Had dinner with my folks one weekend evening and didn't want to venture far from home so ended up at Ju Bao, which is headed by the former head chef of Lei Garden, Yip Kin Chee.
Located at Teck Chye Terrace along Upper Serangoon Road, or more commonly known to people in the neighbourhood as "Hongkong Street" for its high concentration of Cantonese restaurants, Ju Bao's selling point is purportedly its great Cantonese food at affordable prices. Crowds throng this place during weekends so if you are thinking of having dinner, please go early.
Broccoli with Scallops - Our waitress tried to hard sell this dish to us and we succumbed. After all, how expensive or bad tasting could it be? On both accounts, it was a grave mistake. The scallops were small and lacking in bite but the major bummer was the fishy smell they emitted. The broccoli was still decent but at $22 for such a small portion, you have got to be kidding me.
Crispy Chicken - I suspected the chicken was precooked and left to cool in the kitchen because it was cool when served. And it was very oily. Some parts of the chicken were very salty while other parts were bland. Did I mention that portions were small as well? Sadly, the only positive note was probably the moist and tender meat, which made eating the chicken bearable, but barely.
Steamed Tofu - The tofu was smooth and came topped with mushrooms, minced meat and some other garnishes. However the dish in its entirety tasted rather bland and $8 for 4 relatively small pieces is terribly expensive.
While the absolute prices of the food didn't seem much, but factor in the quality and quantity of the food and its really a case of too little (quality & quantity) and too much (price). An unsatisfying dinner for the 3 of us cost about $47, which would have been better spent elsewhere. From the former head chef of Lei Garden, I had expected way better. Did I go on an off day or is the place just over hyped? I seriously wonder.
Safra Yishun country club, take a 15mins walk from Yishun MRT, LIC had the opportunity to visit the place last week and took some photos, so i thought i’ll share them and for people who have never visit any Safra around our island yet.
Swimming pool is definitely a main feature of any country club, be it for the kids or adults who fancy a swim, especially so in our hot weather.
Chalets are also a main feature of Safra, members can get them at a cheaper rates but i think non-members also are allowed to book them. Otherwise just get a friend who’s Safra member!
Personally i didn’t book any Safra chalets before, although several occasions i been to friends organise ones. I guess its pretty cool to book a chalet and just relax with your family, love one, and friends.
The rock-climbing area is one of the unique facilities available at Safra Yishun.
With this, LIC shall end the post on Safra Yishun! There’s plenty of other facilities like tennis court, gym, arcade, bowling centre, pool tables, spas at the country club also. Well you can check them out to see the facilities, some requires a fee, while others should be available for booking.
Don’t be afraid to explore the Safras around our island, they are built by the government for us to use after all!
This is a non-food related post, i’m sorry for any disturbance if you have came to ladyironchef wanting to read about my food adventure, but instead found yourself reading this post which has totally nothing to do with food. The next post will be on Eatzi, which is a cafe eatery under the same management by Jack’s place, which is also located within Safra Yishun.
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!
Eatzi steakhouse & bistro is under the same management of the family-known name, Jack’s Place. The one that we are exploring today is located within Safra Yishun, just besides the swimming pool which makes it convenient for customers who want a hot meal after a swim.
With the green white chequered table cloth so oddly-like to the interior of Jack’s place, the familiar items on both menus makes you wondered why Jack’s place came out with Eatzi.
While some restaurants group came up with different restaurants, but they branded and package the different restaurants. But in the case of Eatzi, they do not hide the fact that they are under the same management as Jack’s place, and with the menu items also mostly similar, it makes us wonder do we go to Jack’s place, or Eatzi?
Nevertheless, Eatzi has their daily set lunch menu which offers different food on different days. The day that we went was a Tuesday, the choice of soup cream of corn. Main course is boiled fish with spinach & mussel topped with ginger cream sauce, or sauteed pasta with olive oil topped with crumbled chicken.
Sauteed pasta with crumbled chicken ($9.80) The Sauteed pasta with olive oil topped with crumbled chicken comes in the daily set meal. All set lunch includes a soup of a day, choice of main course, and dessert of the day, and coffee/tea.
Nasi Goreng with egg & satay ($9) Asian fusion delights seems weird to be on the menu of Eatzi, a place more for its steak and western meal. Nonetheless, the serving was quite big, and one person will struggle to finish the food. Do note this dish is on the A la carte menu, not in the set lunch.
NZ Ribeye steak with brown sauce ($14.80) Obviously Eatzi being a steakhouse, you ought to try some steak here. The NZ ribeye steak is on the executive set lunch menu, the main different between the normal set lunch and executive set lunch is the different type of food, with the executive priced slightly higher.
The waitress brought the steak on the hotplate over to our table, and pour the brown sauce to make the steaks goes sizzling! This is followed by the potato, which is cut into half and mayo sauce is applied to fill up the centre of the potato.
Eatzi offers affordable eating in a cafe with its set menus. Certainly when the food is so cheap, you can’t be really expecting much quality from it. The place’s great if you want a simple meal and at a cafe environment, its affordable pricing is definitely targeted to the mass market.
However, i won’t be going back because of the apparent lack in quality, and personally its a case of eating good food, not necessary expensive ones, but good food. Given a choice between Eatzi and our local delights at hawker centre, i’ll gladly choose the latter.
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!
I literally watched this place renovate and prepare for opening. I looked forward to it as it seemed to offer more reasonable prices and was much nearer to my place than the coffeeshop.
The day it opened, I walked past pretty late and was dying to get some desserts. My sister and I stood there for a bit waiting. We didn't know if they had takeaways and wanted to ask if they had Yam Paste. They have some tubs of paste that looked like Yam paste on the counter but it wasn't available in the menu.
We waited and waited. 2 servers and 2 ladies whom we figured were the bosses looked at us in the eye but didn't say anything. They stood in front of us and instructed something to the counter people without acknowledging our presence... After a full 10 minutes of standing there, we went home without our desserts. We were really patient weren't we?
A few days after, my father suggested for us to go eat there. Thinking that they were just overly busy that first day I agreed. We were greeted as we approached the cafe and seated quickly. They gave us the menus which were strangely worn.
Food Ordered:
Chicken Rice Set B (Steamed) - $5.50 This set came with soup and a reasonable serving of vegetables. Chicken Rice happens to be "main dish" of this cafe. Most of the people I saw ordered at least a set. The meat was not too fatty and the rice was just slightly fragant and not too salty. The vegetables (thankfully) were not overcooked. I'd agree with my dad that there was slightly more rice than the usual at coffeeshops.
Thai Style Chicken Cutlet Rice - $5
I liked this one more than the chicken rice. The sauce was tangy and spicy. The Chicken Cutlet was very crisp. The rice was plain white rice but the sauce was flavourful enough for me.
Marmite Pork Ribs - $10
This one was surprisingly disappointing. The ribs were really small and there were about 5-6 pieces only. Mighty expensive if I had to say. Maybe I'm feeling a little disappointed because I just came back from Wuxi and the infamous dish there is Pork Ribs.... Tastewise it's alright with enough fatty bits. The sauce was pretty tasty but I still find it expensive. Moreover its presentation wasn't nice at all.
With no GST/service charge, the total came up to $20.50 for 3 people. Foodwise it is better than your regular coffeeshops. And in terms of pricing, it's pretty competitive in comparison to the food outlets in this area, esp the air-conditioned ones. Judging from the business it's been getting, I'd say this is here to stay... :)
Bought a dress from this place. Ordering is by leaving comments for the "collection" of clothes and the blog owner will email you. Reply came quick and courteous. Item was also sent very fast and nicely packed. However, items seems to be limited and expensive looking at the materials of the clothing. One commendable thing is, the designs of the clothes are unique and seldom seen on other blog shops.
Went for lunch at this place this afternoon as my friend heard the recommendation for it over the radio. Decided to order the Sirloin Steak ($10) even though I didn't know its the specialty there. I simply love to eat steak even though I dislike most meat.
Medium well for the steak. The cut wasn't too good as there are too much ligaments (?). However meat was tender and goes well with the sauce but I would prefer heavier beef taste. Came with baked beans and fried whipped potato (with butter I guess) and fries. Quite value for the price of $10.
A friend ordered pork and he did mention its just average and nothing special. However he loved the fried chicken which looked a bit weird but that doesn't matter when the taste is good.
Beef stew was fine, I heard, in fact, the beef tasted delicious. However the vegetables that came with the stew were cold.
Chicken chop ($5.50) also received a "normal" review. With a common sauce as Pork chop, the sauce didn't seem to blend well with the meat.
On the whole, I guess I won't deliberately visit this stall for the food.
Haven't been to Sofra for ages and so decided to bring a group of friends to try something "different" from what they use to savor.
As usual for starters we ordered the Hummus ($4.20) and the Sesame Bread ($3.40). The Bread was soft, yet crispy so that made it interesting. Together with the Hummus, which was tinged with lemon juice, it was a great start to our meal.
Izqara Kofte ($12.90) was served next. We ordered the mixed combination of chicken, lamb and beef. One of the more interesting dishes was the rice (Turkish Pilaf) . It was fluffy and very fragrant. Perhaps it was cooked in butter as they usually do with pilaf. We found out that the secret is in the sizzle – which gives it a creamy, buttery, and melt in the mouth consistency and taste. It’s the gastronomic equivalent of sinking into a huge armchair in front of a roaring log fire. But there was no log fire in Sofra. The meat varieties were well seasoned and it was refreshing for us as we were all hungry.
Sultan Kebab ($12.50) arrived piping hot in an oven baked tray. The lamb pieces were tender and complimented the mashed potatoes with baked creamy cheese that just kept oozing out in between the layers. It was not at all difficult to eat as the meat was in bite sizes.
The final dish was the Jumbo Kebap Combo ($34.90) just right for 2 persons. It has the eggplant Kebap, shish Kebap and doner Kabap. As usual, Sofra did not disappoint with their meat dishes which were done to the right taste and texture.
This blogstore is one I chanced upon while surfing around one day. The owners also have another called Black Sequin which sells clothing at reasonable prices.
They sell a special product from Japan and I was really curious when I went to see the website. The website had plenty of information like the ingredients of the product, a FAQ and it is very easy to read and navigate around.
Despite all the information, Kiasu Me still emailed them to find out more and their replies were friendly and prompt. They also reply via MSN and their chatbox so it's really good. I also like how they constantly update their customers regarding the status of the orders.
I have yet to receive my items (as the spree has not closed) but I'm already very satisfied with how they have lived up to their motto of *Service comes first*
A newcomer has burst onto the dessert scene at Serangoon Gardens, which already hosts popular dessert outlets like Frolick, a yoghurt specialist and Ice Cube, which sells ice cream and the like. However this new dessert place, aptly named Dessert Bowl or 一碗甜品, caters to people who prefer Chinese desserts.
Opened only about a week ago, Dessert Bowl can be rather difficult to find, given that its on the 2nd floor and plays neighbour to a pub along a quiet row of shophouses that houses OCBC as well. It definitely doesn't help that the signs are not prominently located. However make your way up and be rewarded by the sight of a brightly lighted cosy area which can probably take about 30 people or so. If you are lucky, you might just get one of the 2 sofa seats that overlook the roads below through the huge glass windows.
Rock Melon Sago - A very typical Chinese dessert, the rock melon sago wasn't outstanding and I personally found it a tad too sweet. But having said that, I don't remember the last time I had a rock melon sago that made me go wow. So maybe its just me.
Strawberry Ice - I didn't get to try this but from what I understand, the strawberries were very sour but other then that, no other complaints.
Mango De Creme - My original order of the Durian mousse was sold out so I thought I would try something a little different, namely the Mango De Creme, which was essentially custard with toppings of mango cubes and puree served up in a tin foil container. The custard came across as smooth and firm, very much like the texture of creme brulee. I'm not sure if it was effort on the part of the shop or pure luck that the mango cubes were sweet but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Overall a rather enjoyable dessert.
I don't really eat alot of Chinese desserts so I'm not sure if $10.50 for 3 desserts is considered expensive. But personally I think its still acceptable especially when this is definitely a cheaper alternative to Ice Cube. The dessert menu is rather extensive and that would probably be a good reason for me to drop by often for an after dinner dessert session.
Tian Wai Tian has been around for as long as i remember, and i believe they need no introduction. Located just besides the PIE expressway at the Upper Serangoon road exit. If you are coming from train, then stop at Potong Pasir MRT on the North-east line.
There isn’t any ambience to talk about, Tian Wai Tian is your typical zi-char in a normal coffee shop kind of place. Tian Wai Tian is so popular that besides the seats in the coffee shop, they also have tables at the back alley.
The most amazing thing is actually Tian Wai Tian only serves a few of their popular dishes, as in they don’t even have a menu to choose from, its always the same old few dishes, yet they pack in the crowd everyday!
Fish Head Steamboat ($20) Tian Wai Tian’s famous fish head steamboat! There are two types of fish to choose for your steamboat, the white promfet and the red groupa, which we got. The soup base is always a very important item for any steamboat as all the essence of the ingredients are cook together in it.
The soup here is pretty good, and you can have it topped up too. But i find it to be slightly on the salty side. More vegetables are needed to have a better balance.
Well a must-try dish if you come to Tian Wai Tian, since this is their signature dish.
Prawn Roll ($7) I believe the prawn roll is a very common dish and most people should be familiar with it, my family usually have it during the Chinese new year! The prawn roll here is good, dipped in the sweet sauce, awesome!
Tofu Prawn ($12) The tofu prawn in spicy sauce taste refreshing initially. Seldom do we see a combination of prawn and tofu cooked in spicy sauce. However, the taste is a tad too much and we can’t finish the dish.
Fried prawn sauce chicken ($8)
The fried prawn sauce chicken is mainstay dish on most of the zi-char stores, my favourite so far is the one in Holland Village XO Fishhead store. But the ones here are pretty decent i guess.
Sambal Kangkong ($6) Kangkong are best done in hot spicy sambal, and the one at Tian Wai Tian doesn’t disappoint. Hot and spicy!
Total Bill is $55.50 for 4 person. Tian Wai Tian serves their famous fish head steamboat, with the few of their popular dishes. Variety isn’t what you can have at this zi-char store, but if its some familiar dish that you need, find them here!
Service-wise, practically none, this is a zi-char, not some fanciful restaurant. The auntie working there can be quite rude and snobbish, so don’t say you are not warn.
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!
1=SGD 0.0587
Had dinner with my folks one weekend evening and didn't want to venture far from home so ended up at Ju Bao, which is headed by the former head chef of Lei Garden, Yip Kin Chee.
Located at Teck Chye Terrace along Upper Serangoon Road, or more commonly known to people in the neighbourhood as "Hongkong Street" for its high concentration of Cantonese restaurants, Ju Bao's selling point is purportedly its great Cantonese food at affordable prices. Crowds throng this place during weekends so if you are thinking of having dinner, please go early.
Broccoli with Scallops - Our waitress tried to hard sell this dish to us and we succumbed. After all, how expensive or bad tasting could it be? On both accounts, it was a grave mistake. The scallops were small and lacking in bite but the major bummer was the fishy smell they emitted. The broccoli was still decent but at $22 for such a small portion, you have got to be kidding me.
Crispy Chicken - I suspected the chicken was precooked and left to cool in the kitchen because it was cool when served. And it was very oily. Some parts of the chicken were very salty while other parts were bland. Did I mention that portions were small as well? Sadly, the only positive note was probably the moist and tender meat, which made eating the chicken bearable, but barely.
Steamed Tofu - The tofu was smooth and came topped with mushrooms, minced meat and some other garnishes. However the dish in its entirety tasted rather bland and $8 for 4 relatively small pieces is terribly expensive.
While the absolute prices of the food didn't seem much, but factor in the quality and quantity of the food and its really a case of too little (quality & quantity) and too much (price). An unsatisfying dinner for the 3 of us cost about $47, which would have been better spent elsewhere. From the former head chef of Lei Garden, I had expected way better. Did I go on an off day or is the place just over hyped? I seriously wonder.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Safra Yishun country club, take a 15mins walk from Yishun MRT, LIC had the opportunity to visit the place last week and took some photos, so i thought i’ll share them and for people who have never visit any Safra around our island yet.
Swimming pool is definitely a main feature of any country club, be it for the kids or adults who fancy a swim, especially so in our hot weather.
Chalets are also a main feature of Safra, members can get them at a cheaper rates but i think non-members also are allowed to book them. Otherwise just get a friend who’s Safra member!
Personally i didn’t book any Safra chalets before, although several occasions i been to friends organise ones. I guess its pretty cool to book a chalet and just relax with your family, love one, and friends.
The rock-climbing area is one of the unique facilities available at Safra Yishun.
With this, LIC shall end the post on Safra Yishun! There’s plenty of other facilities like tennis court, gym, arcade, bowling centre, pool tables, spas at the country club also. Well you can check them out to see the facilities, some requires a fee, while others should be available for booking.
Don’t be afraid to explore the Safras around our island, they are built by the government for us to use after all!
This is a non-food related post, i’m sorry for any disturbance if you have came to ladyironchef wanting to read about my food adventure, but instead found yourself reading this post which has totally nothing to do with food. The next post will be on Eatzi, which is a cafe eatery under the same management by Jack’s place, which is also located within Safra Yishun.
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:
Eatzi steakhouse & bistro is under the same management of the family-known name, Jack’s Place. The one that we are exploring today is located within Safra Yishun, just besides the swimming pool which makes it convenient for customers who want a hot meal after a swim.
With the green white chequered table cloth so oddly-like to the interior of Jack’s place, the familiar items on both menus makes you wondered why Jack’s place came out with Eatzi.
While some restaurants group came up with different restaurants, but they branded and package the different restaurants. But in the case of Eatzi, they do not hide the fact that they are under the same management as Jack’s place, and with the menu items also mostly similar, it makes us wonder do we go to Jack’s place, or Eatzi?
Nevertheless, Eatzi has their daily set lunch menu which offers different food on different days. The day that we went was a Tuesday, the choice of soup cream of corn. Main course is boiled fish with spinach & mussel topped with ginger cream sauce, or sauteed pasta with olive oil topped with crumbled chicken.
Sauteed pasta with crumbled chicken ($9.80)
The Sauteed pasta with olive oil topped with crumbled chicken comes in the daily set meal. All set lunch includes a soup of a day, choice of main course, and dessert of the day, and coffee/tea.
Nasi Goreng with egg & satay ($9)
Asian fusion delights seems weird to be on the menu of Eatzi, a place more for its steak and western meal. Nonetheless, the serving was quite big, and one person will struggle to finish the food. Do note this dish is on the A la carte menu, not in the set lunch.
NZ Ribeye steak with brown sauce ($14.80)
Obviously Eatzi being a steakhouse, you ought to try some steak here. The NZ ribeye steak is on the executive set lunch menu, the main different between the normal set lunch and executive set lunch is the different type of food, with the executive priced slightly higher.
The waitress brought the steak on the hotplate over to our table, and pour the brown sauce to make the steaks goes sizzling! This is followed by the potato, which is cut into half and mayo sauce is applied to fill up the centre of the potato.
Eatzi offers affordable eating in a cafe with its set menus. Certainly when the food is so cheap, you can’t be really expecting much quality from it. The place’s great if you want a simple meal and at a cafe environment, its affordable pricing is definitely targeted to the mass market.
However, i won’t be going back because of the apparent lack in quality, and personally its a case of eating good food, not necessary expensive ones, but good food. Given a choice between Eatzi and our local delights at hawker centre, i’ll gladly choose the latter.
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:
I literally watched this place renovate and prepare for opening. I looked forward to it as it seemed to offer more reasonable prices and was much nearer to my place than the coffeeshop.
The day it opened, I walked past pretty late and was dying to get some desserts. My sister and I stood there for a bit waiting. We didn't know if they had takeaways and wanted to ask if they had Yam Paste. They have some tubs of paste that looked like Yam paste on the counter but it wasn't available in the menu.
We waited and waited. 2 servers and 2 ladies whom we figured were the bosses looked at us in the eye but didn't say anything. They stood in front of us and instructed something to the counter people without acknowledging our presence... After a full 10 minutes of standing there, we went home without our desserts. We were really patient weren't we?
A few days after, my father suggested for us to go eat there. Thinking that they were just overly busy that first day I agreed. We were greeted as we approached the cafe and seated quickly. They gave us the menus which were strangely worn.
Food Ordered:
Chicken Rice Set B (Steamed) - $5.50
This set came with soup and a reasonable serving of vegetables. Chicken Rice happens to be "main dish" of this cafe. Most of the people I saw ordered at least a set. The meat was not too fatty and the rice was just slightly fragant and not too salty. The vegetables (thankfully) were not overcooked. I'd agree with my dad that there was slightly more rice than the usual at coffeeshops.
Thai Style Chicken Cutlet Rice - $5
I liked this one more than the chicken rice. The sauce was tangy and spicy. The Chicken Cutlet was very crisp. The rice was plain white rice but the sauce was flavourful enough for me.
Marmite Pork Ribs - $10
This one was surprisingly disappointing. The ribs were really small and there were about 5-6 pieces only. Mighty expensive if I had to say. Maybe I'm feeling a little disappointed because I just came back from Wuxi and the infamous dish there is Pork Ribs.... Tastewise it's alright with enough fatty bits. The sauce was pretty tasty but I still find it expensive. Moreover its presentation wasn't nice at all.
With no GST/service charge, the total came up to $20.50 for 3 people. Foodwise it is better than your regular coffeeshops. And in terms of pricing, it's pretty competitive in comparison to the food outlets in this area, esp the air-conditioned ones. Judging from the business it's been getting, I'd say this is here to stay... :)
Rating given:
Bought a dress from this place. Ordering is by leaving comments for the "collection" of clothes and the blog owner will email you. Reply came quick and courteous. Item was also sent very fast and nicely packed. However, items seems to be limited and expensive looking at the materials of the clothing. One commendable thing is, the designs of the clothes are unique and seldom seen on other blog shops.
Rating given:
Went for lunch at this place this afternoon as my friend heard the recommendation for it over the radio. Decided to order the Sirloin Steak ($10) even though I didn't know its the specialty there. I simply love to eat steak even though I dislike most meat.
Medium well for the steak. The cut wasn't too good as there are too much ligaments (?). However meat was tender and goes well with the sauce but I would prefer heavier beef taste. Came with baked beans and fried whipped potato (with butter I guess) and fries. Quite value for the price of $10.
A friend ordered pork and he did mention its just average and nothing special. However he loved the fried chicken which looked a bit weird but that doesn't matter when the taste is good.
Beef stew was fine, I heard, in fact, the beef tasted delicious. However the vegetables that came with the stew were cold.
Chicken chop ($5.50) also received a "normal" review. With a common sauce as Pork chop, the sauce didn't seem to blend well with the meat.
On the whole, I guess I won't deliberately visit this stall for the food.
Rating given:
Haven't been to Sofra for ages and so decided to bring a group of friends to try something "different" from what they use to savor.
As usual for starters we ordered the Hummus ($4.20) and the Sesame Bread ($3.40). The Bread was soft, yet crispy so that made it interesting. Together with the Hummus, which was tinged with lemon juice, it was a great start to our meal.
Izqara Kofte ($12.90) was served next. We ordered the mixed combination of chicken, lamb and beef. One of the more interesting dishes was the rice (Turkish Pilaf) . It was fluffy and very fragrant. Perhaps it was cooked in butter as they usually do with pilaf. We found out that the secret is in the sizzle – which gives it a creamy, buttery, and melt in the mouth consistency and taste. It’s the gastronomic equivalent of sinking into a huge armchair in front of a roaring log fire. But there was no log fire in Sofra. The meat varieties were well seasoned and it was refreshing for us as we were all hungry.
Sultan Kebab ($12.50) arrived piping hot in an oven baked tray. The lamb pieces were tender and complimented the mashed potatoes with baked creamy cheese that just kept oozing out in between the layers. It was not at all difficult to eat as the meat was in bite sizes.
The final dish was the Jumbo Kebap Combo ($34.90) just right for 2 persons. It has the eggplant Kebap, shish Kebap and doner Kabap. As usual, Sofra did not disappoint with their meat dishes which were done to the right taste and texture.
Rating given:
This blogstore is one I chanced upon while surfing around one day. The owners also have another called Black Sequin which sells clothing at reasonable prices.
They sell a special product from Japan and I was really curious when I went to see the website. The website had plenty of information like the ingredients of the product, a FAQ and it is very easy to read and navigate around.
Despite all the information, Kiasu Me still emailed them to find out more and their replies were friendly and prompt. They also reply via MSN and their chatbox so it's really good. I also like how they constantly update their customers regarding the status of the orders.
I have yet to receive my items (as the spree has not closed) but I'm already very satisfied with how they have lived up to their motto of *Service comes first*
Rating given:
A newcomer has burst onto the dessert scene at Serangoon Gardens, which already hosts popular dessert outlets like Frolick, a yoghurt specialist and Ice Cube, which sells ice cream and the like. However this new dessert place, aptly named Dessert Bowl or 一碗甜品, caters to people who prefer Chinese desserts.
Opened only about a week ago, Dessert Bowl can be rather difficult to find, given that its on the 2nd floor and plays neighbour to a pub along a quiet row of shophouses that houses OCBC as well. It definitely doesn't help that the signs are not prominently located. However make your way up and be rewarded by the sight of a brightly lighted cosy area which can probably take about 30 people or so. If you are lucky, you might just get one of the 2 sofa seats that overlook the roads below through the huge glass windows.
Rock Melon Sago - A very typical Chinese dessert, the rock melon sago wasn't outstanding and I personally found it a tad too sweet. But having said that, I don't remember the last time I had a rock melon sago that made me go wow. So maybe its just me.
Strawberry Ice - I didn't get to try this but from what I understand, the strawberries were very sour but other then that, no other complaints.
Mango De Creme - My original order of the Durian mousse was sold out so I thought I would try something a little different, namely the Mango De Creme, which was essentially custard with toppings of mango cubes and puree served up in a tin foil container. The custard came across as smooth and firm, very much like the texture of creme brulee. I'm not sure if it was effort on the part of the shop or pure luck that the mango cubes were sweet but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Overall a rather enjoyable dessert.
I don't really eat alot of Chinese desserts so I'm not sure if $10.50 for 3 desserts is considered expensive. But personally I think its still acceptable especially when this is definitely a cheaper alternative to Ice Cube. The dessert menu is rather extensive and that would probably be a good reason for me to drop by often for an after dinner dessert session.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Tian Wai Tian has been around for as long as i remember, and i believe they need no introduction. Located just besides the PIE expressway at the Upper Serangoon road exit. If you are coming from train, then stop at Potong Pasir MRT on the North-east line.
There isn’t any ambience to talk about, Tian Wai Tian is your typical zi-char in a normal coffee shop kind of place. Tian Wai Tian is so popular that besides the seats in the coffee shop, they also have tables at the back alley.
The most amazing thing is actually Tian Wai Tian only serves a few of their popular dishes, as in they don’t even have a menu to choose from, its always the same old few dishes, yet they pack in the crowd everyday!
Fish Head Steamboat ($20)
Tian Wai Tian’s famous fish head steamboat! There are two types of fish to choose for your steamboat, the white promfet and the red groupa, which we got. The soup base is always a very important item for any steamboat as all the essence of the ingredients are cook together in it.
The soup here is pretty good, and you can have it topped up too. But i find it to be slightly on the salty side. More vegetables are needed to have a better balance.
Well a must-try dish if you come to Tian Wai Tian, since this is their signature dish.
Prawn Roll ($7)
I believe the prawn roll is a very common dish and most people should be familiar with it, my family usually have it during the Chinese new year! The prawn roll here is good, dipped in the sweet sauce, awesome!
Tofu Prawn ($12)
The tofu prawn in spicy sauce taste refreshing initially. Seldom do we see a combination of prawn and tofu cooked in spicy sauce. However, the taste is a tad too much and we can’t finish the dish.
Fried prawn sauce chicken ($8)
The fried prawn sauce chicken is mainstay dish on most of the zi-char stores, my favourite so far is the one in Holland Village XO Fishhead store. But the ones here are pretty decent i guess.
Sambal Kangkong ($6)
Kangkong are best done in hot spicy sambal, and the one at Tian Wai Tian doesn’t disappoint. Hot and spicy!
Total Bill is $55.50 for 4 person. Tian Wai Tian serves their famous fish head steamboat, with the few of their popular dishes. Variety isn’t what you can have at this zi-char store, but if its some familiar dish that you need, find them here!
Service-wise, practically none, this is a zi-char, not some fanciful restaurant. The auntie working there can be quite rude and snobbish, so don’t say you are not warn.
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!
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