Pepper Lunch! Definitely something new. The food cooks at your table so you needn't worry about it being served cold or stale-like. There's a wide variety of dishes for you to choose from with different combinations.
You could have salmon, chicken, rice, etc.
I had the Salmon and Chicken Combo, whilst my companion had the Beef set. Both of which tasted great. It would not be overcooked as the pan on which the food is served cools after a while.
The ambience is very casual as it is a fast food restaurant. The prices are higher than that of your regular fast food joints but it's really due to the quality of the food.
One small gripe I have would be that the servers could afford to smile a little more and they could make the system of seating the customers more transparent.
This is actually a concept restaurant. The food cooks at your table on a very very hot stone. There's no oil added, so it's really healthy. They use spices and marinate to make your meat taste good. There are pretty special dishes like the huge mushroom and all dishes are served with some vege and potato mash which tastes really nice!
The servers are well-mannered and always willing to help. They are also very knowledgeable and are able to dispense advice regarding the choice of food and the cooking method promptly.
The pricing is average. For the quality and ambience i guess it's reasonable.
I only have 2 gripes. One of which is that the variety is quite limited. There is only one dish of every meat... which means one chicken dish, one fish, one beef, one seafood, etc. The second is that I left the place, smelling as if you've just been to a barbeque.
The perfect place to chill out without the crowd up on the "highest" peak in Singapore....actually not so high. But the couch view by the window is good. The floor to ceiling glass window allows you to get a good view of the cable car paths as well as Sentosa and the Singapore Harbour. So just sit back, relax and enjoy the views.
Serve standard drinks and cocktails. One plus point is that this place is frequented by both local and foreign celebrities, so you might just catch a glimpse of them or hear the staffs talking about it...that's if you are in to celebrities. Otherwise the glass atmosphere and cozy surroundings might just be what you can enjoy here.
You might like to make a reservation if you are going in larger groups. Have seen many larger groups of about 5-6 people coming in and going out because of not being able to find a place here.
Parking in Mount Faber can be a problem if you come later in the night. But then you can always use the valet service at $5 if you like. Saves you all the walking and trouble.
Ice cream like you have never had before. This is what we found at Tom's Palette. The perfect place for a stopover after dinner. It used to be Swensens but now, it is Tom's Palette! For some reason, Swensens does not seem to appeal to us, but then again that is another story.
So what is good at Tom's Palette?
The local flavours that you will not find at Swensens and Hagen D. The following is a list of flavours you can find there:-
- Tau Sar Piah!!??
- Chrysanthemum
- Lavender
- Apple Pie
- Oreo Cheese
- Blue Berry Cheese
- Hazelnut
- Logan and Red Dates
- Chocolate
- Coffee
- Real Strawberries
- Horlicks (if you just love it)
- and more to come...perhaps we should just give them some suggestions for new flavours! Why not have kiwi, chicken!!??, guava, and maybe some sorbets!!
If you are confused and not certain which one to try, just request to sample them. Try not to take it too far by sampling all the flavours....but it might just happen! Portions are generous and comes in 3 different servings. If you go by after dinner, perhaps the smallest portion would be the right serving. You get 2 scoops in the serving and that will allow you to savour your favourite flavours! All that at less than $3 per cup...it is reasonably priced.
Staffs are friendly and patient. Perhaps they like to see the look on your face in wondering what in the world does it taste like! But jokes aside they always have a smile even though you cannot decide which flavour you would like.
We specially make the trip there to eat their ice creams and also bring our friends there for a short stopover....to try Singapore ice cream. Highly recommended!!
The first time we walked pass this place, we said to ourselves, "next time must eat!". So the next time we passed by, we walked into the restaurant and happily ordered our food. After ordering at the counter, we decided to pay by NETS since we did not have enough cash. "Sorry, we do not accept NETS", was the reply. Oh ok, we thought to ourselves, maybe they can accept VISA, so we asked could we pay by VISA and they said "sorry we do not accept VISA". Then what do you accept? Can we pay by TT Transfer or bank draft??!!!?? The reply was,"We only accept cash". So we said thank you and had to walk out of the place with hungry stomachs and decided that propably we can only eat here the 3rd time round.
If you decide to eat here, please bring along CASH! Nothing is more useful then cold hard cash! Wonder why they do not accept other modes of payment. Maybe they do not want to pay for the extra 3%, so that they can charge us less for the fish?
The 3rd time round, we made sure we had enough cash. So we ordered the Silver Cod Fillet with fries and the North Atlantic Cod Loin with fries. When we were served it looked the same. Which is which? Even the person at the counter did not know and had to ask. So we were wondering what is going on!?!
Anyway after the first bite, we started to love the juicy and tender fillet which was well fried. The servings of chips is VERY VERY generous. Perhaps too much for us. They are huge by our standards and at the end of the meal, eating the chips seems to be like a chore. Well, too much of anything is always no good!
So what do we recommend the next time you want to eat here. Maybe just order the Cream dory fillet at half the price. Who knows, maybe they will look the same as the North Atlantic Cod Loin, or maybe you can hope that the counter staff gives you the Atlantic Cod Loin instead since they find it hard to tell them apart when fried!
We ate here in the evening, so the non-airconditioned atmosphere is not too bad. Our personal preference is still the Beer batter Cod, which of course is not served here and that is another story.
This is a place to grab a quick bite and off you go shopping for household items. Do not expect it to be like a restaurant. No ambience whatsoever. No waiters or waitresses to serve you food. It is self service and more like a Canteen to me!
Maybe they should name it IKEA Staff and Visitors Canteen!
Since the place is so crowded on weekends, you will find people standing next to your table waiting for you to vacate your seats. "Hey, I still have 5 meatballs left on my plate. If I take 1 minute to eat one, it will be 5 minutes waiting time." Very much reminds me of the hawker centre. But do not book seats with tissue paper here. It gets easily blown away by the large and bulky items that people carry.
So why come all the way to Tampines to eat in this cafe? The only good reason is the shopping at IKEA and the Swedish meatballs and 3 star chicken wings. Of course if you are an IKEA member, you will get your drinks free.
Also you are encouraged to clean up your meals after finishing them. There is a counter in the centre of the "canteen" where you can deposit your dishes.
So if this is you first experience to this Cafe, perhaps it will be your last. Unless you are really famished! Always remember to take your meals before you head down to IKEA. We ate once at Alexandra and once in Tampines - that's it. If you want ambience, you will find a noisy one here. Anyway, when you step into IKEA to do your shopping, the unpleasant experience you find in the Cafe will soon be forgotten....until you step back into it again.
For me IKEA is a great place to find furniture and household accessories (Full Stop).
Although the building outside looks the same, abeit the renovations and refurbishments done, the interior of the museum is totally brand new and very much different from the National Museum I have been to many years back. The old musuem was eerie, dark and museum like. The new looks refreshing and more like an art gallery.
If you are driving there, you can park at the car park at fort canning park (next to ROM) and enter via the back entrance to the museum. Entrance fees are $10 for adults.
Must say that you can spend the whole day in the Singapore "History Gallery" to look at the exhibits and listen to the cleverly arranged scripts and stories from 1800s to the present. I took about 4 hours to finish the History Gallery (with in-depth concentration).
The "Living Galleries" are equally interesting with topics on fashion, food, wayang and photography. There is one particular section I particularly enjoy: the private collection of photographs of people, their families and scenes of Singapore in the early 1900s.
Although guided tours are available, I recommend taking the self guided audio tour. You will be given an audio set which you can put round your neck, with headphones attached. As you move round the museum, and see an interesting exhibit, just select the appropriate buttons on the audio set and hear the narration and explanation. There is a wealth of information available with this audio set. At times it seems like there is an overload of information.
Much of the exhibits are well preserved. You can find Passports, Japanese occupation documents, birth certificates and marriage certificates that look like they were just written a while ago....although the date says 1923.
Many immigrants came from China to look for a better life in Singapore in the 1920s. It isn't much different today. To think that these ones who came in 1920s for a better future are not longer in existence just makes you feel how short life is. And to think that the present is just as bad as the past, or even worse in terms of world conditions just makes you wonder if it really is possible to find a "better" life in another land. The past events portrayed in the Musuem really makes you think about life as a whole. Much of the Museums's exhibits dwell on the founding of Singapore, the Japanese occupation and the beginning of the political history.
It is also interesting to note that many road names we have today are named by the British in the 1800s. Much of Shenton way, Colleyer Quay, Alexander Road, Bukit Timah, Jurong and Even Tampines and Bedok were on maps dated in the 1800s!
Visiting the museum was an eye opener to people, their thoughts and aspirations. Over the years these have remained unchanged....and I guess will never change.
So if you want to do some soul searching, visit the National Museum. As the saying goes, "Without the past there will be no present".
The best part about Equinox (the former Compass Rose) is the view. Been up here a zillion times and always look forward to the view. The buffet spread for high tea is also delectable.
Nothing beats eating and looking out at a bird's eye view of the city where cars look like toys and people like ants....everyone seems so insignificant and your chocolate pudding looks bigger that the biggest vehicals on the road! Perhaps this is the place to get a reality check on life!
Service is excellent and the ambience is cosy and tranquil, without the normal buffet crowd that is noisy and all chatty.
One of the good things about eating buffet at the Equinox is that you can walk around and enjoy the good view in between "breaks" from your buffet. After you soak in the views, its time to dig in to the buffet spread again!
This is not your neighbourhood fish market as the name suggest. Rather it is a place for seafood, particularly fish lovers. The fish and chips is yummy! You can try the Manhattan fish and chips or the Alaskan Pollock and Chips. Both are deep fried in light batter. Too bad they do not do it in beer batter. Nevertheless the fish is firm, creamy and juicy and it melts in your mouth. Add that to the crispy deep frid batter and you will be in cloud nine after your first bite.
Since were were dining in pairs, we tried the Manhattan seafood platter. Actually it seems like everyone else was ordering that. Good price for 1 huge piece of fish, 4 huge prawns layered with cheese which is melted just before it reaches your table, calamari, generous amount of chips, 4 oysters and rice. Seems like a huge serving of seafood...actually it really is; all for 29.90.
Ambience is casual and cosy, but with the crowd it can get slightly noisy. They've also got different kinds of seating arrangements. You can sit on the standard height setting or on a couch like setting. Since we were having a full meal, we thought that the couch like setting will make it harder to eat. So we opted for the standard height seating.
The MFM started out in 2002 in Malaysia. It seems like they have more than 8 outlets in Malaysia, in places like Mid Valley Megamall, Klang Valley and even in Penang. In Singapore, they are located at Plaza Singapura and Central.
If you are looking for casual American Seafood, try out the Manhattan Fish Market.
Been to this place at least a dozen times since 2003. Let's just say that this is my favourite Vegetarian Indian food haunt.
Ghaangothree started out as a prata place in Hindoo road with a very coffee shop like atmosphere. Today it runs like a restaurant in an airconditioned environment. The very first time I ate here I ordered a prata and just absolutely loved it. It was tasty, crispy and smells great. But that was the last time I ate prata here as I soon discovered that their naan and Kulchas were even better!
Butter kulcha and garlic kulcha is absolutely my favourite and it goes well with the gobi manchurian gravy, which taste sweet and spicy; the cauliflower taste just like fried fish to me! But there is no fish here as the restaurant serves only vegetarian food!
Another favourite is the Pani Puri. All our friends that we brought here simply love it. It is a MUST TRY.
Don't worry if you do not know what the dishes are as the ever friendly boss will always take his time to explain to you.
Another favourite is the Samosa Chaat. They have a wide variety of chaats that can just make you drool over. Lightly mixed with yoghurt, chick peas and potatoes, you just cannot get enough of it.
Price is reasonable and the ambience is cosy. So feel free to bring overseas guests here to experience North Indian food. The Chaats here are much better than the ones served in the Indian Fast food oulets.
Pepper Lunch! Definitely something new. The food cooks at your table so you needn't worry about it being served cold or stale-like. There's a wide variety of dishes for you to choose from with different combinations.
You could have salmon, chicken, rice, etc.
I had the Salmon and Chicken Combo, whilst my companion had the Beef set. Both of which tasted great. It would not be overcooked as the pan on which the food is served cools after a while.
The ambience is very casual as it is a fast food restaurant. The prices are higher than that of your regular fast food joints but it's really due to the quality of the food.
One small gripe I have would be that the servers could afford to smile a little more and they could make the system of seating the customers more transparent.
Rating given:
This is actually a concept restaurant. The food cooks at your table on a very very hot stone. There's no oil added, so it's really healthy. They use spices and marinate to make your meat taste good. There are pretty special dishes like the huge mushroom and all dishes are served with some vege and potato mash which tastes really nice!
The servers are well-mannered and always willing to help. They are also very knowledgeable and are able to dispense advice regarding the choice of food and the cooking method promptly.
The pricing is average. For the quality and ambience i guess it's reasonable.
I only have 2 gripes. One of which is that the variety is quite limited. There is only one dish of every meat... which means one chicken dish, one fish, one beef, one seafood, etc. The second is that I left the place, smelling as if you've just been to a barbeque.
Rating given:
The perfect place to chill out without the crowd up on the "highest" peak in Singapore....actually not so high. But the couch view by the window is good. The floor to ceiling glass window allows you to get a good view of the cable car paths as well as Sentosa and the Singapore Harbour. So just sit back, relax and enjoy the views.
Serve standard drinks and cocktails. One plus point is that this place is frequented by both local and foreign celebrities, so you might just catch a glimpse of them or hear the staffs talking about it...that's if you are in to celebrities. Otherwise the glass atmosphere and cozy surroundings might just be what you can enjoy here.
You might like to make a reservation if you are going in larger groups. Have seen many larger groups of about 5-6 people coming in and going out because of not being able to find a place here.
Parking in Mount Faber can be a problem if you come later in the night. But then you can always use the valet service at $5 if you like. Saves you all the walking and trouble.
Rating given:
Ice cream like you have never had before. This is what we found at Tom's Palette. The perfect place for a stopover after dinner. It used to be Swensens but now, it is Tom's Palette! For some reason, Swensens does not seem to appeal to us, but then again that is another story.
So what is good at Tom's Palette?
The local flavours that you will not find at Swensens and Hagen D. The following is a list of flavours you can find there:-
- Tau Sar Piah!!??
- Chrysanthemum
- Lavender
- Apple Pie
- Oreo Cheese
- Blue Berry Cheese
- Hazelnut
- Logan and Red Dates
- Chocolate
- Coffee
- Real Strawberries
- Horlicks (if you just love it)
- and more to come...perhaps we should just give them some suggestions for new flavours! Why not have kiwi, chicken!!??, guava, and maybe some sorbets!!
If you are confused and not certain which one to try, just request to sample them. Try not to take it too far by sampling all the flavours....but it might just happen! Portions are generous and comes in 3 different servings. If you go by after dinner, perhaps the smallest portion would be the right serving. You get 2 scoops in the serving and that will allow you to savour your favourite flavours! All that at less than $3 per cup...it is reasonably priced.
Staffs are friendly and patient. Perhaps they like to see the look on your face in wondering what in the world does it taste like! But jokes aside they always have a smile even though you cannot decide which flavour you would like.
We specially make the trip there to eat their ice creams and also bring our friends there for a short stopover....to try Singapore ice cream. Highly recommended!!
Rating given:
The first time we walked pass this place, we said to ourselves, "next time must eat!". So the next time we passed by, we walked into the restaurant and happily ordered our food. After ordering at the counter, we decided to pay by NETS since we did not have enough cash. "Sorry, we do not accept NETS", was the reply. Oh ok, we thought to ourselves, maybe they can accept VISA, so we asked could we pay by VISA and they said "sorry we do not accept VISA". Then what do you accept? Can we pay by TT Transfer or bank draft??!!!?? The reply was,"We only accept cash". So we said thank you and had to walk out of the place with hungry stomachs and decided that propably we can only eat here the 3rd time round.
If you decide to eat here, please bring along CASH! Nothing is more useful then cold hard cash! Wonder why they do not accept other modes of payment. Maybe they do not want to pay for the extra 3%, so that they can charge us less for the fish?
The 3rd time round, we made sure we had enough cash. So we ordered the Silver Cod Fillet with fries and the North Atlantic Cod Loin with fries. When we were served it looked the same. Which is which? Even the person at the counter did not know and had to ask. So we were wondering what is going on!?!
Anyway after the first bite, we started to love the juicy and tender fillet which was well fried. The servings of chips is VERY VERY generous. Perhaps too much for us. They are huge by our standards and at the end of the meal, eating the chips seems to be like a chore. Well, too much of anything is always no good!
So what do we recommend the next time you want to eat here. Maybe just order the Cream dory fillet at half the price. Who knows, maybe they will look the same as the North Atlantic Cod Loin, or maybe you can hope that the counter staff gives you the Atlantic Cod Loin instead since they find it hard to tell them apart when fried!
We ate here in the evening, so the non-airconditioned atmosphere is not too bad. Our personal preference is still the Beer batter Cod, which of course is not served here and that is another story.
Rating given:
This is a place to grab a quick bite and off you go shopping for household items. Do not expect it to be like a restaurant. No ambience whatsoever. No waiters or waitresses to serve you food. It is self service and more like a Canteen to me!
Maybe they should name it IKEA Staff and Visitors Canteen!
Since the place is so crowded on weekends, you will find people standing next to your table waiting for you to vacate your seats. "Hey, I still have 5 meatballs left on my plate. If I take 1 minute to eat one, it will be 5 minutes waiting time." Very much reminds me of the hawker centre. But do not book seats with tissue paper here. It gets easily blown away by the large and bulky items that people carry.
So why come all the way to Tampines to eat in this cafe? The only good reason is the shopping at IKEA and the Swedish meatballs and 3 star chicken wings. Of course if you are an IKEA member, you will get your drinks free.
Also you are encouraged to clean up your meals after finishing them. There is a counter in the centre of the "canteen" where you can deposit your dishes.
So if this is you first experience to this Cafe, perhaps it will be your last. Unless you are really famished! Always remember to take your meals before you head down to IKEA. We ate once at Alexandra and once in Tampines - that's it. If you want ambience, you will find a noisy one here. Anyway, when you step into IKEA to do your shopping, the unpleasant experience you find in the Cafe will soon be forgotten....until you step back into it again.
For me IKEA is a great place to find furniture and household accessories (Full Stop).
Rating given:
Although the building outside looks the same, abeit the renovations and refurbishments done, the interior of the museum is totally brand new and very much different from the National Museum I have been to many years back. The old musuem was eerie, dark and museum like. The new looks refreshing and more like an art gallery.
If you are driving there, you can park at the car park at fort canning park (next to ROM) and enter via the back entrance to the museum. Entrance fees are $10 for adults.
Must say that you can spend the whole day in the Singapore "History Gallery" to look at the exhibits and listen to the cleverly arranged scripts and stories from 1800s to the present. I took about 4 hours to finish the History Gallery (with in-depth concentration).
The "Living Galleries" are equally interesting with topics on fashion, food, wayang and photography. There is one particular section I particularly enjoy: the private collection of photographs of people, their families and scenes of Singapore in the early 1900s.
Although guided tours are available, I recommend taking the self guided audio tour. You will be given an audio set which you can put round your neck, with headphones attached. As you move round the museum, and see an interesting exhibit, just select the appropriate buttons on the audio set and hear the narration and explanation. There is a wealth of information available with this audio set. At times it seems like there is an overload of information.
Much of the exhibits are well preserved. You can find Passports, Japanese occupation documents, birth certificates and marriage certificates that look like they were just written a while ago....although the date says 1923.
Many immigrants came from China to look for a better life in Singapore in the 1920s. It isn't much different today. To think that these ones who came in 1920s for a better future are not longer in existence just makes you feel how short life is. And to think that the present is just as bad as the past, or even worse in terms of world conditions just makes you wonder if it really is possible to find a "better" life in another land. The past events portrayed in the Musuem really makes you think about life as a whole. Much of the Museums's exhibits dwell on the founding of Singapore, the Japanese occupation and the beginning of the political history.
It is also interesting to note that many road names we have today are named by the British in the 1800s. Much of Shenton way, Colleyer Quay, Alexander Road, Bukit Timah, Jurong and Even Tampines and Bedok were on maps dated in the 1800s!
Visiting the museum was an eye opener to people, their thoughts and aspirations. Over the years these have remained unchanged....and I guess will never change.
So if you want to do some soul searching, visit the National Museum. As the saying goes, "Without the past there will be no present".
Rating given:
The best part about Equinox (the former Compass Rose) is the view. Been up here a zillion times and always look forward to the view. The buffet spread for high tea is also delectable.
Nothing beats eating and looking out at a bird's eye view of the city where cars look like toys and people like ants....everyone seems so insignificant and your chocolate pudding looks bigger that the biggest vehicals on the road! Perhaps this is the place to get a reality check on life!
Service is excellent and the ambience is cosy and tranquil, without the normal buffet crowd that is noisy and all chatty.
One of the good things about eating buffet at the Equinox is that you can walk around and enjoy the good view in between "breaks" from your buffet. After you soak in the views, its time to dig in to the buffet spread again!
Rating given:
This is not your neighbourhood fish market as the name suggest. Rather it is a place for seafood, particularly fish lovers. The fish and chips is yummy! You can try the Manhattan fish and chips or the Alaskan Pollock and Chips. Both are deep fried in light batter. Too bad they do not do it in beer batter. Nevertheless the fish is firm, creamy and juicy and it melts in your mouth. Add that to the crispy deep frid batter and you will be in cloud nine after your first bite.
Since were were dining in pairs, we tried the Manhattan seafood platter. Actually it seems like everyone else was ordering that. Good price for 1 huge piece of fish, 4 huge prawns layered with cheese which is melted just before it reaches your table, calamari, generous amount of chips, 4 oysters and rice. Seems like a huge serving of seafood...actually it really is; all for 29.90.
Ambience is casual and cosy, but with the crowd it can get slightly noisy. They've also got different kinds of seating arrangements. You can sit on the standard height setting or on a couch like setting. Since we were having a full meal, we thought that the couch like setting will make it harder to eat. So we opted for the standard height seating.
The MFM started out in 2002 in Malaysia. It seems like they have more than 8 outlets in Malaysia, in places like Mid Valley Megamall, Klang Valley and even in Penang. In Singapore, they are located at Plaza Singapura and Central.
If you are looking for casual American Seafood, try out the Manhattan Fish Market.
Rating given:
Been to this place at least a dozen times since 2003. Let's just say that this is my favourite Vegetarian Indian food haunt.
Ghaangothree started out as a prata place in Hindoo road with a very coffee shop like atmosphere. Today it runs like a restaurant in an airconditioned environment. The very first time I ate here I ordered a prata and just absolutely loved it. It was tasty, crispy and smells great. But that was the last time I ate prata here as I soon discovered that their naan and Kulchas were even better!
Butter kulcha and garlic kulcha is absolutely my favourite and it goes well with the gobi manchurian gravy, which taste sweet and spicy; the cauliflower taste just like fried fish to me! But there is no fish here as the restaurant serves only vegetarian food!
Another favourite is the Pani Puri. All our friends that we brought here simply love it. It is a MUST TRY.
Don't worry if you do not know what the dishes are as the ever friendly boss will always take his time to explain to you.
Another favourite is the Samosa Chaat. They have a wide variety of chaats that can just make you drool over. Lightly mixed with yoghurt, chick peas and potatoes, you just cannot get enough of it.
Price is reasonable and the ambience is cosy. So feel free to bring overseas guests here to experience North Indian food. The Chaats here are much better than the ones served in the Indian Fast food oulets.
Rating given: