We chanced upon this quaint little cafe whilst exploring jem and decided to give it a try. The sandwich board advertised a Mix n Match set menu which included a 3-in-1 meal of Rack of Lamb, Pan-seared Dory and Black Pepper Sausage Pasta, served with soup-of-the-day and a glass of Iced Apple Tea for $14.90 nett. The hostess enthusiastically exclaimed that it was three meals in one, good value!
Ambience: The dining room is bright, done up in white. Booths line one side, with kitchen-type tables laid out in the centre. A more casual outside dining area is available.
Soup: The cream of chicken was nothing more than half a bowl of starchy chicken-flavoured broth which needed seasoning badly. Pepper and salt couldn't help very much. The chicken consisted of miniscule pieces of what looked like minced chicken. My bowl had exactly two such pieces.
Meal: The sandwich board should have included the important words "sampling plate". The portion was pretty small, compared to the way the hostess had described the meal.
The "rack of lamb" was actually one rib, but it was beautifully done, slightly crispy and well-seasoned. Even the lamb fat was well rendered. Nice, and really should feature this on their ala carte menu.
The "pan-seared dory" was a little piece of pale fish which sat sadly in the middle of the plate. Again, it was under-seasoned and uninspired.
The "black-pepper sausage pasta" did not fare much better. The sausage consisted of thinly-sliced wieners tossed into over-cooked soggy spaghetti strands. We could not figure out what the pasta was tossed in, but later found out that it was supposed to be presented "aglio olio". No hint of olive oil at all!
Service: Service staff consisted of a team of young servers who were very courteous and eager to please. One of them, observing us struggling to cut the lamb, came forward to offer a steak knife. However, they positioned themselves too close to the tables to offer any privacy to diners conversations.
Desserts: Mado offers a pricey assortment of ice-cream based desserts which seemed to be quite popular. The Anatolia was a delightful sundae of coffee, chocolate and berry ice-cream and fruits (strawberry, kiwi, mango, blueberry and raspberry) which was very sweet but thoroughly enjoyable.
I took my first flight to Guangzhou on China Southern Airlines (CZ) earlier this month, as it was booked through my corporate agent.
The airline operates a single-aisle A320-100 on this route which is similar to the equipment used on low-cost airlines for regional flights. Understandably, the interior of the cabin was quite old, with the carpet coming out in places, some seat backs were peeling off etc. Generally still quite clean.
Inflight Entertainment: consists of a series of small screens which unfold from the overhead compartment (no individual screens). Thus the picture was quite small. The sound system comes from a headset with twin rubber tubes which are plugged into the armrest like other airlines. The difference is the tubes have no electrical wiring at all, and depend on the transfer of sound through the hollow tubes, from armrest to ear. Very primitive, and most of the tubes had kinks in them so sound system was quite useless. Sigh.
Inflight reading: Consisted of newspapers (limited stock, so frequent fliers who quickly requested them got all copies), inflight magazine (95% in Chinese) and a pristine, never-read-before safety information card.
For an economy section of about 150 passengers they had only a handful of blankets to give out (about 30). Once they were running out, they clandestinely handed out the last few pieces, and urged passengers not to show them around! The blankets were not individually wrapped in plastic like other airlines, and looked really grubby, so I didn't bother to ask for one.
Inflight Meal: Didn't expect much, but was very surprised by the inflight meal prepared by SATS. Both versions were steamed rice with very bland and starchy toppings. Very unimaginative and unappetising!
Inflight Service: Brusque, unfriendly cabin crew made the flight even more arduous. The way they served the hot meal was spectacular, handling the hot casserole with bare hands and practically flinging the trays at hapless passengers. One unattentive woman did not notice the tray heading towards her and was rewarded with half her meal landing on her lap. Unperturbed by passengers who were surprised at bring served lunch at 9.30am (on a 8am flight), they haughtily told off the pax "if you don't want to eat it, there's nothing else to eat".
On my return flight, passengers were still moving around as the aircraft taxied across the apron, and two of them actually changed seats as the plane was barrelling down the runway. Cabin crew did not even try to stop them, and instead closed her eyes to block out the scene. Her eyes remained closed throughout the aircraft climb, which is also surprising.
A special needs passenger (elderly, hearing impaired with mobility issues) was seated at the emergency exit, window seat which usually isn't allowed, is it?
Leenie Pigssaid: Oooh.... seemed like a really bad flight for you and china southern airlines is not that cheap as compared to budget carriers right! 21 Jun 2013 at 9:23 pm
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Ambience: Very homely feel with traditional table settings and shelves displaying antique and old household items. Very community feel, although it does get a bit noisy.
Food: We decided to try the claypot dishes that they are famous for, and ordered the Claypot with Marinated Beef and Egg ($13.80) and Claypot with Kampong Chicken ($13.80). The beef strips were well marinated and tender to the bite and the chicken was also tender and flavourful. Between the two claypots, four of us had about 2-3 bowl servings each.
There was a promotion on the Preserved Vegetables (Mui Choy) with Kailan ($9.00) which we ordered. The kailan was blanched and therefore quite bland but this was quickly covered by the (oily) muichoy drenched over the dish. So-so taste.
Dimsum wasn't available for dinner, so we tried out the intriguingly-named Salted and Preserved Egg with Pork Congee ($6.00). Very large portion, adequate for all four of us to have 1-2 bowl portions each. Very flavourful, with reasonably-sized morsels of the salted egg and preserved egg.
Service: The young staff were quite prompt and attentive and alternated between expressionless masks and soul-less smiles. Guess they were busy ...
Verdict: Worth a second visit, perhaps on a weekday. Food is quite good, prices are reasonable, service is good too. Helps that there are nice coffee places (Starbucks/Oldtown) next door for after-dinner drinks.
Ambience: Bright and cheery, open-concept cafe, facing the busy walkway. Away from the hot sun, aircon-cooled, it's a good place for people watching on a lazy weekend, while sitting on comfortable sofa furniture.
Food: We've tried (and love) the wonderful creations on the main menu, so today we decided to try some of the promotions. The "Hop n Skipping to Tea" ($13.90 , available 2-6pm until 31 March) is a cute arrangement of afternoon tea snacks and finger food, perfect for snacking while you relax.
Taking centrestage is a cute "chick" made of macaroons, stand in front of a "nest" of deepfried vermicelli and chocolate bits, orange-rind flavoured cupcake topped with coconut flakes with white chocolate "bunny" ears and face, mango cake with a sunny-side-up fried "egg" made of white chocolate and marzipan, two slices of a ham and tomato wrap and a little side salad with pieces of tender beef, tossed in a zesty vinaigrette dressing. Surprisingly quite filling and good value.
Served together with a cup of Ceylon tea.
Service: Very attentive service, with staff popping by every once in a while to top up our iced water. Gave us very little reason to want to leave.
Ambience: Nice and cosy Japanese dining with a view. Located on the second floor of Bugis Junction, we had a good of the bustling indoor street below, from the balcony where we were seated. Homely-decorated with pots of flowers placed along the corridor (which we had to be careful not to knock over).
Food: The menu is very extensive, so it would take a few visits to try everything. We loved the Beef Teppanyaki Set ($19.80) and the Salmon Teppanyaki Set ($19.80) which features a DIY hot plate, miso soup, potato salad and bowl of rice. Thin slivers of beef or salmon topped with a pat of butter which you have to fry yourself on the sizzling hot plate. From our previous visit, we learned to fry the meat quickly and set them aside, as the tealight quickly fizzled out. Very tasty when eaten on its own, or dunked in the accompanying dipping sauce. Comes with a cup of English tea or coffee in the form of a coupon which you present after your meal. Green tea is available separately at $1.50 free flow.
Avoid the Chicken Teriyaki Set ($20.50) or Beef Teriyaki Set ($21.80) which ends up soaking in a layer of oil.
Service: Very poor service, hard to get the servers' attention even thirty seconds after they seated us. Food service was also quite slow, considering we cooked the meat ourselves. Probably good for a romantic meal if you have lots of time to spare.
1=SGD 0.0587
Ambience: The dining room is bright, done up in white. Booths line one side, with kitchen-type tables laid out in the centre. A more casual outside dining area is available.
Soup: The cream of chicken was nothing more than half a bowl of starchy chicken-flavoured broth which needed seasoning badly. Pepper and salt couldn't help very much. The chicken consisted of miniscule pieces of what looked like minced chicken. My bowl had exactly two such pieces.
Meal: The sandwich board should have included the important words "sampling plate". The portion was pretty small, compared to the way the hostess had described the meal.
The "rack of lamb" was actually one rib, but it was beautifully done, slightly crispy and well-seasoned. Even the lamb fat was well rendered. Nice, and really should feature this on their ala carte menu.
The "pan-seared dory" was a little piece of pale fish which sat sadly in the middle of the plate. Again, it was under-seasoned and uninspired.
The "black-pepper sausage pasta" did not fare much better. The sausage consisted of thinly-sliced wieners tossed into over-cooked soggy spaghetti strands. We could not figure out what the pasta was tossed in, but later found out that it was supposed to be presented "aglio olio". No hint of olive oil at all!
Service: Service staff consisted of a team of young servers who were very courteous and eager to please. One of them, observing us struggling to cut the lamb, came forward to offer a steak knife. However, they positioned themselves too close to the tables to offer any privacy to diners conversations.
Desserts: Mado offers a pricey assortment of ice-cream based desserts which seemed to be quite popular. The Anatolia was a delightful sundae of coffee, chocolate and berry ice-cream and fruits (strawberry, kiwi, mango, blueberry and raspberry) which was very sweet but thoroughly enjoyable.
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The airline operates a single-aisle A320-100 on this route which is similar to the equipment used on low-cost airlines for regional flights. Understandably, the interior of the cabin was quite old, with the carpet coming out in places, some seat backs were peeling off etc. Generally still quite clean.
Inflight Entertainment: consists of a series of small screens which unfold from the overhead compartment (no individual screens). Thus the picture was quite small. The sound system comes from a headset with twin rubber tubes which are plugged into the armrest like other airlines. The difference is the tubes have no electrical wiring at all, and depend on the transfer of sound through the hollow tubes, from armrest to ear. Very primitive, and most of the tubes had kinks in them so sound system was quite useless. Sigh.
Inflight reading: Consisted of newspapers (limited stock, so frequent fliers who quickly requested them got all copies), inflight magazine (95% in Chinese) and a pristine, never-read-before safety information card.
For an economy section of about 150 passengers they had only a handful of blankets to give out (about 30). Once they were running out, they clandestinely handed out the last few pieces, and urged passengers not to show them around! The blankets were not individually wrapped in plastic like other airlines, and looked really grubby, so I didn't bother to ask for one.
Inflight Meal: Didn't expect much, but was very surprised by the inflight meal prepared by SATS. Both versions were steamed rice with very bland and starchy toppings. Very unimaginative and unappetising!
Inflight Service: Brusque, unfriendly cabin crew made the flight even more arduous. The way they served the hot meal was spectacular, handling the hot casserole with bare hands and practically flinging the trays at hapless passengers. One unattentive woman did not notice the tray heading towards her and was rewarded with half her meal landing on her lap. Unperturbed by passengers who were surprised at bring served lunch at 9.30am (on a 8am flight), they haughtily told off the pax "if you don't want to eat it, there's nothing else to eat".
On my return flight, passengers were still moving around as the aircraft taxied across the apron, and two of them actually changed seats as the plane was barrelling down the runway. Cabin crew did not even try to stop them, and instead closed her eyes to block out the scene. Her eyes remained closed throughout the aircraft climb, which is also surprising.
A special needs passenger (elderly, hearing impaired with mobility issues) was seated at the emergency exit, window seat which usually isn't allowed, is it?
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Oooh.... seemed like a really bad flight for you and china southern airlines is not that cheap as compared to budget carriers right!
21 Jun 2013 at 9:23 pm
Food: We decided to try the claypot dishes that they are famous for, and ordered the Claypot with Marinated Beef and Egg ($13.80) and Claypot with Kampong Chicken ($13.80). The beef strips were well marinated and tender to the bite and the chicken was also tender and flavourful. Between the two claypots, four of us had about 2-3 bowl servings each.
There was a promotion on the Preserved Vegetables (Mui Choy) with Kailan ($9.00) which we ordered. The kailan was blanched and therefore quite bland but this was quickly covered by the (oily) muichoy drenched over the dish. So-so taste.
Dimsum wasn't available for dinner, so we tried out the intriguingly-named Salted and Preserved Egg with Pork Congee ($6.00). Very large portion, adequate for all four of us to have 1-2 bowl portions each. Very flavourful, with reasonably-sized morsels of the salted egg and preserved egg.
Service: The young staff were quite prompt and attentive and alternated between expressionless masks and soul-less smiles. Guess they were busy ...
Verdict: Worth a second visit, perhaps on a weekday. Food is quite good, prices are reasonable, service is good too. Helps that there are nice coffee places (Starbucks/Oldtown) next door for after-dinner drinks.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!WOW the serving size is great..
10 Jun 2013 at 7:38 am
Ambience: Bright and cheery, open-concept cafe, facing the busy walkway. Away from the hot sun, aircon-cooled, it's a good place for people watching on a lazy weekend, while sitting on comfortable sofa furniture.
Food: We've tried (and love) the wonderful creations on the main menu, so today we decided to try some of the promotions. The "Hop n Skipping to Tea" ($13.90 , available 2-6pm until 31 March) is a cute arrangement of afternoon tea snacks and finger food, perfect for snacking while you relax.
Taking centrestage is a cute "chick" made of macaroons, stand in front of a "nest" of deepfried vermicelli and chocolate bits, orange-rind flavoured cupcake topped with coconut flakes with white chocolate "bunny" ears and face, mango cake with a sunny-side-up fried "egg" made of white chocolate and marzipan, two slices of a ham and tomato wrap and a little side salad with pieces of tender beef, tossed in a zesty vinaigrette dressing. Surprisingly quite filling and good value.
Served together with a cup of Ceylon tea.
Service: Very attentive service, with staff popping by every once in a while to top up our iced water. Gave us very little reason to want to leave.
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Ambience: Nice and cosy Japanese dining with a view. Located on the second floor of Bugis Junction, we had a good of the bustling indoor street below, from the balcony where we were seated. Homely-decorated with pots of flowers placed along the corridor (which we had to be careful not to knock over).
Food: The menu is very extensive, so it would take a few visits to try everything. We loved the Beef Teppanyaki Set ($19.80) and the Salmon Teppanyaki Set ($19.80) which features a DIY hot plate, miso soup, potato salad and bowl of rice. Thin slivers of beef or salmon topped with a pat of butter which you have to fry yourself on the sizzling hot plate. From our previous visit, we learned to fry the meat quickly and set them aside, as the tealight quickly fizzled out. Very tasty when eaten on its own, or dunked in the accompanying dipping sauce. Comes with a cup of English tea or coffee in the form of a coupon which you present after your meal. Green tea is available separately at $1.50 free flow.
Avoid the Chicken Teriyaki Set ($20.50) or Beef Teriyaki Set ($21.80) which ends up soaking in a layer of oil.
Service: Very poor service, hard to get the servers' attention even thirty seconds after they seated us. Food service was also quite slow, considering we cooked the meat ourselves. Probably good for a romantic meal if you have lots of time to spare.
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