This is a popular spot now. Went down on Saturday at 11am and the queue was pretty long with all the hype currently.
Located at a hawker centre in Ang Mo Kio, this is one of those new generation hawker stalls where the owners are younger and comes with a twist. Having said that, i wholly encourage this trend because hawker fare is a lost art and the new life injected by new ideas brought in currently certainly bring a good vibe. Listening to table talk at the hawker area, it seems the entire family is running 3 stalls in the same corner, the hokkien noodles, the western food and the prawn noodle stall. Way to go guys!
The prawn noodles come in a variety of servings, the cheapest being $5 and the premium lobster or grilled lobster versions cost upwards to $24.50 per serving.
We opted for the mid range noodle because we wanted to try the soup base most of all.
Sorry about the sad looking photo. Looking around us, we saw much better presented bowls of noodles with lots of ingredients for the premium bowls and what seemed to be a thicker, darker and richer broth. We queued 40 minutes for this so i wasn't going to queue another round for another bowl unfortunately.
The broth different then expected. Its more watery and has a saltier taste most likely because of the garlic and clams used to boil the broth. The taste of prawn is more subtle in our bowl. I enjoyed the white bee hoon they used for the carbo portion of the meal. The prawns were big sea prawns and were crunchy, sweet and partially shelled. The clams were juicy and fit well with the broth.
For some reason, i guess the owners forgot or ran out of fish cake for our bowl so we didn't get to try it.
Overall, given what we did get to try, i'd say i'll be back to try the lobster versions because it looks so good and the broth should be different.
Go with an open mind, try, give feedback and support local hawkers.
You can see more here: http://flybuyeat.blogspot.sg/2016/10/sumo-big-prawn-noodle.html
Been dying to try this premium char siew noodle for at least 5 months without success due to limited and overcrowded parking and pure bad luck. I love trying my luck and not doing much research you see, so i ended up trying to eat there on the 2 days (Monday and Friday) when the shop was closed.
So this round, i was fortunate enough to be there when the shop was opened on a Saturday 8th October 2016. Even then, it was also pure luck that we managed to eat the legendary char siew as we were the last 2 orders before it was sold out for the day. And that was at 10am after a 40 minute queue.
Expectations were high for this as it was featured on the Taiwan show Iwalker where a local chef recommended this stall to James from Taiwan who was suitably impressed.
For $5, the char siew was generous as can be seen in the photo. Thick juicy slices with a thin layer of fat marbling the meat and both plates came with the extremely delicious caramelized side of the roast. The meat is springy, adequately sweet and fragrant and definitely different from typical roasts. The noodles were a hit and miss as my wife reported hers as slightly mushy. Mine on the other hand was perfectly done.
The wantons were sweet and filling despite its size. And the green chili really added to the taste of the entire dish. This is significant because i don't eat green chili but i loved what was served here.
Excellent hawker fare and worth a visit. Be early to avoid disappointment.
You can also check out more information or stalls in Tiong Bahru Market at this site which i find immensely useful. http://tiongbahru.market/
Or support my blog here:http://flybuyeat.blogspot.sg/2016/10/zhong-yu-yuan-wei-wanton-noodle.html
This is a short review of the Aburi Mentaiko Burger served by Sin Lee Foods.
Located in a rather obscure location in Tiong Bahru, Sin Lee falls under one of those restaurants with old names and locations with brand new ideas and food. The location is behind Tiong Bahru plaza, up a small hill of HDB flats and right under a HDB block.
It took a while to get there but its not difficult to find.
The place was nice and quaint and had a good number of people there on a weekday afternoon, filling up about two thirds of the place.
The burger is nicely toasted with a hint of butter. The pork is reminiscent of shabu shabu pork in that it came in multiple boiled slices. I counted 6 reasonably long sliced pork slathered with a milky sauce that tastes like a cross between mayo and thousand island sauce...it may be thousand island for all i know but it tastes good together.
At $14 with no gst and service charge, the burger is of decent value and tastes decent.
I enjoyed the relatively quiet lunch at this place and felt that another visit and another sample dish might be in order.
Swee Choon restaurant has attracted many followings including expatriates and locals. Indeed, there is always a long queue in front of the restaurant. It has also been highlighted and highly promoted by the media including TV, newspapers and magazines.
We have ordered some dim sum items to try out whether the quality is as good as those raved by bloggers.
Crispy Egg Plant with Pork Floss ( $4.50 ) - The batter coating the egg plant was not crispy although points must be given for the right texture of the egg plant. The pork floss was not as tasty nor flavourful.
Beancurd Prawn Roll ( $3.00 - 2pcs ) - The beancurd skin was fried cripsy with prawns tasting fresh and succulent.
Yam Fritter ( $2.20 - 2 pcs ) - This was one of the best that we have tasted as the yam paste was fried to perfection. Small bits of the yam can be tasted on each bite.
Swee Choon Mee Suah Kueh ( $2.40 - 2 pcs ) - One of their in-house recommendation. Nothing great except that the exterior skin was deep fried to make it crispy but retained the soft texture of mee suah internally.
Chicken Claw ( $3.00 ) - Very soggy and not enough of marinate. Quite bony and does not taste yummy at all.
Overall, we felt that it is not worth the queue unless you are craving for late night supper as the restaurant opens from 6.00pm to 4am daily except close on Tuesday. Plenty of service staff who are attentive and fast in clearing tables.
Osia was recently awarded 1 Michelin star in the inaugural Michelin Guide Singapore 2016 amidst a rather controversial revelation that the guide itself was sponsored by private companies; one such sponsor being Resorts World Sentosa, which eventually ended up with 4 Michelin starred restaurants.
Located along Festive Walk close to Tung Lok Heen and Joël Robuchon Restaurant (which incidentally has 3 Michelin stars), Osia sports a modern interior coupled with earthen colours and abundant natural light made for a cozy dining atmosphere. No strict dress codes either ;) Window seats offer offer a view of Festive Walk but can get a little warm due to the sunlight.
Stone Hearth Flat Bread - There is no complimentary bread served so if you need that extra filler or carbohydrate, your only choice is the $11 a pop selection of bread. There are a couple of flavours to choose from and you can select up to 2 different flavours for your flat bread. I would highly recommend you order the bread as it was consistently good (based on our few visits thus far); soft and fragrant with an irresistible chewiness. Personal favourite - Garlic Butter and Garlic Butter ;)
Air Dried Coppa Ham - Rather pedestrian in my humble opinion even though the mesclun salad was fresh and the ham injected a strong saltiness.
Foie Gras - This required a supplement of $12 and was worth the top up in my humble opinion. The foie gras wasn't overly gamy, nicely seared with a lightly crisp exterior and topped with caramalised banana cubes to ease through any greasiness. Served with banana espuma laced with vanilla beans. I like bananas so I might just be biased here.
Duck Leg - Osia's Duck Leg is one of the best Duck Confit I've had in quite a while. Cooked to a pinkish hue yet moist, tender and flavourful (not too gamy or salty) - complete with a mildly crisp skin. Served on a bed of smooth potato mousse (not as good as Joël Robuchon's though). The wife is a huge fan.
Beef Hanging Tender - Although done to medium, the hanging tender (economical cut) came across as a little too tough and rubbery for my liking. I liked the flavours though; mildly beefy and sweet, topped with earthy and savoury duxelles.
Valrhona Hot Chocolate Soup - The generous semi viscous chocolate lava came across as relatively rich but not cloyingly sweet. Paired with a scoop of rather interesting black pepper ice cream; sweet and cold with a strong peppery kick at the end. Not quite my cup of tea though.
Lunch for 2 cost $133, which isn't exactly cheap given the portion sizes and varying quality of food. But still, set lunches are a great way of sampling what restaurants have to offer (the other, more limited option is Restaurant Week). Service was good on all the occasions we were there. As to whether Osia deserves that 1 Michelin star, my personal opinion is unfortunately a no.
We were having lunch at Char's "new" location after several moves from Geylang to Guillemard Road to the current (and hopefully) permanent location @ Jalan Besar.
Located just a few doors down from my favourite, now defunct burger spot, Suprette, Char's interior sports an industrial vibe with exposed halogen bulbs and cement screed floors and walls, Char's premises is reminiscent more of a pub or one of those hipster cafes/coffee houses that are sprouting up rapidly across Singapore. Decor aside, we had to wait for a few minutes to catch the attention of a seemingly clueless wait staff to confirm our reservation. Questions about the menu were also met with a blank stare.
Dou Miao Dry Scallops - The obligatory vegetable dish and a pretty decent one at that. The crunchy dou miao was partially immersed in a not overly thick but flavourful gravy with generous amounts of dried scallop shreds. Simple but delicious and best eaten with rice.
Butter Chicken - Thin strips of tender chicken cooked with curry leaves, evaporated milk and topped with fried garlic and sliced almonds; I liked the creaminess and sweetness of the whole dish. And the curry leaves gave it a nice curry tinge and aroma. Kinda reminded me a little of the Butter Pork Ribs dish from Two Chefs sans the "milk powder" dusting.
Quarter Roast Duck - The quarter duck was probably more suited for 2 pax than 4 but nonetheless, I liked the crisp skin and tender meat that didn't come across as too gamey. Very competent dish and one of the better ones I've had so far.
Double Roast - We chose Char's famous BBQ and roasted pork for our 双拼. The BBQ pork had quite a distinct porkiness that seemed to cut through the sweetness of the mildly sticky sauce, probably due to the high fat to meat ratio. The slightly leaner slices tasted better in my humble opinion (I had the same conclusion after having lunch at Char again recently).
The roast pork was a little inconsistent with the second row of pork sporting a crisper skin than the first row. But both rows bosted tender meat with a finishing tinge of spice (not too sure what spice though). Pretty good overall but not quite a fan of the above mentioned spice.
Yong Chow Fried Rice - First looks, the fried rice looked a little anemic and unappetising at best. However it turned out decent with a mild wok hei and reasonable servings of pork, egg, shrimps, mushrooms and greens. It would have been better if the rice had an even distribution of egg.
At just over the century mark for a 4 pax lunch, it is honestly quite reasonable, given the quality of food. Of course quantity can always be improved but I think priority on the fix list has to be the service. On my return visit, the staff couldn't decide if the place was fully booked and made us wait at the door for ~10 minutes while she went off to chat with her colleague. When pressed, she offered us a smaller table but didn't offer us additional chairs.
The food might be good but if service is going to continue this way, I'll gladly take my money elsewhere!
See all my pictures >a href ="http://www.timelessfacade.com/2016/08/char-competent-food-below-average.html">here.
As the escalator reached this level, we were surprised that there were a few diners at dinner time. Perhaps it was a weekday that made a difference as we have tried queuing but gave up as we noticed that most diners were not prepared to leave even though the service staff had cleared their plates and cutlery set.
Unlike other restaurants that provided colourful photos on hardcover menu, the staff just handed us a laminated menu and another piece ordering sheet.
Spinach Dumpling with Shrimp ( $4.00 for 3 ) – The transparent dumpling skin was chewy and with the chopped spinach and fresh succulent prawns, we were quite satisfied with this dish.
Spicy Prawn Paste Char Siew Stew Noodle ( $6.80 ) – A must-try dish as the noodles were well fried. Unfortunately, we could not taste this “prawn paste” flavour as specified but overall, the noodles were springy and worth ordering.
Wasabi Salad Prawn Dumpling ( $6.50 for 3 ) – The fried dumpling has crusty skin outside but moist crunchy chopped prawns in it. When dipped in the mild taste of wasabi salad cream, it left a good after taste effect.
Broccoli with Abalone Sauce ( $6.80 ) – With flavourful abalone sauce, the steamed broccoli tasted firm and fresh.
Baked BBQ Pork Buns ( $5.30 for 3 ) – One of the Big 4 Heavenly Kings items which made Tim Ho Wan reputable in Hong Kong. The fluffy buns were brushed with thin layer of topping and upon first bite, the gravy gave us an immediate surprise. It contained generous amount of BBQ pork and was delectable especially for kids.
Although prices are a bit expensive as compared to other dim sum restaurants, the quality of food and standard of cooking coupled with the attentive staff made it worth going back again.
Before we walked into this newly opened restaurant for their dim sum, we were quite amazed by the lush green tranquility of this location.
Situated just a stone throw from the LRT, this latest addition by SAFRA has created a buzz because it has made it more family oriented. Besides this Cantonese restaurant, there are entertainment like kids art studio, KTV, bowling, darts board games, gym and restaurants like Jack’s Place, Pizza Hut, HK Cafe as well as Thai and Japanese cuisine too.
This restaurant serves mostly Hong Kong cuisine and we were greeted by a cheerful staff who brought us to our table.
Crispy Eggplant with Chicken Floss ( $8.80 ) – The eggplant was not crispy but just thinly coated with flour to retain its soft texture. At least, it was not mushy when eaten with the chicken floss.
Fish Skin tossed with Salted Egg Yolk ( $10.80 ) – This was their signature dish. Crispy skin with that crunchiness sound. Fortunately, it was not overly coated with the egg yolk.
BBQ Honey Pork Char Siew ( $12.80 ) – Well marinated pork with some burnt parts. The meat was tender and we could taste the sweetness of honey on each piece.
Charcoal-roasted Crispy Pork Belly ( $13.80 ) – Another signature dish which we noticed that every table has ordered. The surface skin was thin and crispy. There were very thin fats embedded between the meat which was a consolation to those who dislike the taste and texture of fats.
Rice Roll with Char Siew ( $5.00 ) – The silky rice roll ( chee cheong fun ) was filled with generous bits of char siew. Soaking in fragrant soya sauce, it has created a balance from sweetness of the char siew too.
Pan-fried Radish Cake ( $4.00 ) – This item contains tiny shredded radish in the mixture. Although the exterior remained crispy, each piece still maintained the soft smooth texture.
Overall, service was good as most of the staff are elderly aunties. Although prices are a bit expensive as compared to other restaurants, it can soon make up by other activities that you can enjoy located within the same premise.
Famous for their herbal roast duck, we waited and managed to get a table for 4 on a weekend.
Besides their all-time favourite roast duck with different types of herbs for each roasting, we also ordered their marmite superior chicken, Braised assorted mushrooms with Broccoli and their vegetables topped by crab meat.
Their signature herbal roast duck was well done with tender juicy meat and nice thin skin. With the sweetness from the herbs, the little gravy goes well with our small bowl of rice.
The braised mushrooms with crunchy broccoli was another highly recommended dish. With generous pieces of fat mushrooms, we truly enjoyed each bite.
The vegetables ( nai bai ) do not look appealing when this dish was served. There were only a few pieces of vegetables with very watery egg gravy. Luckily, the steamed crab meat was fresh.
Their marmite chicken drumsticks was troublesome to eat. After a few minutes of struggling, we managed to bite some meat off. To our disappointment, the meat was dried and hard to chew.
We have tried the same dishes at other branches and by far, some dishes turned out well but some items are not. Look like the quality is not consistent and rely very much on the chef’s skill
We were four years too late for the opening of Dean & Deluca in Singapore (to much fanfare and rave reviews). With the Orchard Central flagship outlet apparently closed for renovations, we hopped down to the outlet at HillV2 for brunch.
Relatively spacious with high ceiling windows to allow for lots of natural light in against a predominantly white background of walls, tables and chairs, D&D seemed pretty quiet on a weekend late morning. The handful of customers seemed like residents of the neighbourhood (my conjecture); not quite a good sign of things to come?
Truffle Scented Carbonara - This was a weekend special and I'm usually a sucker for carbonara. Just not this one. For starters, the sauce was thick but lacked depth or richness and came across as creamy at best. Spaghetti was a little soft and I couldn't make out any scent of truffle. The only positive came from the generous serving of bacon slices and crisp bacon rashers. Very average overall.
American Country Breakfast - Huge servings aside, the American Country Breakfast was a disappointment in many ways. For starters, the sausage came across as bland. Ditto the scrambled eggs, which really could have used a little more milk as well. The toast was crisp but lacked fragrance whilst the side of hash brown was a tad too hard. Seriously average.
Caramel Cheesecake - I didn't quite take to this as the moist base lacked the crumbly texture that I personally like. But both the cheese and caramel didn't come across as too overwhelming. Overall an average eat.
Brioche French Toast - This dish looked absolutely delicious but although the flavours were pretty good, the toast itself was quite a letdown. Coated with cereal which gave a crunch on the outside, it was disappointingly limp and soft on the inside. I would have expected the insides to retain a certain measure of compactness and firmness but alas! Drenched in caramel sauce and topped with berries, bananas and served with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, the whole concoction tasted a little like sticky date pudding.
With 50% off, we paid $45, which isn't expensive for the quantity of food. However quality is lacking which probably explains the sparse crowd during weekend brunch hours. I won't be back, not even with the 50% reduction.
1=SGD 0.0587
This is a popular spot now. Went down on Saturday at 11am and the queue was pretty long with all the hype currently.
Located at a hawker centre in Ang Mo Kio, this is one of those new generation hawker stalls where the owners are younger and comes with a twist. Having said that, i wholly encourage this trend because hawker fare is a lost art and the new life injected by new ideas brought in currently certainly bring a good vibe. Listening to table talk at the hawker area, it seems the entire family is running 3 stalls in the same corner, the hokkien noodles, the western food and the prawn noodle stall. Way to go guys!
The prawn noodles come in a variety of servings, the cheapest being $5 and the premium lobster or grilled lobster versions cost upwards to $24.50 per serving.
We opted for the mid range noodle because we wanted to try the soup base most of all.
Sorry about the sad looking photo. Looking around us, we saw much better presented bowls of noodles with lots of ingredients for the premium bowls and what seemed to be a thicker, darker and richer broth. We queued 40 minutes for this so i wasn't going to queue another round for another bowl unfortunately.
The broth different then expected. Its more watery and has a saltier taste most likely because of the garlic and clams used to boil the broth. The taste of prawn is more subtle in our bowl. I enjoyed the white bee hoon they used for the carbo portion of the meal. The prawns were big sea prawns and were crunchy, sweet and partially shelled. The clams were juicy and fit well with the broth.
For some reason, i guess the owners forgot or ran out of fish cake for our bowl so we didn't get to try it.
Overall, given what we did get to try, i'd say i'll be back to try the lobster versions because it looks so good and the broth should be different.
Go with an open mind, try, give feedback and support local hawkers.
You can see more here: http://flybuyeat.blogspot.sg/2016/10/sumo-big-prawn-noodle.html
Rating given:
Been dying to try this premium char siew noodle for at least 5 months without success due to limited and overcrowded parking and pure bad luck. I love trying my luck and not doing much research you see, so i ended up trying to eat there on the 2 days (Monday and Friday) when the shop was closed.
So this round, i was fortunate enough to be there when the shop was opened on a Saturday 8th October 2016. Even then, it was also pure luck that we managed to eat the legendary char siew as we were the last 2 orders before it was sold out for the day. And that was at 10am after a 40 minute queue.
Expectations were high for this as it was featured on the Taiwan show Iwalker where a local chef recommended this stall to James from Taiwan who was suitably impressed.
For $5, the char siew was generous as can be seen in the photo. Thick juicy slices with a thin layer of fat marbling the meat and both plates came with the extremely delicious caramelized side of the roast. The meat is springy, adequately sweet and fragrant and definitely different from typical roasts. The noodles were a hit and miss as my wife reported hers as slightly mushy. Mine on the other hand was perfectly done.
The wantons were sweet and filling despite its size. And the green chili really added to the taste of the entire dish. This is significant because i don't eat green chili but i loved what was served here.
Excellent hawker fare and worth a visit. Be early to avoid disappointment.
You can also check out more information or stalls in Tiong Bahru Market at this site which i find immensely useful. http://tiongbahru.market/
Or support my blog here:http://flybuyeat.blogspot.sg/2016/10/zhong-yu-yuan-wei-wanton-noodle.html
Rating given:
This is a short review of the Aburi Mentaiko Burger served by Sin Lee Foods.
Located in a rather obscure location in Tiong Bahru, Sin Lee falls under one of those restaurants with old names and locations with brand new ideas and food. The location is behind Tiong Bahru plaza, up a small hill of HDB flats and right under a HDB block.
It took a while to get there but its not difficult to find.
The place was nice and quaint and had a good number of people there on a weekday afternoon, filling up about two thirds of the place.
The burger is nicely toasted with a hint of butter. The pork is reminiscent of shabu shabu pork in that it came in multiple boiled slices. I counted 6 reasonably long sliced pork slathered with a milky sauce that tastes like a cross between mayo and thousand island sauce...it may be thousand island for all i know but it tastes good together.
At $14 with no gst and service charge, the burger is of decent value and tastes decent.
I enjoyed the relatively quiet lunch at this place and felt that another visit and another sample dish might be in order.
Rating given:
Swee Choon restaurant has attracted many followings including expatriates and locals. Indeed, there is always a long queue in front of the restaurant. It has also been highlighted and highly promoted by the media including TV, newspapers and magazines.
We have ordered some dim sum items to try out whether the quality is as good as those raved by bloggers.
Crispy Egg Plant with Pork Floss ( $4.50 ) - The batter coating the egg plant was not crispy although points must be given for the right texture of the egg plant. The pork floss was not as tasty nor flavourful.
Beancurd Prawn Roll ( $3.00 - 2pcs ) - The beancurd skin was fried cripsy with prawns tasting fresh and succulent.
Yam Fritter ( $2.20 - 2 pcs ) - This was one of the best that we have tasted as the yam paste was fried to perfection. Small bits of the yam can be tasted on each bite.
Swee Choon Mee Suah Kueh ( $2.40 - 2 pcs ) - One of their in-house recommendation. Nothing great except that the exterior skin was deep fried to make it crispy but retained the soft texture of mee suah internally.
Chicken Claw ( $3.00 ) - Very soggy and not enough of marinate. Quite bony and does not taste yummy at all.
Overall, we felt that it is not worth the queue unless you are craving for late night supper as the restaurant opens from 6.00pm to 4am daily except close on Tuesday. Plenty of service staff who are attentive and fast in clearing tables.
Rating given:
Osia was recently awarded 1 Michelin star in the inaugural Michelin Guide Singapore 2016 amidst a rather controversial revelation that the guide itself was sponsored by private companies; one such sponsor being Resorts World Sentosa, which eventually ended up with 4 Michelin starred restaurants.
Located along Festive Walk close to Tung Lok Heen and Joël Robuchon Restaurant (which incidentally has 3 Michelin stars), Osia sports a modern interior coupled with earthen colours and abundant natural light made for a cozy dining atmosphere. No strict dress codes either ;) Window seats offer offer a view of Festive Walk but can get a little warm due to the sunlight.
Stone Hearth Flat Bread - There is no complimentary bread served so if you need that extra filler or carbohydrate, your only choice is the $11 a pop selection of bread. There are a couple of flavours to choose from and you can select up to 2 different flavours for your flat bread. I would highly recommend you order the bread as it was consistently good (based on our few visits thus far); soft and fragrant with an irresistible chewiness. Personal favourite - Garlic Butter and Garlic Butter ;)
Air Dried Coppa Ham - Rather pedestrian in my humble opinion even though the mesclun salad was fresh and the ham injected a strong saltiness.
Foie Gras - This required a supplement of $12 and was worth the top up in my humble opinion. The foie gras wasn't overly gamy, nicely seared with a lightly crisp exterior and topped with caramalised banana cubes to ease through any greasiness. Served with banana espuma laced with vanilla beans. I like bananas so I might just be biased here.
Duck Leg - Osia's Duck Leg is one of the best Duck Confit I've had in quite a while. Cooked to a pinkish hue yet moist, tender and flavourful (not too gamy or salty) - complete with a mildly crisp skin. Served on a bed of smooth potato mousse (not as good as Joël Robuchon's though). The wife is a huge fan.
Beef Hanging Tender - Although done to medium, the hanging tender (economical cut) came across as a little too tough and rubbery for my liking. I liked the flavours though; mildly beefy and sweet, topped with earthy and savoury duxelles.
Valrhona Hot Chocolate Soup - The generous semi viscous chocolate lava came across as relatively rich but not cloyingly sweet. Paired with a scoop of rather interesting black pepper ice cream; sweet and cold with a strong peppery kick at the end. Not quite my cup of tea though.
Lunch for 2 cost $133, which isn't exactly cheap given the portion sizes and varying quality of food. But still, set lunches are a great way of sampling what restaurants have to offer (the other, more limited option is Restaurant Week). Service was good on all the occasions we were there. As to whether Osia deserves that 1 Michelin star, my personal opinion is unfortunately a no.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
We were having lunch at Char's "new" location after several moves from Geylang to Guillemard Road to the current (and hopefully) permanent location @ Jalan Besar.
Located just a few doors down from my favourite, now defunct burger spot, Suprette, Char's interior sports an industrial vibe with exposed halogen bulbs and cement screed floors and walls, Char's premises is reminiscent more of a pub or one of those hipster cafes/coffee houses that are sprouting up rapidly across Singapore. Decor aside, we had to wait for a few minutes to catch the attention of a seemingly clueless wait staff to confirm our reservation. Questions about the menu were also met with a blank stare.
Dou Miao Dry Scallops - The obligatory vegetable dish and a pretty decent one at that. The crunchy dou miao was partially immersed in a not overly thick but flavourful gravy with generous amounts of dried scallop shreds. Simple but delicious and best eaten with rice.
Butter Chicken - Thin strips of tender chicken cooked with curry leaves, evaporated milk and topped with fried garlic and sliced almonds; I liked the creaminess and sweetness of the whole dish. And the curry leaves gave it a nice curry tinge and aroma. Kinda reminded me a little of the Butter Pork Ribs dish from Two Chefs sans the "milk powder" dusting.
Quarter Roast Duck - The quarter duck was probably more suited for 2 pax than 4 but nonetheless, I liked the crisp skin and tender meat that didn't come across as too gamey. Very competent dish and one of the better ones I've had so far.
Double Roast - We chose Char's famous BBQ and roasted pork for our 双拼. The BBQ pork had quite a distinct porkiness that seemed to cut through the sweetness of the mildly sticky sauce, probably due to the high fat to meat ratio. The slightly leaner slices tasted better in my humble opinion (I had the same conclusion after having lunch at Char again recently).
The roast pork was a little inconsistent with the second row of pork sporting a crisper skin than the first row. But both rows bosted tender meat with a finishing tinge of spice (not too sure what spice though). Pretty good overall but not quite a fan of the above mentioned spice.
Yong Chow Fried Rice - First looks, the fried rice looked a little anemic and unappetising at best. However it turned out decent with a mild wok hei and reasonable servings of pork, egg, shrimps, mushrooms and greens. It would have been better if the rice had an even distribution of egg.
At just over the century mark for a 4 pax lunch, it is honestly quite reasonable, given the quality of food. Of course quantity can always be improved but I think priority on the fix list has to be the service. On my return visit, the staff couldn't decide if the place was fully booked and made us wait at the door for ~10 minutes while she went off to chat with her colleague. When pressed, she offered us a smaller table but didn't offer us additional chairs.
The food might be good but if service is going to continue this way, I'll gladly take my money elsewhere!
See all my pictures >a href ="http://www.timelessfacade.com/2016/08/char-competent-food-below-average.html">here.
Rating given:
As the escalator reached this level, we were surprised that there were a few diners at dinner time. Perhaps it was a weekday that made a difference as we have tried queuing but gave up as we noticed that most diners were not prepared to leave even though the service staff had cleared their plates and cutlery set.
Unlike other restaurants that provided colourful photos on hardcover menu, the staff just handed us a laminated menu and another piece ordering sheet.
Spinach Dumpling with Shrimp ( $4.00 for 3 ) – The transparent dumpling skin was chewy and with the chopped spinach and fresh succulent prawns, we were quite satisfied with this dish.
Spicy Prawn Paste Char Siew Stew Noodle ( $6.80 ) – A must-try dish as the noodles were well fried. Unfortunately, we could not taste this “prawn paste” flavour as specified but overall, the noodles were springy and worth ordering.
Wasabi Salad Prawn Dumpling ( $6.50 for 3 ) – The fried dumpling has crusty skin outside but moist crunchy chopped prawns in it. When dipped in the mild taste of wasabi salad cream, it left a good after taste effect.
Broccoli with Abalone Sauce ( $6.80 ) – With flavourful abalone sauce, the steamed broccoli tasted firm and fresh.
Baked BBQ Pork Buns ( $5.30 for 3 ) – One of the Big 4 Heavenly Kings items which made Tim Ho Wan reputable in Hong Kong. The fluffy buns were brushed with thin layer of topping and upon first bite, the gravy gave us an immediate surprise. It contained generous amount of BBQ pork and was delectable especially for kids.
Although prices are a bit expensive as compared to other dim sum restaurants, the quality of food and standard of cooking coupled with the attentive staff made it worth going back again.
Rating given:
Before we walked into this newly opened restaurant for their dim sum, we were quite amazed by the lush green tranquility of this location.
Situated just a stone throw from the LRT, this latest addition by SAFRA has created a buzz because it has made it more family oriented. Besides this Cantonese restaurant, there are entertainment like kids art studio, KTV, bowling, darts board games, gym and restaurants like Jack’s Place, Pizza Hut, HK Cafe as well as Thai and Japanese cuisine too.
This restaurant serves mostly Hong Kong cuisine and we were greeted by a cheerful staff who brought us to our table.
Crispy Eggplant with Chicken Floss ( $8.80 ) – The eggplant was not crispy but just thinly coated with flour to retain its soft texture. At least, it was not mushy when eaten with the chicken floss.
Fish Skin tossed with Salted Egg Yolk ( $10.80 ) – This was their signature dish. Crispy skin with that crunchiness sound. Fortunately, it was not overly coated with the egg yolk.
BBQ Honey Pork Char Siew ( $12.80 ) – Well marinated pork with some burnt parts. The meat was tender and we could taste the sweetness of honey on each piece.
Charcoal-roasted Crispy Pork Belly ( $13.80 ) – Another signature dish which we noticed that every table has ordered. The surface skin was thin and crispy. There were very thin fats embedded between the meat which was a consolation to those who dislike the taste and texture of fats.
Rice Roll with Char Siew ( $5.00 ) – The silky rice roll ( chee cheong fun ) was filled with generous bits of char siew. Soaking in fragrant soya sauce, it has created a balance from sweetness of the char siew too.
Pan-fried Radish Cake ( $4.00 ) – This item contains tiny shredded radish in the mixture. Although the exterior remained crispy, each piece still maintained the soft smooth texture.
Overall, service was good as most of the staff are elderly aunties. Although prices are a bit expensive as compared to other restaurants, it can soon make up by other activities that you can enjoy located within the same premise.
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Famous for their herbal roast duck, we waited and managed to get a table for 4 on a weekend.
Besides their all-time favourite roast duck with different types of herbs for each roasting, we also ordered their marmite superior chicken, Braised assorted mushrooms with Broccoli and their vegetables topped by crab meat.
Their signature herbal roast duck was well done with tender juicy meat and nice thin skin. With the sweetness from the herbs, the little gravy goes well with our small bowl of rice.
The braised mushrooms with crunchy broccoli was another highly recommended dish. With generous pieces of fat mushrooms, we truly enjoyed each bite.
The vegetables ( nai bai ) do not look appealing when this dish was served. There were only a few pieces of vegetables with very watery egg gravy. Luckily, the steamed crab meat was fresh.
Their marmite chicken drumsticks was troublesome to eat. After a few minutes of struggling, we managed to bite some meat off. To our disappointment, the meat was dried and hard to chew.
We have tried the same dishes at other branches and by far, some dishes turned out well but some items are not. Look like the quality is not consistent and rely very much on the chef’s skill
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We were four years too late for the opening of Dean & Deluca in Singapore (to much fanfare and rave reviews). With the Orchard Central flagship outlet apparently closed for renovations, we hopped down to the outlet at HillV2 for brunch.
Relatively spacious with high ceiling windows to allow for lots of natural light in against a predominantly white background of walls, tables and chairs, D&D seemed pretty quiet on a weekend late morning. The handful of customers seemed like residents of the neighbourhood (my conjecture); not quite a good sign of things to come?
Truffle Scented Carbonara - This was a weekend special and I'm usually a sucker for carbonara. Just not this one. For starters, the sauce was thick but lacked depth or richness and came across as creamy at best. Spaghetti was a little soft and I couldn't make out any scent of truffle. The only positive came from the generous serving of bacon slices and crisp bacon rashers. Very average overall.
American Country Breakfast - Huge servings aside, the American Country Breakfast was a disappointment in many ways. For starters, the sausage came across as bland. Ditto the scrambled eggs, which really could have used a little more milk as well. The toast was crisp but lacked fragrance whilst the side of hash brown was a tad too hard. Seriously average.
Caramel Cheesecake - I didn't quite take to this as the moist base lacked the crumbly texture that I personally like. But both the cheese and caramel didn't come across as too overwhelming. Overall an average eat.
Brioche French Toast - This dish looked absolutely delicious but although the flavours were pretty good, the toast itself was quite a letdown. Coated with cereal which gave a crunch on the outside, it was disappointingly limp and soft on the inside. I would have expected the insides to retain a certain measure of compactness and firmness but alas! Drenched in caramel sauce and topped with berries, bananas and served with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, the whole concoction tasted a little like sticky date pudding.
With 50% off, we paid $45, which isn't expensive for the quantity of food. However quality is lacking which probably explains the sparse crowd during weekend brunch hours. I won't be back, not even with the 50% reduction.
See all my pictures here.
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