos there were very few and we didn't get a chance to sit on them.
After much pondering, we ordered:
Mixed Platter Your usual mix of fried calamari, fries, onion rings and seafood cakes. I didn't like any of it. The fries were the thin sort which is pretty much oil and little potato. The onion rings lacked onion flavour. The calamari are the sort straight from the freezer and the seafood cakes were just weird. The batter used wasn't tasty and honestly I was quite sick of it after the first two pieces. And yes they seemed to have used the same batter (or at least similiar) for all 3 items, except the fries.
Black & White Kisses This is the recommended brownie on the menu. It's a brownie topped with dark and white chocolate Hershey's kisses. This brownie was the more moist one of the two we had but it's still not rich enough in my opinion. It was still a little crumbly (like a cake) and I prefer brownies which are more on the sticky side. There is a good bit of flavour though.
Sizzling Brownies Sensation This is the brownie above, served on a hot plate with your choice of ice-cream. We had expected something more and certainly didn't expect to be served the same brownie. Also the hot plate was just heated up in the microwave and cooled down pretty fast after it arrived. I guess that's just as well since the ice cream was melting at super speed, resulting in a brownish puddle around the brownie after a while. Just a novelty but nothing to rave about really.
Chocolate Madness This was your regular brownie, just much drier. My little mistake.
We paid $25 in total I think and although it wasn't very much but I didn't find it worth my while after all. Service was alright and the staff wasn't exceptionally alert despite the fact that there were so few tables occupied.
1=SGD 0.0587
Yummy prawns!
It was a great lunch outing and boy the food! If not for the bright bright sun from out the window, it might seem like we were having a dinner feast! Ha!
The spread was good. But there's two item that I enjoyed most! And both are prawns!
The first prawn dish was an add on to the set menu ordered. This is one of their signature dish, the Wasabi Prawn balls. The wasabi prawn wasn't powerful enough. It tasted more like salad prawn with all the fruits (honeydew, dragonfruit bits and strawberries) that came with it. Nevertheless, it was nice and easy to eat too. (No need to peel the shell mah! Haha!) Give me this dish alone and I'll be happy to eat it with a bowl of rice.
The next one was from the set menu, not sure about the name, but it seems like cereal butter prawn. (Picture) Before the prawn was served, waiter brought a bowl of lemon water and everyone started discussing whether the ladies or the men will be doing the peeling. Haha! Everyone sighed a sign of relief when the prawn was served. The prawn was big and fragrant. The mixed of dried chilli, curry leaves and dried shrimp makes the whole dish very flavorful and yummy. Enjoyed it!
Rating given:
Many would have known by now that I've been suffering from teeth problems for a few weeks now. I had been the patient of a popular dental chain until recently when the last job by them was poorly done and was very painful.
The last job started to give me problems and I asked around for recommendations. My colleague gave me the address of this clinic and I booked an appointment. There are four inhouse dentists so it's quite easy to get an appointment.
I went for my first visit which was pretty normal. A Dr. Chan (I think), a lady dentist, tended to me and she explained that she needed to do a re-filling. She was gentle and professional but certainly didn't waste any time with me. I was out in a jiffy so that she could move on to the next patient. No complaints I guess. But she did mention that the refilling might not help things as the damage might be too bad. So she told me to go back if the pain continues.
True enough, the pain came back fast and more furious. So I called them and managed to get an appointment with Dr. Leonard Tan in a few days.
Dr. Tan is the reason why I'm writing this review really. With the pain I was having I was really afraid when I went into the room as my gums and teeth were really sensitive at that point. But Dr. Tan was really gentle and I felt at ease in the chair. He was really careful when probing the affected area and didn't poke too hard until he was sure I wouldn't scream. (heh) Then he took me over for an X-ray and while waiting for the X-ray results, he patiently explained to me my options if the results were BAD.
He clearly explained what the root canal treatment was and told me exactly how much it cost. He didn't harp on it and told me I have other options like having the problem extracted.
When the results came back and were not conclusive, he advised me to tolerate the pain a bit and told me to do a number of things to see if they spark off unbearable pain which will point to damaged nerves.
What I really liked was how he wasn't money-minded and gave me my options and let me make the choice. He didn't charge me for this consultation and he gave me painkillers for free too. He only charged me $15 for the X-ray. Very reasonable isn't it?
Immensely happy with the service, I think I will make Dr. Tan my regular dentist. My colleague also recommended Dr. Zhou whom she said had plenty of experience.
Rating given:
Love this place!
Went for the first time with my friends. One of my friends live near the other branch so he took us to eat at this branch since it's nearer to school.
The staff is very friendly! (and maybe because I speak Malay/Indonesian.. Hahaha) You can choose to "hidang" which means you choose 4 to 5 dishes to eat together with your friends (and of course 1 plate of rice for each) or just eat "econ-rice-style", choosing various dishes to go with your 1 plate of rice. They serve rendangs, eggs, various vegetable plates, and super duper delicious tahu telor!
And it's soooo cheap. I usually only spend 4 dollars for a very fulfilling meal. My friend who ordered the most (plus some fishes and some other other things..) ended up spending only 7 dollars. Wow.
Once went there with ping.sg friends and they liked it a lot too!
Haven't gone there in a while. Will go there soon~~~
Rating given:
Nice concept, so-so food, too expensive...
If you have read some of my reviews you might already know that my boyfriend is a big sucker for Japanese food and since we like to eat together (it's like our favourite pastime as a couple. ahahaha), I agreed when he brought me to this Marche-like Japanese restaurant.
First impression.. Cool. Stalls offer different food.. And there are purikuras (photo sticker station) at the middle of the restaurant. Didn't try it though.
Went there twice and our orders were kinda the same. Omu rice.. Gyoza.. Omelette.. Some satays.. Hmm can't remember.. (yes we order a lottttttt)
The omu rice is like.. er... Rice with tomato ketchup. I know it's supposed to be some tomato rice, but really.. Tastes like rice dipped in tomato sauce. And we gotta wait so long.. About 7 minutes plus. Well I would have been able to agree had the restaurant not been empty (it was not "peak hour"). Same goes to other items. Gotta wait for minutes and minutes and minutes. It's getting irritating when you order a lot and expect to eat soon (and the restaurant is not crowded!) but told to wait wait and wait. Sigh..
Ended up with 30 plus bill. My wallet is not happy...
Rating given:
Love this shop! I frequent the one in The Cathay.
Tried it the first time because my friend forced me to buy the meesua. It was very nice! I don't like oyster though so I didn't eat the oyster. My boyfriend likes the crispy xxl chicken. However he (and I) are not allowed to eat deep fried food so often anymore so we don't buy it so often. I like the crepes! I always order the crepes. It's not too expensive but tastes really good.
Overall, I think it's nice ;) although can be sinful sometimes.. Find out how much calories are inside that crispy xxxxxl chicken. =P
Rating given:
This is a long overdue post. It's been so long that I even got rid of the pictures I took at this place unknowingly.
I dropped by one weekday afternoon with two other friends for an early lunch and was pretty excited to try out the more upmarket version of Aston's Specialties.
I ordered the King Salmon Steak ($22.90) whilst my two friends had steak. You can get their opinion of the steaks above. I tried a couple of bites from their steak and wasn't impressed. They asked for their steaks to be done medium rare... but didn't get medium rare....
My Salmon turned out to be medium rare instead. One end was even uncooked. I've never tasted salmon so horribly done really. Somewhere in between the salmon was mushy and I couldn't tell whether it's because of the way it was done or that it wasn't fresh. I struggled to finish and in the end I couldn't bear to finish it anymore.
The only thing I really liked was the fries. They were the fat sort I liked and were lightly seasoned, making them tasty on their own without sauces. *yums*
The service was reasonable with the people talking to us before the cameras were whipped out. But when they did notice the cameras, I reckoned we got more attention than other patrons.
I seriously think I would really consder before going back again.
Rating given:
I'd never really been a fan of U.R.S but I was on a hunt for shoes that day and have exhausted all other options. So into this shop I went looking for the right shoes.
I was surprised to see the very similiar designs... almost identical to the ones I've seen in the other shops. They also have the designs I wanted in more acceptable colours like white brown and black. They also seem to have a larger range of working class shoes.
At first when I walked in, I was ignored by the staff nearest to the door. We looked at each other eye to eye and she turned away quickly. I had expected at least a smile or a "welcome" but was given none. I was tempted to walk out but knowing that I didn't have any other shops to go, I stayed a bit more.
Then I spotted them. The shoes I wanted in simple brown colour and they were on sale! I picked up the shoes and immediately a sweet young sales assistant appeared by my side. She offered to get the shoes in two different sizes as I wasn't sure what size I would wear. She also recommended some others which were similiar and I happily agreed to try.
After trying on about 7-9 pairs of shoes I finally bought three. The same lady served me throughout while serving some other customers. I found her to be very approachable, unlike her colleague. But later on when I was paying I found out that all of them were trainees. Apparently they are all studying and this is like attachment for them. So the other girl was very nervous which was why she turned away. I guess it's relatively forgivable then. The prices of the shoes are reasonable. An alternative to Charles and Keith I guess... despite U.R.S being around much longer than them.
Rating given:
Sweet Indulgence is a quaint little place found in the CBD maze. It was a challenge for a few of us that night but everyone managed to turn up in the end.
Due to the way the restaurant is built (lengthwise) our table had to be long and the area inside was pretty crammed. People sitting inside daren't move about too much for the fear of being too troublesome.
But the decor of the place was quite nice. I was initially worried it would be a little warm for some but it wasn't. The lighting was a little dim for photo-taking but we still managed. I like the bar counter and the little piano at the side. The boss even invited people to play on the piano in exchange for a glass of wine.
Food Served:Complimentary bread
I was hungry when I had this so I'm probably not a very good judge. It had a slight taste of herbs to it but that was all. It wasn't warm nor soft enough. But it's reasonable I guess.
Salad
A very simple salad. period.
Cream of Broccoli
Most of the others said it was salty but my brother and I felt it was fine. Odd isn't it. We actually finished everything and were quite pleased with it. Maybe it's because we're broccoli lovers. The odd thing about this soup was that it was served AFTER the main course.
Garlic Prawns
Thank goodness for the prawns. 4 bowls of prawns were plonked on the table to be shared by the people surrounding iit. Ours were shared by 5. The prawns came the same time as the salad and saved the day. They were fresh and had just enough bite. They were also in a flavourful dressing/sauce which I found to be quite special.
Poached Salmon with White Sauce & Herbs, served with Pasta and Seasonal Vegetables
Firstly, I have to say that every plate of salmon was different. Ours was without the fishy taste/smell though my neighbour's had. We thought it could be due to the fact that ours was slightly smaller. The pasta was slightly overcooked and tasteless.
Oven Baked Chicken Thigh Steak with Crisp Skin served with Chef Sauce & Potato Mash infused with Vanilla and Cream
I only liked the potato mash really. The chicken wasn't fantastic. I refused to eat the skin as it was quite soggy not crisp and the meat inside though marinated, wasn't very tasty.
Strawberry Cheesecake
I didn't even know what it was when I was eating it. We were arguing about what it was. Some said it was Strawberry shortcake whilst others said it was just a cake. I didn't like it at all and didn't finish mine. It had a very odd smell to it, which I wasn't accustomed to.
Warm Choco Lava Indulgence
We had to share this among the 5 of us as a complimentary dessert. Although I liked the taste of the chocolate oozing out and the taste of the crust but I can't help but dislike the texture of the crust. I don't like the whole thing to crumble into bits the moment one takes a stab at it.
Each of us paid $33 that night. We were full but weren't overly so. I guess it's reasonable as it includes a drink but I had certainly expected more. Not worth a planned visit but if you're nearby I guess it's alright.
I was thinking that they were very unprepared for a mini-crowd like us and maybe they would do better if there were less people? I was just thinking. Ah well.
Rating given:
An afternoon tea date with the girlfriends brought me to Zhou's Kitchen at Far East Square. I don't quite know what possessed us to be so brave to as to travel all the way to the CBD area with a newborn baby, but we did. Not to mention we weren't sure where it was and was initially mistakened that it was the one situated above the food court.
After some walking, we caught sight of the lime green bamboos and found ourselves on the doorstep of the restaurant that weekday afternoon. Even at 2pm, the place was still bustling with activity and we were glad we made reservations.
The decor of the place was quite modern with an oriental touch to it. Quite pleasing to the eye really and the lighting was comfortable without being too dim for photo-taking.
Once settled, we took a look at the menu and were a little disappointed that the list was quite short. There wasn't much variety though they seemed to have most of the items we want... except one - the conventional chee cheong fun.
Food ordered:
BBQ Pork Buns - Char Siew Bao ($3.20 for 3)
The highlight of our meal. We had two servings of this. I liked the fluffiness of the outside and the filling wasn't too sweet. It was just right and it didn't have much fatty meat. My companions enjoyed this one too. But sadly that was all....
Steamed Pork Dumplings ($3.50 for 3)
I'm not really a fan of pork dumplings so I guess I shouldn't comment on this. But I really found the skin a little too thick and dry for me. The filling was average and it wasn't juicy enough inside.
Steamed Shrimp Dumplings - Har Gao ($4.20 for 3)
Same problem here. The skin was a tad too thick and dry. I wonder if it was because we were there close to the end of lunch time. But it really shouldn't be that way. The prawn inside was ok. It wasn't very fresh but it wasn't "stale" either.
Fried Rice Roll in XO Sauce - Fried Chee Cheong Fun ($4.20)
They didn't have steamed chee cheong fun. Not even a single kind. This is the only one they have and apparently it's their signature dish. Well, we thought it tasted like Char Kway Tiao. It was quite oily and didn't have much liquor taste in case you're wondering. We were quite sad we can't have our regular rice rolls really.
Banana Roll with Shrimp ($3.80)
We didn't order this but it appeared and we ate absent-mindedly. The taste of the banana was quite strong and it went pretty well with the shrimp I guess though I found it a little weird at first.
Fried Carrot Cake ($3.20)
It was pretty oily and wasn't very smooth. I've had much smoother ones and 3 pieces for this price is a tad expensive.
Beancurd Roll with Shrimp- Fu Pi Juan ($3.50)
I found that the skin wasn't crisp enough for my liking.
Mango Pomelo Cream ($4)
A small serving at this price, I'd expected much more. But the taste of the mango was lacking and finding pomelo is like a mini treasure hunt in this bowl. It was served cold but but quite chilled enough. I would have preferred it if it were sweeter.
Hashima Jelly ($6)
My companions had this and I didn't try it. They said it was average though...
Inclusive of tea, towels, pickles, service charge and GST, it cost 3 of us $53.80. The service is alright with them topping up the tea often and they took extra care with the baby around (except one absent minded lady) However I don't think this is worth another visit.... unless I'm in the area and there isn't much of anything else.
Rating given:
Being a dessert (chocolate) fan, no one could stop me from Melvados once I knew they were famous for their brownies. Totally psyched, I travelled all the way to the other end of Singapore for a lazy Sunday afternoon tea with a friend.
Situated in King's Arcade, I couldn't help but notice that the exterior is a little run-down looking. But I guess what was more important to me was the inside since it was a really hot day and I needed a good dose of cool air....
..which I didn't get... for the first time I actually asked my companion if he felt hot. I'm usually the one who doesn't complain about the temperature of the place but this one is an exception. There's a first to everything right? We were sitting pretty far from the window so we weren't subjected to the heat from outside. So it really must be the lack of air-conditioning.
That aside, I found the decor alright. Just a little sparse though. They could have more seats to make the place look more full. But as my companion pointed out, two more tables (like I suggested) could make it look crammed. But I guess they could switch to smaller tables. Nonetheless the tables and chairs didn't quite match though the sofas looked nice. I say look cos there were very few and we didn't get a chance to sit on them.
After much pondering, we ordered:
Mixed Platter
Your usual mix of fried calamari, fries, onion rings and seafood cakes. I didn't like any of it. The fries were the thin sort which is pretty much oil and little potato. The onion rings lacked onion flavour. The calamari are the sort straight from the freezer and the seafood cakes were just weird. The batter used wasn't tasty and honestly I was quite sick of it after the first two pieces. And yes they seemed to have used the same batter (or at least similiar) for all 3 items, except the fries.
Black & White Kisses
This is the recommended brownie on the menu. It's a brownie topped with dark and white chocolate Hershey's kisses. This brownie was the more moist one of the two we had but it's still not rich enough in my opinion. It was still a little crumbly (like a cake) and I prefer brownies which are more on the sticky side. There is a good bit of flavour though.
Sizzling Brownies Sensation
This is the brownie above, served on a hot plate with your choice of ice-cream. We had expected something more and certainly didn't expect to be served the same brownie. Also the hot plate was just heated up in the microwave and cooled down pretty fast after it arrived. I guess that's just as well since the ice cream was melting at super speed, resulting in a brownish puddle around the brownie after a while. Just a novelty but nothing to rave about really.
Chocolate Madness
This was your regular brownie, just much drier. My little mistake.
We paid $25 in total I think and although it wasn't very much but I didn't find it worth my while after all. Service was alright and the staff wasn't exceptionally alert despite the fact that there were so few tables occupied.
I don't think I would be back.
Rating given: