A dinner with my ex colleagues and they had to bring me to a ulu place for dinner, out of all places. That is what I thought but the then place is within walking distance (5 mins) from Kallang MRT station.
The restaurant got air con and open air eating places. It was packed to brim. I started to have expectations for this place alr!
The waitress was good and recommended some of the dishes to us including their signatures CRABS!
So we ordered:
1. Fried Rice: It was pretty good on its own and very fragrant as well.
2. Signautre Tofu: This one is jz 2 big pcs of tofu with minced meat on them. Nothing special. Taste good though. Hee...
3. Mango Fried Fish: This is a special fried and crispy fish with sweet and sour sauce with thick slices of mango. I loved this dish!
4. Sambal kangkong: Normal. Hee...
We got 2 crabs and done in 2 different ways. Thei signature dishes! I have to say that I loved both dishes!
5. Chili Crab: The crab is freaking big and fresh. The meat jz slide off from the shell without much effort. The chili sauce is so good on its own and not really very hot as well. Use the man tuo to dip into the sauce is simply heaven!
6. Butter Salted Egg Crab: This is a special one. Nvr tasted it before. Surprised by the taste as the salted egg did not turn out to be really salted yet about to bring the tast of the butter crab to a higher level! Unqiue.
The service of the place is very good and prompt. They will served all the dishes less the crabs, after we are more or less done with the dishes, the crabs will appear in front of us. Well to me, this is good, after all eating crabs can be a bit of mess.
The price is also reasonable, coming to about $200 plus with drinks.
I found a new place from crabs and think will be going back more often!
Didn't fancy jostling with the crowds for a seat during dinner so popped by Oscar's for a relatively peaceful meal far from the maddening crowds.
Located on the ground floor of Conrad Centennial, this versatile cafe is known for its international buffet spreads, but we decided to go against the norm and opted for ala carte instead. Decor is rather "cafeish" with a good mix of wood and opulent lighting, complete with Birds of Paradise donning the place.
Personally, I thought the chicken & mango wrap was nicely done as the wrap was lightly toasted and not too thick. The filling of chicken and mango went well with what tasted like the peanut sauce found in Rojak - sweet yet not overwhelming. Fresh crunchy vegetables added zest and juiciness to the dish. Lest expectations shoot too high for this dish, let me just say that its decent, but not outstanding.
Conrad Burger - I've developed a penchant for burgers recently so got myself their signature burger to try. The finely grounded beef patty was a little too overdone but still relatively juicy and tasty without coming too strong on the raw beef taste. Bacon strips beneath a buttery toasted bun provided a nice salty taste.
Oscar's Profiteroles - The profiteroles were quite a bit of a let down. Firstly, they didn't come drenched in chocolate (unlike the ones in France), which would have made it so much nicer. You would have probably guessed that the chocolate syrup was woefully inadequate. On the upside, the ice cream was nice and smooth but strangely enough, the pistachio ice cream tasted more like almond to me.
Chocolate Royal Hazelnut Crunch - A most delightful (and not to mention sinful) dessert, the hazelnut crunch was light and not too rich, complete with a nice wafer biscuit base. Very much like eating a smooth rendition of Rocher, which I personally fancy quite a bit. I didn't quite take to the macaroon, cold Sauternes Sabayon or tropical fruit though.
$85 for 1 appetiser, 1 main and 2 desserts certainly doesn't qualify as value for money. However, food quality is arguably above average so that might just lessen the pain of forking out so much money a wee bit. Service, though professional, could have been friendlier.
Fans of the now defunct PaPi at Mohd Sultan road will be happy to know that Chef Salvatore, who headed the kitchens there, has ventured out to start a new Italian restaurant - La Noce.
Hidden in a secluded area just along Chu Lin Road, off the Hillview estate, La Noce, which means "Walnut", is a tiny eatery which can probably hold about 35 pax. The interior is simply furnished and instantly puts one at ease with its cosiness and warmth. Please be warned that its not an easy place to find but if you do find it, there's free valet parking available. And public transport is a big no no, unless you are willing to walk.
The complimentary bread was a joke. Charred on the outside and dry on the inside. It wasn't served warm as well. What else can I say?
Vitello Tonnato - For $18, I had honestly expected more. Sure, the veal was thinly sliced but the taste was overwhelmed by the tuna sauce so much so that you could have substituted the veal with ham and I wouldn't really be able to tell the difference. Still a decent dish though.
Ravioli White Truffle - You could have imagined my delight when I heard from our waiter that La Noce was actually doing a special of White Truffle Ravioli. Honestly, for $24 a pop, I certainly didn't expect much. However, what I got was way below expectations. The white truffle flakes, if any, were drowned by the cream sauce which was a pity really, considering that white truffles have to be eaten with something light to bring out its aroma and taste. The stuffing inside the Ravioli, which our waiter claimed was made from white truffles (a most unbelievable statement considering the prohibitive prices of white truffles), tasted like mashed up cheese and together with the cream sauce, made for a nausea inducing dish.
Quattro Stagioni - The Stagioni, or 4 seasons pizza as it's also known, was decent but not outstanding. The crust, though thin, was way too hard and I had problems cutting through it. Quantity of ingredients was sufficient though.
La Noce Souffle - This has got to be one of the lousier Chocolate Souffles that I've ever eaten. Minimal chocolate oozed out of the cake when I broke through the crust, which was a bummer really. The texture of the cake didn't taste like cake, but more of kueh, soft and a tad elastic. And $14 for this is a joke.
Dessert Platter - Tiramisu, pine nuts pie, Panna Cotta and Profiteroles made up the dessert platter and honestly, none were outstanding, all average at best. The tiramisu has no alcohol in it, which would still have been acceptable if it was fluffy and moist - both of which were lacking. The profiteroles were reminiscent of the ones in France, freshly drenched in chocolate and served. The only glaring difference was that the ones from La Noce were drenched in chocolate and then left to sit before serving, which made the pastry rather soft.
Sadly, even the quintessential panna cotta wasn't up to the mark. It wasn't very quivery or sweet enough. The pine nut pie was the best of the lot, with the pine but filling light yet tasty. But still not outstanding.
$490 for 7 pax is honestly a case of too little, too much. Too little in terms of quality/value and too much in terms of cost. Service is excellent and so is the hospitality of Chef Salvatore, but he needs to bring back the standards of PaPi before I'll even considering stepping in again.
Hopped into Sketches with a friend for dinner one day. I 'd always wanted to try this place with its DIY pasta but I never had the chance till recently.
We were all excited to be able to make our own pastas. Much like creators of our own destines really. It was exciting to be able to put together your favourite ingredients in hope of making a great pasta dish.
We ordered: Garlic Bread 2 Mushroom Soups 2 Pasta Dishes (custom made-Hungry size) - Fusilli in Napoletana (Italian Tomato Sauce) with bacon, ham, mushroom and green peas - Fusilli and Spaghetti in Alfredo Sauce with garlic, carrots, bacon, mushroom and chicken
The garlic bread was pretty normal, done with the store-bought garlic spreads. Not quite worth the money though but I like to have my soup with bread.
The Soups were served with smaller pieces of garlic bread. I enjoyed the soup as it was thick and flavourful. And very filling. Next time I'll probably share it so that I can leave more space for my creation.
Claudia was right to say that "Hungry size" which is the smaller size is definitely able to fill any regular eater and more. Quite a large portion really so I can't imagine what Starving Size looks like. Mine which is the one in the Napoletana Sauce was quite ... average. I'm obviously not a good pasta designer. The ingredients I picked were similiar in taste so there wasn't any variation, resulting in a edible but uninteresting dish. My companion's pasta was much better. It had garlic in it which made the dish very fragrant, a nice sharp contrast to the rest of the ingredients.
The service was generally good. Water was topped up and the people were patient with us as we asked about the items. The only thing is that the bill came really slowly which made me think that they had forgotten.
The damage was slightly under $45, which I think is pretty reasonable for sizeable servings. It was enough for 3 people, so the two of us couldn't finish.
I would be back for more... and will remember to have garlic next time :)
I love their their portobello mushroom burger, crisscut fries, onion rings & of course their DIY ice lemon tea!
Yes, they serve very huge burgers which I can't finish by myself. Haha.... They are very generous with their mushrooms & it goes really well with the melted cheese. Yummy! Their fries are large and crispy too, especially their onion rings which is definitely worth a mention. In the thin crust of flour is not more flour but real onions! An of course fast food should come in a set. So the drink comes in free flow where the cashier will just give you an empty cup upon ordering. Then you can proceed to the drinks counter to get your drinks. I like their ice lemon tea as it is home-brewed tea & you can add the lemons, sugar syrup & ice according to your preference. My favourite task is to add as much lemon into it as possible. Haha....
Though it's fast food, it's worth the sins to have it sometimes. Haha....
Somehow, I feel that their standard has dropped or probably I've ordered the wrong dish that day. I was browsing through the the menu for the oven-baked & the dish 'Posh Spice' just caught my eye as it's spicy pasta/rice dish topped with mushrooms (my favourite!) and lots of cheese. Hehe... But then, after eating it, I didn't quite like it. The pasta came with a cream base sauce & had mayonaise in it. In the end I could not finish the pasta.
Another thing to note about this outlet is that their eating area is just next to kitchen. So you'll have the smell of cooked food after dining in there. Service was average, need to wave a few times to get their attention.
Well, I think I'll go back again for my favourite mushroom madness pizza & the mushroom attack sphagetti but not their Posh Spice anymore.
This is a bakery that my colleagues & I will never miss whenever we go Holland Village for lunch. The very first bread I bought from the bakery was their wassant & even till now, it remained as one of my favourites. More breads have been added to my favourites list since then. Haha....
Ok, start off with the wassant. It comes in 2 flavours, chocolate & custard. The wassants are sold in a pack of 10, costing $5, and it's really up to your preference whether you want all 10 to be chocolate or custard ones or a mix of the 2 flavours. So what's so special about their wassants? I think it's the soft texture of the bread and the rich chocolate/ custard taste which make them taste so good. As it is made up of a layer of bread rolled up into a small bun, I enjoy eating by unrolling the layers. Hee hee...
Besides their wassants, I like their Brazillian cheese (which some said it tasted like spoilt bread. Oh no! It doesn't!!), milk pan (rich creamy filling!) & blueberry cheese. But the cost of their bread is definitely on the higher side. Yet I've never walked out of the shop without spending like 10-20 bucks on just bread & not even my lunch yet. Haha...
Their service is also excellent. Very friendly staff who greet you very warmly.
Was invited for a dinner at Sketches last night. Never really wanted to try this place out, so I didn't know what to expect from this place. The first impression I got when I stepped in was the smell from the kitchen. It's open concept kitchen is right smack in the center of the restaurant. And the smell will get stuck to your clothes and hair after you're done dining. Hence not recommended if you're not heading home after meal at Sketches. Alternatively, try to sit outside away from the Kitchen. It might help reduce the lingering "Food court" after smell on you.
As we were late, the menu was cleared from the table as others had already ordered. We attempted couple of time to get someone to give us a menu, and only after thrice before we caught a waitress. (All of them seemed to be busy clustering somewhere behind the restaurant...)
We were presented 2 different menu. One with listing of all ala carte orders and the other one which looks like a giant notepad where you have boxes to tick and create your own "Designer" pasta. My bf choice to go for the pasta and I ordered the wild mushroom pizza.
First the pasta came, and after "digging" through the plate, we discovered that they got our order wrong. We choice 2 different pasta but they only used one. We told the waitress and she cleared the plate and got the kitchen to remake for us. (Yes we saw her dumping the entire plate of pasta into the bin when she walked back to the kitchen. Advantage of an open concept kitchen for customers.)
The right combination of pasta arrived shortly. The taste was pretty good. And the serving for the small size is already quite filling. Unless you're super hungry or sharing with friends, I'll not recommend you to tick the bigger servings.
They took quite a long time to serve my mushroom pizza. When it finally arrived, I was disappointed. The pizza was alittle too tough on the dough and the shrooms on it were tasteless. The cheese wasn't well spread and I was only able to taste the cheese on few slices of the entire pizza. The rest were just covered with few pieces of sliced shrooms. I had to whack quite abit of shredded cheese and tabasco sauce on the pizza to make it taste slightly better.
Overall the place was quite nice, pricing was reasonable. I'll probably go back for their pasta since I can choose what I want in it and I'll totally avoid the pizzas.
This is a newly opened outlet of The Mind Cafe, in fact, it was only opened on last Friday. This probably explains why I didn't see the typical weekend crowd typical of the other 2 outlets when I went on last Sunday.
Since there's 6 of us, we took up the sixers' package which includes 6 drinks, 3 snackers & 2 munchies and 2 hrs of boardgames. Heez...
So what games did we play? As most of my friends were 1st-timer in boardgame, the staff recommended some beginners' games such as Jurassic Jumble to us. It was fun! But if you are a more`experienced boardgamer, you can always try out intermediate or advanced games which requite more thinking & strategies. Some of my faourite games played include Coda, Abalone & Taboo.There's in fact too many games for you to choose!
On the overall, I like the place for its service & helpful staff as well as the entire experience in the boardgame cafe. It's definitely a great place for group gatherings!
I have already been to a couple of Sushi Tei outlets but I still like this outlet the most. The reason being that it consists of 2 storeys, with the upper storey more cosy & comfortable for casual dining as you will need to remove your shoes before sitting at the table. Furthermore, there's also more pfrivacy for bigger groups on the upper level as there's partitions separating the tables.
Coming to their food. For their rice & noodles, I find them quite normal, nothing very special. It is in fact their sushi & other side dishes which attract me so much.
Their sushi are very fresh and among all, my favourites include Golden roll and the umagi. The Golden roll is basically sushi rice wrapped around a big fried prawn and then topped up with mango slices. Sweet & a little sour taste from the mango plus the crispy,succulent prawn. Gd combination! As for the umagi, or I simply call it the eel omelette, I like the combination of the sweetness from the sweet omelette & that of the eel. I find it quite special.
They will also come up with various season promotion. Like for now, they have this Hokkaido promotion where they serve hairy crab. So if you are interested, you can look out for their various promotions at different times of the year.
On the overall, what makes my colleagues & I go back for so many times is not just the food but the service as well. We do not have to wait very long to be served & the waitresses are prompt in refilling our green tea. It's a great experience dining there!
1=SGD 0.0587
A dinner with my ex colleagues and they had to bring me to a ulu place for dinner, out of all places. That is what I thought but the then place is within walking distance (5 mins) from Kallang MRT station.
The restaurant got air con and open air eating places. It was packed to brim. I started to have expectations for this place alr!
The waitress was good and recommended some of the dishes to us including their signatures CRABS!
So we ordered:
1. Fried Rice: It was pretty good on its own and very fragrant as well.
2. Signautre Tofu: This one is jz 2 big pcs of tofu with minced meat on them. Nothing special. Taste good though. Hee...
3. Mango Fried Fish: This is a special fried and crispy fish with sweet and sour sauce with thick slices of mango. I loved this dish!
4. Sambal kangkong: Normal. Hee...
We got 2 crabs and done in 2 different ways. Thei signature dishes! I have to say that I loved both dishes!
5. Chili Crab: The crab is freaking big and fresh. The meat jz slide off from the shell without much effort. The chili sauce is so good on its own and not really very hot as well. Use the man tuo to dip into the sauce is simply heaven!
6. Butter Salted Egg Crab: This is a special one. Nvr tasted it before. Surprised by the taste as the salted egg did not turn out to be really salted yet about to bring the tast of the butter crab to a higher level! Unqiue.
The service of the place is very good and prompt. They will served all the dishes less the crabs, after we are more or less done with the dishes, the crabs will appear in front of us. Well to me, this is good, after all eating crabs can be a bit of mess.
The price is also reasonable, coming to about $200 plus with drinks.
I found a new place from crabs and think will be going back more often!
Rating given:
Didn't fancy jostling with the crowds for a seat during dinner so popped by Oscar's for a relatively peaceful meal far from the maddening crowds.
Located on the ground floor of Conrad Centennial, this versatile cafe is known for its international buffet spreads, but we decided to go against the norm and opted for ala carte instead. Decor is rather "cafeish" with a good mix of wood and opulent lighting, complete with Birds of Paradise donning the place.
Personally, I thought the chicken & mango wrap was nicely done as the wrap was lightly toasted and not too thick. The filling of chicken and mango went well with what tasted like the peanut sauce found in Rojak - sweet yet not overwhelming. Fresh crunchy vegetables added zest and juiciness to the dish. Lest expectations shoot too high for this dish, let me just say that its decent, but not outstanding.
Conrad Burger - I've developed a penchant for burgers recently so got myself their signature burger to try. The finely grounded beef patty was a little too overdone but still relatively juicy and tasty without coming too strong on the raw beef taste. Bacon strips beneath a buttery toasted bun provided a nice salty taste.
Oscar's Profiteroles - The profiteroles were quite a bit of a let down. Firstly, they didn't come drenched in chocolate (unlike the ones in France), which would have made it so much nicer. You would have probably guessed that the chocolate syrup was woefully inadequate. On the upside, the ice cream was nice and smooth but strangely enough, the pistachio ice cream tasted more like almond to me.
Chocolate Royal Hazelnut Crunch - A most delightful (and not to mention sinful) dessert, the hazelnut crunch was light and not too rich, complete with a nice wafer biscuit base. Very much like eating a smooth rendition of Rocher, which I personally fancy quite a bit. I didn't quite take to the macaroon, cold Sauternes Sabayon or tropical fruit though.
$85 for 1 appetiser, 1 main and 2 desserts certainly doesn't qualify as value for money. However, food quality is arguably above average so that might just lessen the pain of forking out so much money a wee bit. Service, though professional, could have been friendlier.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
Fans of the now defunct PaPi at Mohd Sultan road will be happy to know that Chef Salvatore, who headed the kitchens there, has ventured out to start a new Italian restaurant - La Noce.
Hidden in a secluded area just along Chu Lin Road, off the Hillview estate, La Noce, which means "Walnut", is a tiny eatery which can probably hold about 35 pax. The interior is simply furnished and instantly puts one at ease with its cosiness and warmth. Please be warned that its not an easy place to find but if you do find it, there's free valet parking available. And public transport is a big no no, unless you are willing to walk.
The complimentary bread was a joke. Charred on the outside and dry on the inside. It wasn't served warm as well. What else can I say?
Vitello Tonnato - For $18, I had honestly expected more. Sure, the veal was thinly sliced but the taste was overwhelmed by the tuna sauce so much so that you could have substituted the veal with ham and I wouldn't really be able to tell the difference. Still a decent dish though.
Ravioli White Truffle - You could have imagined my delight when I heard from our waiter that La Noce was actually doing a special of White Truffle Ravioli. Honestly, for $24 a pop, I certainly didn't expect much. However, what I got was way below expectations. The white truffle flakes, if any, were drowned by the cream sauce which was a pity really, considering that white truffles have to be eaten with something light to bring out its aroma and taste. The stuffing inside the Ravioli, which our waiter claimed was made from white truffles (a most unbelievable statement considering the prohibitive prices of white truffles), tasted like mashed up cheese and together with the cream sauce, made for a nausea inducing dish.
Quattro Stagioni - The Stagioni, or 4 seasons pizza as it's also known, was decent but not outstanding. The crust, though thin, was way too hard and I had problems cutting through it. Quantity of ingredients was sufficient though.
La Noce Souffle - This has got to be one of the lousier Chocolate Souffles that I've ever eaten. Minimal chocolate oozed out of the cake when I broke through the crust, which was a bummer really. The texture of the cake didn't taste like cake, but more of kueh, soft and a tad elastic. And $14 for this is a joke.
Dessert Platter - Tiramisu, pine nuts pie, Panna Cotta and Profiteroles made up the dessert platter and honestly, none were outstanding, all average at best. The tiramisu has no alcohol in it, which would still have been acceptable if it was fluffy and moist - both of which were lacking. The profiteroles were reminiscent of the ones in France, freshly drenched in chocolate and served. The only glaring difference was that the ones from La Noce were drenched in chocolate and then left to sit before serving, which made the pastry rather soft.
Sadly, even the quintessential panna cotta wasn't up to the mark. It wasn't very quivery or sweet enough. The pine nut pie was the best of the lot, with the pine but filling light yet tasty. But still not outstanding.
$490 for 7 pax is honestly a case of too little, too much. Too little in terms of quality/value and too much in terms of cost. Service is excellent and so is the hospitality of Chef Salvatore, but he needs to bring back the standards of PaPi before I'll even considering stepping in again.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
Hopped into Sketches with a friend for dinner one day. I 'd always wanted to try this place with its DIY pasta but I never had the chance till recently.
We were all excited to be able to make our own pastas. Much like creators of our own destines really. It was exciting to be able to put together your favourite ingredients in hope of making a great pasta dish.
We ordered:
Garlic Bread
2 Mushroom Soups
2 Pasta Dishes (custom made-Hungry size)
- Fusilli in Napoletana (Italian Tomato Sauce) with bacon,
ham, mushroom and green peas
- Fusilli and Spaghetti in Alfredo Sauce with garlic, carrots,
bacon, mushroom and chicken
The garlic bread was pretty normal, done with the store-bought garlic spreads. Not quite worth the money though but I like to have my soup with bread.
The Soups were served with smaller pieces of garlic bread. I enjoyed the soup as it was thick and flavourful. And very filling. Next time I'll probably share it so that I can leave more space for my creation.
Claudia was right to say that "Hungry size" which is the smaller size is definitely able to fill any regular eater and more. Quite a large portion really so I can't imagine what Starving Size looks like. Mine which is the one in the Napoletana Sauce was quite ... average. I'm obviously not a good pasta designer. The ingredients I picked were similiar in taste so there wasn't any variation, resulting in a edible but uninteresting dish. My companion's pasta was much better. It had garlic in it which made the dish very fragrant, a nice sharp contrast to the rest of the ingredients.
The service was generally good. Water was topped up and the people were patient with us as we asked about the items. The only thing is that the bill came really slowly which made me think that they had forgotten.
The damage was slightly under $45, which I think is pretty reasonable for sizeable servings. It was enough for 3 people, so the two of us couldn't finish.
I would be back for more... and will remember to have garlic next time :)
Rating given:
I love their their portobello mushroom burger, crisscut fries, onion rings & of course their DIY ice lemon tea!
Yes, they serve very huge burgers which I can't finish by myself. Haha.... They are very generous with their mushrooms & it goes really well with the melted cheese. Yummy! Their fries are large and crispy too, especially their onion rings which is definitely worth a mention. In the thin crust of flour is not more flour but real onions! An of course fast food should come in a set. So the drink comes in free flow where the cashier will just give you an empty cup upon ordering. Then you can proceed to the drinks counter to get your drinks. I like their ice lemon tea as it is home-brewed tea & you can add the lemons, sugar syrup & ice according to your preference. My favourite task is to add as much lemon into it as possible. Haha....
Though it's fast food, it's worth the sins to have it sometimes. Haha....
Rating given:
Somehow, I feel that their standard has dropped or probably I've ordered the wrong dish that day. I was browsing through the the menu for the oven-baked & the dish 'Posh Spice' just caught my eye as it's spicy pasta/rice dish topped with mushrooms (my favourite!) and lots of cheese. Hehe... But then, after eating it, I didn't quite like it. The pasta came with a cream base sauce & had mayonaise in it. In the end I could not finish the pasta.
Another thing to note about this outlet is that their eating area is just next to kitchen. So you'll have the smell of cooked food after dining in there. Service was average, need to wave a few times to get their attention.
Well, I think I'll go back again for my favourite mushroom madness pizza & the mushroom attack sphagetti but not their Posh Spice anymore.
Rating given:
This is a bakery that my colleagues & I will never miss whenever we go Holland Village for lunch. The very first bread I bought from the bakery was their wassant & even till now, it remained as one of my favourites. More breads have been added to my favourites list since then. Haha....
Ok, start off with the wassant. It comes in 2 flavours, chocolate & custard. The wassants are sold in a pack of 10, costing $5, and it's really up to your preference whether you want all 10 to be chocolate or custard ones or a mix of the 2 flavours. So what's so special about their wassants? I think it's the soft texture of the bread and the rich chocolate/ custard taste which make them taste so good. As it is made up of a layer of bread rolled up into a small bun, I enjoy eating by unrolling the layers. Hee hee...
Besides their wassants, I like their Brazillian cheese (which some said it tasted like spoilt bread. Oh no! It doesn't!!), milk pan (rich creamy filling!) & blueberry cheese. But the cost of their bread is definitely on the higher side. Yet I've never walked out of the shop without spending like 10-20 bucks on just bread & not even my lunch yet. Haha...
Their service is also excellent. Very friendly staff who greet you very warmly.
Rating given:
Was invited for a dinner at Sketches last night. Never really wanted to try this place out, so I didn't know what to expect from this place. The first impression I got when I stepped in was the smell from the kitchen. It's open concept kitchen is right smack in the center of the restaurant. And the smell will get stuck to your clothes and hair after you're done dining. Hence not recommended if you're not heading home after meal at Sketches. Alternatively, try to sit outside away from the Kitchen. It might help reduce the lingering "Food court" after smell on you.
As we were late, the menu was cleared from the table as others had already ordered. We attempted couple of time to get someone to give us a menu, and only after thrice before we caught a waitress. (All of them seemed to be busy clustering somewhere behind the restaurant...)
We were presented 2 different menu. One with listing of all ala carte orders and the other one which looks like a giant notepad where you have boxes to tick and create your own "Designer" pasta. My bf choice to go for the pasta and I ordered the wild mushroom pizza.
First the pasta came, and after "digging" through the plate, we discovered that they got our order wrong. We choice 2 different pasta but they only used one. We told the waitress and she cleared the plate and got the kitchen to remake for us. (Yes we saw her dumping the entire plate of pasta into the bin when she walked back to the kitchen. Advantage of an open concept kitchen for customers.)
The right combination of pasta arrived shortly. The taste was pretty good. And the serving for the small size is already quite filling. Unless you're super hungry or sharing with friends, I'll not recommend you to tick the bigger servings.
They took quite a long time to serve my mushroom pizza. When it finally arrived, I was disappointed. The pizza was alittle too tough on the dough and the shrooms on it were tasteless. The cheese wasn't well spread and I was only able to taste the cheese on few slices of the entire pizza. The rest were just covered with few pieces of sliced shrooms. I had to whack quite abit of shredded cheese and tabasco sauce on the pizza to make it taste slightly better.
Overall the place was quite nice, pricing was reasonable. I'll probably go back for their pasta since I can choose what I want in it and I'll totally avoid the pizzas.
Rating given:
This is a newly opened outlet of The Mind Cafe, in fact, it was only opened on last Friday. This probably explains why I didn't see the typical weekend crowd typical of the other 2 outlets when I went on last Sunday.
Since there's 6 of us, we took up the sixers' package which includes 6 drinks, 3 snackers & 2 munchies and 2 hrs of boardgames. Heez...
So what games did we play? As most of my friends were 1st-timer in boardgame, the staff recommended some beginners' games such as Jurassic Jumble to us. It was fun! But if you are a more`experienced boardgamer, you can always try out intermediate or advanced games which requite more thinking & strategies. Some of my faourite games played include Coda, Abalone & Taboo.There's in fact too many games for you to choose!
On the overall, I like the place for its service & helpful staff as well as the entire experience in the boardgame cafe. It's definitely a great place for group gatherings!
Rating given:
I have already been to a couple of Sushi Tei outlets but I still like this outlet the most. The reason being that it consists of 2 storeys, with the upper storey more cosy & comfortable for casual dining as you will need to remove your shoes before sitting at the table. Furthermore, there's also more pfrivacy for bigger groups on the upper level as there's partitions separating the tables.
Coming to their food. For their rice & noodles, I find them quite normal, nothing very special. It is in fact their sushi & other side dishes which attract me so much.
Their sushi are very fresh and among all, my favourites include Golden roll and the umagi. The Golden roll is basically sushi rice wrapped around a big fried prawn and then topped up with mango slices. Sweet & a little sour taste from the mango plus the crispy,succulent prawn. Gd combination! As for the umagi, or I simply call it the eel omelette, I like the combination of the sweetness from the sweet omelette & that of the eel. I find it quite special.
They will also come up with various season promotion. Like for now, they have this Hokkaido promotion where they serve hairy crab. So if you are interested, you can look out for their various promotions at different times of the year.
On the overall, what makes my colleagues & I go back for so many times is not just the food but the service as well. We do not have to wait very long to be served & the waitresses are prompt in refilling our green tea. It's a great experience dining there!
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