Being attracted to the cosy and modern looking cafe, my friends and I decided to have dinner there. There was a queue outside, but the waitress was friendly and handed each of us a menu to decide on what we would like to have.
Soon, we were ushered to comfortable sofa seats at a corner beside the entrance, which was cosy and not too open due to the translucent purple curtain separating us and the crowd walking along outside. Ambience was quite nice. :)
After we were seated, we were given a bottle of water and 4 glasses. It was really quite disappointing when we're paying the 10% service charge, and we have to serve ourselves.
The menu was quite extensive, with a variety of items that looked really delicious. 4 of us were quite spoilt for choice. :P Hmm..but the downside of things were that, some food were unavailable in kitchen and some drinks were also unavailable.
I ordered some seafood pasta, and when it came, it looked really appealing due to the presentation of the dish. The seafood were fresh, and all in all it was quite good. :) Hmm..the portion of the pasta was a little too small though. My friend's mango-chicken dish was also quite special, as the mango was in the chicken and it was quite nice..
Dessert was fine too. Hmm..just average and a little pricey in my opinion.
Giraffe does indeed have fabulous ambience, being situated admist the greenery at the Istana Park opposite Plaza Singapura. And regardless if you were sitting indoors or outdoors, the ambience is just as nice. :)
Some people may not opt for outdoor seats, for the fear of rain or humidity, yet don't fret just yet. Giraffe has great comfortable seats outdoors, that are sheltered and generally cooling, especially at night.
I had a gathering with friends on the 2nd level, and the waitresses were all quite friendly and polite..though, not exactly very professional. Some orders were mixed up and they seemed quite confused at some point in time, but all in all, it was fine.
However, one thing that would prevent me from going to Giraffe, would be their limited list of food in the menu. Each of the section in the menu seemed to only have less than 8 choices, well..except for the drinks.
Oh! They do not serve water, by the way. Either you order their sparkling/distilled water at $3.90 (if i'm not wrong), or that u simply are forced to order a drink.
Food wise, I had their Seafood Ricotti and..it was okay. The seafood didn't taste that fresh, but it was alright. Just average I guess. There was nothing special in the dishes..
All in all, I guess Giraffe is only worth going if you are looking for a nice place with fabulous ambience, to just chill and relax over a drink or two.
While searching for a place to dine at for dinner, we spotted Ma Maison at the corner of the food area in Bugis Junction. It was just like a little world hidden from sight and the hustle and bustle of the crowds in the mall.
Stepping into Ma Maison, you would feel as though you have went back into the 1950s of England, in a cosy and beautiful dining place where wooden beams and intricate ornaments settled around the interior. Small orange lamps of different shapes and sizes lighted up each table with their warm and soft orange light, making the whole place simply amazing.
We had a window seat, and it'd have been nice if the view was great. Yet, all we saw were the cars zooming across and the people who were crowded in the steamboat restaurant across the road. Not something I would consider as a great view though.
Then, the food.
I had one of the popular dishes - Beef Stroganoff with Butter Rice. Mm..it was great! Simply delicious. Though it looked like a simple dish of pan fried beef with rice wrapped in an omelette, drowned by thick brown gravy, it was goooooood! :D
My friends all enjoyed their dishes as well. :) And when it was time to pay, we were all surprised! Haha.. We were given a big brass key, and were told to pass it to the cashier while walking out to make payment. What a refreshing and fun idea! :)
Overall, it was a great and enjoyable dining experience there. The service was prompt and good, and with the cosy and amazing ambience matched up with the great dishes? Wonderful. :)
Not being a fan of the donut craze in Singapore, I still found myself in the queue for the donuts at Donut Factory. The queue was shorter than usual on a particular weekday last week and thus, my friend and I decided to give this well-known donut place a try.
While queuing up, we were just spoilt for choice looking at the menu of all 16 flavours of donuts. However, I noticed that the queues weren't moving fast due to the slightly slow service by the people behind the counters, especially the cashier. Hmm.. Many of the flavours were also gone by the time we were there.
Finally, it was our turn. I got a box of 6 with Lotus Mocha, Peanut Dark Chocolate, Double Chocolate, Strawberry White Chocolate, Spicy Cheese & Mint Dark Chocolate.
I had the Double Chocolate first, and for a chocolate lover like me, it was delicious. :) The donut was soft, the chocolate was smooth and the sweetness of it was just nice for me. :)
However, I found the Strawberry White Chocolate a little too sweet for my tastebuds though. Perhaps I didn't really like the idea of it tasting like I had too much sugar and cream in my mouth. As for the rest, I got reviews from my family that they were not bad.
Hmm. Generally, I still don't see the reason why people would want to join in the long queues for donuts. Yet..comparing the donuts that I've tried at a few places so far, Donut Factory's can be considered one of the better ones. :)
I like the concept that there is a cafe by the side at this branch. Hmm..but the fact that it's overcrowded and that u can only buy a max of 2 donuts, makes the place a little less appealing.
Helmetsaid: Queue up just to buy a max of 2? Not worth it. Why border to queue if they can make money but cannot improve the productivity. 08 Oct 2007 at 11:35 pm
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My bf and I dropped by Shen Ji Seafood Garden tonight, with the main purpose of trying out the XO Crab Bee Hoon there. However, the crab looked large in the picture of their menu. Hence, we opted for their XO Fish Slices Bee Hoon ($8)instead.
The place was quite crowded, yet..not as crowded as I thought it'll be especially on a Friday night.. *hmm*
Anyway, the food came shortly and we began our little feast. :)
The XO Fish Slices Bee Hoon was actually not bad. You could taste the XO, and it really gave the soup much more taste. The fish slices were fresh, and together with their chilli (mixed with lime juice), ah..it was good. :)
However, I only said that the dish was not bad, because after the 2nd bowl followed by the 3rd bowl, both of us felt that it didn't taste as good as the 1st. I don't know if I should blame it on the fan blasting from behind us, the fact that our hunger pangs have more or less died down after the first bowl, or the dish itself.
Anyhow, our final grading of the dish was that it was o-kay. Nothing much to rave about..and..it's taste is just very slightly above average I guess. This goes for the other side dishes we had as well.
Hmm.. But considering the fact that the bill came up to $20 for both of us, seemed quite reasonable. If only the food was a a fraction (or much more) better than average~
1=SGD 0.0587
Soon, we were ushered to comfortable sofa seats at a corner beside the entrance, which was cosy and not too open due to the translucent purple curtain separating us and the crowd walking along outside. Ambience was quite nice. :)
After we were seated, we were given a bottle of water and 4 glasses. It was really quite disappointing when we're paying the 10% service charge, and we have to serve ourselves.
The menu was quite extensive, with a variety of items that looked really delicious. 4 of us were quite spoilt for choice. :P Hmm..but the downside of things were that, some food were unavailable in kitchen and some drinks were also unavailable.
I ordered some seafood pasta, and when it came, it looked really appealing due to the presentation of the dish. The seafood were fresh, and all in all it was quite good. :) Hmm..the portion of the pasta was a little too small though. My friend's mango-chicken dish was also quite special, as the mango was in the chicken and it was quite nice..
Dessert was fine too. Hmm..just average and a little pricey in my opinion.
Overall, I enjoyed my meal :)
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!They got set lunch @$10 only. Quite cheap. Should give it a try.
16 Jan 2008 at 9:32 am
Some people may not opt for outdoor seats, for the fear of rain or humidity, yet don't fret just yet. Giraffe has great comfortable seats outdoors, that are sheltered and generally cooling, especially at night.
I had a gathering with friends on the 2nd level, and the waitresses were all quite friendly and polite..though, not exactly very professional. Some orders were mixed up and they seemed quite confused at some point in time, but all in all, it was fine.
However, one thing that would prevent me from going to Giraffe, would be their limited list of food in the menu. Each of the section in the menu seemed to only have less than 8 choices, well..except for the drinks.
Oh! They do not serve water, by the way. Either you order their sparkling/distilled water at $3.90 (if i'm not wrong), or that u simply are forced to order a drink.
Food wise, I had their Seafood Ricotti and..it was okay. The seafood didn't taste that fresh, but it was alright. Just average I guess. There was nothing special in the dishes..
All in all, I guess Giraffe is only worth going if you are looking for a nice place with fabulous ambience, to just chill and relax over a drink or two.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!
Stepping into Ma Maison, you would feel as though you have went back into the 1950s of England, in a cosy and beautiful dining place where wooden beams and intricate ornaments settled around the interior. Small orange lamps of different shapes and sizes lighted up each table with their warm and soft orange light, making the whole place simply amazing.
We had a window seat, and it'd have been nice if the view was great. Yet, all we saw were the cars zooming across and the people who were crowded in the steamboat restaurant across the road. Not something I would consider as a great view though.
Then, the food.
I had one of the popular dishes - Beef Stroganoff with Butter Rice. Mm..it was great! Simply delicious. Though it looked like a simple dish of pan fried beef with rice wrapped in an omelette, drowned by thick brown gravy, it was goooooood! :D
My friends all enjoyed their dishes as well. :) And when it was time to pay, we were all surprised! Haha.. We were given a big brass key, and were told to pass it to the cashier while walking out to make payment. What a refreshing and fun idea! :)
Overall, it was a great and enjoyable dining experience there. The service was prompt and good, and with the cosy and amazing ambience matched up with the great dishes? Wonderful. :)
- 1 more comment »
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Strangely enough, Ma Maison is a jap fusion restaurant lol
09 Oct 2007 at 11:39 am
The food seems more western, but they do have a pretty japanese waitress working there on my last visit though heh
12 Oct 2007 at 2:38 am
i have always wanted to try this but the other time when i wanted to eat it, there no tables available. sigh.
17 Jul 2008 at 9:27 am
While queuing up, we were just spoilt for choice looking at the menu of all 16 flavours of donuts. However, I noticed that the queues weren't moving fast due to the slightly slow service by the people behind the counters, especially the cashier. Hmm.. Many of the flavours were also gone by the time we were there.
Finally, it was our turn. I got a box of 6 with Lotus Mocha, Peanut Dark Chocolate, Double Chocolate, Strawberry White Chocolate, Spicy Cheese & Mint Dark Chocolate.
I had the Double Chocolate first, and for a chocolate lover like me, it was delicious. :) The donut was soft, the chocolate was smooth and the sweetness of it was just nice for me. :)
However, I found the Strawberry White Chocolate a little too sweet for my tastebuds though. Perhaps I didn't really like the idea of it tasting like I had too much sugar and cream in my mouth. As for the rest, I got reviews from my family that they were not bad.
Hmm. Generally, I still don't see the reason why people would want to join in the long queues for donuts. Yet..comparing the donuts that I've tried at a few places so far, Donut Factory's can be considered one of the better ones. :)
I like the concept that there is a cafe by the side at this branch. Hmm..but the fact that it's overcrowded and that u can only buy a max of 2 donuts, makes the place a little less appealing.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Queue up just to buy a max of 2? Not worth it. Why border to queue if they can make money but cannot improve the productivity.
08 Oct 2007 at 11:35 pm
The place was quite crowded, yet..not as crowded as I thought it'll be especially on a Friday night.. *hmm*
Anyway, the food came shortly and we began our little feast. :)
The XO Fish Slices Bee Hoon was actually not bad. You could taste the XO, and it really gave the soup much more taste. The fish slices were fresh, and together with their chilli (mixed with lime juice), ah..it was good. :)
However, I only said that the dish was not bad, because after the 2nd bowl followed by the 3rd bowl, both of us felt that it didn't taste as good as the 1st. I don't know if I should blame it on the fan blasting from behind us, the fact that our hunger pangs have more or less died down after the first bowl, or the dish itself.
Anyhow, our final grading of the dish was that it was o-kay. Nothing much to rave about..and..it's taste is just very slightly above average I guess. This goes for the other side dishes we had as well.
Hmm.. But considering the fact that the bill came up to $20 for both of us, seemed quite reasonable. If only the food was a a fraction (or much more) better than average~
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