Twenty four of us descended to Gunther’s in a foodgraphy-frenzy. Hells hath no fury like a floggers' hunger. The long discussion of food, followed by the occasional exclaims of ‘ooh‘, and ‘aah‘. Welcome to the world of the food lovers.
It was smooth, and silky, strands of it sticking out; yet in the dim light setting against the white background, it looked angelic, yes, this must be it: Cold Angel-hair pasta. I enjoyed every slurp, and I’ll gladly have it again.
This, is the In-thing for this season, like the latest fashion trends for each year; rejoiced people, it is this time of the year for the sacred white asaparagus, not green, not red, but white. And then, I spotted the yellowish sauce over the the Poached white asparagus with Bouchot mussels.
I stopped, and slowly took a bit of it with my spoon; “it couldn’t be, Oh yes it is!” I dipped everything on the plate with the hollandaise sauce, and made sure not a single drop of it was left.
“Have you had white asparagus before?”
“No, I don’t see what's the craze over them..”
A surprise always had the biggest impact when you least expected it, and it came pleasantly of course.
There was pata negra, and salted baked seabass for the folks who couldn’t have beef; and damn, the roasted black pig from Spain sounded so good, I should have claimed to have allergies against cows!
My piece was very well balanced in the portions of the fats and meat (read: too much fats). I took a bite of the meat, and chewed down some fats. And it’s not that the Grilled Cote de Boeuf wasn’t good. In fact it was more than excellent; the slightly tinge of pink fully captured my imagination.
My eyes tweaked to see what was coming. It was supposed to be desserts next, but they were serving us, pizzas. You know, the elongated slice of thin-crust bread with toppings all over. Ah no, I was clearly mistaken, this was no pizza, it’s the Fine apple tart a la dragees, with rum & raisin ice-cream.
Once we had our desserts, once we paid off the bill, it would be bye-bye until a year later. Or at least that’s what the script wrote. A year, is far too long a time for us to meet up. We should meet up regularly my friends, and hunt down all the good food around our island.
Note: The 4 course Carte Blanche set menu was $45 per person and done especially for our Food Bloggers lunch, it's not available to public.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Went to this restaurant for the first time due to a friend's craving for its “梦幻黑猪”... we went in quite late as it was after a performance at about 930pm and the last order was at 10pm. The restaurant was still quite crowded then. We were urshered to an almost empty area.
Space usage was quite poor as the place was quite cramped. 5 mins from sitting down, we changed places as the aircon was leaking water. No black face from the waitor though no smiles too.
We were not rushed into making up our mind even though its only like 20 mins left to closing the till. I ordered this Hakodate Shio Ramen and was extremely satisfied by it. The shio soup base was unique, not too heavy nor too light. Blended well with the saltish meat. However, the meat will be too salty to be tasted alone though those who love heavier taste would love it.
Also ordered the Edamame which came hot and covered with shio. Tasted wonderful though the salt proved to be too much when we came to the bottom of the bowl.
My husband ordered Beef Curry Rice. Contrary to other places' curry, we could taste beef in the curry itself. Meaning they either used beef stock as one of the ingredients or cooked the beef in the curry. I would like to order that the next time I'm there.
Overall, we were quite satisfied with our meal there. But it could be because we were all famished from having no dinner and a tiring performance and rehearsals. Should definitely visit there again as there are more to be tried out.
Went in search of Hokkien food one weekend evening and ended up at Quan Xian Yuan, which came highly recommended to me for its quality food and reasonable prices. Apparently it is so popular that when we tried making reservations for 630pm in the afternoon itself, it was full and the only option was to rush down at 530pm and finish our meal by 630pm. And so we did.
The place isn't located at somewhere you would term as accessible - an inconspicuous restaurant occupying 2 rather dilapidated units along Jalan Besar Road. The interior is dated as well, looking more like a scene out from a sixties movie set then a modern Chinese restaurant.
Prawn Roll - The prawn roll aka ha zhor had too much batter for my liking. It looked a little like goreng pisang (deep fried banana fritters) to me and that's definitely not a good thing. I couldn't quite make out the subtle presence of the prawns, if any and honestly, it was filled with more flour then anything.
Broccoli with Scallops - You can't really go wrong with broccoli and scallops and thankfully this one wasn't the exception. Apart from the scallops being a little too soft, I thought that this dish was still quite decent, but nothing to shout about of course.
Kong Ba Pao (扣肉包) - The answer to all weight loss programs, diets and they key to having a short life - that's what popping a serving of kong ba in your mouth does for you. I would have gladly thrown any health concerns out of the window if the kong ba had been good. Sadly, that wasn't the case. The meat was overly fatty to the point of being gross and the gravy was seriously bland. A little sugar might have made it more palatable.
Hokkien Mee - If the taste of alkaline was my thing, then this dish would have been a delicacy. Otherwise, it was terrible. Bland save for the strong hint of alkaline from the noodles, coupled with not so fresh prawns and a watery gravy that was more for the colour then taste, the noodles were limp and soggy. Not exactly my idea of a signature dish.
To be fair to the restaurant, the food isn't expensive (save for the scallops dish). As a matter of fact, it's considered quite cheap, standing at $48 for the 3 of us. But something really needs to be done about the quality of food. We tried the signature dishes and they turned out so bad. I really can't imagine how the "normal" dishes will turn out. Makes me wonder about the crowds.
Where can you find a quirky indie café, great comfort food at value-for-money price, relaxing corner to chill-out with your friends and at the same time give back to the society? The answer is Food for Thought, a social enterprise café that endeavours to generate profits to support and serve the community we live in.
Conveniently located opposite National Library, the café has been helmed by our own local boy, David Heng, who graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney, and used to work in Le St Julien, under the tutorage of Chef de Cuisine Julien Bompard.
Watermelon Mint & Lychee Sage Freeze ($4.00 each) was the initial order of the evening. HFB can’t think of any good reasons why one wouldn’t love these drinks. Simply revitalising!
Our appetiser falls under the “Premium Salad” category of Honey Mustard Smoked Duck Salad ($12.90). HFB simply dig the smoked duck. The thin layer of fats gave it a nice marbling chew and the meat is tender and succulent. The dish is also well complemented with orange slices. Can I also add that the serving is pretty generous?
What’s best to pair with a premium salad? It’s none other than a “Premium Sandwich” of Cuban Ham & Pork Steak ($10.90) – made of Grilled Gamon Ham, Hand-shred Slow-roasted Tender Pork Shoulder, topped with a sliced of Grilled Pineapple. Sandwiched within home-baked Foccacia Bread, drizzled with creamy mustard dressing and homemade barbecue sauce, this is definitely one of the better sandwiches that HFB has polished off. My only nitpick is that the mixture of over zealous dressing and sauce, coupled with the meat’s natural juices, cause the bread to turn soggy a little.
What’s a meal without its dessert? The Butterscotch Peach Crumble ($7.90) is created with bubbling homemade butterscotch sauce, filled with Peaches, Raisins and Roasted Almond Slices. Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, HFB thought that the combination was a little too generous for it’s own good. Being a hot dessert, the ice cream tends to melt quickly into a mess. Perhaps a better option is to serve the ice cream on the side.
The Vanilla Caramel Crème Brulee was nothing extraordinary to say the least – the custard was smooth with a hint of caramel goodness all right, but the caramelised crust was disappointingly too thick for HFB. However, using fine icing sugar should eliminate the problem.
Absinthe - a green alcoholic spirit which was more commonly known as the green fairy because of its purported hallucinogenic effects. It also happens to be the name of upmarket French restaurant jointly owned by the folks from OSO, restaurant manager Philippe Pau and chef Francois Mermilliod of Flutes at the Fort fame.
Sitting pretty at the end of a row of shophouses along Bukit Pasoh Road and playing immediate neighbour to OSO, Absinthe's green signboard, which is a nod to the greenish colour of the alcohol, greets you from a distance. The swanky interior boasts low ceilings and parquet flooring coupled with ambient ceiling lighting for a relaxing dining experience.
Complimentary Bread - When the first round of complimentary bread hit us, it was actually quite good. Crusty on the outside while retaining its softness and fluffiness on the inside. The second serving was akin to eating stones so I promptly gave up after a few mouthfuls.
Chilled Ravioli of Lobster with Lime Sabayon, Pink Guava Julienne and Shiso - Very interesting to say the least. This wasn't your typical ravioli. The skin was reminiscent of har gao and there were crunchy strands of guava nestled below it on a bed of fresh Boston lobster. The presence of fish roe gave it a nice salty taste while the lime sabayon was savoury with a hint of tartness. Very nice.
Pan-Fried Foie Gras with Warm Blinis and Wild Hibiscus Flower Compote - I thought that the foie gras was excellent. On par with what I had at Sage, if not better by a notch or two. Very well pan fried to a crisp on the outside yet melt in the mouth quivery on the inside with a hint of saltiness. The hibiscus flower compote provided a nice sourish dimension to the foie gras.
Hokkaido Scallop With Sea Urchin Emulsion and Small Herb Salad - Scallops never fail to entice me and Absinthe's rendition came with sea urchin emulsion, which was a first for me. The scallops were done tataki style, well seared on the outside but soft and relatively rare on the inside, which is a refreshing change from the usual seared scallops. I could make out a hint of fishiness amongst the predominantly salty emulsion. Overall another excellent dish.
Pork Belly - The pork belly was a special of the day and I requested this as my main instead of the lamb/fish option for my degustation and I am glad I did. The skin was very crispy, the fats were sinfully melt in your mouth and the meat fibrous with a generous dose of salt. And being pork belly, the ratio of fats to meat is a lot higher then other parts of the pig. Definitely not for the health conscious or faint hearted.
Crème Brûlée, Absinthe Sorbet - Apparently some of the ice parfaits didn't make it past the QC test that evening so I had a choice of crème brûlée instead. I wasn't too impressed by it though. The caramel layer was a little too overtorched, resulting in a rather burnt layer. On the upside, it was milky smooth with raisins in it. What I thought was interesting was the absinthe sorbet, which I had mistaken as lime sorbet at first sight. The sorbet had a very weak absinthe dosage, coming across more like liqurious with its herbal overtones.
The degustation cost $98++ but because I requested to change my main to the pork belly, it cost me another $6++, bringing the total to $122.41 nett. Sure it isn't cheap, but the excellent quality of food and service more then makes up for it. I will definitely be back, but this time I'm aiming the private dining room for 4pax within the wine cellar.
Contrary to normal beliefs that guys don’t like sweet stuff, I, for one, however proved to be the complete opposite. I like things that make me happy; food that can cheer me up, the happily-ever-after fairytale-like stories, and naturally, sweet nibbles that I always crave for.
The lady took one, from the pile of mountain-stacked high; this was the one destined for me. Poking a hole into the bottom by tucking it in, she pressed the pump; the lovely custard swam into the tiny hole, just big enough, for everything to flow inside.
Dusted with some icing sugar; it was akin like putting on the make-up for the pretty. I was excited by the sticking in and out, with each done, I could barely hide my excitement. And she repeated this process, six times in total.
Do not, I repeat, Do not (note: in bold), share your sweets around, they are not meant to be shared. What’s the point of passing them around, only to feel slightly agonizing over the fact that you are going to have less for yourself?
Stop staring at my cream puff. They are mine, and mine alone.
This, will come down as, one of the toughest decision you will make in your life. Chocolate, vanilla, or strawberrry? And there’s the lovely eclair winking at me, the tiramisu trying to seduce me. It is a land, of temptations. I decided, like what seemed to take an eternity, to go for just half-a-dozen with the chocolate and vanilla flavours. The rest, are my excuses for coming back next time.
And I regretted just getting six.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Sometimes back, I was told that De Coder's Cafe opened a new outlet in Clementi. The boss is now a friend of mine after some past "commotions" and constructive feedback few of us gave after the unsatisfying meal on my birthday last year. But I'm happy to say that they've improved! Not to the extend that it turned their entire menu around to serve restaurant standard food, but the taste, variety and quality have surely become better.
I visited this new outlet of theirs at Clementi, located at the void deck of a very long flat. About 7-9 mins walk from the Clementi MRT station. The shop is spacious and has the same color scheme as their other outlet at Newton.
As its a neighbourhood, they're also catering for the people staying around with breakfast sets. And I was told this was included in their menu after hearing feedback from their regular customers living nearby. Thumbs up for them for responding to customers request. And I believe, they really want to make their food and service good for everyone.
Food tasted that day includes Nacho Chips & Cheese, Roasted Honey Wings, Americaya, Teriyaki Chicken Chop, Brownie with Vanilla Ice-Cream, Waffle with Gelato Ice Cream, Chocolate Decadence and Oreo Milkshake.
My friend and I love the cheese. It's better than those served at one of the cinema but not as thick as we would have liked it more. But definitely the yummy cheesy taste is there.
Next favorite that day was the Roasted Honey Wings. Roasted to the right texture and the skin is slightly crisp. Marination was good too as the honey has been absorbed into the meat too.
Servings of the main dishes were appetizing and attractive. The size is good to fill up most hungry stomachs.
The late lunch ended with lots of sweetness. Both of us love the waffles and the pistachio gelato ice-cream is of good quality too. I personally love it!
Overall the experience and food has improved. Guess they should already have made the same adjustments too at their Newton outlet. Perhaps if you'd been there before and didn't like the food then, give it another try. You might enjoy it more this time round.
I've always meant to try out Chinese Box, a Chinese restaurant owned and operated by the same folks who holds the rights to Black Angus in Singapore. So when an opportunity to try out their food came knocking, I jumped at it.
Opened in January this year, Chinese Box is hidden in the far reaches of the NUS law campus at Cluny Road. Getting there can be quite a headache as there are no clear signs as to how to reach the restaurant even within the compounds of the school itself. Housed on the first level of an old restored colonial bungalow (Black Angus takes the second level), Chinese Box boasts a classical chinese interior with a dash of colonial grandeur. Think white washed pillars, overhanging oriental lamps and and red translucent curtains.
Soft Shell Crab Roll & Vietnamese Mango and Duck Roll - The soft shell crab roll was crisp with a fleeting taste of sourish mango. I couldn't quite make out any taste of soft shell crab though, as it was overwhelmed by the leafy taste of the greens. The mango and duck roll fared slightly better. Drizzled with sweet sauce, it wasn't as leafy as the crab roll and I could still make out a faint fowl taste and texture. Not exactly the best way to start of the meal in my humble opinion.
Poet Drunken Chicken & Taro Strings - Honestly its the first time I'm having taro strings so its quite a refreshing change from the norm. Soaked in Szechuan chilli oil, the strings tasted a little like vermicelli, albeit a little firmer and thicker, making for a nice chewy and fiery sensation. The drunken chicken was well marinated in Chinese wine but came across as a little too salty.
Chinese Box Signature Beijing Duck - Apparently, this is a signature dish of Chinese Box but I honestly thought that though palatable, it was no big deal. The skin was a wee bit crisp and served with meat, all wrapped up in a thin egg crepe, with some cucumber slices thrown in for the works. I have definitely eaten much better ones before.
TeoChew TaiPan Superior Thick Shark's Fin Soup - The broth was thick and savoury without coming across as nausea inducing. The single fin was of quite a decent size but its texture reminded me somewhat of vermicelli, which was rather unnerving. I could make out a mild ginger taste in it as well. Decent but could be better.
Pan Fried Cod Fish Fillets in Superior Soy Sauce - Well fried till crisp but lacked the natural sweetness or smoothness of cod. Probably the redeeming factor would be the sweet sauce that came drizzled atop, without which, the fish would have tasted bland.
Signature Golden Roast Duck & Teochew Five Spice Meats Roll - Another signature duck dish, this time served with a roll of wu xiang. The duck's skin was rather limp and certainly didn't impress while the wu xiang had a nice crisp exterior belying an overly soft interior that was lacking in robustness of taste.
Stir-Fried Taiwan Pea-shoots - The pea shoots aka dou miao (豆苗) was quite well fried - not too soft yet retaining enough juices and mildly salty.
Signature Golden Tofu Bar with Sauteed Mushrooms - I think the word signature is used to death already. The word raises expectations a few notches and its cruel to be brought back down to reality. I like my tofu savoury with a hint of smokiness but Chinese Box's offering, though smooth, lacked just that. I liked the topping of mushrooms and dried scallops though.
Garlic Steamed Fresh Scallop w/ Tofu - A huge steamed scallop showered with lots of deep fried garlic (a personal favourite) and fresh chopped garlic, served on a bed of steamed tofu. The garlic provided a nice crunch and aroma but covered the sweetness, if any, of the scallop. The tofu was smooth but not exactly soft while the gravy had egg white in it. All in all, I thought that the idea was there, just that the execution and proportions could have been better.
Taro Paste"Orni" w/ Pumpkin & Gingko Nuts - I love this effort intensive traditional Teochew dessert and have been fortunate enough to try out quite a number of renditions in Singapore and overseas. My take on Chinese Box's variation? Smooth but not fragrant, probably due to the exclusion of lard in it. And the taste wasn't robust enough for my liking. On the upside, it wasn't too sweet, which was a good thing.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the management of Chinese Box for inviting me for this food tasting and to wish them well in their future endeavours.
Had a craving for burgers and heard about this new burger stall, Bergs, which apparently is the brainchild of 2 Aussies who had embarked on a futile attempt to find the perfect burger. Frustrated, they decided to open an eatery that served up fresh burgers cooked/made on the spot.
Situated within the nostalgic Far East Square, Bergs offers al fresco seating along the side walks and a not so cool air conditioned interior that reminded me of a school tuck shop with its wooden tables and matching chairs and an open kitchen (where you can see your burgers being made) to boot.
Chips - The burgers do not come with any sides so we started off with an order of chips, which came served in a doggy bag. The chips looked machine cut but were thick and probably weren't of the frozen variant. Firm on the outside with a light handful of salt yet soft and moist on the inside.
Crikey - There is an option of having your burger done in 2 sizes - small or Bergs. I naturally opted for the latter. 2 huge pieces of freshly grilled beef patties and 2 pieces of bacon, all with grill lines to show for it, rather elastic edam cheese, lettuce and evenly toasted sesame buns - Seriously, what's not to like? Well perhaps the overdoneness of the beef would be one. The patty didn't conceal any reddish tinges within and the exterior was a little too charred. But at least I could taste the mild uneveness of the meat. Did I mention that the burger was huge?
Alamack - This fish burger's name is a weird pun on the Malay word, alamak, which loosely translates to "oh my god". Funny names aside, the burger came with 2 chunks of fish which were lightly battered with crumbs and came across as tasty without being too fishy. Although this wasn't a Berg's size burger, it was still quite a handful.
Bergs is probably one of the more expensive fast food places I've ever tried, but portions are generous and service is great. Food quality could improve, especially for the beef patties but throw in an almost crowd free environment on weekday/weekend evenings and its a huge draw, especially for people who value peace and quiet, like yours truly. And to borrow Carl Junior's slogan about their burgers, "It's gonna get messy".
Another weekend, another Sunday brunch. But its the first time I'm having Chinese ala carte buffet for brunch and expectations were relatively high as Jing @ One Fullerton is under the same management as Majestic Restaurant, which has won top accolades for its Chinese food.
Ambience
Typical modern Chinese restaurant but what sets it apart is the huge glass windows that allow plenty of sunlight in as well as views of the partially constructed IR just across the river. The booth seats look comfortable for a party of 3 or 4 but unfortunately we were relegated to the center tables. There is the problem of weak air conditioning too.
Variety
You get about 20 odd different types of dim sum , a tiny self service buffet station with duck, fruits and minimal desserts and the standard 4-5 items each of seafood, meat, vegetables, rice, noodles and the likes. There are certain restrictions on certain items. Ie. you get to choose 1 serving of either Chilli Crab or Soon Hock and soups are limited to 2 servings per table. If you are keen on the more premium items like boston lobster or shark's fin soup, be prepared to top up at least $10++ to $18++ more per pax for 1 portion. Drinks are chargable and the only things that are free flow are the Chinese tea and sky juice.
Quality
The quality is merely average in my humble opinion. Nothing quite stands out but nothing really sucked terribly either. If I had to choose, the best dish would probably be the crispy duck from the carving station. All in all, the dishes were palatable but honestly, don't expect too much. Think Crystal Jade La Mian XLB standard.
Service
Average service from wait staff that didn't seem very keen on serving. When I called to make a reservation, the lady on the other end of the phone wasn't particularly friendly either. No big boo boos but could be a lot better.
Value for money
At $36++/pax ($42.40 nett), I honestly thought that it was a little over the top. Food quality was generally average, the spread not exactly the most extensive and service, forgettable. I fail to see how Jing could have made a name for itself with such standards.
1=SGD 0.0587
Twenty four of us descended to Gunther’s in a foodgraphy-frenzy. Hells hath no fury like a floggers' hunger. The long discussion of food, followed by the occasional exclaims of ‘ooh‘, and ‘aah‘. Welcome to the world of the food lovers.
It was smooth, and silky, strands of it sticking out; yet in the dim light setting against the white background, it looked angelic, yes, this must be it: Cold Angel-hair pasta. I enjoyed every slurp, and I’ll gladly have it again.
This, is the In-thing for this season, like the latest fashion trends for each year; rejoiced people, it is this time of the year for the sacred white asaparagus, not green, not red, but white. And then, I spotted the yellowish sauce over the the Poached white asparagus with Bouchot mussels.
I stopped, and slowly took a bit of it with my spoon; “it couldn’t be, Oh yes it is!” I dipped everything on the plate with the hollandaise sauce, and made sure not a single drop of it was left.
“Have you had white asparagus before?”
“No, I don’t see what's the craze over them..”
A surprise always had the biggest impact when you least expected it, and it came pleasantly of course.
There was pata negra, and salted baked seabass for the folks who couldn’t have beef; and damn, the roasted black pig from Spain sounded so good, I should have claimed to have allergies against cows!
My piece was very well balanced in the portions of the fats and meat (read: too much fats). I took a bite of the meat, and chewed down some fats. And it’s not that the Grilled Cote de Boeuf wasn’t good. In fact it was more than excellent; the slightly tinge of pink fully captured my imagination.
My eyes tweaked to see what was coming. It was supposed to be desserts next, but they were serving us, pizzas. You know, the elongated slice of thin-crust bread with toppings all over. Ah no, I was clearly mistaken, this was no pizza, it’s the Fine apple tart a la dragees, with rum & raisin ice-cream.
Once we had our desserts, once we paid off the bill, it would be bye-bye until a year later. Or at least that’s what the script wrote. A year, is far too long a time for us to meet up. We should meet up regularly my friends, and hunt down all the good food around our island.
Note: The 4 course Carte Blanche set menu was $45 per person and done especially for our Food Bloggers lunch, it's not available to public.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
Went to this restaurant for the first time due to a friend's craving for its “梦幻黑猪”... we went in quite late as it was after a performance at about 930pm and the last order was at 10pm. The restaurant was still quite crowded then. We were urshered to an almost empty area.
Space usage was quite poor as the place was quite cramped. 5 mins from sitting down, we changed places as the aircon was leaking water. No black face from the waitor though no smiles too.
We were not rushed into making up our mind even though its only like 20 mins left to closing the till. I ordered this Hakodate Shio Ramen and was extremely satisfied by it. The shio soup base was unique, not too heavy nor too light. Blended well with the saltish meat. However, the meat will be too salty to be tasted alone though those who love heavier taste would love it.
Also ordered the Edamame which came hot and covered with shio. Tasted wonderful though the salt proved to be too much when we came to the bottom of the bowl.
My husband ordered Beef Curry Rice. Contrary to other places' curry, we could taste beef in the curry itself. Meaning they either used beef stock as one of the ingredients or cooked the beef in the curry. I would like to order that the next time I'm there.
Overall, we were quite satisfied with our meal there. But it could be because we were all famished from having no dinner and a tiring performance and rehearsals. Should definitely visit there again as there are more to be tried out.
Rating given:
Went in search of Hokkien food one weekend evening and ended up at Quan Xian Yuan, which came highly recommended to me for its quality food and reasonable prices. Apparently it is so popular that when we tried making reservations for 630pm in the afternoon itself, it was full and the only option was to rush down at 530pm and finish our meal by 630pm. And so we did.
The place isn't located at somewhere you would term as accessible - an inconspicuous restaurant occupying 2 rather dilapidated units along Jalan Besar Road. The interior is dated as well, looking more like a scene out from a sixties movie set then a modern Chinese restaurant.
Prawn Roll - The prawn roll aka ha zhor had too much batter for my liking. It looked a little like goreng pisang (deep fried banana fritters) to me and that's definitely not a good thing. I couldn't quite make out the subtle presence of the prawns, if any and honestly, it was filled with more flour then anything.
Broccoli with Scallops - You can't really go wrong with broccoli and scallops and thankfully this one wasn't the exception. Apart from the scallops being a little too soft, I thought that this dish was still quite decent, but nothing to shout about of course.
Kong Ba Pao (扣肉包) - The answer to all weight loss programs, diets and they key to having a short life - that's what popping a serving of kong ba in your mouth does for you. I would have gladly thrown any health concerns out of the window if the kong ba had been good. Sadly, that wasn't the case. The meat was overly fatty to the point of being gross and the gravy was seriously bland. A little sugar might have made it more palatable.
Hokkien Mee - If the taste of alkaline was my thing, then this dish would have been a delicacy. Otherwise, it was terrible. Bland save for the strong hint of alkaline from the noodles, coupled with not so fresh prawns and a watery gravy that was more for the colour then taste, the noodles were limp and soggy. Not exactly my idea of a signature dish.
To be fair to the restaurant, the food isn't expensive (save for the scallops dish). As a matter of fact, it's considered quite cheap, standing at $48 for the 3 of us. But something really needs to be done about the quality of food. We tried the signature dishes and they turned out so bad. I really can't imagine how the "normal" dishes will turn out. Makes me wonder about the crowds.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Where can you find a quirky indie café, great comfort food at value-for-money price, relaxing corner to chill-out with your friends and at the same time give back to the society? The answer is Food for Thought, a social enterprise café that endeavours to generate profits to support and serve the community we live in.
Conveniently located opposite National Library, the café has been helmed by our own local boy, David Heng, who graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney, and used to work in Le St Julien, under the tutorage of Chef de Cuisine Julien Bompard.
Watermelon Mint & Lychee Sage Freeze ($4.00 each) was the initial order of the evening. HFB can’t think of any good reasons why one wouldn’t love these drinks. Simply revitalising!
Our appetiser falls under the “Premium Salad” category of Honey Mustard Smoked Duck Salad ($12.90). HFB simply dig the smoked duck. The thin layer of fats gave it a nice marbling chew and the meat is tender and succulent. The dish is also well complemented with orange slices. Can I also add that the serving is pretty generous?
What’s best to pair with a premium salad? It’s none other than a “Premium Sandwich” of Cuban Ham & Pork Steak ($10.90) – made of Grilled Gamon Ham, Hand-shred Slow-roasted Tender Pork Shoulder, topped with a sliced of Grilled Pineapple. Sandwiched within home-baked Foccacia Bread, drizzled with creamy mustard dressing and homemade barbecue sauce, this is definitely one of the better sandwiches that HFB has polished off. My only nitpick is that the mixture of over zealous dressing and sauce, coupled with the meat’s natural juices, cause the bread to turn soggy a little.
What’s a meal without its dessert? The Butterscotch Peach Crumble ($7.90) is created with bubbling homemade butterscotch sauce, filled with Peaches, Raisins and Roasted Almond Slices. Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, HFB thought that the combination was a little too generous for it’s own good. Being a hot dessert, the ice cream tends to melt quickly into a mess. Perhaps a better option is to serve the ice cream on the side.
The Vanilla Caramel Crème Brulee was nothing extraordinary to say the least – the custard was smooth with a hint of caramel goodness all right, but the caramelised crust was disappointingly too thick for HFB. However, using fine icing sugar should eliminate the problem.
You can view all the photos here.
Rating given:
Absinthe - a green alcoholic spirit which was more commonly known as the green fairy because of its purported hallucinogenic effects. It also happens to be the name of upmarket French restaurant jointly owned by the folks from OSO, restaurant manager Philippe Pau and chef Francois Mermilliod of Flutes at the Fort fame.
Sitting pretty at the end of a row of shophouses along Bukit Pasoh Road and playing immediate neighbour to OSO, Absinthe's green signboard, which is a nod to the greenish colour of the alcohol, greets you from a distance. The swanky interior boasts low ceilings and parquet flooring coupled with ambient ceiling lighting for a relaxing dining experience.
Complimentary Bread - When the first round of complimentary bread hit us, it was actually quite good. Crusty on the outside while retaining its softness and fluffiness on the inside. The second serving was akin to eating stones so I promptly gave up after a few mouthfuls.
Chilled Ravioli of Lobster with Lime Sabayon, Pink Guava Julienne and Shiso - Very interesting to say the least. This wasn't your typical ravioli. The skin was reminiscent of har gao and there were crunchy strands of guava nestled below it on a bed of fresh Boston lobster. The presence of fish roe gave it a nice salty taste while the lime sabayon was savoury with a hint of tartness. Very nice.
Pan-Fried Foie Gras with Warm Blinis and Wild Hibiscus Flower Compote - I thought that the foie gras was excellent. On par with what I had at Sage, if not better by a notch or two. Very well pan fried to a crisp on the outside yet melt in the mouth quivery on the inside with a hint of saltiness. The hibiscus flower compote provided a nice sourish dimension to the foie gras.
Hokkaido Scallop With Sea Urchin Emulsion and Small Herb Salad - Scallops never fail to entice me and Absinthe's rendition came with sea urchin emulsion, which was a first for me. The scallops were done tataki style, well seared on the outside but soft and relatively rare on the inside, which is a refreshing change from the usual seared scallops. I could make out a hint of fishiness amongst the predominantly salty emulsion. Overall another excellent dish.
Pork Belly - The pork belly was a special of the day and I requested this as my main instead of the lamb/fish option for my degustation and I am glad I did. The skin was very crispy, the fats were sinfully melt in your mouth and the meat fibrous with a generous dose of salt. And being pork belly, the ratio of fats to meat is a lot higher then other parts of the pig. Definitely not for the health conscious or faint hearted.
Crème Brûlée, Absinthe Sorbet - Apparently some of the ice parfaits didn't make it past the QC test that evening so I had a choice of crème brûlée instead. I wasn't too impressed by it though. The caramel layer was a little too overtorched, resulting in a rather burnt layer. On the upside, it was milky smooth with raisins in it. What I thought was interesting was the absinthe sorbet, which I had mistaken as lime sorbet at first sight. The sorbet had a very weak absinthe dosage, coming across more like liqurious with its herbal overtones.
The degustation cost $98++ but because I requested to change my main to the pork belly, it cost me another $6++, bringing the total to $122.41 nett. Sure it isn't cheap, but the excellent quality of food and service more then makes up for it. I will definitely be back, but this time I'm aiming the private dining room for 4pax within the wine cellar.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
I have a sweet tooth
Contrary to normal beliefs that guys don’t like sweet stuff, I, for one, however proved to be the complete opposite. I like things that make me happy; food that can cheer me up, the happily-ever-after fairytale-like stories, and naturally, sweet nibbles that I always crave for.
The lady took one, from the pile of mountain-stacked high; this was the one destined for me. Poking a hole into the bottom by tucking it in, she pressed the pump; the lovely custard swam into the tiny hole, just big enough, for everything to flow inside.
Dusted with some icing sugar; it was akin like putting on the make-up for the pretty. I was excited by the sticking in and out, with each done, I could barely hide my excitement. And she repeated this process, six times in total.
Do not, I repeat, Do not (note: in bold), share your sweets around, they are not meant to be shared. What’s the point of passing them around, only to feel slightly agonizing over the fact that you are going to have less for yourself?
Stop staring at my cream puff. They are mine, and mine alone.
This, will come down as, one of the toughest decision you will make in your life. Chocolate, vanilla, or strawberrry? And there’s the lovely eclair winking at me, the tiramisu trying to seduce me. It is a land, of temptations. I decided, like what seemed to take an eternity, to go for just half-a-dozen with the chocolate and vanilla flavours. The rest, are my excuses for coming back next time.
And I regretted just getting six.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
Sometimes back, I was told that De Coder's Cafe opened a new outlet in Clementi. The boss is now a friend of mine after some past "commotions" and constructive feedback few of us gave after the unsatisfying meal on my birthday last year. But I'm happy to say that they've improved! Not to the extend that it turned their entire menu around to serve restaurant standard food, but the taste, variety and quality have surely become better.
I visited this new outlet of theirs at Clementi, located at the void deck of a very long flat. About 7-9 mins walk from the Clementi MRT station. The shop is spacious and has the same color scheme as their other outlet at Newton.
As its a neighbourhood, they're also catering for the people staying around with breakfast sets. And I was told this was included in their menu after hearing feedback from their regular customers living nearby. Thumbs up for them for responding to customers request. And I believe, they really want to make their food and service good for everyone.
Food tasted that day includes Nacho Chips & Cheese, Roasted Honey Wings, Americaya, Teriyaki Chicken Chop, Brownie with Vanilla Ice-Cream, Waffle with Gelato Ice Cream, Chocolate Decadence and Oreo Milkshake.
My friend and I love the cheese. It's better than those served at one of the cinema but not as thick as we would have liked it more. But definitely the yummy cheesy taste is there.
Next favorite that day was the Roasted Honey Wings. Roasted to the right texture and the skin is slightly crisp. Marination was good too as the honey has been absorbed into the meat too.
Servings of the main dishes were appetizing and attractive. The size is good to fill up most hungry stomachs.
The late lunch ended with lots of sweetness. Both of us love the waffles and the pistachio gelato ice-cream is of good quality too. I personally love it!
Overall the experience and food has improved. Guess they should already have made the same adjustments too at their Newton outlet. Perhaps if you'd been there before and didn't like the food then, give it another try. You might enjoy it more this time round.
Rating given:
I've always meant to try out Chinese Box, a Chinese restaurant owned and operated by the same folks who holds the rights to Black Angus in Singapore. So when an opportunity to try out their food came knocking, I jumped at it.
Opened in January this year, Chinese Box is hidden in the far reaches of the NUS law campus at Cluny Road. Getting there can be quite a headache as there are no clear signs as to how to reach the restaurant even within the compounds of the school itself. Housed on the first level of an old restored colonial bungalow (Black Angus takes the second level), Chinese Box boasts a classical chinese interior with a dash of colonial grandeur. Think white washed pillars, overhanging oriental lamps and and red translucent curtains.
Soft Shell Crab Roll & Vietnamese Mango and Duck Roll - The soft shell crab roll was crisp with a fleeting taste of sourish mango. I couldn't quite make out any taste of soft shell crab though, as it was overwhelmed by the leafy taste of the greens. The mango and duck roll fared slightly better. Drizzled with sweet sauce, it wasn't as leafy as the crab roll and I could still make out a faint fowl taste and texture. Not exactly the best way to start of the meal in my humble opinion.
Poet Drunken Chicken & Taro Strings - Honestly its the first time I'm having taro strings so its quite a refreshing change from the norm. Soaked in Szechuan chilli oil, the strings tasted a little like vermicelli, albeit a little firmer and thicker, making for a nice chewy and fiery sensation. The drunken chicken was well marinated in Chinese wine but came across as a little too salty.
Chinese Box Signature Beijing Duck - Apparently, this is a signature dish of Chinese Box but I honestly thought that though palatable, it was no big deal. The skin was a wee bit crisp and served with meat, all wrapped up in a thin egg crepe, with some cucumber slices thrown in for the works. I have definitely eaten much better ones before.
TeoChew TaiPan Superior Thick Shark's Fin Soup - The broth was thick and savoury without coming across as nausea inducing. The single fin was of quite a decent size but its texture reminded me somewhat of vermicelli, which was rather unnerving. I could make out a mild ginger taste in it as well. Decent but could be better.
Pan Fried Cod Fish Fillets in Superior Soy Sauce - Well fried till crisp but lacked the natural sweetness or smoothness of cod. Probably the redeeming factor would be the sweet sauce that came drizzled atop, without which, the fish would have tasted bland.
Signature Golden Roast Duck & Teochew Five Spice Meats Roll - Another signature duck dish, this time served with a roll of wu xiang. The duck's skin was rather limp and certainly didn't impress while the wu xiang had a nice crisp exterior belying an overly soft interior that was lacking in robustness of taste.
Stir-Fried Taiwan Pea-shoots - The pea shoots aka dou miao (豆苗) was quite well fried - not too soft yet retaining enough juices and mildly salty.
Signature Golden Tofu Bar with Sauteed Mushrooms -
I think the word signature is used to death already. The word raises expectations a few notches and its cruel to be brought back down to reality. I like my tofu savoury with a hint of smokiness but Chinese Box's offering, though smooth, lacked just that. I liked the topping of mushrooms and dried scallops though.
Garlic Steamed Fresh Scallop w/ Tofu - A huge steamed scallop showered with lots of deep fried garlic (a personal favourite) and fresh chopped garlic, served on a bed of steamed tofu. The garlic provided a nice crunch and aroma but covered the sweetness, if any, of the scallop. The tofu was smooth but not exactly soft while the gravy had egg white in it. All in all, I thought that the idea was there, just that the execution and proportions could have been better.
Taro Paste"Orni" w/ Pumpkin & Gingko Nuts - I love this effort intensive traditional Teochew dessert and have been fortunate enough to try out quite a number of renditions in Singapore and overseas. My take on Chinese Box's variation? Smooth but not fragrant, probably due to the exclusion of lard in it. And the taste wasn't robust enough for my liking. On the upside, it wasn't too sweet, which was a good thing.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the management of Chinese Box for inviting me for this food tasting and to wish them well in their future endeavours.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Had a craving for burgers and heard about this new burger stall, Bergs, which apparently is the brainchild of 2 Aussies who had embarked on a futile attempt to find the perfect burger. Frustrated, they decided to open an eatery that served up fresh burgers cooked/made on the spot.
Situated within the nostalgic Far East Square, Bergs offers al fresco seating along the side walks and a not so cool air conditioned interior that reminded me of a school tuck shop with its wooden tables and matching chairs and an open kitchen (where you can see your burgers being made) to boot.
Chips - The burgers do not come with any sides so we started off with an order of chips, which came served in a doggy bag. The chips looked machine cut but were thick and probably weren't of the frozen variant. Firm on the outside with a light handful of salt yet soft and moist on the inside.
Crikey - There is an option of having your burger done in 2 sizes - small or Bergs. I naturally opted for the latter. 2 huge pieces of freshly grilled beef patties and 2 pieces of bacon, all with grill lines to show for it, rather elastic edam cheese, lettuce and evenly toasted sesame buns - Seriously, what's not to like? Well perhaps the overdoneness of the beef would be one. The patty didn't conceal any reddish tinges within and the exterior was a little too charred. But at least I could taste the mild uneveness of the meat. Did I mention that the burger was huge?
Alamack - This fish burger's name is a weird pun on the Malay word, alamak, which loosely translates to "oh my god". Funny names aside, the burger came with 2 chunks of fish which were lightly battered with crumbs and came across as tasty without being too fishy. Although this wasn't a Berg's size burger, it was still quite a handful.
Bergs is probably one of the more expensive fast food places I've ever tried, but portions are generous and service is great. Food quality could improve, especially for the beef patties but throw in an almost crowd free environment on weekday/weekend evenings and its a huge draw, especially for people who value peace and quiet, like yours truly. And to borrow Carl Junior's slogan about their burgers, "It's gonna get messy".
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Another weekend, another Sunday brunch. But its the first time I'm having Chinese ala carte buffet for brunch and expectations were relatively high as Jing @ One Fullerton is under the same management as Majestic Restaurant, which has won top accolades for its Chinese food.
Ambience
Typical modern Chinese restaurant but what sets it apart is the huge glass windows that allow plenty of sunlight in as well as views of the partially constructed IR just across the river. The booth seats look comfortable for a party of 3 or 4 but unfortunately we were relegated to the center tables. There is the problem of weak air conditioning too.
Variety
You get about 20 odd different types of dim sum , a tiny self service buffet station with duck, fruits and minimal desserts and the standard 4-5 items each of seafood, meat, vegetables, rice, noodles and the likes. There are certain restrictions on certain items. Ie. you get to choose 1 serving of either Chilli Crab or Soon Hock and soups are limited to 2 servings per table. If you are keen on the more premium items like boston lobster or shark's fin soup, be prepared to top up at least $10++ to $18++ more per pax for 1 portion. Drinks are chargable and the only things that are free flow are the Chinese tea and sky juice.
Quality
The quality is merely average in my humble opinion. Nothing quite stands out but nothing really sucked terribly either. If I had to choose, the best dish would probably be the crispy duck from the carving station. All in all, the dishes were palatable but honestly, don't expect too much. Think Crystal Jade La Mian XLB standard.
Service
Average service from wait staff that didn't seem very keen on serving. When I called to make a reservation, the lady on the other end of the phone wasn't particularly friendly either. No big boo boos but could be a lot better.
Value for money
At $36++/pax ($42.40 nett), I honestly thought that it was a little over the top. Food quality was generally average, the spread not exactly the most extensive and service, forgettable. I fail to see how Jing could have made a name for itself with such standards.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given: