After another long workday and seeking refuge from the daily storms through my stomach, we decided to throng Upper East Coast road for some food. Introduced by my gf, this is my first trip to Thai Express and this is what i have to say. "Sa-nook!" Which means to enjoy and have fun is the philosophy for Thai Express which terms itself as "a destination for friends to convene and have fun" instead of being just another restaurant. Interesting concept and one that brought them to set up shops in various parts of Asia, including New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and even Saudi Arabia.
The interior of the outlet is rather spacious with 2 levels of seating. An estimated 40-50 patrons can fit into the restaurant with some al fresco seats located outside. Everything is in a rather fiery color palate with reddish orange dominating most surfaces.
Tom Yum Seafood Pot - The clear tom yum seafood soup is spicy and had a reasonable amount of seafood tossed in for good effect. Can't say much apart from it being decent though.
Soft Shell Crab ($7.90) - I found this just plain bad. Overly oily with minimal meat because it was overfried and lacking any discerning taste whatsoever to commend. 1 crab at $7.90 is also pushing it since you can get the same item done better elsewhere for a smaller price tag.
Phat Thai Seafood ($9.90) - This was pretty much the best item i had that day. Its just very soft and tasty char kway teow to me actually but it was done well with the lime, seafood and the grounded nuts did loads to enhance the taste. It was also more towards the spicy side of things but i did enjoy this quite a bit.
Green Chicken Curry ($8.90) - I'd term this as mediocre at this point. To be honest, i've tasted quite a few renditions of green curry chicken and never did understand what was so special about them in the first place. This did not serve to change my opinion. It just tastes like chicken soaked in coconut soup throughout all my tries and the same goes for this rendition.
Complimentary Beancurd - This came complimentary due to a promotion at the time. The chilli and nuts went surprisingly well with the beancurd but the beancurd itself was fried for too long. It was thus rather dry and hard. Still possible to remedy this with additional chilli though.
A simple meal cost me $39.55 after a lengthy discussion with the supervisor on the wrong order of our tom yum soup. He graciously decided to amend our bill which managed to salvage the experience somewhat.
Final Score: 5.5/10 (7/10 for the Phat Thai Seafood)
Last word: Wrong orders and quarrels aside. The food is average from what i've had or maybe i'm not very familiar with Thai cuisine since i can't take much spice. The phat thai is probably worth a try but i find it hard to recommend anything else i've tried. The supervisor is rather kind and funny which is what the restaurant is about and i do thank him for his help. However, in the end, a return is definitely not on the cards for this outlet.
Another overdue post which happened more or less during the New Year time frame. Was invited along to this food tasting by FZ once again. Special thanks to both FZ and Christina, the marketing manager for graciously accepting my presence at this tasting.
Straits cafe has a very down to earth feeling to me. Glass panels separate the business crowds and roads from the interiors and even more glass panels are used to separate the kitchen from the patrons. The interior is simple with LCD televisions adorning some parts to provide more entertainment while dining in.
The selection is diverse and well thought out. Basically, i think it covers pretty much everything a buffet should cover. This is rather surprising because at first glance, it looked limited but when i went back to actually look and pick the food, there was a whole lot of variety and to say the least, having one item from each managed to stuff me to no end.
What Chinese New Year would be complete without some Yu Sheng? So it was with Straits Cafe, they actually do it more DIY style which is found from the DIY counter. But as we were invited, we were fortunate to have the staff rehearse the entire routine for us. In terms of taste, the yu sheng is balanced but didn't really manage to wow anybody. Overall decent with thick fresh salmon and fragrant crackers.
Needless to say, their rendition is glorious with overflowing ingredients. Lots of sharks fin, lots of pork belly, fish maw, abalone, prawns, lup cheong, mushrooms and dried scallops. Each individual pot is supposed to have been stewed for at least 6 hours before serving. In terms of taste, the abalone is certainly stewed till soft with a nice fragrance from the rest of the ingredients. I liked the pork belly, mushrooms, abalone and fa chai that was in this dish. Because i had a few other renditions of this after the meal, i have to say that this was one of the better ones i've had this year. Worth a try.
The above shows the amount of items you can take from the counters and its not even the full picture yet. I felt that the food served here is pretty decent, items that are supposed to be fresh are fresh, with some exception in a few prawns i had. Worth mentioning will be the laksa which is suitably spicy and tasty also being surprisingly light. The sashimi counter is worth returning over and over again. So is the chilled seafood section with its oysters and shrimp. I also liked the meat section which had different versions of beef and the yam ring which i felt was pretty decent as well. The dessert section's cakes didn't quite catch my fancy apart from the durian pengat and durian puff. They were lighter and less concentrated then i would have liked though.
Overall Score: 6.5/10
Last word: I actually found the food here decent. Maybe its because Christina advised on how the executive chef is one with superb potential in his cooking or that their standard that day was above average. One honestly cannot expect too much from a buffet, after all, how good can food prepared en masse be? So taking it for what it is, this restaurant and this buffet works pretty well for me. It helps that the poon choi is the best i've had this year as well. Good effort.
Another belated post but no fear, this is still very much relevant. No Signboard Seafood is one of those hawker fairy tales with a humble beginning that slowly built their empire from nothing. Beginning as an honest-to-goodness Zhi Ca stall serving good tasting Chili Crab and using white pepper as the unique selling point of their crabs to a big name restaurant that still attracts hundreds of patrons daily. This is a coffee shop fairy indigenous to Singapore and a much sought after dream of many.
No Signboard Appetiser Platter - Overall, the platter was rather decent but nothing too flashy. Honestly, i've pretty much forgotten a majority of the items i've tried here. So the conclusion is that it was average.
Shark's fin Soup With Crabmeat - The shark's fin came across as rather starchy and sticky but had generous chunks of crab meat within. It also came across as being too salty for some, nothing vinegar and pepper could not salvage though.
Chicken with Pork Floss - I actually took to this quite well. It was served hot and crispy with sprinklings of pork floss on top. The floss added sweetness and fragrance to the juicy chicken meat. Not too bad IMHO.
Steamed Garoupa HK style - The fish was overcooked. Short and simple. The meat was obviously too tough due to over steaming. Otherwise, you can't go wrong with this form of cooking.
Broccoli with mushrooms - The mushrooms and broccoli were both really nice and soft.......I think thats about all i can say about this dish. Next!
Yam Ring With Spicy Fillings - This one is rather tough to judge, simply because some liked the spicy fillings which consisted of squid, prawns, fish and lots of balachan chili. While others felt it was too weird for their liking. I belong to the latter, i like my yam ring traditional and with the usual items. Especially cashew nuts, which there was none here.
White Pepper Crab - Now this is more like it. The reason why No Signboard made its mark, good old fashioned white pepper crab with big juicy Sri Lankan Crabs. True to form, i thoroughly enjoyed this dish because its equal parts spicy, equal parts sweet and 100% fragrant. If there's a reason to go to No Signboard, its this dish. (Note: I've heard that the original Geylang branch is even better at this dish. So maybe you can try there.)
Cereal Prawn - This was decent. The cereal was sweet and fragrant but the prawns were hit or miss. Some were fresh and some simply weren't. Take your own chances.
Fried rice - Quite fragrant but nothing else worth mentioning on this one.
Longan and Almond - I'm guessing canned dessert but please correct me if i'm wrong on this. Nothing too special about this dish either.
Overall Score: 4/10 for everything else (7/10 for crab only)
Last word: Service in the restaurant was alright but there was this impression that they didn't quite like our group there. Food was below average for most and honestly, i can name quite a few Zhi Ca areas with better food then here. I didn't see the bill for this meal but i'm betting on it hitting at least $1000 because it was a set meal plus some ala carte orders for a group of above 10 people. For the unflattering score, its because we expected more from such a famous establishment and it simply wasn't met apart from the crab. Special thanks to Steward who gave us such a big feast and was so generous and kind to us throughout years. Sure, the review isn't good for the restaurant but we still had a good time. Cheers and i'm sure there's a better year for all this 2009!
Beginning in 1998, Awfully Chocolate brought a concept and slowly but surely, turned a simple idea into a region spanning franchise. One of its founders, Stella Huang, is a resident Singaporean celebrity who sang and acted in various sitcoms during her university days earn "some" pocket money. The result of a simple concept and limited selection of items is what you get from Awfully Chocolate.
I guess this franchise is proof that a simple idea can blossom and spread with a good amount of financial backing and some really tasty chocolate.
Ice Cream: This is the first time i tried their ice cream and it was smooth. Despite the extremely thick chocolate its made of, the bitterness was mild. It also had just the right amount of sweetness to push you towards the next mouthful. However, i can't help noticing that the ice cream has a taste very much familiar to extremely thick Milo concentrate. Not to say its a bad thing, but its an observation. My two cents? Reasonably good enough to stand on its own, but more then a few mouthfuls and be prepared to call in sick the next day.
Cake: I've tried a slice of their cake before and its rich, slightly fluffy and easily messy to enjoy. The fudge is smooth and moderately sweet which once again, gives it a balanced taste. I felt it was pretty similar to 3 other cakes i've had before though. Lana's cake shop, Choc-a-bloc and even Secret recipe. I think its a fair comparison since they all belong to the moist chocolate fudge category. The difference is mostly on the ratio of chocolate to sponge and Awfully Chocolate's version has most in common with Lana's version, albeit having a thicker fudge layer in the middle and on its coverings. Whether you like it or not depends on how much you like chocolate.
Final Score: 6/10
Last Word: I like chocolate and this is definitely pretty good for both the ice cream and the chocolate cake. I also like the attitude of the founders for their arrogance and daring in sticking to this concept but honestly, there are lots of chocolate cakes around. And when the differentiation factor is not as apparent, its less of a draw to return. Still, give this a try if you have not tried it yet.
Its difficult to miss Canele in Raffles City Shopping centre since its situated in the middle of the pathway and further accentuated with a jet spraying fountain as its centerpiece. Of course, another draw would be that Canele is a part of the Les Amis group and has an excellent display of tasty treats adorning its front counter. I've heard much and felt compelled to try it out to see if it was worth the fuss. Conclusion? Coming soon.
Jupiter ($7 ) Strawberry Shortcake ($6.50 )
Price wise, its acceptable given the pedigree and given the brand. However, portion size for both is much smaller then first perceived. I'd like to talk a little about the service because i felt that the man who started off serving us had a stand offish attitude the moment we mentioned we were only here for dessert. In fact, he took away the menu and for some weird reason, did not bother to take our orders. In the end, i had to flag down another waitress to get the job done. Management take note on this please. On the plus side, i was informed that Canele does not serve ice water but was pleasantly surprised when we received a glass. That is worth commending.
Jupiter - It looks simply divine but i can't help comparing it to Ambrosia which i had in Ah Teng's Bakery. The glistening chocolate layer looks and tastes similar to Ambrosia with a slightly bitter aftertaste which i enjoyed. The interior is different since Jupiter has a slight crunch in the center layer which was quite enjoyable. However, the sponge layer which forms the base had a weird sourish taste which remained me of spoiled rice. I would have appreciated a sourish tinge of orange on that layer but thats just a suggestion. The beautiful looking top layer was also rather disappointing in that there was minimal taste. Apart from being a decorative piece, it had potential to be so much more.In the end, my gf and i concluded Ah Teng's Ambrosia tasted better for a similar dessert. It helps that it cost lesser as well.
Strawberry Shortcake - Another winner in the looks department, i liked the casual appearance of the wholesome strawberries and the thick pieces they came in. I also like the sponge layer which was moistly soft and mildly sweet. I was more or less in the mood for a mild dessert at this point. The strawberries were juicy but not sweet enough according to my gf. She compared this with Four Leaves version and voted Four Leaves version as the winner in terms of taste and price. For my part, i remember Four Leaves rendition having a stronger strawberry taste on the sponge and cream and the strawberries themselves were sweeter. The sponge on Four Leaves was dryer though. Tough call actually.
Final Score: 6.5/10
Last Word: For the price, i honestly have to say its a little too expensive. Substitutes for the offerings seem easy enough to come by and seems as though apart from losing to Canele in the looks department, delivers in the taste and quantity department better. Overall, i'd say Canele ain't bad but really, with the price charged, it's natural to expect more and at this point, i'm inclined to say its not up to standard yet.
Wahiro is a boutique japanese restaurant spanning 2 different outlets, one in Katong and the other in Novena. Helmed by Chef Hozumi, the restaurant attempts to bring the light flavors of Kansai to Singapore's Japanese cuisine scene. In fact, he has garnered several accolades and nods from the media for his offerings, a few which can be found here. It was with moderate expectations that we visited this humble outlet at Katong. Does it deserve its credit?
Note: This post was also done with the Nikon D60 camera. Do let me know your thoughts on the pictures.
The exterior and the mall itself is nothing to shout about. In fact, its so quiet i was surprised to find the restaurant still having a decent clientele. Is that a testament to its food? I'll find out soon. The interior is modest with wooden furniture and a sushi counter. The tables are placed rather close together and the restaurant probably seats about 30 to 40 patrons. My first gripe is that the table is a little too small for all the food thats about to be lavished upon it. Its a small gripe but worth mentioning nonetheless.
Japanese Tidbits (Nonbei Course Meal) $40 - The first item to grace our table is the japanese tidbits from the nonbei course. 4 brilliantly presented items comprising of a very well made omelette, japanese sweet seaweed-like thingy and 2 others which i have conveniently forgotten. I do remember my opinion of this dish though. I liked it and so did my gf. Its very appetising and definitely raised expectations of what to expect next.
Wahiro Salmon Satsuma Age ($8.80) - This was not part of the 2 courses we had and honestly, we rather regretted ordering it. The salmon fish cake interesting because i've never seen it anywhere else, but it had an incredibly strong ginger taste and came across as rather dry and spicy. An equivalent in the taste department would be close to a fish-made ngor hiang.
Sashimi - Regardless of which set you chose, it came with a sashimi platter of tasting proportions. This means the portions were rather small but reasonable in the grand scheme of things. The sashimi is generally of a decent quality and fresh. The texture of the fish ranges from melt-in-your-mouth to those were slightly tough depending on the type of fish but were generally good and pleasing.
Tempura (Yuuge Unagi Yanagawa Course) $30 - Their rendition of tempura had a very light and thin batter which was easy to stomach. It helps that the batter did not cover the taste of the prawn as well. Albeit the prawns being of a smaller size then usual.
Kushiyaki (Nonbei course) - Japan is famous for their grilled sticks and this is supposed to be a faithful representation of their much loved art. Despite the small serving, i found the chicken wing and bacon with asparagus nicely done with a smokey taste to it. It also retains its original juices and is still tender despite the grilling. A bigger portion would have helped loads.
Grilled Eel and Burdock Omelette (Yuuge Unagi Yanagawa Course) - Unagi omelette in hotpan. I actually liked this pretty much. It had thin yet generous slices of unagi and a thin later of onions and burdock. The unagi is literally melts in your mouth and is slightly sweet. The omelette did not come across as oily at all. Burdock was added to it which has medicinal and dietery properties which is a plus.
Oden (Nonbei Course) - Naruto with braised raddish. Naruto is essentially japanese fish-paste cake. This version is rather big but scored fairly low in the taste department as it was basically tasteless. The braised raddish, however, ended up being the one thing that wowed me that night. I'm not someone who likes raddish but this has to be tasted to be believed. It must have been braised for a ridiculously long time to have absorbed the tasty broth it now resembled. Texture was soft and surprisingly tender with it remaining hot throughout the meal. In fact, its perfect for a cold day to warm your body. Very nicely done indeed.
Ochazuke (Nonbei Course) - The perfect way to end a full course japanese meal. Ochazuke is basically rice submerged in either tea or hot water with certain condiments comprising of tsukemono and umeboshi (both pickles). Truth be told, i was not used to having rice as an ending dish but this proved to actually be appetising due to the pickles used. In fact, the pickles were rather overwhelming in huge quantities and gave the rice a sourish taste throughout. This is an example of the traditional methods used by Wahiro which may or may not be agreed upon in Singapore. I found this quite interesting though.
The final bill came up to $90.40 for 2 people for an interesting meal.
The food here really isn't too bad. Its very traditional and honestly, i think the Nonbei course would be perfect as a winter meal for the amount of warmth the meal brings. The quality of food is above average but the portions were indeed small. Still, we left stuffed to the brim in the end and rather satisfied. I actually found my gf's meal more worth the money as opposed to the Nonbei course though. Will i return? Maybe for lunch one of these days for a more budget experience.
The USP philosophy of Spizza is that it serves gourmet wood fired thin crust pizza in a society that has pretty much only seen thick crusted pizzas. This was quite a number of years ago before gourmet thin crusted pizzas started sprouting all over the country. Is the restaurant still relevant in this day and age or has the concept fallen on deaf ears? Do we actually like thin crusted pizzas in the first place? I'll find out the hard way.
Misc: This post was shot using the Nikon D60 which was recently purchased. Let me know if it looks alright. Cheers.
The restaurant is hidden in an obscure corner of Jalan Kayu with a very small signboard signaling its presence. The interior and exterior is rather small with simple tables and a pizza wood fired counter taking up most of the space. The good part is that you get to see the pizza's being made and the dough knead after you order. The bad part is it usually takes some time before you are served due to that.
Commodo ($11) - Essentially, its salad with grilled portobello mushrooms, cut cherry tomatoes and feta cheese interspersed in between. This was rather well received by my family and the mushroom was juicy and exuded a smokey fragrance. Portion size was rather small for the price and pretty much serves one or two at most.
Suberbo ($11) - This is seafood salad with calamari, prawns, some mussells and topped with lemon dressing. Lemon dressing here is literally unsweetened lemon dressing with seafood. This was less well received and my sisters got sick of the greens in the salad stating that it was too raw for their liking. The seafood was acceptable but once again, portion size was rather pathetic.
Spagghetti in mixed seafood ($16) - Ordered this for my parents as their more traditional chinese and don't really like pizza. I found this rather good with the spaggheti al dente and the seafood the usual freshness. The tomato dressing was balanced but skewed towards the sourish corner.
Sofia ($17) - On towards the pizzas themselves. Sofia is a tomato based seafood pizza with mozerella cheese, shrimps, mussells, basil and scallops. Notice the description stated scallops with an "s". This was the main reason for ordering pizza, in reality, it came with 1 medium sized scallop and about 3 shrimps. That was a real disappointment for me, given its price, i'd expected alot more then the amount of ingredients used. As it was, it felt like i paid $17 for a biscuit with some seafood bits. To be fair, it tasted pretty good if not for the overly charred edges and the minimal ingredients. The cheese used was also of a higher grade then usual.
Helena ($17) - The star of the day was Helena, despite its charred edges as well. The pizza had grilled pesto chicken, bell peppers and tomato. The pesto chicken was well done and evenly distributed amount the pizza with the bell peppers providing a slight bite to it. With that said, it still felt too expensive for its price though.
Bill: The bill came up $79.20 for 6 people but it was my treat so it was actually just one person.
To be fair, the pizza's were really quite good. I like thin crusted pizzas and the wood firing gives it a crispy and earthly charm. However, giving the choice and budget, i would actually choose Il Piccolo instead of Spizza if the chance presents itself again. At the same price, i could have gotten much much more from Il Piccolo. As it is, the meal was satisfactory but i wont return due to the price quality ratio.
Tetsu touts itself as being the first Japanese restaurant to offer both Tempura and Tonkatsu under the same menu. I was also fortunate enough to be invited for a food tasting event through FP's help to finally taste what the restaurant had to offer. Reviews thus far has been mixed and now its my turn to taste first hand and determine if its an average or a great japanese restaurant.
Upon stepping into Tanglin Mall, its apparent that the mall itself is rather quiet. Being left out on the far edge of Orchard Road, this mall is frequented only by the most discerning customers for specific stores and shops. I'm glad to say that Tetsu has its fair share of returning customers. In fact, its one of the more patronized restaurants in the mall. I believe that says something about the food they offer.
Sampling Platter with Swordfish Tataki - Our sampling session began with some sake and led straight into their appetiser sampling platter. Beginning with the agedashi tofu, the first surprise of the day was that unlike the usual smooth texture which i'm used to, this version was more starchy and wobbly not unlike carrot cake. The braised pork belly is apparently braised for 2 days and is extremely fatty, i found it interesting because it literally melts in your mouth and didn't repulse me the way i thought it should have. The swordfish tataki retained a slight smokey taste along with a rather tough texture which gives the impression its similar to sashimi.
Mixed Sashimi - I'm rather impressed with Tetsu's sashimi actually, though i'm not aware of the actual cost of this platter, the sheer variety of sashimi you see here is substantial and fulfillingly fresh. The slices were more on the thin side though.
Teriyaki Chicken - Well, this dish has been done to dath everywhere so i really can't say anything much about it. For what its worth, the teriyaki sauce is moderately sweet and the chicken is tender without being too dry.
Sushi Roll With Avacado and Crab Meat - Dragon roll - Lets make a statement here, Tetsu makes good sushi. For both versions, the rice had just the right amount of sweetness and sourness. The dragon roll came with a plump juicy shrimp in a balanced tempura coating. Loved the generous serving of crab roe on both sushi rolls as well.
Assorted Tempura Platter - Here on, its the onslaught of the rather unhealthy fried items. The assorted tempura was very crispy but had a rather thick batter which makes it rather difficult to stomach. To be fair, i give this a high score for its presentation and portion size which is very generous. The batter does get in the way of the prawn though, rendering it rather tasteless in the end. A little less batter and this would be a winner.
Kire Katsu (Pork Fillet), Rosu Katsu (Pork Loin) - Katsu's are generally a staple in any japanese restaurant due to how it tests the chef's skill in producing a katsu thats crispy and yet preserving the flavors and juices of the subject matter. Tetsu gave us a try of 2 renditions and i'm more favorable for the Rosu Katsu (pork loin). Both versions come in the same batter but the pork fillet version tasted rather dry and more like a kfc chicken then a katsu. The pork loin on the other hand, was juicy and moist without compromising the crispiness. Do note the reason why its moist and juicy is due to the abundance of fat in that particular region though.
Inawani Udon - The udon came as a prelude to the ending of our sampling session and needless to say, we were all stuffed to the brim by then. However, i have to say that this rendition is pleasing and palatte cleansing. Unlike regular udons, this doesn't have the usual starchy and thick udon variety. In fact, its more like a combination of vermicelli, mee pok and spaggheti. This means its al dente, light and easy to finish. Rather surprising actually.
Strawberry mousse - Their rendition is made in house and fresh daily. With real grinded strawberry bits in it, you'll get a full taste of the fruit. The mousse is slightly rough in texture because of it and there's minimal to no sugar added in the mix, leaving it rather sourish.
Our delight with the restaurant probably rests mostly on the chef's appearance and company throughout the meal. The guy's definitely funny and has great pride in his job which is reflected in the quality of his food. I have to say that the food here is above average and worth a try. Of course, this conclusion is based on food quality alone at this point. Give it a chance, you might like it enough to return just like their regulars.
A big man with a big reputation, Damian De Silva, formerly chef cum owner of Soul Kitchen at Purvis Street, relocated Big D’s Grill from Bedok South to Holland Drive. Located near the bus interchange at the same coffeeshop of the famous Fishhead Beehoon stall, chef Damian “western food stall” is well known for serving restaurant quality Black Angus Beef Steaks and Kurobuta Pork Chops, as well as his limited Peranakan Specialties e.g. Ayam Buah Keluak – think Astons, before he got his chain restaurants going, added to scale down version of Soul Kitchen.
Mr De Silva insisted on using fresh Snapper and not frozen Dory for his Beer-Battered Fish & Chips ($8.90). At that price, the serving was pretty value for money and the fish tasted fresh. One could also surely take pleasure in a hint of beer aftertaste from the exterior of the fish – seasoning was slightly uneven though with parts being overly salty. But snapper or not, there was hardly any taste to the flesh of the fish. HFB would prefer the fish meat to be lightly marinated. Homemade Chips were well fried and vastly addictive!
One of his signatured dishes, the dazzling Crabmeat Linguine ($10.90) was immensely under-priced and overly extravagant with Shredded Crabmeat. HFB would advise one to go for the spicy version, as crabmeat is pretty heavy for the palate and tanginess brings it down by a notch. The linguine was done al-dente and the ingredients harmonised perfectly – the sour from the tomato base sauce, spiciness from the chilli, and the sweetness from the crabmeat really complements each other very well. This coffeeshop adaptation triumphed convincingly against the supposedly fine-dining standard – dollar for value in HFB’s opinion. This is one dish HFB will return for it.
Weighed at least 200 grams, if not more, the US Kurabuta Pork Loin ($28.00) was something that HFB was looking forward to. Indeed seeing is believing, but tasting it truly convinced HFB that the fuss and the hearsay was spot on about how wickedly mouth-watering this piece of meat is. The glistening layer of fats gave the famed meat its luscious and moist consistency – the spurt of juicy goodness with every nibble testify to this. With the exterior charred grilled to perfection, the hint of pink in the centre also gave it a tender bite. Coupled with their homemade applesauce that is reasonably flavoursome, this dish is definitely a hearty no-no for the weak heart, but surely a treasured find for the brave!
HFB had the opportunity to dine and wine at Chen Fu Ji Sing’s Sensation, nested at the 2nd level of Riverside Point. For those who yet know, two sisters founded Chen Fu Ji 50 years ago and were dishing out their signatured $25.00 Fried Rice that came with Crab Meat in the 80s!! So it was with much expectancy when HFB arrived at the restuarant.
The complimentary Cod Fish snack was nothing fanciful – but it did keep HFB’s hands and mouth busy. It was pretty addictive.
The Seafood Doufu in Hot Plate ($18.00) came sizzling hot and rather generous with ingredients. However, with the sauce being rather starchy and salty on its own, a bowl of steam rice to complement it would be an ideal choice. Wow factor was sorely lacking though – HFB had tried many better ones elsewhere.
The Braised Japanese Shiitake with Seasonal Vegetables ($24.00 for medium serving) was much welcomed with its thick and juicy mushrooms. Vegetables were fresh and crunchy.
What’s a trip to Chen Fu Ji without sampling the legendary Imperial Fried Rice ($25.00 for medium serving)? Each grain of rice, believed to be selected for its size, texture and moisture content, was also said to be conditioned prior to frying. Nevertheless, what really distinct itself from the normal fried rice was the fusing of beaten eggs with each grain of rice that gave it a smooth texture, golden hue and aromatic fragrance. With a stack of freshly peeled Crab Meat and unique Egg Floss, the dish came with heighten expectations. It was good all right, with the non-greasy aftertaste and aromatic egg flavour, but it wasn’t great. There was a distinct lacked of ‘Wok Hei’ flavour that HFB would preferred in his fried rice though. Also the serving portion was only sufficient for a small bowl each.
Surprisingly, the best dish that night was the Peking Roast Duck ($35.00 for half portion). The roasted duck skin was deftly curved into thin slices and it was crunchy and full of taste.
The thick juicy duck meat, accompanied with condiments like scallions and cucumber, along with a coat of Hoisin Sauce wrapped with Chinese Pancake was also delightful.
1=SGD 0.0587
After another long workday and seeking refuge from the daily storms through my stomach, we decided to throng Upper East Coast road for some food. Introduced by my gf, this is my first trip to Thai Express and this is what i have to say.
"Sa-nook!" Which means to enjoy and have fun is the philosophy for Thai Express which terms itself as "a destination for friends to convene and have fun" instead of being just another restaurant. Interesting concept and one that brought them to set up shops in various parts of Asia, including New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and even Saudi Arabia.
The interior of the outlet is rather spacious with 2 levels of seating. An estimated 40-50 patrons can fit into the restaurant with some al fresco seats located outside. Everything is in a rather fiery color palate with reddish orange dominating most surfaces.
Tom Yum Seafood Pot - The clear tom yum seafood soup is spicy and had a reasonable amount of seafood tossed in for good effect. Can't say much apart from it being decent though.
Soft Shell Crab ($7.90) - I found this just plain bad. Overly oily with minimal meat because it was overfried and lacking any discerning taste whatsoever to commend. 1 crab at $7.90 is also pushing it since you can get the same item done better elsewhere for a smaller price tag.
Phat Thai Seafood ($9.90) - This was pretty much the best item i had that day. Its just very soft and tasty char kway teow to me actually but it was done well with the lime, seafood and the grounded nuts did loads to enhance the taste. It was also more towards the spicy side of things but i did enjoy this quite a bit.
Green Chicken Curry ($8.90) - I'd term this as mediocre at this point. To be honest, i've tasted quite a few renditions of green curry chicken and never did understand what was so special about them in the first place. This did not serve to change my opinion. It just tastes like chicken soaked in coconut soup throughout all my tries and the same goes for this rendition.
Complimentary Beancurd - This came complimentary due to a promotion at the time. The chilli and nuts went surprisingly well with the beancurd but the beancurd itself was fried for too long. It was thus rather dry and hard. Still possible to remedy this with additional chilli though.
A simple meal cost me $39.55 after a lengthy discussion with the supervisor on the wrong order of our tom yum soup. He graciously decided to amend our bill which managed to salvage the experience somewhat.
Final Score: 5.5/10 (7/10 for the Phat Thai Seafood)
Last word:
Wrong orders and quarrels aside. The food is average from what i've had or maybe i'm not very familiar with Thai cuisine since i can't take much spice. The phat thai is probably worth a try but i find it hard to recommend anything else i've tried. The supervisor is rather kind and funny which is what the restaurant is about and i do thank him for his help. However, in the end, a return is definitely not on the cards for this outlet.
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Another overdue post which happened more or less during the New Year time frame. Was invited along to this food tasting by FZ once again. Special thanks to both FZ and Christina, the marketing manager for graciously accepting my presence at this tasting.
Straits cafe has a very down to earth feeling to me. Glass panels separate the business crowds and roads from the interiors and even more glass panels are used to separate the kitchen from the patrons. The interior is simple with LCD televisions adorning some parts to provide more entertainment while dining in.
The selection is diverse and well thought out. Basically, i think it covers pretty much everything a buffet should cover. This is rather surprising because at first glance, it looked limited but when i went back to actually look and pick the food, there was a whole lot of variety and to say the least, having one item from each managed to stuff me to no end.
What Chinese New Year would be complete without some Yu Sheng? So it was with Straits Cafe, they actually do it more DIY style which is found from the DIY counter. But as we were invited, we were fortunate to have the staff rehearse the entire routine for us. In terms of taste, the yu sheng is balanced but didn't really manage to wow anybody. Overall decent with thick fresh salmon and fragrant crackers.
Needless to say, their rendition is glorious with overflowing ingredients. Lots of sharks fin, lots of pork belly, fish maw, abalone, prawns, lup cheong, mushrooms and dried scallops. Each individual pot is supposed to have been stewed for at least 6 hours before serving. In terms of taste, the abalone is certainly stewed till soft with a nice fragrance from the rest of the ingredients. I liked the pork belly, mushrooms, abalone and fa chai that was in this dish. Because i had a few other renditions of this after the meal, i have to say that this was one of the better ones i've had this year. Worth a try.
The above shows the amount of items you can take from the counters and its not even the full picture yet. I felt that the food served here is pretty decent, items that are supposed to be fresh are fresh, with some exception in a few prawns i had. Worth mentioning will be the laksa which is suitably spicy and tasty also being surprisingly light. The sashimi counter is worth returning over and over again. So is the chilled seafood section with its oysters and shrimp. I also liked the meat section which had different versions of beef and the yam ring which i felt was pretty decent as well. The dessert section's cakes didn't quite catch my fancy apart from the durian pengat and durian puff. They were lighter and less concentrated then i would have liked though.
Overall Score: 6.5/10
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I actually found the food here decent. Maybe its because Christina advised on how the executive chef is one with superb potential in his cooking or that their standard that day was above average. One honestly cannot expect too much from a buffet, after all, how good can food prepared en masse be? So taking it for what it is, this restaurant and this buffet works pretty well for me. It helps that the poon choi is the best i've had this year as well. Good effort.
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Another belated post but no fear, this is still very much relevant. No Signboard Seafood is one of those hawker fairy tales with a humble beginning that slowly built their empire from nothing. Beginning as an honest-to-goodness Zhi Ca stall serving good tasting Chili Crab and using white pepper as the unique selling point of their crabs to a big name restaurant that still attracts hundreds of patrons daily. This is a coffee shop fairy indigenous to Singapore and a much sought after dream of many.
No Signboard Appetiser Platter - Overall, the platter was rather decent but nothing too flashy. Honestly, i've pretty much forgotten a majority of the items i've tried here. So the conclusion is that it was average.
Shark's fin Soup With Crabmeat - The shark's fin came across as rather starchy and sticky but had generous chunks of crab meat within. It also came across as being too salty for some, nothing vinegar and pepper could not salvage though.
Chicken with Pork Floss - I actually took to this quite well. It was served hot and crispy with sprinklings of pork floss on top. The floss added sweetness and fragrance to the juicy chicken meat. Not too bad IMHO.
Steamed Garoupa HK style - The fish was overcooked. Short and simple. The meat was obviously too tough due to over steaming. Otherwise, you can't go wrong with this form of cooking.
Broccoli with mushrooms - The mushrooms and broccoli were both really nice and soft.......I think thats about all i can say about this dish. Next!
Yam Ring With Spicy Fillings - This one is rather tough to judge, simply because some liked the spicy fillings which consisted of squid, prawns, fish and lots of balachan chili. While others felt it was too weird for their liking. I belong to the latter, i like my yam ring traditional and with the usual items. Especially cashew nuts, which there was none here.
White Pepper Crab - Now this is more like it. The reason why No Signboard made its mark, good old fashioned white pepper crab with big juicy Sri Lankan Crabs. True to form, i thoroughly enjoyed this dish because its equal parts spicy, equal parts sweet and 100% fragrant. If there's a reason to go to No Signboard, its this dish. (Note: I've heard that the original Geylang branch is even better at this dish. So maybe you can try there.)
Cereal Prawn - This was decent. The cereal was sweet and fragrant but the prawns were hit or miss. Some were fresh and some simply weren't. Take your own chances.
Fried rice - Quite fragrant but nothing else worth mentioning on this one.
Longan and Almond - I'm guessing canned dessert but please correct me if i'm wrong on this. Nothing too special about this dish either.
Overall Score: 4/10 for everything else (7/10 for crab only)
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Service in the restaurant was alright but there was this impression that they didn't quite like our group there. Food was below average for most and honestly, i can name quite a few Zhi Ca areas with better food then here. I didn't see the bill for this meal but i'm betting on it hitting at least $1000 because it was a set meal plus some ala carte orders for a group of above 10 people. For the unflattering score, its because we expected more from such a famous establishment and it simply wasn't met apart from the crab.
Special thanks to Steward who gave us such a big feast and was so generous and kind to us throughout years. Sure, the review isn't good for the restaurant but we still had a good time. Cheers and i'm sure there's a better year for all this 2009!
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Beginning in 1998, Awfully Chocolate brought a concept and slowly but surely, turned a simple idea into a region spanning franchise. One of its founders, Stella Huang, is a resident Singaporean celebrity who sang and acted in various sitcoms during her university days earn "some" pocket money. The result of a simple concept and limited selection of items is what you get from Awfully Chocolate.
I guess this franchise is proof that a simple idea can blossom and spread with a good amount of financial backing and some really tasty chocolate.
Ice Cream: This is the first time i tried their ice cream and it was smooth. Despite the extremely thick chocolate its made of, the bitterness was mild. It also had just the right amount of sweetness to push you towards the next mouthful. However, i can't help noticing that the ice cream has a taste very much familiar to extremely thick Milo concentrate. Not to say its a bad thing, but its an observation.
My two cents? Reasonably good enough to stand on its own, but more then a few mouthfuls and be prepared to call in sick the next day.
Cake: I've tried a slice of their cake before and its rich, slightly fluffy and easily messy to enjoy. The fudge is smooth and moderately sweet which once again, gives it a balanced taste. I felt it was pretty similar to 3 other cakes i've had before though. Lana's cake shop, Choc-a-bloc and even Secret recipe. I think its a fair comparison since they all belong to the moist chocolate fudge category. The difference is mostly on the ratio of chocolate to sponge and Awfully Chocolate's version has most in common with Lana's version, albeit having a thicker fudge layer in the middle and on its coverings. Whether you like it or not depends on how much you like chocolate.
Final Score: 6/10
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I like chocolate and this is definitely pretty good for both the ice cream and the chocolate cake. I also like the attitude of the founders for their arrogance and daring in sticking to this concept but honestly, there are lots of chocolate cakes around. And when the differentiation factor is not as apparent, its less of a draw to return. Still, give this a try if you have not tried it yet.
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Its difficult to miss Canele in Raffles City Shopping centre since its situated in the middle of the pathway and further accentuated with a jet spraying fountain as its centerpiece. Of course, another draw would be that Canele is a part of the Les Amis group and has an excellent display of tasty treats adorning its front counter. I've heard much and felt compelled to try it out to see if it was worth the fuss. Conclusion? Coming soon.
Jupiter ($7 )
Strawberry Shortcake ($6.50 )
Price wise, its acceptable given the pedigree and given the brand. However, portion size for both is much smaller then first perceived.
I'd like to talk a little about the service because i felt that the man who started off serving us had a stand offish attitude the moment we mentioned we were only here for dessert. In fact, he took away the menu and for some weird reason, did not bother to take our orders. In the end, i had to flag down another waitress to get the job done. Management take note on this please.
On the plus side, i was informed that Canele does not serve ice water but was pleasantly surprised when we received a glass. That is worth commending.
Jupiter - It looks simply divine but i can't help comparing it to Ambrosia which i had in Ah Teng's Bakery. The glistening chocolate layer looks and tastes similar to Ambrosia with a slightly bitter aftertaste which i enjoyed. The interior is different since Jupiter has a slight crunch in the center layer which was quite enjoyable. However, the sponge layer which forms the base had a weird sourish taste which remained me of spoiled rice. I would have appreciated a sourish tinge of orange on that layer but thats just a suggestion. The beautiful looking top layer was also rather disappointing in that there was minimal taste. Apart from being a decorative piece, it had potential to be so much more.In the end, my gf and i concluded Ah Teng's Ambrosia tasted better for a similar dessert. It helps that it cost lesser as well.
Strawberry Shortcake - Another winner in the looks department, i liked the casual appearance of the wholesome strawberries and the thick pieces they came in. I also like the sponge layer which was moistly soft and mildly sweet. I was more or less in the mood for a mild dessert at this point. The strawberries were juicy but not sweet enough according to my gf. She compared this with Four Leaves version and voted Four Leaves version as the winner in terms of taste and price. For my part, i remember Four Leaves rendition having a stronger strawberry taste on the sponge and cream and the strawberries themselves were sweeter. The sponge on Four Leaves was dryer though. Tough call actually.
Final Score: 6.5/10
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For the price, i honestly have to say its a little too expensive. Substitutes for the offerings seem easy enough to come by and seems as though apart from losing to Canele in the looks department, delivers in the taste and quantity department better. Overall, i'd say Canele ain't bad but really, with the price charged, it's natural to expect more and at this point, i'm inclined to say its not up to standard yet.
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Wahiro is a boutique japanese restaurant spanning 2 different outlets, one in Katong and the other in Novena. Helmed by Chef Hozumi, the restaurant attempts to bring the light flavors of Kansai to Singapore's Japanese cuisine scene. In fact, he has garnered several accolades and nods from the media for his offerings, a few which can be found here. It was with moderate expectations that we visited this humble outlet at Katong. Does it deserve its credit?
Note: This post was also done with the Nikon D60 camera. Do let me know your thoughts on the pictures.
The exterior and the mall itself is nothing to shout about. In fact, its so quiet i was surprised to find the restaurant still having a decent clientele. Is that a testament to its food? I'll find out soon.
The interior is modest with wooden furniture and a sushi counter. The tables are placed rather close together and the restaurant probably seats about 30 to 40 patrons. My first gripe is that the table is a little too small for all the food thats about to be lavished upon it. Its a small gripe but worth mentioning nonetheless.
Japanese Tidbits (Nonbei Course Meal) $40 - The first item to grace our table is the japanese tidbits from the nonbei course. 4 brilliantly presented items comprising of a very well made omelette, japanese sweet seaweed-like thingy and 2 others which i have conveniently forgotten. I do remember my opinion of this dish though. I liked it and so did my gf. Its very appetising and definitely raised expectations of what to expect next.
Wahiro Salmon Satsuma Age ($8.80) - This was not part of the 2 courses we had and honestly, we rather regretted ordering it. The salmon fish cake interesting because i've never seen it anywhere else, but it had an incredibly strong ginger taste and came across as rather dry and spicy. An equivalent in the taste department would be close to a fish-made ngor hiang.
Sashimi - Regardless of which set you chose, it came with a sashimi platter of tasting proportions. This means the portions were rather small but reasonable in the grand scheme of things. The sashimi is generally of a decent quality and fresh. The texture of the fish ranges from melt-in-your-mouth to those were slightly tough depending on the type of fish but were generally good and pleasing.
Tempura (Yuuge Unagi Yanagawa Course) $30 - Their rendition of tempura had a very light and thin batter which was easy to stomach. It helps that the batter did not cover the taste of the prawn as well. Albeit the prawns being of a smaller size then usual.
Kushiyaki (Nonbei course) - Japan is famous for their grilled sticks and this is supposed to be a faithful representation of their much loved art. Despite the small serving, i found the chicken wing and bacon with asparagus nicely done with a smokey taste to it. It also retains its original juices and is still tender despite the grilling. A bigger portion would have helped loads.
Grilled Eel and Burdock Omelette (Yuuge Unagi Yanagawa Course) - Unagi omelette in hotpan. I actually liked this pretty much. It had thin yet generous slices of unagi and a thin later of onions and burdock. The unagi is literally melts in your mouth and is slightly sweet. The omelette did not come across as oily at all. Burdock was added to it which has medicinal and dietery properties which is a plus.
Oden (Nonbei Course) - Naruto with braised raddish. Naruto is essentially japanese fish-paste cake. This version is rather big but scored fairly low in the taste department as it was basically tasteless. The braised raddish, however, ended up being the one thing that wowed me that night. I'm not someone who likes raddish but this has to be tasted to be believed. It must have been braised for a ridiculously long time to have absorbed the tasty broth it now resembled. Texture was soft and surprisingly tender with it remaining hot throughout the meal. In fact, its perfect for a cold day to warm your body. Very nicely done indeed.
Ochazuke (Nonbei Course) - The perfect way to end a full course japanese meal. Ochazuke is basically rice submerged in either tea or hot water with certain condiments comprising of tsukemono and umeboshi (both pickles). Truth be told, i was not used to having rice as an ending dish but this proved to actually be appetising due to the pickles used. In fact, the pickles were rather overwhelming in huge quantities and gave the rice a sourish taste throughout. This is an example of the traditional methods used by Wahiro which may or may not be agreed upon in Singapore. I found this quite interesting though.
The final bill came up to $90.40 for 2 people for an interesting meal.
The food here really isn't too bad. Its very traditional and honestly, i think the Nonbei course would be perfect as a winter meal for the amount of warmth the meal brings. The quality of food is above average but the portions were indeed small. Still, we left stuffed to the brim in the end and rather satisfied. I actually found my gf's meal more worth the money as opposed to the Nonbei course though. Will i return? Maybe for lunch one of these days for a more budget experience.
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The USP philosophy of Spizza is that it serves gourmet wood fired thin crust pizza in a society that has pretty much only seen thick crusted pizzas. This was quite a number of years ago before gourmet thin crusted pizzas started sprouting all over the country. Is the restaurant still relevant in this day and age or has the concept fallen on deaf ears? Do we actually like thin crusted pizzas in the first place? I'll find out the hard way.
Misc: This post was shot using the Nikon D60 which was recently purchased. Let me know if it looks alright. Cheers.
The restaurant is hidden in an obscure corner of Jalan Kayu with a very small signboard signaling its presence. The interior and exterior is rather small with simple tables and a pizza wood fired counter taking up most of the space. The good part is that you get to see the pizza's being made and the dough knead after you order. The bad part is it usually takes some time before you are served due to that.
Commodo ($11) - Essentially, its salad with grilled portobello mushrooms, cut cherry tomatoes and feta cheese interspersed in between. This was rather well received by my family and the mushroom was juicy and exuded a smokey fragrance. Portion size was rather small for the price and pretty much serves one or two at most.
Suberbo ($11) - This is seafood salad with calamari, prawns, some mussells and topped with lemon dressing. Lemon dressing here is literally unsweetened lemon dressing with seafood. This was less well received and my sisters got sick of the greens in the salad stating that it was too raw for their liking. The seafood was acceptable but once again, portion size was rather pathetic.
Spagghetti in mixed seafood ($16) - Ordered this for my parents as their more traditional chinese and don't really like pizza. I found this rather good with the spaggheti al dente and the seafood the usual freshness. The tomato dressing was balanced but skewed towards the sourish corner.
Sofia ($17) - On towards the pizzas themselves. Sofia is a tomato based seafood pizza with mozerella cheese, shrimps, mussells, basil and scallops. Notice the description stated scallops with an "s". This was the main reason for ordering pizza, in reality, it came with 1 medium sized scallop and about 3 shrimps. That was a real disappointment for me, given its price, i'd expected alot more then the amount of ingredients used. As it was, it felt like i paid $17 for a biscuit with some seafood bits.
To be fair, it tasted pretty good if not for the overly charred edges and the minimal ingredients. The cheese used was also of a higher grade then usual.
Helena ($17) - The star of the day was Helena, despite its charred edges as well. The pizza had grilled pesto chicken, bell peppers and tomato. The pesto chicken was well done and evenly distributed amount the pizza with the bell peppers providing a slight bite to it. With that said, it still felt too expensive for its price though.
Bill: The bill came up $79.20 for 6 people but it was my treat so it was actually just one person.
To be fair, the pizza's were really quite good. I like thin crusted pizzas and the wood firing gives it a crispy and earthly charm. However, giving the choice and budget, i would actually choose Il Piccolo instead of Spizza if the chance presents itself again. At the same price, i could have gotten much much more from Il Piccolo. As it is, the meal was satisfactory but i wont return due to the price quality ratio.
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Tetsu touts itself as being the first Japanese restaurant to offer both Tempura and Tonkatsu under the same menu. I was also fortunate enough to be invited for a food tasting event through FP's help to finally taste what the restaurant had to offer. Reviews thus far has been mixed and now its my turn to taste first hand and determine if its an average or a great japanese restaurant.
Upon stepping into Tanglin Mall, its apparent that the mall itself is rather quiet. Being left out on the far edge of Orchard Road, this mall is frequented only by the most discerning customers for specific stores and shops. I'm glad to say that Tetsu has its fair share of returning customers. In fact, its one of the more patronized restaurants in the mall. I believe that says something about the food they offer.
Sampling Platter with Swordfish Tataki - Our sampling session began with some sake and led straight into their appetiser sampling platter. Beginning with the agedashi tofu, the first surprise of the day was that unlike the usual smooth texture which i'm used to, this version was more starchy and wobbly not unlike carrot cake.
The braised pork belly is apparently braised for 2 days and is extremely fatty, i found it interesting because it literally melts in your mouth and didn't repulse me the way i thought it should have.
The swordfish tataki retained a slight smokey taste along with a rather tough texture which gives the impression its similar to sashimi.
Mixed Sashimi - I'm rather impressed with Tetsu's sashimi actually, though i'm not aware of the actual cost of this platter, the sheer variety of sashimi you see here is substantial and fulfillingly fresh. The slices were more on the thin side though.
Teriyaki Chicken - Well, this dish has been done to dath everywhere so i really can't say anything much about it. For what its worth, the teriyaki sauce is moderately sweet and the chicken is tender without being too dry.
Sushi Roll With Avacado and Crab Meat - Dragon roll - Lets make a statement here, Tetsu makes good sushi. For both versions, the rice had just the right amount of sweetness and sourness. The dragon roll came with a plump juicy shrimp in a balanced tempura coating. Loved the generous serving of crab roe on both sushi rolls as well.
Assorted Tempura Platter - Here on, its the onslaught of the rather unhealthy fried items. The assorted tempura was very crispy but had a rather thick batter which makes it rather difficult to stomach. To be fair, i give this a high score for its presentation and portion size which is very generous. The batter does get in the way of the prawn though, rendering it rather tasteless in the end. A little less batter and this would be a winner.
Kire Katsu (Pork Fillet), Rosu Katsu (Pork Loin) - Katsu's are generally a staple in any japanese restaurant due to how it tests the chef's skill in producing a katsu thats crispy and yet preserving the flavors and juices of the subject matter. Tetsu gave us a try of 2 renditions and i'm more favorable for the Rosu Katsu (pork loin). Both versions come in the same batter but the pork fillet version tasted rather dry and more like a kfc chicken then a katsu. The pork loin on the other hand, was juicy and moist without compromising the crispiness. Do note the reason why its moist and juicy is due to the abundance of fat in that particular region though.
Inawani Udon - The udon came as a prelude to the ending of our sampling session and needless to say, we were all stuffed to the brim by then. However, i have to say that this rendition is pleasing and palatte cleansing. Unlike regular udons, this doesn't have the usual starchy and thick udon variety. In fact, its more like a combination of vermicelli, mee pok and spaggheti. This means its al dente, light and easy to finish. Rather surprising actually.
Strawberry mousse - Their rendition is made in house and fresh daily. With real grinded strawberry bits in it, you'll get a full taste of the fruit. The mousse is slightly rough in texture because of it and there's minimal to no sugar added in the mix, leaving it rather sourish.
Our delight with the restaurant probably rests mostly on the chef's appearance and company throughout the meal. The guy's definitely funny and has great pride in his job which is reflected in the quality of his food. I have to say that the food here is above average and worth a try. Of course, this conclusion is based on food quality alone at this point. Give it a chance, you might like it enough to return just like their regulars.
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A big man with a big reputation, Damian De Silva, formerly chef cum owner of Soul Kitchen at Purvis Street, relocated Big D’s Grill from Bedok South to Holland Drive. Located near the bus interchange at the same coffeeshop of the famous Fishhead Beehoon stall, chef Damian “western food stall” is well known for serving restaurant quality Black Angus Beef Steaks and Kurobuta Pork Chops, as well as his limited Peranakan Specialties e.g. Ayam Buah Keluak – think Astons, before he got his chain restaurants going, added to scale down version of Soul Kitchen.
Mr De Silva insisted on using fresh Snapper and not frozen Dory for his Beer-Battered Fish & Chips ($8.90). At that price, the serving was pretty value for money and the fish tasted fresh. One could also surely take pleasure in a hint of beer aftertaste from the exterior of the fish – seasoning was slightly uneven though with parts being overly salty. But snapper or not, there was hardly any taste to the flesh of the fish. HFB would prefer the fish meat to be lightly marinated. Homemade Chips were well fried and vastly addictive!
One of his signatured dishes, the dazzling Crabmeat Linguine ($10.90) was immensely under-priced and overly extravagant with Shredded Crabmeat. HFB would advise one to go for the spicy version, as crabmeat is pretty heavy for the palate and tanginess brings it down by a notch. The linguine was done al-dente and the ingredients harmonised perfectly – the sour from the tomato base sauce, spiciness from the chilli, and the sweetness from the crabmeat really complements each other very well. This coffeeshop adaptation triumphed convincingly against the supposedly fine-dining standard – dollar for value in HFB’s opinion. This is one dish HFB will return for it.
Weighed at least 200 grams, if not more, the US Kurabuta Pork Loin ($28.00) was something that HFB was looking forward to. Indeed seeing is believing, but tasting it truly convinced HFB that the fuss and the hearsay was spot on about how wickedly mouth-watering this piece of meat is. The glistening layer of fats gave the famed meat its luscious and moist consistency – the spurt of juicy goodness with every nibble testify to this. With the exterior charred grilled to perfection, the hint of pink in the centre also gave it a tender bite. Coupled with their homemade applesauce that is reasonably flavoursome, this dish is definitely a hearty no-no for the weak heart, but surely a treasured find for the brave!
You can view all the photos here.
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HFB had the opportunity to dine and wine at Chen Fu Ji Sing’s Sensation, nested at the 2nd level of Riverside Point. For those who yet know, two sisters founded Chen Fu Ji 50 years ago and were dishing out their signatured $25.00 Fried Rice that came with Crab Meat in the 80s!! So it was with much expectancy when HFB arrived at the restuarant.
The complimentary Cod Fish snack was nothing fanciful – but it did keep HFB’s hands and mouth busy. It was pretty addictive.
The Seafood Doufu in Hot Plate ($18.00) came sizzling hot and rather generous with ingredients. However, with the sauce being rather starchy and salty on its own, a bowl of steam rice to complement it would be an ideal choice. Wow factor was sorely lacking though – HFB had tried many better ones elsewhere.
The Braised Japanese Shiitake with Seasonal Vegetables ($24.00 for medium serving) was much welcomed with its thick and juicy mushrooms. Vegetables were fresh and crunchy.
What’s a trip to Chen Fu Ji without sampling the legendary Imperial Fried Rice ($25.00 for medium serving)? Each grain of rice, believed to be selected for its size, texture and moisture content, was also said to be conditioned prior to frying. Nevertheless, what really distinct itself from the normal fried rice was the fusing of beaten eggs with each grain of rice that gave it a smooth texture, golden hue and aromatic fragrance. With a stack of freshly peeled Crab Meat and unique Egg Floss, the dish came with heighten expectations. It was good all right, with the non-greasy aftertaste and aromatic egg flavour, but it wasn’t great. There was a distinct lacked of ‘Wok Hei’ flavour that HFB would preferred in his fried rice though. Also the serving portion was only sufficient for a small bowl each.
Surprisingly, the best dish that night was the Peking Roast Duck ($35.00 for half portion). The roasted duck skin was deftly curved into thin slices and it was crunchy and full of taste.
The thick juicy duck meat, accompanied with condiments like scallions and cucumber, along with a coat of Hoisin Sauce wrapped with Chinese Pancake was also delightful.
You can view all the photos here.
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