My recommendations: beef noodle, xiao long bao, drunken chicken, red bean souffle, watercress drink.
The noodles are here are springy and cooked to perfection and they come in large portions with plenty of soup. My lady colleagues usually share a bowl. The staff will even cut the noodles for you if they know you are sharing. At as low as $7 a bowl, I think it's really value for money.
The xiao long bao is consistent in quality. They are always served piping hot and with plenty of soup in it. Be careful when you pick one up as the skin is thin and might tear if you aren't careful. They are sold in small portions so it is easier to share in small groups.
The service is pretty good as the food is served quickly even during peak hours and the staff are quite flexible. Plus, most of them are cantonese-speaking aunties which add to give an authentic feel to the restaurant. Of course, they understand English and Mandarin too. They even print out your orders in Chinese!
This place is nice for Valentine's Day. You get to wine and dine at the balcony with a view of the cityscape with the sunset.
Quality of food, well, it's not bad, neither is it good. Sure, they use high quality ingredients for the mains but everything on the sides are just plain ordinary.
Valentine's Day dinner sets you back by about $200 plus with only a choice of beef (tenderloin) or fish (black cod). The rest of the year, well, you pay only a fraction of that.
Service is very good though. The waiters are professional and take pride in their work, though a few might forget your request for plain water.
Only top marks for ambience and service, the rest leaves much to be desired.
It's pretty authentic looking and tasting Japanese desserts. I just found the red bean a little too sweet, which is rather 'unauthentic' of Japanese desserts.
The green tea ice-cream is in a good balance, the green tea flavour is rich while the milk only has a light hint. It is very smooth with no powdery after taste like the usual green tea ice-creams.
There is a lack of variety in the ice-cream flavours if you were dining in. For take aways, try the green tea red bean, lychee and milk tea.
I didn't like the Teriyaki Chicken Bento. The chicken was dry and despite its name, the chicken was steamed. Taste-wise is alright, but the dry chicken was disappointing. The portion was small as well.
It is always nice to find a good tze char stall. One that my family recently found was Cheng's Seafood Village in our neighbourhood. The place serves up pretty fresh seafood. The claypot fish-head and fish steamboat are one of the best I have tasted. The claypot sea cucumber also deserves an honourable mention for the generous amounts of ingredients used. And there seems to be something about the yam (or taro) that they use in their dishes that makes it really special. Exceptionally fragrant.
The satay there is also a surprising find. It's run by a Chinese. (There's pork satay here) It's called Nan San Village BBQ Satay. It's cheaper than the other satay stalls elsewhere. Each stick costs 35 cents and it tastes pretty good too. Unfortunately, it doesn't serve authentic ketupats. The peanut sauce even comes with pureed pineapple for a tinge of sweetness and zest, which is yet another rarity for a satay stalls in Singapore.
On top of all the good food, the setting is also a rarity which I particularly enjoy. The environment feels very much like rustic al fresco coffeeshops in JB, except much, much, much safer in terms of security and hygiene. Or if you are more familiar with the local versions, Jalan Kayu. Except here, it is less crowded and serves tze char.
Sometimes, I would brave the hot afternoon sun walking from my office to Raffles Place, just for this bowl of beef noodles.
The beef noodles here is the kind that is worth your money. The ingredients plentiful and the taste is just right. Unlike the usual beef noodles from food courts that spawn from the franchising monster, this place serves up something well-balanced on the palate. I mean I had tasted bad ones from food courts that passed of MSG, salt and water as soup and gravy. Hock Lam here serves up proper soup and gravy that's been made with hours of work. The taste is rich but does not overpower the texture of the ingredients.
Add a glass of lime juice, and you might make yourself very happy for the rest of the day.
1=SGD 0.0587
My recommendations: beef noodle, xiao long bao, drunken chicken, red bean souffle, watercress drink.
The noodles are here are springy and cooked to perfection and they come in large portions with plenty of soup. My lady colleagues usually share a bowl. The staff will even cut the noodles for you if they know you are sharing. At as low as $7 a bowl, I think it's really value for money.
The xiao long bao is consistent in quality. They are always served piping hot and with plenty of soup in it. Be careful when you pick one up as the skin is thin and might tear if you aren't careful. They are sold in small portions so it is easier to share in small groups.
The service is pretty good as the food is served quickly even during peak hours and the staff are quite flexible. Plus, most of them are cantonese-speaking aunties which add to give an authentic feel to the restaurant. Of course, they understand English and Mandarin too. They even print out your orders in Chinese!
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This place is nice for Valentine's Day. You get to wine and dine at the balcony with a view of the cityscape with the sunset.
Quality of food, well, it's not bad, neither is it good. Sure, they use high quality ingredients for the mains but everything on the sides are just plain ordinary.
Valentine's Day dinner sets you back by about $200 plus with only a choice of beef (tenderloin) or fish (black cod).
The rest of the year, well, you pay only a fraction of that.
Service is very good though. The waiters are professional and take pride in their work, though a few might forget your request for plain water.
Only top marks for ambience and service, the rest leaves much to be desired.
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It's pretty authentic looking and tasting Japanese desserts. I just found the red bean a little too sweet, which is rather 'unauthentic' of Japanese desserts.
The green tea ice-cream is in a good balance, the green tea flavour is rich while the milk only has a light hint. It is very smooth with no powdery after taste like the usual green tea ice-creams.
There is a lack of variety in the ice-cream flavours if you were dining in.
For take aways, try the green tea red bean, lychee and milk tea.
I didn't like the Teriyaki Chicken Bento. The chicken was dry and despite its name, the chicken was steamed. Taste-wise is alright, but the dry chicken was disappointing. The portion was small as well.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Agree with you. I only go there for desserts. I like the sweet potatoe cake.
05 Oct 2007 at 2:42 pm
It is always nice to find a good tze char stall. One that my family recently found was Cheng's Seafood Village in our neighbourhood. The place serves up pretty fresh seafood. The claypot fish-head and fish steamboat are one of the best I have tasted. The claypot sea cucumber also deserves an honourable mention for the generous amounts of ingredients used. And there seems to be something about the yam (or taro) that they use in their dishes that makes it really special. Exceptionally fragrant.
The satay there is also a surprising find. It's run by a Chinese. (There's pork satay here) It's called Nan San Village BBQ Satay. It's cheaper than the other satay stalls elsewhere. Each stick costs 35 cents and it tastes pretty good too. Unfortunately, it doesn't serve authentic ketupats. The peanut sauce even comes with pureed pineapple for a tinge of sweetness and zest, which is yet another rarity for a satay stalls in Singapore.
On top of all the good food, the setting is also a rarity which I particularly enjoy. The environment feels very much like rustic al fresco coffeeshops in JB, except much, much, much safer in terms of security and hygiene. Or if you are more familiar with the local versions, Jalan Kayu. Except here, it is less crowded and serves tze char.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!
Sometimes, I would brave the hot afternoon sun walking from my office to Raffles Place, just for this bowl of beef noodles.
The beef noodles here is the kind that is worth your money. The ingredients plentiful and the taste is just right. Unlike the usual beef noodles from food courts that spawn from the franchising monster, this place serves up something well-balanced on the palate. I mean I had tasted bad ones from food courts that passed of MSG, salt and water as soup and gravy. Hock Lam here serves up proper soup and gravy that's been made with hours of work. The taste is rich but does not overpower the texture of the ingredients.
Add a glass of lime juice, and you might make yourself very happy for the rest of the day.
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